A teacher in a Zimbabwe elementary school has been suspended for giving unruly pupils a choice between being caned or suckling her breasts. Apparently, 14 of the teacherâs third-graders chose the latter, the Zimbabwe Herald reported Tuesday. After the incidents came to light, the teacher was suspended and many of the parents came to the school and filed police complaints, the newspaper said. Harare Provincial Education Director Tomax Doba confirmed the report and told the Herald criminal charges are pending against the educator. "We received a report from the school and the report says it happened," he said. "We have already advised them to make a police report and the teacher is likely to face child abuse charges." One student told his parents he was given the choice between 100 lashes with a cane or suckling his teachersâ breasts for talking during class.
WASHINGTON, DCâIn an effort to streamline degradation of the American populace and consolidate all forms of bureaucratic hassle into one convenient mailing, federal officials announced Monday that, beginning in 2005, the government will issue all citizens an annual "Screw You" packet.
The packet, which is to be distributed in conjunction with federal tax forms, will condense the governmentâs countless methods of abuse into a single handy 9x12 envelope.
"The federal governmentâs current citizen-persecution system is inefficient and wasteful," said U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO), who spearheaded the congressional task force that developed the "Screw You" packet. "This compact packet is not only cost-effective, itâs user-friendly and intuitive. Simple instructions and easy-to-remember acronyms make the filing process as quick and painless as possible."
The packetâs easy-to-understand forms will free citizens of the nightmare of red tape normally associated with federal filings. Filling out and returning the "Screw You" packet is mandatory and easy.
From Barking MoonBat Early Warning System by way of Kim DuToit:
There have been many names for people who strap explosives to their own bodies, then detonate said explosives in a crowd of innocent people: "suicide bombers", "splodydopes", "gentle, misunderstood people with a little attitude problem" (Reuters), and so on.
The BMEWS guys have come up with the perfect name for these pricks:
EFL, and also for the benefit of those of us with no tolerance for JJâs insanity
Jesse Jackson accused the Republican Party, conservatives and the retailer Wal-Mart of attempting to "push the ideology of the Confederacy" in America. "The ideological right in control of our nation knows what it wants," Jackson said. "The right wing fights for a series of constitutional amendments. They intend to have their ideology protected by law. They intend to push the ideology of the Confederacy and continue to challenge the vision of the Union," Jackson told conference delegates on Monday. "In this competing vision of America, we choose the Union over the Confederacy. We chose a simple but comprehensive plan to make America a more perfect union," Jackson added. On Tuesday, Jackson applied the Confederate label to the Bush administrationâs economic policies and to the retail giant Wal-Mart. Jackson called Wal-Mart the "symbol" of the "whole ideological right-wing Confederate movement" at a conference workshop entitled, "The Wal-Mart Factor: Dumbing Down the American Economy." Good olâ Jesse. Irrelevant AND stupid.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
06/30/2004 11:51:49 AM ||
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Ya I really hate Wal-Mart. Who wants dirt bottom prices and a large selection to choose from?
Posted by: Bill Nelson ||
06/30/2004 13:16 Comments ||
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But..but..but - Walmart (local employment - 250) put Mom and Pop store (local employment - 7) out of business.
#3
Same old Jesse, same old tactics. He bashes a company, threatens a boycott, holds a meeting with the company's executives, gets a franchise/concession/contribution/payoff, and suddenly that company is one of the good guys to Jesse. Rinse and repeat.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
06/30/2004 14:55 Comments ||
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#4
Someone should point out to Jesse which political party Lincoln belonged to -- just to see Jesse's head explode.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
06/30/2004 15:26 Comments ||
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They only made it dumb enough so HE can shop there.
#6
I know that the *ahem* ah Reverend *ahem* Jesse *ahem* Jackson is trying to equate Wal-Mart to economic slavery similar to that of the Confederacy, but it is just one of his emotional "reaches." Entertaining, though. Jesse, corporate America has your shake-down gig understood now. The money will be a-drying up.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/30/2004 17:06 Comments ||
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"On the other hand, the pro-Sharonneoconservative cabal brings about a humanitarian disaster of unimaginable scale. Let us never forget that the influence of Leo Strauss is determined by capitalist interests which lead to an act of international violence that exceeds even those of the "liberal" Bill Clinton." (Empasis mine)
Let us never forget that Americanism as an ideology represents the repudiation of international law in order to bring about an act of international violence that exceeds even those of the "liberal" Bill Clinton. Clearly, the 15-minute speech delivered Monday night by President Bush can be seen in the light of the apparent fabrications which lead to the theocrat Ashcroft's suspension of our civil rights. So far, the pro-Sharon neoconservative cabal leads our attention to the result of a pre-fascist atmosphere in America. It is quite remarkable that Colin Powell's parade of lies is determined by capitalist interests which lead to the seizure of the Iraqi Oil Ministry.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
06/30/2004 18:03 Comments ||
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"In the past, even Kerry's ethnicity has been a muddle. Though most people assumed he was Irish, his Jewish grandfather changed the name from Kohn in Austria in 1901. When I ask Kennedy whether he, too, was ever under the misimpression that his colleague was Irish, he says, 'I hadn't really sort of thought about it.'"
-MSNBC
Even his politically valuable Irish and French pretensions are faux.
EFL - Insert Col. Sanders joke
Paul Spina married the former Sharon Hays 22 years ago, fathered two children with her and served as general counsel and a corporate officer in her familyâs business â Louisvilleâs Town & Country Ford and eight other dealerships. Together, Spina said, he and Sharon accumulated millions of dollars of stock in the company, which last year sold nearly 30,000 cars in three states and had revenues of almost $400 million. He left the Hays Automotive Group in 1999 after a stock dispute with his father-in-law, William Hays Sr., but said he and his in-laws put it behind them. "Everything went along fine," one of Spinaâs lawyers, Gregg Hovious, said in an interview, "until Paul became Paula." -snip- onomatopoetically in this case
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/30/2004 3:21:20 AM ||
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#4
More like LLL social experiment propaganda than art.
I understand the problems with the "Barbie" self-image issues, but little girls still love playing with them--the same as little boys love playing with toy guns and action figures. As an early childhood educator, I don't see a problem with either, as long as there are other toys available and adults don't prescribe toy/play choices.
I feel sorry for Mattel, and for the little girls that see his "art." Bastard.
#5
The original Barbie doll was a tramp in a maid outfit sold in France as a gag gift for batchelor parties. The CEO's wife saw/bought one on a trip they took to France. She had the company re-market the doll back in the states and the rest is history. - sort of explains why Barbie is unusually top heavy.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/30/2004 22:49 Comments ||
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The Nebraska Health and Human Services system has revoked the license of a North Platte therapist accused of firing a handgun at a memo that angered him. Perhaps he specialized in anger management, for the local Islamic community.
Robert Powers, a mental health practitioner and professional counselor, got upset when he received a memo last summer saying only the manager of his office would have the key to certain supply drawers, according to state documents. The ones where they keep the Prozac?
Powers took the memo and shot it several times with a .22-caliber handgun before returning it to the office, the document says. What a wuss. I find that the .45 ACP has much better stopping power against annoying memos and dysfunctional directives. Anything marked with "read and acknowledge" should be targeted with heavy artillery.
Two days later, he reportedly called the office secretary and said he was too angry to return to work because he "might shoot somebody." Good reason to stay home, but why wasnât he arrested?
The comment prompted several co-workers to seek protection orders against him. The usual PC defense against armed maniacs. For once it seems to have worked.
The state revoked Powersâ license to practice as a counselor or therapist on the grounds of unprofessional conduct.
"Let's talk about how you feel about your mother!"
"Okay. But put away the gun, okay?"
Obnoxious customers are even worse than obnoxious memos, and guns are not the only weapons to which the temper-challenged might resort.
Many years ago, I was taking a study break at about 3 in the morning and went to the local 7-11 to get some snacks and talk to the clerk, a classmate of mine. As we were talking, a drunken frat-guy came swaggering into the store and demanded to cash a personal check for $20. He was told that this was against store policy. He tried to argue but the clerk, who was 6â5" and looked something like a Viking, stared him down.
The drunk grumbled under his breath, then turned and spat on the glass door as he walked out. The clerk didnât see it, so I told him, "Hey, Don, that [anus] just spat on your door."
Don looked up, saw the glob of spittle running down the glass and yelled, "why, that SOB, Iâll cut him into little pieces!"
At that point, he reached under the counter, grabbed what turned out to be a genuine antique cavalry sabre, and charged into the parking lot waving the weapon over his head. He cornered the miscreant as the latter tried to get into his car. "Spit on my door, you mother-f****r? Iâm gonnaâ cut yerâ f***ing arms and legs off and slice out yerâ tongue if you ever show your s***-stupid face around here again," the sword wielding clerk yelled.
The drunk started his car and departed in some haste.
I recovered from my amazement long enough to ask, "Er, what if heâd had a gun?"
"No sweat," Don responded. He then reached into his back pocket and produced a Walther PPK-S. I was afraid to ask about armor, he might have had an RPG in the backroom for all I know.
Needless to say, this was all against the law, let alone company policy, but he was never caught. He never shot anyone or chopped them into pieces in the parking lot, either, at least not to my knowledge.
The drunk apparently didnât call the police, possibly for fear of not being believed, but it is a true story, so help me. Don the clerk is now a State Department official in Asia and is still something of a sword fancier.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy ||
06/30/2004 1:20:48 AM ||
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"The comment prompted several co-workers to seek protection orders against him."
The usual PC defense against armed maniacs. For once it seems to have worked.
Cuz he (the shrink) was essentially PC too - he just let his triglycerides get out of hand and, well, you know how it goes when that happens, heh.
Don, your friend, now he keeps his tri-G's under control and prolly has his PC patter down pat - but doesn't buy a word of it, lol!
In the fine tradition of "animals eating tasty people" news on Rantburg.
Leopards from a national park on the edge of Bombay, India's largest city, have killed 10 people this month - prompting forest officials to let loose pigs and rabbits to feed the big cats.
Has anybody thought about... ummm... shooting them?
The killings are up sharply from previous years, and six of this month's deaths occurred outside the park as leopards extended their range in search of food. Traps are being set up outside the park. A low voltage electric fence will be built to prevent the estimated 30 leopards from leaving Sanjay Gandhi National Park. In the next few weeks, 500 wild boar and 40 deer will be released as leopard prey.
This would make a good Far Side cartoon: one leopard saying to another, "I keep telling ya, eat another human and they'll give us more food!"
This month's deaths bring the year's toll to 14, and five other people were mauled. Some 15 deadly leopard attacks were reported last year, and 11 in 2002. Conservationists say some 11,000 squatters live illegally in the park and about 1 million people live in nearby suburbs. "Leopards are not creating the problem, man is," chief forest conservator Prem Yaduvendu told The Associated Press.
I hesitate to point this out, but man isn't eating the leopards...
Environmentalist Sunjoy Monga termed the attacks accidental.
Another Far Side cartoon? "I accidentally ate the tastiest human today..."
He said poultry and goats grazing on the park's boundaries were the leopards' actual targets.
"They're incredibly near-sighted, you know."
"From the marks at the attack sites it is quite clear the leopards are 2- to 3-year-old animals moving in peripheral areas of the park where stray dogs are an abundant source of food supply," Monga said. Before dawn Monday, a leopard dragged an 18-year-old boy from a doorless, tin-roofed hut wedged on a hill bordering the park.
The lad shouldn't have been barking...
Relatives said his cries for help roused them, but the leopard had ripped out the boy's throat. In a separate incident, a 52-year-old man was killed Monday by a leopard while sleeping near a Muslim shrine just inside the park.
In'shallah that.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/30/2004 12:31:55 AM ||
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mmmm...people
or
leopards...why do they eat us?
#3
Air-lift in MM to do another documentary called "Feeding the Leopard population for 3 months".
Posted by: Charles ||
06/30/2004 8:03 Comments ||
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India's largest city, have killed 10 people this month - prompting forest officials to let loose pigs and rabbits to feed the big cats.
Ah! Using tricky French tactics.
But seriously, tigers ain't squat compared to a hungry leopard.
#5
But seriously, tigers ain't squat compared to a hungry leopard.
Yup, one particular leopard in India, known as "Kahani man-eater" killed over 200 people.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/30/2004 11:51 Comments ||
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Wonder how many leopards Michael Moore could feed?
Excerpted from yesterdayâs daily press briefing. Does anyone know what is going on in TJ?
QUESTION: Yes, on Mexico. There were massive protests against crime and impunity in ten cities yesterday. And I was wondering if the U.S. Government is in any way concerned with an increasing level of insecurity in Mexico, and particularly in Tijuana, where a co-editor of a magazine, Zeta, was brutally assassinated last week.
MR. ERELI: Obviously, we condemn these kinds of senseless acts. But I donât have any specific comment on the events that you described. I think that, you know, obviously, we work, the United States, works closely with Mexico. Certainly, we, in the State Department, have excellent relations with our Mexican counterparts in the areas of cooperation and law enforcement. And those relationships, I think, are -- served both of our countries well.
He might be trying to say that it's not necessary for the gummint to have an opinion on everything...
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/30/2004 4:20:37 AM ||
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This not the first killing of this kind,and not the last.All this is tied to the drug cartels,who are still running amuck.I cross the border frequently and this happens all the time,mostly along the border from San Diego to El Paso.
exceprted from the Daily Press Briefing - Demonstrates the difficulty of shutting off dollars to Castro without hurting families.
QUESTION: This is on Cuba and the new travel restrictions and all that stuff. Thereâs been a real lot of chaos at the Miami Airport with Cuban-Americans trying to reach the island before the deadline of June 30th. I understand some of the travel restrictions have been extended. Could you help flesh this out a little bit?
MR. ERELI: Whatâs the -- I donât know, whatâs the question?
QUESTION: Well, the question is: Could you talk a little bit about the travel restrictions that are ending -- that are starting today vis-Ã -vis getting down to Cuba? And I understand thereâs been an extension to come back by July 31st; is that right?
MR. ERELI: Well, let me see what I -- if I can help clarify things.
On June 15th, we published new travel regulations that required travelers in Cuba on family visits to return by June 30th. In response to those regulations, travelers expressed concern -- travelers and others expressed concern that they may not be able to get back in time. So, as a result of that, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of Treasury, on June 25th, extended the deadline to July 31st for family travelers.
So now, instead of having to return by June 30th, they have until July 31st to return and we took this action in order to ensure that the return travel would be safe and orderly.
QUESTION: What about -- what about -- should a traveler thatâs here, do they have -- they have until June 30th to leave for Cuba? I think thatâs what the chaos is today in Miami, that all the Cuban-Americans are trying to reach Cuba before the -- before tomorrowâs deadline.
MR. ERELI: Our view on that is that, given the fact that weâre -- the new regulations are restrictive of travel, that going down and coming back before July 30th would be inconsistent with our new policy, which is to reduce the hard flow of currency to the Castro regime, and that it would be inconsistent with the intent of the extension to July 31st, which was to ensure that travelers could come and go in an orderly and safe fashion. So the idea of somehow youâve got an extra window so letâs rush to get in there and rush to get out is not consistent with the spirit of the extension, the original extension.
QUESTION: Not consistent with the spirit of extension, but is it illegal to do that or just --
MR. ERELI: I donât have a -- Iâm not in a position to give you a legal ruling on it.
QUESTION: You just donât think that they should be --
MR. ERELI: Right.
QUESTION: -- to be honorable American citizens?
MR. ERELI: Itâs not a question of being honorable American citizens. Itâs to be -- to comply with the spirit of the regulations.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/30/2004 4:27:43 AM ||
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There will be no crack anymore on the dam of the right bank of the Three Gorges Project, which is now under construction, even the whole dam, said chief of the China Three Gorges Project Corporation.
The June saw the first anniversary of the completion of the water storage in Three Gorges reservoir, the concrete construction is underway for the dam of the bank on the right. Cao Guangjing, deputy general manager of Three Gorges Project Corporation, said they would try to ensure there would be no crack anymore on the dam. This is not only a wish and a goal but also an assurance.
The Three Gorges Projects consist of three phases: the five-year-long first phase (1993-1997), the second (1997-2003), which is mainly for the dam on the left bank, and the third (2003-2009) phase for the dam of the bank on the right.
Cracks had been found in the completed left dam. Now reporters can not find any there. Staff members told that due to factors like weather, over 80 cracks had been found on the left dam, but they were merely 0.1 to 0.2 millimeterâs wide instead of as wide as hand could reach in as rumored.
Cao assured that the cracks are not deep enough as to affect the security of the dam. Presently, chemical grouting has been done to eliminate leakage. Sources say that such cracks mentioned above are defined as "quality defects" in official documents.
The responsible did face up to the defects and accidents during the construction of Three Gorges Project ten years ago. The responsible person said that serious sum-up and review have been made to avoid the reoccurrence of the same problem.
He said, "on the whole good" was the rating given by the expert panel for the quality appraisal of Three Gorges Project under the State Council. But, such wording as "on the whole" will never be affixed on the appraisal of the third phase.
As learned, management in quality has been tightened in the third phase with new technologies applied. The cracks on the dam of the left bank originated mainly from the linkages of concrete pouring. During concrete pouring, internal high temperature and low temperature on the surface sometimes led to cracks. But now, after the pouring, cooling process is added for the concrete, and during cold seasons, there will be cover to maintain the proper temperature.
New temperature-keeping materials such as polystyrene panel, instead of ordinary foamed materials for the linkages in the second phase, are used in the third phase, said Peng Gang, deputy director of the construction section of Three Gorges Project Corporation.
When asked whether cracks would have been avoided if such operations were done for the second phase then, Peng said that reasons for cracks to happen were quite complicated and almost inevitable for all the dams worldwide. With the lesson drawn from the left dam and many tests have been done by the constructors to prevent cracks to happen.
#1
Anyone care to take odds on just how heavily those politburo Mandarins and PLA top brass are investing in riverbank properties downstream of the dam?
#2
If, God forbid, we came to serious blows with China, this would be an obvious target. I imagine the world would be horrified by the loss of life downstream.
Posted by: Tibor ||
06/30/2004 21:52 Comments ||
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Well, all right. The Chicoms are finally learning how to pour deep sections of concrete. Anyone wanting to keep up on the dam construction and its aftereffects can go the link here.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/30/2004 21:53 Comments ||
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I imagine the world would be horrified by the loss of life downstream.
Should China continue its pattern of aggressive behavior, any destruction of the dam will be of their own making. All blame for the deaths that ensue will rest upon the politburo's shoulders and nowhere else.
China cannot possibly be allowed to think that they may proceed unfettered in their aggression against Tibet and Taiwan, yet remain immune from having their major civil engineering projects become strategic targets.
This is the price of admission into the global community. Join the ranks and attain security through peaceful coexistence or expect your nation's vital resources to become targets. Nobody gets it both ways, no matter how much China thinks otherwise.
#5
I don't think that I would care to live downstream once the reservoir fills. I don't think "chemical grouting" will be of sufficient strength comes the day.
#6
I predict thousands and thousands of people will be washed away when the damn dam collapses.
Posted by: Halfass Pete ||
06/30/2004 22:52 Comments ||
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Bah, WE'VE known about high temperatures in concrete long before Hoover/Boulder Dam: They had their own refrigeration unit and laid plastic pipes of chilled water while pouring the concrete. If they didn't, the dam would STILL be cooling...
#8
If they didn't, the dam would STILL be cooling...
Quite right, Ptah. Hoover Dam required a continuous uninterrupted 24/7 pour lasting for one entire year. Chilled brine was employed for heat removal during setting and the concrete used could pave a four lane highway from coast to coast. The penstock tubes are big enough to drive a school bus through.
One of the greatest civil engineering achievements on earth.
I predict thousands and thousands of people will be washed away when the damn dam collapses.
Halfass Pete, the final number would be in the millions. Given China's truly crappy civil engineering track record, Three Gorges is merely a disaster waiting to happen. The only thing I dread is that China might somehow use its collapse to fabricate justification for an attack on Taiwan.
#2
Reminds of an Onion point/counter-point article:
The white upper-middle class student: Nigeria is a land full of wonderful culture.
Nigerian: Get me out this hell-hole!
I hear an awful lot of folks spouting off about America who don't know a damn thing about us. But this much I do know: people risk a great deal to get into the U.S. I don't see many fighting to get over to Zimbabwe.
Extreme EFL In his own words...
âBush Junior is far more intelligent than his image or the press suggest. And he is 100 per cent trustworthy. He is also a much stronger man than Bush senior,â says Johnson. Or, Paul, you could just say he is opposite of Kerry.
âPresident Bush has far more in common with Thatcher than his father. It is nonsense to say Bush is in the pocket of the neo-conservatives. I know the so-called neo-cons and it is all a myth. They canât agree on anything, let alone organize themselves for a predetermined program. Heâs got the steel and backbone of his mother, Barbara Bush, and not his weak and feeble father.â Gasp!
Posted by: Dragon Fly ||
06/30/2004 11:47:37 AM ||
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I agree with the assessment of Dubya, but not with the slam against his father. Different times, different challenges. I still recall the story about George H.W. stopping before the cameras after getting off the chopper on the South Lawn on August 3 (?) -- his famous "this will not stand, this aggression against Kuwait" moment. I believe just yards away inside the West Wing, NSC staff was watching live on CNN and there were gasps and comments on the lines of "wow, what's he talking about, what are we going to do?".
Whatever his faults or limitations, Dubya's father stepped up at his time and did an excellent job on the primary challenge -- everyone forgets how tough it was even to organize and perform a reversal of the most clear-cut, flagrant, strategically important act of aggression since WWII.
Remember the Senate vote? Remember the global pressure to play Saddam's game; the same people who wanted to give "inspections" another 10 years this time 'round were counseling all sorts of clever dodges back in 1990, too. The media said it couldn't be done. Bloodbath as we breached the Saddam Line in Kuwait -- blah blah blah.
His father faced many of the same stupid obstacles and overcame them effectively. He was far from "weak and feeble," IMHO.
Dutch employers' association VNO-NCW claimed on Tuesday that the measures Environment State Secretary Pieter van Geel intends to implement to reduce Greenhouse gas emissions are doomed to failure. VNO-NCW chairman Jacques Schraven also said that the junior minister's policy will damage the Dutch business sector and reduce competitiveness, news agency ANP reported.
Look, he found a clue!
Due to the seriousness of the Greenhouse Effect, Van Geel intends to push for dramatic crackdown on Carbon Dioxide C02 emissions when the Netherlands holds the six-month rotating European Union Presidency starting from 1 July. But Schraven said Van Geel is placing environment policies at risk if the state secretary thinks he will gain global support for climate policies with an "extreme objective" of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2020. "All countries that are relevant for climate policy will immediately drop out," he said.
Those that want to keep their industrial base, that is.
Van Geel labelled the stance of VNO-NCW as "incomprehensible and irresponsible". He told Radio 1 that the Netherlands can provide a good example in terms of environmentally-friendly policies for other nations. But VNO-NCW chief Schraven also criticised the objectives placing limits on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, such as agreed to in the Kyoto Protocol. He said these methods will place severe pressure on countries that have high emissions and industry will thus relocate to countries that are not striving working towards meeting the protocol's objectives. Greenhouse gas emissions can be better reduced by making new agreements on an international level, he said. But Schraven also admitted that support for global climate agreements is crumbling, rather than strengthening.
"We signed what? Screw that."
Posted by: Steve ||
06/30/2004 10:14:14 AM ||
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Isn't it fun when someone else gets whupped with the clue-bat?
Posted by: Stephen ||
06/30/2004 11:39 Comments ||
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#2
At one time Romania had ratified Kyoto and was said to be living by its terms. How are they doing with it?
#3
So what happens if tomorrow I invent something to cure all negetive green house gas effects on the planet? If there is such a thing... What will all of these gloom and doomers do? No matter how great of time we live in the left will always make it sound bad. I would like to see these so called climate agreements crumble. I am sick of the "scare industry's"
By WILLIAM SAFIRE The column is interesting and deals with various things, but below are just the parts concerning the uranium/Niger/Iraq matter. There must be something magical about this topic -- first the WH and most observers have been unable to point out that Bush never mentioned Niger in the SOTU, and now Safire takes the disconnect to a new level, incorrectly implying that the British intel assessment relied on forged documents. Odd.
... But certitude is an uncertain thing. Take, for example, the assumption now taken as fact that Saddamâs Iraq was not seeking the raw material for the production of atomic weapons. Remember Bushâs claim in last yearâs State of the Union address about Iraqâs negotiating with an African nation for the "yellowcake" refined from uranium ore? Bush referred to Iraq seeking uranium in Africa, he didnât specify how many or which nations, and his basis was a British intelligence assessment-- this is key
When it turned out that this suspicion was based on forged documents, the embarrassed C.I.A. and humiliated White House confessed error. Error by Safire. The British made it very clear their assessment took NO account of the forged documents
Great and gleeful derision was heaped on Bush for misleading the world on one of the three bases for intervention... And neither you nor the WH could straighten people out on their basic factual errors
Comes now a front-page story in The Financial Times by Mark Huband, that international newspaperâs security correspondent, headlined "Intelligence Backs Claims Iraq Had Talks on Uranium." Were the documents on which Bush based his charge fake? False premise, Bush didnât base his charge on any fake documents
Yes; though "legal constraints" prevent the F.T. and the Italian magazine Panorama from identifying the suspected forger, the source is reportedly a convicted con man who tried to peddle phony yellowcake papers to several spy services. No wonder everybody belatedly ran from any notion that Iraq sought the uranium product from Niger. Wrong. The Brits didnât run, they stood by their estimate, and two separate parliamentary bodies examining related matters publicly stated that they found the Africa/uranium assessment reasonable.
But hold that horselaugh: "Embarrassment on fake documents obscured earlier intelligence that Iraq may have been trying to buy uranium," notes an F.T. subheading. Huband writes: "Three intelligence services were aware of possible illicit trade in uranium from Niger between 1999 and 2001. Human intelligence . . . had shown Niger officials referring to possible illicit uranium deals with at least five countries, including Iraq. This intelligence provided clues about plans by Libya and Iran to develop their undeclared nuclear programs." A close reading of the article suggests the original human source was Italian, whose tip was confirmed by British and French electronic intercepts. C.I.A. analysts, who often disdain data not gathered by us, ignored the real thing until they were suckered by the forged documents... A "close reading" of the SOTU and subsequent British statements would have obviated this whole discussion
In the months and years ahead, we are highly likely (almost wrote "sure") to get more evidence from seekers after W.M.D. truth. These range from the new Iraqi government to ousted officials, from the coalitionâs official team to freelance former spooks and serious journalists. "serious journalists"? Wow, email me a list, so I can read their stuff, please
Donât jump to hasty derision. Promise I wonât, if youâll look at things a little more closely yourself next time.
As Mark Twain advised, the problem is not just what we donât know, but what we do know that ainât so. Uh, my point exactly.
EFL
Recruiters pitching military service to high school students tout job training, college scholarships, foreign travel and lifelong friendships. A Palm Beach County peace group offers a different view: Enlisting in the armed forces isnât like signing with a job placement agency. War can kill you. Thanks for the tip, Ace.
Thatâs why peace activists say students who hear from recruiters in school should also expect to hear from them. "We want to be there to balance that perspective," said Javier del Sol, an activist and professional storyteller with a gray ponytail and a bandana knotted around his head.
Translation: he's unemployed!
"The military has money and personnel and experience and morals and decency and honor and duty. But a few people can make a difference."
That's why we joined the Army, isn't it? To make a difference? In a world crawling with snuffies and cut-throats and blood-thirsty boomers, the Army's really the place to be, isn't it? I didn't think a gray-pony-tailed professional story-teller would be able to understand that, but... Oh. He wasn't talking about that, was he?
For now, the ideological battle will play out first in Lake Worth High School, which claims one of the largest JROTC programs in the world, in a town that is a center for counterculture activism. Through a pilot program this fall, students at Lake Worth High could see peace recruiters in the cafeteria, career fairs, assemblies, classrooms and JROTC classes (In many schools they are called the faculty.)
-- all the places on campus they now see uniformed military representatives. In time, Palm Beach Area Draft Counseling, a Quaker-sponsored anti-war group, says it will seek equal access to all Palm Beach County schools. And theyâd like their campaign to spread to Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Del Sol and Marie Zwicker, who joined the anti-war fight in the 1960s at their local hippie commune, say theyâre recruiters for peace.
"Whut if they gave a war and nobody came? Huh huh! I mean, it ain't like they attacked us or somethin', is it?"
Theyâll counter claims made by recruiters and distribute information on alternatives to the armed services, such as the Peace Corps and college degrees in diplomacy. And they say theyâll tell students of their right to not have personal information shared with representatives of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. The pilot peace program appears to be on firm legal footing because of a little-known 1982 U.S. district court ruling granting the leftist front peace group, of which Zwicker was a member, the same access to students and the right to hand out literature. In the decades that followed, peace groups around the nation have won similar cases. But principals continue to resist giving military detractors access to students, said Oskar Castro of the National Youth and Militarism Program, a Quaker group, in Philadelphia. If the Lake Worth High School program moves forward, it could be one of the few programs of its kind, Castro said.
School district officials in Broward and Miami-Dade say they are not aware of any similar anti-military activism in their schools. Lake Worth principal Ana Meehan said details must be sorted out, but sheâs open to the idea of letting Palm Beach Area Draft Counseling onto the campus. "Weâre looking for a balanced approach," Meehan said. "From what Iâve seen, veterans and parents are open to all points of view, particularly veterans because they understand what democracy is and the hippie freaks do not. We want students to hear a variety of options." Geoff McKee, principal at Boca Raton High School, said he would prefer that the group focus on alternatives to enlistment and not speak negatively about the military. Many students in his school with relatives who are veterans might be offended, he said. "I can see how their message could be construed as anti-patriotic, and they would have to be sensitive of that in their presentation and have to put energy into not creating a disruption in order to be welcome on campus," McKee said.
I can see how their message can be construed as unpatriotic, too. That's because it's unpatriotic. See this here thing? It's called a shovel. It's also called a spade.
Erin Killian, 18, who graduated this year from the schoolâs JROTC program, said the peace groupâs campaign is unnecessary. "The military protects the country and the people in it. We should honor them and not right away say how horrible they are," Killian said. "People should know [war] is dangerous just by knowing about history and growing up in this country."
Provided that your teachers actually teach history, of course.
Sgt. David Holley, an Army recruiter assigned to Lake Worth High School, said del Sol and Zwicker have a right to speak their mind.
... if any.
But heâs skeptical of their viewpoint because recruiters canât force anyone to join an all-volunteer military, he said. "Nobody is going to stop them," Holley said of the peace activists. "But itâs really hard for them to know what really goes on in the military unless they have experienced it for themselves."
"Not that we'd take that pair of 4-F's into the Army, mind you."
The battle of ideas at Lake Worth High School may have something to do with Lake Worth itself. The armed forces recruit heavily in this working-class city with a growing number of solid, sensible working-class citizens immigrants from Guatemala, Haiti and Mexico. The high schoolâs Air Force JROTC, with 475 cadets, claims to be the second largest in the world. But Lake Worth also is the regionâs counterculture capital, having spawned many recent anti-war, anti-globalization protests.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/30/2004 3:35:20 AM ||
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#1
This is sooo silly it boggles the mind! So the Recruiters talk to the students and tell them the benefits and rewards for serving your county. And then the âpeace activistsâ tell them that they are making a big mistake and should join them in what? I thought California was loony, now Florida is giving us a run for our money! Any PW people down there so we can get some film of this event? How can these âpeace activistsâ be at a school job fair? What employment are they offering? Professional protestor? Hooligan? Communist Cell Leader? College Professor?
#4
So, we send these clueless old hippies into the schools to chant, preach, and project their monumentally transparent and self-righteous authoritarianism onto high school students? How receptive to you think such students will really be? The result will probably be a horde of newly enlightened teenage militarists swarming into recruiting offices to sign up for a chance at some payback.
#5
Seriously, I think a good many military enlistments are based on a sense of rebellion against the years of suffocating leftist dogma many of these students have endured from "progressive" faculty.
The 60s schtick will only work with those who are so far gone in drugs and the fantasy world of retro-pop-culture conformity that they would be unlikely military recruits in any case.
Who knows? Maybe some nefarious group of recruiters is actually behind this effort by alleged peace activists.
What better way to influence teenagers than to have a pious, authoritarian, old 60s throwback frame the opposing position?
#1
NPR has been very successful in getting private endowments and grants. I would suggest a multi-year phaseout of govt funding. Maybe 3 years to zero out. One could advocate a complete cutoff, but a compromise of 3 years would fly better, IMHO. Then again some LLL types with rabies would go ballistic over just the idea.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/30/2004 17:40 Comments ||
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#2
I doubt that privatization could reduce teh incredibly low standard of the NPR product.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/30/2004 22:52 Comments ||
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#1
Damn right, I love what Cheney said to leahy. leahy is a worm of a lying POS, son-of-a-bitch. I'd really like to see Cheney "bitch slap" the prick. kennedy too.....
Posted by: Halfass Pete ||
06/30/2004 21:11 Comments ||
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#2
Not as eloquent as Putin's "I'll liquidate them (Chechens) in their outhouses", though "I'll boil Leahy's a$$ in Vermont maple syrup" would have been acceptable.
Posted by: ed ||
06/30/2004 21:15 Comments ||
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Official Washington and the entire press corps will be rocked when Hillary Rodham Clinton is picked as Kerry's VP and a massive love fest will begin! So predicts a top Washington insider, who spoke to the DRUDGE REPORT on condition he not be named. "All the signs point in her direction," said the insider, one of the most influential and well-placed in the nation's capital. "It is the solution to every Kerry problem."
"It's the solution to my problem with the Republican base as well. Thank you, Senator Clinton." Karl Rove
Posted by: Steve ||
06/30/2004 2:29:09 PM ||
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"All the signs point in her direction," said the insider, one of the most influential and well-placed in the nation's capital. "It is the solution to every Kerry problem."
"Then I can get the witch out of the house and troll for big-haired trailer trash," the insider continued.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
06/30/2004 14:52 Comments ||
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#3
Sung to "Don't Cry for Me Argentina"
In honor of our would-be Northern Eva Peron....
Don't cry for me Chappequa....
The truth is I never lived there....
Whitewater scandal....
The Billing Records....
We'll keep it quiet....
I'll make a difference....
#4
Bring it on piano legs! Talk about getting 90% male turnout for Bush. This would be perfect.
Posted by: remote man ||
06/30/2004 15:03 Comments ||
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#5
Of course if we morphed her into Karl Marx in an ad, we would be considered unseemly, even after her remarks at a Boxer rally yesterday. (Trinity Coll)
HILLARY'S HERO
AND, we have to get rid of Boxer in California. If for no other reason when I do a search on the web for my favorite dog breed, I have to filter out so much junk. (AKC)
#6
There will be a good number of women who will support her, but I count myself among the not few women who can't stand her. She is smart, but she, like her husband, is principleless--selling out all her feminist credentials just so she wouldn't have to confront her husband's betrayal in public and stand on her own. She sold out her beliefs for access to power.
#7
No way can I believe that Kerry is actually considering Hillary for VP. He's dumb-- but not THAT dumb.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
06/30/2004 15:21 Comments ||
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#8
Agreed, Kerry isn't stupid. I don't see where Hildebeast does Kerry any good, because the media will fawn all over her. Ewww I guess that means will be seeing more of those gigantic kankles.
#15
Any bets on how long it would be before Vice President Clinton became President Clinton? Kerry might break William Henry Harrison's record as for the shortest term as President of the US.
Sen. Clinton's critics have noted her reputation for an explosive temper. In 2000, a book famously reported she said, "You f---ing Jew bastard!" more than two decades ago to a campaign aide. Jerry Oppenheimer's "State of a Union: Inside the Complex Marriage of Bill and Hillary Clinton," cites three sources who heard the remark. Later, Bill Clinton insisted to the New York Post his wife didn't say that, but conceded, "She might have called him a [bastard]. I wouldn't rule that out. She's never claimed that she was pure on profanity."
#5
There's a better way, after the lobotomy, Hillary will be quiet and docile. Frankly I'm amazed Bill never thought of it himself. Oh right, sorry, I forgot that the words thought and Bill don't mix.
On Tuesday, as broadcast on the American cable network C-Span, independent presidential candidate and environmental crusader Ralph Nader said the following:
"What has been happening over the years is a predictable routine of foreign visitation from the head of the Israeli government. The Israeli puppeteer travels to Washington. The Israeli puppeteer meets with the puppet in the White House, and then moves down Pennsylvania Avenue, and meets with the puppets in Congress. And then takes back billions of taxpayer dollars. It is time for the Washington puppet show to be replaced by the Washington peace show."
He made the speech as part of a conference of the Council for the National Interest titled, "The Muslim Vote in Election 2004". In addition to Nader, speakers included Ambassador Edward Peck, former Iraq Chief of Mission and others.
Attaboy, Ralph. Take that Arab vote away from Kerry!
Posted by: Steve ||
06/30/2004 1:09:42 PM ||
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Saaay . . . ever notice that you never see Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan in the same photo?
Naaaaw . . . that can't be! I mean, they're not . . . no, that would be silly. I mean, far-left anti-Semitic anti-American moonbats and far-right anti-Semitic anti-American moonbats saying the exact same thing? Never happen!
Posted by: Mike ||
06/30/2004 14:31 Comments ||
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#2
Just a few molecules of different in the DNA. . .
and BINGO!
You have the two of a kind which look different.
#3
Nader's very much a weather vane for the left, and this does NOT bode well for the country or the world.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
06/30/2004 15:24 Comments ||
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ever notice that you never see Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan in the same photo? Naaaaw . . . that can't be! I mean, they're not . . . no, that would be silly. I mean, far-left anti-Semitic anti-American moonbats and far-right anti-Semitic anti-American moonbats saying the exact same thing?
Fyi, Nader is Lebanese-American so at least he is voting in a way that is beneficial to his religious/ethnic loyalties.
Can you say the same about Jewish voters who traditionally vote for the DNC, a party which stands tall by the Palestinians and is quick to criticize Israel. By your standards aren't these Jewish voters being anti-semetic?
I find it very odd that some people will glibbly put down Pat Buchanan & the "far right"[stalwart Republican voters] as anti Israel or anti-semetic, but say nothing about the Jewish voters who consistently vote for the DNC.
You can be darned sure that Pat Buchanan casts his vote for the Republican Party EVERYTIME he votes. It's actions that count not words when you cast a stone against those you judge to be anti-Israel.
Nader's very much a weather vane for the left, and this does NOT bode well for the country or the world.
Perhaps American Jews might pay attention to your warning and stop voting DNC as is their wont.
Posted by: rex ||
06/30/2004 17:14 Comments ||
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Can you say the same about Jewish voters
My guess is that Wolfowitz, Perle, et al wouldn't pull the lever for the DNC. My point is there is no "Jewish" vote -- Jews are not a monolithic entity.
#6
Nice try, #5, but no cigar. The Jewish vote has consistently been associated with the DNC. Sure there will be a few hawkish Jews who will vote Republican, but the DNC can count on Jews and blacks as their solid voting bloc.
1. Link
"Jews: Stand up for yourselves, Stand up for your people, Stop voting Democrat" by Daniel Weintraub
In college we are taught to open our minds, broaden our horizons, and analyze the mysteries of life. One of the great mysteries of American political life that remains unanswered is why Jews continue to vote and volunteer for the Democratic party in such overwhelming numbers. Depending on the particular survey, 50 to 60 percent of American Jews identify themselves as Democrats, while no more then 15 percent call themselves Republicans. As a member of the Jewish community, this leaves me pondering the question: why do my people vote for a party that causes us so much pain?
2. Also, the following research published in 2003 in Jewish Week: Link"Jews still identify as Democrats" Jewish Week
...While we lack exit polls that provide a definitive answer about how Jews voted in the
2002 congressional elections, there is compelling evidence that they remain solid in their support for the Democratic Party. In pre-election polls conducted for Democracy Corps
in the year leading up to the election, only 21 percent of Jews said they intended to vote
for Republican candidates, a figure comparable to their preferences in congressional elections throughout the 1990s. And in a recent survey conducted by Steven Cohen for the Jewish Agency for Israel in cooperation with the Florence G. Heller/JCCA Research Center, only 22 percent of Jews said they intended to vote for President Bush in 2004, roughly the share of the vote that he received in the 2000 contest with Al Gore. Equally important, in the post-9-11 period, there is no evidence that more Jews call themselves Republican. A national survey of Jewish-American voters conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research in July found that 58 percent of Jews called themselves Democrats compared to 22 percent who identified themselves as Independents and 15 percent as Republicans. This distribution has not budged since the 1990s, which should not surprise us since partisanship is an enduring component of political identity...
Posted by: rex ||
06/30/2004 18:04 Comments ||
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#7
Rex: Nader gives an interview to the former Reformed Party candidate for president. It is the "American Conservative" (or something like that, low quality paper, so it at Borders).
#8
You can be darned sure that Pat Buchanan casts his vote for the Republican Party EVERYTIME he votes.
Really? Even when he was running as the Reform Party candidate?
I seem to remember Buchanan basically being hounded out of the Republican party for his anti-semitism and his increasingly loony ideas on economics. Dinesh D'Souza's "Go, Pat, Just Go" was an excellent explanation of how Buchanan had left the Republican party, and how good it was to see him go.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
06/30/2004 20:34 Comments ||
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#9
As I recall Pat Buchanan was twice a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination and he served three Republican Presidents in the White House. It was only in the 2000 Presidential election when he ran on the Reform Party ticket that Buchanan voted for a party other than Republican. Perhaps I mis-spoke...I shouldn't say for sure that Buchanan will vote for a Republican in November. To my knowledge, Buchanan has not endorsed any candidate yet,but based on his past long standing loyalty to the Republican Party with the exception of 2000 and based on the fact that he is not running in the election under the Reform Party banner, chances are Buchanan will vote Republican again.
However, more to the point based on research I posted in #6, who do you think Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., the owner of the NYT, a MSM icon that often publishes anti-Bush stories, will vote in November? Keep in mind the powerful influence of the NYT who Fortune Magazine ranked NYT as No. 1 in the publishing industry in its list of "America's Most Admired Companies," for the fourth consecutive year...
Or what about the producers of Michael Moore's virulent anti-Bush film, Fahrenheit 9/11 ie Miramax bosses Harvey and Bob Weinstein... how do you think they will vote?
The following is an article written by Front Page.com by Lawrence Auster re: the Jewish voters' by and large long-standing antipathy for Christians and the Republican Party. He focuses on the immigration issue but brings up the aforementioned point as well. http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=13894
"Why Jews Welcome Muslims" By Lawrence Auster
FrontPageMagazine.com | June 22, 2004
...The real object of Jewish fears
First of all, as crazy as it may sound, there is something that many American Jews fear in their heart of hearts even more than they fear Moslem anti-Semitism, and that is white Christian anti-Semitism. Steinlight himself pointed to this phenomenon at a recent panel discussion hosted by the Center for Immigration Studies:
"Every high profile Jewish institution, whether it's a national organization or a major synagogue, is surrounded by concrete barriers to prevent car bombs exploding too close to the buildings. If you go through the lobbies into those buildings you have to pass metal detectors and double-doors of bulletproof glass. You are then frisked by security guards, mostly retired New York City police or Israeli agents, and then are scanned again with metal detectors.
"What is truly comic about thisâwere it not an instance in the theatre of the absurd, and were it not so appalling an indication of the kind of mass denial that is still governing major American Jewish organizations, including the one I used to work for that's currently meeting across the streetâis that the staffs of these organizations pass the car bomb barriers, go through the double bulletproof glass lobbies, get frisked, then go upstairs into their offices and spend their days talking about the threats posed by evangelical Christians...."
Jews' risible obsession with non-existent evangelical Protestant anti-Semites, combined with their obliviousness to actual mass murdering Islamist anti-Semites (whom, moreover, the Jews' favored immigration policies have allowed into this country) is an amazing phenomenon that we should not dismiss as simply a bizarre ethnic idiosyncrasy. It expresses, rather, a central preoccupation of a significant number of Jews, namely their corrosive apprehension of what they think the goyim might one day do to themâa fear they entertain despite the fact that, apart from some social exclusions and other ethnic prejudices that existed up to the end of World War II, Jews have never faced serious anti-Semitism from the white Christian majority in this country.
It's a long article but well worth the read. I happened to stumble across it today while responding to another discussion thread about the Canadian election.
In fact if the Jewish bloc vote changed from its traditional support of the DNC [ergo John Kerry] it could help GWB and the Republican party win. Once again to mock Buchanan and "far right" fundamentalists as being the great danger to Israel and Jews represents a disconnect with the reality that it is Jewish voters that consistently vote for the DNC, which is anti-Israel, and ot is influential Jewish leaders in America who are trying their best to unseat GWB from the White House and put in his place John Kerry "the appeaser" who stands for open borders and high immigration levels of Muslims. It's liberal Jewish voters who are their own worst enemy, not Pat Buchanan and "far right" fundamental Christians.
Posted by: rex ||
06/30/2004 21:59 Comments ||
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#10
I tend to be w/Rex on this; the majority of Jews due vote DNC as do blacks. Pretty silly when you consider how much the right backs Israel and how the majority of blacks tend to be more socially conservative then their DNC friends. I know that blacks like the dnc affirmative action angle so am not surprised they go dem. Why jews do the same is beyond me other then the pseudo social justice angle - LH, any thoughts?
. . ."Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you," Sen. Clinton said. "Weâre saying that for America to get back on track, weâre probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. Weâre going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."
Just blocks away at San Franciscoâs historic Ferry Building, President Clinton kicked off the latest leg of his West Coast tour promoting his best-selling book, "My Life." Wearing a navy blue suit and a rust-colored tie, Clinton signed books for at least 3,000 people, many of whom had waited hours under brilliant sunshine to catch a glimpse of him. . . (Gotta do something to earn that big advance)
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others - George Orwell
Posted by: BigEd ||
06/30/2004 8:45:44 AM ||
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Lenin couldn't have said it better himself, Comrade Hillary.
#2
When I first read her comments I came to the same conclusion: Animal Farm. For every lefty Liberal that spouts this Marxists theology (and thatâs what it is) they should first liquidate all assets and give the money to the state. If you think the state should redistribute wealth, give up all you have and let them do it. Come on, you will more than make for it during next years commencement addresses by charging 10K a pop. Funny part is that most of these idiots donât realize what a slippery slope they are embracing. It wonât hit them until they have a deja vu like the scene in Dr. Zhivago. When he returned from the war (fighting for the red Army) his house had been divided up into a collective house. Hey! There is another idea! Let the limo liberals house some of the downtrodden in their exclusive mansions? But then they would have to give up their âeliteâ status and be a commoner.
#9
Yank: She said "things". She was talkin' taxes, but her mind was already well past that...and she let it slip. Does anyone really think she would stop there?
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
06/30/2004 15:20 Comments ||
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#10
The distinguishing feature of communism is not the abolition of property generally, but the abolition of bourgeois property. But modern bourgeois private property is the final and most complete expression of the system of producing and appropriating products that is based on class antagonisms, on the exploitation of the many by the few.
In this sense, the theory of the Communists may be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private property.
Communist Manifesto
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/ch02.htm
#11
It is the tireless quest for socialism that still drives the Democratic Party. This "slip of the tongue" is one of those rare moments when a major Dem politician gives a clue to their true intent. It is a "slip of the tongue" because they know they cannot win on a platform that is so honest as to lay bare their real goals.
Just how strongly do they hold these beliefs? So strongly that they willingly plan and carry out a campaign designed to undermine and discredit the current administration, even at the expense of helping the enemy in the current war. In other words, they would rather lose the war than lose the election, even if it means the loss of more American lives. They really don't like the Islamists or hope that they prevail in the long run, they just are willing to make the Faustian deal - help the Islamists make a disaster of Iraq to facilitate a Democratic win the election - then hope the Islamists can be contained or appeased. They believe in their socialist ideology stronger than they fear the Islamist threat to world peace.
Posted by: Sam ||
06/30/2004 23:31 Comments ||
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EFL
The 2000 Presidential election was decided by absentee votes. And so could this yearâs poll. As Simon Payn reports, never before have Americaâs political parties wooed expat voters with such intensity. Do expats now qualify for the Jesse Jackson "Smoke Up the Vote" carton of Lucky Strikes?
American expats have never felt so wanted â or so powerful. This massive surge in activity is because many people believe expats could decide the election this year. Even former Vice President Dan Quayle thinks so. He reminded the German chapter of Republicans Abroad in April how much the absentee vote (the ballot papers coming in mainly from abroad) mattered in the pivotal state of Florida in 2000. "It was the absentee votes that turned the tide in Florida. Every vote counts. We need to get the word out," he said. The 2000 vote was the closest in American history, with George W Bush gaining a margin of 537 votes in the crucial Florida count. With around six million Americans living abroad, there are enough voters to make up a 51st state. But US voters are registered in the county and state in which they last lived. And it was the absentee votes (and the way they were counted) that made the difference in the crucial states in 2000. People are just coming out of the woodwork. Can dead expats vote in Chicago?
American expats here are mobilising and registering. An investigation published by The New York Times in July 2001, eight months after the poll, found that overseas ballots â the only votes that could legally be received and counted after election day â were judged by markedly different standards, depending on where they were counted.
Overseas military votes were thrown out for not having postmarks, even when military postal service doesn't have to use them. I hope the voting officers are on their toes this year and keep on people to vote early enough and make sure they are filled out correctly.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/30/2004 3:27:37 AM ||
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#1
I know one precinct in Indiana where that won't happen. My wife is a poll judge.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/30/2004 17:09 Comments ||
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A new man is in charge of border relations for Mexico and he has some radical ideas for change at the border with the United States. Arturo Gonzalez Cruz, a 52-year-old Tijuana businessman, says many improvements are needed at the border to benefit trade, including creating more lanes and adding border crossings. Ultimately, Cruz says flat out, he wants to see the border disappear... About 3 million illegal immigrants cross the border from Mexico into the United States each year...The last man who had Cruzâs job resigned quietly after complaining his colleagues in Mexico City didnât have a good understanding of the border. American elected officials are similarly "challenged" when it comes to understanding what borders mean, especially seeing border control being an integral part of our national security.
Posted by: rex ||
06/30/2004 7:45:35 PM ||
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In the interest of good relations, I am willing to meet them half way. Take down the fence and replace it with mines and sniper towers. Any illegal who makes it across that gets a lottery ticket, cause it's his lucky day.
Posted by: ed ||
06/30/2004 21:34 Comments ||
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#2
He just wants to get on the US Federal payroll where we is just in hog heaven on groundhog gravy, so to speak.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/30/2004 21:37 Comments ||
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#3
Well, if the California Democrats ever manage to convince Schwartenegger to sign a bill giving illegals drivers licenses, then motor voter and the ever eager registrars will insure enough new Democratic voters to help this fellow in his quest to eliminate the border by making it irrelevant.
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published June 29th, 2004
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Abu Musab Zarqawi is using the Internet to recruit more terrorists and get money to finance his insurgency against the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, according to a senior coalition military official.
The official said Zarqawi also remains "a significant threat" to the Iraqi authorities and is trying to prevent an effective government from emerging, according to the official in Iraq, who disclosed an intelligence assessment of Zarqawi on the condition of anonymity.
"Zarqawi continues to easily use the Internet and media to get his message across both to recruit new fighters and obtain resources such as money, along with getting out his political intimidation statements and threats against the coalition, the Iraqi government and any civilian organization or company supporting the rebuilding of Iraq," the official said.
Other U.S. intelligence officials said leaders of Saddam Husseinâs deposed regime are using Syria as a base for providing support to anticoalition fighters in Iraq. The support includes money, weapons, explosives and expertise.
Zarqawiâs terrorist methods follow asymmetric warfare techniques, including terrorist actions designed to shock, such as kidnappings, assassinations and large-scale bombing or shooting attacks.
"He and his group remain a significant threat to the fledgling interim Iraqi government and their security services," the official said. "He is likely attempting to increase the tempo of his terrorist operations in order to destabilize the Iraqi interim government and prevent the Iraqi security services from becoming a viable entity.
"He realizes that if the interim Iraqi government and their security services become effective, then he and his group will likely be defeated in Iraq," the official said.
U.S. officials think Zarqawi was the hooded terrorist who beheaded U.S. contractor Nicholas Berg on videotape. His group also videotaped the execution-style killing of South Korean translator Kim Sun-il. Both videotapes were posted on Islamist Web sites and circulated worldwide.
Last week, Zarqawi also said he planned to assassinate Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. The audiotaped message was posted on an Internet site.
The U.S. government has moved quickly to shut down Web sites being used by Islamist terrorists. However, Zarqawi has been able to find numerous Internet outlets to get audio and video messages out, often without the knowledge of the Internet service providers.
U.S. intelligence agencies also have used the Internet to track down terrorists, either through their supporters or through their communications. The gathering of intelligence from Islamist Web sites is one reason they often are not shut down after their use as a communications channel is discovered.
U.S. officials said terrorists from Iraq and Saudi Arabia, where a U.S. contractor also was killed recently, have used two Arabic language Web sites. One is Kuwaiti.com, and the other is called Symphoniyat Loli Nagham al-Mawaqi al-Arabiyah. A third site that has been used in the past by Islamists is a British portal to Lycos.
Other Web sites are usually paid for by foreign Web site owners, who give space to those who access the site.
Islamist terrorists such as Zarqawi use the sites to post messages, photographs or video clips at these sites, officials said. They also use e-mail to send messages and images to a clandestine supporter in a foreign country, who then posts the material on the Internet.
According to the coalition military official, Zarqawiâs followers are "relatively few" in number and are estimated to be in the hundreds, not thousands.
The Jordanian-born Zarqawi "gathers foreigners from throughout the Muslim world to his cause," the official said.
"To date, we have seen relatively few true foreigners fighting in Iraq. However, it takes relatively few to commit spectacular acts," the official said.
Most of the several thousand foreign fighters in Iraq crossed into the country during the beginning of the U.S.-led military operation to oust Saddam, and most died in battles with U.S. forces in southern Iraq or fled, the official said.
Zarqawi, however, has managed to attract "small numbers of religious extremists who are recruited generally from mosques or through the Internet," the official said.
"These are predominantly young men who hear the call to do their religious duty and take up Jihad," the official said. "Some of Zarqawiâs fighters likely come from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Kuwait and other Muslim countries along with extremist Kurds who he was associated with from Ansar al Islam."
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
06/30/2004 4:35:36 AM ||
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Using the web is the best way to recruit overweight liars - E Harmony.com
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/30/2004 16:56 Comments ||
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Via FARK.
Iraqis used to dance to his tune, but in Baghdad toy shops a chubby, gun-toting Saddam Hussein doll now wiggles his hips to the "Hippy Hippy Shake." Toy stores around Baghdad are doing a quick trade in dancing Saddam dolls -- foot-high battery-powered puppets of the former president, kitted out in full insurgent regalia, who swing their hips to cheesy pop music at the flick of a switch. Decked out with hand-grenades, daggers, a walkie-talkie, binoculars and an AK-47, Saddam dances to the "Hippy Hippy Shake" when turned on.
"Itâs funny, isnât it?" said Mustapha al-Kadamy, a young father as he browsed through a toy store in the wealthy Mansoor district and prepared to buy one of the dancing Saddams. "Tomorrow Saddam will go before an Iraqi judge and so today is a good day to make fun of him -- we need to be able to smile after all the horrible things heâs done to us." In spite of all this we still have in our midst self-righteous assholes like the Boston Globeâs resident moonbat racist, Derrick Z. Jackson blaming Bush for everything under the sun except for foot fungus.
The Algerian authorities have provisionally frozen the activities of Arabic-language television station Al-Jazeera in the north African country, the stationâs correspondent in the capital Algiers said Wednesday. "I was informed of the freeze, which is valid until further notice, of the stationâs activities, but was not given any explanation other than the fact that foreign correspondentsâ work is in the process of being reorganised and I could resume my activities afterwards," Mohamed Daho said.
Censorship! I blame Ashcroft.
Newspapers had speculated Tuesday that the stationâs Algerian branch would be temporarily closed down, saying that the authorities had "not appreciated" a debate aired on Al-Jazeera recently, questioning President Abdelaziz Bouteflikaâs national reconciliation programme.
Seems like a pretty mild response, normally "not appreciated" in a Arab country involves gunfire.
Bouteflika unveiled a "civil reconciliation" plan shortly after first coming to power in 1999, under which several thousand Islamic extremists who had been fighting to oust the secular government since 1992 surrendered in exchange for partial amnesty. The civil war that raged for the decade between 1992 and 2002, now sharply diminished, claimed at least 100,000 lives, according to official figures, and up to 150,000 by independent counts. Hardline extremist fighters of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which has been linked to Al-Qaeda, and the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) have rejected Bouteflikaâs offer, but are thought to be weakening.
Most are thought to be decomposing.
Bouteflika renewed his call for national reconciliation before this yearâs presidential election, which saw him overwhelmingly returned to office, largely because of his success in bringing Algeriaâs civil war under control. Other newspapers speculated that the suspension of Al-Jazeeraâs activities was due to the coverage it gave to a blast at the Hamma power station in Algiers on June 21. The authorities have said the blast was probably accidental but it was later claimed by the GSPC, the countryâs largest Islamic radical group. Al-Jazeera broadcasts via satellite in Algeria, where the station has a large audience.
#1
I wonder how much longer Alawi is going to put up with these terrorist enablers. The Iraqi government can follow suit and let them opine from abroad instead of being embedded with the terrorists.
EFL
U.S. cinematographers and other film industry workers have asked the Bush administration to take action against Canadian, Australian and other government filmmaking subsidies that they say have lured away tens of thousands of jobs.
Ummm... Lemme think. No.
"We have been harmed by runaway production of films, videos and television shows that are being made in foreign countries because of ... unfair trade practices," the Film and Television Action Committee said in comments filed this week with the Commerce Departmentâs Unfair Trade Practices Task Force... "We are asking that the Unfair Trade Practices Task Force address these (foreign film) subsidies as one of its first priorities," FTAC said. "The elaborate subsidy programs of Canada and other countries constitute extensive unfair trade practices that have damaged domestic interests in the amount of billions of dollars." FTAC is supported by the Screen Actors Guild, various technical film workers unions and "tens of thousands of rank and file entertainment workers" according to its Web site. Unions representing cinematographers and other theatrical workers also asked separately for the Bush administration to crack down on "runaway" film production. More at the link Iâm thinking Dick Cheney is best equipped to respond to this mindboggling request...
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
06/30/2004 2:25:03 PM ||
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Was F9/11 a union film? If so, tell them to get bent. If not, tell them to get bent AND that Moore's a scab.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
06/30/2004 15:22 Comments ||
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Pardon me while I laugh myself sick. The Australian film industry is constantly begging their government to save them from having to compete with those big bad Americans.
Mark Steyn has an enjoyable Rant on F9/11. Here is an excerpt
Moore follows his GUT, by which I mean his Grand Universal Theory: Bush is to blame for everything. Because of Bush, the Saudis secretly run US policy. Because of Bush, the Taliban were in bed with Texas energy executives. Because of Bush, the Taliban got toppled.
Whoa, hold up a minute, I thought he was all pals with the Taliban. The Saudis certainly were, which is why they opposed the liberation of Afghanistan. But by now Mooreâs moved on to pointing out that Bushâs Afghan stooge Hamid Karzai used to work for the Texas energy company panting for that big Afghan gas pipeline.
But hang on, I thought the Texan energy guys already had the Taliban in their pockets and were funded by the Saudis. "Connecting the dots" is all very well, but not when youâve got more dots in your picture than Seurat.
(Hat tip: LGF)
Posted by: Anon1 ||
06/30/2004 10:15:49 AM ||
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Owww... not that I mind clicking on the link, but one should post longer excerpts when it's Mark Steyn :)
EFL - hattip to WND
As the US struggles with high oil and gas prices and an overdependence on foreign suppliers, Washington is trying to get a reluctant nuclear power industry to build itself up as an alternative. But the Utility companies wonât be suckered.
The US energy department is providing incentives to encourage US power companies to apply for licences to build the first new nuclear plants in 25 years. The department is also considering building a plant of its own. The 103 operational US nuclear power plants are so old they are being forced to apply for 20-year extensions on their 40-year operating licences. Even though they provide 20 per cent of the nationâs energy, no provisions have been made to continue that supply, much less increase it, once the plants are too old to operate. Californians are soon to meet my two friends - Mr Rock and Mr Hardplace.
A tedious application process, high costs and public resistance have made utilities skittish about new nuclear power for decades. A company would be pretty stupid to take a risk on adding capacity with a business case that is almost surely a money loser. It is much more economical and "green" for public utilities to add capacity powered by natural gas. Sort of sucks for a homeowner to pay his/her gas bill during the Midwestern winter when his/she are competing with a large corporation for each therm of gas. -snip - Chernobyl and Three Mile Island In 1984, public opposition prevented a completed $5.3bn (?4.35bn, £2.9bn) plant from opening in New York state. The devastating Chernobyl accident in Ukraine two years later all but finished the debate. Today Mark Urso, who works in the nuclear services division of Westinghouse Electric, gives talks on nuclear energy. "Typically, the only thing they [the public] know or ask questions about are the nuclear accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl," he says. There is another, arguably bigger obstacle than public opinion: the build-up of nuclear waste. Without an offsite repository, nuclear plants must store their own waste onsite. And when storage space is full, the plant can be threatened with closure. Efforts to set up a national nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, have been blocked for years by the stateâs governors and members of Congress, regardless of party. I think that the waste should be stored in the state that uses the electricity - by percentage of MW used.
Lee Raymond, chief executive of ExxonMobil, the worldâs biggest publicly listed oil and gas company, has stated that nuclear has great potential, especially from an environmental standpoint. But he has noted that political opposition makes nuclear power a poor contender for meeting the rising US energy demand. "The political reality in the US today would lead to the conclusion that there will not be any more nuclear power plants built in this country for a long time," said James A. Baker, the former secretary of state to President George H.W. Bush. The utilities seem reluctant to prove them wrong, in spite of improvements in plant safety, mandated by US regulators, lower operating costs and a streamlined application process. "No one has ever tried to use [the new process], so there is a lot of uncertainty about how the process will work," says William D. Magwood IV, director of the energy departmentâs Office of Nuclear Energy. There is no financial incentive to build a plant where the per MWatt capital cost is prohibitive from the get-go. The return looks bleaker if the greenies get worked up and prevent you from using your plant transforming your investment into a radioactive white element.
The department has agreed to bribe split costs bribe to get three gullible suckers commercial operators to apply for permits to build new plants on specific sites. Nuclear Power will be viable in the US when Americans decide they want to restore some resonableness to the system. The Free Market would certainly work to correct the problems in Electric utilities is we stopped convincing ourselves that California was an experiment in Deregulation. Here is why "deregulation" failed in California:
1. The state enacted legislation to prevent any addition of capacity due to enviromental concerns.
2. The state made no more to restrict increases in usage.
3. The state fixed the price that local utilities could charge customers.
4. Because they could not add capacity, or refuse to provide power and the local utilities were forced to buy power on the open market, from providers that werenât price controlled and being located out of state - had no obligation to sell power to California.
5. Forced into a situation that could only lead to bankrupcy, the local utilities did their best to distribute cash to stockholders before this story written by a crackbaby proceded to it obvious conclusion.
Final note - we will have at least one big blackout this summer because Americans want our power grid to be repaired at no cost to us by Glinda and the Lollypop kids. [/rant]
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/30/2004 4:17:07 AM ||
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I think that we should promote nuclear power and save the petroleum to run my large car.
Posted by: Formerly Dan ||
06/30/2004 14:33 Comments ||
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Damn straight we should be saving pertoleum - there's a hell of a lot better uses for it than burning it in an IC engine. Plastics, to name just one.
Have cheap kits to convert cars to use alcohol, is my take. And seriously screw with the Saudi's cash flow at the same time.
Excerpted from the daily Press Briefing concerning changes in diplomatic facilites. - No mention of when the Wheelus O-Club would be reopened.
QUESTION: What is the U.S. going to do about an embassy in Libya? Is there a building that already exists that gets refurbished? Is there a new one? And what embassy is the U.S. operating out of now?
MR. ERELI: All good questions, but somewhat premature. Youâre obviously referring to the announcement yesterday that we would be restoring direct diplomatic ties with the Government of Libya. What this means in practice is that we will be ending our protecting power agreement with Belgium and dealing directly with the Government of Libya on those issues which are -- which will -- on those issues which are part of our working relationship with the Government of Libya.
In, I guess, physical terms, it doesnât signal that much of a shift in the sense that we have a diplomatic property there that was in -- that is in a terrible state of disrepair. It is not a property that we are close to inhabiting. Iâm not even aware that weâve sort of decided what weâre going to do with the property.
So those are questions, I think, that are dealt with far down the road. We have a limited number of diplomatic personnel there to do the work that we have with the Libyans and theyâre working out of a hotel until an interim property is located. That hasnât happened yet, so itâs temporary quarters for now.
QUESTION: A follow-up. Are there Libyan officials here in the U.S. meeting with officials this week?
MR. ERELI: Iâll have to check on that. I know that there was some interest among you about whether Libya has opened an interest section here or what their plans are. Libya was invited on February 26th to open an interest section in Washington. They havenât done so yet. As far as what their plans are, Iâd refer you to them.
QUESTION: Can you take the question, if theyâre here meeting? And also, if they were invited, they were invited to have an interest section, but you just opened up a liaison office.
MR. ERELI: Right.
QUESTION: So are you inviting them to raise the level of diplomatic representation here?
MR. ERELI: Well, we have done that. I think thatâs a little bit premature, since they havenât yet had an interest section. But, obviously, weâd be willing to entertain, I think, whatever proposals are appropriate and necessary to conduct the level of business that we need to conduct.
QUESTION: Is there already an existing Libyan embassy?
MR. ERELI: In Washington?
QUESTION: Yes.
MR. ERELI: Well, Iâm not aware if there is a property that used to be a Libyan embassy and what the status of that property is. Let me check on it and see if our buildings -- our Office of Foreign Missions has anything on that for you.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/30/2004 4:33:05 AM ||
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Ok, this is insane. What makes her think Clinton has time from is busy book schedule to debate his victim?
Posted by: Charles ||
06/30/2004 8:00 Comments ||
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It's disgusting that none of the interviewers asked Clinton about Juanita Broderick.
Paula and Gennefir should hold a joint press call with Juanita. Otherwise, the big media will be able to continue to pretend that Juanita never existed.
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mhw - Wow - Susan is almost terminally conflicted. I am boggled that she even hesitates to go after this jack rabbit tooth and nail. Anyone, Pub or Donk, who behaves with anything like this level of disdain for others, not to mention such a track record of abuse, should be put down - like a rabid dog. It amazes me that the desperation of the Donks is so great that they will swallow (Monica didn't, but the DNC does) this for political purposes. Too bad such a clearly-spoken opinion isn't going to be resurrected and receive the public attention it deserves. Sigh.
THE Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Tafa Balogun weekend said a team of police officers had been deployed to Niger Republic, Cameroun, and Chad with a view to fine-tuning modalities for joint border patrols. The police boss who dropped this in a chat with Vanguard at his Louis Edet House, Abuja Headquarter of the force weekend said the move was aimed at ensuring a crime free society with special focus on the borders. The IGP explained that having properly sealed off the NigeriaBenin border, it is time to extend the crusade to other neighbouring countries adding, " you can see that since we came on board, our strategy has been to reduce crime rate to the barest minimum and it has been very successful. "Border patrols have started in earnest, you can see with the Nigeria and the Republic of Benin which we did and it was very positive and now we have less cases of trans-border banditary Also just now, a team from Nigeria left for Niger Republic and Cameroun to fine tune arrangements between us. You heard the CP Kastina telling me now on phone that the team had left.
"We also have a team that will be going to Chad so that all our borders will be jointly patrolled and that brings a lot of peace. Transnational criminals will be adequately checkmated and itâs a very good development generally.The level of crime and criminal activities has reduced and then we will maintain this tempo and effectiveness. I must thank every police man for doing a good job." The police boss also spoke on the recent introduction of fembots female mobile police personnel, saying it was one of his crime busting strategies to combat female and children rioters when they occur. He explained that the outfit is one of its kind in the history of police in the world saying, "it is a development that is first in the world. There is no one hundred per cent women mobile squadron all over the world outside the National Organization for Women.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
06/30/2004 12:00:00 AM ||
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THE recent official opening of the Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline, Africaâs largest single private investment, was marked by much back-slapping and mutual congratulations by the presidents who graced the event. However, some of the shine was taken off the occasion by a few of the guests of honour who are among those leaders who have given Africa a bad name. One such person was the host, Chadian President Idriss Deby. He presides over one of the poorest countries in the world. Despite his oft-stated pledges to use oil money to address poverty, Deby, a general who seized power in a coup in 1990, spent $4,5m of his first oil receipts on arms for the national civil war. Another guest of honour was Central African Republic President Francois Bozize, who deposed former president Ange-Felix Patasse in a military coup in March last year. Despite the African Unionâs pledge to deal swiftly with any unconstitutional overthrow of power, Bozize is still in power 15 months later, with promised elections only scheduled for next year.
"Cross our hearts and hope you to die!"
Except that Bozize is an improvement over his predecessor...
Also present were the personal representatives of Denis SassouNguesso, President of the Republic of Congo, who also took power in a coup but who has whitewashed his image by winning elections subsequently; President Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea a dictator who feels no obligation to spend his countryâs riches on uplifting his people and Omar Bongo of Gabon, who has the dubious reputation of being Africaâs second-longest-serving president.
We're talkin' millenia, here...
However, the pipeline has the potential to change forever the paths of the two countries through which it passes. The vast sums involved, and underlying mistrust of Debyâs good faith on oil revenue, have led to special scrutiny and oversight of the project by the oil sector, financing institutions such as the World Bank, and development groups. The motives are sound to ensure transparency in the spending of oil revenue. Oil began flowing in August last year and Chad will see its first share of oil royalties this year, to the tune of $100m, and it is expected to receive another $100m from taxes and customs duties. Cameroon, whose President Paul Biya was at the opening along with Burkino Fasoâs President Blaise Compoare, will also benefit handsomely, getting projected revenue of $500m over the 25-year production period in transit fees and taxes. The pipeline is indeed one of Africaâs greatest development projects. It is not only bringing unimaginable wealth to one of the worldâs poorest countries but it is setting important precedents for the spending of oil wealth. It has also had major spin-off benefits in terms of infrastructure â 600km of roads and seven bridges have been built and an optic fibre cable has been laid the length of the pipeline. The private sector in both states has benefited from more business, and individuals and communities affected by the project have been financially compensated. Many jobs have been created and activity at Cameroonâs ports has reached all-time highs. However, despite his noble statements on improving the lot of his country, Deby is unlikely to reform himself into a champion of human rights and good governance.
Can't expect a leopard to change his spots now, can you?
He still shows little patience with any criticism of his government and a campaign to alter the constitution to let him to stand for a third term is now under way. Like all oil-producing countries in Africa, Chad presents a high-risk investment. If the oversight experiment fails, Chad may end up as just another cursed oil state. It is in the interests not just of the stakeholders to ensure this does not happen, but for Africans themselves to ensure the success of this high-profile project.
Ignominious failure for $20, Alex!
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
06/30/2004 12:00:00 AM ||
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Can't expect a leopard to change his spots now, can you?
I dunno. Libya's Mommy Qadafi did a pretty good job so far. And now we may know one of the reasons why:
"...getting projected revenue of $500m over the 25-year production period in transit fees and taxes."
Seems the quickest way to get oil from Chad to Europe would be through Libya.
Posted by: Rafael ||
06/30/2004 0:46 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
(Trinity Coll)
(AKC)
(Senate Website)
