We Americans are wimps compared to the Germans -if I recall correctly 48% of them are fat - and the French, who last year revised all the clothing size measurements for their modern, more womanly women.
Locusts are commonly associated with plagues, food shortages, and death. But for a team of European scientists, the grasshopper-like insects are inspiring a technology that may save lives by preventing hundreds of thousands of car crashes. "Locusts are good at avoiding collisions," said team member Claire Rind, a biologist at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in England. "We should learn from a species that is good at the task"... Locusts, which can consume their own weight in food each day, have a large neuron called the locust giant movement detector (LGMD) located behind their eyes. The LGMD releases bursts of energy whenever a locust is on a collision course with another locust or a predatory bird. A few years ago Rind and her colleagues studied the activity of the LGMD as locusts watched action scenes from the movie Star Wars. The team found that the LGMD releases more energy when something is coming directly at the locust...
#1
Sounds to me like nothing more than an extra enhanced eye. A better remedy for reducing automobile wrecks would be a more thorough and critical test of applicants, which would probably go a long way toward reducing the number of dunces and retards behind the wheel, instead of relying on technology to compensate for a motorist's failings.
#2
Gordon Tullock, a George Mason University economics professor, is famous for suggesting that the most effective way to prevent auto accidents is to afix a dagger to every steering wheel!
Posted by: Curt Simon ||
08/10/2004 15:31 Comments ||
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#2
For those interested in viewing, here's some info from Space.com pages:
"On the night of shower maximum, the Perseid radiant is not far from the famous "Double Star Cluster" of Perseus. Low in the northeast during the early evening, it rises higher in the sky until morning twilight ends observing. Perseid meteors can appear anywhere in the sky, but if traced backward, they all point toward Perseus, which is know as the shower's radiant."
...
As with meteor activity in general, Perseid activity increases sharply in the hours after midnight, so plan your observing times accordingly. We are then looking more nearly face-on into the direction of the Earth’s motion as it orbits the Sun, and the radiant is also higher up."
...
The part of Earth where dawn is breaking is always at the leading edge of our planet's plunge along its orbital path around the Sun. This part of the planet tends to "catch" oncoming meteors left by a comet, whereas the other side of Earth, where it is dusk or late evening, outruns the debris. For that reason, the hours between midnight and dawn are typically the best time to watch a meteor shower."
#1
I don't pretend to be an expert in the field, but having seen Alzheimer's up close and personal as an EMT and later watching my wife's mother go through it, I doubt that brainwork will do much to stave it off. Certainly Ronald Reagan was no mental slouch. My wife's mother worked for some years as an accountant, which also takes a significant amount of brainpower.
I think what the research might reflect is that Alzheimer's has a long gestation period, and that the changes in the very early stages are slight enough to be taken as mere mental fatigue. But I don't think any amount of "exercise" is going to prevent the physical deterioration of the brain that is characteristic of the disease.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2004 10:29 Comments ||
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#2
you can't stave off alheimers, the nurons get coated with some stuff (yeah been a while since I looked it up)
my grand father used to do radar work for the military... built his own house & securty system, owned lots of land in maine, was always futzing around with heavy equiptment or a computer.. he was the kind of guy who never had to advertise for work, he was so good people came to him, very few people could match his brain...
he died not too long ago as a terrified 2 year old who did not even know how to use the bathroom. He was convinced that little people (invisible aparently) were out to get him and he always wanted to go home, but we could never take him there because 'home' was the world were he understood everything and could do anything. It was almost a relief when he died, finally at peace.
#3
It's not just "brainpower" but what sort of tasks you perform with that ability, Fred.
I'm unable to find a link for an article titled "The Evergreen Mind." It was a well written piece detailing how to make the human mind resistant to the ravages of Alzheimer's disease. Here are some of the pointers I remember:
1). When driving someplace, predict where your parking spot will be.
2). Find new ways to arrive at regular destinations.
3). Learn a foreign language. (I love swapping tongues!)
4). Do crossword puzzles. (I've cranked the big Sunday NYT in 45 minutes, in ink.)
5). Predict what apparel your friends will have on when they come to visit.
6). Extend foreplay during lovemaking.
7). Learn to play a musical instrument. (I play a dozen of them.)
All of these mental gymnastics tend to interconnect existing knowledge within the brain. It is much akin to weaving a safety net for yourself. The more densely your safety net is woven, the more strands that can snap without you falling through it.
#5
I agree with Fred. The article is junk science. In fact virtually every science article written by the MSM is junk science.
By the way, my mom did crossword puzzles and other stuff every day because she believed it would make her less likely to get Alzheimers. She got it anyway.
#7
1). When driving someplace, predict where your parking spot will be and if it's not there when you arrive predict the next's day spot price of inanity.
2). Find new ways to arrive at regular destinations, cabbage is good for this.
3). Learn a foreign language. (I love swapping tongues!) Learn to speak turtle.
4). Do crossword puzzles. (I've cranked the big Sunday NYT in 45 minutes, in ink.) Forget the ink do it in your mind, and then levitate the pen.
5). Predict what apparel your friends will have on when they come to visit. Plaid.
6). Extend foreplay during lovemaking. That'w why why chronometres were invented/
7). Learn to play a musical instrument. (I play a dozen of them.) I can play 3 dozen of them but most of them are a variation of the noseaphone.
#9
Shipman, when you're drooling in your shoe, I'll drop by to laugh with at you. My girlfriend reduced her five mile commute time by fifteen minutes using method #2. She especially enjoyed my rigorous and diligent application of method #6.
The vote's scheduled for the 15th. And we can guess what campaign plan Chavez has hit on, right?
Mr. Chavez's newest tactic, pursued against the advice of Patton Boggs, his Washington-based public relations advisers, has been to demonize President Bush. Yup.
Posted by: someone ||
08/10/2004 3:04:30 AM ||
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Tuesday, August 10, 2004 TAIPEI: China will have 800 missiles aimed at Taiwan by 2005, Vice President Annette Lu said on Monday, defending a controversial statement that the island and its giant communist foe were in a state of "quasi-war". That would be a substantial increase from the 500 missiles that Taiwan says China already has set up along its southeastern coast in preparation for a possible military showdown to take back the island it views as a renegade province.
"More information has indicated the situation in the Taiwan Strait has entered into a very sensitive stage. I described it as on the verge of a quasi-war," said the outspoken Lu, among Taipei's fiercest critics of China. "Mainland China has accelerated its missile deployment. By next year, the number of missiles will likely reach 800 and it is growing at a speed faster than we have expected," she said in a briefing with foreign media reporters. Lu said her "quasi-war" description last Friday, which prompted President Chen Shui-bian's office to issue a rare denial to cool confrontational rhetoric with China, was an "objective description of the fact".
Chen said last November that China has deployed 500 missiles against Taiwan and is adding to them at a rate of one every six days. To meet that threat, he hopes parliament will approve a T$610 billion (US$18 billion) budget to buy US weapons. Lu called for the world to treat the crisis in the Taiwan Strait more seriously. She invited representatives from more than 20 countries to attend a conference in Taipei from August 13 to 15 to discuss democracy and regional security. "We will not provoke China, but we hope China will not take any irrational military actions against us," Lu said. Let's do the math: 800 missiles @ ~$500,000 each = $400,000,000.
Time to delete $400,000,000 worth of foreign aid, health care, anti-AIDS funding and whatever other forms of external cash inflow are coming to China. Any money we send them only frees up more spending on missiles. Too bad no one seems able to make this connection while they feed at China's all-you-can-eat cheap labor trough. Taiwan is being knifed on the altar of big business profit and campaign funding by those who make money from trade with China. That would be WalMart, Circuit City, The Good Guys and so many more. This is political hypocrisy at it's sleaziest.
#1
Time to bring back the Ground Launched Cruise Missiles and sell them to Taiwan. Cheap, accurate, and with a 1500 mile range, sure to put the fear of Jesus into Mao's successors.
Posted by: ed ||
08/10/2004 20:45 Comments ||
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#2
hmmmmm - any reactors in Taiwan? Too lazy to google for it...thought somebody here would know off the bat
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/10/2004 21:03 Comments ||
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#3
Your wish is my command, Frank. Here is some info and a history of Taiwan's nuclear effort. From the posting:
Current status
Presently Taiwan appears to have heeded the warnings, and there is no evidence that it has engaged in any weaponization research or activities since the late 1980s. It has a robust civilian nuclear power industry consisting of six nuclear units with a total output capacity of over 5,000MW, and it is in the final construction stages for two-1,350MW Lungmen Advanced Boiling Water Reactors (ABWR), a project that is unpopular with local residents and anti-nuclear activists.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/10/2004 21:13 Comments ||
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#4
so whadya think? Nukes in the basement?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/10/2004 21:14 Comments ||
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#5
I figure if John Kerry wins the election the Chicoms will see a green light, guaranteeing 2005 will be a most exciting year.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
08/10/2004 21:22 Comments ||
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#6
Anybody want to bet Free China does not have a nuclear program? My best guess is that Free China and Japan could have device(s) assembled within two weeks from a "go" signal. They have everything they need, or can buy it Fed Ex overnight.
#7
that was my point - if I was Taiwan, I'd have done my best to assue MAD to the politburo themselves or their financial holdings they treasure so much
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/10/2004 22:05 Comments ||
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#8
Any thoughts on how many of those 800 missiles would actually work if the order came?
#9
Taiwan let slip a while back that the 3 Gorges dam would be high on its list--kind of the gift that keeps on giving. The first mainland response was utter outrage, then denial that Taiwan could *do* such a thing to their pretty dam, which will last 1000 years.
Bye-bye Wuhan and Shanghai. (nice map.)
#10
Any thoughts on how many of those 800 missiles would actually work if the order came?
NATO dropped 11,650 bombs during the Kosovo campaign. Serbia's air force survived the campaign intact. The US and allied air forces dropped 6,000 bombs on Afghanistan against the Taliban. China's missiles can hit within 500 feet of the target, at best. Each American smart bomb can hit within 50 feet of the target. I seriously doubt that China's missiles are going to do much more than create a big mess - they aren't accurate enough to destroy Taiwan's airfields.
Nagasaki's mayor warned yesterday that new nuclear weapons the US wants to develop would cause as much radiation contamination as the atomic bomb dropped on the southern Japanese city 59 years ago, as he marked the anniversary of the attack. At the annual ceremony, Itcho Ito recounted how tens of thousands perished in the World War II bombing of Nagasaki and said many victims continue to suffer. "The `mini-nukes' that the US is trying to develop possess terrible power, despite their smaller size. The radiation destruction they would cause is no different from that of the bomb dropped on Nagasaki,'' Ito told thousands gathered at the city's Peace Park. Ito said Washington must scrap its nuclear arsenal before the world can be free of nuclear weapons. He urged Americans to face the "terrifying reality" that the bomb's victims have lived with since the attack. "It's clear that as long as the world's most powerful country continues to rely on nuclear weapons, other countries can't pursue nuclear non-proliferation," he said in a nationally broadcast speech. "If humankind is to survive the only path left for us is the abolition of nuclear weapons."
You haven't spoken to the Black Turbans by any chance, have you?
Ito pointed to the UN International Court of Justice's 1996 advisory calling for nuclear disarmament and the abolishment of nuclear arms. However, the court's 15 judges were divided over whether to consider the threat or use of nuclear weapons illegal.
Anyone ask the Iranians?
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi yesterday reiterated Japan's policy banning the production, possession and transport of nuclear weapons within its borders. "Our country won't change that stance unless those crazy North Koreans detonate one, then we'll be ready in three months time," Koizumi said, echoing his remarks Friday on the anniversary of the world's first atomic bombing in Hiroshima. Koizumi also vowed to continue pressing for North Korea more nations to ratify a nuclear non-proliferation pact and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which would ban nuclear arms testing and make developing new weapons almost impossible.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/10/2004 12:00:21 AM ||
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#1
Whaaa! How about a STFU for Japan when it comes on nuclear weapons.
#8
Personally I think the mini-nuke idea is a bluff to keep two-bit dictators from spending their cash on super-bomb proof bunkers since by the time the bunker is built it will no longer protect them.
Like the original star wars it does most of its work in the mind of the enemy before it even appears.
#9
Wasn't firebombing quite an established science by the end of the war? IIRC, the first wave would use conventional 500 pounders to break open buildings and strew debris around. Subsequent waves would then drop incendiaries to ignite that scattered debris.
Posted by: Dar ||
08/10/2004 10:22 Comments ||
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#10
Dar - I think you're channeling Hap Arnold and Curtis LeMay perfectly... :^)
#11
Maybe I am just old school, because I think dead is dead. Whether by nuke, conventional, smart, napalm, rocket, or slingshot you can be just as dead from each weapon. If by chance we find ourselves in a situation where we can kill a large amount of our enemies in one shot, I don’t really care which weapon they choose. FYI many more were killed from conventional weapons in WWII, nukes just made the process faster and more efficient.
"Question: Most people are startled to learn that the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki who had low exposure to nuclear radiation are living longer than those in the Japanese population who had no radiation exposure. How do you explain this?
"
The effect is known as hormesis, and it's just like your mum used to say "a little bit of everything in moderation"
In addition, Tom has a perfectly valid point, as does CrazyFool.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
08/10/2004 13:33 Comments ||
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#13
That may be true Tony, but you are forgetting about some of the regrettable side-effects of nuclear blasts. Godzilla left Nagasaki alone.
#17
mojo - You're right - it was his invention. Interesting info here, though it has that "looking over your shoulder" feeling of regret here and there. Fuck that noise - only survivors have the luxury - it's called war...
By ASSOCIATED PRESS Aug. 9, 2004 21:36 VIENNA - More than a third of those sharing Hitler's country of origin, i.e. Austrians believe that the Nazi era was in some ways positive, although pro-Nazi sentiment in Austria has dropped over the past two decades, according to a poll published Thursday. "Nazi era was in some ways positive," and a big "hello" from Joerg Haider.
But Peter Uhlram of the Fessel-GfK Institute, which conducted the survey, cautioned against inferring from the poll results that anti-Semitism is widespread in Austria. No, never. It's the French!
Most who believed life was in some ways good under Hitler likely looked back at developments other than the Holocaust as the positive sides of Nazi rule, such as construction of the first Adolf-Hitler-Strasse Autobahn and sharply lowered unemployment around the death camps, he said. "Those slimy Jews deserved what they got. All we rightful Germans wanted were superhighways and more jobs pulling levers at the 'showers'."
Uhlram said 31 percent of 4,000 respondents over 15 agreed with the statement that the Nazi era had "good and bad" elements, compared to 47% in 1987. All this means is that 16% of the Austrian population has died since the last poll. Continued on Page 49
#1
'Uhlram said 31 percent of 4,000 respondents over 15 agreed with the statement that the Nazi era had "good and bad" element'
eh. don't be rabid about it, good things DID result from the nazi regime, denying it is silly.
easy example: nazi docs did nasty immoral experiments, they learned quite a bit about the human body, jumping modern medical knowledge forward.
the bad : Nasty experiments
the good: big leap in medical understanding
thus we have both good and bad parts as the 31% correctly stated, everyone else is either afraid to admit the truth or under educated on the subject
#2
This poll is crap for a simple reason -- because the answer "has good and bad elements" says nothing about which elements were more important. "Has good and bad elements" is a superset of *both* "was almost exclusively bad" and "was almost exclusively good".
But the article dishonestly tries to imply that such an answer means that the people thought those elements were equal, by contrasting them with answers that say "mostly good" or "mostly bad".
Crappy crappy article about crappy crappy poll, it seems to me.
#3
I beg to differ. Nazism is one ideology that should be universally condemned. Those who cannot bring themselves to do so are morally deficient. Trying to whitewash Nazism even to the least degree is reprehensible at best and usually accompanied by some form of Holocaust denial. Support for Joerg Haider's Hitler-admiring party doesn't come out of thin air and Austria needs to put their house in order.
#4
Dcreeper, I also take issue with you that anything of good came out of the Nazi regime. There is not one single, medical procedure, technological advance or scientific discovery made by the Nazis that allied countries were not already on the road to. Keeping German rocket scientists out of Communist hands was a priority, but we still would have gotten to the moon, regardless.
Your attempts to rationalize Nazism, no matter how slight, are simply revolting. Nazis are rivaled only by Islamists as shitstains scum of the earth.
Under the Nazis I'm sure the average Fritz led a mostly quiet, fairly prosperous life as long as he kept his nose clean and stayed out of politix, at least up until the last. The Jews/Gypsies/Slavs/other üntermenschen were their own problem, nothing to do with "us." Sure, Sönny got drafted into the Wehrmacht, but that was what happened to young Teutons. It wasn't until the war got started in earnest that things got tough, and even then most people probably blamed the allies more than the regime, up until the last.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2004 19:50 Comments ||
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#7
And how does the relatively insular comfort of some wartime Germans or Austrians alter the fact that all thinking people are currently obliged to denouce such a horror as Nazism? Once you have a malignancy like the Third Reich in focus using 20/20 hindsight, there is nothing "good" or "favorable" to been seen in Nazism unless you are an anti-Semite. Soft pedaling the Holocaust is morally bankrupt.
#8
the fact that all thinking people are currently obliged to denouce such a horror as Nazism? Once you have a malignancy like the Third Reich in focus using 20/20 hindsight, there is nothing "good" or "favorable" to been seen in Nazism unless you are an anti-Semite
maybe they're transplanted French?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/10/2004 22:08 Comments ||
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#9
(#4 Nazis are rivaled only by Islamists as scum of the earth). Funny, I dont recall the Nazis killing 3000 American citizens in one day. To put the Nazis and the Islamic Terrorists on the same level just shows your ignorance. There are many degrees of evil, learn the difference.
#10
Austrians were particularly vicious toward Jews in the days preceding krystallnacht. When Hitler marched into Austria, the Austrians had a lot catching up to do in a short amount of time to equal the Germans. Hence the particular nastiness in Austria.
I lived in Austria for a year more than two decades ago. While it was not unusual to see "Polnische schweine" spray painted on walls, and separate dining halls for Austrians, the kindest people I have ever met and will meet in my life, were in fact Austrians, during my stay there.
Posted by: Rafael ||
08/10/2004 22:54 Comments ||
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via BBC - EFL
Gin, the kitty, is a bad pussy! No, not that kind, this kind!
Tuesday, 10 August, 2004, 13:33 GMT 14:33 UK Cat pounces on pilot mid-flight
A pet cat said to be usually very nice created a scare on a Belgian airliner in mid-air, forcing the crew to high-tail it back to the safety of Brussels.
Yeah, it's always the "nice" ones that draw blood.
A "lot of coincidences", as the airline told BBC News Online, ended with the escaped creature running wild in the cockpit and attacking the co-pilot.
Scared adrenaline-pumped cat, small confined space, razor sharp claws....
The captain ordered the Vienna-bound plane back after about 20 minutes. SN Brussels Airlines stressed the incident had been a fluke and the crew had observed all safety regulations. "We 100% support the decision made by the captain," Geert Sciot, the airline's communication vice-president, told the BBC. Nobody, he said, could tell what an agitated cat what might do in the circumstances, scrabbling around amid the sensitive equipment in the cockpit of the Avro RJ.
Oh, how about reducing the flight crew to hamburger
"It took a long time to catch it," he noted, describing the offending beast - said by Brussels newspaper La Derniere Heure to be a tom by the name of Gin - as "very aggressive".
"tom named Gin", bet he's a big ginger colored tomcat. Had one like that named Sam, topped out at 25lbs fighting weight. Hated dogs, attacked them on sight, no fear at all, god I miss him.
...more...
This speaks volumes. Lol! I'll leave the rest to your fertile imaginations, heh.
Posted by: .com ||
08/10/2004 11:56:12 AM ||
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#5
Had a orange one like that too .com. By the time he was 12 he was missing most of one ear, part of the other and was blind in one eye. It took him 8 hours of prowling just to cover his perimeter each night. Loved people. Hated cats, dogs, squirells, raccoons (that's what damaged him the most, but he'd kill their cubs) and rats.
#6
Ship - Lol! That description sounds like one or two I've shared accommodations with, lol! The life of a tomcat is some serious shit - at least for the "domesticated animal" world! It's a tough row to hoe and the ones that get to roam their territory pay a heavy price to hold it, heh. The "indoor" cats, well, they're another matter entirely. I don't have any pix of cats who've fought the good fight, unfortunately!
#7
Thought I'd play .com and come up with a pic. Typed in Tom Cat Fight Pic in google and it asked if I meant "Catfight". I said ok. Now I have to clean my temp folder at work. (super-strict about that stuff here)
#8
2% - Catfight? Lol! I can easily imagine what it dredged up! Change the google preferences on that work machine - fast! - and filter results! I do appreciate the thought, however!
#9
Had a grey Persian that was hell on dogs.Know I have a 15 year-old tabby,with no teeth she still brings home dinner,rabbits,rats,mice,birds.She has even braught in a bat and a snake.
#10
Raptor - Yeah, I've had some hunter types - yowling in the middle of the night until I'd get up and turn on the light - there'd be some victim awaiting execution. They were so phreakin' proud and wanted to "share" the moment, I guess, lol! It just phreaked my wife out - she only got up once to come look and when she saw this good-sized snake on the kitchen floor she screamed and almost fainted dead away, heh. After that, she wouldn't come look and wouldn't get out of bed to go pee til morning, lol! Ah, cats... what a trip!
#11
Even the small ones can be a handful, if they have all their claws... OTO, speaking of cats with dissolute lifestyles, I have a large grey long-haired ex-tomcat who adores drinking beer...
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/10/2004 16:57 Comments ||
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#13
SgtMom - A beer-drinking cat? Wow! Since I don't drink, I guess I've missed some opportunities there, lol! I guess it's always a matter of access, eh?
#14
Well, he is not allowed access very often--- only when my daughter, AKA Cpl. Blondie is home. This is probably a good thing, since I don't think beer can be very good for him.
#16
Cute, cute... Henry VIII looks very much like that cat... only grey. I worry more about him flooding out the cat-box, if he overindulges. After all, you only rent beer....
#17
LOL .com. I just don't like even the thought of a drunken cat. Most of 'em barely tolerate us anyway, a litter hootch and you find yourself going mano a sylveterus with 12 lbs of crazed kitten. And trust me on this one, most cats come equipped with 10 razoring blades on the front and a chainsaw on the back. I make a point of making 'em back down every morning, so they don't get uppity.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2004 20:12 ||
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#1
Who gives a crap what the guy posted on some stupid chat site? The real question is, are the allegations made in the book in question true or false?
#7
O'Neill is a liberal leaning moderate lawyer and Corsi is a freeper. Both agree that there is something so seriously wrong with Kerry that they cannot stand idle during his campaign. Both men took the time and effort to co-author a book that I'm sure O'Neill would not have allowed be released had Kerry not won the nomination.
Kerry is a seriously bad egg.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/10/2004 22:45 Comments ||
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By Matt Taibbi (Or: What Chomsky should be doing. Semantic analysis.)
Long, but well worth a read. And funny, too. What's not to like?
After listening to John Kerry's acceptance address last week, I did a little experiment. I decided to remove everything that was bullshit and see what was left. I invite New York Press readers to follow me on this journey, step by step.
I admit to using the widest possible interpretation of bullshit. Bullshit can be outright lies, bullshit can be calculating come-ons, and bullshit can be self-aggrandizing self-mythology, which is more commonly known in this country as self-aggrandizing bullshit.
I acted on all of these varieties of bullshit, but I also went a little further.
I edited out phony religiosity (pious bullshit) and pointless political platitudes of the sort that could be used by any politician in any situation, including Hitler (i.e., "We're the optimists": meaningless bullshit). I also chopped out all gratuitous flag-waving (patriotic bullshit), all forced and hollow tough-talking (saber-rattling bullshit), and all draping of the clearly unworthy self in the ill-fitting cloak of the great figures of history (name-dropping bullshit).
Hat tip: Cracker Barrel Philosopher
According to a Kerry campaign source, senior campaign advisers tasked two Washington-based campaign staffers to vet the recently published Unfit for Command. Didn't do a very good job, did they?
"The purpose was to compare what that book had with what we had on file from Senator Kerry," says the campaign source, who said that the research project developed more than 75 instances where Kerry's recollections, previous remarks, or writings conflicted with the book's reporting. Only 75? The campaign is obviously sloppy.
"We took some of the most glaring examples, like the Christmas in Cambodia story, Oh, they noticed that too?
and presented them to senior staff, and we assume that those things were put in front of Senator Kerry," says the source. "We haven't heard a word about it. All we were told is that it was being taken care of."
The fix is in, huh?
The campaign source said that the book was not considered a "serious" problem for the campaign, because, Wait for it....
"the media wouldn't have the nerve to come at us with this kind of stuff," says the source. "The senior staff believes the media is committed to seeing us win this thing, Already admitted to by a Newsweek editor.
and that the convention inoculated us from these kinds of stories. The senior guys really think we don't have a problem here." Imagine my surprise. Arrogant jackasses.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/10/2004 4:45:17 PM ||
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#1
This comes as no surprise whatsoever beside perhaps their willingness to admitt to the bias. At least they're honest.
#2
And he's right ya know. The MSM has given them a complete pass so far. "Nothing to see here...move along"
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
08/10/2004 17:30 Comments ||
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#3
Problem is, this is going to have the same stick factor as the "Bush lied" campaign. Even though it's been proven that he didn't, the canard still quacks. In Kerry's case, I don't think it's going to be proven false, though they'll have a string of ad hominem attacks and then they'll say it's been proven false.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2004 18:47 Comments ||
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#4
I bl3eive that the Kerry camp thinks so - they have good reason to.
Just look at the six oclock news tonight.
Now whats the big news recently? Najaf and Tater removla, also the info pouring out about real and verified threats against US targets.
#5
OldSpook, Is NBC still sodomizing that dead horse? You would think the putrid smell would give them a clue..... I see ABC News is also taking a turn....
The problem is, the media *will* cover for them. I would hope the Fox would cover it more and ask pointed questions (and expect answers other then 'well they didn't server under Kerry so they are all lying...' BS).
#6
Fox had a great segment tonight with Brit Hume. He had a retired marine officer on (one of their analyst) and pointedly asked him about the swift boats and if these guys could have served with him. This guy was very clear that they DID serve with him and could have seen what happened. He also pointed out that they probably had a better view of what was happening than anyone on the boat.
Brit also asked about the Cambodia bit to which the marine pretty much made it clear there was very little probability that Kerry had gone into Cambodia.
Great segment overall. Just wish the MSM would be as objective on all this and report the controversy. I stayed up late last night to watch Nightline and wish I had gotten my sleep instead. Complete waste of my time. And they, of course, managed to get in jibes at Bush and Cheney.
Posted by: AF Lady ||
08/10/2004 22:17 Comments ||
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A Mission to Cambodia
by Kevin Whitelaw | May 08 '00 Sen. John Kerry made his first forays into Cambodia during the Vietnam War as a Navy lieutenant on clandestine missions to deliver weapons to anticommunist forces. Lemmee see - CIA agents, patrolling weapons deliveries. Sound like a Baron von Munchausen complex to me.
When he returned last week, the mission was official, but dicey nonetheless. At the request of the United Nations, Kerry is trying to broker a compromise on how to try leaders of the former Khmer Rouge regime, whose late 1970s reign of terror claimed the lives of some 1.7 million Cambodians. Broker a compromise? How Kerry!
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen wants to control any court looking into genocide charges, but U.S. and U.N. officials have demanded an international tribunal. "You can't have a situation where a justice system that many people view as inoperative will have the ability to trump the international community's consensus," says Kerry. Kerry is offering a compromise to allow for co-prosecutors and co-investigators. Both Cambodian and foreign judges would have to agree before an indictment could be thrown out. Hun Sen had initially accepted the proposal but ran into hard-line opposition from his political allies. Kerry anticipates a deal could be struck as early as this week. UN wannabe?
Still, the parliament needs to go along, and many members of the ruling party (including Hun Sen) held low- or mid-level posts in the Khmer Rouge regime and might be reluctant to sign on. A legislative debate has been delayed until late May, ostensibly because of a termite infestation of the parliament building. But what about the war crimes? The CIA agent and the above mentioned weapons in the dark of night Dec 24 1968? Remember President-elect Nixon was jumping the gun before the oath was taken and usurping LBJ!!!!!
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CAMBODIA 'MISSION' NEVER HAPPENED: SHIPMATES
Three of the vets quoted in the book were part of the five-member crew that served on Kerry's own boat: Bill Zaldonis, Steven Hatch and Steve Gardner.
They deny they or their boat were ever in Cambodia. The other two crewmen declined to be interviewed for the book, "Unfit for Command," which raises questions about Kerry's military service.
Posted by: ed ||
08/10/2004 22:51 Comments ||
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For those of you that missed it, you will want to find it on the web and watch it. O'Reilly beat him like a bongo drum with truth and facts. Krugman outright lied even when trying point about Afghnaistan! He claimed we moved our Arab linguist from there to work in Iraq. Paul, they speak FARSI in Afghanistan. Krugman was outclassed at every turn and looked like he would start crying any minute. My wife laughed at his 'shifty eyes' which made him look even more like lying weasel. He actually was quoting from all the favorite leftwing websites and presenting them as fact! Not a huge fan of O'Reilly but I have to give the man credit for slicing and dicing this professor of economics.
#2
My wife laughed at his ‘shifty eyes’ which made him look even more like lying weasel.
I was flicking through channels when I came across Krugman's mug, and I noticed that too. He seemed rather weaselly in his columns, and looks even more the part in person. Unfortunately, I only watched for about five seconds (I can't stand the guy), and as it turns out, not sticking around to watch the show was a BIG mistake. :)
#3
I saw it, and for the most part, tho his points were good, O'Reilly just came off as hotheaded and reactionary, while the other guy, weasel though he was, just smiled and stayed calm. I hope in time O'Reilly will just let his anger about Franken et al dissipate; when he sticks to facts and focuses, he can make the arguments effectively and accomplish just what he wants: show them as spineless, clueless whiners. (Though Al Franken, when he sticks to his profession, can be pretty darn funny).
#4
I caught the last 1/2 of this debate; O'Reilly squashed Krugman like a bug, though he looked rather thuggish doing it. Since it was Krugman getting squashed, I let it slide.
#5
The Afghans speak Urdu and another language that escapes my memory. In the west, there are many people of Iranian origin who might speak Farsi, but they are rare.
#6
Al Franken doesn't deal in humor as much as he deals in mean-spirited belittling. It appeals to people who feel bigger by watching someone in "a position of power" bully others. Kinda sad statement about those who laugh, if you ask me.
If you get off on that kind of bullying, I suppose it's entertainment.
Posted by: B ||
08/10/2004 14:07 Comments ||
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#7
My wife laughed at his ‘shifty eyes’...
Eww. This must've been the clash of the scary eyeballs. O'Reilly has squinty, piggy eyes like that really bitchy girl in 7th grade. The photo on Krugman's columns makes him look psychotic.
The Afghans speak Urdu and another language that escapes my memory.
CIA sez: Pashtu (is that an Urdu dialect?), Dari (Persian), Uzbek, Turkmen, other.
#8
B-Did you ever see Trading Places, where he plays one of the train conductors? His role doesn't really fall into the "belittling others" category. And his Stuart Smalley skits on SNL? Hysterically close to a character I knew in Illinois, whose psychobabble, as far as I am concerned, is totally fair game for belittling.
However, I bet we would agree on his belittling antics in the presidential election, where he is just one in a line of celebrities whose opinions are valueless.
#9
I like Billy O', but I thought he needed to settle down and just beat Krugman w/the facts vice getting all animated. He tends to turn a lot of people off when he does that. BTW- f*ck krugman.
They speak Dari (a variant of Farsi) and Pashto in Afghanistan. The Pashtuns (or Pathans) speak Pashto and every one else speaks Dari. Urdu is just the northern Indian language of Hindi written in Arabic. (Arabic is an alphabet and in theory, every language could be written in Arabic, just as many nations have adopted the Roman alphabet, including Turkey, Vietnam and most of Southeast Asia).
#11
Compared to his interview with Michael Moore where he came off weak, I thought O'Reilly did pretty good in this debate. I mean how do you debate someone who pulls facts out of his butt and says their true?
O'Reilly is better debating when he's not also the moderator trying to look fair.
I'm just tired of the ongoing Jerry Springer meme that these shows capitalize on. IMHO, It doesn't qualify as humor or commentary, it's just a p-nut throwing gallery for low brows and losers.
Posted by: B ||
08/10/2004 15:51 Comments ||
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#13
Personally I like Joe Scarbuagh.(excuse the spelling,please)
#16
I used to be fluent in Arabic (Iraqi dialect) and German (The German still sticks) and picked up some Farsi over the past decade (don't ask).
As for Afghanistan: more Dari is spoken there than any other language - basically a dialect of Farsi (i.e. you speak Farsi, you can get along quite well in Dari). Dari is generally understood all over the country (thanks to the Soviets and their puppet regime).
Farsi derivatives are also spoken over the border in the 'Stans, although there its written in Cyrillic cahracters due to the old Soviet Union's influence over several generations.
Pashtu is also there in the other parts of Afghanistan, but more of that out in the boonies and the south.
As for Arabic in Southwest Asia Theater of Operations:
The only Arabic used in that region is Koranic Arabic - which bears as much resemblence to Modern Standard Arabic as does the Old English of Chaucer versus modern US English.
Dari/Farsi is about as similar to Arabic as English is to German - lots of similar sounds, and share most of the alphabet, but way different languages.
#17
Bomb-a-rama - Hmmm. I can't think of the last time I laughed at anything Franken did or said...
I can, it was on Saturday Night LIve in 1990 when he proclaimed that the 80s were the Al Franken decade and the ninties were his son's (whatever his name was) decade.
Still, that's the only funny thing I remember him ever saying. I never liked Stuart Smalley.
Could this be the reason Kerry's shipmates are standing behind him?
Kerry's early departure meant that he was leaving behind a crew that had suffered through many bloody battles with him. Worried that crew members would be killed, he arranged for them to receive a safer assignment. When one crew member, Medeiros, tried to stay, Kerry "came and talked to me and said, `I really would like you to go. ... I'd like to know you are safe, or safer."'
via tinyvital.com
Posted by: growler ||
08/10/2004 11:05:10 AM ||
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I thought it might be something like that. Wonder if he picks up the tab for all their support during his run for office?
Posted by: Steve ||
08/10/2004 13:11 Comments ||
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#2
Wonder if he picks up the tab for all their support during his run for office?
Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry said over the weekend he won't get involved in the fight on the Protect Arizona Now initiative to deny illegal aliens some social services in this state, although last year he called it "both heartless and divisive." Speaking to reporters from Arizona newspapers on his campaign train Sunday night, Mr. Kerry said states should be allowed to make such decisions. "It's up to states to decide what the states want to do with respect to their own expenditures," Mr. Kerry said, according to the Arizona Daily Sun in Flagstaff.
Gee, John, why the change?
Polls show the initiative, which would deny state and local social services to illegal immigrants and require proof of U.S. citizenship before voting, has the support of nearly three-fourths of Arizona voters.
Oh, should have guessed.
But Mr. Kerry has argued against the initiative. Last August, he wrote a letter to the Tucson Citizen, signed as a U.S. senator and candidate for president, blasting the initiative. He said it resembled California's Proposition 187, which also sought to deny benefits to illegal immigrants, and which Mr. Kerry said was pushed by "forces of hate and discrimination."
Being a initiative, those forces would be voters, would they not?
Kerry campaign spokesman David Wade denied the two positions are inconsistent. He said Mr. Kerry opposes the initiative, but doesn't think the president should interfere with states' rights on the matter.
Yeah, and I've still got that bridge for sale.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/10/2004 10:22:55 AM ||
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#1
The peasants have spoken .... damn them!
Also, denying social services to ILLEGAL aliens is not discrimination but enforcement of existing federal laws. Besides being an illegal alien isn't a 'race' or 'nationallity' but a freely chosen immigration status.
#2
The problem is the politicans are not 100% certain if coming out against Illegals will gain them enough Latino votes to balance out the votes they'll lose from the sick of illegals voters.
As soon as the political parties figure that out they'll come down solidly on the side or the other.
From the Military Law Task Force Website, EFL:
The Military Law Task Force was formed in the 1970s in Washington, D.C. when Jim Klimaski, Mike Gaffney, and Keith Snyder first began publishing ON WATCH. In 1978, Kathy Gilberd became chair and the office was moved to San Diego, California. The core of the Military Law Task Force has been people who were draft counselors/lawyers during the Vietnam War. We taught draft counseling classes in the 60s and set up the original anti-draft organizations at colleges and universities. As the war continued, we then moved on to military counseling and law.
The history of the Guild's anti-war and draft counseling work can be traced back to 1967, when folks, including Freddy Gardner and Joseph Tieger, created the first GI Coffee Houses. Also at this time, Support Our Soldiers (SOS) and the US Servicemen's Fund (USSF) began. The Guild began its military law counseling in 1968, and published the "Military Counseling Manual" in 1969. The Winter Soldier Investigation and the FTA shows with Jane Fonda also spurred the movement forward.
--------------------
Those of us involved during the Vietnam War, in the resulting draft resistance, in Vietnam Veterans Against the War and other Veterans' rights organizations, Don't Ask Don't Tell struggles, the "small wars" (Grenada, Kosovo, etc.), the "larger wars," and the Gulf War, all formed the MLTF to keep in contact and continue our work. Others have joined with us as time moved on and have provided political and legal direction to our work.
We maintain close contacts with CCCO (Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors), the GI Hotline, CCW (Center on Conscience & War), Servicemember's Legal Defense Network and other groups. The MLTF assists the NLG's Emergency Response Network and its broader anti-war efforts. Then we go to the bottom of the home page for the credits: The Military Law Task Force wants to thank RESIST and the Tides Foundation for making this website possible.
Tides Foundation being one of Terasa Kerry's pet projects.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/10/2004 9:39:39 AM ||
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Don't forget George Soros, the other big domestic enemy and Tides Foundation contributor!
Posted by: DanNY ||
08/10/2004 12:25 Comments ||
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Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/10/2004 02:14 ||
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I am still waiting for the footage of Moore on the morning of September 11... Did he step out of the "all you can eat breakfast buffet line when hearing of planes hitting the towers? Did he continue to order up triple chocolate Belgium waffles knowing amerika was under attack? Did he wonder if the rather "swarthy" looking short order cook making up his "double order of Eggs Benadict with extra Hollindaise sauce, please" was really a member of a sinister terror network?
Or did the fat fuck just sit their stuffing his pie hole until the "all you can eat" lunch buffet items were brought out?
America deserves an answer...
Retired Army Gen. John Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the early years of the Clinton administration, has been hospitalized in guarded condition at an Army hospital, a spokesman said Monday. Shalikashvili, 68, entered Madigan Medical Center in Fort Lewis, Washington, on Saturday morning, and the family is requesting that no more information be released, said Mike Meines, a hospital spokesman.
Best wishes and a speedy recovery.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/10/2004 12:10:08 AM ||
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From The Washington Post
Exactly halfway between the vibrant metropolis of Tehran and the cloistered holy city of Qom, the new Imam Khomeini International Airport appears a fitting marker for the ambivalence the nation shows a world steadily knitting itself together beyond Iran's borders. .... The $475 million complex was concrete, steel and glass proof that Iran was opening to the world ... What's more, the airport was to be run by a company with roots both in Turkey and Austria, a foreign partnership that promised to invest almost $200 million in an additional terminal.
But on opening day this May, what rolled onto the runways were tanks. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps seized control of the airport after the first flight landed. It remains shuttered today, one more manifestation of contradictions within a government still deciding how it feels about the world. .... The closure had implications for a bigger deal between Iran and a Turkish mobile phone company and made business affairs a central point of discussion when Turkey's prime minister paid a rare visit late in July. In three days of talks that centered on Iraq and ethnic Kurdish separatists, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also delivered a bit of economic advice. ...
Publicly, the Revolutionary Guard, charged with protecting Iran's borders but also increasingly active in politics, said it was intolerable for a foreign company to run the country's biggest airport. Some conservative politicians also alleged that the company, Tepe-Akfen-Vie (TAV), did business with Israel, Iran's archenemy, a charge denied by Israeli and Turkish officials. .... A pending solution to the airport standoff appears to accommodate the contending interests within the government: TAV would retain its 11-year concession but would outsource ground handling, presumably to an Iranian company, according to TAV's chief executive, Sani Sener. ....
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
08/10/2004 6:03:21 PM ||
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There was a rumour recently that there was a teeny tiny nuclear accident here that actually caused the shutdown.
Edited for brevity.
An ex-convict who blamed a young woman for taking his video game system and clothes recruited three teenagers to stab and beat her and five others to death, investigators said Sunday. The 22-year-old woman was singled out for an attack so vicious that even dental records were useless in trying to identify her. Some of the victims were attacked in their sleep, according to authorities. The victims' bodies were found Friday in a blood-spattered home.
All four suspects were armed with aluminum bats when [suspect Troy] Victorino kicked in the locked front door, according to arrest records. The group, who wore black clothes and had scarves on their faces, grabbed knives inside and attacked victims in different rooms of the three-bedroom house, authorities said. The victims, some of whom were sleeping, did not put up a fight or try to escape, Johnson said. All had been stabbed, but autopsies determined the cause of death was the beating injuries. This story is a few days old, but I'm still just appalled by it! If just ONE of the six victims had had a gun--and in FL that's very easy and very legal to do--all or most of the six murders could have been prevented! It is your CIVIC DUTY, in my opinion, to be able to protect yourself, your home, and your guests! ANY gun trumps a baseball bat and a knife!
Posted by: Dar ||
08/10/2004 9:30:10 AM ||
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#1
Dar:
"If just ONE of the six victims had had a gun..."
The results would most likely have been the same. These people were attacked in their sleep. Those that did wake up probably never had the time to assess the situation and respond.
Now, if there had been a large hostile canine in the house, that might have given someone the needed time to react.
"It is your CIVIC DUTY, in my opinion, to be able to protect yourself, your home, and your guests! ANY gun trumps a baseball bat and a knife! "
On this point, you will get no argument from me. I believe it should be required by law that people learn how to defend themselves and possess the means to do so. In fact, there is a place in Georgia that requires just that. Can't remember the name though.
At the Casa de Loco en Tejas, we have guns AND dogs!
#2
A gun without the willingness to use it is just a lump of metal. I agree with CiT about the dog. Generally the noise from a dog intimidates bad guys. They don't like the noise drawing attention.
Of course in this case they had a small dog and it was killed as well.
#3
Troy Victorino, who was on probation for a 1996 violent crime, was arrested on July 29 on charges that he beat up a friend in a dispute over money. That arrest sounded no alarm bells with his probation officers so he posted $2,500 and was released. Victorino met with his probation officer last Thursday -- the day before the brutal slayings. The officer knew of Victorino's recent arrest but failed to call authorities to arrest him. Four of the lazy assed probation officers have been fired. Probation officers fired after 'XBox killings'. BTW, Victorino's victim in the 1996 crime remains in a near-vegetative state. With this idiot's history of violence you'd think someone in the correction system would care. Why was he on parole in the first place?
You insensitive brute! He clearly had a..err...bad upbringing because his parents didn't make a living wage. And the public schools weren't properly funded. His self-esteem wasn't properly developed. And...ah the hell with it...Bush lied!
#6
dont count on dog for defend. ima just need small dog wake me up. glock model 22 15 round clip with em +2 base plate is take care of rest! you are wanna come my house bitch!!! ima say blam on you knee!!! how are you like that gimpy!?! let me give you matching set!!! blam you other knee short shit!!! let me shoot at you teeth!!! blam eat teeth bitch!!! you still hungry!?! here! eat you want em xbox!?! ima put an x you box bitch!!! take that and that and that!!! blam blam blam!!! shut up dog!!! blam!!! now die and get you salad toss in hell!!! blam blam blam!!!
#9
I dunno guys - my dog's paw's are so small they can't depress the grip safety on my M1911. I suppose I should loosen up on the wallet and get her something she can handle.
Oops, methinks I'm missing the point. . .
#12
Guns are good in the hands of responsible individuals. Irresponsible individuals on the other hand are another story.
I almost got shot by my roomate with an AK one night coming home late. I was in my bathroom getting ready to go to bed when the door creeked open to reveal my battle ready roomy pointing his assault riffle at my head.
He had a nack for getting into trouble with firearms. Finaly realized his problem when he thought it would be good practice for hitting moving targets by dry firing at figures on the tv. He cleaned his glock, cocked it, removed the clip, then shot the tv, moron.
#13
Muck-
To paraphrase Mel Brooks, not only was that authentic internet gibberish, but it expressed a courage that is little seen in this day and age.
*raises glass*
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/10/2004 12:30 Comments ||
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#14
In this type of situation a hand gun is not much use. A person would have to be awake and have very easy access to it. There doesn't seem to have been time for any kind of resistance. In most scenarios, an attacker waking you up has more time to get to you than you do to wake up, assess the situation, and respond. This is a very tragic occurance but a hand gun would not have prevented it. Registration of baseball bats is what's called for. Everyone wanting to buy a baseball bat should have to go through a background check and get a permit.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/10/2004 12:30 Comments ||
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#15
Whoa muck! Now those are some heart-felt sentiments....a true Hallmark moment in the Rantburg tradition. Awwww heck, I'm gettin' all teary-eyed.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
08/10/2004 12:43 Comments ||
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#16
Mucky - Since I don't have your pic to work with, I can only offer this image in your honor... :-)
#18
Eds. I think this goes in the classics! Shshsh, nobody disturb Mucky, he's sleeping (tip toe, tip toe).
BTW - I like a shotgun; you don't have to aim so carefully (especially when sleepy).
#20
DB--I agree and disagree. These people were warned by the chief perp earlier--he threatened them, stating exactly what he later would do, and slashed their tires. I would have taken that very seriously, especially with the tire slashings underlining the threat.
I can't understand how the perps could kick in a locked door without waking at least one of the SIX people in the house either, and with four perps attacking six people I'd figure one of the six could have been free to grab a weapon if one had been handy!
OTOH, maybe having six people in the house would be confusing--any noise might have been dismissed by the victims as coming from one of the other houseguests, allowing the perps to isolate each victim or each couple.
Anyway, I'm with Mucky--I always have a .357 in my nightstand just in case some goblin does try to break in! I got my own X-BOX to defend, dammit!
Posted by: Dar ||
08/10/2004 13:51 Comments ||
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#21
Having a weapon is fine, BUT you have to do the training AND keep up your skills. Waking up out of a deep sleep and being ready for life and death decision making is not for everyone.
Lesson Two:
Don't F*CK WITH THE MUCK!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/10/2004 14:07 Comments ||
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#22
I've got a Smith & Wesson .357 revolver which I practice with very often at Duffy Town (Sheriff's range in San Diego). Add to that I'm a light sleeper. As is my dog who would primarily serve as early warning. I'm pretty confident there would be a dead goblin if he kicked in my door and only had a bat.
#26
I carry a 45 ACP. I have motion sensors at the entrances to wake me up and they are battery powered in case the power goes out. I have had a 12 ga. dbl barrel shotgun put in my back and won't be put in that situatation again. I'm not certain but I believe all the victims were 22 or younger. With todays rediculus fire arms laws only anyone 21 or over could legaly own a hand gun. The laws for firearms are not ment to deter crime but restrict the ability of law abiding citizens to "Keep and bear arms". Thomas Jeferson wrote, "The 2nd Ammendment should never be constryued as to give Congress the power to deprive law abiding citizens of their arms". That is what has happened and I think the Founding Fathers would be stunned at what serves as our government.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/10/2004 16:42 Comments ||
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#27
PS: The victims' surviving estates should be able to sue the dismissed parole officers for deriliction of duty. All the indicators were there to predict this crime. Troy Victorino should of never even had a chance to perpetrate this heinous murder.
I think the Founding Fathers would be stunned at what serves as our government.
#28
I have a friend that lives in the sticks and was concerned about safety. He asked a police officer for a recommendation on a gun buy. The police officer recommended that for those who aren't looking to shoot others unnecessarily, a pump shotgun is the way to go. The reason: many unwelcome visitors will recognize the sound of the action and flee.
My friend now owns a shotgun but has not yet purchased any ammo. He is six four and must weigh 380 and was arrested in High School for breaking both legs of a fellow student that he found out was sleeping with his girlfriend. He knocked the guy first and then jumped up and down on the guy's legs which were hanging over the curb of a road where his unconscious body fell.
I think my friend will do OK without the ammo.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/10/2004 22:38 Comments ||
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#29
home defense for the unpracticed: Remington 870 express, 18 inch barrel, use #8 birdshot and choke if you are good enough aim.
This way you will generally hit what you are aiming at (shotgun) and the #8 will not overpenetrate and hit people in other rooms (like kids sleeping in the next room).
#31
Bah...in my state, Tennessee, we can legally own flamethrowers. Of course, I'm having problems finding one to buy, but I'm sure that will be overcome.
A British-based lobby group has accused Zimbabwe's government of carrying out a systematic campaign of violence and torture against its opponents. The campaign group, Redress, says the scale of abuse increases in the run-up to elections. Their report refers to documented examples compiled by local human rights groups of nearly 9,000 violations in Zimbabwe from the year 2001 to 2003. It covers incidents such as torture, abduction and murder. The accounts are based on the work of human rights groups inside Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwean government, which routinely dismisses allegations of state-sponsored violence, has so far made no comment. Redress says the abuses were carried out by government employees, such as the police, or supporters of President Robert Mugabe's party, Zanu-PF.
Bob recently announced he was increasing the size of his private milita, the Green Bombers.
The police are among those accused of abuse. The executive director of Redress, Kate Rose-Sender, says the violence was particularly pronounced before the presidential election two years ago. "There seems to be the kind of correlation that indicates that the state is using torture in a direct attempt to control the people around the time of elections. "They're doing it with impunity, and it's an impunity which we're trying to address," she says. With parliamentary elections expected to take place in March, the report concludes that the problem of organised torture should be tackled as a matter of urgency.
Alert the UN to activate their Urgent Crisis Study and Tea Drinking Strike Team.
"We condemn this! Yes, we do! Another scone?"
Redress expresses the hope that Zimbabwe's neighbours will put pressure on it. But there is little sign of any change in the low-key approach of the regional power, South Africa.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/10/2004 8:44:53 AM ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
