Venezuela Pres. Hugo Chavez Blames US For Russia-Georgia Conflict

The Venezuelan crazy man has accused the U.S. of "incitement of violence" between Russia and Georgia.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez accused the United States of masterminding the current conflict between Georgia and Russia.

A statement from Chavez's government Thursday alleged that the conflict was "planned, prepared and ordered" by Washington in an "incitement of violence."

Venezuela is a close ally of Russia, which it says has acted to protect local residents from "unacceptable acts of violence" perpetrated by Georgian troops.

Venezuela's statement saluted steps toward peace in South Ossetia, saying Russia's stance had been in line with international accords.

US Delivers Aid To Georgia, Russia Ignores Cease-Fire Agreement

They're still destroying military equipment and installations, still shooting at people, and still continuing to move further into Georgia. Though, they seem a little worried that we may be bringing more than food to the Georgians.

Russia's foreign minister declared Thursday that the world "can forget about" Georgia's territorial integrity, and American and Georgian officials said Russia appeared to be targeting military infrastructure — including radars and patrol boats at a Black Sea naval base and oil hub.

[...]

In Washington, an American official said Russia appears to be sabotaging airfields and other military infrastructure as its forces pull back. The U.S. official described eyewitnesses accounts for The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The official said the Russian strategy seems like a deliberate attempt to cripple the already battered Georgian military.

The United States poured aid into the Georgian capital of Tbilisi on Thursday and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice launched emergency talks in France aimed at heading off a wider conflict.

Russia's deputy chief of General Staff Col.-Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn said he was not sure that the U.S. planes carried exclusively humanitarian cargo. "It causes our concern," he said.

 

Watching on Fox News now, SecDef Gates said they are re-examining relations with Russia and canceling all joint military exercises with Russia in the near future.

American Airlines Charging Troops For Extra Baggage

It never ceases to amaze me how these companies continually screw over the very people that makes their business possible. Oh sure, they will get reimbursed for the charges, but why should they have to go through the hassle? I'm sure the stockholders wouldn't mind a small decrease in profits should AA just waive that fee, and if they do mind, they need smacked in the face with a hammer.

American Airlines is charging troops for their extra baggage, a practice that forces soldiers heading for a war zone in Iraq to try to get reimbursement from the military. One of the country's largest veterans groups is asking the aviation industry to drop the practice immediately.

American, which recently charged two soldiers from Texas $100 and $300 for their extra duffel bags, said it gives the military a break on the cost for excess luggage and that the soldiers who incur the fees are reimbursed.

Al-Qaeda Big Fish Killed In Pakistan

Surprisingly enough; it was the Pakistani's that got him, not an errant missile from Afghanistan. al-Qaeda leaders have been dropping like flies lately. In the past month the top bio/chem weapons expert was killed, now AQ's #3 #2 leader al-Masri, and possibly #2 #1 Ayman al-Zawahiri

Senior Al Qaeda commander Abu Saeed al-Masri was killed in recent clashes with Pakistani forces near the Afghan border, a security official said on Tuesday.

"He was believed to be among the top leadership of al Qaeda," the senior security official said on condition of anonymity.

Al-Masri, which means "the Egyptian," was the most senior al Qaeda operative to have been killed in Pakistan's tribal belt since the death of his compatriot, Abu Khabab al-Masri, an Qaeda chemical and biological weapons expert, last month.

Television channels identified the dead man as Mustafa Abu al-Yazid and said he was also known as Abu Saeed al-Masri.

He was killed in recent clashes in the Bajaur tribal region, a known sanctuary for al Qaeda operatives on the Afghan border, the security official said.

Yazid, commander of al Qaeda operations in Afghanistan, was an Egyptian who served time in jail with al Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri after the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981.

He has been referred to as al Qaeda's third most senior figure, after the elimination or capture of five earlier occupants of the number three spot since 2001.

Russia Surrenders, Will Withdraw Troops From Georgia, S. Ossetia

So they say. Their actions are telling something far more different.

Russia ordered a halt to military action in Georgia on Tuesday, after five days of air and land attacks sent Georgia's army into headlong retreat and left towns and military bases destroyed.

Georgian officials insisted that Russia has continued the bombings despite the pledge, but Russia denied that.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced at a press conference Tuesday that they have endorsed a plan in which both Russian and Georgian troops withdraw to their initial positions in Georgia.

According to the endorsed plan, Russian peacekeepers will remain in Georgia's breakaway provinces.

The plan also calls for a fuller discussion on the future status of Georgia's two breakaway provinces. Medvedev says breakaway provinces must be able to decide for themselves whether to remain in Georgia.

How To Stop The Soviet, OOPS, Russian Expansion

Send in the USS Ronald Reagan! He defeated the commies once, he can do it again!

Is Russia Trying To Free Citizens, Or Conquer Georgia

What does bombing a port city, bombing military bases away from the border, and targeting an oil pipeline have in common? If you answered steps to defeating a country, you're probably right. If you said, steps to rescuing citizens, you're probably wrong. Is Russia really trying to rescue those people? If they are, they're not doing a very good job because 1000's of people have died so far.

Georgia said a Russian air raid had "completely devastated" the Black Sea port of Poti in attacks that the country's UN ambassador likened to "a full-scale military invasion".

This was followed up with air raids on Gori, the main Georgian city closest to South Ossetia and another near the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline -- the world's second longest -- which Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze told Georgian television was "miraculously" not damaged.

Russian planes carried out at least three attacks on Gori and the surrounding area, a defence ministry spokeswoman told AFP.

She said the attacks targeted a bridge and military bases, but also struck apartment blocks which were left in flames and witnesses told AFP that scores of people had been killed. Cars and buses loaded with people fled the city.

I don't claim to know a whole lot about the internal conflict in that area, but it seems to me that Russia had been planning this for a while. I certainly hope someone, somewhere is recognizing this for what it is, and there are plans to stop it before it gets unmanageable, like in the 60's.

 

***UPDATE 08/11/08 11:32PM***

From LGF, we have this link that outlines how this war really started.

As the propaganda spewing out of the Kremlin reaches a feverish pitch, we take a moment to remind our readers of the basic facts concerning Russia’s barbaric actions in recent days and the recent history that lies behind them.

John Edwards Admits He Cheated On Cancer-Stricken Wife

Well now, I guess NOT everything printed by the National Enquirer can be dismissed. John Edwards admitted today that he DID have an affair with Rielle Hunter. He does deny being the child's father, but hasn't taken a paternity test.

John Edwards repeatedly lied during his Presidential campaign about an extramarital affair with a novice filmmaker, the former Senator admitted to ABC News today.

In an interview for broadcast tonight on Nightline, Edwards told ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff he did have an affair with 44-year old Rielle Hunter, but said that he did not love her.

Edwards also denied he was the father of Hunter's baby girl, Frances Quinn, although the one-time Democratic Presidential candidate said he has not taken a paternity test.

Edwards said he knew he was not the father based on timing of the baby's birth on February 27, 2008. He said his affair ended too soon for him to have been the father.

 

Previous posts:

John Edwards Cheating On Cancer-Stricken Wife? *UPDATED W/ Love Child*

I Was Going To Post About John Edwards 2AM Rendezvous

Mexican Army Crosses Into US, Detains Border Agent

Act of war or simple misunderstanding? The AP version of this story is quite different from the Washington Times version. From history, I lean toward the Washington Times article being a more accurate depiction of what occurred.

A U.S. Border Patrol agent was held at gunpoint Sunday night by members of the Mexican military who had crossed the border into Arizona, but the soldiers returned to Mexico without incident when backup agents responded to assist.

Agents assigned to the Border Patrol station at Ajo, Ariz., said the Mexican soldiers crossed the international border in an isolated area about 100 miles southwest of Tucson and pointed rifles at the agent, who was not identified.

It was unclear what the soldiers were doing in the United States, but U.S. law enforcement authorities have long said that current and former Mexican military personnel have been hired to protect drug and migrant smugglers.

 

Here's the AP version:

Four Mexican soldiers crossed into Arizona and held a U.S. Border Patrol agent at gunpoint before realizing where they were and returning to Mexico, federal authorities said Wednesday.

The confrontation occurred early Sunday on the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation, about 85 miles southwest of Tucson, in an area fenced only with barbed wire, said Dove Crawford, a spokeswoman for the Border Patrol.

The soldiers, outfitted in desert camouflage, pointed their rifles at the agent and shouted at him not to move, Crawford said. They lowered their weapons after about four minutes when the agent convinced them of who he was and where they were, she said. The soldiers then retreated into Mexico.

The Mexican government has sent soldiers north along sections of the border in efforts to tamp down drug-related violence.

Russia, Georgia Fighting Escalating To War

The occasional skirmishes between Russia and Georgia have now escalated to war, or close to it. Russia is trying to keep control of a old Soviet state and Georgia is trying to keep its independence. Russia begins bombing Georgia and sends in150 armored vehicles. Georgia beings shooting down Russian jets and destroying anything Russian, including people.

Parts of Russia's 58th Army — including 150 tanks and armored vehicles — reportedly were moving Friday on the capital of South Ossetia after Georgian troops entered the city in an attempt to crush separatist forces seeking to control the breakaway province.

[...]

"If it's not war, then we are very close to it," Lamaia said. "The Russians have invaded Georgia and we are under attack."

President Bush and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin reportedly were discussing the Georgia crisis after attending the opening of the Beijing Olympic games.

[...]

Fighting escalated between Georgian and Russian forces escalated earlier in the day with Georgia claiming to have downed four Russian combat warplanes, and Russian planes bombing the Vaziani airbase outside the Georgian capital of Tblisi.

Why Comerica Bank Sucks: Part II

Part I can be found here. A brief explanation of Part I, Comerica bank demanded Norwalk Furniture immediately pay their $11M loan for no other reason than they didn't want any accounts left in Ohio. Comerica demanded all the manufacturing plants and retail store closed so they could be liquidated. Thousands of employees were without job instantly.

Norwalk Furniture has been family owned for 106 years. Now, because of Comerica's actions, Norwalk Furniture was required to take on investors. The investment companies have purchased the loan from Comerica and taken over the company. No doubt these investment companies will replace the family with executives of their choosing.

The good news is, at least the thousands of Norwalk Furniture employees still have a job.

I hope people will never do business with Comerica, and those that do, will move to a different bank.

Al-Qaeda Leader gAyman Al-Zawahiri Injured, Possibly Killed

Since Bin Laden is dead, Ayman al-Zawahiri is al-Qaeda's leader. A letter that was intercepted indicated he was injured in a strike in Pakistan on Monday, possibly even dead now. This was the same missile strike that killed al-Qaeda's bio/chem weapons expert.

Ayman al-Zawahiri - the second most powerful leader in al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden's No. 2 - may be critically wounded and possibly dead, CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan reports exclusively.

CBS News has obtained a copy of an intercepted letter from sources in Pakistan, which urgently requests a doctor to treat al-Zawahiri. He's believed to be somewhere in Pakistan's remote tribal areas of Pakistan.
The letter refers to Sheikh Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri by name - and says that he is in "severe pain" and his "injuries are infected."

It is reportedly written by local Taliban leader, Baitullah Mehsud, whose signature and seal are visible on the letter.

The Taliban logo and the Mehsud's seal have been confirmed by experts as legitimate.

The letter is dated July 29 - one day after a U.S. air strike that killed al Qaeda weapons expert Abu Khabab al-Masri, and five other Arabs in South Waziristan.

The Censorship Of Obama Hatin' Blogspot Blogs To End...Supposedly

When I logged on to Blogspot tonight, I noticed this news update from Blogspot:

While we wish that every post on this blog could be about cool features or other Blogger news, sometimes we have to step in and admit a mistake.

We've noticed that a number of users have had their blogs mistakenly marked as spam, and wanted to sound off real quick to let you know that, despite it being Friday afternoon, we are working hard to sort this out. So to those folks who have received an email saying that your blog has been classified as spam and can't post right now, we offer our sincere apologies for the trouble.

We hope to have this resolved shortly, and appreciate your patience as we work through the kinks

Anti-Obama blogs were being flagged as spam by the Obamabots and being were being shut down. I'm not holding my breath as to how effective Blogspots fixes will be.

Sitemeter & Internet Explorer Are Not Playing Nice With Each Other

Thanks to Gateway Pundit for pointing this out. Sitemeter has to be removed in order for IE users to read blogs. I tried it out myself, and sure enough IE couldn't load the page while Sitemeter was installed. Will try and see if it works again tomorrow. I don't know if this is just affecting Blogspot blogs, or everyone.

Dems Answer To Energy Problems: Censorship & Retreat, Leave GOP In The Dark

Pelosi had enough of this "solving the nation's problems" issue and decided since the Dems can't solve the problems, they would prevent the Republicans from doing it. She called for adjournment while Republicans were debating and demanding a vote for off-shore and ANWR drilling. The microphones, cameras, & lights were turned off. The only Democrat that remained on the floor...Dennis Kucinich.

The C-SPAN cameras were gone and the microphones were off, but that didn’t stop a small group of Republicans from taking over the House floor after the House adjourned for five weeks to attack Democrats for leaving town without doing something to lower gas prices.

“Madame Speaker, Where art thou?’’ Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, shouted from the well of the House. “This room is vacant of most members of Congress. Where, oh where, has Congress gone?’’ he yelled to about a dozen other Republicans, the tourists in the gallery, some House pages, and Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, the lone Democrat who witnessed the unusual proceeding.

Republicans want Speaker Nancy Pelosi to all the House back into session to vote on the GOP’s energy plan, which calls for an end to a longstanding moratorium on drilling along the outer continental shelf and also seeks to boost conservation and research on alternative energy sources. “Bring the Congress back. Let’s have a real up or down vote,’’ Minority Leader John A. Boehner said after coming into the chamber from a press conference.