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Cartels use ultra-light aircraft to smuggle drugs into the United States
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News on 3/Sep/2010 18:49
“Mexico’s federal Public Security Agency reported that criminal cartels have adopted the use of ultra-light aircraft to smuggle drugs into the United States.
These aircraft have a 100 kilo payload and can land in unpopulated or vacant areas where they are awaited by other persons. They can also fly at heights that preclude both visual and radar detection.
The cost of the aircraft is relatively small in comparison with the price of drugs, so they are sometimes abandoned within the U.S. A kilo of drugs increases in value from 8,000 dollars in Mexico to 30,000 after it crosses the border, thus resulting in a profit of more than 2 million dollars per 100 kilo load.
Ciudad Juárez, Mexico: They Poured Gasoline on Him and Lit a Match
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News on 3/Sep/2010 18:40
They Took Him Out of the Vehicle, Poured Gasoline on Him, and Lit a Match
http://www.oem.com.mx/elmexicano/notas/n1762169.htm
While more than 2,030 homicides have taken place in Ciudad Juarez during this year, the state attorney general prosecutors have only been able to find suspects in 67 of those cases, that is, one in every hundred. This is seen as a motivating factor for others to commit crimes, since the local perception is that killing has no consequences here.
Jesus Camarillo, a law professor at the University of Ciudad Juarez, said in an interview that, “In civilized societies, every conflict must be resolved by a third party, which is the State, now practically excluded, and then the conflict is resolved by private vengeance, and that is what we see presently: a state of barbarism, because the state’s presence is totally excluded, since there is no one to challenge crimes, no one to investigate them.â€
In Mexico, Central American Immigrants are a business worth $3 billion dollars per year
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News on 3/Sep/2010 18:25
Coffins containing the remains of 72 immigrants massacred in Tamaulipas. (AP)
“Immigrants are a business worth $3 billion dollars per year, which is divided up amongst the criminal cartels and corrupt police forces, both in the US and in Mexico. To cross to the other side they pay between $4,000 and $15,000 dollars.
Often, it is only the principle of martyrdom that drives the “American dream,” which has already been achieved by (in addition to tens of millions of Mexicans) a million Hondurans, two million Salvadorans, and three million Guatemalans who send about $10 billion dollars in cash remittances to their families in their countries of origin every year.
La Barbie confesses
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News on 3/Sep/2010 18:20
“On August 31 Mexican authorities arrested Edgar Valdez Villarreal, a.k.a. La Barbie. His nickname (he was said to resemble Ken the Barbie doll, with light skin and green eyes) was given by his football coach at United High School in Laredo, Texas, where he was born.
At the time of his arrest there was a $2.4 million reward offered by the Mexican government for information leading to his arrest, and a $2 million reward offered by the U.S. for information leading to his capture. He was indicted in the U.S. in June of 2010 for cocaine trafficking, and was indicted by the federal government of Mexico in 2002 for conspiring to distribute marijuana.
Mexican authorities claimed they had been hot on his tail for about a year, barely missing him on some occasions, while sometimes capturing some of his accomplices.
He was arrested under unclear circumstances in the city of Lerma, or possibly Santa Fe (reports were contradictory), in the State of Mexico, near the border with Morelos.
La Jornada newspaper in Mexico City reported that rumors were circulating among persons close to the government that Valdes had become an informant for the DEA at least eight months ago, and that he turned himself in and will become part of a witness protection program when extradited to the U.S.”
Ciudad Juárez, Mexico: Three dead bodies found behind shopping center
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News, Threat Watch on 3/Sep/2010 18:16
“Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.- Three dead bodies were found in the early morning hours before dawn behind the shopping center near Tecnologico and Ejercito Nacional.
There were indications they had been tortured before being executed. A sign painted on the chest of one of the bodies said “For being extortionists.” The men had duct tape wrapped around their heads and plastic neckties.
About 500 yards away another dead body, this one wrapped in black garbage bags, was found with a message, “For kidnapping,”
Is US Intel Helping in the Capture of Drug Cartel Bosses?
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News on 3/Sep/2010 18:09
Are US agencies providing intel or direct leadership in helping Mexican Military track down all these Cartel bosses in Mexico?
Video here:
http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2010/08/is-us-intel-helping-in-capture-of-capos.html
27 people killed in Nuevo León, several miles from the Texas border.
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News, Threat Watch on 3/Sep/2010 18:06
“At least 27 people were killed Thursday in a clash between members of the Mexican Army and an armed group that occurred in the state of Nuevo León, several miles from the Texas border
According to preliminary reports, no bodies have been identified, and it is alledged that the dead gunmen belonged to the Los Zetas criminal organization.
Three soldiers were reported injured in the clash and an undertermined number of kidnap victims were freed. More than 25 weapons and multiple grenades and 23 vehicles were reported seized.”
http://www.borderlandbeat.com/
Taliban Attack on Quetta Shia rally kills 60
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News on 3/Sep/2010 17:17
“In the second instance of sectarian violence this week, 60 people were killed and more than 200 injured in a suicide attack on a Shia rally in Quetta. The suicide bomber was apparently part of the procession and detonated the bomb upon reaching Meezan Chowk in the heart of the city.
As in the case of the attack on a Shia procession in Lahore on Wednesday, unrest broke out as members of the gathering fired in the air and set vehicles afire. They even clashed with the police, already on alert in the restive province. According to the police, participants in the procession had been warned of a possible attack and advised to take an alternative route.
While claiming responsibility for the Lahore attack, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan had warned of more attacks on Shias everywhere. But till late evening no one had claimed responsibility for the Quetta attack.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article611574.ece
Militancy and the U.S. Drawdown in Afghanistan
Militancy and the U.S. Drawdown in Afghanistan is republished with permission of STRATFOR.
By Scott Stewart
The drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq has served to shift attention toward Afghanistan, where the United States has been increasing its troop strength in hopes of forming conditions conducive to a political settlement. This is similar to the way it used the 2007 surge in Iraq to help reach a negotiated settlement with the Sunni insurgents that eventually set the stage for withdrawal there. As we’ve discussed elsewhere, the Taliban at this point do not feel the pressure required for them to capitulate or negotiate and therefore continue to follow their strategy of surviving and waiting for the coalition forces to depart so that they can again make a move to assume control over Afghanistan.
Indeed, with the United States having set a deadline of July 2011 to begin the drawdown of combat forces in Afghanistan — and with many of its NATO allies withdrawing sooner — the Taliban can sense that the end is near. As they wait expectantly for the departure of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) from Afghanistan, a look at the history of militancy in Afghanistan provides a bit of a preview of what could follow the U.S. withdrawal. Read the rest of this entry »
America to Islam: your actions are so loud, we can’t hear your words.
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News on 2/Sep/2010 23:55
Dear Islam:
You tell us that the Quran does not command you to be intolerant or violent towards non-Muslims. Citizen Warrior is not so sure your actions back that up:
“Muslims do obviously believe [the Quran commands you to be intolerant or violent towards non-Muslims], and they are using the Quran to justify their violence against non-Muslims all over the world, and they have been doing so for 1400 years.
It has been such a consistent theme, a web site keeps track of all the violence committed in the name of Islam around the world, and has been doing so since 9/11.
As of today, September 2nd, 2010, fifteen thousand, nine hundred and sixty-six attacks on non-Muslims have been committed since 9/11, and most of these attacks have killed and wounded many people.
[for the latest stats go here]
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/index.html#Attacks
The latest Ramadan numbers?
Ramadan 2010 Scorecard
| Day 22 | In the name of The Religion of Peace |
In the name of All Other Religions |
| Terror Attacks | 154 | 1 |
| Dead Bodies | 640 | 1 |
A reasonable response to Islam – based on a computer game?
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News on 2/Sep/2010 23:50
Anyone who dares to criticize Islam immediately gets branded a “xenophobe” or “racist”. They are characterized as paranoid, narrow-minded bigots.
Well, consider this proposal, based not on mutual respect – because there is no guarantee both sides will truly respect the other – but on actual cooperation and a track record of actions taken.
If you act in a cooperative manner, you get tolerance. If you bully people, you lose the right to have that tolerance extended to you. Tit for Tat.
TIT FOR TAT
by Citizen Warrior
In the 1970’s the political scientist Robert Axelrod created a computer “world” using the famous Prisoner’s Dilemma as a game computer programs could play against each other. He wanted to find out which computer program would succeed the best.
The Prisoner’s Dilemma is a hypothetical situation used to test whether someone will cooperate or compete, and how well the strategies work in the long run.
The game is played by two people. If one cooperates and the other competes, the one who cooperated will lose and the competitive one (the selfish one) will win. If they both compete, they both lose, but not as badly.
If they both cooperate, they both win. That’s how the game is set up.
If you were one of the prisoners, what would you do? That’s the dilemma. How much can you count on the cooperative nature of the other person?
The game is often played repeatedly with the same two people, each of them choosing to cooperate or take advantage of the other through successive rounds of the game.
The Prisoner’s Dilemma game is designed to parallel real life. If two people in real life cooperate with each other, it very often works to their mutual advantage. But if one person cooperates and the other takes advantage, it often works out very well for the selfish one and very poorly for the cooperative one.
On the other hand, if you go around preempting people — trying to take advantage of them before they take advantage of you — you will miss out on the advantages of cooperation, people will resent you, and you might get people working against you.
What is the best long-term strategy? This is the dilemma we are faced with every day, personally as well as culturally.
Robert Axelrod, the man who created the computer world, invited computer programmers to create a program to play the Prisoner’s Dilemma with other programs. The question is, which program would succeed the best?
In a game that resembles the real dilemma we all face, what strategy is the most effective?
The program that proved the best was named TIT FOR TAT. It was designed by Anatol Rapoport and it was one of the simplest programs submitted. For the first interaction, it would cooperate. After that, it would repay in kind whatever the other did. That was the whole strategy.
If the other cooperated, TIT FOR TAT benefited. So did the other. If the other took advantage, TIT FOR TAT cut its losses immediately.
As the game went on, TIT FOR TAT gained more (and lost less) than any other program. In The Moral Animal, Robert Wright wrote, “More than the steadily mean, more than the steadily nice, and more than various ‘clever’ programs whose elaborate rules made them hard for other programs to read, the straightforwardly conditional TIT FOR TAT was, in the long run, self-serving.”
And it’s the most fair to everyone involved.
I suggest we in the West use the same program when dealing with other countries and other cultures. We should begin with tolerance and cooperation, and then be as tolerant and cooperative as the other is from that point on.”
http://www.citizenwarrior.com/2007/10/how-tolerant-country-can-avoid-being.html
Mexican army kills 25 drug cartel gunmen near the US border
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News on 2/Sep/2010 21:52
“The Mexican army says it has killed 25 suspected drug cartel gunmen in a clash near the US border.
The army said a patrol came under fire as it approached an apparent training camp that had been spotted during an aerial search.
In his state of the union address on Thursday morning, the president admitted the violence was worsening but defended his approach, saying the cartels were being weakened.
“The capture or killing of important criminal leaders has made the crime organizations more desperate,” Mr Calderon said.
“It is an ever more bloody war between organized crime groups fighting for territory, markets and routes … If we want a safe Mexico for the Mexicans of the future, we must take on the cost of achieving it today,” he said.”
A Soldier’s Perspective: USS Cole Victims Spat Upon
Posted by Jack Sinclair in Opinion on 2/Sep/2010 19:31
“In 2000, I made a conscious decision to change my field of specialty within the Army. The catalyst for that decision was the murder of 17 Sailors on the USS Cole in the Port of Aden. In 1998, hundreds of people were killed in the embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.
Two years prior to that, 19 more servicemembers were killed by Islamic terrorists. When the USS Cole was bombed, I made a conscious decision to stay in the military (I was contemplating getting out) and change my specialty to be in a position where I could make a difference in stopping these attacks. While I was in school, 9/11 happened, confirming I had made a good decision.
The hardest part of this job is the politics that goes into fighting terrorism, especially these days. The country seems to have lost focus and forgotten about all the events leading up to 9/11.
We seem to have forgotten all the events SINCE 9/11 as well: the Bali nightclub attack that killed over 200, the Beslan school hostage crisis that killed nearly 400, 53 killed in London subway attacks, over 200 killed in Mumbai train bombings, the “shoe bomber”, the Fort Hood massacre, the Arkansas recruiter shooting…I could go on and on and on about Islamic terrorism. And yet, our country just doesn’t get it. We continue to play politically correct and pretend that either we aren’t at war with Islam or Islam isn’t at war with us!
The fact that an extremist Muslim cleric wants to flaunt his people’s attacks on 9/11 by opening an “Islamic Cultural Center” near ground zero and on the anniversary of the attacks is seen as okay by some!”
Don’t ‘Turn the Page’ on Our Troops in Iraq
Posted by Jack Sinclair in Opinion on 2/Sep/2010 19:27
“… in his Oval Office address to the nation, our Commander-in-Chief said it’s time to “turn the page” on our country’s current mission in Iraq. While we welcome the shift from a combat role to an advisory and assistance mission for the Iraqi government and its security forces, let’s not forget that we still have 50,000 American troops serving in harm’s way separated by distance and danger from their families.
The hard truth is that Iraq will continue to remain a target for those who hope to destroy freedom and democracy. The Iraqi people — and the American people — deserve to know what we are prepared to do if the cause for which our troops sacrificed their lives is threatened.
Over the past several months, we’ve often heard about ending the war in Iraq, but not much about winning the war in Iraq. If we honor what our men and women fought for, we cannot turn our backs now on what they have achieved.
When we support our troops, we support them all the way — there is no such thing as supporting our troops, but not their mission.”
173rd Airborne Brigade Soldiers arrive at Forward Operation Base Joyce
Posted by Jack Sinclair in News, Warriors on 2/Sep/2010 19:22
U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade arrive to Forward Operation Base Joyce, Afghanistan in a CH-47D Chinook helicopter, Dec. 17, 2009 Photo by Sgt. Teddy Wade