In The News: Thanks this morning to ChrisM, my MP3Angel, for supplying the news and commentary audio files.
»And that's the cheerful version of what might happen - A U.S. government shutdown seems almost certain now even as most of the numbers in the embattled budget have been agreed to with 52 riders to the bill stalling the process... perhaps until Monday. There's more @ Congressional Quarterly Roll Call.
»The Libyan rebels are in full rout and after many demands for air coverage a NATO airstrike has hit their forces apparently accidentally. Benghazi, the rebel stronghold is beginning to see incursions at it's edges by government forces. If al-Gadaffi's military takes Benghazi our whole involvement in the country's civil war will become quite 'complicated'. Former congressman Weldon is in Tripoli but has not yet been able to arranged a meeting with government officials of any authority.
More from Foreign Policy:
NATO has declined to apologize for an airstrike on rebel tanks in Eastern Libya that killed at least four people on Thursday. "Up until yesterday, we had no information that the... opposition forces were using tanks," said Rear Adm. Russ Harding. "Our role is to protect civilians. Tanks have been used in the past to directly target civilians." Thursday's incident was the third NATO strike on rebel forces since the organization took over enforcement of the no-fly zone last week... [Read On]
»We'll see how well the newly 'liberated' Egyptian army abides by the wishes of it's citizens. There is a protest planned today in Tahir Square Cairo to demand further reductions in the number of the old regime members still in government. The protesters have requested the Army stay away...
Bill Fisher @ The World According To Bill Fisher discusses the social role of the Egyptian military in the new millennium:
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Egypt’s Army Being Severely Tested: Can Brutal Old Habits Be Unlearned?
By William Fisher
Ever since January 25, when the Tahrir Square demonstrations started, I have been baffled at the precise role of the army. Ambivalence and indecision seemed to be their mantra. But as the pro-democracy demonstrations progressed, the protesters were seen embracing the soldiers and their tanks. I was told this was because of the great respect the Egyptian people have for their military.
Several days into the protests, the demonstrators were attacked by gangs with machetes, petrol bombs, rocks, even horses and camels. That was the first point that I was aware of the Army stepping in to protect the demonstrators and drive the pro-Mubarak folks out of the Square.
Since that time, I’m sorry to report that Egypt’s interim military rulers have been guilty of a host of crimes formerly associated only with the dreaded security apparatus of Egypt’s ousted dictator, Hosni Mubarak. But unlike Mubarak, the army is now responding quickly to public protests and international media attention.
And it is responding because human rights activists have learned how to work with international media and with social networking platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and You Tube that expose – or threaten to expose – Mubarak’s legacy of brutality which is apparently alive and well in the country’s military prisons.
One black-humorist said the military police fear CNN more than a gang of rock-throwing Mubarak supporters.”
»We could stick around if you really wanted us to... that's the message from Robert Gates to the current Iraqi government in regard to our alleged pullout from the country this year even as the Kurds of Tikrit engage in removing the Arabs relocated to the area by the Hussein regime. The chances of the Iraqi government which would perhaps request our presence sticking around for long itself are not good.
As if that weren't problematic enough, Iraqis begin to launch sit-ins at US military bases across Iraq this Saturday (April 9)
Here are their four demands:
Got a problem with those demands? It's THEIR country after all.
»What's left of the reactor IS NOT under control but at least the lights work... At the Fukushima EX-nuclear reactor in Japan, they've finally gotten the leak in the reactor casing sealed and the radioactivity measured in the seawater is diminishing (or should we say "Diffusing"). Yesterday there was a 7.4 aftershock to the original quake/tsunami that caused the damage, with no word on further damage to the already dilapidated facility.
»The Wisconsin supreme court elections went to the incumbent conservative ally of the state's embattled governor after 14,000 uncounted votes were discovered in Waukesha County. Quote: "This is not the first time that the Waukesha County clerk has found an error that swung an election—it happened in 2006 as well." More @ Daily Kos.
Meanwhile, Jesus' General decides that he lost something and Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus might know where it went. He also advises: "Lose something? Call Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus at 262-548-7010 and ask her to check her computer."
This is Razer Raygun saying 'Happy Motoring America...' Enjoy it while you can. (...and try not to let your government kill too many 'dusky natives' in the process OK?)
Hi! I'm Razer Raygun. Welcome to Razed By Wolves, Just another BloggerBlog consisting of news and other media about local, national, and global events, and the people who, by their actions and words, create those events, making the world around us a more dangerous, nastier place to live.
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