World News Thread & Breaking News!!

[TerraN_EmpirE]

First.
the US has never had a Universal police agency most police forces are locally organized at the state, county or municipal level.
second.
The agencies involved are normally giving this equipment away as part of a program run out of the DOD and DHS. If there is a charge incurred its to modify the vehicle to eliminate unnecessary equipment like machine gun mounts.
third.
I can understand some "military" equipment in police use, patrol rifles, even some vehicles like Humvees for a rural agency. But there is a line. And a Mrap to a Sheriffs office in two horse county is beyond that line. If it was say LA Sheriffs office or NYPD or even Massachusetts State police I could understand it. But for a Would be Buford T. Justice no. I can understand why a rural Police agency might want or need a M4 like patrol rifle a system intended to offer greater range and power in a specialized role. Like in a city feeling the need to counter armed gangs. Or a higher caliber platform to counter potential threats both two and four legged.This is part of the reason Swat was created. Some even have pointed to Swat as going to far to the militant for police agencies.

so why is this happening?
check the service records of most police officers and its often that you will spot military service credentials.
when in doubt fall on instinct. They see a issue and they fall back on training. these programs are offering this equipment not at a profit but for free. Free is a magic price that municipal agencies love and when not free there is normally a grant program from DHS.
this makes the officers feel the need to get it before some other department does. And Congress has only made it easier. It used to take weeks of paper work to get a used hummer from the Army now there is a 800 number. DHS and the DOD give this stuff away. Uniforms, weapons, Vehicles even training. Remember the Boston lock down? Along with the National Guard who are the Army. The Mass and Metro Boston Police showed wearing the same uniforms and gear why? They submitted a form in triplicate.

 

[ABC78]

First.
the US has never had a Universal police agency most police forces are locally organized at the state, county or municipal level.
second.
The agencies involved are normally giving this equipment away as part of a program run out of the DOD and DHS. If there is a charge incurred its to modify the vehicle to eliminate unnecessary equipment like machine gun mounts.
third.
I can understand some "military" equipment in police use, patrol rifles, even some vehicles like Humvees for a rural agency. But there is a line. And a Mrap to a Sheriffs office in two horse county is beyond that line. If it was say LA Sheriffs office or NYPD or even Massachusetts State police I could understand it. But for a Would be Buford T. Justice no. I can understand why a rural Police agency might want or need a M4 like patrol rifle a system intended to offer greater range and power in a specialized role. Like in a city feeling the need to counter armed gangs. Or a higher caliber platform to counter potential threats both two and four legged.This is part of the reason Swat was created. Some even have pointed to Swat as going to far to the militant for police agencies.

so why is this happening?
check the service records of most police officers and its often that you will spot military service credentials.
when in doubt fall on instinct. They see a issue and they fall back on training. these programs are offering this equipment not at a profit but for free. Free is a magic price that municipal agencies love and when not free there is normally a grant program from DHS.
this makes the officers feel the need to get it before some other department does. And Congress has only made it easier. It used to take weeks of paper work to get a used hummer from the Army now there is a 800 number. DHS and the DOD give this stuff away. Uniforms, weapons, Vehicles even training. Remember the Boston lock down? Along with the National Guard who are the Army. The Mass and Metro Boston Police showed wearing the same uniforms and gear why? They submitted a form in triplicate.

I think we shouldn't discount the fact that in rural America most police officers ride alone without a partner compared to urban and suburban areas. Also in rural America if the police get a call they are more likely to run into a situation where someone will have a gun especially long guns and other powerful small arms.

I'd have to say case by case for hummers for small departments but if they need light Armour vehicles maybe they should call the state police

 

[TerraN_EmpirE]

I think we shouldn't discount the fact that in rural America most police officers ride alone without a partner compared to urban and suburban areas. Also in rural America if the police get a call they are more likely to run into a situation where someone will have a gun especially long guns and other powerful small arms.

I'd have to say case by case for hummers for small departments but if they need light Armour vehicles maybe they should call the state police

I used Hummers as a example because of that platforms excellent off road capacity. Most MRAPS Are way to heavy for that. At 9tons the Mrap in the story would be bogged down in any natural disaster. Its best use would be urban or Suburban bomb squad or Swat.
Viking normally they are supposed to give refurbished kit for vehicles or as you said over stock. The numbers for those are generated in the US Congress based on estimates given them by the DOD. Iraq made the MRAP famous and the politicians wanted to say "Hay I am watching over our Boys, see Mraps!" Mraps worked well in Iraq but not Afghanistan, no roads. Is there something wrong with giving Police agencies DOD gear? Sometimes. Especially when its superfluous or way beyond the agencies needs. And there is a push back. But at the same time there is that grant or that sticker on the window that reads Free. This has been happening for decades. Started with simple military surplus of some older gear and kept expanding. In the Last three decades it started getting ridiculous.

as to the Mosul event this is what happens when you let off the pressure. Obama's end of the war let the roaches find a new nest and now they are coming back.
this administration is seriously out of its wits.

 

[ABC78]

Published on Jun 10, 2014

China has asked UNESCO to recognize documents related to the Japanese military's forced sexual enslavement of women during World War Two.
China's foreign ministry spokeswoman says the documents have important historical value and could serve as a lesson to the world... to prevent future crimes against humanity.
She added that they meet all the requirements to be listed on the UNESCO World of the Memory Register.
There was no confirmation on when the application was made, but the foreign ministry spokeswoman said the documents were found in China.
More 200-thousand women, mostly Koreans, were forced into sexual servitude for Japanese troops fighting on the front lines during World War Two.

[video=youtube;0WTNLQxzfbY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WTNLQxzfbY[/video]

 

[PanAsian]

Some follow up to the South Korean ferry disaster:

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Thousands of South Korean police forced their way into the compound of a splinter religious group on Wednesday in their search for a fugitive businessman wanted in connection with April's ferry disaster.

ANSEONG, South Korea: Thousands of South Korean police forced their way into the compound of a splinter religious group on Wednesday in their search for a fugitive businessman wanted in connection with April's ferry disaster.

Live television reports showed police officers, many in full riot gear, streaming into the sprawling church and farming complex in a morning raid in Anseong, 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of Seoul.

A spokesman for the Gyeonggi province police force said 6,000 officers were involved.

The huge operation came a day after President Park Geun-hye urged police and prosecutors to step up a manhunt for Yoo Byung-eun, 72, a leading member of the Evangelical Baptist Church of Korea.

Yoo is the patriarch of the family behind the Chonghaejin Marine Co. -- the company that owned and operated the 6,825-tonne Sewol passenger ferry which sank on April 16 with the loss of 300 lives, most of them schoolchildren.

"Yoo must be brought to justice," Park told a cabinet meeting.

He is wanted for questioning on possible charges of embezzlement and criminal negligence, as prosecutors investigate the extent to which the Sewol disaster was caused by a lack of safety standards and regulatory violations.

The raid netted three church followers suspected of helping Yoo evade a nationwide dragnet put in place after he defied an official summons to surrender to prosecutors last month.

Police were searching for 10 more alleged accomplices identified in a warrant that was "also aimed at getting hold of Yoo and his son," a prosecutor told AFP.

Yoo has no direct stake in Chonghaejin, but his children and close aides control it through a complex web of holding companies.

A reward of 500 million won (US$490,000) has been offered for information leading to the capture of Yoo and 100 million won for that of his eldest son, Yoo Dae-kyun.

Police had raided the church complex in Anseong three weeks ago but came away empty-handed, amid reports that Yoo may have fled overseas.

The church followers erected a barricade at the entrance to the complex, but made no move to block the police Wednesday after they forced their way through.

More than 100 members staged a sit-down protest outside the main gate of the complex, singing hymns and chanting slogans.

One spokesman argued that Yoo was being set up as a fall guy for the Sewol disaster, because the government was unwilling to accept responsibility for regulatory failings that contributed to the tragedy.

"(Prosecutors) should fully investigate the true cause of the accident before arresting Yoo," he said in statement read out to reporters.

"Our church will give 500 million won for those who reveal the truth behind the accident," he added.

Yoo has described himself as an artist and photographer, and was once convicted of fraud when a company under his control went bankrupt.

The Sewol's regular captain, who was off duty on the day of the accident, has told prosecutors that Chonghaejin Marine Co. "brushed aside" repeated warnings that the 20-year-old ship had stability issues following a renovation in 2012.

Five Chonghaejin officials have been arrested on various charges, including criminal negligence and breaches of maritime safety laws.

The police operation also came a day after the trial opened of 15 of the Sewol's surviving crew.

The captain and three of his senior crew members are charged with "homicide through wilful negligence" and could face the death penalty if convicted.

- AFP/xq/ac

 

[delft]

Mission Accomplished was bull, Yet Bush kept up the Pressure.
Bush kept US troops hunting the groups that would eventually become Isis. US forces had there foot on the Throat of the insurgency then the troops were pulled out by the Obama Administration. The intelligence and SF support was pulled and the locals were left to hold the bag.
This Conflict in Iraq is the same war as the one in Syria. The same groups that operated against the US in Iraq are the same ones in Syria. The equipment seized now in Mosul will be cycled into Syria. ISIS in iraq is the same organization as the one in Syria.

What then is the purpose of the US sending lethal and non-lethal material to moderate terrorists in Syria?

 

[airsuperiority]

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Slave ships from Thailand sell shrimps to Costco, Walmart, Carrefour, and Tesco, which in then sell these shrimps to us in our markets. Seems like another version of blood diamond. Do NOT buy these "blood shrimps" from these places!

 

[Equation]

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Slave ships from Thailand sell shrimps to Costco, Walmart, Carrefour, and Tesco, which in then sell these shrimps to us in our markets. Seems like another version of blood diamond. Do NOT buy these "blood shrimps" from these places!

Definitely a sad story, but that's nothing compare to the sex slaves upon women and girls that's being conducted worldwide.

 

[airsuperiority]

Definitely a sad story, but that's nothing compare to the sex slaves upon women and girls that's being conducted worldwide.

I agree. It makes my blood boil when you hear about sex slaves, mail-in brides, child sex workers, child soldiers, blood diamond miners...just about any forms of slavery and oppression there are. (although sex slaves really pisses me off in particular)

I posted that on facebook, and I can tell all of the friends who replied immediately showed a loss of appetite and disgust towards it. The torn-apart-by-boat was the worst. But yea this made me permanently cross shrimps from Costco, Walmart, Carrefour, Tesco, etc. from my shopping list at those stores.

 

[TerraN_EmpirE]

And Obama has spoken.

Obama: U.S. will not send troops into combat in Iraq
Jun. 13, 2014 - 02:56PM |

By Andrew Tilghman
Staff writer Military times
FILED UNDER
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President Obama said Friday he is considering military action in Iraq, but will not deploy U.S. troops there.

“We will not be sending U.S. troops back into combat in Iraq,” Obama declared in a statement from the White House lawn.

However, as Islamic militants continued to advance south toward Baghdad and threaten the American-backed government there, Obama said Iraq “needs additional support to break the momentum of the extremist groups.”

“I have asked my national security team to prepare a range of other options that could help support Iraqi security forces,” he said.

A Pentagon official said later Friday that those options will include “kinetic strikes” on the forces loyal to the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham, or ISIS, which were moving southward Friday and continuing a stunning three-day campaign that seized major cities, including Mosul, and large portions of the Sunni-dominated north and west.

The ISIS force inside Iraq is not large, estimated at potentially fewer than 1,000 fighters. But their recent military success is driven by the widespread desertion of thousands of Iraqi soldiers who were trained by the U.S. military and given billions of dollars worth of sophisticated American equipment.

Obama said those widespread desertions reflect the fact that the underlying crisis roiling Iraq is fundamentally a political problem between the Shiite-led government and its Sunni minority.

“This is not solely or even primarily a military challenge,” Obama said. “The United States has dumped a lot of money into these Iraqi security forces. And we devoted a lot training to the Iraq security forces. The fact that they are not willing to stand and fight and defend their posts against admittedly hardened terrorists but not terrorists who are overwhelming in numbers, indicates that there is a problem with morale, there is a problem in terms of commitment, and ultimately that is rooted in political problems that have plagued the country for a very long time.”

Obama said the ISIS advances this week pose a risk not only to the Iraqi government, but also, potentially, to the U.S.

“Given the nature of these terrorists, it could pose a threat eventually to American interests as well,” he said.

If the Iraqi government wants U.S. assistance, Obama said, its leaders will have to take significant steps toward resolving the political crisis between the Sunnis and Shiites. That likely would include vows to give Sunnis more high-level jobs and sending a larger share of the country’s oil revenue to local governments in predominantly Sunni regions.

“We’re not going to allow ourselves to be dragged back into a situation where we are there and keeping a lid on things,” Obama said.

“We can’t do it for them. In the absence of this type of political effort, short-term military action, including any assistance we might prove won’t succeed. This should be a wake-up call. Iraqi leaders have to demonstrate willingness to make hard decisions and compromises on behalf of the Iraqi people to bring the country together,” Obama said.

“The United States will do our part, but understanding that it is up to the Iraqis as a sovereign nation to solve their problems.”

The White House is currently in contact with the Iraqi government, and Obama said he might have a clear plan for military assistance “by the end of the weekend.”

As of Friday morning, the Navy’s Carrier Strike Group 2 and the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush remained in the Arabian Sea. The carrier deployed in February, accompanied by the cruiser Philippine Sea, the destroyers Truxtun and Roosevelt and Carrier Air Wing 8.

The Navy has no immediate plans to move the Bush carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf, Navy spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Sarah Flaherty told Military Times on Friday.

Some experts doubt direct U.S. military action would solve the underlying political crisis.

“I don’t think the West has a military role to play here,” said Charlie Cooper, who studies Islamic extremism for the Quilliam Foundation in London. “The situation we ought to hope is one in which [Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al] Maliki lends a hand to the Sunni tribes for political inclusion.”

Staff Writer Meghann Myers contributed to this report