This morning's key headlines from
GenerationalDynamics.com
- Another horrific bomb attack targets Shias in Quetta, Pakistan
- Bombing targets the Hazara ethnic group in Quetta, Pakistan
- Federal Communications Commission warns of a zombie attack
- Administration moves to expand drone use within America
- Gun control opponents wonder about massive DHS ammunition buildup
- Hey Baby! Singapore wants you to have more kids
Another horrific bomb attack targets Shias in Quetta, Pakistan
Site of the vegetable market turned into a war zone in Quetta on Saturday (AFP)
A large water tanker, filled not with water but with 800 kg of
explosives, exploded in a crowded vegetable market after it was placed
near a pillar in a two-story building, causing the building to
collapse and killing at least 79 people, while injuring hundreds
others in Quetta, Pakistan. Many of the injured are in critical
condition, and many others are still trapped beneath the collapsed
building. This is the second horrific bomb attack this year targeting
Shia Muslims in Quetta. The last one occurred on January 10, killing
over 120. (See "13-Jan-13 World View -- Shia families in Quetta Pakistan refuse to bury bombing victims")
The al-Qaeda linked terror group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has claimed credit
for both bombing in Quetta. As we're written in the past,
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi targets Shia and Sufi shrines in Pakistan and
Afghanistan. In addition, it's connected to Jundullah, a terrorist
group that has perpetrated major attacks on Shia mosques and
Revolutionary Guard stations in southeastern Iran. The year 2012 was
the bloodiest year ever for Shia Muslims targeted by Sunni Muslim
terrorists, and already it seems that 2013 is going to be much worse.
AFP
Bombing targets the Hazara ethnic group in Quetta, Pakistan
Although an absolute minority, the Hazaras are the third largest
ethnic group in Afghanistan, after the Pashtuns and Tajiks. According
to some reports, in 1998, the Taliban killed more than ten thousands
Hazaras in Afghanistan's northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif. Hazaras are
Shia Muslims who migrated to Pakistan from Afghanistan more than a
century ago. They've been the victims of discrimination and numerous
atrocities, and mass killings in Pakistan have been on the increase
since 1999. After the January 10 bombings, furious Hazaras demanded
that Pakistan's government in Islamabad provide protection to the
Hazaras, but no such protection has been provided.
Daily Times (Pakistan) and
AP
Federal Communications Commission warns of a zombie attack
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is using its
Emergency Alert System (EAS) to warn residents of Montana
of a potentially dangerous zombie attack:
"Civil authorities in your area have reported that the
bodies of the dead are rising from their graves and attacking the
living. Follow the messages onscreen that will be updated as
information become available. Do not attempt to approach or
apprehend these bodies as they are considered extremely
dangerous."
Television stations that broadcasted the alert later issued
retraction:
"This message did not originate from KRTV, and there
is no emergency. Our engineers are investigating to determine what
happened and if it affected other media outlets."
What happened is that hackers attacked the FCC's Emergency Alert
System and posted the alert. The FCC has issued an urgent advisory to
television states to change passwords, but this will do little to stop
another attack. This is just one more place where the technological
infrastructure is vulnerable to easy attack from hackers or from
foreign nations. Reuters and Information Week
Administration moves to expand drone use within America
The Administration has approved legislation that is expected to
immediately accelerate the use of domestic surveillance drones within
the United States. According to the schedules, drones are likely to
start flying regularly in the US by late 2015, and as many as 30,000
non-military drones are expected to be in the sky by the end of the
decade. The US Department of Homeland Security already has an arsenal
of the aircraft at its disposal for use in border-patrol
missions.
Russia Today
Gun control opponents wonder about massive DHS ammunition buildup
Gun control opponents, already on edge fearing Administration-led
attempts to keep law-abiding citizens from owning guns, are now
wondering why the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is stockpiling
more than 1.6 billion bullets -- equivalent to the number of bullets
that would have been needed in the Iraq war for a full 24 years. In
addition, DHS is acquiring 7,000 assault weapons. Activists worry
about a DHS report that warns of "rightwing extremism," while DHS is
refusing to provide any explanation for the massive buildup of assault
weapons and ammunition.
Investors Business Daily
Hey Baby! Singapore wants you to have more kids
A new scheme by the government of Singapore to increase population
through immigration and increased birth rates is being described as a
"population Ponzi scheme." The city-state is already very crowded,
with 3.3 million citizens and 2 million foreign residents, but
economic growth has been slowing. So Singapore wants to boost
prosperity by increasing both immigration and the birth rate, to have
a population of 6.9 million by 2030, and plans to reclaim land from
the sea to have room for more people. But like a financial Ponzi
scheme, a "population Ponzi scheme" works only as long as the
population increases faster and faster. This creates a financial
bubble that pops when the population growth stalls. On Saturday,
thousands of people staged one of Singapore's largest ever protests,
demanding that the proposal be dropped. Protesters blame the flood of
foreigners over the past decade for stagnant wages, crowded trains and
rising real estate prices, and say that more immigrants would change
the very nature of the island.
Bloomberg and
Reuters and
Hey Baby! Singapore site encouraging children
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