Farewell. The Flying Pig Has Left The Building.

Steve Hynd, August 16, 2012

After four years on the Typepad site, eight years total blogging, Newshoggers is closing it's doors today. We've been coasting the last year or so, with many of us moving on to bigger projects (Hey, Eric!) or simply running out of blogging enthusiasm, and it's time to give the old flying pig a rest.

We've done okay over those eight years, although never being quite PC enough to gain wider acceptance from the partisan "party right or wrong" crowds. We like to think we moved political conversations a little, on the ever-present wish to rush to war with Iran, on the need for a real Left that isn't licking corporatist Dem boots every cycle, on America's foreign misadventures in Afghanistan and Iraq. We like to think we made a small difference while writing under that flying pig banner. We did pretty good for a bunch with no ties to big-party apparatuses or think tanks.

Those eight years of blogging will still exist. Because we're ending this typepad account, we've been archiving the typepad blog here. And the original blogger archive is still here. There will still be new content from the old 'hoggers crew too. Ron writes for The Moderate Voice, I post at The Agonist and Eric Martin's lucid foreign policy thoughts can be read at Democracy Arsenal.

I'd like to thank all our regular commenters, readers and the other bloggers who regularly linked to our posts over the years to agree or disagree. You all made writing for 'hoggers an amazingly fun and stimulating experience.

Thank you very much.

Note: This is an archive copy of Newshoggers. Most of the pictures are gone but the words are all here. There may be some occasional new content, John may do some posts and Ron will cross post some of his contributions to The Moderate Voice so check back.


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Saturday, May 17, 2008

Russia Beefing Up Iran Embassy Security Against Terror Threats

By Cernig



A little bit more tit-for-tat rhetoric today, as Russia admits it is increasing security for it's facilities and people in Iran following Iranian accusations of terror plots by a US-linked group.

MOSCOW, May 15 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is taking steps to ensure the safety of its facilities and citizens in Iran following reports of a planned terrorist attack on the Russian consulate in Rasht, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.



Iran said on Wednesday it had arrested a terrorist group that planned to blow up the Russian consulate building in the town of Rasht near the Caspian Sea.



"The Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian Embassy in Tehran, in cooperation with the Iranian authorities, are taking additional security measures to ensure the safety of Russian citizens and facilities in Iran," the ministry said in a statement.



"This terrorist network, with links to the U.S., planned an explosion at the Russian consulate in Rasht, aiming to create a rift between Iran and its neighbors," Qolam Hosein Mohseni-Ejei was quoted by Fars news agency as saying on Wednesday.



The minister, speaking at a session of Iranian prosecutors, did not provide any details of the operation, but Russia's charge d'affaires in Iran, Alexei Dedov, told RIA Novosti that according to local authorities at least 20 people linked to the foiled attack had been arrested.

The US link may well be entirely circumstantial - name a single Iranian regime-change outfit that doesn't have both a strong US presence (and often US government funding aid) and shadowy links to terror groups (aka freedom fighters) inside Iran. That doesn't mean that those groups are acting under the guidance of the US government. However, following on Iranian accusations about a US/terror proxy link to the Shiraz mosque explosion, it's fairly obvious that Iran (accurately) feels two can play at the pretend-there's-a-meaningful-link game.



(Hat tip - regular reader Ali S.)



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