Breastwide music may not be on show yet, but futurology experts from BT are working hard at it for two and all. A mere 15 years could shape the way we hear music⊠While an MP3 player could fit in one boob, a complete music collection could be nestled to compliment it in the other. The milking of the mother of all mini machines is in the linking of simple plastic electronics with silicone, which would be controlled by the wristâs flexible panel.
Ian Pearson, laboratory analyst for BT said to The Sun; âIt is now very hard for me to think of breast implants as just decorative. If a woman has something implanted permanently, it may as well do something useful.â What some scientistâs will do for a hit in a fiddle!
Clever chips can even warn carriers about problems with their heart activity, blood pressure, and breast based cancers. Vibrating phones may also be called to play a tart in it. Listen to this quivering lace.
Man Accused of Punching Out Plane Window Stupid original title.
A passenger punched out the interior pane of an airplane window on an American West flight from Las Vegas to Florida, authorities said.
Ryan J. Marchione, 24, shattered the inner plastic shield covering the glass window and disconnected its frame about 90 minutes into the flight, according to an FBI affidavit. The outer window was not damaged and the plane did not depressurize, the airline said.
Marchione was arrested when the plane landed Wednesday at Tampa International Airport. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted of a charge of damaging or destroying an aircraft while it was operating.
About 90 minutes after the plane departed, Marchione "woke abruptly from his sleep and turned to the passenger seated in 7B ... raised a clenched fist to his shoulder as if he was going to strike the passenger in 7B, then suddenly turned and struck the exterior window," the affidavit said.
"It appears to have come out of nowhere," said Marchione's attorney, Thomas Ostrander. "Perhaps it was some sort of a psychotic episode as a result of drug abuse."
Marchione was released on $25,000 bail to home detention with electronic monitoring. Musta been a helluva dream... Was the in-flight movie Rocky Marciano or Raging Bull, perhaps?
#2
Maybe he wasn't insane. Maybe he was trying to scare away a gremlin that was on the wing, trying to destroy the engine.
Posted by: Rod Serling ||
10/15/2005 10:00 Comments ||
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#3
He faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted of a charge of damaging or destroying an aircraft while it was operating.
Ummmm ... shouldn't that be more like one count of attempted murder held against him for every single passenger and crew member aboard?
In the post 911 world, this guy's lucky to be alive. I also question the flightdeck's wisdom in letting a structurally compromised aircraft remain in flight all the way to its cross-country destination. That bird should have been grounded immediately thereafter.
#4
Actually, the inner window is not structural nor a pressure bulkhead. It's merely to keep the passengers away from the real window, and serve as insulation and sound deadening..
#6
Fear not, Jackal. I, too, have noticed the tiny little pressure equalization hole drilled into the plastic inner-window. I still don't like the idea of an aircraft remaining in service when it's that vulnerable. I didn't see any mention of them flying at low altitude or what such, not that they could have completed the flight like that anyway.
Had I been on that flight, I would have raised a mighty fuss. Maybe this chump had another pal on board to drop by and pop the main window pane. A rather ugly prospect, in my book. The "seat belt" light had better have been illuminated for the trip's remaining duration.
Thousands of Red Army veterans supporters clashed with Ukrainian nationalists on Saturday during competing rallies in downtown Kiev, Associated Press reported.
Riot police and busloads of regular officers moved in to separate the groups, which had both gathered on the capitalâs main artery, Kreshchatyk, which is closed to traffic on weekends. There did not appear to be any major injuries or arrests made. No one answered the phone at Kiev police headquarters.
The competing marches and fist fights came a day after aging partisans celebrated the 63rd anniversary of the founding of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which fought against both Soviet soldiers and Nazis during World War II in a bid to create an independent Ukraine.
The partisans held their big celebrations in western Ukraine, where support is higher, but some insurgents and hundreds of young Western Ukrainian nationalists rallied in the capital to demand that the partisans be recognized as WWII veterans â a move that would also entitle them to social and financial benefits.
The Red Army supporters â waving red flags and chanting âGet out!â and âShame!â - marched in protest, as Soviet war songs played over loudspeakers.
Hostility toward the partisans runs deep in Ukraine because they initially sought support from Nazis, believing the Germans would grant Ukraine independence. Under the Soviets, Ukrainian schoolchildren were taught that the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and its partisan force were enemies of the people who committed horrific atrocities alongside Nazi troops.
Ukraine was overrun by the German Army before the Soviets drove them out. An estimated 7 million Ukrainians died in the fighting, and 2.4 million people were sent to Nazi concentration camps.
Some 10,000 partisans are believed to still be living, but most are concentrated in western Ukraine.
Japan's upper house has approved a bill to privatise the country's post office, in a key victory for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The legislation is the central plank in Mr Koizumi's plans for economic reform.
Many in his own party had opposed the bill, but Mr Koizumi won a snap election and increased his majority, replacing opponents with supporters. Post office reform will create a private sector financial powerhouse with trillions of dollars in savings.
The final hurdle had been the upper house of parliament. It was this house which voted down an earlier reform bill in August, prompting Mr Koizumi to call the election.
On Friday, the bill passed by 134 votes to 100 and will now become law.
"This was a miracle in the political world," Reuters news agency quoted a smiling Mr Koizumi as saying. Koizumi is masterful. He is not only bringing Japan out of its military shell, but is supporting the US in the WoT and overseeing some pretty big economic and social reforms. This is a decisive victory.
#1
It may surprise many Rantburgers, but the Japanese Postal Service is one of the biggest financial players in the country, with most citizens investing large chunks of their income in "postal savings accounts".
Posted by: Sheik Abu Bin Ali Al-Yahood ||
10/15/2005 21:15 Comments ||
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And in Thailand it's the Samurai (lol) Burger - which is actually a spicy sausage patty - and they also had fried chicken... at McD's. And they delivered, lol.
KFC in Saudi had a "hot" spicy chicken sandwich with cheese. Frickin' weird taste. In Thailand KFC's, well, it's spicy chicken pieces served with rice and cucumber slices, of course.
So, what localized specialty burgers / dishes have you seen the chains offer in distant lands? Better hurry all you far-flung RBers - while the Internet still works, lol.
Let's get our Oz folk in here to tell you about hamburgers with a slice of pickled beet on them. Makes the Dutch with their French fries and Mayonnaise seem almost normal.
The first burger I had down under had a slice of beet-root. Of course I didn't know that before hand and when I saw the roll after the first bite I thought I'd bitten my tongue.
Tasted great but the color (or was that colour?) was a bit of a shock.
The European parliament is set to vote on a report calling for standardised rules for circuses performing across the continent. MEPs suggest circuses should be referred to as part of Europe's cultural heritage, but they disagree on whether they should include presentation of animals or not.
The report contemplating the "new challenges for the circus as part of European culture" is to be voted on Thursday (13 October). It covers three main areas: the education of children from travelling communities, health and safety standards and visa or work permit rules for artists from third countries, like Russia, Mongolia or China. The parliamentary rapporteur, German centre-right MEP Doris Pack, argues the fact that circuses are generally mobile "highlights the need to look at their situation from a European point of view and consider EU measures in this area".
According to Arie Oudenes, from the European Circus Association (ECA), most circus companies represented in ECA have been in favour of putting more pressure upon member states to harmonise their rules, to simplify the movement of circuses from one country to another. "It is very complicated for them to follow, say, different rules on tent quality or visa and work permits when moving from France, through Germany to the Netherlands, which is often the case", he said. However, he admitted some companies fear the new rules could be stricter than the average standards in most countries "for which none of us are ready".
At the same time, circus owners from some member states, mainly Britain, argue they prefer national law-making in this area, as they have managed to protect their interests in all the controversial issues, including work permits for foreign artists.
The report originally included reference to animal welfare measures, which Green MEPs tried to make stricter than those suggested by Mrs Pack. In a bid to avoid a debate - which would in any case be outside the scope of the education and culture parliamentary committee - its MEPs voted down all references to animal welfare. However, the document still contains a clause, suggesting "it would be desirable for it to be recognised that the classical circus, including the presentation of animals, forms part of Europe's culture". According to Karen Bentolila from the Green group, its MEPs will try to water down this suggestion in a split vote tomorrow.
Mr Oudenes from ECA argues that the wording surrounding this issue will be crucial for traditional circuses. "If we have a clear recognition by the European Parliament that 'classical circus' does include shows with animals, our position in some states will be much stronger when there is an initiative at national level to ban them", he suggested. At the moment, Austria does not allow circuses to use any wild animals, while the Scandinavian countries ban some kinds of animals, such as lions and tigers. Belgium is also currently drafting much stricter rules, effectively ruling out animals in circuses.
#4
I guess the EU's easier than a real government.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
10/15/2005 16:55 Comments ||
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#5
Bippo ripped the ruffled polka-dotted frill off of Lulubelle's neck, exposing her heaving bosom. He leaned forward and planted a kiss on the base of her neck, his nose squeaking softly as it pressed into the side of her head. "I want you," he gasped into her ear, hidden beneath her multicolored wig.
"Oh, Bippo..." she sighed, "I want you too...but not here, not in the confetti and the elephant droppings. Let's...oh, god, I love that!...let's move to the car."
"The car? But Spanky and Wally and thirteen other guys are in the car right now!" he protested, his desire driving him to yank the giant felt buttons off the front of her costume.
"I don't care!" she cried. "There's plenty of room! There's always plenty of room in the car! I want you now!"
Bippo's lust was beyond control now. The steaminess of their mutual desire made his lipstick run, and he was leaving rivers of red and
clown-white down Lulubelle's neck and onto the heated hills of her breasts. "The car... yes... god, yes...let's get into the car..."
However, the sensible Dutch are not panicking, just preparing.
The demand for the anti-influenza drug Tamiflu has boomed in Germany as a result of widespread concern over bird flu, pharmacies report. Germans have been swamping doctors' offices in attempts to get prescriptions for the prescription-only drug. Tamiflu has been recommended by the WHO and the European Union to treat possible infections. "The demand was extremely high in recent weeks," Christiane Eckert-Lill of German national pharmacy association ABDA said in remarks quoted by Deutsche Welle. 79,000 packages of Tamiflu were sold in August alone, she said, up from a mere 900 packages in the same period in 2004.
The share price of Tamiflu manufacturer, Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, has risen to an all time high since the news that bird flu has been detected in Romania.
Meanshile European Union governments remained on full alert on Friday following the discovery of bird flu in neighbouring Turkey and Romania. The European Commission rushed veterinary experts to both countries and E.U. foreign ministers are to meet next week to discuss plans for a global fund to help other countries hit by the disease.
As top E.U. veterinary experts continued day-long emergency talks in Brussels, the commission said it was responding to requests for help from Romania and Turkey. "We have offered all assistance possible," said European Commission spokesman Philip Tod.
Tod confirmed that further tests on samples from Romania to confirm the presence of the H5N1 virus - which can be transmitted to humans - had been delayed due to customs procedures which apply to the transport of "dangerous materials". The samples are now expected to arrive at the E.U. reference laboratory in Britain on Friday with results expected by Saturday afternoon.
E.U. assistance had also been requested by Bulgaria, which fears contamination from neighbouring Turkey and Romania, and experts will be dispatched there, Tod said.
Meanwhile, a meeting of E.U. foreign ministers in Luxembourg on October 18 will study plans to set up an international fund to help countries in south-east Asia which have been grappling with bird flu for several months. "There will be a discussion on international coordination," said Tod.
Yet more Meanwhile, E.U. veterinary experts met Friday to discuss precautionary action to prevent the spread of bird flu to the 25- nation bloc. The meeting was called in the wake of the discovery earlier this week of an outbreak of bird flu in a backyard farm in Romania and confirmation that the H5N1 virus strain had been found in Turkey.
Officials said E.U. vets would approve commission proposals on preventive measures, including a requirement that E.U. members reduce the risk of contact between wild birds and poultry flocks in high risk areas such as wetlands or other areas frequented by migratory birds. "Each member state will define which areas are at risk and apply the necessary measures to separate wild birds from poultry," the proposal read, adding that where necessary, this could include keeping poultry indoors in high risk areas.
"Hey! Youse chickens! Stop fraternizing with dem geese, or you're going to be in trouble!"
"Trouble? You're going to fry and eat us!"
The commission said it was not recommending a ban on hunting but people were asked to advise authorities if they discovered any wild birds which appeared to have died under "abnormal conditions".
"I don't know, Sven, dat bird don't seem to have died normally."
"You're right, Ollie, there's only one thing ta do."
"Yep. Hey Ma, we're having goose tonight!"
The E.U. executive said it must be informed on the way that national governments apply the preventive measures.
Scientists fear the bird flu virus could mutate and lead to a human pandemic. The H5N1 strain does not easily infect humans, but 117 people in Asia, mostly poultry farmers, have caught it over the past two years.
E.U. Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou has proposed to set aside EUR 1 billion to help make and distribute anti-viral drugs and vaccines in case of a pandemic. Kyprianou is also suggesting that governments start stock-piling anti-virals, saying they are the best defence against such a pandemic.
Meanwhile U.S. Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice and French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy on Friday called for transparency by governments in the global fight against the spread of bird flu. "There has got to be total transparency," Rice told journalists in Paris after talks with Douste-Blazy. "The world cannot be caught unawares."
The French foreign minister agreed, and added that developed countries must be prepared to help the less developed deal with the problem. "The problem is the eventual mutation of the virus, so that it can be passed from person to person," said Douste-Blazy, who is a physician by profession. "If we do not want it to mutate, me must do everything we can to prevent it from mutating," he said. "We must be present in the poorest countries, where it could mutate."
#1
The problem is that people mishandle the drugs providing the disease a means to 'evolve', 'adapt' to the change and thus continue as a mutated strain. We already have read reports of bribed Chinese officials who have provided drugs to farmers who then cut it and then use it to treat their livestock. So the lag time between when the agent is identified and when it is rendered immune to existing prophylactics is unfortunately decreasing. Human behavior will undermine the traditional methods of control except that of enforced isolation. The old carnard of the Marxist is that capitalist will sale you the rope to hand them. In this case capitalist will obstruct isolation when it is needed in order to make a few short term bucks. Oh, its bad for business.
#3
.com, the resistance reported is not significant since it was not transmitted to her and evolved during the infection. Further Tamiflu seems near 100% effective in stopping onward transmission. So while its effectiveness in protecting an inidividual is questionable, it seems highly highly effective as a 'blanket' to slow or stop transmission in a population.
#4
Which leads to the somewhat paradoxical situation that those taking Tamiflu may not save their own ass, but will contribute to saving everyone elses.
Posted by: john ||
10/15/2005 14:20 Comments ||
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#8
"Hamied said Cipla would not target US and European markets being served by Tamiflu, but would offer supplies to any government that wanted to buy.
"We are not targeting essentially those markets unless there is a real emergency and these countries declare a compulsory licence," he said in a telephone interview, adding Cipla planned to sell its version of Tamiflu in developing countries. "
Posted by: john ||
10/15/2005 14:23 Comments ||
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#9
Cool - maybe the muzzies will reject the flu vaccine along with every otehr one they reject in their bigoted ignorant religious beliefs.... this one has immediate consequences. Imams should go first
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/15/2005 14:37 Comments ||
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#10
We'll see if Roche is correct or if the Indian version is actually potent. I would hope both the company and their government wouldn't pass along iffy-quality stuff with too short a shelf-life or whatever else might occur from a slightly-off manufacturing process. OTOH, if the pandemic does happen with this flu, there will be at least the possibility of major riots, refugee flows and governments that collapse. A government might be willing to distribute a less than perfect antiviral to calm public sentiment in extreme situations ....
Girl Has Drug-Resistant Case of Bird Flu
That's Tamiflu-resistant... They needed Relenza to beat it. The US is stocking up on both - and probably others, as well.
What was that stink about "staged" events?
If Michelle Kosinski's canoe had sprung a leak on NBC's "Today" show Friday, she didn't have much to worry about.
In one of television's inadvertently funny moments, the NBC News correspondent was paddling in a canoe during a live report about flooding in Wayne, N.J. While she talked, two men walked between her and the camera _ making it apparent that the water where she was floating was barely ankle-deep.
Matt Lauer struggled to keep a straight face, joking about the "holy men" who were walking on water.
"Have you run aground yet?" Katie Couric asked.
"Why walk when you can ride?" Kosinski replied.
Later, an NBC News spokeswoman explained that Kosinski had been riding in deeper water near an overflowing river down the street, but there were concerns that the current was too strong for her.
"It's not like we were trying to pass it off as something it wasn't," spokeswoman Lauren Kapp said. No, no, of course not. Assholes.
Lil' White (House) lie? Hillary admits then denies '08 Prez run
Hillary Clinton's Freudian slip was showing yesterday in California when she told talk show host Ellen DeGeneres she's running for President in 2008, as she reported a record fund-raising haul.
But it was all a misunderstanding - at least the 2008 part, Clinton said.
The comedian stumped Clinton during an interview on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" discussing the upcoming Senate election. DeGeneres switched topics midstream and asked, "So you are preparing for 2008?"
The fast-talking junior senator fired back, "I am," and then thought about it for a moment and stammered, "No, no, no. I am preparing for 2006." Smiling and pointing at DeGeneres, Clinton chortled, "You were quick; you were quick."
The fumble came as Clinton's 2006 Senate - that's Senate, not presidential - campaign gloated over the record nearly $5.3 million in contributions she raked in during the third quarter. Most of her 70,052 donors were first-time contributors, and all but 5% gave under $100. Clinton's war chest now exceeds $13.8 million, and was padded during Hollywood fund-raisers this week.
By contrast, GOP challenger Jeanine Pirro's campaign reported last night that she collected $438,555 in contributions in the same period. Her campaign manager, Brian Donahue, said he was pleased, though the sum was dwarfed by Clinton's net. "With support from Gov. Pataki and a host of Republican leaders, we fully expect to have all the resources we need to defeat Hillary Clinton," Donahue said.
For weeks, the Pirro camp has sought to lower expectations about the Westchester prosecutor's fund-raising, contending the real test won't be until her cash kitty is released in January. Pirro herself has suggested it's too early to downgrade her ability to rake in the green, since she only announced in August.
Clinton, meanwhile, has warned her supporters that Republicans will try to "raise and spend hundreds of millions of dollars" to oust her from the Senate seat she won in 2000 after she moved to New York.
China has announced the completion of the first railway line to Tibet - one of the world's highest train routes. The pan-Himalayan line climbs 5,072m (16,640ft) above sea level and runs across Tibet's snow-covered plateau - dubbed the roof of the world.
Trains travelling on the line will have to have carriages that are sealed like aircraft to protect passengers from altitude sickness. The line is expected to take its first passengers next year.
The official Xinhua news agency said $3bn had been spent on the challenging 1,142km (710-mile) final section, after four years in construction. The workers who built the line had to breathe bottled oxygen in order to cope with the high altitudes.
China says the line will promote the development of impoverished Tibet. The line links the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, with the north-western province of Qinghai.
But even before the railway line opens there are concerns about its future. The National Climate Centre said in June that rising temperatures would affect operation of the railway by 2050.
Would you be reading this story if it were displayed on a 2-by-2-inch screen on your BlackBerry? WaPo? Voluntarily? Not phreakin' likely if I had to pay for it.
How about if it were electronically printed on a video scroll that spooled a few inches out of the side of your cell phone? Could you tell what was in the tiny picture? Ddddddumb.
Now. Would you read this story if it were electronically printed on a paper-thin video screen the size of a tabloid newspaper, or maybe something bigger, like The Washington Post, and resembling a vinyl placemat, like the image you see under these words? What if this new electronic paper could be folded under your arm like your dad's sports section or rolled up inside your yoga mat? Oooooh - yoga mat. There's some solid snob appeal.
As newspapers fight declining circulation and face rising newsprint costs -- and their corporate owners demand wider profit margins -- editors, publishers, reporters and technologists have worked over the past few years to devise new, paperless ways to deliver the news. Sure, the format and delivery means could be improved... but to regain sales, whatever the form, try dropping the Agenda and simply reporting the facts in a neutral context. Radical, I know, but hell, try it - for a change, assholes.
But the change stretches beyond the physical delivery system. Reread the preceding paragraph. The tone is formal and authoritative. It is aloof and addresses no one in particular, as in a textbook or a lecture. It is newspapery. Whereas my comment above is directed squarely at you, WaPo, and is, um, more colorful, yeah, that's the word.
The two paragraphs above it are chatty and inquisitive, provocative rather than definitive. They call attention to themselves and speak directly to you. Their tone is usually not considered appropriate in a newspaper, and certainly not atop a news story. Their tone is more at home on the Internet, with blogs and discussion groups and webzines. We don't mind informality - if the facts are delivered in a neutral context.
Storytelling will change, as well. Long articles such as this, with complete sentences and linguistic device, likely will dwindle in number and be restricted to the remaining newspapers and e-papers. News on small screens, such as that of your cell phone, will spit out in headlines and blurbs and sentences without articles: "Mars rodent attacks NASA probe." Oh, goody. Tabloid-style.
Russell J. Wilcox, chief executive of E Ink Corp., a spinoff of the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is working on the technology part: a paperless newspaper delivery system. Okay...
His business creates paper-thin video screens that, in simplest terms, are filled with tiny black and white chips. When an electrical current with data is sent through the screen, the chips become charged and arrange themselves into a pattern of black type on a white background. When readers want to flip to the next page, the particles scramble and rearrange. Animation, okay...
In a Tuesday interview and discussion on the future of newspapers on washingtonpost.com, Wilcox said his company is working on adding color to the flexible black-and-white screen. Adding video and sound, he said, is at most 10 years off. Newspaper companies such as Gannett Co. and Hearst Communications Inc. believe in the idea enough to be investors. Color. Sound. Okay...
For years, newspapers have thought of ways to deliver their news -- and brand -- in as many formats as possible. But they have found, from reader surveys and intuition, that the centuries-old newspaper size provides an optimal viewing experience. Really? I've always though they were clumsy, resisted refolding, stained my hands with newsprint, and were generally suited for lining gerbil cages.
"We think the essence of newspaper is the large size," Wilcox said during the interview. "[As] a reader you're an eagle flying over the desert, you're scanning. You see the rabbit and you zoom down and you grab it," reading a story that grabs your interest. Oh boy, metaphor! w00t! Mebbe he should be writing this story, oh, no wait, he's doing something useful. Nevermind.
Because the Internet provides an instant two-way exchange that newspapers cannot, papers are using it to ask readers not only how they want their paper but what they want in it. Even if papers don't ask, feedback can be instant, via blogs, e-mails and discussion groups. And it goes the other way, as well. When newspaper reporters take to their papers' Web sites for discussions or other reader exchanges, they tend to adopt the Web's laid-back patois. Okay, I think we can handle pattywas... if it delivers the phreakin' facts in a phreakin' neutral context.
In this way, the Web may change the tone of newspaper writing, as in this story. Among mainstream communications outlets, newspaperese is pretty much the last outpost of such strictly formal use of English. Think of how your nightly newscast sounds -- anchors speak of "your neighborhood," for instance. Now think of how many times real people use common newspaper words such as "slate," as in, "I'm slated to see a 7 p.m. showing of 'Wallace & Gromit.' " Shucks, I say that all the time... just not Wallace & Gromit. I prefer the Military Channel and CSI, myownself.
But not everything on the Web is chatty. That be true...
Tuesday's online discussion stirred some interest among bloggers, many of whom see themselves as alternatives -- and, sometimes, superior -- to traditional news outlets. The "Annotated Life" blog (which washingtonpost.com linked to) wrote, with some indignation: "The truth is that media corporations are not in control of the exploding online population, and it is frightening to those in ruling circles who have much to hide from the people at large." Superior? Of course we are, we prefer truth, not agendas. The truth is that you have zero control over the web. Zip, zilch, nada. Which is why we're here - and not reading your rag on the front step. 5 will get you 10 the blog identified above is a liberal POS... complete with WaPo agenda. "Ruling circles"? Lol. Yep, that sounds like a Kos Kiddie. "People at large"? Not sheeple? They're pretentious Moonbats.
Rather than hide from the people at large, I (there's something you usually don't see in newspaper stories) asked readers how they use newspapers and the Internet during Tuesday's Internet discussion. And they all answered in unison, "Help! Help! We're being repressed! Neocons! Halliburton! Oil! BusHitler!
Complaining that her local paper is late on news that she's already seen on the Internet, that stories raise more questions than they answer and the paper as a whole is of little relevance to her, Linda Loomis of San Antonio e-mailed yesterday to say that she often ends her days thusly: Linda needs Rantburg. Bad. And we'd love to have her - read on, lol.
"I throw down our local fiber newspaper in disgust, as I do most days when I'm reading the San Antonio Express-News, and exclaim to my husband (the subscriber), as I do most days, 'I'm going upstairs, online, for the real news.' " Ya gotta love her, lol. C'mon over, Linda - you're our kinda gal.
Bill Breen is a delivery foreman for the New York Times and, at 59, wrote in an e-mail, "I know what the dinosaurs must have felt like, when it started to get cold." Lol.
A big newspaper such as the Times or the Wall Street Journal can go through 200,000 tons of newsprint per year. Now that newsprint has matched its historical high of $625 per metric ton, Breen understands the savings that would result if Wilcox's video-screen newspaper catches on. And profit, that's corporate profit - oooooh - is why the owners and stockholders are in the game, not any sense of noblesse oblige. And why their stock is falling. But only part of why they are doomed.
"Why in their right minds would the Sulzbergers [the family that controls the Times], or any owners, pay for huge printing presses, fleets of trucks (burning a lot of expensive diesel fuel, by the way), warehouses and union drivers, if the need was not there?" Breen writes. Cuz they're ignorant Luddites?
But many readers use both the paper and electronic versions of newspapers, they write, portending a future of co-existence. Lol - you hope.
"And the Sunday paper," writes Takoma Park's Abigail Grotke, "who would want to read all of that online? Not me. I need it in hand with the cup of coffee on a relaxing Sunday morning." There's a rather sizable list I wouldn't accept if they offered it in a pill. And I'm still hung up on getting the facts, unspun, delivered in a neutral context. I'll figure out how it fits into the Big Pic, thanks. Now buzz off, lol.
#1
the format and delivery means could be improved
Now that the ink doesn't rub off, I don't think this is true. The papers' problems are primarily related to faster news cycles and delivery alternatives, the declining attention span due to TV and the concommitant dumbing down as well as leftism of the content. I still read the WSJ ODT and prefer it because I can easily read it where ever I am. Ever try to take a laptop into the commode?
Would you be riding in your buggy if it were able to go faster with four horses than two?
How about a little gas heater for those cold winter Sunday morning trips to the church?
Blah, blah, blah.
The technology is killing an old way of life. Horse breeders are going to decrease, buggy and whip manufacturing is going to drop, etc. However, over a hundred years later there are still some breeders and manufactures of the old way of life. However the auto brought us suburbia and a new life style. Either you evolve and adapt or face history. As each new generation is adapting to newer consumer electronics the desire for paper touching and old formats will decrease. Can't say I have any pangs of regret to see dead tree media dying. When the advertisers figure out how to work around the apron strings they've been locked to for a hundred years, the death will come rather quickly.
#3
At a keynote speech for my companies, SAP, convention about 5 years ago we had one of the top dudes from the MIT Media Lab discussing new technology. One of the things he talked about were reusable books. Basically this was a bunch of "paper" bound just like a regular book today. There was a plug in the spine that let you download the content, un-plug, and then walk away with a "new" book.
One of his main points about reading is that one of the main issues consumers have with PCs is the light source. Humans seem to work/see better if they're looking at something via an indirect light source as opposed to the object being the source.
The tech described had all the pros of a normal book plus the ability to be reloaded off any connection. Pretty cool stuff.
The REALLY cool stuff was the idea of using the human body as the "wiring" for personal devices. The scenario was a generator built into the heel of your shoe generating the power which was then fed do devices that were being worn. The description of closing a deal with a handshake (each persons ring being the device) led to a number of ribald comments during the breaks. ;^)
#4
I was looking at getting one of the development kits for one of the electronic paper thingies (as shown here but they were charging a couple thousand dollars for a screen plus a hundred-dollar-or-so single-board computer.
There are e-book readers out there today, but their business models coupled with low production runs keep what should be a $ 30.00 unit somewhere in the $ 150.00 range. (IMHO).
All the e-ink thing does is improve slightly the display contrast and power consumption at the expense of the screen's refresh rate.
It doesn't give them much more in technical capability they couldn't have today, if they knew what they wanted to do with it. (Which they don't).
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
10/15/2005 13:38 Comments ||
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#5
This stuff is decades away. I suspect, like it or not, the sales ads and cents off coupons will make getting the local paper indispensible, or at least cost effective, for the rest of our lives. Unless you'd like to get spam from all the advertisers. Newspapers are just too convenient and cost effective for readers and advertisers.
#6
"And the Sunday paper," writes Takoma Park's Abigail Grotke, "who would want to read all of that online? Not me. I need it in hand with the cup of coffee on a relaxing Sunday morning."
I do look forward to my Sunday morning with a cup of coffee, laptop, Mark Steyn, David Warren, and Rantburg.
Posted by: john ||
10/15/2005 21:07 Comments ||
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WASHINGTON (AP) - Karen Hughes, the Bush administration's public diplomacy chief, will follow up her recent visit to the Middle East with a trip next week to Indonesia and Malaysia. Hughes made a brief reference to the trip during an appearance Friday at George Washington University.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/15/2005 00:00 ||
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Next to a lifelike replica of a giant ape head, the believers milled around tables Saturday covered with casts of large footprints, books about nature's mysteries and T-shirts proclaiming "Bigfoot: Often Imitated, Never Invalidated."
A crowd of thousands cheered as dozens of prominent speakers â academics, activists, artists and media pundits â spoke, recited poetry and sang songs in the 12-hour program on the National Mall.
Pointing to the broad spectrum of participants, Farrakhan said the march included an "unprecedented" array of black leaders of organizations "coming together to speak to America and the world with one voice."
"It's not a matter of believing, like faith, when you believe in something you can't see," said Daryl G. Colyer, a Lorena businessman who has investigated hundreds of reported Bigfoot sightings in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. "It's a flesh-and-blood animal that just has not been discovered yet. And I think we're getting closer and closer and closer," Colyer said.
Ten years ago, Farrakhan urged black men to improve their families and communities â women, whites and other minorities had not been invited. On Saturday, all were welcome at the Millions More Movement, which organizers said would build on the principles of 1995 and push people to build a movement for change locally and nationally.
Neither Farrakhan, who spoke for 75 minutes, nor police would not offer a crowd estimate.
"You see one of these things and it changes your whole perception of reality," said Craig Woolheater, the office manager of a Dallas company who co-founded the Texas Bigfoot Research Center in 1999, five years after he said he saw a hairy creature walking along a remote Louisiana road.
Associated Press photos showed the gathering was significantly smaller than that of 1995, when Boston University researchers estimated between 600,000 and 1 million participants.
"To me it's still an open question, but here's some evidence that warrants some serious consideration, so give it a chance," said Jeff Meldrum, associate professor of anatomy and anthropology at Idaho State University who has studied more than 150 casts of footprints. "This is not a paranormal question; it's a biological question." Now how did those two stories get mixed up like that?
The Neo-Nazis are loathsome - but so are black gangs that are allowed to run amuck and intimidate whites. Heads need knocking in both camps IMO. But if you let Farakhan march you'd better let the Nazis and the Klan do so as well ....
A crowd that gathered to protest a white supremacists' march Saturday turned violent, throwing baseball-sized rocks at police and vandalizing vehicles.
Six people were arrested and police, fire and media vehicles were damaged, Police Chief Mike Navarre said.
At least two dozen members of the Roanoke, Va.-based National Socialist Movement (search), which calls itself "America's Nazi Party," gathered at a city park to march under police protection. Organizers said they were demonstrating against black gangs that were harassing white residents.
The march was canceled, and the violence broke out about a quarter mile away from the park along the planned route.
Keith White, a black resident, criticized city officials for initially allowing the march.
"They let them come here and expect this not to happen?" said White, 29.
Two hours after authorities called off the march, 150 officers in helicopters and cruisers and on foot, bicycles and horses continued to chase bands of youths.
Posted by: too true ||
10/15/2005 15:01 ||
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Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
10/15/2005 15:50 Comments ||
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#5
There is ZERO popular support among the white community for white supremacists, white separatists and white racists.
When it comes to the enormous and fast growing movement of black supremacists, black separatists, black racists and black national socialists: There is massive support among the black community and ZERO condemnation in the left-controlled mass media.
The female commentator on FNC actually called what she was seeing going on in Toledo as a RACE WAR. She will not have a job come Monday.
I was watching C-SPAN on Friday as individuals gathered at the HOWARD U. law school at a pre-millions more march applauded as KAMAU KAMBON called for the "EXTERMINATION OF WHITE PEOPLE". This person previously described the white male and white female as the real niggers.
There are NO LIMITS placed on leftist HATE SPEECH and the racebaiting and hatemongering grows ever more caustic as a consequence.
#6
What a disgraceful spectacle. The actual Nazis, all 14 or so of them, hightailed it early; probably back to their hotel room to watch the riots on TV and gloat. They could not scripted it any better, thanks to the depravity of the LLL mob and its thug allies.
#7
There is no stopping Muslime Hate Speech either. How about a threesome: the nothing neo about those Nazis, Louis's Tan Klan, and the Muslimes on a PPV special. I'd buy that for dollar!
#8
There is massive support among the black community and ZERO condemnation in the left-controlled mass media.
I'd go farther and say the press supports the black supremacists. The "urban" radio stations are packed with conspiracy theories and excuses for violence; the more mainstream press never exposes it, does not hold the riot-starters responsible.
Al Sharpton incited a race riot; his words led to a mass murder. Not only was he accepted as a potential candidate among the Democrats in 2004, after he dropped out, those still in the race made a pilgrimage to kiss his ring.
When Duke ran for Congress -- claiming to be a Republican -- the party sent him no money and endorsed his opponent.
Here in Cincinnati, there's a true oddity -- a Democrat who took a stand against a black racist organization. Unfortunately, he's in a run-off against a black Democrat who has gladly accepted the endorsement of a local group called the "Black Fist", formerly known as the "Black Special Forces".
* The Black Fist participated in a December, 2002 Fountain Square protest of a menorah which included a sign reading, "Jews killed Jesus, had black slaves, stole our black identities." They also shouted chants of "Die Jews die."
* At a an April, 2002 demonstration at the police memorial, the Black Fist protested police brutality, the Catholic Church, and Pete Rose. Protesters called counter-demonstrators ''white devils,'' ''snow monkeys'' and ''faggots."
* A July, 2005 post on the Black Fist's blog accuses police of being aligned with the Ku Klux Klan in a conspiracy to kill African-Americans. "They love sucking the sweat of black people. That's why the Cincinnati police in Ohio love to rape little girls and put fear into black women!!!"
Note that a local radio host dismisses the group as "fringe" and says it's "only four people", yet let them speak almost daily for four years.
(Another local host lets a white supremacist talk on his show, but makes fun of the guy and pokes holes in the "theories" he spouts. From what I've heard, the "Black Fist" was not ridiculed, but given a platform to speak.)
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
10/15/2005 17:21 Comments ||
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#9
These Nazis and LLL rioters in Toledo obviously have not gotten the word about the coming thing in radical protest: the Red-Brown alliance.
Just as David Duke went out of his way to show solidarity with Mama Moonbat Sheehan, the LLL vermin and Nazi vermin would have marched shoulder to shoulder if this had been a an anti-war demonstration or an attack on Israel.
Throw in a few Islamic "students" and some dreadlocked Mumia-cong, and you have a perfect storm of evil and drooling stupidity.
All the destructive, crazy, psychotic forces in the world seem to be concentrating on the same side of a variety of issues. Let it be so, a target-rich environment for the coming showdown.
Posted by: Elwood Blues ||
10/15/2005 18:58 Comments ||
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#11
FYI..."Cincinnati Black Fist Leader Jailed
Oct 11, 2005, 09:00 AM
The leader of a controversial group the "Black Fist" is in jail.
Court documents state that Michael Bailey, better known as "General Kabaca Oba," threatened to kill a man whom he had threatened before. In the documents, Oba is quoted as saying repeatedly "you are dead."
Bailey was released on a $10,000 bond last week. According to documents, he went back to the man he threatened before and demanded he drop the charges against him. Bailey was then arrested again and is now being held on $250,000 bond.
Bailey appeard in court Saturday morning in his Metro bus uniform."
#12
but did he have epaulets big enough to land a cessna like our man from Sudan?
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/15/2005 21:43 Comments ||
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#13
I used to think that America's ability to encompass even such disgusting groups like the Neo-Nazis merely proved the exceptional elasticity of our right to free speech.
In light of how universal the desire for anti-Semitic genocide is to the Neo-Nazis, I now feel it would be better to proscribe any groups who support it. Black, white, Arab and any other shade of belief or political orientation. It's all hate speech and therefore unacceptable. Preach genocide of any sort and get a free deportation or extended stay in the gray-bar hotel.
Mind you how very much I detest the PC mentality that originated much of the fight against hate speech. Still, a lot of the vitriol being spewed by ALL of the above special interest groups qualifies them for proscription.
We no longer have the time or resources to coddle hate-based doctrines. Be it imported Saudi Wahabbism, Neo-Nazism, Black Supremacists like Farakhan or anti-Arab Jewish extremeists. It's time to put these sick puppies down. We have better things to do than put up with such bilious drivel.
She's trying to get the deadbeat Dems back for their votes - G*d forbid those apartments should go to people with initiative and energy ... they might vote Republican.
Landlords in the New Orleans area say they have thousands of apartments that could be rented to meet the crying need for housing in the region, but executive orders by Gov. Kathleen Blanco are preventing them from taking the legal steps to free up the space.
The problem has become a hot-button issue in the business community, which is groping for housing options for employees and families willing to move back into the area.
Several apartment managers say they have waiting lists of hundreds of people seeking a place to live. "Government officials continue to report on the housing shortage while failing to acknowledge the hundreds and hundreds of apartments that stand vacant or in need of repairs, yet remain inaccessible to landlords due to the governor's order," said Suzanne Rouse, a manager at Tonti Management, a Metairie firm.
Blanco spokesman Roderick Hawkins said the governor could amend her executive order or that the state Supreme Court could resolve the issue.
The controversy stems from a suspension of legal deadlines ordered by Blanco after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the state and left court systems in the New Orleans area in disarray. The first order Sept. 6 basically delayed legal actions until Sept. 25 on a broad scope of malpractice and civil cases, including eviction proceedings, and was generally greeted as a sensible step to prevent confusion and to protect the rights of parties in lawsuits. State officials also were concerned about the potential for price gouging by landlords who might cancel old leases and replace them with much higher rents.
Blanco later extended the order until Oct. 25. Meanwhile, many tenants who fled the New Orleans area have not returned or contacted their landlords. Rental managers have been unable even to begin the legal remedy of the eviction process, in which tenants and landlords would be permitted to present their cases. Apartment managers who want to repair damaged properties have in some cases been legally hamstrung and unable to move out people's possessions or take control for the rehabilitation.
"The governor may have intended well at the time this order was issued," Rouse said. But now, weeks later, "this order is doing greater harm to Louisiana citizens here now looking for housing . . . and to housing providers trying to provide it."
In response to "many inquiries" about the issue, state Attorney General Charles Foti wrote a letter Oct. 3 to judges, justices of the peace and clerks of courts emphasizing that Blanco's order "has the effect of suspending all eviction proceedings until Oct. 25." Foti also asked the state Supreme Court to consider a special rule for evictions, according to spokesmen for Foti and the court. They would not elaborate on the intent of the request. The Supreme Court is considering the request, spokesman Robert Gunn said Friday.
The Apartment Association of Greater New Orleans Inc. wrote Blanco on Sept. 28 asking her to reconsider her order, pointing out that tenants couldn't be reached, that their belongings were being destroyed by moisture and mold, and that the units were further deteriorating by allowing the items to remain. "Owners are left behind with abandoned, wet, molding belongings from residents," wrote Tammy Esponge, an association executive. "As you can imagine, all resident contact information has changed, (and) emergency numbers cannot be reached, therefore we are unable to mitigate damage as the insurance companies suggest."
Esponge said mold is attracting insects and causing bad odors and severe moisture in the units. "We are asking that you work with the multifamily (housing) industry and help us come up with a reasonable solution for owners to regain possession of their units," Esponge wrote. Esponge said she has not heard back from Blanco.
Larry Schedler, a broker specializing in the multifamily housing market, said he believes that 20 percent of the local apartment market has been destroyed, mostly the 7,000 units in eastern New Orleans. But in most apartment complexes, probably half the units have slight or no damage, and yet the landlords are facing the brick wall of Blanco's order in removing tenants' possessions or repairing the properties, Schedler said.
Several apartment managers in the area reported a similar situation and said they had long lists of people who have signed up to rent apartments as soon as the units become available. Henry Shane, chairman of Favrot & Shane, which has about 8,000 units, mostly on the east bank of Jefferson Parish, said he has 1,800 units abandoned in which he would like to implement the eviction process. He, too, wrote Blanco asking to "give me control of my property and help me protect the welfare of the residents (in undamaged units) living next to this stuff."
Stonebridge Manor in Gretna has a waiting list of more than 300 people. Shane's company estimates that out of the 50,000-unit market of apartments in complexes of 100 units or more, "there are probably 20,000 to 30,000 units sitting in the same situation."
The housing shortage is presenting a serious dilemma for local employers trying to get back on their feet. "The housing issue is one of the most difficult yet critical issues to get the whole parish back," said Alan Donner, vice president of business development for East Jefferson General Hospital, which is open but struggling to find lodging for staff and their families. "There are limited resources, and the demand far exceeds the supply."
The hospital opened a trailer park with 66 units in River Ridge and is renting 72 rooms at the Sheraton Hotel in New Orleans, but still has a "couple hundred families with unmet needs," Donner said. The Federal Emergency Management Agency told the hospital that it would get preferential treatment on housing, but the assistance has been "slow and trickling," and various promises "have evaporated," Donner said.
Adelina Morris, a dietitian assistant at the hospital who evacuated to Dallas and wants to come back to work, said she has looked in vain for a place to rent while her Carrollton home is repaired. She wants to bring her extended family back to New Orleans. "What am I supposed to do?" Morris said.
Start a new life in Dallas?
James Garner, a New Orleans real estate lawyer, said that although the governor's executive order may seem onerous to landlords, he believes "the intentions of the governor were good. In some situations the order was necessary. But like most things in life, it's impossible to promulgate one large rule that envisions every circumstance."
But Semmes Favrot, a private practice attorney for Favrot and Shane, said that although he has sympathy for the plight of evacuated tenants, six weeks after the storm should be ample time for them to contact landlords and state their intentions about returning or not.
Maybe give up on returning to New Orleans? Outside Mississippi, I suspect any place else will be statistically better for you and your family, your future and properity. Think of it as an opportunity, not a problem. Opportunity is what drives millions of people to come here every year with just what they can carry on their backs. They obviously see something you don't.
#2
#1. But, dot com, it's all Bush's fault doncha know? Seriously, if this order was needed at all then it should at least be rescinded as areas are opened up by the city for reoccupation. Immediately, upon clearance to reoccupy a zone then eviction could begin. Eviction is typically a long process and I imagine protections are built into existing law for abandoned property.
Also I share your chagrin at the very thought of allowing the Louisana pols access to the US treasury. I was just reading about a proposed 2% budget cut across the board, including the Defense Department, to pay for Katrina. Can you imagine that?
#3
I grew up in Louisiana, and still have family there. Most of my relatives live north of Alexandria, in the northern (and poorer) part of the state. The New Orleans/Baton Rouge areas have half the state's population, and control politics. The northern half of the state would like a change, but the only options are to either become part of an even more disfunctional state (Arkansas - which gave us the Clintons), or a minority part of Texas. Neither is palatable. Of course with all the changes taking place in the state due to Katrina, New Orleans may end up being the third largest city in the state, instead of the largest.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/15/2005 11:57 Comments ||
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#6
Gov Blankout has had several fits of paralysis - and each exacerbated some aspect of the disaster. That she can't seem to figure anything out on her own, and needs an external push at each hurdle to get off the dime, proves to me that she's also surrounded herself with equally clueless and gutless people. For an executive, that's usually fatal. In LA, however, I doubt it will mean shit - all of their Govt appears to be the same.
LA is the US quagmire the press has been looking for so desperately. Gridlock at the state and local executive levels and corruption throughout the system. I loath putting one thin dime into that morass without removing the massive systemic incompetence from office, first. We can't trust them to do anything but line their pockets. It seems to be their only identifiable skill.
A couple who apparently aired their grievances with each other in public have been told to stop being "immature" and seek counselling. Their failing relationship was made public when a banner hung over the A27 Brighton bypass signed "JBS" said: "Wendy, I want a divorce".
A replacement banner then read: "No way. You are the cheat! Wendy."
A spokesman for Sussex Police said permission had to be given for signs to be put up at the side of the road. "This may seem amusing but our job is casualty reduction.
"We do not want people looking up into the sky and not on the road," he said.
The first 6ft-wide banner was draped from a bridge over the bypass in the Hollingbury area last week, with the angry riposte placed at exactly the same spot a few days later. Apart from the initials and the name Wendy the identity of the couple has not been revealed.
However, a senior counsellor for the relationship advice group Relate said it was clear they were very angry with each other.
Thank you, senior counsellor, we'd have never figured that one out.
Christine Northam said: "These signs show that this couple are acting out the turmoil of the break-up of their marriage in front of an audience.
"They must be very angry to do this in such a public way. It is certainly very immature and we would urge them to seek counselling... they seem furious."
ST. PAUL -- Four children in an Amish community in Minnesota have contracted the polio virus, the first known infections in the United States in six years, state health officials said Thursday.
Dr. Harry Hull, the state epidemiologist, said the cases do not pose a threat to the public because most people have been vaccinated against polio and are unlikely to have contact with Amish people. But he said he expects to find more infections within the Amish community because some of its members refuse immunizations on religious grounds.
None of the children has shown symptoms of the paralyzing disease. About 1 in 200 people who contract the polio virus suffer paralysis because of it; others typically rid themselves of the virus after weeks or months.
None of the four children had been vaccinated. Three are siblings; the fourth is a baby from another family. The infection came to light when the baby was hospitalized for various health problems and underwent tests. Authorities then began testing other members of the community for the virus.
Officials would not identify the Amish community but said it consisted of 100 to 200 people. Hull said the infections were traced to an oral vaccine that was administered in another country, probably within the last three years. The use of oral polio vaccine containing the live virus was stopped in this country in 2000. The live-virus vaccine caused an average of eight cases of polio a year in the U.S, where an injected vaccine made from the killed virus now is used.
State and federal officials are investigating how an infection from a vaccine given in another country reached Minnesota.
Nigeria: compare and contrast.
Health officials said they are working with the Amish community to determine who may have been exposed to the virus, and to encourage immunizations. "We have been going house to house, talking with them about the risk, offering the vaccine and attempting to collect specimens to see if the virus has been spreading," Hull said. "Some families have said, `No, thank you, we do not want to interact with you at all.' Other families have said, `Sure, we'll get vaccinated. We'll provide specimens."'
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/15/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Which other country is close to Minnesota? Does it give live virus oral vaccine?
#2
What's the problem, Ship? Public health seems to have it under control and it's not like they're hanging around airports to send it all over the country. In America you shouldn't be forced to buy a clue, even if it means you lose your life. Just don't ask me to pay for it.
ISLAMABAD: Construction experts in Pakistan have called for an official probe into why so many government-funded schools and hospitals collapsed in the massive earthquake as police launched a criminal investigation into the collapse of an Islamabad apartment block that killed at least 40 residents. Many point to years of complacency toward the earthquake threat despite frequent tremors, shoddy building techniques and the open secret of widespread corruption in the awarding of public building contracts.
A little less time in the madrassahs and a little more time in the tech colleges, and you might not have this problem.
The Supreme Court ordered a halt to the construction of a luxury housing scheme near Islamabad and asked the government to consider revising the construction regulations. The UN says 1,000 medical facilities were completely destroyed in the earthquake. In North West Frontier Province, education officials estimated around 8,000 schools had been damaged or totally destroyed.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/15/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
The great tragedy is that most of the death and destruction is preventable with basic engineering principles and enforced building codes, you know, Infidel stuff. But since this is Allan's Country, I guess that it is Insh'Allah and back to restacking the rubble for the next shaker.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/15/2005 0:04 Comments ||
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#2
Nonsense. This clearly calls for more daa'wa. You mix it right into the cement, see...
#3
and a lotta Fly Ass⢠- you get that from all the butts in the air 5 times a day
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/15/2005 1:28 Comments ||
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#4
the open secret of widespread corruption in the awarding of public building contracts.
Let's see.
A termor in Turkey, lots of dead, lots of buildings destroyed and a line along the open secret of widespread corruption in the awarding of public building contracts.
Then one in Iran, lots of dead, lots of buildings destroyed and a line along the open secret of widespread corruption in the awarding of public building contracts.
Then one in Pakistan, ots of dead, lots of buildings destroyed and a line along the open secret of widespread corruption in the awarding of public building contracts.
Now, what do theese three countries have in common besides governement corruption and quakes?
#8
What scares the holy bat pucky out of me is the fact that there have been 75 aftershocks (as of 7PM MST last night), and 72 of them have been within 30 miles of the epicenter of the quake. Geological stresses are not that isolated. We've had the release of one stress, but that just transfers the stress to other points. Jammu & Kashmir can expect another 7+ quake in the near future (now to 10 years from now). It's either do it right, or do it over. I have a hunch they'll opt to do it over.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/15/2005 11:26 Comments ||
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#9
Aside from the lamentable loss of life with so many innocent women and children, all of this is a direct and most welcome demonstration of Cause & Effect. Turkey and Iran were golden lessons in this profound and deeply complex scientific principle. Countries that resolutely refuse to meet minimum building codes are essentially comitting crimes against humanity.
Pakistan's (along with Turkey and Iran's) civil engineering code enforcement officials should be brought up on mass murder charges, found guilty and executed in short order. If this was done each time so many needless thousands perished in such utterly preventable circumstances, entrenched violation of building codes would be treated with a much greater deal of circumspection.
If endemic corruption is Allah's will, His followers had better begin to rethink their belief structure.
#10
Pakistan's (along with Turkey and Iran's) civil engineering code enforcement officials should be brought up on mass murder charges, found guilty and executed in short order.
As if the uncles, fathers, and brothers who put the inspectors in those jobs would let any investigation happen. It would bring disgrace on the family!
No, much better to simply shrug, say "Inshallah", and let them rebuild the same exact way.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
10/15/2005 17:43 Comments ||
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#11
engineers, inspectors, et al enforce codes and laws. Find out who wrote the laws (if any) and start there. Now, bribery or incompetence are different things
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/15/2005 17:57 Comments ||
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#12
Perhaps it would help if, in the rebuilt schools, there was a permanent engraving over the math teachers' blackboards
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's government defended its decision to briefly detain the U.S. ambassador, saying on Friday the envoy was lucky to be alive after straying into a secure zone near President Robert Mugabe's residence.
Zimbabwe state television reported on Thursday that U.S. ambassador Christopher Dell was held by the Presidential Guard on Monday after entering a restricted area at the National Botanic Gardens near Mugabe's official Harare residence. "The ambassador must consider himself very lucky that he is dealing with a professional army that the Zimbabwe National Army is," Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba said in a statement published by state media on Friday.
"Elsewhere, and definitely in America, he would have been a dead man. His adventure is really dangerous."
Only if he got between a New Orleans cop and a new plasma screen TV.
The Zimbabwe government said it sent a letter of protest to the U.S. embassy over what it called "a calculated disregard of the rules governing relations between states ... clearly intended to provoke an unwarranted diplomatic incident".
Dell was not available for comment but the U.S. embassy said in a statement he had been held for over an hour. "During an October 10 recreational visit to National Botanical Gardens in Harare Ambassador Chris Dell inadvertently wandered into a poorly marked military area located in the middle of the park," it said.
Dell had accepted apologies from two senior Zimbabwean foreign affairs officials over his brief detention, including an explanation that the guards who had held him did not know how to deal with issues involving diplomats, the statement said.
They aren't used to being polite.
The ambassador was surprised that Harare had written a protest note and gone to the media with the issue days after the incident, it said, adding: "We consider the incident closed."
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer, who is visiting neighbouring South Africa, said she did not have details of the Dell incident but that it would be an extraordinary move by Zimbabwe. "It would be extraordinary for a government to arrest an ambassador to their country, so if that has happened it certainly speaks to a lack of respect both for diplomatic norms as well as for the relationship the United States is trying to build to the people and country of Zimbabwe," she said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/15/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
"Elsewhere, and definitely in America, he would have been a dead man. His adventure is really dangerous."
Why don't we try a little experiment? Mr. Mugabe hasn't been on a trip in a while...
#5
Remove all US personnel, including those working for NGOs and charitable institutions. Impose a total blockade on Aid to or purchases from Zimbabwe, or any nation providing aid to Zimbabwe. If Russia or China want to support this basket-case, let them - it'll drain funds that could be used to build up their army, or strengthen their economy. Sooner or later, Zimbabwe will crash, and the fall will be heard around the world.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/15/2005 11:40 Comments ||
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#6
I wonder who Dell pissed off. One can imagine what it does for your carear track to have "United States Ambassador to Zimbabwe" on your resume'
#7
"During an October 10 recreational visit to National Botanical Gardens in Harare Ambassador Chris Dell inadvertently wandered into a poorly marked military area located in the middle of the park," it said.
Next time I'm at Disney I'll look out for those poorly marked areas.
Posted by: john ||
10/15/2005 23:08 Comments ||
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#8
"I wonder who Dell pissed off."
Hmmm. Y'know, he's prolly the Jr guy. No, I don't mean at the State Dept, I mean at the ITT International Foreign Soyvice Diplomatic Skool and Truck Driving Academy...
Iraq isn't the only country taking a positive step, not that the U.S. gets any credit for this either.
MONROVIA (Reuters) - Soccer star George Weah took an early lead on Thursday as results trickled in from Liberia's first post-war elections, but he seemed likely to face a run-off with former Finance Minister Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.
With results still coming in slowly from Tuesday's presidential and parliamentary elections, the millionaire former AC Milan striker and his main rival, Harvard-trained economist Johnson-Sirleaf, remained the frontrunners.
Electoral officials and observers said it looked increasingly likely that the presidential poll, the first since the end of a brutal 14-year civil war in Liberia, would have to go to a second round next month. "It seems obvious to me personally that there will be a run-off now tentatively scheduled for November 8," former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, one of 400 international election observers, told reporters.
Criminy, who invited him?
National Elections Commission chief Frances Johnson-Morris made the same prediction as she cautioned that final election results could take up to a week. But excitement remained high on the streets of the crumbling capital Monrovia. Crowds gathered around radio sets, sending up a cheer with each new report of fresh gains by Weah or other favourite candidates.
With about 10 percent of votes tallied so far, 39-year-old Weah lead the field of 22 presidential hopefuls with 26.6 percent of the vote, ahead of Johnson-Sirleaf with 16.2 percent. If no candidate gains more than 50 percent, a run-off will be held no more than two weeks after official confirmation of the first round's results. If 66-year-old grandmother Johnson-Sirleaf wins, she would become Africa's first elected female president.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/15/2005 00:00 ||
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George was an amazing soccer player in his day and the hope is all the tribes and factions will unite around a true national hero. But is there really a "nation" there to rally? Good luck, Mr. Weah!
#2
I don't know, JDB. People I've talked to with a closer feel of the pulse there don't know either.
There are some "favorite sons" showing up in the election results: I've no idea how their supporters will vote in the runoff.
Posted by: James ||
10/15/2005 11:05 Comments ||
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UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. Security Council condemned the increase in the flow of weapons and ammunition into Somalia in violation of a U.N. arms embargo and said Friday it would consider specific actions to improve compliance.
In a resolution adopted unanimously, the council authorized Secretary-General Kofi Annan to natter on and on re-establish a monitoring group for six months to continue investigating violations of the embargo and compile an updated list of people and organizations selling arms. The United Nations imposed an arms embargo in 1992, but it has not been effectively enforced.
That's 90% of a fair description of the UN right there.
The monitoring group reported to the council last week that since March, ``arms embargo violations took a sustained and dramatic upswing.'' Those committing the violations included senior members of Somalia's transitional government as well as members of the opposition, it said. Both sides ``are making military-style preparations, with the apparent intent of engaging each other in eye-rolling, face-making and gun sex violent hostilities,'' the group said.
The monitoring group also said governments - including that of Yemen and Ethiopia - had sent Somalia arms illegally.
It recommended that the Security Council consider a trade embargo on Somali charcoal and fish taken from Somali waters and ban foreign vessels from fishing there.
Damn. There goes the barbecue for the next Rantapalooza.
This new approach would reduce money available to dissident transitional government ministers, who are former warlords, and others to buy arms, the monitoring group said.
The resolution adopted by the council did not identify countries violating the arms embargo. It expressed its intention ``to consider specific actions to improve implementation'' and compliance with the embargo, but it gave no specifics.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/15/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Another fine piece of UN idiocy. Hello! What does the article below talk about? If you don't stop the piracy, you're not going to stop the arms flow. These people have no concept of the same sense of decency and fair play the UN supposedly operates under. They're THUGS. Slapping them on the hand isn't going to work. The only way Somalia gets a decent government is if it's imposed on them. Their tribal loyalty and "personal honor" can't be overcome enough to form a legitimate government of a sovereign state. The only other viable option is Balkanization - give each tribe a piece of land, and enforce the borders for a generation or two.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/15/2005 11:31 Comments ||
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#2
it would consider specific actions to improve compliance
I recommend The Strongly Worded Letterâ¢.
In a resolution adopted unanimously...
Well, I wasn't that far off.
Posted by: Rafael ||
10/15/2005 21:52 Comments ||
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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Hijackers Friday released a U.N.-chartered ship carrying food aid and a crew of 10 following successful negotiations with a Somali businessman, officials said.
Gunmen released the MV Miltzow after a Somali contractor, hired by the U.N. World Food Program to handle the food aid, negotiated with them, said Karim Kudrati, managing director of Motaku Shipping Agency, the Kenyan company that owns the ship. Kudrati said he was not aware any ransom was paid.
Sure.
The crew was unharmed and the food aid was untouched, said Leo van der Velden, the WFP deputy director for Somalia.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/15/2005 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.
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