Target Centermass

Category: General

  • France Protests End of National Holiday

    The fundamental problem of socialism and communism in a nutshell: lack of personal incentive impairs the public ability to provide. Just ask the French.

    Teachers, transport workers and much of France ignored the government’s call to sacrifice a paid holiday to raise money for the elderly Monday — causing widespread disruption on a day meant to symbolize national unity.

    Public transport in up to 90 cities and towns across France was disrupted. Many city halls and classrooms were closed, post offices scaled back services because of striking employees and many private companies gave their staff the day off. Polls showed more than half of the leisure-loving French planned to stay home.

    The national “Day of Solidarity” — an extra work day in place of the annual Pentecost holiday — was part of the government’s response to a 2003 heat wave that killed 15,000 people, mostly elderly.

    Under a new law, workers give up a holiday, while their employers pay into a government fund to improve health care for the aged and handicapped. The extra day of work was expected to reap about $2.5 billion a year in additional revenue for health care.

    Many liked the idea of sacrificing for the greater good in the aftermath of the tragic heat wave. But in recent months, opposition to the plan became intermingled with discontent on issues ranging from high unemployment to budget cuts enacted by the unpopular Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin.

    “On Monday, the government is going to feel the backlash from a totally unilateral measure made against the advice of unions and seen by workers as unjust, ineffective and hypocritical,” said Maryse Dumas, the No. 2 official at the communist-backed CGT union.

    […]

    As for the day of solidarity — front pages declared it a failure.

    “Pentecost: The Black Monday of Operation Solidarity,” read Le Figaro’s banner headline. The paper called the chaos a “social and political test for the government” as Chirac seeks to win a “yes” vote in France’s May 29 referendum on the EU constitution.

    Want a little more proof of the power of personal incentive?

    In Paris, bus and subway drivers were wooed to work with a special $125 bonus. It was one of few cities where the subway was running normally.

    There’s a little bit more evidence to add to the wealth history has already accumulated.

  • Is Osama’s Location Known?

    Chad at In the Bullpen shows that the chief of the general staff of the Israeli Defense Forces thinks so. Me, I’m not exactly sold. Fine, I’ll believe in a narrowing down to a small region, but that doesn’t mean it is a militarily or politically actionable deal … yet.

    Waziristan is fairly large and is home to several different tribes and warlords. It is believed many of these tribes are friendly to Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaida. This is the area of the map where it is known that Osama Bin Laden, rumored that he rode out on horseback, fled during the Tora Bora operation under a cease-fire. It was believed he did not go too far, yet no one has known. How Ya’alon knows is beyond me, however Israel’s intelligence service is one of the best in the world.

    Assuming Ya’alon and U.S. Intelligence are correct and Osama Bin Laden is hiding out in Waziristan, allow me to discuss just a bit on what would need to happen in order to get him.

    Good start. Go read.

    Personally, I don’t care too terribly much about catching bin Laden. Yeah, I’d love it and I would hope that he would suffer horribly and painfully at our hands. And I ain’t talking panties-on-the-head or naked-human-pyramid-Twister suffering. I mean pain.

    That said, bin Laden is really but a pawn in this war. We’re dealing with a conflict of the centuries — the fifteenth versus the twenty-first. The objective is to provide an alternative, a shining city on the Arab hill, to the atmosphere that allowed bin Laden and his murderous followers to be given a sizable say in popular belief in the region. This war is not against one man but one belief — one radical, backward and violent thread of Islam. Chad agrees.

    I contend that even if Bin Laden was either killed or captured it would do little to nothing to win the war on terror. We must attack radical Islam at the root cause and not just the people calling the shots.

    Iraq plays a role in this. They may, if we stay resolute, be the start of the alternative hope of which I speak.

    Yes, I want bin Laden caught … and skinned. However, only at a time when his capture will help and not harm our process, as a bold thrust by Americans into Pakistan currently would do.

  • Man Chops Off Hands of Protester in India

    Just in case you believed violent backwardness was limited to the radical Islamists, there’s this tale of butchery over what is essentially the practice of dealing off minors.

    A man with a sword cut off the hands of a government social worker in central India for trying to stop child marriages, officials said Wednesday. The attack on the woman highlighted the difficulty of ending the centuries-old practice in the region.

    Yeah. Hands chopped off with a sword highlighted difficulty. That, folks, is one heck of a freakin’ understatement.

    Shakuntala Verma, a supervisor with the Department of Women and Child Development in Madhya Pradesh state, was attacked Tuesday night in Bhangarh village, Superintendent of Police H. L. Borana was quoted as saying by Press Trust of India.

    Wednesday marked a Hindu festival in which hundreds of minors are married off.

    No arrests have been made in the attack in Bhangargh, 170 [sic, 170 what?] west of the state capital, Bhopal.

    Child marriage is illegal in India, but the ancient practice is still prevalent in some rural pockets of Madhya Pradesh. However, the number of marriages was down this year as a result of tough measures taken by police, the New Delhi Television News channel reported.

    Verma had been protesting child marriages in the area, officials said.

    In New Delhi, Chief Minister Babulal Gaur, the state’s administrator, said it was not possible to end the practice with legal measures.

    “The (law) to prevent child marriage is so ancient. But even after so many decades of the law coming into being, child marriages continue to take place. We cannot stop it forcefully. What is required is awareness,” he said.

    Awareness of swords in the vicinity would also be of assistance to social workers, or so it would seem.

  • Homeless Man Dies Saving Miami Woman

    He lived a homeless crack addict.

    He died a nobler death than most of us will ever hope to see.

    A homeless man who did odd jobs for a local restaurateur was stabbed to death as he defended her against a knife-wielding intruder, authorities said.

    Kelcy Ruiz, 32, was mourned as a hero for coming to the aid of Melida Murillo during an attack Monday at her Colombian restaurant, Mama Leonor.

    Ruiz, described by relatives as a crack cocaine addict who lived mainly on Miami’s downtown streets, did occasional work for Murillo in exchange for food.

    “Even though he was a forgotten member of society, he acted better than most people who are not homeless,” said Detective Delrish Moss, spokesman for the Miami Police Department.

    Ruiz’s uncle described his nephew as “a lost soul” who had emigrated from Honduras four years ago in hopes of kicking his drug habit and finding work.

    Another homeless man, Tyrone Daniel Clark, 43, was being held without bond on charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder and armed robbery.

    Clark was arrested in Miami on drug charges in March but was released, apparently because officials did not realize he had skipped out from monitoring required as a registered sex offender.

    May Kelcy Ruiz sleep well, a troubled life ended forever in honor.

  • Hard Labor for Missing Duty

    Convicted yesterday, leftist peacenik and so-called serviceman Pablo Paredes was sentenced today.

    A military judge ordered a Navy sailor on Thursday to complete three months of hard labor for refusing to deploy with his ship in protest of the war in Iraq, but he declined prosecutors’ requests for time in custody.

    Lt. Cmdr. Bob Klant also reduced Pablo Paredes’ rank from petty officer third class to seaman recruit, the lowest in the Navy.

    […]

    Prosecutors had asked Klant to sentence Paredes to nine months in confinement, three months less than the possible maximum, and a bad conduct discharge.

    “He is trying to infect the military with his own philosophy of disobedience,” prosecutor Lt. Brandon Hale said. “Sailors all over the world will want to know whether this will be tolerated. Sailors want to know whether doing what he did is a good way to get out of deployment.”

    Prosecutors left the courtroom without making any statements, but Sam Samuelson, a Navy spokesman, said Paredes’ guilty verdict sent a message.

    “His actions were in conflict with his duty and taxpayers’ obligations that the Navy maintain good order and discipline,” Samuelson said.

    Paredes got off way too easily. His lawyers know it and consider it a victory.

    Paredes’ lawyer, Jeremy Warren, called the judge’s lesser sentence “a stunning blow to the prosecution.”

    “This is an affirmation of every sailor’s and military person’s right to speak out and follow their conscience,” he said.

    Actually, a guilty verdict is exactly not that, jackass.

    Paredes and his ilk are cancers to the service and our society. Paredes himself is even worse — he’s a publicity whore of a cancer.

    Paredes arrived at the Navy pier that day wearing a T-shirt that read “Like a Cabinet Member, I Resign” and handed over his military ID card, telling a military police officer “I quit.” Paredes has alerted the media to his plans and a crowd of TV cameras was waiting for him.

    The judge seemed troubled by Paredes’ conduct – wearing a “silly T-shirt” with an incoherent message and staging a news conference that upset sailors and Marines who were saying goodbye to their families.

    With all that, I say again this immature little punk got off way to easily. I do wonder, though, how his fellow sailors will treat him in the future.

  • A Look at Looking at MilTech

    Ours on the sand, theirs below the waves.

    I’ve recently shown you articles that take a look at the role the M1-series tank is currently playing in Iraq and have stated the I view the Stryker as a complement rather than a competitor to the tank. Now, columnist Austin Bay examines the continuing need for the beast.

    Like Mark Twain’s death, the demise of the tank has been “greatly exaggerated.”

    Go there. Good read. Ug, me happy tanker.

    Now, in the today’s very early hours I posted of a new Iranian submarine program and hoped for feedback from Chapomatic. He has obliged and generally disagreed with me.

    I’m probably biased because I have been known to be near some of those submarine things, but if I had the industrial base, a small submarine for coastal defense near a strait would be an effective naval choice.

    In my defense, I did not realize at the time that the program in question was for minisubs (such is the hazard of research via dial-up). I will concur that minisubs would have a great value in coastal affairs, but disagree by arguing that, in the highly-trafficked Persian Gulf, the minisub option has probably a extremely limited degree of hope in affecting travel through the Straits of Hormuz.

  • Iran Making First Locally Built Submarine

    An interesting development — I have little doubt that this will end up costing lives … brave Iranian lives.

    Iran on Tuesday officially launched production of its first locally built submarine, a craft that can fire missiles and torpedoes at the same time, state-run television reported.

    Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Imani was quoted as saying “the enemy would not be able to detect the submarine.” He did not elaborate.

    My guess is magic. Either that, or outdated technology acquired from bigger players on the world stage.

    One submarine has apparently already been built and was shown on television Tuesday, cruising at sea level. The Defense Ministry has commissioned an unspecified number of the craft that’s been dubbed “Ghadir.” Ghadir is a site in the Arabian Peninsula holy to Shiite Muslims, the overwhelming majority of Iran’s 69 million people.

    The submarine is capable of operating in the Persian Gulf and Oman sea waters, according to the report, which did not specify the range of its projectiles.

    In December, Iran announced the production of a line of stealth torpedoes that could be launched from helicopters, ships or submarines.

    Iranian officials have repeatedly said the Islamic Republic will defend itself should the United States or Israel initiate any aggression.

    For Iran’s sake, I would suggest that they focus more on areas where they can actually make a difference. While both the air and sea are our domain, this effort is nothing more than a publicity stunt. The sea is not theirs, and they are only risking brave sailors by putting them into the honored Silent Service on a much-disadvantaged basis. When you don’t control the above or the surface and can only pretend to manage a part of the below, you have the makings of a very bad idea.

    I hope that Chapomatic will take a look at this from his own applicable perspective.

  • Grenade!

    Was this an assassination attempt, and was President Bush the intended target?

    U.S. officials are investigating a report that an apparent hand grenade landed about 100 feet from where President Bush was speaking Tuesday in Tblisi, the capital of Georgia, a Secret Service spokesman said.

    The Secret Service has not yet confirmed whether the object was a real grenade and if so, whether the pin had been pulled, said spokesman Jim Mackin.

    “We have not seen the reported device,” he said.

    No explosion was reported.

    Mackin said Georgian officials alerted their U.S. counterparts about the incident several hours after Bush departed the former Soviet republic, where he received an enthusiastic welcome in a public square in the capital.

    I reckon it’s a safe bet we’ll hear more about this unfinished tale.

  • Voter Fraud Found in Milwaukee

    When there are more votes than registered voters, I feel quite free to remove the hedging “Possible” from the WaPo’s headline.

    About 4,500 more ballots than registered voters were cast in the election last November in Milwaukee, investigators said Tuesday.

    Also, more than 200 felons voted improperly in Milwaukee, and more than 100 instances of suspected double-voting were found.

    No charges have been filed. Investigators found no widespread conspiracy, just isolated incidents, U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic said.

    “I don’t think there’s an election in this municipality or this state that would have been decided differently even with those numbers,” said Mayor Tom Barrett, a Democrat.

    Democrat John Kerry received more than 71 percent of the 277,000 ballots cast in Milwaukee in the presidential race, and he took the state of Wisconsin by about 11,000 votes.

    The investigation was launched by local and federal authorities after the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel found, among other things, that more than 1,200 people voted from invalid addresses. The head of the city’s election commission has since resigned.

    Wisconsin allows same-day registration, and those who are already registered can simply show up at the polls without ID.

    Those lax election laws must certainly seem rather inviting to any wishing to steal an election or pad a few extra votes for insurance of a close victory.

    Boots and Sabers‘ Owen, a Wisconsin resident living near Milwaukee, has followed the story diligently for some time now and has today’s news covered here, here and here.

  • U.S.: 100 Insurgents Killed Near Iraq-Syria Border

    Perhaps the action is a reaction spurred by the recent rash of bombings. Perhaps it is a movement of opportunity based on only-recently acquired data. Probably it’s both — some new information that allowed a movement against a porous border region at a time when the insurgents are greatly in need of another beating. Either way, the coalition forces are back on the offensive, this time pressing the issue and bloodying the enemy near the Syrian border.

    American forces have killed at least 100 insurgents and foreign fighters in an offensive near Iraq’s border with Syria, U.S. military officials said Monday.

    The offensive, which began Saturday, involves more than 1,000 U.S. troops in an attempt to crack down on the network headed by terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the military said.

    Three Marines from the 2nd Marine Division have died in the fighting, two on Sunday and one Monday, the military said.

    Officials said much of the fighting has been in the Al Jazirah Desert north of Qaim, a city along the Euphrates River in Anbar province on the Syrian border.

    The area has “basically [been] a sanctuary” for insurgents, said Col. Bob Chase, a Marine operations officer based at Camp Blue Diamond in Ramadi.

    A military press release said the region was known as a smuggling route. Insurgents have been using “known points of entry and ‘rat lines,’ as we call them, to bring in weapons illegally,” Chase said.

    Based on their “equipment and dress,” Chase said most of the insurgents are believed to be foreign fighters, not Iraqis.

    The offensive involves forces from the U.S. Army, Navy and Marines, the military said. Aircraft include Marine Corps jets, Chase said.

    Casualties have been “extremely light on the coalition side,” Chase said, “and conversely there have been a lot of enemy casualties.”

    Many of the fighters “are starting to flee, and we are continuing to press the attack.”

    Chase said the operation began after Iraqis provided information on the whereabouts of the insurgents.

    “The people are starting to be frustrated with these insurgents and with these foreign fighters,” he told CNN.

    “The offensive started based on some significant intelligence received from some very brave folks who live in that part of the country.”

    Meanwhile, Zarqawi’s group calls the report of devastating casualties lies.

    The Al-Qaeda group of Iraq’s most-wanted militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi denied a US report on Monday that 75 insurgents had been killed in a sweep near the Syrian border.

    ‘The adorers of the cross claim to have killed 75 Muslims at Al-Qaim. Once more, they are lying, because lying is their religion,’ said the statement on an Islamist website, the authenticity of which could not be verified.

    Of course they’re lies, Mr. Terrorist. Oh, and by the way, how’s that inpenetrable defense of Fallujah treating y’all these days?