I have always found history in general to be fascinating and Second World War history, in particular. Perhaps it was because of all the ‘Victory At Sea’ episodes that I soaked up or maybe the fact that there were still so many veterans of that war still around. What ever the reason was, it captured my imagination completely and I spent a lot of time researching the various bits of equipment used, the vehicles that carried men into battle and where and when those battles took place. Having been born an aviation junkie, I naturally put a lot of effort into learning as much as humanly possible about as many of the war’s aircraft as I could find. Knowledge, like anything else, fades away with disuse and I doubt that I could talk in anything close to the complexity now, that I could back when I was young. At my height of research, I could have easily been employed at the Air and Space museum, if they let sixteen year olds lead tours.

A job at an air museum would have been welcomed with open arms by me but alas, there were none anywhere near my home town. I spent my time scrounging up bits of WWII history to fill my own personal museum in my room. So, with no job to discuss the intricacies of how a Bendix ball turret works or what the overhaul time was on a Merlin Kestrel engine, I was reduced to a more perfunctory job of working behind a counter at a retail shop. Even then, I managed to work Second World War aircraft into the odd conversation.

One day as I ground down the hours until I could close up the store, an elderly man came up to the register, took a look at my t-shirt and remarked with a smirk, “Mine was faster.”

I glanced down. Emblazoned on my chest was the GeeBee R-1 racer.

James Dolittle had raced it in 1932 and in it had set the land plane world speed record at 296 miles per hour. It’s top speed was printed directly under the image of the aircraft.

“So... What did you fly then?” I enquired.
“Oh, mostly P-47’s. I was based in England”

Well, that kicked off a lively chat. The two of us had a ball, I was amazed just to find someone willing to share some stories and I think he was surprised to find a kid who knew what the stories were about. We talked about fighters and bombers long past and about the visitors that were expected at the local airport some time soon. We would both be there.

The visitors were two old bombers that flew together all over the U.S. One is the “All American”, the last flying B-24 in the world. The second is the “Nine O’ Nine”, one of about ten flying B-17’s left in the world. I love these aircraft with a passion and there was no way that I wouldn’t be there to see them. Then the revelation came that, for a fee, a ride could be had if there was room and if the weather permitted.

The day that the two bombers came to town, I was informed by my boss that I had to work late. I figured that there would still be time and anxiously awaited the time when I could leave. I’m willing to bet that I had a fair shot at breaking Jimmy Dolittle’s record as I sped to the airport. I bought my admission ticket, walked up to the little table that the crew had set up, slapped down my checkbook and asked the price of a ride.

“$300 will get you in the air. The flight will last about a half hour.”

I don’t spend that kind of money lightly and back then, not only was $300 a lot more than it is now, but with my counter clerk job, I wasn’t exactly raking in the cash. I immediately opened the flap, filled out the check and handed it over. I knew that this wasn’t likely to happen again. Then a tough question was posed to me.

“So, which plane do you want to ride in?”

This was hard. The B-24 was the last of its type still in the air, but the B-17... That plane is the symbol of America’s involvement in the war. That, and it is one beautiful bird. Just sitting there with its engines silent, and its nose pointed skyward, it looked like it wanted to take to the air. I chose the Nine o’ Nine, the B-17.

Part two next...

http://www.century-of-flight.net/Aviation%20history/nose%20art/B%2024%20Liberator.htm

"History shows that the artwork spans almost a century, from World War I — to Operation Iraqi Freedom, but its most notable period was clearly in World War II and Korea. This was a time when the military commanders were more flexible in boosting the morale of the pilots and crew — and weren't as concerned about 'political correctness' during the crew's most dangerous and deadly war efforts."

"To personalize their war chariots, these renegade pilots chose a variety of designs from pin-up girls, slogans, cartoons, and nicknames — to hometowns, humor, and more girls."

 "The subject matter of the art--particularly the sexual portrayal of women--has been a challenge to nose artists. The unclothed female figure was popular with the crews, but inevitably went against commanders' wishes. There are several obvious explanations for the sexual aspect of nose art. Combat troops are comprised of a select portion of the population--they are primarily young, unmarried males. For the first time in their lives they are separated from home and the constraints of civilian society. Additionally, under conditions of war, in which death and wounding are the prominent concerns, moral controls relax. The farther from home and command headquarters, the more daring was the art. That this art not only made its appearance, but was allowed during World War II, suggests that war alters attitudes. In World War II especially, society applied different rules to the combat troops they considered to be risking their lives for the country. Normal societal rules fell into place when an aircraft was brought home for a war bond promotion and nose art nudes were ordered clothed. Some crews, refusing to bow to public pressure, placed the stamp "Censored" across their art instead..."

http://parentseyes.arizona.edu/militarynoseart/overview3.htm

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This major move that involved the Dodgers and the Pirates left the BoSoxwith less of a headache and Left Fielder Jason Bay, the Dodgers with another bat and another outfielder ( I wonder what they will do with 5 outfielders...), and the Pirates receivee four players; pitcher Craig Hansen and outfielder Brandon Moss from Boston, and third baseman Andy LaRoche and right-handed pitcher Bryan Morris from the Dodgers.

Boston team mates even felt the same way management did. In an article by Sports Illustrated, David Ortiz was quoted as saying, “We need no more (distractions) here. We need to play baseball. We’ve been struggling because of this situation. Like I said, it’s been a little crazy.”

A distraction to say the least, Ramirez was saying things like, "They don't deserve a player like me". Well Manny, let me tell you something: you're not worth $20 million.

If there is one thing I hate in sports, its players like Manny Ramirez - who think their shit don't stink. Well Manny, nice debut with LA - gotta love those double plays!

By Fred Weir 
Christian Science Monitor

Moscow - The dark clouds gathering this summer between Moscow and the West have some experts concerned that the world is on the brink of a new cold war. They point to two flash points. One, the ex-Soviet state of Georgia, is largely driven by Moscow's fear of NATO expanding into its traditional sphere of influence. The other is a proposed US missile-defense shield in Eastern Europe. Russia has promised to retaliate – possibly by basing nuclear-capable bombers in Cuba, according to an unofficial news report quoting unnamed top security officials last week.

"It's no longer just rhetoric, it could start to get quite serious," says Dmitri Trenin, an analyst with the Carnegie Center in Moscow. "The message being put out by Moscow is that the West needs to realize that it's approaching a line, beyond which there could be a real showdown."

But Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, has a plan to arrest the slide by creating an alternative to NATO. Though it has yet to gain traction in the West, Mr. Medvedev's plan, announced in Berlin last month, has been much discussed in the Russian media. In short, it would redesign Europe's security system from the bottom up – but this time, Russian would participate as an equal partner and founder of the new bloc.

 
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev gestures during a meeting of the Security Council in the Gorki state residence just outside Moscow, Friday, July 25, 2008. Russian stocks continued their nosedive Friday after the abrupt departure from the country of Robert Dudley, CEO of the embattled Anglo-Russian oil producer TNK-BP. Medvedev, who campaigned on an anti-corruption ticket, has insisted the TNK-BP dispute is a matter between the shareholders. Many analysts are convinced, however, that the state wants to take a controlling stake in the company at a later date via a state-owned entity.(AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Presidential Press Service, Mikhail Klimentyev)

Russian experts are dubbing the concept "EATO" – Euro-Atlantic Treaty Organization – a big-tent security grouping that would replace NATO – the North Atlantic Treaty Organization – and say it is likely to become the signature foreign policy theme of Medvedev's presidency. It would also, say supporters, remove the main irritant in Russia's relations with the West today.

Unlike the former cold war, Russian officials argue, today's growing rift between Moscow and the West is not based on irreconcilable ideological or geopolitical hostility. The main problem, they say, stems from the West's failure to work with Russia to re-imagine global security architecture following the USSR's collapse. Confidantes of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev say that US leaders reneged on pledges to build a "new world order" after Soviet troops withdrew from Eastern Europe and the Communist military alliance – the Warsaw Pact – was disbanded.

"Gorbachev made deep concessions to the West in order to break out of the vicious cycle of the arms race. But later, when Russia was going through a painful economic transition and we needed support, the West turned away," says Andrei Grachev, who was a Kremlin adviser and Gorbachev's presidential spokesman at the time. "Despite promises that had been given to us, the West decided to use [Russia's weakness and economic turmoil] in order to expand NATO to the east. I believe that the anti-Western moods present in Russian society today can be explained by the fact that the West treated Russia as a vanquished enemy," rather than a potential partner, he says.

The sorest point is the inexorable advance of NATO into the USSR's former sphere which could soon see inclusion of the ex-Soviet states of Georgia and Ukraine. Little has come from past attempts to develop a NATO-Russian partnership, and Moscow views the Western alliance as a cold war artifact that unites European countries against Russia. "Russia's view is that NATO creates new divisions in Europe," says Tatiana Parkhalina, director of the official Center for European Security Studies in Moscow. Unlike the previous cycle of NATO expansion, which took in Eastern European states of lesser strategic concern to Russia, the new candidates are part of the core of the former USSR. "Ukraine is felt by Russians as part of traditional Russian lands. To many Russians it's just unthinkable for it to become part of an outside military alliance," she says.

Mr. Trenin argues that if Ukraine is admitted to NATO's membership action program, which could happen as early as December, "that would start a political warfare campaign in Ukraine," he says. "I see Russia ceasing to value the sovereignty of Ukraine now that it's dropping into the US lap. I see a harshening of the tone in Moscow. The whole foreign policy of Russia will change."

Another looming flashpoint is US determination to install antimissile installations in Eastern Europe to counter what it sees as a nuclear missile threat from rogue states such as Iran and North Korea. At the Group of Eight summit in Japan earlier this month, Medvedev promised to "retaliate" if the scheme to build radars in the Czech Republic and deploy interceptor rockets in Poland is finalized.

In what experts say were a series of calculated leaks to Moscow newspapers last week, the Kremlin let the world know what such retaliation might look like. It could come in the shape of medium-range nuclear missiles based in the Russian Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad and targeted on European capitals. Or, according to a detailed report in the daily Izvestia that cited top military sources, Russia might revive an old Soviet-era airfield in Cuba as a base for its Tu-95 and Tu-160 long-range nuclear bombers. Russian officials denied the stories, but experts say there's little doubt they were Kremlin-approved.

Read the rest:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080729/ts_csm/ocoldwar
;_ylt=Ape1WjY7r_7fHhiNUYGlNEKs0NUE

A second example is that Russia has said it will again aim its nuclear missiles at Europe. At the end of the Cold War, Russia announced that its nuclear missiles would no longer be targeted at Europe. This symbolic gesture expressed a change in Russian behavior and attitude. Apparently, the Russians have changed their attitude back.

One reason for this is that Russia's economy is doing better, hence they might think they can afford to go back to the expense of being a top rate military power. Naturally, as a top rate military power, they need to show that they have the will to use their weapons. Another reason is that Russia probably wants to go back to being a major player on the world stage. For decades, being a major player meant squaring off against the United States. As such, it is hardly shocking that they are going back to their old ways. Third, the United States is pushing for a missile defense system. The Russians see this as a threat to their security and hence are reacting in kind. It seems likely that the Russians might see the missile defense system as a return to the Cold War on the part of the United States.

Russia has the potential to be an excellent ally for the United States and to be a positive agent on the world stage. It would be unfortunate, to say the least, to have the Cold War start up again. Since our military is bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, we would be hard pressed to deal with the Russian threat once more. Of course, the United States' invasion of Iraq has given the Russians a great opportunity. While our military and economy is getting ground down by that mess, they can build their strength. And, of course, we cannot forget China. They are loaning us billions and enjoying a very profitable trade balance. Meanwhile, the Bush administration seems obsessed with Iran and terror. It seems they are missing two great threats to the United States.

I am told Robin Williams is NOT the source of this list, but someone is obviously trying to make SOME point, and my response applies to the person(s) who wrote it and those who so gladly forward it to their mailing lists. Can they handle the truth?

The writer is correct on many counts, but we should not be selective in applying this "logic". Here is how it actually looks when you read the reality. So, shall we apply this "perfect plan" or are we having second thoughts?

Imran
http://imran.TV

====
> You gotta love Robin Williams...... Even if he's nuts! Leave it to Robin Williams to come up with the perfect plan What we need now is for our UN Ambassador to stand up and repeat this message.
>
> Robin Williams' plan....(Hard to argue with this logic!)
>
> I see a lot of people yelling for peace but I have not heard of a plan for peace. So, here's one plan."
>
> 1..) "The US will apologize to the world for our "interference" in their affairs, past & present. You know, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Tojo, Noriega, Milosevic, Hussein, and the rest of those 'good ole boys,' We will never "interfere" again.

Hitler was allowed to run amok with the US looking the other way. American companies continued to do business with Nazi Germany. Jews were being killed off but the US did nothing (see NY Times {I think August 6, 2005} piece for a historical timeline of what the US did and when) until Japan attacked US.

Stalin was allowed to rape Eastern Europe, the US also sold out Poland to the Soviets. Noriega was a CIA paid killer friends with Bush Sr. Saddam Hussein was a US supported killer (I love those pics of Donald Dumbsfeld hugging Hussein while he was carrying out gas attacks on Iranians). I do not even have time to go into the list of Latin American dictators we kept in power to brutalize their populations.

> 2..) We will withdraw our troops from all over the world, starting with Germany, South Korea, the Middle East, and the Philippines. They don't want us there. We would station troops at our borders. No one allowed sneaking through holes in the fence.

I fully agree. There are too many Hispanic vote seeking politicians who are selling out the US. Heck, I am all for the vigilante patrols on the Mexican border. If a Mexican drug dealer and gang member can crawl in, how difficult will it be for AlQaeda to hop on over too? Shoot anyone coming over illegally.

> 3..) All illegal aliens have 90 days to get their affairs together and leave. We'll give them a free trip home. After 90 days the remainder will be gathered up and deported immediately, regardless of who or where they are. They're illegal!!! France will welcome them.

90 days? Why? 30 oughta do it. And, if politicians and "activists" cry out to support illegals, have each one house at least 6 of them in their own homes and pay their bills (and TAXES).

> 4..) All future visitors will be thoroughly checked and limited to 90 days unless given a special permit!!!!!!!! No one from a terrorist nation will be allowed in.

I assume that includes terrorist nations like Israel (with an indicted war criminal Premier) that occupy civilian populations, use OUR tax-payer financed "defense" F-16s to drop 1000 lb. bombs in civilian neighborhoods killing 27 innocent people, while missing the ONE suspected terrorist they wanted to get. Oh, sorry, saying anything against Israel is so politically incorrect lest one be declared an anti-Semite for that. I am amazed that we Americans are made afraid to criticize Israel because we will be called anti-Semitic. That is baloney. I say, if someone us caught spying, as 3 American Jews were just charged, shoot them the same way as a Russian, Chinese or Saudi would and should be. Does saying that make me anti-Semitic? No, it makes me a loyal, patriotic American.

> If you don't like it there, change it yourself and don't hide here. Asylum would never be available to anyone. We don't need any more cab drivers or 7-11 cashiers.

Nor do we need any more people whose alliances are with the state of Israel or any other country instead of the United States. We should also ship off any people who are hyphenated Americans. Be an American, nor NOT an American. If you are "African-American" but do not speak an African language, were not born in African, do not have family in Africa, do not have property in Africa, heck, have not even visited Africa, then wake up, you are an American. If you do not like that, take the next ship to whatever country in Africa will take you. Now, for those pure racist readers smiling at my words, this applies to you. If you are Italian-American, Irish-American, Israeli-American, Indian-American, Pakistani-American or whatever hyphen you belong to, go ahead, take pride in your parents' heritage, but be a proud American or take the next flight/ship to your country of hyphen.

At the same time, if immigrants from Nigeria, Korea, Pakistan, Phillipines, India, Poland and other places are willing to come here and work in nail salons, newspaper kiosks, 7-11s, cabs, nurses, caregivers, or other jobs that do not require a rocket science degree but are not done by hyphenated-Americans, then welcome the immigrants and stop giving welfare to such hyphenated-Americans. For example, If a Korean can apply nail polish on a woman's hands, a person getting fat on welfare ought to be able to do the job.

> 5..) No foreign "students" over age 21. The older ones are the bombers. If they don't attend classes, they get a "D" and it's back home baby.

Ironically, if it was not for foreign students, many engineering schools would actually shut down as local American kids focus on courses that will make them burger flippers. The luckier ones may become B-grade movie actors or comics. Mr. Williams should know.

> 6..) The US will make a strong effort to become self-sufficient energy wise. This will include developing nonpolluting sources of energy but will require a temporary drilling of oil in the Alaskan wilderness. The caribou will have to cope for a while.

But, the Bush family, with decades of brotherhood with the evil corrupt Saudi regime, (I love the pics of Bush kissing the Saudi King ..... eeeewww and holding hands with him) stands to gain.

Did anyone notice the latest energy bill passed while diverting our attention to the "abortion" debate? Exxon-Mobil types, that made $25 BILLION in Profits last year, get BILLIONS more in tax-breaks. The caribou can rest easy knowing the ass in the White House is an oil industry stooge. So, with oil industry agents in the White House, the bigoted whiner who wrote the list will have to cope for a while.

> 7..) Offer Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries $10 a barrel! for their oil. If they don't like it, we go some place else. They can go somewhere else to sell their production. (About a week of the wells filling up the storage sites would be enough.)

Hahahaha. I love Robin Williams; witty, often brilliant. The above logic more likely came from someone with the wisdom of an 11 year old redneck. But this is funny. We are the ones sending Cheney and Co. over to suck up to the Saudis to please keep their oil lines open for us, instead of selling it to China and India, the next two countries who will swallow our lunch ---- and our oil.

> 8..) If there is a famine or other natural catastrophe in the world, we will not "interfere." They can pray to Allah or

Ah, could we get any more bigoted and Muslim-bashing than this. Allah is the Muslim word for ONE GOD, the same one Christians and Jews believe in. Interestingly, most US AID goes to Christian nations in Africa etc. and also to Muslim and non-Muslim countries. But Jewish/Zionist ISRAEL sucks most US resources, even without a catastrophe, WHILE it SPIES on the US. But, of course, Mr. Williams is Jewish and I do not expect him (or the writer claiming to be Mr Williams) to remember that.

> whomever, for seeds, rain, cement or whatever they need. Besides most of what we give them is stolen or given to the army. The people who need it most get very little, if anything.

VERY true --- because it is the US that keeps evil dictators in power in most countries around the world. Noriega, Hussain, Zia etc. in the past, Saudis, Musharaff, Mobarak, and many more, today.....

> 9..) Ship the UN Headquarters to an isolated island some place. We don't need the spies and fair weather friends here. Besides, the building would make a good homeless shelter or lockup for illegal aliens.

It could also make a good place to arrest and detain so-called Americans who spy on America because their alliances lie with another state. I would also throw in people who are getting fat on welfare, redneck militia members, drug dealers, organized crime family members, latin gang members, and other assorted scum. Let's unite them and then gas the building.

> 10.) All Americans must go to charm and beauty school. That way, no one can call us "Ugly Americans" any longer. The Language we speak is ENGLISH.....learn it...or LEAVE.....

I agree with that....... unfortunately, considering the poor state of English (and education in general) we would probably lose half our own native-born American population in that case.

> Now, isn't that a winner of a plan?

Yes, when you fill in the blanks, I think we have a more fair and equitable plan. That is just In My Humble Opinion ( http://imrananwar.blogspot.com - comments welcome)

Regards

Imran
http://imran.TV

Posted August 10, 2005

I did see a very brief story in the New York Times about Hugo Chavez's willingness to have Venezuela play host to Russian military bases. Chavez cited as a motive the kindred spirits between Venezuela and Russia (It's interesting that he would claim to be birds-of-a-feather considering that Russia is not socialist state but rather a kind of corrupt authoritarian pseudo-democracy, hmmm?) At any rate, the Venezuela story may be Chavez's attempt to ramp up the story. Perhaps he reads the US papers and realizes that no one was paying much attention to this.

Russia cannot seem to get the respect it expects. This is all, of course, a response to the basing of radar systems and missile interceptors in the Czech Republic and Poland, as well as the continuing expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) eastward. It follows on the heels of threats to abrogatethe Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty, the Moscow Treaty (a.k.a. the Strategic Offensive weapon Reduction Treaty [SORT]), and to do other things that I probably missed myself.

The question is: Should we be concerned? My view is that Russia still holds enormous potential to create global havoc (as likely accidentally as on purpose, granted.) However, it seems that the US public, and political leaders for that matter, only have the energy for one nemesis at a time, and that archenemy is now the global Islamic Extremist Movement. It took quite a number of years past the end of the Cold War for America to adjust away from a Cold War paradigm (some would argue it is alive and well in our military force structure and hardware acquisition, our intelligence community's mode of operations, and much of the US Federal bureaucracy involved in foreign affairs in general). However, having mostly made a change in mind-set, we cannot make ourselves contemplate the threats posed by Russia on top of everything else that confronts us. I suggest we learn to keep an eye on Russia, and to be actively engaged. It is still has a massive nuclear arsenal, huge energy resources, and, furthermore, a gigantic inferiority complex.

This does not help the situation at all.  Let us say Obama wins the general and he has , in some circles, he has been seen as the second coming of JFK, then this only will fuel that preception.

Russia may start regular flights by long-range bombers to Cuba in response to US plans to build missile defence sites in Eastern Europe, the newspaper Izvestia reported Monday, quoting an official.

"Such discussions exist," the unidentified senior Russian air force official was quoted as saying, adding that the measure would be a response to the United States "deploying missile defence systems in Poland and the Czech Republic."

It was not clear whether he meant permanently basing the bombers in Cuba or using the island as a refuelling stop, but former top defence ministry official Leonid Ivashov told the newspaper that Cuba was best used for brief stopovers.

Cuba should be used "not as a permanent base -- this is unnecessary -- but as a stopover airfield, a refuelling stop," Ivashov was quoted as saying.

Starting long-range bomber flights to Cuba would signal a reawakening of military cooperation by former Cold War allies Moscow and Havana. In 2002 Russia closed its last military base on the island, a radar base at Lourdes.

If Obama is elected then he will have a full plate from day one.

At least 35 people have been killed and more than 50 injured in a double suicide bombing north of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, army sources say.

The two attackers mingled with a crowd of would-be recruits at an army base in the city of Baquba and then blew themselves up simultaneously, they say.

At least one of the bombers is said to have been disguised as a soldier.

Meanwhile, US forces in Iraq say they have detained 15 suspected insurgents, including an alleged al-Qaeda leader.

The bomb attacks at the al-Saad army camp in the east of Baquba took place at about 0800 (0500 GMT).

Frequent attacks

Baquba, 60km (35 miles) from Baghdad, is the capital of Diyala province - one of the most dangerous parts of Iraq.

Although violence in Iraq is at its lowest level since 2004, frequent attacks continue throughout the country.

Iraqi army sources said the bombers - one dressed in an Iraqi military uniform, the other in civilian clothing - mingled with the crowds of young recruits before blowing themselves up.

"We were about 30 people standing at the entrance," 17-year-old Falah Ali Hussein, who was injured in the blasts, was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

"They had just called our names when suddenly there was a big explosion."

US military spokesman Maj Gen Mark Hertling told the BBC that Diyala remained a centre of insurgent activity despite US operations.

"We have been very forceful in pursuing al-Qaeda and other insurgents out of the major cities in Diyala," he said.

"They, the enemy, are trying to re-assert themselves into the major cities... But we've pursued al-Qaeda and other terrorists into the more rural areas."

Gen Hertling said that the suicide bombing cell responsible for the attack had been one of two that security forces were watching closely.

"We knew that they were about to strike but it's very difficult as you can understand to prevent something like this from happening."

Thousands of army recruits have been killed by insurgents in similar attacks across Iraq in recent years.

Despite this, many young men are still willing to join the army - one of the few sources of employment in Iraq, correspondents say.

Tuesday's attack was the deadliest since 1 May, when twin suicide bombers killed at least 35 people in the nearby town of Balad Ruz.

Al-Qaeda fighters have sought to regroup in the region after being pushed by the Iraqi and US forces from former strongholds further south.

Iraqi military officials have recently said they plan to launch an offensive in the region to rein in remaining militants.

In another development, US forces in Iraq said they had detained 15 suspected insurgents, including an alleged leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, whom they did not name.

They say six of the insurgents were captured in Baghdad, and that one of them had co-ordinated bomb attacks in the southern belt around the city.

The US military says other insurgents were captured in Iskandariyah, south of the capital, Hawijah near Kirkuk, Balad, north of Baghdad and Mosul.

Font: SEGRE, dijous 10 de juliol del 2008 (enllaç)

A Rosengård el 60% de la població és immigrant i, d'aquesta, l'amplia majoria islàmica.

A Malmö on s'hi troba, tercera ciutat sueca, els musulmans suposen ja el 25% dels habitants.

Els bombers van ser atacats dues vegades només la setmana passada a Rosengård.

El portaveu dels bombers qualifica la situació de totalment inacceptable.

No és la primera vegada, ni la darrere, que els bombers han estat objectiu d'apedregaments i amenaces. El divendres al voltant de les 5pm van ploure pedres una altre vegada contra un camió dels bombers que havia sortit a apagar un foc a una escola a Rosens väg. Van trencar una finestra al decurs dels aldarulls. [This is not the first, or the last, time that fire services have been subjected to stone-throwing and threats. On Friday at around 5pm stones rained down once again on a fire engine on a call-out to extinguish a fire at a school on Rosens väg. A window was broken in the tumult.]

També han estat sovint bloquejats i atacats, apedregats, els autobusos.

Quina és la solució proposada?

Doncs el reclutament de bombers immigrants [recruitment of firefighters with immigrant backgrounds]

Així s'admet que el problema és la xenofòbia immigrant contra els suecs -no a l'inrevès-.

En cas contrari no creurien imprescindible substituir-los per immigrants als bombers per assegurar que aquests no siguin atacats quan treballen.

Pero, com sempre, els europeus -suecs en aquest cas- són els xenòfobs segons els immigracionistes. Potser els aniria bé fer de bombers a Malmö.

Remember Curtis LeMay, the Air Force general played to chilling effect by Sterling Hayden in the 1964 movie “Dr. Strangelove”? If you’re too young for that reference, you probably don’t recall when the concept of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) dominated our military posture toward our Soviet enemy. I bring this up because the midair refueling tanker that the MAD warrior LeMay commissioned suddenly has become a controversy in the presidential campaign.

...The news was presented in a Wall Street Journal front-page story focusing on the profit potential rather than the military significance of the tanker. So, too, the account that led the New York Times business section, which detailed the good news in Boeing’s revived chances to secure the refueling tanker contract. This deal would initially cost $35 billion, but, as the Times pointed out, “The tanker contract, which could eventually grow to $100 billion to build a fleet of 179 refueling planes, is one of the most lucrative ever awarded by the Pentagon.”

Font: SEGRE, dissabte 26 de juliol del 2008 (enllaç)