Former tennis great John McEnroe -- whoâs done his share of shouting in the past -- will join the world of television talk this spring with a prime-time topical show on CNBC. The network said Wednesday McEnroeâs show will air at 10 p.m. EST, directly after comedian Dennis Millerâs talk show, which premieres later this month. "Heâs a rebel in many ways," she said. "I think thatâs fun for our viewers. A lot of our viewers are entrepreneurs and they like that rebellious attitude in him." Does anyone know what his politics are? His tennis commentary is top notch IMHO. He calls a spade a spade.
LIMA, Peru (AP) -- Forget about soft wooly sweaters. Tasty alpaca steaks are where itâs at, according to the authors of a new cookbook containing 100 recipes for serving up the Andean cameloid. "Alpaca: The Great Andean Taste," published by Peruvian development organization Desco, hit bookstores in Lima this week. The recipes come from six chefs in Lima as well as women from community kitchens in the highland Huancavelica region, the bookâs editor Hugo Carrillo told The Associated Press. "Among the red meats, alpaca has higher levels of protein, very low fat and no cholesterol," he said. Despite its benefits, the meat hasnât been appreciated by city dwellers, he said. "Alpaca meat has traditionally been associated with the countryâs poorest sector ... meat for Indians, peasants," Carrillo said. The idea of the book is to knock down that stereotype.
Alpaca wasnât always considered poor manâs meat, however. During the reign of the Incas, who united cultures from modern day Colombia to Chile until their defeat by Spanish conquistadors 500 years ago, alpaca was considered a leading delicacy, along with guinea pig and llama, Carrillo said. Carrillo isnât sure which of the bookâs recipes will be the most popular among urbanites, although his favorite alpaca dish is pachamanca. A popular weekend lunch, pachamanca is a medley of meats, herbs, sweet potatoes, lima beans, corn, potatoes and tamales wrapped in banana leaves and buried in a pit along with white hot rocks. Chef Nelson Medrano, who worked on the book and has been cooking with alpaca for two years, especially likes "seco de alpaca" -- a delicious stew made with cilantro, potatoes and peas and served up with rice and beans. "Besides being a tasty meat, it is a healthy meat," Medrano said. Cooking with alpaca is a challenge, he added. Due to the meatâs strong flavor, it is best cooked with spices and herbs, and sauces that use wine or pisco, a Peruvian grape brandy. Peru is home to about 3 million alpacas -- which along with related llamas, vicunas and guanacos -- are native to South Americaâs Andes Mountains, but increasingly popular among breeders in the United States and Europe.
The camel relatives are shorn to make yarn for sweaters and other garments out of a fiber some say is softer and warmer than cashmere. The domesticated animals are also popular with tourists visiting Peru, who like to take their photographs. Breeders estimate there are some 50,000 alpacas in the United States, where the animals sell for thousands of dollars a piece -- making it somewhat unlikely that alpaca steaks will start popping up on American menus anytime soon.
Posted by: Zenster ||
06/12/2004 11:43:55 AM ||
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A little help? I tried to post this on page two but it still bubbled up to the top. Please move it and also feel free to post instructions on how to submit articles to page two.
#7
Well, now I'm frightened. After reading the article my first thought was "they can spit more than 20 ft and hit you smack between the eyes...blech!"
but I see .com beat me to it...scary
THE Danish Lutheran minister who proclaimed last year there was no God or afterlife was suspended for a second time today for ignoring church orders not to repeat those beliefs from the pulpit. Helsingoer Bishop Lise-Lotte Rebel suspended the Reverend Thorkild Grosboll, pastor of Taarbaek, and handed his case to the government "requesting that it take the necessary steps".
Why be a priest if you don't believe in God? Aside from the salary, I mean...
Just look at how well the Arch-Druid has done.
Reverend Grosboll has been under Bishop Rebel's strict supervision since he first was suspended after a May 2003 interview in which he said "there is no heavenly God, there is no eternal life, there is no resurrection".
"There is no right. There is no wrong. Do what you want."
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/12/2004 02:50 ||
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This bozo is still on the payroll? Must be a union thing...
Posted by: Phil B ||
06/12/2004 03:59 ||
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And is there anyone willing to overturn this ban and put DDT back into production? The evidence was there on Day One that DDT was beneficial - and that Ruckelshaus was a fucking idiot - so why hasn't SOME US President directed the EPA to wipe the slate clean?
Why? The phreakin' truth is the phreakin' truth - what's held this up for 31+ years?
This kind of shit makes me crazy. I may run amok or go berserk, heh.
#2
But it's brown people in third world countries who get malaria, and they don't understand the danger of DDT to the environment, so we have to protect them from DDT in order to protect their enviroment for them. Malaria is an unfortunate side effect of this, but protecting their environment for them (since they can't possibly understand the importance of this) is all that matters.
(Plus, we live in countries where there is no malaria, so it's not like we're personally affected by the disease. And we're only thinking of their environment. Really.)
/off leftist moonbat trust fund baby mode
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/12/2004 11:01 Comments ||
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a single brown child dead is a tragedy. 86 million is a statistic
(/EcoStalinist off)
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/12/2004 11:10 Comments ||
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DDT has some problems. The first is that it doesn't break down easily at all. Samples that have been exposed to the big degraders: UV light, water, wind and heat are still active 25 years later *or more*. Second problem is that DDT is not just specific to insects, it also kills crustaceans--so if you like lobster and shrimp, DDT is a no go.
Third is that insects develop quick resistance to it, just like with less toxic, and less specific pesticides.
So, bottom line, while DDT was *great* in its time, times have changed. Better technologies are needed.
#5
I hate to be the voice of cold reason BUT if the 86 million children had not died of malaria, they would have died from famine or from AIDS or from internecine machete duels. Let's be honest here. The African parents who are having kids by the dozen, when they cannot even support and care for their adult selves, are the ones who should be blamed for childrens' deaths, not the Greenies. Malaria may have taken these 86 million starving African children faster and with less prolonged suffering.
Posted by: rex ||
06/12/2004 12:51 Comments ||
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Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
06/12/2004 01:06 ||
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Corrected link. OJ doesn't do much for me - cuz he's still breathing! ;-)
Ray Charles was awesome. I saw him perform twice, once in a large concert setting and the other time in a small ritzy club. The quality and quantity was the same for both - he connected with each audience and nothing mattered but making that connection sizzle and laugh and clap and tap toes and feel what he felt when he performed - he just rocked. You went home tired and satisfied. I heard him remake songs - applying his inimitable style, he even took a song as copyrighted as Yesterday, a McCartney signature song - and made it his own - and Ray's version, utterly unique in a Reggae-ish style, is the one that lingers in my head - and always will.
The fact that his mother expected no less of him than her sighted children made him a complete man, as Cavett discovered, he just happened to be blind.
Now that's some heft.
I'll bet his camel has a bad back!
One of the imams of the Grand Mosque in Makkah led prayers for inter-faith peace and harmony in London yesterday, while another in the holy city called on Muslims to resist outside interference. But it's okay for Soddies to interfere in other people's countries, right?
Around 10,000 worshippers gathered at the East London Mosque, and surrounding streets in the cityâs Whitechapel district to hear Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, organizers said. Also on hand for the launch of the 10-million-pound ($18 million) London Muslim Center were guests including Britainâs grand rabbi Jonathan Sachs and Racial Equality Minister Fiona Mactaggart. Prince Charles, in Washington for the funeral of former US President Ronald Reagan, also took part by way of a pre-recorded message. âIslam emphasizes to Muslims how to organize their relationship and responsibility toward society so that they may live under the blessing of Allah and a peace that extends to all,â said Sudais in his sermon. âI want to urge Muslims to be united in adhering to this message and follow the example of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah upon him),â he said. He also said that Muslims should set an example of âthe true image of Islamâ in their interactions with other communities, âand dispel any misconceptions portrayed in some parts of the mediaâ. He's talking about blowing up trains and skyscrapers and cutting people's heads off â mere misconceptions, y'know...
âThe history of Islam is the best testament to how different communities can live together in peace and harmony,â he said. All y'gotta do is pay your dhimmi tax, unless the Faithful feel like slapping you around...
In his sermons at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Sudais has condemned deadly terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia, calling them cowardly and vile. He has also criticized the US-led occupation of Iraq and bloodshed in the Palestinian territories. Britain is home to an estimated two million Muslims, most of them of South Asian origin. The London Muslim Center is described by the East London Mosque, one of the busiest in Britain with 5,000 worshippers a week, as âWestern Europeâs largest multi-purpose Muslim complex, with something for everyoneâ.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/12/2004 11:54 ||
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Mr. Lambchops there is big enough to burn diesel.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/12/2004 15:10 Comments ||
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Yeah, we respect both kinds of religions Shia AND Sunni.
A Yemeni court passed two verdicts on Wednesday on al-Shumoo Weekly, entailing the imprisonment of the editor and closure of the paper for three months with a fine of around $11,000. The verdict comes just after one week of the order of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, demanding that the government amend the Press and Publication Law of 1990, abolishing the term of imprisonment of journalists on publishing issues.
That seems to be working well, doesn't it?
The first verdict stated that the paper should be fined YR50,000 for the government as well as pay YR 1 million in compensation to businessman Abdulnaser al-Sunaidar, who sued the paper for publishing a list of names of businessmen who did not repay their loans to a number of banks, including the name of Al-Sunaidar. The verdict also ordered the closure of the paper for three months. The second case verdict issued by the South-East court of Sanaâa imprisoned the Editor, Abdulbaset al-Shameri, for three months, and imposed a fine of YR 50,000 for the government and a further fine for businessman Hasan Abdo Jaâed. Mr Abdo Jaâed had sued the paper for publishing an article on the operations of the electricity station of Aden, suggesting his inability to run the project.
Does truth or falsehood of the published item have a bearing in Yemeni libel cases? Does truth or falsehood exist in Yemen?
The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate (YJS) showed surprise at the verdicts, which violate the orders of Saleh to abolish the imprisonment of journalists, and amend the press law to grant more privileges and widen the scope of press freedom. âThese verdicts do not only target the journalist but also violate the Presidentâs decision,â a statement issued by YJS said, demanding that the YJS should be involved in any amendments of the press law. On his part, the newspaperâs publisher, Saif al-Haderi, considered the verdict as âa victory for the corrupt lobby whom the paper targets.â
That's what it sounds like...
Posted by: Fred ||
06/12/2004 11:30 ||
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From BBC
An official Bosnian Serb investigation into the Srebrenica events of July 1995 has found that several thousand Muslims were murdered by local Serb forces. It is the first time the Bosnian Serb authorities have admitted the killings which The Hague war crimes tribunal has declared an act of genocide. The Bosnian Serb commission reported "grave" violations of human rights and an attempt to conceal evidence. It also revealed the discovery of 32 previously unknown mass grave sites. ... According to the report:
Bosnian Serb forces planned a three-stage operation: the attack on the town, the separation of women and children and the execution of the men;
military and police units, as well as special units of the interior ministry, took part in the murders;
four new graves are original sites while the other 28 are sites where bodies were reburied to hide traces of the massacre;
the commission has data on 7,779 people missing in Srebrenica and has so far identified 1,332 of them. ....
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
06/12/2004 12:05:46 AM ||
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Yup. Fifty years after WW2...the Euros learned absolutely nothing.
Posted by: Rafael ||
06/12/2004 8:18 Comments ||
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No mention of the UN which was supposed to be protecting them. I must get my surprise meter fixed. It's showing zero again.
Posted by: Phil B ||
06/12/2004 8:35 Comments ||
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..."I would hope that Bush would make more intelligent decisions for the government and the military, and [I] find it hard to apply satire to his actions as I find them terribly stupid and cruel as regards the lives of our military families and personnel," McDonald said.
"Do it for the troops!"
"I personally did not find just reason for the war in Afghanistan or the war in Iraq. I do not think that these are winnable wars for America, for many reasons. Most of those reasons are the same as the Vietnam War."
"No reason to fight a war in Afghanistan. What'd they ever do to us?"
"Osama bin Laden, like George W Bush, is an upper-class rich person who has never seen battle," McDonald added. "I doubt that he [bin Laden] is a nice person, but he is not the only source of America's problems in the world today."
"So we shouldn't bother with that problem, either..."
McDonald's website includes a photograph of a white-turbaned Osama bin Laden morphing into a portrait of Bush, and then into bin Laden again, on an endless loop...
There's more, if you have a strong stomach...
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/12/2004 02:58 ||
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I personally did not find just reason for the war in Afghanistan
I can only assume he doesn't remember the 1960s either.
A college disc jockey who was initially fired after devoting a radio show to celebrating the death of Ronald Reagan will be reassigned to another job until he can respond to complaints about his actions. Scott Hornyak, a 28-year-old undergraduate at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, was told Friday that he was fired from his paid position as business manager at KSUA-FM, a student-run station.
"Pack your shit and get the hell out! Y'think y'r Howard Stern?"
A university spokeswoman later said the firing was premature and the decision was rescinded until Hornyak had a chance to respond to complaints about the Sunday show. "The university process wasn't followed properly," Debra Damron said. She said Hornyak will be temporarily reassigned to another job.
So try him fair and hang fire him fair.
Hornyak had earlier been suspended indefinitely from his other job as disc jockey. He said Friday night he will appeal any reassignment or termination. "They're firing me because of what I said, and the public's reaction to what I said," said Hornyak, who goes by the call name "Spider Bui."
Well yeah.
H.B. Telling, the station's general manager, said he could not comment on whether Hornyak was fired because of the broadcast.
"I can say no more!"
No tape of the show was available. But according to Hornyak, he berated Reagan, who died June 5, for his foreign policy in Latin America, Iraq and Afghanistan, and for his response to the AIDS epidemic. Hornyak said the show was "a celebration that Ronald Reagan was dead, was finally dead," and that he told listeners he wanted to "walk over the newly laid dirt" on Reagan's grave. Telling said the station received numerous complaints about the show.
Good job, AP!
Telling said Hornyak was suspended as a disc jockey solely because of his failure to obey the station's rules, not because of the inflammatory content of the show. He said Hornyak did not fill out a log of the songs he played on air and did not play the station's standard disclaimers announcing that his views did not represent those of the station or the university. Hornyak said he did not fill out the logs due to absent-mindedness and that he did not play the disclaimer because he was busy making an ass of himself taking song requests.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/12/2004 12:30:52 AM ||
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Another addition to the Rall/Kos/Rene Gonzales media career-builder's club. In heavily Republican and pro-gun Alaska, it may not be as good a move as he thinks.
#3
It happens that I work part-time at a radio station. If one of our DJs did this while I was there, I would be tempted to shoot him myself and announce the fact on the air. This would be an act of necessary and immediate self-defense, just to avoid being shot by mistake when irate listeners started to arrive.
If you think I'm kidding, it's probably because you've never managed to piss off forty thousand Country-Western fans.
#12
He has remained an undergrad at 28 because someone has to cook for the senior barbeques as there are very few volunteers.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/12/2004 15:17 Comments ||
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This DJ reminds me of Mr. Drysdale's stepson, a 35 year old college student who, upon learning of his step father's intention to cut off his funds, whines, "You would tear my thirsty lips from the fount of knowledge?"
Congressman Jim Moran won his Virginia district primary from Democratic challenger lawyer Andrew Rosenberg, who had charged Moran was anti-Semitic for statements he had made prior to the Iraq War. In March 2003, Moran said at an antiwar forum in Virginia that American Jews were pushing the country into war with Iraq. The remark infuriated American Jewish leaders and some House Democrats and forced Moran to give up a leadership post in the House Democratic Caucus. It also led to this heated primary election.
Moran said the primary âbecame a referendum on meâ and did not deal with political issues. Throughout the campaign, Rosenberg hammered at Moranâs ethics and raised questions about his personal judgments. Rosenberg also sought to define himself as the true liberal in the race, calling Moran a âconservative, big-businessâ Democrat. Moran, a former professional boxer, fought back saying Rosenbergâs lobbying work represented pharmaceutical companies and called him a friend of business interests. Moranâs advisers said his victory margin, 59 percent, was also eroded by an allegation launched days before the primary by Moranâs former pollster, Alan Secrest, who charged Moran made an anti-Semitic remark during a private campaign meeting in March. Oddly, Secrest would not disclose what Moran said. Moran and two other advisers who were also in the room said the accusation was untrue. Despite the fact that Secrest refused to reveal the specifics of his charge, Secrestâs accusation hurt the seven-term Democratic congressman.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/12/2004 11:57:55 AM ||
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Congressman Jim Moran won his Virginia district primary from Democratic challenger lawyer Andrew Rosenberg,
So much for the 'Jooos control the world' conspiracy theory...
#2
I believe the family name is Moron, not Moran. He's not just anti-Semitic, you know. He's a crook; he takes money from the industries his committees regulate. I live in an adjoining congressional district; I couldn't vote him out, but at least he's not my congressman.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
06/12/2004 13:21 Comments ||
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Moran's sick anti-semitism and other stupid statements need to be front and center in ads - remind American Jews which party is defending them and Israel, and which party has the Jesse Jacksons, the Jim Morons, the Jim McDermotts, the Maxine Waters...I could go on for quite a while here, but you get the point. "Progressive Bigots"
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/12/2004 13:53 Comments ||
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Bloody obvious title, isnât it?
By Mickey Edwards
MY LIBERAL FRIENDS were quite unhappy with me recently when I suggested in this column that this new JFK, is -- in the words of Lloyd Bentsenâs put-down of Dan Quayle -- "no Jack Kennedy." Not that they necessarily thought me wrong, of course; they just thought it was mean of me to say it (these, of course, are the same hypocrites people who think nothing at all of routinely dismissing ReaganRepublicans in general Dubya as mean-spirited, arrogant, and dumb as a post; my remark, Iâm to understand, was merely opinion, and hateful opinion at that; they, on the other hand, merely state fact). So let me put it another way: John Kerryâs bigger problem is not that heâs not Jack Kennedy; itâs that heâs not Ted Kennedy. And he was left off the Chappaquiddick Swim Team! Sorry, was that âmean spiritedâ?
One of my colleagues at Princeton said recently that if one went to Google and typed in the word "waffle," Kerryâs name would come up. Not anymore; maybe Kerryâs Web team did some Googlebombing?
I havenât checked it out, but a newly reported Los Angeles Times poll found that nearly half of voters questioned called Kerry a flip-flopper. One didnât need the poll, though, to know that. When Kerryâs campaign makes it into the news these days, the stories are generally, and quite frequently, about Kerryâs persistent search for a clue theme, the attempt to define a reason for his campaign beyond the mere fact that Dubya is Dubya and Kerry isnât. Ted Kennedy has caught grief for years for freezing when he was asked why he wanted to be president. His answer, you recall, was essentially, "duh." No, it was more like "I, uh, wanna be, er uh, ahhh, President, er, ummmm..."
And the diffo between that an "duh" is...?
A lot of us have had fun with that (when I was teaching at Harvard I used that moment as an example of why one should have clearly in mind his or her purpose in running -- why a candidate should be able to articulate the passions that drive him or her to seek the power to shape public policy. But fair is fair: Ted Kennedy was caught off guard with a question he wasnât expecting, After months on the campaign trail? Puhleeeze!
but there can be no doubt that Ted Kennedy, unlike John Kerry, knows precisely what heâs about. Kennedy is an effective -- and respected -- senator because he knows what he believes. It is not in comparison with Senator Kennedyâs brother that Kerry suffers (there have been few Jack Kennedys, after all), but in comparison with his fellow senator from Massachusetts. This is the question one might ask of John Kerry. Donât you have even the foggiest idea what it is that you believe? Do you really need to gather a dozen advisers to figure out what your campaign is about? Because in the end, simply being "not Dubya" is probably not going to cut it. Probably?
Mr. Reagan and Mr. Bush
Much has been written by Bush supporters attempting to show that W is a latter-day Ronald Reagan. Bush-bashers, on the other hand, in a bizarre twist (some of us remember the Reagan-bashing of old) There have been plenty of reminders in the past week, thanks...
attack Bush for not being a Reagan. There are similarities between the two, both in terms of policy (support for lower taxes, determination to meet perceived threats) and personality (cheerful, warm), and there are differences (Reagan gave lip service to so-called "social conservatism" whereas Bush embraces it; Reagan was a natural negotiator whereas Bush seems less inclined in that direction). But Reaganâs death has caused Americans to remember his presidency, and most liked it. Reagan ran for high office (governor of California and president) five times (the last being the first George Bushâs election as a presumed continuation of the Reagan presidency), and he won by landslides each time (To be fair, he tried to run one other time, in 1976, but failed to win the nomination.) If Kerry is indeed perceived as the candidate of muddled thought, convoluted speech, dour demeanor, hand-wringing uncertainty, and a willingness to let the UN call the shots on Americaâs response to threat, the renewed public focus on the Reagan presidency will be no help. You forgot this one - the French just loooove Kerry. Whatâs that, strike six?
Beyond Kerryâs control
Fate has a way of sticking its nose in. And not only in the attention being paid again to Reaganâs presidency. Kerry has been counting on making inroads in Louisiana. Which reminds Kerry of... Vietnam!
Itâs a poor state, in which economic disparities might play to Kerryâs favor. But the state Senate there, reflecting what is certainly a majority view in the state, has voted overwhelmingly to approve a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. The left still thinks the political world is divided along lines of class and economy, but increasingly itâs the cultural divide -- the religious versus the secular, the traditional versus the "modern" -- that separates red state voters from blue state voters, and issues like this one, played out beyond Kerryâs reach, will have an impact. Same with the labor union disputes threatening to disrupt the Democratic national convention: Massachusetts is a "labor" state, but not many other places are, and how that act plays out (letâs see now, Menino and Kerry want workers to cross the picket line?) will not go unnoticed, either by those sympathetic to organized labor or by those who are less so. Suprisingly balanced editorial, considering the publisher... Mickey Edwards, a former Republican congressman from Oklahoma, teaches at Princeton Universityâs Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International affairs. His column appears regularly in the Globe.
Posted by: Raj ||
06/12/2004 11:16:26 AM ||
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Edwards and Jacoby - the token conservatives at the Globe
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/12/2004 11:30 Comments ||
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The Globe also keeps non-LLL columnists around (e.g. Jeff Jacoby) for the token conservative and libertarian views, but that just isn't enough to put up with the rest of their swill.
#3
...and probably publish Edwards only on Saturday (haven't noticed the trend yet; I'll follow it for the next few weeks), which, incidentally, is the day of the lowest newspaper circulation.
After six years of regulations and restrictions that have cost builders, local governments and landowners on the western fringe of the Great Plains as much as $100 million by some estimates, new research suggests the Preble's mouse in fact never existed. It instead seems to be genetically identical to one of its cousins, the Bear Lodge meadow jumping mouse, which is considered common enough not to need protection.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/12/2004 00:52 ||
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After six years of regulations and restrictions that have cost builders, local governments and landowners on the western fringe of the Great Plains as much as $100 million by some estimates, new research suggests the Preble's mouse in fact never existed. It instead seems to be genetically identical to one of its cousins, the Bear Lodge meadow jumping mouse, which is considered common enough not to need protection.
"If we've shown that the mouse doesn't exist, what happens to all that has been set aside? Because that's been a huge economic burden," wondered Brian Garber, assistant director of governmental relations for the Colorado Contractors Association.
The Preble's mouse was established as a distinct subspecies by a study 50 years ago that was cited in the 1998 decision to declare it threatened.
The man who did the 1954 study, Philip Krutzsch, now a professor emeritus with the University of Arizona, had examined the skulls of three mice and the skins of 11 others. It was an acceptable level of scrutiny at the time but "an extremely weak inference by today's standards," said Rob Roy Ramey II, curator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and project leader on the new DNA research that overturns Krutzsch's conclusion.
Ramey and his colleagues analyzed mitochondrial DNA, the cell's genetic code, from several of the 12 subspecies of meadow jumping mice, which range from the Pacific to Atlantic and as far south as Georgia.
They also repeated Krutzsch's skeleton measurements, using more specimens, mainly from university and museum collections, and more accurate tools. They concluded that the Preble's mouse is actually a Bear Lodge meadow jumping mouse, not a separate subspecies.
This is a f**kin' duh moment.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Main Entry: amok
Function: adverb
1 : in a murderously frenzied state
2 a : in a violently raging manner
  b : in an undisciplined, uncontrolled, or faulty manner
#2
Amok is the only Malay derived word in general use in the english.
Amok - to rush out in a state of frenzy, as the Malays sometimes do under the influence of ``bhang,'' and attack every one that comes in the way; to assail recklessly and indiscriminately.
bhang - A preparation from the leaves and seed capsules of the cannabis plant, smoked, chewed, eaten, or infused and drunk to obtain mild euphoria.
Helps explain a lot of what we read at RB.
Posted by: Phil B ||
06/12/2004 3:34 Comments ||
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So amokker = berserker. Lol! Cool. Sign 'em up, load 'em up, and let 'em work it out as Police in Sadr City - the locals didn't do so well - and that was against Tater's Twitters...
#4
Has Carl Hiassen moved west? read his novel, Native Tongue, for a similar story.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
06/12/2004 9:28 Comments ||
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#5
bhang users running amok!What a load!
Guess you do not know any pot heads,Phil.
Pot heads tend to be the most lethargic humans on the planet.Euphoric people don't generally run aok.
#6
Here's a fairly strong argument for using "amuck" instead of "amok," as the English understanding of "amok" has departed from the Malay understanding and use of the term. Precision in language, and more culturally appropriate too... :)
Seems in Malay, "amok" refers to a violent rage in which the person is still in control of calm, calculating, reason.
http://www.fpbahasa.ukm.my/journal/20020204.htm
Translated, the name means private liberties, and that's precisely what Hurriyat Khassa is all about: the pursuit and guarantee of private liberties for all. What started as a collective of individual efforts a couple of years ago has slowly developed into a formal group, and which was recently registered as a nonprofit association with the government. "When we got together, we realized that what was lacking in Lebanon was a formal association founded on the basis of private liberties," explained Nizar Saghieh, a lawyer and vice-president of the association, referring to himself and the other founding members who now form Hurriyat Khassa. "We saw ourselves working at the intersection of the public and private spheres." And that junction has the association involved in lobbying for a number of basic rights for everybody: private liberties, the freedom of creed and the right to civil statutes, decriminalization of homosexuality, democracy (equality) inside the family, and the banishment of slavery (maids, prostitutes).
It's that "freedom of creed" that's going to get them in trouble, though their primary focus seems to be on rights for homosexuals. But Islam is predicated on the lack of freedom of religion â with religious freedom, there's a chance that Muslims will turn into Christians or Buddhists or agnostics. With Islam firmly in charge you can just cut their heads off and not worry about losing contributing members, except for the deaders. The homosexuals are, of course, toast, but only if they bugger the wrong boy or get behind (so to speak) in their zakat payments; otherwise the turbans pretend they're not there and the money keeps rolling in.
"When there is a restriction of private liberties, it extends to a restriction of participation in the public sphere," said Saghieh, emphasizing that for Hurriyat Khassa the contrary holds true. "We want to further the right of everyone to participate in the public sphere by ensuring his or her private liberties."
He's talking about the concept of individual liberty, of course, apparently inventing the concept of libertarianism. I'd say send 'em a few dozen copies of Hayek to help them along...
In mid-2002, shortly after the group of individuals came together with common objectives, there was an amendment to the penal code that further restricted civil liberties. "It went against both what was happening internationally, and the reality of what was taking place on the ground in Lebanon," explained Saghieh. The amendment was seen as an urgent matter that needed addressing immediately. So, the collaborative efforts of a number of groups and individuals resulted in a May 2003 conference entitled "Human Dignity: The Penal Code," which addressed a number of private concerns, including the need to decriminalize homosexuality, the severity of marital rape and the issue of foreign workers, as well as the more public issues of freedom of association and freedom of expression. "It was the first time the public and private spheres were dealt with at the same conference," said Saghieh, adding that it was seen as a huge success.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/12/2004 11:53 ||
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From Policy Review, an article by Shmuel Bar, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Policy and Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya in Israel and a veteran of the Israeli intelligence community.
.... Until the 1980s, most fundamentalist movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood were inward-looking; Western superiority was viewed as the result of Muslims having forsaken the teachings of the Prophet. Therefore, the remedy was, first, âre-Islamizationâ of Muslim society and restoration of an Islamic government, based on Islamic law (shariâah). In this context, jihad was aimed mainly against âapostateâ Muslim governments and societies, while the historic offensive jihad of the Muslim world against the infidels was put in abeyance (at least until the restoration of the caliphate).
Until the 1980s, attempts to mobilize Muslims all over the world for a jihad in one area of the world (Palestine, Kashmir) were unsuccessful. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was a watershed event, as it revived the concept of participation in jihad to evict an âinfidelâ occupier from a Muslim country as a âpersonal dutyâ (fard âein) for every capable Muslim. The basis of this duty derives from the âirreversibilityâ of Islamic identity both for individual Muslims (thus, capital punishment for âapostatesâ â e.g., Salman Rushdie) and for Muslim territories. ....
The politics of Islamist radicalism has also bred a mentality of bello ergo sum (I fight, therefore I exist) â Islamic leaders are in constant need of popular jihads to boost their leadership status. Nothing succeeds like success: The attacks in the United States gave birth to a second wave of mujahidin who want to emulate their heroes. The perception of resolve on the part of the West is a critical factor in shaping the mood of the Muslim population toward radical ideas. Therefore, the manner by which the United States deals with the present crisis in Iraq is not unconnected to the future of the radical Islamic movement. ....
Facing the radical Weltanschauung, the moderate but orthodox Muslim has to grapple with two main dilemmas: the difficulty of refuting the legal-religious arguments of the radical interpretation and the aversion to â or even prohibition of â inciting an Islamic Kulturkampf which would split the ranks of the ummah. ....
Consequently, even when pressure is put on Muslim communities, there exists a political asymmetry in favor of the radicals. Moderates are reluctant to come forward and to risk being accused of apostasy. For this very reason, many Muslim regimes in the Middle East and Asia are reluctant to crack down on the religious aspects of radical Islam and satisfy themselves with dealing with the political violence alone. By way of appeasement politics, they trade tolerance of jihad elsewhere for local calm. Thus, they lose ground to radicals in their societies. ....
The regimes of the Middle East have proven their mettle in coercing religious establishments and even radical sheikhs to rule in a way commensurate with their interests. However, most of them show no inclination to join a global (i.e., âinfidelâ) war against radical Islamic ideology. Hence, the prospect of enlisting Middle Eastern allies in the struggle against Islamic radicalism is bleak. Under these conditions, it will be difficult to curb the conversion of young Muslims in the West to the ideas of radicalism emanating from the safe houses of the Middle East. Even those who are not in direct contact with Middle Eastern sources of inspiration may absorb the ideology secondhand through interaction of Muslims from various origins in schools and on the internet. ....
The goal of the West cannot be defense alone or military offense or democratization of the Middle East as a panacea. It must include a religious-ideological dimension: active pressure for religious reform in the Muslim world and pressure on the orthodox Islamic establishment in the West and the Middle East not only to disengage itself clearly from any justification of violence, but also to pit itself against the radical camp in a clear demarcation of boundaries.
Such disengagement cannot be accomplished by Western-style declarations of condemnation. It must include clear and binding legal rulings by religious authorities which contradict the axioms of the radical worldview and virtually âexcommunicateâ the radicals. In essence, the radical narrative, which promises paradise to those who perpetrate acts of terrorism, must be met by an equally legitimate religious force which guarantees hellfire for the same acts. ....
Only by setting up a clear demarcation between orthodox and radical Islam can the radical elements be exorcized. The priority of solidarity within the Islamic world plays into the hands of the radicals. Only an Islamic Kulturkampf can redraw the boundaries between radical and moderate in favor of the latter. Such a struggle must be based on an in-depth understanding of the religious sources for justification of Islamist terrorism and a plan for the creation of a legitimate moderate counterbalance to the radical narrative in Islam. Such an alternative narrative should have a sound base in Islamic teachings, and its proponents should be Islamic scholars and leaders with wide legitimacy and accepted credentials. ...
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
06/12/2004 2:57:51 PM ||
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From the Pakistan Christian Post
The gang rape incident of a Christian girl, in Narowal goes on to show the Policeâs laxity or more appropriately, their leniency letting go of alleged criminals. A young girl Student of Saint Paul High School in Narowal was picked up by Six men and allegedly gang âraped for three days. Proof of the local Policeâs complicity in defending the dignity of the accused rather than the victim was evident in the pressure tactics being used against the girl family. They initially refused to file an FIR and continued to force the Christians girlâs family to negotiate with the pre-petrators, who happened to be locally influential.
The six men involved in the gang rape got bail before arrest, forcing the aggrieved family to stage a sit-in, in early May, in front of parliament in Islamabad. ... Perhaps emboldened by the Meerwala acquittal, Police inaction, in Afsheenâs case and aware of the many legal lacunae surrounding a rape charge the Kabirwala and the Narowal accused have not been effectively, deterred.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
06/12/2004 3:27:40 PM ||
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From the Pakistan Christian Post
The incidents of persecution of Christian community have escalated after imposition of joint elections by government of Pakistan since 2002. The priests have been gunned downed, Pastors have been brutally murdered, Christian women have been raped, elders have been harassed, churches have been desecrated, worshipers have been martyred, hospitals and schools have been attacked but no motion have been presented in National Assembly of Pakistan by the adopted Christian representatives on reserved seats by the Muslim political parties under joint election system. ...
The construction of roads, streets walks, drainage system and electric facilities changed the shape of Christian slum areas from 1985 to 2000 during practice of separate elections in Pakistan. The Christian youth enjoyed equal rights to secure jobs of 16 grades in government and semi government establishments on Christian representative quota of jobs and Christian students got admissions in medical colleges, engineering colleges and other higher academic institutions. Moreover the Christians elected under separate elections read Holy Bible in House and offered prayers before expressing Christian issues to witness Lord Jesus among Muslim law makers in Pakistan.
What Joint election has given us? Nothing! House of parliament is silent on Christian victimization now! The Christian parliamentarians in house selected by majority political parties have no courage to speak in house without permission of their Muslim party leaders! The Joint elections have prevailed complete silence in house, no development budget, no jobs and no seats in professional colleges!
Letâs view the situation of General Christians in Pakistan! The Christians are 13% of total population of Pakistan. They are living under poverty line in rural areas working on agricultural lands of Muslim Land Lords and in urban areas as sanitary workers in municipal corporations. The Muslims majority hates to eat and drink with Christians and treats them as untouchables. The poor Christians have bitter experiences of voting against instructions of land lords during Joint elections from 1956 to 1985. The cattle of Christians were stopped to feed on fields of Muslim lands lords, grain sale was refused to Christian families to forced to starvation and social boycott was observed after elections as punishment on voting against influential Muslim feudal lords directives.
The worst incident of rape and disrespect of women and Christians elders are also on record in rural and urban areas through out Pakistan after every election of Local Bodies and Parliament under joint elections. The general Christian has enjoyed Separate Elections since 1947, until abandoned in âConstitution of Pakistanâ of 1956. Therefore it remained an outstanding demand of Christians to revive Separate Elections system for minorities for decades until it was re-enforced on January 10, 1985
When we discuss election system for minorities in Pakistan we find practice of Joint elections and Separate elections from time to time after independence of Pakistan in 1947. Apart from these election procedures the dual voting system is also allowed for Kashmiri Muslims. To define the joint elections it means elections when Christians and other religious minorities vote for Muslim candidates in their respective constituencies of national assembly and provincial assemblies and Muslims political parties adopt and nominate Christians on reserved seats in parliament under Seventh Amendment of 2003 in Constitution of Islamic republic of Pakistan. The Separate elections are elections when minorities elect their representatives by their votes on reserved seats for them in parliament under Eighth Amendment in Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan of 1985. ...
Therefore Muslim majority of Pakistan is fully aware of importance of Separate Electorate because they know its perfect system for due representation and to express prevailing situations of backward communities as they experienced in sub continent of India. They Pakistani Muslim governments are always reluctant to equip Christians of Pakistan with powerful weapon of separate elections in Pakistan because they have witnessed that Separate Elections enabled them in formation of Muslim state of Pakistan and illiterate and inexperienced leaders like Shahbaz Bhatti, Joseph Francis and others are misled and being used by Muslim leaders to snatch separate electorate. ...
The Christians of Pakistan wish to submit that Joint Elections are not acceptable to them on any level and they strongly protest against implementations of joint elections and demand Dual Voting rights with Separate Electorate. The Christians condemn all provisions of Constitution of Pakistan declaring them second class citizen because they are son of soil and reserve equal rights in resources of Pakistan. The Christians challenge government to hold referendum on joint elections to know true voice of general Christians.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
06/12/2004 3:22:57 PM ||
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From the Pakistan Christian Post
Bishop Timotheus Nasir said the Christian community has taken enough from Muslim majority. The murder of Samuel Salamat has forced us to rethink of our status and future in Pakistan. He said that the killing of Mr. Samuel Salamat is being seen as the âlast nail in the coffinâ. He was addressing a seminar at Lahore Press Club today organized by Pakistan Christian Party to stress upon government to repeal blasphemy laws. ....
He said that there did exist religious discrimination in Pakistan before 1973 but it has increased since 1973. Talking about election systems in Pakistan, Bishop Nasir also said that the Joint Electorate System as demanded by the Roman Catholic and Protestant Bishops and imposed on us by the government of Pakistan has damaged the identity of Christians in Pakistan. He claimed that the Christian Community does not have a single representative in Senate, National or Provincial Assemblies. ...
On âBlasphemy Lawsâ he suggested that these laws are very limited, and they should be expanded. He said that Section 295-B, 295-C, 298-A, should be amended as Pakistan Penal Code 295-B be amended as 295-B (I) for the Holy Koran and 295-B (II) for the Holy Bible, 295-C (I) for Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) and 295-C (II) for Lord Jesus Christ, Section 298-A, be amended as 298-A (I) for the pious wives of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) his family and righteous Caliphs or companions of the Prophet (PBUH) and 298-A-(II) for the Holy Mary and other pious women and the Apostle of Lord Jesus Christ. Bishop Nasir also added that the âHudood Ordinanceâ is a pure Islamic law and it should not be imposed on Christians, as we have our own laws that are better and more practicable.
In the end the Bishop said that the time has almost come that we sell our garment and buy a sword. Yet we would not do it, we will yet not buy a âswordâ. Yet we have another choice. We shall surrender our ânationalityâ to the government of Pakistan so that we may show that at this moment we donât see any hope for our community in Pakistan. ...
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
06/12/2004 3:09:35 PM ||
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Five people suspected of having contracted anthrax (cutaneous form) had been hospitalised in the southern Kyrgyz province of Jalal-Abad and were under going treatment, local media reported on Wednesday. According to the Kyrgyz centre for infectious diseases, the source of the infection was a cow slaughtered and consumed in the southern Suzak district by local residents. There are more than 1,200 sites, which could be possible sources of anthrax infection in Kyrgyzstan. Bacteria causing the disease remain infectious in the soil for many years.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/12/2004 11:39:48 AM ||
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#1
1,200 sites, which could be possible sources of anthrax infection in Kyrgyzstan - lower property values than Chernobyl and the Love Canal.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/12/2004 12:11 Comments ||
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5 contract natural anthrax in Kyrgyzstan
Let's have a warm welcome for Kyrgyzstan's home grown bioweapons industry.
... Some members of the Apostle Church of God, which is believed to have close to 50,000 followers across the country, have vowed not to allow health authorities to immunise their children on religious grounds, saying that their members use neither traditional nor modern medicine because they believe illness can only be healed by prayer. Their children are also forbidden to attend school or receive formal education, and are instead taught skills that enable to them to run informal, home-based businesses.
See? Islam doesn't have an exclusive lock on ignorance...
Though the Apostles haven't yet cut anyone's head off...
Following resistance to the first round of polio vaccination last month, the government applied to the High Court, seeking an order to compel all parents or guardians of children under five to allow authorised health staff to perform the immunisation. The High Court subsequently issued an order giving police the authority to "access any house, vehicle, school or property where it is suspected any children within the specified age group are hidden for purposes of evading or frustrating the National Polio Immunisation Campaign". Any parent or guardian refusing to allow health personnel to immunise a child would be guilty of an offence in terms of the Public Health Regulations, which carries the penalty of a three-month jail sentence or a fine of Pula 500 (US $105), or both.
Which, despite my libertarian instincts, seems to make sense as national policy.
Police have since cracked down on the Apostle Church of God sects, arresting several parents and guardians in towns as well as outlying districts. Most of the arrests took place around the central town of Serowe, parts of the capital city, Gaborone, and Francistown in the northeast.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/12/2004 11:38 ||
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#1
Sect chooses the Mayan option.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/12/2004 12:13 Comments ||
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Nigerian labour unions called off a three-day-old general strike on Friday, citing âsubstantial complianceâ by the government with a court order to cancel the fuel price increases which had triggered the stoppage. âWeâve seen substantial evidence that many petrol stations have adjusted their prices to reflect the court order,â Adams Oshiomhole, strike leader and president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), told a news conference in Lagos. âTherefore, the labour unions and the civil society groups have agreed that we hereby suspend the strike,â he added. Oshiomhole said union leaders were giving the government seven days to ensure that fuel dealers across this oil-rich country of 126 million people reverted to the old prices. âIf the government resorts to the tactic of manipulating supply, we reserve the right to resume the strike,â he warned. The NLC, the umbrella body for 29 blue-collar unions, and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), which represents white-collar workers, began the strike on Wednesday in response to a 20 percent hike in petrol, diesel and kerosene prices that took effect on 29 May.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/12/2004 11:34 ||
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#1
I wonder if that tactic would work for my local Sunoco station? :) 50 cents a gallon would be nice, for high test of course.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
06/12/2004 22:48 Comments ||
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GUJRANWALA: Peopleâs Colony police arrested a man who had allegedly killed his sister, recovering the murder weapon from his custody. Sources said Abbas Ali was accused of killing his sister Saima in their residential quarters on the premises of Commerce College on June 6, when their parents were away. During initial questioning, Ali said that he tried to rape his sister but slit her throat when she resisted. The district police officer praised the police for solving the case and announced a prize of Rs 5,000 each for Inspector Mr Maqbool and Sub-Inspector Fazal Karim.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/12/2004 11:20 ||
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Markazi Jamiat-e-Ahle Hadith Chief Prof Sajid Mir on Friday suggested careful applications of the blasphemy law, but warned that changes to the law would not be acceptable.
"Nope. Nope. Can't do it. It's tyrannical, dictatorial, oppressive, and consistently used for base motives, but we can't change a comma..."
Addressing the Friday congregation at Jamia Ibrahimee, Mr Mir conceded that the law had been abused to persecute minorities and Muslims, but said that did not mean it should be changed.
To me, that's a perfect argument for changing it. But then, I'm occasionally rational, when I'm off the gin...
âThe government wants to change the law under American pressure and we will not allow it,â he said.
Oh. Well. In that case don't change it.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/12/2004 11:15 ||
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Frickin' priceless!
Addressing the Friday congregation at Jamia Ibrahimee, Mr Mir conceded that the law had been abused to persecute minorities and Muslims, but said that did not mean it should be changed.
The usual disconnect. Sharia law specifically enables the persecution of infidels but such instances only represent occasional abuse and not a persistent theme.
... He said no Muslim could do what was against the spirit of fihad and Islamic laws.
From The Washington Post
When Saddam Husseinâs closest aide, Abid Hamid Mahmud Tikriti, was apprehended in Iraq a year ago, U.S. officials were alarmed to find him carrying Belarusan passports not only for himself but also for other high-ranking members of the former regime -- including Husseinâs two infamous sons. A year later Washingtonâs continuing concern about this matter is understandable, given that some of Husseinâs top officials and others in his regime may have escaped via Syria to the European pariah state of Belarus during and after the war. ...
Belarusâs dictatorial president, Alexander Lukashenko, made Hussein such a key military, political and economic partner that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, in testimony to Congress a year after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, singled out Belarus as the country most likely to accept Hussein if he were to flee Iraq. ... Husseinâs son Uday was scheduled to make a high-profile visit to that country in March of last year. The outbreak of war was the only reason this much-hyped trip did not take place. Saddam Hussein did manage, however, to dispatch Baghdadâs then-mayor, Adnan Abed Hamed, to Belarus two weeks before hostilities began to publicly thank the government for its strong support and to tour a truck factory that is widely believed to have supplied Iraq with vehicles that were adapted to carry missiles.
Ominously, Belarus has not only reportedly sold weapons to six of the seven countries on the State Departmentâs list of state sponsors of terrorism but has also continued to defy Washington in doing so -- even with the war on terrorism in full swing. In the case of possible Belarusan involvement in weapons sales to Syria, Lukashenko has not even attempted to conceal his military assistance. "No matter how severely we are admonished for it," he has been quoted as saying, "weâll continue to help Syria militarily, because they have promised to help us in the same way." ....
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
06/12/2004 9:32:08 AM ||
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#1
Congrats, Lukashenko, for making Rumsfeld's shitlist. Sleep tight.
#4
Aris - i do not think you need to much convincing about the countries of the old soviet union around here...as long as the US can destroy them with nukes our homeland is safe..you should be convincing the EU..
Posted by: Dan ||
06/12/2004 11:12 Comments ||
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#5
...which was what, again?
Something about it being an enemy of the West ruled by a group of KGB goons and their allies, rather than America's Christian capitalistic allies who are simply healing from all those years of communism but are nice guys deep down.
#6
In light of Russia's continued intention of assisting Iran's nuclear program and Belarus' defiant position on sending aid to Syria, I cannot possibly disagree with you, Aris.
#8
He's under Putin's protection. He can sleep as tightly as he wants, unfortunately.
Lukashenko doesn't need much prodding from Putin. He's a bonafide whacko like Zhirinovsky, from the same lineage as Kimmi from NK. Sure he can be a useful tool for Putin. But he can also be a major pain.
But you'll eventually figure out yourselves what I've been saying about the neo-Soviet block.
Under Putin, highly unlikely. I don't know what it is that got you so riled up against Putin. Probably Chechnya.
BTW, are you drunk yet following Greece's win in Euro 2004??
Posted by: Rafael ||
06/12/2004 16:54 Comments ||
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#9
He's a bonafide whacko like Zhirinovsky, from the same lineage as Kimmi from NK.
I'd draw the same parallel myself -- that Belarus is to Russia what N.Korea is to China.
"I don't know what it is that got you so riled up against Putin. Probably Chechnya."
Partly it's the massacre at Chechenya, yeah. But I'd say that the same thing that would have me riled up against the old Soviet Union is the thing that has me riled against Putin's Russia -- tyranny, aggression, and support of every neighbouring dictatorship. There are countries that act as forces for good in the world and countries that act as forces for evil, and Putin's Russia is much more often the latter than the former.
BTW, are you drunk yet following Greece's win in Euro 2004??
I don't tend to drink for celebration actually. And don't much like getting drunk either way. So no.
#10
To be completely honest, I don't see much difference at the moment between what Putin is doing in becoming an alleged threat to Western civilisation and what the likes of Chirac, Schroeder, Zapatero et al. are doing. Who is the greater threat??? Europe, actually.
Posted by: Rafael ||
06/12/2004 18:40 Comments ||
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#11
To be completely honest, I don't see much difference at the moment between what Putin is doing in becoming an alleged threat to Western civilisation and what the likes of Chirac, Schroeder, Zapatero et al. are doing
In France, Germany and Spain there's freedom. In Russia there's not. In France, Germany and Spain the elections are free and fair. In Russia they are not.
In France, Germany and Spain the political opponents of Chirac, Shroeder and Zapatero aren't routinely murdered. In Russia the political opponents of Putin are.
In France, a quarter million Corsicans *haven't* been recently murdered. In Spain, a quarter million Basques *haven't* been recently killed. It's in Russia that Putin kills a quarter millions of his own citizens and you civilised Rafael simply shrug.
Yeah, *you* lover of a mass-murderer of all people would see Europe as an equal threat to "western civilisation". But it's Putin that ensures the survival of the dictatorship of Belarus, the same way it's China that ensures the survival of North Korea's. It's not France or Germany or Spain.
I told you why I hate Putin. Can you tell me why you love him so much? Can you tell me why you can't look at the plain stats about the political rights and civil fredoms offered in these countries and see Putin's Russia for what it is?
You moron. If Zapatero was half as bad as Putin, the whole of the Basque country would have been drowned in blood.
I don't love him, I'm just willing to cut him some slack, in view of Russia's history and current condition. I am also willing to give the Russian people the benefit of the doubt. If they start revolting against Putin, I will probably be on their side.
I think you are exaggerating. Chechnya, for example, is not Putin's work. He didn't kill 250,000 Chechens. OTOH, Yugoslavia went to shit, and civilised Europe simply shrugged.
Can you tell me why you can't look at the plain stats about the political rights and civil fredoms offered in these countries and see Putin's Russia for what it is?
After a 100 years, I'll look at the stats, I'll compare Russia, and if nothing will have changed, I will concede your argument (and we can continue this debate from the heavens...or hells).
Let's see if the rest of you rise up against Rafael now
Aris...it's the weekend. Try your luck on Monday.
Posted by: Rafael ||
06/12/2004 21:48 Comments ||
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#14
Aris, I don't have a particular problem with Putin and compared to the wacko dictators that have come to power in the ex-soviet states he is a positive paragon. I agree with you that Chechnya is a running sore but concrete proposals on how to fix the problem are few and far between. For example has the EU made any proposals recently?
Remember that Putin was recently elected with a large majority, so despite his faults he does represent the majority of Russians.
Posted by: Phil B ||
06/12/2004 22:08 Comments ||
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ZIMBABWEAN authorities shut down an independent weekly owned by a ruling party lawmaker who openly criticised President Robert Mugabe's tough media laws. The weekly Tribune had its license revoked but the publisher said it would file a complaint on Friday to challenge the closure in court. "We have just received a letter saying that our licence is cancelled and will remain cancelled for a year," publisher Kindness Paradza told AFP.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/12/2004 01:00 ||
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From Yahoo News
At least five soldiers objected last fall to abuses they saw at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad. One demanded to be reassigned, saying the behavior he witnessed there "made me sick to my stomach." Up the chain of command, the noncommissioned officers who heard such complaints did little to stop the mistreatment, according to Army records obtained by The Associated Press. ....
The militaryâs full-blown investigation into beatings and humiliations at Abu Ghraib began in January, after one soldier wrote an anonymous letter to superior officers about troubling photographs. That soldier, Spc. Joe Darby, came forward later to talk to Army investigators and eventually became known as the whistle-blower who uncovered the scandal.
Internal Army documents show that others, too, condemned the abuse they saw at the prison, although their complaints failed to prevent further mistreatment. .... The fact that earlier complaints apparently went nowhere adds to the uncertainty over a key question in the Abu Grhaib scandal: Did superior military police or intelligence officers encourage or condone the abuses? ....
Some of the six enlisted soldiers awaiting trial will try to use that command inaction as part of their defense. Since other soldiers got little response to repeated objections to abusive practices, the defense lawyers will argue, those involved in the mistreatment figured it was approved by commanders.
"Itâs telling that another person ... did complain to their superior officer and was told, âThereâs nothing wrong. You have to go forwardâ," said Mary Rose Zapor, a lawyer for Pfc. Lynndie England, one of the accused soldiers. "Had my client known she could complain, it wouldnât have made any difference."
One of the soldiers who complained most vigorously was Spc. Matthew C. Wisdom, a fellow military police soldier assigned to the Abu Ghraib cellblock where most of the worst abuses happened. .... Wisdom told investigators he witnessed some of the abuses of Nov. 8, the night prisoners were forced to masturbate and were stacked, naked, into a human pyramid. Wisdom complained to at least three sergeants in his chain of command, who agreed to remove him from the cellblock. ....
Another soldier who complained was Sgt. Stephen C. Hubbard, who happened to see some of the abuse pictures on another soldierâs computer. Hubbard complained to Staff Sgt. Robert J. Elliott, who demanded proof, according to statements to Army investigators. "I threatened to go to (the) commander with info," Hubbard told investigators, saying he was upset that former Pennsylvania prison guard Spc. Charles Graner Jr. had been returned to the cellblock despite complaints about him. ...
Taguba cites two others who did not go along with abuses. The report says 1st Lt. David O. Sutton stopped an abusive act and reported it to his chain of command. Taguba also hailed Master at Arms 1st Class William J. Kimbro, a Navy dog handler, for refusing to participate in abuses despite "significant pressure from the MI (military intelligence) personnel at Abu Ghraib." ...
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
06/12/2004 12:58:41 AM ||
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#1
Well, that didn't take long...they probably haven't put the slab over the Gipper's final resting place, and now it's back to the really important news...
ALL ABU GHRAIB!!!!! AAAAALLLLL THE TIIIIIIIME!!!
This story's already on the Puget Pravda Seattle P-I website & will probably be on the front page Saturday morning. And it doesn't say a single fucking thing that hasn't already been said again and again and again and again and again throughout every corner of the fifth-column media. For Christ's sake, this story's even made it into theatrical and pop-concert reviews. What's next, the goddamn home-and-garden section? I can just see it...bad decor as a means of "mental torture"!
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
06/12/2004 1:17 Comments ||
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#2
This morning I walk into the local coffee place, and check out the paper WaPo (as I only rarely do, and only in places like that) and laugh out loud (as I usually do when looking at major newspaper headlines). Above the fold, front page, prominent top-right position, a story headlined something like "Use of Dogs to Scare Detainees Approved".
I checked the date, but it wasn't a month old paper. Outside, police cars race past, escorting VIPs to the Reagan service at the National Cathedral, a few blocks away. There heading the WaPo, the 1,567th uninteresting story on Abu Ghraib -- a whole topic which probably wasn't important for 3 news cycles inside Iraq.
And then it dawned on me that the Abu Ghraib idiocy has passed an unprecedented milestone: it's now officially lasted longer than the interminable Stanley Cup playoffs. The media embrace is probably because this mini-scandal was the first thing to dent public war support, so they just keep going to the well. But I think they misunderstood this (as with most things), because it wasn't the substance of the prison stuff that mattered, it was the misperception by the public that the US was losing control in Iraq as a combination of the brief April uptick in violence and the prison story as "last straw". Public support levels are creeping back up, as the sense of panic fades and the media are forced to report tiny snippets of the torrent of positive developments on military and political fronts.
The administration still sits there with its self-imposed gag order, refusing to explain its policy, refute media distortion, or otherwise demonstrate much situational awareness INSIDE the US borders. The astoundingly clueless and round-heeled hawk-chickens are surely ready to go into hysterics again at the first tiny setback, helping restart the mini-panic of April. Prepare to ride out a few more idiotic "crises" that the media and the administration, in their separate ways, will make possible.
#3
The media's attempt to extend Abu Ghraib hysteria to interrogation of AQ and Saddam freakin' Hussein is a dumb, dumb piece of overstretch. But they can't stop themselves, really, even when they know it's self-discrediting.
#6
I think we can put Abu Ghraib stories on page 2 from now on. At some point we'll move them from Iraq-Jordan to Home Front: Politix.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/12/2004 10:51 Comments ||
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#7
I was thinking Sinktrap instead ;-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/12/2004 11:01 Comments ||
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#8
"The administration still sits there with its self-imposed gag order, refusing to explain its policy, refute media distortion, or otherwise demonstrate much situational awareness INSIDE the US borders."
For me, this is the most disturbing and disappointing aspect of the whole war effort: the administration seems willing to sit passively while the left-wing media helps the Democratic Party misinform and distract the public.
They may be doing a great job on the battlefield, but they're failing utterly on the home front.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
06/12/2004 16:46 Comments ||
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#9
They may be doing a great job on the battlefield, but they're failing utterly on the home front.
My guess is Bush is letting the media lull themselves in the sense there really is something wrong. That explains why they are trying to keep the Abu Ghraib story alive. Looking at it this way: Can you imagine Peter Jennings facial expression would be if someone asked him why he is aiding America's enemies in trying to pursue a story no American cares about?
Keeping that view in mind, imagine that look in November.
Classic rope a dope, and to liberals, the wish is father to the thought. Stay tuned and stay focussed. There is more fun to come.
#10
I'd really, REALLY like to believe it's actually rope-a-dope; but there will come a point, I fear, where the false impressions and false obsessions planted by the Dems and the media will become ineradicable. And I'm afraid that point is nigh.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
06/12/2004 17:35 Comments ||
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#11
Ricky's Rope-A-Dope Fantasy:
GWB asks all the networks for prime-time air about 2 weeks or so before the election. He doesn't make much in the way of a speech...instead he just gives the public a REALLY big dump of the some of the Mukhabarat (Saddam-era intelligence) files captured in Baghdad.
Think of it...the payroll with the names of certain Democrat politicos (aaahhh, there's that mental image of McDermott in front of that firing squad again), "peace movement" organizers, and - drum roll, please - influential "mainstream" journalists. No threats, no gloating. G-Dub just lays out the evidence and asks us to decide for ourselves...
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
06/12/2004 22:02 Comments ||
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I blogged about Toby Keith and Ted Nugentâs Memorial Day concert for the troops in Germany here. Hugh Hewitt has a story about the itinerant two in Fallujah:
The show itself was a huge success. Toby and "Uncle Ted" obviously enjoyed being together and playing together; Nugent wisecracked they were "just like Lennon and McCartney, only with guns!" It was amazing to see: two major stars accustomed to performing in ornate stadiums and with sound systems that would blow the ears off a dozen jumbo elephants, standing around on a bare stage with nothing but two acoustic guitars and two microphones. They hadnât showered in about three days. There was no manager, no make-up person, and no costume changes. It was clear that these two entertainers were saying thanks not only by playing for Marines, but by playing for Marines on Marine terms. They were tired, hungry, and dirty. But they were enjoying every minute of it. And so were we.
Read the whole thing (hat tip to Greyhawk)
Posted by: Seafarious ||
06/12/2004 12:50:31 AM ||
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#1
Can't get the link to work.
These two put Sarandon,Moore,Pitt to shame.
The Nuge has a cool cook book for hunters"Kill it and grill it".
Former Secretary of State James A. Baker III resigned as the top U.N. envoy to Western Sahara after years of frustrated attempts to resolve the conflict between Morocco and independence-seeking rebels, a U.N. spokesman said Friday. Baker has grown increasingly frustrated in his job as Secretary-General Kofi Annan's personal envoy, initially in being unable to arrange a referendum on the territory's future and later failing to get Morocco to accept his latest peace plan. That plan would give Western Sahara immediate self-government and require a referendum within five years to decide if the mineral-rich desert territory on Africa's Atlantic coast should be independent or part of Morocco. The Polisario rebels, who seek independence for Western Sahara and had been pressing for a referendum, accepted the plan last July. But Morocco continues to oppose the plan on grounds that it could end the country's sovereignty over the territory, offering the region autonomy instead. U.N. associate spokeswoman Marie Okabe said Baker had sent a letter of resignation to Annan. U.N. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the secretary-general had accepted the resignation.
The U.N. is so broken that even Jimmy Baker can't fix it.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/12/2004 12:46:24 AM ||
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#1
It's interesting that he would have accepted that type of thankless assignment. He's a good man - the activity must be good for keeping his mind sharp but you would think that jet lag would wear him out physically.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/12/2004 2:11 Comments ||
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#2
He's a good man - the activity must be good for keeping his mind sharp but you would think that jet lag would wear him out physically.
I doubt it's the jet lag that's wearing the guy out. It's the type of people that he has to deal with over there.
#3
The Moroccan takeover of Western Sahara was a done deal 20 years ago. I wasn't aware anyone was still trying to do something about it. Complete waste of time IMO
Posted by: Phil B ||
06/12/2004 5:37 Comments ||
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#4
One of the few times The Briefcase TourTM dId not bear fruit. Can't win 'em all.
A Jordanian man stabbed to death his pregnant sister because she married an Egyptian man against the familyâs wishes. Investigators arriving at the scene said the suspect told them "he killed his sibling to cleanse the familyâs honour using a kitchen knife. The unidentified woman was eight months pregnant when she was killed with 25 stab wounds to different parts of her body. After killing his sister in the family home, the brother called the police and waited for them to come and arrest him.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
06/12/2004 12:13:23 AM ||
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islam..a religion of peace...what a bunch assholes..
Posted by: Dan ||
06/12/2004 11:28 Comments ||
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#2
In a culture where you can get unhiched byt saying, "I divorse you. I divorse you. I divorse you." You can't get rid of unwanted in-laws without brutally stabbing your sister and her unborn child. I'd say that Allah bowled a social gutter ball.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/12/2004 12:40 Comments ||
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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.
