During my years in law enforcement I became acutely aware of the viciousness in quarrels and break-ups between homosexual lovers. I remember one case in which a murderer cut off the penis and testicles of his lover and stuffed them into the victim’s mouth.
‘CASTRATED WITH A CORKSCREW’: HORRIFIC LAST MOMENTS OF CELEBRITY JOURNALIST MURDERED IN NEW YORK HOTEL ROOM
'My son, being a golden boy, who is so good, he didn't do this,' accused killer’s mother said
Mail Online
February 2, 2011
A Portuguese model accused of killing a celebrity journalist in a New York hotel admitted brutally attacking him for more than an hour and castrating him with a corkscrew, prosecutors said.
It is also claimed Renato Seabra stabbed Carlos Castro in the face, slammed a computer monitor into his head and stamped on his face, Manhattan State Supreme Court was told.
Seabra, 21, remained silent in court and his lawyer entered a not-guilty plea to second-degree murder on his behalf.
Court papers presented by prosecutors described a statement police said Seabra gave after the January 7 death of Mr Castro, 65, a well-known Portuguese TV journalist, while the two were on holiday in Manhattan.
The account depicted an argument in a hotel room that turned vicious and escalated into a prolonged frenzy, with Seabra first choking his companion, then stabbing him with a corkscrew in his face and groin.
Seabra also admitted to hitting Mr Castro on the head with a computer monitor and stamping on his face while wearing shoes, the papers said.
After the attack Seabra told police, he showered, put on a suit and left.
The city medical examiner said Mr Castro died of head injuries and strangulation.
Defence lawyer David Touger said after the hearing that he and his client planned a 'vigorous defence' and hoped for a positive outcome.
Seabra will remain in custody at Bellevue Hospital until the parties return to court on March 4 for motions.
Friends in New York have said Mr Castro and Seabra were a couple. But Seabra's mother told Portugal's TVIndependente television network that her son was not gay and 'was not Carlos Castro's lover'.
Castro paid for the couple's trip to New York to celebrate the new year, but detectives are alleged to believe Seabra killed his grey-haired lover when he refused to take him on an expensive shopping trip.
Seabra's mother said her son - whom she described as shy and religious - wasn't capable of such horror.
'My son, being a golden boy, who is so good, he didn't do this,' she said.
Seabra has been charged with second degree murder.
Thursday, February 03, 2011
KEEP WATCH FOR WANDERING EYES!
According to the astrologers, the coming year will see a lot of ‘extra-marital affairs and relationships with huge age differences.'
‘YEAR OF THE RABBIT’ COULD ALSO BE YEAR OF THE LOVE CHEAT
The Straits Times
February 2, 2011
HONG KONG - THE Chinese calendar may be set to welcome in the 'Year of the Rabbit' but the new year could be auspicious for love cheats, astrologers predict, and those who want a younger partner.
China celebrates the first day of the Lunar New Year on Thursday and many Chinese people are keen on using the occasion to get a glimpse of what might be in store next year.
'The 'Year of the Rabbit' will see a lot of unusual romantic relationships,' Hong Kong astrologer Anthony Cheng told AFP. 'Including extra-marital affairs and relationships with huge age differences.'
Mr Cheng said husbands and wives should keep watch for wandering eyes as their trusted partners look for stimulation elsewhere, although the coming year will also be lucky for couples planning to tie the knot.
'The Year of the Rabbit is an auspicious time for marriages, so I would expect to see a lot of people taking the plunge, including famous people,' he added.
'Those who are single are likely to find girlfriends or boyfriends, those who are in relationships are likely to get married, while those who are married are likely to have babies,' Mr Cheng predicted. -- AFP
‘YEAR OF THE RABBIT’ COULD ALSO BE YEAR OF THE LOVE CHEAT
The Straits Times
February 2, 2011
HONG KONG - THE Chinese calendar may be set to welcome in the 'Year of the Rabbit' but the new year could be auspicious for love cheats, astrologers predict, and those who want a younger partner.
China celebrates the first day of the Lunar New Year on Thursday and many Chinese people are keen on using the occasion to get a glimpse of what might be in store next year.
'The 'Year of the Rabbit' will see a lot of unusual romantic relationships,' Hong Kong astrologer Anthony Cheng told AFP. 'Including extra-marital affairs and relationships with huge age differences.'
Mr Cheng said husbands and wives should keep watch for wandering eyes as their trusted partners look for stimulation elsewhere, although the coming year will also be lucky for couples planning to tie the knot.
'The Year of the Rabbit is an auspicious time for marriages, so I would expect to see a lot of people taking the plunge, including famous people,' he added.
'Those who are single are likely to find girlfriends or boyfriends, those who are in relationships are likely to get married, while those who are married are likely to have babies,' Mr Cheng predicted. -- AFP
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
WHY HE WAS SPEEDING
A Florida man in his late 70s drove his brand new Corvette convertible out of the dealership.
Taking off down the road, he pushed it to 80 mph, enjoying the wind blowing through what little hair he had left. "Amazing," he thought as he flew down I-75, pushing the pedal even more.
Looking in his rear view mirror, he saw a Florida State Trooper, blue lights flashing and siren blaring. He floored it to 100 mph, then 110, then 120.
Suddenly he thought, “What am I doing? I’m to old for this!” and pulled over to await the trooper’s arrival.
Pulling in behind him, the trooper got out of his highway patrol car and walked up to the Corvette. He looked at his watch, then said, "Sir, my shift ends in 30 minutes. Today is Friday. If you can give me a new reason for speeding - an excuse I've never heard before - I'll let you go."
The old gentleman paused then said: "Three years ago, my wife ran off with a Florida State Trooper. I thought you were bringing her back."
"Have a good day, Sir," replied the trooper.
Taking off down the road, he pushed it to 80 mph, enjoying the wind blowing through what little hair he had left. "Amazing," he thought as he flew down I-75, pushing the pedal even more.
Looking in his rear view mirror, he saw a Florida State Trooper, blue lights flashing and siren blaring. He floored it to 100 mph, then 110, then 120.
Suddenly he thought, “What am I doing? I’m to old for this!” and pulled over to await the trooper’s arrival.
Pulling in behind him, the trooper got out of his highway patrol car and walked up to the Corvette. He looked at his watch, then said, "Sir, my shift ends in 30 minutes. Today is Friday. If you can give me a new reason for speeding - an excuse I've never heard before - I'll let you go."
The old gentleman paused then said: "Three years ago, my wife ran off with a Florida State Trooper. I thought you were bringing her back."
"Have a good day, Sir," replied the trooper.
BEAN COUNTERS TO BLAME FOR HORRIFIC ACT OF ANIMAL CRUELTY
Words cannot describe my revulsion over this senseless and horrific act of animal cruelty. Those responsible should be placed in a cage full of hungry wolves.
PACK OF 100 HUSKIES SHOT AND KNIFED TO DEATH BEFORE BEING TOSSED IN A MASS GRAVE BY TOUR OPERATOR TO SAVE MONEY
Mail Online
February 1, 2011
One hundred huskies were slaughtered by a tourism operator to save money after bookings dropped, it has emerged.
Some of the animals were shot while others had their throats cut before their bodies were thrown into a mass grave.
Experts say many of the animals would have died a long and painful death.
The Canadian company that owned the dogs reportedly ordered an employee to kill them after an expected boom following the 2010 Winter Olympics did not materialize.
Police are investigating Outdoor Adventures Whistler, based in the ski resort of the same name that hosted some events of the Vancouver Games last year.
The claims emerged in an employment tribunal case brought by the worker ordered to kill the dogs.
Marcie Moriarty, general manager of cruelty investigations for the B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, told the Washington Post: 'There aren't words to really describe some of the ways these dogs died.'
'I think what gets to me, too, is that every other dog watched. And just the sheer number of dogs.'
'We don't put cows down like that. slaughterhouses have very strict rules for how supposed culling takes place. This violated every one of them,' she said.
The unnamed employee of Outdoor Adventures Whistler was reportedly told to slaughter the animals, part of a pack of 300, in April last year.
His lawyer told local radio station CKNW that the worker 'was told to find a way to make the business more cost effective'.
After failing to find new homes for the animals he took them out to be slaughtered, and was reportedly attacked at least twice by nearby dogs as the shootings took place. He is said to have slit the throat of one animal that jumped on top of him.
The man was awarded compensation by Worksafe BC, a Canadian employment tribunal, after Outdoor Adventures Whistler did not contest his claim.
The company could not be reached for comment. It earlier claimed that while it had a financial stake in the dog sledding company, 'operational control' rested with the employee.
Tim Tedford, a dog sled operator in British Columbia's Big White area told the Washington Post: 'That behaviour doesn't sound like a real musher.'
'Most mushers love their dogs. That sounds more like an accountant to me. Most mushers would starve themselves before they'd ever neglect their dogs,' he said.
PACK OF 100 HUSKIES SHOT AND KNIFED TO DEATH BEFORE BEING TOSSED IN A MASS GRAVE BY TOUR OPERATOR TO SAVE MONEY
Mail Online
February 1, 2011
One hundred huskies were slaughtered by a tourism operator to save money after bookings dropped, it has emerged.
Some of the animals were shot while others had their throats cut before their bodies were thrown into a mass grave.
Experts say many of the animals would have died a long and painful death.
The Canadian company that owned the dogs reportedly ordered an employee to kill them after an expected boom following the 2010 Winter Olympics did not materialize.
Police are investigating Outdoor Adventures Whistler, based in the ski resort of the same name that hosted some events of the Vancouver Games last year.
The claims emerged in an employment tribunal case brought by the worker ordered to kill the dogs.
Marcie Moriarty, general manager of cruelty investigations for the B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, told the Washington Post: 'There aren't words to really describe some of the ways these dogs died.'
'I think what gets to me, too, is that every other dog watched. And just the sheer number of dogs.'
'We don't put cows down like that. slaughterhouses have very strict rules for how supposed culling takes place. This violated every one of them,' she said.
The unnamed employee of Outdoor Adventures Whistler was reportedly told to slaughter the animals, part of a pack of 300, in April last year.
His lawyer told local radio station CKNW that the worker 'was told to find a way to make the business more cost effective'.
After failing to find new homes for the animals he took them out to be slaughtered, and was reportedly attacked at least twice by nearby dogs as the shootings took place. He is said to have slit the throat of one animal that jumped on top of him.
The man was awarded compensation by Worksafe BC, a Canadian employment tribunal, after Outdoor Adventures Whistler did not contest his claim.
The company could not be reached for comment. It earlier claimed that while it had a financial stake in the dog sledding company, 'operational control' rested with the employee.
Tim Tedford, a dog sled operator in British Columbia's Big White area told the Washington Post: 'That behaviour doesn't sound like a real musher.'
'Most mushers love their dogs. That sounds more like an accountant to me. Most mushers would starve themselves before they'd ever neglect their dogs,' he said.
DEBORAH GIBSON-TIFFANY 'CAT FIGHT' ECLIPSED BY CHARLIE SHEEN AND THE EGYPTIANS
I saw a cat fight of epic proportions between a very leggy Deborah Gibson and a very busty Tiffany on SyFy the other night and it was truly a sight to see. This story is an example of why I love the way Hair Balls reports the news that’s not fit to print in the ‘lamestream’ media.
I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW, EXCEPT FOR THE MEGA PYTHONS
By Pete Vonder Haar
Houston Press Hair Balls
February 1, 2011
I realize Egypt is in chaos and everyone north of the Mason-Dixon line is going to be flash frozen like a bag of Birds Eye broccoli florets and Charlie Sheen is apparently the reincarnation of Grigori Rasputin, but that is no excuse, no excuse, for the criminal lack of attention paid by our "lamestream" media to last weekend's cultural watershed moment. An event which, if you saw it referred to at all, was only in passing, and possibly with heavy (and unwarranted) sarcasm, despite the fact it united two of the brightest stars in our entertainment firmament for the first time on film. Two performers of such -- dare I say, legendary -- talent and reputation their collaboration should have been emblazoned in headlines across the most august publications in the land (or at least announced on the Drudge Report with those little sirens).
Instead, the news was buried under stories of dubious newsworthiness like "Egypt protesters play down Islamist party's role" and "Dissident arrested in Moscow." So chances are you weren't even aware that Deborah Gibson and Tiffany joined forces for the epic Mega Python vs. Gatoroid on the Syfy Channel last Saturday night.
I have seen wonders, my friends. I have gazed upon the Eibsee in Bavaria from the top of the Zugspitze. I've beheld the raging Atlantic from the ruins of Dun Aengus and watched in awe as my roommate shotgunned a 12-pack of Milwaukee's Best in under three minutes, but I have never witnessed beauty like the sight of two '80s icons doing battle, first with each other, and then against the movie's eponymous megafauna.
The plot is deliciously convoluted, but I'll attempt to sum it up: Gibson plays animal rights activist Nikki, who sets illegally imported snakes free in the Everglades. You might think such a tactic would be cruel, akin to sentencing the poor reptiles to death, which just proves how much smarter the singer of "Electric Youth" is than you. The snakes positively thrive in the swamps, alarmingly so, forcing Park Ranger Terri (Tiffany) to counter the ecological crisis by feeding the local alligator population steroid-laden chickens. I won't say what happens next, but my Uncle Steve -- who is a Park Ranger in an undisclosed Midwestern state -- told me something very similar happened in 1983, but the government hushed it up.
Given that blockbuster story, it's hard to explain the shameful lack of attention paid to this movie. We have cruises featuring the likes of REO Speedwagon and Styx, while the TV show Glee milked Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" for an entire season, and yet we're somehow supposed to accept that America isn't ready for a reunion between two of the most beloved pop princesses of the latter 20th century.
After all, as a nation we're all about clashes of our most respected titans: Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, Alexis Colby and Krystle Carrington. The inevitable conflict between these two forgotten heroes of a bygone decade (before they realize their common purpose, of course) is as American as manifest destiny and the McRib.
Don't believe that? Well, allow me to retort:
To paraphrase another -- lesser -- movie: Is this heaven? No, it's Miami.
Or Los Angeles standing in for Miami. Whatever, you get the idea.
Mega Python vs. Gatoroid premiered on the Syfy Channel last Saturday and will repeat ad nauseam for the next three months at least. You know you want to watch.
I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW, EXCEPT FOR THE MEGA PYTHONS
By Pete Vonder Haar
Houston Press Hair Balls
February 1, 2011
I realize Egypt is in chaos and everyone north of the Mason-Dixon line is going to be flash frozen like a bag of Birds Eye broccoli florets and Charlie Sheen is apparently the reincarnation of Grigori Rasputin, but that is no excuse, no excuse, for the criminal lack of attention paid by our "lamestream" media to last weekend's cultural watershed moment. An event which, if you saw it referred to at all, was only in passing, and possibly with heavy (and unwarranted) sarcasm, despite the fact it united two of the brightest stars in our entertainment firmament for the first time on film. Two performers of such -- dare I say, legendary -- talent and reputation their collaboration should have been emblazoned in headlines across the most august publications in the land (or at least announced on the Drudge Report with those little sirens).
Instead, the news was buried under stories of dubious newsworthiness like "Egypt protesters play down Islamist party's role" and "Dissident arrested in Moscow." So chances are you weren't even aware that Deborah Gibson and Tiffany joined forces for the epic Mega Python vs. Gatoroid on the Syfy Channel last Saturday night.
I have seen wonders, my friends. I have gazed upon the Eibsee in Bavaria from the top of the Zugspitze. I've beheld the raging Atlantic from the ruins of Dun Aengus and watched in awe as my roommate shotgunned a 12-pack of Milwaukee's Best in under three minutes, but I have never witnessed beauty like the sight of two '80s icons doing battle, first with each other, and then against the movie's eponymous megafauna.
The plot is deliciously convoluted, but I'll attempt to sum it up: Gibson plays animal rights activist Nikki, who sets illegally imported snakes free in the Everglades. You might think such a tactic would be cruel, akin to sentencing the poor reptiles to death, which just proves how much smarter the singer of "Electric Youth" is than you. The snakes positively thrive in the swamps, alarmingly so, forcing Park Ranger Terri (Tiffany) to counter the ecological crisis by feeding the local alligator population steroid-laden chickens. I won't say what happens next, but my Uncle Steve -- who is a Park Ranger in an undisclosed Midwestern state -- told me something very similar happened in 1983, but the government hushed it up.
Given that blockbuster story, it's hard to explain the shameful lack of attention paid to this movie. We have cruises featuring the likes of REO Speedwagon and Styx, while the TV show Glee milked Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" for an entire season, and yet we're somehow supposed to accept that America isn't ready for a reunion between two of the most beloved pop princesses of the latter 20th century.
After all, as a nation we're all about clashes of our most respected titans: Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, Alexis Colby and Krystle Carrington. The inevitable conflict between these two forgotten heroes of a bygone decade (before they realize their common purpose, of course) is as American as manifest destiny and the McRib.
Don't believe that? Well, allow me to retort:
To paraphrase another -- lesser -- movie: Is this heaven? No, it's Miami.
Or Los Angeles standing in for Miami. Whatever, you get the idea.
Mega Python vs. Gatoroid premiered on the Syfy Channel last Saturday and will repeat ad nauseam for the next three months at least. You know you want to watch.
TOMMY GUNS IN VIOLIN CASES
This reminds me of the old John Dillinger-Al Capone days when gangsters hid their Tommy Guns, then the equivalent to today’s assault rifles, in violin cases.
BRENTWOOD POLICE ARREST PAROLEE AFTER FINDING ASSAULT RIFLE IN GUITAR CASE
By Robert Salonga
Contra Costa Times
February 1, 2011
BRENTWOOD -- A parolee was revealed to be a "Desperado" when officers searching his car during a traffic stop Monday night found a guitar case concealing an assault rifle and ammunition, police said.
The discovery, reminiscent of the title character in the 1995 Robert Rodriguez action film who similarly carried weapons via musical storage, was made about 10:45 p.m. near the In-N-Out Burger in the 5500 block of Lone Tree Way when a patrol officer stopped a Buick Regal for a moving violation, said Sgt. Mark Misquez.
A background check showed the driver Andrew Pena, 21, of Brentwood, was on parole for robbery, so the officer called for backup and searched the car, Misquez said. That turned up the guitar case, which contained an assault rifle with a high-capacity magazine and several hundred rounds.
The assault rifle and magazine are illegal to own in California, Misquez said, and the driver's felon status already prohibited him from having firearms or ammunition. No one else was in the vehicle.
Pena was arrested and booked into County Jail on suspicion of weapons offenses. He is being held without bail for violating parole.
BRENTWOOD POLICE ARREST PAROLEE AFTER FINDING ASSAULT RIFLE IN GUITAR CASE
By Robert Salonga
Contra Costa Times
February 1, 2011
BRENTWOOD -- A parolee was revealed to be a "Desperado" when officers searching his car during a traffic stop Monday night found a guitar case concealing an assault rifle and ammunition, police said.
The discovery, reminiscent of the title character in the 1995 Robert Rodriguez action film who similarly carried weapons via musical storage, was made about 10:45 p.m. near the In-N-Out Burger in the 5500 block of Lone Tree Way when a patrol officer stopped a Buick Regal for a moving violation, said Sgt. Mark Misquez.
A background check showed the driver Andrew Pena, 21, of Brentwood, was on parole for robbery, so the officer called for backup and searched the car, Misquez said. That turned up the guitar case, which contained an assault rifle with a high-capacity magazine and several hundred rounds.
The assault rifle and magazine are illegal to own in California, Misquez said, and the driver's felon status already prohibited him from having firearms or ammunition. No one else was in the vehicle.
Pena was arrested and booked into County Jail on suspicion of weapons offenses. He is being held without bail for violating parole.
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
A LESSON FOR DORINA LISSON
Dorina Lisson, an Australian anti-death penalty zealot, says “People who support the brutality of state-sanctioned killing should not be employed in any capacity with caged human beings.” Lisson also says “Prisoner abuse by brutal inhumane correctional officers [in the U.S.] is rife.”
Centurion responded with the following lesson for Lisson:
When I was 16 I had a dog...half lab and half German shepherd, I called Duke. I was a track and cross country runner, and I used to take Duke with me on my five and six mile runs in the mornings. I loved that dog. One morning he chased a man and bit him. We had to put him down.
Dorina, do you see a difference between me and, say...Michael Vick? Are he and I the same? Should I never be allowed to own another animal?
I worked as a correctional officer for over 20 years. During that time I saved several inmates from being attacked by other inmates, saved an inmate from choking by performing a Heimlich Maneuver on him just outside our dining hall, rendered emergency intervention on suicidal inmates, and always endeavored to treat inmates under my supervision fairly and humanely.
Yet...because I feel the death penalty - which is the current law in my country - is a righteous penalty for those convicted of the most heinous crimes, you feel that I am somehow unfit to be a correctional officer? Do you also feel that a veterinarian...who euthanizes animals...is unfit to render care and treatment to animals? Should an animal control officer who euthanizes hundreds of animals a week be prohibited from providing shelter, food and protection to the animals housed in the shelter as well?
Now before you jump in and say that I am comparing human inmates to animals...I am not. The comparison I am making is a person's fitness or unfitness for a job based on his belief that some under his charge deserve to be killed...when proscribed by law...to protect others in our society.
Dorina, you seem to have some rather strong opinions about correctional officers. You should try to get to know a few. You would find that most of us aren't all that much different from anybody else. I mean...you say that prisoner abuse by brutal inhumane correctional officers is rife. What is your basis for making that statement?
California has over 150,000inmates incarcerated in it's prisons. We have the Prison Law Office, the ACLU, Prisoner's Union, and countless other activist groups who champion inmates rights in this state, yet the number of reported incidents is thankfully small.
I doubt that you could cite an unbiased authority for your assertions that prisoner abuse is rife. Why? Because after two decades of working in prisons, I have to tell ya....the only inhumane brutality against inmates I saw was meted out by other inmates.
EDITOR’S NOTE - Here is what a couple of PACOVILLA Correctional blog readers added:
‘steveo’ says: The worst, dirtiest depressing job out there !! Come walk with us Dorina….It truly sucks!!!
Bob Walsh says: The woman [Dorina Lisson] is a well intentioned idiot. Such fools are dangerous.
Centurion responded with the following lesson for Lisson:
When I was 16 I had a dog...half lab and half German shepherd, I called Duke. I was a track and cross country runner, and I used to take Duke with me on my five and six mile runs in the mornings. I loved that dog. One morning he chased a man and bit him. We had to put him down.
Dorina, do you see a difference between me and, say...Michael Vick? Are he and I the same? Should I never be allowed to own another animal?
I worked as a correctional officer for over 20 years. During that time I saved several inmates from being attacked by other inmates, saved an inmate from choking by performing a Heimlich Maneuver on him just outside our dining hall, rendered emergency intervention on suicidal inmates, and always endeavored to treat inmates under my supervision fairly and humanely.
Yet...because I feel the death penalty - which is the current law in my country - is a righteous penalty for those convicted of the most heinous crimes, you feel that I am somehow unfit to be a correctional officer? Do you also feel that a veterinarian...who euthanizes animals...is unfit to render care and treatment to animals? Should an animal control officer who euthanizes hundreds of animals a week be prohibited from providing shelter, food and protection to the animals housed in the shelter as well?
Now before you jump in and say that I am comparing human inmates to animals...I am not. The comparison I am making is a person's fitness or unfitness for a job based on his belief that some under his charge deserve to be killed...when proscribed by law...to protect others in our society.
Dorina, you seem to have some rather strong opinions about correctional officers. You should try to get to know a few. You would find that most of us aren't all that much different from anybody else. I mean...you say that prisoner abuse by brutal inhumane correctional officers is rife. What is your basis for making that statement?
California has over 150,000inmates incarcerated in it's prisons. We have the Prison Law Office, the ACLU, Prisoner's Union, and countless other activist groups who champion inmates rights in this state, yet the number of reported incidents is thankfully small.
I doubt that you could cite an unbiased authority for your assertions that prisoner abuse is rife. Why? Because after two decades of working in prisons, I have to tell ya....the only inhumane brutality against inmates I saw was meted out by other inmates.
EDITOR’S NOTE - Here is what a couple of PACOVILLA Correctional blog readers added:
‘steveo’ says: The worst, dirtiest depressing job out there !! Come walk with us Dorina….It truly sucks!!!
Bob Walsh says: The woman [Dorina Lisson] is a well intentioned idiot. Such fools are dangerous.
POSSIBLE OUTCOMES FROM THE EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION
The following analysis from the January 30 issue of STRATFOR Global Intelligence is part of George Friedman’s ‘The Egypt Crisis In A Global Context’:
There are four outcomes possible. First, the regime might survive. Mubarak might stabilize the situation, or more likely, another senior military official would replace him after a decent interval. Another possibility under the scenario of the regime's survival is that there may be a coup of the colonels. A second possibility is that the demonstrators might force elections in which ElBaradei or someone like him could be elected and Egypt might overthrow the statist model built by Nasser and proceed on the path of democracy. The third possibility is that the demonstrators force elections, which the Muslim Brotherhood could win and move forward with an Islamist-oriented agenda. The fourth possibility is that Egypt will sink into political chaos. The most likely path to this would be elections that result in political gridlock in which a viable candidate cannot be elected. If I were forced to choose, I would bet on the regime stabilizing itself and Mubarak leaving because of the relative weakness and division of the demonstrators. But that's a guess and not a forecast.
Whatever happens matters a great deal to Egyptians. But only some of these outcomes are significant to the world. Among radical Islamists, the prospect of a radicalized Egypt represents a new lease on life. For Iran, such an outcome would be less pleasing. Iran is now the emerging center of radical Islamism; it would not welcome competition from Egypt, though it may be content with an Islamist Egypt that acts as an Iranian ally (something that would not be easy to ensure).
For the United States, an Islamist Egypt would be a strategic catastrophe. Egypt is the center of gravity in the Arab world. This would not only change the dynamic of the Arab world, it would reverse U.S. strategy since the end of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. Sadat's decision to reverse his alliance with the Soviets and form an alliance with the United States undermined the Soviet position in the Mediterranean and in the Arab world and strengthened the United States immeasurably. The support of Egyptian intelligence after 9/11 was critical in blocking and undermining al Qaeda. Were Egypt to stop that cooperation or become hostile, the U.S. strategy would be severely undermined.
The great loser would be Israel. Israel's national security has rested on its treaty with Egypt, signed by Menachem Begin with much criticism by the Israeli right. The demilitarization of the Sinai Peninsula not only protected Israel's southern front, it meant that the survival of Israel was no longer at stake. Israel fought three wars (1948, 1967 and 1973) where its very existence was at issue. The threat was always from Egypt, and without Egypt in the mix, no coalition of powers could threaten Israel (excluding the now-distant possibility of Iranian nuclear weapons). In all of the wars Israel fought after its treaty with Egypt (the 1982 and 2006 wars in Lebanon) Israeli interests, but not survival, were at stake.
If Egypt were to abrogate the Camp David Accords and over time reconstruct its military into an effective force, the existential threat to Israel that existed before the treaty was signed would re-emerge. This would not happen quickly, but Israel would have to deal with two realities. The first is that the Israeli military is not nearly large enough or strong enough to occupy and control Egypt. The second is that the development of Egypt's military would impose substantial costs on Israel and limit its room for maneuver.
There is thus a scenario that would potentially strengthen the radical Islamists while putting the United States, Israel, and potentially even Iran at a disadvantage, all for different reasons. That scenario emerges only if two things happen. First, the Muslim Brotherhood must become a dominant political force in Egypt. Second, they must turn out to be more radical than most observers currently believe they are — or they must, with power, evolve into something more radical.
If the advocates for democracy win, and if they elect someone like ElBaradei, it is unlikely that this scenario would take place. The pro-Western democratic faction is primarily concerned with domestic issues, are themselves secular and would not want to return to the wartime state prior to Camp David, because that would simply strengthen the military. If they win power, the geopolitical arrangements would remain unchanged.
Similarly, the geopolitical arrangements would remain in place if the military regime retained power — save for one scenario. If it was decided that the regime's unpopularity could be mitigated by assuming a more anti-Western and anti-Israeli policy — in other words, if the regime decided to play the Islamist card, the situation could evolve as a Muslim Brotherhood government would. Indeed, as hard as it is to imagine, there could be an alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood designed to stabilize the regime. Stranger things have happened.
When we look at the political dynamic of Egypt, and try to imagine its connection to the international system, we can see that there are several scenarios under which certain political outcomes would have profound effects on the way the world works. That should not be surprising. When Egypt was a pro-Soviet Nasserite state, the world was a very different place than it had been before Nasser. When Sadat changed his foreign policy the world changed with it. If Sadat's foreign policy changes, the world changes again. Egypt is one of those countries whose internal politics matter to more than its own citizens.
Most of the outcomes I envision leave Egypt pretty much where it is. But not all. The situation is, as they say, in doubt, and the outcome is not trivial.
There are four outcomes possible. First, the regime might survive. Mubarak might stabilize the situation, or more likely, another senior military official would replace him after a decent interval. Another possibility under the scenario of the regime's survival is that there may be a coup of the colonels. A second possibility is that the demonstrators might force elections in which ElBaradei or someone like him could be elected and Egypt might overthrow the statist model built by Nasser and proceed on the path of democracy. The third possibility is that the demonstrators force elections, which the Muslim Brotherhood could win and move forward with an Islamist-oriented agenda. The fourth possibility is that Egypt will sink into political chaos. The most likely path to this would be elections that result in political gridlock in which a viable candidate cannot be elected. If I were forced to choose, I would bet on the regime stabilizing itself and Mubarak leaving because of the relative weakness and division of the demonstrators. But that's a guess and not a forecast.
Whatever happens matters a great deal to Egyptians. But only some of these outcomes are significant to the world. Among radical Islamists, the prospect of a radicalized Egypt represents a new lease on life. For Iran, such an outcome would be less pleasing. Iran is now the emerging center of radical Islamism; it would not welcome competition from Egypt, though it may be content with an Islamist Egypt that acts as an Iranian ally (something that would not be easy to ensure).
For the United States, an Islamist Egypt would be a strategic catastrophe. Egypt is the center of gravity in the Arab world. This would not only change the dynamic of the Arab world, it would reverse U.S. strategy since the end of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. Sadat's decision to reverse his alliance with the Soviets and form an alliance with the United States undermined the Soviet position in the Mediterranean and in the Arab world and strengthened the United States immeasurably. The support of Egyptian intelligence after 9/11 was critical in blocking and undermining al Qaeda. Were Egypt to stop that cooperation or become hostile, the U.S. strategy would be severely undermined.
The great loser would be Israel. Israel's national security has rested on its treaty with Egypt, signed by Menachem Begin with much criticism by the Israeli right. The demilitarization of the Sinai Peninsula not only protected Israel's southern front, it meant that the survival of Israel was no longer at stake. Israel fought three wars (1948, 1967 and 1973) where its very existence was at issue. The threat was always from Egypt, and without Egypt in the mix, no coalition of powers could threaten Israel (excluding the now-distant possibility of Iranian nuclear weapons). In all of the wars Israel fought after its treaty with Egypt (the 1982 and 2006 wars in Lebanon) Israeli interests, but not survival, were at stake.
If Egypt were to abrogate the Camp David Accords and over time reconstruct its military into an effective force, the existential threat to Israel that existed before the treaty was signed would re-emerge. This would not happen quickly, but Israel would have to deal with two realities. The first is that the Israeli military is not nearly large enough or strong enough to occupy and control Egypt. The second is that the development of Egypt's military would impose substantial costs on Israel and limit its room for maneuver.
There is thus a scenario that would potentially strengthen the radical Islamists while putting the United States, Israel, and potentially even Iran at a disadvantage, all for different reasons. That scenario emerges only if two things happen. First, the Muslim Brotherhood must become a dominant political force in Egypt. Second, they must turn out to be more radical than most observers currently believe they are — or they must, with power, evolve into something more radical.
If the advocates for democracy win, and if they elect someone like ElBaradei, it is unlikely that this scenario would take place. The pro-Western democratic faction is primarily concerned with domestic issues, are themselves secular and would not want to return to the wartime state prior to Camp David, because that would simply strengthen the military. If they win power, the geopolitical arrangements would remain unchanged.
Similarly, the geopolitical arrangements would remain in place if the military regime retained power — save for one scenario. If it was decided that the regime's unpopularity could be mitigated by assuming a more anti-Western and anti-Israeli policy — in other words, if the regime decided to play the Islamist card, the situation could evolve as a Muslim Brotherhood government would. Indeed, as hard as it is to imagine, there could be an alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood designed to stabilize the regime. Stranger things have happened.
When we look at the political dynamic of Egypt, and try to imagine its connection to the international system, we can see that there are several scenarios under which certain political outcomes would have profound effects on the way the world works. That should not be surprising. When Egypt was a pro-Soviet Nasserite state, the world was a very different place than it had been before Nasser. When Sadat changed his foreign policy the world changed with it. If Sadat's foreign policy changes, the world changes again. Egypt is one of those countries whose internal politics matter to more than its own citizens.
Most of the outcomes I envision leave Egypt pretty much where it is. But not all. The situation is, as they say, in doubt, and the outcome is not trivial.
BUREAUCRATIC PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO CORRECTIONAL OFFICER'S SLAYING
Saturday night, Jayme Lee Biendl, a 34-year-old female correctional officer with eight years on the job, was killed by an inmate at the Washington state prison in Monroe. Her tragic death might have been prevented were it not for the ‘petty bureaucratic book keeping requirements’ of the Washington Department of Corrections.
Here is what Centurion wrote after I gave him a heads-up on her slaying:
I probably told you Howie....after I retired from California I went to work for a short time for Washington DOC. I didn't like it much. In fact....I quit after only six months. Those poor bastards have no gun coverage for the most part, no batons, no OC...no nuthin. They are so burdened with meaningless repetitive documentation, that they have little time to focus on personal safety awareness in the moment.
Shit...I was running my ass off all night in a first watch (10 pm to 6 am) job just trying to keep on top of all their petty bureaucratic book keeping requirements. One count every hour in a dorm consisting of four wings, outside exterior building checks required of dorm officers...mandatory documented searches in the middle of the damn night. Stupid shit.
So I am not surprised that a female was working alone with violent male felons in an isolated area. Their focus is all on the paperwork showing that they are doing the jobs. So much so that it's very difficult to actually do their jobs.
Centurion went on to add:
My Washington experience was short lived Howie. Their system was designed with input from inmates. This is one reason the officers have very little real power. There is a sergeant supervisor for every 5 or 6 officers, and they have a myriad of bureaucrats - counselors, program administrators, and social workers - running the units. Everybody is a friggin expert. One of my assignments was in our 100 cell ad seg building. It took two full time officers just to run the control booth...ten corridors with ten cells each. Four floor cops...total six cops. One sergeant for each and every shift. Two counselors, and one program administrator JUST FOR A FRIGGEN 100 man Ad Seg building.
There were eleven...and I counted them ELEVEN locked doors between an ad seg inmate and the outside world. Each and every one of these doors had to be opened by some guy viewing you through a camera. (This institution was big on cameras. All the "experts" figured they could run the place from behind their computer screen. Anyway, you would push a little button on a panel next to the door and some poor clown sitting at a console with a camera would identify you and electronically open the door for you to pass.
When we did our outer security checks we had a twenty item check off list. We were to initial each item we checked (ie..a valve...a valve cap...the lock on a fire door)...and note the actual time we checked and initialed each and every item.
Howie....I worked at night and sometimes we were doing these checks in two foot deep snow drifts in the middle of a storm.
Requiring that we initial besides each item and enter a precise time encouraged officers to fudge their entries. I mean...who in their right mind is going to take a paper worksheet out into a snow or a rain storm and write all these times down.
Nobody would, and nobody did. This taught people something that carried over into other activities and other forms of documentation. It taught people to forge paperwork....to give it a Wild Ass Guess and write it down on an official document. A document that could end up in court and testified to.
This adds to the mindset that... the documentation is more important than the activity being documented. That's a dangerous mindset in our profession Howie....and a whole generation of correctional officers in the state of Washington are being taught that.
I could go on and on all night....but you get the picture I think.
Here is what Centurion wrote after I gave him a heads-up on her slaying:
I probably told you Howie....after I retired from California I went to work for a short time for Washington DOC. I didn't like it much. In fact....I quit after only six months. Those poor bastards have no gun coverage for the most part, no batons, no OC...no nuthin. They are so burdened with meaningless repetitive documentation, that they have little time to focus on personal safety awareness in the moment.
Shit...I was running my ass off all night in a first watch (10 pm to 6 am) job just trying to keep on top of all their petty bureaucratic book keeping requirements. One count every hour in a dorm consisting of four wings, outside exterior building checks required of dorm officers...mandatory documented searches in the middle of the damn night. Stupid shit.
So I am not surprised that a female was working alone with violent male felons in an isolated area. Their focus is all on the paperwork showing that they are doing the jobs. So much so that it's very difficult to actually do their jobs.
Centurion went on to add:
My Washington experience was short lived Howie. Their system was designed with input from inmates. This is one reason the officers have very little real power. There is a sergeant supervisor for every 5 or 6 officers, and they have a myriad of bureaucrats - counselors, program administrators, and social workers - running the units. Everybody is a friggin expert. One of my assignments was in our 100 cell ad seg building. It took two full time officers just to run the control booth...ten corridors with ten cells each. Four floor cops...total six cops. One sergeant for each and every shift. Two counselors, and one program administrator JUST FOR A FRIGGEN 100 man Ad Seg building.
There were eleven...and I counted them ELEVEN locked doors between an ad seg inmate and the outside world. Each and every one of these doors had to be opened by some guy viewing you through a camera. (This institution was big on cameras. All the "experts" figured they could run the place from behind their computer screen. Anyway, you would push a little button on a panel next to the door and some poor clown sitting at a console with a camera would identify you and electronically open the door for you to pass.
When we did our outer security checks we had a twenty item check off list. We were to initial each item we checked (ie..a valve...a valve cap...the lock on a fire door)...and note the actual time we checked and initialed each and every item.
Howie....I worked at night and sometimes we were doing these checks in two foot deep snow drifts in the middle of a storm.
Requiring that we initial besides each item and enter a precise time encouraged officers to fudge their entries. I mean...who in their right mind is going to take a paper worksheet out into a snow or a rain storm and write all these times down.
Nobody would, and nobody did. This taught people something that carried over into other activities and other forms of documentation. It taught people to forge paperwork....to give it a Wild Ass Guess and write it down on an official document. A document that could end up in court and testified to.
This adds to the mindset that... the documentation is more important than the activity being documented. That's a dangerous mindset in our profession Howie....and a whole generation of correctional officers in the state of Washington are being taught that.
I could go on and on all night....but you get the picture I think.
A TEXTBOOK EXAMPLE OF HOW JUDGES SHOULD NOT BEHAVE
In keeping with the region has jurisdiction over, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is the most liberal and activist court in the federal judiciary. That is evident when even the liberal justices of the Supreme Court agree that the judges of the Ninth Circuit have gone too far.
WHERE JUDICIAL ACTIVISM MORPHS INTO DISREGARD
By Debra J. Saunders
San Francisco Chronicle
January 30, 2011
Four times this month the U.S. Supreme Court has slapped down the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Four times the Big Bench unanimously reversed Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decisions. Unanimous is a big deal. It means that there's no left-right political divide in the Big Bench's findings - just right on the law and wrong on the law.
I take unanimous seriously. When the California Supreme Court issued a ruling last year that stayed a scheduled execution, I feared yet another overreaching judicial fiat. But then I saw that all the justices were on board. The law had to be unambiguous.
In the instances of the three criminal reversals this month, the Big Bench clearly was sending a message to the Ninth Circuit - particularly to Judge Stephen Reinhardt, who had written the opinions. And the message is: Show some respect for the law.
Followers of the Ninth Circuit are painfully aware of its reputation as an activist court that flouts laws it doesn't like and bulldozes rulings that defy its left-leaning politics. The San Francisco-based judicial district serves as a textbook example of how judges should not behave.
Start with Randy Moore's case. In a plea bargain, Moore pleaded "no contest" to the 1995 Oregon murder of Kenneth Rogers, whom Moore and two confederates had kidnapped and Moore had shot in the head. Moore was facing a possible death sentence. Thanks to the plea deal, he got 25 years and the possibility of parole.
Now this is a sore spot for me, because I don't think courts should even consider the appeal of any plea bargain unless the defendant was severely mistreated. But Moore appealed and the Ninth seized on Moore's plea bargain as proof that he was represented by ineffective counsel.
The court's logic was deficient. As Criminal Justice Legal Foundation President Michael Rushford observed, Moore "got a good deal."
But the court was flouting federal law. Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed the 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act precisely to prevent federal judges from issuing niggling orders that disregard court convictions and upend state appellate rulings.
In reversing Moore, Justice Anthony Kennedy had to remind the Ninth that its mandate is to follow the law.
Ditto the case of Joshua Richter, who was found guilty in a 1994 murder committed while he and an accomplice robbed a drug dealer. Once again the Ninth found ineffective counsel.
In affirming the Richter conviction, Justice Kennedy wrote that the writ of habeas corpus stands as a safeguard against wrongful imprisonment. But the law is undermined "if there is judicial disregard for the sound and established principles that inform its proper issuance. That judicial disregard is inherent in" the Ninth's Richter decision.
Rushford of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation found the unsigned decision of the court most damning because the Big Bench thought that the Ninth Circuit was so wrong that it "didn't even allow oral arguments."
Reinhardt and the majority had ordered the parole of Damon Cooke, who was convicted of attempted first-degree murder after he shot a friend in the head in 1991. The Ninth found that the parole board was wrong to consider the "cruel and callous" nature of the crime and wrong to ignore claims that Cooke was "an exemplary inmate." The court also ordered the release of Elijah Clay, who was convicted of first-degree murder in 1978, because then-Gov. Gray Davis' refusal to heed a parole board recommendation for release was unreasonable.
Again, the Supremes ruled that federal judges have no dog in this fight: "There is no right under the federal Constitution to be conditionally released before the expiration of a valid sentence, and the states are under no duty to offer parole to prisoners."
In a fourth reversal, this one written by Justice Sonya Sotomayor, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned a ruling involving a banking regulation.
There are judges in the Ninth who see the bench as a portfolio to overturn any policy they don't like - and jurisdiction be damned.
In 2009, a three-judge (including Reinhardt) Ninth Circuit panel ordered the release of 40,000 California inmates. Not only did the three seem to think they had authority reserved for state lawmakers, but they also issued the pronouncement that the state could release 1 in 4 inmates "without a meaningful adverse impact on public safety." As if saying so makes it so.
It's odd. When there is an opening on the Supreme Court, the Senate examines in detail whether nominees have the proper respect for past Supreme Court rulings. Sen. Dianne Feinstein is quite particular on that score. But in San Francisco, the Ninth Circuit doesn't seem to care what the U.S. Supreme Court writes.
WHERE JUDICIAL ACTIVISM MORPHS INTO DISREGARD
By Debra J. Saunders
San Francisco Chronicle
January 30, 2011
Four times this month the U.S. Supreme Court has slapped down the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Four times the Big Bench unanimously reversed Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decisions. Unanimous is a big deal. It means that there's no left-right political divide in the Big Bench's findings - just right on the law and wrong on the law.
I take unanimous seriously. When the California Supreme Court issued a ruling last year that stayed a scheduled execution, I feared yet another overreaching judicial fiat. But then I saw that all the justices were on board. The law had to be unambiguous.
In the instances of the three criminal reversals this month, the Big Bench clearly was sending a message to the Ninth Circuit - particularly to Judge Stephen Reinhardt, who had written the opinions. And the message is: Show some respect for the law.
Followers of the Ninth Circuit are painfully aware of its reputation as an activist court that flouts laws it doesn't like and bulldozes rulings that defy its left-leaning politics. The San Francisco-based judicial district serves as a textbook example of how judges should not behave.
Start with Randy Moore's case. In a plea bargain, Moore pleaded "no contest" to the 1995 Oregon murder of Kenneth Rogers, whom Moore and two confederates had kidnapped and Moore had shot in the head. Moore was facing a possible death sentence. Thanks to the plea deal, he got 25 years and the possibility of parole.
Now this is a sore spot for me, because I don't think courts should even consider the appeal of any plea bargain unless the defendant was severely mistreated. But Moore appealed and the Ninth seized on Moore's plea bargain as proof that he was represented by ineffective counsel.
The court's logic was deficient. As Criminal Justice Legal Foundation President Michael Rushford observed, Moore "got a good deal."
But the court was flouting federal law. Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed the 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act precisely to prevent federal judges from issuing niggling orders that disregard court convictions and upend state appellate rulings.
In reversing Moore, Justice Anthony Kennedy had to remind the Ninth that its mandate is to follow the law.
Ditto the case of Joshua Richter, who was found guilty in a 1994 murder committed while he and an accomplice robbed a drug dealer. Once again the Ninth found ineffective counsel.
In affirming the Richter conviction, Justice Kennedy wrote that the writ of habeas corpus stands as a safeguard against wrongful imprisonment. But the law is undermined "if there is judicial disregard for the sound and established principles that inform its proper issuance. That judicial disregard is inherent in" the Ninth's Richter decision.
Rushford of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation found the unsigned decision of the court most damning because the Big Bench thought that the Ninth Circuit was so wrong that it "didn't even allow oral arguments."
Reinhardt and the majority had ordered the parole of Damon Cooke, who was convicted of attempted first-degree murder after he shot a friend in the head in 1991. The Ninth found that the parole board was wrong to consider the "cruel and callous" nature of the crime and wrong to ignore claims that Cooke was "an exemplary inmate." The court also ordered the release of Elijah Clay, who was convicted of first-degree murder in 1978, because then-Gov. Gray Davis' refusal to heed a parole board recommendation for release was unreasonable.
Again, the Supremes ruled that federal judges have no dog in this fight: "There is no right under the federal Constitution to be conditionally released before the expiration of a valid sentence, and the states are under no duty to offer parole to prisoners."
In a fourth reversal, this one written by Justice Sonya Sotomayor, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned a ruling involving a banking regulation.
There are judges in the Ninth who see the bench as a portfolio to overturn any policy they don't like - and jurisdiction be damned.
In 2009, a three-judge (including Reinhardt) Ninth Circuit panel ordered the release of 40,000 California inmates. Not only did the three seem to think they had authority reserved for state lawmakers, but they also issued the pronouncement that the state could release 1 in 4 inmates "without a meaningful adverse impact on public safety." As if saying so makes it so.
It's odd. When there is an opening on the Supreme Court, the Senate examines in detail whether nominees have the proper respect for past Supreme Court rulings. Sen. Dianne Feinstein is quite particular on that score. But in San Francisco, the Ninth Circuit doesn't seem to care what the U.S. Supreme Court writes.
Monday, January 31, 2011
WILL EGYPT FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF IRAN, GAZA AND LEBANON? (2)
While this STRATFOR report is somewhat long, it does give us some excellent information that we are not getting from our media and government.
THE EGYPTIAN UNREST: A SPECIAL REPORT
STRAFOR Global Intelligence
January 29, 2011
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak remains the lifeblood of the demonstrators, who still number in the tens of thousands in downtown Cairo and in other major cities, albeit on a lesser scale. After being overwhelmed in the Jan. 28 Day of Rage protests, Egypt’s internal security forces — with the anti-riot paramilitaries of the Central Security Forces (CSF) at the forefront — were glaringly absent from the streets Jan. 29. They were replaced with rows of tanks and armored personnel carriers carrying regular army soldiers. Unlike their CSF counterparts, the demonstrators demanding Mubarak’s exit from the political scene largely welcomed the soldiers. Despite Mubarak’s refusal to step down Jan. 28, the public’s positive perception of the military, seen as the only real gateway to a post-Mubarak Egypt, remained. It is unclear how long this perception will hold, especially as Egyptians are growing frustrated with the rising level of insecurity in the country and the army’s limits in patrolling the streets.
There is more to these demonstrations than meets the eye. The media will focus on the concept of reformers staging a revolution in the name of democracy and human rights. These may well have brought numerous demonstrators into the streets, but revolutions, including this one, are made up of many more actors than the liberal voices on Facebook and Twitter.
After three decades of Mubarak rule, a window of opportunity has opened for various political forces — from the moderate to the extreme — that preferred to keep the spotlight on the liberal face of the demonstrations while they maneuver from behind. As the Iranian Revolution of 1979 taught, the ideology and composition of protesters can wind up having very little to do with the political forces that end up in power. Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood (MB) understands well the concerns the United States, Israel and others share over a political vacuum in Cairo being filled by Islamists. The MB so far is proceeding cautiously, taking care to help sustain the demonstrations by relying on the MB’s well-established social services to provide food and aid to the protesters. It simultaneously is calling for elections that would politically enable the MB. With Egypt in a state of crisis and the armed forces stepping in to manage that crisis, however, elections are nowhere near assured. What is now in question is what groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and others are considering should they fear that their historic opportunity could be slipping.
One thing that has become clear in the past several hours is a trend that STRATFOR has been following for some time in Egypt, namely, the military’s growing clout in the political affairs of the state. Former air force chief and outgoing civil aviation minister Ahmed Shafiq, who worked under Mubarak’s command in the air force (the most privileged military branch in Egypt), has been appointed prime minister and tasked with forming the new government. Outgoing Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman, who has long stood by Mubarak, is now vice president, a spot that has been vacant for the past 30 years. Meanwhile, Defense Minister Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi (who oversees the Republican Guard) and Egypt’s chief of staff of the armed forces, Lt. Gen. Sami Annan — who returned to Cairo Jan. 29 after a week of intense discussions with senior U.S. officials — are likely managing the political process behind the scenes. More political shuffles are expected, and the military appears willing for now to give Mubarak the time to arrange his political exit. Until Mubarak finally does leave, the unrest in the streets is unlikely to subside, raising the question of just how much more delay from Mubarak the armed forces will tolerate.
The important thing to remember is that the Egyptian military, since the founding of the modern republic in 1952, has been the guarantor of regime stability. Over the past several decades, the military has allowed former military commanders to form civilian institutions to take the lead in matters of political governance but never has relinquished its rights to the state.
Now that the political structure of the state is crumbling, the army must directly shoulder the responsibility of security and contain the unrest on the streets. This will not be easy, especially given the historical animosity between the military and the police in Egypt. For now, the demonstrators view the military as an ally, and therefore (whether consciously or not) are facilitating a de facto military takeover of the state. But one misfire in the demonstrations, and a bloodbath in the streets could quickly foil the military’s plans and give way to a scenario that groups like the MB quickly could exploit. Here again, we question the military’s tolerance for Mubarak as long as he is the source fueling the demonstrations.
Considerable strain is building on the only force within the country that stands between order and chaos as radical forces rise. The standing theory is that the military, as the guarantor of the state, will manage the current crisis. But the military is not a monolithic entity. It cannot shake its history, and thus cannot dismiss the threat of a colonel’s coup in this shaky transition.
The current regime is a continuation of the political order, which was established when midranking officers and commanders under the leadership of Gamal Abdel Nasser, a mere colonel in the armed forces, overthrew the British-backed monarchy in 1952. Islamist sympathizers in the junior ranks of the military assassinated his successor, Anwar Sadat, in 1981, an event that led to Mubarak’s presidency.
The history of the modern Egyptian republic haunts Egypt’s generals today. Though long suppressed, an Islamist strand exists amongst the junior ranks of Egypt’s modern military. The Egyptian military is, after all, a subset of the wider society, where there is a significant cross- section that is religiously conservative and/or Islamist. These elements are not politically active, otherwise those at the top would have purged them.
But there remains a deep-seated fear among the military elite that the historic opening could well include a cabal of colonels looking to address a long-subdued grievance against the state, particularly its foreign policy vis-Ã -vis the United States and Israel. The midranking officers have the benefit of having the most direct interaction — and thus the strongest links — with their military subordinates, unlike the generals who command and observe from a politically dangerous distance. With enough support behind them, midranking officers could see their superiors as one and the same as Mubarak and his regime, and could use the current state of turmoil to steer Egypt’s future.
Signs of such a coup scenario have not yet surfaced. The army is still a disciplined institution with chain of command, and many likely fear the utter chaos that would ensue should the military establishment rupture. Still, those trying to manage the crisis from the top cannot forget that they are presiding over a country with a strong precedent of junior officers leading successful coups. That precedent becomes all the more worrying when the regime itself is in a state of collapse following three decades of iron-fisted rule.
The United States, Israel and others will thus be doing what they can behind the scenes to shape the new order in Cairo, but they face limitations in trying to preserve a regional stability that has existed since 1978. The fate of Egypt lies in the ability of the military to not only manage the streets and the politicians, but also itself.
THE EGYPTIAN UNREST: A SPECIAL REPORT
STRAFOR Global Intelligence
January 29, 2011
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak remains the lifeblood of the demonstrators, who still number in the tens of thousands in downtown Cairo and in other major cities, albeit on a lesser scale. After being overwhelmed in the Jan. 28 Day of Rage protests, Egypt’s internal security forces — with the anti-riot paramilitaries of the Central Security Forces (CSF) at the forefront — were glaringly absent from the streets Jan. 29. They were replaced with rows of tanks and armored personnel carriers carrying regular army soldiers. Unlike their CSF counterparts, the demonstrators demanding Mubarak’s exit from the political scene largely welcomed the soldiers. Despite Mubarak’s refusal to step down Jan. 28, the public’s positive perception of the military, seen as the only real gateway to a post-Mubarak Egypt, remained. It is unclear how long this perception will hold, especially as Egyptians are growing frustrated with the rising level of insecurity in the country and the army’s limits in patrolling the streets.
There is more to these demonstrations than meets the eye. The media will focus on the concept of reformers staging a revolution in the name of democracy and human rights. These may well have brought numerous demonstrators into the streets, but revolutions, including this one, are made up of many more actors than the liberal voices on Facebook and Twitter.
After three decades of Mubarak rule, a window of opportunity has opened for various political forces — from the moderate to the extreme — that preferred to keep the spotlight on the liberal face of the demonstrations while they maneuver from behind. As the Iranian Revolution of 1979 taught, the ideology and composition of protesters can wind up having very little to do with the political forces that end up in power. Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood (MB) understands well the concerns the United States, Israel and others share over a political vacuum in Cairo being filled by Islamists. The MB so far is proceeding cautiously, taking care to help sustain the demonstrations by relying on the MB’s well-established social services to provide food and aid to the protesters. It simultaneously is calling for elections that would politically enable the MB. With Egypt in a state of crisis and the armed forces stepping in to manage that crisis, however, elections are nowhere near assured. What is now in question is what groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and others are considering should they fear that their historic opportunity could be slipping.
One thing that has become clear in the past several hours is a trend that STRATFOR has been following for some time in Egypt, namely, the military’s growing clout in the political affairs of the state. Former air force chief and outgoing civil aviation minister Ahmed Shafiq, who worked under Mubarak’s command in the air force (the most privileged military branch in Egypt), has been appointed prime minister and tasked with forming the new government. Outgoing Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman, who has long stood by Mubarak, is now vice president, a spot that has been vacant for the past 30 years. Meanwhile, Defense Minister Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi (who oversees the Republican Guard) and Egypt’s chief of staff of the armed forces, Lt. Gen. Sami Annan — who returned to Cairo Jan. 29 after a week of intense discussions with senior U.S. officials — are likely managing the political process behind the scenes. More political shuffles are expected, and the military appears willing for now to give Mubarak the time to arrange his political exit. Until Mubarak finally does leave, the unrest in the streets is unlikely to subside, raising the question of just how much more delay from Mubarak the armed forces will tolerate.
The important thing to remember is that the Egyptian military, since the founding of the modern republic in 1952, has been the guarantor of regime stability. Over the past several decades, the military has allowed former military commanders to form civilian institutions to take the lead in matters of political governance but never has relinquished its rights to the state.
Now that the political structure of the state is crumbling, the army must directly shoulder the responsibility of security and contain the unrest on the streets. This will not be easy, especially given the historical animosity between the military and the police in Egypt. For now, the demonstrators view the military as an ally, and therefore (whether consciously or not) are facilitating a de facto military takeover of the state. But one misfire in the demonstrations, and a bloodbath in the streets could quickly foil the military’s plans and give way to a scenario that groups like the MB quickly could exploit. Here again, we question the military’s tolerance for Mubarak as long as he is the source fueling the demonstrations.
Considerable strain is building on the only force within the country that stands between order and chaos as radical forces rise. The standing theory is that the military, as the guarantor of the state, will manage the current crisis. But the military is not a monolithic entity. It cannot shake its history, and thus cannot dismiss the threat of a colonel’s coup in this shaky transition.
The current regime is a continuation of the political order, which was established when midranking officers and commanders under the leadership of Gamal Abdel Nasser, a mere colonel in the armed forces, overthrew the British-backed monarchy in 1952. Islamist sympathizers in the junior ranks of the military assassinated his successor, Anwar Sadat, in 1981, an event that led to Mubarak’s presidency.
The history of the modern Egyptian republic haunts Egypt’s generals today. Though long suppressed, an Islamist strand exists amongst the junior ranks of Egypt’s modern military. The Egyptian military is, after all, a subset of the wider society, where there is a significant cross- section that is religiously conservative and/or Islamist. These elements are not politically active, otherwise those at the top would have purged them.
But there remains a deep-seated fear among the military elite that the historic opening could well include a cabal of colonels looking to address a long-subdued grievance against the state, particularly its foreign policy vis-Ã -vis the United States and Israel. The midranking officers have the benefit of having the most direct interaction — and thus the strongest links — with their military subordinates, unlike the generals who command and observe from a politically dangerous distance. With enough support behind them, midranking officers could see their superiors as one and the same as Mubarak and his regime, and could use the current state of turmoil to steer Egypt’s future.
Signs of such a coup scenario have not yet surfaced. The army is still a disciplined institution with chain of command, and many likely fear the utter chaos that would ensue should the military establishment rupture. Still, those trying to manage the crisis from the top cannot forget that they are presiding over a country with a strong precedent of junior officers leading successful coups. That precedent becomes all the more worrying when the regime itself is in a state of collapse following three decades of iron-fisted rule.
The United States, Israel and others will thus be doing what they can behind the scenes to shape the new order in Cairo, but they face limitations in trying to preserve a regional stability that has existed since 1978. The fate of Egypt lies in the ability of the military to not only manage the streets and the politicians, but also itself.
ISRAEL NOT AMONG THE THREE GREAT NATIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Sunday’s ‘This Week With Christiane Amanpour’ on ABC-TV was broadcast from Egypt and, of course, dealt with the protests against the Mubarak government. One of Amanpour’s guests was Zbigniew Brzezinski, Jimmy Carter’s national security advisor.
During the interview, Brzezinski mentioned that there were three great nations in the Middle East. He named Egypt, Iran and Turkey.
It comes as not surprise that Brzezinski did not include Israel as a great nation. He has always hated Israel and tries to undermine the Jewish state whenever he can. Last September, Brzezinski even recommended that the U.S. military shoot down Israeli jets if they headed to Iran to bomb their nuclear reactors.
Brzezinski spent his first ten years growing up in Poland, long a hotbed of virulent anti-Semitism. Many Poles eagerly helped the Nazis find and round up Jews for shipment to extermination camps, ALL of which were built in Poland. I suspect that his hatred of Israel likely stems from an exposure to Polish anti-Semitism during his formative years.
Brzezinski was one of Obama’s leading foreign policy advisors during the 2008 presidential election campaign. His omission of Israel from the list of great nations in the Middle East was no oversight. As far as Brzezinski is concerned, Israel should not exist.
During the interview, Brzezinski mentioned that there were three great nations in the Middle East. He named Egypt, Iran and Turkey.
It comes as not surprise that Brzezinski did not include Israel as a great nation. He has always hated Israel and tries to undermine the Jewish state whenever he can. Last September, Brzezinski even recommended that the U.S. military shoot down Israeli jets if they headed to Iran to bomb their nuclear reactors.
Brzezinski spent his first ten years growing up in Poland, long a hotbed of virulent anti-Semitism. Many Poles eagerly helped the Nazis find and round up Jews for shipment to extermination camps, ALL of which were built in Poland. I suspect that his hatred of Israel likely stems from an exposure to Polish anti-Semitism during his formative years.
Brzezinski was one of Obama’s leading foreign policy advisors during the 2008 presidential election campaign. His omission of Israel from the list of great nations in the Middle East was no oversight. As far as Brzezinski is concerned, Israel should not exist.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
WILL EGYPT FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF IRAN, GAZA AND LEBANON?
Be careful what you wish for in the Muslim world! Just look at Iran, Gaza and Lebanon.
Jimmy Carter promoted democracy for the Iranians and the Ayatollahs took over. George W. Bush promoted democracy for the Palestinians and Hamas won the election, then took control of Gaza. All our presidents promoted democracy for the Lebanese and Hezbollah has just taken over their government. Now Obama and Hillary are promoting democracy for the Egyptians. Who is going to end up governing Egypt?
RED ALERT: HAMAS AND THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD
STRATFOR Global Intelligence
January 29, 2011
The following is a report from a STRATFOR source in Hamas. Hamas, which formed in Gaza as an outgrowth of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood (MB), has an interest in exaggerating its role and coordination with the MB in this crisis. The following information has not been confirmed. Nonetheless, there is a great deal of concern building in Israel and the United States in particular over the role of the MB in the demonstrations and whether a political opening will be made for the Islamist organization in Egypt.
The Egyptian police are no longer patrolling the Rafah border crossing into Gaza. Hamas armed men are entering into Egypt and are closely collaborating with the MB. The MB has fully engaged itself in the demonstrations, and they are unsatisfied with the dismissal of the Cabinet. They are insisting on a new Cabinet that does not include members of the ruling National Democratic Party.
Security forces in plainclothes are engaged in destroying public property in order to give the impression that many protesters represent a public menace. The MB is meanwhile forming people’s committees to protect public property and also to coordinate demonstrators’ activities, including supplying them with food, beverages and first aid.
RED ALERT: MUBARAK NAMES FORMER AIR FORCE CHIEF AS NEW EGYPTIAN PM
Egypt’s former air force chief and minister for civil aviation, Ahmed Shafiq, has been designated the new prime minister by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and tasked to form the next Cabinet, Al Jazeera reported Jan. 29. The announcement comes shortly after Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman was appointed vice president, a position that has been vacant for the past 30 years.
Mubarak is essentially accelerating a succession plan that has been in the works for some time. STRATFOR noted in December 2010 that a conflict was building between the president on one side and the old guard in the army and the ruling party on the other over Mubarak’s attempt to create a path for his son Gamal to eventually succeed him. The interim plan Mubarak had proposed was for Suleiman to become vice president, succeed Mubarak and then pass the reins to Gamal after some time. The stalwart members of the old guard, however, refused this plan. Though they approved of Suleiman, they knew his tenure would be short-lived given his advanced age. Instead, they demanded that Shafiq, who comes from the air force — the most privileged branch of the military from which Mubarak himself also came — be designated the successor. Shafiq is close to Mubarak and worked under his command in the air force. Shafiq also has the benefit of having held a civilian role as minister of civil aviation since 2002, making him more palatable to the public.
Mubarak may be nominally dissolving the Cabinet, ordering an army curfew and now asking Shafiq to form the next government, but the embattled president is not the one in charge. Instead, the military appears to be managing Mubarak’s exit, taking care not to engage in a confrontation with the demonstrators while the political details are being sorted out.
Jimmy Carter promoted democracy for the Iranians and the Ayatollahs took over. George W. Bush promoted democracy for the Palestinians and Hamas won the election, then took control of Gaza. All our presidents promoted democracy for the Lebanese and Hezbollah has just taken over their government. Now Obama and Hillary are promoting democracy for the Egyptians. Who is going to end up governing Egypt?
RED ALERT: HAMAS AND THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD
STRATFOR Global Intelligence
January 29, 2011
The following is a report from a STRATFOR source in Hamas. Hamas, which formed in Gaza as an outgrowth of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood (MB), has an interest in exaggerating its role and coordination with the MB in this crisis. The following information has not been confirmed. Nonetheless, there is a great deal of concern building in Israel and the United States in particular over the role of the MB in the demonstrations and whether a political opening will be made for the Islamist organization in Egypt.
The Egyptian police are no longer patrolling the Rafah border crossing into Gaza. Hamas armed men are entering into Egypt and are closely collaborating with the MB. The MB has fully engaged itself in the demonstrations, and they are unsatisfied with the dismissal of the Cabinet. They are insisting on a new Cabinet that does not include members of the ruling National Democratic Party.
Security forces in plainclothes are engaged in destroying public property in order to give the impression that many protesters represent a public menace. The MB is meanwhile forming people’s committees to protect public property and also to coordinate demonstrators’ activities, including supplying them with food, beverages and first aid.
RED ALERT: MUBARAK NAMES FORMER AIR FORCE CHIEF AS NEW EGYPTIAN PM
Egypt’s former air force chief and minister for civil aviation, Ahmed Shafiq, has been designated the new prime minister by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and tasked to form the next Cabinet, Al Jazeera reported Jan. 29. The announcement comes shortly after Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman was appointed vice president, a position that has been vacant for the past 30 years.
Mubarak is essentially accelerating a succession plan that has been in the works for some time. STRATFOR noted in December 2010 that a conflict was building between the president on one side and the old guard in the army and the ruling party on the other over Mubarak’s attempt to create a path for his son Gamal to eventually succeed him. The interim plan Mubarak had proposed was for Suleiman to become vice president, succeed Mubarak and then pass the reins to Gamal after some time. The stalwart members of the old guard, however, refused this plan. Though they approved of Suleiman, they knew his tenure would be short-lived given his advanced age. Instead, they demanded that Shafiq, who comes from the air force — the most privileged branch of the military from which Mubarak himself also came — be designated the successor. Shafiq is close to Mubarak and worked under his command in the air force. Shafiq also has the benefit of having held a civilian role as minister of civil aviation since 2002, making him more palatable to the public.
Mubarak may be nominally dissolving the Cabinet, ordering an army curfew and now asking Shafiq to form the next government, but the embattled president is not the one in charge. Instead, the military appears to be managing Mubarak’s exit, taking care not to engage in a confrontation with the demonstrators while the political details are being sorted out.
BILL WOULD BAN PARDONS IN FINAL DAYS OF GOVERNOR'S TERM
Now if Congress would only pass a similar bill for the President of the United States, then maybe we would not get those eleventh-hour pardons for the likes of fugitive Mark Rich who evaded more than $48 million in taxes and was charged with 51 counts of tax fraud, a pardon granted because Denise Rich, his socialite ex-wife, had donated an estimated $1 million to Democratic causes, including $70,000 to Hillary Clinton's successful Senate campaign and $450,000 to the Clinton presidential library fund.
From the January 28 issue of LAPPL NewsWatch:
A Southern California lawmaker proposed legislation this week to prohibit any California governor from pardoning an offender or commuting a prison sentence in the final 30 days of the officeholder's term. The measure comes three weeks after outgoing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used executive power on his final day in office to reduce the sentence of Esteban Núñez, son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, from 16 to seven years in prison.
From the January 28 issue of LAPPL NewsWatch:
A Southern California lawmaker proposed legislation this week to prohibit any California governor from pardoning an offender or commuting a prison sentence in the final 30 days of the officeholder's term. The measure comes three weeks after outgoing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used executive power on his final day in office to reduce the sentence of Esteban Núñez, son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, from 16 to seven years in prison.
ALWAYS WEAR YOUR JOCKS!
Thanks to Cecil Arnold for forwarding this poem. I can’t credit the poet because I have no idea who he is.
A BLOODY GREAT AUSSIE POEM, MATE
The sun was hot already - it was only 8 o'clock
The cocky took off in his Ute, to go and check his stock.
He drove around the paddocks checking wethers, ewes and lambs,
The float valves in the water troughs, the windmills on the dams
He stopped and turned a windmill on to fill a water tank
And saw a ewe down in the dam, a few yards from the bank.
"Typical bloody sheep," he thought, "they've got no common sense,
"They won't go through a gateway but they'll jump a bloody fence."
The ewe was stuck down in the mud, he knew without a doubt
She'd stay there 'til she carked it if he didn't get her out.
But when he reached the water's edge, the startled ewe broke free
And in her haste to get away, began a swimming spree.
He reckoned once her fleece was wet, the weight would drag her down
If he didn't rescue her, the stupid sod would drown.
Her style was unimpressive, her survival chances slim
He saw no other option, he would have to take a swim.
He peeled his shirt and singlet off, his trousers, boots and socks
And as he couldn't stand wet clothes, he also shed his jocks.
He jumped into the water and away that cocky swam
He caught up with her, somewhere near the middle of the dam
The ewe was quite evasive, she kept giving him the slip
He tried to grab her sodden fleece but couldn't get a grip.
At last he got her to the bank and stopped to catch his breath
She showed him little gratitude for saving her from death.
She took off like a Bondi tram around the other side
He swore next time he caught that ewe he'd hang her bloody hide.
Then round and round the dam they ran, although he felt quite puffed
He still thought he could run her down, she must be nearly stuffed.
The local stock rep came along, to pay a call that day.
He knew this bloke was on his own, his wife had gone away,
He didn't really think he'd get fresh scones for morning tea
But neither was he ready for what he was soon to see.
He rubbed his eyes in disbelief at what came into view
For running down the catchment came this frantic-looking ewe.
And on her heels in hot pursuit and wearing not a stitch
The farmer yelling wildly "Come back here, you lousy bitch!"
The stock rep didn't hang around, he took off in his car
The cocky's reputation has been damaged near and far
So bear in mind the Work Safe rule when next you check your flocks
Spot the hazard, assess the risk, and always wear your jocks!
A BLOODY GREAT AUSSIE POEM, MATE
The sun was hot already - it was only 8 o'clock
The cocky took off in his Ute, to go and check his stock.
He drove around the paddocks checking wethers, ewes and lambs,
The float valves in the water troughs, the windmills on the dams
He stopped and turned a windmill on to fill a water tank
And saw a ewe down in the dam, a few yards from the bank.
"Typical bloody sheep," he thought, "they've got no common sense,
"They won't go through a gateway but they'll jump a bloody fence."
The ewe was stuck down in the mud, he knew without a doubt
She'd stay there 'til she carked it if he didn't get her out.
But when he reached the water's edge, the startled ewe broke free
And in her haste to get away, began a swimming spree.
He reckoned once her fleece was wet, the weight would drag her down
If he didn't rescue her, the stupid sod would drown.
Her style was unimpressive, her survival chances slim
He saw no other option, he would have to take a swim.
He peeled his shirt and singlet off, his trousers, boots and socks
And as he couldn't stand wet clothes, he also shed his jocks.
He jumped into the water and away that cocky swam
He caught up with her, somewhere near the middle of the dam
The ewe was quite evasive, she kept giving him the slip
He tried to grab her sodden fleece but couldn't get a grip.
At last he got her to the bank and stopped to catch his breath
She showed him little gratitude for saving her from death.
She took off like a Bondi tram around the other side
He swore next time he caught that ewe he'd hang her bloody hide.
Then round and round the dam they ran, although he felt quite puffed
He still thought he could run her down, she must be nearly stuffed.
The local stock rep came along, to pay a call that day.
He knew this bloke was on his own, his wife had gone away,
He didn't really think he'd get fresh scones for morning tea
But neither was he ready for what he was soon to see.
He rubbed his eyes in disbelief at what came into view
For running down the catchment came this frantic-looking ewe.
And on her heels in hot pursuit and wearing not a stitch
The farmer yelling wildly "Come back here, you lousy bitch!"
The stock rep didn't hang around, he took off in his car
The cocky's reputation has been damaged near and far
So bear in mind the Work Safe rule when next you check your flocks
Spot the hazard, assess the risk, and always wear your jocks!
HOLD ON AND BEAR IT
The other day, a man went to a Dentist's office to have a tooth pulled.
The Dentist takes out a syringe and needle to administer an anesthetic.
"No way! No needles! I hate needles," the man said.
The Dentist starts to hook up the laughing gas and the man immediately objected.
"I can't do the gas thing either; the thought of having the gas mask on is suffocating me!”
The Dentist then asks the man if he has any objection to taking a pill.
"No objection," the man said. "I'm fine with pills."
The Dentist then returns and says, "Here, take this Viagra tablet."
The man, almost at a loss for words, said in amazement, "WOW! I didn't know Viagra worked as a pain killer."
"It doesn't," said the Dentist. "But it will give you something to hold on to when I pull your tooth."
The Dentist takes out a syringe and needle to administer an anesthetic.
"No way! No needles! I hate needles," the man said.
The Dentist starts to hook up the laughing gas and the man immediately objected.
"I can't do the gas thing either; the thought of having the gas mask on is suffocating me!”
The Dentist then asks the man if he has any objection to taking a pill.
"No objection," the man said. "I'm fine with pills."
The Dentist then returns and says, "Here, take this Viagra tablet."
The man, almost at a loss for words, said in amazement, "WOW! I didn't know Viagra worked as a pain killer."
"It doesn't," said the Dentist. "But it will give you something to hold on to when I pull your tooth."
Saturday, January 29, 2011
INNOVATION IS THE KEY FACTOR FOR A MORE COMPETITIVE ECONOMY
The Chinese, they are a coming!
CHINA IS WORLD’S FOURTH-MOST INNOVATIVE COUNTRY
The Straits Times
January 28, 2011
CHINA - CHINA is ranked as the fourth-most innovative country in the world, only after the US, Germany and Japan, according to a 'Global Innovation Barometer' report released by General Electric Co (GE) on Jan 27, Beijing News reported on Friday.
Based on a survey of 1,000 business executives in 12 countries, the report found that 35 per cent of executives think China has strong abilities for innovation, while the top-ranking United States took in 67 per cent of the vote, the newspaper said.
Germany and Japan each won more than 40 per cent of the votes, it reported.
Meanwhile, 95 per cent of respondents believe innovation is the key factor for a more competitive economy.
Also, 88 per cent of the executives think that innovation is the best way to provide job opportunities to a country, the report said. -- CHINA DAILY/ANN
CHINA IS WORLD’S FOURTH-MOST INNOVATIVE COUNTRY
The Straits Times
January 28, 2011
CHINA - CHINA is ranked as the fourth-most innovative country in the world, only after the US, Germany and Japan, according to a 'Global Innovation Barometer' report released by General Electric Co (GE) on Jan 27, Beijing News reported on Friday.
Based on a survey of 1,000 business executives in 12 countries, the report found that 35 per cent of executives think China has strong abilities for innovation, while the top-ranking United States took in 67 per cent of the vote, the newspaper said.
Germany and Japan each won more than 40 per cent of the votes, it reported.
Meanwhile, 95 per cent of respondents believe innovation is the key factor for a more competitive economy.
Also, 88 per cent of the executives think that innovation is the best way to provide job opportunities to a country, the report said. -- CHINA DAILY/ANN
THOSE GUYS WHO MOW OUR LAWNS AND FIX OUR ROOFS AREN'T THE ONLY ILLEGALS CROSSING THE BORDER
It looks like the Imam was not too fond of the living conditions in his native Tunisia. America Akbar!
CONTROVERSIAL MUSLIM CLERIC CAUGHT BEING SMUGGLED INTO U.S. OVER MEXICO BORDER
Mail Online
January 28, 2011
U.S. border guards got a surprise when they searched a Mexican BMW and found a hardline Muslim cleric - banned from France and Canada - curled up in the boot [trunk].
Said Jaziri, who called for the death of a Danish cartoonist that drew pictures of the prophet Mohammed, was being smuggled into California when he was arrested, along with his driver Kenneth Robert Lawler.
The 43-year-old was deported from Canada to his homeland Tunisia in 2007 after it emerged he had lied on his refugee application about having served jail time in France.
His fire and brimstone sermons and rabble-rousing antics catapulted him into the public eye during his short tenure as imam at a Montreal mosque.
He branded homosexuality a disease and led protests over cartoonist Kurt Westergaard's illustrations poked fun at Islam and were published in a Danish newspaper in 2006.
He also caused anger when he campaigned for a bigger mosque to accommodate Montreal's burgeoning Muslim population.
But after his deportation he complained that he had been physically and mentally tortured during the 13-hour flight repatriating him to Tunisia, a claim Canadian authorities deny.
He was being held as a material witness in the criminal case against Mr Lawler, who has been charged with immigrant smuggling.
Jaziri had allegedly paid a Tijuana-based smuggling cartel $5,000 to take him across the border near Tecate, saying he wanted to be taken to a 'safe place anywhere in the U.S.'
According to the court documents, a Mexican guide led Jaziri and a Mexican immigrant over the border fence near Tecate.
They then trekked across the rugged terrain under cover of darkness to a spot popular for drivers who pick up immigrants for smuggling runs into San Diego.
He allegedly told officials he had flown from Africa to Europe, then to Central America and Chetumal, Mexico, on the Mexico-Belize border, where he took a bus to Tijuana.
Lise Garon, a professor of communications at Laval University in Quebec City, told the Los Angeles Times: 'His nickname in Quebec was the controversial imam.
'I think he was deported because people hated his ideas.'
His case drew support from the Muslim community as well as Amnesty International after he claimed he would be tortured if sent back to Tunisia.
CONTROVERSIAL MUSLIM CLERIC CAUGHT BEING SMUGGLED INTO U.S. OVER MEXICO BORDER
Mail Online
January 28, 2011
U.S. border guards got a surprise when they searched a Mexican BMW and found a hardline Muslim cleric - banned from France and Canada - curled up in the boot [trunk].
Said Jaziri, who called for the death of a Danish cartoonist that drew pictures of the prophet Mohammed, was being smuggled into California when he was arrested, along with his driver Kenneth Robert Lawler.
The 43-year-old was deported from Canada to his homeland Tunisia in 2007 after it emerged he had lied on his refugee application about having served jail time in France.
His fire and brimstone sermons and rabble-rousing antics catapulted him into the public eye during his short tenure as imam at a Montreal mosque.
He branded homosexuality a disease and led protests over cartoonist Kurt Westergaard's illustrations poked fun at Islam and were published in a Danish newspaper in 2006.
He also caused anger when he campaigned for a bigger mosque to accommodate Montreal's burgeoning Muslim population.
But after his deportation he complained that he had been physically and mentally tortured during the 13-hour flight repatriating him to Tunisia, a claim Canadian authorities deny.
He was being held as a material witness in the criminal case against Mr Lawler, who has been charged with immigrant smuggling.
Jaziri had allegedly paid a Tijuana-based smuggling cartel $5,000 to take him across the border near Tecate, saying he wanted to be taken to a 'safe place anywhere in the U.S.'
According to the court documents, a Mexican guide led Jaziri and a Mexican immigrant over the border fence near Tecate.
They then trekked across the rugged terrain under cover of darkness to a spot popular for drivers who pick up immigrants for smuggling runs into San Diego.
He allegedly told officials he had flown from Africa to Europe, then to Central America and Chetumal, Mexico, on the Mexico-Belize border, where he took a bus to Tijuana.
Lise Garon, a professor of communications at Laval University in Quebec City, told the Los Angeles Times: 'His nickname in Quebec was the controversial imam.
'I think he was deported because people hated his ideas.'
His case drew support from the Muslim community as well as Amnesty International after he claimed he would be tortured if sent back to Tunisia.
COKE SNIFFER AND HIS SIX PORNO BABES
Could Charlie be an older male version of Lindsay Lohan?
CHARLIE SHEEN: A GUIDE TO HIS PORN STARS (SOME ARE FROM TEXAS!)
By Craig Hlavaty
Houston Press Hair Balls
January 28, 2011
Actor Charlie Sheen is either a true American hero or a drug-addicted, porn-obsessed monster, depending on who you ask. The Two and a Half Men star and one-time Oliver Stone muse was admitted to the hospital with extreme stomach pains in his most recent incident.
That all came on the heels of what witnesses are claiming was a Gonzo-esque 36-hour binge full of multiple porn stars, booze and cocaine, which, according to party pal porn star Kacey Jordan, meant smoking the cocaine. Does life get any better? We conclude it does not.
Sheen's people are saying that he was actually being treated for a hiatal hernia from laughing too hard at the television, or, you know, having group sex for 12 straight hours with porn stars half your age while freebasing. Either way, you may get a hernia.
Aside from the random Denise Richards, Sheen (born Carlos Irwin Estevez) has a taste for Texas, including Jordan, who hails from Austin. If he likes cocaine and girls with loose morals, he could just move to Houston or Dallas and be in heaven.
6. Bree Olson (Born in Houston)
His last porno conquest, at the AVN Awards in Las Vegas, was Bree Olson, who was born in Houston in 1986 but got to Fort Wayne, Indiana, as fast as she could. She is easily the most famous pal so far, and has one of the most filthy Twitter accounts known to man.
5. Kacey Jordan
This Austin native has not only gone on record saying that Sheen was smoking cocaine, but one of her websites has changed to capitalize on her Sheen exploits. A group of pictures are now captioned with various celebrity-baiting lines like "Kacey Jordan is a $2 million dollar babe who could give anyone abdominal pains!" and "Kacey Jordan loves jewelry that has such a bright sheen!" She's gleefully retweeted all her mentions from her Twitter account, too.
4. Capri Anderson
Last fall, Sheen and Anderson had a wild night in New York City which concluded with the adult actress and producer being choked, lamps being thrown, cocaine being snorted and eventually the police being called to the hotel they were staying at. Yesterday she tweeted a message on Twitter saying, "Pray for the children of suffering addicts- that they may never completely loose their parents and God Bless the ones who already have," which could be a veiled warning for Sheen.
3. Michelle "Bombshell" McGee
McGee was the woman who broke up Jesse James and Sandra Bullock's marriage last year. You remember her with the extensive white-power tattoos? She admitted to being with Sheen at a party in early January around the AVN Awards where Olson also was present. No one has said on either side whether or not they were intimate or how they possibly ingested their cocaine.
2. Melanie Rios
Oh, and this girl, Melanie Rios, was also with Sheen during his 36-hour binge this week along with Jordan. She likes to make out with her sister sometimes. She was on Twitter complaining of a hangover just two days ago. Was that from the Sheen throwdown?
1. Chloe Jones (Houston)
The late Chloe Jones was born and raised here in Houston, and is actually buried at Woodlawn Cemetery off Antoine. She was active in the adult industry from 2001 up until 2004. She passed away in 2005 after liver failure, which was attributed to drug and alcohol abuse. Some even claimed that it was Sheen who contributed to her death, an accidental overdose, at least partly. She was a paramour of Sheen's, and went public about their relationship a year before she died.
CHARLIE SHEEN: A GUIDE TO HIS PORN STARS (SOME ARE FROM TEXAS!)
By Craig Hlavaty
Houston Press Hair Balls
January 28, 2011
Actor Charlie Sheen is either a true American hero or a drug-addicted, porn-obsessed monster, depending on who you ask. The Two and a Half Men star and one-time Oliver Stone muse was admitted to the hospital with extreme stomach pains in his most recent incident.
That all came on the heels of what witnesses are claiming was a Gonzo-esque 36-hour binge full of multiple porn stars, booze and cocaine, which, according to party pal porn star Kacey Jordan, meant smoking the cocaine. Does life get any better? We conclude it does not.
Sheen's people are saying that he was actually being treated for a hiatal hernia from laughing too hard at the television, or, you know, having group sex for 12 straight hours with porn stars half your age while freebasing. Either way, you may get a hernia.
Aside from the random Denise Richards, Sheen (born Carlos Irwin Estevez) has a taste for Texas, including Jordan, who hails from Austin. If he likes cocaine and girls with loose morals, he could just move to Houston or Dallas and be in heaven.
6. Bree Olson (Born in Houston)
His last porno conquest, at the AVN Awards in Las Vegas, was Bree Olson, who was born in Houston in 1986 but got to Fort Wayne, Indiana, as fast as she could. She is easily the most famous pal so far, and has one of the most filthy Twitter accounts known to man.
5. Kacey Jordan
This Austin native has not only gone on record saying that Sheen was smoking cocaine, but one of her websites has changed to capitalize on her Sheen exploits. A group of pictures are now captioned with various celebrity-baiting lines like "Kacey Jordan is a $2 million dollar babe who could give anyone abdominal pains!" and "Kacey Jordan loves jewelry that has such a bright sheen!" She's gleefully retweeted all her mentions from her Twitter account, too.
4. Capri Anderson
Last fall, Sheen and Anderson had a wild night in New York City which concluded with the adult actress and producer being choked, lamps being thrown, cocaine being snorted and eventually the police being called to the hotel they were staying at. Yesterday she tweeted a message on Twitter saying, "Pray for the children of suffering addicts- that they may never completely loose their parents and God Bless the ones who already have," which could be a veiled warning for Sheen.
3. Michelle "Bombshell" McGee
McGee was the woman who broke up Jesse James and Sandra Bullock's marriage last year. You remember her with the extensive white-power tattoos? She admitted to being with Sheen at a party in early January around the AVN Awards where Olson also was present. No one has said on either side whether or not they were intimate or how they possibly ingested their cocaine.
2. Melanie Rios
Oh, and this girl, Melanie Rios, was also with Sheen during his 36-hour binge this week along with Jordan. She likes to make out with her sister sometimes. She was on Twitter complaining of a hangover just two days ago. Was that from the Sheen throwdown?
1. Chloe Jones (Houston)
The late Chloe Jones was born and raised here in Houston, and is actually buried at Woodlawn Cemetery off Antoine. She was active in the adult industry from 2001 up until 2004. She passed away in 2005 after liver failure, which was attributed to drug and alcohol abuse. Some even claimed that it was Sheen who contributed to her death, an accidental overdose, at least partly. She was a paramour of Sheen's, and went public about their relationship a year before she died.
Friday, January 28, 2011
CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS WHO SUPPORT THE DEATH PENALTY 'SHOULD NOT BE EMPLOYED IN ANY CAPACITY WITH CAGED HUMAN BEINGS'
Dorina Lisson’s use of the term ‘caged human beings’ suggests that she not only opposes the death penalty, but that she’s against the concept of imprisoning criminals as well.
This is the kind of nonsense put out by anti-death penalty zealots:
@ Centurion: In my opinion, people like yourself who support the brutality of state-sanctioned killing should not be employed in any capacity with caged human beings, just as people who dislike animals would never be granted employment caring for caged animals. Many correctional officers' predatory animalistic behavior towards prisoners makes some prisoners behave like predators. It's called Karma! BTW ... The USA is the only western nation that legally kills its citizens - hardly a deterrent - the USA continues to have the highest crime rates per capita, and the highest incarceration rates per capita, than any other country in the world. It's called Shame!
That’s a comment from Dorina Lisson, an anti-death penalty zealot, submitted just now to my December 8, 2010 BarkGrowlBite post, TAKE YOUR ‘AUSTRALIAN COALITION AGAINST DEATH PENALTY’ BACK DOWN UNDER.
Here, from my Decmber 8 blog, is what the Aussie said:
__The death penalty is rotten piece of law - the political stence behind the death penalty law is sickening. This flawed, capricious, discriminative, racist and politically corrupt barbaric punishment of death, which has been proven time and time again to be riddled with legal errors, is a government's ultimate power of control and terror over society. You don't have to be a scholar to understand this fact - history shows the truth.
__Being opposed to the death penalty is not about disregarding the actions of offenders, it is about governments legally killing people. The death penalty is all about politics and vengeance. A civilized government should have no right to "pick and choose" nor to "select" the people they want to kill. Governments do not give nor grant us human life and they should have no right to take away a human life.
What set the Aussie off with her 'caged human beings' tirade was this comment submitted by Centurion on December 8:
__Legally killing people is...."Legally Killing People." In this country...they're not just people, but people who have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt...to be a serious threat to others in our society.
__Do you think they stop killing, maiming, and otherwise preying on others simply because they are sent to prison? Twenty three years as a correctional officer have shown me otherwise. These people continue their predatory behavior behind bars...while liberals tout their worth to society.
__Our death penalty is rarely carried out, but it's legal. Get over it.
(Lisson, a resident of Endeavour Hills, Australia, declares that, ‘I am an activist for universal human rights. I became interested and involved in the anti-death penalty movement more than ten years ago. I do research on all issues surrounding the use of capital punishment around the world and share educational information with worldwide human rights activists. I fight for my beliefs in human ethics, morals and values.’ In addition to her membership in ACADP, this radical-leftist has affiliated herself with Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, CARE, ACLU, and Amnesty International.)
This is the kind of nonsense put out by anti-death penalty zealots:
@ Centurion: In my opinion, people like yourself who support the brutality of state-sanctioned killing should not be employed in any capacity with caged human beings, just as people who dislike animals would never be granted employment caring for caged animals. Many correctional officers' predatory animalistic behavior towards prisoners makes some prisoners behave like predators. It's called Karma! BTW ... The USA is the only western nation that legally kills its citizens - hardly a deterrent - the USA continues to have the highest crime rates per capita, and the highest incarceration rates per capita, than any other country in the world. It's called Shame!
That’s a comment from Dorina Lisson, an anti-death penalty zealot, submitted just now to my December 8, 2010 BarkGrowlBite post, TAKE YOUR ‘AUSTRALIAN COALITION AGAINST DEATH PENALTY’ BACK DOWN UNDER.
Here, from my Decmber 8 blog, is what the Aussie said:
__The death penalty is rotten piece of law - the political stence behind the death penalty law is sickening. This flawed, capricious, discriminative, racist and politically corrupt barbaric punishment of death, which has been proven time and time again to be riddled with legal errors, is a government's ultimate power of control and terror over society. You don't have to be a scholar to understand this fact - history shows the truth.
__Being opposed to the death penalty is not about disregarding the actions of offenders, it is about governments legally killing people. The death penalty is all about politics and vengeance. A civilized government should have no right to "pick and choose" nor to "select" the people they want to kill. Governments do not give nor grant us human life and they should have no right to take away a human life.
What set the Aussie off with her 'caged human beings' tirade was this comment submitted by Centurion on December 8:
__Legally killing people is...."Legally Killing People." In this country...they're not just people, but people who have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt...to be a serious threat to others in our society.
__Do you think they stop killing, maiming, and otherwise preying on others simply because they are sent to prison? Twenty three years as a correctional officer have shown me otherwise. These people continue their predatory behavior behind bars...while liberals tout their worth to society.
__Our death penalty is rarely carried out, but it's legal. Get over it.
(Lisson, a resident of Endeavour Hills, Australia, declares that, ‘I am an activist for universal human rights. I became interested and involved in the anti-death penalty movement more than ten years ago. I do research on all issues surrounding the use of capital punishment around the world and share educational information with worldwide human rights activists. I fight for my beliefs in human ethics, morals and values.’ In addition to her membership in ACADP, this radical-leftist has affiliated herself with Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, CARE, ACLU, and Amnesty International.)
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