The head of the New York Police Department has taken the unusual step of publicly rebuking a judge for helping a man wanted in a violent robbery elude arrest in her courtroom. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly called on the Office of Court Administration to punish Judge Laura Blackburne, and police unions said she should resign. "This is outrageous conduct by any measure and beyond the pale for a sitting jurist," Kelly said in a statement Thursday. Office of Court Administration spokesman David Bookstaver would not comment. The courts were closed Friday, and telephone calls to the judgeâs home went unanswered.
The controversy erupted Thursday when Derek Sterling was appearing before the judge in a hearing on drug charges, and a police detective arrived and notified the court that he planned to arrest Sterling in the robbery case once the drug hearing was over. While the detective waited in the hallway, Blackburne indicated she was upset because he had arrived without an arrest warrant. She also alleged that he tried to set a trap by claiming he was there only to question Sterling. "Iâm not trying to keep you from being arrested," the judge told Sterling, according to a court transcript. "Iâm trying to keep you from being arrested today in my courtroom based on obvious misrepresentations on the part of the detective." She ordered Sterling to return to a halfway house for recovering drug addicts and directed a court officer to escort him out a rear door. Sterling was arrested about 12 hours later.
Police said Friday that it is common for detectives to arrest suspects after they appear for other cases, and that no warrant was necessary. Critics said Blackburne broke the law by interfering with an investigation. It was not the first controversy surrounding Blackburne, 66. In a previous post as head of the city housing authority, Blackburne spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for office furnishings â including a $3,000 pink leather couch â and for business trips, drawing city and federal investigations that led to her resignation in 1992. She later had a brief stint as an NAACP lawyer before running unopposed in 1995 for a 10-year term as a judge. She won, despite being rated unqualified by the Queens Bar Association. At a 2000 stolen property trial, Blackburne settled a dispute over whether a police witness could remain in the courtroom by closing the court to all spectators. "The public part of this trial is over," she said. An appeals court ordered a new trial, saying the judge committed a "manifest error." A veteran defense attorney, Marvin Kornberg, called some of the criticism unfair. Blackburne "has a reputation of being one of the fairest judges in Queens County," Kornberg said. "I hope whatâs alleged here wonât cause her to be removed."
Posted by: Zenster ||
06/13/2004 2:33:43 AM ||
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I on the other hand very much do. NYC judges have a habit of screwing the police department ...
(#1, there's a weed-decriminalization supporter who's going to be the judge probably called for ruling on whether United for Peace and Justice can rally at the RNC; #2, the city had to drop a drug case where the judge would've forced the undercover officers to compromise themselves)
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
06/13/2004 7:05 Comments ||
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Judicial Activism taken to the next level. Can you say "recall"?
#4
When I hear of a defense attorney who describes a judge as "one of the fairest judges in xxx county", I want that judge removed. No defense attorney says that unless the judge is in the pocket of the defense bar.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/13/2004 15:59 Comments ||
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I have a lively sense of the honor of being a Muslim and being led by the king, and I am particularly honored to serve Asir, a region that I fell in love with at first sight. Some may think that this emotional connection between Asir and me stems from its breathtaking nature and climate. But the truth is that my love is above all for the regionâs people â their honor, their creativity, and their distinctive love of life.
These people are famous for their originality no less than their courage and generosity â they are blessed with a beautiful spirit. Their hospitality, their broad smiles, their poetry and native dances for all occasions bespeak a race of people dedicated to the joy of life. When I used to drive my car along the dirt roads in the Asir mountains, I was many times stopped in my tracks by the breathtaking scenery. But equally I was moved by seeing the Asiri families â man, woman, and child â working as one in the fields. Family relations here are based on safety, integrity and nobility. Their clothes were colorful, white, red and green amid the wheat and golden barley. Asiris are full of fun and optimism even when they come to me at the municipality to complain or demand new projects. And always, they begin the discussion with beautiful tales â tales about fathers and grandfathers who took part in the struggles of King Abdul Aziz to establish this structure and build this state. They are proud of the past and hopeful about the future. When they ask for a new project, they ask in a spirit of optimism, not to reproach because it isnât there. They make you feel a sense of partnership in building the future, rather than pushing you away with accusations about the shortcomings of the present.
What happened to them? How did their brightness leave them? Who made the smiles disappear from their faces and drew curtains of misery across them? Who scared the children away from laughter, play and joy? Who scared the adults from life? Who killed happiness and spread sorrow? Who convinced our sons and daughters to call their fathers and mothers infidel? Who teaches children in orphanages that Saudi Arabia is not their home, that their only home is Islam? That their future vocation is jihad? That watching Saudi television or listening to music is forbidden? Who transformed schools and universities into military camps for jihadists? Who transformed our summer camps into weapon training grounds? Who convinced Saudi youth that the surest path to Heaven is to blow themselves up and take citizens, foreign residents and security officers with them? Who did this to us?
I think we all know who is responsible for all this. A look at the books, pamphlets and tapes that have been distributed by the thousands in the schools, universities, mosques and charities over the past 20 years, we will see their names clearly legible in black and white. The websites reveal the rest. The important question now is: Who can change this new painful reality? Who can return to us the minds of our sons and daughters that these demagogues have stolen? The answer is that all of society is responsible, from the state and our senior-most scholars to every individual citizen, but above all teachers and academics, imams and khateebs and Islamic missionaries. To all of them, in the name of every decent citizen who loves his home and religion I say: Please, please give back the smile, the brightness, the life to our sons and daughters and our home. Thank you. â Prince Khaled Al-Faisal is governor of the Asir region.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/13/2004 8:36:21 AM ||
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"A look at the books, pamphlets and tapes that have been distributed by the thousands in the schools, universities, mosques and charities over the past 20 years, we will see their names clearly legible in black and white... To all of them, in the name of every decent citizen who loves his home and religion I say: Please, please give back the smile, the brightness, the life to our sons and daughters and our home. Thank you."
Saying "please" and "thank you" to these people isn't going to accomplish a damn thing, Khaled; you have to hunt them down and shoot them. All of them. Before they damn your entire kingdom to destruction-- if they haven't already.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
06/13/2004 9:42 Comments ||
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Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
06/13/2004 00:57 ||
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"Soaring oil prices and EU regulations on carbon emissions are expected to result in a 40% hike in the price of electricity, and 25 % in price of gas."
Oh, that will do wonders for the economy, won't it? Let's rush right out and ratify the Kyoto treaty, shall we?
Posted by: Dave D. ||
06/13/2004 9:46 Comments ||
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The question is, which of those two has more impact? Rising oil prices or EU regulations? Does anyone dare ask?
The future of Cubaâs economy over the next few years may hinge on a wild card: the discovery of commercially viable oil off the islandâs shores. Cash-rich oil company Repsol-YPF S.A. of Spain is set to drill an exploratory well off Cubaâs northwest coast in the Gulf of Mexico this summer. If Repsol finds a major deposit of viable crude, then cash-strapped Cuba stands to gain access to enough export dollars to significantly boost its standard of living. U.S. oil companies likely would seek a piece of the action, boosting pressure on the White House to peel back the decades-old U.S. embargo on the communist-led island.
That was one of the conclusions Thursday at a conference on U.S.-Cuba economic relations held in Coral Gables and organized by Florida International University. Panelists said debt-wracked Cuba now faces a serious credit crunch, limiting the dollars and euros available to buy badly needed oil and food abroad. Cuba imports about half its oil, mainly from Venezuela and Russia, but the government lacks the big bucks needed to expand local oil production.
But if Repsol finds a large deposit of low-sulfur, light crude in Cuban waters thatâs considered worth tapping, then Havanaâs cash crunch could "go away in a minute," said Philip Peters, vice president of the Lexington Institute of Arlington, Va.
The daylong conference looked at strategies Florida might use to tap opportunities in Cuba, when the U.S. embargo is further reduced or lifted. Tim Lynch, who directs an economic forecasting center at Florida State University, predicted a boom with open U.S.-Cuba trade. Cubaâs economy would soar, with growth rates jumping from 2.6 percent last year and likely 3 percent this year to perhaps 7-12 percent yearly. Investment would pour into telecom and transport, spurring billions of dollars in new business with the United States and creating thousands more U.S. jobs, especially in Florida.
Yet Florida business leaders voiced caution. Cuba-born Carlos M. de la Cruz, who oversees a Coca-Cola and Budweiser distribution group with sales of roughly $500 million a year, warned a new government in Havana might not fling open the doors to foreign investment: Russiaâs post-communist regime didnât. Plus, a new regime in Cuba might still face a credit crunch, just as other developing nations in the Caribbean now do, said de la Cruz of Miami-based Eagle Brands Inc.
A former Canadian diplomat in Cuba also reminded Florida firms to expect competition in a post-embargo Cuba, one no longer led by four-decade president Fidel Castro. A post-Castro Cuba wonât be "a blank slate," said Mark Entwistle, Canadaâs ambassador to Cuba from 1993-97. "There will be a myriad of existing, developed relationships with other foreign companies, governments and individuals." Those include Canadaâs Sherritt International Corp., a big metals and energy producer in Cuba, and Spainâs Repsol -- seeking the oil offshore.
Posted by: Jesika Espinola ||
06/13/2004 12:00:00 AM ||
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establish wells in int'l waters just outside Fidel's boundaries (12 miles) and drill at an angle. Pump him dry
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/13/2004 0:11 Comments ||
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Interesting thought..just miles out and Castro can't do a bloody thing.
If there is enough oil it would greatly assist our import situation.
I wonder if the EPA will cry about it?
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
06/13/2004 0:21 Comments ||
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I'd make darned sure I know just where the international boundary is before setting up a platform. And then I'd paint the rig red, white and blue.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/13/2004 0:35 Comments ||
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Of course not, OldSpook. Whyever would you even ask?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/13/2004 13:19 Comments ||
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Speaking of greenies, I do not recall the Green's and enviroweenie's outrage when Sammy blew up the oil wells and made massive oil spills in Kuwait in '91.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/13/2004 14:25 Comments ||
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But AP, that was our fault! Don't you remember?
Life will be much easier for you if you remember that everything bad that happens anywhere in the world is the fault of the US, and anything good that happens, happens in spite of the US, or is done by the UN (or both). :-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/13/2004 14:57 Comments ||
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That's why, OldSpook, they're known as "watermelons": green on the outside, red on the inside.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/13/2004 16:23 Comments ||
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A Chinese province has recalled a brand of milk powder after more than 150 children suffered food poisoning, Xinhua news agency said on Sunday, just weeks after another case in which fake milk powder killed at least 13 babies. Health authorities in southwestern Guizhou "demanded buyers across the province to immediately stop drinking" Shanhua milk powder, produced by the Guiyang Sanlian Milk Co on April 1 and 2. It did not give a reason for the two specific dates or say when the children fell sick. "According to reports given by local residents, over 70 kids in two kindergartens located in the Wudang district of Guiyang, capital of the province, (suffered) vomiting, diarrhoea and fever after drinking such milk powder," Xinhua said. Eighty-four children in another kindergarten also suffered similar symptoms, it said.
A Xinhua report earlier this month said 80 children were rushed to hospital in Guiyang on June 3 with food poisoning believed to have been caused by substandard milk powder. Billions of dollars worth of counterfeit and substandard goods are produced in China every year and mass food poisoning cases are commonplace. News of the deaths from malnutrition of the 13 babies in impoverished Anhui province after drinking fake milk powder sparked a national outcry and drew the attention of top leaders. EMPHASIS ADDED
It doesnât look like Chinaâs learning much, despite the death of their own infants and children. Iâve yet to hear of any sentences being handed down in the fake milk powder cases. Youâd think that the politburo would crack down on product counterfeiting. Oh, wait ... itâs one of the ways that China makes so much money. If only it werenât innocent children f&%king being killed at the hands of profiteers, Iâd say that China is getting its just desserts for all of the havoc they wreak upon other economies with their government sanctioned theft. Too bad the politburoâs kids arenât obliged to consume the same hogwash they let loose upon their own people. These murderers would be marched to the wall the very next morning. What a way to keep the birth rate down.
Posted by: Zenster ||
06/13/2004 2:13:06 AM ||
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That's the PRC for you - think that capitalism's imported freedom, or even common sense?
Not a chance. And it only makes them sneer. (Why lose power to freedom when the country already prospers without it?)
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
06/13/2004 7:06 Comments ||
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Why lose power to freedom when the country already prospers without it?
Edward, you have succinctly summed up so much of what revolts me about the politburo's rule of communist China. Some say it is communist only in name. I dispute that notion, as such kleptocracy epitomizes all that communism has ever and will ever stand for.
The makers of the revived zeppelin handed over their first airship to a commercial user Saturday, seeing off the sleek white craft with brass band serenades before it starts its leisurely voyage to Japan. The granddaughter of the original airshipâs inventor, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, was on hand as Japanâs Nippon Airship Corporation took delivery of the 247-foot ship, which is destined for sightseeing and advertising flights in Japan and a starring role at the 2005 worldâs fair in the city of Aichi. The new craft designed by Germanyâs Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik - named Zeppelin NT for "New Technology" - is filled with helium rather than the intensely flammable hydrogen that fueled the earlier generation of airships. "This is an important day in the history of Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik - the very first time that a Zeppelin NT has been sold," Zeppelin manager Bernd Straeter said as some 1,500 people gathered for Saturdayâs ceremony at the companyâs huge airship hangar in Friedrichshafen, on the shores of Lake Constance in southern Germany.
The original era of the zeppelin ended when the Hindenburg caught fire on landing at Lakehurst, New Jersey in 1937 - killing 35 of the 96 people on board and dashing the dream of the airship as a mode of transportation. Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik starting building the new dirigibles, which are about one-third the length of the Hindenburg, in 1996, but the sale to the Nippon Airship Corporation - sealed in March - was its first commercial deal. Straeter said Saturday the sale price was under $10.8 million, but did not elaborate. On Sunday, the cigar-shaped craft - with "Germany in Japan" painted in large black letters on its side - is to take off on its journey to Japan, where it should arrive by mid-August. The journey comes 75 years after the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin flew from Friedrichshafen to Tokyo.
Thereâs room for 12 passengers and two crew members in the new shipâs gondola, but it wonât be taking passengers as it zigzags across Europe and on to Asia. Three pilots and three technicians for the airshipâs new owner were given a three-month course of intensive training in Germany to prepare for the voyage. Planned stops include Geneva, Paris, the Dutch port of Rotterdam, Munich, Berlin and Stockholm, where it will stop in mid-July before heading onward to Russia. Currently named "Bodensee" - the German for Lake Constance - the ship eventually will be rechristened by its new owners, but the new name has yet to be chosen. The company plans to use the ship mostly for flights over the Tokyo area, said Hiroyuki Watanabe, Nippon Airship Corporationâs president. "This calm way of flying will suit Japan well," said Zeppelinâs granddaughter, Elisabeth Veil.
Since 2001, the German company has been offering tours of Lake Constance, which straddles the Swiss-German border, with the three airships in its fleet. The company is now developing a larger, 19-seater craft, Straeter said. He did not say when the bigger craft might be ready.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
06/13/2004 1:00:30 AM ||
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This is the BBC and of course this not their headline because that would require honesty and intellectual coherence.
Early results from elections to the European Union parliament show gains for opposition parties across Europe. Governing parties in Germany, France and Poland have suffered dramatic losses, while many Euro-sceptic parties have performed well at the polls.
The SPD and Chancellor Schroeder are on their way out. Today, Sunday, June 13, the Socialists registered their worst election loss in postwar history, dropping at least 7 percentage points to a projected 22%. The conservative Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) took advantage of the Socialist's collapse to claim two times as many votes with a projected 45% result, giving them the largest number of seats from Germany's 99 designated seats in the European parliament.
Posted by: Phil B ||
06/13/2004 6:48:56 PM ||
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I just watched the BBC news. Truly unbelieveable! The British and Italian governing parties do badly becuase of Iraq. The French and German governing parties do badly because of economic and social policies. BTW, the French gov got hammered far worse than Blair or Belusconi.
Posted by: Phil B ||
06/13/2004 19:05 Comments ||
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Correct Me if I'm wrong (as if I need to say that here...), but aren't the Conservatives more pro-Iraq than the Labour as a whole? Granted, Blair is Labour, but so are the far-left anti-Americans. It seems that voting Tory might mean that Blair wasn't pro-US enough.
That would be like people in the US voting Democrat because Bush hasn't been aggressive enough in the war.
#3
Jackal,the Tories have caught the hate-the-man-hate-the-policy virus.Whatever may be sentiments of individual members,the Tory Party has been against Blair's Iraq policy.
The big story is how disillusioned European voters are w/EU,and the disconnect between populance and media/political elites.
Posted by: Stephen ||
06/13/2004 22:51 Comments ||
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Stephen, thats my read on it too. If there is a common thread its an anti-EU vote.
#6
Stephen - that's completely untrue. The Conservatives supported the Iraq war, and were more united as a party on that issue, than Labour. They have made a few discontented noises in the last six months, but official policy is still pro-war. Their complaints have often been along the lines of the need for more troops to be sent as reinforcements.
#10
Yes, good to see. Got one of my votes - let's hope it puts the Euro-constitution to bed once and for all.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
06/14/2004 5:22 Comments ||
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Mine too. But the risk is the Tories might go nuts again over Europe as a result of the UKIP threat and go for each others' throats, leaving Labour looking like the only credible governing party, and free to pursue a decidedly pro-European agenda. Which presumably they would do under Blair. But if Brown got the Labour leadership, signing the constitution and joining the euro might be dead in the water. That would make life harder for the Tories, and leave the Lib Dems sucking up any floating pro-Euro voters. I think it's going to be an interesting time in politics as regards the EU, and events could either work for the Eurosceptics, or possibly against them. Amazing that UKIP came second place in quite a few many regions, eh?!
#12
Brown being more euro-sceptic than Blair, one presumes. Is that correct? I know he has doubts about the Euro but didn't realise he was anti-constitution. I think Brown may make a decent leader of the Labour Party - at least the economy's been decently run for a while... I definitely sense a sea-change amongst the population regarding Europe - thankfully.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
06/14/2004 6:29 Comments ||
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Brown's scuppered a few of Blair's EU dreams (he effectively vetoed the UK's adoption of the euro, and has been responsible for the repeated postponement of a euro referendum, IIUC, and I think he was one of the ones pressuring Blair to go for a referendum on the constitution). I don't know how much of his apparent euroscepticism is ideologically-driven, or simply to piss off Blair and his legacy-chasing, however.
I'm not sure how good a PM Brown would make. I do think he's a shade more old Labour than Blair, which, IMO, can't really be good news, though his actions on Europe look more pragmatic than Blair's.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
06/13/2004 01:02 ||
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and zero lessons seemed to have been learned from her life and death as history repeats itself.
The liberals, who by silence or by active participation, defend those who -still today - actively seek to wipe out the Jews and propagate the Elders of Zion BS, are the kind of people who allowed Ann Frank to be killed. They might as well have flipped the gas switch and enjoyed the bread.
That was fast!
Oscar-winning documentary film maker Michael Moore says he was only joking when he suggested last week that he would make a film about British Prime Minister Tony Blairâs role in the Iraq war. A message posted Sunday on Mooreâs Web site, the director of "Fahrenheit 9/11," which is highly critical of President Bush, said Moore is not making a new film about Bushâs close ally, Blair, as he said he would like to do in interviews last week. The posting ran under the headline: "Sorry to scare you, Tony: Michael Moore was just kidding." Fahrenheit is a joke too, like his other "documentaries".
Posted by: Rafael ||
06/13/2004 6:21:50 PM ||
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That would be "crock-umentaries," Rafael.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/13/2004 18:37 Comments ||
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shoot...he must have read rantburg and found ought about those libel laws. Darn it!
Posted by: B ||
06/13/2004 19:41 Comments ||
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Warning: not suitable to read for those with blood pressure problems. Michael Mooreâs anti-Iraq war crusade is not stopping with U.S. President George W. Bush as the filmmaker says he now wants to make a movie about British Prime Minister Tony Blairâs role in the war...."I personally hold Blair more responsible for this war in Iraq than I do George W. Bush, and the reason is Blair knows better. Blair is not an idiot. What is he doing hanging around this guy?," Moore told Reuters in an interview.... Moore said that in making "Fahrenheit 9/11" he had to choose just exactly what parts of the story on which to focus. He trained his investigative camera on Bush and that, he said, was a hard decision to make. "I struggled with it because, I think, what I decided is that I need to make a separate film about Blair, at some point here. I need to do something about Blair and Britain."
Meanwhile, Moore said he has steeled himself for efforts by Bush supporters to discredit his film, which he said is already happening with attacks on his Web site and in newspapers amid the current campaign for the White House....To counteract efforts challenging "Fahrenheit 9/11," he has hired Chris Lehane and Mark Fabiani, two former political advisers to Bill Clinton and Al Gore, to establish a "war room" that will immediately support any claims made in the movie that come under attack. The group, he said, will be staffed by six to seven people and will operate 24 hours a day, monitoring newscasts and scanning newspapers, magazines and other publications for statements made discrediting the movie. "You come at me with anything, we come back with the truth," Moore said. How about: "Youâre an idiot!" I can see them huddling over this one for days.
He said the movie is not an effort to support Kerryâs White House bid, and said that if Kerry were elected, "Iâd keep my eye on him, too." Iâd keep an eye on those black helicopters that keep following you around, nevermind Kerry and Bush.
Posted by: Rafael ||
06/13/2004 9:05:20 AM ||
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I'd just love to see this bloated bag of intestinal gas run up against the "Official Secrets Act"
#4
I personally hold Blair more responsible for this war in Iraq than I do George W. Bush, and the reason is Blair knows better. Blair is not an idiot. What is he doing hanging around this guy?," Moore told Reuters in an interview
Moore is going to find out Blair is no pussy.
Blair went up against and defeated people in his own party to help liberate Iraq and did so with opposition so fierce from his ideological allies, it is literally a wonder he didn't cave.
Blair has cajones that Moore can only dream he himself has, and enough political and moral capital with me to buy out Disney.
If Blair is half the man I think he is and he has demonstrated he is, Moore will leave major chuncks of his ass in England as he goes home whelping to mommy.
#5
I guess Mikey hasn't heard of the draconian libel laws that the UK possess. He had better have more than a war room and Chris Lehane to do his fact checking. He better hire a QC and I don't think Cherie is available.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
06/13/2004 10:49 Comments ||
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first commercials for this piece of trash have already started airing in San Diego. One of the highlights of the commercial is the Bin Laden family flown to safety by Bush claim, which was debunked under oath recently when former White House counterterrorism chief Richard A. Clarke admitted he made that decision, nobody else.
If the Bin Laden flights are his centerpiece his movie is gonna go down quick.
#7
Haven't seen these in SD, Yank, but then I usually watch Fox and sports
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/13/2004 11:16 Comments ||
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"To counteract efforts challenging "Fahrenheit 9/11," he has hired Chris Lehane and Mark Fabiani, two former political advisers to Bill Clinton and Al Gore..."
Moore, Lehane, Fabiani... now there's a confederacy of scumbags if ever there was one.
Michael Moore isn't anti-war: he's working for the enemy.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
06/13/2004 11:58 Comments ||
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As Kaus never tires of pointing out, hiring Lehane is usually fatal to his employers...
#10
I guess Mikey hasn't heard of the draconian libel laws that the UK possess
ssshhhh...don't tell him.
Posted by: B ||
06/13/2004 13:24 Comments ||
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Easy to see Moore's script.First Blair "betrayed" England by going to war in Iraq under false pretences,then he tried to suppress the press,and now he's angering Euro Allies by not embracing EU fully.If project ever gets off ground expect lots of BBC employee stealth help,w,Galloway as hero.However,I have to believe this is PR move to sell 451 in Europe.There would be no US financing for such a project-what US studio thinks there would be US audience for film about British PM?British studios would shy away both for libel fears,and fear of retaliation-audits,property revalued,etc.
Posted by: Stephen ||
06/13/2004 13:38 Comments ||
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That'll take balls to pull off, the idea that Blair "faked" out the country after the fact. Look how lopsidedly Lord Hutton aligned with Blair and the government over the BBC!
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
06/13/2004 14:07 Comments ||
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Edward,you forget BBC and left British press believe Hutton covered-up for Blair.(BBC manager insisted after firing he did nothing wrong).The hard-core left refuses to let facts get in the way of the TRUTH.Bush/Blair lied!There were no WMDS,no terrorist connections,no threat,no ties to 9/11,etc.Facts to the contrary are ignored,said to be irrelevant,evidence of Bush/Blair conspiracy,or simply not believed.
Posted by: Stephen ||
06/13/2004 15:16 Comments ||
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Posted by: B ||
06/13/2004 13:40 ||
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A GOP maverick, McCain jumped to Kerry's defense when the White House accused the Democrat of being weak on defense. "This kind of rhetoric, I think, is not helpful," he said in March, admonishing the White House.
Truthful, but 'not helpful'. The illlogic meter's redlining with that one.
Which means (a) RINO McCain doesn't think Kerry's got a snowball's chance in hell, (b) if he switched parties & lost, Arizona's voters would toss him at the next election, or (c) both.
Of course, there's also the ego factor - McCain wouldn't want to be vice anything.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/13/2004 16:37 Comments ||
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I have to disagree on this one. I think there was never a snowballs chance in Hades that McCain, a POW and good American, would have ever backed Kerry, who stood with Jane Fonda. He has to hate him deep to the core and dig deep to shake his hand. But I believe McCain understands that in order to help make America stronger, you have to play the game.
Posted by: B ||
06/13/2004 19:47 Comments ||
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"Are we rushing headlong into the next step of those 40 years of progressions by which we do something then they do something, by which we pretend that we're going to build this and it will somehow strengthen our deterrent then they do it, and low and behold, the next thing we know is, the President of the United States is addressing the nation saying, 'My fellow Americans, I hate to tell you this, but the Soviet Union is deploying more of these, and we have to respond, and I'm asking the Congress for more money in order to respond.' Star Wars is guaranteed to do that, and it's guaranteed to threaten the heavens -- the one line we haven't yet crossed with weaponry: the heavens." Senator John Kerry, on SDI, the program that brought the evil empire to its knees, August 5, 1986.
How did I know Kerry would have said something like that? /rhetorical question
Iâm shocked, SHOCKED!!
Since October, Ralph Nader has run his campaign for president out of the same downtown Washington offices that through April housed a public charity he created -- an overlap that campaign finance specialists said could run afoul of federal laws. Whoops!
Tax law explicitly forbids public charities from aiding political campaigns. Violations can result in a charity losing its tax-exempt status. In addition, campaign law requires candidates to account for all contributions -- including shared office space and resources, down to the use of copying machines, receptionists and telephones. Records show many links between Naderâs campaign and the charity Citizen Works. For example, the charityâs listed president, Theresa Amato, is also Naderâs campaign manager. How convenient!
The campaign said in an e-mail to The Washington Post that Amato resigned from the charity in 2003. But in the charityâs most recent corporate filing with the District, in January, Amato listed herself as the charityâs president and registered agent. Huge shell game, even huger article...
Posted by: Raj ||
06/13/2004 10:56:36 AM ||
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#1
Hey, how's the Kucinich campaign going? Anybody know?
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/13/2004 14:10 Comments ||
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#5
Nah, Nader's just some totalitarian fuck who gets his kicks siphoning cash from moral midgets.
In other words, he's the epitome of leftists.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
06/13/2004 16:04 Comments ||
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#6
Forbes magazine got dragged into court some years ago while trying to uncover Nader's organisational labyrinth. Wonder if the mainstream media will try.
(Here we go again.....)
US regulators have launched a formal investigation into allegations that a Halliburton joint venture paid bribes to win a multi-billion dollar construction project in Nigeria. The US Securities and Exchange Commission had requested information to determine whether Halliburton broke US laws against bribing officials abroad, the oil services company disclosed on Friday. It said it was also discussing the matter with the justice department . Halliburton said it was co-operating with the inquiry.
Rest at the link.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
06/13/2004 12:30:57 AM ||
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#1
Congress must be positively giggling with delight - so many vital "investigations" to occupy their time so they needn't actually face the duties for which they were elected. And all that TV face time, too. *swoon*
#2
"Dotcom"--how right you are!
I am sick almost unto death of the Left and their "Cheney's raping Iraq and the American people for Halliburton," "Bush knew/Bush is Hitler," and "Face the horror of our Abu Grab prison abuse."
Make it stop!!!
Posted by: Jen ||
06/13/2004 5:34 Comments ||
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sadly, the press makes it so that these tactics work . If we can't fight the press on it's own terms, expect a Kerry presidency. The world better wake up and ask themselves if they really want the US to fall. It won't be like getting the mean ol' principal fired, it will be like closing down the school. Sounds good at first - till you realize what you really lost out on.
Posted by: B ||
06/13/2004 10:07 Comments ||
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Payments from Halliburton to Nigeria? Dick Chaney must've been replying to his spam again...
Last week the White House dismissed news accounts of an explosive August 2002 brief from the Justice Departmentâs Office of Legal Counsel which has been widely criticized for seeming to flout conventions against torture. The memo, drafted by former OLC lawyer John Yoo, defends most interrogation methods short of severe, intentionally inflicted pain and permanent damage.
Although White House officials said that such legal reasoning was insignificant and did not reflect the presidentâs orders, Newsweek has learned that Yooâs memo was prompted by CIA questions about what to do with a top Qaeda captive, Abu Zubaydah, who had turned uncooperative. And it was drafted after White House meetings convened by George W. Bushâs chief counsel, Alberto Gonzales, along with Defense Department general counsel William Haynes and David Addington, Vice President Dick Cheneyâs counsel, who discussed specific interrogation techniques, says a source familiar with the discussions.
Among the methods they found acceptable: "water-boarding," or dripping water into a wet cloth over a suspectâs face, which can feel like drowning; and threatening to bring in more-brutal interrogators from other nations, reports Senior Editor Michael Hirsh, National Security Correspondent John Barry and Washington Bureau Chief Daniel Klaidman in the June 21 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, June 14). In this report, Newsweek examines the long-running battle over interrogation tactics inside the Bush administration, a struggle that continued right up until the Abu Ghraib scandal broke in April.
That battle was touched off by the handling of the first senior Al Qaeda operative captured amid the fighting in Afghanistan, Ibn Al-Shaykh al-Libi. With al-Libi, the initial approach was to read him his rights like any arrestee, one former member of the FBI team tells Newsweek. "He was basically cooperating with us." But this was post-9/11; President Bush had declared war on Al Qaeda, and in a series of covert directives, he had authorized the CIA to set up secret interrogation facilities and to use new, harsher methods. The CIA, says the FBI source, was "fighting with us tooth and nail," Newsweek reports.
Al-Libiâs capture, some sources say, was an early turning point in the governmentâs internal debates over interrogation methods, Newsweek reports. FBI officials brought their plea to retain control over al-Libiâs interrogation up to FBI Director Robert Mueller. The CIA station chief in Afghanistan, meanwhile, appealed to the agencyâs hawkish counterterrorism chief, Cofer Black. He in turn called CIA Director George Tenet, who went to the White House. Al-Libi was handed over to the CIA. "They duct-taped his mouth, cinched him up and sent him to Cairo" for more-fearsome Egyptian interrogations, says the ex-FBI official.
The FBI, with its "law enforcement" mind-set, found itself more and more marginalized. The struggle extended to the Guantanamo Bay detention center in early 2002, as "high-value" suspects were shipped there for interrogation. Even within the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency, the debates never ceased, Newsweek reports. The agency, say senior intelligence officials, made sure it had explicit, written authorization from lawyers and senior policymakers before using new interrogation techniques. At the same time the agency felt intense pressure to extract information from suspects. So it began experimenting with methods like water-boarding and open-handed slapping. The CIA also asked to use "mock burial," in which a top Qaeda captive would be led to believe he was going to be buried alive. Administration officials declined to say whether the proposal was ever adopted. "My overwhelming impression is that everyone was focused on trying to avoid torture, staying within the line, while doing everything possible to save American lives," Tim Flanigan, formerly Bushâs deputy White House counsel, tells Newsweek.
As with al-Libi, the internal debates usually turned on what to do with a specific Qaeda detainee. Thatâs what happened in the summer of 2002 after the capture of Abu Zubaydah, who refused to cooperate after an initial spate of talkativeness. Frustrated CIA officials went to OLC lawyer Yoo for an opinion on bolder methods. Another high-value Qaeda suspect captured toward the end of 2002, Mohamed al Qatani, provoked a major change of approach at Guantanamo Bay. "There was a spike in a lot of intel that we were picking up in terms of more attacks" on America, said Gen. James Hill, chief of the U.S. Southern Command. "We werenât getting anything out of him" using standard techniques outlined in Army Field Manual 34-52. So CIA and military-intel interrogators came up with new tactics based on the sorts of methods that U.S. Special Forces are specifically trained to resist, a Defense source says. The Special Forcesâ Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape course culminates in interrogations that include some physical roughing up; sensory, food and sleep deprivation, and a "water pit" in which detainees have to stand on tip-toe to keep from drowning, Newsweek reports.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/13/2004 1:37:27 PM ||
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A Christian organisation in the US has prepared an advertisement for Arab TV condemning the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib jail. FaithfulAmerica.org has received donations from its supporters to pay for the ad. It features Christian, Muslim and Jewish religious figures offering their solidarity with the Iraqi people. The clip, which can be seen on the group's website, is to be shown next week on two Arab satellite channels. FaithfulAmerica.org says it seeks to show to Iraq and the Arab world that people of faith in the US stand shoulder with them in demanding justice for the sinful abuses committed in their name. The website has a link to a rough form of the ad, which runs for 30 seconds and has a simple set-up - four talking heads taking turns in reading out a statement in English, which is translated in Arabic subtitles. The speakers are, in order: Reverend Don Shriver; Imam Feisal Abdul-Rauf; Sister Betty Obal and Rabbi Arthur Waskow. They are all well-known liberal figures within their respective faiths in America.
Never heard of 'em!
A caption at the end of the ad reads in Arabic: "This message was endorsed and paid for by moveon.org thousands of Americans." FaithfulAmerica.org - a non-profit lobbying group that started a month ago - has paid $20,000 for the ad to be shown in several slots next Tuesday on the two biggest pan-Arab satellite TV stations, Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya. The ad mirrors recent appearances on Arab TV by senior US officials - most notably President George W Bush - promising firm action over the Abu Ghraib scandal. But FaithfulAmerica.org says the administration has not faced up to the moral wrong of what happened. A senior member of President Bush's own United Methodist Church, Bishop Melvin Talbert, is the public face of the campaign. He told the BBC he believes the administration should be more forthright and forthcoming in dealing with the abuse scandal and rectifying it. He said he hoped the ad would show people in the Arab world that many Americans do care about them and want for Arabs what they want for themselves.
And remember, death is not an option: is this group a fifth column or are they just nuts?
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/13/2004 12:19:16 AM ||
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That is why we work to create a peaceful, just, and sustainable nation...
The term 'sustainable' is the newest leftist-green byword for Marxian economic policies. You will find this term used in many, many other liberal/leftist websites.
I would say that faithfulamerica.org has chosen sides, and it isn't the USA's.
#3
In a recent WaPo article, it was stated that FaithfulAmerica.org patterns itself after MoveOn.org.
Sounds like prayers answered by George Soros.
Posted by: Capt America ||
06/13/2004 1:33 Comments ||
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"Sustainable" is a euphemism for subsistence.
Definitely a Fifth-column group.
I read on AndrewSullivan.com where Sullivan claimed that 80% (!!!) of the creeps in Abu Grabass were INNOCENT. Sullivan is on our side! If he seriously thinks that 80% are innocent then these "faith" morons will soon claim that every single felon, murderer, rapist, and terrorist in there was innocent.
Ay Carrumba, somedays I think we are all well and truly screwed as an ongoing concern.
My apologies to my descendents. We couldn't keep it together!
#5
JDB, I wouldn't be so sure that Andrew Sullivan is on "our side."
He used to say that he was "for Bush" until President Bush came out (heheh!) for the Defense of Marriage Amendment which offends Andrew's proud gayness.
I think he's making excuses for himself politically.
Once the disease of Liberalism gets you, it's very hard to recover
(viz. Christopher Hitchens latest Leftie explosion about President Reagan this week after he'd been claiming to be "pro-Bush" after 9/11.)
Posted by: Jen ||
06/13/2004 5:27 Comments ||
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He used to say that he was "for Bush" until President Bush came out (heheh!) for the Defense of Marriage Amendment which offends Andrew's proud gayness.
I don't see how it's wrong to support a politician until he does something that offends you or that you otherwise believe to be wrong.
If he seriously thinks that 80% are innocent then these "faith" morons will soon claim that every single felon, murderer, rapist, and terrorist in there was innocent
Why not let them claim it first before you object to them for what you simply *guess* they'll soon be saying?
#7
Why not let them claim it first before you object to them...
Umm, Aris, this is a Christian organisation. Since you don't like the Church, why are your Calvins in a knot?
Posted by: Rafael ||
06/13/2004 9:16 Comments ||
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Kerry doesn't support the DMA either. For reasons unclear, homosexuals give him a pass on this. My guess is that it is because they know that nothing Kerry says has any weight, but when Bush says it, he means it. So even though Kerry has offered ZERO support to the DMA - HS's don't flip out over it because they feel they can flop him later.
#9
Jen, did you read the last paragraph of Hitchen's column? After giving a screed about how he had believed Ronnie as less then a hedgehog, I thought his actual point was....this Less-Than-A-Hedgehog ended the cold war..yet his liberal friends would still have gladed voted for Ronnie's opponents.... thus....Hitchens was now asking himself ..... what is it about liberals that they need to make themselves feel bigger by claiming to be bigger than a world leader, no matter what the human cost?
#10
Ay Carrumba, somedays I think we are all well and truly screwed as an ongoing concern. My apologies to my descendents. We couldn't keep it together!
What all due respect: who the f*ck cares about Sullivan? I quit reading instapundit over his support of homosexuality, and I have never read Sullivan.
Sullivan is behaving like a lot of liberals who have been supporting Bush since 911. And like liberals, the are beginning to think that maybe 3,000 dead Americans isn't such a big deal after all, so support for Bush is eroding slowly amoungst those on the left. But none of this is enough get upset over. I didn't think this ideological truce would last very long, and so it hasn't. Libs like Sullivan losing their religion (and their cajones) is not a surprise.
Once the disease of Liberalism gets you, it's very hard to recover
You are reading the words of a recovering real, live socialist. Twelve years into my recovery; never been happier with my choice.
Why not let them claim it first before you object to them for what you simply *guess* they'll soon be saying?
Another deception: the left would like us to believe the people in Abu Ghraib are there because they robbed a liquor store, or they were caught burlarizing a business.
Wrong.
The people in that prison were murdering thugs. The only thing truly bad that happened to them is happening to them now: they are still using up my oxygen.
#12
B> The way I understand it the "Defense of Marriage Amendment" is what gay-rights supporters DON'T want to see passed, because it'd be the amendment that'd define marriage as being strictly between a man and a woman.
So, um, I think you've got to turn all your negatives into positives and vice-versa in that post before.
#15
I see, Aris, that you're the perfect man, completely lacking in the inconsistencies that others would call hypocrisy. Pardon me, oh ubermensch, for daring to consider you might be a mortal like the rest of us.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
06/13/2004 12:08 Comments ||
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Aris..I'm sorry that you were too stupid to realize it was basically a typo. When I want to be sure YOU understand a point, I'll take the time to assure my thoughts won't so easily confuse you.
By the way Aris - don't bother to respond to me. I'm not interested in your pretzel logic or desperate need to feel important by bestowing the bumbling Americans a does of your Eurowisdom.
I'd say just about every argument you ever get in could be summed up with the playground logic of "I'm rubber, you're glue, everything I say bounces off me and sticks to you". I'm sorry you never tired of that back in kindergarten, but I did.
I'll admit that you occassionally make a good point now and then, but as they say, even a blind squirrel gets an acorn now and then. And besides, unlike you, I can note when you make a good point and simply acknowledge it without feeling a desperate need to discredit you just for the sake of feeling superior.
Posted by: B ||
06/13/2004 12:54 Comments ||
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just to assure you don't get hopelessly confused, "does" was a typo. It should have been "dose".
Posted by: B ||
06/13/2004 12:56 Comments ||
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Robert> If your previous post meant to say "You are as much of a hypocrite as every other human being in existence" then I thank you for that philosophical datapoint but I have to call it a particularly insignificant contribution.
So, I'll rephrase my question. Any specific examples to show me as *much* of a hypocrite as I would have to be for Rafael's opinion of me to be accurate?
B> I have to say that I find it difficult to understand how "Kerry offered ZERO support for the DMA" is basically a typo. You meant it to be "offered ZERO opposition" or something? And then you "typoed" again in the first sentence.
And "don't bother to respond to me" doesn't mean anything when made in a public forum other than "I want my post to be the last word on the subject".
And besides, unlike you, I can note when you make a good point
Really? When was the last time you did that? My memory may be failing me in this respect but I don't remember any time when you ever noted that.
#19
I would say that faithfulamerica.org has chosen sides, and it isn't the USA's
badnov, good point.
Posted by: B ||
06/13/2004 13:33 Comments ||
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Steve and all:
This group is definitely fifth column. Feisal Abdul-Rauf is a member of the Islamic Center of LI in Westbury, NY. His cohorts at the Islamic Center of LI are Faroque Khan, Chapter Pres. of ISNA and NY Chapter head of American Muslim Alliance, Ghazi Khankan, NY Chapter head of CAIR, Faiz Khan, Muslim Student Assoc., and Yahiya Emerick, publisher of Islamic anti-Christian, anti-Semitic textbooks and teacher at Crescent school, which is 835 Brushhollow Rd., Westbury, NY. Rauf is on record as making anti-Christian statements. Daily News - Larry Cohler-Esses did a story on the textbook issue in March 2003. Daniel Pipes has Emerick quoted expressing his desire for a caliphate in the U.S. Khankan recently circulated a petition to 150 mosques condemning the U.S. when one of the mosques was damaged by the coalition soldiers defending themselves from militants firing from within, (but was somehow strangely silent on the beheading and murder of American civilians.)
Posted by: jawa ||
06/13/2004 22:40 Comments ||
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Israel Not Invited to UN Meeting On Refugees
UNRWA, the UN agency charged with handling refugee camps from the 1948 war, held a conference last week on the "humanitarian needs of the Palestinian Arab refugees" - but did not invite Israel. David Bedein of Israel Resource News Agency, was the only Israeli reporter to cover the event. Excerpts from his report:
"67 nations, 34 relief organizations, the Palestinian Authority and the PLO were invited to attend the conference, held at the UNâs plush international conference center in Geneva. Yet Israel was not invited to attend. Nor was any Israeli reporter invited to cover the event... I covered the conference anyway, since it would have been difficult for the UN to turn down press credentials that had been certified by a dues-paying UN member nation. "According to the UNRWA spokesman: Israel was not invited to this conference because Israel is not a contributing nation to UNRWA. Yet until a few years ago, Israel provided more than $750,000 dollars per annum to UNRWA, and exceeded the contribution of many of the Arab countries. So why not invite Israel to attend as an observer or a discussant? To that, UNRWA and the Swiss government had no answer... The PLO [sent] a senior delegation to the conference... yet UNRWA never asks for any contribution from the PLO. Long article. American tax money supports the UNâs shameful treatment of Israel. Strange that Palestinian refugees have their special agency, the UNRWA, whereas the other refugees of the world are lumped together and dealt with by another UN agency.
Posted by: rex ||
06/13/2004 3:19:33 PM ||
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Why bother to invite them? The IDF Israel already has demonstrated a rather capable approach to dealing with refugees.
At least 12 people have died and 20 others are in a critical condition after drinking bad alcohol in the Iranian city of Shiraz, officials say. At least five of those affected are said to have gone blind. Hospitals in Shiraz reported a sudden rush of severe poisoning cases on Thursday night. But because alcohol is banned here, it took a while for officials to realise that an adulterated supply was behind the spate of admissions. First results of autopsies carried out on some of the victims suggested they had been poisoned by methanol, a substance sometimes added to drinks to boost their potency.
Or improper distillation, or improper ingredients, or someone just swiped it somewhere and sold it as alcohol.
The judiciary said the investigation was being hampered by the familiesâ reluctance to talk, but that 14 suspects had already been arrested. Although Shiraz had given its name to one of the worldâs best-known wine grapes, the sale of alcohol is officially banned here. Alcohol consumption by Muslims is subject to heavy punishment, although Christians and Jews are allowed to drink in private. In practice, there is a thriving trade in locally made or smuggled alcohol, with the temptation for unscrupulous or ignorant dealers to make more money by adulterating their products.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
06/13/2004 12:23:12 AM ||
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#1
"...added to drinks to boost their potency."
Yeah, it's a real trip - 'til you go blind and/or die.
"...make more money..."
Only works once, though, if your customers are all dead.
#5
At least five of those affected are said to have gone blind.
Antifreeze???
Posted by: Rafael ||
06/13/2004 8:47 Comments ||
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Methanol, a one carbon alcohol, is perhaps the most common cause of toxic blindness.
Ethylene glycol [antifreeze] is metabolized by the liver and travels in the bloodstream to the kidneys, where it forms insoluble calcium oxalate crystals inside the renal tubules. Dr. Volmer says, "Once metabolism of the ethylene glycol has reached a certain point, there is no way to stop it." Because these crystals are insoluble, there is no way to remove them from the body. They cause permanent damage to the kidney tissue, which can ultimately lead to kidney failure.
Web sites featuring videos of the beheading of Americans or captives pleading for their lives have become part of an electronic war of incitement, humiliation and terrorist outreach, experts say, providing a window into the minds of militant Muslims who hate the West. The latest dramatic Web posting came Saturday, a short video that showed no faces but included a voice yelling in English: "No, no, please!"
Vids of Chechens beheading Russers have become passe, I guess...
The video showed a shot fired, then the scene of the falling body of what appeared to be a Western man - identified as Robert Jacobs, an American killed by suspected al-Qaida militants in Saudi Arabia last week. Two gunmen then fired at least 10 more shots, before one of them kneeled and motioned as if he was beheading the fallen man. An earlier video showed the beheading of American Nicholas Berg in Iraq. The CIA has said the black-clad militant shown on the video decapitating Berg was Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a former commander for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden now believed to be leading resistance to Iraqâs U.S. occupation. "The aim is really to spread as much terror as possible and make it available to as many people as possible, especially in the West," where Internet use is more common, said Diaâa Rashwan, a Cairo expert on Islamic militants.
That's why they call them terrorists...
In what Rashwan calls a a war of "ideology, images and perception," the Web is a place for militants and their sympathizers to exchange the latest news, debate their definition of Islam, share how-to manuals, extoll their heroes and vilify their enemies. Images of American soldiers pointing guns at children, Iraqi prisoners being tortured, and Muslim rebels in the Philippines being decapitated pop up again and again. Contributors sign off with pictures of bin Laden or large machine guns. Militants can put images on the Internet most TV news producers would consider too shocking to televise.
That's because it's a culture of blood and gore...
The Internet, though, also can be subject to censorship. Postings signed by the Saudi branch of al-Qaida - everything from claims of responsibility for attacks in the kingdom to training and diet menus for a fit fighter - started popping up on a sub-domain of a Qatar-based Web-hosting company run by Murad Alazzeh. Alazzeh told The Associated Press he shut down one of his two servers after his site was repeatedly hacked. He said he has cut subscribers from 48,000 to 4,000. The Web savvy, though, have ways around the gatekeepers. The Malaysian company that hosted the site on which the Berg beheading video was first posted shut it down days later, but surfers combing Islamic forums could find it elsewhere. Contributors on forums or chat rooms alert one another to the latest postings. Links are sometimes written in a kind of code, with letters or numerals missing from addresses. The initiated or the patient can figure out whatâs missing by perusing the rest of the posting. Experts say Islamic groups were among the first in the Arab world to realize the importance of staying connected. Egyptâs Muslim Brotherhood uses dozens of Web sites to post literature banned by the government. Lebanonâs Hezbollah is known for the sophistication of the propaganda on its Web site. Until the site was taken over by an American hacker, one site appeared to be the place where al-Qaida reported on developments in fighting in Afghanistan, and, some law enforcement officials believe, posted low-priority information for its to fighters. Some top al-Qaida operatives were trained as cyber specialists. The mushrooming of the sites and forums is an indication of the growing number of people who sympathize with militants who argue Islam is under attack in by the West, said Rashwan.
Yes. We can see that every time an engineer's head is cut off...
Young, educated, unemployed people can spend hours managing or contributing to such sites from their own homes, rather than traveling to Iraq or Afghanistan to do battle. Their targets are people like them in the developing world - educated and disenfranchised - and Westerners. "They have no other part in holy war. Electronic holy war is their contribution," said Rashwan, whose book "Electronic Jihad" is to be published soon in Arabic and was to be translated into English soon. Some say the sites may offer well-hidden clues about coming attacks. Other experts say they have little to do with terrorist operations or planning, but prepare the ground for recruiting.
I guess I'm one of the other experts...
"Over time, the propaganda is part of the conveyer belt to encourage people to figure out where they can join," said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, an Alexandria, Virginia, research center on security issues. While Net cops have many monitoring tools, those who want to hide their identities and intentions can do so on the Web. "It is difficult to know when a statement is posted, it is difficult to know if this is someone who has sworn allegiance to (bin Laden). ... It is difficult to understand who is the ultimate sponsor," Pike said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/13/2004 1:59:41 PM ||
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From the gossip column of the Washington Post:
Next time you visit the king of Jordan, we know exactly what you can bring him as a gift: Dominoâs pizzas. When King Abdullah was visiting Washington in May, he asked for 14 pizzas to take back to Amman, U.S. News & World Reportâs Paul Bedard reports in his Washington Whispers column. His embassy called two stores, one in Crystal City and the other in Georgetown, with varying instructions. The Crystal City order was to be cooled before being boxed so they could remain fresh. (Good call -- soggy pizzas are the worst.) The Georgetown branch was asked to include "five times the sausage," according to a Dominoâs rep. The Secret Service picked them up, paid the $180 tab and left the kingâs $80 tip. And thereâs no stopping Abdullahâs cravings. Just last week he sent his personal jet to retrieve five more. Heâs the king of the country; canât he open his own chain?
Posted by: Seafarious ||
06/13/2004 10:47:29 AM ||
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#1
asked to include "five times the sausage"
Waaaait a minute. Isn't King Abdullah moslem? And doesn't sausage contain pork?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/13/2004 18:40 Comments ||
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#2
Shhhhhh
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/13/2004 18:56 Comments ||
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#3
Awwww, I hate to spoil the fun, but over in Islamallamaland they use "beef sausage" which tastes nothing like shit what you're used to.
#4
Here they use chicken sausage to make the pizza halal, and Burger King use turkey bacon - one of the world's great dumb ideas. I refuse to eat either. I wonder how many others are like me.
Posted by: Phil B ||
06/13/2004 19:22 Comments ||
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#5
Phil B - Where (as approximately as you wish to be) is here? Lol!
Posted by: Phil B ||
06/13/2004 19:31 Comments ||
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#7
Cool! Been through there a coupla times, but not long enought to really have fun or get myself caned, heh. That is one of the places I can picture myself retiring to...
#8
Awwww, I hate to spoil the fun, but over in Islamallamaland they use "beef sausage" which tastes nothing like shit what you're used to.
Perhaps, but the pizzas were ordered from the Crystal City and Georgetown Domino's. Unless things are much worse than I thought, those areas aren't yet Islamallamaland.
Yet.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
06/13/2004 19:52 Comments ||
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#9
Oops! Sorry RC - I wasn't paying attention. I was empathizing with the Harley Kid, though I don't really much care for him otherwise. At the end of my tour I was actually dreaming about Italian Sausage pizza. Now, life is good.
#10
I just would like to know if the Secret Service agents put a little Domino's flag on the roof of their armored SUV when they went to deliver the pizzas to his Majesty...
#13
Zenster - I'll take your word for Domino's taste; don't eat it myself. I'd rather patronize the local pizza restaurants. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/13/2004 21:25 Comments ||
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#14
That is one of the places I can picture myself retiring to... Its a nice place - safe, clean and stuff works, but expensive by the standards of the region, although not by Western standards. Also a lot of westerners don't like the climate - hot and humid all the time, but you get used to it.
Posted by: Phil B ||
06/13/2004 22:05 Comments ||
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A strong legal argument can be made that the name of the city of Los Angeles -- even worse its formal name, "The Town of Our Lady the Queen of Angels of the Little Portion" -- violates the constitutional requirement for separation of church and state.
Is the tipping point coming in this silliness?
Some constitutional law experts say the American Civil Liberties Unionâs campaign to remove a small cross from the Los Angeles County seal and similar efforts elsewhere in the country help build a foundation for challenges against communities like San Francisco, San Diego or Santa Barbara. "Thatâs absolutely right," said Joerg Knipprath, a professor of constitutional law at the Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles. "The cross is a minor symbol on the county seal whereas Los Angeles is the âCity of Angels.â San Clemente, Santa Monica, Sacramento, San Francisco, etc., are all religious references. Itâs far-fetched at this point. I donât think itâs going to happen in the next 10 years. But if somebody said 10 or 20 years ago that we were going to challenge the Pledge of Allegiance or this tiny little cross on the county seal, the argument would have been that was far-fetched too." The First Amendment bans the government from making an "establishment of religion," so Los Angelesâ name -- a reference to Mary, the mother of Jesus -- could be construed as illegal.
I'd say that the ACLU is on a crusade, but that's prolly too religious a term to use around them...
On those grounds, the Ninth Moonbat Circus Court of Appeals a federal appeals court ruled in 2002 that the phrase "under God" was impermissible in the Pledge of Allegiance if teachers led schoolchildren in reciting it. That ruling was put on hold until the U.S. Supreme Court hands down a final ruling in the California case, which could come by July. This month, groveling bowing to the ACLUâs Southern California chapter, Los Angeles County supervisors agreed to replace a Christian cross on its 47-year-old official seal with depictions of a mission and indigenous people. The ACLU said it found no fault with the seal of the city of Los Angeles, which is surrounded by a rosary. Douglas Mirell, an attorney and ACLU board member, said he doesnât have insight into where the next "battleground" will be but he "doesnât see" anyone challenging the name of California cities or counties. "not at this very moment." Of course, 3 years ago noone would have seen a court fight over the cross on the LA city seal.
Were his lips moving when he said that?
Were they still on his face after he said it?
ACLU boards decide whether to challenge crosses and other religious symbols on public property after someone makes a complaint to them. "The ACLU has been fairly selective about the religious battles it has taken on over the years," Mirell said. "Itâs obviously a question that divides people, sometimes bitterly. And except in those cases where the law is clear, the ACLU frequently decides its resources are better spent elsewhere." Not frequently enough. I quit ACLU after they spent huge bucks fighting a nativity scene in preference to helping some railroaded dope suspects.
However, some attorneys and activists expect the ACLU or other groups to bring more challenges against cities and counties across the nation unless they remove crosses and other religious symbols on government seals and public property. "I think the ACLU may very well bring similar cases in future years all over the country," said Erwin Chemerinsky, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Southern California. Hey, how about the pentagonal stars on our national flag, sacred to many religions?
Since 1999, the ACLU, other groups and individuals have been successful in getting crosses on government seals removed in Los Angeles County, Redlands and La Mesa, Calif.; Zion, Ill.; Stow, Ohio; Bernalillo, N.M.; Rolling Meadows, Ill.; and Edmond, Okla. A federal court allowed Austin, Texas, to keep a cross on its seal after a legal challenge. We could always claim that the cross is a symbol of state, specifically Roman, power. Multicultists should like that.
To make that work we'd have to bring back crucifixion as part of the death penalty. Hmmmm ...
I dunno. I'm still struggling to decide if I support the morality of the banana-in-the-butt thing...
During the same period, the groups have successfully argued that crosses on public land must be removed -- or forced public entities to give up their ownership of land with crosses -- in Ventura, Simi Valley and the Mojave National Preserve, Calif. Douglas Kmiec, a constitutional law professor at Pepperdine University School of Law, said that if the past is any guide, he expects the ACLU or others to challenge the mention of religion at graduations and the names of cities with religious identification. "The logic of the ACLUâs reasoning would suggest that Santa Monica should be renamed Monica (that sucks), San Diego should be renamed Diego and on down the line. Los Angeles is a similar reference to angels. The full title of Los Angeles is a distinctly religious name."
So what're they gonna name it? Pittsburgh is already taken. So's Jackson's Hole...
ACLU spokesman Tenoch Flores said the organization only becomes involved in issues when contacted by people who believe there is a problem, and he doesnât expect anyone to challenge the name of Los Angeles or other communities. "That has got to be one of the most ridiculous things Iâve ever heard. Nobody is considering suing to change city names. If anybody were to bring such a suit, it would laughed out of court and rightfully so. We donât go around looking for things, but we certainly donât back down in the face of criticism if itâs determined that a constitutional issue is at stake."
Even if they laugh you out of court?
Bruce Einhorn, chairman of the Anti-Defamation League in Los Angeles, which supported the county supervisorsâ decision to remove the cross, said the ADL doesnât file lawsuits and doesnât know if there is a good legal argument to challenge the name of Los Angeles. "Itâs very hypothetical and distinctively different from very specific symbols of religious faith, whether they be Stars of David, Christian crosses or Islamic crescents," Einhorn said. "Weâd have to cross that bridge when itâs built. We would rather not stoke fires that havenât been started."
Once they're started, that's a different story...
Jay Seculow, a radio host and chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, a Virginia-based public interest law firm founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson -- which had offered to defend the Los Angeles County seal in court -- said the fight over the seal is part of a trend. "(The goal is to) purge all religious observances and references from American public life. Will (opponents) try to get the name of Los Angeles changed? Sure. Why not, if they can get the cross removed from the seal?" Hmmm, what will they offer for a new name?
Castrograd perhaps?
Chomskystadt?
Villa Chavez?
PC power-seekers like clumsy termininology (since it forces everyone to go out of their way to accommodate PC-PS preferences). How about OâHair-RamseyClarkberg?
#1
There are precedents for this, of course.
"Saint Petersburg" became "Leningrad" after a certain revolution many years ago, and many other religiously derived names were changed as well. It is Saint Petersburg again now, and the freedom-to-stamp-out-religion gang might do well to take heed from this turn of events.
"Where were you born?"
"St. Petersburg."
"Where did you grow up?"
"Petrograd."
"Where do you live now?"
"Leningrad."
"And where would you like to live?"
"St. Petersburg."
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
06/13/2004 23:12 Comments ||
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#11
This kind of shit comes from asshats without enough work to do.
Via FARK.
A Rocklin nonprofit organization used money it won in environmental lawsuits against businesses to pay off personal credit card debt, taxes and mortgage payments, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by California Attorney General Bill Lockyer. The lawsuit calls for the dissolution of California Community Health Advocates, which has not been active recently, and the distribution of its money to further the health causes that the nonprofit originally was formed to advocate. The attorney general also sued two other groups, Consumer Cause and Consumer Advocacy Group, both of Los Angeles, saying they misused funds that were won in lawsuits enforcing Proposition 65. The groups had sued businesses for allegedly violating Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, which requires companies to stop polluting water supplies and to post warnings if people may be exposed to cancer-causing chemicals.
In the name of public health, California Community Health Advocates collected $538,397, plus attorney and court costs, from settlements with 22 businesses in Southern California courts between 2000 and 2002, according to the lawsuit. The attorney general alleged that, instead of using the funds for environmental causes as the settlements required, $134,000 went to Penryn resident Lorell Long, who was executive director of the organization; $34,000 paid off credit card debt; and $34,000 went to buy musical equipment and sheet music, among other expenses. Long, a singer who opened a Loomis recording studio in 2000 and ran unsuccessfully for Placer County supervisor in 1994, did not return phone calls. "To my knowledge, those monies were used for environmental purposes," said her son, Ethan Long. "The books probably werenât kept correctly." I know nothing, NOTHING!!
He and Lorell Longâs stepdaughter, Pauline Wales, are co-defendants in the lawsuit in their role as board members of the organization. Ethan Long, a New York resident, said the organization dissolved two years ago. "The state of California seems to be cracking down on environmentalists," he said. Seems to be? More like âisâ. Remove all sharp objects from your pants before grabbing the ankles...
Cracking down on environmentalists or cracking down on crooks?
The attorney generalâs office said its actions are meant to protect Proposition 65 by curbing abuses. "Weâve got a landmark statute here, approved by the voters, that has served the people of this state well," spokesman Tom Dresslar said. "Anything that undermines Proposition 65âs ability to carry out its objective ... is something that weâre not going to countenance." The lawsuit alleges the Placer County group, which was formed in 1996, engaged in fraud, breaking state laws on business practices and nonprofit organizations. It has never filed financial statements, as required by law, Dresslar said. Red flag at night, red flag at night, whoa, uh uh...
But the attorney general is not questioning the legitimacy of the original lawsuits the group won, or the settlements reached, he said. Jeff Margulies, a Los Angeles attorney who has defended companies in Proposition 65 litigation brought by Consumer Cause and Consumer Advocacy Group, said more safeguards are needed to prevent abuse of the law. "Iâve always said that it allows people who are motivated by things other than the public interest to use the public interest as an excuse to make money," he said. What else is a leftist good for, except to suck on the teat public?
Such misconduct should be prosecuted, said Michael Green, executive director of the Oakland-based Center for Environmental Health, which also does Proposition 65 litigation. Jail and disgorgement work for me, what about you?
"If anyoneâs using this public-interest law for private gain, we think itâs a really good thing that (the attorney general) is doing something about it," Green said. As an activist, Lorell Long has fought developers in Placer County for years, campaigning for anti-growth measures and helping defeat a shopping center project. "Her heartâs in the right place," Ethan Long said. The perfect summarizing sentence for the Leftâs self-justification for their philosophy.
No doubt her heart's in the right place, but where's the money?
Posted by: Raj ||
06/13/2004 11:14:00 AM ||
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#1
Yep, they're getting abou $25K per settlement. Some might call it legalized extortion -- pay a settlement or go to court and pay much more just to defend oneself.
Nice work if you can get away with it. Asshats.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/13/2004 16:30 Comments ||
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#2
Cracking down on environmentalists or cracking down on crooks?
I'd say both, Fred. Earth First types are not treated with the same level of seriousness as are other terrorists (eco-terrorism and all that), and I'm well aware of non profit organizations rarely, if ever, being audited / investigated because such audits are deemed 'politically sensitive' as I was 1) told so and 2) never granted permission to conduct those audits back in my Mass. DOR field auditing days, regardless of the audit issues I raised (and there were plenty).
More people may have been exposed to chemical warfare agents during the 1990 Gulf War than previously thought, a report says. The US government revealed in 1996 that some people may have been exposed to chemicals when troops destroyed a stockpile of agents in southern Iraq.
Rest at the link.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
06/13/2004 12:25:39 AM ||
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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.
