Posted by: Mike ||
04/01/2008 05:59 ||
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#1
Hilarity can answer her own damn phone at 3:00 a.m. I don't want her near the Whitehouse phone. If you do your job right, you don't have to answer the phone at 3:00 a.m.
Tabloid star Anna Nicole Smith's son Daniel died of a drug overdose, an inquest jury in the Bahamas ruled on Monday.
Whoa-ho! Never saw that one coming!Think I'll go sit down. The surprise may be too much for this old heart...
The seven-member jury took 73 minutes to reach its unanimous verdict after coroner William Campbell had directed them to return one of three options. He said they could decide 20-year-old Daniel Smith died of "non-dependent abuse of drugs," or by "accident or misadventure," or they could return an open verdict.
Daniel's grandmother, Virgie Arthur, was unhappy with the outcome because the coroner had limited the options, precluding a finding of homicide, said her attorney, Neil McCabe. Daniel died at Doctors Hospital in the Bahamian capital of Nassau on September 10, 2006, while visiting his mother and her newborn daughter, Dannielynn. He had flown into the Bahamas from the United States the night before. Two autopsies concluded that he died from a "cocktail" of prescription drugs, including methadone.
Anna Nicole Smith died at age 39 of an accidental prescription drug overdose in Florida in February 2007 and is buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Nassau alongside her son.
If you go to visit their graves, do not, repeat not, smoke the dandelions!
Posted by: Fred ||
04/01/2008 00:00 ||
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Posted by: Mike ||
04/01/2008 8:36 Comments ||
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Blood purdy much went to mai legs thar. Ima sit quietly until lunch.
IT'S fair to say Madonna's film career hasn't been that successful, but the Material Girl keeps trying. Reports from Britain suggest she is hoping to do a remake of the classic film Casablanca. Madonna is reportedly hoping to film it in Iraq, and play the lead role of Ilsa Lund, which was made famous by Ingrid Bergman.
Madonna isn't phased that most of her films have been turkeys. A source from a major Hollywood studio the singer had approached said it would be difficult to get the project going. "She is still determined to make it in the movies," the source said. "She and her representatives have been touring around a project, which is a remake of Casablanca. The reception has been lukewarm to say the least. No one can understand why she wants to redo what many people consider the greatest film of all time."
Madonna, 49, is in the middle of a promotional blitz to launch her album Hard Candy.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/01/2008 00:00 ||
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#2
"She's still determined to make it in the movies" >:
*Stop taking too many years = lead time between making movies.
*Stop picking movie plots whom don't match your strengths or persona, etc.
* "SWEPT AWAY" + "BODY OF EVIDENCE" WERE NOT BAD, BUT STILL HAD TOO MANY WEAK SPOTS vv POTENTIAL, espec WRONG ACTORS FOR LEADING MEN.
Surreally speaking, there are no bad movies or plots, only BAD ORGANIZATION, DEV, SYNERGY + SUPPORT ESPEC FROM DIRECTORS + PRODUCERS = PERSON(S)-IN-CHARGE WHOM SHOULD KNOW BETTER.
E.g. PENN STATE > I'm no trained Filmographer or Photographer, BUT I WILL SAY THAT FILM STUDENTS WHOM LISTENED TO MY ADVICE GOT HIGH GRADES AND AUDIENCE REVIEWS FOR THEIR WORK. I KNOW WHAT I LIKE. I CAN ALSO MAKE THE SAME CLAIM ON SEVERAL POPULAR NET SITES. In my own way, I'm the shadow behind their success.
#5
They found another set of studio execs to waste even more money? The anti-war crap hasn't been enough red ink? Here's a concept - make movies the great number of Americans want not what the mau mauing herd of isolated small inbred personalities want. If you want to make Anti-American screeds for the international market, make them in Canada without any American tax incentives or write-offs.
#11
Another example of the lack of creativity from Hollywood and the relience of not actor/resses but big name people to attract the crowd. Why? Because nothing says sexy Hard Candy like a washed up 49 year old pop singer in a miniskirt. Unless, of course since she is Jewish and Guy Richie is British, they could set it in Tel-Aviv 1948 and call it something else.
This is a continuing trend. Animal House was somewhat remade in PCU, Enter the Dragon became Mortal Kombat. Hills have Eyes, Texas Chainsaw, Manchurian Candidate, Poseiden, and so on have all been redone. Hollywood has no new superstars on the horizon so they rely on familiar movies with washed personel.
There are so many great, true stories already written by excellent authors - Tin Can Soldiers, Punic and Gallic Wars. Tom Robbins books could be done in a Fear and Loathing Style, fantasy has the whole Shanarra series and chapters in the Simerillian.
#13
Then look at the "original" movies that have done well. 300,etc. Not more of the same-old same-old.
You'd think Hollywierd would learn.
Want a sure-fire #1 box office success?
Make one loosely based on Michael Yon's stories about the troops in Iraq, starting with the chaos in Mosul with the infiltration of Al Qaeda, covering the "new strategy" of staying out with the people, culminating with the firefights and pacifications, and the firefight he described in his epic "Gates of Fire" post about the "Deuce Four" commander, and finishing with the "Welcome Home" banquet.
Starring Bruce Willis of course. Show our guys to be the heroes they are, Al Qaeda and the ambushers as the criminals and thugs they are, and the Iraqi people as the long suffering people who now have a glimmer of hope and freedom.
#15
It will be very interesting to see how a remake would twist the subplots - can't have people being noble and heroic anymore. Rick will have to get on the plane with Ilsa and sell out Victor to Strasser & Renault.
#16
Ricks' will be an S&M gay bar, Barry Manilow will be the piano player. Rick and Louie? A beautiful friendship? You better believe it. Barack Obama makes a cameo as Victor Lazlo, George Bush as Major Strasser. Madonna gets stopped by the TSA for nipple rings, tries to run for it and gets gunned down. THE END.
I remember I laughed when the writers went on strike. This shit ain't that hard.
#18
//on, the Ghost of Rick,
" Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine, and proceeds to phuque it all up."
//off the G.of R.
#19
Don't forget the subplot where Britney Spears is trying to get money to buy the letters of transit from Karl Rove. She finally gets them by bedding Rick, played by KFed, in a menage a trois with Paris Hilton.
And the part where Cher signs The Internationale and drowns out a bunch of Marines start singing God Bless the USA.
Afghanistan's lower house of Parliament passed a resolution Monday seeking to bar television programs from showing dancing and other practices deemed un-Islamic.
The decision came just days after the private Tolo TV channel aired a dance number featuring men and women together on an Afghan film awards program.
The Information and Culture Ministry condemned the scene, saying "dancing by men and women together was completely against the culture of the Afghan, Muslim society."
The parliamentary resolution, drafted by a commission for cultural and religious affairs, said dancers should not be shown on television, and un-Islamic scenes should be cut from Indian TV series broadcast in Afghanistan, said Din Mohammad Azimi, a lawmaker and member of the commission.
Azimi said the resolution also includes an article saying Afghan banks should not offer interest-bearing accounts because Islamic law forbids interest.
The resolution, which is not now legally binding and cannot be enforced, will go before the upper house of Parliament for consideration, Azimi said. It would also have to be approved by the president before becoming law.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/01/2008 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) Western diplomatic sources have said Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebel leader, Joseph Kony, is walking to the Sudan-Congo border to sign a final peace deal this week with the Government.
The LRA leader will sign two days ahead of the official ceremony in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, because he fears arrest, South Sudanese officials, who have been mediating the protracted peace talks to end the two-decade war, have said. LRA chief , Joseph Kony, is walking to the Sudan-Congo border to sign a final peace deal this week with the Government, Western diplomatic sources said.
South Sudanese officials, who have been mediating the protracted peace talks to end the two-decade war, have said the LRA leader will sign two days ahead of the official ceremony in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, because he fears arrest.
Colonel Paul Lokech, the commander of the UPDF forces across the border from where the attack was said to have taken place, denied the killings but said several Sudanese had been arrested. "They crossed 52 miles into Uganda with hundreds of cattle and armed with G3 rifles. We rounded them up and disarmed them," Lokech said. "Our gunships did not kill anyone. We have released all 41 suspects along with their cattle, but we withheld their arms. We also cautioned all of them not to cross the border illegally."
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/01/2008 00:00 ||
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TENSION mounted in Zimbabwe yesterday as it emerged that President Robert Mugabe had arbitrarily blocked the result of the weekends cliff-hanger presidential election to manipulate it in his favour. By late yesterday no official presidential vote results were available, prompting the US, the UK and the European Union to call for the state-run Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to act swiftly.
Last night, Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said the federation was extremely concerned over the slow counting of votes. This snail pace just deepens all manner of suspicions, he said in Johannesburg.
Almost 48 hours after polls closed, only 67 of 210 parliamentary constituencies had been declared, showing Mugabes Zanu (PF) party one seat ahead of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
The withholding of the result has caused a tense situation in a country already reeling from a deep economic crisis, and heightened fears of instability in the region.
On Sunday, Mugabe met the Joint Operations Command (JOC), which comprises army, police and intelligence chiefs, for an emergency meeting to discuss security. This was prompted by the growing fears that if Mugabe had managed to rig the elections as opposition groups have claimed antigovernment street protests could spontaneously erupt.
Security sources said Mugabe and the JOC decided to withhold the presidential election results and release the outcomes of the parliamentary, senate and local council polls in small batches to manage the volatile situation and prepare the nation for a Mugabe victory. The idea is also to contain the situation because Mugabe and his Zanu (PF) have lost the polls by wide margins, sources said.
Sources in the ZEC, which is staffed by pro-government officials, said Mugabe had thwarted the release of the presidential election result to enable his regime to doctor the outcome. A secret task force of security and electoral personnel was in place before the vote to ensure Mugabe and the divided Zanu (PF) won an absolute majority.
The team, headed by Central Intelligence Organisation operatives tasked to ensure Mugabe wins power, stays in power, and keeps power, would heavily influence the already flawed electoral process to secure a Mugabe victory, well substantiated information to hand shows.
Yesterday, riot police patrolled the streets of cities while the army was on high alert.
Mugabe has said he would crush any protests by the opposition. Let them try and they will see, he said in closing his campaign on Friday last week.
Political scientist John Makumbe said Mugabe was likely to rig the polls, creating serious clashes between the security forces and the opposition. I know for sure Mugabe will rig. There is too much evidence to support this, he said. We might end up with a Kenyan-like situation here, but it doesnt have to be like that. However, if Mugabe rigs there will be fierce resistance this time.
The main opposition MDC, led by Morgan Tsvangirai, said Zanu (PF) had lost and was trying to doctor the results.
Official results announced by the ZEC showed Zanu (PF) had 26 seats, Tsvangirais MDC faction had 25 seats and the MDC camp led by Arthur Mutambara had one seat. There are 210 seats in the House of Assembly and 60 elective seats in the Senate. Two cabinet ministers, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa and Interactive Affairs Minister Chen Chimutengwende, lost their seats.
The MDC yesterday released its unofficial results, which showed it had won 96 constituencies out of 128 counted. In our view we cannot see the national trend changing. This means the people have spoken, theyve spoken against the dictatorship," said MDC secretary-general Tendai Biti.
#4
Don't you normally rig an election *before* the election takes place? Seems like there was some lack of planning here ... I know -- odd to see that sort of thing out of ZimBob.
#9
The trick here is "Stepping Down" and keeping his head on his shoulders, figure out that part and he's gone.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/01/2008 15:56 Comments ||
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#10
Look for a mid-air resigntion, an unscheduled flight with an empty treasury and a radio message back to the "Motherland". only reasonably sure way to keep his head (And loot).
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/01/2008 16:00 Comments ||
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#11
Probably pulled a Daniel Ortega and believed his own propoganda and thought he was gonna win. Yeah Ortega eventually did win.
More than 150 people have been abducted in the Central African Republic (CAR), in raids that officials have blamed on the Lord's Resistance Army rebels. A report by the CAR parliament on Friday said most of those abducted were women and girls, and they had been abused.
"The style they used is the style of the LRA," the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) quoted Mboli Nani, MP for Obo in southeastern CAR, as saying. "They attack in the night slowly and quietly - they take people and they steal goods."
A United Nations (UN) report released in Geneva also confirmed that 150 people have been abducted in southeastern CAR in recent days. A team of UN investigators which visited the remote area in CAR could not confirm whether the armed group responsible for the abduction, was the LRA. "We were unable to identify who the perpetrators were, partly because several armed groups with similar modus operandi are present in the area," said Elizabeth Byrs, of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva UN spokeswoman said.
The report said about 40 people have been released by the fighters, many of the women reporting they had been gang-raped. "Over 50 adults remain in captivity and none of the 55 abducted children have been released," the report stated.
The Ugandan government and the LRA are due to sign a peace deal on April 5.
Commenting on the report, the deputy leader of the government delegation to the Juba talks, Henry Okello Oryem, said the LRA's activities in CAR or in the DRC were no longer an issue between the LRA and the government, but between the LRA and the governments of CAR and DRC. The Government recently confirmed that Kony had moved to the CAR from his Garamba hideout, in eastern DRC. The LRA leaders have, however, refuted that.
Oryem said the LRA peace delegation early in the week gave an undertaking, in the presence of elders and leaders from northern Uganda, that Kony will be in Ri-Kwangba to sign the final peace deal. Maj. Paddy Ankunda, the army spokesman, said: "If he does not appear, the world will see the LRA for what it is. The government has put all its energy into the peace process and it's ready to sign. We have said this before that Kony can only find chastity in the peace agreement and we are working on it and we expect that they will sign it," Ankunda said.
A crisis meeting of Robert Mugabe's security cabinet decided to block the opposition from taking power after what appears to have been a comprehensive victory in Zimbabwe's elections but was divided between using a military takeover to annul the vote and falsifying the results.
Diplomatic and Zimbabwean sources who heard first-hand accounts of the Joint Operations Command meeting of senior military and intelligence officers and top party officials on Sunday night said Mugabe favoured immediately declaring himself president again but was persuaded to use the country's electoral commission to keep the opposition from power.
The commission began releasing a trickle of results yesterday, more than 36 hours after the polls closed, but the opposition Movement for Democratic Change said it believed the count was being manipulated.
Nonetheless, the first results, for 52 seats in the lower house of parliament, cost Mugabe one of his closest allies with the defeat of the justice minister, Patrick Chinamasa, whom the MDC has accused of abusing the law to persecute the ruling Zanu-PF party's opponents. Other cabinet ministers are also believed to have lost their seats.
However, the few parliamentary results offered no guide to the outcome of the presidential race. Independent monitors collating the count from polling booth returns say the MDC presidential candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, won about 55% of the vote and Mugabe 38%. The MDC also gained control of both houses of parliament, according to the monitors.
The MDC said the slow pace of releasing vote tallies - likely to take days at the present rate - was further reason to suspect they were being tampered with.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/01/2008 00:00 ||
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I guess the big question now is are the security chiefs and the army going to let the MDC take power. Their franchise is sunk if they do, they will likely have a revolt if they don't.
Concern grew on Monday that long delays in issuing Zimbabwe's election results hid attempts by President Robert Mugabe to cling to power by rigging. Almost 48 hours after polls closed, only 52 of 210 parliamentary constituencies had been declared, showing Mugabe's ZANU-PF party one seat ahead of the main opposition MDC. Two of his ministers lost their seats.
No results were announced for the presidential vote, in which Mugabe faces the most formidable political challenge of his 28 years in power.
"It is now clear that there is something fishy. The whole thing is suspicious and totally unacceptable," said MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) spokesman Nelson Chamisa.
Mugabe, 84, is under unprecedented pressure from a two-pronged attack by veteran MDC rival Morgan Tsvangirai and ZANU-PF defector Simba Makoni, who both blame him for Zimbabwe's ruin. Although the odds seemed stacked against Mugabe, in power since independence in 1980, analysts believe his iron grip on the country and solid backing from the armed forces could enable him to ignore the results and declare victory. He rejects vote-rigging allegations.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/01/2008 00:00 ||
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President Vladimir Putin will become Russia's prime minister a day after his successor's inauguration. Dmitry Medvedev, who is to be sworn in as president on May 7, has said he would give Mr Putin the job.
Russia's parliament speaker, Boris Gryzlov, said the lower chamber - which is controlled by a Kremlin-backed political party - would vote to approve Putin's candidacy on May 8.
Under the constitution, the Cabinet steps down after a president's inauguration. A president then nominates his choice for prime minister and parliament's lower house approves it by simple majority. Other Cabinet members are named by the president by decree.
Mr Medvedev won more than 70% of the vote in the March 2 election to succeed president Putin - a victory all but guaranteed by Putin's endorsement and tight Kremlin controls on the nation's politics and the media.
Many observers expect Mr Putin to continue calling the shots, but some say that an unprecedented tandem rule may lead to conflicts later when Mr Medvedev grows more confident. He has made a series of liberal statements, prompting expectations that he may ease some of the Kremlin's most repressive policies. But he has also reaffirmed his intention to continue with Mr Putin's plans.
Mr Putin's quick approval as prime minister would allow him to watch the May 9 Victory Day parade on Red Square in his new capacity. For the first time since the Soviet collapse, the parade will feature ballistic missiles, tanks, jets and other weapons in what will be a symbolic show of Russia's resurgent military might.
China escalated its rhetoric against supporters of the Dalai Lama on Tuesday, accusing the Nobel Peace laureate's backers of planning suicide attacks.
The Tibetan government-in-exile immediately denied the charge, saying it remained dedicated to the nonviolent struggle long promoted by their Buddhist leader.
"Tibetan exiles are 100 percent committed to nonviolence. There is no question of suicide attacks. But we fear that Chinese might masquerade as Tibetans and plan such attacks to give bad publicity to Tibetans," said Samdhong Rinpoche, prime minister of the government in exile in Dharmsala, India.
Public Security Ministry spokesman Wu Heping said searches of monasteries had turned up large numbers of weapons, including 176 guns, 13,013 bullets, 19,000 sticks of dynamite, 7,725 pounds of unspecified explosives, two hand grenades, and 350 knives.
"To our knowledge, the next plan of the Tibetan independence forces is to organize suicide squads to launch violent attacks," Wu said at a rare news conference on Tuesday. "They claimed that they fear neither bloodshed nor sacrifice."
Wu said police had arrested an individual who he claimed was an operative of the "Dalai Lama clique," responsible for gathering intelligence and distributing pamphlets calling for an uprising.
He said the man had admitted to using code words to communicate with his contacts, including "uncle" for the Dalai Lama, and "skirts" for the banned Tibetan snow lion flag.
Wu provided no details or evidence for any of the charges. He used the term "gan si dui," a rare term directly translated as "dare-to-die corps." The official English version of his remarks released by the Public Security Ministry translated the term as "suicide squads."
Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama and his supporters of orchestrating anti-government riots in Lhasa on March 14 as part of a campaign to sabotage the Beijing Summer Olympics and promote Tibetan independence.
The 72-year-old Peace Prize winner has condemned the violence and urged an independent international investigation into the unrest and its underlying causes. The Dalai Lama has repeatedly said he seeks autonomy for Tibet under Chinese rule.
In recent days China has been showing decades-old propaganda films on state television portraying Tibetan society as cruel and primitive before the 1950 invasion by communist troops.
The government has sought to portray life as fast returning to normal in the Tibetan capital of Lhasathe scene of the deadliest violencealthough its landmark Buddhist monasteries of Jokhang, Drepung and Sera were closed and surrounded by troops, tour operators said.
Monks from the three temples backed peaceful protests that broke out March 10 on the anniversary of a 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. The protests turned violent four days later and spread across a wide area of western China inhabited by Tibetans.
Beijing claims Tibet has been Chinese territory for centuries, but many Tibetans say they were essentially an independent country for much of that time.
Tibetan forces supported by the CIA battled Chinese troops in a largely ineffectual guerrilla war that was abandoned in the 1970s as Washington moved to boost relations with Beijing.
China has ignored international calls for mediation and refuses to discuss accusations of discrimination, repression and economic disenfranchisement raised by the Dalai Lama and overseas supportersas well as complaints over alleged shootings and other excesses in the ensuing crackdown.
Chinese state media has focused overwhelmingly on the victims of attacks, releasing the names of 14 of the 18 civilians and one police officer it says were killed in the Lhasa riots. All but one were migrants from other parts of China, among the many who have flooded into the region in recent decades.
Xinhua said 12 were killed in arson attacks. The causes of death in two other cases were undetermined, and four bodies had yet to be identified.
Authorities earlier said three other people presumably jumped from windows to escape police.
Tibetan exiles say the toll from the violence plus the harsh crackdown afterward was much higher, leaving nearly 140 people dead.
In all, authorities say 623 people, including 241 police officers, were injured in the violence.
A total of 414 suspects were in custody in connection with the March 14 riots, and another 298 people had voluntarily surrendered, state media quoted officials as saying.
#2
I seriously doubt it is the Dalai Lama's followers plotting suicide attacks. Besides the Green Helmet guy fomenting deceit in the press again, another past RB article came to mind. An excerpt:
Police closed off Lhasa's Muslim quarter on Friday, two weeks after Tibetan rioters burned down the city's mosque during the largest anti-Chinese protests in nearly two decades. Officers blockaded streets into the area, allowing in only area residents and worshippers observing the Muslim day of prayer. A heavy security presence continued in other parts of Lhasa's old city as cleanup crews waded through the destruction inflicted when days of initially peaceful protests turned deadly on March 14.
It was not clear why the area was cordoned off, although rioters had targeted businesses belonging to Chinese Muslim migrants known as Hui, who control much of Lhasa's commerce.
A small group of foreign journalists, including an Associated Press reporter, was taken to Lhasa earlier in the week on a three-day government-organized trip that ended Friday. The otherwise tightly scripted visit was disrupted when 30 red-robed monks pushed into a briefing being given by officials at the Jokhang Temple on Thursday, complaining of a lack of religious freedom and denouncing official claims that the Dalai Lama orchestrated the March 14 violence.
"What the government is saying is not true," one monk shouted out. "They killed many people," another monk said, referring to Chinese security forces. The outburst by the monks lasted for about 15 minutes before government officials ended it and told the journalists it was "time to go."
Sounds like the 'Religion of Pieces' are masquarading as Buddhists to me.
Unrest in Tibet has revealed a generational fault line that is likely to sharpen as Olympics near.
DHARAMSALA, INDIA - Jigshe Tsering spends nearly every day inside a wire enclosure outside the Dalai Lama's residence. Like most of his fellow student hunger-strikers, who have vowed to remain inside their mock cages until China eases its crackdown, he fled Tibet hoping to find a better life close to the man who has long stood as the bulwark of Tibetan identity.
But grim reports of China's hard line against antigovernment protests that began there in March illustrated by the poster-sized images of those allegedly killed or maimed by state forces that decorate town walls have eroded his support for the spiritual leader's nonviolent strategy.
"We are always waiting and nothing has changed in Tibet," he says. "I want peace, but when you are pushed so much, you finally strike back."
The unrest in Tibet has revealed a generational fault line within the Tibetan community one that is likely to sharpen as the Olympics draw closer. While they affirm their respect for the Dalai Lama as a religious figure, many Tibetans say they have lost faith in his "Middle Way" of coexistence to achieve political autonomy. Impatient with the approach that has brought their cause global sympathy and little change on the ground, young activists say they are willing to consider a much broader array of actions to press their cause.
"The middle way has been in existence for 20 years and nothing has come out of it," Tsewang Rigzin, president of the Tibetan Youth Congress, recently told reporters.
#4
ION TIBET, WAFF.com > TIMES.UK - TIBET IS ONE THING, BUT INDIA, CHINA TENSIONS POSE BIGGER/GREATER DANGER.
END OF TIBETAN BUDDHISM?, as present DALAI LAMA has claimed he = successor LAMA will NOT be reincarnated on any land NO LONGER CONSIDERED "TIBETAN" = NOT UNDER FREE/ETHNIC TIBETAN CONTROL-SOVEREIGNTY??? Chin-controlled Tibet means the end of Tibetan Faith + Tibetan People-Race???
KIEV - US President George W. Bush was to visit Ukraine on Monday at the start of a tour aimed at pushing NATO allies for more support in Afghanistan as well as reaching compromise in relations with Russia. At talks on Tuesday with Ukraines pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko Bush was expected to stress Washingtons support for the countrys plans to join the NATO military alliance.
Analysts predicted however that both Ukraine and fellow NATO aspirant Georgia would not receive a formal signal to begin accession to the alliance at a summit to be attended by Bush later in the week in Romania.
I believe that NATO benefits, and Ukraine and Georgia benefit, if and when there is membership, Bush told reporters ahead of his visit. I do know that one of the signals were going to have to send, and must send, is there is a clear path forward for Ukraine and Georgia on NATO membership, he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/01/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
RIAN > BUSH:THERE WILL BE NO [US]TRADEOFFS WITH RUSSIA ON NATO BIDS [Ukraine, Georgia, etal.], MISSLE SHIELD. Up to Nato Allies and Wannabees; + RUSSIA CAN EASILY DESTROY US MISSLE SHIELD - Bush says Russ has the Firepower.
Also from RIAN > US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SENATE PASS SUPPORT FOR GEORGIA, UKRAINE NATO BIDS. See also NATO EXPANSION - AN END IN ITSELF [anti-Russia?].
Democratic Party elder Mario Cuomo said today that the Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama camps have indicated no interest in an idea he floated in the Boston Globe -- that they should form a joint ticket. At the least, he said in his op-ed piece, Clinton and Obama should agree to pick the other as vice president as a way to soothe the disappointment and bitterness of the other's supporters.
Appearing on CNN to plug his proposal, the former New York governor said he fears lasting damage in the party that could end up putting Republican John McCain in the White House. Cuomo is the latest big-name Democrat to publicly air such misgivings because the campaign has become filled with nearly daily attacks, with no end in sight -- at least not until June.
Cuomo said he's surprised by the cold shoulder he's received so far from the candidates, especially from Obama, since he has agreed to meet Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad without preconditions. If the Democrats are willing to negotiate with foreign leaders, Cuomo asked, why not each other?
Posted by: Mike ||
04/01/2008 17:34 ||
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#1
How much do Obama and Hillary hate each other?
I really don't give a shit, the fact that they do is icing on the cake.
I don't like either of them.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/01/2008 19:12 Comments ||
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#2
Mario seems disappointed that nobody pays any attention to him any more.
Hell, I figured he got used to that a long time ago.
John Nichols of the Nation, who I regularly appear with on Philly's NPR affiliate and perhaps in the future POTUS08, says Democrats across the country are really dissatisfied with the performance of Howard Dean as DNC Chair during this primary.
Raise your hand if you're shocked.
I think one of the truly complicating factors for the Democrats is that their party is not just split, but that each half of the base has more or less fallen in love with its ideal candidate. They don't just think of their candidate as a good leader and potential good president, they see their preferred choice as a historical destiny, on course to radically improve America, opposed only by the shortsighted and the sinister. We've talked about the "O-ba-ma, O-ba-ma" chanting cultlike atmosphere of the Illinois Senator's rallies, but Hillary's supporters are pretty much as dedicated and uncompromising, and every bit as uncharitable to their Democratic competition.
Each candidate's base is personally identifying with the candidate, often along the lines of race, age, or gender. Each side is taking criticism of the candidate from the other side personally. One of these two sides is destined to feel like a spurned lover when the opposing nominee takes the stage in Denver and says, "I accept your nomination." Each one may or may not stifle the urge to boo, jeer, walk out or turn off the television.
By comparison, on the Republican side... there are a lot of conservatives who are quite reluctantly supporting McCain. Some are gradually warming to him. Some are recognizing there are some days he'll be great (Iraq, fighting wasteful spending) and some days he'll be lousy (campaign finance reform, cap and trade). He's earned their respect, but it's unlikely he'll ever win their devotion. And that's okay. Politics inevitably includes compromise, disappointment, a recognition that leaders stumble, fall, make the wrong decision.
A party that nominates Bob Dole, George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon and Dwight Eisenhower does not always look for an inspiring ideal to quicken the pulse and put stars in voters' eyes. One might think that with Mondale, Dukakis, Gore and Kerry, that Democrats were more accepting of imperfect vessels. But recall that all of those men were compared to Kennedy, the Democrats' ideal, and the party's voters flirted with Dean, loved Bill Clinton (until recently), put their faith in a peanut farmer who pledged to never lie, . . . nominated McGovern. They want to be swept off their feet; they don't want a candidate they can merely respect.
In addition, there's a mentality on the Left that anyone who is not with you 100% is EVIL! (Yeah, Kos, I'm talkin' 'bout YOU.) Thus, the Hillary supporters cannot see Obama as a second choice, or vice versa, because anyone who didn't support Hillary!/Obama! is a HERITIC who must be BURNED AT THE STAKE. Makes it a tough task to unite the party around the last one left standing in the deathmatch eventual winner.
And when one of their candidates falls short, about half the Democratic party will be be heartbroken.
Posted by: Mike ||
04/01/2008 09:13 ||
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And when one of their candidates falls short, about half the Democratic party will be be heartbroken.
No, they'll be seething, making faces, and calling for Direct Action.
I'm shocked at the insight showed by a progressive where he actually can see his party clearly - if even for a brief moment. Usually "progressives" can't get their heads out of the cheering section to even see the game.
#3
Don't be shocked, Woodrow - this column is from National Review Online. Written by Jim Geraghty, who is no "progressive". He's one of the good guys.
#4
They've got bigger problems than that, if what the polling indicates is true they cannot win the general election. 12-18% say they will not vote for the Dem that they didn't support in the primary. If thats true say even 5% wont vote for Hillary if they supported Obama, then they may not be able to win. The popular vote in this country is 49 to 51%, I confess I don't know how the electoral college aspect will compensate for this, but the last couple of elections have been real horse races. I don't think they can lose 1 or 2% and have a real shot at winning.
It's getting down to desperation crunch time in the Democratic primary, so the oppo researchers are unloading the good stuff press is really beginning to scrutinize the candidates more carefully. While the "oops" moments they've uncovered probably are not campaign-ending disasters, they seem like the kind of narrative slips that could be problematic for both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. A parade of the recent troubles...
Hillary Clinton is running on her competence and determination to insure everybody. But she hasn't paid her staff's medical bills in a couple months.
Barack Obama is running as a new kind of candidate with a new kind of campaign. But his campaignis spreading good old-fashioned, er, misinformation. Oddly, they seem to think that hey, he amended the document and signed it himself, but that doesn't mean he actually read the thing is a good defense. . . .
The litany continues at the link.
It's been a difficult week for both of them, but they have only themselves to blame. Well, themselves, their opponents research departments and a few well-fed reporters.
Posted by: Mike ||
04/01/2008 07:47 ||
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...and a few well-fed reporters.
Need to speed up the internet development to drop the redundant job description. No need for paid sock puppets these days.
At California's party convention, the ex-president says the primary process should reach its natural conclusion before they start making nominee choices.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/01/2008 00:00 ||
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Somewhere, there is an entire building full of lawyers working on this problem. I'm sure we haven't heard the last of Shrillery. She won't let a little speed bump like the popular vote, or will of the people dissuade her.
During his first run for elected office, Barack Obama played a greater role than his aides now acknowledge in crafting liberal stands on gun control, the death penalty and abortion positions that appear at odds with the more moderate image he has projected during his presidential campaign.
The evidence comes from an amended version of an Illinois voter groups detailed questionnaire, filed under his name during his 1996 bid for a state Senate seat.
Late last year, in response to a Politico story about Obamas answers to the original questionnaire, his aides said he never saw or approved the questionnaire. They asserted the responses were filled out by a campaign aide who unintentionally mischaracterize[d] his position. But a Politico examination determined that Obama was actually interviewed about the issues on the questionnaire by the liberal Chicago nonprofit group that issued it. And it found that Obama the day after sitting for the interview filed an amended version of the questionnaire, which appears to contain Obamas own handwritten notes added to one answer.
The two questionnaires, provided to Politico with assistance from political sources opposed to Obamas presidential campaign, were later supplied directly by the group, Independent Voters of Illinois Independent Precinct Organization. Obama and his then-campaign manager, who Obamas campaign asserts filled out the questionnaires, were familiar with the group, its members and its positions, since both were active in it before Obama's 1996 state Senate run.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/01/2008 00:00 ||
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Hillary Rodham Clintons cash-strapped presidential campaign has been putting off paying hundreds of bills for months freeing up cash for critical media buys but also earning the campaign a reputation as something of a deadbeat in some small-business circles.
A pair of Ohio companies owed more than $25,000 by Clinton for staging events for her campaign are warning others in the tight-knit event production community and anyone else who will listen to get their cash upfront when doing business with her. Her campaign, say representatives of the two companies, has stopped returning phone calls and e-mails seeking payment of outstanding invoices. One even got no response from a certified letter.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/01/2008 00:00 ||
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04/01/2008 00:00 ||
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Well, the TV stations are certainly carrying water for big O'no...had a nice little montage of him doing typical white things today - feeding dairy cattle, bowling (I know its not, but this is the msm not reality; it was the narrative of the visuals). O'no bowled a 36 in 7 frames and the wife said, "well if he had grown up in the US he would know how to bowl."
Aftermentining the score the msm showed the famous Nixon bowling picture and said, "Well, maybe being a good bowler isn't a good thing." They then showed President Bush (with the boo volume turned way up and cutting off the resounding cheers which drowned out the hisses) and I think they said something like 'at least he doesn't throw high and inside' - can't quote there bc the baby was talking to me.
They then showed all the reporters with little booties on at the dairy farm but O'no only had on hiking boots they noticed 'how clean his shoes are'. Not to be outdone I chimed in, "Thats because he is so full of shit that stepping in it actually makes clean spots."
A U.S. Defense Department analyst pleaded guilty to delivering classified information about U.S. and Taiwanese military relations to a New Orleans furniture salesman who turned out to be working with the Chinese government.
Gregg Bergersen, 51, of Alexandria, a weapons analyst at the Defense Security Cooperation Agency who held top secret security clearances, was arrested in February. Prosecutors alleged he divulged military secrets to a Louisiana businessman, Tai Kuo, who turned the information over to a Chinese foreign agent.
In a plea hearing Monday, Bergersen pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiring to communicate national defense information to a person not entitled to receive it. He faces up to 10 years in prison when sentenced in June.
According to a statement of facts, Bergersen thought Kuo was aligned with the Taiwan Ministry of Defense. Bergersen was unaware, though, that Kuo maintained regular contact with a foreign official from Beijing, to whom Kuo was relaying the secret information. Bergersen admitted that he received about $7,000 in cash and gifts from Kuo in the last year, including $3,000 in cash for a poker game on a Las Vegas trip he took with Kuo in April 2007.
Bergersen's lawyer, Mark Cummings, said during Monday's hearing that there was no explicit exchange of money for information. "In hindsight, he understands that the money was given to him in anticipation that he would provide documents," Cummings said.
An FBI affidavit filed in February spelled out detailed evidence against Kuo, including taped conversations in which Bergersen acknowledged to Kuo that he could go to jail for his actions.
Kuo and a third defendant, a Chinese national, Yu Xin Kang, 33, face more serious charges that carry possible life sentences. Both are in jail awaiting trial.
Bergersen is under house arrest while he awaits sentencing. The plea deal bars him and his lawyer from commenting on the case publicly. The plea bargain also requires Bergersen to testify against Kuo and Kang if needed.
Kuo, 58, is a naturalized U.S. citizen and a native of Taiwan. He is a son-in-law of Xue Yue, a Chinese nationalist general who was a close associate of Chiang Kai-shek.
#2
ION IRNA > India Lefts-Communist + US Communist Parties > AMERICAN COMMUNIST LEADER: US STRATEGY TO "PIT ONE COUNTRY AGAINST ANOTHER" IN ASIA [espec agz China].
For ME, more evidencia/indicia that OSAMA BIN LADEN = RADICAL ISLAM INTENDS TO REDIRECT MILITANT JIHAD AGZ RUSS + CENTRAL ASIA.
BAGHDAD - When American soldiers get off duty in Iraq, the men usually return to their quarters, the women to theirs. But Staff Sgt. Marvin Frazier gets to go back to a small trailer with two pushed-together single beds that he shares with his wife. In a historic but little-noticed change in policy, the Army is allowing scores of husband-and-wife soldiers to live and sleep together in the war zone a move aimed at preserving marriages, boosting morale and perhaps bolstering re-enlistment rates at a time when the military is struggling to fill its ranks five years into the fighting.
"It makes a lot of things easier," said Frazier, 33, a helicopter maintenance supervisor in the 3rd Infantry Division. "It really adds a lot of stress, being separated. Now you can sit face-to-face and try to work out things and comfort each other."
Long-standing Army rules barred soldiers of the opposite sex from sharing sleeping quarters in war zones. Even married troops lived only in all-male or all-female quarters and had no private living space.
But in May 2006, Army commanders in Iraq, with little fanfare, decided that it is in the military's interest to promote wedded bliss. In other words: What God has joined together, let no manual put asunder. "It's better for the soldiers, which means overall it's better for the Army," said Command Sgt. Maj. Mark Thornton of the 3rd Infantry.
Military analysts said this is the first war in which the Army even gave the idea any serious consideration a reflection not only of the large number of couples sent to war this time, but also of the way the fighting has dragged on and strained marriages with repeated 12- and 15-month tours of duty.
While some couples were also sent into the 1991 Gulf War, the fighting was over before their living arrangements became an issue, said Lory Manning, a retired Navy captain who studies how military policies affect women for the nonprofit Women's Research and Education Institute.
More than 10,000 couples are in the Army. Exactly how many are serving in the war zone, and how many of those are living together, are not clear. The Army said it does not keep track.
But Frazier and his wife, Staff Sgt. Keisha Frazier, are among about 40 married Army couples living together on "Couples Row" at Camp Striker, which is on the oustkirts of Baghdad and is one of more than 150 U.S. military camps in Iraq. Similarly, a Couples Row opened in October at nearby Camp Victory, though it has trailers for only seven of the many couples who have requested them.
Husbands and wives are still prohibited from public displays of affection, under the same strict regulations that govern unmarried men and women in uniform. Holding hands and kissing, whether on duty or in the chow hall, are against the rules.
"It's rough on marriages when, over the course of years, you don't see each other," Manning said. "It would make sense, certainly from a morale perspective and for the Army, to try to preserve marriages."
The only downside of married soldiers sharing sleeping quarters, she said, would be an increased risk of pregnancies.
Whether the policy applies to troops in Afghanistan is unclear. Pentagon officials said that decision is up to individual commanders, but they did not return repeated calls for comment.
John Pike, director of the military think tank Globalsecurity.org., said: "I think they are looking under the sofa cushions for anything they can do to improve retention. They spend a lot of money getting these people trained up."
After spending the first five months of their 15-month deployment on separate bases in tents with up to 15 other soldiers, all of the same sex, the Fraziers prize the small degree of privacy and intimacy they gained after moving in together in October.
Still newlyweds, Sgt. Amanda Christopher, 25, and her husband, Sgt. Matthew Christopher, 22, said the change in rules has been a blessing for their nearly year-old marriage, four months of which has been spent in Iraq. Both work at the military hospital in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, where Amanda is a licensed practical nurse and Matthew is in patient administration, which can include mortuary duties.
"Some of the stuff I've seen, if she weren't here, I'd be a lot less cool about it," Matthew said as the pair sat inside their potpourri-scented living quarters a mere 120 square feet, with a TV set atop two black lockboxes, an impressive collection of stuffed animals and a Chicago Bears plaque. "There was one night in particular, I saw something and I just thought, 'Oh, God.' I came in here, talked to her for a few minutes, went outside, took a deep breath and I was good to go."
Because of the prohibition on public displays of affection, the Christophers declined even to put their arms around each other for a photo. "It's not like in the civilian world where if you see your boyfriend at work you can just go, 'Oh, hi, Babe,'" Amanda said. "We're in uniform, and we have to maintain a professional demeanor at work."
Capt. Jessica Hegenbart and her husband, Chief Warrant Officer Brian Hegenbart, had to live separately for two months when they arrived at Camp Striker because all the trailers for couples were full and were mostly allotted by rank. They finally moved in together in June. "It's nice to come back to our trailer. I just feel bad for all those guys who don't have that to come home to every day," said Brian, a 32-year-old Black Hawk helicopter pilot.
Living together, however, doesn't stop the Hegenbarts from worrying about each other's safety. Sometimes, it can make it harder. "Because we're so close out here, we know to the hour when our loved one's supposed to be home from a mission," Jessica said. "So if they're late, our brains starts going to that place where you start to wonder what went wrong. That happens more often than I'd like to admit."
#1
This is a major news item, and a clear indicator that things are going very well in Iraq. The Army *only* does this after it is confident that things are settled down.
Marrieds were not permitted in South Korea for years after the armistice, and even then were long restricted to Seoul only.
#2
My nephew and his wife served together in Afgan two years ago and are now (15 month)in Taji. He is a cpt. in the signal corp and she flies blackhawkes. They hardly ever see each other but do have a crude billet.
#3
Very true #1 - great for married troops but OTOH also provides sn impetus for more selective kidnappings and related Terror ops, not to mention overdedic bachelor troopers whom will insist/demand on "equal access" to any and all
"companionship of a certain nature".
TWIDDLING MY THUMBS HERE - IMO, ARMY IS MAKING A MISTAKE. WORLD MIL HISTORY + ISRAEL POLICIES > Will try and try and try again over Time, Wars, Pol and Admin Changes, Peace, and Generations, etc. only to regain sanity and revert back.
LASTLY, ARMY = US VOLUNTER ARMY-DOD IS DOING THIS CHANGE AT A TIME WHEN OSAMA + RADICAL ISLAM HAS LIKELY CHOSEN TO EXPAND VIOLENT JIHAD AGZ [Nuke-armed]RUSSIA-CENTRAL ASIA.[China?] FUBAR = SNAFU = OOOOOOOOOPPPPPPSIES!?
Cold War Leftism-Socialism is on the verge/threshold of seeing their hallowed, sacrosanct MACKINDER'S WORLD ISLAND OF EURASIA DESTABILIZE AND BREAKUP, UNTO DECADENT AMER-SKI WESTERNIST BOURGEOSIE CAPITALISM OR ISLAMIST NONSECULARISM, ETC. WHICH EVEN HUMPTY DUMPTY KNOWS ONLY WAR WILL RESTORE TO LEFTY IDEALISM???
A global decision on how much rich countries should slash their greenhouse gas emissions in the next decade should be made after the United States has a new Democratpresident, the UN climate chief said Tuesday.
Yvo de Boer, head of the UN Convention on Climate Change which is chairing talks in Bangkok, said the highly sensitive issue should be thrashed out next year, after the US elections in November.
"There are some topics which it makes sense to leave for later in the process, for example what sort of targets or commitments are industrialised countries going to agree to," he told reporters.
"That is something which is perhaps more sensibly discussed with a new administration."
Under President George W. Bush, who will leave office in January, the United States backed out of the Kyoto Protocol, the landmark pact on cutting emissions whose obligations expire at the end of 2012.
Bush argued that the treaty was unfair by making no demands of developing countries. But the three major candidates vying to replace him have all pledged tougher action on Global Warming.
Frustration with the current US stance grew so great during landmark talks in Bali, Indonesia, in December last year that American delegates were booed during the conference's closing hours.
All participants eventually agreed to reach a new pact on post-Kyoto commitments by the end of 2009.
But the Bali Road Map contained no explicit mention of emissions cuts for rich countries.
The United States is pushing for fast-developing nations such as India, China and Brazil to sign up to binding carbon emissions cuts, while Europe is leading calls for rich countries to slash emissions by 25 to 40 percent by 2020.
De Boer said US participation had so far been positive at the Bangkok talks, which aim to lay out an action plan for negotiations toward next year's pact on halting the ravages of climate change.
"The US is very much engaged in the process here. That doesn't mean that we immediately have consensus and everybody is ready to sign up to a final deal," he said on the second day of the Bangkok meeting, which ends Friday.
He said the US delegation has been "constructive" in the Bangkok talks, including by putting forward an idea on how to organise key parts of the discussions on reaching a new treaty.
De Boer, who has warned that time is running out to forge a new pact on Global Warming, said he was encouraged with progress in the Thai capital.
"We could potentially have had a big fight over the agenda, we didn't. We could potentially have had a fight over the fact that very interesting meetings are happening in parallel. We didn't," he said.
"I take from that a sense that countries really want to get down to work, rather than fight procedural wars."
#1
I think they have concluded that Bush has realized that they are not only full of shiat, but are trying to get the US to do all the heavy lifting while they cash in with a scummier scam than food for oil.
#2
"Under President George W. Bush, who will leave office in January, the United States backed out of the Kyoto Protocol"
Bull crap. Total bull crap. In 1997, three years before Bush was elected, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed by a 950 vote the Byrd-Hagel Resolution which stated the sense of the Senate was that the United States should not be a signatory to any protocol that did not include binding targets and timetables for developing nations. In 1998, Vice President Al Gore symbolically signed the protocol anyway. The Kyoto Protocol is non-binding on the United States unless ratified by the U.S. Senate. It has never come even remotely close to ratification. Blaming Bush is absurd. Blame Al Gore for living a fantasy and disrespecting the will of the U.S. Senate.
#9
A global decision on how much rich countries should slash their greenhouse gas emissions in the next decade should be made after the United States has a new Democrat president, the UN climate chief said Tuesday.
Doesn't have to be a democrat - look at McCain's position on GW...
#10
Well, Byrd and Hagel will probably be in the Senate next year. They can always reintroduce their resolution.
If these people really believed in glowbull wormening, they would be having teleconferences rather than flying around the world for their conferences. Or better yet, discussing it via regular mail, sent by sailing ships, since any other means of communication contributes to global warming.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
04/01/2008 16:08 Comments ||
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JAKARTA (Rooters) - Hackers have defaced the Web site of Indonesia's information ministry in response to a government move to restrict access to pr0nographic material on the Internet, an official said on Friday.
Indonesia's parliament on Tuesday passed a new information bill that criminalizes the transmission of pr0nographic material on the Web.
The Southeast Asian country has had a vigorous debate over pr0nography in recent years, exposing deep divisions in the Muslim-majority nation.
Hackers on Thursday posted a message on the information ministry's Web site (http:/www.depkominfo.go.id) saying: "Prove that the law has not been made to cover government stupidity."
The message was accompanied by a mocked-up photograph of a local information technology expert, who has been advising the government on the new law, depicted with a bare chest.
Screenshots of the hacked page were posted on the Detik.com news Web site and a cyber chat forum.
The message had been removed and the Web site was now running normally, said Gatot Broto, an official at the ministry.
The ministry said the law was a response to concerns in society about the negative impact of pr0nographic and violent sites as more Indonesians gain access to the Internet.
Under the law, anyone found guilty of transmitting pr0nographic material, false news or racial and religious hate messages on the Internet could face up to six years in prison or a fine of 1 billion rupiah ($109,000).
Indonesia's parliament has yet to pass a controversial pr0nography bill, which aims to shield the young from pr0nographic material and lewd acts.
Earlier draft versions contained provisions that could jail people for kissing in public and criminalize many forms of art or traditional culture that hinge on sensuality, sparking criticism it could curb freedoms and hurt Indonesia's tolerant tradition.
This is entirely charming. The dreadlocked, body-pierced granola-crunchers with sprouts stuck between their teeth at Hampshire College want anti-oppression training for all staff.
The article sadly doesnt detail the nature of the administrations failure to be insufficiently committed to fighting racism. Its hard to imagine, if you know anything about Hampshire College. But whats fascinating is that while the alternativistas earnestly claim they want to boost diversity at their 1,350-student ultra-liberal arts college in western Massachusetts Happy Valley, one of their demands is for residence halls exclusively for students of color and for queer-identified students. That doesnt sound very diverse. Sounds kind of oppressive.
Posted by: Mike ||
04/01/2008 06:20 ||
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Bluto: My advice to you is start drinking heavily.
#3
I sugest the staff send the children for REAL Anti-Opression training:
United States Basic Military Training - AKA Boot Camp.
Its the only training that has eliminated oppression up-close and personal, for hundreds of years, regardless of source: slavery, Nazis, Communism, dictators, islamofascism, and many others.
Funny how the military truly treats everyone the same, and liberals are always dividing people.
#5
The agendists confuse toleration with submission. Long past to point out the difference between the two. If they are unwilling to accommodate the majority, its time the majority stop accommodating them.
#6
The funniest part of this is that they actually are much like the 17th Century inhabitants, who considered themselves far superior to others, were bitterly superstitious and conformist, and filled to the brim with hate against those they did not understand.
Steadily rising food costs aren't just causing grocery shoppers to do a double-take at the checkout line - they're also changing the very ways we feed our families. The worst case of food inflation in nearly 20 years has more Americans giving up restaurant meals to eat at home. We're buying fewer luxury food items, eating more leftovers and buying more store brands instead of name-brand items.
For Peggy and David Valdez of Houston, feeding their family of four means scouring grocer ads for the best prices, taking fewer trips as a way to save gas and simply buying less food, period. "We do more selecting, looking around, seeing which prices are cheaper," said David Valdez. "We are being more selective. We have got to find the cheapest price."
Record-high energy, corn and wheat prices in the past year have led to sticker shock in the grocery aisles. At $1.32, the average price of a loaf of bread has increased 32 percent since January 2005. In the last year alone, the average price of carton of eggs has increased almost 50 percent.
Ground beef, milk, chicken, apples, tomatoes, lettuce, coffee and orange juice are among the staples that cost more these days, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Overall, food prices rose nearly 5 percent in 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That means a pound of coffee, on average, cost 57 cents more at year's end than in 2006. A 12-ounce can of frozen, concentrated orange juice now averages $2.53 - a 67-cent increase in just two years. And a carton of grade A, large eggs will set you back $2.17. That's an increase of nearly $1 since February, 2006.
"The economy is having a definite impact on shopper behavior," said Tim Hammonds, president and chief executive officer of the Food Marketing Institute, a retail trade group. "People are significantly changing what they do."
Soaring prices are causing shoppers to rethink long-held habits such as store loyalty. Wal-Mart and other supercenters that sell food now account for 24 percent of the market, according to the most recent annual survey of shopping habits by Hammonds' organization.
Gina Pierson, a music teacher in Columbia, Mo., buys her family's staples at local grocery stores but makes regular trips to Wal-Mart to supplement the weekly shopping list. Like many families struggling to get by, Pierson and her husband, a public school teacher, are adjusting their approach to buying, cooking and eating food. Restaurant meals are now almost a luxury. "Between food and gas, it's just cheaper to stay home," she said.
In 2007, the FMI survey showed the average number of weekly shopping trips falling below two per household for the first time.
Paula Curtis, a mental health worker in Montpelier, Vt., said her grocery bill has been steadily climbing by $10 to $20 a week. She has cut back on meat, fruit, vegetables and snack food, and buys milk at the gas station, where she said it's cheaper. "Every time I go, it's more and more," she said. "I make a list, but I don't necessarily get everything on it because I can't afford everything."
Nationwide, a family of four on a moderate-cost shopping plan now spends an average of $904 each month for groceries, an $80 increase from two years ago, according to the USDA.
Those who can't absorb the added expenses are increasingly seeking help from food pantries. America's Harvest, which distributes nearly two billion pounds of food and grocery products each year to more than 200 food banks across the country, estimates that its overall client load increased by 20 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007.
The jump has been even higher at the Central Missouri Food Bank's pantry in Columbia, a college town halfway between Kansas City and St. Louis. The food pantry served 7,200 people in 2007, an increase of more than 50 percent over two years, said executive director Peggy Kirkpatrick.
Columbia used to be considered inflation-proof because of its high-paying university jobs and proximity to the state capital, 30 miles away in Jefferson City. "That's not the case anymore," she said.
Shary Auer visits the Columbia food pantry once a month to help extend the family's $800 monthly food budget. The mother of five children, ages 9 to 19, is buying more canned food instead of fresh produce. Portions are smaller around the Auer dinner table, and salads are added regularly to stretch the servings of meat and poultry. Auer, a part-time postal worker and supermarket cashier, said she fastidiously tracks food prices. "I watch for sales, save my receipts and highlight what I save," she said.
Not all shoppers are struggling with the changes. At the Whole Foods Market in downtown Seattle, Beth Miller didn't think twice about paying $6.39 for a gallon of organic orange juice, or $4 for a dozen eggs at the store, which specializes in organic and natural foods. "I'm used to having a small gasp at the cash register," said Miller, who favors local produce and organic food for her husband and 12-year-old son. "We try to be really careful about what we eat."
Among retailers, the surge in commodity prices - from corn, now in high demand because of increased ethanol production, to wheat that has tripled in price over the past 10 months - has some industry observers suggesting that higher food prices aren't a temporary fluctuation but instead may be here to stay. "We don't exactly have a crystal ball," said Whole Foods' Perry Abbenante, a senior global grocery buyer. "But I'm not sure (prices) are going back. We're preparing for a new threshold."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/01/2008 00:00 ||
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I myself have commenced to grazing at high tea.
#3
I haven't changed my dining habits much since college - decades ago. I always eat my leftovers - they tend to be better than the original dinner. I generally buy generics. Processed/'luxury' foods tend to be too salty or fatty, so I make my own. Etc. I do drink less beer, so I have switched from cheap to good stuff - my one concession to luxury consumption as an old (kinda) rich guy.
#4
At the Whole Foods Market in downtown Seattle, Beth Miller didn't think twice about paying $6.39 for a gallon of organic orange juice, or $4 for a dozen eggs at the store, which specializes in organic and natural foods. "I'm used to having a small gasp at the cash register,"
Nothing like a dose of reality to dampen your "Organic" mindset. (Idiots)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
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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.
Tabloid star Anna Nicole Smith's son Daniel died of a drug overdose, an inquest jury in the Bahamas ruled on Monday.
IT'S fair to say Madonna's film career hasn't been that successful, but the Material Girl keeps trying. Reports from Britain suggest she is hoping to do a remake of the classic film Casablanca. Madonna is reportedly hoping to film it in Iraq, and play the lead role of Ilsa Lund, which was made famous by Ingrid Bergman. 
Afghanistan's lower house of Parliament passed a resolution Monday seeking to bar television programs from showing dancing and other practices deemed un-Islamic.
(SomaliNet) Western diplomatic sources have said Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebel leader, Joseph Kony, is walking to the Sudan-Congo border to sign a final peace deal this week with the Government. 
TENSION mounted in Zimbabwe yesterday as it emerged that President Robert Mugabe had arbitrarily blocked the result of the weekends cliff-hanger presidential election to manipulate it in his favour. By late yesterday no official presidential vote results were available, prompting the US, the UK and the European Union to call for the state-run Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to act swiftly.
More than 150 people have been abducted in the Central African Republic (CAR), in raids that officials have blamed on the Lord's Resistance Army rebels. A report by the CAR parliament on Friday said most of those abducted were women and girls, and they had been abused.
President Vladimir Putin will become Russia's prime minister a day after his successor's inauguration. Dmitry Medvedev, who is to be sworn in as president on May 7, has said he would give Mr Putin the job.
China escalated its rhetoric against supporters of the Dalai Lama on Tuesday, accusing the Nobel Peace laureate's backers of planning suicide attacks. 
During his first run for elected office, Barack Obama played a greater role than his aides now acknowledge in crafting liberal stands on gun control, the death penalty and abortion positions that appear at odds with the more moderate image he has projected during his presidential campaign. 
Hillary Rodham Clintons cash-strapped presidential campaign has been putting off paying hundreds of bills for months freeing up cash for critical media buys but also earning the campaign a reputation as something of a deadbeat in some small-business circles. 
A global decision on how much rich countries should slash their greenhouse gas emissions in the next decade should be made after the United States has a new 
Steadily rising food costs aren't just causing grocery shoppers to do a double-take at the checkout line - they're also changing the very ways we feed our families. The worst case of food inflation in nearly 20 years has more Americans giving up restaurant meals to eat at home. We're buying fewer luxury food items, eating more leftovers and buying more store brands instead of name-brand items.
