A Brazilian legislator wants to make it illegal to give pets names that are common among people.
Some people have way too much time on their hands.
Federal congressman Reinaldo Santos e Silva proposed the law after psychologists suggested that some children may get depressed when they learn they share their first name with someone's pet, said Damarias Alves, a spokeswoman for Silva.
It's all about the "children".
"Names have importance," said Alves. The congressman "wants to challenge people's assumptions that it's acceptable to give animals human names," she said. If the law is passed, pet stores and veterinary clinics would be required to display a sign noting the prohibition of human first names for pets. Brazilians who break the law would be subject to fines or community service. Alves admitted the law's chances of passage were slim but said Silva hoped the bill would call attention to his other efforts to protect animals.
I'm confused, I thought you were doing this to protect easily offended people.
"He's proposed many laws to protect wildlife in Brazil, but this is the only one that has ever gotten any attention," Alves said.
I don't think this is the kind of attention you were looking for.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/29/2004 12:36:55 PM ||
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Lily the poodle and Martin the gray shorthair cat would become Dumb and Dumber?
#3
Brazilians have a tendency to come up with nicknames all over the place, said nicknames replacing in effect one's legal name. Such a law would probably put half the country in jail.
On the other hand, I'm all for giving inhuman names to pets.
Leana Beasley has faith that a dog is man's best friend. Faith, a 4-year-old Rottweiler, phoned 911 when Beasley fell out of her wheelchair and barked urgently into the receiver until a dispatcher sent help. Then the service dog unlocked the front door for the police officer. "I sensed there was a problem on the other end of the 911 call," said dispatcher Jenny Buchanan. "The dog was too persistent in barking directly into the phone receiver. I knew she was trying to tell me something." Faith is trained to summon help by pushing a speed-dial button on the phone with her nose after taking the receiver off the hook, said her owner, Beasley, 45, who suffers grand mal seizures.
Oh, a speed dialer, that's easy. Lassie would have dialed with her nose then gived CPR.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/29/2004 12:32:51 PM ||
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And, happily, I offer a video for those who haven't seen it - this is Faith's Dirty Dancing cousin...
A top Croatian pop star asked a Zagreb court on Friday to watch a private movie in which she enjoys a lusty sex romp to see whether her copyright was violated by a Web Site that showed it to the public. Severina Vuckovic, 32, sued the www.index.hr web portal for publishing shots of her having sex with a man later identified as a wealthy Bosnian Croat businessman who is married with children. Her lawyers demanded the video be shown in court, state news agency Hina reported.
Where's Court TV when you need them?
In a separate motion, the defendants also asked that a court-appointed sex expert see the video to determine if Vuckovic had "demonstrated anything not previously seen in the porn industry," which could qualify for copyright, Hina said. "I do not think she has shown any new sexual art," the portal's owner, Matija Babic, told the agency.
I don't think there is anything that hasn't been done before, but I'm willing to review the tape just to be fair.
The stills and whole 11-minute video clip quickly became the hottest Internet item in the former Yugoslav republic, where Vuckovic is a sex symbol but has often projected a modest and religious image.
Just like Madonna
Independent media estimated the video had been downloaded 10 million times and way beyond Croatia's borders. Vuckovic said it was stolen from her private collection.
Is there any pop celeb that doesn't have a porno video "stolen" from them?
Posted by: Steve ||
10/29/2004 11:15:17 AM ||
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So where's the link to the vid? No link, no story, heh. But excellent fisking in-line, Steve, lol! ;-)
Gunfire echoed through the streets of Port-Au-Prince on Thursday as supporters of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide battled police whom residents have accused of executing at least 13 people two days earlier. The charred carcasses of vehicles blocked a main road of the capital and in some slum neighborhoods, residents locked their doors as pro-Aristide militants shot at police from behind the wreckage. It was unclear if anyone was wounded or killed in Thursday's violence. But along Port-au-Prince's seaside road, gunfire was reported and people told a radio station that four people were killed by armed civilians. The reports could not be independently confirmed.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/29/2004 10:50:13 PM ||
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Surprised they can afford ammunition. Must get it from the UN.
Despite a threatened boycott by ruling party lawmakers, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer again barred women with Islamic head scarves from tomorrow's official reception to mark modern Turkey's founding and added athletes embroiled in doping and sex scandals to this year's black list. Unmoved by the uproar he caused last year when he barred women wearing head scarves, the staunchly secularist Sezer again refused to invite to the presidential palace wives of Justice and Development Party (AKP) legislators wearing what is seen by many as a symbol of political Islam.
The majority of the 368 AKP deputies are expected to boycott the reception, AKP sources said yesterday, which is the top event on Ankara's social calendar and this year marks the 81st anniversary of the modern Turkish republic. Women wearing the head scarf have in the past attended receptions at the presidential palace, but Sezer introduced his stringent dress code for the first time last year after the AKP, a conservative party rooted in a now-banned Islamist movement, was voted into power. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose wife Emine also covers her head, was spared the embarrassment of turning up alone again thanks to a scheduled trip to Rome for the signing ceremony of the new European Union Constitution. The wives of most AKP members wear the head scarf, which is banned from universities and government offices in Turkey, a mainly Muslim but strictly secular country. In contrast, AKP legislators' wives who shun the scarf were invited, as were women legislators and wives of deputies from the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), who never wear the controversial kerchief.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/29/2004 10:59:18 PM ||
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We got it finally. We have the Former Secretary of the Navy who stated, "Yes, Kerry did receive an Other Than Honorable Discharge".
Stay tuned for more...
Interesting, post at SwiftVets was pulled at request of sender. I'm thinking he doesn't want this to get too much play until the story breaks, rumor is the NY Sun quoting former SecNav John Lehman that Kerry received a less than honorable discharge for aiding and abetting the enemy during 1970 and 1971. That fits with what we've been hearing about him getting it upgraded during Carter years.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/29/2004 2:53:05 PM ||
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Ka-BOOM Baby!!!
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
10/29/2004 15:08 Comments ||
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Oh, that explains that sounds of screaming, wailing, and knashing of teeth I heard in the distance. (Or maybe it was the lamentations of their women.)
The MSM are guaranteed to be in full panic mode over this.
Dibs on the popcorn concession! :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/29/2004 15:14 Comments ||
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Bush's October surprise?
Posted by: Tom ||
10/29/2004 15:16 Comments ||
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For us non-military folks who don't want to just assume what it means, what exactly does it mean? What instances would the discharge "other than honorable" be used in?
Stay tuned for updates. Will re-open the topic when we have further info.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/29/2004 15:18 Comments ||
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Seems premature. Let's wait for more facts + the 24 rule. The more serious the charges, the more proof required. That said, I do believe that Kerry got a less than honorable discharge. Why else does he hide his records and all the shenanigans with changing his discharge records?
Posted by: ed ||
10/29/2004 15:18 Comments ||
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And here are the article links mentioned in the thread regards the Hanoi documents and what's breaking:
#10
Good teaser. But do records say "Unift for comand"?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/29/2004 15:27 Comments ||
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"Other than honorable" means the guy was booted out for failing in his duties, or by being an asshole. Nothing illegal (charges bring jail and a dishonerable discharge), but the military is saying he was not a good soldier and should be shuned from military life and loss of all military benifits.
#12
Oh.. Man!! Get the popcorn,,, Soda.. maybe some Knob Creek. The vultures are circlin' Yasser is on the mat... Kerry is about to go down... Wonder if this will start the nuclear option that the Kerry campaign says they have...
#14
And let's not forget to thank that bastion of integrity, Prez Carter, for his amnesty which upgraded the DD-214 of Skeery and his traitorous ilk to Honorable.
Update (Fri Oct 29 @ 2:35pm): The original thread on the SwiftVets forum has been pulled. Make of that what you will; I don't know what to make of it.
If anyone cares what my $0.02 adds up to, I doubt that last-minute revalations on Kerry's DD-214 will do much one way or the other. Those who've decided not to vote for him on the basis of his antiwar activities have already figured he got a less than honorable discharge. The moonbats would probably consider a less-than-honorable discharge a badge of honor. Nobody else cares that much.
Posted by: Mike ||
10/29/2004 15:43 Comments ||
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Mike - that's hard to say. I have to constantly keep in mind that those who frequent RB and other Internet news / blog sites are the exception, not the rule. You are at least 10x better informed than Joe & Jane Average, I'm certain. How that translates into the reality of the election, how well they are informed, how much they hear from the non-MSM sources by word of mouth or rumor? Beats the hell outta me, bro.
THAT is why I have so overt little confidence in a clear victory. I am banking, literally, that there is a core of Jacksonian decency - simple folks who know a liar when they see and hear him - out there that will show up Nov 2nd.
#20
Mike...the other side to this is how the MSM has been complicit in burying this story. There is the potential here to nail Kerry AND the MSM! With a Bush victory, this thing is gonna have looooooooooooooong legs.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
10/29/2004 15:56 Comments ||
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.com, I think you're right, but I also think that there's very few people in that "core of Jacksonian decency" (lovely turn of phrase, BTW!) who're still undecided. To put it another way, I suspect they've already factored the probability that Kerry was less-than-honorably discharged to their decision, and decided against him.
Posted by: Mike ||
10/29/2004 16:03 Comments ||
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The major upside I see would be that if something breaks, Kerry has to spend the rest of the time between now and the Tuesday spinning away from of this... He would be pinned inside the 5 yard line stuck on defense.
#24
It's anybody's guess what effect this will have; don't forget, that DUI revelation in the last week of the 2000 campaign lopped several points off Bush's share of the vote. This might be similar.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
10/29/2004 16:08 Comments ||
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Under Other Than Honorable Conditions...Examples of factors that may be considered include...abuse of a special position of trust...acts or omissions that endanger the security of the United States or the health and welfare of other members of the Military Services...
It is generally believed that an OTH Discharge will render an individual ineligible for all VA Benefits. This is not necessarily so...Most veterans' benefits will be forfeited if that determination is adverse to the former service-member...(3) conscientious objector who refuses to perform military duties, wear the uniform, or comply with lawful orders of competent military authorities; (4) willful or persistent misconduct; ...(6) mutiny or spying...
#26
Excellent article, Anon4021 - Thx! It's weird reading the old Sullivan, the pre-shorts-in-a-bunch-jackass, again, lol! He would hope to make the case that he and his ilk aren't threatening the moral fiber of America, of course, so much of it is self-serving.
Obi-Wan, on the other hand states enough facts to support a good case. Thanks - easy to forget how many of us there are. The tip of the tail of the dog seems to be all you hear about in the "news" - always wagging the whole dog, to hear them tell it. When I was in Saudi in '92 we got Bahrain's CNN International (stolen - pre-scrambled), the major lead story was the Tailhook Scandal and Clinton's Don't Ask / Don't Tell policy. Sheesh. Made you wonder if the America thought you knew was even still there.
I am truly fascinated with the question of America's character, today. Are we still pugnacious? Fiesty? Tough enough? Do we have gumption - my favorite word and the legacy of my ass-kicking grandfather? I would be happy, as old and shop-worn as I am, to take up arms again and do my part... I just wonder if I'll need to or even get the chance, should that be needed from the Jacksonian POV.
#27
Jules - Carter's amnesty upgraded these people to Honorable. The story for vets will be what discharge did he get at separation... If OTH, he will lose 90% of that block that isn't in the ABB / BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome - h/t Mark Steyn) camp. That should be a full 8-10 points in the likely voters column. Vets Vote.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
10/29/2004 16:57 Comments ||
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I'll bet they didn't want to get swamped by OBL.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/29/2004 17:02 Comments ||
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"I am truly fascinated with the question of America's character, today. Are we still pugnacious? Fiesty? Tough enough?"
Collectively, no; not by a long shot. There are a shocking number who are what I call "over-civilized", unable to deal with the world-- or perceive what goes on in it-- as other than overgrown children.
A good 40% of our population is in dire need of an adult Outward Bound program, one in which they're thrown out into the desert to either learn to survive and fight their way back to civilization, all by themselves, or die.
Because as they are right now, they're just overburden.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
10/29/2004 17:04 Comments ||
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Should of just paid the $500 and gotten the HonD
Posted by: Mike ||
10/29/2004 17:30 Comments ||
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I was referring to those among us-- and there are altogether too many of them-- who've somehow managed to convince themselves we're not really in that desperate fight.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
10/29/2004 17:39 Comments ||
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MIAMI -- The election is growing close, and the heat is on -- especially in South Florida, where thousands of absentee ballots are missing, and now there are claims of voter intimidation.
Thursday, South Florida Republicans and Democrats traded charges of voter intimidation at early voting locations.
Teams of out-of-town lawyers are here, and already charges are flying that these so-called legal observers are over-stepping their bounds.
Outside the Miami-Dade Government Center, Democratic demonstrators tried to shout-down Republican party officials and legislators who had called a news conference to make allegations of voter fraud and voter intimidation by supporters of Sen. John Kerry. Brownshirt tactics - a DNC signature. Of course imtimidation is ok when done by the left.
But at the Lemon City Library, it was Republican legal observers who came under fire.
Robert McNeal is one of a small army of attorneys who have descended on Florida and can easily be spotted at the polling places.
Some people are not happy about their presence and accuse them of using bad tactics. Robert Koenig said he was just talking about Theresa Heinz Kerry with another person while inside waiting to vote when he was harassed.
"The gentleman (McNeal) took pictures of me with his cell phone, telling me was breaking election laws," Koenig said.
"Insane." McNeal, an attorney for the Republican Party, said. "I don't have a camera. How can you take pictures without a camera?"
McNeal told Local 10 that he is an election law attorney from Chicago here working for the Republicans.
When asked what he was doing here, McNeal said, "Observing to make sure there is no electioneering going on and we saw electioneering going on in this particular polling station today."
Koenig scoffs at that.
"I informed him I wasn't in the polling area," Koenig said. "It is a separate area inside and I wouldn't be able to talk in there. But outside the area, if I am having a private conversation with another citizen, I'm allowed to do that." I dont know about florida but here in Washington state you cannot electioneer within 200 feet of a polling place.
Lucie Tondreau, a Haitian activist at the Lemon City Library, said she has been hassled even though she is just trying to help Haitian voters who had language difficulties.
"The Republican lawyers are accusing myself and many other people who are here to assist voters that we are telling people who to vote for," Tondreau said. Are you?
There are still rules for observers: they may not solicit voters inside the library; they may not interfere with the voting process; and they may not approach voters inside the voting room.
#1
Outside the Miami-Dade Government Center, Democratic demonstrators tried to shout-down Republican party officials and legislators who had called a news conference to make allegations of voter fraud and voter intimidation by supporters of Sen. John Kerry.
Would it have bothered the reporter to note that the attempt to "shout down" someone proves the allegation?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
10/29/2004 13:27 Comments ||
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But only Republicians can imtimidate voters. Just as only white people can be racist and only white males can be slaveowners and oppressors.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
10/29/2004 13:38 Comments ||
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Back to PC Re-education camp for you, RC!
Posted by: Dar ||
10/29/2004 14:16 Comments ||
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CF - actually I think the RCW says you can't electioneer within 300 feet of the entrance to a polling place. But, I guess I'm just splitting hairs.
But can a private conversation be considered electioneering? dunno. Guess that depends on if you're actually there to vote or not. Two voters having a private conversation sure is different than one voter being talked to by someone who is there for reasons (any reasons) other than to vote.
#7
Yes, I would say that a "private conversation" should be considered electioneering. Anything involving speech within the legal bounds involving advocacy constitutes electioneering, as far as I can tell. Weâve been told not even to have non-political speech with the judges of election within the precinct, on the grounds that itâs excessively chummy, and might give someone in line the impression of bias.
I don't think that you even need to be talking to someone - if some Democrat paid Benny Lunkin, our local paranoid schizophrenic, $50 to debate the voices in his head on the merits of John Kerry while within my poll precinct, I'd by damn call that "electioneering".
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
10/29/2004 15:35 Comments ||
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Mitch - last time I voted in person, been doing absentee for a long time, no political conversations were tolerated in line. I don't recall the distance in Texas - 90-100 ft sounds about right, but not sure. Anyway, I DO recall an Election Judge (tipped by a Poll Watcher - they have no actual authority) coming out to the line and warning a man to limit his remarks to topics other than the election. And that was a very mild election year - Carter vs Ford. It was all very civil and polite.
Today - with this election? Lol! Civility has already been gunned down. It was right behind truth in the firing line.
#9
300ft sounds about righ too. I remember in elementary school being told that we were not to take any 'vote yes! schools!' signs near the polling place.
This year perhaps we should arrive at the polling place armed to the teeth.
#11
spiffo - Even with a concealed carry permit, it's not allowed in Texas, bro. Guns mixed with elections are waay in the past, heh. Don't want to see you hustled off to jail before you vote, lol!
#12
I'm in Washington State and possess a CPL. There is no law here against lawful concealed carry in a polling place. RCW 9.41.300 outlines prohibited carry locations.
From WA State Constitution:
SECTION 24 RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS. The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men.
#13
WA - The Lefty Left Coast? Whoa, you DO need to be armed, lol! And I'm glad to see the law doesn't stifle your 2nd Amendment right. I guess there were a few elections in Texas that went "wrong" with armed voters, heh.
BTW, General Lucky is up your way - you guys should get acquainted.
#14
WA law is pretty specific about where you can't carry. Drinking establishments, primary or secondary schools, and federal and state law offices and government buildings are pretty much out. For some reason that seems to include municipal libraries as well. :)
Polling places are wide open--with a CCP.
.com's right. We need all the backup we can get over here on the Left coast.
#3
Are we sure that 60 Minutes isn't going to say that the reason for a lack of body armor was because Kerry was for the $87 billion before he was against it?
Posted by: Capt America ||
10/29/2004 14:22 Comments ||
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BFD! Nobody watches this show anymore, except Kerry's inner circle.
I can hardly wait for this election to be over. I sure hope it will be over before Christmas, but with 10,000 Kerry lawyers standing by, I really doubt it.
Posted by: Tom ||
10/29/2004 15:04 Comments ||
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The RNC should buy commercial time during 60 Minutes showing Kerry voting against funding body armor.
Posted by: ed ||
10/29/2004 15:06 Comments ||
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I don't think that I have ever witnessed dementia in an organization before. The Republicans should file complaints with the FEC and FCC demanding equal time.
Jeebus... I'll NEVER vote for another one of these sonsabitches again so long as I live-- and until last year, I'd been a Democrat for 31 years.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
10/29/2004 16:54 Comments ||
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#9 Oh no he didn't, .com. I can hardly wait for this election to be over. I sure hope it will be over before Christmas, but with 10,000 Kerry lawyers standing by, I really doubt it
Wow! 10,000 lawyers on a desolate city street on Christmas Eve....
Ima saw a young lawyer all wrapped in white linen....
LOL sorry, that's all I got, I'm just the idea man. I will leave the exercise for the students.
EFL. Hat tip: Cracker Barrell Philosopher
Billionaire investor, donor to radical causes and political activist George Soros, speaking at the last-hurrah event of his whirlwind anti-Bush tour, told a luncheon audience at the National Press Club: "Now that I am at the end of my tour, I am not reassured. ... The race is too close for comfort. I embarked on the tour because I was worried that the dramatic deterioration in Iraq did not produce the decisive lead for John Kerry I had confidently expected," Soros conceded. Which leads me to wonder if he had anything to do with funding or inciting that "dramatic deterioration" that he "confidently expected" to help Kerry? Sounds mighty fishy to me.
Asked what he will do if George W. Bush wins another term, Soros lamented: "I shall go into some kind of monastery. If we endorse him [Bush], my next question will be 'what's wrong with us?'" Umm, we've got common sense? More megalomania at its finest at the link.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/29/2004 9:48:10 AM ||
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In other words, "I spent $25 million for MoveOn.org, and this is what I got?"
Posted by: Mike ||
10/29/2004 10:05 Comments ||
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Hopefully he'll renounce his citizenship, buy himself a country to dominate, and get the F*&k out
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/29/2004 10:15 Comments ||
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Ah, poor baby. What a waste of $25 million. Think of all the guns you could buy!!
For that matter, let's swap our Hollywood morons and other idiotarian celebs and academics for another country's, or maybe the EU's, best and brightest scientists, technicians and entrepreneurs. One-for-one. Ten years minimum. No money involved, and no tears. EU citizenship for George and Alec and Gwynneth and Garrison K and Mikey Boy, and US citizenship for Europe's brainiacs and entrepreneurs. Deal?
#7
Let him move to Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea, or any of a dozen other countries whose economies he almost destroyed through currency speculation in the 90's.
#9
"...whatâs wrong with us?..."
By "us" he means Americans re-electing Bush, but intelligent introspection and reflection would be based on "...what's wrong with us Kerry supporters".
Posted by: Tom ||
10/29/2004 10:54 Comments ||
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Tshirt:
Someone Ran against Bush and All I Got Was This Lousy T-shirt
There is the Democratic motto in a nutshell: SELF-doubt, SELF-disdain, SELF-defeat, all in the service of whatever is not American. The slight pro-Bush upsurge in the polls gives me reason to be hopeful-there are still plenty of Americans out there who like themselves, who are proud of their beliefs and values.
#27
Soros' Swiss based commodity/currency/bond/stock trading firm in my opinion triggered the 'Asian Flu' through Soros' shorting South-East Asian currencies, which was his right, as any trader, but how many currency traders have the mega-funds to alter national and global economics? I stated to traders/brokers in the mid-1990's, 'Mr. Soros will take a massive lose on his risky Russian investments' , and he did. He got cocky & greedy! but what's a few billion here and there? :-) peanuts to Soros since he recovered those losses rather quickly.
I also recall back in the summer of Soros cornered a certain November Soybean contract by buying up the majority of existing contracts, that move paid big time as well as for others which followed his lead. In terms of trying to buy the American election, he will loss far more then his Russian flop!
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/29/2004 23:03 Comments ||
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A tiny bit of truth slipped out of John Kerry's mouth during a interview with Tom Brokow. Full interview at MSNBC:
Brokaw: Someone has analyzed the President's military aptitude tests and yours, and concluded that he has a higher IQ than you do.
Kerry: That's great. More power. I don't know how they've done it, because my record is not public. So I don't know where you're getting that from.
Gee, Senator, I thought you said you released all your records? That must have been before you didn't.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/29/2004 9:00:51 AM ||
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Again Kerry puts his foot in it. This guy wants to lead the nation. More evidence of his ego tripping prickhood. A smart man would have stifled his vanity and kept his mouth shut.
Brokaw: Let me ask you about social and domestic issues. Your colleague from Massachusetts, Senator Ted Kennedy, says that he's proud to be a liberal. Are you proud to be a liberal?
Kerry: That depends on what the issue is, Tom. I've always hated labels. And I don't abide by labels. You know, I'm an ex-prosecutor. I've sent people to jail for the rest of their life. I've busted up the number-two organized crime figures' organization in New England. What does that make me?
Apparently it makes him someone who knows that Ted Kennedy and many other liberals have a reputation for being soft on crime.
Posted by: Tom ||
10/29/2004 9:40 Comments ||
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Anybody fact-checking the "I've busted up the number-two organized crime figures' organization in New England." claim? MORE Skeery phantasy confabulation, perhaps?
Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling will throw his support to President Bush at two New Hampshire rallies today, unexpectedly stealing part of Sen. John F. Kerry's hometown base. In an unexpected slapdown to the Bay State senator, Schilling urged support for Bush during an interview yesterday on ABC's ``Good Morning America.'' ``Make sure you tell everybody to vote - and vote Bush - next week,'' Schilling said. Surprised host Charlie Gibson replied, ``Whoa, all right. Something else that divides the nation as well.''
Bush - who hadn't even stayed up to watch the whole game - quickly called Schilling to thank him for the plug, or as spokesman Scott McClellan put it, his ``kind words of support.'' The Bush campaign immediately touted Schilling's words, e-mailing the comment to reporters in an effort to take the spotlight away from Kerry even as he celebrated the Red Sox' World Series win. Schilling will introduce Bush at events today in Manchester and Portsmouth, N.H. His endorsement marks the second time Kerry has been dissed by a major sports hero from his back yard. New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady snubbed Kerry by opting out of a fund-raiser and showed up at Bush's State of the Union speech, making a brief statement backing the president.
The notoriously early-to-bed Bush watched some of Wednesday night's World Series Game 4 but then went to sleep. He didn't find out who won until yesterday morning. Schilling's endorsement of Bush came as Kerry tried to associate himself with the win. The Bay State senator put out a statement saying he'd ``been rooting for this day'' since he was a kid, and wore a somewhat ill-fitting Red Sox ballcap on stage yesterday. Bush aides could be heard mocking Kerry's headgear when they saw pictures of him wearing it on television.
UPDATE: Newly minted World Series hero Curt Schilling canceled a scheduled campaign appearance with President Bush on Friday, saying his doctors advised him not to travel because of his injured ankle. An e-mailer identifying himself as the Boston Red Sox pitcher posted a message on the bostondirtdogs.com Web site saying, "I am now not medically cleared to do anything until I see Doc on Sunday, so I cannot travel with President Bush."
Schilling, who has been known to contribute frequently to online fan forums, did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press on Friday. The pitcher endorsed Bush in an interview on ABC's Good Morning America Thursday, a day after the Red Sox won the franchise's first World Series championship in 86 years. In his e-mail, Schilling said he should have kept his opinion to himself. "While I am a Bush supporter, and I did vote for him with an absentee ballot, speaking as I did the other day was wrong. While I hope to see him re-elected, it's not my place, nor the time for me to offer up my political opinions unsolicited," he said.
This smells to high heaven. Either the e-mail is a fake, or somebody put a lot of pressure on Curt. He's known to be a very religious man and not afraid to express his opinion. Oh, and the New York Times Company owns a piece of the Red Sox.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/29/2004 8:57:24 AM ||
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Tens of thousands of poll monitors, challengers, lawyers and other activist observers are expected to clog voting precincts in battleground states Tuesday in what will probably be the most scrutinized U.S. election in at least 40 years. Few federal laws govern these largely self-appointed guardians of the voting process, many of whom are brazenly partisan and who range from civil rights activists to amateur videographers. Many are first-time volunteers, hastily trained by new advocacy coalitions. Others have had no training whatsoever.
Several election directors - including those in swing states - are still drafting ground rules on where monitors can stand, to whom they can talk and how they should report problems. Some guidelines have already been challenged in court. The confusing rules and lack of federal oversight alarms officials, especially given the intensity of this presidential contest. Particularly in jurisdictions where partisan politics and race have already cleaved deep social divisions, they fear a worst-case scenario where boorish or clueless observers spark a riot. "People who are doing this care about the election - they're passionate, and I'd hate to see passion rise to the level of confusion or confrontation," said DeForest Soaries Jr., chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, the newly created federal agency in charge of election reform. "They have to remember that one flare-up anywhere in the country could trigger an intense response in multiple places."
Swarms of watchers - as well as pollsters, journalists and political operatives - could overwhelm and discourage voters from casting the very ballots they're trying to protect. Some compare it to a jam-packed Wal-Mart parking lot dissuading would-be shoppers from even entering the store. "Poll monitoring is one of these institutions that's right at the tension point between security and access," said Alex Keyssar, professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. "There's nothing wrong with watchers making sure everything is on the up and up. On the other hand ... they could intimidate voters and slow down the lines. There's definitely potential for some chaos here."
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/29/2004 2:54:39 AM ||
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#1
I'll shove aside as many asshats as need shoving to get to the polls on Tuesday. Due to a cock up with my absentee ballot not arriving in time, I'm driving 735 miles back to Chicago (1164 clicks, for the metrically inclined) on Monday morning, just to vote.
#3
eLarson, I lived in Chicago for 6 years and can, with reasonable assurance, predict that you will have already voted for JFKerry six times before you reach the state line. Still, another vote for Bush would help. My Dad, after reading Unfit for Command is cutting short his visit to San Diego to fly back to Illinois to vote against "that scumbag Kerry". Sorry to see him go, but understand the sentiment.
President Bush called John Kerry "the wrong man for the wrong job at the wrong time" yesterday as he and GOP backers launched a blistering counteroffensive in the battle over missing explosives in Iraq. With the war continuing as the main flash point in the campaign's bitter final days, the Bush and Kerry teams traded ferocious charges over explosives that went missing from the Al-Qaqaa installation. Bush, at a campaign appearance in Michigan, charged Kerry has undertaken a "campaign of contradictions."
"The senator's willingness to trade principle for political convenience makes it clear John Kerry is the wrong man for the wrong job at the wrong time," Bush said in a play on one of Kerry's oft-used attack lines that the Iraq war was "the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time." Top Bush aides also struck back hard, saying the deadly material was likely removed by Saddam Hussein before U.S. troops ever got anywhere near Baghdad. Vice President Dick Cheney said Kerry is "just dead wrong" that U.S. troops failed to protect the gigantic arms depot. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani said, "The best possibility is that the explosives were gone before the troops got there; at least it's an equal possibility."
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Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/29/2004 2:50:43 AM ||
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#1
Bush's Coalition Provisional Authority banned "Baathism" as its first order of business. That caused the sacking of competent secular professionals who were only Baathists, for employment purposes. Once Bush suppressed Secularism, he created a power vacuum that the Islamofascists filled. Bush allowed al-Sadr's "Mahdi Army" to create an occupation-free-zone in North Baghdad. During the liberation, Bush troops were repeatedly caught on tape, standing by while arms were being looted by current terrorist elements. Among all the deserving attacks on Kerry at Rantburg, praise of Bush is non-existent. Its Texas Holdem; put your doubts on the table. Then fold.
#3
Ye gods! Lots of trolls on the third shift tonight.
Posted by: Mike ||
10/29/2004 6:09 Comments ||
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#4
The Ba'ath party was/is an indigenous secular fascist movement deliberately modelled by Saddam Hussein on his two heros: Hitler and Stalin. At the time that the movement was taking shape, the Middle East was the territory of the Colonial Powers, that is Great Britain and France. The U.S. was at that time in its between-the-wars isolationist phase.
As for the sacking of the Ba'athists post-invasion. Iraqi society needed to be de-Ba'athisized, just as post-invasion Germany needed to be de-Nazified, in order to begin to rebuild anew. As soon as the civilian authority of Bremer was put into place, they began to separate out and rehabilitate those who had joined the Party merely for career purposes, and allowed them to return to their jobs. As for the looting, that happens during all wars; the Coalition soldiars were in the middle of invading while the worst of the looting was going on, and had more important concerns than sitting around guarding things. The current terrorist elements being anyway comprised of Saddam's Republican Guards and his Fedayin on the one hand, and foreign jihadis looking for glory and virgins on the other.
Both of you, please better inform yourselves before coming here to prove yourselves fools.... or tools. Thank you.
#5
Idiot trolls aside, this is a real tempest in a teapot over what amounts to nothing more than a last-minute Russian cover-up and perhaps repo for non-payment.
Posted by: Tom ||
10/29/2004 8:03 Comments ||
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#6
Hey, if you trolls are voting based on ideas like the ones you posted here, you neeed to do some serious self-questioning about whether you have the mental capacity to be participating in this election.
Posted by: V is for Victory ||
10/29/2004 8:33 Comments ||
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#7
Dear 43366334 & Grumpy:
I know something that can help. It's a kind of medication called a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, and it could change your life. Ask your doctor if an SSRI is right for you.
Posted by: Mike ||
10/29/2004 8:40 Comments ||
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#8
Mike, I think what they really need is a nice cup of STFU.
#9
43366334: During the liberation, Bush troops were repeatedly caught on tape, standing by while arms were being looted by current terrorist elements.
Hey, f**khead, they are American troops, not Bush troops. In your world do the men and women of the military belong to the president instead of the nation? Do you think that the would become "Kerry troops" if the election goes badly? Not a chance in Hell.
#10
Bush is, of course responsible for everything in the world. He da man. That 7-11 robbery last week across town? Yep, Bush. The hang-nail that kept snagging on the sheet and waking you up - Bush, again. The fact that trolls have an IQ somewhere between their hat or shoe size, and the length of their tiny tiny weewee? You got it, Bush.
It must be awesome to be revered as God by the trolls of life. If they just weren't so incontinent.
#12
Jarhead, how about a STFU/SSRI "cocktail?" Shut the moonbat down and give them a sporting chance at a normal life, all in one dose.
Hell, there could be a market for this!
Posted by: Mike ||
10/29/2004 11:26 Comments ||
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#13
Mike, if only that we're possible, then they'd actually have an excuse for drooling. I believe the Almighty puts so many of these assholes on the planet at the same time in order to test the rest of us. We need to stay strong my brother.
#14
News conference at Noon EST, according to Fox. Seems as though the 3rdID carted this stuff away. We'll see - and who cares? Just BS political poop, anyway.
#15
Friggin' ridiculous CNN headline: "Photo, Video Add to Mystery of Missing Explosives" The only mystery is why these idiots are still referred to as journalists.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
10/29/2004 11:52 Comments ||
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#16
Mystery over: US Forces hauled away over 250 tons of the stuff. And the other 100+ was hauled away prior to the war.
#2
I'd add, as a footnote perhaps, he is the most successful political scam artist in US history. Nothing else explains why he's not recently released from Leavenworth after making gravel for 30+ years.
On the face of it, it seems ridiculous that George Bush should have any chance of re-election next week. He is the first president to oversee a net loss of jobs in the US economy since the Great Depression. He has led his country into the most controversial war since Vietnam. Yet he has an excellent chance of winning four more years. The polls are confused, signalling a close contest. At one extreme, Bush has a 7 percentage point lead, according to the Fox News poll; at the other John Kerry has a 3 percentage point advantage, according to the Associated Press-Ipsos survey.
How does one of Washington's leading professional political analysts interpret the data? "I have no idea who is going to win this election," Charlie Cook, publisher of The Cook Political Report, confessed forlornly to his clients this week. "I really don't." The betting shops are more emphatic. The punters on the Iowa Electronic Market, an accurate predictor of the outcome since its inception, covering the last four presidential elections, are pricing Bush as the favourite with odds of 60:40. What is Bush's secret? With such a poor record, how can he still be in the race, much less the favourite?
The first point to make is that while John Kerry has sought to fight much of the election campaign on the economy, it is not the dominant issue. There is something else preoccupying the American mind: "Nobody asked Abraham Lincoln what the unemployment rate was in 1864, as the Union forces marched to victory in the Civil War," quips Walter Russell Mead, one of America's foremost analysts of foreign policy. The dominant theme of this presidential election, the first since September 11, 2001, is national security. The No. 1 issue of importance to voters is the Iraq war, according to Gallup, and the No. 2 issue is the threat of terrorism. So the two top issues in the minds of the American voter are both national security matters, and here we begin to unravel the mystery of Bush's political resilience.
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Posted by: tipper ||
10/29/2004 1:27:10 AM ||
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#1
"Deterrence is the art of producing in the mind of the enemy the fear to attack."
-- Dr. Strangelove
#4
The interesting aspect of being a Jacksonian is that it is, simply, impossible to see conflict any other way. We no more understand the drivel of world hug / appeasers than we do Swahili.
We will fight fairly, always by the rules and, in spite of it and whilst our enemies abide by no rules whatsoever, we will nonetheless prevail and kill our enemies, their relatives, their friends, passing acquaintances -- the very essence of their incivility and obscene lives and wipe them out utterly. Oh, and their favorite dog or pony, too.
A melding of *Celtic and Berserker and Calvin and Hobbes. No the other Calvin & Hobbes. Don't be dense.
The following great philosophers, whom we understand with every fiber of our being, summed it up best, IMHO:
"Do, or do not. There is no try." -Yoda
"That's all I can stands and I can't stands no more." -Popeye
Harlod Lamb's book *GENGHIS KAHN: THE EMPEROR OF ALL MEN, pages 106-107:
One day in the pavilion at Karakorum he [*Genghis Kahn] asked an officer of the Mongol guard what, in all the world, could bring the greatest happiness.
"The open steppe, a clear day, and a swift horse under you," responded the officer after a little thought, "and a falcon on your wrist to start up hares."
"Nay," responded the Kahn, "to crush your enemies, to see them fall at your feet -- to take their horses and goods and hear the lamentation of their women. That is best."
Agreed. Let's get to it, then.
* Note that there are NO fucking J's in Genghis. Say the fucking G you ponce. But Celt is pronounced with a K. Sigh. Fucking English.
#5
When I think of jacksonian thought I can't help but look at Zell Miller as a modern day embodyment of such.
James Webb wrote some good books to, I highly recommend "Fields Of Fire."
.com> great post, nice summation w/the pronounciation of Celtic & Genghis. Kerry's little fuck up on that pronounciation is prolly why so many 'Nam Vets distinctly remember his deposition in front of the senate.
I believe the Khan quote was lifted by Schwarznegger for the first Conan movie IIRC. Conan's teacher, (actually an old mongol looking guy) said this to him.
I'm proud to say one side of my family still in south-eastern Ohio fits this white-trash patriotic scots-irish stereotype to a tee.
#6
.com, I agree Kerry's speech is affected, if not nearly so much as in 1971, but I must ask you, how do you pronounce giraffe?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/29/2004 8:42 Comments ||
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#7
Children of Scots-Irish descent were left out of all the Ellis Island retrospectives a few years ago because, as my wife so ably pointed out to me, the first time most of their ancestors saw Ellis Island was on troop ships going the other way.
#8
In most indo-european languages, before the vowels "e" and "i", the consonants "c" and "g" become soft: generation, gigantic, Cicero, ricin, etc.
Which is why, when the g preceding an "i" or "e" vowel is pronounced as a hard sound, the spelling rules dictate the addition of an h to the g in order to signify this unusual prononciation. So gen-ghis should be pronounced with a soft g as in generation and then a hard g as per the "gh" spelling.
#9
Gen·ghis Khan    P   Pronunciation Key  (jnggs kän, gng-) also Jen·ghis Khan or Jen·ghiz Khan (jngz kän, -gs, jng-), Originally Temujin. 1162?-1227. Mongol conqueror who united the Mongol tribes and forged an empire stretching from China to the Danube River and into Persia. In 1206 he took the name Genghis Khan (âsupreme conqueror.â)
Usually heard it pronounced with a "hard" g when I was growing up.
#11
Lol! What fun! So, um, lemme see if I have this right, heh:
The body of the post was okay, more or less, just my tiny, tiny, tiny, footnote rankled? Lol! You guys are real sports!
Jarhead - Thx, bro! Actually, I found the original story of that quote here - and was pleased as punch to know we didn't need to credit that asshat, Oliver Stone, lol!
Mrs D / lex / RWV - So, um, okay... I understand and accept (heh) your learned posts. Regards the "rules" of English, well, I'll just repeat the closing epithet: "Fucking English." As for Skeery, PONCE fits - regardless of how this little tea party goes, lol! He's a pretentious asshole - and ponce. I'll stick with the G sound because I'm not - and you guys can snicker and point fingers, K? Lol! Thanx for the feedback, it was fun and interesting!
#12
Hey Lex, good to go, Kerry pronounced it right and every one I know pronounces Genghis wrong - wasn't meant to be a line of attack, only that his pronounciation was distinct to most of us that have never heard that pronounciation. Either way screw kerry, he's still a girly-man (that's girly with a "hard g".)
#13
.com, no offense intended. Those of us who are Jacksonians by heredity and environment know what you meant and concur. I wouldn't walk across the street to spit on Kerry even if he were on fire. Subsequent posts were not intended in any way to denigrate either you or your post. Like I said, where I grew up only dilettantes, fops, and pseudo-intellectuals worried about pronunciation. What you said was more important than how you said it. Again, sorry. No offense intended.
#14
RWV - None taken - I was laughing throughout! I spoke truly - it was fun and interesting. Though it's obviously not apparent to others (sigh), I was an English major. In their defense, I'll leave the institution nameless, thus blameless, heh - I just don't use Preview to advantage! The "Fucking English" was heartfelt! And I'll still say GenGhis cuz, as you said, only the fops will care, lol!
#15
Pronounciation rules are all very well, but English is a language that thrives on exceptions, despite pedants like me. Foreign names are one of the many exceptions. Thus, "Celt" looks like it should be pronounced 'selt', but none the less is pronounced by the cogniscenti with a hard 'k', because that's how the various celtic types (Scotch, Irish, etc) pronounce it. On the other hand, if the cognis. wish to communicate effectively with basketball fans, they darn well better call 'em the Bosten 'Seltics', or they may get hit -- Celtics fans not being known for their patience with heresy. Likewise, to sound truly intellectual, one would give Mr. Khan's name the Mandarin Chinese pronounciation the spelling is attempting to indicate (which came up once in conversation with my Chinese teacher, but which I cannot remember, sorry) instead of the falsely pedantic "Jenghis", even if one is consistent and pronounces the KH with the proper German/Hebrew/Arabic unvoiced gutteral the spelling of the second name appears to indicate.
And .com? I would disagree that Kerry is a ponce. He is rather a thoroughgoing pseudo-intellectual, who clearly doesn't know nearly as much as he thinks he does. I suspect he is using the pronounciation he learned in that French boarding school of his because he doesn't know any better. Stupid, too, because to communicate effectively one needs to speak the language of those listening. Clearly, by using his special pronounciation, he is focussing the listener's attention on that one name, rather than on his message.
#16
tw - Lol! You're right, of course... for Skeery, the point is himself, not anything or anyone else.
When I found that the terrific looking Latin phrase, "Veni vidi vici." was pronounced "Weny, weedee, weechy." I was crushed. Just took all the air out of it, lol! My daughter had 7 years of Latin (she's a museum curator and occasional archeology authority) and we both scowled and howled at this travesty. So I just make shit up now, lol!
"Veni, vidi, priorificavi."
I came, I saw, I prioritized, lol!
#17
Why oh why are youse mugs fighting over pronunciation like a bunch of girly men, when you could be het up over the cartoon that accompanied the article?
#21
I'm proud to say one side of my family still in south-eastern Ohio fits this white-trash patriotic scots-irish stereotype to a tee.
Me, too, Jarhead. Marietta. Backbone and honor are at the top of the list of desired qualities for those parts, trailers or not, white trash or not.
BTW-Deciding how to pronounce soft vs hard g generally comes down to 1)etymology and 2)how widespread usage of a word is. Genghis has no Indo-European root, correct? If not, why apply indo-European rules?
#23
RWV, I lay claim to the title of dilettante. I don't dress well enough to be a fop, and categorically reject pseudo-intellectual. I will not be put in any category that contains Senator John Forbes Kerry, esquire.
Angie, I don't understand the cartoon. Is it supposed to make sense, or just somehow be crude and insulting? Besides, I am a girl -- so I get to fight over pronounciation ;-)
#27
tw -- Well, I'm guessing it's supposed to be crude and insulting toward Americans, and therefore funny to the SMH's audience.
If I weren't above such comments, I'd say it was a lot funnier if you note that the "Uncle Sam" on the leash resembles John Kerry. Fortunately I have too much class for that.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/29/2004 12:27 Comments ||
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#29
veni vidi viKi
'c' in Latin was pronounced 'k' -- it only became 's' or 'ch' in pig latin during the Middle Ages, as well as under German academic influence in the 19th century. Some parts of the Roman Empire did have aberrant pronunciations of 'c', which all educated Romans made fun of.
e.g. kikero was the greatest orator in history, and Julius Kaesar destroyed the Republic (hence Kaiser in German), not seezarh.
- It's great and normal to have variant pronunciations in various languages, i.e. seesserho and seezarh. My first name is mis-pronounced everywhere except for where I was born -- and I don't care. I know when people call me and that's all that matters.
#41
Tony (UK) - Lol! Hey, that's the only thing I got right - in that teensy-tiny footnote! And only Jarhead thought the main post was worthy of notice, lol! Maybe this is like whispering: if you want people to pay attention, whisper... Lol! I may never post full-size again!
The man whose presidential ambitions were destroyed when he plagiarised Neil Kinnock is set to become America's chief foreign policymaker if John Kerry is elected President next Tuesday. Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware has been asked by Mr Kerry to become Secretary of State in a Democratic administration, according to Kerry campaign aides. Mr Biden, the leading Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for the past four years, ran for President in 1988. His campaign ended abruptly when it was revealed that a key element of his stump speech had been lifted directly from Mr Kinnock's general election speeches in 1987.
The air did fizz out rather quickly, didn't it.
But Mr Biden has since emerged as a leading foreign policy figure in the Democratic party and is expected to take the job offered by Mr Kerry unless political factors intervene. Were the Democrats to retake control of the Senate, he might prefer to remain as a lawmaker, but those who know him think that unlikely. Mr Biden's possible elevation is one of the thousands of permutations circulating in Washington in the final days before the presidential election. If Mr Biden does go to the State Department it will be a disappointment for Richard Holbrooke, the UN Ambassador during the Clinton Administration and the architect of the Dayton peace accords that ended the Bosnian war in 1995. Mr Holbrooke has lobbied hard for the Secretary of State 's job. But in what will be seen as both an effort to conciliate the famously self-confident Mr Holbrooke, and as a signal change from Bush administration policy, Mr Kerry is likely to offer him the job of special Middle East peace co-ordinator, senior Democrats say.
Yasss, more roadkill.
Mr Kerry plans to announce both appointments soon after the election as a sign of the urgency he assigns to mending diplomatic fences. President Bush has declined to appoint a senior level emissary to the Middle East and the Kerry move would delight European leaders, including Tony Blair, who have been urging a renewed US engagement in the region and don't care whether the Paleos ever keep their word. Other senior foreign policy positions in a Kerry administration are likely to go to three former senior officials who have been advising the senator's campaign. Rand Beers, who resigned from the Bush Administration's National Security Council over the Iraq war, is likely to be National Security Adviser, although Wesley Clark, the former Nato commander, may also be considered.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/29/2004 1:10:14 AM ||
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Secretary of State Transplant
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/29/2004 1:24 Comments ||
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#2
Since Kerry is going to lose, the only speculation of interest is what happens in the new Republican cabinet, given that they will have a very comfortable Senate majority.
I see four major objectives in the coming two years: topple the tyrants in Iran and Syria, start to privatize social security, sharply reduce government spending, and last but not the least abandon the UN.
Buried in the bottom of this Washing Post story is this quote: "NBC Washington correspondent Tim Russert and Post reporter Glenn Kessler gave interviews to [Federal Prosecutor Patrick J.]Fitzgerald under similar circumstances earlier this summer, also with waivers from Libby. Both journalists said they did not have to identify confidential sources and they told Fitzgerald that Libby did not reveal Plame's name to them."
But then, why would the LLL let the facts get in the way of a meme?
#9
Biden is as transparent as his pate. His tour this week involved touring secondary cities in Iowa with four disgruntled vets from Iraq tour. This is no statesman, this is a blow hard insideous, self-aggrandizing moron.
Posted by: Capt America ||
10/29/2004 14:40 Comments ||
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#10
this is a blow hard insideous, self-aggrandizing moron.
Right, he's a senator.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/29/2004 14:45 Comments ||
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Bidens better than Kerry, but worse i think, on Iraq and the WOT, than Holbrooke.
Hagel should NOT get a security cabinet position. In EITHER admin.
I cant believe Clarke (Wes) is a serious candidate for NSA. Watch out John, that man cant be trusted. Any random Clinton foreign policy wonk would be a better choice.
McCain on the other hand would be a very good pick for Defense. In EITHER admin.
#14
Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware has been asked by Mr Kerry to become Secretary of State in a Democratic administration, according to Kerry campaign aides.
Vice President Dick Cheney will campaign in Hawaii on Sunday, making a rare stop on historically Democratic turf where the presidential race is unexpectedly close, a spokeswoman announced Thursday. ``We are competitive in the state; this is a very close race,'' Anne Womack said. Womack said President Bush's leadership ``has really resonated in a state that has a strong economy, with a tourism industry that is very strong and they recognize the danger of terrorism.'' Cheney will fly to Hawaii for a rally Sunday night. Hawaii, which has four electoral votes, backed Democrat Al Gore by nearly 20 percentage points in 2000 and only votes GOP in re-election landslides - for Ronald Reagan in 1984 and Richard Nixon in 1972. But polls show Bush within striking distance, which has forced the Democratic National Committee and Sen. John Kerry to spend money to advertise there. Kerry also was sending his daughter, Alexandra, to the island paradise for a get-out-the-vote rally on Saturday.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/29/2004 12:24:45 AM ||
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Kerry also was sending his daughter, Alexandra, to the island paradise for a get-out-the-vote rally on Saturday.
"Oh, make sure you wear that dress you had on at Cannes. I mean, it couldn't hurt..."
#5
FYI, the "lit a match and thier clothes burned" part of the story is crap. HMX is extremely stable in it stored, chrystalline form. Those reporters didnt know jack. So if their clothing burned (and BDUs are treated against that sort of thing) it wasnt HMX in there.
Secondly, thats merely anectdotal - no proof. The picutres show drums with labels that can be bough online. They are not indicative of the contents.
Third there is evidence that large convoys of trucks left that facility in the weeks leading up to the war.
Fourth, it appears the quantities in the article were wrong - that the amoung was no more than 100 tonnes, and possibly as little as 3 tons.
Fifth - if they have this stuff, then why has it NOT been used inthe last 18 months? ZERO of this type of explosive has been uedd i the car bombs and IED in Iraq.
Sorry to pimp slap you, but the only thing smoking here is you.
#8
Of course the Dems are on shaky ground. There are millions of educated, relatively affluent Dems who will vote for Bush. They are not reflected in the polls because they typically screen calls to their home, and their numbers will become apparent only after the election results are in because they are unwilling to let their liberal colleagues and neighbors and friends know their true preference. These types voted for Schwarzenegger in California, even though they won't admit it publicly, and many will vote for Bush on Tuesday.
Bush will win by at least 5% in the popular vote and take over 300 electoral votes. It won't be close.
#9
This is an âin your faceâ move for the Bushies. They are going on the offensive in a Democrat stronghold! I have to agree with Lex that this has the makings of a blowout.
#10
Election day story in Los Angeles Times, 2003: Governor's race a dead heat, LA Times poll shows.
Election results, 2003: Schwarzenegger wins by 17 points.
Folks, the polls are BS. They don't capture the voting preferences of millions of crucial swing voters who happen to be busy professionals and businesspeople who are reachable only through their cell phones. Many, perhaps most, of these voters are registered Democrats, but I guarantee you that many many more of these Dems will split their tickets this year than their Republican counterparts will. (This is esp true of the jewish liberals and lib-to-moderates who supported Lieberman). And these people turn out in much higher percentages than the population overeall. This is how Arnold received some 60% of the Dem vote in the most liberal state in the Union.
These Closet Bush supporters represent at least 20% of the jewish vote nationally (ie about 1% of the popular vote) and another 10-15% of the non-jewish registered Democratic vote (ie about 3% of the popular vote). That's a 4%+ popular vote shift to Bush from usually-reliable Dem votes.
There's an old saying: "watch the hands, not the mouth."
Where have Kerry and Edwards been campaigning? Spending their money? They just bailed on Colorado; a few weeks back, they bailed on Missouri and Arkansas. Over the next day or two, KE are campaigning in Wisconsin (blue state trending red), Michigan (ditto), NC (very red, but Edwards' home state and the site of a close senate race for his successor), Ohio (red, but considered a tossup) and Florida (the quintessential battleground).
BC are campaigning in New Hampshire (like Ohio, a "red tossup"), Ohio (which is as "like Ohio" as you can be), Michigan (blue trending red), Minnesota (ditto), Wisconsin (ditto), Pennsylvania (ditto), Iowa (ditto), Nevada (red).
Who looks to be playing offense? Defense?
Posted by: Mike ||
10/29/2004 11:39 Comments ||
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#12
I sure hope they know what they are doing. This reminds Me too much of the stupid trip to California in 2000 when Florida and the upper Midwest were tied. Part of Me wants to believe that they have the necessary states locked down and are sitting on 290+ EVs, but I keep on wanting to quote Hardy-har-har:
"Oh dear. Oh my. I just know something's going to go wrong."
#1
Damn, VDH is a dead-eye sniper when it comes to putting the right words on target. I wish Bush would use this guy as a speech writer. Prolly not PC enough.
This is not a war on terror, terrorism is a tactic, a strategy, it is the warship at sea, the port that harbors the ship is the problem. That's the center of gravity as well as the critical vulnerability for terrorism. It's name is Islamo-Fascism.
posting for Mikey S - EFL
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - UN Secretary General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) was embroiled in a new scandal after it emerged that he cleared a top official of sexual harassment despite an internal enquiry which backed the victim's claims.
Annan cleared Ruud Lubbers remember this asshat? in July after a woman on his staff claimed she had been groped by the ageing former Dutch prime minister, who has been the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva since 2001. true to form...females are for UN needs
However, red-faced UN officials admitted on Thursday that an investigation by the watchdog Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) had backed the unnamed woman's allegations in a report to Annan. I'm shocked! shocked!
The UN chief, rocked this year by other scandals involving allegations of fraud in Iraqi oil sales and the bizarre discovery of a missing airplane black box locked in a file cabinet, then decided to pardon Lubbers.
"The secretary general has the right to accept or reject such recommendations," spokesman Fred Eckhard said at a testy press conference at UN headquarters in New York. "The secretary general reviewed the staff involved evidence and he made his decision," Eckhard said.
He said Annan had consulted lawyers and concluded that the case against the 65-year-old Lubbers outlined in the OIOS enquiry report, which was never released to the public, was "unsustainable." Pressed to explain what that meant, a visibly irritated Eckhard replied: "Legal basis, legal basis, legal basis." Shades of AlGore's "No Controlling Authority"
Eckhard said that a "technical error" had accounted for the release of an early draft of a separate, wide-ranging OIOS report into UN wrongdoing that made no mention of the findings of the Lubbers enquiry.
However, the United Nations released a correction that made clear that the oversight office had backed up the woman's claims.
The damning paragraph said the female staffer had complained of having been sexually harassed by Lubbers and later, in "related" incidents, had been harassed by a senior manager of his staff.
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/29/2004 4:56:14 PM ||
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EFL: Pyramids, obelisks and a lonely sphinx stand deserted on the Egyptian-themed compound where as many as 500 members of a quasi-religious sect lived only five years ago.The United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors has gone quiet since its leader, Malachi York, was sentenced to 135 years in federal prison in April for molesting 14 boys and girls whose parents were members of his group.
That seems to be a recurrent theme among cult leaders.
The federal government has seized the Nuwaubians' 476-acre farm in this middle Georgia town and the group's members have dispersed. At their height, the Nuwaubians brought 5,000 people to Eatonton for Savior's Day to celebrate York's birthday. In 1999, as many as 500 people lived on the compound, practicing York's malleable religion that shifted from Islamic roots to Judaism, Christianity and Egyptian mysticism, with members at times dressing as cowboys and American Indians. At one time, York even incorporated space aliens into his teachings, claiming that he was an extraterrestrial from the planet "Rizq."
That should have been the tipoff right there, everyone knows Rizqien's are atheist's.
Some Nuwaubians carry on. Their flashy Web site is still active, and they still operate a small bookstore in Atlanta that sells various literature, including York's writings.' "Everybody is still working together and moving forward," said Adrian Patrick, York's attorney. "People are trying to fit the organization into this traditional hierarchy, but that's simply not the case. You can't destroy the organization by having the head incarcerated." A neighbor who lives near the compound said he thinks York was targeted by white authorities with an agenda against the mostly black Nuwaubians, who now call themselves The Yamassee Native Americans of the Creek Nation.
Looking to open a casino, are they?
"In the old days, they would have hanged him," neighbor Bobby Walker said. "But today, they hung a charge on him he couldn't fight. ... This man bucked the power structure of Putnam County, and he should've known better."
"He fought the law and the law won"
York, 58, was convicted by a jury in January of 10 counts of child molestation and racketeering. Prosecutors said he used the cult for his sexual pleasure and financial gain, including recruiting members to groom children for sex with him. The woman who authorities say was York's "main wife," 35-year-old Kathy Johnson, pleaded guilty to seven counts of child molestation and was sentenced to two years in prison. She allegedly videotaped York engaging in sexual activity with the minors.York, who is serving his sentence in the federal prison in Leavenworth, Kan., plans to appeal his conviction to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, his attorney said. York has argued that he is of American Indian heritage and should not be judged by the U.S. court system.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/29/2004 1:08:34 PM ||
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You're on a picture roll to day, Fred! :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/29/2004 15:10 Comments ||
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I'm from GA and believe me these where some real idiots. Th ey should have hung him for the child molestation as they should do with all child molesters.
Mobs brandishing machetes, sticks and Kalashnikov rifles rampaged through Liberia's war-shattered capital Friday, prompting the country's leader to order an immediate daylight curfew to stem the rare Muslim-Christian violence.
Oh swell, just what we need, another Muslim-Christian war.
At least three churches and two mosques in the eastern suburb of Paynesville were set ablaze after midnight, and several wounded lay in the streets, an Associated Press photographer on the scene said. One man, stabbed in the head with a knife, could be seen on a main road in a pool of blood, apparently unconscious. Plumes of black smoke rose from Paynesville, where U.N. peacekeepers in armored personal carriers fired in the air to try to maintain order. U.N. choppers rumbled overhead.
Another fine example of your UN at work.
It was not clear what sparked the violence.
Hummm, let me think...
"The curfew starts now," interim head of state Gyude Bryant said in a statement broadcast over the private radio station DC101 FM. "The United Nations mission has been instructed to use every force to put the situation under control."
They're doomed!
Residents said troubles began early Thursday in Paynesville and spread west to an Atlantic Ocean port. Sporadic gunshots echoed through Paynesville, where several homes were also burned. Some residents said five people had been killed in the violence. The claims could not be independently verified, however, and government officials could not be reached for comment. Violence had also reportedly spread to Kakata, 35 miles north of the capital, where two mosques were destroyed, a local journalist who visited the site said on condition of anonymity. He said mobs attempted to destroy a third mosque but were stopped by peacekeeping troops deployed in the town. The U.N. police commander in Liberia, Mark Kroeker, said several houses had been destroyed in the violence and "numerous" people were injured. Many people had to be rescued from mobs during the night, he said on a U.N. radio station. He did not mention the burning of any churches or mosques. Religious leaders took to the airwaves to appeal for calm. About 40 percent of Liberia's 3.3 million people are Christians. About 20 percent are Muslim, and the rest follow indigenous beliefs.
I'll wager the Muslims are feeling oppressed, that usually happens when they are outnumbered.
Liberia is struggling to recover from an era of fighting that began in 1989 and claimed at least 150,000 lives. A three-year rebel war ended last year. With insurgents shelling the capital, President Charles Taylor agreed to go into exile in Nigeria, clearing the way for a transitional government that gave top rebel officials ministerial posts.
And Chucky has been making trouble from Nigeria ever since. Wonder if he's converted to Islam?
A 15,000-strong U.N. peace force is now stationed in the West African nation to provide security. The new government is to hold elections in October 2005.
I won't hold my breath.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/29/2004 10:33:59 AM ||
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Reuters quotes the Information Minister Allen as blaming the violence on Taylor's party trying to disrupt the disarmament program. I'm not sure I believe that: I'd think Taylor's connections with the Wahabbi/AlQ sorts were strictly financial--he's that sort of man. And I thought AlQ was trying to keep a low profile for the diamond deals.
I think this is a different group making mischief; maybe Vai or Mandingo--maybe some of Kromah's old group. This hasn't been on my radar screen, but that's not surprising, given the sampling bias in reporting.
Posted by: James ||
10/29/2004 15:02 Comments ||
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Even as big airlines are beginning to successfully rein in labor costs - $1 billion in annual concessions from Delta's pilots being the latest example - soaring fuel expenses are essentially negating their effects, leaving many of the carriers in perilous financial shape. "It's like they're all treading water, but they've got 100 pound weights around their necks," said airline consultant Robert W. Mann of Port Washington, N.Y. "You can only do it for so long."
As a result of cutbacks in recent years, labor expenses for the airline industry as a whole are about the same today as they were a decade ago at about 34 percent of total costs, according to the Air Transport Association. But that masks the differences between high-cost carriers such as Delta Air Lines Inc. and UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and competitors such as Southwest Airlines Co. and JetBlue Airways Corp. that pay workers lower wages. And while all carriers have been hit by higher fuel costs that Mann says will account for about 17 percent of industrywide operating costs in 2004 - up from 12 percent in 2002 - executives of high-cost airlines face the most pressure to find other ways to cut costs.
On Thursday, US Airways and UAL reported third quarter losses of $232 million and $274 million, respectively. The seven largest U.S. carriers reported more than $1.3 billion in combined net losses for the third quarter and lost $5.1 billion for the first nine months of 2004. And with oil prices trading above $50 a barrel, even the plucky budget carriers are beginning to show signs of strain.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/29/2004 2:56:23 AM ||
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Twice I worked for companies that ask me to take cut in pay for the good of the co.First thing I ask was"How much of a cut in pay are you going to take?"
Both times supervisors/owners said"None".I said nor will I!The 2nd time I was laid-off,....for 2 whole days.
#2
Unless they changed the regulations, airlines can tack on additional fuel charges to tickets, which they have a habit of continuing long after the price spike has passed. Now if they are whining about issuing tickets before they had an opportunity to tack on the increase, they need to be reminded about the lateness with which they pull the last surcharge, if they pulled at all from the last go around. And, again, do you see Southwest listed in the crying crowd?
Posted by: Don ||
10/29/2004 9:47 Comments ||
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Raptor. Good for you! Was the man at the top asked to take the same paycuts? We already know the answer.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/29/2004 17:41 Comments ||
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..executives of high-cost airlines face the most pressure to find other ways to cut costs.
They'd get a bit more respect if their own salaries were included in the cost-cutting program.
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.
