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AFP: in Russian newspaper interview President Bashar al-Assad warns U.S. of "failure" if it attacks Syria. http://rt.com/news/iran-warns-us-red-line-961/ "US media reports that four US Navy Destroyers

By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 12 February 2009 1322 hrs SINGAPORE: Singapore will be joining the international community with its anti-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden. Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean told Parliament on Thursday that Singapore will be deploying a Landing Ship Tank, with two Super Puma helicopters for a period of three months this year. The ship will work with the newly-formed multi-national Combined Task Force 151 to protect shipping in the Gulf of Aden. The LST will be deployed once the operational arrangements have been made. Minister Teo explained that Singapore's involvement is because as a maritime nation, the country shares the concerns of the international community regarding piracy. It is also committed to supporting international efforts to keep the sea lanes safe and secure. He stressed that it is not possible for any country, including Singapore, to protect its own shipping in all the key sea lanes of the world. Hence all countries have to depend on international cooperation to secure the sea lanes for everyone's use and that means littoral states, user states, and the international community have a role to play. Minister Teo said there was an upsurge of piracy attacks recently in the Gulf of Aden. In the past year, over 100 ships have been attacked by pirates, who have raked in an estimated ransom of US$120 million. And in recent months, NATO, the European Union, the US, as well as countries such as China, India, Malaysia and Russia, have contributed to anti-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden. Other countries, including Japan and Turkey, have announced their intention to send naval vessels.

Predator kena attacked by frogfoots... Anyway Hokkien has a saying: gu ah hmm pat hor, jiao ah hmm pat lastic or in literal england translation: Small calves do not know (or fear) tigers and birdies do not know (or fear) catapults. Some eager blokes really going for broke and wishes to seek an early audience with their maker... From CNA: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp...1236178/1/.html Iranian jets fired on US drone in Gulf: Pentagon Posted: 09 November 2012 0703 hrs WASHINGTON: Two Iranian fighter jets fired on an unarmed US Predator drone in the Gulf last week but the aircraft was not hit, the Pentagon said Thursday, warning that the United States stood ready to protect its forces in the region. The incident occurred on November 1 -- less than a week before America's presidential election -- but the Pentagon kept it quiet until now. "They intercepted the aircraft and fired multiple rounds," spokesman George Little told a news conference. The SU-25 Frogfoot fighters, much faster than the slow-moving turboprop drone, fired at least twice and made two passes, he said. It was possible the Iranians intended to warn off the drone but Little said: "Our working assumption is that they fired to take it down." The confrontation threatened to derail diplomatic efforts to defuse a mounting crisis over Tehran's nuclear program, raising the risk of a potential conflict amid a shadow war of cyberattacks, bombings and assassinations. Tough new sanctions led by Washington are squeezing Iran's economy while the United States and Israel are accused of staging cyber sabotage on Tehran's uranium enrichment plants. The US military drone was "never in Iranian air space" and came under fire from Su-25 fighters off the Iranian coast over international waters, Little said. The robotic Predator aircraft was conducting "routine surveillance" and the United States has told Iran it has no plans to suspend the flights, he said. "The United States has communicated to the Iranians that we will continue to conduct surveillance flights over international waters over the Arabian Gulf consistent with longstanding practice and our commitment to the security of the region," he said. In a warning to Tehran, the Pentagon spokesman said the United States was prepared to safeguard its forces. "We have a wide range of options, from diplomatic to military, to protect our military assets and our forces in the region and will do so when necessary," Little said. The MQ-1 drone was pursued further by the Iranian warplanes but was not fired on again, he said. The Predator returned safely to an unspecified military base in the region following the incident that occurred at 4:50 am US eastern standard time (0850 GMT). The Predator was intercepted about 16 nautical miles off the Iranian coast, beyond the Islamic Republic's territorial waters that extend 12 nautical miles off the country's shore. Iranian military speedboats have sometimes swarmed US warships in the Gulf and the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for the world's oil, but the incident last week was the first involving an American drone in a confrontation with Iranian aircraft, officials said. Tensions over Iran's nuclear ambitions prompted the United States to bolster its military presence around the Gulf over the past year, deploying two aircraft carrier battle groups in the area at all times, a squadron of stealthy F-22 fighters to the United Arab Emirates and more minesweeper ships. With America's drawn out election campaign finally over, analysts had predicted President Barack Obama might have more leeway to pursue diplomacy with Iran. But the encounter with the Iranian fighter jets could complicate any attempt for a deal. A new round of talks between Iran and six world powers, the first since June, is expected by the end of the year or in early 2013. Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful and has made clear any deal with the major powers has to offer relief from crippling sanctions. At the State Department, officials on Thursday unveiled yet more sanctions on Iran, targeting the communications minister and the culture ministry among others for censoring the media and the Internet. The move against Communications Minister Reza Taghipour came after he was blamed for ordering the jamming of international satellite TV broadcasts and restricting Internet access, a State Department official said. The United States is determined to stop the "Iranian government from creating an 'electronic curtain' to cut Iranian citizens off from the rest of the world," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. -AFP/ac

Every car enthusiast or petrol head would have some form of home decoration that is based on cars. It can be a die-cast model, poster/framed pictures or even custom made furniture made from car parts. Nowadays, these items are readily available off the shelf and I found two sets of items which I believe that every car enthusiast would want one in their home. Firstly, the retro looking chairs you see above are made by a company known as Racing and Emotion Design. The company was founded by renowned French designers Jannarelly and Fraylon. Jannarelly and Fraylon wanted to design a product that allowed enthusiasts to express their love of beautiful cars in their homes or offices. The company has taken these 1960s egg shaped chairs and painted them in various legendary racing liveries such as the Gulf livery, Lotus F1 John Player Special livery (my favourite) and etc. There are over 20 designs to choose from and they would be ideal for office spaces and at a corner in your living room (for watching F1 or other racing events on TV). Pricing for these unique chairs start from