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2011 NCAA Tournament Results: FSU Defense Falls Apart, VCU Elite 8 Bound
SB Nation Bay Area If the Ohio State-Kentucky game was high dramatics, VCU-Florida State looked a lot more like a basketball mudfight. The Rams and the Seminoles combined for 33 turnovers and plenty of sloppy play throughout the 45 minutes of gametime. … Florida State Vs. VCU, Sweet 16 Results: VCU Tops Noles 72-71 In OT VCU's improbable March run continues NCAA Bracket Update: VCU Beats Florida State In Overtime To Reach Elite Eight |
The IDF’s Shayetet 13 Naval commando unit intercepted a shipload of Iranian weapons headed from Turkey to Gaza on this morning.
It was carrying Iranian weapons that originated in Syria. and while I’m speculating here, I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if this was the cargo that was unloaded in the Syrian port of Latakia from the Iranian ships that were allowed through the Suez Canal last month.
The ship, The Victoria, is owned by a German company and flies the Liberian flag. It was en route from the Syrian port of Latakia and made a stop in Mersin, Turkey, before heading toward El Arish. From there, the goods were to be offloaded and travel by land to Hamas in Gaza. It was seized by the navy off the coast of El-Arish in Egypt, 200 miles off of Israel’s coast.
The ship was boarded by commandos from the Israel Navy’s Flotilla 13, the Shayetet,( who were also the unit used to board the Turkish ship Mavi Mamara) and was taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod.
The IDF’s belief at this point is that neither Egypt nor Turkey has any connection to the ship’s cargo. Their evidence indicates that Syria and Iran were the main actors.
The full details of the Hamas-bound goodies aboard wil likely be revealed later,but there is speculation that they may have included anti-ship missiles aimed at crippling Israel’s navy.
More details as they emerge.
Including nuclear warheads. “Malaysian police seize parts for weapon of mass destruction,” from Cargonews Asia, March 17 (thanks to Twostellas):
Malaysian police said they have seized dismantled equipment that were meant for producing a weapon of mass destruction, including nuclear warheads, from a vessel in the country’s major port, reported Xinhua.
The equipment was found in two containers on a Malaysian-registered vessel bound for Iran….
(John)
Yesterday the Israelis intercepted a ship called the Victoria, bound from Turkey to Egypt and ultimately for Gaza. The Victoria held thousands of containers but, apparently unknown to its crew, four of those containers contained weapons that were manufactured in Iran and shipped out of Syria.
The Israelis brought the Victoria to the port of Ashdod, where they displayed some of the Iranian munitions for reporters. These are 120 mm mortar shells:
This is a C-704 missile, which has a range of 35 km and delivers a payload of around 280 pounds of explosives:
This one shows a 120 mm mortar shell, along with other munitions:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Ashdod and spoke with reporters about the seized weapons:
Examining the weapons at this port in southern Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “smash” what he called a Syrian-Iranian “axis of terror.”
“All those who question why Israel must stop … and inspect ships en route to Gaza can find the answer right here in Ashdod,” he said. “They were en route to terror organizations in Gaza but their ultimate target was the Israeli civilian population.”
Over the last year or two, forces sympathetic to the Palestinian terrorists have gone to great lengths to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza. These terrorist sympathizers have pretended that the issue somehow relates to “humanitarian supplies,” when in fact food, medicines and other innocuous products have no difficulty being shipped into Gaza. The real purpose of these efforts to break the blockade, most notably the Mavi Marmara, has been to facilitate the shipment of weapons into Gaza for the purpose of murdering Israeli civilians. That was demonstrated once again yesterday.
The Muqata has a summary of a Special IDF press conference for bloggers just half an hour ago that the IDF intercepted the Victoria bound from Gaza to Syria and found weapons originating from Iran.
According to Muqata’s summary:
Early this morning IDF Naval Commandos from boarded a cargo ship, “Victoria” — a German owned ship, operating by a French Company, flying under a Liberian flag. We had advance intelligence information that this vessel was carrying weapons.
We boarded the ship and the crew complied without any violence. A preliminary search revealed weapons in shipping containers. The Israeli navy is now escorting the boat to Israel where a further, detailed examination of the cargo and the ship will take place.
The ship originated from the Syrian port of Latkia, and also docked in Turkey’s Mersin Port on its way to Alexandria in Egypt. The IDF believes the weapons found on board were destined for Hamas in Gaza.
The ship’s crew apparently had no idea there were weapons in the shipping containers, and the IDF doesn’t believe that Egypt or Turkey were connected.
The current operating analysis is that Syria and Iran are the major actors, cooperating to send weapons to Hamas.
It has not yet been revealed what kinds of weapons were found on the ship.
Israel Matzav was at the conference also, and suggests a possible connection between the weapons and the Iranian ships that recently passed through the Suez Canal:
Lt. Col. Leibovich did not know whether the weapons were connected to the Iranian warships that passed through the Suez Canal three weeks ago. But given that those ships sailed to Latakia – and then went right back through the Canal – this is a distinct possibility.
More details will be forthcoming.
Anyone who recalls the incident of the Karin A, knows that this is not the first attempt to smuggle weapons to terrorists. In addition to the Karine A, there have been a number of previous instances-including incidents involving the Santorini, Abu Hassan, the Hansa India, the Monchegorsk, the Francop and Everest cargo vessels. These were involved in what were otherwise innocent transnational commercial shipping which was abused by States that sponsor terrorism, including Iran, Syria and Lebanon, all done in order to facilitate the illegal trafficking of arms to terrorist organizations in the region. Check out: Israel’s interception of arms ships – Background
If nothing else, today’s incident demonstrates the necessity for Israel’s legal blockade of Gaza, to prevent weapons being delivered to the Hamas terrorist group.
UPDATE: Here are some photos of what the IDF found aboard the Victoria:
Technorati Tag: Victoria and Gaza and Hamas and Syria and Iran.
Made in Iran.
Not for the first time, the IDF intercepted a ship attempting to run the Gaza blockade, this time apparently without getting attacked after boarding the vessel. Unlike last May, this ship was flagged as Liberian rather than Turkish, but the ship last sailed from Mercen in Turkey. The ship contained “dozens of tons” of arms, […]
Francis Lam debates bans on the delicacy:
It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say that much of my grandfather's life was built around that soup, built around the idea that he could show the world and himself that he'd finally made it, that he could literally feed his family his success.
The opposing argument:
[T]he cultural import https://southcapitolstreet.com/files/css/_symbol._i_mean__go_ahead_and_buy_another_pair_of_prada_shoes_instead_of_taking_me_out_for_shark__39_rbfa3v2vi20eoo4hr2v3sh.css;s fin. It's fine. I don't mind, and after a while, you're not going to mind either. After all, the nature of status symbols is that the more they're attained, the shallower their actual meaning, and the more attractive the next, other thing eventually becomes.
(Photo: Shark fin soup with shrimp dumpling by Flickr user Richard S. Donovan)
Washington (CNN) – It was not quite a Joe Namath-style guarantee of victory, but President Obama came close on Wednesday when he declared that he’s heading to the Super Bowl if his beloved Chicago Bears make it to the game.
Full post at The 1600 Report
Al Quds al Arabi ( Arabic ) is reporting that the Palestinian Authority’s unelected Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad announced on his radio show that the PA no longer will be bound by the Oslo Accords they and Israel signed in 1993:
Fayyad announced on Palestinian radio stations Wednesday that the Palestinian National Authority ‘will not be a prisoner to the restrictions of Oslo’.
Fayyad added ‘The National Authority recognizes the magnitude of the challenges and difficulties our people are living under on a daily basis, and it works to assume its full responsibilities.
All the possibilities are available to it to strengthen the resilience of its citizens, and adhere and stay on their land, in the various regions, particularly the Jordan Valley area, all areas classified Area C, which constitute about 60 percent of the West Bank, including the areas behind the wall‘. He said,’ These areas are not disputed areas, it is part and parcel of the occupied Palestinian territory, and the responsibility of the Palestinian National Authority is essential that work to the maximum of their capacities to provide services for all its citizens, it will not be a prisoner to the restrictions of Oslo.”
This is a huge deal.
Not only does the ‘Palestinian Authority’ get its powers from Oslo, but Oslo is the sole basis of the ‘Palestinian’ claim to the Arab occupied land in Judea and Samaria.
It’s why the Israelis did something no other country in the Middle East was willing to do..give the Palestinians some land to call their own.
The ‘moderate’ Fayyad’s statements simply formalize what Yasser Arafat’s former political commissar in Jerusalem, Feisal Husseini openly admitted years ago – that Oslo was simply a Trojan horse designed to deceive Israel.
The Israelis ought to make a huge deal out of this. Since the ‘Palestinians’ are no longer bound by Oslo, neither is Israel and Netanyahu should make that crystal clear immediately.
Since there’s no longer a legal or practical basis for them, Israel should immediately break off the futile negotiations with the ‘Palestinians and annex the Israeli controlled areas of Judea and Samaria, while moving the ‘Palestinian’ non-Israeli citizens to the ‘Palestinian’ occupied areas.
End game.
(hat tip the Elder)
Crossposted at American Thinker
Bye-bye Oslo
Al Quds al Arabi ( Arabic ) is reporting that the Palestinian Authority’s unelected Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad announced on his radio show that the PA no longer will be bound by the Oslo Accords they and Israel signed in 1993:
Fayyad announced on Palestinian radio stations Wednesday that the Palestinian National Authority ‘will not be a prisoner to the restrictions of Oslo.’
Fayyad added ‘The National Authority recognizes the magnitude of the challenges and difficulties our people are living under on a daily basis, and it works to assume its full responsibilities.
‘All the possibilities are available to it to strengthen the resilience of its citizens, and adhere and stay on their land, in the various regions, particularly the Jordan Valley area, all areas classified Area C, which constitute about 60 percent of the West Bank, including the areas behind the wall.’ He said,’ These areas are not disputed areas, it is part and parcel of the occupied Palestinian territory, and the responsibility of the Palestinian National Authority is essential that work to the maximum of their capacities to provide services for all its citizens, it will not be a prisoner to the restrictions of Oslo.’
This is a huge deal.
Not only does the ‘Palestinian Authority’ get its powers from Oslo, but Oslo is the sole basis of the ‘Palestinian’ claim to the Arab occupied land in Judea and Samaria.
It’s why the Israelis did something no other country in the Middle East was willing to do…give the Palestinians some land to call their own.
The ‘moderate’ Fayyad’s statements simply formalize what Yasser Arafat’s former political commissar in Jerusalem, Feisal Husseini openly admitted years ago – that Oslo was simply a Trojan horse designed to deceive Israel.
The Israelis ought to make a huge deal out of this. Since the ‘Palestinians’ are no longer bound by Oslo, neither is Israel and Netanyahu should make that crystal clear immediately.
Since there’s no longer a legal or practical basis for them, Israel should immediately break off the futile negotiations with the ‘Palestinians’ and annex the Israeli controlled areas of Judea and Samaria, while moving the ‘Palestinian’ non-Israeli citizens to the ‘Palestinian’ occupied areas.
End game.
Today, President Obama’s fiscal commission failed to approve its final proposal, with the report garnering the votes of 11 of the 18 commission members, while needing 14 to advance. However, some of the commission members are making a concerted effort to move the goalposts and spin the commission’s failure to achieve consensus as a victory.
“11 of 18 by my math is 60 percent,” said Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) during the commission’s meeting. “In the United States Senate, when you’re facing a filibuster even, 60 percent prevails. So I believe we’ve crossed an important hurdle here and laid out a plan that will be resurrected because it must be.”
Both Conrad and Incoming House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) said that they would place parts of the plan into the next national budget, while President Obama today released a statement saying that, “The Commission’s majority report includes a number of specific proposals that I — along with my economic team — will study closely in the coming weeks as we develop our budget and our priorities for the coming year.”
But if the point of the commission was to craft a proposal that could actually pass Congress, the fact that it received 11 votes doesn’t mean that it achieved some miraculous bipartisan consensus. Of those 11, 5 were unelected, appointed members, who will not receive a vote in Congress. Another two yes votes came from elected officials who are leaving Congress — Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) is retiring, while Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) was defeated in November.
That leaves just four members of the incoming 112th Congress that approved of the plan. So:
– Amongst elected members of Congress, the vote was 6-6.
– Amongst elected members of the incoming 112th Congress, the vote was 4-6 AGAINST the plan. Yea: Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tom Coburn (R-OK), and Mike Crapo (R-ID); Nay: Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Paul Ryan (R-WI), Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) and Dave Camp (R-MI).
– Every member of the House that will be back for the 112th Congress voted AGAINST the plan.
Plus, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) clearly said during the commission’s meeting that if this exact plan were on the Senate floor, he would vote against it. The point of including a supermajority requirement was to demonstrate that a plan could receive wide approval from both parties. Obviously, the nay votes were cast by both progressives and conservatives for a variety of reasons, but if the goal was to craft something that had an actual chance of passing through Congress with bipartisan support, the plan fell far short.
At this point, the idea of outsourcing comprehensive deficit reduction to a commission was tried, without success, and the President shouldn’t feel beholden to including big elements of the commission’s plan in his budget. There are other plans out there — like Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s (D-IL) — that should be taken just as seriously, as they also balance the budget, without relying on the conservative frame that the debt commission’s co-chairs decided upon.
Announced on Palestinian radio, this means that Israel also is no longer bound by them. This is a very big deal.
American Thinker Blog
Coalition and Afghan forces arrested a Haqqani Network weapons facilitator who was on an airplane destined for Saudi Arabia today.
The Haqqani Network facilitator, who was not named, was identified by “multiple intelligence sources,” the International Security Assistance Force stated in a press release. The facilitator and three other companions, who also have not been named, boarded a plane to Saudi Arabia, which then took off. Afghan authorities ordered the plane to return to Kabul International Airport, where joint security forces detained the Haqqani network operative.
ISAF said the Haqqani Network facilitator “was wanted for facilitating weapons and ammunition used in attacks against ANSF [Afghan National Security Forces] and International Security Assistance Forces” and “was also known to have participated in numerous IED attack against ANSF and ISAF.” One of the three others detained “had an active warrant issued by Afghan authorities.”
ISAF would not disclose why the Haqqani Network facilitator was traveling to Saudi Arabia; an inquiry sent by The Long War Journal was not answered.
A US military intelligence official contacted by The Long War Journal said that the Haqqani operative was traveling to secure funding for weapons purchases.
Top Haqqani network leaders are known to routinely travel to Saudi Arabia to receive funds from wealthy Saudis who back jihadist activities worldwide. This group of wealthy donors is known as the Golden Chain.
Nasiruddin Haqqani, the brother of Haqqani Network leader Sirajuddin Haqqani, is known to have traveled to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates between 2004-2009 to carry out fundraising for the Haqqani Network, al Qaeda, and the Taliban.
“As of mid-2007, [Nasiruddin] Haqqani reportedly received funding from donations from the Gulf region, drug trafficking, and payments from al Qaeda,” the US Treasury Department stated in a press release that announced Nasiruddin’s addition to the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists. “In 2004, he traveled to Saudi Arabia with a Taliban associate to raise funds for the Taliban.”
Nasiruddin is based out of Miramshah in the tribal agency of North Waziristan in Pakistan. He is known to speak Arabic and is also a close aide to his father, Jalaluddin, the patriarch of the Haqqani family.
The Haqqanis are closely allied to al Qaeda and to the Taliban, led by Mullah Omar. Siraj Haqqani is the leader of the Miramshah Regional Military Shura, one of the Afghan Taliban’s top four commands; he sits on the Taliban’s Quetta Shura; and he is also is a member of al Qaeda’s Shura Majlis. The Haqqanis are based on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistani border.
(Eugene Volokh)
A bunch of people have asked me whether NPR’s firing of Juan Williams for his statement about Muslims on The O’Reilly Factor violates the First Amendment. The answer is “no.” NPR is not a government actor, and thus not bound by the First Amendment; that it gets some funding from the government does not make it a government actor, just as private colleges’ getting grants and other benefits doesn’t make them government actors bound by the First Amendment. See Rendell-Baker v. Kohn, 457 U.S. 830 (1982) (so holding, even as to a school that got 90% of its money from the government).
The government may by statute impose many conditions on the use of government funds — that’s what Congress did with Title VI and Title IX (which generally bar recipients of federal funds from discriminating based on race and sex). Congress thus might condition NPR’s funding on its not firing commentators based on their off-NPR speech. (I say “might” because there are some twists which I set aside for now.) But Congress hasn’t enacted such a statute, and it is of course under no obligation to do so.
Despite some rumors swirling in Copenhagen that the lack of progress at the ongoing climate change summit will cause President Obama to cancel his attendance tomorrow, the White House says no – the President is still committed to going.
Climate change – Barack Obama – Copenhagen – President of the United States – Denmark
Political Punch
