Happy Independence Day! A throwback post to Rantburg’s first year
Here I sat, no, not broken-hearted, but reading something awful about the shootout in Waziristan, when the phone rang. It was The Little Woman. "Honey," she said she always calls me Honey, 'cuz I'm so sweet "could you go to the store and get some hot dogs and chicken legs for dinner this evening?"
We have company this weekend, The Little Woman's Cousin David and his family, from Mississippi and Ohio. We're going to fire up the grill and do dawgs and chicken feet, so it'd be to our advantage to have some of each on hand. So I put on my yellow hat and got in The Little Blue Car and drove away. I noted on the way to the store that there were a lot of people sitting along side of the street in their beach chairs, but the store wasn't crowded and I soon had my yessir, yessir, three bags full, and headed for home.
I made it as far as the stop sign. 4th of July week is coming up, and it's the week yes, the entire week of the Riviera Beach Carnival, sponsored by the helpful fellows of Volunteer Company 13. And we start off the carnival in the traditional manner, with a real by-God American Firemen's Parade.
If you're a lover of firemen's parades, you know what I'm talking about. If you've never been to one, let me try to describe it. There is no purpose to a firemen's parade except to have a parade. It's not even, despite the 4th of July coming up, despite the flags on display, an especially patriotic event. Many places have theirs in August, or even in September. Usually a politician or two makes an appearance, but even that's not really necessary. What's essential is firetrucks: pumpers, ladder trucks, utility trucks, boats on their trailers, tankers, you name it. Fire companies from miles around send their trucks, polished and spiffy, to appear in The Big Parade. Manning them are the volunteer firemen, the guys who put in hours of training for the privilege of riding the trucks to fires and emergencies.
You can't have a parade with only trucks and ambulances and police cars, even though the visiting firemen blow their sirens and wave to people as they go by. So firemen's parades have a few marching bands from the local schools. And there are pom-pom girls. I love pom-pom girls. They range in age from pre-school to, I would guess, the upper reaches of junior high. There is no purpose to a pom-pom girl other than to look pleasant. They may have actual pom-poms or they may carry batons, but they serve no more useful purpose than a vase of flowers. I always want to hug them.
I say that firemen's parades aren't patriotic, but I mean that only in the national sense. They're an expression of a community's pride in itself. The hulking vehicles are our vehicles, paid for with a combination of tax dollars, bingo games, bake sales and teen dances. The guys manning them are our guys, guys and girls who live and work in the community and devote the time to doing the training, keeping up the trucks, and rushing to fires and emergencies. The marching bands are our kids, and the pom-pom girls our daughters. So we put them on display so we can admire ourselves. The trucks go by, lights flashing and sirens sounding. The bands march and play, often in tune. The pom-pom girls march, sometimes in step. Dogs bark, sing along with the sirens, and sometimes run alongside the trucks. Hat sellers and trinket salesmen will be happy to sell you things you don't need, but that you want because you don't want to forget that you went to the Big Parade. After the parade, the visiting firemen will drink beer out of plastic cups, swap stories, and flirt with the local girls.
There aren't any pom-pom girls in Waziristan. They might not even have any firetrucks. If they're really lucky, someday they might.
#1
Some years later this bit of pondering became what is to me the central image of Fred’s first novel, Phoebe Clayton, linked over there in the righthand margin of Rantburg’s main page.
#4
250 years! Does that mean you're grown up now? ;-)
Posted by: European Conservative ||
07/04/2026 5:40 Comments ||
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#5
A volunteer firefighter wakes at zero dark thirty to feed volunteer marathoners, and just laughs at the Europeans who are like oh you just are a lonely child.
#7
A few historical signs of a failing Government:
* Development of an Elite ruling class that passes power to family members,
* it starts writing more and more laws that penalize selective classes of citizens,
* applies selective enforcement of its laws,
* Imposes greater restrictions on travel and movement,
* Increase citizen monitoring,
* Taxes the average Citizenry to the point they don't actually own anything.
* Massive amounts of $$$$$ disappear into black holes, as the ruling class & the elected/appointed quickly grow rich.
* Open & rampant corruption
* Uses or owns the media and has a constant flow of panics,
* Creates a villain as needed to distract the citizens,
* State or higher controlled education and subject content,
* Takes steps to disarm and hinder the citizens from self-protection.
#15
I suppose you could compare America to an awkward teenager, full of energy, strength and exuberance. Maybe we're not as jaded as some of our older friends. We're not perfect but we are still learning and still growing. We still think the best is yet to come.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
07/04/2026 13:06 Comments ||
Top||
[SUDANTRIBUNE] The Sudan ...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans... ese army announced on Thursday it shot down a long-range drone belonging to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over Tendalti in White Nile State.
The military spokesperson said air defences intercepted a ''hostile strategic drone of the FH-95 model'' on Thursday morning. The army's official Facebook page later broadcast footage showing the destruction of the aircraft mid-flight.
The incident coincides with a surge in RSF dronezaps targeting wide areas of El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan State.
The paramilitary group has also stepped up attacks along the highway connecting North Kordofan to White Nile State, as well as on the cities of Kosti and Rabak. The recent strikes have reportedly destroyed several fuel stations and public facilities, leaving dozens of civilians dead.
White Nile Governor Qamar al-Din Mohammed Fadl al-Mawla praised the military's air defences, describing the interception as a testament to the state's defensive readiness.
Fadl al-Mawla said his administration would sustain its support for the army and its aligned factions to secure the region, adding that operations against the RSF would persist until all territory is recovered.
[ShabelleMedia] Somalia’s military, backed by Ottoman Turkish forces, carried out Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s using F-16 fighter jets on Tuesday targeting al-Shabaab ... an Islamic infestation centering on Somalia attempting to metastasize into Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and similar places, all ofwhich have enough problems without them... positions in the Godey area of the Lower Shabelle region, the Ministry of Defence said.
In a statement, the ministry said the strikes targeted tunnels, weapons depots and shelters used by the al-Qaeda-linked holy warrior group.
The government said about 35 al-Shabaab fighters were killed and more than 20 others maimed in the operation.
The ministry said a series of secondary explosions occurred after the strikes, indicating that the site was being used to store weapons, explosives and military supplies.
It added that forces of Evil and vehicles loaded with explosives intended for future attacks against civilians were also present at the targeted location.
The ministry thanked Turkiye for its continued support in Somalia’s campaign against al-Shabaab and said joint operations against the group’s leadership and fighters would continue until the holy warrior threat is eliminated.
Al-Shabaab, which has waged an insurgency against Somalia’s federal government for more than 15 years, frequently carries out bombings and armed attacks despite sustained military operations by Somali forces and international partners.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] Armed men have seized the border town of Am Dafok
…also in our archives as Um Dafuq …
in the Central African Republic (CAR), Radio Ndeke Luka reported.
According to him, at least 28 people were killed in the attack. Local residents have reportedly already buried 15 of the dead. The village itself was completely destroyed, and millet and medical supplies were looted. It is also known that militants attacked the town on June 30, and it remains under their control, cut off from Bangui.
One refugee told the radio station that the attackers cross the border from Sudan to commit atrocities in Am Dafok and then return.
Raiders from Sudan? Do tell…
Others added that many residents have fled their homes and are now seeking refuge at the MINUSCA base.
Earlier, during a working visit to Moscow, CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadéra stated that the republic's defense forces, with the support of Russian instructors, were able to prevent a coup d'état. The head of state emphasized that Russia has supported his country in critical situations since 2020. In particular, back then, joint efforts thwarted a rebellion by a coalition of patriots who attempted to destabilize the situation and disrupt the elections.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also noted that the Central African Republic is an important partner for Russia. According to the Russian leader's press secretary, the two countries enjoy a wide range of relations, including in the area of security.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Darfur24] A warplane belonging to the Central African Republic flew at low altitude inside Sudanese airspace on Wednesday in the vicinity of the city of Umm Dafuq in South Darfur State, in a development that caused panic among the residents and prompted a number of them to leave the city temporarily, according to eyewitnesses.
This comes against the backdrop of developments in the Central African Republic, following armed attacks carried out by a rebel group on border areas with Sudan, including the African city of Amdafouq, which the rebels announced on Tuesday they had taken control of.
Apparently the mostly Moslem Seleka rebels.
The government of the Central African Republic later announced that it had launched a military operation with its Russian allies in the Amdafouq region in the northeast of the country, vowing to pursue the rebels inside Sudanese territory if they retreated there.
Witnesses told Darfur24 on Wednesday that a warplane penetrated Sudanese airspace for a distance estimated at about 15 kilometers and flew over the Sudanese city of Umm Dafuq at a low altitude, without
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] The desert areas between Ma'rib and Hadhramaut governorates are witnessing intense Saudi military movements, including the deployment of ''Emergency'' factions along the international highway linking Marib to the al-Abar region.
According to informed sources, these field arrangements aim to redraw the map of influence and control over oil-rich areas in the Valley and Desert districts of Hadhramaut. The focus centers on the strategic areas of ''Al-Khash'ah'' and the vicinity of ''Al-Abar'' to administratively and militarily detach them from Hadhramaut and annex them to Ma'rib.
Sources confirmed that these movements reflect the escalating Saudi-Emirati rivalry over economic resources, and an attempt to impose a new reality on the ground by force, which could fuel tribal and political tensions.
The coming days remain contingent upon what these developments unfold, amid expectations of a new round of conflict with tribes loyal to the Southern Transitional Council (STC), which is backed by the UAE.
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] The Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... i Armed Forces announced that their air defenses intercepted a formation of Saudi warplanes at dawn on Friday.
According to the Yemeni armed forces' statement, the aircraft attempted to prevent an Iranian civilian plane carrying over 200 stranded individuals, maimed, and patients from landing at Sana'a International Airport. The forces confirmed that the hostile aircraft were forced to withdraw after being targeted by a number of air defense missiles.
In their statement, the Yemeni armed forces warned that any further violation of Yemeni airspace or new aggression would be met with a comprehensive retaliation targeting airports and vital interests across land and sea, emphasizing their rejection of the ongoing blockade on Yemen and their commitment to taking legitimate steps to end it.
Furthermore, they called upon the Yemeni people to maintain general mobilization and combat readiness, asserting that all their formations stand ready to execute directives aimed at lifting the blockade and expelling foreign forces.
The statement concluded by reaffirming the continuation of flights between Sana'a and Tehran airports, praising the stance of the Islamic Theocratic Republic of Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... in this regard.
[NgoComment] Seven more convicted members of a North Texas Antifa ...the armed wing of the Democratic Party... terror cell were sentenced Wednesday in federal court, less than two weeks after one of the convicts allegedly attempted to kill herself while in jug.
U.S. District Judge Mark T. Pittman and Chief U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor handed down the sentences in Fort Worth following last week’s 450-year prison sentence, a historic punishment of the Antifa group’s first batch of trial defendants.
With the exception of Ines Soto, all of Wednesday’s defendants had accepted plea agreements before trial. They received the following sentences in federal prison:
Ines Houston Soto — 50 years
John Philip Thomas — 9 years
Rebecca Deyalyn Morgan — 15 years
Nathan Josiah Baumann — 22 months
Lynette Read Sharp — 9 years
Joy Abigail Gibson (trans nonbinary female who goes by "Rowan") — 15 years
Seth Edison Sikes — six years and 10 months
Other than Nathan Baumann, all of them will also have two years of supervised release after serving their sentences. Baumann will have one year of supervised release.
Susan Elaine Kent was supposed to be sentenced, but her court date was moved to next week.
Ahead of sentencing, Ngo Comment can exclusively report that Rebecca Morgan had allegedly attempted to harm or kill herself while in jug in Wichita County, Texas. According to a source not authorized to speak on record, Morgan had consumed pills. It’s unclear how she was able to obtain the pills. Wichita County officials told Ngo Comment they had no records or information to provide.
Joy Gibson is the female romantic partner of the cell’s ringleader, Benjamin Hanil "Champagne" Song. They both identify as trans nonbinary. At least a quarter of the 16 convicts identify as trans. They are all being housed in the facility matching their biological sex.
In front of Judge Pittman, Baumann’s attorney told the court that his client fears violent mostly peaceful reprisal for cooperating with the prosecution. This journalist’s reporting was cited. Many Antifa-aligned accounts on social media have been threatening violence against some of the defendants for months for testifying at trial.
Baumann cried and apologized in his statement to the court. It is assumed that he received the lightest prison sentence, only 22 months, because of his strong cooperation in providing extensive evidence of the conspiracy to the prosecution.
Lynette Sharp, an anti-Christian activist, also apologized.
Seth Sikes disavowed Song, his former cell and its Antifa ideology in his statement to the court.
John Thomas provided a written statement to the court expressing regret for his actions in helping Song evade arrest but did not read it aloud himself.
Ines Soto was convicted at trial in March of providing material support to terrorists, conspiracy to use and carry an explosive, using and carrying an explosive and rioting. He is the spouse of Elizabeth Soto, who was also sentenced to 50 years in prison last week. No conjugal visits!
The other six each pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists, admitting in signed factual stipulations that they organized behind an Antifa ideology and participated in supporting the July 4, 2025 attack on the Prairieland ICE Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas.
Four of the defendants also cooperated with federal prosecutors and testified against their former comrades during the twelve-day trial earlier this year.
The sentencing follows last week’s punishment of eight co-defendants, who received a combined 450 years in prison. Ringleader Benjamin Song was sentenced to 100 years after being convicted of attempted murder for shooting Alvarado Police Lt. Thomas Gross in the neck during the attack. Maricela Rueda received 70 years. Cameron Arnold, Bradford Morris, Zachary Evetts, Savanna Batten and Elizabeth Soto each received 50 years, while Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada was sentenced to 30 years.
Federal prosecutors proved that the defendants were members of a Death Eater Antifa cell that spent months preparing the armed ambush on the ICE detention facility. Trial evidence showed members trained with firearms, communicated through encrypted Signal chats, stockpiled more than fifty firearms, assembled in black bloc clothing, and used fireworks to lure officers from the facility before Song opened fire.
Although most federal sentencing proceedings are now complete, the criminal cases are far from over.
All sixteen federally convicted defendants still face separate state prosecutions in Johnson County, Texas. Those state cases include charges of terrorism, aiding in the commission of terrorism, aggravated assault of a public servant, smuggling of a person, engaging in organized criminal activity (the Texas state version of RICO) and more.
Prosecutors have also expanded the investigation by charging six additional suspects accused of helping Song evade capture during his eleven-day manhunt after the shooting.
Federal trial defendants:
1. Benjamin Hanil "Champagne" Song (trans)
2. Cameron Arnold (trans; "Autumn Hill")
3. Bradford Morris (trans; "Meagan Elizabeth Morris")
4. Zachary Evetts
5. Savanna Batten
6. Maricela Rueda
7. Elizabeth Soto
8. Ines Soto
9. Daniel Rolando Sanchez-Estrada
Federal plea defendants:
10. Seth Sikes
11. Joy Abigail Gibson (trans; "Rowan")
12. Lynette Read Sharp
13. Nathan Baumann
14. John Philip Thomas
15. Rebecca Morgan
16. Susan Elaine Kent
Additional state defendants:
17. Dario Sanchez
18. Melanie Lynn Estes
19. Andrew Tyler Smith
20. Steven Thomas Reyna
21. Janette Goering
22. Samuel Hubbard Power Fowlkes (trans; "Lucy")
The federal convictions are also being appealed. Savanna Sue Batten, who was sentenced to 50 years last week, is being represented by a far-left legal nonprofit. A notice to appeal was filed for Batten on June 30.
During the trial, Baumann testified that Cameron Arnold, one of trans defendants known as "Autumn Hill," was the leader of a "sex cult." Arnold is believed to have belonged to the same trans Dallas commune with Bradford Morris, another trans defendant known as "Meagan Elizabeth Morris." They referred to one another as "wives." That commune functioned as one of the secret bases for the North Texas Antifa cell.
Left-wing media, politicians and activists continue to argue the shooting constituted protected political protest rather than terrorism, arguments that jurors unanimously rejected after viewing extensive evidence exhibits and hearing testimony from dozens of law enforcement officers, cooperating defendants and expert witnesses.
In reaction to the sentencing, Antifa and their supporters on social media, particularly Bluesky, have been issuing death threats against the judges.
Posted by: Chris ||
07/04/2026 1:53 Comments ||
Top||
#2
...Imagine the fun when the, ummm...gender confused folks discover that the Feds don't give a rat's patootie about what you think you are, and you'll be assigned to prison as your wedding tackle directs.
[IsraelTimes] Eli Levon, 21, allegedly sent pictures via Telegram of city sites including Central Bus Station, and hid a flash drive in a restaurant, in exchange for $1,400 in cryptocurrency
A 21-year-old US citizen studying at a Haredi yeshiva in Jerusalem was indicted in the city’s District Court on Friday for allegedly sending information to Iranian intelligence in exchange for hundreds of dollars.
Eli Levon, then a student at the large Mir yeshiva in Mea She’arim, received $861.35 in cryptocurrency from a Telegram chat app account called "Sina" in December, and another $517.78 in cryptocurrency from an account called "Alecsander" in February, prosecutors said.
He was arrested on June 9 and is charged with contact with a foreign agent and providing information that could benefit an enemy, according to the indictment.
The tasks Levon performed allegedly included sending photographs of Jerusalem’s Central Bus Station; hiding a cigarette box with a note reading "the work is done" in the Hadar Mall; and buying a USB flash drive, wrapping it in a NIS 50 bill and planting it in a central Jerusalem eatery.
However,
corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds... the indictment said that Levon refused a request by Alecsander in February to send a list of fellow Mir yeshiva students.
Levon performed the tasks despite having "reasonable basis" to assume the accounts acted on behalf of Iranian intelligence, prosecutors said.
Police had on Tuesday already announced that a US national arrested for spying for Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... was set to be charged, but the specifics of the case were under a gag order.
Levon is one of dozens of people, mostly Israeli citizens, who have been arrested in Israel in recent months for allegedly cooperating with Iran-linked agents via social media in exchange for money. Agents usually start out assigning Israeli recruits mundane tasks such as vandalism, but the requests often escalate into serious offenses like espionage and intelligence gathering.
The indictment against Levon said that while visiting family in the US in November, he used a pseudonymous Telegram account to respond to a wanted ad in a chat group called "Yeshivot Telegram."
About a month later, while Levon was on the plane home, he was contacted by Sina, who offered money for pictures and videos from Israel, according to the indictment.
Levon allegedly took up the offer, sent videos from the plane and after landing to prove his identity and location, and received $30 from Sina via a digital wallet. So he's a cheap wh0re traitor
Later tasks from Sina included hiding the cigarette box and photographing the bus station, a grocery store and an abandoned building in Jerusalem’s Bukharan neighborhood, according to the indictment
In his final task from Sina, Levon was asked to send a picture of himself and his passport, prosecutors said. Levon performed the task, but, fearing his personal information would be abused, blocked Sina’s account soon afterward, they said.
Then, at or near the start of 2026, the Alecsander Telegram account made Levon a similar offer of money in exchange for footage from Jerusalem, which Levon again agreed to, the indictment said.
The tasks allegedly also included sending footage from inside a grocery store, as well as hiding the USB flash drive at the Jerusalem eatery on February 23, five days before the US and Israel launched the war against Iran in a bid to curtail its nuclear program.
[IsraelTimes] A week after Beirut-Jerusalem framework signed, Israel says it hit 10 infrastructure sites used by terror group; report says 640,000 displaced people have returned home so far
An IDF soldier was severely maimed in a clash with a Hezbollah gunman in southern Leb ...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration.... on Thursday, and Israel responded by striking a number of the terror group’s targets, a week after Beirut and Jerusalem signed a new framework agreement aimed at ending the conflict.
And as tensions recede, more than half a million Lebanese residents have returned home to areas they evacuated amid escalated fighting earlier this year, according to a new report.
The IDF announced Friday morning that the reservist soldier was severely maimed in southern Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil on Thursday afternoon. He was taken to a hospital, and his family was notified, the Israel Defense Forces added.
According to an IDF probe of the incident, at around 6 p.m. during operations of the 679th "Yiftah" Armored Brigade in Bint Jbeil, troops encountered a Hezbollah gunman who opened fire on them, seriously injuring the soldier.
Immediately after, troops fired tank shells and struck the building from which the gunman had shot, and the Israeli Air Force struck other targets in the area.
IDF troops were continuing to scan the area for the gunman as of Friday morning.
The military said the Israeli Air Force struck some 10 additional Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon in response to the attack, along with "another violation" of the ceasefire, and separately hit a cell of operatives identified near Israel’s buffer zone.
The Hezbollah infrastructure sites in Bint Jbeil, Beit Yahoun, Kounine and Baraashit had been used by the terror group to advance attacks on troops in southern Lebanon, the military said.
In a separate incident overnight, troops identified a cell of Hezbollah operatives transporting weapons using a truck near the IDF’s security zone, according to the military. A short while later, the Air Force struck the truck "to remove the threat."
Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the war in March by attacking Israel in support of Iran, resulting in the destruction of large parts of southern Lebanon and the disruption of the lives of those living in northern Israel. US-sponsored efforts to halt fighting between the two sides have reduced hostilities, but have yet to achieve peace or bring the war to a definite end.
Last week, Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement committing Lebanon to restoring illusory sovereignty over its territory through the "verified disarmament of non-state gangs," which would in turn enable a progressive Israeli withdrawal. The state of Lebanon, along with Israel and the US, signed the agreement, but Hezbollah and its allies are opposed to it.
Meanwhile,
...back at the comedy club, Boogie was cracking himself up, but nobody else seemed to be getting the non-stop jokes... a Thursday report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said more than 640,000 displaced people in Lebanon have returned home, in southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs — a Hezbollah stronghold.
The IOM said "646,107 IDPs (internally displaced persons) have begun returning to their communities," while about 500,000 other people remain displaced, based on data collected in coordination with local authorities since June 22.
Lebanese authorities say they have worked to remove informal tent encampments in and around Beirut and reduce the number of official shelters.
But it remains impossible to return to dozens of towns and villages near the southern border, many of which have suffered massive destruction, and where Israel maintains a buffer zone.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on a visit to the security zone — which runs up to 10 kilometers (six miles) deep — in south Lebanon on Tuesday, reaffirmed that forces would remain there so long as Hezbollah remained a threat.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Here I sat, no, not broken-hearted, but reading something awful about the shootout in Waziristan, when the phone rang. It was The Little Woman. "Honey," she said she always calls me Honey, 'cuz I'm so sweet "could you go to the store and get some hot dogs and chicken legs for dinner this evening?"
If you're a lover of firemen's parades, you know what I'm talking about. If you've never been to one, let me try to describe it. There is no purpose to a firemen's parade except to have a parade. It's not even, despite the 4th of July coming up, despite the flags on display, an especially patriotic event. Many places have theirs in August, or even in September. Usually a politician or two makes an appearance, but even that's not really necessary. What's essential is firetrucks: pumpers, ladder trucks, utility trucks, boats on their trailers, tankers, you name it. Fire companies from miles around send their trucks, polished and spiffy, to appear in The Big Parade. Manning them are the volunteer firemen, the guys who put in hours of training for the privilege of riding the trucks to fires and emergencies. 
There aren't any pom-pom girls in Waziristan. They might not even have any firetrucks. If they're really lucky, someday they might.
...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...
...
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] The desert areas between 
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration....
