Utah National Guardsmen Face Sanction Over Bikini Calendar Shoot on National Guard Property

A number of Utah National Guardsmen and State Troopers are in trouble after allowing a racy calendar shoot to take place at one of their facilities with scantily clad British models firing automatic weapons- some of which were the property of the state of Utah.

British bikini models fired guns owned by the state of Utah as an on-duty state police officer stood by, according the early findings of an ongoing investigation.

A second officer from the Utah Department of Public Safety was off-duty, according to a statement the department issued late Thursday.

DPS is investigating the two officers’ roles in the models’ photo and video shoot for the 2015 bikini calendar called "Hot Shots."

Meanwhile, the Utah National Guard also is investigating how the models entered Camp Williams and used resources there, including riding in a tank and other vehicles, as part of the shoot.

Logs from that day show that one of the officers was on duty and another off. Both belong to the department’s SWAT team.

While part of the photo shoot was at the Utah National Guard's Camp Williams, videos and stills of some of the barely dressed models were filmed at the privately operated Big Shots Ranch in Grantsville, UT.

Although policy for the Utah State Police allows for officers to serve as firearms instructors or display weapons in the department's armory to public officials or groups like the Boy Scouts, such events have to be pre-approved by the chain of command. Some of the guns used by the British models include the Heckler & Koch MP5 9mm submachine gun, a select fire 9mm Glock 18 [which means the gun can fire semiauto of full auto- NANESB!] and the M4 Carbine, the current US Army and National Guard issue rifle which is essentially a scaled down M-16 rifle. Although a Utah State Police spokesman said three of the weapons are believed to be agency-issue, the ammunition was reportedly provided by Big Shots range.

The two Utah State Police officers identified in the video were identified as members of the agency's SWAT team and logs indicate that one of them was on-duty at the time. Both of them were reportedly in uniform at the time, as well.

Meanwhile, the Camp Williams segment of the photo shoot may end up costing some National Guardsmen their jobs.

Maj. Gen. Jeff Burton told lawmakers Thursday that the handful of Guard members involved could face fines, demotions or forced retirements when an investigation is complete. Those involved, which include combat veterans and Purple Heart recipients, didn’t follow guidelines for private use of military equipment at Camp Williams, he said.

The Hot Shots calendar is available in early November and a portion of all sales will go to the UK-based Help for Heroes charitable organization.

Scotland Votes to Remain With United Kingdom

Pro-independence supporter shown above

Scotland voted to maintain its 300 year union with Great Britain in a referendum last week that saw 55% of Scottish voters reject a 'Yes' vote to independence.

In an early sign that the nationalists were facing defeat, [pro-independence Scottish politician Alex] Salmond did not attend his local count in Aberdeenshire and instead flew back to Edinburgh by private jet alongside his wife.

Speaking at 6.30am, he accepted the verdict of the people as he conceded defeat in the referendum on Scottish independence.

However, he said that the people of Scotland had only rejected independence “at this stage”, suggesting he believes that another referendum is possible in the future.

With national turnout expected to reach around 85 per cent, Unionists celebrated overwhelming victories in their traditional strongholds such as Orkney, Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders.

Edinburgh voted against independence by 61 per cent to 39 per cent.

Better Together also had huge victories in East Lothian, where they had a 24 per cent lead, Stirling, where they won by 20 per cent, and Midlothian, where the margin of victory was 12 per cent.

A 'Yes' vote would've been devastating to Tory PM David Cameron's government, who had been actively lobbying for unity in the run-up to the vote- Cameron likely would've forever been known as the Prime Minister who oversaw the dissolution of Great Britain while in office.

The Pound Sterling, which had taken a beating ahead of the September 18th balloting, quickly bounced back to 2-year highs versus the Euro before the votes came in.

Once considered a longshot, polls showed that the pro Independence movement was gaining ground in the weeks leading up to the balloting. Pro-independence politicians such as Salmond had promised to use revenue from Scotland's offshore oil reserves in the North Sea to fund schools, healthcare, infrastructure and social programs [loosely modeled after Norway's sovereign wealth fund from their portion of the North Sea oilfields- NANESB] - even though its widely believed that supplies are dwindling. However, even with the declining oil reserves, Scotland has forestry, agriculture, whiskey production and tourism contributing to their economy would be the 14th wealthiest nation per-capita.

Multinational oil firm BP [NYSE- BP] was threatened with nationalization of their Scottish holdings by a Salmond ally should Scotland vote in favor of independence, leading the CEOs of BP and Shell to speak out against Scottish independence.

70 Years Ago Today

On June 6th, 1944, the Allied forces from the USA, Great Britain and Canada turned the tide against the occupying German Wehrmacht along the coast of Normandy.

UK's Guardian: US Government Collecting Phone Records of Millions of Verizon Subscribers

But fear not- we're in the very best of hands.

Britain's The Guardian released a report on Wednesday that the National Security Agency has been compiling call data from millions of Verizon subscribers in the USA thanks to a secret court order. A copy of the court order was also posted on The Guardian's website the same day.

The document shows for the first time that under the Obama administration the communication records of millions of US citizens are being collected indiscriminately and in bulk – regardless of whether they are suspected of any wrongdoing.

The secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (Fisa) granted the order to the FBI on April 25, giving the government unlimited authority to obtain the data for a specified three-month period ending on July 19.

Under the terms of the blanket order, the numbers of both parties on a call are handed over, as is location data, call duration, unique identifiers, and the time and duration of all calls. The contents of the conversation itself are not covered.

Despite the fact that the order came from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the call records from millions of American citizens are included in the NSA's data logs. That basically means that despite the order originating from FISA, the NSA's PRISM program monitored the phone records and internet usage of millions of Americans who have not been accused of any crimes.

As recently as March, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper denied any knowledge of government agencies collecting electronic data of millions of Americans.

In March, DNI Clapper specifically told me #NSA does not wittingly collect any type of data on millions of Americans youtu.be/QwiUVUJmGjs?t=…
— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) June 6, 2013

President Obama defended the NSA's surveillance program in public remarks on Friday. The President seemed pretty dismissive overall regarding any concerns about intrusive government snooping into citizens' phone calls and online browsing.

Interstingly, Verizon [NYSE: VZ] being ordered to turn over their subscriber's records activities to the government hasn't adversely affected their share prices. In fact, shares of Verizon gained nearly 4% since The Guardian broke the story. This may be due to the fact that the massive scope of the NSA's PRISM project alone would indicate that other communications companies are being ordered to turn over their records to the government.

Islamists Murder British Soldier in Brazen Daylight London Machete Attack

A Royal Army soldier was murdered by two Nigerian islamists in broad daylight just 200 yards from the Royal Artillery Barracks just outside of London on Wednesday. The attackers had reportedly drove their vehicle up on the sidewalk and ran over a British soldier in civilian clothes before getting out of their car and stabbing him with machetes and meat cleavers to the horror of passers-by.\

A number of spectators began filming the grisly spectacle as well as a former teacher confronting the two attackers. As time passed, it became clear the two assailants weren't the least bit concerned about escaping as they demanded passers-by record their statements while the two still clenched knives and cleavers with blood-streaked hands.

Clutching a bloodied meat cleaver, the man suspected of executing a soldier on a crowded street declared: 'you and your kids will be next'.

In a chilling rant captured on camera, the knife-wielding man declared: 'The only reason we have killed this man today is because Muslims are dying daily by British soldiers.'

In the video obtained by ITV News he added: 'Remove your governments - they don't care about you. You think David Cameron is going to get caught in the street when we start bursting our guns? You think politicians are going to die?

'No, it's going to be the average guy, like you, and your children. So get rid of them – tell them to bring our troops back so we can... so you can all live in peace.’

The two killers then waited 20 minutes for armed police to show up before closing in on them with machetes and a rusty revolver. One attacker was shot by a policewoman while the other blew off his thumb when the revolver misfired and was also shot by police. Both were taken to area hospitals are expected to survive their injuries. One of the murder suspects has been identified as Michael Adebolajo, a muslim convert from a Nigerian Christian family who was lived in the UK his entire life.

The soldier murdered in the machete attack has been identified as Lee Rigby, a veteran of Afghanistan who was assigned to the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. Rigby was described by fellow soldiers as a popular, witty, larger than life personality and lifelong Manchester United fan and was a drummer in the regimental band. Rigby leaves behind a wife of five years and a two year old daughter.

Former Prime Minister Thatcher Laid to Rest

 

With soldiers in dress uniform acting as pallbearers, mourners bid farewell to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at a service in St Paul's Cathedral in London on Wednesday. In attendence was Queen Elizabeth, who was attending the first funeral of a British leader since Winston Churchill's 1965 funeral.

In attendence were Thatcher's son and daughter-in-law Mark and Sarah as well as her grandchildren Michael and Amanda. However, it was Amanda Thatcher's poised reading of Ephisians VI, 10-18 that caught the attention of the British tabloids.



When news of Thatcher's death broke last week, Britain's far left reacted with impromptu celebrations in the street that even some of Thatcher's political adversaries decried as crass. The leftist revelers had also promised to picket her funeral- apparently taking a page from the hate-filled morons of the Westboro Baptist Church. However, supporters lined up outside St Paul's drowned out any jeers or taunts from protesters as Thatcher's casket, draped in a Union Jack, was carried from the cathedral to a waiting hearse.

British entertainers also weighed in on the former PM's passing- although many people on social netwroking sites like Facebook or Twitter were born long after Thatcher had vacated 10 Downing Street and had literally never heard of her. Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell praised Margaret Thatcher's rise from grocer's daughter to Britain's most powerful woman through her official twitter account upon hearing of the former Prime Minister's passing last week, but quickly deleted it after facing a sharp backlash from social network users. However, she later posted on her website that she eventually regretted the decision and her unwillingness to stand by what she had said, pointing out that Thatcher was willing to stand by many of her statements no matter how unpopular they might have been with her colleagues or public.

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Passes Away

Baroness Margaret Thatcher- the UK's first female prime minister and staunch US ally towards the end of the Cold War- has passed away from a stroke at the age of 87 on Monday. Thatcher, along with former President Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II and Polish labor leader Lech Walesa, was one of the most prominent figures in opposing the Soviet Union in the 1980s.

Thatcher got her start in politics as a Member of Parliament representing a district in Middlesex County and was appointed Secretary of Education and Science under Prime Minister David Heath in 1970. After the Conservative Party lost the 1974 general election, Thatcher became leader of the opposition and when the Labour party was ousted in a 1979 general election, Thatcher became Great Britain's first female Prime Minister.

In her first term, Thatcher sought to curb the expansion of the welfare state as well as the influence of labor unions in Britain's political affairs. Even before serving as Prime Minister, Thatcher had publicly made a number of anti-communist and anti-Soviet statements that led one Red Army publication to dub her "The Iron Lady"- a moniker she eventually embraced.

Much of her first term was also marked by strikes, high unemployment, inflation and an approval rating around 22%. Sensing weakness and a much-needed diversion from their own domestic problems, the ruling Argentine military junta annexed the lightly-defended Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic in April of 1982. However, the Argentine junta seriously underestimated Thatcher's resolve and a Britsh task force was immediately dispatched to the South Atlantic. While the USA was initially reluctant to take sides in what an inevitable 'hot' war between two countries considered allies, the United States eventually sided with Britain and provided the Ministry of defense sattelite imagery of Argentine troop movements from the mainland to the Falklands.

After a series of air and sea engagements, the SAS and Royal Army landed on the islands in May and engaged the occupying Argentine soldiers. By June 14th, the last of the Argentine forces had surrendered and the British had re-taken the capital of Stanley. Within a year, the military junta in Buenos Aires was forced to call a general election due to eroding support from their own soldiers and a civilian government was elected in October of 1983.

Thatcher's popularity increased after the Falklands War, demonstrating that Great Britain could still successfully defend her citizens and territory abroad- no matter how far-flung. Thatcher and the Conservative party would enjoy a sweeping victory during the 1983 elections.

In October 1984, Prime Minister Thatcher survived an IRA assassination attempt when a bomb was detonated in an adjoining suite at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, England. Although Thatcher survived, the blast killed five and injured 31. After vising the wounded at the hospital, which included members of Parliament, Thatcher would go on to address the Conservative party conference that morning as scheduled.

Thatcher and then-President Ronald Reagan had much in common and worked closely together throughout the 1980s. The Royal Navy nearly tripled their nuclear capability with the purchase of the Trident nuclear missile system, and in 1986 Thatcher allowed the US Air Force to use RAF bases to launch retaliatory airstrikes against Libya after the bombing of a discotheque in Berlin killed two US servicemen and a civilian and wounded more than 200 others. Intelligence agencies reportedly intercepted a telex from Libya to their East Berlin embassy congratulating them on a "job well done" immediately after the bombing.

Despite profound ideological differences, Thatcher and then Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev maintained a cordial personal relationship with each understanding that the other was firmly committed to their respective country's political system and could not be persuaded otherwise. The reform-minded Gorbachev credited Thatcher with bringing about change and the eventual end of the Cold War.

"We gradually developed personal relations that became increasingly friendly," he said. "In the end, we were able to achieve mutual understanding, and this contributed to a change in the atmosphere between our country and the West and to the end of the Cold War."

"Margaret Thatcher was a great politician and an exceptional person. She will be remain in our memories and in history," said Gorbachev, whose resignation as president December 1991 marked the end of the Soviet Union.

After winning three consecutive terms, Thatcher was unable to withstand an internal party challenge and resigned as the Conservative party leader in 1990, although the Conservative party would go on to win the 1992 general election with John Major as Prime Minister.

Thatcher would become the longest-serving British prime minister and paradoxically was at times more popular in the USA than she was in the UK. The strong leadership and rejection of socialism make Thatcher popular with American conservatives to this day.

Out of office, Thatcher became an author and public speaker. In 2003, her husband Sir Dennis Thatcher, passed away and Thatcher herself suffered from a series of small strokes that limited her public speaking appearances.

Despite her declining health, Thatcher flew 'across the pond' for President Reagan's 2004 State funeral in which she delivered a videotaped eulogy for her close friend and again in 2006 for a memorial service in Washington DC marking the 5th anniversary of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

In accordance with Baroness Thatcher's wishes, the former Prime Minister will not recieve a state funeral but will recieve a service at St Paul's cathedral in London with full military honors.

Cyprus Banks Remain Closed As Island's Economy Teeters on Brink of Collapse

Finance Ministers and Central Banks throughout Europe are keeping a close eye on developments in Cyprus this week as the Mediterranean Island nation's financial institutions have been closed down amidst a financial emergency and increasing protests from the public.

Cyprus’s central bank said lenders would remain closed until at least Tuesday amid growing speculation the Meditterranean island could become the eurozone member to exit the currency bloc.

Officials at the ECB were reported on Wednesday to be considering pulling the plug on Cypriot banks unless the country agreed to a new bailout package.

Jörge Asmussen, the ECB’s chief negotiator, warned that Cyprus’s decision to reject the terms of an €10bn (£8.6bn) bailout meant it could not guarantee support to domestic lenders for much longer.

“We can provide emergency liquidity only to solvent banks and... the solvency of Cypriot banks cannot be assumed if an aid programme is not agreed on soon, which would allow for a quick recapitalisation of the banking sector,” said Mr Asmussen in an interview with a German newspaper.

The European Central Bank's statement came after the Cypriot parliament unanimously rejected an European Union bailout that would have required a tax on depositor's savings accounts. Reportedly the initial terms of the bailout would've taxed accounts of €100,000 or less at around 5%, accounts between €100,000 and €500,000 in the neighborhood of 10% and accounts of €500,000 and more at 13%.

Cyprus has been a popular offshore venue for wealthy Russians to deposit their money in recent years, and the Cypriot finance minister is in Moscow negotiating with his Russian counterparts on a new deal that would see greater Russian involvement in the Cypriot banking and offshore energy sectors on Wednesday. Russia had earlier threatened to withhold any aid from Cyprus after being left out of the talks between the island nation and European Central Bank.

There are also an estimated 3500 British military personnel stationed in Cyprus- the UK dispatched a military transport loaded with €1 Million in cash in the event that cash ran out at the ATMs or debit cards stopped working on the island. The Ministry of Defense also stated that the personnel stationed in Cyprus will not have the option of their wages deposited in a British or Cypriot bank.

Cyprus- also a former British colony- is home to a number of retirees from the UK. The island nation also has historically close ties to Greece and the Cypriot economy took a massive hit when a significant portion of the Greek soverign debt held by Cyprus and others was written off last year

Canada Actively Seeking American Workers Left Jobless by 'Obama Recovery'

Jeff McIntosh photo- Canadian Press

As the American economy continues to receive bad news amid Barack Obama's reelection and increasing concerns about the upcoming 'fiscal cliff', Canada has made it clear that it needs workers and is looking to the USA to help fill that gap [and I for one welcome our new Canadian overlords- NANESB!]

Much of western Canada is experiencing a shortage of skilled laborers- this is particularly true of the energy sector in oil-rich provinces like Alberta or Saskatchewan. Despite the fact that just under 30,000 Canadians made their way to Alberta from other provinces to find work in the last year, oil industry consultants believe they'll need more than 35,000 additional workers over the next decade for the oil sands alone. Moreover, companies will be losing a large number of worker due to attrition as statistics have shown much of the current workforce in the oil sands, exploration and refineries is middle-aged.

[...] the industry’s growth is far from certain.

“Labour shortage impacts could threaten investment, revenues and sustainability throughout the entire energy value chain,” said Peter Boag, president of the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute, which recently changed its name to Canadian Fuels Association.

The country’s energy sector industry directly employed 187,000 workers last year, and that’s set to grow exponentially.

“There will be no reprieve from current hiring challenges for oil and gas services as the sector will need to fill thousands of positions between now and 2015,” says HR Petroleum Council in a report. “Employee turnover is the sector’s greatest workforce concern as it escalates costs and exacerbates sector-wide labour and skill shortages.”

The oil sands are different in that they have to be extracted in a manner more reminiscent of mining for ore than drilling for oil. Although environmentalists opposed development of Alberta's oil sands, the oil has been naturally seeping into nearby bodies of water such as the Athabasca River for centuries. Although much less straightforward to extract, the mixture of sand, clay, water and bitumen locked in the ground are said to rival the conventional petroleum reserves of Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Much of the oil sands activity is centered northeast of Edmonton around Fort McMurray, Alberta- a latter-day boomtown dubbed by some as 'Fort McMoney'.

As Canada continues to tap the vast energy reserves out west, employers and recruiters are looking beyond their own borders to help offset the shortfall of skilled workers- including the USA.

Since 2010, about 35,000 U.S. workers a year have been issued work permits, according to Canadian immigration statistics. That's up 13% from earlier in the decade. And that figure is expected to grow as provinces continue to loosen requirements for temporary foreign workers.

Rudolf Kischer, a Vancouver-based immigration attorney, said his firm can hardly keep up with the processing of work permits for employers hiring U.S. help.

"We're the busiest we've ever been," he said.

Many of those workers are heading to where the labor market is hottest: Edmonton.

Edmonton has become a staging ground for oil companies that include Canada's Suncor Energy Inc., Shell Canada Ltd. and Chevron Canada Ltd. The energy sector has in turn boosted industries such as manufacturing, home building and retailing.

With a population of about 812,000, Edmonton looks a lot like many American cities. There are large strip malls anchored by U.S. retailers such as Costco and Home Depot, and ubiquitous coffee shops — except here Tim Horton's doughnut shops outnumber Starbucks 3 to 1.

The biggest difference: The unemployment rate here is 4.5%, and "We're Hiring" signs are posted in almost every window.

Jobs near Fort McMurray, a remote town six hours north, are the best-paid; a welder can make up $37 an hour. (At present Canadian and U.S. dollars are almost equivalent in value.) But laborers must stay in barracks-style camps, which energy companies have upgraded to woo them. The best ones offer private rooms with flat-screen TVs, gyms, prime dining and wireless Internet access.

Workers spend as long as a couple of months at a stretch laboring before returning to Edmonton "moneyed up," as the expression goes around here. Workers then pump those dollars into the local economy.

The province of Alberta boasts a median household income of $83,000 compared with $50,000 in the U.S.

Andrew Hoggard, a 35-year-old auto mechanic who moved to Edmonton from Michigan in March, can hardly keep up with his workload. He puts in 12-hour days at a local Chrysler dealership, including some Saturday shifts.

Still, he's not complaining. In eight months, he's made $70,000. Back in Holland, MI, where he worked on commission at Nissan dealership, he relied on his parents to help him pay rent when the work slowed.

In British Columbia, an unprecedented construction boom has left the province short on workers. However, in southern California, even before the current recession there have been thousands of skilled tradesmen who remain unemployed, underemployed or are working outside their field altogether. This led to officials in Riverside County, CA to coordinate with Canadian delegations and organizations like the British Columbia Construction Association to hold a job fair slated for early December in Indio, CA.

“Some have not found work for the past four years in their trade,” said Tom Freeman, commissioner with the Riverside County Economic Development Agency’s office of foreign trade, which has helped set up a Dec. 4 job fair in Indio to recruit workers willing to move north.

Economic development specialists and others in the Coachella Valley have been very involved in what is called the “workforce mobility program,” with initial meetings taking place in Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs, Freeman said.

The British Columbia Construction Association, which represents some 2,000 companies, will have a delegation at the job fair, as it has at similar job fairs held in Ireland and Scotland, said Abigail Fulton, vice president and an attorney with the association based in Victoria, British Columbia.

“We actually do the immigration work at no charge,” said Fulton, who noted the association is not looking for laborers but rather skilled tradesmen familiar with large commercial and industrial-type projects.

Along with competitive or even higher wages than companies are paying in the U.S., Canadian recruiters are touting steady work, retention bonuses, free universal health care and quality schools.

A flier sent out by Riverside County, the British Columbia Construction Association and the Canada California Business Council lists heavy equipment operators, iron workers, pipe fitters, mechanics, and mechanical and electrical engineers as among trades that are needed.

Of course, Canadian companies and recruiters aren't just limiting their search to the USA. Similar trade shows like the one set to take place in Indio have already been set up in Ireland and Scotland. Canadian officials have also been courting Polish immigrants in the United Kingdom, attempting to coax them into making the move to Canada. While this may sound like an unusual or way-too-specific niche, as of 2001 there are an estimated 980,000 Canadians of Polish ancestry [including Wayne Gretzky, Geddy Lee and William Shatner- NANESB!] and the UK's Office for National Statistics estimated there were an estimated 515,000 Poles either temporarily or permanently residing in the United Kingdom as of 2010.

UK Federation of Poles chairman Włodek Mier-Jedrzejowicz said he had been contacted by Canadian officials who said they were particularly keen on Poles able to fluently speak English.

While there are no doubt some drawbacks for Americans working in Canada [ie- you'd be taxed four times- US federal taxes, Canadian federal taxes, the provincial tax of wherever you live and the state tax of the last state you resided in before leaving- NANESB!] the Canadian dollar and the US dollar are roughly on par, interest rates for savings is slightly higher in Canada and provinces like Saskatchewan and Alberta enjoy more economic freedom than all but a handful of US states according to a Canadian think tank. A recent report from the Fraser institute also stated that Canada is among the top five nations in the world for economic freedom while the USA has plummeted from second place to 18th.

I find it interesting that when I was growing up, I remember that American liberals wanted the nation to follow Canada's lead as far as healthcare, military spending and gun control went. However, now that Canada is drilling for oil, sending troops to Afghanistan and rolling back gun control laws the liberals here in the USA aren't as keen to have the country be more like Canada.

Benghazi Update- Secretary of State Clinton Accepts Responsibility For Lack of Security; Congressional Panel Interviews Witnesses; FBI Spends Only 12 Hours in Benghazi; British Weapons Unaccounted For

During an official visit to Peru on Monday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated that she accepted responsibility for the security lapses leading up to the deadly terrorist attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans last month.

"I'm responsible for the State Department, for the more than 60,000 people around the world," she said. "The decisions about security are made by security professionals. But we're going to review everything to be sure we're doing what needs to be done in an increasingly risky environment."

She also addressed the question of a June explosion at the consulate in Benghazi that some have argued should have raised a red flag about security.

"I can't speak to who knew what," she said. "We knew there were security breaches and problems throughout Libya. That's something that came about as the aftermath of the revolution to topple Qaddafi, with so many militias formed, so many weapons loose. ... It was taken into account by security professionals as they made their assessments."

Clinton also seemed to dismiss accusations that the State Department and White House intentionally pushed a false narrative about a spontaneously-forming protest over a YouTube video serving as a catalyst for the deadly September 11, 2012 attacks for nearly two weeks- in spite of the fact there were no protests in Benghazi that night and the assailants used heavy weaponry such as mortars and RPGs.

While some have viewed this as President Obama 'throwing Hillary under the bus', Da Tech Guy makes the case that this was a shrewdly calculated move by Secretary of State Clinton that undermines Obama while heading off a number of stories about security breaches leading up to last month's attacks from a normally compliant media that was starting to get curious on the issue. The decision can also be viewed through the prism of a possible 2016 Presidential run by Clinton.

Meanwhile, US security and military officials testified before the House Oversight Committee last week, claiming that requests for additional security in Libya were rebuffed by higher-ups at the State Department. Lt Col Andrew Wood of the Utah National Guard commanded a 16-member Special Forces security detail responsible for protecting American officials in Libya after the collapse of the Ghdaffi regime- the team departed the country about a month before the attacks in Benghazi.

Wood told CBS News that he met daily with Stevens to discuss security.

"He was constantly concerned about the threats to not just himself but the entire staff there," Wood said.

Over the six months leading up to the attack on Stevens, Wood says the security situation in Libya deteriorated.

There were 13 threats or attacks in Tripoli and Benghazi, including two attempted assassinations of the British ambassador to Libya.

Wood said Stevens and his staff made the case for tightened security in emails and diplomatic cables. One by one, they lost three State Department security teams, their only airplane and, eventually, his squad too.

Wood said some of the security teams would have been in Benghazi on Sept. 11 to if they had been allowed to remain in Libya, and the four deaths might have been avoided.

Earlier this month, an FBI forensic team arrived at the site of the attacks in Benghazi- nearly three weeks after the attacks took place- and examined the area for a grand total of 12 hours. The site of the attacks had been left unsecured for nearly three weeks and the trek out to Benghazi was expected to yield little in the way of actionable information.

Britain's Foreign Office also reported that British weapons and vehicles left at the grounds of the US Consulate in Benghazi were unaccounted for after the September 11 attacks. The UK's envoy to Libya, Sir Dominic Dominic Asquith, survived an RPG attack that wounded two of his bodyguards in June and the Foreign Office decided to withdraw all British diplomats from the area shortly thereafter. According to testimony from Lt. Col Wood, the UK Foreign Office made arrangements with the US Consulate in Benghazi for safekeeping of the weapons and vehicles and retrieve them incrementally through multiple low-profile trips back to the area.

UPDATE- 10/15- AP is reporting that the White House is inexplicably announcing preperations to send a strike team into Libya.....yes- basically announcing a 'covert' mission to the public via mass media, apparently.

Sports Chowdah Update: Feat of Clay- Buchholz Throw Complete Game; Dutch Treat- Holland Takes Gold in Women's Field Hockey; Misty-May Calls it a Career; Manchester United Goes Public

RED SOX- The Red Sox came into Firday night's game at Cleveland's Jacobs Field losing losing seven out of their last nine games- including Thursday night's series opener.

However, Clay Buchholz stopped the bleeding with an outstanding performance, going the distance on Friday night. After allowing an early solo home run to Asdrubal Cabrera in the bottom of the first, Clay settled down, allowing just one other hit and striking out six in Boston's 3-2 win over Cleveland. Clay got run support from a Dustin Pedroia RBI single in the top of the 4th and a 2-run Cody Ross homer in the top of the 6th. The Tribe would pull to within one in the bottom of the 6th thanks to a Ezequiel Carrera sac fly, but that would be it as far as runs scored off of Buchholz went.

Saturday's game will feature Franklin Morales [3-2; 3.14 ERA] starting for Boston while Zach McAllister [4-4; 3.60 ERA] gets on the bump for Cleveland. The game gets underway from Jacobs/Progressive Field at 6:05 ET. Naturally, the game will be televised on NESN.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS- 3B Will Middlebrroks suffered what turned out to be a broken right wrist after getting hit by a 95 MPH fastball in the top of the 9th on Friday night's game.

Early reports indicate that Middlebrooks is likely to miss the remainder of the season. The Red Sox have recalled light hitting infielder Danny Valencia from AAA Pawtucket to take Middlebrooks' place on the roster.

OTHER MLB NEWS- Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Derek Lowe was formally released bt the team on Friday. Lowe had am 8-10 record with a 5.52 ERA this season. Boston and Baltimore had reportedly expressed interest in getting Lowe when the Indians placed him on waivers earlier this week, but neither team had followed through on their rumored interest.

Lowe is best known for being the Red Sox pitcher of record in the clinching games of the American League Division Series, the ALCS and the 4th and deciding game of the 2004 World series- thie first pitcher to do so. The Red Sox 2004 World Series championshi was also his last with Boston and he has since played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves before re-joining the AL with the Indians earlier this season.

OLYMPIC VOLLEYBALL- The women's beach volleyball gold medal game was an all-USA matchup pitting the duo of Misty-May Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings versus Jen Kessey and April Ross.

Treanor and Walsh swept Ross and Kessey two sets to none in the Gold medal game in what Treanor adamantly insisted were her final Olympics. The duo of Walsh and Treanor have won gold in Athens, Beijing and now London- this is in addition to three FIVB beach volleyball titles. If Walsh wants to compete in the 2016 Olympics in Rio, she will need to look for a new partner.

The postgame celebrations were marred somewhat by the partial collapse of the floorboards backstage at the Horse Guards Palace- Treanor, reportedly still wearing her gold medal, slid halfway into the hole but was uninjured along with some of the The venue had to be built from scatch after the Queen's diamond jubilee celebration earlier this summer, but completed in time for the opening ceremonies.

The Chinese duo of Zhang Xi and Xue Chen won the bronze medal match, besting Brazil's Juliana Silva and Larissa Franca. After a dissapointing start to the 2012 campaign, Xi and Chen rebounded to take their second consecutive Olympic bronze medal.

For the indoor women's volleyball, the USA Women's team once again bested South Korea to advance to the gold medal game, which sets up a rematch of the 2008 Olympic gold medal game between the USA and Brazil. South Korea will face Japan in the Bronze medal game.

OLYMPIC SOCCER- It was a rematch of last year's women's World Cup, only with different results.

Japan was attempting to become the first team to win consecutive World Cup and Olympic championships while Team USA was hoping to repeat their success in Beijing from four years ago.

Before a crowd of more than 80,000 at Wembley Stadium, Team USA got out to a relatively early lead thans to midfielder Carli Lloyd who hit paydirt about 8 minutes in. After the opening goal, Japan then dominated as far as time of posession went, but their quality scoring chances were either blocked by USA goalie Hope Solo or went off the post.

Lloyd would then give the USA some insurance with a second goal to make it 2-0 team USA early in the second half, but Yuki Ogimi cut the lead in half and put Japan on the board in the 63rd minute. Japan would get some quality scoring chances late and threaten to knot the contest up at 2-2, but Team USA managed to fend off the late rally and outlast Japan.

USA wins the gold medal game thanks in large part to Carli Lloyd. Goalie Hope Solo officially faced 7 shots on goal, stopping six of them. The women's national team has already planned a barnstorming victory tour, facing Costa Rica in forward Abby Wambach's hometown of Rochester, NY and Australia in Carson, CA in September.

Over on the men's side of the pitch, Mexico's national team stunned the heavily favored Brazilian team, going on to win by a 2-1 final for Mexico's first ever gold medal in soccer. Curiously, depsite winning five World Cup titles, Brazil has yet to win Olympic gold in the event. Mexico got on the board early with a goal from Oribe Peralta in the opening minute of the match- the quickest Olympic goal since FIFA started tracking such statistics 36 years ago.

WOMEN'S FIELD HOCKEY- Even before the first game got underway, the Dutch women's Field Hockey team has gained attention from observers worldwide by exclusively rostering of stunning women clad in bright orange dresses.

This is not just a case of having attractive women out there as a sort of publicity stunt. The Dutch women, as it turned out, were quite good at Field Hockey.

'How good?' you might be asking? Try undefeated throughout the 2012 Olympics.

In the preliminary round, the Dutch women blazed a day-glo orange swath through Japan, Great Britain, South Korea, China and Belgium- shutting out the latter two.

The Dutch would need a shootout at the end of regulation to get past New Zealand in the semifinals. In a match that no doubt brought unwarranted comparisons to the Falkland Islands war, Argentina and Great Britain faced off in the semifinals for their respective pool. However, unlike the Falklands campaign, Argentina would come away victorious and face the Dutch in the gold medal game.

On Friday's gold medal game, Carlien Dirkse van den Heuvel would put the Dutch on the board with a tally in the second half while Maartje Paumen would give Holland a 2-0 lead. Goalkeeper Joyce Sombroek kept Argentina off the board altogether and the Netherlands Women's team would go on to win their second straight Olympic gold medal after beating China 1-0 in the gold medal game at the 2008 games in Beijing.

Brendan McDermid/Reuters photo

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE- Shares of one of the most widely recognized professional sports clubs went public on Friday afternoon.

Manchester United Football Club [NYSE: MANU] traded flat for much of Friday, closing out at $14 per share, down slightly from the openeing price of $14.05.

The venerable British football club was purchased by American businessman Malcom Glazer in 2005, who also owns the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The purchase reportedly saddled Man U with close to a billion dollars in debt and high interest payments.

The Glazers will maintain control of the club by way of a tiered structure. The Class A shares available to the General Public providing one vote per share held while Class B shares would translate to 10 voted per share held. The Glazers would own both Class A and Class B shares, but retain the majority of their holdings in the more influential Class B shares. This makes it more difficult for an outside entitity to launch a hostile takeover over Manchester United through the publicly traded shares.

The Initial Public Offering makes Man U the most valuable sports franchise in the world, putting its estimated worth at around £1.5 billion- or US$ 2.3 billion, more than the Los Angeles Dodgers were sold for earlier this season.

NFL PRESEASON- The New England Patriots got their first win of the preseason with a low-scoring affair against the New Orleans Saints at Foxboro on Thursday night. Tom Brady saw limited starting time, going 4 for 7 with all of 30 yeards while backup QB Brian Hoyer went 8 for 15 with the game's ony TD in the 7-6 win over New Orleans.

The Patriots will next take on the Philadelphia Eagles at Foxboro on Monday night in a nationally televised game that gets underway on ESPN at 8:00 ET.

NBA- The Los Angeles Lakers have acquired Dwigt Howard fromt he Orlando Magin in a 4-team 11 player megadeal. The deal sends Andrew Bynum from Los Angeles to Philadelphia while Andre Iguodala goes from Philly to Denver.

Howard had earlier demanded a trade from Orlando and refused to start in some games, demanding that the magic fire head coach Stan Van Gundy

British Specialists to Help Iraq Destroy Stockpiles of Saddam-Era Chemical Weapons

British soldiers wearing protective suits in Iraq circa 2003

The UK's Ministry of Defense announced that they would be sending a team of experts to Iraq to help the government there dispose of chemical warfare agents dating back to Saddam Hussein's regime.

The British Defense Ministry will start training Iraqi technical and medical workers this year, an embassy statement said. The teams will work to safely destroy remnants of munitions and chemical warfare agents left over from Saddam’s regime.

Saddam stored the chemical weapons near population centers so that he could access them quickly, despite the danger to his civilian population.

Most of Iraq’s chemical weapons were destroyed by military forces in 1991 during the first Gulf War or by U.N. inspectors after the fighting. The inspections halted just before the invasion.

The head of the Iraqi National Authority, Mohammed Al Sharaa, said the remnants "represent a great challenge to the Iraqi experts to safely dispose." He called the agreement with British authorities "a good opportunity for Iraqi experts to benefit from the well-known expertise of U.K. experts."

Most notoriously, the Saddam Hussein regime used chemical weapons against civilians and the Kurdish peshmerga militia in the village of Halabja in 1988.

Hussein was deposed during the American-led invasion in 2003, captured and eventually executed by Iraq's civilian government. Many anti-war activists and politicians had claimed there were never any chemical weapons to begin with and such talk was merely a fabrication to justify the an American-led invasion.

Althought no massive WMD cache was discovered by American or coalition forces, Sarin was discovered in a 2004 roadside bomb and in 2008, the Pentagon was approached by Iraq's civilian government to ship more than 500 tons of uranium out of Iraq to Canada for disposal by Cameco [NYSE- CCJ; TSX- CCO].

Some have speculated that Hussein was able to spirit away major components of his WMD program to Syria before the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. This claim had been revisited when Syria's Bashr Al Assad threatened to use chemical weapons- including mustard gas, VX and Sarin- against armed insurgents clashing with his military or foreign forces who intervened in the ongoing conflict. However, Syria has had its own WMD program independent of Saddam Hussein's since before Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Today's Train of Thought- Shine on You Crazy Diamond (Jubliee)

In honor of the Queen's diamond jubilee this week, I thought it would be worthwhile to look back at some of the technology that helped Brittania hold out during the dark days of the early 1940s when she stood alone against the totalitarian menace that had already consumed much of Europe.

The British remain convinced that railway preservation is almost exclusively the domain of the eccentric and cite the high number of restored and operational steam locomotives as evidence [although using that metric, South Africa- of all places- is no slouch- NANESB!]. This is seconded by songwriter, producer, rugby club owner and rail enthusiast Pete Waterman- who has a fairly extensive private collection of restored rolling stock and locomotives himself. Working as a gravedigger, apprentice at GE and railway clerk, Waterman began pursuing a career in music through building a collection of imports from the USA after the depot closed. After parlaying a successful stint as a DJ into a record label with Peter Collins in the late 1970s, Waterman's Loose Ends label signed such acts as John Travolta, Bananarama, Donna Summer and Dead or Alive [say what you will 30 years later, but they made Waterman a wealthy man at the time- NANESB!].



Waterman's commercial success in the music industry allowed him to enthusiastically pursue his passion of railroading. In addition to building his burgeoning collection, Waterman revived the dormant London & North Western name for his heritage railway as well as a car repair shop and charter excursion outfit.

Of course, preservation in England isn't limited exclusively to Pete Waterman.

Here, BR Swindon-built 2-10-2 'Black Prince' #92203- dubbed 'The Black Prince'- cools its heels at the station in Toddington, Glouchester as the engineer cranes his neck to get a better look at the RAF formation as it soars overhead. The flight consists of an Avro Lancaster, Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane.

Despite all outward appearences, this amazing scene was not an image captured at the height of the Battle of Britain, but rather a June 2008 image snapped by railpictures.net user Robin Coomes. The Black Prince is actually a few years newer than the RAF planes flying overhead. Now owned by the East Somerset Railway, the sleek 2-10-2 was built in 1959. The RAF flight shown is part of the Battle of Britian Memorial- the flyby was a favor from the flight crew in return for an afternoon on the ESR.

One Year After Uprising That Ousted Ghdaffi, Libyans Imprison Blacks in Zoo & Desecrate WWII British Cemetary, Missiles Recovered Near Algerian Border

Libyan rebels rounding up black prisoners suspected of working as mercenaries during last year's uprising against the Ghdaffi regime. Florent Marcie/AFP Photo

LIBYA-Footage showing several black detainees locked in a zoo-like enclosure with their hands bound and green flags stuffed in their mouths was circulating via youtube and a number of news outlets last week. As a crowd surrounding the enclosure jeers at the men inside, the photographer is heard shouting in Arabic to the captives "Eat the flag, you dog! God is great!".

While it's still difficult if not impossible to verify the authenticity of the video, it's widely believed it originated from Libya and that the black men in the video are accused of fighting for the fallen Ghdaffi regime as hired mercenaries.

Although Ghdaffi reportedly hired a number of African mercenaries to try and crush last year's uprising that ultimately toppled his regime, shopkeepers, migrant workers and construction laborers from sub-Saharan Africa have resided in Libya decades before the uprising.

With no formal court or police system in place throughout much of Libya after the fall of the Ghdaffi regime, it's thought that the revolutionary brigades still have nearly ¾ of their captives from the civil war still in custody. So far, the fledgling Libyan Ministry of Justice has taken charge of eight detention facilities thought to contain around 2400 inmates.



BENGHAZI- A British military cemetary housing the remains of some 1200 soliders and airmen outside the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi was vandalized last week. The spree was caught on video by one of the offenders as a crowd of men systematically knocked over about 150 headstones and smashed a large sandstone cross with sledgehammers.

The cemetery outside the Libyan second city, the headquarters of anti-Gaddafi forces during last year’s revolution, is the final resting place of more than 1,200 soldiers and airmen who died serving under Montgomery in the war in the desert.

Many of them were members of the 7th Armoured Division, the Desert Rats, who helped turn the tide of the war in their struggle for control of north Africa against Rommel’s forces between 1941 and 1943.

The vandalism, last week, is thought to be part of a wave of attacks on western targets across the Islamic world in apparent retaliation for the burning of Korans at an American military base in Afghanistan.

It is suspected that members of a Salifist militia, followers of an ultra-purist interpretation of Islam already responsible for destroying several tombs to Muslim holy men in Libya, were behind it. The transitional Libyan government has apologised and pledged to bring those responsible to justice.

The footage shows a crowd of young men wearing scarves, many of them in military-style fatigues with rifles slung over their shoulders, making their way along the rows at the cemetery kicking and wrenching headstones from their footings.

A voice behind the camera can be heard casually muttering “Allahu akbar” – meaning God is Great – as each headstone is dislodged.

At one point a man can be heard saying: "This is a grave of a Christian" as he uproots a headstone with a cross on it. The camera focuses on a Jewish serviceman’s gravestone, bearing a star of David and a Hebrew inscription, as it is attacked.

The desecration comes less than a year after Libyan rebel fighters had begged the outside world- including NATO and the United Kingdom- for military intervention as Ghdaffi's forces were preparing to crush the remaining rebel forces in Benghazi.

ALGERIA- Algerian security forces have reportedly discovered 43 anti-aircraft weapons that went missing after the fall of Ghdaffi's regime last year.

The weapons cache was said to have been buried in the sand near the Algerian-Libyan border and consists of SA-24 anti-aircraft missiles as well as the shoulder-fired SAM-7.

According to the U.S., Libya amassed some 20,000 shoulder-fired anti-aircraft weapons, the largest such stockpile in a non-producing country.

In October, the U.N. Security Council urged Libyan authorities to do all they could from keeping their enormous stockpile of shoulder-fired missiles from falling into terrorist hands.

It is feared that terrorist groups might use the missiles to attack civil aviation.

Thousands of the weapons are believed to have gone missing when militias overthrew the Gadhafi and helped themselves to government stockpiles.

Algerian authorities have long warned that weapons from Libya’s civil war could call into terrorist hands, including the local branch of al-Qaida, which is active in northern Algeria as well as in the desert wastes straddling the borders to the south.

According to a French language Algerian newspaper, authorities acted on a tip from smugglers who operate in the region.

CYRENAICA- Tribal leaders in Eastern Libya have declared semi-autonomy from Tripoli at a meeting in Benghazi this week.

They say the move is necessary as the region, once known as Cyrenaica, has been neglected for decades.

But the move has caused tension with the governing National Transitional Council (NTC) in the capital Tripoli.

[T]he declaration has significant popular support among people in Benghazi, the BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse in Libya's second city reports.

The document has no force in law but is a declaration of intent by the local leaders, our correspondent adds.

Hundreds of people attended the Congress of the People of Cyrenaica, held in a hangar on the outskirts of Benghazi.

The conference announced that it wanted to have its own parliament, police force, courts and capital - in Benghazi. Foreign policy would be left to the federal government in Tripoli, it said.

Under the Ghdaffi regime, residents of eastern Libya were resentful that Tripoli spent most of the money for develoment and infrastructure on the western part of the country while Benghazi was neglected. The Emirate of Cyrenaica was an independent nation recognized by the UK in 1949 before becoming part of what constitutes present-day Libya. Ahmed al-Senussi- the great-nephew of King Idris, Libya's only monarch- was announced as the head of Cyrenaica. Al-Senussi was arrested by the Ghdaffi regime in 1970 and not released until 2001.

Horn of Africa Update- Somali, Ethiopian Troops Seize Al-Shabaab Stronghold; US Airstrike Kills Foreign Fighters; Somaliland Open for Business?

Somali troops seen on the move outside of Baidoa

SOMALIA- Backed by Ethiopian troops, the nascent Somali army captured one of al Shabaab's strongholds in the central part of the country last week.

AFP - Truckloads of Ethiopian and Somali troops on Wednesday captured the strategic Somali city of Baidoa from Al-Qaeda allied Shebab insurgents, who vowed to avenge the loss.

"We have taken control of Baidoa without a single shot, it is a great day for the people who are now welcoming us warmly," said Muhidin Ali, a Somali government military commander in Baidoa.

Baidoa, 250 kilometres (155 miles) northeast of the capital Mogadishu, is one of the main bases of the hardline Shebab, and its capture deals a major blow to the insurgents, who control large parts of southern and central Somalia.

Sporadic shooting was reported on the outskirts of the town, but residents said the city was largely calm.

"We are at the centre now and moving towards every corners of the town, to ensure that we are in full control," Ali added. "The enemy fled the city before our army has reached the town empty."

Ethiopian troops, who moved into southern and western Somalia in November, began a major push Tuesday towards Baidoa, which hosted the transitional parliament before Islamist rebels seized the town in 2009.

"There was no fighting, the Somali troops and the Ethiopian forces entered the town, setting up their base at the police station and the main crossroads in town," said Abdulahi Hassan, a resident.

"People are out in the streets watching the soldiers who are gradually moving into the different parts of the city."

Witnesses had said earlier that Shebab fighters and their families were seen fleeing Baidoa towards rebel-held Afgoye.

"Many people, most of them Al-Shebab families and supporters, are fleeing Baidoa," said Hussein Ali, a resident. "They are heading towards the Afgoye."

An al Shabaab commander confirmed the retreat, calling it a strategic withdrawl and promising more bloodshed and attacks against the Somali transitional government and African Union peacekeepers.

In recent years, forces from Somalia's transitional government controlled little more than a few blocks within the capital city of Mogadishu as the Islamic militia al-Shabaab swept through the countryside.

Less than a week before al Shabaab forces fled Baidoa, an al Shabaab commander and 13 other fighters were killed in clashes with Kenyan security forces in the southern part of Somalia.

Then Kenyans reportedly ambushed al Shabaab financier Mohamed Asmaya in Somali territory near the Kenyan border and seized a number of areas that provided the islamic militia with the bulk of its financial support.

On Friday, two foreign members of al-Shabaab were killed in an airstrike by a US drone about 60km south of Mogadishu.

Somali militants say that a Moroccan was killed in a strike that a U.S. official said was carried out by an American drone.

The statement Saturday on an al-Shabab website named the dead Moroccan as Sheik Abu Ibrahim. The statement said two others - including a second foreigner - were killed in the overnight Friday attack.
A U.S. official told The Associated Press the attack was carried out by a drone. Somali officials identified another of the militants killed in the attack as a Kenyan citizen.

Local reports claim that the total number killed in the airstrike was 4.

PUNTLAND- While under pressure from troops from Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia's transitional government as well as African Union peacekeepers in the South, Al Shabaab made its way north into the semiautonomous Puntland region, reportedly joining forces with a previously unaffiliated militia.

An Islamist militia group in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region has merged with the al Shabaab rebel group, said the insurgents on Saturday, a union which threatens to destabilize the relatively secure area targeted by oil explorers.

Al Shabaab said it wanted to scrap the licenses of Western oil and gas firms drilling in Puntland. The al Qaeda-backed insurgents used social media site twitter to declare all oil and gas exploration and drilling licenses nullified.

While they do not hold the administrative control in the region needed to enforce their demand, the militants could try to target installations operated by Western oil companies.
The union comes as the insurgents are being weakened, relinquishing ground to African Union troops around the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and losing territory to Kenyan and Ethiopian forces in parts of southern and central Somalia.

Puntland security officials have previously said the Islamist militia camped out in the Golis hills outside the port city of Bosasso is led by Yasin Khalid Osman.

"I ... the leader of Golis ranges Islamists have signed an agreement with al Shabaab leader Sheikh Muktar Abu Zubeir. We are now al Shabaab," a voice identifying itself as Osman said in an audio recording on al Shabaab's website.

"I urge residents to take part in the jihad against the Christian invaders and the Somali infidels that work with them," he said, referring to the foreign troops inside Somalia.

Osman rarely makes statements and it was not immediately possible to verify his voice.

Al Shabaab's announcement comes a month after western companies began drilling an exploratory well in Puntland- the first to be sunk since the 1991 collapse of the Said Barre regime that left Somalia without a functioning government for more than 20 years.

Canadian-based Africa Oil Corp [TSX- AOI.V] along with Australian-based Red Emperor Resources [LSX: RMP] and Range Resources [ASX: RRS] are targetting what could be 300 million barrels worth of recoverable oil.

Somaliland moneychanger with stacks of Somaliland shillings in the capital city of Hargeisa- photo; Phoenix of Somalia

SOMALILAND- In the hopes of attracting foreign investment to the relatively stable breakaway region of Somalia, Somaliland has established a UK-linked development corporation to circumvent concerns over potential problems arising from the fact that it is not recognized as an independent state.

President Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo told Reuters that the purpose of the Somaliland Development Corporation was to "to attract companies and institutions which want to invest in our country."

"Since we are not a recognised country, insurance is always a difficult problem in Somaliland so if this can help with that, it would be useful."

Silanyo did not indicate what economic sectors he wished investors to target. But energy and mining minister Hussein Abdi Dualeh said in November the northern enclave had hydrocarbon potential with a geology similar to basins containing 9 billion barrels across the Gulf of Aden.

A number of big oil companies with permits to operate there left what is now Somaliland in the late 1980s and declared force majeure during Somalia's escalating civil conflict.

Several foreign banks have expressed interest in operating in Somaliland where they are keen to capitalise on its untapped market potential. Somaliland has no formal banking sector and its people rely heavily on remittances from diaspora communities in Europe, North America and the United Arab Emirates, as there are no ATMs or loan facilities.

Somaliland was briefly independent from Britian in 1960 before joining the rest of Somalia. However, with the 1991 collapse of the Barre regime, Somaliland once again declared independence. Despite establishing the rule of law as well as trading with Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and a number of Gulf States, circulating its own currency and aiding international navies in combatting piracy, Somaliland's independence remains unrecognized by most nations as well as the UN and a number of international agencies.

Currently, Somaliland's economy depends heavily on remittances from Somalis overseas, but the breakaway nation has been doing a robust business in exporting cattle and camels

Some speculate that if Somaliland gains internationally recognized independence from Somalia, it could trigger a number of similar secssionist movements throughout Africa.

MOGADISHU- The director of a Mogadishu radio station that was once shut down by al Shabaab was shot and killed by two unknown gunmen at his home this week, becoing the third journalist to be slain since December 2011.

Radio Somaliweyn is an independent radio station operating in northern Mogadishu.

The National Union of Somali Journalists has condemned the killings. Union Secretary General Mohamed Ibrahim said it is not clear why Mohamoud was targeted, but noted that in recent times he was involved in civil society activities.

“He was planning to bring the radio on air again. The reason is yet unclear, though he was very involved in civil society activism, such as youth in Banadir region in recent days. This is a really worrying trend for the journalists working in Mogadishu and the government has not done enough to investigate and bring suspects for prosecution,” said Ibrahim.

The killing came just a month after another journalist, Radio Shabelle Network Director Hassan Osman Abdi, was gunned down outside his house in Mogadishu. The Transitional Federal Government promised to investigate the murder and arrested two suspects.

In December, a government soldier killed journalist Abdisalan His at a checkpoint in the capital.

A number of media-rights groups say that due to the prolonged lack of any form of government, Somalia is the most dangerous country in Africa for journalists.

INDIA- Due to a steep decline in the number of pirate attacks off the western coast of India from Somali-based pirates, India plans on petitioning the International Maritime Organization to de-list their territorial waters from a list of high-risk nautical areas.

Citing the noticable dip in pirate attacks as well as increased patrolling by the Indian Navy off the west coast, India is hoping that the de-listing would lower insurance premiums on vessels operating through that area and possibly decrease demand for armed guards on some ships. The increased costs of both the insurance and armed protection means that the cost of shipping goods would be passed along to consumers worldwide.

Following aggressive expansion by the pirates further off the coast of Somalia and closer to Indian territorial waters, the Indian Navy stepped up patrols off the Western coast in 2011 resulting in the capture of a number of pirates and sinking a captured pirate 'mothership' which the pirates would use to launch smaller vessels to stage attacks on ships.

However, as recently as December 2011, Indian Navy officials warned that Somali pirates remained within striking distance of the southwestern archipelego of Lakshadweep.

UK- During an international conference on Somalia last week, Britain announced that it would pledge £20 million for a rapid reaction force to train police in areas retaken from al Shabaab.

Under the plans, Britain will contribute £20 million to a 'stability fund' for Somalia to help its new government secure the territory it has won from the al-Qaeda backed insurgency.

This will pay for a civilian force of “chino-clad warriors” who will be sent into vulnerable areas to help establish a police presence, health care facilities, schools and basic services before the militants can return.

The fund would target areas where either al-Shabaab had been driven out completely, or reduced as a fighting force. Its experts would be trained in forging local peace deals as well as overseeing government services in battle-ravaged regions. Andrew Mitchell, the International Development Secretary, said Britain hoped to attract further backing from around the world for the scheme. Somalia has had no functional government for two decades and has been described by William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, as “the world’s most failed state”.

In addition to the 40-nation conference in London, the United Nations security council is expected to take up a resolution regarding increasing the number of peacekeepers in the Horn of Africa. Currently, the African Union is combatting al-Shabaab in Somalia with soldiers from Uganda, Burundi and Djibouti while Ethiopian and Kenyan troops operating seperately from each other and the AU force have opened up a second and third front against al Shabaab elsewhere in the country.

Quickie Weeknight Cuppa Sports Chowdah For Jan 19th- The Devils You Know; Gift Raptors- C's Snap 5-Game Skid

AP Photo

NHL- The Bruins seemed to have been in something of a funk, going 3-3 over the last two weeks.

Although they managed a 3-2 shootout win over the Florida Panthers on Monday night, they travelled to Tampa Bay where they dropped Tuesday night's contest to the struggling Lightning by a 5-3 final.

For Thursday night, they travelled back up the coast to take on the New Jersey Devils at Newark's Prudential Center. Coming into the Thursday night game, the Devils got the bad news that they would be without the services of defenseman Henrik Tallinder, who is expected to miss in the neighborhood of 6-8 weeks with a blood clot in his left leg.

As for Boston, Brad Marchand was eligible to play after finishing up his 5-game suspension for clipping Vancouver's Sami Salo during the January 7th home game against the Canucks.

After a first period that seemed to have the Bruins scrambling, the Devils drew first blood on a Pietr Sykora tally to put them up 1-0 with less than 90 seconds to go in the first.

After getting shut out in the second period, the Bruins started their comeback early in the 3rd, getting on board to tie the game at 1-1 thanks to a goal from Andrew Ference just 3 minutes into the 3rd stanza. Boston would then take the lead on a power play goal from Nathan Horton at the 7:10 mark and add to their lead 35 seconds later thanks to an even-strength tally from Gregory Campbell. With less than a minute to go, Chris Kelly made it 4-1 game thanks to an empty net goal after Martin Brodeur was pulled for the extra attacker.

Tim Thomas stopped 30 of 31 shots faced while Martin Brodeur allowed 3 goals on 24 shots faced. Both the Devils and the Bruins had exactly one power play apiece, with Boston capitalizing on their only opportunity in the 3rd.

The Bruins will next face the NY Rangers for the first time this season. The Rangers are one point ahead of the Bruins in the Eastern Conference standings and Saturday afternoon's contest at the TD Garden will be televised on the NHL Network. The puck is scheduled to drop at 1:00 ET.

OTHER NHL NEWS- Bruins Captain Zdeno Chara and Ottawa Sentaros RW Daniel Alfresson were named the two captains in the NHL's upcoming All Star game at Ottawa's Scotiabank Place on January 29. Both captains will set rosters for the skills competition and the game itself in a January 26 draft.

Tyler Seguin and Tim Thomas have also been named to this year's all star game.

NBA- The Boston Celtics losing streak is over after a convincing 23 point win over the [even MORE] struggling Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

After taking a 44-38 lead at the half, the Celtics simply continued pouring it on over the hapless Raptors in the second half, with the defense limiting them to 17 points in the 3rd and 18 points in the 4th.

Rajon Rondo led the scoring on the night for the C's with 21 points along with 3 rebounds and two assists.

New acquisiton Brandon Bass came off the bench and had 9 rebounds and 13 points in a pretty productive night for Boston.

Boston gets off the schnide and wins by a 96-73 final on Wednesday night. On Firday night, they will take on the Phoenix suns at the Garden with a 7:30 tipoff. The game will be televised on CSNE.

NFL: Ahead of this weekend's AFC Championship game between, the St Louis Rams announced that they will be playing the New England Patriots at London's Wembley Stadium on October 28, 2012. The Rams will reportedly be travelling to England for the next three seasons.

This would not be the first trip to London for the Patriots. They ventured across the pond for an October 25, 2009 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning that one handily by a 35-7 margin.