World Politics/Global Events


World Politics/Global Events

Author
Message
Glory Recruit
Glory Recruit
Legend
Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Posts: 13K, Visits: 0
^good point, but Britian didnt really ask for help last time except for some american made missiles and training against french aircraft.

British Navy is still a powerful force and totally outclasses the argentinian fleet. A big problem for Britian would be the lack of aircraft on their aircraft carrier.

Anyway i don't think Argentina will do anything.
Joffa
Joffa
Legend
Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)

Group: Moderators
Posts: 66K, Visits: 0
Heineken wrote:
Argentina can whinge and moan all they want, but they won't do anything about it. They're still licking their wounds from '82. If they tried to repeat their actions in '82, they'd get their arses kicked even worse than last time.


Brits don't have the Navy they had in '82.
Heineken
Heineken
Legend
Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Posts: 49K, Visits: 0
Argentina can whinge and moan all they want, but they won't do anything about it. They're still licking their wounds from '82. If they tried to repeat their actions in '82, they'd get their arses kicked even worse than last time.

WOLLONGONG WOLVES FOR A-LEAGUE EXPANSION!

Joffa
Joffa
Legend
Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)

Group: Moderators
Posts: 66K, Visits: 0
Quote:
Falklands referendum: David Cameron hails 'clear result' as 99.8 per cent of islanders vote to remain British

Cahal Milmo Port Stanley
Tuesday 12 March 2013

David Cameron today called on Argentina to respect the wishes of Falkland Islanders, who have overwhelmingly voted to stay British.

After two days of voting the inhabitants of the South Atlantic archipelago decided by 99.8 per cent in favour of retaining their status as a United Kingdom overseas territory. Turnout from the electorate of 1,649, some of whom had queued in wind and rain yesterday to cast their ballots in Stanley, was 92 per cent.

The Prime Minister said this was "the clearest possible results there could be" and that he would always be there to defend the islands.

Speaking at 10 Downing Street just hours after the result of the referendum was announced, Mr Cameron said it sent a clear message to Argentina.

"They should take careful note of this result," said the Prime Minister.

"The Falkland islanders couldn't have spoken more clearly. They want to remain British and that view should be respected by everybody, including by Argentina."

The emphatic approval of the status quo of British sovereignty, which saw just three "no" votes cast out of 1,517, is no surprise in a community which still bears the memory of Argentina's 1982 invasion and Britain's subsequent liberation in a brutal three-week land war.

As the result was announced in Port Stanley's town hall there was gasps at the scale of the yes vote. One spectator shouted: "Listen to us."

A few hundred metres at the street part beneath the Whalebone Arch, erected 80 years to commemorate a century of British rule of the Falklands, a fully party was in swing with islanders singing from printed sheets carrying the words to "God Save the Queen" and Rod Stewart's "I Am Sailing".

Port Stanley resident Alice Clarke said: "It's a brilliant, brilliant result. We hoped it would be convincing but the turn out and the percentage in favour is a very powerful statement."

It will be held up by islanders as proof of their right to self-determination and a counter-blast to the ongoing campaign by Argentina to corral Britain to the negotiating table for talks - rejected out of hand by London - in which Buenos Aires insists the Falklanders would have no right to participate.

The Argentine government of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has made clear it does not recognise the referendum, insisting it has no legal validity.

However Mr Cameron insisted that the islanders were entitled to the right to self-determination.

"It is the clearest possible result there could be," he said.

"The Falkland Islands may be thousands of miles away but they are British through and through and that is how they want to stay. People should know we will always be there to defend them.

"We believe in self-determination. The Falkland Islanders have spoken so clearly about their future and now other countries right across the world, I hope, will respect and revere this very, very clear result."

The vote was greeted with jubilation in Port Stanley, where hundreds of residents braved squally snow showers to hold a street party on a green decked in the Falklands flags and red, white and blue bunting.

Members of the Falklands' legislative assembly will later today use the results from the plebiscite to lobby foreign governments. Meetings are due to be held in America, which has been criticised on the islands and in Britain for sticking rigidly to its longstanding formula of recognising the UK's de facto administration of the islands but stopping short of accepting the right of its inhabitants to self-determination. In London, there is an expectation that diplomats and ministers will use the referendum result to counter Argentine complaints.

Barry Elsby, one of the islands' elected legislators, told The Independent: "The point of this referendum was not for islanders to know what they feel. The message here is for the outside world. Argentina has told the world we don't exist but we have tonight made our views clear in the most emphatic manner possible.

"Argentina is afraid of this referendum because it shows that we have a voice on the international stage."

Mr Elsby hit back at criticism from Buenos Aires that the referendum amounted to nothing more than a publicity stunt.

He said: "This is not a stunt. It is publicity for the watching world because on behalf of our 3,000 people, the islanders have gone to the ballot boxes and made a statement about their future. That is not a stunt."

The high turnout for the vote will be seen as an indication of the determination of the islanders to make their views known as well as a signal of success for the complex logistical operation for the referendum put in place by the Falklands' government, which involved mobile polling stations touring the Camp or countryside beyond Port Stanley and the use of an aircraft to gather ballot boxes as well as visit voters in outlying islands.

A team of international observers monitoring the ballot gave the process a clean bill of health in an initial assessment of the conduct of the referendum. Brad Smith, the head of the ten-strong Referendum International Observer Mission, said: "We believe that this referendum represented the will and the spirt of the voters of the Falkland Islands."

Argentina and its president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who has led a voluble campaign against the islanders while asserting the case from Buenos Aires that London must negotiate over the Falklands' status, is likely to respond with indignation to the result and could expand its strategy of applying economic pressure on the islands.

Argentina's ambassador to London, Alicia Castro, last week refused rule out the imposition of new measures against the Falklands, which already include an attempt to squeeze the islands' tourist industry by banning cruise ships which call at Port Stanley from visiting Argentine ports and threats to restrict the lucrative squid catch which has funded much of the islands' development in recent years by expanding fishing in its own waters.

Mrs Castro said: "Let's wait and see."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/falklands-referendum-david-cameron-hails-clear-result-as-998-per-cent-of-islanders-vote-to-remain-british-8529669.html

afromanGT
afromanGT
Legend
Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Posts: 77K, Visits: 0
thupercoach wrote:
afromanGT wrote:
TheSelectFew wrote:
Public executions? What is this, the 1800s?

The last public execution in the USA was in 1936.
The last public execution in the Muslim world was, like, ten minutes ago.

My point was it was only like 80 years ago, it's not as antiquated in western society as people think.
thupercoach
thupercoach
World Class
World Class (8.4K reputation)World Class (8.4K reputation)World Class (8.4K reputation)World Class (8.4K reputation)World Class (8.4K reputation)World Class (8.4K reputation)World Class (8.4K reputation)World Class (8.4K reputation)World Class (8.4K reputation)World Class (8.4K reputation)World Class (8.4K reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Posts: 8.3K, Visits: 0
afromanGT wrote:
TheSelectFew wrote:
Public executions? What is this, the 1800s?

The last public execution in the USA was in 1936.
The last public execution in the Muslim world was, like, ten minutes ago.
afromanGT
afromanGT
Legend
Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Posts: 77K, Visits: 0
TheSelectFew wrote:
Public executions? What is this, the 1800s?

The last public execution in the USA was in 1936.
TheSelectFew
TheSelectFew
Legend
Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Posts: 30K, Visits: 0
Public executions? What is this, the 1800s?


afromanGT
afromanGT
Legend
Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Posts: 77K, Visits: 0
North Korea needs to be Un-Kim-Jong-ed.
Heineken wrote:
It's a well known fact that we actually have some of the best, if not the best non-nuclear powered submarines in the world. The major problem is they're bloody expensive to run, and we don't have the numbers to man them, even though the Submarine roles in the Navy are the best paid.

Our submarines would be top class if they were adequately staffed and maintained. However due to our strenuous selection process for submariners you're often left short staffed.
Joffa
Joffa
Legend
Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)

Group: Moderators
Posts: 66K, Visits: 0

Joffa
Joffa
Legend
Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)

Group: Moderators
Posts: 66K, Visits: 0

Joffa
Joffa
Legend
Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)

Group: Moderators
Posts: 66K, Visits: 0
Quote:
North Korea issues new threats to US and 'puppets' South Korea; Kim Jong-Un visits frontline

by:
Park Chan-Kyong From:
AFP March 08, 2013
3:22PM

NORTH Korea responded to new UN sanctions today with fresh threats of nuclear war, the scrapping of peace pacts with South Korea and the severing of a hotline with Seoul.

The latest measures announced by Pyongyang ramped up tensions on the Korean peninsula that have surged since the North staged a third nuclear test last month.
Yesterday, the country had threatened a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the United States and South Korea.

North Korea "abrogates all agreements on non-aggression reached between the North and the South'', the state-run Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK) said in a statement.

Pyongyang is known for its bellicose rhetoric, but the tone has reached a frenzied pitch in recent days, fuelling concerns that it might trigger a border incident, with both North and South planning major military exercises next week.

North Korean television broadcast emotional scenes of cheering soldiers and their young families greeting leader Kim Jong-Un as he visited a frontline unit that shelled the South in 2010.

With tensions surging on the Korean peninsula, Kim said the North's military was "fully ready to fight a Korean style all-out war", as he visited two islands close to the disputed maritime border on Thursday, state media said.

Footage of Friday's visit showed him being greeted by chanting troops who were held back as they surged towards him.

Their families brought their children to meet him, with one woman encouraging her daughter
forward for a hug.

At the end of the trip, the soldiers ran down to the beach and waded chest deep into the freezing water clutching at Kim's motor launch as it moved away.

The tour coincided with an outpouring of vitriol from Pyongyang over UN sanctions imposed for its nuclear test last month, with the North threatening pre-emptive nuclear strikes on the US and its allies, and vowing to rip up peace pacts with South Korea.

Speaking to troops stationed on the islands, Kim said the slightest provocation would result in his immediate order for a "great advance" along the entire frontline with the South, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

.On Mu island he inspected artillery units that shelled the nearby South Korean island of Yeonpyeong in November 2010, killing four people and triggering an exchange of fire that sparked fears of a full-blown conflict.

State television showed Kim inspecting the craters left by South artillery shells on the island in what he described as the "most gratifying" battle since the end of the Korean war in 1953.


A non-aggression pact signed in 1991 endorsed the peaceful settlement of disputes and the prevention of accidental military clashes.

The CPRK said the pact would be voided as of Monday, the same day that Pyongyang has vowed to rip up the 1953 armistice agreement that ended Korean War hostilities.


"It also notifies the South side that it will immediately cut off the North-South hotline,'' the committee said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

The hotline was installed in 1971 and the North has severed it on five occasions in the
past - most recently in 2010.

Pyongyang's latest announcement came hours after the UN Security Council beefed up existing sanctions on the communist state in response to its February 12 nuclear test.

The resolution adopted by the 15-member Council added new names to the UN sanctions blacklist and tightened restrictions on North Korea's financial dealings, notably its suspect "bulk cash'' transfers.

The new sanctions will "bite hard'', said the US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice. "They increase North Korea's isolation and raise the cost to North Korea's leaders of defying the international community.''

China wants "full implementation'' of the resolution, said its UN envoy Li Baodong, while stressing that efforts must be made to bring North Korea back to negotiations and to defuse tensions.

Prior to the Security Council meeting, the North Korean foreign ministry had threatened a "pre-emptive nuclear attack'' against the United States and all other "aggressors''.

The United States responded by saying it was "fully capable'' of defending itself and its allies - including South Korea - against any missile strike.

The CPRK statement today condemned the UN resolution as proof that Washington and its "puppets'' in Seoul were "hell bent'' on confrontation.

"North-South relations have gone so far beyond the danger line that they are no longer reparable and an extremely dangerous situation is prevailing on the Korean Peninsula where a nuclear war may break out right now,'' it said.

The statement warned that the North Korean military would respond "mercilessly'' to any intrusion - "even an inch'' - into its land, sea or air space.

An annual US-South Korea military exercise known as Foal Eagle is currently underway and another joint drill is scheduled to begin Monday.

The North is also believed to be gearing up for nationwide military manoeuvres of its own next week, involving all three wings of its armed forces.

While most observers dismiss the North's nuclear war threats as bluster, there are fears about the volatile mix of hair-trigger tension and military exercises.

"There's always that risk of a miscalculation and rapid escalation,'' said Dan Pinkston, a Seoul-based security expert for the International Crisis Group.

"Most of this is bluster, but the regime in North Korea is also signalling that it's willing to take greater risks, and that's a dangerous sign,'' Pinkston told AFP.

KCNA said North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un yesterday visited a frontline military unit involved in the shelling of a South Korean island in 2010.

During his inspection, Kim declared the North was ready for all-out war and that he would order attacks in all frontline areas in case of any provocation, KCNA said.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/north-korea-issues-new-threats-to-us-and-puppets-south-korea/story-fnd134gw-1226593315526

Glory Recruit
Glory Recruit
Legend
Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Posts: 13K, Visits: 0
They might be successful against other subs when actually working, but the fact when they were released with high level of noise, engine and combat system problems which wernt fixed until 2010, makes them a failure in my eyes. I seriously wouldn't be surprised if they have spent more time out the water then in and the fact that most of the time they're out ofwater probably hasn't helped their manning problems either.

In 2010 we had 1 submarine fully operational due to mechanical problems. Lets hopewe have learnt lessons because we're going to be building or buying 12 new subs after the Collins are retired which will give us one of the largest submarine fleets in the world.


http://www.afr.com/p/national/australia_submarine_fleet_among_lmkx9QBvCarkrCHYHvhFcP
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/australias-submarine-program-in-the-dock-06127/

Edited by aussie4ever4: 9/3/2013 07:05:56 PM
Heineken
Heineken
Legend
Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Posts: 49K, Visits: 0
It's a well known fact that we actually have some of the best, if not the best non-nuclear powered submarines in the world. The major problem is they're bloody expensive to run, and we don't have the numbers to man them, even though the Submarine roles in the Navy are the best paid.

WOLLONGONG WOLVES FOR A-LEAGUE EXPANSION!

Glory Recruit
Glory Recruit
Legend
Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Posts: 13K, Visits: 0
That's not that old for major military hardware.

Edited by aussie4ever4: 9/3/2013 05:47:57 PM
Joffa
Joffa
Legend
Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)

Group: Moderators
Posts: 66K, Visits: 0
Name / Commissioned

Collins 27 July 1996
Farncomb 31 January 1998
Waller 10 July 1999
Dechaineux 23 February 2001
Sheean 23 February 2001
Rankin 29 March 2003

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collins_class_submarine
Glory Recruit
Glory Recruit
Legend
Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Posts: 13K, Visits: 0
afromanGT wrote:
Aussie4ever4 wrote:
Heineken wrote:
Quite frankly, we should deploy a couple subs. God knows we need to use them.


Our subs barely fucking work:lol:

To be fair, they ARE older than most of the people that crew them :P


They are pretty young subs.

Edited by aussie4ever4: 9/3/2013 05:31:10 PM
Heineken
Heineken
Legend
Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Posts: 49K, Visits: 0
This North Korea issue is a bit of a worry me thinks. Kim Jung-Il seems to be more of a lunatic than his father was. He seems pretty hell-bent on resuming military action. Could be a major incident before the end of the year, much bigger than the sinking of the ROKS Cheonan or the Bombarding of that little island.

WOLLONGONG WOLVES FOR A-LEAGUE EXPANSION!

afromanGT
afromanGT
Legend
Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Posts: 77K, Visits: 0
Aussie4ever4 wrote:
Heineken wrote:
Quite frankly, we should deploy a couple subs. God knows we need to use them.


Our subs barely fucking work:lol:

To be fair, they ARE older than most of the people that crew them :P
Joffa
Joffa
Legend
Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)

Group: Moderators
Posts: 66K, Visits: 0
Sung to the tune of ' it's a long way to Tipperary'

It's a long way to Pyongyang .....
Joffa
Joffa
Legend
Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)

Group: Moderators
Posts: 66K, Visits: 0
Sung to the tune of ' it's a long way to Tipperary'

It's a long way to Pyongyang .....
Glory Recruit
Glory Recruit
Legend
Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)Legend (14K reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Posts: 13K, Visits: 0
Heineken wrote:
Quite frankly, we should deploy a couple subs. God knows we need to use them.


Our subs barely fucking work:lol:
afromanGT
afromanGT
Legend
Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Posts: 77K, Visits: 0
Well, I for one am glad the UN sent North Korea a sternly worded letter and can't wait until they put them in the naughty corner.

Seriously though, WWIII is a duck's fart away.
Joffa
Joffa
Legend
Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)

Group: Moderators
Posts: 66K, Visits: 0
Quote:
North Korea threatens nuclear strike on US as UN votes for tough sanctions

From:
AP March 08, 2013
4:26PM

•UN votes for tough sanctions against rogue state
•Korean general says warheads are ready to be fired
•Threats becoming more common

North Korea threatens nuclear attack on U.S.

THE UN Security Council has voted unanimously for tough new sanctions to punish North Korea for its latest nuclear test.

The move sparked a furious Pyongyang to threaten a nuclear strike against the United States.
The vote by the UN's most powerful body on a resolution drafted by North Korea's closest ally, China, and the United States sends a powerful message that the international community condemns the ballistic missile and nuclear tests - and repeated violation of Security Council resolutions.

Immediately before the vote, an unidentified spokesman for Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry said the North will exercise its right for "a preemptive nuclear attack to destroy the strongholds of the aggressors'' because Washington is pushing to start a nuclear war against the North.

It appeared to be the most specific open threat of a nuclear strike by any country against another.

. Although North Korea boasts of nuclear bombs and pre-emptive strikes, it is not thought to have mastered the ability to produce a warhead small enough to put on a missile capable of reaching the US It is believed to have enough nuclear fuel, however, for several crude nuclear devices.

The new sanctions are aimed at reining in North Korea's nuclear and missile programs by making it more difficult for Pyongyang to finance and obtain material for these programs, tracking illegal diplomatic activity and intensifying inspections of cargo to and from the country.

In a measure targeted at the reclusive nation's ruling elite, the resolution bans all nations from exporting expensive jewelry, yachts, luxury automobiles and racing cars to the North. After the 15-0 vote, US Ambassador Susan Rice told reporters that "taken together, these sanctions will bite and bite hard.''

Responding to Pyongyang's nuclear strike threat, she said, "North Korea will achieve nothing by continued threats and provocation.''

She urged North Korea's leaders to heed President Barack Obama's call to follow the path of peace. If it doesn't, she said, the Security Council is committed in the resolution to take further measures.

China's UN Ambassador Li Bao Dong said the top priority now is to "bring down the heat'' and focus on diplomacy and restarting the six-party talks aimed at denuclearising the Korean peninsula.

In North Korea, Army General Kang Pyo Yong told a crowd of tens of thousands that North Korea is ready to fire long-range nuclear-armed missiles at Washington.

"Intercontinental ballistic missiles and various other missiles, which have already set their striking targets, are now armed with lighter, smaller and diversified nuclear warheads and are placed on a standby status,'' Gen Kang said. "When we shell (the missiles), Washington, which is the stronghold of evils, .... will be engulfed in a sea of fire.''

The statement by the North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman was carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.

It accused the US of leading efforts to slap sanctions on North Korea. The statement said the new sanctions would only advance the timing for North Korea to fulfill previous vows to take "powerful second and third countermeasures'' against its enemies. It hasn't elaborated on those measures.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and his generals ... the UN Security Council has imposed sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear test last month.

The statement said North Korea "strongly warns the UN Security Council not to make another big blunder like the one in the past when it earned the inveterate grudge of the Korean nation by acting as a war servant for the US in 1950.''

North Korea demanded the Security Council immediately dismantle the American-led UN Command that's based in Seoul and move to end the state of war that exists on the Korean Peninsula, which continues six decades after fighting stopped because an armistice, not a peace treaty, ended the war.

In anticipation of the resolution's adoption, North Korea earlier in the week threatened to cancel the 1953 cease-fire that ended the Korean War.

North Korean threats have become more common as tensions have escalated following a rocket launch by Pyongyang in December and its third nuclear test on February 12. Both acts defied three Security Council resolutions that bar North Korea from testing or using nuclear or ballistic missile technology and from importing or exporting material for these programs.
The United States and other nations worry that North Korea's third nuclear test pushed it closer to its goal of gaining nuclear missiles that can reach the US.

The international community has condemned the regime's nuclear and missile efforts as threats to regional security and a drain on the resources that could go to North Korea's largely destitute people.

The UN resolution identifies three individuals, one corporation and one organisation that will be added to the UN sanctions list. The targets include top officials at a company that is the country's primary arms dealer and main exporter of ballistic missile-related equipment, and a national organisation responsible for research and development of missiles and probably nuclear weapons.

The success of a new round of sanctions could depend on enforcement by China, where most of the companies and banks that North Korea is believed to work with are based.

The UN resolution condemns the latest nuclear test "in the strongest terms'' for violating and flagrantly disregarding council resolutions, bans further ballistic missile launches, nuclear tests "or any other provocation,'' and demands that North Korea return to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. It also condemns all of North Korea's ongoing nuclear activities, including its uranium enrichment.

But the resolution stresses the council's commitment "to a peaceful, diplomatic and political solution'' and urged a resumption of six-party talks.

According to the resolution, all countries would now be required to freeze financial transactions or services that could contribute to North Korea's nuclear or missile programs.
To get around financial sanctions, North Koreans have been carrying around large suitcases filled with cash to move illicit funds. The resolution expresses concern that these bulk cash transfers may be used to evade sanctions. It clarifies that the freeze on financial transactions and services that could violate sanctions applies to all cash transfers as well as the cash couriers.

The resolution also bans all countries from providing public financial support for trade deals, such as granting export credits, guarantees or insurance, if the assistance could contribute to the North's nuclear or missile programs.

It includes what a senior diplomat called unprecedented new travel sanctions that would require countries to expel agents working for sanctioned North Korean companies.

The resolution also requires states to inspect suspect cargo on their territory and prevent any vessel that refuses an inspection from entering their ports. And a new aviation measure calls on states to deny aircraft permission to take off, land or fly over their territory if illicit cargo is suspected to be aboard.

Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said the Security Council had to impose tougher sanctions.

Senator Carr described North Korea as a "uniquely repressive regime with its uniquely belligerent foreign policy and defence stance'', saying Pyongyang was committed to no less than the "nuclearisation and intense militarisation'' of the Korean peninsula.

"The world had no alternative ... but to agree on terms for a Security Council resolution that gives effect to a new level of sanctions,'' he told ABC radio on Friday.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/north-korea-threatens-nuclear-strike-against-us/story-fnd134gw-1226592742931

afromanGT
afromanGT
Legend
Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)Legend (77K reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Posts: 77K, Visits: 0
Wait...so if we're in a country where tax is determined by ABV...how much does the government owe me?
Joffa
Joffa
Legend
Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)

Group: Moderators
Posts: 66K, Visits: 0
Quote:

Drinkers sue over watered-down beer
DateFebruary 27, 2013 - 1:15PM

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, the world's biggest brewer, is being sued sued by two brothers for overstating the alcohol content in its Budweiser beer.

AB InBev routinely adds extra water to its finished products to produce malt beverages with significantly less alcohol than displayed on its labels, Thomas and Gerald Greenberg say in a complaint filed in the US federal court in Philadelphia.

The company's exaggeration of the alcohol content violates Pennsylvania's consumer protection statutes, according to the complaint.

"AB's customers are overcharged for watered-down beer and AB is unjustly enriched by the additional volume it can sell," according to the filing.

The complaint accuses Leuven, Belgian-based AB InBev of also mislabelling the amount of alcohol in Bud Ice, Bud Light Platinum, Michelob, King Cobra, Busch Ice, Black Crown, Bud Light Lime, Hurricane High Gravity Lager, Natural Ice and Michelob Ultra.

The men didn't say in the complaint how they determined the alcohol content of the beer.

The Greenbergs said they routinely bought as many as four cartons of Budweiser a month during the past four years, with the contents labelled as having an alcohol content of 5 per cent.

They claim that AB InBev keeps the alcohol amount for each batch of malt beverage at specifications above the desired final product at least initially, then adds water and carbon dioxide in the final stage of the brewing process.

The company began using in-line alcohol measuring instruments known as Anton Paar meters that can measure the alcohol content of malt beverages to within hundredths of a per cent, according to the complaint.

They say the brewer uses the precision technology to shave the alcohol content instead of providing a product based on the stated label.

"Even though AB knows the true alcohol content of its products, it intentionally and falsely overstates the alcohol content of its malt beverages," the Greenbergs say in their complaint.

They are seeking to represent everyone who bought products in Pennsylvania in their bid for damages exceeding $5 million and a court order requiring the company to alter its advertising.



Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/world/drinkers-sue-over-watereddown-beer-20130227-2f5fe.html#ixzz2M5RS3kon

TheSelectFew
TheSelectFew
Legend
Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Posts: 30K, Visits: 0
I laughed: ...otherwise we will slaughter these people.

Peace be with Muhammad.


Wankers.

Edited by TheSelectFew: 26/2/2013 01:22:36 PM


TheSelectFew
TheSelectFew
Legend
Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)Legend (30K reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Posts: 30K, Visits: 0
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/25/youtube-french-family-kidnapped-cameroon

Link includes video.



Quote:
YouTube video 'shows French family kidnapped in Cameroon'
Footage that seems to show the seven citizens taken last week in the northern part of the country is posted on the internet
Share 13


inShare
0
Email
Afua Hirsch, west Africa correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Monday 25 February 2013 18.48 GMT

Link to video: Video of 'French citizens kidnapped in Cameroon' released
A video that appears to show seven French citizens, including four children, who were kidnapped in northern Cameroon last week has been posted on the internet.

The video, posted on YouTube, appears to show the Moulin-Fournier family – a couple, their children aged five, eight, 10 and 12, and an uncle – who were seized on 19 February after visiting the Waza national park, a wildlife sanctuary in northern Cameroon.

Three adults are seen sitting cross-legged with four children in front of them, guarded by two armed and camouflaged men. A male hostage reads in French from a written statement, saying the group was taken by the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram who demand the release of militants being held in Nigeria and Cameroon.

One of the guards speaks in Arabic in the video, claiming Boko Haram seized the group in retaliation for the French military intervention in Mali. He says the hostages will be killed if their demands are not met.

France's prime minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, said experts were examining the video to determine whether it was authentic. "[We] have received information that the group Boko Haram is claiming to be holding the French family," Ayrault told reporters.

The film, if authentic, is the first time images of the family have been made public since they were kidnapped by six gunmen on three motorbikes close to the Nigerian border in northern Cameroon a week ago.

Last week, the French government was forced to retract a statement saying the family had been freed.

The family were visiting from Cameroon's capital, Yaounde, where the father, Tanguy Moulin-Fournier, worked as an executive with the French gas company GDF Suez.

The attack raised concerns that Boko Haram, whose name is often translated as "western education is sinful", is increasing activities in other west African countries. Witnesses in Mali described seeing Boko Haram members supporting al-Qaida-linked groups fighting there.

Over the weekend, the French government changed travel advice to Benin, which borders Nigeria to the west, in light of the possibility of Boko Haram attacks against tourists.

But Boko Haram, which declared a ceasefire five weeks ago, has denied involvement in the kidnapping.

At a press conference on Sunday in Maiduguri, a Boko Haram stronghold in northern Nigeria, spokesman Sheikh Abu Muhammad Ibn Abdulazeez said: "We have been hearing of late how people are linking us with the kidnap of the seven French nationals in Cameroon. We have nothing to do with the French people or their abductors."

The kidnapping is the latest of several affecting French citizens in recent years. In 2010 four French workers were kidnapped in Niger, and in 2011 two French businessmen were kidnapped in Mali.



Heineken
Heineken
Legend
Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)Legend (50K reputation)

Group: Forum Members
Posts: 49K, Visits: 0
Quite frankly, we should deploy a couple subs. God knows we need to use them.

WOLLONGONG WOLVES FOR A-LEAGUE EXPANSION!

Joffa
Joffa
Legend
Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)Legend (86K reputation)

Group: Moderators
Posts: 66K, Visits: 0
Quote:
'Armed helicopters' support whalers, claims Sea Shepherd

by:
JESSICA MARSZALEK From:
News Limited Network February 25, 2013
6:44PM

A JAPANESE military ship has joined its whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean, increasing tension between whalers and activists after collisions last week.

The 140m-long Shirase icebreaker, operated by the navy and described by activists as "intimidating", arrived near the Nisshin Maru whaling ship and Korean-flagged fuel tanker Sun Laurel in Australia's Antarctic territory early yesterday morning, Sea Shepherd Captain Paul Watson said.

Before daylight, it sent a helicopter into the sky above the Sun Laurel, which is being prevented from refuelling the Nisshin Maru by activists who believe it is illegally carrying heavy oil, he said.

"They're heavily armed helicopters," Mr Watson told News Limited from the Steve Irwin, one of three Sea Shepherd boats in the area.

"They carry three of these big helicopters.

. "It is intimidating, but we're going to hold our ground and make sure they don't kill any whales."

A spokesman at the Japanese Embassy said there were "no factual basis" to the reports and refused to comment on "statements made by Sea Shepherd", but Australian Environment Minister Tony Burke said he had questions.

"Japan has told the Government that the Shirase is not involved in supporting their so-called scientific whaling fleet," he said.

It was true the Shirase often had a genuine research role in the area, he said.

"But the reports today of helicopters flying from the Shirase to the South Korean tanker being used for the refuelling of the Japanese whaling fleet mean there is a further question to be answered," he said.

Mr Burke said he wanted to know whether there had been any link, support or transfer of Japanese personnel to the oil tanker.

"Let's face it, without fuel there is no whaling fleet," he said.

"The tanker is the life blood for the rest of this disgusting operation."

The move comes after violent collisions last week between the Nisshin Maru and smaller Sea Shepherd and Sun Laurel vessels that were captured on video.

Sea Shepherd has been scathing of the Nisshin Maru's captain, which it says put lives at risk when he "rammed" three other boats.

The Institute of Cetacean Research, representing the whalers, said Sea Shepherd "provoked" the collisions.

The Greens called for Australia to send a Customs ship to cool the escalating situation.
But the Government maintained it would not, and that all its Antarctic interests were being monitored by the French under a cooperative treaty.


http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/armed-helicopters-support-whalers-claims-sea-shepherd/story-fncynkc6-1226585219218

GO


Select a Forum....























Inside Sport


Search