A Czech national man could be sentenced to 10 years in prison after X-ray technicians at an Argentinian airport noticed “organic substances moving inside” his suitcase. What were those substances? 247 live animals, including poisonous snakes and endangered reptiles, that the man planned to take on board a transatlantic flight. AFP reports the man , 51-year-old Karel Abelovsky, was on his way to Madrid when airport personnel stopped him to inspect his bag: “When they opened the bag, they found more than 200 reptiles and mollusks, among them nine species of poisonous snakes including South American pitvipers, packed in clear plastic containers. There were also 15 venomous vipers, including two yararas — which can measure up to 1.50 meters (five feet) — and several young boas.” The incident occurred on December 7 but has come to media recently as Abelovsky has been charged with attempted smuggling. Two of the animals in his bag were found dead and AFP reports that others could have suffered the same fate due to lack of oxygen in the suitcase. The case brings to mind the recent Samuel L. Jackson Action/Horror/Inadvertent Comedy , Snakes on a Plane: 

(The Blaze/AP) Thousands of Czechs paid tribute to Vaclav Havel on Sunday, braving cold and snow at the spot where the leader of the peaceful anti-communist revolution rallied protesters. Mourners, some of them too young to remember 1989′s “Velvet Revolution,” met at downtown Wenceslas Square, where Havel once spoke before hundreds of thousands of people expressing their outrage at the repressive communist regime. They jangled their keys to make noise as anti-communist demonstrators did, sang the national anthem and observed a minute of silence for the playwright-turned politician, who died Sunday. “His legacy will be that ‘truth and love must prevail over lies and hatred,’” Havel’s former adviser Tomas Sedlacek told the crowd, quoting Havel’s revolutionary motto. Barbora Rubova, born two years after the end of the repressive communist regime, said it was important to show her respect to the man who helped kick off the fall of the Iron Curtain and served as president of Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic. “He laid foundations of democracy for us all,” she said. A black flag flew over Prague Castle, the presidential seat, while many Czechs stood in line to have a chance to light candles to remember Havel. “Mr. President, thank you for democracy,” read a note placed at the monument to the revolution in downtown Prague. Others visited his villa to lay flowers and light candles. Josef Klik, a 67-year-old, was among the mourners. “He is an unforgettable person who contributed to the fall of communism,” Klik said. “And after that, he remained a moral authority for ordinary people.” ABC News on Havel’s death: video platform video management video solutions video player Bells tolled from cathedrals and churches across the country at 6 p.m. Prague archbishop Dominik Duka, who spent some time with Havel in a communist prison, said Havel “knew what it meant to lose freedom, be denied dignity, what is repression and imprisonment.” “I am convinced that we all, no matter what our political or religious views are, should pay respect to him and thank him,” Duka said. The Czech government meets Monday to declare a period of official mourning. Havel’s body will go on display at the Prague Crossroads, a former church that Havel turned into a space for conferences and artistic events, on Monday and Tuesday and then at Prague Castle on Wednesday and Thursday, officials said. Czech public television announced it would broadcast Havel’s film version of his last play, “Leaving,” his directorial debut. Czech public radio said it would play some of the favorite music of the noted rock music fan. Vaclav Klaus, Havel’s political archrival who replaced him as president in 2003, said condolence books will be available for people to sign at the Prague castle the same day. Klaus called Havel “the symbol of the new era of the Czech state,” and Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg added that Havel “returned dignity to the Czech nation.” Tributes poured in from around the world. The founder of the Polish anti-communist Solidarity movement and former president Lech Walesa called Havel “a great fighter for the freedom of nations and for democracy.” President Barack Obama praised Havel for his “peaceful resistance (that) shook the foundations of an empire, exposed the emptiness of a repressive ideology, and proved that moral leadership is more powerful than any weapon.” Havel’s funeral may take place on Friday, the local CTK news agency reported. Details are being worked out by the government in coordination with Havel’s family.

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Czechs and World Leaders Mourn Death of Velvet Revolution Leader Vaclav Havel

Reuters – U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders hailed on Sunday late former Czech President Vaclav Havel as a humble hero whose resistance to Communism helped bring about a united and free Europe.

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World pays tribute to "great European" Havel
(Reuters)

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AP – President Barack Obama is banking on a new report detailing the income disparity in the country as further evidence of the need for his $447 billion jobs bill.

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Obama cites income gap to push stalled jobs bill
(AP)

AP – Pushing a campaign to act without Congress, President Barack Obama moved unilaterally Friday to boost private business.

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Obama takes more steps on own to help businesses
(AP)

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AP – After morning meetings at the White House, President Barack Obama will hold talks with Prime Minister Petr Necas of the Czech Republic in the Oval Office on Thursday.

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Obama to meet with Czech PM, then city leaders
(AP)

AP – President Barack Obama will meet at the White House later this month with the prime minister of the Czech Republic.

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Obama to host Czech Republic prime minister
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The Courtney Messerschmidt Scam

On September 17, 2011, in Iraq, Uncategorized, by stuartbramhall

I’ve held off posting this. Last weekend brought the news that Courtney Messerschmidt is merely the front-woman with a fake name for a collective of writers at GSGF. Thomas Ricks, who invested a lot in Courtney, wasn’t too bothered by the outing: ” pHoNy GrEaT sAtAn’S gIrLfRiEnD .” Neither was Crispin Burke at Wings Over Iraq . I can’t say the news didn’t bother me, although I’d known for a long time that all was not right with Courtney Messerschmidt . I got the news via Facebook , as did a number of people who Courtney’d been working with. I didn’t quite understand it at first, because it wasn’t a personalized note. Yeah, she confessed that she wasn’t the primary author of GSGF, and that she hadn’t attended the University of Georgia. But Courtney’s been communicating with me since mid-2007. She’d write emails to wish me a good day at work, or to ask questions about neoconservatism. I considered her a friend and neocon protégé. So I felt a real sense of betrayal. Indeed, Courtney and I exchanged hundreds of e-mails. She sent me this background in late 2007: On Wed, Nov 21, 2007 at 6:28 PM, Courtney Messerschmidt wrote: Hi Donald, Ok – whenever you start to zzzzz out, please remember that you asked. My ‘rents are very old. In fact I have nieces and nephews older than me. My mom taught college and my dad retired frm the AF and works at a world famous aeronautical firm near Atlanta. He says he’ll know when he gets to retire from that depending on what school I go to. One of my brother in laws is a Capt in ‘Old Ironsides’ – America’s Armor division. He was an LT in Najaf I think in Aug 2003 when Mookie Al Sadr’s Mahdih Army v1.0 was granted access to the perfumed halls of Allah. When all my friends plowed through Paris’ heiress book – I was plowing through Dennis Ross’ “Missing Peace”, Bodansky’s “High Cost of Peace” and “Beyond Paradise and Power” by Ischinger, Fukyama, Applebaum and others, Michael Oren’s “6 days of war”. Alexander Bevin’s “How America got it right’ and Larry Schwiekert’s “America’s Victories” are essntial reading. I have widely traveled throughout Europe including Ireland, Great Britain, France, Benelux, Deutschland, Czech repub, Italy, Greece and Belgium. In The ME I’ve been to Israel, Egypt and Turkey. In March 2002 me and some friends almost singlehandedly crashed HAMAS’s condolences site for suicide bombers and their family after the Seder massacre. Hasn’t been up since.. Being blessed with an unusual last name helped drive me towards history. Having to drive through multiple civil war battlefields to get any where tended to fuel my curiousity. 911 was a big influenece as I remember sitting on the floor at home eating my Captain Crunch Berries when that couple held hands and jumped from the 70th floor of the WTC. Just then the avuncular Peter Jennings cut to their man in Gaza. THere they were. Having a great old time – passing out laffy taffy with that demonic cry Alluha Ackbah. “I only wish that Bush was in those towers with his precious baby Sharon” is what one woman alledgedly said. I was trapped at home one summer with my dads immense library. New books like James Spahns ‘Rise of the Vulcans’ and old ones Gary Dorrein’s “Imperial Designs” or Robert Kagan’s “Paradise and Power’ had an effect – The more I studied American History the more convinced I became that America “…ain’t what’s wrong with the world…” I saw Victor Davis Hanson on Britt Hume’s show back around Xmas 2001. I’ve been hooked every since. Ivo Daalder’s book “America Unbound” is crucial – though not the reasons Daalder would hope for. He kinda wails that ‘Merica can do whatever she dang well pleases – unbound by the UN, the EU, NATO, OPEC, OAS, G7′s and G8′s. I love that! Curently, my life is so controlled – do this, don’t do that so I started my own blog. Mainly because I was sick of people saying the American military was broken, Iraq is a quagmire etc. A random reading of American history shows that is so incorrect – it’s either stupid or weirdly unAmerican. Places I went to began to block me from challenging their inappropiate, weak, boring and incorrect handwringing. Empowerment I reckon. Also like Gollum says to Smeagul in “2 Towers” – “Now we be the master!” I want to work on grand strategy like Dr Posen’s but since I have no PHD’s or Pulitzer prizes behind my name it may take a while. I’vr been meaninig to raise this subject with you and now I shall. Redefinition. The term Neo Con is so misunderstood, so falsely painted that it may be time for a new term to describe that especial perspective. Since Posen himself espoused neo conish views as a fait accompli in FP circles that can be used to our advantage. As far as a new name – I’m leaning towards New Millenialism myself. Redefinition will be critical in the near future. Example – Islamo Fascism is out (regardless of what Hitchens says). Mohammedism should be the new term.Tough for critics to cry about that term – after all Mohammed was a fighting, conquering, ruthless, merciless intolerant dictator. Wow – didn’t mean to ramble but remember you did ask. Now how about a bit of reciprication? I appreciate you sharing your time and ideas with me – spiritually we are very close. As Fisher said to Churchill, “yours til charcoal sprouts”, Courtney Last weekend I asked Courtney to confirm four questions: You are a genuine neocon, right? I believe you are and that our communications on that were genuine. And the picture of you is genuine, right? What about your ‘rents? Is the stuff you told me about your parents and family true? The military background of your brothers? And so forth. That’s all true, right? And did you write the majority of posts at GSGF, and I mean at least more than half? Or about what percentage? The only thing she would confirm on record was that she is indeed a hardcore neoconservative. The remaining questions she fudged or ignored. She wouldn’t give me a straight answer on the percentage of her self-authored posts at GSGF and she ignored my questions about her personal background. I finally wrote back to say that we were no longer friends. Courtney’s maintained her Facebook page , although she’s removed all the pictures of herself. She’d sent me some by e-mail, like the one above. And since she says that Courtney is her real first name, it’s likely that the personal pictures are genuine and she’s scrubbed them to protect her identity from the inevitable harm to her reputation, should she move on from anonymous blogging to the real world of college and employment. John Hawkins, unlike some of the others, severed ties with her: ” The Courtney Messerschmidt Controversy .” Courtney still publishes at Theo Spark’s , where I am a co-blogger, so I may have some peripheral interactions with her in that role. But that’s it. Folks get the real me online, through blogging and social networking, email, etc. I expect the same in return, as just the decent thing to do.

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The Courtney Messerschmidt Scam

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Obama reportedly horrified. PRAGUE (AP) — They’re the Czech Republic’s fourth-largest political party, but the hardline Communists could soon be outlawed if the center-right government has its way. It’s more than two decades since communism collapsed here, but the survivors and ideological heirs to the party that ruled from 1948 until the “Velvet Revolution” of 1989 are under increasing political pressure. Petr Necas’ government has taken the first step toward a possible ban by asking the Interior Ministry to work on a legal complaint to make it happen. A study commissioned by a Senate committee compiled numerous complaints from lawmakers about their conduct. The party, which is vehemently opposed to NATO, brands opponents “terrorists” and maintains friendly ties with the ruling Communists in Cuba, China and North Korea. Unlike most other communist parties in the region that have joined the left-wing mainstream, the Czech party has maintained its hardline stance. Supporters of the ban say it is a direct successor of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, whose members killed more than 240 political prisoners while thousands of other opponents died in prisons.

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Czech Republic Considers Banning Communist Party…

American taxpayers are sinking millions of dollars into constructing new bike paths and “livable” communities. But one Czech performance artist has come up with an ingenious (and inexpensive) DIY way to accommodate those who’d rather bike than drive: h/t Buzzfeed

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A cheaper alternative to constructing new bike paths

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