BIRMINGHAM, Ala. This morning in DeKalb, Ala., the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) spearheaded the execution of four federal search warrants at the homes of members of a group called "The Free Militia," U.S. Attorney Alice Martin for the Northern District of Alabama announced today.
During the search warrants, ATF, along with state and local law enforcement recovered 130 grenades, an improvised rocket launcher with live rounds, a grenade launcher, a machine gun, a short barreled shot-gun, two silencers, numerous other firearms, 2500 rounds of ammunition, explosive components, approximately 70 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), and commercial fireworks. Also recovered was enough ammunition to fill a U-Haul trailer, and over 120 marijuana plants. While executing the search warrants, officers encountered booby traps at one location.
Simple, yet well armed, Mary Jane farmers
"Deadly explosives have been removed from these communities due to outstanding investigative efforts," stated U.S. Attorney Martin. "All evidence developed will be presented quickly to a federal grand jury. We will also ask that those arrested be detained without bond." "Today's arrest and search warrants have been significant due to the success of the combined efforts by ATF, as well as our state, local and federal partners," stated James Cavanaugh, ATF Special Agent in Charge. "The communities in the area are safer, considering the fact that large quantities of live grenades and other explosive materials have been safely removed. Excellent investigative team work led us to this point in our investigation."
Those arrested today include: Raymond Kirk Dillard, a.k.a. Jeff Osborne, 46 of Collinsville, Ala.; Adam Lynn Cunningham, 41, also of Collinsville; Bonnell Hughes, a.k.a. Buster Hughes, 57, of Crossville, Ala.; Michael Wayne Bobo, 30, of Trussville, Ala.; Randall Garrett Cole, 22, of Gadsden, Ala.; and James Ray McElroy, 20, of Collinsville. The criminal complaint charges those arrested with conspiracy to make a firearm, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and a fine of $250,000. Michael Wayne Bobo was charged with being a drug user in possession of a firearm, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, and a fine of $250,000.
Sounds like a bunch of good old boys, not a single Mohammad in the bunch
All the defendants appeared in U.S. District Court for an initial appearance. They will remain in federal custody and are scheduled to appear for detention hearings on May 1, 2007, at 1:30 P.M. EST before a Magistrate Judge in U.S. District Court. An indictment has not been filed at this time.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/27/2007 07:57 ||
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#1
But potentially a bunch of Nichols-McVeigh wannabees. We'll need some independent militias eventually in the war against Islamism, but the ones that keep getting exposed seem decidedly un-useful - a bunch of stupid, racist and/or methie gangsters.
#2
Conspiracy to make a firearm? If making a firearm is illegal then there's a bunch of gun manufacturers that are in big trouble.
Did these guys say or do anything actually illegal other than pot farming and building some so-called IEDs (and I do not trust ATF to accurately describe what they actually found).
The grenades, rocket launcher with live rounds, and the so-called machinegun are somewhat suspicious, but I've known WW2 and Vietnam vets who had live LAW rockets, grenades, sniper rifles, and a lot more so I won't call foul till I hear some more from the ATF or these fellows attorneys.
#5
flash91, the phrase in the Constitution reads, "A well regulated Militia". This implies a State-sponsored Militia. Although it is implied, I don't think the Framers of the Constitution ment Private Militias. These types of militias owe allegiance only to the ones who organized them (or pay them) and could be counter to the will of the majority of the people. State militias have legitamcy because thet owe allegiance to the State through their elected officials.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
04/27/2007 18:53 Comments ||
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A man, who was pronounced dead in hospital, was later found to be very much alive when mortuary staff came to collect him from what they thought was his deathbed. The unnamed disabled man in his 30s has since been discharged and returned home.
The death was mistakenly certified in Dublin's Mater hospital Staff had declared the man dead. His family had been informed that he had died and were grieving before the mistake was noticed.
His death was mistakenly certified in Dublin's Mater hospital on Easter Sunday a date closely associated with miraculous resurrections although in this case the patient did not die in the first place.
Today a spokesman for the Mater, which was established by the Roman Catholic Sisters of Mercy in 1861, confirmed that the incident took place. While management have set up an inquiry to establish how the error happened. This incident has occurred and it is under internal investigation at the moment, a spokesman said.
It is understood ward staff declared the man dead and contacted morticians so that the body could be collected. The man's family were contacted around the same time and informed of their supposed loss.
A source close to the hospital told the Irish Times: This man certainly was pronounced dead and, some time later, I understand he was very much alive.
Another source said: Relatives were informed that this man had died, and when a guy from the morgue came up to collect his body, he said he wasn't dead at all. He added: Needless to say, the hospital is very perturbed at what happened.
Tim Finnegan lived in Walkin Street, a gentle Irishman mighty odd
He had a brogue both rich and sweet, an' to rise in the world he carried a hod
You see he'd a sort of a tipplers way but the love for the liquor poor Tim was born
To help him on his way each day, he'd a drop of the craythur every morn
Whack fol the dah now dance to yer partner around the flure yer trotters shake
Wasn't it the truth I told you? Lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake
One morning Tim got rather full, his head felt heavy which made him shake
Fell from a ladder and he broke his skull, and they carried him home his corpse to wake
Rolled him up in a nice clean sheet, and laid him out upon the bed
A bottle of whiskey at his feet and a barrel of porter at his head
Whack fol the dah now dance to yer partner around the flure yer trotters shake
Wasn't it the truth I told you? Lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake
His friends assembled at the wake, and Mrs Finnegan called for lunch
First she brought in tay and cake, then pipes, tobacco and whiskey punch
Biddy O'Brien began to cry, "Such a nice clean corpse, did you ever see,
Tim avourneen, why did you die?", "Will ye hould your gob?" said Paddy McGee
Whack fol the dah now dance to yer partner around the flure yer trotters shake
Wasn't it the truth I told you? Lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake
Then Maggie O'Connor took up the job, "Biddy" says she "you're wrong, I'm sure"
Biddy gave her a belt in the gob and left her sprawling on the floor
Then the war did soon engage, t'was woman to woman and man to man
Shillelagh law was all the rage and a row and a ruction soon began
Whack fol the dah now dance to yer partner around the flure yer trotters shake
Wasn't it the truth I told you? Lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake
Mickey Maloney ducked his head when a bucket of whiskey flew at him
It missed, and falling on the bed, the liquor scattered over Tim Bedad he revives, see how he rises, Timothy rising from the bed
Saying "Whittle your whiskey around like blazes, t'underin' Jaysus, do ye think I'm dead?"
Whack fol the dah now dance to yer partner around the flure yer trotters shake
Wasn't it the truth I told you? Lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake
Whack fol the dah now dance to yer partner around the flure yer trotters shake
Wasn't it the truth I told you? Lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/27/2007 21:36 Comments ||
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(AKI) - The ten Egyptian Coptic Christians, who after having converted to Islam decided to return to their original faith, will remain Muslims at least on paper for the rest of their lives. A Cairo court has ruled that the ministry of the interior is not obliged to issue them new identity documents. The question of religious belief in Egypt often presents itself as an adminsitrative rather than a spiritual issue given that every Egyptian has an ID card which states his or her religion.
The ten Copt converts asked the ministry for new ID documents. But the ministry refused, on the grounds that according to Sharia law it was impossible to renounce the Islamic faith.
It is precisely for this reason that the ten Copt converts, after having rejected Islam and returned to Christianity, with a public ceremony, asked the ministry for new ID documents. But the ministry refused, on the grounds that according to Sharia law it was impossible to renounce the Islamic faith. The law based on the Koran in fact forbids the faithful from passing from one religious creed to another and anyone who pronounces the "Shahada" or declaration of faith will be considered a Muslim forever.
The sentence handed down late Wednesday by a Cairo court explained that "the tribunal cannot uphold the request of the citizens" who were calling on the judiciary to force the government to issue new documents as "neither this nor other tribunals are able to see into the depths of the heart of a man, where only God can arrive." The Copt community in Egypt numbers some nine million people and makes up an estimated ten percent of the Egyptian population which is majority Muslim.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2007 00:00 ||
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Haven't you heard ? Only way oughta the club is to step through the magic trap door into the chute for the industrial chopper. You're a made man, forevah, ya heah.
#2
Where is Amnesty International to decry this outrageous violation of religious freedom? This and similar cases prove how the so-called "human rights" organizations of the Western world only exist to badmouth and try to embarrass their host nations from within. Of course leftists who wish to destroy their country would never try to "inflict" Western values on parts of the world that desperately need them.
#3
I remember seeing something similar a while back; but relating to Muslim occupied land. Maybe one of the Rantburger's can confirm this. If a land falls under Muslim domination due to war or occupation and they loose it due to war; like Spain for example. Under Islam, it is still considered there land. They view it as blessed and holy in perpetuity.
It is interesting that see that even a person is subject to the same law. Once you become a Muslim, there's no going back. One huge drawback to leaving is that you are also a apostate and subject to execution as a infidel unlike the other faiths.
#4
Yup. Think of Islam as a "Roach Motel" for souls-- you can check in, but you can't check out.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/27/2007 10:35 Comments ||
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#5
This "It is so because Islam says it is so" bullshit has got to stop. The West really needs to deliver Islam some huge setbacks in order to remind it of just how tenuous its place in this world is. Deporting Islamic scum back home in droves would be a nice way to make a few Muslim majority countries implode. Burden them with all their troublemakers and welfare parasites and see if things don't get real squiffy.
(SomaliNet) Inflation in Zimbabwe reached a record 2,200% in March amid a deepening economic and political crisis. This is the highest rate in the world. Zimbabweans spend any money they have as soon as they can, before prices rise even higher.
How much deeper does the crisis have to get?
At least 80% of Zimbabwe's population of about 13 million is living below the poverty line, according to figures from the Zimbabwe Congress of Trades Unions.
Central bank Governor Gideon Gono said the official exchange rate would remain 250 Zimbabwe dollars to US$1. But he announced a new rate of Z$15,000 for some exporters, international organizations, gold miners, tobacco farmers and remittances from expatriates.
Analysts say this amounts to an effective 60-fold devaluation but Mr Gono denied this. "We have not devalued the dollar but sought ways to enhance the viability of foreign currency generators in a sector specific way," he said.
Analysts say Mr Gono is trying to bring more foreign currency into the official economy instead of the black market, where the rate is Z$25,000 to $1. Exporters claim their businesses have been devastated by this skewed exchange rate.
Mr. Gono earlier that month said Zimbabwe was suffering from "economic HIV".
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/27/2007 22:28 ||
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Detained controversial businessman Giasuddin Al Mamun, a close friend of BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Tarique Rahman, yesterday confessed his involvement in the extortion of Tk 1.17 crore from a businessman. "Aaaaiiiieeee! Make him stop! I confess!"
Meanwhile, Dhaka Cantonment police yesterday pressed charges against Mamun in connection with the case filed for possessing illegal firearms and ammunition. Proceedings of cases against former minister Nazmul Huda and Awami League leader engineer Mosharraf Hossain were adjourned yesterday while former housing and public works minister Mirza Abbas was shown arrested in a case filed in connection with graft.
Heavily guarded by police, Mamun was taken to the chamber of Metropolitan Magistrate ABM Abdul Fattah around 2:00pm. The magistrate recorded his statement for around two hours. Mamun told the magistrate that he along with six others extorted the amount on different dates in 2006. The six others are Obaidullah Khandaker, Qamruzzaman, Mahbub, Manik, Hablu and Tareq alias Mota Tareq.
Khairul Bashar, managing director of Abdul Munem Ltd, filed the case with Dhanmondi Police Station on April 19. Mamun demanded the money identifying himself as a friend of Tarique Rahman while his goons threatened him to stop his construction business if he failed to meet their demands, added the complainant. "Ya don't meet our Just Demands™ maybe Big Mahmoud here breaks yer knees!"
"Ummm... Big Mahmoud certainly is... large."
Gulshan police had Mamun placed on a five-day remand yesterday in connection with a Tk 81 lakh extortion case filed by Harun Ferdousi, managing director of Judge Distilleries Ltd with Gulshan Police Station on March 27.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2007 00:00 ||
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Upazila education officer (UEO) of Brahmanbaria Sadar upazila and his two associates were arrested yesterday by joint forces for taking bribe from a retired primary school teacher. Sources said UEO Jamal Uddin, his office assistant Ali Akkas and peon Sagir Ahmed had long been demanding Tk 4000 in bribe from retired primary school teacher Shahidul Huq.
As Huq refused to comply with the demand, the three had been giving him the runaround for approving his pension fund. A team of joint forces caught the three at around 10:00am in the act of receiving Tk 4,000 in bribe from Huq.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2007 00:00 ||
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The High Court (HC) yesterday issued a rule upon the government to explain why the detention of Awami League presidium member Kazi Zafarullah should not be declared illegal. The court gave the order on a habeas corpus petition filed by Zafarullah's son challenging the legality of the detention order. "The rule is returnable in 10 days," says the court order. Kazi Zafarullah was arrested on April 18 in front of his Gulshan residence in the city. He was later sent to jail with a 30-day detention under the Special Powers Act. Advocate Khan Tipu Sultan appeared for the petitioner.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2007 00:00 ||
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US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dismissed as nonsense on Thursday the concerns of some Russian officials that a planned US missile shield in eastern Europe could pose a strategic threat to Moscow. The idea that somehow 10 interceptors and a few radars in eastern Europe are going to threaten the Soviet strategic deterrent is purely ludicrous and everybody knows it, she told reporters ahead of a NATO-Russia meeting in Oslo. The Russians have thousands of warheads. The idea that you can somehow stop the Russian strategic nuclear deterrent with a few interceptors just doesnt make sense. Rice said the United States was willing to keep talking to Russian officials to demystify the plan to site 10 interceptor rockets in Poland and radar in the Czech Republic, a project which has also jangled nerves among several European allies.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2007 00:00 ||
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#2
This is what bugs me, they know that it doesn't deter them unless they don't have them thousands of warheads we think they have or they are so badly maintained that they might has well be duds.
#5
Actually it DOES deter them. GBI once mass produced and deployed slowly but continously along with with High Altitude Aerosats and Satellites to keep a watch out for launches means that potentially their whole nuclear arsenal as a first strike option can be nullified. Why you might ask? Because ballistic missiles still follow a certain arc around the globe unless they've been launched by subs. For Russia that means usually over the north pole or eastern siberia. If you got enough GBIs out there each with a roughly 30-60% chance avg of taking out a valid warhead that means you only need a potential 1000+ warheads to truly nullify a full blown modern day Russian first strike. This is C3 capability, we're currently at just a little over C1.
#8
RIAN or KOMMERSANT or ROBONEXPORT > the description of various Authors or Commentators in these, regardless of credentials, makes it clear to me that RUSSIA IS AWARE OF THE POTENTIAL THREAT OF CENTRAL ASIAN INSTABILITY-CHAOS DUE TO ISLAMISM, INCLUDING IRAN-LED/INDUCED ISLAMISM.
Estonia spirited away the controversial statue of a Red Army Soviet soldier from the centre of the capital in the early hours on Friday after violent riots against its removal in which one man was killed. Russian got stabby with another Russian, according to the local media
Russia reacted furiously to the move and its upper house of parliament voted to ask President Vladimir Putin to sever relations with the small Baltic state.
The removal was carried out by surprise in the early hours after the worst violence seen in years in Estonia, including vandalism and looting by mainly Russian-speaking protesters. "The aim of the government decision was to avoid further possible actions against the public order," Estonia's government said in a statement. Probably the smartest thing that the Estonian government has done during this entire fiasco. You want to riot? The monument is GONE. Not yours.
Russia, which has had troubled ties with Estonia since it won independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, has protested against the plan to move the World War Two monument as an insult to those who fought fascism.
It has also angered local Russian-speakers, a large minority of around 300,000 in the country of 1.3 million. Estonians view it as a reminder of 50 years of Soviet occupation. Since it was a monument to the soldier-liberators that saved Tallinn from the Nazis, although they had left a week before in 1944, and the Soviets ripped the Estonian tricolor flag from the parliament building ...
"Yet again, we can qualify the actions of official Tallinn as sacrilegious and inhuman ...," Interfax news agency quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin as saying. Sacrilege, I say! Never mind those two (1940) (1944-1991) occupations!
"We are working to formulate a concrete reaction towards what has happened," he added. He said the move was harsh ahead of the May 9 anniversary of the end of World War Two, a popular public holiday in Russia.
By mid-morning the area around the statue was calm and traffic was flowing freely. Estonia said the statue was now somewhere under police control. People continued to clean up the streets and windows in many residential and office buildings nearby were smashed.
The vote by Russia's upper house of parliament on severing diplomatic ties with Estonia reflected Moscow's anger. Don't let the door hit you in the bum ...
"We've seen enough of this mocking the dead and scoffing at the victory in World War Two," Russian news agencies quoted Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov as telling the chamber. The senators then backed the non-binding decision.
Mikhail Margelov, head of the foreign relations committee at the Federation Council, said the events in Tallinn showed that "the war against fascism did not end on May 9, 1945". Shouldn't that war continue first, at home, in the Putin Federation?
"This fight goes on and it will continue as long as there are grave-diggers who are ready to throw out from the graves those who defeated fascism," he told Russian television. Yes, the brave fighters for the bronze monument are now looting kiosks and jewelry stores ...
The violence came amid strong feelings about the 2-metre high bronze statue of a World War Two Red Army soldier, set in a large stone wall in a park, which was erected in 1947.
The government said one man died in the disturbances, which began after more than 1,000 people gathered to protest on Thursday, after being stabbed in the subsequent violence. The government said 44 of the protesters and 13 police were injured and 300 people were arrested. Looters smashed windows, fires were started and cars overturned.
Estonia has said the monument is a public order problem ... YOU THINK?
... as it attracts Estonian and Russian nationalists. It has also said it is more respectful to the dead to be buried in a cemetery. Especially since no one is really sure who or what is buried in the park. See this document: link
The authorities had fenced off the area around the monument and the statue itself and erected a long white tent as they prepared to dig for the remains of any soldiers. I was in the Old Town during the riots last night. Roving gangs of Russians youths breaking every window and cracking every skull that they could find.
Unfortunately, it seems like it's just the beginning, as I type this, there is fighting going on in Freedom Square in Talinn, and cars are being destroyed. Russians are reportedly coming in from the east and the Russian Federation to join the scrum.
Alcohol sales have been banned through May 2 in Tallinn.
Here's a statement from Estonia's president, Toomas Ilves. Very Sarkozy-like, I think: link
But I just watched 20 Russian teenaged girls on ETV demonstrating in the streets. Chanting "Rossija, Rossija!" and holding a banner that read "USSR forever - screw Estonia". More buildings are being destroyed, and other Estonian monuments are being defaced.
#7
Russia, which has had troubled ties with Estonia since it won independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, has protested against the plan to move the World War Two monument as an insult to those who fought fascism.
Memo to Russia: Fighting fascism only to install Soviet totalitarianism doesn't count for much in the way of liberation.
Mizzou Mafia, thank you so much for the local angle! A Rantburg exclusive, woot!
#8
like i said in an earlier comment i thought the war in chechnya was over. and yes i know this insn't chechnya but sure sounds like the russians are trying too run shit gain in the region
#10
Mizzou Mafia - Be careful, and keep the first-hand reports coming if you can. There's zip on the news in the US about this stuff.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
04/27/2007 21:51 Comments ||
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#11
Estonia is a member of the EU, and more interestingly of course, NATO - doesn't seem mother russia can do much other than huff and puff.
Should present some interesting opportunities for the Estonian court system, though.
Here's an interesting question - does the EU have common or shared jails/prisons/coolers? If they're so set on unity, it would be cute if they could bundle off the arrested to holding cells in, say, Portugal, just for a few days.
Wonder how the russians would react to that, and how the EU would consider it?
Operation leader Even Jørstad confirmed that police had moved in and raided the Blitz house in downtown Oslo in the first hour of Friday. "We are in, more than that we are not saying," Jørstad told Aftenposten.no at 12:50 a.m.
A police press release announced that they had carried out a search on the Blitz headquarters. "The background for the decision was that the police have reason to believe that there have been plans to use explosives in connection with the NATO meeting of Foreign Ministers in Oslo," the release said.
"These explosives were produced and stored at the Blitz house. The raid and search was carried out to secure evidence," police said.
Police field operation leader Thor Langli told Aftenposten.no that they entered through the front door as the house was empty at the time. Langli said the decision was made after Blitz and police clashed in connection with a protest demonstration linked to the NATO meeting in Oslo Thursday and Friday. "We have found over 70 crates of firecrackers and projectiles in the house," Langli said. The projectiles were primarily stones and bricks. Aftenposten includes several photos of the evidence collected. The explosives appear to be firecrackers and bottle rockets (so far). But other projectiles, potentially lethal, were carefully collected and organized.
#1
These are not protests; these are attempts to constitute and arm a militia as a parallel power to the state. These should constitute hanging offenses though, given the state of the world, I expect the organizers will all get graduate scholarships instead.
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday she sees her sometimes Southern accent as a virtue. "I think America is ready for a multilingual president," Clinton said during a campaign stop at a charter school in Greenville, S.C.
The New York senatorwho said she's been thinking about critics who've suggested that she tried to put on a fake Southern accent in Selma, Ala.noted that she's split her life between Arkansas, Illinois and the East Coast. Clinton added a Southern lilt to her voice last week when addressing a civil rights group in New York City headed by the Rev. Al Sharpton. On Monday, dealing with a microphone glitch at a fundraiser for young donors, she quoted former slave and underground railroad leader Harriet Tubman. The two episodes prompted some ribbing in the media and hatched more than a few humorous YouTube video clips.
Clinton is a linguistic polyglota Chicago native turned New York resident who works in Washington and spent two decades living in Arkansas when her husband, Bill Clinton, was governor. But observers have long noted her tendency to speak Southern primarily in front of black audiences, as she did with Sharpton last week and at a civil rights commemoration in Selma in March. I have several names I like to call Hillary. "Polyglot" is not one of them.
All the Democrats are vying for the support of black votersa crucial constituency especially in the early voting state of South Carolina. In 2004, black voters comprised nearly 50 percent of the state's Democratic primary turnout.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/27/2007 14:13 ||
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Ebonics nex? Don tink omelette yu slide on dat, missus Bill.
#3
She be from da south, southside of Chicago. Saw it clip on Leno last night. Reminiscent of the finest traditions of carpetbaggers. Truly a painful experience, like William F. Buckley, Jr. trying to speak jive.
Posted by: ed ||
04/27/2007 14:41 Comments ||
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#4
This is satire, right?
She is not multilingual - like most Americans, she speaks only English. Does she speak with a Spanish accent when she addresses a Hispanic audience? Or speak in Spanish, better yet?
#5
I've seen her little bullshit cornpone act and my first thought was, "Jesus, that's insulting as hell". What's next, blackface?
But she's Hillary! so no rules apply...
#9
Hillary is remarkably naive if she thinks that in this media-saturated age she can pull these stunts and no one will notice! This woman is an absolute disgrace.
#10
Thank you for the link, GP. The only thing more repulsive than such blatant patronizing is the fact that this carpetbagger was getting applauded for it. Much like Hispanics after Bush's election, do America's blacks really think that they won't be cast aside like an old shoe the moment Hillary steps into the Oval Office?
#13
She does NOT have a Southern accent. I, however, have been told I have a Mexican accent when speaking Spanish. This form my wife who was from Puerto Rico. The pandering by this abomination is unbeleavable.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
04/27/2007 19:06 Comments ||
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#14
I think her "multilingual" reference was to her sexual preference. I could be wrong, tho.....
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/27/2007 19:46 Comments ||
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#15
Most Americans speak only English? I'm quite certain that isn't true. I could read and write in Hebrew before I could do so in English, my American-born father-in-law from the other side of town speaks Polish as fluently as English even yet and Mr. Wife used to speak in French with his mother, I've a girlfriend from North Carolina whose three native tongues are American, Greek and German. How many of those born in America translate into Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Russian, etc and so forth for their not-much-English speaking parents and grandparents? Not to mention the many Americans who've been abroad long enough to acquire another language or several... or have learnt Spanish in self defense. ;-)
#17
look at countries of similar size. I bet Americans of the "interior" speak and know a LOT more foreign languages than Russia, China, Canada, et al....not EVEN counting Dearborn
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/27/2007 22:51 Comments ||
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#18
Then there are those of us who speak computer languages.
About a quarter mile from the Martlin Luther King theatre and temporary presidential debate studio site, MSNBC's Hardball erected a massive outdoor soundstage. The piazza in the background has become a gathering place for supporters of the candidates. These crowds are "built," in the argot of campaign science.
How?
1. Have the "it" candidate. Sen. Barack Obama's South Carolina staff has spent the last week corralling Obama supporters at nearby campuses. And -- how to say this -- South Carolina State University at Orangeburg is a majority African American campus. So it probably was not a huge challenge to turn out Obama supporters.
2. Pay them. The rumour du jour is that Hillary Clinton's campaign, or some consultant affiliated with the campaign, paid students at nearby Clafin College to come hold large "Clinton Country" signs. One Clinton sign-holder did indeed volunteer to us that she was being paid, but she wouldn't say by whom. A Clinton spokesman denies that the campaign has paid anyone to attend.
3. Bus them in. John Edwards did a bit of that, we're told. (Busing in, not paying). Edwards allies seemed to have arrived late. We caught Edwards's director of advance -- he's the guy with the telephone to his ear in the picture below -- telling the other end of the line that "We need more signs!". Indeed: Chris Matthews's first guest was Elizabeth Edwards. About two dozen Edwards supporters materialized a few minutes later, but they were too late: the only room for them was on the fringes of the piazza.
Posted by: Mike ||
04/27/2007 10:39 ||
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"'Rent-a-Mobs' appear at the Dem debate"
When did they not?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/27/2007 12:44 Comments ||
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"The global war on terror has been a pretext for aggressive war. As president of the United States, I intend to take America in a different direction, rejecting war as an instrument of policy, reconnecting with the nations of the world, so that we can address the real issues that affect security all over the globe and affect our security at home."
Whatever those "real issues" are....more at link
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/27/2007 07:23 ||
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#1
Reading the quotes I noticed: as crazy as Dennis the Doofus sounds, the rest of the bunch don't sound much saner.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/27/2007 8:32 Comments ||
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#2
It would appear that the great divide in both public opinion and between politicians is not Republican-Democrat, liberal-conservative, pro or anti-Bush, or even pro or anti-war (or, in Europe: pro-or anti-American). Rather, the great divide is between those, such as me, who believe that the rise of radical Islam poses an existential threat to Western Civilization; and those who believe it is a nuisance, if, episodically, a very dangerous nuisance. Is There Writing on the Wall?
History is about to teach these people a lesson. I just hope the rest of us will survive the experience.
A flock of small jets took flight from Washington Thursday, each carrying a Democratic presidential candidate to South Carolina for the first debate of the political season.
No one jet pooled, no one took commercial flights to save money, fuel or emissions. All but Biden, who flew on a private jet, chartered their flights - a campaign expense of between $7,500 and $9,000.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/27/2007 07:17 ||
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#1
Meanwhile, John Edwards was quoted from the debate -
"On the issue of climate change, we ought to cap carbon emissions in the United States. We ought to invest in clean alternative sources of energy. We ought to invest in carbon sequestration technology, in coal technology. A billion dollars, at least, into making sure we build the most fuel-efficient vehicles on the planet. We ought to ask Americans to be patriotic about something other than war. To be willing to conserve."
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/27/2007 7:22 Comments ||
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#2
Silky Pony (Edwards) was, of course, talking about the little people. Not those like him who need to have a private jet fly them around from meeting to meeting and from Golf game to Golf game.....
Tony Snow has told his boss that he plans to return to work on April 30. "That's what he's been telling people" inside the West Wing, says an official. Snow's been away fighting cancer and surprised Washington when he attended last Saturday's White House Correspondents' Association dinner. Snow has said he feels pretty good, considering the treatment, though it's unclear how often he will handle questions in the White House briefing room. Yay, Tony!
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2007 00:00 ||
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Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Thursday said that Pakistan had the potential to become a major hub of tourism in this part of the world. And I have the potential to become slender and svelte and grow a full head of wavy blond hair.
Hey, it could happen. Inshallah.
He was speaking at the concluding session of the UN World Tourism Organisation Conference. Sounds like he was on dope... Sounds like he was the dope ...
Aziz said that besides incentives for tourists, infrastructure of the country was being improved to attract more tourists. In this connection, he referred to construction of most modern new Islamabad airport and addition and expansion of hotels in the federal capital, Lahore and Karachi. Did he say anything about the locals' habit of bumping off infidels? Or were they expecting only Sunni Muslim tourists?
Aziz told the audience that there were misperceptions abroad about Pakistan whereas the country was friendly, its people were hospitable, and its different regions offer natural, historic, religious and business tourism. He said that visa policy for tourists had been liberalised. Tourism is a great unifier, sends message of peace and harmony across borders and civilisations, and promotes understanding of each others cultures, values, likes and dislikes, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2007 00:00 ||
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#4
I would have sworn that headline said "Regional hub of terrorism"!
Posted by: Dave S ||
04/27/2007 1:19 Comments ||
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#5
DD: "I would have sworn that headline said "Regional hub of terrorism"!
That's just a spelling variation. You know how the Brits spell "labor" - there, it's "labour". Well, in Pakistan, "terrorism" is spelled "tourism". So those aren't terrorists running around in Pakistan - they're tourists.
#6
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has the potential to become a huge tourist destination if its society would be more understanding, says Hungarian Ambassador Bela Fazekas.
Talking to Daily Times at the Hungarian embassy on Friday, he said that people should understand that tourists do not want to change their mindsets. Tourists are not missionaries. They only want to have a good time and spend their money, he said.
While 2007 was being celebrated as Visit Pakistan Year, the countrys tourism campaign has been put off by a string of suicide attacks, one of which is said to have forced thousands of Japanese to cancel their plans to tour the country. The Japanese tourists wanted to visit Hunza Valley but had to cancel their trip following the suicide bombing outside the Marriott Hotel, Fazekas said. The attack in January that killed a hotel security guard was bad publicity for Pakistan, which continues to struggle to attract tourists.
Posted by: John Frum ||
04/27/2007 7:05 Comments ||
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#7
Pakistan could be a great tourist destination - if they could get rid of all the Muslims. Just like Columbia has a lot to offer, if it was not for those pesky cocaine lords.
#14
Stopped in Karachi for 1 night in 1965 as a kid.
It made Yemen almost look like a nice place to visit.
Of course the torch lit mobs chasing the English that summer in Yemen didn't look like vacation fun...
SLEEPING with someone on a first date can INCREASE chances of a long-term relationship, a biologist claims. Dr Barry Gibb rejects the belief it is best to wait before having sex.
"Oh, yeah. Like, if I... I mean, you take some chick out, it's best we have sex right off the bat, get it out of the way, y'know. It clears the hormones out of the brain and I... you can decide if you like each other."
His new book, The Rough Guide To The Brain, says love-making sparks chemical changes in the brain that lead to love and commitment. Dr Gibb said yesterday: "Behind all those romantic coy looks is a brain on chemical rampage."
And, really, Dr. Gibb will still respect you in the morning.
#8
Don't be so quick to dismiss the good Doctor's theory. By compressing so much of the courtship ritual into a brief timespan, it is much more likely to trigger an intensified avalanching cascade effect in the brain's neurochemistry that could implant significant long-term emotional bonding.
What he neglects to note is how men are overwhelmingly predisposed towards assigning all decision-making to something other than their brain.
#10
I have never understood the 'sleeping with someone' used in connection with sexual activity: seems to me sleeping is the last thing you would be engaged in. or perhaps you have already met my first wife.
#15
Now, now, let's not be too quick to judge here. I believe an extensive long-term study with multiple female partners is called for here. I know, I know, the study will be intensive and the research grueling, but I'm willing to take on the project single-handedly.
(AKI) - Hundreds of Buddhist monks in Thailand have been staging a sit-in outside the Thai parliament since Wednesday, with the aim of convincing the authorities to declare Buddhism the national religion in the country's new constitution, which is currently being drafted. The demand by the Buddhist monks was officially handed to the Thai prime minister, Surayud Chulanont, on Thursday.
This sit-in by the monks is the latest in a series of protests which began a few weeks ago and coincides with the writing of the first draft of the new constitution, which was deemed necessary following the coup last September in Thailand and the repeal of the 1997 constitution. Potential ammendments to the constitution have to be presented by 10 June and the Thai people will be called upon to vote for the final version in a referendum in September.
Thailand became a constitutional monarchy in 1932. Since that time, none of the 17 constitutions that followed recognised Buddhism as the official state religion, although 95 percent of the 66 million Thais are Buddhists. 'Radical' Buddhists have tried to push Thailand to be an official Buddhist state at various times, the last of which was in 1997. This call has always been rejected by the 'liberal' Buddhists and especially by the minority Muslim population that fears institutionalised discrimination.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
What a week - First INDIA wid HINDUISM, now THAILAND wid BUDDHISM.
DAMASCUS - Syrias ruling Baath Party and its allies dominated parliamentary election that were held this week, results showed on Thursday. The winners, whose names were read by Interior Minister Bassam Abdel Majeed, were overwhelmingly from the Baath Party and other allied parties or from supporters among the business class, tribes and government-controlled unions.
Color us surprised.
A majority in the 250-seat assembly is reserved for the Baath, which has ruled Syria for four decades, and its allies. Almost all of the candidates have been vetted and approved by the government. Dissidents boycotted the election, and even pro-government candidates said security forces stationed around the polls had prevented people from voting freely.
It's a dictatorship for a reason.
Abdel Majeed said at a news conference that turnout was supposedly 56 percent and that the elections were democratic. The polls were held on Sunday and Monday without independent monitors.
Syria has been under emergency law for four decades and no opposition parties are allowed. It holds elections every four years for its assembly, called the Council of the Selected People.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/27/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Almost all of the candidates have been vetted and approved by the government.
Does Iran's Council of Evil TurbansExperts have a say on these candidates?
Another Great Scam of the Twentieth Century...and in Time Magazine, no less
Some decades ago, the powers that be declared that employee diversity was a good thing, as desirable as double-digit profit margins. It's proving just as difficult to achieve. Companies try all sorts of things to attract and promote minorities and women. They hire organizational psychologists. They staff booths at diversity fairs. They host dim-sum brunches and salsa nights. The most popular--and expensive--approach is diversity training, or workshops to teach executives to embrace the benefits of a diverse staff. Too bad it doesn't work. But it keeps a lot of Human Resources people in a job.
A groundbreaking new study by three sociologists shows that diversity training has little to no effect on the racial and gender mix of a company's top ranks. Frank Dobbin of Harvard, Alexandra Kalev of the University of California, Berkeley, and Erin Kelly of the University of Minnesota sifted through
decades of federal employment statistics provided by companies. Their analysis found no real change in the number of women and minority managers after companies began diversity training. That's right--none. Networking didn't do much, either. Prepare the show trials! These three have betrayed us!
Mentorships did. Among the least common tactics, one--assigning a diversity point person or task force--has the best record of success. "Companies have spent millions of dollars a year on these programs without actually knowing, Are these efforts worth it?" Dobbin says. "In the case of diversity training, the answer is no."
The law is one reason that employers favor diversity training. In the wake of whopping settlements in race-discrimination suits against large companies, including Texaco and Coca-Cola, over the past decade, employers believe that having a program in place can show a judge that they are sincerely fighting prejudice. But this too is a myth, says Dobbin: "I don't know of a single case where courts gave credit for diversity training."
Social psychologists have many theories to explain why diversity training doesn't work as intended. Studies show that any training generates a backlash and that mandatory diversity training in particular may even activate a bias. Researchers also see evidence of "irresistible stereotypes," or biases so deeply ingrained that they simply can't be taught away in a one-day workshop. Say, Johnson, you look like an idiot. I'm going to send you to this class so you can learn how to treat people.
Jeez, y'know boss, you're right. This one week of classes should turn me into a loving, caring, nuturing human being who is tolerant of everybody instead of the loutish Cro Magnon man I appear to be now. Like when the Three Stooges took those etiquette lessons. Can we have a big pie fight when it's over too?
Consultants on diversity insist that the training they give has value. R. Roosevelt Thomas, founder of the American Institute for Managing Diversity, says corporate America must first redefine the word. "Diversity means differences and similarities," he says, be they in race, gender or corporate culture. He teaches executives to focus on skills and not familiarity. "In a foxhole, I want someone who can shoot," he says. "I don't care where they're from. Some folks have to be reminded of that." ...and I wanna keep my well paying phoney baloney job, godammit!
So what does work? The study's findings in this area were striking too: at companies that assigned a person or committee to oversee diversity, ensuring direct accountability for results, the number of minorities and women climbed 10% in the years following the appointment. Mentorships worked too, particularly for black women, increasing their numbers in management 23.5%. Most effective is the combination of all these strategies, says Dobbin.
In practice, companies find that a multipronged approach leads to results. General Electric initiated an aggressive diversity strategy under former CEO Jack Welch that included employee networks, regular planning forums, formal mentoring, and recruiting at colleges popular with minorities. Perhaps most significantly, GE appointed a chief diversity officer, Deborah Elam. In 2000, women, minorities and non--U.S. citizens made up 22% of GE's officers and 29% of senior executives. By 2005, their ranks swelled to 34% among officers and 40% of senior execs. "Training just to train is not enough," says Elam. "You've got to have accountability at the top." Accountability for the careers of women and minorities requires a substantial commitment of time, staff and money--but so does diversity training. And only one works.
#1
Pick the best people you can find for the job, and treat them all with respect, and "diversity" takes care of itself.
Posted by: Mike ||
04/27/2007 14:06 Comments ||
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#2
They really avoid the biggest issue: accession to the top ranks requires top performance.
The popular misconception is to pretend that top corporate executives just hang out with their buddies for martinis and golf, doing a job that anyone could do. It goes hand in hand with statements like Al Gore's that the rich have "won life's lottery".
Which in a way is like criticizing a heart surgeon because "what he does isn't any different than what a plumber does". Yes, well, in both cases, plumbing is involved.
#3
R. Roosevelt Thomas, founder of the American Institute for Managing Diversity, says corporate America must first redefine the word. Diversity
Perhaps we should find a way to prevent the charlatans of social experiment to stop redefining definitions to their liking every time the little- people catch on to their boondoggles. We need ahhhh ummm whats the phrase again oh yeah we need a paradigm shift.
#4
"Diversity means differences and similarities," he says, be they in race, gender or corporate culture.
Diversity is difference and similarity. War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Intellectuals are morons.
Posted by: The Doctor ||
04/27/2007 15:51 Comments ||
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#5
In my case, it was an excellent opportunity to feel bad about being born a white guy. I passed on that
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/27/2007 15:54 Comments ||
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#6
I've spent a reasonable amount of my employer's time trying to figure out just exactly what "diversity in the work place" means.
I've come up with two possible answers:
1. It is something to be said in order to keep the likes of Jessie Jackson, et el from blackmailing the organization.
or
2. It means the some people really can dance better than others. This is based on the guidance that "different groups/cultures" bring "different points of view/strengths" (why this is good is never explained) to the organization.
The first seems to be the most likely as I have serious doubs about the second possibility as I have seen no evidence to support the thesis.
But then I am just a bottom feeder, so what do I know?
Posted by: kelly ||
04/27/2007 16:15 Comments ||
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#7
Their analysis found no real change in the number of women and minority managers after companies began diversity training. That's right--none. Networking didn't do much, either.
No different in academia. They demand, contrive, and out right break the law in the name of diversity - for the students. However, when it comes to faculty, the old standard of 'one set of rules for thee and another set of rules for me' applies, hiding behind their tenure.
#8
'Diversity' is usually 'mananged' by HR, you know those offices, and departments, full of white suburban women who have zero tolerance for diversity in their area.
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.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. This morning in DeKalb, Ala., the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) spearheaded the execution of four federal search warrants at the homes of members of a group called "The Free Militia," U.S. Attorney Alice Martin for the Northern District of Alabama announced today. 
2. Pay them. The rumour du jour is that Hillary Clinton's campaign, or some consultant affiliated with the campaign, paid students at nearby Clafin College to come hold large "Clinton Country" signs. One Clinton sign-holder did indeed volunteer to us that she was being paid, but she wouldn't say by whom. A Clinton spokesman denies that the campaign has paid anyone to attend.
3. Bus them in. John Edwards did a bit of that, we're told. (Busing in, not paying). Edwards allies seemed to have arrived late. We caught Edwards's director of advance -- he's the guy with the telephone to his ear in the picture below -- telling the other end of the line that "We need more signs!". Indeed: Chris Matthews's first guest was Elizabeth Edwards. About two dozen Edwards supporters materialized a few minutes later, but they were too late: the only room for them was on the fringes of the piazza.
Tony Snow has told his boss that he plans to return to work on April 30. "That's what he's been telling people" inside the West Wing, says an official. Snow's been away fighting cancer and surprised Washington when he attended last Saturday's White House Correspondents' Association dinner. Snow has said he feels pretty good, considering the treatment, though it's unclear how often he will handle questions in the White House briefing room.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Thursday said that Pakistan had the potential to become a major hub of tourism in this part of the world. 
DAMASCUS - Syrias ruling Baath Party and its allies dominated parliamentary election that were held this week, results showed on Thursday. The winners, whose names were read by Interior Minister Bassam Abdel Majeed, were overwhelmingly from the Baath Party and other allied parties or from supporters among the business class, tribes and government-controlled unions.
