Six In The Morning

They’re Number1 In Guns And The NRA Likes It That Way Number2? Yemen  

Amid gun lobby criticism, assault weapons reporting rule delayed



The White House, facing fierce criticism from the gun lobby, has delayed approval of a proposed rule that federal law enforcement officials say could help them stanch the flow of U.S. assault rifles and other high-powered weapons to Mexico’s drug cartels.

The proposed rule, announced by Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms acting director Kenneth Melson on Dec. 20,  would require U.S. firearms dealers in four southwest border states to report multiple sales of long guns, such as semi-automatic assault rifles which are frequently purchased by so-called “straw buyers” for the cartels. Melson had said he expected the proposed “emergency rule” would receive approval in early January 2011.

Putting Its Best Gun Forward

Just three weeks after the Arizona massacre, its trigger-happy neighbouring state has made a Browning semi-automatic pistol its official symbol

Welcome to Utah – please shoot carefully

It’s hardly the most sensitive timing, given recent events in neighbouring Arizona, but politicians in the God-fearing, gun-loving State of Utah are set to pass landmark legislation that will make an automatic pistol their official “state firearm”.

The Browning M1911, which was invented exactly 100 years ago in Ogden, just north of Salt Lake City, will become the 25th “state symbol”, joining such items as a tree, a folk dance, and a cooking pot (the Dutch oven) on the list of things supposed to reflect the best of the history, geography and culture of Utah.

They Aren’t Going Backwards

Himalayan glaciers are actually advancing rather than retreating, claims the first major study since a controversial UN report said they would be melted within quarter of a century.  

Himalayan glaciers not melting because of climate change, report finds

Researchers have discovered that contrary to popular belief half of the ice flows in the Karakoram range of the mountains are actually growing rather than shrinking.

The discovery adds a new twist to the row over whether global warming is causing the world’s highest mountain range to lose its ice cover.

It further challenges claims made in a 2007 report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that the glaciers would be gone by 2035.

Tunisia’s Most Wanted  

 

Tunisia issues warrant for Ben Ali’s arrest

TUNISIA HAS issued international arrest warrants for deposed president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his family over alleged theft and currency offences, the minister for justice said yesterday.

Lazhar Karoui Chebbi said Tunis had asked Interpol to detain Mr Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi Arabia earlier this month after weeks of street protests.

Former first lady Leila Trabelsi, whose family members had extensive business interests in Tunisia and are believed to have amassed considerable wealth, are also to be pursued.

He Just Robbed The Bank

West Africa’s Central Bank – perhaps its most important institution – may also be its least transparent. But in the midst of Ivory Coast’s conflict, a tradition of secrecy may be an early casualty.  

As Gbabgo seizes Central Bank assets in Ivory Coast, a look at the arcane institution

Dakar, Senegal

When an infrastructure-strapped backwater such as, say, Guinea-Bissau looks to borrow the tens of billions of West Africa CFA francs it needs to tar rural roads and string power lines, its functionaries fly here, to La Banque Central des États de l’Afrique d’Ouest: the central bank for eight West African nations (Ivory Coast, Mali, Guinea-Bissau, Togo, Benin, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Niger). It’s where government debt is sold in the form of treasury bills to whatever arcane financiers harbor a niche interest in owning a chunk of Africa’s debt.

Idiot Takes Charge Of Investigating Barrack Obama  

He’s Also A Car Thief  

With Issa Leading, Oversight Panel Eagerly Begins Its Work

WASHINGTON – If Representative Darrell E. Issa, Republican of California, gets his wish, he will have only two years to serve as a chief tormenter of the Obama administration. So he was understandably eager to get started on Wednesday with his first hearing as chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

In jumping into the complex issue of bank bailouts, the committee provided an object lesson in the flexibility of words, showing that statements on complex matters like how to resolve a financial crisis can often be open to competing interpretations.