If it were not North Korea saying it, I would post a warning that there would be a good chance of the world seeing its first widescale nuclear war this weekend.

But it is North Korea talking. They tend to bluster and threaten but fail to carry out their threats.

Usually.

One particular time, they did exactly what they said they would do. (more…)

There are such odd rumblings in the basements and long empty corridors of the internet, coming from a room rarely visited, the door marked Eritrea in disappearing ink.

Who even knows where Eritrea is?

The Iranians do.

Put on a pot of coffee and slip into your storm gear. The waters get deep and rough, and it will be a while before we make landfall. And there are Pirates. Ready?
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China Foreign Ministry spokesperson Qin Gang issued a chilling statement today after the United States announced joint military exercises to begin Friday with South Korea. (Update: will begin Saturday, July 24)

“We express deep concern about the relevant exercises,” he said. “We urge all sides to maintain a cool head and exercise restraint, and not do anything that aggravates regional tensions.”

China is extremely touchy when it comes to military things happening near them. They have chased US ships out of the continually expanding sphere of what they call their territorial waters.

This exercise, named Invincible Spirit, hastily put together since North Korea torpedoed a South Korean warship, was at first going to be held in the Yellow Sea between Korea and China. But this appeared on Qin Gang’s ministry website: “We resolutely oppose foreign military ships and planes coming to the Yellow Sea and other waters near China to engage in activities that affect China’s security interests.”

Apparently cooler heads have prevailed, and it will be held on the other side of the Korean peninsula.

Well, at least a little cooler. But not much. (more…)

The Iranian Majlis (their Parliament) has passed a law which calls for equivalent action against any nation who inspects an Iranian ship or airplane. If the US implements either the UN or our own expanded sanctions against Iran by boarding an Iranian ship to check for contraband, Iran promises to do the same to a US ship.

Emboldened by Russian (and other nations) support for Iran in opposition to the UN and US sanctions, the Iranians have drawn a line in the water. Will the United States step over it?

The US navy has been specifically practicing interdicting Iranian vessels for more than a year. One such exercise included training at Cape Fear River, in a place that very much looks like the Strait of Hormuz, including a large near-shore island bearing a striking resemblance to Hormuz Island.

The Iranians have been practicing interdiction of US shipping and oil tankers in the real Strait of Hormuz for almost as long. They do not have large sophisticated ships like the US does. But they do have lots and lots of low-tech small boats with very sophisticated weapons.
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Israeli sources are reporting a high ranking member of the US intelligence community saying today that the newest CIA forecast for Iran’s capability of testing a nuclear device is… before the end of 2010.

Iran denies everything. And most US mainstream news is focusing on the information that Shahram Amiri, the confusing person claiming to be an Iranian nuclear scientist, has been giving the CIA for the past year about the Iranian nuclear program. In his version, Iran has only peaceful designs for nuclear power generation, and is far from being capable of producing a nuclear weapon.

The Israeli sources, known to have strong Mossad connections, say that both Israeli and United States intelligence communities are now thinking Amiri is a double agent who has laid a false trail of red herrings for the past year. Apparently what he is saying behind closed doors is raising more suspicion than giving comfort about the Iranian nuclear program.
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Food expiration dates printed on the can or package of food are not an infallible guarantee. It is a guess. It is an informed guess, and I think it is good guideline. Manufacturers generally perform due diligence and test the longevity of their packaging.

But it is still a guess. That is why many expiration dates are hedged with Best By dates. Those are the manufacturers’ best guesses as to how long the food inside will taste like it was meant to taste, with a fair degree of freshness. This is probably the most conservative guess for the longevity of the food’s wholesomeness. It is my opinion that manufacturers think that the food is probably safe to eat beyond that date, but do not want to promise that.

And here I want to stress that everything in this post is only my opinion. These are just some of my thoughts, and are not intended as any sort of guideline for anyone else.

In my opinion, Sell By dates cloud the issue of expiration. (more…)

This is the story behind the news.

On October 17, 2007 an historic accord was signed by the nations bordering the Caspian Sea… Iran, Russia,  Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. Representatives of each state, including Iranian President Ahmadinejad and Russian President Putin came together to discuss how to divide the huge, proven oil and gas reserves in the shallow waters of the Caspian sea.

They made progress in solving the thorny issues of who gets how much of what. But the real work was done regarding military relationships between those nations. They created a mutual agreement that resulted in a non-aggression pact between the signatory powers.
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Russia has come to Iran’s aid, agreeing to supply the gasoline and other petroproducts that the US sanctions were successfully embargoing by a variety of means.

That means both the UN and US sanctions against Iran to stop progress on their nuclear program have failed.

Israel has long warned that sanctions that worked were the only alternative to a military solution for Iran’s nuclear program.

Armed forces of the United States, Israel, Europe, and other nations are said to be gathering in the Middle East from Azerbaijan to the Arabian Sea.

The armies of Lebanon and Syria are gathering on Israel’s borders, backed by Iran, with the possibility of other Arab nations joining once a conflict starts.

War alerts are issued so often, they are becoming commonplace.

There are a number of significant events on both sides which are slated to occur during the first part of August.

It’s time for the West to let Iran have their nukes. Or not.

I’m betting on… ‘Or not’.

An excerpt from Food-basic on this website:

You can stock regular food from the grocery store. Or you can go the survival food route and buy premade Emergency Food Packs from a well-established company such as Nitro-Pak. They have a wide variety of choices for nearly every circumstance, including MRE (Meals Ready to Eat), Mountain House Freeze-Dried Food, and the 1-year supply of food they call the Ultimate Family Preparedness Pak. They are also leaders in survival gear.

I’m looking at a Voice of America photo of the Amalthea being escorted to the dock at the port of El Arish by harbor tugs.

So ends the journey. But not the saga.

Seif and BP have some loose ends hanging for Congress to latch onto. I wonder if that will proceed now, or if it was just part of the pressure to turn away from Gaza.

And Hamas, who really wanted the Amalthea to run the blockade, has put the call out for more ships to try to break the Israeli hold on Gaza.

Several are said to be preparing to heed that call.

The engine troubles of the Amalthea having been ‘repaired’ when whoever is actually controlling the ship made up their mind about which way to go, a westerly course has been laid in, away from the escorting Israeli warships.

Good call, everyone is saying. Heavy pressure by both the United States and Libya seems to have helped pushed Seif Qaddafi’s media circus away from Gaza. Nearly everyone is saying that the ship is now headed toward Egypt. Or back to Libya.

Not so good for Seif. (more…)