A Kuwaiti cartoonist has won a prestigious award for his creation of the world's first superhero team based exclusively on Islamic culture.
At the Cartoons and Comics Festival in Recife last week, Brazil, Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa was presented with an award in recognition of his creation of the comic book: The 99.
The concept is based on the 99 attributes of God in Islam, and the Middle East is represented by Noora the Light, from the UAE, and Jabbar the Powerful, from Saudi Arabia.
Al-Mutawa said This is a concept whose time has come and one that will forever change the way our children view such things as multiculturalism, cooperation and our own cultural heritage."
The FIHQ award has an illustrious list of past recipients, including the late American comic writer, artist and entrepreneur, Will Eisner, and Peter Kuper, whose comic illustrations appear regularly in Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, and MAD.
Um...words fail me.
MULTAN, Pakistan (Reuters) - Fateh Mohammad, a prison inmate in Pakistan, says he woke up last weekend with a glass light bulb in his anus. On Wednesday night, doctors brought Mohammad's misery to an end after a one-and-a-half hour operation to remove the object.
"Thanks Allah, now I feel comfort. Today, I had my breakfast. I was just drinking water, nothing else," Mohammad, a grey-beared man in his mid-40s, told Reuters from a hospital bed in the southern central city of Multan. "We had to take it out intact," said Dr. Farrukh Aftab at Nishtar Hospital. "Had it been broken inside, it would be a very very complicated situation."
Mohammad, who is serving a four-year sentence for making liquor, prohibited for Muslims, said he was shocked when he was first told the cause of his discomfort. He swears he didn't know the bulb was there. "When I woke up I felt a pain in my lower abdomen, but later in hospital, they told me this," Mohammad said. "I don't know who did this to me. Police or other prisoners."
The doctor treating Mohammad said he'd never encountered anything like it before, and doubted the felon's story that someone had drugged him and inserted the bulb while he was comatose.
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/29/2006 11:29 Comments ||
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#8
Let's start a bet for the best punchline to this following joke:
How many muzzie inmates does it take to screw a light bulb into another muzzie inmates arse?
I'll let you all take it from here.
Posted by: BA ||
06/29/2006 11:35 Comments ||
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#9
"I have no idea on how it got there. No, really, no idea at all. Total mystery. Theses things just happen, I guess. Jinns, most probably... yes, jinns, that's the ticket."
Btw, 90 minutes operation to get it out? Harder than brain surgery. Boy, are thoses pakistani inmates tight.
#1
The authors need to go to www.asstr.org to look at reams of material to improve their scene writing or look at genre experts like Nick Scipio or SpacerX.
Or they could just get a life and write from experience.
So there!
American football, basketball and baseball have millions of followers, but they can't match soccer for sheer excitement, says a team of scientists. The reason is its element of surprise, claim researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, US.
Football is more likely to produce an unexpected result, such as a "giant killer" win in the FA Cup. Scientists analysed results from more than 300,000 games played over the past century. They reviewed five sports: ice hockey, football, baseball and basketball in the US, and English football.
The team decided to make unpredictability - how often a leading team is overcome by an opponent with a worse record - the best measure of how exciting a league is. "If there are no upsets, then every game is predictable and hence boring," co-author Eli Ben-Naim told New Scientist magazine.
The results of the analysis showed that the "upset frequency" was highest for soccer, followed by baseball, hockey, and basketball. American football came last on the list, and so was labelled the least exciting sport.
But there was a twist in the tail. When the scientists looked only at data from the past 10 years, English Premiership football and baseball swapped places. One interpretation of the finding might be that soccer has become more predictable in recent years.
#3
If they wanted to make soccer more exciting they'd get rid of the offside rule. Gary Larsen could have done a terrific Hell cartoon along the lines of "OK, folks. Your TV choice today is soccer or Barney."
#4
Soccer is an 2nd tier sport, in terms of action, grace, organization, etc.. I'd rate it somewhere between ice hockey and swimming. Still, the World Cup is a pretty cool spectacle. I watch it every 4 years the same way I watch some track & field every 4 years at the Olympics. Only the World Cup, to me, is bigger and better than the Olympics. As with the Olympics, the nationalism adds another interesting dimension. The very aspects that make soccer boring (the degree of difficulty of mounting any kind of offense, the ambiguous rules on fouling and the player's sneaky attempts to exploit them) add to the pressure and the drama and the fact that billions are watching what is a once and a lifetime event for all except a few lucky bastards.
But I can't be bothered paying much attention to the stuff that happens in the intervening 3 years.
#8
I think I'd go with Barney. I'm a big NFL fan, but I wish my DirecTV carried more rugby matches. Started watching them on Star Sports while stationed in Japan and loved them. Plenty of action, lots of scoring and heavy hitting.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/29/2006 7:35 Comments ||
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#9
Cricket is the world's most exciting sport. 1.5 billion South Asians can't be wrong.
Seriously, I won't get satellite TV (there's no cable here) because I would spent too much time watching cricket which I love.
#14
Damn djohn, you're right, I totally forgot about NASCAR. For me that would be #2, just slightly ahead of hockey. The PGA would normally be last except for the big-4 tourneys.
#16
#1 So these "researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory" have nothing better to do ? Time to audit their grants, I say.
Given that LANL has leaked more info than the VA or more than the NYT could publish [if they could understand it], be happy they're wasting their time in front of the tele. LANL is welfare for the academically gifted, who like the management of the NYT believes that they're above the restraints of normal human beings.
#20
the only reason to recommend soccer is the scale of their riots. You rarely see tennis or golf fans attack each other, and while most NASCAR fans pack heat, they remain under control :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/29/2006 10:26 Comments ||
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#21
I remember when Cleveland Browns fans lost control when the referees forgot to read their own rulebook.The funniest stuff ever.
#23
An American asks the world two questions:
(1) Do you remember the soccer war fought between El Salvador and Honduras.
(2) Do you really want the worlds dominant military power to become obsessed with soccer.
#26
My only issue w/soccer as I watched it during the Cup was all the dives these guys take and the cheap calls they get. Worse than basketball some times. Maybe it's a function of the rules that I don't like. Seeing these guys fall down after incidental contact and constantly looking or trying to draw a foul is very lame to me. I remember playing soccer as kid and our refs wouldn't call half the crap they called during the cup. More pussification of an otherwise fine sport I guess.
#27
My only issue w/soccer as I watched it during the Cup was all the dives these guys take and the cheap calls they get.
That's true. I foresee that FIFA will soon have to change the rules to clamp down on this sort of crap, otherwise it will get progressively worse. If you get fouled and are hurt or pretend to be hurt, you should exit the field for 10 minutes to fully recover (and the offender gets a yellow card). That would cut down the pretending.
That and the match fixing...see Italian soccer, among others.
#28
T-1 is a sport? I thought it had something to do with computer access.
Speaking as someone who pretty much ignores all professional sports as much as possible (heretic!!! boo!! HISS!!!!!), it's clear that all sports are equally exciting to afficianados, and for the rest of us the interest scale slides depending on how much of the time visible things are happening (no, the pitcher shaking off the catcher's signs doesn't count), and how necessary it is to know what's going on for lunchtable small talk. All else is just posturing... and y'all are truly cute as you do so. Carry on! ;-)
#29
As "exciting" as imaging Mad Halfbright leg press 400 lbs.
Posted by: Captain America ||
06/29/2006 14:59 Comments ||
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#30
TW, T-1 = tied for first.
My Step-Dad is really the only guy I've ever met who could care less about all sports minus watching boxing. He says why should anyone care/root for any team of millionaire crybaby's -it's not like you're on the team. When a team wins what do the fans really get out of it but false euphoria. Or, in the great words of Sonny from a Bronx Tale "if yer dad loses his job is Mickey Mantle going to help yer dad out? No, Mickey Mantle doesn't care about you so why should you care about Mickey Mantle. F*ck Mickey Mantle." I don't care about most sports players either but I like watching the sport itself.
#37
Actually, stage dives can result in a Yellow Card. In this weeks Ghana vs. Brazil match, one of the Ghanaians what sent off the field after getting a 2nd yellow for a staged dive. The Korean Team is also good at acting as they had a couple of obvious (but not carded) falls when they played the frogs.
Kuwaitis voted for a new parliament on Thursday with women running and casting ballots for the first time in a national poll in the Gulf Arab state.
"I don't know how to describe my feelings, I am so happy, it's a beautiful day as women practice their right," female candidate Hind al-Shaikh said. "I hope a woman makes it."
Parliament passed a law in May 2005 giving women the right to vote and stand as candidates in elections for the 50-seat National Assembly of the oil-producing country.
More than 250 candidates are standing, including 28 women determined to make headway despite daunting odds of beating seasoned male opponents, many of them former parliamentarians seeking re-election.
"I hope all Kuwait women go out and vote and each woman has to give her vote to another woman," candidate Nabila al-Anjari, 50, told Reuters at a polling station in Jabriya constituency.
The poll was called after Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah dissolved parliament last month following a standoff between the government and opposition over electoral reforms.
The opposition accuses some members of government of trying to turn parliament into a rubber-stamp assembly through vote-buying. But the government has dismissed the charges, saying it is committed to reform in U.S. ally Kuwait.
The opposition is a loose alliance of pro-reform ex-MPs, Islamists and liberals, tolerated in Kuwait which bans parties.
Many experts say voting by Islamists and powerful, conservative tribes will hurt the chances of women candidates. But female candidates themselves say at least one of them may win as women are 57 percent of the 340,000 eligible voters.
"I feel I am going to cry of happiness because it's a historic moment for Kuwait ... I hope a woman can make it," said Diaa al-Saad, 55, one of the first women to vote in Jabriya.
Men and women braved the summer heat in the desert state to vote in separate polling stations across the conservative state as Islamists, who reject female suffrage, had demanded.
"Practice your right, let your voice be heard... take part in the election," said billboards sponsored by a women's group.
Campaigners handed out to voters roses or water bottles with candidates' photos. Some wore scarves with candidates' pictures.
"This is a day of big joy for Kuwaiti women, that's why we are here early," said Thuraya al-Qallaf after voting in Da'iya.
Most experts see only a small chance of success for female candidates given their political inexperience, tough competition from male candidates with established voter bases and the limited time they had to prepare campaigns.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez challenged the United States on Thursday to try to block his attempt to secure a U.N. Security Council seat as he seeks to curb Washington's "imperialist" influence.
A U.N. General Assembly vote set for October to award two-year Security Council seats to five nations is the latest arena for sparring between Caracas and Washington, which views Chavez as a strongman using Venezuela's oil wealth to promote an anti-democratic agenda throughout Latin America.
"We accept this challenge against the empire," Chavez told military officers at a promotion ceremony in Caracas. "The United States says Venezuela will not go to the Security Council and we say Venezuela will."
The world's fifth-largest oil exporter and an OPEC member, Venezuela is already vocally opposing Washington's attempts to press for U.N. action against Iran over its nuclear program.
Posted by: Captain America ||
06/29/2006 19:24 ||
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Mexico has given expatriates the royal treatment as it launches the country's first foreign ballot, sending out DVDs, CDs and even souvenir bracelets to voters for Sunday's presidential election.
Every one of the 40,876 Mexicans living abroad who requested ballots has been sent a virtual goody bag full of democracy in the mail. There's a DVD featuring speeches by all five presidential candidates. For people who don't have DVD players, there's an audio compact disc, too. There's also a full-color booklet with messages from the candidates, a comic book showing how to vote and a woven bracelet that says, "With my vote, Mexico is complete." I'm sure the flip side of the bracelet says, "Mama wants you to send money!"
Oh, yeah, and there's a ballot, too, along with a prepaid envelope for sending it back to Mexico.
It's all part of Mexico's historic and expensive effort to extend voting rights to Mexicans living outside the country. Elections officials have spent $24 million setting up the mail-in system, or nearly $600 per vote requested. A relative bargain, considering their expats are the second-largest source of foreign revenues....
In the process, they are collecting a wealth of information about Mexican citizens abroad, mapping them right down to the U.S. ZIP codes they live in.
"I'm astonished at how far they've gone and how far beyond the United States they've gone," said Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat, director of the Overseas Vote Foundation, which helps U.S. expatriates vote.
In Mexico, the Federal Elections Institute has been criticized for getting so few of the estimated 4.2 million eligible Mexican voters in the United States to request ballots for the vote on Sunday. Many Mexicans were discouraged by the mail-in process and a ban on campaigning abroad, which stifled interest in the vote.
But those voters who did request ballots are being lavished with attention. For votes to count in the election, election officials in Mexico City must receive mail-in ballots by Saturday. Many absentee voters have already completed their ballots and put them in the mail. By Tuesday, about 29,000 ballots had been received.
Each voter got a custom-printed ballot and a matching envelope, each coded with ultraviolet ink and featuring the voter's registration number stamped in high-tech microprinting to thwart counterfeiters. Each ballot sent to the United States included postage for $8.53 so voters could send their vote to Mexico City by international registered mail. Yet, when we want their help with tracking a criminal, there are no computers available, and they tell us how technologically backwards they are....interesting.
Each packet cost the government about $20, including round-trip postage, said Patricio Ballados, overseas vote coordinator for the Elections Institute.
It's a far cry from U.S. absentee ballots, which often come with no candidate information, said Will Tucker, national coordinator for the Overseas Americans Voting Rights Project. "So this celebration of voting and what the franchise means to people, even giving out commemorative bracelets, is very commendable," he said.
Mexican expatriates can vote only for president, not for legislative or local officials. That has allowed Mexico to make sure they vote for the "correct" candidate centralize the voting, unlike the United States, where each county sends out absentee ballots. That centralization has allowed elections officials to assemble a wealth of information about Mexican voters abroad.
The institute has even created a computerized atlas showing, for example, that there are 61 registered voters in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, and six in Walla Walla County, Wash. Oh yeah, there's six times the Mexicans in Germany as there are in Washington. Riiiiight. The atlas is online at www. ife.org.mx.
Arizona ranks fourth among U.S. states in terms of Mexican voters registered, with 1,476. Phoenix accounts for 736 of those voters, making it the fourth-ranked city behind Chicago, Los Angeles and Houston.
Elections experts have also learned some interesting facts about Mexican voters' origins.
For example, Mexico City and neighboring Mexico state account for more than a quarter of all overseas voters, even though they have fewer citizens in the United States than more rural states like Jalisco, Michoacan and Zacatecas. That could be because Mexico City residents tend to be more likely to be legal in the first place educated.
Mexicans in Europe are also more likely to vote than Mexicans in the United States, the numbers indicate. "The migration (to Europe) is normally a little different. It's more professionals, people who are a little more politically active," Ballados said.
The ballots are being collected at a warehouse at the Mexico City airport and will be opened at 6 p.m. Sunday. Voters' addresses will remain secret. That's where the bracelets come in, Ballados said.
"There were fears that we were going to give the information to (U.S.) Homeland Security," he said. They never cooperated with our government before, why would they have done it this time?? "So people will realize that nothing happened to those people who voted . . . and that they're even walking around the streets with bracelets saying, 'I voted.' "
"In this way, we're planning for the future, so that next time we have an overseas vote, those people who had doubts will register."
#1
Every one of the 40,876 Mexicans living abroad..
Considering the millions and millions just in the US alone, that's a pretty poor return on effort. Think that maybe they don't buy the fake process to keep the 40 family clans owning 60 percent of the country in power?
MOSCOW - Russia will merge its civilian nuclear companies into one state company -- along the lines of gas giant Gazprom -- to help it compete on the world nuclear market, the countrys nuclear chief said on Wednesday.
President Vladimir Putin this month approved a revamp of the nuclear industry which nuclear officials say is aimed at boosting nuclear energy production and increasing the global clout of Russias major nuclear companies. Under the plan, a single state company called Atomprom will be created on the base of the many smaller, sometimes overlapping, state-controlled companies in the sector.
Because we all know how efficient giant, state-controlled Russian enterprises are.
It is not by chance that the preliminary name of this single Russian company evokes the name Gazprom, Sergei Kiriyenko, head of Russias atomic energy agency Rosatom, said in a speech according to a Rosatom statement.
State-controlled gas giant Gazprom GAZP.MM, the worlds biggest natural gas company by reserves, has made major acquisitions inside Russia, helping Putin the Kremlin boost control over the energy sector. Gazprom also plans further expansion abroad, aiming to boost its share of the European market, for example, to about 30 percent from about 25 percent by buying into gas storage projects, gas marketing and power firms.
Russias Atomprom would compete on the world market not with national, but with transnational companies such as Germanys Siemens SIEGn.DE and Japans Toshiba Corp. 6501.T, RIA quoted Kiriyenko as saying. We need to create a single structure, which would be comparable with them and which could surpass them, he said.
The Russian collosus is unmatched in so many ways on world markets as we all know ...
A source in the nuclear industry with knowledge of the plan told Reuters on Tuesday Atomprom would unite all nuclear power generation, uranium production and enrichment as well as the building and export of nuclear products. If the plan is implemented, Atomprom would include nuclear power company Rosenergoatom -- which controls Russias nuclear power stations -- and the civilian units of Rosatom: Tekhsnabexport (Tenex), the state owned uranium trader, TVEL, the state owned-nuclear fuel producer and trader, and Atomstroiexport, the state controlled builder of nuclear reactors abroad.
And one ring to rule them all ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/29/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
And the model you get will be even safer than the one used at Chernobyl.
Posted by: grb ||
06/29/2006 1:08 Comments ||
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#2
Wanna buy a slightly used Ukrainian reactor?...
#3
Merging companies into one state "company" for the sake of "efficiency". What a great idea - after all, didn't the Soviets have great success with this model?
#5
If you're thinking this is a throwback to the ol' communist days, you're wrong. One of the reasons that communism collapsed in Russia is that some people realized that more money could be made without the ideological handcuffs. Moscow now enjoys the world's biggest collection of billionaires and multi-millionaires. Coincidence? Don't think so.
#7
Didn't mean to say it was a paradise for all, just paradise for a few. Now that they had a taste, you think they're all gonna give it up for the sake of communism? The people at the bottom of the pyramid might long for it, but these guys? not likely.
#8
You're right - and the "consolidation" of wealth and "government" continues apace, too.
I had very high hopes for Russia once, incredible potential in an educated workforce, fantastic resources, etc, etc, but that faded very quickly.
I understand from some comments I've read that there used to be quite a cheering section here, sharing my high hopes I guess. But I haven't seen many optimistic comments since I arrived - seems we're all appropriately subdued, now. Watching Pooty consolidate power via his pet Duma and simply jailing or disappearing those who have what he wants or get in his way, such as the Yukos guy, has that effect.
The poeple at the bottom are drinking / drugging themselves to death, it seems. I don't think Russia can sustain the current trends and survive. Sad, very sad.
Sorry for the harsh-sounding response - I didn't really mean for it to be directed toward you, honest. I guess you can tell how pissed off disappointed I am. :}
#9
Say what you will about Russia, this move is still a shrewd one. The world economy is going nuclear and Russia stands to profit big time.
We, on the other hand, have leftocrats to deal with, and all they want is to camp in the woods and chew tree bark, free from the evils of cars, air conditioning, flushing toilets and modern medicine.
#10
That'll work about as well as, oh, say Atomash!
Soviets engineers built a factory, Atommash, at Volgodonsk, to build pressure vessels and associated equipment for these reactors in a series, 8 per year. Atommash never produced as intended. Like the USSR, it literally collapsed into the muck -- in this case of the Tsimlianskoe Reservoir, and has been mothballed. The VVER reactors still operating in East Central Europe have been upgraded and modernized, in part to meet the requirements of joining the European Union, although many people worry about their safety compared to non-Soviet reactors owing to their original construction, their age, and the difficulty in maintaining them. Engineers at Paks in Hungary dreamed of another 8 to 10 reactors in this 1,000 MW model.
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin who is a man said yesterday he has no plans to stand in next year's presidential election, preferring instead to concentrate on running the government.
No butterfly signatures for you on important documents!
Mr. Villepin was seen as a potential presidential front-runner when he was nominated prime minister in 2005, but his government has stumbled from one crisis to another in recent months and his popularity rating has slumped to near record lows.
Perhaps because you're incompetent? Perhaps because France is a slumping enterprise? Perhaps both?
The Prime Minister hinted he might be ready to support an election bid by his arch-rival within the conservative camp, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy.
#1
According to CNBC this morning, France showed a 0.5% growth in GDP for first quarter 2006. Actual growth! Not that Monsieur deVillepin deserves credit for it.
#2
IIUC from what the liberals (eurosenses, free-market & libertarians) say here, a large part of french GNP growth is actually artificial, IE it is the growth of the expenses of the public sector. So, in the last few years, instead of having a 1,5% or so growth IIRC, France was actually in recession if you take only the private/merchant sector into account. Just sayin'.
in time, perhaps, for Iran's "symposium" on the topic
Germany's Cabinet agreed Wednesday to open to researchers an archive of millions of Nazi files that describe the mechanics of the Holocaust. The accord will likely be signed July 26 in Berlin, Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger said.
Germany's move follows an agreement to unlock the archive reached last month by the 11-nation governing body of the International Tracing Service, the arm of the International Committee of the Red Cross that oversees the archive in the German town of Bad Arolsen.
The strongest pressure to open the storehouse of some 50 million files came from the dying generation of Holocaust survivors and victims' families who feared the histories of their loved ones would be lost forever unless the rules were changed.
The archive, controlled by 1955 agreements, holds virtually everything the Nazis recorded on the concentration camps and the prisoners held there. Experts say the opening could provide new insights into the mechanics of the Nazi extermination campaign and help people discover specific information on what happened to relatives.
The breakthrough came earlier this year when Germany which had long maintained that access to the files by Holocaust researchers would violate the country's privacy laws agreed to ease its policies. Under current rules, information is given out only to former victims. A third party can only access the archives with the express, written consent of a former victim.
It remains unclear when researchers will be able to access the archives.
Once the agreement is signed, all 11 signatory nations have to ratify it. "How long that will take in each individual case is hard to predict," Jaeger said, adding that Germany was committed to ratifying the deal "as quickly as possible."
The International Tracing Service was founded after World War II to trace missing persons. Later, survivors eligible for compensation applied to the archive for documentary evidence of their mistreatment.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Veterans Affairs worker faulted for losing veterans' personal information had permission to access millions of Social Security numbers on a laptop from home, agency documents obtained by The Associated Press show. The documents show that the data analyst, whose name was being withheld, had approval as early as Sept. 5, 2002, to use special software at home that was designed to manipulate large amounts of data.
A separate agreement, dated Feb. 5, 2002, from the office of the assistant secretary for policy and planning, allowed the worker to access Social Security numbers for millions of veterans. A third document, also issued in 2002, gave the analyst permission to take a laptop computer and accessories for work outside of the VA building. "These data are protected under the Privacy Act," one document states. The analyst is the "lead programmer within the Policy Analysis Service and as such needs access to real Social Security numbers."
Just unbelievable. Any other security measures willingly cast aside?
The department said last month it was in the process of firing the data analyst, who is now challenging the dismissal.
Of course he is. He's not the only stooopid one in this mess, he's just the only one being fired.
VA officials have said the firing was justified because the analyst violated department procedure by taking the data home; they also said he was "grossly negligent" in handling sensitive information.
So why was he given permission?
Lawmakers expressed dismay over the latest disclosure. They noted that the analyst immediately notified his supervisors after the theft from his suburban Maryland home, but supervisors delayed publicizing the crime until May 22. Nicholson was informed on May 16. "The gross negligence in this case are the people above him," said Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., the acting top Democrat on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. "They gave him express permission to take the information home. When it was stolen, he reported it right away."
"They're trying to pin it on this one guy, but I think it's other people we need to be looking at," he said. A spokesman for the VA did not have immediate comment Wednesday.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/29/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
"They gave him express permission to take the information home. When it was stolen, he reported it right away."
no wun ever wantsta sleeng em dung up hill, but ima theenkerin moren this guyz to be blaymed.
#2
The Veterans Affairs worker faulted for losing veterans' personal information had permission to access millions of Social Security numbers on a laptop from home, agency documents obtained by The Associated Press show.
It's from the AP, so give this a bit of salt before the retraction/correction. It's their style.
However, knowing the stupidity of 'suprevisors and managers' when it comes to practicing safe security, and the laziness with which they deal with this type of stuff until someone is made an example of, I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out true.
#3
The question is whether he was given permission to access the data on VA computers via a virtual private network connection (secure) or whether he was given permission to KEEP the info on his own laptop.
The first is perfectly safe. The latter is a serious violation.
#6
Foxalert - Pentagon has retrieved the stolen laptop
no answers whether the data was copied, though..
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/29/2006 10:58 Comments ||
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#7
Who has been fired? These incompetent and extremely stupid bastards just carry on. There are and will be no penalties. Just more bags of hot air. There is not one department of the government that is competent. Ahhh, maybe Defense is still functional, but some of their calls bring them into question.
#11
If the computer security is correctly set up, it works great. The knee-jerk would disappear if you tried it in a place with high-caliber SysAdmin staff - trust me.
At the last company I worked for, about 50% of its employees were telecommuters. The required floorspace, desks and such was reduced by about 35% - they created the remaining 15% which were set up as "hot seats", i.e. no permanent occupant - available for when you needed to physically be in the office. There were lots of smallish conference rooms - all walls were the dry-marker boards - and special team meetings were the normal reason for most of us to ever go in. The rest of the time, it was teleconferenced with video / audio. We even had our own company "television channel" (TVIP) on our network.
The Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday approved the nomination of Henry Paulson to be the country's next treasury secretary. Paulson, a 32-year Wall Street veteran, is the chairman and chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., a financial powerhouse. The committee, on a voice vote, sent the nomination of Paulson to the full Senate, where approval is soon expected. During a nearly three-hour hearing on his nomination on Tuesday, Paulson, 60, hewed closely to the Bush administration's stance on a wide range of economic policies.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/29/2006 00:00 ||
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U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, has raised $119,000 for his legal defense fund.
That's even more than he had in his fridge...
Some of his contributors are politically connected. Federal law enforcement authorities allege that Jefferson demanded hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in return for arranging telecommunications deals in Africa during the first half of the decade. Two men have pleaded guilty to bribing or aiding in a bribe to Jefferson. The congressman has not been charged with a crime and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Records filed with the House show that Jefferson has paid $81,000 for his legal defense so far.
Surely the Trial Lawyers' Association owes him some pro bono time...
Posted by: Fred ||
06/29/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
You'd think the IRS at least would be interested in 90K in cold cash.
America is about to revisit one of the most turbulent decades in its history, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean told a religious conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. "We're about to enter the '60s again," Dean said, but he was not referring to the Vietnam War or racial tensions. Dean said he is looking for "the age of enlightenment led by religious figures who want to greet Americans with a moral, uplifting vision."
"Yes! A new dawning of the Age of Asparagus!"
"The problem is when we hit that '60s spot again, which I am optimistic we're about to hit, we have to make sure that we don't make the same mistakes," Dean added.
How can we be about to go through the 60s again? We haven't been through the 50s again. By my Acme Recycled History Calculator we're only in early 1942. So we're not even done with the 40s yet. And I'd like to know when we get to do the 20s again. I'm feeling the urge to Charleston.
Anger over the Vietnam War and the country's escalating racial tensions made the late 1960s one of the most painful eras in American history. Republican Richard Nixon was elected president in 1968, following the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Sen. Robert Kennedy, as well as the riot-marred Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Later in his speech Tuesday, Dean appeared to backtrack. "I'm not asking to go back to the '60s; we made some mistakes in the '60s," he said. "If you look at how we did public housing, we essentially created ghettoes for poor people" instead of using today's method of mixed-income housing.
We were just discussing that yesterday...
Another mistake Democrats made in the '60s, Dean acknowledged, was that "we did give things away for free, and that's a huge mistake because that does create a culture of dependence, and that's not good for anybody, either," he noted, a reference to the Great Society welfare programs created by Democratic President Lyndon Johnson in the mid-1960s. "Those mistakes were not the downfall of our program," Dean added. "They helped a lot more people than they hurt. But we can do better and we will do better and our time is coming."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/29/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Heck. Some Democrats never left the 60's. Look at Kerry and Kennedy.
#2
I would actually agree but this time I think the US and true Americans will win and the Mainstream Media along with the entire LLL's movement will be the ones humilitated, discredited, and crippled.
#14
Read the whole thing. There's more! My favorite:
Dean's comments Tuesday came at a religious gathering convened in the nation's capital to discuss ways of eliminating poverty. After stating that America "is about as divided as it has been probably since the Civil War," Dean declared that "we need to come together around moral principles, and I'm talking about moral principles like making sure no child goes to bed hungry at night."
"I'm talking about moral principles like making sure everybody in America has health insurance just like 36 other countries in the world," he added. "This is a moral nation, and we want it to be a moral nation again."
This wasn't Scrappleface, was it?
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/29/2006 6:27 Comments ||
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#15
Howard Dean - the patron saint of the "Church of Just Let Them Keep Talking".
Posted by: no mo uro ||
06/29/2006 7:44 Comments ||
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#16
Age of Asparagus! LOL!
Posted by: Mike ||
06/29/2006 7:57 Comments ||
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#18
Bring it on. I'll dig out my leisure suit, tie-dye stuff, blow the dust off the old vinyls, score some window pane and go looking for free love with some 65 year babe hoping I won't hurt either one of us or aggravate the arthritis. George Burns (at around 90 years of age) was asked what he thought of all the sex and violence on TV. He replied: "At my age they are both the same."
#21
Laugh, but the world has all too often paid the price in blood for those who want to return to the good old days. Just look at the muzzies now. The third Reich. The revival of Mare Nostrum and glory of Rome.
This is one of the warning signs for kill it before it multiples.
#24
I'm with C-Low on this one. I think he's right we're going "back to the 60's", but this time we will win. Just see how everyone's now treating the troops to look at that. Numerous interviews of Vietnam grunts (who went to Iraq too) saying they much prefer returning to the State now vs. then. Of course, I'm younger (born after the 60's), so I can't wax eloquent on how "great" the freelove movements were.
Posted by: BA ||
06/29/2006 11:09 Comments ||
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#25
the age of enlightenment led by religious figures who want to greet Americans with a moral, uplifting vision
Like these guys?
Dalai Lama: A surprisingly harsh critic of homosexuality. If you are a Buddhist, he says, it is wrong. "Full stop. No way round it." "A gay couple came to see me, seeking my support and blessing. I had to explain our teachings. Another lady introduced another woman as her wife - astonishing. It is the same with a husband and wife using certain sexual practices. Using the other two holes is wrong. . . . I cant condone this way of life." . . . life is sacred and abortion is wrong - though there may be special circumstances, such as saving the life of the mother, when it might be an option.
Or maybe this guy - recognized by the world as a reat religious leader:
Pope John Paul: There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God's plan for marriage and family. Marriage is holy, while homosexual acts go against the natural moral law.
Or this guy:
Pope Benedict: For example, the face of disinterest or disorder, which can even go so far as to damage the structure of that founding cell of society that is the family; or perhaps the face of arrogance that can lead to abuse, silencing those without a voice or without the strength to make themselves heard, as happens in the case of today's gravest injustice, abortion, that which suppresses nascent human life.
Hmm - looks like opposition to homosexualtiy, no "gay marriage", no abortion...
I somehow don't beleive thats what Howlin' Howie had in mind.
#26
OS, he didn't specify any religious leaders because he was referring to the UU's. Though it's kind of an oxymoron as I don't remember any of the UU's having any *religious* leaders.
#28
Didn't they say this too in the early 90's after Clinton got elected? (Ok, those icky bell bottoms came back, but the rest of it stayed back in the archives where it belongs.)
#33
And even though I'm full of sin
In the end you'll let me in
You'll let me through, there's nothin' you can do
You need my lovin', don't you know it's true
So if you please get on your knees
There are no bills, there are no fees
Baby, I know what your problem is
The first step of the cure is a kiss
So call me (Dr. Love)
They call me Dr. Love (calling Dr. Love)
I am your doctor of love (calling Dr. Love), ha
They call me (Dr. Love), they call me Dr. Love (calling Dr. Love)
I've got the cure you're thinkin' of (calling Dr. Love)
The Vatican is worried its opposition to abortion, embryonic stem cell research and gay marriage could one day land it before an international court of justice, a senior Vatican official said in an interview published Wednesday.
The Church has been persecuted before, from pre-Constatine Rome to the days of the Nazis. It's unfortunate but it may happen again in Europe.
Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, who heads the Pontifical Council for the Family, reiterated traditional Roman Catholic Church positions and criticized some European countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands and France, for giving legal recognition to civil unions. "We worry especially that, with current laws, speaking in defense of life and the rights of families is becoming in some societies sort of a crime against the state," Lopez Trujillo told the Catholic news magazine Famiglia Cristiana for its issue scheduled to hit the stands Thursday.
"The church is at risk of being brought before some international court if the debate becomes any tenser, if the more radical requests get heard," the cardinal said, speaking ahead of the Roman Catholic Church's World Meeting of Families in Valencia, Spain from July 1-9.
Which is what the radically secular, progressive left would like to do. The Church is one of the more important, if not the most important, resistor to progressive secularism in Europe, and one of the few, organized, intelligent groups in Europe that understands what it means for mortal men to establish themselves as the final authority on what's right and wrong.
Lopez Trujillo did not comment further about any legal problems the Vatican could face, but his words touched upon a concern among religious organizations everywhere: the right of religious freedom versus countries' anti-discrimination laws.
Chai Feldblum of Georgetown University's Law Center said the chances of the church being punished for stating its beliefs were slim to none, at least in the United States, though its stances could lead to Catholic organizations losing state funding. "I cannot fathom a religious organization being punished for speaking its belief against abortion or gay marriage," said Feldblum, a veteran gay rights advocate.
That's what you say now. I can see the radical left in this country demanding fines and 'compensation' in order to ruin the Church financially. In Europe it could easily get nastier.
"What is illuminating is not the reality of the legal penalties they face, but an acknowledgment that public morality is shifting under their feet," Feldblum said.
In the interview, Lopez Trujillo reiterated that according to church rules, women who have abortions, the doctors and nurses who help them and the father, if he is going along with it, are excommunicated. The same goes for embryonic stem cell research. "It's the same thing. Destroying the embryo is equivalent to abortion," Lopez Trujillo said.
He also criticized what he described as a movement to impose new human rights. "It's happening for abortion, which is a crime, and instead it's becoming a right," the cardinal said. He also compared gay marriage to "absolute emptiness," saying the only possible couple is made up of a man and a woman.
I personally don't care what two consenting adults do in their bedroom so long as they don't leave the windows open and broadcast the view on cable TV. It seems like society is being particularly stooopid, however, in throwing out a perfectly good definition of marriage that's worked in most human societies over the last 10,000 plus years. It seems even more stooopid when judges are allowed to impose their definition of marriage in the face of public opposition. Seems to me that a legislature is where this should be debated, and for some considerable period of time.
Earlier this month, the Pontifical Council for the Family issued a 57- page document in which it said that the traditional family has never been so threatened as in today's world. It also lashed out against contraception, abortion, in vitro fertilization and same-sex marriage. The Vatican's document did not break any new ground, but marked the first sweeping comment on the issues during Pope Benedict XVI's papacy.
Which is no surprise: the College of Cardinals could have elected any one of their members pope, and he'd have the same policies and nearly the same exactly words as Pope Benedict.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/29/2006 00:00 ||
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Stem cell research is a tough one because it holds so much promise. Atleast theoretically.
#5
This is the sort of thing that strengthens my catholicism. "What is illuminating is not the reality of the legal penalties they face, but an acknowledgment that public morality is shifting under their feet," Feldblum said.
Nice try, jackass. Morality isn't changing, tolerance for immoral behavior is apparently on the rise - there is a difference.
#6
CF was referring to the hypocrisy of the ICJ not to post #1.
I disagree sharply w/the vatican's views on a lot of things but again, I definitely want them to have the right to say and express what they believe. They should be left alone to condemn whatever they want as being immoral. When there comes a time that any institution is advocating violence as an answer to what they consider immoral then maybe the state needs to step in. (hello islam) That's why I despise this 'hate speech' nonsense, it wastes time on attitudes and not on actual harmful actions.
#7
CG9698: The article's clear that the Catholic Church is against EMBRYONIC stem cell research, not stem cell research as a whole. A very wise view, in this here Protestant's mind, I might add. Having become very interested in SCR, and researched it, it appears that (gasp) following God's laws/morals is also best for mankind. By that, I mean, that there's been NUMEROUS articles written about the drawbacks of EMBRYONIC SCR (basically, from what I've read, scientists have had ZERO success in treating diseases with ESCR) vs. other SCR (like from donated adult stem cells, stem cells in umbilical cord blood, etc.). VERY interesting articles and I remember one basically saying they'd found a LOT of progress in treatment/cures (including some progress in Parkinson's Disease) from these other sources of stem cells vs. basically ZERO progress from Embryonic stem cells. Remember, the far left wants to protect the "right" to UNLIMITED abortion at all costs (it's their religion), even going so far as blocking things like the common sense (small) restrictions like parental notification and the ban on Partial-birth abortions (which, honestly is infanticide literally, IMHO).
Posted by: BA ||
06/29/2006 11:01 Comments ||
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#8
Tell you what. Well give you New Orleans if you move the entire shebang there in the Vatican to the Mississippi. You get the land, the stamps, and the autonomy that you have now in Rome. You promise to keep the tourist trade up though. Oh, and the football team needs to move. Maybe to Las Vegas. Maybe not, they have too much fun there already.
Anyway, like Oriana Fallaci you can have shelter here. Just make sure your peds are kept there as well. No shipping them out to other parishes.
#11
Oh yeah, those same articles said that they'd also noticed a "link" between injecting lab rats with embryonic stem cells and increases in cancer in said rats.
Posted by: BA ||
06/29/2006 13:23 Comments ||
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#12
Emtryonic stem cell research has produced ZERO cures and has had negative repurcussions in nearly every research study.
Stem cells from marrow, and from umbilical cords seem to hold much more promise.
#13
I'd love to see the ICJ or the EU try to arrest the Pope. They'll quickly find out those Swiss guards aren't just for show (no matter how sissy their uniforms look).
I've got the popcorn concession! ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/29/2006 15:22 Comments ||
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Vietnam's new president said Thursday he will push for closer relations with the United States and China, signaling he is ready to play a more active role in a position that has largely been ceremonial. "With President Bush as well as President Hu Jintao, we will discuss (measures) to strengthen bilateral relations and make the relations increasingly closer for mutual development," President Nguyen Minh Triet told reporters.
Legislators on Tuesday elected Triet, 63, the Communist Party chief for the southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City, as the new president. He is known as an economic reformer and has a reputation for fighting corruption. Triet said his first challenge would come in November when Vietnam hosts the 21-member Asia Pacific Cooperation summit in Hanoi. Bush and Hu are expected to attend. He said once Vietnam enters the World Trade Organization, expected later this year, the country would be forced to work harder to compete internationally. "Vietnam has a desire to integrate into the world economy. Joining the WTO therefore is very essential and we, at the same time, understand that it will be a very major challenge," Triet said.
Relations between Vietnam and the United States have steadily improved since the normalization of ties between the former foes in 1995, with two-way trade reaching nearly $8 billion last year. In May, the two countries signed a trade agreement, overcoming the last major step in Vietnam's bid to join the WTO. A vote in the U.S. Congress is still needed for the pact to take effect.
Triet said he plans to make fighting rampant graft one of his top priorities, and he also wants to bring some of his experience from working in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's economic engine, to the capital. "We are determined to fight to get rid of corruption ... If the (country's) management is well done, those who wish to become corrupt cannot," he said. Vietnam this week also appointed a new prime minister, two new deputy premiers, a new parliament head and seven new ministers in a choreographed reshuffle to bring in younger blood.
Only one party is allowed to exist in Vietnam, and the government is run by a collective style of leadership. The prime minister is in charge of overseeing the day-to-day workings, while the president typically holds a more ceremonial position. The country's most powerful leader is the head of the Communist Party.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/29/2006 09:32 ||
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Americanization? Ton Son Nhut airbase PX to reopen?
#2
They're still insane commie assholes - I wouldn't give them the time of day without serious reform - say like their "politburo" all being executed, for starters.
Side note: They have their "commie party congress" in June, IIRC. During that month, they throw out all of the expats who "reside" there. One of my American friends is married to a Vietnamese woman and "they" own a bar in Saigon, er, HCM City. Of course it has to be in her name. Every June he is expelled and hangs out in Bangkok for the month. He says it is even more corrupt and bizarre than during the war. I find that hard to believe, but the guy is as straight as a ruler, so...
#3
Vietnam is the next China. In 5 years, a massive shift will take place as factories move there en masse. Chinese wages are already getting a bit on the high side.
An earthquake shook southern Iran early Thursday morning, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. Radio reports said residents of the southwestern city of Bandar Abbas poured into the streets after the quake hit.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck at 1:32 a.m. (local time) and had a magnitude of 5.6. It was centered about 35 miles southwest of Bandar Abbas or about 650 miles southeast of Tehran, the capital. No other details were immediately available. Even moderate quakes have killed thousands of people in the past in the Iranian countryside where houses are often built of bricks.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/29/2006 00:00 ||
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#2
Probably... but how many tests do they need, for Christ's sake? Get over with it, and unleash the big one, stop teasing us with small ones... or do they plan on doing a joint venture with the Tesla weaponry department or something?
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economy sprang out of a year-end rut and zipped ahead in the opening quarter of this year at a 5.6 percent pace, the fastest in 2 1/2 years and even stronger than previously thought. The new snapshot of gross domestic product for the January-to-March period exceeded the 5.3 percent growth rate estimated a month ago, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. The upgraded reading - based on more complete information - matched economists' forecasts.
The stronger GDP figure mostly reflected an improvement in the country's trade deficit, which was much less of a drag than previously estimated.
The opening quarter's energetic performance followed a lethargic showing in the closing quarter of 2005 when the economy grew by a feeble 1.7 percent pace. Fallout from the Gulf Coast hurricanes, including high energy prices, prompted belt tightening by people and businesses.
Consumers and businesses came roaring back in the first quarter, though, a main reason why the overall economy performed so well. Consumers boosted spending in the first quarter at a 5.1 percent pace, compared to a meager 0.9 percent growth rate in the fourth quarter. Businesses ramped up spending on equipment and software at a brisk 14.8 percent pace, up from a 5 percent growth rate in the prior quarter.
And, companies' profits continued to grow briskly. One measure of after-tax profits in the GDP report showed profits rose 13.8 percent in the first quarter. It was the second consecutive quarter of such strong growth.
The trade picture improved as imports didn't grow as much as previously estimated. That meant the trade deficit shaved only 0.24 percentage point from GDP, compared with a 0.55 percentage-point reduction calculated a month ago.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/29/2006 09:44 ||
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More bad news for the Democrats and their "progressive" socialist allies.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The government has recovered the stolen laptop computer containing sensitive data for up to 26.5 million veterans and military personnel, Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson announced Thursday.
Nicholson also said there have been no reports of identity theft since the May 3 burglary at the Maryland home of an agency employee. "There is reason to be optimistic," he told reporters just before the start of another in a series of hearings Congress has had on one of the worst breaches of information security. "It's a very positive note in this very tragic incident," Nicholson said.
Hopefully it was just a normal robbery, perhaps the crook got scared and turned it over to the cops.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/29/2006 10:57 ||
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Still too early (IMHO) to turn out the lights on this story; maybe the data analyst got the OK to take the computer home, but that still doesn't excuse the miserable higher-ups who tried to cover up the robbery, or their half-witted attempts to 'splain away what happened and simultaneously dump on poor ol' Mr. Data Analyst.' Those guys need to go!
How many other Vets out there (besides me) now get to worry about their credit, even tho' the FBI says that all is well?
#2
USN,ret, I'm not sure, but I think you can have a freeze put on your credit by contacting the three credit reporting agencies, citing risk that your information has been stolen. At any rate, you are entitled to request a free copy of your credit history once every twelve months from each of the agencies, and to correct mistakes therein. It isn't a difficult process -- I fixed a bunch of minor things a year ago (they'd intermixed Mr. Wife's father's info with his own), and it's all still clean as of last week. ;-) Good luck!
#4
There is a Last Date Accessed field in most file systems. I don't know what O/S is on the laptop, but I'll wager that checking that file attribute and finding it has not been accessed since stolen should make folks feel a lot more comfortable.
#5
I love ecoinquirer, he/she just nails it. He goes over the top toward the end of each of his pieces just to let people know it's parody. If he didn't, he would be completely convincing.
#7
I love that website, and the DHMO one too. And, this must be a Rovian plot to show the greens just how kooky they are, because water vapor is the most "numerous" pollutant there is of all the greenhouse gasses. A lot more plentiful, as well as more "efficient" in trapping said heat. Ask anyone who's lived in the SE what it's like to live in 98 degrees/100% humidity vs. that "dry heat" out west.
Posted by: BA ||
06/29/2006 12:34 Comments ||
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#8
The dominant green house gas?
This is not going to go down well with the "hydrogen economy" folks.
Posted by: kelly ||
06/29/2006 13:58 Comments ||
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Grassley: 'It's a no-brainer to have the IRS go after sex traffickers' (CNN) -- Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa is hoping to stamp out the sex trade by taxing pimps and prostitutes, then jailing them when they don't pay.
The Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday morning approved a bill sponsored by committee chairman Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, authorizing at least $2 million toward the establishment of an office in the IRS criminal investigation unit to prosecute unlawful sex workers for violations of tax laws.
The bill's approval gives the IRS harsh new criminal penalties for use against those in the underground criminal economy. According to Grassley's office, the majority of the victims of sex trafficking -- those who are often smuggled in from other counties and virtually imprisoned in a house set up for prostitution -- are girls ages 13 to 17.
'A no-brainer'
"It's a no-brainer to have the IRS go after sex traffickers," Grassley said. "Prosecuting tax code violations can get these guys off the street and yank from their grasp the girls and women they exploit. This crime is right under our noses in the United States, and it's especially horrible when under-age girls are being held prisoner. The thugs who run the trafficking rings are exploiting society's poorest girls and women for personal gain."
Asked Tuesday about whether taxing sex workers would somehow lend legitimacy to them, a spokesman for Grassley said that the goal of the legislation would not be to legitimize the individuals but rather to find "yet another alternative to track the money flowing in this industry to get at potential criminals."
The bill also calls for more jail time for sex workers. According to Grassley's office, in the past, the IRS has been saddled with having to prove how much income a sexual worker earned in order to show that he or she has not been paying enough income tax. Grassley's proposal will help overcome those obstacles. For example, if a trafficker has failed to file W-2s for five women (employees), the maximum penalty would be 10 years in prison per failure to file, a total of 50 years.
Grassley used the example of gangster Al Capone, who was eventually jailed on tax evasion charges. The bill, according to a spokesman for Grassley, will use the federal tax code to shut down illegal sex workers who are hard to get by way of other federal criminal laws and are not targeted by state law enforcement.
"For the first time ever, the tax code would help put behind bars the criminals who are making money in the underground economy by selling sexual access to girls and women," the spokesman said in an e-mail statement.
Strip clubs a target?
Carol Leigh, a representative of BAYSWAN, a San Francisco Bay area sex worker advocacy network, criticized the legislation as being shortsighted.
"Forced labor, kidnapping should be targeted, but this legislation broadly targets the sex trade in general, and could target your local strip club," Leigh said. "Those of us who work in the industry understand that this does nothing to improve conditions in our industry.
"We want laws enforced against those who abuse us, against those who are violent, and enforcement of labor regulations. That is the only truly effective way to protect the welfare of the women who work in the industry."
The sex trafficking bill proposed by Grassley was part of a scheduled Senate Finance Committee good government tax bill.
#2
Regulate and tax it, sounds good to me. That way at the end of your "meeting" w/one of the sex workers you can say "thank you ma'am for fixing my pot holes." hahahaha....
For all this time, people having sex and not paying a tax on it has been like stealing from the government.
I look forward to a bowel movement tax next. A LOT of people have been cheating the government by having more than the minimum two bowel movements a week. This costs the government a fortune in lost tax revenues.
Remember that higher taxes don't just benefit the government, they benefit everybody.
#5
Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa is hoping to stamp out the sex trade by taxing pimps and prostitutes, then jailing them when they don't pay.
And not jailing them now for not reporting income works so well?
This is something that belongs to the states to deal with unless it involves interstate commerce. It's not like there are already enough statutes on the books for which there is insufficient manpower resources for arrest and prosecution.
#14
But, But, the USN gives a 'family seperation allowance' during deployments and I have it on very good authority the the Boeing Company (formerly of Seattle, now in Chicago) provides a similiar allowance for employees on detail to such tourist hot spots like Sheyma Island, Alaska. They pay us NOT to have sex!!! ( funny thing tho', my wife never got a check... gotta wonder why....)
#17
Heck, there are a lot of "no brainers" still there!
Posted by: Gir ||
06/29/2006 16:56 Comments ||
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#18
Well, the IRS did own the Mustang Ranch once. The owner had fallen behind on taxes and lost it to the government. David Letterman suggested that they sell a souvenir T-shirt: I got screwed by the Federal Government.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
06/29/2006 19:52 Comments ||
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#19
I guess they'll all be independent contractors now?
#20
I have a great idea for a celebrity brothel in Nevada. You create a website listing hundreds of celebrities. They get something like an eBay rating of how many people want to have sex with them. Lots of the celebrities listed would never do it, so they act as cover for those that would.
Then, subscribers to the site have something like private MySpace pages, that have their pictures and info about them. It also lists 20 or so celebrities they want to have sex with, and how much they would be willing to pay.
Egotistical celebrities would be all over the page to see how popular they are, and how much people are willing to pay to have sex with them. If they see a price and a fan they like, then they arrange to meet in Nevada.
This is not as ridiculous as it sounds. A lot of celebrities are always hungry, and when they aren't working, which is most of the time, they are very conscious about their money reserves. And if their fan looks hot...
This is a very real concept. The next time you see a celebrity you think is hot, ask yourself how much you would pay to have sex with them. Then imagine your surprise if they said "yes".
#21
They'd have to pass the NV medical exam, first. You gotta be cleaner than an EpiscopalianLutheranUnitarianMormonCatholicBaptistMethodistDruidRosecrucian well hell, you know what I mean. :)
Of all the bills that President Eisenhower signed during his 8 years in office, he probably put as much of himself into the one that created the Interstate System as any other, and more than most. Unfortunately, he did not have an opportunity to celebrate the occasion with a formal ceremony. The bill was among a stack that he signed on June 29, 1956, his last day at Walter Reed Army Medical Center following surgery on June 7. He made no recorded comment, issued no statement, had no celebratory photo taken. He was said to be "highly pleased."
This link is a nice tribute to President Eisenhower and his concrete legacy. Today they are scheduled to do some speechifyin' in Emmitsburg Maryland, at a covered bridge that was one of the original impediments way back in 1919, when a young Lt. Eisenhower was part of an expeditionary transcontinental military convoy to assess America's military mobilization capacity.
#1
Way back then, the government was concerned about the extension of its powers and the cost of programs. One of the reasons that 'national military requirements' was used as an arguement to justify the wide extent that this program. Back then even the boldest of politicians would think twice about such an expensive program not being seen as a form of pork for work in their state or district. Not that they wouldn't do it, but they still had shame.
A Pennsylvania diocese that is the epicenter of conservative Episcopal dissent over gay bishops rejected the authority of the incoming head of the denomination Wednesday but stopped short of a full break with the Episcopal Church. The vote by the Diocese of Pittsburgh came on the same day that the liberal Diocese of Newark, N.J., tested the new Episcopal call for restraint on the appointing of gay bishops by naming a gay priest as one of four nominees to become its next leader.
The Episcopal Church and its fellow Anglicans worldwide are struggling to prevent differences over the Bible and sexuality from escalating into a permanent split. On Tuesday, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, said the divisions have become so deep that member churches who support ordaining gays may have to accept a lesser role in the fellowship to prevent a schism.
The years-long debate over gay ordination reached a crisis point in 2003 when the Episcopal Church, the U.S. branch of the Anglican Communion, elected the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. Most Anglican archbishops believe gay relationships violate Scripture, and many broke ties with the U.S. church over Robinson. However, conservatives are a minority within the American church. The Diocese of Pittsburgh's vote Wednesday was an attempt to strengthen their position.
Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan is asking Williams to immediately assign another Anglican leader to oversee the Pennsylvania diocese. Duncan objects to the June 18 election of the new Episcopal presiding bishop, Nevada Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who voted to confirm Robinson in 2003 and supports ordaining gays and blessing same-sex relationships. She will be installed Nov. 4. "There are really two bodies within our church," Duncan said in a statement.
Duncan is the head of the Anglican Communion Network, which represents 10 conservative U.S. dioceses and more than 900 parishes within the Episcopal Church who are deciding whether to break from the denomination. On Wednesday, Pittsburgh leaders said they would seek permission from the top Episcopal legislative body for a new division within the church that would bring together dioceses with traditional biblical views. Only one other diocese, in Fort Worth, Texas, has asked Williams to assign a leader other than Jefferts Schori to oversee it, but did so because it rejects the ordination of women. Jefferts Schori will be the first woman to lead a national church in Anglican history.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/29/2006 00:00 ||
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"God's light and God's life ooze
over me like warm butter."
-- Gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson
On Tuesday, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, said the divisions have become so deep that member churches who support ordaining gays may have to accept a lesser role in the fellowship to prevent a schism.
Duncan is the head of the Anglican Communion Network, which represents 10 conservative U.S. dioceses and more than 900 parishes within the Episcopal Church who are deciding whether to break from the denomination. On Wednesday, Pittsburgh leaders said they would seek permission from the top Episcopal legislative body for a new division within the church that would bring together dioceses with traditional biblical views.
I'm not sure I understand what is going on here. 900 churches divided by 50 states = approx 18 churhes per state. Not sure what the total number of Episcopalian Churches is.
This article does a poor job in explaining what's going on - which may be a good sign.
#3
There has been a pending schism in the Episcopal church for nearly 30 years. This has been building a long time and won't be resolved with any hanlf-way measures, I suspect.
#4
I really haven't followed this controversy (despite have been baptised/raised Episcopalian). But I suspect that in the end, this is about the money and the property. I'm sure the church and surrounding properties(rectory etc) in my home town is worth mega-millions and multiply that times all the others located in prime property in Boston, DC, NYC, etc. I suspect they don't split because of the squabbles over the divorce settlement. Sad.
#6
I suspect they don't split because of the squabbles over the divorce settlement. Sad.
This has been building a long time and won't be resolved with any hanlf-way measures, I suspect.
Both points are spot-on. The Church leaders are desperate to avoid a full schism. They have their lawyers working overtime to make sure no "foreign" org can get the assets if local dioceses split and affiliate with another Anglican group. And all their talk of "compromise" and "consensus" and "restraint" smacks of a political party contorting itself to avoid alienating constituent groups. No principle involved beyond self preservation.
It's obvious that the Church as a whole doesn't even have the courage to stand by its convictions. On the one hand they pass a resolution stating that gays and lesbians are full members in good standing, clearly implying no sin in such lifestyles - later confirmed by the new PB's explicit remarks. But another resolution calls for dioceses to show "restraint" by not nominating gay clergy as bishops as a way to avoid contention. The two resolutions cannot be reconciled: if there is no sin involved there is no reason whatsoever to practice such restraint.
But to me, the gay clergy issue is just a facet or mosaic tile of a larger problem. The Church has unmoored itself from its foundation and is completely at the mercy of the politics of its members, which is getting increasingly "progressive" as the conservatives leave in droves.
In my view the problem with going to another Anglican org is that the Anglican Church is even worse on many points. They are openly anti-semitic and anti-American - much moreso that the ECUSA. The only reason they are conservative on the gay issues is the majority of Anglicans worldwide are African and Asian and Canterbury can't afford (literally) to have them split.
I apologize for the long rant, but I'm an Episcopalian (not for long, though) who's on my local parish Vestry and has finally had too much of the idiocy.
#7
I hope you have better luck finding another protestant church than we have had. I know they are out there .... The last Methodist Church I went to had potential - full church, active, multiple services, active school - but they were in the middle of a very slick NPR type drive to raise money for remodel. First clue that things were amiss was when he announced they were going to put your name/picture on a wall in the lobby broken into categories depending on size of gift. It all went downhill from there. The guy gave a pretty good sermon which at the very end came to the point of why you should donate more.
After church, we actually went to see the board expecting to find the biggest givers enclosed in halo circles nearest to little fluffy clouds at top.
We went back one more time (not many to choose from these days) to see if it was just a one time thing. Same thing - guy gives sermon which closes with a moral as to the importance of giving to The Remodel for the glory and success of their church.
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.
MOSCOW - Russia will merge its civilian nuclear companies into one state company -- along the lines of gas giant Gazprom -- to help it compete on the world nuclear market, the countrys nuclear chief said on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin 
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Veterans Affairs worker faulted for losing veterans' personal information had permission to access millions of Social Security numbers on a laptop from home, agency documents obtained by The Associated Press show. The documents show that the data analyst, whose name was being withheld, had approval as early as Sept. 5, 2002, to use special software at home that was designed to manipulate large amounts of data.
The Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday approved the nomination of Henry Paulson to be the country's next treasury secretary. Paulson, a 32-year Wall Street veteran, is the chairman and chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., a financial powerhouse. The committee, on a voice vote, sent the nomination of Paulson to the full Senate, where approval is soon expected. During a nearly three-hour hearing on his nomination on Tuesday, Paulson, 60, hewed closely to the Bush administration's stance on a wide range of economic policies.
U.S. Rep. 
America is about to revisit one of the most turbulent decades in its history, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean told a religious conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. "We're about to enter the '60s again," Dean said, but he was not referring to the Vietnam War or racial tensions. Dean said he is looking for "the age of enlightenment led by religious figures who want to greet Americans with a moral, uplifting vision."
The Vatican is worried its opposition to abortion, embryonic stem cell research and gay marriage could one day land it before an international court of justice, a senior Vatican official said in an interview published Wednesday.
An earthquake shook southern Iran early Thursday morning, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. Radio reports said residents of the southwestern city of Bandar Abbas poured into the streets after the quake hit.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economy sprang out of a year-end rut and zipped ahead in the opening quarter of this year at a 5.6 percent pace, the fastest in 2 1/2 years and even stronger than previously thought. The new snapshot of gross domestic product for the January-to-March period exceeded the 5.3 percent growth rate estimated a month ago, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. The upgraded reading - based on more complete information - matched economists' forecasts.
(CNN) -- Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa is hoping to stamp out the sex trade by taxing pimps and prostitutes, then jailing them when they don't pay.
A Pennsylvania diocese that is the epicenter of conservative Episcopal dissent over gay bishops rejected the authority of the incoming head of the denomination Wednesday but stopped short of a full break with the Episcopal Church. The vote by the Diocese of Pittsburgh came on the same day that the liberal Diocese of Newark, N.J., tested the new Episcopal call for restraint on the appointing of gay bishops by naming a gay priest as one of four nominees to become its next leader. 
On Tuesday, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, said the divisions have become so deep that member churches who support ordaining gays may have to accept a lesser role in the fellowship to prevent a schism. 
