If you ever had any doubt John Murtha was a whore, this should help you decide.
What's a paltry one million dollars to a member of Congress?
Well, apparently not enough to know if an organization about to receive that big block of cash actually exists.
Republican Rep. Jeff Flake of Arizona, the fiscal crusader who's never met an earmark he likes, questioned Democratic Rep. Peter J. Visclosky of Indiana on the House floor Tuesday about whether the Center for Instrumented Critical Infrastructure actually exists - since, hey, it's getting like a million bucks or something. If the trunks had more Congressmen like Flake they would not be in the mess they are in right now.
Visclosky, who chairs the spending subcommittee responsible for the project, had to admit that, well, he didn't have a clue.
After a lengthy back-and-forth, Flake, complaining that his staff couldn't find a website for the center, asked Visclosky, "Does the center currently exist?"
"At this time, I do not know," the Indiana Democrat replied. "But if it does not exist, the monies could not go to it." Hmm. $1 million...and nobody knows where the money is going.
And who could possibly be the sponsor of such an earmark? Yes, you guessed it, the man Republicans love to hate, Pennsylvania Democrat John P. Murtha. Murtha, you traitorous whore.
Despite the money's uncertain destination, the House rejected Flake's measure to strike the funds, 326-98. And the Visclosky bill also sailed through, 312-112. Porkers protect porkers.
As I said, what's one million dollars to a member of Congress?
UPDATE: I failed to report last night that a certificate filed with the requested funds says the money is actually earmarked to Concurrent Technologies Corporation, a nonprofit technological consulting firm. A brief search of campaign finance records shows CTC President and CEO Daniel R. DeVos, of alternately Central City and Johnstown, Pa. has contributed $7,000 to Murtha's reelection campaign since April 2002. John Murtha is a traiterous whore. If any Rantburgers are in his District...call his office.
One man has been sentenced to death and 28 others jailed for their roles in a slave labour scandal at brick factories in northern China. The foreman of a kiln where more than 30 people were held captive was jailed for life, and an employee received the death penalty for killing a worker. Others were jailed on charges of illegal detention and forced labour.
Since the scandal broke in June, more than 570 people forced into slavery in Shanxi and Henan have been freed.
The kiln where the accused foreman, Heng Tinghan, and his employee, Zhao Tanbing, worked was owned by Wang Bingbing, the son of a local Communist Party official, who was jailed for nine years.
On Monday, 95 officials in Shanxi province were punished for dereliction of duty in supervising the brick kilns, state media reported. Thirty-three were sacked from their posts and another 62 were given disciplinary warnings, Xinhua news agency said. There are expected to be more trials connected with the scandal. Police in northern China have arrested almost 160 people suspected of involvement in the case.
Wal-Mart said Tuesday it will test sales in some stores of biblical action figures whose makers say they are aimed at Christian parents who prefer their children play with Samson, David or Noah rather than with a comic book character or Bratz doll.
Cheeze. I wish I'd thought of that racket.
They'll be made in atheist China, of course.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spokeswoman Melissa O'Brien said the toys made by One2believe, a Valencia, California, company, will be offered in 425 of Wal-Mart's 3,376 discount stores and Supercenters in the United States. One2believe Chief Executive David Socha said his products were part of a "battle for the toy box" with dolls and figures that he said carry negative messages. "If you're very religious, it's a battle for your children's minds and what they're playing with and pretending. There are remakes out there of Satan and evil things," Socha said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Will the Sister Mary Francis action figure come with bonus 12" ruler, eraser and Holy Card???? Enquiring minds need to know
#2
The Old Testament stories weren't always the nicest; some parents might want to rethink that King David vs. King Saul doublepack. But the Jericho playset should be pretty good - one touch of a button, and the battery-powered trumpets play and the walls collapse.
Since I already have a Charles Dickens action figure, I wouldn't mind a Jesus to stick alongside him. I might want to wait for the Golgotha playset, though . . .
Posted by: The Doctor ||
07/18/2007 8:48 Comments ||
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#3
These have been around for a while. It's kitschy, but not theologically unreasonable, to portray Jesus as a benevolent coach or a dance instructor. The ice hockey one is just, well, over the top, to put it mildly. ("With 1:33 left in the power play, Johnny skates up to the Son of Man and elbow-checks his Lord and Savior into the boards.")
Posted by: Mike ||
07/18/2007 9:00 Comments ||
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#4
Maybe, Mike, but then again you could have "Jesus Saves, then shoots, and scores!"
Posted by: Gary (no Samoyeds in hotel) ||
07/18/2007 9:26 Comments ||
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#5
This isn't that surprising, as all the Wally World's near me already sell Christian Bible Study books, Bibles themselves, etc. in their book section. Of course, even the Costco's near me (Atlanta) sell Bibles and Bible covers, so I've often wondered if it's a "Bible Belt" marketing thing, or do all Wal-Marts/Costco's sell these items.
Posted by: BA ||
07/18/2007 9:36 Comments ||
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#6
The ice hockey one is just, well, over the top, to put it mildly.
You didn't think the martial arts coach was dubious? "The Lamb of God, now with kung-fu grip!"
#8
"Close enough for gubbmint work", TW! I consider the (at least rural areas) midwest as being about as "God fearing" as the Southeast.
Posted by: BA ||
07/18/2007 13:22 Comments ||
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#9
Oh, we're in a formerly rural area, BA. This is a legitimate suburb, now. Just before the schools held final exams, a call went out in our district for translators conversant in about fifteen foreign languages (many of which I'd never even heard of!) with another of the half dozen common ones covered by prepared tapes. Fred Pruitt's knowledge of Vietnamese and Russian would have been helpful.
#10
I feel your pain, TW! Not in the Clinton sort of way, but in a sincere sort of way (here in my newly suburban area too).
Posted by: BA ||
07/18/2007 13:39 Comments ||
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#11
Being surprised that Wal-Mart sells Bibles is like being surprised that they sell dictionaries. Hmm.. I wonder what book would rank number one in Global sales.
Posted by: AT ||
07/18/2007 15:35 Comments ||
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Oh, we're in a formerly rural area, BA. This is a legitimate suburb, now. Just before the schools held final exams, a call went out in our district for translators conversant in about fifteen foreign languages
Eh, that doesn't mean that much anymore. I have cousins living in definitely rural Indiana (Friendship, IN, home of the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association) who work for the local fire department and life squad. Their war stories sound like something out of a Texas episode of COPS.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
07/18/2007 19:38 Comments ||
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#13
The congregation's dirty-minded teenage boys will make the "Song of Solomon" action figure the immediate bestseller :-D
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
07/18/2007 21:59 Comments ||
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#14
I want the Onan action figure....
Or maybe the Jesus and the moneychangers action set...
Posted by: Mark E. ||
07/18/2007 23:55 Comments ||
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An Indian firm has launched a paan-flavoured condom designed to evoke the pungent taste of the betel nut and tobacco concoction chewed and then spat out by millions of South Asians, newspapers reported on Tuesday. Hindustan Latex Ltd. is targeting the new condom range at prostitutes, who are among the most vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS, the Hindustan Times reported. The company ran taste tests with sex workers, including prototypes with chocolate, banana and strawberry flavours, but the paan flavour came out tops. The community loved it as most of the sex workers chew paan, Sanjeev Gaikwad was quoted as saying at the launch in Mumbai.
If you've never been to Southeast Asia, betel nut stains the lips, teeth, tongue, and front of the shirt bright red. It's mildly narcotic. The teeth eventually lose the red color and turn black. I always found betel chewers rather disgusting, but maybe that was just me. I never developed a taste for fermented duck eggs, either.
Gaikwad is a director at Family Health International, a public health organisation that helped develop the condom. Paan is a mildly intoxicating preparation wrapped in a leaf, usually containing tobacco, betel nut and flavourings, and is hugely popular across South Asia. It is chewed to a mouth-staining red pulp before being spat out. The condoms will at first be made available only to prostitutes, but will we launched to the general public in a few months, the newspaper said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
There are plenty of Asian women eager to suck on betel nut, let me tell you. The red teeth are a bit of a turn off, though. I must admit that I've tried it, and the buzz isn't bad. Kind of half-way between tobacco and weed, IMHO.
#2
Wisdom of our ancestors - contemporary science has yet to dev = mass market liquid anti-decay tooth cleaners that also won't harm or micro-damage your teeth's enamel vee routine brushing.
The Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday served notices on former prime ministers Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina to submit their wealth statements as part of its initiative to find out whether there is any ground for filing graft cases against the two.
In the notices, the government anti-graft watchdog asked the chiefs of BNP and Awami League (AL) to submit statements of their movable and immovable properties to the commission within seven working days from the date of the notification.
AL President Sheikh Hasina, who had been arrested on Monday and sent to a sub-jail, was served with the notice through the jail authorities while the notice to Khaleda was sent to her Mainul Road residence in Dhaka Cantonment.
Talking to reporters on the ACC premises, its Secretary Mokhles Ur Rahman said the decision was taken yesterday morning. "This is a routine work of the commission," the secretary added.
On receiving the two most prominent leaders' wealth statements, the ACC will crosscheck the statements with the information gathered by itself with assistance from intelligence agencies. "The ACC will file cases against them, if they are found to be suppressing information about their wealth in the statements," a source in the ACC said.
Sources in intelligence agencies said they already have information about the wealth of the two leaders. The intelligence agencies gathered the information by collecting the two leaders' wealth statements submitted to the Election Commission during filing of their nominations, and from NBR. Besides, they collected information about the two leaders' bank accounts and examined whether there were any unusual transactions, the sources said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2007 00:00 ||
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Three small bombs exploded at Dhaka University on Tuesday, causing panic but no casualties as students tried to call a strike over the arrest of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed, police said. The crude home-made devices went off near the main administrative building on the university campus in the Bangladeshi capital, said local police chief Shahidul Islam. We are investigating whether the explosion had any link to the strike called by the students wing of the Awami League to protest the arrest of their leader, he added.
Sheikh Hasina was arrested on Monday over an allegation of extortion. The arrest was the latest in scores of detentions by the military-backed emergency government as part of its months-long crackdown on corruption. Police said the Chhatra League, the student wing of Sheikh Hasinas party, called a nationwide strike in the countrys educational institutions for Tuesday.
Classes at Dhaka University, however, had not been affected, Islam said, adding that police had raided four campus residence halls ahead of the strike. Police on Monday fired rubber bullets and tear gas shells to disperse several hundred protesters as they tried to block the convoy escorting Sheikh Hasina from the courthouse to jail. Several hundred students chanting pro-Awami League slogans also defied an emergency ban on political gatherings and rallies in Sheikh Hasinas southern hometown of Gopalganj on Monday, police officer Monir Hossain said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2007 00:00 ||
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The BBC is to suspend all its phone-in competitions after the Corporation's Trust expressed concerns about "significant failures of control and compliance".
An editorial review revealed viewers had been misled in shows including Comic Relief and Children In Need, some of which featured fictitious winners of phone-in competitions.
Mark Thompson, the BBC director-general, said the failures within the corporation and by its suppliers, have "compromised the BBC's values of accuracy and honesty".
"There is no excuse for deception," he said.
"I know the idea of deceiving the public would simply never occur to most people in the BBC.
"It is far better to accept a production problem and make a clean breast to the public than to deceive."
The Trust said the additional editorial failings showed "further deeply disappointing evidence of insufficient understanding amongst certain staff of the standards of accuracy and honesty expected, and inadequate editorial controls to ensure compliance with those standards."
It added: "We have made clear that we regard any deception or breach of faith with our audiences as being utterly unacceptable."
All phone-related competitions on BBC TV and radio will cease from midnight tonight, while interactive and online competitions will be taken down as soon as possible.
Programmes found to have breached standards include:
# BBC1's Sports Relief in July 2006
# Comic Relief in March 2007
# BBC1 Scotland's Children In Need in November 2005
# TMi on CBBC and BBC2 in September 2006
# BBC 6 Music's Liz Kershaw Show in 2006
# The World Service's White Label show in April 2006.
In the Comic Relief programme, a caller who successfully answered a question in a competition for a celebrity prize was actually a member of the production staff.
During the Children in Need show, a fake competition winner was announced during a segment called Raven: The Island following technical problems.
Mr Thompson said the corporation will also hold a full and independent inquiry into a controversial programme about the Queen, by production company RDF Media.
Earlier today, Ofcom published a damning inquiry into recent phone-in scandals and concluded there is a "systemic failure" in the way broadcasters operate premium rate lines.
The media regulator accused telecoms operators, producers and broadcasters of a lack of transparency.
It said there was a need for clearer pricing schemes, fairer competitions, and greater external auditing.
"If broadcasters want audiences to go on spending millions calling in, they need to show they take consumer protection as seriously as programme content," said Richard Ayre, who led the inquiry.
#1
Mark Thompson, the BBC director-general, said the failures within the corporation and by its suppliers, have "compromised the BBC's values of accuracy and honesty".
How can you compromise that which you do not have?
Posted by: AT ||
07/18/2007 15:28 Comments ||
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"I know the idea of deceiving the public would simply never occur to most people in the BBC.
Horseshit, you just hate being caught.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/18/2007 16:05 Comments ||
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I know the idea of deceiving the public would simply never occur to most people in the BBC.
And he said this with a straight face !?!
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
07/18/2007 20:31 Comments ||
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The furious diplomatic row between Britain and Russia spilled into Europe yesterday as Britain looked for solidarity from its EU partners and Russia warned them not to get involved. Britain failed to win the immediate, concerted response it was seeking.
'Nother words, the Brits were left hanging. The more reason not to get too cozy with the Americans. Why have an ally if they can be counted upon to be there when you need them?
The Foreign Office had wanted a quick statement from the Portuguese, who hold the EU presidency, that would express a united European position denouncing Moscow for its lack of cooperation over the Litvinenko murder inquiry. But late yesterday the Portuguese prime minister, Jose Socrates, had been unable to find a consensus among his fellow leaders. A statement may come today, but the delay may have weakened its impact.
A joint statement from the EU has the same impact no matter when it's issued.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese foreign minister, Luis Amado, repeatedly emphasised that the matter was "a bilateral issue" between Britain and Russia.
Europe is united only when it wants to be. Maybe they should discuss pension plans.
The French offered particularly vocal support, but German foreign ministry officials reportedly believed Britain had overreacted by expelling four diplomats.
Bad for business, and especially bad for natural gas deliveries.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/18/2007 00:00 ||
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KOMMERSANT > Zhirinovsky has belabeled great Britain as THE NATION in Europe, SSSSSHHHHHHHHH more than FRANCE [Napoleon] + GERMANY [Adolf] etc., as most historically troublesome to Russia.
A Brazilian airliner carrying 176 people crashed and burst into flames on Tuesday at Brazil's busiest airport, killing at least three people in the country's second major air disaster in less than a year.
The Airbus A320 was flying into Sao Paulo from Porto Alegre in southern Brazil when it lost control on landing. It skidded off the rain-soaked runway and flew over a bustling avenue just below, slamming into a gas station and cargo terminal.
details at the link - probably will be updated periodically as it sounds as if there will be more deaths as a result of the crash.
#1
The jury system is founded upon the notion of 'human free will', something that is an anathema to marxistsocialist liberal beliefs. In a society indoctrinated in the importance of 'group' over the individual, I can see where they'd be freaking out. The lefties here do it all the time when confronted by anyone who grasps the concept and rejects the collective.
(The report) says that as many as 300 million people are drinking contaminated water every day, and 190 million are suffering from water-related illnesses each year ...
One third of the length of all China's rivers are now "highly polluted" as are 75% of its major lakes and 25% of all its coastal waters. Nearly 30,000 children die from diarrhoea due to polluted water each year.
"A majority of the water flowing through China's urban areas is unsuitable for drinking or fishing," the report says.
Although China is the world's fourth largest economy, growing 10% a year and closing rapidly on the US, Japan and Germany, its environmental standards are often closer to those in some of the poorest countries in the world, says the report. More than 17,000 towns have no sewage works at all and the human waste from nearly a billion people is barely collected or treated. Nearly 70% of the rural population have no access to safe sanitation...
#1
When history finally closes the books on communism, it will prove to have murdered more people, wasted more money and caused more environmental damage than any other form of government known to mankind. That the very few of communism's elite would benefit from the sufferings of so many and manage to do so all in the name of "The People" will go down as one of the most monstrous ironies ever heard of. Unless Islam gets its hands on huge numbers of nuclear weapons, it can never even hope to equal the horrendous slaughter that communism has achieved so effortlessly.
#2
25 years ago I did my senior paper in Poli Sci on the effects of Communist economics on the environment in USSR.
Zenster is absolutely correct. To site just one example Marx has a concept of the "free good" which means only human labor adds value. The upshot of this is that all natural resources, water, timber, minerals are wasted because only the purest forms are worth processing and their is no cost involved in waste.
#1
Private sector workers find few ideological inconveniences in party membership. The CCP has dropped almost all aspects of communism though it retains an affection for Marxist rhetoric and is committed to its monopoly on political power.
Besides the fact that the above paragraph literally drips with cognitive dissonance, it also reveals the Politburo's naked lust for total control. Communism? Who gives a damn, just so long as we run the show? Marxism? Pay it lip service but keep the elite firmly in place.
After the shock of seeing the Berlin Wall fall in my own lifetime, I'm rather well-prepared to see China's masses string up their Mandarins from whatever lamp posts they can find.
#2
Party membership isn't that great, unless you work for the government. They don't just accept anyone, and in college it's a lot of extra work for not much reward. It's a lifelong ambition of mine to seduce a real commie...I've come close a few times, but never really closed the deal.
#3
If they could just figure out that it doesn't matter if you have two political parties. The public is only interested in what they want, they are fairly indifferent to most of what any government has to do.
So setting two parties up in competition with each other keeps government fresh with more innovation. The bosses of neither party suffer too greatly for being out of power for a while.
I noticed that the reporter told of China's 2006 estimated GDP ($2.79 trillion), but nery a mention of Japan's or the U.S.'s (which are the top 2 in the world). I know a few years ago, the number of $12 trillion was thrown about for the U.S., but I don't know anything about Japan's GDP.
And, not to forget the Terminator, but does anyone know California's GDP (I know in recent history, it was the world's 5th/6th largest economy by itself)?
Posted by: BA ||
07/18/2007 9:23 Comments ||
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Nevermind. Wiki is your friend, and here's what I found:
* California alone (2004 data) = $1.543 trillion
* Japan GDP (2006 estimate) = $4.22 trillion
Posted by: BA ||
07/18/2007 9:28 Comments ||
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#3
One of the reasons that China is roaring ahead like they are is that they are considered an emerging economy. As such, they are exempt from any restrictions imposed by the Kyoto treaty.
That, plus they don't have to worry about environmental damage in general, safety rules, etc.
#5
Yep, no worries on ANY of the above items, and yet they still manage to pay only $15/day! Quite the nirvana, I'd say!
Posted by: BA ||
07/18/2007 12:27 Comments ||
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#6
...actual product in their product... I'm still aghast at the cardboard-filled dumplings. I ran into my girlfriend who just moved back from Beijing in the grocery store yesterday. She's been back two weeks now, and is still overwhelmed walking through the grocery store.
They are the most remarkable pictures of one of the most hellish places on earth.
Never seen before, these astonishing photographs, lovingly hand-touched in colour to bring to life the nightmare of Passchendaele, were released this week to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the battle that, between July and November 1917, claimed a staggering 2,121 lives a day and in total some quarter of a million Allied soldiers.
What was once pretty countryside around the Belgian village that gave the battlefield its name was reduced to an infernal swamp where the ground oozed with foul-smelling slime, and mustard gas that blistered the skin and made the lungs bleed.
Today, the Queen will attend a Last Post ceremony in Passchendaele at the Menin Gate, where a memorial arch is engraved with the names of the 54,896 Commonwealth soldiers who died with no known graves. She will also visit the Tyne Cot cemetery, where 11,952 graves are laid out in neat concentric circles, their tombstones white against the green grass, in peaceful defiance of the brutal battle that took their lives.
One of the major conflicts of World War I, it was conceived by British Commander-in-Chief Sir Douglas Haig as a "big push" that would, finally, bring a breakthrough in the stalemate in Flanders. Officially named the Third Battle of Ypres, the hope was that by breaking through German lines at this point on the Western Front, the Allies could reach the Belgian coast and capture the German submarine bases there.
The Allies prepared the way with a massive two-week bombardment in which 3,000 heavy guns sent more than four million shells pouring into the German lines.
Then, on July 31, the troops poured into a No Man's Land that within days and under torrential rain had become a sodden bog. It became so deep that men, horses and pack mules drowned in it. What was supposed to be a breakthrough became a battle of attrition.
By November, the British and Empire forces had advanced just five miles at terrible cost, to take the village of Passchendaele - which at least provided an excuse for them to call a halt. Their one consolation was that the Germans had also suffered grievously.
The Mist hangs low and quiet on a ragged line of hills,
There's a whispering of wind across the flat,
You'd be feeling kind of lonesome if it wasn't for one thing
The patter of the raindrops on your old tin hat.
An' you just can't help a-figuring--sitting there alone--
About this war and hero stuff and that,
And you wonder if they haven't sort of got things twisted up,
While the rain keeps up its patter on your old tin hat.
When you step off with the outfit to do your little bit,
You're simply doing what you're s'posed to do--
And you don't take time to figure what you gain or lose--
It's the spirit of the game that brings you through.
But back at home she's waiting, writing cheerful little notes,
And every night she offers up a prayer,
And just keeps on a-hoping that her soldier boy is safe--
The Mother of the boy who's over there.
And, fellows, she's the hero of this great, big ugly war,
And her prayer is on the wind across the flat,
And don't you reckon it's her tears, and not the rain,
That's keeping up the patter on your old tin hat?
One of the most famous poems composed by a World War I Doughboy, Raindrops... was written by Lt. Wickersham the night before the St. Mihiel Offensive began. The next day, after being severely wounded by artillery fire, he continued leading his platoon despite a great loss of blood. He eventually died on the battlefield, receiving the Medal of Honor for his leadership, posthumously. His poem first appeared in Captain Billy's Whiz Bang.
#1
It wasn't trains who caused the mud. It was that teh zone was floodable and the shells broke the dikes. It was that the generale daigned to inbspect the battle scene after the battle.
#5
Glenmore, we have had less than 4000 killed in Iraq/Afghanistan in almost six years, and people complain.
As the Allies in WWI could have said, 4000 dead was just a slightly bad couple of days.
#6
10,000 troops killed in 20 minutes. That is how long it took for the US 1st Cavalry to sink three Japanese troop carriers that had anchored to unload re-inforcements in what they thought was a bay occupied by Japanese troops. US intel decoded a message of the pending arrival of the transports and first cav took out the Japanese troops in that bay. And waited behind the Japanese gun emplacements.
So yes, 4,000 in 6 years is really not even close to a one day battle per WWII standards...
#7
I've had the pleasure of speaking to a family friend who live through WWI. He was a child and so was his sister, but he remembered vividly his parents took him to a church for they believed the kids would be safe. They were in France for some reason or another. Day by day the shelling was drawing nearer and nearer. He descibed a hell on earth scene and for weeks they were at the Church knowing that it was coming closer and closer. He recalled having to leave on a kart, going through the shelled out remains the only thing standing still the chruch, up and down through the mud and craters. He said it should have taken them a few hours to reach where they were going after leaving the church. Instead it was days and days, and all the while behind them, the shelling was getting closer and closer. It was an amazing story, he was quite old when he told, but the whole time his eyes were closed and I could see the re-living on his face. I cannot even pass on the detail he described.
It is tough to relay here, but he recalled so vividly and my recollection was pictures like this.
#11
It is recorded that after the battle, Haig's chief of operations when to the battlefield for the first time, looked around, then broke into tears, saying "Dear God, we sent men to fight in that?"
New rules that will make it easier for people to move to Sweden to work have been announced by the government. Swedish employers will be able to recruit from outside Europe without first gaining the approval of the authorities.
No worries, the "authorities" thoroughly approve.
Migration Minister Tobias Billström announced the new rules at a press conference in Stockholm on Tuesday. Under the changes, companies looking for workers will be able to employ people from anywhere in the world if they cannot find somebody suitable in Sweden or the EES (the EU plus Norway, Iceland and Switzerland).
After all, Europe only has 450 million people and 10% unemployment. Not like you can find someone.
"People's movement across national borders and their desire to improve their standard of living is something we want to make use of in Sweden," Billström said. "The proposal will give Swedish businesses opportunities to seek labour outside the EES," he added, saying that Sweden's aging population and growing need for labour made the changes necessary.
details of the program at the link
Posted by: lotp ||
07/18/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Actually, East Europeans, Philipinos, and East Indian Hindus assimilate somewhat, at least after 1 generation. In contrast, 2nd generation Muslims lecture their parents against assimilation.
#2
New NIE on AQ seeking to attack the USA > among other thingys and other Terror Groups becoming a similar threat to the USA [including domestic US home-boyz], HOWEVER BAD THE DOMESTIC ATTACK THREAT IS FOR THE USA WILL BE MUCH WORSE FOR EUROPE.
#4
Very few people anywhere WANT to work; they do so in order to survive. If your lifestyle is the same whether you work or don't work, why work? Socialism 'enables' non-productivity, the same way so many alcoholics and drug addicts are enabled by those who care for them.
Leaders of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) may soon see a major lawsuit against them dismissed, thanks to the U.S. government. Actually, the DOJ often seeks intervener status where suits against foreign governments could effect US relations.
Last Thursday, the Department of Justice (DoJ) filed a notice in U.S. District Court in Miami of its potential participation in the lawsuit, which alleges that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, U.A.E.s prime minister and vice president, and his brother, Hamdan, U.A.E.s finance minister, enslaved boys as jockeys in camel races.
With the prospect of federal intervention, the lawsuit may be dismissed. After the suit was filed in September 2006, the U.A.E. leaders hired a camp of lobbyists, public-relations consultants and attorneys in Washington to push the Bush administration to weigh in on the case through a statement of interest. The effort has cost the sheikhs more than $3.5 million so far, according to the latest records filed with the Justice Department. Cost "$3.5 million"? That is like a penny to the Oil Sheiks.
U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga is considering a motion by the U.A.E. to dismiss the case. But the Emirates may have won more time with Thursdays notice, in which Justice Department lawyers asked Altonaga to consider deferring the motion for 60 days so that government attorneys can consult further on whether they will file a substantive memorandum describing U.S. interests.
Altonaga heard arguments yesterday for and against dismissing the suit, and said she might not even wait for the government to weigh in on the case, according to representatives for both sides. She adjourned without offering a final decision on the suit.
Since last years controversy surrounding Dubai Ports World, the U.A.E. has hired a number of Washington representatives to build more ties in America as well as preempt challenges such as the lawsuit.
One of the countrys top plaintiff law firms, Motley Crue Rice, along with private practice lawyer John Andres Thornton, filed the suit to seek compensation for thousands of trafficked children who raced camels in the Emirates. Arguing under the Alien Tort Statute, the firm took the case to the U.S. because the sheikhs own American assets... Motley-Rice beat Big Tobacco, but DOJ Amicus' filings killed their Petition in the 9-11 Suit. My lawyer works for Dewey, Cheatem and Howe.
#1
I can't help but wonder if this is anti-Hillary funding.
In the real world, serious investors and financial types know that the democrats don't have any candidates worthy of the oval office. I'm not exaggerating, they are really short on leadership and executive success. Of course, if elected, any donk candidate would serve as president much like other lesser presidents we've had like Carter or Clinton.
These are difficult times, not times for dangerous experiments in leadership. I find it humorous that the donks actually believe in their lineup of clowns. It reminds me of an old fashioned circus side show. What I don't find amusing is that about half of America's voters are so fucking stupid that they may actually vote for a clown. It's further evidence of the decline of America, when the court jester is as important as the judge.
WASHINGTON - Plunging into a case that has enraged border-enforcement activists, Senate leaders Tuesday denounced 11- and 12-year prison sentences handed down to two Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting an unarmed Mexican drug dealer. Calling the jail time given in October to former agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean "excessive" and "extreme," lawmakers led by California Sen. Dianne Feinstein challenged a series of decisions made by prosecutors in the case. "I'm one that believes this sentence is disproportionate. What we can do about that remains another subject," Feinstein said, stopping short of urging a pardon while presiding over a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the case.
Several other lawmakers, however - including Reps. Duncan Hunter, R-San Diego, and Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach/Long Beach - have attacked the harsh treatment of the officers and said the agents deserve to have their sentences commuted. "As we now see, Scooter Libby can be set free. Two Border Patrol agents who languish in solitary confinement, whose lives are in danger, those lives don't count a bit with this administration," Rohrabacher said. "This whole episode stinks to high heaven."
Ramos, 37, and Compean, 28, were sentenced to 11- and 12-year prison terms, respectively, for shooting Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, a Mexican national, in the buttocks as he fled into Mexico after abandoning 743 pounds of marijuana near Fabens, Texas. The former agents also were found guilty of tampering with evidence for failing to report the shooting. Compean additionally was convicted of tampering with evidence for collecting shell casings in what prosecutors said was another attempt to cover up the incident.
Tuesday's hearing at times took on the tone of an unofficial retrial, as senators questioned the U.S. attorney's decision not to charge the drug smuggler, Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, and to give him a "humanitarian visa" in addition to immunity in exchange for testimony against the border agents.
Lawmakers also took issue with the prosecutor's decision to charge the agents with using a weapon during the commission of a crime. The charge carries a mandatory 10-year sentence and is traditionally used against drug dealers.
"Somebody somewhere concluded that discipline needed to be applied to Border Patrol agents," Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said, calling the agents' punishment "excessive."
Texas U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton defended his prosecutors and laid blame at the feet of the border agents. "I do not take lightly the decision to prosecute a law-enforcement officer for using his gun," Sutton said. But, he said, Ramos and Compean "deliberately shot an unarmed man in the back without justification, covered it up and lied about it." He maintained prosecutors were unable to go after the drug smuggler because the agents - in an attempt to cover up the shooting - destroyed the crime scene, including evidence linking Aldrete-Davila to the drugs. "Had these guys done their job, (Aldrete-Davila) would have been in prison," Sutton said. "If our agents had just come up to us and said, `A doper just pointed a gun at us and we shot him,' we would be moving mountains to get that guy."
Senators remained skeptical and irate. Several said they want to see Congress clarify the circumstances of when the weapons charge could be used against a law-enforcement officer who used a gun on the job. Feinstein said her staff has found only one case in which the charge had been used against law-enforcement officers. "I think it's pretty clear that it was designed to be used against drug traffickers to try to encourage the drug trafficker not to carry a weapon, and here it's used in a different way," she said. She vowed to look into possible changes.
"I think this really is a case of prosecutorial overreaction in charging," she said. "We're going to take a good look at this section of the code and see if there is any amendment that might be considered."
#1
"I do not take lightly the decision to prosecute a law-enforcement officer for using his gun," Sutton said.
I saw this yahoo last night on Fox trying to justify this prosecution, and he's pretty young. But, I'm still gonna go out on a limb and guess he was a Clinton appointee.
And, even though I know they're grandstanding, you've gotta (almost) admire Feinstein for this. Of course, I'm sure if the public backlash of the Amnesty bill weren't still fresh on their minds, this Committee hearing would've NEVER taken place.
Posted by: BA ||
07/18/2007 9:47 Comments ||
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#2
This Yoob was appointed by Bush! Sounds like he needs to fire ONE mor AG.
#3
Bush sent Sutton there to railroad the border guards. Bush needs a brain flush. He woke up one morning believing he was a Mexican and he's been fighting extradiction ever since. Would Bush be the first president to go bonkers while in office ?
#4
Before we get too crazy, what are the facts? If indeed the BP agents destroyed the crime scene, covered up the shooting and shot an unarmed man, than frankly, 12 years is too LIGHT a sentence.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/18/2007 12:21 Comments ||
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#5
I disagree, Doc. That would be if they did all that to a law-abiding citizen. However, this guy was nowhere near that status AND he was shot in the butt, for Pete's sake...hardly a life-threatening wound. Yeah, a slap on the wrist for the (supposed) cover-up/crime scene thingy, but shooting at an (intruder, by the way) illegal alien carrying 700+ pounds of drugs? No way!
Compare this with the Colorado State Patrol officer who off'd the yahoo in front of the Governor's pad earlier this week. Latest report is that he fired 2 shots to the chest and 1 to the head! Yet, no "reprimands" (at least, not yet) for him!
Posted by: BA ||
07/18/2007 13:20 Comments ||
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#6
We're supposedly fighting a war on drugs. If this foreign national was crossing our border with 743 pounds of dope, he deserved shooting. I suspect if this had been on Mexico's southern end, his body would be moldering in an jungle thicket someplace. The Federales don't screw around with illegal immigrants; they often shoot them. Maybe that's why Mexico has a lot less problem with them.
Posted by: Mac ||
07/18/2007 18:23 Comments ||
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#7
I wonder if the sentences were some kind of payoff by the Bush administration, to Vinnie "The Weasel" Fox, at the time, president of Los Mexicanos, in exchange for the return of the scumbag who murdered CHP officer David March?
I'd hate to think so. Cuz if it were the case, even having voted for Bush twice, I'd start to think about impeachment. There is something that smells like the most colossal skunk of all time here...
Posted by: Tell D Truth ||
07/18/2007 18:54 Comments ||
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Nelson Mandela will celebrate his 89th birthday tomorrow. To mark the occasion, Mandela, along with Jimmy Carter, Kofi Annan, and other elders of our global village will launch an extraordinary worldwide humanitarian campaign. The Justice League of AntiamericaLeague of Extraordinarily Bad Leaders Council of Elders, as the Daily Mail calls it, will be a United Nations of the great, the good and the rich. (Expect ClintonBill, that isto have a leading role.)
Conceived by entrepreneur Richard Branson and musician Peter Gabriel, this new assemblage will tackle (and presumably attempt to eradicate) armed conflict, AIDS, and global warming. But are these people really capable of saving the world? Many of the big names on this list didnt exactly distinguish themselves the first time around. Kofi Annan presided over the decline and (further) corruption of the United Nations; Bill Clinton, his successes at home notwithstanding, failed to use American power abroad wisely. Carter was weak as a president, and seems to have gone around the bend since leaving office. It will take people of great vision and courage to guide the world through the strife undoubtedly lying ahead. (As Washington journalist David von Drehle memorably put it, some very different sort of world is roaring up at us.) These elders, unfortunately, do not possess that vision.
This new multilateralist group may have commendable aims; ironically, its charter members have helped discredit multilateralism as an instrument in global politics. I worry that this irony will be obscured by the pomp and circumstance attending tomorrows celebration.
Funny how besotted these "progressives" are by Famous Last Names, huh? Acting like the aristocratic elite they pretend to hate. No "ordinary people" allowed in these "change the world" meetings, unless they're there to serve the food.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/18/2007 06:53 ||
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#1
I highly recommend they take an immediate five year sabbatical to Robben Island. The sea air is therapeutic and the solitude and privacy will enable bonding and a free exchange of ideas. Madidba can organize birding walks, ostrich on the braai and sundowners.
#3
Seriously, I just saw the headline and thought "God, please let this be The Onion." Someone wake me when they solve that armed conflict thingy (even in 1 country, like Darfur/Sudan).
Posted by: BA ||
07/18/2007 9:42 Comments ||
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#4
The usual suspects doing the usual things...
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA Melding statesmanship and a large slug of audacity, the former South African president Nelson Mandela and a clutch of world-famous figures plan to announce today a private alliance to launch diplomatic assaults on the globe's most intractable problems.
Start simple. How about "Flaming tire necklaces", Nellie? Maybe you could start there?
The alliance, to be unveiled today during events marking Mandela's 89th birthday, is to be called "The Elders." Among others, it includes the retired Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu; Jimmy Carter, the former U.S. president; the retired U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan, and Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland.
First order of business...expense accounts. Money is no object, of course? Kofi, why don't you head up that committee?
Many, including Mandela, have been early and harsh critics of President Bush and American foreign policy, particularly toward Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The group's members and backers insisted however, that they are guided neither by ideology nor by geopolitical bent.
We are as pure as the driven snow. Bushitler will be given every opportunity to grovel before us before he is villified.
Mandela states in remarks prepared for today that the fact that none of The Elders holds public office allows them to work for the common good, not for outside interests.
We're taking on THE MAN!
"This group can speak freely and boldly, working both publicly and behind the scenes on whatever actions need to be taken," the remarks state. "Together we will work to support courage where there is fear, foster agreement where there is conflict, and inspire hope where there is despair."
..."spout empty cliched slogans when results are demanded".
One of the group's founders and principal sponsors, the British tycoon Richard Branson, said that while "there will always be skeptics," government leaders he had briefed "very much support the initiative."
Excuse me, sir. That rich old hippie guy is here.
Oh. Ummmmmmm...send him right in. I guess.
"Most individuals in the world would welcome a group of people who are above ego, who, in the last 12 or 15 years of their lives, are above partisan politics," Branson said.
Yeah, no egos here. Right, Sir Richard?
Precisely what problems The Elders will tackle is unclear; none have yet been selected.
Well, I'm sure they know what's best, so we'd better just do what they say...
#8
Why isn't Norman Borlaug on this panel? What, you've never heard of Norman Borlaug? "All" he did was save the lives of hundreds of millions of people, possibly billions by leading the "Green Revolution". He (deservedly) won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. Unlike Carter, Mandela, and Clinton and the others on this list, he has actually done something with his life.
#10
Who else should be on the Council? How about Maggie Thatcher? I figure she'd eat and excrete the rest of the councillors before lunch the first day. So, no.
Instead, we'll probably have more Mary Robinson types. Who's that Bush-death-lusting Nobel Peace Prize winner? She's sure to be on it. Also Harold Pinter and Noam Chomsky. If Fidel retired, they'd welcome him with open arms. Oh, and Gorby -- he ended the Cold War, you know.
An article in today's Houston Chronicle (originally from the NYT) quotes Richard Branson as saying, "Most individuals in the world would welcome a group of people who are above ego, who...are above partisan politics." I had a good hearty laugh at that.
This is going to be comedy gold, unless anyone actually listens to them.
#12
Norman and Maggie are not intersted in bribes and such so Kofi will not want their company. This is a group of "we know better than you" talkers, not a group of doers.
#13
Conceived by entrepreneur Richard Branson and musician Peter Gabriel, this new assemblage will tackle (and presumably attempt to eradicate) armed conflict, AIDS, and global warming.
Don't quit your day job, Peter. Your music was good with moments of greatness before you decided to anoint yourself savior - since then: meh. Same goes for Bono, IMHO.
#15
Mark Steyn comments on the Council's "junior auxilliary":
But wait: What about all those elders who are too old and have already died? No problem: Meet the world council of elders offspring! Theyre the Teen Titans to the council of elders Superfriends. Nick Clooney father of George and brother of Rosie reports:
Martin Luther King III is, today and tomorrow, hosting the sons and daughters of world leaders for global peace initiatives.
But these are not the sons and daughters of just any world leaders. They are sons and daughters of men who risked everything, including their lives, for the cause of non-violence in the world. Their descendants have decided - collectively - to hold aloft the torch of peace lit by their parents. In the shorthand of communications, they are called the "Gen II Peace Team."
Who are they..?
Christine Chavez-Delgado, granddaughter of Cesar Chavez, the tireless leader for labor justice
Arun Gandhi, grandson of the legendary spiritual leader Mohandas Gandhi...
Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert and Ethel Kennedy
Justin Trudeau, son of former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau
It is the intention of the Gen II Peace Team to build on the cumulative moral authority of their parents and grandparents to focus the current generation on non-violent ways to solve problems that now seem insoluble Tonight there will be a dinner. Tomorrow, a morning group discussion of peace initiatives at the House of Lords.
The venue seems appropriate. As for the moral authority of Pierre Trudeau, dont get me started
Posted by: Mike ||
07/18/2007 13:46 Comments ||
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#16
Too bad Anton Szandor LaVey isn't still around. He would fit right in. Or he could at least add the "responsible adult viewpoint" to these whineholes.
#17
The bit about the kids reminds me of the start of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy were the construction worker charged with demolishing Arthur Dent's house was a distant relative of Ghengis Khan and had a penchant for little furry hats and axes for decorations but didn't really know why.
#24
will be a United Nations of the great, the good and the rich.
Oh, God, how that phrase must get their hearts pumping.
Granted, their hearts pump bile and acid, but...
Mandela states in remarks prepared for today that the fact that none of The Elders holds public office allows them to work for the common good, not for outside interests.
Because nobody outside of elected (and accountable) office is on the take or just plain twisted.
God, I hate the tranzis. They're not even bothering to hide their intent anymore, are they?
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
07/18/2007 19:43 Comments ||
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#25
"Together we will work to support courage where there is fear, foster agreement where there is conflict, and inspire hope where there is despair."
Isn't that a ripoff of the Prayer of St. Francis, perhaps most commonly recited these days in AA and other 12 step groups, where genuine people are trying to get over themselves and be of selfless service to others? These old hoots are not quite in the league of selfless people. Shame on them for hijacking a prayer genuinely about doing service to others to serve their selfish ends. Did they think no one would notice? Did they think anyone would really let them sit next to St. Francis and steal his words?
Of course, this was all OVER the MSM. Right? right?
They've had some trouble with this program & it was almost cancelled.
A modified Boeing 747 designed to be part of an emerging US antimissile shield has successfully completed an important flight test, the Pentagon's Missile Defence Agency and Boeing said today.
To simulate an intercept, the prototype Airborne Laser actively tracked an airborne target, compensated for atmospheric turbulence and fired a "surrogate" for a missile-zapping high-energy laser, they said.
"We have now demonstrated most of the steps needed for the Airborne Laser to engage a threat missile and deliver precise and lethal effects against it," said Pat Shanahan, a vice president at Boeing, the prime contractor.
Air Force Lieutenant Colonel John Daniels, the Pentagon's program manager, said the test on Saturday marked an historic day for "directed-energy" weapons firing at the speed of light, or 186,000 miles per second.
DEW program was started under Reagan's Star Wars (Strategic Defense Initiative). Gutted of funds etc. for a good while, but is making headway finally.
"This will fundamentally change the way we engage and destroy fleeting targets," he said.
The airborne laser is to be the first warplane relying entirely on a directed energy device as a weapon. It is designed to destroy an enemy ballistic missile shortly after it is launched, in the "boost phase" of its flight path.
The airborne laser is to be the first warplane relying entirely on a directed energy device as a weapon. It is designed to destroy an enemy ballistic missile shortly after it is launched, in the "boost phase" of its flight path. The program will have cost about $US5 billion from its inception in the early 1990s through a scheduled test intercept test of a mock enemy missile in August 2009, Lt-Col Daniels said.
The modified Boeing 747-400F took off from Edwards Air Force Base, California. It used its infrared sensors and a tracking laser to zero in on a "target board" on an Air Force aircraft, Boeing said. The aircraft fired the tracking laser at the target aircraft, dubbed Big Crow, for the first time on March 15. The test on Friday demonstrated an ability to go from passive tracking of a simulated missile engine "plume" to active tracking, Boeing said.
the Lockheed Martin Corp. beam control and fire control system was used to offset atmospheric turbulence
In addition, the Lockheed Martin Corp. beam control and fire control system was used to offset atmospheric turbulence in conjunction with the active tracking and firing of the device standing in for the chemical oxygen-iodine laser, the company said.
Engineers will start installing the actual high-energy laser, built by Northrop Grumman Corp, in coming months to prepare for the intercept test.
#1
Yet another test, yet this can never work. Meanwhile, despite a 0% record of success, fetal stem cells are such a promising technology that they need federal funding.
Posted by: Gary (no Samoyeds in hotel) ||
07/18/2007 0:59 Comments ||
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#2
Sniff, sniff, dare the LOFS [LOW ORBIT FIRE STATIONS] and like be next for development.
Let's talk about this cigar tax, this cigarette tax. The president says he going to veto it. He "reiterated today his threat to veto Senate legislation that would substantially increase funds for childrens health insurance by levying a 61-cent-a-pack increase in the federal excise tax on cigarettes."
This includes that whopping 20,000% increase on the tax on cigars. The tax on cigars right now is five cents. It will go to ten bucks on large cigars.
By the way, for those of you who are not cigar aficionados as am I, a large cigar is defined as anything that is not a cigar that will fit in a pack of 20, like cigarettes do. And those aren't cigars. They might be called cigarillos, but if they're made by a machine, you may as well give 'em to the homeless. So the point is, every cigar is a large cigar, ten bucks. The president is threatening to veto it...
#4
And how much revenue would that generate? Cigars are a nice thing to have, but I ain't smokin' a $10+ one. I think most people would stop since smoking rather than pay.
Or maybe that is the point....
Either way, goddamn worthless sacks of shit dhimocrat congressmen are.
Rugged American individualism could hinder our ability to understand other peoples' point of view, a new study suggests. And in contrast, the researchers found that Chinese are more skilled at understanding other people's perspectives, possibly because they live in a more "collectivist" society.
"This cultural difference affects the way we communicate," said study co-author and cognitive psychologist Boaz Keysar of the University of Chicago.
The study, though oversimplified compared to real life, was instructive. Keysar and his colleagues arranged two blocks on a table so participants could see both. However, a piece of cardboard obstructed the view of one block so a "director," sitting across from the participant, could only see one block. When the director asked 20 American participants (none of Asian descent) to move a block, most were confused as to which block to move and did not take into account the director's perspective. Even though they could have deduced that, from the director's seat, only one block was on the table.
Most of the 20 Chinese participants, however, were not confused by the hidden block and knew exactly which block the director was referring to. While following directions was relatively simple for the Chinese, it took Americans twice as long to move a block.
"That strong, egocentric communication of Westerners was nonexistent when we looked at Chinese," Keysar said. "The Chinese were very much able to put themselves in the shoes of another when they were communicating."
The results are detailed in the July issue of the journal Psychological Science.
Collectivist societies, such as the Chinese, place more value on the needs of the group and less on the autonomy of the individual. In these societies, understanding other peoples' experiences is a more critical social skill than it is among typically more individualist Americans. "Of course, these are very gross oversimplifications," said Keysar. "Even in America, you can find collectivist societies. For example, working class people tend to be much more collective."
Culture appears to direct our eyes to read others' emotions, too.
Psychologists at Hokkaido University in Japan have found that Japanese gaze at the shape of a person's eyes, while Americans focus on the mouth. When people from the two cultures interact, these crisscrossed sightlines can lead to miscommunication.
"We all know people from different cultures are different. This is not new. But what research is now showing is how they're different and what are the implications," Keysar told LiveScience. "If we are aware of how we think differently, this can go a long way toward not allowing these differences to get in the way of reaching mutual understanding."
#1
The other side of the coin is Americans come from the rest of the world so we have a particularly good insite into the madness our forefathers left. We also have tourists and UN Ambassadors all over the place and a media constantly telling us how much better they are over there and how foul we are.
Compared to other nations like China that are insular and closed and have minimal exposure to other cultures.
I think perhaps American's understand others better than those others would like to think.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
07/18/2007 11:19 Comments ||
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#3
I call BS on the whole thing. I've heard this over and over and have yet to hear anyone wonder why other people have so much trouble understanding Americans. This is typical quackery that equates agreement or tolerance with understanding. If you don't agree you don't understand.
The experiment also proves that Chinese are much more subservient to authority (aka "the director") and less likely to act on their own perceptions.
Americans will point out that the emperor has no clothes; or that there are two blocks even if the "director" doesn't know that.
Then, of course, there is the implication that collectivism is superior to individualism.
#5
Jeez, doc, looks like we need more data. Better put in for another grant. And park the Mercedes out back where no one can see it. Or maybe you could block it off with a piece of cardboard so us dumbass Americans can't see it...
#7
"Pop Psych" strikes again! More droolin' blitherosity from self-righteous highbrows on how low Mairkuns are.
"You've never worked in the private sector! They expect results!" Ray, 'Ghostbusters'
Posted by: Almost Anonymous5839 ||
07/18/2007 12:01 Comments ||
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#8
Left wing liberal scientist takes opportunity to bash America once again from the ivory tower in unbiased scientific study croc of horse pucky sophomoronic paper. It's Bush's fault.
#11
There are some pretty well-validated experimental data on cultural differences in perception and cognition. Nisbett's The Geography of Thought reports some of them.
Those who are culturally and linguistically grounded in western tradition see individuals who act and thereby both impact the situation and bear responsibility (positive or negative) for the outcomes. Those who are culturally grounded in the Chinese and related traditions see interconnected systems of ambiguous or diffuse responsibility and action.
This extends even to what people focus on in photos, for instance. The asians who were tested tend to remember the spatial relationship among object but not the details of the objects and, when asked to describe the situation being represented, talk about the scene as a whole. The westerners tend to describe someone doing something to someone/thing, i.e. individual actors who initiate their own actions and are responsible for the outcome.
FWIW. The cultural difference theory directly contradicts some evolutionary psychologists who think that cognition is just genetic and is more or less the same for all people everywhere.
#13
This extends even to what people focus on in photos, for instance. The asians who were tested tend to remember the spatial relationship among object but not the details of the objects and, when asked to describe the situation being represented, talk about the scene as a whole. The westerners tend to describe someone doing something to someone/thing, i.e. individual actors who initiate their own actions and are responsible for the outcome.
This says to me two things. Either the asians in question are expecting a trick question or the pictures were badly chosen. I bet if they are shown a picture of their leader they would say it is a picture of the leader and not be distracted by the brick wall in the background, but in a photo of a fish in water they get distracted by the non-essentials? Sounds like a flawed study to me. I would expect many Asians would give whatever answer they felt pleased the questionaire rather then what they really thought.
#15
I would like to do a study on whether a hammer causes professors to forget what they just read.
Preliminary experiments indicate that a hammer landing on ones head changes the subject radically. A hammer landing on other parts of the body cause reluctance and lack of cooperation. A hammer not landing causes fear and caution, and sometimes changes the debate to the need for a full scale study.
#16
I agree with lotp that there are differences and Nisbett's book is fascinating. However, these comparisons in the popular press always focus on how Americans are so screwed up and others are so superior. When people start emigrating from the US to these countries and stop immigrating to the US from them, I'll start to care.
#17
Meanwhile, in Seattle, in an attempt to help us understand others, the Seattle Port Authority has permanently banned Christmas Trees after a fundamenalist Jewish Rabbi raised a fit.
You may have 'undecorated' conifers, but no garland, or lights, or other religious symbols.....
A worldwide survey was conducted by the UN. The only question asked was:"Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the
food shortage in the rest of the world?"
The survey was a huge failure...
In Africa they didn't know what "food" meant.
In Eastern Europe they didn't know what "honest" meant.
In Western Europe they didn't know what "shortage" meant.
In China they didn't know what "opinion" meant.
In the Middle East they didn't know what "solution" meant.
In South America they didn't know what "please" meant.
And in the USA they didn't know what "the rest of the world" meant
#20
The experiment also proves that Chinese are much more subservient to authority (aka "the director") and less likely to act on their own perceptions.
Americans will point out that the emperor has no clothes; or that there are two blocks even if the "director" doesn't know that.
Yeah, that's how I'd interpret it, too. If you interpret "move the block" to mean "the one I can see", when you know perfectly well there are two blocks, then you've got a problem.
If the Chinese are so much more capable of understanding the perspectives of other people, why is their history marked by a xenophobia/racism that makes the antebellum South look metropolitan?
Oh, and did they make sure the "director" didn't provide any subtle hints to the subjects?
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
07/18/2007 19:56 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday served notices on former prime ministers Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina to submit their wealth statements as part of its initiative to find out whether there is any ground for filing graft cases against the two. 
New rules that will make it easier for people to move to Sweden to work have been announced by the government. Swedish employers will be able to recruit from outside Europe without first gaining the approval of the authorities.
Leaders of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) may soon see a major lawsuit against them dismissed, thanks to the U.S. government.
Rugged American individualism could hinder our ability to understand other peoples' point of view, a new study suggests. And in contrast, the researchers found that Chinese are more skilled at understanding other people's perspectives, possibly because they live in a more "collectivist" society. 
