Any bets on this desecration being mentioned in the MSM? Do you think Kennedy or Turbin Durbin will mention it? The ACLU?
Didn't think so.....
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Someone urinated in the holy water at a suburban Rochester, N.Y., Catholic church.
Four local teens have been charged with that and other vandalism.
Monroe County sheriff's deputies said the teenagers smashed wine bottles against the walls, left bicycle skid marks on the carpet, emptied the fire extinguishers and burned cigarette holes in the Saint Pious X Church.
The damage is estimated at $17,000.
Charged are 18-year-old Dan Seklar, 17-year-old Richard DeCarolis, 16-year-old Michael Street and a 15-year-old who is being charged as a juvenile. All are charged with burglary and criminal mischief, both felonies.
War Of The Worlds has been blamed for a mass panic in Siberia after locals mistook a tornado for an alien invasion. Easy to do this---when you haven't seen aliens before.
People in the Khabarovsk region of Siberia jumped into their cars and fled their homes in panic when the freak wind arrived out of nowhere, flattening trees and destroying property. Lada, don't fail me now!
But officials from local emergency services said the destruction had been caused by a freak tornado that ripped through the area. Just a freak tornado, good people, nothing to see here, move along now.
They blamed the fear of an alien invasion on the recent showing of the Tom Cruise epic. Damned fear mongering Americanskis!
Natalia Lukash, spokesperson for Russia's Far-Eastern Emergency Situations Centre, said: "It was a strange phenomenon and many people jumped to the wrong conclusion and believed it had been caused by alien space ships landing in the area."
A team of experts has been sent to the area to survey the damage. Da, eez a tornado, a freeek of naturrre. What eez for lunch now?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/08/2005 17:13 ||
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The mind boggles....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/08/2005 18:16 Comments ||
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ISTANBUL, Turkey --First one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff, Turkish media reported.
"Lucy! Margret, no! Come back! That goat meant nothing to me!"
In the end, 450 dead animals lay on top of one another in a billowy white pile, the Aksam newspaper said. Those who jumped later were saved as the pile got higher and the fall more cushioned, Aksam reported.
Now there is a word picture I won't soon forget
"There's nothing we can do. They're all wasted," Nevzat Bayhan, a member of one of 26 families whose sheep were grazing together in the herd, was quoted as saying by Aksam.
The estimated loss to families in the town of Gevas, located in Van province in eastern Turkey, tops $100,000, a significant amount of money in a country where average GDP per head is around $2,700. "Every family had an average of 20 sheep," Aksam quoted another villager, Abdullah Hazar as saying. "But now only a few families have sheep left. It's going to be hard for us."
Posted by: Steve ||
07/08/2005 10:32 ||
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#1
Look at the bright side. Big BBQ with meat already tenderized.
I did have lamb chops for dinner last night and they were tasty.
#4
I knew those genetic experiments using lemming DNA would come to this, but would they listen to me? NoooOOOOooo!
Posted by: Dar ||
07/08/2005 12:46 Comments ||
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#5
They're all wasted
Apparently so.
Posted by: R ||
07/08/2005 13:55 Comments ||
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#6
Meanwhile, on a discussion thread at Democratic Underground:
Look. I'm horrified and sorry for the poor sheep but I'm wise to 9/11 and this is just too suspicious for me. Maybe I'm way too cynical or hateful of PNAC and this administration but I can see clearly how this will serve Bu$h.
-- Gets attention off Rove, Wilson/Plame, the Supreme Court, the Italian CIA and other big problems for Bu$h.
-- Pays back the Turks for not supporting Chimpy's oil war.
-- Pays off Bu$h's rich rancher contributors.
-- Means cheap lamb chops for Halliburton to sell back to the govt. at inflated prices.
-- Keeps the press too busy for investigations.
Every time Bu$h needs a distraction, a shark bites some kid or Michael jackson gets indicted or the Reds blow a three-run lead. Of course the Pre$$ always lets him get away with it. Bastards.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/08/2005 15:47 Comments ||
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HURRICANE DENNIS ADVISORY NUMBER 16
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
11 AM EDT FRI JUL 08 2005 Updated EFL
DENNIS NOW A STRONGER CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE AS IT NEARS THE SOUTH-CENTRAL COAST OF CUBA...
A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE LOWER FLORIDA KEYS FROM THE SEVEN MILE BRIDGE WESTWARD TO THE DRY TORTUGAS. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING AND A HURRICANE WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE FLORIDA KEYS...EAST OF THE SEVEN MILE BRIDGE TO OCEAN REEF AND FLORIDA BAY. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR CAYMAN BRAC AND LITTLE CAYMAN ISLAND.
A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS ALSO IN EFFECT ALONG THE FLORIDA WEST COAST SOUTH OF BONITA BEACH...AND ALONG THE FLORIDA EAST COAST SOUTH OF GOLDEN BEACH. A TROPICAL STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT ALONG THE FLORIDA WEST COAST NORTH OF BONITA BEACH TO LONGBOAT KEY.
AT 11 AM EDT...1500Z...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE DENNIS WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 21.4 NORTH... LONGITUDE 79.9 WEST OR ABOUT 130 MILES... 205 KM... WEST OF CAMAGUEY CUBA AND ABOUT 250 MILES... 405 KM...SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF KEY WEST FLORIDA.
WHILE SOME WOBBLING HAS OCCURRED...AS IS TYPICAL OF A MAJOR HURRICANE...DENNIS IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 15 MPH...24 KM/HR. ON THIS TRACK...THE CENTER SHOULD MAKE LANDFALL ALONG THE SOUTH-CENTRAL COAST OF CUBA THIS AFTERNOON.
RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT DATA INDICATE MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 150 MPH...240 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. DENNIS IS A STRONG CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. SOME WEAKENING IS FORECAST AS DENNIS MOVES OVER CUBA...BUT IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN A MAJOR HURRICANE AS IT EMERGES OVER THE STRAITS OF FLORIDA AND THE SOUTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO TONIGHT.
HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 50 MILES... 85 KM..FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 160 MILES...260 KM. THE MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE RECENTLY REPORTED BY AN AIR FORCE RESERVE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT WAS 938 MB...27.70 INCHES.
STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 5 TO 7 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS...
ALONG WITH LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES...ARE LIKELY IN AREAS OF ONSHORE WINDS ALONG THE SOUTHEAST COAST OF CUBA EAST OF CABO CRUZ. A MUCH LARGER STORM SURGE OF NEAR 20 FEET IS POSSIBLE ALONG THE SOUTHERN COAST OF CUBA WEST OF CABO CRUZ. A STORM SURGE OF 3 TO 6 FEET IS POSSIBLE IN THE LOWER FLORIDA KEYS.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/08/2005 08:49 ||
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Heard this morning that he's gonna run right over Gitmo. Make sure to tell the boys that Allah's really pissed off...
It spared the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, on Cuba's extreme southeast end, holding some 520 terror suspects. A lifeguard tower was torn away by high surf and a bus shelter was destroyed, but there appeared little other damage. U.S. troops on Thursday had fixed metal shutters over the steel mesh windows of some prison cells at Camp Delta, which is just 150 yards from the ocean.
I'm sure they'll be bitching about weather torture in the next few days.
#7
Cat 5? Weather service still sez 4: At 2 PM EDT...1800z...the center of Hurricane Dennis was located near latitude 22.1 north... longitude 80.6 west or near Cienfuegos Cuba. This is also about 125 miles... 205 km...southeast of Havana Cuba and about 190 miles... 300 km...south-southeast of Key West
Florida. While some wobbling has occurred...as is typical of a major Hurricane...Dennis is expected to continue moving toward the northwest near 17 mph...28 km/hr. On this track...the center should emerge off the north-central coast of Cuba this evening.
Reconnaissance aircraft reports indicate maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 145 mph...235 km/hr...with higher gusts.Although Dennis is still a strong category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale...some additional weakening is forecast as Dennis moves over Cuba. However...Dennis is expected to remain a major hurricane as it emerges over The Straits of Florida and the southeastern Gulf of Mexico this evening.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/08/2005 14:39 Comments ||
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Gust of 185MPH. Sorry, not sustained winds.
Still,
HOLY CRAP!
#9
HURRICANE DENNIS TROPICAL CYCLONE UPDATE
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL
310 PM EDT FRI JUL 08 2005
REPORTS FROM THE CUBAN METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE AND CIVIL DEFENSE THROUGH HAM RADIO OPERATORS INDICATE A WIND GUST TO 149 MPH OCCURRED AT CIENFUEGOS CUBA AROUND 130 PM EDT. MORE THAN 85 PERCENT OF THE POWERLINES WERE DOWN AND EXTENSIVE DAMAGE HAS OCCURRED TO THE COMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE.
My compliments to Haliburton Weather Modification Division - Hurricane Control Branch.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/08/2005 15:54 Comments ||
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Huge quantities of destructive hot air - I thought you were talking about Kucinich!
#11
At least I won't be near this one. Of the 20 worst hurricanes to hit the US I've managed to be in 12 of them. Head this way if you need to Ship.
Lat.36-22.021
Long. 82-38.787
Elev. 1731 feet
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
07/08/2005 21:15 Comments ||
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A couple pleaded guilty Thursday to hiring a stripper for their son's 16th birthday party and were sentenced to two years probation. Landon and Anette Pharris, who were charged with contributing the delinquency of a minor, also were ordered to take parenting classes. The parents hired the stripper to perform at a September party attended by about a dozen young people.
Cassandra Joyce Park, 29, who police say used the stage name "Sassy," danced for a few hours before partygoers took up a collection and paid her $150 more to fully disrobe, Anette Pharris said. The stripper and the man she was with were also granted probation. Police were tipped off to the party by a photo developer at a drug store who saw pictures of the occasion.
Pharris said after being arrested that she tried to do something special for her son. "We even had grandpa there," she said. I love this woman, lol!
#5
Heeeeeeere's Cassy!
And on the right the kid she stripped for. At first I thought it was the kid's mother. Get a haircut kid! You look like a 40 year old woman!
#1
Ima watchin' OLN, and Lance just avoided another crash a few min. ago - they came on some railroad tracks in the rain, he moved up about 10 positions and tried to take the rails at a 90 degree angle as much as possible. He made it; about 10-15 riders bought the farm.
#2
Lance is already a TdF legend and if he wins his 7th he'll be superman. I think, the 13th after the Col du Galibier (8678 ft, for heaven sake!)we'll know who is who in this Tour.
#3
The man has been an incredibly consistent, tough, persistent and honorable competitor in a difficult sport. Too bad the French can't seem to bring themselves to fully embrace his talent and accomplishments.
Now these "inmates" have to endure a hurricane! Surely Durbin, et al are clambering to have them evaluated immediately!
Dennis is now the most intense June or July hurricane on record, beating out Hurricane Audrey of June 1957, which was a Category 4 storm with 145 mph winds and a central pressure of 946 mb at its peak. Audrey killed 390 people in Texas and Louisiana when it came ashore, making it the sixth most deadly U.S. hurricane on record.
Today will be the worst day in Cuba's modern history. Dennis is a worst-case hurricane following a worst-case path for the island. The storm is already punishing Cuba as it moves parallel to the island, subjecting much of the island to hurricane force winds and rainfall totals of 10 - 15 inches, and destroying much of the rich sugar cane fields and other crops. The situation will get much worse tonight when the storm makes landfall, pushing a storm surge of 20 feet or higher onto a long section of the coast. Dennis will pass near Havana, the most heavily populated part of the island. Although loss of life will be low thanks to Cuba's excellent civil defense system, the destruction of buildings will probably be the worst in Cuba's history. Building collapses are common in Cuba without having hurricane winds battering the cities. Dennis will damage or destroy hundreds of thousands of buildings, leaving a large percentage of Cuba's population homeless. Lack of fresh water and electricity will be serious problems, and Cuba's political stability could well be threatened by the scope of what is likely to be its greatest disaster in modern history.
On that cheerful note, let's talk about the plight of the poor people living in Florida's panhandle, which is likely to bear the brunt of yet another major U.S. landfalling hurricane. Dennis will cross Cuba over a realtively flat section of the island, and be reduced in intensity to only a Category 3 or weak Category 4. Once over the Gulf, some intensification is likely, but the amount remains uncertain. The waters get cooler further north, and since we are still early in July, the depth of warm waters is limited. Dennis may stir up enough cool waters from down deep to limit intensification to a Category 4, or perhaps even reduce it to a Category 2. Dennis looks likely to hit within 50 miles of where last year's Category 3 Hurricane Ivan hit, killing 25 and causing $7 billion in damage. Expect a repeat of this performance, although the exact strength of Dennis at landfall could range between Category 2 and Category 4, and will greatly influence how much damage is done. Key West will likely get hurricane force winds tonight, but miss a direct hit by 40 or so miles. The outer bands of Dennis are already affecting the island; a squall with heavy rain and winds to 30 mph passed through the island at 8:30am. The rest of the west coast of Florida is also likely to miss a direct hit, but still get tropical storm force winds of about 40 mph.
#3
It's possible for Dennis to hit a gap in the central spine.... if it does good for them bad for us. If it runs across the sierra madre the rain will have a horrific impact on rural cubans. Let's try for more than 50 grand this time.
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - A Venezuelan judge has ruled the directors of a nonprofit group must be tried for allegedly using foreign funds to help organize a recall vote against President Hugo Chavez. The judge on Thursday ordered trials for opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and three other directors of the Sumate group. They face conspiracy charges stemming from the organization's use of a $31,000 (euro26,040) contribution last year from the Washington-based National Endowment for Democracy, which supports democratic development in scores of countries.
Corina Machado said the group would continue working "for the electoral education and mobilization of Venezuelans," even if its directors are found guilty and must serve time in prison. Sumate has some 500 directors and 40,000 volunteers in Venezuela.
Venezuela's ruling party lawmakers said the endowment's contribution violates a constitutional provision that forbids citizens from receiving support from foreign countries intent on destroying Venezuela's government. The National Endowment for Democracy, or NED, which receives funds from the U.S. Congress, says its programs in Venezuela support groups and individuals "struggling to strengthen democratic processes, rights, and values, irrespective of their political or partisan affiliations." U.S. ambassador to Venezuela, William Brownfield, has said the NED would continue funding pro-democracy organizations in Venezuela, including Sumate. The State Department has expressed "grave concern" that Venezuelan political activists can be subject to charges of treason or conspiracy if they receive foreign funding.
Chavez has labeled Sumate leaders "traitors" while many opposition sympathizers in this politically-divided South American nation say the organization's directors have helped push for more democratic election rules.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/08/2005 09:00 ||
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Takes time to get all the workings of a good dictatorship up and going though money for next to nothing from oil does help.
#2
I don't usually post links to my own comments. But what is happening in Venezuela is potentially as serious as Islamacist jihad. We've got to wake up to what is happening there and throughout Latin America. More here and here.
A durable new drug that prevents HIV from entering human cells and causes almost no side effects has been developed by a team of researchers at Kumamoto University.
The new drug, code named AK602, was reported by the research team's leader, Hiroaki Mitsuya, at the International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific in Kobe on Tuesday.
The drug's main feature is that it shuts out the AIDS virus at the point when it tries to intrude into a human cell.
Current AIDS medicines can lose their effectiveness in a few days when the virus changes and develops a resistance to those drugs. But AK602 is different because it reacts to human cells instead of attacking the virus, Mitsuya said.
He said the drug sticks to a protein called CCR5 that acts as an entrance into human cells for the AIDS virus. When the new drug becomes attached to the protein, it can prevent HIV from entering, and thus stop the virus from spreading.
The researchers conducted clinical tests on 40 AIDS patients in the United States.
AK602 not only proved effective against viruses that had become resistant to other drugs, but it also caused almost no side effects, the team said.(IHT/Asahi: July 7,2005)
If this drug is that effective and cheap, YEAHA! Proof once again that Western (including Japan and Taiwan) tech, know how, and good old fashioned elbow grease are superior to ANYTHING that the Islamic nations or Socialist regimes have ever produced. So, all you liberal asswhipes who hate our culture but live in it none the less, FUCK OFF!
#1
MM - careful, that's how it all got spread around.
Note well that without massive funding from the US Congress, the Japanese seem to have gotten some success. Time to hammer every 'face' who goes before Congress demanding more money to be wasted on academic welfare under the guise of unending and no results research. Aid to Africa by anyother name. Feely good acts that cost billions and deliver nothing.
Part 1: Chinese dragon awakens
China is building its military forces faster than U.S. intelligence and military analysts expected, prompting fears that Beijing will attack Taiwan in the next two years, according to Pentagon officials.
U.S. defense and intelligence officials say all the signs point in one troubling direction: Beijing then will be forced to go to war with the United States, which has vowed to defend Taiwan against a Chinese attack.
China's military buildup includes an array of new high-technology weapons, such as warships, submarines, missiles and a maneuverable warhead designed to defeat U.S. missile defenses. Recent intelligence reports also show that China has stepped up military exercises involving amphibious assaults, viewed as another sign that it is preparing for an attack on Taiwan.
"There's a growing consensus that at some point in the mid-to-late '90s, there was a fundamental shift in the sophistication, breadth and re-sorting of Chinese defense planning," said Richard Lawless, a senior China-policy maker in the Pentagon. "And what we're seeing now is a manifestation of that change in the number of new systems that are being deployed, the sophistication of those systems and the interoperability of the systems." ...more...
Part 2: Thefts of U.S. technology boost China's weaponry
China is stepping up its overt and covert efforts to gather intelligence and technology in the United States, and the activities have boosted Beijing's plans to rapidly produce advanced-weapons systems.
"I think you see it where something that would normally take 10 years to develop takes them two or three," said David Szady, chief of FBI counterintelligence operations.
He said the Chinese are prolific collectors of secrets and military-related information.
"What we're finding is that [the spying is] much more focused in certain areas than we ever thought, such as command and control and things of that sort," Mr. Szady said.
"In the military area, the rapid development of their 'blue-water' navy -- like the Aegis weapons systems -- in no small part is probably due to some of the research and development they were able to get from the United States," he said.
The danger of Chinese technology acquisition is that if the United States were called on to fight a war with China over the Republic of China (Taiwan), U.S. forces could find themselves battling a U.S.-equipped enemy. ...more...
This has been out there for a while. Gertz knows this stuff cold.
Com, good job of editing on this. Thanks.
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/08/2005 8:56 Comments ||
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U.S. forces could find themselves battling a U.S.-equipped enemy
No, we could find ourselves fighting a US technology stolen and retrofited enemy. Get it right dumbass. Oh, and thank you Mr. Clinton for letting China steal our shit and not doing a thing about it, except sending more shit for them to steal.
#3
He said the Chinese are prolific collectors of secrets and military-related information.
And the Soviets weren't?
My bet is that they collapse internally before they can do much harm beyond Taiwan. Taiwan will be their Falklands, the last gasp of a failing government trying to redirect attention during the usual and painful downturn in any economy.
#4
The Soviets stole what they could, but the Chinese are in a league all by themselves. In addition, the "West" never wholesale sold technology, plants, and materiel to the Soviets in exchage for consumer goods. If we did, much of the world would be communist and the Soviets, instead of dissolving, would be at the top.
In addition to stolen weapons designs (e.g. W88 warheads), their have been very shortsighted sales (esp in the 1990's) such as machinery to build one piece fighter aircraft wings, tech help to improve the reliability of their ICBMs space launchers, etc. Marx may have been right with his observation that "The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them". He just was wrong as to the buyer.
Posted by: ed ||
07/08/2005 10:45 Comments ||
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#5
Well said, Ed, but I agree with CG6152. We may be seeing the beginning of the end. There have been at least 2 reports of "accidents" with new technology in the Chinese Navy lately. I don't think it'll be anytime soon (their collapse), but maybe another "arms race" is just what we need to make 'em collapse (a'la Reagan and the Soviets)? They are in a much better position than the Soviets in that we GAVE them a lot of this technology (thanks, Bill).
Posted by: BA ||
07/08/2005 11:20 Comments ||
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#6
Sigh. Just think, BA, how much cheaper (and safer for the US) it would've been if we'd merely kept ol' Bill supplied with hookers dressed as Interns. Sure, during Camelot II, it would've prevented the China Sellout, but that would've never happened or been necessary if we'd figured it out back when he was chasing skirts in ArkoAmerica. Coulda kept the clown smiling right up to the heart attack that finishes him off, cheap! And no Hillary. What a deal. Lost Opportunities.
#7
Man, .com, imagine the possibilities! Plus, "unemployment" would've been low in all the trailer parks he was cruisin'. You're right, lost opportunities!
Posted by: BA ||
07/08/2005 13:02 Comments ||
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Posted by: Steve White ||
07/08/2005 00:00 ||
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PALE, Bosnia - NATO snatched the son of Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic from his home on Thursday hoping he could lead them to his father,
Imagine the hue and cry if US were to snatch Bini's relative.
#3
ABC Radio is saying that Novak is saying that it will be after Bush returns from Europe.
Whenver it might be, and whomever the nominee(s), Patrick Ruffini has good advice for the GOP as well as any group with interest in a judiciary that reads the law and does not rewrite it from the bench. Check it here.
#4
Filobuster Bagogas Kennedy will probably blow a gasket...
If he does, I bet he gets his care at the King Fahd Specialist Hospital. He'll be stable for the next twenty years while his staff handles his senatorial duties. The voters of Massachusets will keep re-electing him because, let's be honest, they haven't read the names on their ballots for the last thirty years.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
07/08/2005 14:54 Comments ||
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#5
Filling 2 seats at once?
Gawd wotta circus - Something bizarre this way comes...
Gawd wotta opportunity - if they'll NUKE the DhimmiDonks...
#6
I have a feeling he will be filling 3 seats in the coming 6-9 months. Either way, this is gonna get ugly. I am looking forward to it. Watching the dems try to explain how the latest rulings are actually for the common man and is in our best interests. Like Kelo for example. You don't know what is best for your land, so we take it away from you for the betterment of the land developers and the tax man. See! Common good for the common man!
The voters ain't gonna buy it, 'cus we ain't dumb. The dems are going to be in serious trouble in '06 if the republicans don't fuck this up.
Reporter Bob Novak declares on CNN that Rehnquist will announce retirement today after Bush's planel touches down at Andrews AFB approx. 4:50 PM EDT... DEVELOPING...
#8
I have loved watching the Dhimis shadow boxing with themselves over who the nominee(s) will be and how unqualified the yet to be named person is for the job. A fight? Maybe, but VERY entertaining to say the least.
#11
Don't forget that there will be at least 3 nomination fights. Whoever replaces Rehnquist as Chief has undergo the confirmation process too. I don't think the Donks have that much ammo. If Stevens goes too then they are in real trouble.
#12
If he announces, Rhenquist should (and probably will) announce AFTER Bush has named O'Connor's replacement - gives Bush the breathing room he needs to line up for a solid conservative (Luttig?) and a chief justice (Scalia?).
If Stevens is going to go now, he may attempt to "pair up" with Rhenquist to try to help the Dems get a "1 conservative, 1 liberal retired, so thats what Bush should appoint, 1 cons 1 lib". That might be how Bush gets Gonzales on the court (the "liberal" spot).
Willie Brown has met his match and gone down in flames.
With uncharacteristic dispatch, the state Legislature approved California's $117.5 billion budget on Thursday, sending Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger the same agreement he struck earlier this week with legislative leaders.
The vote was 64-13 in the Assembly and 34-4 in the Senate, a show of support far greater than the two-thirds vote required for passage in both houses.
The governor is expected to sign the spending plan early next week. It would mark the earliest date California has approved a budget in five years.
The compromise spending plan _ negotiated by Schwarzenegger and leaders from both parties over the Fourth of July weekend _ achieves the governor's goals of avoiding tax increases and deficit spending for the fiscal year that began Friday.
"The leadership came through and delivered what they had discussed with the governor in the Big Five," Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Margita Thompson said, referring to meetings between the governor and the four leaders of the Assembly and Senate.
The budget provides $3 billion more for schools and brings total education spending, including higher education, to $61 billion, a record for the state.
An unexpected infusion of about $4 billion from the improving state economy also allowed the state to spend $1.3 billion on road and transportation projects, return $1.2 billion to city and county governments and pay down some of its debt.
The budget also reduces the expected state deficit in the 2006-07 fiscal year from $15 billion to $4.7 billion.
"This is a very good first step," said Republican Kevin McCarthy, the Assembly's minority leader. "This is the right step, the right direction, but let's keep the movement going forward."
Economists and fiscal analysts warn that future shortfalls are likely to continue until a long-term fix is found. The state's persistent fiscal imbalance is a result of generous spending by lawmakers in recent years and complex funding formulas that lock in spending increases each year.
The absence of a prolonged budget battle this year frees Schwarzenegger and Democratic leaders to focus on compromises to initiatives on a November special election ballot.
The GOP governor is seeking through initiatives to cap state spending, change how legislative districts are drawn and extend the time it takes teachers to get tenure from two years to five.
Schwarzenegger and the majority Democrats have been mindful of growing voter disenchantment with their job performance, pushing both sides to show they can work together. It's AP, so the closer was pre-fated to be a swipe.
#1
The budget provides $3 billion more for schools and brings total education spending, including higher education, to $61 billion, a record for the state.
This is just like sending more money to Africa. It'll all disappear with no truely measureable results to show to justify the expenditure.
#4
Would feel better about the $61B if more California high school graduates could read and write English OR balance a checkbook.
Posted by: Random thoughts ||
07/08/2005 14:16 Comments ||
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#5
The US spends (per NationMaster) 7.0% of its GDP in education (all levels), while government spending is 4.7% of GDP. That is the highest of all industrialized countries. It isn't the amount, but the poor return on investment of tax funded K-12 education that is controversial.
1.United States 7.0% of GDP
2.Denmark 6.7% of GDP
3.Sweden 6.5% of GDP
4.Canada 6.4% of GDP
5.France 6.1% of GDP
6.Australia 6.0% of GDP
7.Norway 5.9% of GDP
8.New Zealand 5.8% of GDP
9.Switzerland 5.7% of GDP
10.Austria 5.7% of GDP
Posted by: ed ||
07/08/2005 14:28 Comments ||
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#6
I blame the poor quality of students these days.
#7
7% for Edumacation, yes, that is good. And 7% for you regular UN Dues. And 7% to the UN for African Aid, um, thingys. And 7% for General Aid thingys. And 7% for Emergency Aid thingys. And 7% for the UN's Peacekeeping thingys. And 7% for the new digs that are so urgently required. And 7% for Kyoto thingys (pre-real-world math, that is). And 7% reparations for Afghanistan and Iraq cuz you did so many terrible things to the infrastructure there.
Send the Armored Cars, a lump sum each month would be fine, in unmarked bills, to me directly, please. I will be keeping the books on this one. Sevan is unavailable. Thank you for giving your Fair Share.
#8
Little known secret. When those international test that compare high schools students are administered, the US gives them to a sample of _all_ high school kids. When Europe, Japan, et al give the test, they only give them to their college prep kids -- what they would call in Germany a Gymnasium or in France a Lycee. Remember that in countries outside the US, most kids don't get to go to a regular high school. At 13 or 14 you take a test and most kids end up in a "vocational" school with no shot at college at all.
It's part of the whole culture of "bureaucratic failure" we have here in the US. No one gets funded by succeeding. So you jiggle the figures to prove that the US has the dumbest kids in the world, or that we have the highest rate of infant mortality in the developed world (hint: we count much younger premies than anyone else), whine to city hall, the state house and Congress, and the money flows in.
#9
It'll all disappear with no truely measureable results to show to justify the expenditure.
Not to worry. At the very least, what we'll get for our money will be half-educated kids of illegal immigrants. This is on top of the half-educated kids of Americans and legal residents...
Baseball and softball were dropped Friday from the Olympic program for the 2012 London Games, making the two American-invented sports the first events cut from the Olympics in 69 years.
Each of the 28 existing sports was put to a secret vote by the International Olympic Committee, and baseball and softball failed to receive a majority required to stay on the program. The other 26 sports were retained.
"I think they've made a big, big mistake," said Tommy Lasorda, the former Dodgers manager who managed the U.S. team to the gold medal in the 2000 Sydney Games. "Baseball is played by all countries now and softball, too. I think that's really going to hurt the Olympics. I don't want to knock the other sports, but I think this is a big mistake. I am very disappointed. I was fortunate enough to coach the U.S. Olympic team in Australia. The parks were full at all times. How can they take away a sport like that?"
The IOC will consider replacing them with two sports from a waiting list of five: golf, rugby, squash, karate and roller sports. That decision will be made Saturday.
Baseball and softball, which will remain for the 2008 Beijing Games, are the first sports eliminated since polo was dropped in 1936.
"That's a shame," said Arizona third baseman Troy Glaus, who played for the U.S. team that won bronze in 1996. "Baseball is one of the more global sports. There's not too many countries around who don't play it at some level."
Seattle pitcher Ryan Franklin, who won three games for the U.S. in 2000, said, "It's our national pastime, so it's sad to see. There's a lot of guys up here who would like to represent their country by playing baseball. It was a great experience, and probably one of the reasons why I was able to get to the big leagues and stay."
Baseball, which became a medal sport in 1992, has been vulnerable because it doesn't bring top major league players to the Olympics. Softball, a women's medal sport since 1996, has been in danger because of a perceived lack of global appeal and participation. The United States has dominated, winning all three gold medals.
"Needless to say, these sports are very, very disappointed," IOC president Jacques Rogge said. "However, I have to emphasize the fact that they should not fear this purge. The fact is that they shall not be included in the program of the 2012 Olympic Games, but it does not disqualify them forever as Olympic sports."
On Monday, Major League Baseball and the players' union plan to launch the World Baseball Classic, a 16-nation tournament that will begin in March and feature players on big league rosters.
Aldo Notari, the Italian president of the International Baseball Federation, acknowledged that the absence of major leaguers in the Olympics was the crucial factor in the sport's exclusion. "One is not happy when one is in this situation," he said. "The problem with baseball is the best players are not going to the Olympics Games. But baseball is still in Beijing and it is still necessary to work for the future in 2016."
Don Porter, the American president of the International Softball Federation, said he was devastated by the vote. "We thought that we had a lot of support," he said. "The members told us we were getting support, but obviously we weren't."
Porter said the decision goes back to Mexico City in 2002 when Rogue tried - but failed - to get baseball, softball and modern pentathlon removed. "They wanted us out," Porter said. "They didn't get us out - it took them three years and now they got us out. I just think the IOC wanted some opportunity to introduce several new sports ... and in order to do that, they had to remove a couple of sports and that's what they did today."
Baseball and softball are sports rooted in American tradition. "I don't want to say it's an anti-U.S. thing, but they are two native American sports," Porter said.
He noted that modern pentathlon, which has been on the program since the first modern games in 1896, had tradition and European support on its side. "Europe has strong voting power in the IOC," Porter said. "They worked hard, they did the right thing to get enough to stay in."
The IOC will keep the voting figures secret. Not even the IOC members or sports federations will learn the totals. The secrecy was requested by the international federations in order to avoid any ranking or embarrassment for any sports that just barely make the cut.
Rogge said the figures will be seen only by an independent official, who will send the results by sealed envelope to an IOC notary in Lausanne, Switzerland. Rogge will only open the envelope in the case of a voting dispute.
Senior IOC member Dick Pound of Canada harshly criticized the secrecy, saying it undermined the IOC's moves for openness. He said it was in the interests of the sports federations themselves to know how they stand. "What kind of message does the IOC send when there is complete secrecy on an issue that is important to the world?" Pound said. I think I know...
#5
Personally, I think this shouold include cricket. Its the only team sport played at the highest level on all 5 continents and the number of fans is probably second only to soccer.
#7
People still watch the olympics? The last 10 years have been a dismal failure in the profit department for the countries that hosted them.
I haven't watched the Olympics since 1988.
#8
Agreed, WR! Although they're trying to spin it as it's international, this was a b!tch slap at us! And, I'd agree, NOT having the pros play is an advantage to the Olympics. Honestly, it involves us, Cuba, Dominican Republic and the far east, but this was definitely a slap at us! How else can you explain things like curling (although that's winter olympics, isn't it?), sychronized swimming, skeet shooting (although, I enjoy that), and on and on and on staying on board?
Posted by: BA ||
07/08/2005 10:58 Comments ||
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#9
Quit yur bitchin! It sez they're replacing it with Roller Ball! Let's rumble!
#13
NBC paid $800 million for the TV rights to the 2004 Summer games alone. Throw in corporate sponsorship and the US pays for the majority of the games (excepting government boondoggles in Athens, and the Mother Of All Olympic Boondoggles in Beijing). Declare that the US gov will negotiate all US Olympic rights and offer them a flat $1 million. The other nations will understand (see pharmaceutical buying). By even threatening the above, we could get Nathan's hotdog eating declared an Olympic sport.
Posted by: ed ||
07/08/2005 14:01 Comments ||
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#14
Replace it with golf.
We'll send Tiger Woods.
In 2016, baseball will be back on the list.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
07/08/2005 14:06 Comments ||
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#15
But James Caan's an old guy, now, Ship.
Houston! Houston! Houston!
Actually, I wouldn't mind if they dropped baseball and replaced it with women's oil wrestling.
EFL:MANILA, Philippines -- Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's presidency was in tatters Friday, her base of support eroding by the hour, as former backers abandoned the Philippine leader and added to calls for her resignation over an election scandal. But in a radio address as thousands of people protested against her in Manila's financial district, Arroyo defiantly vowed not to quit, criticized those urging her to resign _ including former President Corazon Aquino, a close ally _ and said she was forging ahead by naming a new Cabinet.
Despite her effort to present a business-as-usual approach, Arroyo appeared to be barely holding on, with prospects rapidly fading for anything other than a peaceful handover of power to Vice President Noli de Castro, who leftist groups said must show that he's not tainted, too.
A third of her Cabinet quit Friday, telling a news conference that Arroyo has been crippled by allegations that she rigged last year's presidential race and has lost the ability to lead. She has denied that she rigged the elections. The Liberal Party, a key part of the ruling coalition backing Arroyo, also called for her resignation and said it would support an impeachment process if she won't yield power.
Two major business groups, the Makati Business Club and the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, also jumped on the bandwagon, as did a coalition of nongovernment groups that backed her ascension to the presidency during the 2001 "people power" revolt that ousted predecessor Joseph Estrada. Even Aquino, one of Arroyo's closest supporters and the beneficiary of the first "people power" uprising that forced out dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, said it was time to go because the country can't afford another uprising.
For the time being, the influential Roman Catholic Church and the powerful military _ also players in the 2001 revolt _ were on the sidelines, but bishops were to meet through the weekend, and the military hardly gave a ringing endorsement, only saying it would resist any moves outside the rule of law. "Commanders should act swiftly against any behavior that challenges or breaks away from the chain of command," military chief of staff Gen. Efren Abu said in a statement. "This is not the time for weakness." The capital's police force went on full alert and additional contingents were securing the presidential palace.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/08/2005 10:13 ||
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Virus writers have created a Trojan which poses as London terrorist attack news footage. Infected emails harbouring the Trojan pose as a CNN Newsletter which asks recipients to âSee attachments for unique amateur video shotsâ. If executed, the malicious attachment turns infected Windows PCs into spam zombies. The as-yet unnamed Trojan attempts to obtain a list of SMTP servers that the victim's machine is configured to use and starts to use these servers to send large volumes of unsolicited mail. Email security firm MessageLabs has intercepted a handful of copies of the malware, so it's not widespread, but it does illustrate the depth virus writers are prepared to sink to in order to spread their wares.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/08/2005 15:45 ||
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#1
The terrorists use all avenues. Send the creator of this worm to one of our "secret" prisons that Turban Durban is so apoplectically aroused about...
No lemon chicken. Just pork baloney, and cheap beer...
More than 10 million people need food aid after crop failure in six southern African countries, the United Nations food agency says. The World Food Programme says that people are going hungry after erratic weather, made worse by problems with fertiliser and seeds in some countries. Zimbabwe and Malawi are the worst hit countries, the WFP says. It urged donors to send aid to "avoid widespread hunger from developing into a humanitarian disaster".
Malawi has experienced its lowest maize harvest since 1992 and will only cover 37% of average national consumption of 3.4m tonnes of cereal, the WFP said. In Zimbabwe, the WFP says that four million people may need aid in the coming year. Swaziland, Mozambique, Zambia and Lesotho will also need help, it said on the basis of new crop studies. All countries are badly hit by the Aids pandemic, which kills those who would normally be the most productive farmers.
Donors say that Zimbabwe's problems have been made worse by the government's seizure of white-owned farms. This is strongly denied by the government.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/08/2005 08:25 ||
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#1
Well, it sounds like they are fucked to me.
Maybe they should try to "keep it in their pants", and quit taking away white farms. Yeah, that should just about do it.
#2
Zimbabwe's problem is that it took all the land from the white farmers, who knew what the hell they were doing and gave it to poor blacks, who did not know what the hell they were doing. Thus, crops fail and starvation ensues.
Leave it to the UN and the WFP to encourage more socialist aid instead of teaching these people excatly how the fuck to run a farm.
#3
All countries are badly hit by the Aids pandemic, which kills those who would normally be the most productive farmers.
I thought all the UN's AIDS statistics were nullified the other day. But, even if not, are they not missing the point that AIDS not only kills the most productive farmers, but also kills all the mouths they have to feed?
Posted by: BA ||
07/08/2005 11:01 Comments ||
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#4
Well if whitey would just get his fat lazy honky ass over here to do my plantin, everything be cool...
Posted by: Farmin B. Hard: War Veteran ||
07/08/2005 11:13 Comments ||
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#5
Zimbabwe's problem is that it took all the land from the white farmers, who knew what the hell they were doing and gave it to poor blacks, who did not know what the hell they were doing. Thus, crops fail and starvation ensues.
Actually, IIUC, Bob gave the best farms and ranches to his cronies, who've done jackshit with them. The poor were run off by war vets (aka Farmin B Hard) and ZanuPF cronies
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/08/2005 11:42 Comments ||
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#6
Looks like it's about time to have a "Donner Party".
#7
The Gleneagles group shot a number of about 50 billion for these Australopithecines. I wonder how much of that dough goes into educating these moops about farming as well as birth control.
#12
"...made worse by problems with fertiliser and seeds in some countries..."
Fertilizer and seeds. That would be U.N. bullshit and Zimbabwe's bad seed, Bob.
And why are the "most productive farmers" out sewing their wild oats into the AIDS-infested countryside? Bob's anti-white, totalitarian boondoggle gets a pass from the U.N. and the BBC.
Let's hear it for free land, free sex, and free food. Zimbabwe is yet another workers' paradise.
Posted by: Tom ||
07/08/2005 15:21 Comments ||
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The Criminal Court has sentenced two brothers to lengthy prison terms after convicting them of murdering their 23-year-old pregnant sibling. The two brothers, ages 30 and 32, were given jail terms of seven-and-a-half and 10 years respectively for murdering their married sister at the family home in April 2004. The attack also caused the death of the woman's four-month-old foetus. The court originally handed down the death penalty, which was immediately commuted after the family dropped the charges.
Criminal prosecutions in primitive countries are more similar to tort cases in the developed world. Until the cases become "State vs. Mahmoud" rather than "Mahmoud vs. Ahmed" the legal system will remain laughable where it's not pathetic.
Court transcripts said the victim began an affair with an Egyptian national six months before her death, which led to her becoming pregnant. After receiving her father's blessing, the victim married the man and the two went to live in Egypt. The victim's father visited his daughter shortly after she left Jordan, the court said. However, according to court transcripts, the two defendants insisted on killing their sister to cleanse the family's honour and began plotting to lure her back to the Kingdom.
"Aaaarrr! Bumped bellies with him, did she? And he's not even a close relative! She must be killed!"
On April 19, the victim returned to the Kingdom on her own to complete some papers related to her marriage and called the defendants to inform them she was in town, the court said. The two defendants then lured their sister to the family home where they slit her throat and stabbed her over 20 times with a kitchen knife, according to court transcripts. The two defendants then headed to the nearest police station and turned themselves in claiming to âhave killed their sister to cleanse their honour.â
I notice they didn't try to kill her hubby to cleanse their honor. Packed a rod, did he? Or was he just big enough to put up a fight?
Posted by: Fred ||
07/08/2005 00:00 ||
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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.
ISTANBUL, Turkey --First one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff, Turkish media reported. 
The Criminal Court has sentenced two brothers to lengthy prison terms after convicting them of murdering their 23-year-old pregnant sibling. The two brothers, ages 30 and 32, were given jail terms of seven-and-a-half and 10 years respectively for murdering their married sister at the family home in April 2004. The attack also caused the death of the woman's four-month-old foetus. The court originally handed down the death penalty, which was immediately commuted after the family dropped the charges. 
