Syria Disintegrating: Part 2

[CountDeMoney]

except they can't be destroyed if manned by Russians.

On the plus side, they can't be expected to work if manned by Russians.

[Razgovory]

Wait, back up, why would they need SAMs in the first place? 

and



clear?

Yeah, but Russian SAMs aren't gong to defend against that.

[Neil]

That may be their hope, but we killed Soviet pilots in Korea and Vietnam, why would we hesitate to do the same to SAM operators here.

Because if a US plane gets shot down, it would wreck Obama's second term.  Weak jingos are only in love with the idea of intervening so long as there is no danger of retaliation.  US military prestige is already as low as it has been since Vietnam, and any further setbacks would give the forces of evil an opening.

[jimmy olsen]

Not surprising news, but terrible none the less. 

At least 60,000 people have died in Syria's conflict, the UN human rights commissioner has said, citing an "exhaustive" study which has sharply increased the number of those believed killed.

Before the latest UN-commissioned survey it had been estimated that up to 45,000 people had perished during the conflict; the up-to-date calculation increases the death toll by a third...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/02/60000-killed-syrian-war-un

[Crazy_Ivan80]

Not surprising news, but terrible none the less. 

At least 60,000 people have died in Syria's conflict, the UN human rights commissioner has said, citing an "exhaustive" study which has sharply increased the number of those believed killed.

Before the latest UN-commissioned survey it had been estimated that up to 45,000 people had perished during the conflict; the up-to-date calculation increases the death toll by a third...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/02/60000-killed-syrian-war-un

there's less outcry for those 60.000 dead than for one palestinian terrorist that gets his due. Typical

[Razgovory]

Yeah, nobody gives a fuck if the Arabs that die, die at the hands of other Arabs.  All those people critical of Israel and decry the bulldozing of some Palestinian homes say nothing about Hama.  10,000 people die, nobody gives a fuck. 

[CountDeMoney]

I give a fuck: I hope it hits 100K.

[Grinning_Colossus]

Toshifumi Fujimoto's vacation pictures, posted on his Facebook page, show him in poses familiar to any tourist. He lines up with interesting people, tries local activities and shows the sights. Except in the case of Mr. Fujimoto, a Japanese tourist, that means images of what appear to be Syrian rebel fighters engaged in battle, of himself firing an assault rifle and of the corpses of some of the 60,000 people the United Nations has said have died in Syria since a civil war began there early last year.

Mr. Fujimoto, 45, is, according to an interview he gave the news agency Agence France-Presse in Aleppo, Syria, usually a trucker hauling loads between Osaka and Tokyo or Nagasaki. For the last week and on a previous trip, he has been a tourist snapping pictures with his Canon D-SLR cameras and a compact video camera in Aleppo — the very heart of the Syrian conflict. (A link to his Facebook page is here, with the warning that it contains very graphic images.)
https://www.facebook.com/toshifumi.fujimoto.52?__req=26

He told the news agency, via Google Translate, that he had sneaked across the border from Turkey and taken up a position where the fighting is heaviest. "I always go by myself, because no tour guide wants to go to the front," Mr. Fujimoto said. "It's very exciting, and the adrenaline rush is like no other."

He dresses in camouflage fatigues, but without a protective jacket or helmet, which he said were too heavy and could dull the excitement of the gunshots. "I'm not a target for snipers because I'm a tourist, not like you journalists," he said. "Besides, I'm not afraid if they shoot at me or that they might kill me. I'm a combination of samurai and kamikaze." 

Mr. Fujimoto has also been to conflicts in Yemen and Egypt and said he would like to spend time with the Taliban in Afghanistan. He makes no money from his photography and pays for his trips himself. He explained his motivation to Agence France-Presse:

Fujimoto is divorced, and says: "I have no family, no friends, no girl friend. I am alone in life."

But he does have three daughters, whom he hasn't seen for five years, "not even on Facebook or the Internet, nothing. And that saddens me deeply," he said as he wiped away a tear.

So he's bought a life insurance policy, and "I pray every day that, if something happens to me, my girls might collect the insurance money and be able to live comfortably."

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/03/japanese-man-vacations-on-syrian-front-lines/?smid=re-share

[Malthus]

I hope he's carefully read that policy ... 

[DGuller]

I hope he's carefully read that policy ... 

I hope his insurance company has carefully read that article.

[Malthus]

I hope he's carefully read that policy ... 

I hope his insurance company has carefully read that article.

Hey, maybe he's made full disclosure. 

I'm wondering how much "combination of samurai and kamikaze" tourism insurance would cost. 

[jimmy olsen]

This has got to be the biggest truck bomb I've ever seen! Damn!

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=2ee_1357513472

More info on that specific attack

http://brown-moses.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/unexploded-bombs-used-in-truck-bomb-by.html

[CountDeMoney]

This has got to be the biggest truck bomb I've ever seen! Damn!

Because you've been around so many.

[Tamas]

This has got to be the biggest truck bomb I've ever seen! Damn!

Because you've been around so many.

well he IS Puerto Rican

[jimmy olsen]

This has got to be the biggest truck bomb I've ever seen! Damn!

Because you've been around so many.

There's a thing called video Seedy, you might want to look into it.

You can't deny that one's huge.