Deposed Ukrainian President Yunukovych Reportedly Flees Ukraine as Masked Gunmen Take Parliament, Airport in Crimean Region

Less than a week after the closing ceremony of the Sochi winter games and Ukrainian president Yanukovych's exodus from Kiev, Russian news agency RIA Novosti is reporting that the deposed Ukrainian leader has fled the volatile Crimean peninsula to the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on Thursday night. Yanukovych's flight reportedly received fighter escort to the southern Russian city once inside of Russian airspace.

Meanwhile, the nominally autonomous Crimean peninsula has become the new flashpoint in the Ukraine as ethnic Russians clashed with Ukrainian nationalists in Simferopol. The strategically situated peninsula is majority Russian but still considered part of the Ukraine since the 1992 breakup of the Soviet Union. During the breakup, Russia and the newly-independent Ukraine reached an agreement to partition the Soviet Navy's Black Sea Fleet in exchange for ongoing use of the Crimean port of Simferopol.

Shortly after the 2008 Russian incursion into the former Soviet republic of Georgia, Yanukovych's predecessor- Viktor Yushchenko- announced that the lease on the Sevastopol naval base would not be leased past 2017. However, Yanukovych reversed course on Yushchenko's decision and agreed to extend to lease on the Sevastopol facility in exchange for discounted natural gas from Russia in 2010.

In the early morning hours on Thursday, dozens of masked, heavily armed gunmen seized the Crimean parliament building in Simferopol and raised a Russian flag on the roof. Later in the day, masked men in fatigues but with no insignias took up positions in Simferopol's airport- the main air hub in the region. Eyewitnesses say the men arrived in trucks adorned with the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet insignia and the road leading to the airport was now ringed with checkpoints manned by armed men in plainclothes with a Russian flag raised at each one. The takeovers come shortly after Russian President Vladmir Putin ordered troops to mobilize on the Ukraine's doorstep. Ukraine's interim president- who the Kremlin does not recognize as the Ukraine's legitimate government- has called the 'mystery troops' occupying the parliament building and airport in Simferopol a 'Russian incursion'.

Crimea's parliament had voted to oust the region's premier on Thursday and a referendum on greater autonomy from Kiev is set to take place on May, around the same time as the rescheduled Ukrainian presidential elections are slated to take place.

Meanwhile, Israel has expressed concerns that the makeup of the opposition groups and demonstrators that ousted Yanukovych includes ultranationalist, anti-Semitic and pro-fascist parties such as Svoboda. Op-ed pieces in Israeli media are calling for the Ukraine's 65,000 or so Jews to 'come home' to Israel amid concerns that racist and anti-Semitic groups could take advantage of the turmoil on the Ukraine to step up attacks on Jews and other minority groups. On Monday, a newly built Chabad facility in the southeastern Ukrainian town of Zaporozheye was firebombed- although Chabad officials say the damage was 'mostly cosmetic and the arsonists were caught on camera.

Anti-Semitism is nothing new in the Ukraine- there have been vicious pogroms and purges directed at the Jews in Kiev since medieval times. In the 20th century, the Soviet Union shut down Jewish groups and synagogues, exiling many Jews in other Soviet republics thousands of miles away. During World War II, the occupying Nazis exterminated Jews and other Ukrainians- the most infamous incident was the Babi Yar massacre in which SS Officers- aided by Ukrainian collaborators- massacred more than 30,000 Ukrainian Jews in a ravine outside of Kiev over two days in September 1941.

Towards later years of the Soviet Union, many Jews in the Ukraine and elsewhere in the USSR began to take advantage of Mikhail Gorbachev's policies of glastnost and peristroika to move overseas to the USA or Israel.

UPDATE 2/28- Moscow has admitted the troops with no insignia that took up positions at the Simferopol Airport are in fact Russian. The troops that initially set up positions in Crimea's parliament and the airport came from the Russian naval base on the Crimea while additional troops from Russia were flown in.

Former Israeli Statesman and General Ariel Sharon Passes Away at Age 85

Former Israeli Prime Minister and IDF commander Ariel Sharon passed away this weekend after being in a coma since January 2006. Sharon was instrumental in the formation of the Likud party and was Israel's 11th prime minister, serving between 2001 and 2006. After his distinguished career in the Israeli Defense Forces Sharon also served as Israel's Foreign Affairs Minister, Minister of Energy and Water Resources and Minister of Trade and Labour in late 1980s through the 1990s.

Born Ariel Scheinermann in 1928 on a farm in what was then British Mandate of Palestine, Sharon joined the Haganah- a predecessor of the IDF- as a teenager. During Israel's 1948 War for Independence, Sharon led a small unit in hit and run attacks against the advancing combined Arab armies and was quickly promoted through the ranks. Sharon was wounded multiple time by Jordanian forces and his battalion suffered numerous losses in the battle of Laturn, including survivors of the Holocaust recently arrived from Europe.

During the 1956 Suez Canal War, Sharon commanded a paratrooper brigade and an Armored Division during the 1967 Six Days War. Officially retiring at the rank of Major General in August 1973, Sharon returned to service less than two months later during the Yom Kippur War, leading a reserve armored division over the Suez canal and encircling the city of Suez, cutting off the Egyptian Thrid Army and effectively ending the war.

As Defense Minister, Sharon launched a 1982 offensive against entrenched Palestinian terrorists in Lebanon after repeated cross-border attacks from the north and the attempted assassination of Israel's ambassador to the UK in London. The PLO and other international terrorist groups had taken advantage of the relative lawlessness in Lebanon after a civil war broke out in 1975. Although PLO fighters and their Syrian allies were forced into a retreat, a Phalangist militia massacred hundreds of Palestinian civilians in a refugee camp in Israeli held territory- a war crime where Sharon and the IDF was accused of complicity.

After the 2001 collapse of Ehud Barak's government, Sharon was elected to the office of Prime Minister by a 44 point margin. In 2003, he became the first Israeli PM to visit the state of India. More significantly, Sharon oversaw Israel's unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza strip, which caused a significant schism within the Likud party. By late 2005, Sharon formally resigned as head of the Likud party to form a new, centrist party called Kadima before suffering his debilitating stroke.

Earlier this week, a state funeral was held for Sharon after laying in state in Israel's parliament.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Guns- Female IDF Soldiers Facing Discipline After Posting Racy Images Of Themselves Online

Conduct unbecoming- or best recruitment tool EVAH! [even tho' Israel has mandatory conscription-NANESB!]??

A group of new female recruits to the Israeli Army are in trouble with their superiors after pictures of the women posing in their underwear and topless with their service rifles began circulating on the internet.

The statement did not identify the soldiers or give any details about the punishments. Military officials said the base conducted educational lectures to keep soldiers from repeating the offense.

In a statement, the military said the young women, who are reportedly new recruits stationed on a base in southern Israel, had acted in a manner that showed "unbecoming behavior" for Israeli soldiers. "The commanding officers disciplined the soldiers as they saw fitting," it said.

One picture showed the soldiers removing their fatigue uniforms to expose their underwear and back sides. In another, five women posed in what appeared to be a barracks room, dressed only in helmets and a small amount of combat equipment. The faces of the soldiers were blurred in the photos.

Well...MOST of the photos...

But just in case you thought that was the end of it, a little over a week later a video of female IDF soldiers who appeared to be practicing pole-dancing around a rifle in the barracks began circulating online.



In fact, during the 30 second clip, a voice can be heard off-camera telling the women that the video is going to be posted to Facebook [probably would've been hotter if they were using a Galil or Tavor instead on M-4, but that's just me- NANESB!].

While these incidents involving amateur Israeli pin-ups and aspiring pole-dancers in uniform (sort of) appear to be relatively harmless [except, perhaps, to the girls in question, who were likely given the IDF equivalent of an Article 15- NANESB], the conduct has raised concerns about sensitive or compromising data being transmitted to enemies via social media.

The Israeli military began drafting stricter guidelines for using social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Under the new guidelines, troops assigned to classified units wouldn't be allowed to have social networking accounts while pilots and intelligence officers wouldn't be allowed to upload pictures of themselves in uniform or mention they're soldiers on social networking sites.

Every adult in Israel is required to serve once they reach age 18- although exceptions are made for Israeli arabs and ultra-orthodox jews. For an IDF conscript, the required service time is typically three years, although a number of Israelis stay on and make a career out of serving in the Israeli military.

Israel Launches Airstrikes Deep Within Syrian Territory

Syrian military facilities under the control of forces loyal to Syrian president Bashr Al Assad were struck by the Israeli air force in multiple raids over the weekend.

The first airstrike reportedly targeted Damascus International Airport where long-range missiles from Iran and reportedly destined for Hezbollah in Lebanon were targeted.

The second strike was considerably more dramatic.



On Sunday, Israeli warplanes struck Syria's Jamraya Military research center- where Western observers believe Assad's military develops unconventional weapons. The facility is also home to a Presidential Guard brigade said to be commanded by Bashr al-Assad's brother, Maher al-Assad.

Damascus was shaken by repeated explosions coming from the north-western suburbs.

Amateur video footage and eye witness testimony suggested rocket attacks had hit weapons dumps, triggering dramatic orange-flamed blasts.

The area houses numerous military facilities, including the Jamraya research centre, designated by Syria as a scientific research centre "in charge of raising our level of resistance and self-defence".

A state TV bulletin said: "The new Israeli attack is an attempt to raise the morale of the terrorist groups, which have been reeling from strikes by our noble army."

Damascus-based journalist Alaa Ebrahim told the BBC it was "the biggest explosion" the city had seen since the conflict began two years ago.

He said residents living near Jamraya reported feeling a "mild earthquake" just before the blast, indicating that the rockets may have hit an underground facility.

In addition to being located on the outskirts of Damascus, the Jamraya facility is located close to the Lebanese border, which makes facilitating the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah fairly easy.

While Israel has seemed reluctant to involve itself in Syria's ongoing civil war, this weekend's strikes were meant to send a message to Bashr al-Assad and Hezbollah's main benefactor, Iran. The missiles that were reportedly destined for Hezbollah were Iranian-made Fateh 110 ground to ground missiles, which have a range of 200 miles.

Although the Assad regime and Syria's state-run media have claimed that Israel is acting in concert with the Free Syrian Army and other rebel groups, Israel actually stands to gain very little from the uncontrolled collapse of the Assad regime on their doorstep.

Natural Gas Begins Flowing To Israel From Offshore Tamar Gas Field

Natural gas from a drilling platform some 90km off the coast of Haifa has started flowing to a processing facility along the Israeli coastal town of Ashdod this weekend.

Israel's Energy Ministry says gas from the offshore Tamar field began flowing for the first time Saturday and would reach a processing facility on Israel's coast by Sunday afternoon.

Long considered empty of natural resources in an otherwise oil-rich part of the world, two massive offshore natural gas fields were discovered off of the Mediterranean coast starting in 2009. The Tamar field, which is being developed by Houston-based Nobel Energy [NYSE- NBL] along with a number of Israeli-based companies, holds an estimated 9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Discovered in 2010, the much larger Leviathan Field is said to contain nearly 18 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. In addition to Nobel energy, Australia's Woodside Petroleum [ASX- WPL] is reportedly in negotiations for a 30% stake in developing the Leviathan Field.

The finds could not only help Israel become energy independent over the next several decades, but could make Israel a net exporter of energy once full scale production begins.

The Leviathan field is adjacent to another gas field called the Aphrodite gas field that's been claimed by Cyprus and is also being developed by Nobel energy. During the recent banking crisis, there was talk of the Cypriots approaching the Russians and securing a bailout by collateralizing a percentage of the offshore natural gas deposits. There has also been talk of Israel and Cyprus jointly marketing natural gas to European markets.

Protests Erupt as Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood-backed President Grants Himself Sweeping New Powers

Consider this a combination of 'Meet the new boss, same as the old boss' and a sarcastic 'Gee- didn't see that coming', Egypt's new president has granted himself broad new- what some are calling dictatorial- powers this week.

Clashes between police and protesters broke out in Cairo and Alexandria not even a full day after Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi issued a proclamation that granted himself sweeping new powers. The decree reportedly shields any decisions by him from any challenge by Egypt's judicial branch and has led to domestic and international observers dubbing the president 'Pharoah Morsi'.

Morsi today usurped all state powers & appointed himself Egypt's new pharaoh. A major blow to the revolution that cld have dire consequences
— Mohamed ElBaradei (@ElBaradei) November 22, 2012

Earlier in the week, Morsi had won international praise for attempting to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas after the IDF retaliated against a continuous barrage of rockets from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Not surprisingly, Egypt's judiciary slammed Morsi's proclamation- which seemed to be directed almost exclusively at the court system and the Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court.

Egypt's liberal and secular forces -- long divided, weakened and uncertain amid the rise of Islamist parties to power -- are seeking to rally themselves in response to the decrees issued this week by President Mohammed Morsi. The president granted himself sweeping powers to "protect the revolution" and made himself immune to judicial oversight.

The judiciary, which was the main target of Morsi's edicts, pushed back Saturday. The country's highest body of judges, the Supreme Judical Council, called his decrees an "unprecedented assault." Courts in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria announced a work suspension until the decrees are lifted.

Outside the high court building in Cairo, several hundred demonstrators rallied against Morsi, chanting, "Leave! Leave!" echoing the slogan used against former leader Hosni Mubarak in last year's uprising that ousted him. Police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of young men who were shooting flares outside the court.

The edicts issued Wednesday have galvanized anger brewing against Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, from which he hails, ever since he took office in June as Egypt's first freely elected president. Critics accuse the Brotherhood -- which has dominated elections the past year -- and other Islamists of monopolizing power and doing little to bring real reform or address Egypt's mounting economic and security woes.

Opposition groups have called for new nationwide rallies Tuesday -- and the Muslim Brotherhood has called for rallies supporting Morsi the same day, setting the stage for new violence.

Some observers believe that Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood allies in Egypt's Parliament are attempting to consolidate power while there is still some goodwill from the international community for brokering a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel and before more secular, pro-democracy factions in Egypt could galvanize and pose any significant opposition to Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood-controlled government.

Although the Egyptian military has been conspicuous by their silence, there are reports in Arabic-language media that Egyptian officers tacitly approve of the anti-Morsi demonstrations taking place throughout the nation. This could lead to a tenuous alliance between Egypt's military and the nation's Supreme Constitutional Court- many of whom still have officers and officials appointed by the Mubarak regime- and the 'Arab Spring' protesters who ultimately ousted the former Egyptian strongman. Hosni Mubarak has been incarcerated and is reportedly in poor health since June.

IDF Preparing For Ground Assault on Gaza Strip After Hamas Fires Rockets

Explosion and smoke seen during an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City. Reuters/Suhaib Salem photo

Air raid sirens sounded across Israel over the weekend as Hamas launched hundreds of rockets from the Gaza strip and the IDF retaliated with airstrikes targeted assassinations of Hamas leadership.

After the southern towns of Ashkelon and Beersheeba came under fire from rockets launched in the Gaza strip, the IDF killed senior Hamas leader Ahmed Jabari in an airstrike as Jabari and his aides were travelling by car on Wednesday. Hamas officials claim that additional Israeli airstrikes have killed 11 civilians in the Gaza strip. However, Hamas officials had been caught attempting to pass photos of Syrians killed in that nation's ongoing civil insurrection as Gazans victimised by Israeli violence earlier this week, casting doubt on the credibility of their claims.

Israeli officials said that most of the rockets- including the long-range, Iranian-made Fajr-5 capable of reaching Tel Aviv- were launched from civilian areas in the Gaza strip. Senior IDF officers say that the majority of the incoming rockets has been intercepted by the newly-deployed 'Iron Dome' interceptor system.

Israeli troops and armor have been massing along the Gaza border over the last few days as IDF commanders weigh an ground assault against Hamas targets in Gaza City. The Israeli army has also begun calling up thousands of reservists and erecting roadblicks in the southern portion of the country as both Hamas and the IDF took to social media to try and gain support worldwide.

While Israeli and Egyptian diplomats were meeting to discuss a ceasefire in Gaza, although Hamas has reportedly rejected any talk of a ceasefire.

Charlotte's Web- A Look in at the First Two Days of The Democrat National Convention

The Democrat Party's 2012 convention got underway on Tuesday from Charlotte, NC. Even before the convention, there was some doubt to the viability of the Tarheel state venue, as Charlotte was one of the smallest cities to host a convention from either political party, North Carolina is a right-to-work state and voters had passed a ballot measure that would define marriage as between one man and one woman in the state constitution- angering a number of LGBT groups that are part of the party's base. Mayor Anthony Foxx's decision to use out-of-state union labor for at least some of the projects leading up to the 2012 DNC convention angered some locals in a city where the unemployment rate remains at nearly 9%.

Visitors to the DNC in Charlotte will see an unconvincing facsimilie of a leader with little substance to it and ready to crumble under exposure to the slightest of stress. Then there's this nifty sand sculpture of President Obama, too.

The convention opened up with workers frantically trying to prevent a sand sculpture of President Obama from collapsing during some scattered rainstorms. The sand was reportedly trucked in from Myrtle Beach, SC and the sand-Obama is urging visitors to see Myrtle Beach.

An introductory video for the convention caused a stir when the narrator said "Government is the only thing we all belong to..". The statement was the polar opposite of what actor and director Clint Eastwood had mentioned in his remarks towards the end of the GOP convention in Tampa, FL last week- he reminded those in attendance that politicians work for the American people, not the other way around. The gaffe in the video was fairly minor compared to what had taken place on Wednesday.

As First Lady Michelle Obama attempted to make the case for her husband's re-election in a speech on Tuesday night, word had gotten out that the DNC had omitted any mention of Jerusalem being recognized as the Israeli capital or any mention of 'God' from the official Party platform. After a number of reports that the Democrat party had made no mention of this on the platform, DNC leadership took a procedural vote on the two subject with the gathered delegates. By rule, the measure needed a two-thirds majority for approval. When the delegates voted 'Aye/Nay' the first time around, Los Angles mayor Anthony Villaraigoso called for two more votes on the same subject. Even though the crowd sounded like it was split 50/50 over the issue- not enough for the revised language- Villaraigos hesitated and declared the amended language passed amid a chorus of boos.

The biggest winners of that vote were most likely Republican party candidates. Their opposition is now on record as boo-ing Israel and any mention of God and as a bonus, there is now video of the DNC leadership basically holding a vote over and over until they could get their desired results- even though it went against the wishes of many of the delegates.

Speaking of Israel, DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Shcultz was caught in multiple lies while being interviewed on CNN. The south Florida congresswoman had reportedly told supporters and campaign workers that the Israeli ambassador had said the Republican Party posed a grave threat to Israel's security. However, when word of Wasserman-Schultz's statements became public, Israel's ambassador to the USA- Michael Oren- categorically denied making any such statement. Wasserman-Schultz then claimed she was intentionally misquoted by a conservative-leaning media outlet, but then the audio of her remarks in question began to surface. Earlier on Wednesday, Wasserman-Schultz denied that there was any tension or rancor on the convention floor regarding the revised platform language and subsequent votes.

The fiasco eventually gave way to a fairly well-executed speech by former president Bill Clinton, however the main event was up against the start of the 2012 NFL season- starting off with the Cowboys vs Giants. The speech was well recieved by a number of pundits, but the question remains how many tuned in to the convention rather than the football game.

And while on the topic of footballs and stadiums, the Democrats announced that Obama's acceptance speech scheduled for Thursday will be moved from 73,778-seat Bank of America Stadium [which had reportedly been temporarily renamed Panthers Stadium because the Democrats and Obama campaign feared a backlash over the bailouts and tough talk on big banks- NANESB!] to 19,077 seat Time Warner Cable Arena. The campaign cited the possibility of showers on the night President Obama's speech was scheduled. However, a local forecaster said that with a 20%-30% chance of showers, Thursday night was actually the best possible night during the convention to hold a massive outdoor event. A number of pundits believe that the costly change of venue has more to do with the optics of Obama addressing a mostly-empty stadium when his campaign is supposed to be gaining momentum.

Curiously, with more than 3 consecutive years of 8% or more unemployment and the fact that the national debt reached $16 trillion on the first day of the Charlotte convention, the topic that seemed to dominate the DNC was contraception and abortion.

7 Killed, At Least 30 Wounded in Tour Bus Bombing In Bulgarian Coastal City

A bomb targeting Israeli tourists in the eastern Bulgarian city of Burgas detonated on a tour bus, killing at least 7 people and injuring 32 on Wednesday.

The bus was carrying 42 Israeli tourists who landed in Bulgaria at 4:45 p.m for a vacation in Sunny Beach. Two adjacent buses were also damaged in the blast.

Six of the victims died on the spot, and the seventh in the hospital following the attack, Bulgarian officials confirmed. Two of the victims were said to be Bulgarian -- the bus driver and tour guide

As recently as January, Bulgarian police had stepped up security measures for Israeli tour groups after a suspicious package was discovered on a bus carrying tourists from Turkey to Bulgaria.

Local officials belive the device was detonated via remote control, although witnesses at the airport told Israeli TV they had seen an unidentified man get on immediately before the bus exploded.

Citing recent Iranian-backed terror plots targetting Israeli and western interests in Thailand, India and Azerbaijan, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iran and the Lebanese-based Shi'ite terrorist group Hezbollah. For its part, Iran has accused Israeli agents of carrying out assassinations of scientists working with their nuclear program.

Over the weekend, police in Cyprus arrested a Lebanese man holding a Swedish passport in the city of Limasol. While in custody, the man admitted to being a member of Hezbollah and had detailed information on flights arrivign from Israel and photos of possible Israeli tagerts.

Carrying out attacks on Israeli tagets on foreign soil is nothing new for Hezbollah. The Bulgarian attacks come on the 18th anniversary of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association bombings in Buenos Aires that killed 84. There are reports that Argentine prosecutors have recently discovered that some of those involved in the 1994 bombing were using Iranian diplomatic credentials to travel and plan out the details of the attack.

The resort town of Burgas has become popular with Israeli visitors in recent years, particularly recent high school grads seeking out a 'spring break' type getaway before beginning their compulsory military service.

UPDATE- 7/19: Bulgaria's Interior Ministry said the attack was most likely a suicide bombing. The suspected bomber was caught on survaillence video in the terminal at the Bargas airport.

Interior minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said that investigators have found a Michigan ID at the scene thought to belong to the suspected bomber. The Interior Ministry is sending the identification to the FBI for authentication.

UPDATE #2- Bulgarian officials are now saying the Michigan identification card in fake, but some reports also claim a US Passport belonging to the suspected bomber was also found at the scene but has yet to be authenticated.

Pressure Mounts Over Intelligence Leaks From White House

Lawmakers from both parties have called for an independent investigation into intelligence leaks after a series of articles published in the New York Times disclosed details from a number of opeartions ranging from drone strikes on the Arabian peninsula and Pakistan, a double-agent that infiltrated a Yemeni Al Qaeda cell, a secret 'kill list' and the 'stuxnet' worm that crippled Iran's nascent nuclear program.

Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA), the chair of the Senate Intelligence Community, said the leaks jeopardize American lives and would make recruitment of foreign nationals for clandestine counterterrorism activities even more difficult.

Feinstein said she had no reason to believe that the leaks to the New York Times originated from either the House or Senate Intelligence Committees. The articles cite a number of unnamed current and former advisors from the Obama Administration.

Top Republicans such as Arizona Senator John McCain and House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King have accused the Obama Administration of passing on sensetive information to the New York Times to bolster his image of being tough and uncompromising on national security heading into the 2012 Presidential Election.

'This is the most shameful cascade of leaks I've ever heard or seen in government,' Mr King said [in an interview with] Fox.

'It's clear from those stories this came right from the White House, came right from the National Security Council, came right from the Situation Room... It has to lead to people very high up in the administration in his White House.'

Meanwhile, some agents with Israel's Mossad intelligence agency have not only claimed that the leaks from the White House put them in danger, but that the Obama Administration is taking credit for a computer virus that infected Iranian centrifuges as they attempted to refine uranium that was actually of Israeli design. Stuxnet surfaced in 2010 in Iran and targeted equipment operated by Seimens- including centrifuges- and would increase their operating speeds while continuing to provide operators with continuous false readings showing that the devices were running at normal speed.

Computer security experts believe that Stuxnet is closely related to the more recently discovered Flame or Wiper virus which has surfaced in computers used by Iranian government agencies. The flame virus would monitor keystokes and send screen captures of the infected computer back to a central command and control module before seeking out other systems to infect and then self-destructing via external command.

Toulouse Massacre Update- Neo-Nazi Former Soldiers Cleared; French Authorities Corner Algerian al Qaeda Operative

In the hours after yesterday's killing spree in front of a Jewish school in southwestern French city of Toulouse, investigators had focused their attention on three former soldiers in the French Army who were neo-Nazis and had also served in the same unit as the three soldiers who were gunned down at an ATM earlier this month.

According to reports published Monday, French police investigating the fatal shootings of a teacher and three children at a Jewish school in Toulouse were searching for the three soldiers, who were dismissed from the army a few years ago after being photographed while giving Nazi salutes in front of a Swastika flag.

Monday's deadly shooting came just days after three soldiers — from the same 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment with which the dismissed trio served — were shot dead in broad daylight in Montauban 30 miles away last Thursday. Two of the murdered soldiers were Muslim.

But France Info's report, published Tuesday, said the three neo-Nazis were located by police and cleared of any suspicion. A police official told the website that two of the former troops were interrogated after the shooting attack on the Jewish school, while the third was questioned after the attack in Montauban.

Ynet's correspondent in Toulouse added that according to reports in France, one of the three neo-Nazis voluntarily reported to a police station to be interrogated.

Investigators from the DRCI (Central Directorate of Internal Intelligence) were focusing on 24 year old Mohammed Mera, a French national of Algerian descent who had reportedly travelled to the tribal area in Pakistan's North West Frontier province to fight alongside the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

Merah was reportedly arrested by authorities in Afghanistan for planting bombs and sentenced to 3 years in prison, but was part of a massive April 2011 jailbreak that freed hundreds of inmates and captured Taliban fighters.

The DRCI had reportedly found Mera after checking e-mail correspondence from the first known victim. Mera was reportedly exchanging e-mails under a false account with a French soldier who was gunned down in a residential area of Toulouse earlier this month. Investigators traced the e-mails to a computer using the IP address of Mera's brother. Ballistics experts also conclusively matched bullets used in the school shooting as coming from the same one used to shoot the paratroopers.

On Wednesday morning, Mera exchanged gunfire with heavily armed police officers as they moved in to raid his Toulouse home- which was near the Ozar Hatorah Jewish school. Three officers were wounded and Mera barricaded himself inside his residence as he attempted to negotiate his surrender as the neighborhood was cordoned off.

CCTV footage from the schoolyard massacre also showed the shooter appeared to have some sort of digital camera around his neck to film the attack as it took place. DRCI investigators believe that Mera was ultimately going to post the footage of his attacks online at a jihad website.

Also on Wednesday morning, funeral services were held in Jerusalem for the four victims slain at the school. Rabbi Jonathan Sandler, 30, his sons Arieh, 5, and Gabriel, 4, and 7 year old Miriam Monsonego were laid to rest with at least 2000 mourners present at the massive Gavit Shaul cemetary west of Jerusalem.

In Mainland China, A Growing Demand For Female Bodyguards

With mainland China now having more than a million millionaires- and roughly 30% of them being women- there has been a steady growth in demand for bodyguards, particularly female bodyguards.

Female bodyguards in mainland China can earn more than their male counterparts and are reportedly highly sought after because they can assume other roles such as nanny, secretary or personal assistant. While the average annual wage in mainland China is around US$1500, a female bodyguard can earn the equivalent of US$100 a day. Potential clients (or their families) also believe a the presence of a female bodyguard is less likely to lead to gossip or innuendo about an affair than having a male bodyguard.


The intensive months-long course from Tianjiao Special Guard Consultant Ltd of Beijing is among the first in China to offer training to women. Tianjiao's recently enrolled class was China's first all-female bodyguard class, featuring 20 women- nearly all of them university graduates. The course instructs enrollees on the finer points of martial arts, business etiquette, surveillance and evasive driving as well as intensive physical training on the torrid southern Chinese island of Hainan.


Highlights of the course also include having a bottle broken over the trainees head to build up endurance. The top trainee to finish the Tianjiao Consultant course will also be move on for further training at the International Security Academy in Israel. According to recent reports from Israel National News, the pool of 20 potential recruits had been whittled down to five by the end of January.

A couple of random things I noticed while compiling this blog entry. One is that for the most part, the women seen in desert fatigues in the articles and video about the Tianjiao firm are pretty easy on the eyes. You would think there would be a few genuinely intimidating bruisers in there given the nature of the profession they seek to enter. My first thought was 'Ah! This is probably a Potemkin academy where they trot out the attractive women and keep the bruisers and fierce-looking women in hiding until the cameras go away'.

There probably is something to that, but Tianjiao head Chen Yongqing also points out that they get an increasing number of clients who are celebrities. And at some high end red-carpet event, which bodyguard would stand out more- a smaller, attractive woman in a dress or gown or Yao Ming in drag?

Maybe I'm over-thinking things, but I'm also at a loss to explain the German and Norweigan flag patches you'll see on some of the uniforms. I mean, did the academy get such a sweetheart deal on surplus uniforms from those two nations that they forgot to remove the insignias? Or were the women divided into two different groups at some point in their training and the two flags a way of differentiating the groups? Or one flag indicates instructor and another indicates trainee?

The presence of cameras along the beach in that one photo above also seems to indicate that this is juicy fodder for some sort of reality show- perhaps Wipeout meets Who Wants to Be Protect a Millionaire?

For some reason, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to learn that some now-retired People's Liberation Army Special Operations Unit veterans concocted the whole physical training regimen in Hainan as a way of getting attractive 20-something women to pay them to run around in swimsuits and get put through the wringer while getting yelled at the whole time with the added bonus of some network or producer paying them to film attractive 20-something women in swimsuits getting put through the wringer and yelled at [just saying wish I thought of it first, that's all- NANESB!].

Still- does anybody remember my earlier observation about women in the American or Israeli military clad in BDUs? Since the Battle Dress Uniform of the United States Army is meant to be uniform (as opposed to accentuating a woman's figure) if a woman can look good in that, she can look good in anything.

I was starting to think the same thing about some of the trainees in what looked like the German or Norweigan desert camo uniforms.


If they can look presentable in those European military hand-me-downs, imagine how good some of them would look in...say....a silk cheongsam or qi pao [Hooray! Another completely gratuitous chance to post pictures of Cheongsam-clad ladies- NANESB!]. And since much of their clientele is in the entertainment industry, it wouldn't be that farfetched for them to be wearing one of those at some high profile event like a movie premiere or wedding.

Come to think of it, in these uncertain times, I'm beginning to think I could use some additional protection myself.

Happy Hanukkah From Not Another New England Sports Blog

This is one of those fortuitous years where Christmas and Hanaukkah overlap one another, so you have occasional menorahs and illuminated Stars of David thrown in with the various displays of Christmas lights amoid everything else.

As a semi-practicing Christian, my only encounter with the Jewish Festival of lights was while visiting a sibling in college whose housemates were practicing Jews. As guest, I was invited to light the menorah as they prayed in Hebrew. I'm pleased to say it went smoothly- no structure fires or anything.


Currently, the closest thing I have to a tradition for the Jewish holidays is to post some Rule 5-tastic images of women in uniform (tight, snug uniforms no less) of the Israeli defense forces persuasion.

So I figure I might as well keep a good thing going. Remember, Israel has near-universal consription for Jews over the age of 18, so its not unusual to see men and women from all walks of life serving the IDF in some capacity- even triplets.

Feds Disrupt Iranian-Backed Plot to Bomb Israeli Embassy, Assasinate Saudi Envoy to USA

Agents from the FBI and DEA have reportedly disrupted a terror plot liked directly to Iran's Quds force that involved simultaneous attacks against the Israeli and Saudi embassies in Washington D.C.

Federal investigatos allege that an Iranian American identified as 56 year old Mansour Arbabsiar, a Corpus Christi TX used car salesman as the man who approached what he thought was a member of the Los Zetas cartel with a proposal to kill the Saudi ambassador to the USA and bomb the Israeli embassy in Washington D.C. in exchange for $1.5 million and an undisclosed amount of opium.

Arbabsiar and the informant met twice in Reynosa in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas, across the border from McAllen, TX [interestingly, observers note that Reynosa is in territory still under control of the Gulf Cartel, but the accused was meeting with what he thought was an enforcer from the archrival Los Zetas- NANESB!] where Arbabsiar bragged that he had a cousin who was a high-ranking member of the Quds force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and that they were being directed by senior-level officials of the Iranian regime.

The five count criminal complaint names Gohlam Shakuri, an Iranian based member of the Quds force still at large in Iran, as a co-conspirator in the plot. Arbabsiar and the informant negotiated a $1.5 million payment to carry out the attacks, with the accused wiring two seperate payments of $49,960 into a dummy FBI bank account. Arbabsiar also told the informant that his contacts in Iran couild provide Los Zetas with 'tons' of opium if they were interested.

Federal agents said they recorded a number of phone calls and meeting with the informant and Arbabsiar, some of the calls coming from Iran. In late September, when Arbabsiar was flying to Mexico City from Iran via Frankfurt, he was refused entry into Mexico by immigration officers at Arturo Beneitez international airport and was put on a flight to New York where he was taken into custody.

Not surprisingly, Iran has denied the charges against their regime, claiming the case is a 'prefabricated scenario' and propaganda against the Islamic regime.

Interestingly, even though Arbabsiar was taken into custody nearly two weeks ago, Attorney General Eric Holder's press conference announcing the disruption of the plot came a day before House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chariman, Darrell Issa (R- CA49) issued Holder a subpoena in regards to their ongoing Fast & Furious probe in which the ATF allowed firearms to be trafficked from the USA to Mexican drug cartels. In fact, one of the reporters brought up Fast & Furious during the press conference, only to have Holder dismiss it with a boilerplate statement about turning over the relelvant documents before walking out.

There is precedent for Iranian-backed groups co-ordinating attacks out of Latin America. In 1992, 29 people were killed when a truck bomb exploded outside the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires. A group with links to the Iranian back Hezbollah terrorist group and Iran called the Islamic Jihad organization claimed responsibility. The Isreali Embassy attacks were followed up by the 1994 bombing of the AMIA (Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina) building in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people. Argentine investigators believe that both operations were planned and financed in the Tri-Border area where the boundaries of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil meet near Iguazu Falls and where Hezbollah has been active over the last two decades. More recently, Mexican intelligence has been aware of a Hezbollah presence in Tijuana and Durango.

Thrice As Nice- A Rosh Hoshanah Tale From Not Another New England Sports Blog!

Because I'm not the most ambitious person in the world to start off with- plus I'll be even further out in the boonies than usual over the next couple of days- I started out thinking I'd do something similar to my blog entry last year for the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hoshanah. Basically some generic wishes peppered with some olive drab clad Rule 5-bait of the Israeli persuasion.

But while doing a search for some IDF eye candy (and lets face it, they are to women in uniform what Brazilians are to female soccer fans), I came across the tale of the very lovely and unique Orbaum Triplets, pictured above.

"The concept of 'one for all and all for one' can get pretty absurd," the late Jerusalem Post staffer and columnist Sam Orbaum wrote about his identical triplet daughters 14 years ago.

Orbaum, who passed away in 2002 at the age of 46, went on in the column, entitled "The threeness of it all," to describe life as a father of identical triplets.

Not only did he sometimes mix them up, Orbaum wrote in his well-known wry, comic style, but he was also constantly impressed by their tight bond - when for example they stood up for one another in fights in the school sandbox.

The three blond 19-year-old sisters are still sticking up for one another, although this time not on the playground but in the IAF, in which they all enlisted a few months ago, making history.

While all three are in khaki-colored air force uniforms, they don't serve together. Odelia, the oldest (born a minute before her two sisters), serves as a control officer in the IAF's underground command-and-control center in the Kirya in Tel Aviv; Nomi is an air traffic control officer at the IAF's Palmahim Base; and Donna is currently in training for a different IAF position near Herzliya.

"Even though we are, in a sense, still together since we are all in the IAF, it was still difficult to split up to different positions and offices," said Odelia.

The sisters say that they think of themselves as one person, which might not make sense - until one sees how they complete one another's sentences or give the same answers during the interview.

Since elementary school the three have been together, going on to the same high school in Jerusalem's Ramot neighborhood and then to the same premilitary academy in the Jordan Valley.

It was there that the triplets decided to enlist in the IDF and not do national service like most of their female classmates.

"As religious girls we were confused about what to do," said Nomi. "But [we] decided to enlist into the IDF since national service, like working in an old age home, is something we can always do after our military service, but military service is right now. [It's] the only time we can do it and is what characterizes the state."

Once they made their decision, all they had left was to find fulfilling jobs in the IDF. Donna said she thought about trying out for the pilot's course; Nomi thought at one point about joining the Ground Forces Command and becoming an infantry instructor.

In the end, they all made their way to the air force, albeit on different bases.

"We didn't all decide to joint the IAF," explained Odelia. "That is just how it worked out."

Nomi, the self-declared "controlling" sister, said that becoming an air traffic controller fit in very well with her personality.

"I usually make the decisions so becoming an air traffic controller was natural," she said.

While the three are not currently together, they all plan on becoming officers and hope to be in the same course at the Bahad 1 Officer Training School near Mitzpe Ramon in a few months.

If that doesn't work out, there's always the post-IDF trip overseas, which they have no doubt they will make together.

The girls also don't doubt that their father would have supported their decision to join the army. When Sam came to Israel he tried to enlist, they said, but he was exempted on medical grounds.

"He supported us in everything we did until he passed away when we were 12," Donna said. "This is the seventh year since he passed away and I think about him all the time and see his smile and know that he would have been proud of us."

The story is from late 2009, so Odelia, Kirya and Nomi are probably 21 and could very well be junior officers by now if they followed through on attending the Officer Training School together.

GOP Sweeps Pair of Special Elections, Including Anthony Weiner's Former District

Republican candidates turned in a pair of victories on Tuesday night in special Congressional elections in New York City and Nevada.

Former Nevada state senator Rick Amodei cruised to a lopsided win over the Democrat in the race, current Nevada state treasurer Kate Marshall in the special election in Nevada's 2nd congressional district. The district, which includes most of the state of Nevada outside of Clark County, was left without representation when Congressman Dean Heller was appointed by Gov Brian Sandoval to replace Senator John Ensign back in late April when Ensign resigned due to a sex scandal.

Nevada's 2nd district leans heavily Republican since it was created about 30 years ago and the outcome (if not the margin of victory) was hardly a startling development.

More surprising was what happened 2500 miles to the east on Tuesday night in the special election for New York's 9th Congressional district. This was the seat formerly occupied by Anthony Weiner before he was forced to resign over sending sexually explicit pictures of himself to certain followers on Twitter. The NY-9 contest was between Democrat NY state assembly member David Werpin (Assembly district 24, Queens) and retired cable TV executive Bob Turner, running as a Republican.

NY-9 has been held by Democrats since 1923, but polls a few days out from the special election indicated that Werpin was in trouble. On Tuesday night, Republican Bob Turner won the NY-9 special election by a 53% to 47% margin. Interestingly, both candidates seemed to be running against President Obama.

The 9th Congressional district encompasses parts of Brooklyn and Queens and has a large Jewish population. The Obama administration's terse meetings with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and calls for Israel to withdraw back to pre-1967 borders was seen as a factor in alienating some Jewish voters in the USA. Democrat former New York mayor Ed Koch ended up endorsing Turner in the special election based in large part on the president's handling of Israel.

While Werpin attempted to distance himself from President Obama, he and his campaign committed a series of gaffes late in the campaign. In one Q&A session, he said the national debt was $4 trillion (closer to $14 trillion) and a campaign ad showing an animated jet buzzing the Manhattan skyline came out shortly before the 10 year anniversary of 9/11.

As an assemblyman, Weprin also voted in favor of New York's recent vote on same sex marriage and also voiced support of the controversial Ground Zero mosque, issues that likely didn't go over very well with the Jewish and Catholic voters in NY-9. In the immediate aftermath of Turner's win, DNC chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D; FL-20) claimed that the same seat Representative Weiner won by 60% just 10 months ago was a 'difficult' district for the Democrats to win [only under your illustrious leadership can districts where registered Democrats outnumber GOP voters 3-1 can be considered 'difficult', Deb- NANESB!]

While there's still a possibility that NY-9 could still be redistricted out of existence soon, this would be the New York city area's third Congressional seat currently held by the GOP. Pete King represents part of Nassau county for NY-3 while Micheal Grimm represents Staten Island in NY-13.

Key Jewish Donors, Unions Keeping Money on Sidelines During Obama's 2012 Bid?

I have to say that it takes a very special kind of incompetence to quash your own 'I had Osama Bin Laden killed' bounce in the polls after all of 3 weeks.

A pivotal donor for the Democrat party who's previous donations include the financing of the DNC's Washington DC's headquarters has hinted that he will be sitting on the sidelines for President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.

Billionaire financier Haim Saban told CNBC last night that Obama hasn’t done enough to show support for Israel. He also said that he has no plans to contribute to the president’s campaign.

“President Obama has raised so much money and will raise so much money through the Internet, more than anybody before him. And he frankly doesn’t, I believe, need any of my donations,” said Saban.

“I’m very perplexed as to why the president, who’s been to Cairo, to Saudi Arabia, to Turkey, has not made a stop in Israel and spoken to the Israeli people,” he continued. “I believe that the president can clarify to the Israeli people what his positions are on Israel and calm them down. Because they are not calm right now.”

There have been reports that Obama is losing Jewish support after his clash with Prime Minister Netanyahu last week, but this development is the most significant so far. If a key donor like Saban has decided to break with the president, then there are likely others who will follow suit.

Steve Rosen, director of the Washington office of the Middle East Forum, and a former AIPAC official, said that this is part of a trend of Democrats rejecting Obama’s policy toward Israel.

“It’s not happening in isolation. It’s happening in a context in which Harry Reid broke with the president in the last two days,” Rosen told me. “I think that Saban is another step in that direction.”

And here I am with my world's smallest violin in the shop for it's 25,000 sad sad song tune-up.


And wouldn't you know it- it's a union shop!

Some of the nation’s largest labor unions are cutting back dramatically on their financial support to the Democratic Party, saying they are highly frustrated with the failure of Democrats to put up stronger resistance to Republican proposals opposed by labor.

The unions have cited what they see as Democrats’ tepid response to Republican efforts to eliminate collective bargaining rights for public sector workers, cut Medicare funding and require voters to show identification at the polls.

President Obama calls for Palestinian State Along pre-1967 Borders

In a display that clearly indicated there was no American ally he wouldn't be willing to stab in the back, President Obama has endorsed long-standing Palestinian demands that a Palestinian state be set up along pre 1967 borders in a wide ranging speech regarding Middle East policy earlier today.

He also warned Palestinians that “efforts to delegitimize Israel will end in failure” and that they would “never realize their independence by denying the right of Israel to exist.”

He also chastised both sides for taking steps that don’t help the peace process.

“Israeli settlement activity continues. Palestinians have walked away from talks,” he said. “The world looks at a conflict that has grinded on and on and on, and sees nothing but stalemate.”

[Umm....earth to Barry, the Palestinians have done MUCH worse than walking away from peace talks (or even building new apartments) in the past few weeks- NANESB!]

Should Israel go back to their pre-1967 borders, that would leave the Jewish state only 8 miles wide in some places, bordered by a belligerent Palestinian government seeking to unify with terrorist group Hamas (the same Hamas which condemned the killing of the islamic 'Holy Warrior' Osama Bin Laden) and replete with terrorists acquiring longer-range weapons with the Israelis holding less territory.

The only reason I'm not saying President Obama is throwing Israel under the bus is because the Palestinians have this tendency to blow up buses.

Not surprisingly, Israeli leaders are lukewarm on the President's suggestion. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Obama's proposal, saying that the boundaries would make Israel 'militarily indefensable'.

Israel has attempted 'Land for Peace' before, unilaterally withdrawing from the Gaza strip in 2005, only to be rewarded with a near-constant bombardment of southern Israeli border towns by Katusha rockets fired from the Gaza strip since then.

Exit question- What on God's green earth would make anybody who has been paying attention for the last 6 decades think that Israel should expect any semblance of peace from the Palestinians after giving up even MORE land?

Happy 63rd Birthday, Israel!

This week marks the 63rd anniversary of Israel's independence. What can I say about Israel that far more swift, competent and knowledgeable bloggers haven't already said about the Holy Land?

Israel being surrounded by hostile nations and the sea has meant that she has had to be on guard for constantly changing and evolving threats throughout her existence.

But even with the proverbial sword of Damocles hanging over it's head, Israel has managed to develop a robust economy centering for the most part around the defense technology, pharmaceutical, telecommunications and tourism sectors.

The discovery of considerable natural gas deposits in the offshore Leviathan and Tamar basins earlier this year also is poised to put Israel at an advantage as far as energy is concerned, possibly making her a net exporter of energy for the first time in its history.

But there is so much more to Israel than thousands of years of history and a robust military industrial complex, there's also attractive young women in peak physical condition in snug olive-drab uniforms.

The Israeli military, known as the IDF, is the 11th largest in the world according to some sources. While some of the women depicted above would be ideal for IDF recruiting posters, it would actually be a wasted effort as the IDF has near-universal conscription for both men and women.

Yet the camera seems to love them nonetheless, and from the looks of it this is a relationship that so many of us can enjoy the fringe benefits from.

Palestinian Policeman Opens Fire on Jewish Pilgrims at Joseph's Tomb, Israeli Teen From Missile Attack on School Bus Dies From Wounds

One Israeli worshipper was killed and four others were wounded over the weekend when a uniformed policeman from the Palestinian Authority opened fire on them as they were leaving the West Bank town of Nablus after prayer services at Joseph's Tomb.

According to an IDF initial investigation, three vehicles containing Braslev worshipers entered the tomb in violation of a decree by the IDF's Central Command prohibiting entry of Israelis into Area A without prior coordination. A verbal confrontation ensued between the worshipers and the Palestinian policemen, who called on them to leave the area. The Breslev vehicles failed to stop at a checkpoint outside of the religious site, the investigation found. The policemen then fired shots in the air. The worshipers tried to flee the area, and their vehicles came under fire, killing Ben Yosef Livnat, 24, father of four, and wounding four others.

Following its own initial investigation, The IDF believes the PA policemen were fully aware that the men they fired on were Israeli worshipers who were unarmed and posed no threat despite entering the area without proper security coordination.

The Palestinian police officer who opened fire told investigators in the Palestinian security forces that he identified "suspicious" individuals and fired at them, the IDF said. The shooting took place in an area of Palestinian Authority security jurisdiction. The PA policeman was being interrogated by Palestinian security officers. Several hours after the incident, dozens of Palestinians rioted near Joseph's Tomb and set tires on fire, Israel Radio reported.

The shooting in Nablus comes a few days after the critically injured 16 year old passenger on a school bus hit by an anti-tank died from his wounds.

16-year-old Daniel Viflic died in the Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva after his condition seriously deteriorated last week.

The missile hit the bus traveling near Kibbutz Sa'ad just moments after it had dropped off the rest of the school children, wounding Viflic and the bus driver, who was moderately wounded by shrapnel wounds in his leg.

Yitzhak Viflic, Daniel's father, thanked the doctors and the supporters of his family. "Daniel fought but passed away calmly. I am positive he is in a good place now."

Viflic was a resident of Beit Shemesh and studied in a yeshiva there. When he was wounded, he was on his way to the western Negev to visit his grandmother.

About a month before the attack on the Israeli school bus, five Israelis from the same family in the settlement of Itamar, including children aged11, 3 and a baby, were murdered by two Palestinians who broke into the home in the middle of the night. The Palestinian residents in the nearby Gaza strip town of Rafah reacted to news of the murders by celebrating and passing out sweets.