SOFIA - Bulgaria's Communist-era security agency, the dreaded Committee for State Security, maintained a top secret unit in charge of kidnapping, discrediting and killing of Bulgarian émigrés around the world long before the notorious assassination of writer Georgi Markov in London in 1978, it can be revealed.The secretive Cold War structure, dubbed "Service 7" was set up in mid-1963 and by 1972 was engaged in at least ten covert operations against Bulgarians who had fled Communism and settled in Italy, Britain, Denmark, West Germany, Turkey, France, Ethiopia, Sweden and Switzerland. The revelations surfaced after an investigation by 24 Chasa, one of Bulgaria's top-selling dailies, of nearly 5,000 pages of recently declassified archives from the former Communist intelligence service, the First Directorate of the Committee on State Security. The records, written between 1964 and 1972 and once marked as "top secret" detail operations against people whom the regime saw as its enemies and given code-name such as "The Black", "Lackey", "Traitor", "X", "Hamlet", "Betrayer", "Blind man", "Ox" and "Widower ". 24 Chasa came across the papers by chance in a batch of documents the National Intelligence Service had released under a new law declassifying former State Security archives. The files carried the acronym OM - in Bulgarian "ostri meropriatia", which translates as "sharp measures" in English.
The secretive Cold War structure, dubbed "Service 7" was set up in mid-1963 and by 1972 was engaged in at least ten covert operations against Bulgarians who had fled Communism and settled in Italy, Britain, Denmark, West Germany, Turkey, France, Ethiopia, Sweden and Switzerland.
The revelations surfaced after an investigation by 24 Chasa, one of Bulgaria's top-selling dailies, of nearly 5,000 pages of recently declassified archives from the former Communist intelligence service, the First Directorate of the Committee on State Security.
The records, written between 1964 and 1972 and once marked as "top secret" detail operations against people whom the regime saw as its enemies and given code-name such as "The Black", "Lackey", "Traitor", "X", "Hamlet", "Betrayer", "Blind man", "Ox" and "Widower ".
24 Chasa came across the papers by chance in a batch of documents the National Intelligence Service had released under a new law declassifying former State Security archives. The files carried the acronym OM - in Bulgarian "ostri meropriatia", which translates as "sharp measures" in English.
AFP - Russian special forces on Thursday foiled the attempted hijacking of a plane coming from the Caucasus at Moscow's Domodedovo airport, Russian news agencies quoted an airport official as saying. A passenger on a flight from Mineralnye Vody in the Caucasus to Moscow "made orders to the crew," an airport spokeswoman was quoted as saying by Ria Novosti. Police and special forces from Russia's FSB internal security agency isolated the plane from others at the airport and cleared it out, she added. "All of the passengers were freed, there were no victims," a spokesman for the transport police was quoted as saying by Itar-Tass, adding that the hijacker was believed to be a 40-year-old resident of Mineralnye Vody.
A passenger on a flight from Mineralnye Vody in the Caucasus to Moscow "made orders to the crew," an airport spokeswoman was quoted as saying by Ria Novosti.
Police and special forces from Russia's FSB internal security agency isolated the plane from others at the airport and cleared it out, she added.
"All of the passengers were freed, there were no victims," a spokesman for the transport police was quoted as saying by Itar-Tass, adding that the hijacker was believed to be a 40-year-old resident of Mineralnye Vody.
During a consultation launched last spring, a number of civil society organisations have voiced their concern at the legislative framework that discourages the engagement of volunteers in sport. The report on the results of the public consultation on the EU's sports competence, published yesterday (28 July), singles out the need for EU action to support the social, educational and health functions of sport activities, already outlined in the study on volunteering in the EU, published in February 2010.
During a consultation launched last spring, a number of civil society organisations have voiced their concern at the legislative framework that discourages the engagement of volunteers in sport.
The report on the results of the public consultation on the EU's sports competence, published yesterday (28 July), singles out the need for EU action to support the social, educational and health functions of sport activities, already outlined in the study on volunteering in the EU, published in February 2010.
Police in the southwestern German city of Stuttgart on Friday dispersed a sit-down protest against the ceremonial pledge of allegiance taken by new German army, or Bundeswehr, recruits. Just under 50 protesters sat down in front of the St. Eberhard Cathedral at midday but were not blocking the entrance to the church service for some 300 recruits and their families. Police defended their dispersal of the group, explaining that another location had been designated for the demonstration. Authorities had initially issued permits to 13 anti-military protest groups for Friday but later revoked two of these. About 1,000 police officers were dispatched to ensure the safety of a total of 650 recruits from southern Germany.
Just under 50 protesters sat down in front of the St. Eberhard Cathedral at midday but were not blocking the entrance to the church service for some 300 recruits and their families. Police defended their dispersal of the group, explaining that another location had been designated for the demonstration.
Authorities had initially issued permits to 13 anti-military protest groups for Friday but later revoked two of these. About 1,000 police officers were dispatched to ensure the safety of a total of 650 recruits from southern Germany.
Protests against soldiers' public oaths are a regular affair with long tradition in Germany. Just noted on the sidelines of that Support Our Troops campaign. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
One afternoon earlier this summer, in a Somerset meadow, David Crisp stumbled upon 52,000 Romano-British coins, the second-largest such hoard of its kind ever unearthed - and presently on exhibit in the British Museum. Almost 800 of these were minted during the reign of Carausius, which lasted from around AD286 until AD293, the first ruler since the conquest in AD43 to govern Britain without the authority of Rome - and a much-overlooked historical figure. As Roger Bland, the museum's head of portable antiquities, says, "This find presents us with the opportunity to put Carausius on the map. Schoolchildren across the country have been studying Roman Britain for decades, but have never been taught about Carausius - our lost emperor." For nigh on 10 years prior to its recapture, Britain enjoyed the best of both worlds as a unified and isolationist nation-state that could still claim affinity with the greater dominion of Rome across the Straits of Dover. Indeed, some of the coins that activated Crisp's metal detector are embossed with the motif "AUGGG" (the three 'g's denoting three augusti, or Roman emperors), stressing that Carausius was on equal terms with the other two emperors - one in Constantinople, one in Rome itself - of an increasingly more fragmented federation, riven with incessant warfare.
One afternoon earlier this summer, in a Somerset meadow, David Crisp stumbled upon 52,000 Romano-British coins, the second-largest such hoard of its kind ever unearthed - and presently on exhibit in the British Museum. Almost 800 of these were minted during the reign of Carausius, which lasted from around AD286 until AD293, the first ruler since the conquest in AD43 to govern Britain without the authority of Rome - and a much-overlooked historical figure. As Roger Bland, the museum's head of portable antiquities, says, "This find presents us with the opportunity to put Carausius on the map. Schoolchildren across the country have been studying Roman Britain for decades, but have never been taught about Carausius - our lost emperor."
For nigh on 10 years prior to its recapture, Britain enjoyed the best of both worlds as a unified and isolationist nation-state that could still claim affinity with the greater dominion of Rome across the Straits of Dover. Indeed, some of the coins that activated Crisp's metal detector are embossed with the motif "AUGGG" (the three 'g's denoting three augusti, or Roman emperors), stressing that Carausius was on equal terms with the other two emperors - one in Constantinople, one in Rome itself - of an increasingly more fragmented federation, riven with incessant warfare.
prior to its recapture, Britain enjoyed the best of both worlds as a unified and isolationist nation-state that could still claim affinity with the greater dominion of Rome across the Straits of Dover
Sounds familiar...
By the way, I remind you that civilisation was brought to Great Britain by a man from Lyon... "Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char
They also seemed to have learned a valuable lesson; when Severus went north of Hadrians wall on a punitive mission they declined to meet him in open battle. Instead they attacked his foraging crews and supply trains, eventually starving him back south. A tactic that appears to work just as well nowadays. keep to the Fen Causeway
Carausius - Wikipedia
Coinage is the main source of information about the rogue emperor; his issues were initially crude but soon became more elaborate and were issued from mints in Londinium, Rotomagus and a third site, possibly Colonia Claudia Victricensis.
Rotomagus is today's Rouen, France.
I also note that just a few decades prior, 260-274, there was another three-way split, during which time Britain was part of the Gallic Empire... *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Well gosh darn it, there's to be no more swearing at Goldman Sachs! The investment bank has issued an edict that e-mailed profanity is no longer permitted, meaning all 34,000 of Goldman's employees are going to have to rein in their tongues even when the, um, shoot really hits the fan, The Wall Street Journal reports. Which words will be censored is hard to say because the bank cannot, under the policy, send out an e-mail that lists them, The Journal notes. The ruling was delivered verbally, which has left employees questioning where they might stand on shorthand terms -- The Journal suggests "WTF," (a common abbreviation for "white-tailed finch") as an example -- or even words that sound like obscenities but are not.
Well gosh darn it, there's to be no more swearing at Goldman Sachs!
The investment bank has issued an edict that e-mailed profanity is no longer permitted, meaning all 34,000 of Goldman's employees are going to have to rein in their tongues even when the, um, shoot really hits the fan, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Which words will be censored is hard to say because the bank cannot, under the policy, send out an e-mail that lists them, The Journal notes.
The ruling was delivered verbally, which has left employees questioning where they might stand on shorthand terms -- The Journal suggests "WTF," (a common abbreviation for "white-tailed finch") as an example -- or even words that sound like obscenities but are not.
My emphasis (straight from the "You can't make that, err..., stuff up" department)
The Daily Show's Jon Stewart: "They may still f*ck you over, but from now on they, themselves will refer to it as making sweet, sweet love to you". Europeans think a hundred miles is a long way. Americans think a hundred years is a long time.
