Jumat, 31 Oktober 2014
Editor's Note
I am finishing up on a rather large web project right now .... so blogging will be super light for the next two days. Blogging should return by Sunday.
The 'Cyborg' Defenders Of Donetsk Airport
The airport's main terminal is now a shell, only two years after it was opened
Ukraine Conflict: The 'Cyborg' Defenders Of Donetsk Airport -- BBC
Mention a cyborg to a Ukrainian these days and they probably won't think of "cybernetic organisms", or man-machines of science fiction. Instead, the word now conjures up images of rugged, heavily armed men holed up inside what remains of Donetsk Airport in war-torn eastern Ukraine.
The airport has become a symbol of Ukraine's fight against separatists, and the "cyborgs" are Ukrainians who have held on to it despite persistent rebel attack.
The nickname was first used online and has since become a media staple in Ukraine. It stuck, because to some the Donetsk airport defenders' exploits have appeared superhuman.
The separatists have been trying to capture the airport since May, allegedly with backing from the Russian military.
Read more ....
My Comment: In western Ukraine they are heroes .... in eastern Ukraine they are occupiers and murderers. As to what is my pint of view .... they should leave. All that these Ukrainian soldiers and 'volunteers' are now doing is ranching up the hatred between and east and west and making any sliver of hope for reconciliation in the new year next to impossible.
Europe Will Not Recognize Sunday's Planned Elections In Eastern Ukraine
Members of a local electoral commission take part in the preparations for the upcoming election, with stickers displaying symbols of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic seen on ballot boxes, at a polling station in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, October 31, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev
Europe Won't Recognize Vote In Eastern Ukraine, Merkel Tells Putin -- Reuters
(Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone that Sunday's planned elections in eastern Ukraine were illegitimate and would not be recognized by European leaders, a Berlin government spokesman said on Friday.
Merkel and Putin held a joint telephone conversation with French President Francois Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Merkel's spokesman Georg Streiter said at a government news conference.
He said in the call there were diverging opinions on Sunday's "so-called elections" in the self-proclaimed people's republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Read more ....
Update: Ukraine, France, Germany urge Putin not to recognise rebel polls: Kiev -- AFP
My Comment: Reading news reports like this one always makes me realize how ignorant European leaders are of the people who live in eastern Ukraine. The people in eastern Ukraine do not care what Merkel, Hollande, Poroshenko, or even Putin think .... they are only thinking of themselves .... and they are acting on those needs. This has been the history of this region for the past 1,000 years .... and I do not expect it to change anytime soon.
INFINITE F Ungkap 3 Foto Sampul Album Debut Jepang
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INFINITE F siap untuk debut resmi di Jepang dengan album single pertama ‘Love Sign’. Pada 31 Oktober, 3 foto sampul album pun diungkap ke publik. Terdiri dari Lee Sungyeol, L dan Sungjong, INFINITE F terdiri dari visual dan member termuda grup INFINITE.
‘Love Sign’ akan dirilis pada 19 November mendatang dan INFINITE F dijadwalkan akan mengunjungi Jepang untuk kegiatan promosi perilisan album, namun belum ada rencana yang diumumkan terkait kegiatan promosi di Korea.
Dalam berita terkait, Sungyeol sedang sibuk syuting drama KBS High School Love On dengan Woohyun sedangkan L sedang membintangi drama SBS My Lovely Girl dengan Hoya.
shared from koreaboo
Kai EXO Bintangi Video Klip Daur Ulang Deuce, “In Summer”
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Kai menjadi member EXO selanjutnya yang menjadi bintang utama video klip daur ulang di program EXO 90:2014.
Kai terlihat menikmati sisa hari di musim panas, dimana ia melakukan perjalanan sendiri dan menikmati udara. Ia terlihat bergembira dan bermain dengan anak-anak.
Mnet mengungkapkan jika video klip Kai meraih 300.000 penonton dalam 72 jam, video proses pembuatan pun akan dirilis.
shared from allkpop
White House Insists That Their Syrian War Policy Is Working
Fissure Opens Between Pentagon and White House Over Assad’s Fate -- Time
Hagel told Rice a lack of clarity is complicating U.S. efforts to combat ISIS
President Barack Obama declared in August 2011 that Syrian leader Bashar Assad must “step aside” for the good of his country after his forces had killed nearly 2,000 fellow citizens. More than three years later, with Assad still in power, the Syrian civil war has killed some 200,000 people and given Islamic extremists territory to occupy. That has led Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to warn the White House that the U.S. has to stop ignoring the Syrian dictator.
In a two-page memo to National Security Adviser Susan Rice two weeks ago, Hagel said the lack of clarity is complicating U.S. efforts to combat the militant group Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria, Pentagon officials say. The memo’s existence was first reported in the New York Times on Thursday.
Read more ....
Previous Post: U.S. Secretary Of Defense Hagel Critical Of White House Syrian Policy
More News On Reports That The Pentagon And White House Differ On Syrian War Policy
White House says Syria strategy working, policy on Assad clear -- Reuters
White House insists Syria strategy working amid reports of critical Hagel memo -- The Guardian
Islamic State airstrikes in Syria spur White House infighting over Assad benefit -- Washington Times
Are anti-ISIS airstrikes in Syria aiding Assad? -- Majid Rafizadeh, Special to CNN
Hagel balks at Obama’s Syria strategy? Not really -- MSNBC
Update: I guess the White House sent him a memo .... Hagel will not discuss 'critical' Syria memo (Reuters).
Spanish Intelligence: Jihadists Want To Weaponise Ebola
Spanish Intelligence Intercepts Plot To Weaponise Ebola -- Breitbart
Spanish intelligence has intercepted messages passed between jihadists online discussing the weaponisation of the deadly Ebola virus for use against the West, while a blackmailer in Prague has threatened to unleash the virus unless the Czech Republic pay him one million bitcoin, a volume of online currency worth over £200 million.
The national secretary of state for security in giving evidence to the Spanish Senate revealed online jihad propagandists had issued an edict to followers to kill Westerners by any means possible. Some of the methods suggested included “deadly chemical products from laboratories”, “poisonous injections” and “Ebola as a poisonous weapon”, reports theLocal.es.
Read more ....
My Comment: It is not going to happen ... and this is why .... How hard would it be to weaponize Ebola? Pretty hard -- Anna Mulrine, CSM
Pentagon Warns SEAL Who Shot Bin Laden Not To Go On FOX News
Pentagon: The Navy SEAL Who Shot Bin Laden Should Not Reveal Himself On Fox News -- Business Insider
On Wednesday, Fox News announced it planned to reveal the identity of the Navy SEAL who shot Osama Bin Laden in a documentary set to air next month.
However, in a statement issued to Business Insider the Pentagon stressed that anyone who participated in the 2011 operation that left the Al Qaeda leader dead was "still bound" by a "non-disclosure agreement to not discuss classified information, especially in a nationally televised interview."
This seems to indicate the SEAL could face a criminal investigation for participating in the documentary.
Read more ....
Previous Post: The Navy SEAL Who Killed Bin Laden Is Going To Reveal Himself To The World On May 1
My Comment: The Pentagon is right .... stay low-key and hidden. But what can the Pentagon do if he decides to show up and reveal himself .... there are no good options for the Pentagon is such a case .... put the man who killed the man who organized 9/11 into court and/or into jail ... I doubt it.
The Battle For Kobane -- News Updates October 31, 2014
An explosion following an air-strike is seen in the Syrian town of Kobani from near the Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province October 29, 2014. Credit: Reuters/Yannis Behrakis
Air Strikes Hit Kobani As Kurdish Peshmerga Prepare To Enter -- Reuters
(Reuters) - U.S.-led air strikes hit Islamic State positions around the Syrian border town of Kobani on Friday in an apparent bid to pave the way for heavily-armed Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces to enter from neighboring Turkey.
The predominantly Kurdish town, besieged for more than 40 days, has become the focus of a global war against the Sunni Muslim insurgents, who have captured expanses of Iraq and Syria and declared an Islamic "caliphate" straddling the two.
Its fighters have killed or driven away Shi'ite Muslims, Christians and other communities who do not share their ultra-radical brand of Sunni Islam. They executed at least 220 Iraqis in retaliation against opposition to their takeover of territory west of Baghdad this week.
Read more ....
The Battle For Kobane -- News Updates October 31, 2014
ISIL shells Kobane's border post with Turkey -- Al Jazeera
Kurdish Peshmerga Fighters Prepare Entry Strategy for Kobani -- Bloomberg
Syria IS: Iraqi Peshmerga fighters 'enter Kobane' -- BBC
Syrian rebels join battle to protect Kobane -- Al Jazeera
Peshmerga Fighters Leave Kobani to Return Later -- AP
Peshmerga forces delayed in Turkey en route to fight Isis in Kobani -- The Guardian
Syrian Free Army column enters Kobane ahead of Iraqi Peshmerga -- The Australian
Syrian regime denounces Turkey for allowing foreign fighters to enter Kobane -- Washington Post
Syria blasts Turkey for allowing Iraqi Kurdish fighters safe passage to Kobani -- RT
President Barzani: Kobane will not fall to terrorists -- Rudaw
U.S. Gen. Allen: Kobane unlikely to fall to ISIS -- Al Arabiya
A Town Shouldn’t Fight the Islamic State Alone -- Meysa Abdo, NYT
Iraq And Syria is now 'Ground Zero' For Foreign Jihadists
Foreign Jihadists Flocking To Iraq And Syria On 'Unprecedented Scale' – UN -- The Guardian
UN report suggests decline of al-Qaida has yielded an explosion of jihadist enthusiasm for its even mightier successor organisations, chiefly Isis
The United Nations has warned that foreign jihadists are swarming into the twin conflicts in Iraq and Syria on “an unprecedented scale” and from countries that had not previously contributed combatants to global terrorism.
A report by the UN security council, obtained by the Guardian, finds that 15,000 people have travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight alongside the Islamic State (Isis) and similar extremist groups. They come from more than 80 countries, the report states, “including a tail of countries that have not previously faced challenges relating to al-Qaida”.
The UN said it was uncertain whether al-Qaida would benefit from the surge. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaida who booted Isis out of his organisation, “appears to be maneuvering for relevance”, the report says.
Read more ....
My Comment: One thing that is going for the Islamic State is the following .... ISIS Has More Land, Money, Fighters Than Al-Qaeda Had on 9/11 (Breitbart). In short .... a safe haven and the resources to support those who believe in radical Islam.
Burkina Faso President Compaore Resigns. Army Now In Charge
Burkina Faso President Compaore Resigns -- Voice of America
The longtime president of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaore, has stepped down following protests against his efforts to stay in power.
Local media broadcast a resignation statement from Comapore Friday and an army spokesman confirmed the president had stepped down.
In his statement, Compaore called for a 90-day transition leading to "free and transparent" elections.
Burkina24 television reported Compaore left the presidential palace in a heavily armed convoy.
Read more ....
More News On Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso general takes over as Compaore resigns -- BBC
Blaise Compaoré Steps Down as Burkina Faso President, Ceding to Protesters -- NYT
Burkina Faso’s president Blaise Compaoré resigns after street protests -- The Guardian
Burkina Faso president resigns amid unrest -- UPI
Burkina Faso President’s Rule Ends, Military Says -- WSJ
Burkina Faso president relinquishes 27-year rule after violent protests -- FOX News
Burkina Faso Army Says President Blaise Compaore Ousted From Power -- IBTimes
Burkina Faso president resigns after protests -- Al Jazeera
Burkina Faso leader steps down, vote in 90 days -- AP
Burkina army chief announces creation of transitional government -- Reuters
Burkina Faso army head takes over as President Blaise Compaore resigns -- CBC/Reuters
Will The U.S. Marines Drop Their Standards For Women Who Attempt Their Infantry Officers Training Course?
Photo from Girls Just Wanna Have Guns
Pressure Grows For Marines To Lower Standards For Women -- Washington Free Beacon
27 Female Marines Have Attempted the Infantry Officers Training Course. None Have Passed.
When it was reported at the beginning of October that three female Marine officers had passed the Combat Endurance Test (CET), the initial entry screener for the Corp’s challenging Infantry Officer Course, the news was widely reported. You can read about it here, here, here, here, here, and here.
The story was indeed news. Up to that point, of the 24 women who had attempted the CET, only one had passed, and she had reportedly later been dropped from the overall course due to an injury. Struggling to get enough female officers into the course to produce a statistically significant result for its study of introducing women into combat roles, the Corps had directed that more seasoned female officers could attempt the course. Now three had made it over the first hurdle.
Read more ....
My Comment: Some are arguing that the standards were deliberately raised before women started to apply .... hence making it impossible for them to perform. I do not know about that .... but I will not be surprised that in the future the standards will be changed there by making it more easier for women to complete the course.
Putin To Western Elites: Play-Time Is Over
This represents a very interesting development in world affairs:
Most people in the English-speaking parts of the world missed Putin's speech at the Valdai conference in Sochi a few days ago, and, chances are, those of you who have heard of the speech didn't get a chance to read it, and missed its importance. Western media did their best to ignore it or to twist its meaning. Regardless of what you think or don't think of Putin (like the sun and the moon, he does not exist for you to cultivate an opinion) this is probably the most important political speech since Churchill's “Iron Curtain” speech of March 5, 1946.
In this speech, Putin abruptly changed the rules of the game. Previously, the game of international politics was played as follows: politicians made public pronouncements, for the sake of maintaining a pleasant fiction of national sovereignty, but they were strictly for show and had nothing to do with the substance of international politics; in the meantime, they engaged in secret back-room negotiations, in which the actual deals were hammered out. Previously, Putin tried to play this game, expecting only that Russia be treated as an equal. But these hopes have been dashed, and at this conference he declared the game to be over, explicitly violating Western taboo by speaking directly to the people over the heads of elite clans and political leaders.
The Russian blogger chipstone summarized the most salient points from Putin speech as follows:
1. Russia will no longer play games and engage in back-room negotiations over trifles. But Russia is prepared for serious conversations and agreements, if these are conducive to collective security, are based on fairness and take into account the interests of each side.
2. All systems of global collective security now lie in ruins. There are no longer any international security guarantees at all. And the entity that destroyed them has a name: The United States of America.
3. The builders of the New World Order have failed, having built a sand castle.Whether or not a new world order of any sort is to be built is not just Russia's decision, but it is a decision that will not be made without Russia.
4. Russia favors a conservative approach to introducing innovations into the social order, but is not opposed to investigating and discussing such innovations, to see if introducing any of them might be justified.
5. Russia has no intention of going fishing in the murky waters created by America's ever-expanding “empire of chaos,” and has no interest in building a new empire of her own (this is unnecessary; Russia's challenges lie in developing her already vast territory). Neither is Russia willing to act as a savior of the world, as she had in the past.
6. Russia will not attempt to reformat the world in her own image, but neither will she allow anyone to reformat her in their image. Russia will not close herself off from the world, but anyone who tries to close her off from the world will be sure to reap a whirlwind.
7. Russia does not wish for the chaos to spread, does not want war, and has no intention of starting one. However, today Russia sees the outbreak of global war as almost inevitable, is prepared for it, and is continuing to prepare for it. Russia does not war—nor does she fear it.
8. Russia does not intend to take an active role in thwarting those who are still attempting to construct their New World Order - until their efforts start to impinge on Russia's key interests. Russia would prefer to stand by and watch them give themselves as many lumps as their poor heads can take. But those who manage to drag Russia into this process, through disregard for her interests, will be taught the true meaning of pain.
9. In her external, and, even more so, internal politics, Russia's power will rely not on the elites and their back-room dealing, but on the will of the people.
To these nine points I would like to add a tenth:
10. There is still a chance to construct a new world order that will avoid a world war.This new world order must of necessity include the United States—but can only do so on the same terms as everyone else: subject to international law and international agreements; refraining from all unilateral action; in full respect of the sovereignty of other nations.
To sum it all up:
play-time is over. Children, put away your toys. Now is the time for the adults to make decisions. Russia is ready for this; is the world?
[This article contains Putin's entire speech]
Two Eurofighter Typhoons were dispatched from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland to meet a pair of Tupolev Tu-95 which are icons from the Cold War.
It happened as the strategic bombers flew south over the North Sea and they were later tracked by Portuguese F-16s in the Atlantic before they flew home.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said: "The RAF Typhoon pilots visually identified the Russian aircraft and escorted them through the UK flight information region."
The planes are Russia's equivalent to the B-52s used by the US Air Force.
It happened as the strategic bombers flew south over the North Sea and they were later tracked by Portuguese F-16s in the Atlantic before they flew home.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said: "The RAF Typhoon pilots visually identified the Russian aircraft and escorted them through the UK flight information region."
The planes are Russia's equivalent to the B-52s used by the US Air Force.
The eight plane group from Russia eventually broke up with six heading back home and two flying close to Britain where RAF Typhoons met them.
It was part of four groups of Kremlin aircrafts NATO had intercepted in around 24 hours since Tuesday.
In a statement the alliance said: "These sizeable Russian flights represent an unusual level of air activity over European airspace."
It was part of four groups of Kremlin aircrafts NATO had intercepted in around 24 hours since Tuesday.
In a statement the alliance said: "These sizeable Russian flights represent an unusual level of air activity over European airspace."
Some 3,000 police are deployed throughout the city ahead of expected protests and violence as Jewish-Arab tensions spiral in the capital.
Police were on high alert and access to the Temple Mount was opened Friday to Muslim worshipers, though men under 50 would be barred from the site.
Two residents of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Shuafat, both aged 22, were arrested after police observed them preparing to throw stones at the Jerusalem Light Rail as it passed through their neighborhood.
Police approached the two, who were holding a slingshot and rocks, but they fled. After a brief pursuit, they were arrested and will be brought for a remand hearing Friday at the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court.
At 5 a.m., a bus headed from Jerusalem to the Ben Gurion International Airport on Road 443, which passes through the West Bank, was struck by rocks thrown by Palestinians standing at the side of the road.
The front and side-door windows were damaged in the attack.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad on Thursday called on Palestinians to step up their “resistance” against Israel following theassassination attempt on the life of Yehuda Glick and the temporary closure of the Temple Mount.
Islamic Jihad announced that the assailant, Mu’taz Hijazi, who was killed by Israeli security forces hours after the assassination attempt, was one of its members.
The group said that the “Jerusalem intifada” will continue and praised Hijazi for carrying out his “sacred duty to defend the Aqsa Mosque.”
The group said that the “Jerusalem intifada” will continue and praised Hijazi for carrying out his “sacred duty to defend the Aqsa Mosque.”
The group said that Israeli measures in Jerusalem would not dissuade the Palestinians from “pursuing the “path of resistance and jihad.”
Ziad al-Nakhaleh, deputy head of Islamic Jihad, said that attempt on the life of Glick “affirms the correctness of the option of resistance.”
He said that the assassination attempt in Jerusalem proves that the “resistance is the most effective and strongest option to restore the land and preserve Palestinian rights.”
Hamas, for its part, called for a “day of mobilization” on Friday in protest against the closure of the Temple Mount. It also called on Palestinians to avenge the killing of Hijazi and other Palestinians killed by the IDF and police.
Ziad al-Nakhaleh, deputy head of Islamic Jihad, said that attempt on the life of Glick “affirms the correctness of the option of resistance.”
He said that the assassination attempt in Jerusalem proves that the “resistance is the most effective and strongest option to restore the land and preserve Palestinian rights.”
Hamas, for its part, called for a “day of mobilization” on Friday in protest against the closure of the Temple Mount. It also called on Palestinians to avenge the killing of Hijazi and other Palestinians killed by the IDF and police.
Arabs shot off firecrackers today (Friday) from a rooftop near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, in addition to trying to force their way past police barrier at the site.
Police and Border police forces prevented their entry using anti-riot crowd dispersal means.
Police and Border police forces prevented their entry using anti-riot crowd dispersal means.
Also see:
Epik High Puncaki Chart Album Dunia Billboard
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Menurut chart Billboard yang dirilis pada 31 Oktober, album kedelapan Epik High, “Shoebox”, menempati peringkat pertama dalam chart album dunia.
Sebelumnya, Billboard memuji album ini dengan menuliskan, “’Shoebox’ adalah sebuah sajian brilian yang khas dari Epik High dengan perspektif storytelling.”
Walaupun telah 11 hari sejak perilisan, album ini masih terus memuncaki berbagai chart musik di Korea.
Lagu “Happen Ending” saat ini memuncaki lima buah chart musik, yaitu MelOn, Mnet, Bugs, Daum, dan Naver, pada 31 Oktober. Epik High juga mendapatkan peringkat pertama dalam Mnet “M! Countdown” dengan “Happen Ending” pada 30 Oktober.
Epik High membagi, “Terima kasih atas cinta yang telah diberikan untuk album kami, yang telah kami kerjakan dengan sungguh-sungguh. Sudah lama sejak terakhir kali kami memenangkan penghargaan dan kami akan mengingat hal ini di dalam hati kami, serta akan terus bekerja keras untuk membuat musik yang dapat menghibur dan memberikan kehangatan untuk semua orang.”
Epik High akan menggelar konser solo “Parade 2014” pada 14 hingga 16 November mendatang di Blue Square Samsung Card Hall. Kemudian tur konser tersebut akan berlanjut ke Daegu pada 7 Desember, Incheon pada 19 Desember, dan Busan pada 27-28 Desember.
Source: mwave
Indotrans: anisrina
U.S. Congress Is Still Ignorant About NSA Spying
Congress Still Has No Idea How Much The NSA Spies On Americans -- Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic
Adequate oversight is impossible when even diligent members of the Senate Intelligence Committee can't get basic facts about surveillance.
The biggest lie Americans are told about the NSA is that it is subject to "strict oversight." Listening to President Obama, Senator Dianne Feinstein, or most any high-ranking official in the national-security bureaucracy, one gets the impression that the Senate and House intelligence committees are keeping careful tabs on the most technologically empowered spy agency in human history.
The truth is that Congress is alarmingly ignorant about NSA spying. It's not all the national-security state's fault. There are too many issues for every legislator to master them all; surveillance policy is a particularly complicated; and national security is an area many in Congress undermine checks and balances by deferring to the president.
Read more ....
My Comment: I guess the NSA has now reached the level where it is too big to fail.
Friendly Fire Deaths Caused By Defense Budget Cuts?
Two U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets of Strike Fighter Squadron 31 fly a combat patrol over Afghanistan, Dec. 15, 2008. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Aaron Allmon
EXCLUSIVE: Budget Cuts, Errant B-1 Bomber Blamed In Deadly ‘Friendly Fire’ Accident In Afghanistan -- Washington Times
The “friendly fire” airstrike that killed five American soldiers in Afghanistan on June 9 is the first known case of a battlefield catastrophe that can be linked to automatic defense spending cuts that greatly curtailed prewar training.
A review of the worst American fratricide in the long Afghanistan War also shows that the military’s official investigation faults a Green Beret commander, an Air Force air controller and the four-man crew on the B-1B bomber that conducted the errant strike.
But the investigation, headed by an Air Force general, does not question the use of a strategic bomber for close air support, even though experts say the tragedy illustrates why the big plane is misplaced in that role.
The Washington Times has reviewed the investigation and interviewed knowledgeable sources to compile a picture of the doomed operation in southern Afghanistan’s Zabul province, as well as the political and military missteps that precipitated it. Key among them, according to defense experts, was the use of the strategic bomber.
Read more ....
My Comment: I always remember what former U.S. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld once said .... you go to war with what you have. Could these crews have been trained better ... yes. Was a B-1 bomber suitable for this attack ... probably not. Would more training have prevented this .... probably. But in the end .... I hate to say it .... "shit happens".
Super Junior Sukses Gelar “Super Show 6” di Tokyo Dome Bersama 110.000 ELF
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Super Junior sukses menggelar konser spektakuler di Tokyo Dome bersama dengan 110.000 ELF.
Super Junior melanjutkan gelaran tur Asia “Super Show 6” di Tokyo Dome, Jepang, pada 29-30 Oktober bersama dengan total 110.000 ELF, menurut SM Entertainment pada 31 Oktober. Mereka membawakan lagu-lagu hit mereka termasuk “Sorry, Sorry” dan “Mamacita”, serta lagu lain dari album mereka. Selain itu, mereka juga menampilkan pertunjukan dalam sub-unit dan panggung individu, serta bahkan melakukan cosplay dari film yang banyak diperbincangkan, “Frozen”. Tak lupa Super Junior juga membawakan lagu versi bahasa Jepang dari “Mr. Simple” dan “Bonamana”.
Super Junior juga mengumumkan bahwa single Jepang terbaru mereka, “Mamacita”, akan dirilis pada 17 Desember mendatang.
Selanjutnya, mereka akan mengunjungi AsiaWorld-Expo, Hong Kong, pada 8 November mendatang.
Source: allkpop
Indotrans: anisrina
Kamis, 30 Oktober 2014
[Teaser] SPICA – “Ghost”
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SPICA yang akan kembali dengan single digital “Ghost”, memberikan sedikit preview untuk video klip terbaru mereka melalui sebuah video teaser.
Seperti yang telah disebutkan sebelumnya, para member bekerja sama dengan tim produser Sweetune (Han Jae Ho & Kim Seung Soo), yang sebelumnya pernah bekerja untuk “Russian Roulette”. Untuk lagu baru ini, tampaknya merupakan sebuah lagu yang terbilang sedih.
“Ghost” adalah sebuah lagu yang menceritakan tentang kerinduan kepada mantan kekasih yang tak dapat dihapus dari ingatan, dan hati yang tertinggal layaknya ‘hantu’.
Single digital ini akan dirilis pada 5 November siang hari KST.
Berikut teaser “Ghost”:
Source: allkpop
Indotrans: anisrina
U.S. Secretary of Defense Hagel Talks About The Threats And Long Term Challenges Facing The United States
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel: Get Used to Endless War -- David A. Graham, The Atlantic
From ISIS to climate change, the Pentagon chief says, the threats that face the United States are long-term challenges. Sometimes it feels like what's happening now, at any given moment, is bigger, more important, worse, and more dangerous than before.
Luckily, that often turns out to be incorrect: Today's news is tomorrow's hazy memory, and what once seemed like an existential threat is now nothing more than an unpleasant recollection. It sure seems like there are frightening events happening everywhere today—from ISIS to Ebola, Russian imperialism to Chinese saber-rattling, climate change to congressional dysfunction.
But is it really worse, or will this, too, pass?
Read more ....
Update #1: Hagel Offers Perspective on ‘Historic, Defining Times’ -- US Department of Defense Update #2: Hagel: 'I Think We Are Seeing a New World Order' -- Breitbart
MBLAQ Ungkap Poster Resmi Konser ‘Curtain Call’
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MBLAQ mengungkapkan poster resmi untuk konser mendatang ‘Curtain Call’, kegiatan terakhir sebelum kepergian Lee Joon maupun Thunder. J.Tune Camp menampilkan kelima member MBLAQ di panggung sebagai fokus utama konsep poster tersebut.
Time Ran Out For President Obama On Syria
© Stringer/ Reuters
Time Is Running Out For Obama On Syria -- Jamie Dettmer, Daily Beast
The idea that U.S.-backed Syrian rebels defeat ISIS and force Assad to the negotiating table has absolutely nothing to do with what’s happening on the ground.
Only three days ago, President Barack Obama’s envoy to the Syrian rebels, retired Marine Gen. John Allen, explained confidently that the U.S. would help to train and equip Western-backed fighters to become a credible force that would compel the Assad regime to negotiate a political deal and end the four-year-long civil war.
Yeah. Right. The Obama administration’s plans have little or nothing to do with what is unfolding all too rapidly on the ground: Rebel brigades are demoralized, disintegrating, and fighting among themselves.
The Americans and their allies are carrying out a desultory air campaign in Syria that appears focused on support for the Kurds. Meanwhile, President Bashar al-Assad’s forces maintain a withering air offensive of their own on rebels and civilians alike in northern Syria.
Read more ....
My Comment: Time ran out on Syria three years ago when the civil war started .... and looking at the present moment .... I see no good options on the table for the U.S. (or anyone else) when it comes to Syria. The place has become a total disaster, and there is no political will in Washington (justifiably so in my opinion) to allocate the necessary (and enormous) resources to make a difference.
In The Eyes Of The Kurds The Battle For Kobane Is Today's Stalingrad
The War Against Islamic State: The Kurdish Stalingrad -- The Economist
Kobane has acquired huge symbolic significance for all those fighting for it
“WE WILL resist to our last drop of blood together… if necessary we will repeat the Stalingrad resistance in Kobane.” The words of Polat Can, a Syrian Kurdish commander, to describe the fight against Islamic State (IS) jihadists for the town on the Syrian-Turkish border may exaggerate the scale of the fighting, but makes plain the emotional and strategic symbolism now attached to Kobane.
On October 29th about 150 Iraqi Kurdish fighters, the Peshmerga, dispatched by cheering crowds in Irbil, set off through Turkey to reinforce their brother Kurds. The deployment was sanctioned by the Turkish authorities, after much haggling.
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My Comment: My father was part of the pincer movement that surrounded Stalingrad during the Second World War .... his descriptions of that siege still stick with me today. So with this viewpoint .... in terms of scope, loss of life, and the intensity of the battle .... I ahve to say that Kobane is not Stalingrad .... not even close. But it is true that the battle of Kobane has become a symbolic as well as pivotal battle against the Islamic State, and everyday that Kobane resists the onslaught of IS forces .... the more the reputation of this city will grow .... especially for the Kurds.
Fatah Calls For 'Day Of Rage' On Friday In Jerusalem
The Palestinian government has called on its “fighters” to launch a “day of rage” against Israel on Friday that will include armed attacks in Jerusalem, a move that has sparked fears that widespread riots could wreak havoc on the holy city.
Israeli authorities shut down access to Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa mosque late Wednesday following the shooting of a Jewish citizen by Palestinian terrorists.
Israel’s call to block access to the Temple Mount area of Jerusalem’s Old City—the first such closure since 1967—led the Palestinian government to call for armed resistance and accuse Israel of declaring war.
“Fatah calls to its fighters and to the masses of the Palestinian people to aid the Al-Aqsa Mosque and occupied Jerusalem,” the Palestinians’ main political party said in a statement publishedThursday and translated by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW).
“The movement called to set tomorrow as a day of rage throughout the homeland and in countries which are home to refugees, to express the Palestinian people’s opposition to any attack on the holy places and foremost among them the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” the statement said. “Consider desecration of Al-Aqsa as a declaration of a religious war against the Palestinian people and the Arab Islamic nations.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also escalated tensions on Thursday by accusing Israel of declaring war on the Palestinian people.
“This dangerous Israeli escalation is a declaration of war on the Palestinian people and its sacred places and on the Arab and Islamic nation,” Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina quoted the leader as saying in comments made to the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency.
“We hold the Israeli government responsible for this dangerous escalation in Jerusalem that has reached its peak through the closure of the Al-Aqsa mosque this morning,” Abbas reportedly said.
Middle East analysts expressed great concern about the situation and said that Abbas’s rhetoric could spark renewed violence in Jerusalem, a city that has experienced relative calm for quite some time.
“There is a very unique phenomenon we’re observing right now, unlike anything we’ve seen before,” said Jonathan Schanzer, vice president of research for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).
Abbas’ comments accusing Israel of declaring war via its closure of the Temple Mount could make an already volatile situation even worse.
“Abbas is taking a potentially combustible situation and pouring gasoline on it,” Schanzer said.
The Baltics And Poland Prepare For A Russian Invasion
A U.S. Army soldier trains with the Javelin (U.S. Army)
To Beat Russian Tanks, the Baltic States Are Studying the Georgia War -- Robert Beckhusen, Real Clear Defense/War Is Boring
2008 conflict with Russia proves that anti-tank missiles rule
It was more than six years ago when a tank force from the Georgian army’s 42nd Mechanized Infantry Battalion fought its way overnight through Tskhinvali, South Ossetia.
The tanks were in trouble. They were moving too fast, outrunning their infantry support and taking losses to South Ossetian irregulars scattered throughout the city. Only hours into a war which would last five days, they had to keep moving before Russian reinforcements could arrive to bolster the pro-Russian, breakway Georgian province.
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Update: Poland Prepares for Russian Invasion -- XX 20 Committee
My Comment: I do not know anyone in Russia who is even entertaining the idea of invading the Baltics .... let alone Poland. But it should be noted that a year ago who would have thought that Ukraine would have disintegrated into what it is today.
Russia And Ukraine Agree To A Natural Gas Supply Deal
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak shakes hands with Ukraine's Energy Minister Yuri Prodan (R) after gas talks between the European Union, Russia and Ukraine at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels October 30, 2014. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
Ukraine, Russia, EU Agree To Natural Gas Supply Deal -- Reuters
(Reuters) - Ukraine, Russia and the European Union signed a deal on Thursday on the resumption of Russian natural gas supplies to Ukraine for winter after several months of delay during the conflict in Ukraine.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who witnessed the three-way signing ceremony in Brussels as he prepares to leave office on Friday, said: "There is now no reason for people in Europe to stay cold this winter."
Talks had been broken off in the early hours as Moscow sought more guarantees from the EU that it would help Ukraine pay for its natural gas. They resumed on Thursday evening.
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Update #1: Russia, Ukraine agree on gas supplies until March 2015 -- RT
Update #2: Russia, Ukraine and EU agree on terms of gas deliveries to Ukraine in winter period -- ITAR-TASS
My Comment: Ukraine had to acquiesce to EU demands for a deal to be signed .... and the EU had to acquiesce to Russian demands on how they are going to get paid. Not surprising .... Russia and Ukraine are not happy with this deal (see above photo) .... but winter has arrived in Ukraine .... and the heat needs to be turned on.
Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- October 30, 2014
Could Burkina Faso Protests Signal End Of President's 27-Year Rule? -- Jason Patinkin, CSM
With parts of the military joining the uprising, the protests against President Blaise Compaore running for a fifth term are likely to bring to a rocky close the tenure of one of Africa’s longest-standing rulers.
A week of escalating protests in Burkina Faso exploded into violence Thursday as tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets against an attempt by longstanding President Blaise Campaore to extend his 27-year rule.
Demonstrators in the capital Ouagadougou broke through lines of police, who used tear gas, to storm and torch the parliament building. The protesters took to the streets to protest a vote – now cancelled – that would have changed the constitution to allow President Compaore to run for an unprecedented fifth term.
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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- October 30, 2014
A role for covert action against Islamic State -- Andre Le Gallo, Jerusalem Post
Iran, Turkey Rivalry Puts Focus on Kurds -- Dorian Jones, VOA
Most Arab states share Isis’s ideology. They’re trying to have it both ways -- Brian Whitaker, The Guardian
Whose side is Turkey on? -- Patrick Cockburn, London Review Of Books
Why all of Jerusalem is seething -- Christa Case Bryant, CSM
Why Israel doesn’t care what Obama thinks, or even what officials call Netanyahu -- Dimi Reider, Reuters
The End of the Middle East? -- Robert Kaplan, Stratfor
Iran: The revolution is over -- The Economist
Xi Jinping Turns the Screws on Taiwan -- J. Michael Cole, The Diplomat
After Elections, What's Next for Ukraine? -- Robert Orttung, Moscow Times
Russia's flights over Europe: How much bark, how much bite? -- Fred Weir, CSM
What happens to the Caucasus when Russia stumbles -- Vartan Oskanian, Al Jazeera
Comprehensively Limited: NATO’s Disconnected Approach to Security -- Ian Ralby, War On The Rocks
First line of defense against terrorism: Mom and Dad -- Peter Bergen and David Sterman, CNN
Defeating extremism is a universal duty -- National editorial
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