SUPERIOR TOWNSHIP, Michigan (AP) -- At first, piles of skinned animals, mostly foxes and coyotes, turned up on the edges of dirt roads in this semi-rural community outside Ann Arbor.
Though gruesome, they looked like little more than the work of a sloppy trapper too lazy to properly dispose of the carcasses.
Things took a more shocking turn on March 16, when what appeared to be someone's pet was found along with more skinned coyotes. The Rottweiler had been decapitated and its feet were bound with duct tape.
Since then, eight more dead dogs, including three without heads, have been discovered by residents and investigators with the Humane Society of Huron Valley.
Despite a reward that has swelled to at least $18,000 with donations from community members, officials have so far been unable to determine even who the dogs belonged to.
The mysterious dog deaths -- now being investigated separately from the wild animal carcasses -- have rattled this picturesque Washtenaw County township, dominated by empty fields and wooded preserves and dotted with old, red barns.
Residents are keeping a close eye on their pets, and some have voiced fears that whoever is capable of killing and mutilating dogs is a danger to humans as well.
The community's outrage was on display recently on Vreeland Road, near the site where a medium-sized yellow dog, thought to be some kind of terrier, was found March 22.
"You will be caught! U will be punished U will Burn in Hell by God," read a sign nailed to a tree.
Township resident Kim Hart said she fears Duke, her 2-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, may have fallen victim to the dog killer or killers. He has been missing since February 16.
"There's one really, really disturbed person out there, or a couple of disturbed people," said Hart, 33. "I'm hoping, obviously, that he doesn't have my dog."
Officials initially believed that the dead dogs may have gotten caught in traps, but as more dogs have been discovered, that seems less likely, said Tanya Hilgendorf, the Humane Society's executive director.
The nine dogs include three Rottweilers and three pit bulls. Hilgendorf noted that while both kinds of dogs can make good pets, they also are considered "bully breeds" and can be common "among young men who probably have aggressive tendencies." She declined to say whether that was considered significant to the investigation.
The remaining dogs are a terrier, a Labrador mix and a cocker spaniel.
Hilgendorf said none of the dogs bears signs that they were used in dogfighting and it's not clear whether they are from the area.
Investigators have not matched any of the dogs with those on the Humane Society's missing list, which takes reports from all of Washtenaw County. Hilgendorf said it's hard to draw any conclusions from that, since the decapitations, as well as decomposition, makes identifying the dogs difficult.
If they are being brought in from somewhere else, Superior Township would make a good place to drop off evidence of illicit activity. The 36-square-mile township of about 11,000 people is a rural oasis surrounded by rapid development. However, whoever dumped the dogs made little effort to hide them, dumping them on the roadside.
Willful and malicious infliction of injury to animals, including killing, is a felony punishable by up to four years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Until anyone is charged with the crimes, Hart is taking no chances with her remaining dog, 10-year-old Daisy, who is being kept on a cable.
"I don't want to take a chance of anything happening and somebody just trying to grab her," Hart said. "I'm just very protective, and this is exactly why."
#2
Is there any possibility that these might be jihadi field experience runs for how to do decapitations? Maybe not-these acts might just have been done by a run-of-the-mill American sicko-but the bound feet sure sound odd...
#6
While I share Jules' concern, my bet is that one sick, sociopathic individual is doing this. He's young, white, American, male, outwardly normal-appearing, underemployed, with a history of minor encounters with the law. He has never had a girlfriend and may live with a parent. And unless he's caught, he'll end up doing this to people. I'm very worried.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/04/2006 23:32 Comments ||
Top||
#7
decapitations = head shots (for sure on Rotts) , don't want them to recover bulletts, and doesn't want o get hurt either
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/04/2006 23:59 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Zenster: I've been high on both and there is no comparison. Vicodin gives you this droopy, downer kind of high that puts you to sleep. Its like booze but less fun. X gives you a zippy, euphoric, upper kind of high that keeps you awake and makes you horny, while simultaneously destroying your ability to appreciate music more complex than a single drumbeat surrounded by repetitive, tape looped slogans. Its like LSD but drives you insane more slowly.
#8
This was an exceptional case. His long- term memory was fine but he could not remember day to day things - the time, the day, what was in his supermarket trolley,"
Sounds just like Alzheimers.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/04/2006 21:20 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Its like LSD but drives you insane more slowly.
I seem to recall that is because it is essentially a hallucinogen, like LSD, but built from an amphetamine chemical base, so it is less intense.
My scrip and refill of Vicoden are finally running out five years later. After helping a friend move the other week, he gave me some double strength, Vic-like pills and they actually managed to produce some low level psychotropic effects. Regular Vicodin does precisely what it's supposed to for me, kill pain with astonishing rapidity.
As to the moron in the article, anyone who voluntarily commits such routine chemical insult to their mind and body deserves what they get. He||, I buy a bottle of aspirin once every three years after tossing out the expired half-full one. It is impossible for me to imagine how someone could possibly continue to ingest such a ridiculous amount of psychoactive drugs and not expect some sort of lasting, if not permanent, side effects. What an idjit.
#10
It is impossible for me to imagine how someone could possibly continue to ingest such a ridiculous amount of psychoactive drugs and not expect some sort of lasting, if not permanent, side effects.
Well, yes, but that's because you're a normal, intelligent person.
A fatwa issued by Egypts top religious authority, which forbids the display of statues has art-lovers fearing it, could be used by Islamic extremists as an excuse to destroy Egypts historical heritage.
Egypts Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, the countrys top Islamic jurist, issued the religious edict which declared as un-Islamic the exhibition of statues in homes, basing the decision on texts in the hadith (sayings of the prophet).
Intellectuals and artists argue that the decree represents a setback for art -- a mainstay of the multi-billion-dollar tourist industry -- and would deal a blow to the countrys fledgling sculpture business.
The fatwa did not specifically mention statues in museums or public places, but it condemned sculptors and their work.
Still, many fear the edict could prod Islamic fundamentalists to attack Egypts thousands of ancient and pharaonic statues on show at tourist sites across the country.
We dont rule out that someone will enter the Karnak temple in Luxor or any other pharaonic temple and blow it up on the basis of the fatwa, Gamal al-Ghitani, editor of the literary Akhbar al-Adab magazine, told AFP.
Wave of criticisms
Gomaa had pointed to a passage from the hadith that stated: Sculptors would be tormented most on Judgment Day, saying the text left no doubt that sculpting was sinful and using statues for decorating homes forbidden.
Gomaas ruling overturned a fatwa issued more than 100 years ago by then moderate and highly respected mufti Mohammed Abdu, permitting the private display of statues after the practice had been condemned as a pagan custom.
Abdus fatwa had closed the issue, as it ruled that statues and pictures are not haram (forbidden under Islam) except idols used for worship, Ghitani pointed out.
Novelist Ezzat al-Qamhawi said Gomaas ruling would return Muslims to the dark ages.
Movie director Daud Abdul Sayed said the fatwa simply ignored the spiritual evolvement of Muslims since the arrival of Islam... Clearly, it was natural that they forbid statues under early Islam because people worshipped them.
But are there Muslims worshipping statues nearly 15 centuries later? he asked.
The notion sounds ridiculous, Yussef Zidan, director of the manuscript museum at the prestigious Bibliotheca Alexandrina, told AFP.
Why would anyone even bring up the issue (of the statues) in a country where there are more than 10 state-owned institutions that teach sculpting and more than 20 others that teach the history of art?
Ghitani added: Its time for those placing impediments between Islam and innovation to get out of our lives.
The wave of criticisms against the fatwa has put clerics on a collision course with intellectuals and artists, who say that such edicts only reinforce claims -- particularly in the West -- that Islam is against progress.
Some, including Sayed, compared Gomaas edict to a similar one issued by the former fundamentalist rulers of Afghanistan, the Taleban, that led to the destruction of statues of the Buddha despite an international outcry.
Mainstream Islamic scholars, including Egypts then mufti, Nasr Farid Wasel, and the controversial Qatar-based Islamic scholar, Yussef al-Qaradawi, all condemned the Talebans actions in March 2001.
But Qaradawi joined Gomaa in declaring that statues used for decoration are haram or un-Islamic.
Islam proscribed statues, as long as they symbolise living entities such as human beings and animals, Qaradawi said on an Islamic website.
Islam proscribed all that leads to paganism or smells of it, statues of ancient Egyptians included, he added.
The only exception, he said, was childrens toys.
Forbidden
Gomaa was appointed as grand mufti by President Hosni Mubarak. The muftis fatwas carry much weight and generally represent the official line.
His legitimacy is often challenged by other Muslims over his affiliation to the government and his edicts are not always followed.
The government can choose to enforce or ignore the ruling and its reaction in the past often depended on public opinion.
The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, Egypts main political opposition force, dismissed the fatwa.
The people are more concerned with corruption. What they would like to see is a fatwa banning the presence of the same people at the helm of the country for 25 years and not against statues, the movements spokesman Issam al-Aryan told AFP.
Gomaa has already put out a few contentious decrees and appears set to break his predecessor mufti Wasels record on notorious fatwas.
Wasel stirred a controversy in July 2001 for issuing a fatwa against a popular television show, the Arab version of Who wants to be a millionaire? that was airing on Egyptian television, saying it was forbidden by Islam.
These contests are a modern form of betting, Wasel had said.
The show was eventually cancelled, although it was not clear if the move was related to the fatwa.
In another fatwa in May 2001, Wasel ruled that beauty pageants in which women appear half-naked in front of panels of male judges are haram. The authorities played deaf and Egypt continues to host them.
Wasel slapped a fatwa on watching solar eclipses and another on bullfights, but refused to support rights activists in their campaign to outlaw female genital mutilation.
Two people have drowned and 30 others are missing after a boat carrying illegal immigrants from Mauritania to Spain's Canary Islands disappeared off the West African coast. Mauritanian navy officials were searching for the missing boat after fishermen found the bodies of two men floating at sea.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/04/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
The ruling Zanu PF party is printing thousands of 'MDC T-Shirts' to be worn by Zanu PF thugs in order to spark trouble during the nationwide mass confrontation planned by the opposition at the onset of the cold season. Zimdaily unveiled the covert plan as the Zimbabwean army units begin deploying across the country in preparation for the planned opposition protest.
Government officials said soldiers in barracks around Harare were moving weapons and deploying in other cities and towns. Zimdaily heard that the ruling party was intent on using its "Green Bombers", spotting MDC t-shirts, to stir mayhem during the protests and give the army room to use live ammunition against unarmed civilians.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has insisted the protest should be a "peaceful democratic mass confrontation."
Officials said the entire Zimbabwean army had been mobilised and officers' leave cancelled. The MDC raised the stakes weekend during a first leg of nationwide rallies by insisting that it would press ahead with its plans. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai said he was ready to go to jail or die for the liberation of Zimbabwe against Mugabe's marauding tyranny.
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa warned yesterday that the planned demonstrations, illegal under the country's strict security laws, would be met with "the full wrath of the law." Chinamasa said this means the opposition has threatened to remove Mugabe from office by unconstitutional means. "The state cannot take such threats lightly," he told Zimdaily yesterday. The justice minister said the opposition's call for Zimbabweans to take to the streets meant they were bent on a campaign of violence and anarchy against the government intended to result in the overthrow of Mugabe's office. The opposition has promised only peaceful protests.
The army said it would not tolerate the protests because they were likely to turn violent. Mugabe warned the MDC that it had no chance of pushing him out of power. He said the opposition would rule Zimbabwe only "over our dead bodies" and said "it will never happen." The Zimbabwe Defence Forces warned the MDC that it was "standing ready" to resist against violence. But the MDC has called upon the army to disobey "illegal orders" to suppress the will of the people.
Starting yesterday, members of the police force and the army have started jogging across the city centre, clad in white jogger shorts and white vests with some of them brandishing firearms. Residents feel intimidated by the gun toting soldiers.
People have been panic buying this week amid fears of a mass shutdown. Zimdaily understands soldiers and police were deployed in populous suburbs on Saturday in what a spokesperson said was a bid to "reassure peace-loving Zimbabweans that the uniformed forces have the capacity to deal with anarchy, sabotage and banditry." But Tsvangirai said: "If the people of Zimbabwe are going to be intimidated by army or police presence then they must accept the status quo for ever."
Zimdaily heard the opposition was looking at ways to counter the plan which could include a call on all protesters not to wear any MDC regalia.
The ruling Zanu PF party is printing thousands of 'MDC T-Shirts' to be worn by Zanu PF thugs in order to spark trouble during the nationwide mass confrontation planned by the opposition at the onset of the cold season. Zimdaily unveiled the covert plan as the Zimbabwean army units begin deploying across the country in preparation for the planned opposition protest.
Government officials said soldiers in barracks around Harare were moving weapons and deploying in other cities and towns. Zimdaily heard that the ruling party was intent on using its "Green Bombers", spotting MDC t-shirts, to stir mayhem during the protests and give the army room to use live ammunition against unarmed civilians.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has insisted the protest should be a "peaceful democratic mass confrontation."
Officials said the entire Zimbabwean army had been mobilised and officers' leave cancelled. The MDC raised the stakes weekend during a first leg of nationwide rallies by insisting that it would press ahead with its plans. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai said he was ready to go to jail or die for the liberation of Zimbabwe against Mugabe's marauding tyranny.
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa warned yesterday that the planned demonstrations, illegal under the country's strict security laws, would be met with "the full wrath of the law." Chinamasa said this means the opposition has threatened to remove Mugabe from office by unconstitutional means. "The state cannot take such threats lightly," he told Zimdaily yesterday. The justice minister said the opposition's call for Zimbabweans to take to the streets meant they were bent on a campaign of violence and anarchy against the government intended to result in the overthrow of Mugabe's office. The opposition has promised only peaceful protests.
The army said it would not tolerate the protests because they were likely to turn violent. Mugabe warned the MDC that it had no chance of pushing him out of power. He said the opposition would rule Zimbabwe only "over our dead bodies" and said "it will never happen." The Zimbabwe Defence Forces warned the MDC that it was "standing ready" to resist against violence. But the MDC has called upon the army to disobey "illegal orders" to suppress the will of the people.
Starting yesterday, members of the police force and the army have started jogging across the city centre, clad in white jogger shorts and white vests with some of them brandishing firearms. Residents feel intimidated by the gun toting soldiers.
People have been panic buying this week amid fears of a mass shutdown. Zimdaily understands soldiers and police were deployed in populous suburbs on Saturday in what a spokesperson said was a bid to "reassure peace-loving Zimbabweans that the uniformed forces have the capacity to deal with anarchy, sabotage and banditry." But Tsvangirai said: "If the people of Zimbabwe are going to be intimidated by army or police presence then they must accept the status quo for ever."
Zimdaily heard the opposition was looking at ways to counter the plan which could include a call on all protesters not to wear any MDC regalia.
Burglars will be allowed to escape without punishment under new instructions sent to all police forces. Police have been told they can let them off the threat of a court appearance and instead allow them to go with a caution. The same leniency will be shown to criminals responsible for more than 60 other different offences, ranging from arson through vandalism to sex with underage girls. But speeding? Haul 'em in. Need the revenue, dontca know.
New rules sent to police chiefs by the Home Office set out how seriously various crimes should be regarded, and when offenders who admit to them should be sent home with a caution. A caution counts as a criminal record but means the offender does not face a court appearance which would be likely to end in a fine, a community punishment or jail.
#1
So if I'm a British home owner and I forget to turn in my pistol and then when some bloke breaks into my home, I accidently discharge said weapon in the direction of the burglar's head - do they let me off with a warning?
#2
So each Islamo-fanatic gets one shot at arson without risking jail or fine? Just a note on their previously-unblemished record? Lovely. Scrappleface may as well shut down.
Swaddled in a pale green blanket, 3-day-old Luis Ernesto Gómez dozed away in his mother's arms, unaware that his birth was part of the end of an era.
"My father came from a family of 11 children. I came from a family of four children," said Luis' mother, María Elena Cervantes. "Me, I'm having two. That's it."
Therein lies a major historic shift: Mexico, a predominantly Roman Catholic country where huge families were once the norm, is sending the stork packing after just two children. It's a development that could affect U.S. immigration as Mexico's population growth slows to a crawl and the trend toward smaller families leads to more disposable income.
After decades of decline, the national fertility rate dropped to a milestone 2.1 children per woman last year, according to Mexico's National Population Council. That puts Mexico's rate about even with the United States (2.08), lower than most Latin American countries, and it means more couples are using birth control and straying from Catholic teachings.
Census experts refer to 2.1 children as the "natural replacement rate," meaning Mexico is just barely replacing the generations who will die in coming years. Hispanic immigrants in the United States are now reproducing at a faster rate, 2.8 children per woman, than Mexicans in Mexico. Sociologists say that is because immigrants tend to be less educated and come from poorer, rural areas of Mexico.
"Here in Mexico, we have seen a substantial decline in fertility rates, and it's fundamentally due to the increasing education level of women and their participation in economic life," said Carlos Welti, a population expert at the National Autonomous University of Mexico... Whoa. Bolt out of the blue. In past, economists have noted that (varying between countries), at a particular point, a plateau, in national economic development, birth rate suddenly plummets to 2.1 per family. This begins an extended period of economic prosperity and political stability.
#2
This isn't new. Mexico's fertility rate was 2.4 in 2000. Population growth isn't actually bad for national prosperity. The US population went from 35m during the Civil War to about 120m by the turn of the 20th century, roughly similar to Mexico's population growth from 1945 to 2000. The US went from mainly agrarian power to major industrial power in that time frame. Mexico went nowhere.
It still boils down to good government - in America, citizens have many outlets for their energy and creativity, whereas in Mexico, they have few. This is why Mexicans keep streaming across the border, and generally do much better here than they do in Mexico.
#3
ARMYGUY: Nope, it makes all the difference in the world. First of all, most of the pressure is coming from southern Mexico, in the PPP (Plan Puebla Panama) areas, where peasants are being pushed north to make room for the massive redevelopment of the region.
The peasants are told to head to the just-south-of-the-border businesses, the maquildoras, as cheap labor to stimulate the Mexican economy and create lots of industry; or, better yet, continue over the border to the US.
When the PPP gets in full swing, trying to turn southern Mexico into the hemisphere's trading center, there is going to be a major demographic shift south to support its construction and operations. At that point, much of the illegal flow north will dry up.
From that point, the demographic flows in Mexico will mostly be internal, decentralizing the District Federal and enlarging other cities and building new ones.
Right now, however, Mexico could be at a critical phase. If the US can stop the immigration with a wall, Mexico might collapse in a bloody civil war, or be taken over by a leftist similar to, and friendly with, Chavez and his cabal of other leftist South American leaders.
But if their birthrate remains low, within 20 years, their country will become progressively more stable and successful.
British and American citizens have been detained in the Far Eastern Russian province of Chukotka, governed by Roman Abramovich, for illegally crossing the Russian state border, RIA Novosti reported. Presumably, the two foreigners are tourists. The detainees have passports, commercial visas, tents and arctic equipment with them. A .44 Magnum-Colt pistol and cartridges have been also found among their belongings, a local security services spokesman said.
That .44 would be for polar bears most likely
Would it bring down an elk?
They told the police that they were heading from South America to Great Britain, and had crossed the Russian-American border in the Bering Strait, traveling from Alaska.
Nice little hike
But Russian authorities seem to be doubtful about the aim of their visit to Russia and have started an investigation into the case.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/04/2006 08:12 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
What? No Second Amendment in Russia? Who woulda thought?
Posted by: Captain America ||
04/04/2006 11:13 Comments ||
Top||
#2
"Comrade, we are simple, if well-armed, tourists, da?"
#3
Russian authorities did not identify the two or say when they were arrested.
But one of the adventurers, Briton Karl Bushby, said on his Web site that he and Dimitry Kieffer of Anchorage, Alaska, reached Chukotka province Friday. It took them 15 days to walk the 56 miles from Alaska to Russian territory. The Web site said Bushby, a 36-year-old former paratrooper, made the crossing as part of a round-the-world walk that began in 1998 at the southern tip of South America.
Bushby's father, Keith, of Hereford, England, confirmed the two had arrived in Russia on Friday and had been detained sometime after that, though he did not know exactly when. In a posting dated Friday, March 31, Karl Bushby's Web site said he and Kieffer were in the village of Uelen, near the point where the Bering Sea meets the Chukchi Sea, about 560 miles northwest of the provincial capital Anadyr.
Keith Bushby said the travelers were headed south down the coast en route to the city of Provideniya, about 380 miles northeast of Anadyr, to officially register with Russian authorities. But they were stopped on their way there in the small village of Lavrenty, about 500 miles northwest of Anadyr. They did not enter the country at a border crossing, so they had no stamps in their passports.
``Because they were walking across the Bering Strait, they could not take the normal route. Consequently, they didn't have the correct stamps and a landing permit,'' Keith Bushby told The Associated Press. ``We don't blame the Russian bodyguards because they are doing their job. Karl fully expected a problem, because he knew this would happen.'' He added that his son was feeling fine but was upset that his trip through Russia could be cut short if the authorities deny him permission to continue his travels.
Bushby wants to be the first person to walk all the way around the world, his Web site says. Since the beginning of his journey on Nov. 1, 1998, he has covered 17,000 miles, walking through South, Central and North America.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/04/2006 12:41 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Pretty interesting story.
I hope the Russian sheriff, played by Brian Dennehy, doesn't try to give the Brit ex-soldier, played by Sly Stallone, a hard time or Richard Crenna may say, "You better order some more body bags".
#1
Shahirah Gillespie, now 20, was snatched as a seven-year-old by her father, Malaysian Prince Raja Bahrinprince, in 1992, who grabbed Shahirah and her brother Iddin during an access visit. Shahirah flew into Melbourne on Saturday to visit her mother. Prince Bahrin said Iddin, now 23, was studying at college.
And this, children, is why we don't marry people like that, let alone follow them home afterward.
#3
trailing wife, unfortunately the ones who really need to hear that aren't going to listen.
While Muslims are by far the worst offenders in that regard, plenty of other paternalistic nationalities can be just as bad in regards to kidnapped children of Western mothers.
#4
I know, DB. But my children know, and so will yours, because you'll tell them about such things. And the girl in my university dorm who was dating that Arab boy listened to us, and didn't go with him to visit his family over the summer break. At least there's that much.
THE US Defence Department has approved a possible sale of up to four Boeing Co C-17 cargo planes and associated equipment to Australia, in a deal worth up to $US2 billion ($2.8 billion).
The Pentagon's Defence Security Cooperation Agency today told Congress the Australian government had requested the sale of the C-17s, up to 18 F-177 engines made by United Technologies Corp's Pratt & Whitney unit, and up to four AN/AAQ-24 infrared countermeasures systems made by Northrop Grumman Corp.
Politicians now have 30 days to reject the proposed sale, which also includes night vision goggles and assorted other equipment, but Congress has rarely acted to block a sale.
DSCA, which oversees major arms sales, said the sale would give Australia a heavy airlift capability, which it currently relies on the US Air Force or contract carriers using Russian aircraft to provide.
"The C-17 will greatly improve Australia's capability to rapidly deploy in support of global coalition operations and will also greatly enhance its ability to lead regional humanitarian/peacekeeping operations," the agency said.
It said the proposed agreement would likely include offset agreements with Australian companies, but said those would be determined in negotiations between Australia and the contractors during detailed discussions if the sale is approved.
The proposed sale is welcome news for Chicago-based Boeing, which has been lobbying Congress to continue production of C-17 cargo planes beyond the current cap of 180 set by the Air Force, which would mean shutting down the production line in fiscal year 2008.
Boeing said it was in contract negotiations, and current plans called for production of 15 C-17s a year at the company's plant in Long Beach, California, said spokeswoman Kerry Gildea.
She said the company was also talking with other countries, including Canada and Sweden, that had expressed interest in the cargo planes.
In past years, Congress has added money to military budgets to help cover the services' so-called "unfunded requirements," which this year include seven more C-17s for Iraq. Air Force officials are hoping for extra funds to extend the C-17 line.
Australia said the first C-17 plane could be delivered later this year with the rest delivered by mid-2008. The Australian defence department's purchase came on top of an $US28.5 billion ($39.87 billion) increase in spending the government has committed to over the decade ending in 2010.
The bizarre scuffle Wednesday between Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) and an unnamed U.S. Capitol Police officer is winning the certifiable nutbag spirited congresswoman few new friends in her caucus. In fact, some Democrats are trying to distance themselves from her.
McKinney has been aggressively publicizing the incident, calling press conferences on each of the past two business days and even attracting a mention on the front page of The New York Times, something that the dozens of House and Senate Democrats combined couldnt match when they unveiled their homeland-security plan last week. Ouch.
Now, with McKinney facing a possible arrest warrant, the media frenzy is set only to escalate. The U.S. Capitol Police referred the issue to the U.S. District Attorneys office for prosecution yesterday.
All of the attention has some Democrats concerned that McKinney is drawing the limelight away from their policy goals and Republicans ethical missteps to focus on a momentary, disputed encounter in a Capitol Hill hallway. Theres been a lot of eye-rolling, said an aide to a moderate Democrat who spoke on condition of anonymity. The national attention its been getting has been unfortunate. Its becoming a distraction.
A Democratic strategist concurred. This isnt the view of Democrats that we want to project in the tough races, one of victims and race-baiting, the strategist said.
McKinney often elicits strong opinions, even within her own caucus. She has a history of making controversial statements that delight progressives while irking moderates, yet even some of the caucuss more progressive members have had disagreements with her.
She and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) no longer speak, not even to exchange greetings when encountering each other in the Capitol hallways, said two House Democratic sources. Pelosi twice turned down McKinneys request to regain her seniority after she was defeated and then reelected in 2002 and 2004. McKinney first came to Congress in 1992. Finally, Nancy made a smart decision. Although putting her in charge of a committee could be pure comedy gold....
McKinney spokesman Coz Carson said his boss is apparently off her meds an effective member of Congress. Shes a gutsy leader who gets out in front of important issues, he said. She demonstrates bold and responsible leadership for the people who elected her to office.
They're all crazy, too.
McKinney raised some eyebrows when she attended hearings of the select committee on Hurricane Katrina even after Democratic leaders had decided that only three Democrats Reps. Gene Taylor (Miss.), Bill Jefferson (La.) and Charlie Melancon (La.) would participate. 'Cause we all know that her district was especially hard hit.
At her news conference Friday, organizers originally expected to have members of Congress join McKinney in a show of support. None ultimately appeared, although Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) sent a statement saying that the most responsible and useful course for all involved would be to seek a resolution that would be satisfactory to both parties. Sounds like her fellow Congresscritters think she's guilty as sin...
Meanwhile, Republicans have had a field day with the allegations. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) called the incident in which McKinney allegedly struck the officer after he stopped her at a security checkpoint disgraceful and horrible. McKinney has said the officer inappropriately touched her. I recognize that there are 435 members and I look like a staffer sometimes an intern and sometimes memory fails, said McHenry, who is the youngest member of Congress. And anyway, I dont think its smart for any member to tussle with a Capitol Police officer. Theyre well-trained. McHenry and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) plan to introduce a resolution today to show appreciation for the Capitol Police.
Other members were more willing to give McKinney the benefit of the doubt. Its a question of fact and whether the officer put his hand on her first or whether he asked her to stop first and asked for ID. The facts will determine who was in the right and who was in the wrong, said Rep. Al Wynn (D-Md.). I would be offended and upset if [an officer] put his hands on me prior to asking for ID. It's pretty sad if this is the most vigorous defense you can get out of your co-workers.
A House Democratic aide sided with McKinney. The notion that they would charge her is just beyond ludicrous, regardless of what happened. It sounds like a misunderstanding. She clearly wasnt intending to assault a police officer. "Is she hiring? Can you hand her my resume?"
Cynthia just assumed that she was so important that she doesn't need to follow the same rules that everyone else does. There are any number of people like that.
#1
I'd really hate to see McKinney given the boot; she fills a vital role as the perfect poster child for everything that's gone horribly wrong with the Democratic Party in the last 40 years.
Love that picture, by the way. It captures her subtle mix of stupidity and derangement.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/04/2006 18:14 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I believe a multi-party system is critical to the health of this country. For their own well-being, and for our country's, the Dems need to move away from a-holes like mckinney. Don't let her get away with this crapola. We'll all be better off, and America will be stronger if we don't kowtow to this sort of stuff.
#3
She and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) no longer speak, not even to exchange greetings when encountering each other in the Capitol hallways, said two House Democratic sources. Pelosi twice turned down McKinneys request to regain her seniority after she was defeated and then reelected in 2002 and 2004. McKinney first came to Congress in 1992.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean will join General Wesley Clark, former DNC Chairman Don Fowler and Kentucky Congressional candidate and retired Marine Corps Lt. Colonel Andrew Horne for a conference call highlighting the Democratic Party's commitment to America's veterans and military families on Wednesday, April 5 at 12:15 p.m.
John Kerry must have been washing his hair. He's a veteran, you know
They will announce the membership of the DNC's new Democratic National Veterans and Military Families Council, which will be chaired by Fowler, and unveil a new "Fighting Dems" website highlighting the campaigns of dozens of veterans running for Congress as Democrats.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/04/2006 15:26 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Senate Republicans searching for a compromise on whether more than 11 million illegal immigrants should be allowed to eventually seek citizenship moved toward limiting that opportunity to those who've lived in the country at least five years. Negotiators who met for about an hour late Monday evening in the office of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., seemed to have settled on five years as a demarcation for who could remain and work and eventually earn citizenship.
Details were to be provided to other Senate Republicans at their closed-door Tuesday morning meeting. "We're looking at the roots concept, and that is if they have been here more than five years," said Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record), R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "If they have been here less then five years and they do not have roots to the same extent and can be treated differently, and that is what we're looking at."
The fate of those with less time in the country was unclear, but Specter suggested they might be asked to go to ports of entry, like the Texas border city of El Paso, and would not have to return to their native countries.
A similar proposal made in Specter's committee received little support. However, the idea seemed to have some support from Frist, who told CNN over the weekend that 40 percent of illegal immigrants have been in the country less than five years and "need to be dealt with in a different fashion."
A bill approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee based on a proposal by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. would allow illegal immigrants in the United States before Jan. 7, 2004, and who have jobs, to work legally for an additional six years and eventually become citizens. Both Frist and McCain are considered likely candidates for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.
A separate bill filed by Frist does not deal with illegal immigrants, but boosts border enforcement and cracks down on employers who hire illegal workers. The House in December passed a bill that would make being in the country illegally a felony.
Opponents consider the Judiciary Committee bill amnesty. Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., would give illegal immigrants up to five years to leave the country, before they can return legally to apply for permanent residence or be guest workers. Cornyn was not at the meeting at Frist's office, but his spokesman Don Stewart was skeptical of the suggested compromise. "It's a matter of giving amnesty to 8 million people or giving amnesty to 12 million people. It's still amnesty to millions of people," Stewart said. 1986 Illegal Alien Amnesty and Citizenship: 3 million
2006 Amnesty: 8 million
Didn't make this year's amnesty? Cross the border now and get a slot for the 2026 amnesty.
2026 Amnesty: 21 million
The overwhelming majority of the 3 million in the 1986 amnesty are now solid, responsible, good Americans. The 8 million will become the same if we let them.
Posted by: ed ||
04/04/2006 07:46 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
if they have been here more than five years."
Let me get this straight the Undocumented have been keeping documentation to prove the length time they have been in the US. What about the ones that have been here at least five years but cant provide any proof? Im assuming if they cant provide something official such as an easily forged pay stub or letter from employer that the honor system will be acceptable.
#3
The overwhelming majority of the 3 million in the 1986 amnesty are now solid, responsible, good Americans. The 8 million will become the same if we let them.
Right now they're just law breakers. Why should they get a prefeerence over the 8 million in India, China , the Philippines who want to be citizens and have followed the law?
#4
I agree with you 100% nimble. Don't let a single one of them even apply until the last one which petitioned for an immigration visa the second before this goes into effect is eligible to apply for citizenship.
Do not reward their illegal behavior by allowing them to cut in line ahead of law-abiding applicants (some of whom have been patiently waiting for YEARS!) -- which this bill would 'piss on' once again.
Capitol Hill police have referred a scuffle between one of their officers and U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C., a spokesman for the office said Monday. "We are working with Capitol Hill police to fully understand and appreciate the incident," principal assistant U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "Pending review, it is inappropriate for us to comment any further at this time."
"Except that she's a barking moonbat, but you didn't hear that from me."
Phillips would not say whether a warrant was issued for McKinney's arrest.
McKinney spokesman Coz Carson on Monday also acknowledged the investigation. "We're aware that the wheels are turning in Washington," Carson said. "We have no control over what they decide to do. We will make the appropriate statement and take the appropriate action once we know where they're going."
"And then the spittle will fly."
At a press conference Monday morning, black clergy and lawmakers came the defense of the firebrand congresswoman. McKinney smiled as her supporters heaped praise on her leadership and her new look _ her trademark cornrows replaced earlier this year by a curly brown afro.
Speaking during a meeting of the Concerned Black Clergy of Metropolitan Atlanta, McKinney did not mention last week's altercation, which happened after a Capitol Hill officer failed to recognize her as she entered a House office building. Instead, McKinney's supporters did the talking, calling her face and record internationally famous.
Which is not necessarily a compliment.
Her supporters tried to minimize the incident _ which they called political, not criminal _ but they also suggested it was an example of racial profiling. They called publicity surrounding the episode a distraction that is being used by "her enemies" to keep the congresswoman from performing her elected duties.
Immediately after the news conference, McKinney was ushered out of the building and into a black SUV, smiling and keeping silent when reporters questioned her as she made her exit.
Officials have said McKinney could be charged with striking the officer. McKinney said last week the incident was initiated by the officer's "inappropriate stopping and touching" of her.
The Rev. Reverend Darrell D. Elligan, president of Concerned Black Clergy, called McKinney, competent, courageous and committed. "She has our support unconditionally," Elligan said. "She is not a threat to the security of our country."
Well, he's right about that.
Several Georgia black lawmakers spoke of similar treatment at the Georgia Capitol _ specifically referring to an incident where they said they were relegated to a balcony during the viewing of the body of Coretta Scott King in February.
State Rep. Tyrone Brooks, who has represented Atlanta for 26 years, said he was treated like "a country bumpkin" the day of the viewing. "I was offended, I was angry," said Brooks, head of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials. "If it happens to us in Atlanta, it happens to Cynthia McKinney in Washington. This is real."
State Rep. "Able" Mable Thomas, corroborated the Feb. 4 incident _ where she and other black lawmakers said they were relegated to the balcony of the Capitol and unable to participate in the procession. She said she did not mention the incident at the time out of respect for King.
Hard to buy this: any state pol who opens his/her mouth gets what he/she wants in such matters.
With her parents looking on in the audience, McKinney spoke at the end of the press conference, touting her service to her district. "Rest assured, I am doing the work they sent me to Washington to do. Nothing is going to keep me away from my responsibilities," she said.
More's the pity.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/04/2006 00:11 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Right. The Race Card. Last refuge of Black Scoundrels.
Originally she was just another supercilious Member of Congress and this was comical because she's the perfect clown.
Not now. This racist BS taints the good guys goddamnit, the decent blacks, just to save her sorry skin. What a racist asshole. Same for all the other clowns who echoed her BS.
#3
At a press conference Monday morning, black clergy and lawmakers came the defense of the firebrand congresswoman.
So "firebrand" is press code for "black supremacist antisemite"?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
04/04/2006 7:35 Comments ||
Top||
#4
"We are working with Capitol Hill police to fully understand and appreciate the incident,"
Like one would "appreciate" a rabit dog, or a com mon criminal. Thank you fine citizens of Atlanta for electing this outstanding member of your community to public office. She represents you well.
#7
Now - put this as a white conservative souther congressman bulling his way past a security checkpoint, acting abusively toward a female security person, and then striking her with his cell phone.
The press woudl ahve forced his resignation already.
Why the double standard for this bigoted thug? Is being female and minority give you an exemption from the laws and from civility?
#15
Wow-rather ugly comments from a couple posters today on rantburg.
Of course she is stirring up trouble for nothing-it's what she does best.
I read that the security guard asked her three times for id and she ignored him; that's when he placed his hands on her. Who knows where; I highly doubt that restraint was inappropriate.
#16
She did not stop when verbally requested to do so, so what would make you think that she would have responded to a request to provide ID?
Well, EP, speaking as a former civilian with a police department.....if you have someone who just decides that she does not need to wear her security badge/pin in order to avoid going through security checkpoints, because, hey, she's special....and this same special person is ignoring requests to stop as she is heading towards a known terrorist target, even though she does not fit the profile of an al-Qaeda operative (male, middle eastern descent, etc.), hell yeah, the officer had every right to restrain her physically.
He did not toss her to the floor, body slam her, or put her in a headlock. He grabbed her arm, while in uniform, and she decided to strike out at him with her cell phone. Welcome to your assault charge, Rep McK.
What makes her whining and bitching about this incident even more of a joke is the fact that her own father was a police officer (duty or REMF behind a desk, I know not). Growing up in a cop family, she damn well knows better. She just doesn't give a rat's ass.
I guarantee if this same officer had not physically restrained any other person from reaching the chambers of Congress, and that person was carrying explosives or anthrax or some other kind of nasty terrorist toy into those hallowed halls, your darling Rep McKinney would have been the first one baying for that officer's blood.
And you would have been chanting along in her amen corner, EP.
#17
"Wow-rather ugly comments from a couple posters today on rantburg."
Jules, I don't know if your referring to my sarcastic comments but it was in response to a deleted comment that didn't even make it into the sink trap. Without it they take on a much different tone. Mods, please delete previous comments.
#18
EP8221, we just know her too well. Read her past speaches and listen to her other public announcements. She is an avowed racist and justifies her position because of the past discrimination against black Americans.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
04/04/2006 13:28 Comments ||
Top||
#19
She's a piece of work. But she came by it honest. Never forget when she was beaten in 2002 by Denise Majette dad blamed the JOOOOOS.
He also pulled a knife on a fellow GA state congresscritter and threatened to cut him, in the capital. She carries Castro's water.....
Posted by: C Kramer ||
04/04/2006 13:40 Comments ||
Top||
#20
Here are a few examples.
During a nasty 1996 congressional campaign with racial tension on both sides, she called supporters of her Republican opponent "holdovers from the Civil War days" and "a ragtag group of neo-Confederates." Never mind that her opponent was Jewish. And during the 2000 presidential campaign, she wrote that "Gore's Negro tolerance level has never been too high. I've never known him to have more than one black person around him at any given time." Never mind that Gore's campaign manager was black.
Around every corner, McKinney sees a secret cabal plotting her demise. After the majority-black district that first elected her to Congress was struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutionally gerrymandered, she lashed out at the court as racist. She compared the verdict to Dred Scott, the decision that declared slaves were nothing more than chattel, and Plessy v. Ferguson, which legitimized separate-but-equal American apartheid. (Never mind that she was re-elected in a white majority district two years later.) During her next election, she declared that Georgia's kaolin industry engineered the case that eliminated her district, as payback for her fights against the industry in Congress. (Kaolin is a white clay that is used in a number of products, including porcelain.) And last fall, she tried to solicit money for black Americans from a Saudi prince who said U.S. policy in the Middle East was partly to blame for the Sept. 11 attacks, then she wrote in a Washington Post op-ed, "Why such a negative reaction to my letter? I believe that when it comes to major foreign policy issues, many prefer to have black people seen and not heard." (To which the National Review's Jonah Goldberg retorted that "she needs to explain why I keep finding these quotes in my morning paper by Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell.")
And this isn't the first time she has had a run-in with the Capitol Police. In August 1993, during her first term in office, a Capitol Hill police officer tried to prevent her from bypassing a metal detector, as members of Congress are allowed to do. For years afterward, The Hill reports, the Capitol Police pinned a picture of McKinney to an office wall, warning officers to learn her face because she refuses to wear her member's pin. (And because officers are innately suspicious of a black woman with braided hair and gold shoes.) Five years later, she blasted White House security after guards thought her 23-year-old white aide was the congresswoman.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
04/04/2006 13:41 Comments ||
Top||
#21
Oh, look, an anonymous coward coming to the moonbat's defense.
She's a race hustler, idiot. If she were white and male, you'd be screaming "Klansman!" over the comments she makes.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
04/04/2006 13:42 Comments ||
Top||
#22
I have seen some very snide/nasty comments directed at her by people that disagree with her
accusations about him regarding 9-11, such as calling her a "unhinged lunatic" who suffers from some sort of mental illness.
Nothing snide or nasty about that. She is an unhinged lunatic -- or a blatant manipulator who plays off the ignorance and prejudices of her electorate.
You remember who her father blamed for her losing her office very briefly?
Or who *she* blamed?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
04/04/2006 13:47 Comments ||
Top||
#23
That's the problem with Gerrymandering. It allows unhinged lunatics to continue to be re-elected in safe districts. For both sides.
#24
I doubt seriously they would keep re-electing a "unhinged lunatic".
Really? Why?
We're talking about a person who has blamed Jews and Hindus for her political failures. Someone who falls squarely into the "MIHOP" school of "thought" about 9/11. Someone who kisses the ass of every tyrant she can, treats people like crap, and yet plays herself as being the champion of the people.
She's a bleeding loon; if she had an (R) after her name instead of a (D), her every insane utterance would be fodder for the late night comedians, and every damned politician in her party would be held to task for the lunacy that drips from her lips.
Unfortunately, she's one of the ultimate protected -- a black Democrat woman -- and the press does its best to cover up her insanity while her party supports it.
Why does she win elections?
Because she drew the boundaries of her district!
She gerrymandered a district in which her brand of racism, conspiracism, victimism and outright hatred would go over well enough to win elections.
You can defend her all you want, you can take the position that she's disliked because she "asks questions about 9/11" -- the rest of us will realize she's one of the nastier warts on the American body politic -- a dark-skinned David Duke with slightly different plumbing.
And we'll remember that when Duke tried to run as a Republican, they endorsed his Democrat opponent instead and ran commercials against him. And we'll wonder why Democrats keep supporting McKinney.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
04/04/2006 14:09 Comments ||
Top||
#25
RC you are exactly right. I remember one of her gerrymandered districts. Ran along I-20 from east Atl to West Augusta. It was the interstate for over 80 miles.
Posted by: C Kramer ||
04/04/2006 14:17 Comments ||
Top||
#26
Right, EP, right. We're all picking on her for not being a big Bush fan, and we're all racists too.
Thanks for clearing that up.
Now, please, go back to living under a bridge. Thanks.
#29
Sorry but no one here has made any attempts to get rid of her, as far as I know. I certainly haven't. I don't live in Georgia, but that still doesn't prevent me from identifying a bigoted, weasely congresscritter when I see one.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
04/04/2006 16:14 Comments ||
Top||
#36
It isn't too easy to unseat an incumbent these days either.
Does anybody know Georgia well enough to know whether she keeps getting reelected because her family has a lock on the political machine, or because she brings home some kind of bacon for the district, or because she gives them a vicarious thrill in "standing up to the man?" (God help the district if its the latter.)
Posted by: James ||
04/04/2006 17:14 Comments ||
Top||
#37
EP,
You can discount what we're saying - your own eyes and ears for that matter. Listen to the leaders of your party
1. Not one member of congress stands by her at the press conferences
2. Nancy Pelosi refuses to even acknowledge her in the hallways (HT Drudge)
3. Pelosi also refused to re-instate her senority upon return to Congress
Bottom line - the liberal wing of her own party would like nothing better than to see her leave.
Other than the free ride and harm she does to the country, I'd like to keep her right there. A better example of a "useful idiot" and race baiting tool cannot be found
#38
I happen to be a Democrat, and have stated that numerous times on the 'burg. Pardon me if I haven't drank enough of the DailyKos Kool-Aid to give her, Cindy Sheehan, the Clintons, Howard Dean, and other people in the party an automatic free pass on stupid behavior.
#39
I, for one, spent most of my life in and around the districts where she serves, and "barking moonbat" IS what she is. I know this from personal experience, along with Billy McKinney and John Lewis. Her constituents keep re-electing her because they are the same, sadly enough.
#40
Cynthia Mckinney is STILL in Congress.
your attempts to get rid of her have FAILED.
GET OVER IT.
Hell, kid: we like having her in Congress. She's a living advertisement for our side. If it werent for Democrats like her, we might start losing elections. I hope your party runs her for the presidency!
Does anybody know Georgia well enough to know whether she keeps getting reelected because her family has a lock on the political machine, or because she brings home some kind of bacon for the district, or because she gives them a vicarious thrill in "standing up to the man?" (God help the district if its the latter.)
Maybe they just like to be entertained. Not everybody takes politics as seriously as we do.
#47
I'm sure she is a very nice young lady once you get to know her. She does however, always look a bit pissed... er, rather she generally always looks pissed and bitter about something. A few pints of Guinness can help that. I highly recommend finding a nice friendly pub and ordering some Guinness, maybe a meat pie as well. It's good for what pisses you.
Posted by: Captain America ||
04/04/2006 21:15 Comments ||
Top||
#49
Frank G, great deer in headlights comment lol.
For McKinney to not be wearing her ID and still expect to gain entrance is wrong. For her to ignore the guard's first 3 attempts to stop and question her, then worse yet striking him. She needs to be punished, and shouldn't be allowed to get away with this horrible behavior. How dare she feel she should have special rights to gain entrance, she should be glad that the guards are so good at their job in protecting and standing watch.
This guard needs to be honored for doing his job well, and should press charges. It's not an easy job when you have the likes of McKinney acting like she's above the law.
Besoeker, I'll drink to that. Although I don't think she's a very nice person. The Guinness would help the person having to deal with her, I don't think it would help her a bit. ;)
Posted by: Jan ||
04/04/2006 21:41 Comments ||
Top||
#53
Funny, thing is that none of you were actually there to witness the incident and yet you have assigned guilt to Rep. McKinney. Your snide comments about her remind me off the anger she touched off among repubs/conservatives with her accusastions against Prez Bush about 9-11.
Perhaps among Rantburg regulars if one doesnt agree with their dogma, one is guilty until proven innocent.
#54
McKinney is also a prominent critic of President Bush. I have seen some very snide/nasty comments directed at her by people that disagree with her
accusations about him regarding 9-11, such as calling her a "unhinged lunatic" who suffers from some sort of mental illness. Yet her constituents keep re-electing her. You may "think" you know her well but eveidently her supporters dont think so. I will withold judgement on this particular case until all of the evidence comes out.
#57
I would love to see you brave souls tell her that to her face or tell her supporters what youre posting in here anonymously.
At any rate, from reading the comments in here
EVERYONE that opposes President Bush, particularly Democrats, their leaders, anti-war activists and liberals are all "unhinged lunatics" suffering from some type of mental illness. I think that says a lot more about YOU than THEM.
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said he will step down as premier after his declared victory in a weekend election failed to resolve a political standoff that crippled his government. Thaksin, 56, speaking in a live television broadcast at a press conference in Bangkok tonight, said he will stay on as interim prime minister until a new leader is chosen. He met with the country's King Bhumibol Adulyadej this afternoon.
``I'm convinced that what I've done as prime minister was the best I could do,'' Thaksin said. Quoting words King Bhumibol Adulyadej has said in the past, he said: ``If we keep competing with each other at the end the loser is the country.''
Thaksin, Thailand's most popular prime minister since the country started electing its leaders in 1932, called snap polls three years early to secure his mandate amid mounting protests against his rule in the capital, Bangkok. Criticism of his rule grew after his family made a tax-free $1.9 billion selling its stake in telecommunications group Shin Corp. on Jan. 23. Thaksin last night declared victory with some 60 percent of the vote and vowed to do ``whatever it takes,'' including resign, to resolve the crisis. He thanked the 16 million who voted for him in snap polls last weekend and apologized to them. He said it was time for all to show unity.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/04/2006 10:52 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
whatever it takes
Amazing how much benevolence you can get for 2 bill. tax free.
Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's prime minister, has claimed victory but acknowledged a strong protest vote in an election boycotted by the opposition. The opposition held weeks of protest rallies to demand his resignation for alleged corruption and abuse of power. Thaksin, who denies any wrongdoing, offered on Monday to set up a reconciliation committee to judge whether he should step down despite receiving what he said were more than half the votes cast on Sunday - his previously announced threshold for staying in power.
The Election Commission was expected to release complete election returns on Tuesday, but Thaksin said preliminary results showed his party won 57% of the votes. Critics rejected his idea of a reconciliation committee as insincere and called for new anti-government protests this week. Ong-Art Klampaiboon, the opposition Democrat Party spokesman, said: "The prime minister just wants to find ways to stay in power by finding new marketing strategies and new products."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/04/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
SUPERIOR TOWNSHIP, Michigan (AP) -- At first, piles of skinned animals, mostly foxes and coyotes, turned up on the edges of dirt roads in this semi-rural community outside Ann Arbor.
British and American citizens have been detained in the Far Eastern Russian province of Chukotka, governed by Roman Abramovich, for illegally crossing the Russian state border, RIA Novosti reported. Presumably, the two foreigners are tourists. The detainees have passports, commercial visas, tents and arctic equipment with them. A .44 Magnum-Colt pistol and cartridges have been also found among their belongings, a local security services spokesman said. 
The bizarre scuffle Wednesday between Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) and an unnamed U.S. Capitol Police officer is winning the 
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said he will step down as premier after his declared victory in a weekend election failed to resolve a political standoff that crippled his government. Thaksin, 56, speaking in a live television broadcast at a press conference in Bangkok tonight, said he will stay on as interim prime minister until a new leader is chosen. He met with the country's King Bhumibol Adulyadej this afternoon. 
