VICTORIA, Canada - Mr. Floatie - a brown, smiling lump of feces - will have to take a break from his environmental concerns Tuesday as he heads to British Columbia Supreme Court.
And you thought we had shity cases
The costumed crusader for sewage treatment is being challenged by the city of Victoria because of his nomination as a candidate for the position of mayor in the upcoming municipal election.
Sounds perfectly qualified to me
Mr. Floatie is a high-profile and tireless reminder of Victoria's practice of pumping raw sewage into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The man inside the costume, James Skwarok, says the city appears to be taking issue with his candidacy because only real persons can run. It's an objection he finds moot. "Of course I'm not a real person, I'm a big piece of poop."
That never stopped Teddy from being elected to the Senate
The move by the city to keep Mr. Floatie off the throne of power has left him "beyond bummed out. I was fuming."
So, he's a steaming piece of crap
Robert Woodland, Victoria administrator, says the law governing municipal elections clearly states that only people can run for a position. And they must do so under their real name. Woodland says he can personally attest that Mr. Floatie is not a real person. "He is a costume character."
Posted by: Steve ||
10/19/2005 13:35 ||
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#1
I'm sire Woodland is well aquianted with 'floaties' - being in Victoria and all....
#6
It's ART! Quick, get him over the NYC and make sure he's supported 100% by taxpayers' money. Call National Endowment for the Arts and see if they can hand him a million or so!
Remember the exhibit of Mary covered in Elephant dung? The same Lefties that go wild the moment a rumor flutters by about Qu'ran's in lee ole toilet had no problem promoting and "celebrating" Christian-bashing garbage under the rubric of "artistic expression."
Authorities in Germany have stepped up efforts to cull racoons amid reports that the ravenous American mammals have ruined wine-grape harvests in one region.
Imported to Germany from North America before World War II, racoons have multiplied unchecked throughout Germany and all of Central Europe, from the Low Countries to the Urals, according to conservationists.
The nocturnal mammals have become a health hazard in many cities, where they rummage through garbage bins and invade homeowners' attics and cellars. Now, they are becoming a threat to agriculture.
"Racoons wiped out almost the entire harvest in a matter of days," vintner Werner Kothe told Deutsche Presse-Agentur. It was a surprise attack! We've only had 65 years to prepare!!
"We have 540 vines and they have been stripped bare by these pesky animals," said Kothe, who operates a vineyard in the Brandenburg region of north-eastern Germany.
The situation has become so serious in Brandenburg that officials there have authorised hunters to cull racoons.
Last year, hunters in the state killed 3,471 of the pests. However scientists estimate there may be upwards of a million of the rascally mammals in Germany alone - and they are spreading to neighbouring countries at an alarming rate. And how did they get there ???
Experts say there are 100 racoons per square kilometre in the Kassel area, in the wooded hill country north of Frankfurt - the same density reported in the racoon's natural habitat in North America.
Residential homes in Kassel resemble fortresses, with mesh wire covering all openings and spiked defences on downspouts and gutters. Even attic windows are barred.
Kassel is possibly the only city in the world to have hired an animal control officer whose sole duty is to patrol the streets in search of racoons. He drives a special vehicle marked "Der Waschbaermann" ("The Racoon Man").
Racoons are most concentrated in the Kassel area and in the Brandenburg area east of Berlin, where a dozen or more of the creatures escaped from a fur farm in the chaos of the waning days of World War II in 1945. Oh, THAT's how they got there.
"Culling is almost impossible due to the fact that the racoon is a very cunning nocturnal creature," says Dr Ulf Hohmann, a zoologist who has studied the racoon. "They are difficult to find even when equipped with a radio tag. Without that, they are impossible to track down."
"And besides," Hohmann adds, "waiting until a racoon causes mischief and then calling in a hunter ... is only treating the symptom rather than the cause."
"The fact of the matter is that the racoon has established itself as a native species in Europe," he adds, "and very successfully so."
Posted by: too true ||
10/19/2005 13:34 ||
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There are several breeds of coon hounds in TN they could import too. Where the Germans smell racoon poop, I smell an economic opportunity.
#6
Tht's true, Jackal. Spanish judges want to put out a warrant for the arrest of all Americans. Just to be sure they have anyone who'd dare blow away an al-Qaeda sympathizer. The last election told us all we needed to know about the typical Spaniard. The judges feel they are obeying the will of their people. As natives of North Amerca, and often the USA, poor 'coons are automatically suspect
#1
That's nothing, the Japanese had an entire aircraft carrier frozen in an iceburg and thawed it out in the mid 90s and it helped win WW3. Read it in a book, must be true.
#2
Thats nothing. We fixed up an old battleship which was lying on the bottom of the Ocean and equiped it with a new 'Wave Motion Gun' and now its somewhere in outer space fighting aliens....
(from Star Blazers... At least that is what I remember of it).
#3
By we you mean the Japanese again, since the Argo was built within the rusted hulk of the Yamoto, a technilogical feet that NASA could never hope to accomplish. Apparantly the Japanese WW2 navy was vastly underused during its time.
I took my sweetie climbing
Way up on Mount Rainier
We climbed the Emmonds Glacier
The weather it was clear
But she fell into a bergschrund
I could not get her out
but fifty years later
She came out at the snout.
Chorus:
She's the finest glacier lilly
That I have ever known
Her eyes are like the diamonds
They sparkle like the snow
But she fell into a bergschrund
I could not get her out
but fifty years later
She came out at the snout.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/19/2005 21:36 Comments ||
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My son came home from school one day,
with a smirk upon his face.
He decided he was smart enough,
to put me in my place.
"Guess what I learned in Civics Two,
that's taught by Mr. Wright,
It's all about the laws today,
The 'Children's Bill of Rights.'
It says I need not clean my room,
don't have to cut my hair
No one can tell me what to think,
or speak, or what to wear.
I have freedom from religion,
and regardless what you say,
I don't have to bow my head,
and I sure don't have to pray.
I can wear earrings if I want,
and pierce my tongue & nose.
I can read & watch just what I like,
get tattoos from head to toe.
And if you ever spank me,
I'll charge you with a crime.
I'll back up all my charges,
with the marks on my behind.
Don't you ever touch me,
my body's only for my use,
not for your hugs and kisses,
that's just more child abuse.
Don't preach about your morals,
like your Mama did to you.
That's nothing more than mind control,
And it's illegal too!
Mom, I have these children's rights,
so you can't influence me,
or I'll call Children's Services Division, better known as C.S.D."
Of course my first instinct was
to toss him out the door.
But the chance to teach him a lesson
made me think a little more.
I mulled it over carefully,
I couldn't let this go.
A smile crept upon my face,
he's messing with a pro.
Next day I took him shopping
at the local Goodwill Store.
I told him, "Pick out all you want,
there's shirts & pants galore.
I've called and checked with C.S.D.
who said they didn't care
if I bought you K-Mart shoes
instead of those Nike Airs.
I've canceled that appointment
to take your driver's test.
The C.S.D. is unconcerned
so I'll decide what's best."
I said "No time to stop and eat,
or pick up stuff to munch.
And tomorrow you can start to learn
to make your own sack lunch.
Just save the raging appetite,
and wait till dinner time.
We're having liver and onions,
a favorite dish of mine."
He asked "Can I please rent a movie,
to watch on my VCR?"
"Sorry, but I sold your TV,
for new tires on my car
I also rented out your room,
you'll take the couch instead.
The C.S.D. requires
just a roof over your head.
Your clothing won't be trendy now,
I'll choose what we eat.
That allowance that you used to get,
will buy me something neat.
I'm selling off your jet ski,
dirt-bike & roller blades.
Check out the 'Parents Bill of Rights', It's in effect today!
Hey hot shot, are you crying,
Why are you on your knees?
Are you asking God to help you out,
instead of C.S.D..?"
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras -- Gathering strength at a fierce pace, Hurricane Wilma swirled into the most intense Atlantic storm ever recorded Wednesday, a Category 5 monster packing 175 mph wind that forecasts warned was "extremely dangerous." Wilma was dumping rain on Central America and Mexico. A hurricane watch was in effect for the east coast of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, parts of Cuba and the Cayman Islands, and forecasters warned of a "significant threat" to Florida by the weekend. "All interests in the Florida Keys and the Florida peninsula should closely monitor the progress of extremely dangerous Hurricane Wilma," the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
At 8 a.m., the hurricane was centered about 340 miles southeast of Cozumel, Mexico. Maximum sustained wind was 175 mph, forecasters said. It was expected to dump up to 25 inches of rain in mountainous areas of Cuba through Friday, and up to up to 15 inches in the Caymans and Jamaica through Thursday. Up to 12 inches was possible from Honduras through the Yucatan peninsula, the U.S. weather service said. Wilma's confirmed pressure readings Wednesday morning dropped to 882 millibars -- the lowest minimum pressure ever measured in a hurricane in the Atlantic basin, according to the hurricane center. Lower pressure translates into higher wind speed.
Forecasters said Wilma was stronger than the devastating Labor Day hurricane that hit the Florida Keys in 1935, the strongest Atlantic hurricane to make landfall on record. But Wilma wasn't expected to keep its record strength for long, as higher disruptive atmospheric winds in the Gulf of Mexico around the hurricane should weaken it before landfall, said Hugh Cobb, a meteorologist at the hurricane center. Dang, Will someone please turn off the hurricane generator?!?!
It's stuck! I can't get the button to unbutton! We're doooooooomed!
Posted by: DanNY ||
10/19/2005 08:52 ||
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Just testing the Mark III. We'll shut it down soon.
I keep getting a whole bunch of these when I try to comment:
Notice: Undefined variable: sWeb in C:web
antburgwwwcommwarticletmp.php on line 16
Notice: Undefined variable: rText in C:web
antburgwwwcommwarticletmp.php on line 16
Notice: Undefined variable: sName in C:web
antburgwwwcommwarticletmp.php on line 21
Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at C:web
antburgwwwcommwarticletmp.php:16) in C:web
antburgwwwcommwarticletmp.php on line 21
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antburgwwwcommwarticletmp.php on line 22
#4
You can always e-mail Fred. You can e-mail the other mods, but then we turn around and e-mail Fred (you do not want me under the hood of Fred's pink Caddy, trust me).
For isolated technical problems, e-mail probably works best. If you do post a problem here, it goes under SAST as a 'non-WoT' (page 3) issue. Thanks,
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/19/2005 8:23 Comments ||
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#5
For isolated technical problems, e-mail probably works best.
"Thank you for e-mailing the Rantburg Helpdesk. Your request will be answered in......seven....days."
Posted by: Steve ||
10/19/2005 8:49 Comments ||
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#6
Gotcha,Steve,thanks.Should have thought of that myself(0darkthirty kneejerk).
#7
A tip for the young men amongst us: 'Never declare your variables...'
Thanks Howard, btw I'm not very swift and I'm having trouble with my eyesight so would you explain what variables are? I hope you're not refering to my variable sexual preferences and peccadillos indiscretions.
Posted by: Senior jr. ||
10/19/2005 15:05 Comments ||
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Women, why do they hate us?
A group of young, aggressive women went on a rampage through the Jutland town of Vejle on Tuesday, national broadcaster DR reported. Around midnight, local police found a battered young woman lying on the street with her ribs kicked in. She told officers that four girls had attacked her. A few minutes later, the rampaging amazons gang attacked a young couple in the town's main shopping street, spraying mace into the woman's face and splitting the man's eyebrow. The police arrested the gang later in the night, and said it consisted of four young women between the ages of 17 and 22. 'They seemed like female berzerkers a girl gang, one of the women is already known for violence,' a police spokesman said. The women will be charged with assault and breaking the arms law. Hmmm, whose arms did they break?
Posted by: DanNY ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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...Wondered where my ex-wife was last Tuesday.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
10/19/2005 7:34 Comments ||
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#3
I still have the scar where my sister split my eyebrow open with a beer can. Course, that was back in the day when they made beer cans out of steel. Bled like a stuck pig, I did.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/19/2005 8:46 Comments ||
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#4
Steve - Tried to grab the last of the six-pack did we? That'll learn ya.
#10
I still have the scar where my sister split my eyebrow open with a beer can. Course, that was back in the day when they made beer cans out of steel
Wimp, my sis would just hammer down a long neck, then break the bottle over the nearest head, using the remainder in a slashing fashion, all the while maintaining a perfect serpentine motion.
Japanese scientists have found a mysterious marine microbe, half of which cells eat algae like animals while the rest perform photosynthesis like plants.
Professor Isao Inoue, a member of the University of Tsukuba research team, told the Mainichi Daily News
... which translated from Japanese means "Daily Daily News"...
he believes the microbe demonstrates part of the process of single-cell marine microbes evolving into plants. The research team discovered the single-cell microbe, a kind of flagellate, on a beach in Wakayama Prefecture, and called it "hatena" or "mystery."
Hedorah Hatena, the smog monster, destroys Japan and fights Godzilla while spewing his poisonous gas to further the damage.
"Hunh! Hatena! Ret's run!"
The microbe is originally green and is made up of algae. When it divides into two cells, one takes over the algae from its parent and remains green and the other turns colorless, Mainichi reported.
By turning colorless, it cleverly disguises itself as... ummm... nothing.
The animal-type colorless cell develops an organ like a mouth
A big mouth, large enough to swallow the entire Dai Ichi Hotel at a single gulp...
and uses it to eat
...entire districts of Tokyo...
algae, while the plant-type green one uses algae it has in its body to perform photosynthesis and produce energy, according to the team.
So half of it eats what the other half is, and the other half eats Shimbashi Station...
The researchers believe that as the marine microbes evolve into plants, only the chloroplasts in algae they had taken in their cells developed, while the other organs degenerated.
Feed me, Seymour.
Posted by: DanNY ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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History shows again and again
How nature points out
The folly of man
EFL
Imagine building a lunar vehicle and taking it 233,857 miles from the Earth to the moon only to forget to pack a lunch for the drive across the moon's landscape. The dilemma of being forced to reduce cargo weight by combining edible food and workable equipment for a space flight is being put to a group of Ball State University students and Australian sixth graders. Ummm, pass the tabasco pleaze!
As part of a class assignment and possibly the first international research project of its kind, students from both countries are being asked to build a working model made from common food. The vehicle must be no bigger than 20 centimeters in length and 10 centimeters wide. Now we know where all the stale Dunkin' Donuts are gonna go...
#1
This idea is stupid. It is better to have equipment that will last and be usable for followon journeys. That way after the first few trips you don't need to bring these things and you have a growing base.
Probably an interesting engineering challenge but worthless beyond that.
#2
The sensible solution is to create robots that can take their time and prep the place before people arrive.
Powered by a small nuclear reactor, which already exist, these robots could do things like mine habitation tunnels--essential to get away from the radiation, vacuum, heat and cold, and abrasive dust.
And once they get started, they never stop until they need replacement parts. People come and go, but the underground tunnels keep getting larger and larger. This also means that the people can bring *other* stuff with them, instead of basic supplies every time.
Robotic missions could operate on their own schedule, with the idea of continually improving the Lunar base. Other things they might do is build landing pads or strips out of local materials; and eventually set up a mining operation to harvest and process H3 for transport back to Earth.
This is a serious goal, as a single cargo of H3 could pay several times over for the cost of all Lunar missions; and two or three loads would pay for all Martian missions.
The philosophy is that every time we visit the Moon, we improve the place, prepare the place, for the next mission. Eventually, there will be enough supplies there for the Moon base to operate full time.
But send the robots first, otherwise, it will just be a go-there-and-come-back, over and over again series of missions.
#3
I agree, mostly, and that will no doubt be the Japanese plan.
I also think humans bring a certain excitement and would like to see them up there as soon as possible in combination with the robots. An inflatable module like the transhab would be enough habitat to start with, they don't need to wait for the robots to mine out lava tubes or anything.
#4
There is no human performed task to be done in space that cannot be done better, cheaper and safer with robots. The Mars rovers cost 600 million dollars for the entire mission, including management costs(!). With a pricetag for a manned Mars mission possibly exceeding 100 Billion(!), for the same cost we could put 166 rovers on mars, not accounting for economies of scale.
If there was a task that could be done only by an on-site human, perhaps. But given the costs vs benefit, there is no reason for this trip. The main reason for the trip seems to be PR, and not any science goal.
Posted by: Mark E. ||
10/19/2005 15:18 Comments ||
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#5
This is a serious goal, as a single cargo of H3 could pay several times over for the cost of all Lunar missions; and two or three loads would pay for all Martian missions.
#7
H3 can be used for fusion reactions, at least that's the theory. Could replace our entire energy creation system with clean, pure, fusion.
Yes robots can do it, they can do everything, but there is a certain adventure that leads to interest, that leads to increased spending that happens when humans are involved. I also think things will happen quicker with a combination rather than waiting for robots to build it 'safe enough' for humans.
Personally i think we need to do everything to build a beachhead and make it easy for private industry to take over from there. Robots are part fo the solution, but they'll be exploring the rest of the solar system and Mars as well while humans are taking over the moon.
Serious levels of corruption in the public sector plague more than two-thirds of the world's nations and are undermining attempts to eradicate poverty, Transparency International said. Bangladesh and Chad topped the global watchdog's annual list of corruption levels in 159 countries. At the other end of the scale, Iceland was the least corrupt country.
Berlin-based Transparency International said on Tuesday more than two-thirds of the 159 nations on the list scored less than five out of 10, indicating serious levels of corruption. Peter Eigen, chairman of Transparency International, said corruption among public officials was worsening poverty in many developing countries. "The two scourges feed off each other, locking their populations in a cycle of misery," Eigen said. "Corruption must be vigorously addressed if aid is to make a real difference in freeing people from poverty."
In Dhaka, the Bangladesh government blamed the previous administration for being placed at the top of the corruption list for the fifth year in a row. Last year, Bangladesh shared its position with Haiti although the government rejected the watchdog's methodology, saying the index should be based on facts, not perceptions. Reacting to the 2005 index, Bangladesh Information Minister Shamsul Islam said there had been a steady reduction in corruption since the current government took power.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Bizarre as it may sound, Bangla's right: this CPI is yet another load of poop from yet another wank-o-matic group of pretentious poseurs who presume to sit in judgement upon others, whilst doing zip, zilch, nada, nothing actually productive. It is not objective nor fact-based in any way - it's totally subjective, a collection of polls. It's more of a guilt quotient than a measure of corruption.
"Watchdog" - there they go again. All of these dipshit orgs should be put to work, digging ditches or wells or picking up litter. That would be far more productive and useful. Definitely "B" Ark passengers.
Russia confirmed an outbreak of a lethal strain of bird flu south of Moscow while Romania said a second location in its Danube River delta area was hit by the virus that has killed 60 people in Asia.
About 223 birds of 3,000 on a farm in the Tula region 280 kilometers (170 miles) from Moscow died from the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus, Russia's agriculture ministry said today. The remaining birds are being destroyed. H5N1 in Romania was found in a swan and chicken in a village about 50 kilometers from where the virus was detected earlier this month in another group of birds.
``Unfortunately, what we originally suspected was confirmed today'' in tests at a European Union-approved laboratory near London, Romanian Agriculture Minister Gheorghe Flutur said in a televised speech in Bucharest.
Fears that the virus, already capable of jumping to humans from fowl, will mutate into a form transmissible between people has spurred governments to buy up drugs produced by Roche Holdings AG and GlaxoSmithKline Plc. Concerns in Europe have been fueled by the discovery of H5N1 in Turkey and Romania, and Greece this week reported its first suspected case that, if confirmed, will signal the deadly virus has entered the 25-nation EU.
The risk of a pandemic, threatening the lives of as many as 7.4 million people, is the highest in more than 35 years, the World Health Organization says.
Small Health Risk
The general population must differentiate between bird flu and a possible pandemic of a human influenza, said Zsuzsanna Jakab, director of the European Center for Disease Prevention, said today at the EU agency's Stockholm headquarters. The health risk of H5N1 to the general population is minimal, she said.
Romania last week quarantined Maliuc and the nearby smaller village of Vulturul after dead domestic and wild birds suspected of carrying the virus were found there, Flutur said.
Health workers meanwhile killed all domestic fowl in the two villages as well as in Ceamurlia de Jos, where the bird flu was first detected, and disinfected all the houses in the area, Flutur said. Samples from hundreds of dead birds from counties bordering the Danube delta region have so far not tested positive for the virus, he said earlier today.
The Danube delta is Europe's biggest wetland and hub for wild birds migrating from countries north of Romania further south to Africa. The Danube River separates the two Black Sea Romanian counties of Tulcea and Constanta from the rest of the country, making it easier for authorities to monitor and disinfect food transport, cars and trains at bridge crossings.
Police Patrols
``We no longer need to send samples for testing to London from locations where we already proved the outbreak because spending more money on that isn't justified,'' Flutur said.
Police and health workers are patrolling the Danube delta's waters on speedboats to persuade villagers to keep their poultry fenced in to avoid contact with other birds that may be infected and to gather the bodies of dead wild and domestic birds. Authorities are fining villagers who let their fowl loose, Flutur said.
Officials from Romania, Ukraine and Moldova, whose borders meet around the Danube delta, will start daily contacts on bird flu, Flutur said yesterday. Moldova and Ukraine have reported no bird-flu outbreaks yet, though Ukrainian officials have shot some migratory birds and sent their blood to Kiev for analysis, according to a spokesman for the Odessa region in the south.
Ukraine's health, defense and agricultural ministries will meet with border guards tomorrow to discuss the situation, Lyudmyla Mukharska, head of the health ministry's epidemic section, said by telephone.
Plotting Strategy
``We may have bird-flu epidemic, so we are working out our strategy to prevent it,'' she said. ``We have Tamiflu and other medicine, although we do not have proper supply of them.''
Roche Holding AG's Tamiflu influenza treatment has been shown to fight bird flu. The Swiss drugmaker is under pressure to increase supply by letting other companies make the drug.
Tests on a swan found dead in a Romanian lake about six miles from the Ukrainian border indicated it may have been exposed to bird flu, and tests on swans and a duck near the area also showed bird-flu antibodies, Flutur said yesterday. Tests for the virus on 1,200 more birds were negative, he said.
#1
"The risk of a pandemic, threatening the lives of as many as 7.4 million people, is the highest in more than 35 years, the World Health Organization says."
Our open-border policy should put all Americans at risk; more so than leaders whose private compounds are safe.
Large increases in health-related spending have only marginally reduced the waiting times for medical services in this country from record-high levels in 2004, a new report says.
The average delay shortened by about a day from last year's 17.9 weeks, the highest number since the Fraser Institute started issuing annual reports on the topic in 1990.
Queues in some areas have shortened, but wait times for joint replacements and other orthopedic surgery -- one of the most backlogged and scrutinized services -- actually lengthened by two weeks, says the think-tank in its survey of specialists. baby boomers getting older
"This is occurring in spite of dramatic increases in health spending the last three or four years," said Nadeem Esmail, senior analyst with the conservative organization. "The provinces are spending more and more and more on health care, and the wait times are stalling out."
The results come as provincial health ministers prepare to meet this weekend to discuss the delay problem, viewed by many as the top priority for improving the troubled health care system.
Mr. Esmail said the only way to tackle backlogs is to introduce competition from the private sector, as exists in most European countries. But other experts said yesterday there is no evidence that private medicine is the secret to speedier care.Oh, no - certainly not.
RTWT at the link
Posted by: too true ||
10/19/2005 13:49 ||
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#2
A thing not to forget is that waiting during six months is not merely a problem of suffering during six months. It is a problem of the affliction getting worse and a problem of collateral effects: for instance when a person develops a problem or in the other leg when trying to reduce the pain on his knee. End result is that what should have been a simple and cheap operation becomes far more expensive.
One thing I cannot understand is how could anyone come with a such harebrained scheme, (and still more harebrained when like Michael Moore, you present it as ana example to imitate): in other countries with socialized medecine, YOU select the doctor or clinic (private doctor and private clinic), you get your operation fast and either you pay and are refunded later or, if $$$ enough then social security pays directly the clinic.
That's how the Canadians keep the costs down, ration by waiting. And yes, some do die and so the government doesn't have to pay anything for their surgery or the funeral.
#6
The Dutch have improved on the Canadian system (to cut cost): instead of waiting and hoping the patient dies they "euthanasiate" him. In many cases without his consent (named murder in other countries).
My previous post shoulkd have read: a person waiting for a knee operation for six months will often while trying to reduce the pain on his knee end developping a problem in the hip or in the other leg.
The New York Times reports in Wednesday editions that sources familiar with the Leakgate investigation say that Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has decided not to issue a final public report - a move that the Times claims heightens the "expectation that he intends to bring indictments." But according to former Independent Counsel Joseph DiGenova, Fitzgerald's decision not to issue a report is meaningless - because the law forbids him from doing so.
We need a ruling from the Rantburg Legal Department on this
Asked Sunday whether he thought the Leakgate prosecutor would issue a report on his nearly two-year-old probe, DiGenova told ABC's "This Week": "He's not legally entitled to do so. He cannot issue a public report." Sounding disappointed, "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos insisted: "Well, [he can] if the court says he can."
Once again, DiGenova set the record straight, explaining that Fitzgerald would "have to get a very special court order which is rarely granted." Even Democratic lawyer Richard Ben-Veniste, who was also on 'This Week," said he agreed with DiGenova that Fitzgerald cannot legally issue a report.
Still, the Times hyperventilates in its Wednesday report: "By signaling that he had no plans to issue the grand jury's findings in such detail, Mr. Fitzgerald appeared to narrow his options either to indictments or closing his investigation with no public disclosure of his findings, a choice that would set off a political firestorm."
The dems already have Karl, Scooter and Dick being fitted for orange jumpsuits.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/19/2005 10:16 ||
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#1
I think Richard Ben-Veniste said on Hardball that he was looking forward to rove being fitted for an XL size orange jumpsuit. I wonder if they will develop another syndrome after they donât indict Rove? Something like BDS but we will call it Plame Disillusionment Syndrome or PDS. Itâs always good to get those labels out there quickly so doctors will know what to put on the Medicaid forms.
#2
In the event there are no indictments with no public disclosure findings there simply isn't a net large enough to repel the hordes of Moonbats, Flying Monkeys, and Tin-foil hat Brigades.
#3
Leakgate? Bad choice by the NYT's Scandal Names sub-editor. It's hard to pronounce, with the voiced g following the unvoiced k, and reminds even me of bathroom problems.
"Peace Mom" Cindy Sheehan is urging fellow Democrats not to support "pro-war Democrat" Hillary Clinton for president, saying she sounds too much like conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh in her support for U.S. efforts in Iraq.
Glad you're back, Cindy. We missed you.
In an open letter posted to Michael Moore's web site, Sheehan blasts Hillary for backing the Iraq invasion, saying, "I think she is a political animal who believes she has to be a war hawk to keep up with the big boys."
Sheehan says that unless Hillary "shows us the wisdom it takes to be a truly great leader" and backs an Iraq pullout, "I will resist her candidacy with every bit of my power and strength." "I will not make the mistake of supporting another pro-war Democrat for president again," she vowed.
"Hillary's just like that butcher John Kerry, always bragging about his Vietnam days!"
Sheehan said she thought her meeting with the New York Democrat earlier this month had gone well - until she found out that Mrs. Clinton had dismissed her advice afterwards. Citing Hillary's comments to the Village Voice that a pullout would mean U.S. troops had died in vain, Sheehan complained:
"That sounds like Rush Limbaugh to me. That doesn't sound like an opposition party leader speaking to me. What Sen. Clinton said after our meeting sounds exactly like the Republican Party talking points I heard from Senators Dole and McCain."
I've got an idea. Cindy, have you given any idea about running for the Democratic Presidential nomination?
Posted by: Steve ||
10/19/2005 10:04 ||
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You go, girl! That Hillary's a traitor, a backstabber, no friend of the Left. We need an ideologically pure Democratic party, and that means purging out the Hillarys and Liebermans and all the other DINOs. That's the key to victory in '06 and '08.
[/Br'er Rabbit]
Posted by: Mike ||
10/19/2005 10:30 Comments ||
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Thanks, Cindy!!
Posted by: Hillary Clinton ||
10/19/2005 10:35 Comments ||
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IS SHE ACTUALLY THAT FREAKIN' STUPID!!! YUP, GUESS SO!!!!
#14
After reading this I canât help but think this is more of the Democrats insistence on playing both sides of the fence. The Democratic Party is the good-looking cousin fresh out of rehab at the family reunion. In a crowd she will talk about the virtues of sobriety. In private she will finish your cocktails and bum your cigs. Look for more of these nuanced disagreements leading right up to the 2008 Presidential elections.
#22
I hate to don my tinfoil hat but I have to read a conspiracy into this statement. Here is a card-carrying member of the loony left calling Hillary out. Why it must be that Hillary really a Center-Right candidate and therefore Conservatives should feel ok about voting for her. Look for somebody in the Hillary camp to come out with a statement saying they feel sorry for Cindy, but they have to support the troops and canât afford to lose. Bingo, she gets her National Defense ticket punched. But then I am still loopy from traveling the past couple of days.
#24
Coming soon to a Sunday TV Talk Show: Sister Souljah Moment II starring Hillary as the "tough yet sincere" politician and Cindy Sheehan as the extremist wacko. Brought to you by the Main Stream Media and Friends of Bill.
The United Nations has developed procedures to curb sexual abuse by peacekeepers, but the measures are not being put into force because of a deep-seated culture of tolerating sexual exploitation, an independent review reported Tuesday.
"A 'boys will be boys' attitude in peacekeeping missions breeds tolerance for exploiting and abusing local women," said the report, by Refugees International, a Washington-based advocacy group. "This attitude is slowly changing, but the U.N. must go beyond strong rhetoric and ensure that the resources needed to change this culture are available."
The 32-page document provided an update on an attention-getting report in March by Prince Zeid Raad al-Hussein, Jordan's ambassador to the United Nations. His report was prompted by evidence that peacekeepers and civilian staff members had had sex with women and girls in Congo in exchange for food and money, and in some cases had committed rape.
Prince Zeid, a former military officer and civilian peacekeeper in Bosnia, said in a briefing on Tuesday that even though his report had addressed a situation that undermined the credibility of the United Nations, influential member states greeted it with "utter silence."
"The entire responsibility for this mess is with the member states," he said, adding that meetings he had scheduled after his report was published were only sparsely attended.
Sarah Martin, the author of the new report, said she had visited peacekeeping missions in Haiti and Liberia and had found that a "wall of silence" kept sexual abuse cases from being investigated. Rapes were often belittled as simple acts of prostitution. "They'd say, 'Why should we ruin someone's otherwise illustrious career over an act with a prostitute,' " she said in the briefing.
She said Liberians had complained to her about some peacekeepers' conduct with the comment, "This behavior would not be accepted in the home country of these soldiers; why are these soldiers playing around with our children?"
Ms. Martin said guidelines adopted at headquarters were not being taken seriously in the field, adding: "Until there is a better understanding of the zero-contact rule, peacekeepers will continue to think of it as a rule that makes no sense. Fear of punishment is not enough to ensure compliance."
Among the changes called for were empowering local women, conducting public information campaigns to combat the "masculine culture that has developed," giving more importance to the so-called gender advisers who are now required on missions, giving victims access to the United Nations complaint system and guaranteeing that complainants are protected.
As of September, only 10 of the 17 peacekeeping missions had a fulltime gender advisory position, the report said. According to United Nations figures, the 17 missions involve 80,000 people.
Anna Shotton of the United Nations peacekeeping department said that while "tremendous progress has been made over the past year to drive home the U.N.'s message of zero tolerance and zero impunity," the message had still not taken hold.
She said that over the past 20 months, investigations had been completed on 221 accused peacekeepers, resulting in the firing of 10 civilian employees and the repatriation of 88 military men, including 6 commanders.
Asked how that compared with previous periods, she said, "You had the occasional repatriation of uniformed personnel, but it was very rare."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/19/2005 13:41 ||
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"They'd say, 'Why should we ruin someone's otherwise illustrious career over an act with a prostitute,' " she said in the briefing.
In other words those starving people who have to exchange nookie for food in order to avoid starving to death are just prositutes..... Move along... nothing to see here.
I'm sorry but this isn't an act of prositution. Its an act of sexual slavery as vile and disgusting as the comfort women of Imperial Japan.
Did the U.N. really expect desinating a 'Gender Advisor' would solve the problem? How about handing out a few long-term prison terms? How about publically destroying a few illustrious careers (Jack-the-ripper and Boston-Strangler had 'illustrious careers'). Or at least tell their wives / mothers what they were doing?
What does a Gender Advisor do? Give advice on the proper way to rape underage children?
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency is reportedly investing in a power unit that can generate substantial electrical energy without using any fuel.
The units manufactured by a small Virginia start-up company - SkyBuilt Power - are so rugged they can be dropped by parachute from an airplane and operate so simply, two people could have a unit running in just a few hours, the Christian Science Monitor reported Tuesday.
The generators are fueled by solar and wind energy, with a battery backup for use during the night or when winds are calm. And the units are designed to run for years with little maintenance, the newspaper said.
Depending upon its configuration, SkyBuilt's Mobile Power Station can generate up to 150 kilowatts of electricity.
And now privately owned, SkyBuilt has a new investor -- In-Q-Tel -- a venture capital firm owned by the CIA. The "Q" in In-Q-Tel is a reference to the fictional character "Q" who supplies James Bond with scientific gadgets.
Although no models for homes are yet available, SkyBuilt says its mobile power station can help meet critical power needs, such as during disasters, terrorist attacks, military operations or meteorological emergencies.
Posted by: DanNY ||
10/19/2005 08:35 ||
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Wow, this is pretty cool. Googling "150 kilowatts" brought me here
"There are many people out there without power lines. For example, a 7.5 KW machine combined with batteries may be sufficient for your residence." In other words, these things are a real boon.
Imagine that every time you printed a document, it automatically included a secret code that could be used to identify the printer - and potentially, the person who used it. Sounds like something from an episode of "Alias," right?
Unfortunately, the scenario isn't fictional. In a purported effort to identify counterfeiters, the US government has succeeded in persuading some color laser printer manufacturers to encode each page with identifying information. That means that without your knowledge or consent, an act you assume is private could become public. A communication tool you're using in everyday life could become a tool for government surveillance. And what's worse, there are no laws to prevent abuse.
The ACLU recently issued a report revealing that the FBI has amassed more than 1,100 pages of documents on the organization since 2001, as well as documents concerning other non-violent groups, including Greenpeace and United for Peace and Justice. In the current political climate, it's not hard to imagine the government using the ability to determine who may have printed what document for purposes other than identifying counterfeiters.
Yet there are no laws to stop the Secret Service from using printer codes to secretly trace the origin of non-currency documents; only the privacy policy of your printer manufacturer currently protects you (if indeed such a policy exists). And no law regulates what sort of documents the Secret Service or any other domestic or foreign government agency is permitted to request for identification, not to mention how such a forensics tool could be developed and implemented in printers in the first place.
With no laws on the books, there's nothing to stop the privacy violations this technology enables. For this reason, EFF is gathering information about what printers are revealing and how - a necessary precursor to any legal challenge or new legislation to protect your privacy. And we could use your help.
In the preliminary research paper linked below, we explain what we've observed so far, briefly explore the privacy implications, and ask you to print and send us test sheets from your color laser printer and/or a color laser printer at your local print shop. That way, we can watch the watchers and ensure that your privacy isn't compromised in ways that harm your fundamental consitutional rights.
In addition to documenting what printers are revealing, EFF has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, and we will keep you updated on what we discover.
Posted by: DanNY ||
10/19/2005 07:22 ||
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Damn. Guess I'll hafta go back to making printing that funny money the old fashioned way.
A $50,000 contest aims to inspire new ways to hoist you and your luggage into orbit
Space travel is relatively cheap compared with the cost of leaving Earth. The space shuttle, for instance, burns more than half a million gallons of fuel blasting into orbit, making every pound of payload cost $10,000. Now the nonprofit Spaceward Foundation, with a $400,000 grant from NASA, hopes to fast-track the technology to reach space on the cheap, without rockets.
Later this month, the agency will host the 2005 Beam Power Challenge, a $50,000-prize contest to inspire the automated climbing machines and wireless power necessary to lift people and cargo into space on a 21st-century elevator cable.
First imagined by Russian space pioneer Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in 1895, a space elevator consists of a thin, ultrastrong tether that would stretch from Earth's surface to geosynchronous orbit, a distance of about 22,300 miles. Laser or microwave beams would power elevator cars up the tether.
The goal of the challenge, expected to take place at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, is a bit more modest: to send an automated climber, loaded with cargo, to the top of a 200-foot Kevlar-like tether at a rate of at least one meter per second. A 10-kilowatt xenon spotlight, shining upward from the base of the cable, will power each climber. The fastest climber toting the heaviest payload wins.
Such a setup won't whisk you into orbit, but that's beside the point, says Spaceward Foundation director Ben Shelef. "It will get more minds working," he says. Below, Brad Edwards, author of The Space Elevator: A Revolutionary Earth-to-Space Transportation System, rates the favorites.
continued at link...
Posted by: DanNY ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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I don't imagine that a space elevator is possible--the forces in play are just too great.
But that being said, I still heartily encourage the effort, because the subsidiary and spinoff possibilities are very possible, practical and economical. Oddly enough, the most ordinary of spinoff applications may prove to be the most profitable in the long run.
For example, steel cable is terribly heavy, expensive, bulky and prone to corrosion. Replacing several tons of steel cable with a few pounds of carbon fiber cable that is twice as strong, creates cost savings in the billions of dollars.
Granted, it will have problems that steel cable doesn't have, but it will be superior for many, many applications.
And who knows? If they actually can make a practical space elevator, it would change everything. A spaceship the size of a destroyer can do a lot more than one the size of a school bus.
#3
The cables won't be made of steel, more likely a variant of carbon fibre. Go read Arthur C Clarke's "View from Serendip" or "Fountains of Paradise".
#5
Many of these new materials really are amazing in how unnatural they are--the weird things they can do that just seem unreasonable.
For example, they have a 1" diameter plastic rod that is many times stronger than a steel I-beam. A single such rod could form much of the verticle support of a multi-story building.
On a more common note, I've seen a demonstration with an ordinary screw made from an extraordinary alloy. They smashed the screw with a sledge hammer, and then it re-formed to its original shape without a scratch. It healed itself.
Other alloys are flexible at room temperature, but just a few degrees cooler and they violently return to the shape in which they were originally cast. Springs made of this alloy sit idle until cooled, then have almost instant tension or compression of many pounds psi.
Most recently, they've combined carbon nanotubes, one of the strongest substances known, with diamond, one of the hardest. What they will get from that is anybody's guess.
#6
"Most recently, they've combined carbon nanotubes, one of the strongest substances known, with diamond, one of the hardest. What they will get from that is anybody's guess."
Nigeria and US software giant Microsoft have formed an alliance to combat the Internet fraudsters who have damaged Nigeria's international image.
BELOVED MISTER GATES,
I AM PRESIDENT OLUSEGUN OBASANJO. I GOT YOUR NAME FROM INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DIRECTORY...
Nuhu Ribadu, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has announced the deal. "Millions of people all over the world can only link the country and her nationals to the infamous scam letter," he said.
Ummm... Nigeria has industries other than international fraud? When did that start?
"EFCC and Microsoft have teamed up to fish out Internet fraudsters in Nigeria and the west African sub region."
Does that mean Gates is going to finance hit teams to hunt them down and kill them?
Computer users across the world have become accustomed to being bombarded by emails from Nigerians seeking to trick them into handing over bank details or making advance payments on non-existent money-making schemes. Experts say that the so-called 419 fraudsters - named after the relevant section in Nigeria's criminal code - steal hundreds of millions of dollars every year from unsuspecting marks. In the biggest such case to date, a Brazilian bank collapsed after Nigerian confidence tricksters persuaded a corrupt employee to divert $323 million of his employer's capital into an imaginary deal to develop Abuja airport.
So why aren't Brazilian hit men prowling the streets Internet cafes of Lagos, hunting the perps down?
Microsoft markets the most popular computer programs controlling access to the Internet.
They might also think of striking some deals with go.com, handbag, tiscali, and a few others that could be staunching some of that flow...
Nigeria hopes that after signing a deal with the company the firm will help it track scammers, who now face stiffer laws at home. The Nigerian Parliament recently passed the stringent "Advance Fee Fraud Act 2005", which holds liable not only the fraudster but also cybercafe owners and office managers who allow their premises and facilities to be used for the crime. President Olusegun Obasanjo has proposed an amendment to the act to make it a crime for scammers - who are known in Nigeria as "Yahoo-Yahoo boys" after the popular free email service - to send unsolicited messages.
Here's hoping there's a death penalty attached.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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Nigeria and US software giant Microsoft have formed an alliance to combat the Internet fraudsters who have damaged Nigeria's international image.
Civil wars, military coups, radical islamist, governmental corruption, etc of course don't help the nation's image either and a business deal is unlikely to alter those problems anytime soon.
#7
My name is Mr Ngobe Ngayaka, the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nigerian National Electronic Funds Transfer Co. LTD of Hararae. On December 6, 2005, my legitimate business was illegally closed down by the Nigerian Government and its contractor MICROSOFT. before this illegal and criminal act, I was able to transfer the sum of Fifteen Million,United States Dollars to the account of a very reputable Security Company in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
I write to earnestly ask your help in investing this money . . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
10/19/2005 14:25 Comments ||
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Boeing, in partnership with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Office of Naval Research, have successfully demonstrated boost phase performance of a hypersonic strike demonstrator vehicle called HyFly on Aug. 26.
A Boeing F-15E launched the HyFly vehicle during the test over the U.S. Navy's sea range at the Naval Air Weapons Center â Weapons Division at Pt. Mugu, Calif. The solid rocket booster successfully ignited and accelerated the HyFly to a speed of greater than Mach 3 â three times the speed of sound. This test was the second of five HyFly flight tests that are scheduled from 2005 to 2007. In the first flight test, conducted on Jan. 26, 2005, an un-powered HyFly vehicle demonstrated safe separation from an F-15E as well as vehicle guidance and control functions.
During the next three test flights, the HyFly vehicles will be powered by a booster and a dual combustion ramjet, or DCR, engine at speeds up to Mach 6 âsix times the speed of sound.
The Hypersonics Flight Demonstration program (HyFly) will develop and demonstrate advanced technologies for hypersonic flight. Flight-testing will be initiated early in the program and progress from relatively simple and low-risk tests through the demonstration of an increasingly more difficult set of objectives. The ultimate goals of the program are to demonstrate a vehicle range of 600 nautical miles with a block speed of 4,400 feet per sec, maximum sustainable cruise speed in excess of Mach 6, and the ability to deploy a simulated or surrogate submunition.
Technical challenges include the scramjet propulsion system, lightweight, high-temperature materials for both aerodynamic and propulsion structures, and guidance and control in the hypersonic flight regime.
Posted by: DanNY ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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Whenever you see DARPA mentioned, be sure to hum a few bars of "The Empire Strikes Back" theme. It just seems to fit, for some reason.
Engineers are testing a new kind of transparent armor -- stronger and lighter than traditional materials -- that could stop armor-piercing weapons from penetrating vehicle windows. The Air Force Research Laboratory's materials and manufacturing directorate is testing aluminum oxynitride -- ALONtm -- as a replacement for the traditional multi-layered glass transparencies now used in existing ground and air armored vehicles.
The test are being done in conjunction with the Army Research Laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md., and University of Dayton Research Institute, Ohio. ALONtm is a ceramic compound with a high compressive strength and durability. When polished, it is the premier transparent armor for use in armored vehicles, said 1st Lt. Joseph La Monica, transparent armor sub-direction lead. "The substance itself is light years ahead of glass," he said, adding that it offers "higher performance and lighter weight."
Traditional transparent armor is thick layers of bonded glass. The new armor combines the transparent ALONtm piece as a strike plate, a middle section of glass and a polymer backing. Each layer is visibly thinner than the traditional layers. ALONtm is virtually scratch resistant, offers substantial impact resistance, and provides better durability and protection against armor piercing threats, at roughly half the weight and half the thickness of traditional glass transparent armor, said the lieutenant.
In a June 2004 demonstration, an ALONtm test pieces held up to both a .30 caliber Russian M-44 sniper rifle and a .50 caliber Browning Sniper Rifle with armor piercing bullets. While the bullets pierced the glass samples, the armor withstood the impact with no penetration. In extensive testing, ALONtm has performed well against multiple hits of .30 caliber armor piercing rounds -- typical of anti-aircraft fire, Lieutenant La Monica said. Ttests focusing on multiple hits from .50 caliber rounds and improvised explosive devices are in the works.
The lieutenant is optimistic about the results because the physical properties and design of the material are intended to stop higher level threats. "The higher the threat, the more savings you're going to get," he said. "With glass, to get the protection against higher threats, you have to keep building layers upon layers. But with ALONtm, the material only needs to be increased a few millimeters."
This ability to add the needed protection with only a small amount of material is very advantageous, said Ron Hoffman, an investigator at University of Dayton Research Institute. "When looking at higher level threats, you want the protection, not the weight," Mr. Hoffman said. "Achieving protection at lighter weights will allow the armor to be more easily integrated into vehicles."
Mr. Hoffman also pointed out the benefit of durability with ALONtm. "Eventually, with a conventional glass surface, degradation takes place and results in a loss of transparency," Mr. Hoffman said. "Things such as sand have little or no impact on ALONtm, and it probably has a life expectancy many times that of glass."
The scratch-resistant quality will greatly increase the transparency of the armor, giving military members more visual awareness on the battlefield. "It all comes down to survivability and being able to see what's out there and to make decisions while having the added protection," Mr. Hoffman said.
The Army is looking to use the new armor as windows in ground vehicles, like the Humvee, Lieutenant La Monica said. The Air Force is exploring its use for transporting whales in-flight protective transparencies for low, slow-flying aircraft. These include the C-130 Hercules, C-17 Globemaster III, A-10 Thunderbolt II and helicopters.
While some see the possibilities of this material as limitless, manufacturability, size and cost are issues the lab is dealing with before the armor can transition to the field, the lieutenant said. "Traditional transparent armor costs a little over $3 per square inch. The ALONtm Transparent Armor cost is $10 to $15 per square inch," Lieutenant La Monica said. "The difficulties arise with heating and polishing processes, which lead to higher costs. But we are looking at more cost effective alternatives."
Lieutenant La Monica said experimenting with the polishing process has proven beneficial. "We found that by polishing it a certain way, we increased the strength of the material by two-fold," he said.
Currently, size is also limited because equipment needed to heat larger pieces is expensive. To help lower costs, the lieutenant said researchers are looking at design variations that use smaller pieces of the armor tiled together to form larger windows.
Lowering cost by using a commercial grade material is also an option, and the results have been promising. "So far, the difference between the lower-grade material and higher purity in ballistic tests is minimal," he said.
Lieutenant La Monica said once the material can be manufactured in large quantities to meet the military's needs, and the cost brought down, the durability and strength of ALONtm will prove beneficial to the warfighter. "It might cost more in the beginning, but it is going to cost less in the long run because you are going to have to replace it less," he said.
#3
Interesting that armor is making a comeback, after being out of the race for centuries. Basically after the invention of firearms, armor was obsolete. It's spiffy that these new materials technologies are making protection available once more.
But let's be real, I'm sure Russian and Chinese scientists are feverishly developing better bullets to pierce armor like this.
Star Trekâs James "Scotty" Doohan will be launched into space on December 6
Nor will Scotty be alone. His remains, together with those of 120 others, will be on a Space Services Inc Explorers flight, alongside an "unidentified astronaut and Mareta West, the astrogeologist who determined the site for the first spacecraft landing on the moon,â says CNN.
Doohan, aka Enterprise chief engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, died in July, aged 85 and, "I can't think of a more fitting send-off than having some of his fans attend this, his final journey," his widow, Wende Doohan, is quoted as saying.
Doohan's cremated remains will be packed into a special tube to be ejected from the rocket and are expected to orbit Earth for about 50 to 200 years, âbefore plunging into the planet's atmosphere and burning up,â says CNN.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/19/2005 11:00 Comments ||
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GOOD! Now don't give the technology to anybody else for chrissakes!
Posted by: Red Dog ||
10/19/2005 15:46 Comments ||
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If it's that good, get the cost down, figure out how to make it one way, then use it for all the upper armor on a stryker. A 360 degree field of view from inside, but no view in of the occupants, would be just the ticket.
Posted by: DO ||
10/19/2005 18:50 Comments ||
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New Zealanders living in Germany have been informed that they will have to take 'personal responsibility for their own safety and well-being' in the event of a bird flu pandemic.
The New Zealand embassy in Berlin issued a statement Wednesday to New Zealand citizens living in Germany, informing them of precautions they need to take against a possible avian flu-related pandemic and emphasising that they will be responsible for their own welfare.
"If avian flu becomes pandemic, there is a possibility that some countries may close their borders; this is an option that is being considered in New Zealand," says the statement. "Decisions to close borders may be taken very quickly following declaration of a pandemic. Therefore, you need to consider in advance how you can care for yourself, wherever you are."
The statement goes on to say that the anti-influenza drug Tamiflu "may be effective" in treating infection with the H5N1 virus and recommending that citizens consult their doctor on "whether this is appropriate in your case" and encouraging them to "consider the availability of local stocks". It emphasises that "[t]he New Zealand Ministry of Health will not have sufficient stocks of Tamiflu to distribute to New Zealanders overseas."
The statement ends by repeating that "New Zealand embassies and high commissions overseas will not be able to: provide any anti viral drugs such as Tamiflu to New Zealand citizens overseas, or help New Zealand citizens overseas to return to New Zealand in the event that borders are closed."
Zambia has begun trials of three herbal medicines to see if they can be used to treat HIV/Aids, it says. Patchouli Oil , Patchouli Oil getzyoor Patchouli Oil
Twenty-five people with HIV will take part in the three-month trial, which the health minister said conforms to World Health Organization guidelines.
The United Nations estimates that one in six Zambians has HIV/Aids.
An Aids charity spokesperson was sceptical about the trials, saying the only known effective treatment was anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs.
At a press conference in the Zambian capital Lusaka, Health Minister Sylvia Masebo said: "It is a momentous occasion for Zambia which establishes a partnership between conventional medicine and traditional medicine."
Dr Patrick Chikusu, principal investigator of clinical trials of traditional herbal remedies, said 14 natural remedies had been narrowed down to three to be submitted to the final stage of clinical trials.
One of the three drugs is a formulation mixed by a former government minister and constitutional lawyer, Ludwig Sondashi. Its hard to work out which is the most highly developed parasite african leaders or Immunodeficiency viral serotypes
The cost of ARV drugs, which have been shown to be effective in suppressing the effects of the virus in the West, are too expensive for most people in developing countries to afford.
Genevieve Clark, of the British charity Terence Higgins Trust, said: "I can understand why people are desperate to find anything that helps."
"Anything that boosts the immune system helps... Anything you can do in terms of eating healthily and being healthy is to be welcomed."
But she added: "Herbal remedies have not been proven to help... The only thing proven is anti-retroviral treatments."
She also expressed concern that the test sample of 25 people was not large enough to be a "proper clinical trial". 25 .... 24 ... 23 .. shit find some more Dr Chikusu Mengele quick
#3
At least they are submitting the traditional meds for clinical testing, even if very small scale. I don't think that's ever happened before. And even here in the smug West, it's only been in the last few years that even a small fraction of the traditional herbarium has been tested for actual efficacy.
The Zambian health ministry announces the herbal remedy for AIDS actually works.
Zambia then decides to sell the special herbal formula to every other country in the world. Lots of western herbal companies would jump at the chance to distribute for them. To many, it is just another type of snake oil to sell.
With the money, the Zambian government goes out and buys the latest and greatest AIDS medicines to keep their people healthy. Any money left over? Balance the budget.
Come on, it's a slam dunk. The Zambians aren't idiots! Oh wait. Nevermind.
#4
I suspect that these are real numbers. Just their bad luck to have this happen post-tsuanmi, post-Katrina. There is considerable mental numbness incurred by disaster overload leading to donor fatigue. That and the fact that the public perceives these guys as lukewarm friends at best and foaming at the mouth enemies at worst.
#6
I would find these numbers a whole lot more credible if so much of the disaster relief funds didn't end up in the pockets of the Pak politicians and military. If not enough "aid" arrives, up the estimate.
I believe they have no real idea what the number of dead is/will be. The size of the area of devastation appears to be immense. If anyone has a link to a map with Mercalli scale estimates, I would be interested. But what irks my soul is that before this is over even more may die in the rapidly approaching inclement weather while the Pak politicos line their pockets. I agree with 2b it's not funny, but it is crooked as all get out, just like NO.
More than 500 "Mai Mai" militiamen have taken 43 Congolese disarmament officers hostage near the town of Bukavu in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and are threatening to burn the hostages alive if they do not receive their disarmament compensation, officials said Oct. 19. A U.N. spokesman said there has been a problem with the promised compensation. The militiamen are demanding the $110 initial disarmament pay.
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan - Strong aftershocks shook the already shattered Pakistan Kashmir capital of Muzzafarabad on Wednesday morning, but there were no immediate reports of more deaths or injuries.
A 5.8 magnitude quake at 7.33 a.m. (0233 GMT), the strongest of dozens of aftershocks since an Oct. 8 earthquake devastated the region around Muzaffarabad, dislodged rubble and sent people into the streets, but there was no great panic. A second aftershock nearly as strong at 5.6 magnitude followed at 8.16 a.m. (0316 GMT).
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/19/2005 00:44 ||
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- International agencies and relief organizations pulled high-resolution satellite images of earthquake-stricken areas in Kashmir from their Web sites under pressure from Pakistan, citing security concerns, a magazine reported Tuesday.
Pakistan denied the report, while a U.N. official said the images would soon be re-posted. Soon as we get finished photoshopping them...
Following the request from Pakistan, the United Nations and other agencies, needing the country's cooperation on the ground in the relief effort, felt compelled to remove the images from their Web sites, the magazine Nature reported, citing an unidentified U.N. official and an unidentified senior European official.
Why does the UN 'need' the Paks' cooperation? Either the Paks want the aid or they don't. If they don't want to cooperate, I'm sure the Samoans could use the aid.
But Pakistan's Foreign Ministry rejected the report as "absolutely incorrect." "No one in the Pakistan government has made such a request that such maps be removed," spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said.
An official from UNOSAT, the U.N. body that gives relief agencies access to satellite imagery, confirmed that it had removed images from its Web site, but said there had been no Pakistani demand to do so.
So they just did it on their own, did they?
Einar Bjorgo, who leads UNOSAT's rapid mapping division, said the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs had decided the images should be distributed to relief teams and not displayed publicly. He said it was concerned about sensitivity surrounding the border between India and Pakistan. "This was more a preventive measure to avoid any potential political situation," Bjorgo told The Associated Press. "we preferred to do it low key."
Finally, the real reason: the Paks were afraid Indian intel analysts would be looking at the pics ...
Bjorgo said U.N. officials had decided Monday that enough time had passed and UNOSAT could post images publicly again starting on Wednesday.
The U.S.-based magazine reported that the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters, a consortium of space agencies that supplies satellite images and data to the relief community, first posted the images of the quake zone last Friday. The images are believed to be essential to planning relief logistics, such as working out what roads are open and locating isolated settlements.
There have been local media reports recently that Islamic militants are operating training camps near Balakot, one of the towns in northwestern Pakistan worst hit by the earthquake. Pakistan has denied that terrorists are operating from its territory. Nope, nothing to see there, move along...
Posted by: DanNY ||
10/19/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Again - who's going to let this A-hats run the internet?
#2
Look at these {CENSORED} sitting around the conference tables in New York. And, that Kofi Annan? Why he is a {CENSORED} and his son, let me tell you why that {CENSORED} scandal? The {CENSORED} of Kofi is up to {CENSORED} and that's not all. I have evidence that {CENSORED} may be involved himself.
Hopefully the cypercensors on 42nd Street in NY will let this pass
Don't count on it, Facist American - censor Gwozwotz Annan
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