A bank in Florida refused to cash a check for an armless man because he could not provide a thumbprint. "They looked at my prosthetic hands and the teller said, 'Well, obviously you can't give us a thumbprint'," Steve Valdez told CNN on Wednesday.
But he said the Bank of America Corp branch in downtown Tampa, Florida, still insisted on a thumbprint identification for him to cash a check drawn on his wife's account at the bank, even though he showed them two photo IDs.
In the incident last week, a bank supervisor told Valdez he could only cash the check without a thumbprint if he brought his wife in with him or he opened an account with them. "I told them I neither wanted an account with them and couldn't bring my wife in because she was nowhere close by," Valdez told CNN. Bank of America said in a statement cited by CNN: "While the thumbprint is a requirement for those who don't have accounts, the bank should have made accommodations."
Valdez said his treatment by the bank violated the U.S. Americans with Disability Act requiring institutions to provide reasonable accommodation to disabled persons.
One day after two ACORN officials in Baltimore were fired for offering to help a man and woman posing as a pimp and prostitute to engage in child prostitution and a series of tax crimes, another secretly shot videotape has surfaced that shows the same couple getting similar advice from ACORN officers in Washington.
The newly released videotape, shot on July 25, shows ACORN staffers explaining to the pair how they can hide the woman's professed work -- prostitution -- and get a loan that will help them establish a brothel.
James O'Keefe, a 25-year-old independent filmmaker, posed as the pimp while visiting the ACORN office, accompanied by 20-year-old Hannah Giles, who posed as the prostitute. On a videotape provided to FOXNews.com, they are seen receiving guidance to establish the woman as the sole proprietor of a bogus company to mask the nature of her business.
"She's not going to put on (the loan application) that she's doing prostitution ... she doesn't have to," the ACORN staffer says. "You don't have to sit back and tell people what you do."
The ACORN staffer is heard suggesting that O'Keefe can purchase a house, and as the landlord, if he is ever questioned by authorities, he can say he was unaware of the illegal business going on inside.
"[W]hen the police ask you, (tell them) you don't know where (the money is) coming from," the staffer said. "We are looking out for you."
The ACORN employee later suggests that O'Keefe, who said he had a budding political career, not linger at the house in case people "put the dots together" and leave him "smeared and tarnished" by his association with his prostitute girlfriend. She should keep her business "low key," the employee said.
An ACORN spokesman told FOX News the group would need to look at the full tape and transcript before commenting.
I eagerly await the statement that, just as Jesus befriended prostitutes and tax collectors, so too does ACORN not discriminate. Of course, Jesus advised his followers to "render unto Caesar," ie pay taxes and obey the law, but one could see why ACORN might ignore that quibble.
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/11/2009 18:37 Comments ||
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#3
Bambi's gonna be pissed....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/11/2009 19:44 Comments ||
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#4
Census's decision could get reversed by one of the czars, or by Bambi himself.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
09/11/2009 20:01 Comments ||
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#5
not likely, after the leak, otherwise....
/Loooocy, you have some 'splaining to do!
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/11/2009 20:32 Comments ||
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#6
Ya think Obama wants to attract any attention to himself and Acorn at this moment?
Breibart a sharp guy. He opens this fight on a Thursday and then dropped Round 2 on a Friday; a slow news day and the 911 Anniversary to boot. Most Sunday news shows are already taped. Spidey sense says there is a Round 3 set to go Monday.
Via the Ace link above, Acorn has admitted that this stunt was tried at at least five offices. Oopps!
#8
One of the big problems I have with practicing homosexuals active in Church functions is, as Jesus told Mary Magdeline, "Go and sin no more". Jesus forgave the sin, but didn't want to see any more of it. Being a practicing homosexual is to engage repeatedly in what the Church recognizes as a sin. How can one lead others to Christ, urge them to repent (give up their sinful ways), and be "washed clean" while continuing to flaunt the values Jesus taught? ACORN cannot leave their "sinful"(I.E., unlawful) behavior, because that behavior is the sole reason ACORN exists. They already have some 160 different "fronts", spread out from Maine to Hawaii. ACORN needs an independent prosecutor to go after them on RICO charges.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/11/2009 21:32 Comments ||
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#4
Some purported transcripted excerpts from the cited video are to be found here. “The Arabs invented, or discovered, the zero – but what did they do with it? Some of them sat on it, some put it on their heads, while others wore it around their waists, and began shaking their hips, their bellies, and their breasts, in order to sell to the world the idea that modern Arabs are doing something. Today, the Arabs constitute nothing but thousands of zeros to the left.”...The reality of the Arabs is one of defeat, hitting rock bottom… We are defeated, politically and militarily… and economically, socially, and even psychologically. We have a discourse of conspiracy, and we blame everything on others. This utter demoralization, combined with the billions of petro-dollars and the annihilation of distance by modern travel & communication, is what makes them so dangerous IMHO.
#6
Malek recently had a book published in Egypt, A Flood of Corruption and the Advance of bin Laden in Algeria. In a letter to the Cairo-based Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, Malek said, The book is already printed, but the state security confiscated it from distribution stores and warned the publisher of reprinting it, and moreover, they threatened the publisher with closing the publishing house if he acted against them by leaking information to media.
#8
The concept of 'zero' has been around for a lot longer than the 'Arab Scholars' (so that distinction eludes them, too).
See here and here for some interesting historical tidbits.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
09/11/2009 15:42 Comments ||
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#9
I was surprised to hear the host refer to Egypt's 1973 as a victory. Is this commonly held in the Arab world?
Yes, also in the west. Tactically (in the end) a catastrophe, the Egyptian Armys early success in the canal crossing led in due course to the re-claming of the Sinai.
Archeologists say the figurines made during the Stone Age were not religious icons rather they were the world's first educational toys.
According to mailonline, about 2,000 figures have been unearthed at Turkey's Catalhoyuk - the world's oldest known town - over the past few decades. The statues were made by Neolithic farmers in the shape of tiny cattle, crude sheep and flabby people with less than five percent female figurines. Many of the figures, which were thought to have been women in the 1960s, are now believed by experts to be just as likely to be men. "The majority are cattle or sheep and goats. They could be representatives of animals they were dealing with - and they could have been teaching aides," said Stanford University archaeologist Professor Lynn Meskell. "All were found in the trash - and they were not in niches or platforms or placed in burials."
"These are things that were made and used on a daily basis," she said. "People carried them around and discarded them."
Catalhoyuk is one of the world's most important archaeological sites, which once accommodated 5,000 people living around 7,000 BC in mud brick and plaster homes. The town contains the oldest murals and is believed to have been an equalitarian society that survived for around 2,000 years.
As far as I know, equalitarian is not a word in English. Perhaps the writer meant egalitarian.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/11/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
they could have been teaching aides...
All were found in the trash...
What were they teaching? That women are trash? Maybe, that women are disposable?
The whole point of this is to deny that there was a matrifocal culture in the Neolithic. The reporting here is tendentious, to say the least.
Catal Hoyuk is generally agreed to be a religious shrine at which the small clay figurines were offered with sacrifices. In the shrine buildings themselves are figurines of much higher quality, made to last, which sit in the niches in the rooms. The most famous of these is a female figure shown giving birth to a bull-headed god.
[Bangla Daily Star] Law enforcement agencies have prepared a fresh list of top outlaw cadres, their kingpins and political mentors in the country's southwestern region as they launched a drive last Saturday to arrest the criminals.
Names of 280 armed operatives of different outlaw and criminal groups, 80 linchpins and as many as 150 political mentors, often dubbed as godfather, have been included in the list, officials concerned told The Daily Star.
A number of high officials of law enforcement agencies in the region confirmed that a fresh list has been made but declined to disclose the exact timeframe of the drive.
Some sources said the drive was launched Saturday last maintaining a low-key. The law-enforcers caught long-wanted alleged political mentor of outlaw activities Mokhlesur Rahman Mukul from Dhaka on the very next day.
The fresh list includes the most wanted criminals from outlawed parties and criminal gangs, their armed cadres active in the region and their godfathers including a good number of leaders holding posts in major political parties, sources said.
"Those people may be influential because of their political clout or other powers. When they shelter or patronise the criminals, they also become criminals in the eyes of law," Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of police of Khulna Range Sheikh Hemayat Hossain told The Daily Star over phone declining to say anything specific regarding the list.
"Our action is now against those who are criminals," the DIG quipped.
Acting Commanding Officer of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in Khulna Division Major Md Khalid told The Daily Star that at times it is very difficult to define godfathers. "We, however, have considered the background of a person, not the political affiliation. If anybody is found out to be a criminal by the nature of his acts, we should take action no matter which political parties they belong."
Sources said the process of preparing fresh list started upon directive from the government amidst escalating violence and killings in the outlaw-infested 10 districts of the southwest.
At least 269 people were killed, mostly by different outlaw outfits, in the 10 southwestern districts since January this year.
Kushtia tops the list of killings with 70 murders followed by 49 in Jhenidah, 46 in Jessore, 30 in Khulna, 26 in Chuadanga, 12 in Meherpur, 11 in Satkhira, nine in Bagerhat, and eight each in Narail and Magura.
Frequency of killings during July-August period prompted Inspector General of Police (IGP) Nur Mohammad and Rab Director General (DG) Hassan Mahmood Khandker to rush to Kushtia on August 20 and declare that a joint drive plan was in the offing.
Intelligence agencies of different law enforcement agencies including police and Rab with the help of other agencies prepared the latest short-list, sifting through two previous lists--one prepared in 2004 during the rule of BNP-Jamaat coalition government and another last year during the tenure of caretaker government.
The list prepared in 2004 had names of some 2,200 criminals of 12 outlawed parties and crime rackets along with a number of their political patrons while the second list prepared in September-November of 2008 included names of 2,847 criminals and their godfathers.
Sources at different law enforcement agencies said use of criminals by the godfathers for various purposes is an old tradition in the region. The influential persons mainly belonging to different political parties use the outlawed parties' strength to establish supremacy, to kill opponents or to rig vote during the elections.
They said though lists were prepared in the past on a few occasions, no massive step had been taken to net the political mentors of the outlawed parties.
This time the high officials of law enforcement agencies are determined to arrest the most wanted criminals, their kingpins and political godfathers as well, they said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/11/2009 00:00 ||
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The ELEPHANTS-JUMBOS/CAMELS OF ANARCHY ["Sons of Anarchy" TV Show]???
Gut nuthin.
D *** NG IT, NOW I'A-WANTIN' WANT A NEW MOTORBIKE!
#2
Law enforcement agencies have prepared a fresh list of top outlaw cadres, their kingpins and political mentors in the country's southwestern region...
Shucks, thought this was a story about the Mexican-American border.
Gordon Brown today issues a posthumous apology to a Second World War code breaker who killed himself after being tried and convicted of being homosexual.
The Prime Minister said Alan Turing was treated “terribly". Mr Brown was responding to a campaign to get a formal apology from the Government. Thousands of people have signed a Downing Street petition.
However a formal apology is not possible as Mr Turing has no known surviving family. Instead Mr Brown offered a personal apology.
In an article for the Daily Telegraph, he said: “Alan Turing was a quite brilliant mathematician, most famous for his work on breaking the German Enigma codes. It is no exaggeration to say that, without his outstanding contribution, the history of the Second World War could well have been very different. He truly was one of those individuals we can point to whose unique contribution helped to turn the tide of war.
“The debt of gratitude he is owed makes it all the more horrifying, therefore, that he was treated so inhumanely. In 1952, he was convicted of “gross indecency” – in effect, tried for being gay. His sentence – and he was faced with the miserable choice of this or prison – was chemical castration by a series of injections of female hormones. He took his own life just two years later.
“I am pleased to have the chance to say how deeply sorry I and we all are for happened to him. Alan and the many thousands of other gay men who were convicted as he was convicted, under homophobic laws, were treated terribly.”
#1
The story of the Bletchley Park codebreakers and the breaking of the German High Command code is a fascinating part of WWII history despite the slant of the story.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/11/2009 20:54 Comments ||
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#5
Yes, 'THE' Turing.
I have little patience with in-your-face gay activists and more broadly with flaunt-every-sexual-activity-you-can-in-the-streets no matter who does it. But the humiliation and destruction of Alan Turing was unnecessary, unspeakably cruel and simply stupid.
The man was a patriot whose work helped defeat the Nazis, he made key foundational breakthroughs in computing theory and was just started to do so in some related fields as well. There is every reason to believe he would have continued to contribute to Britain and the world had the paranoia of the time not led the British government to discard and mistreat him badly.
Following Russia and Nicaragua, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states.
"Venezuela from today is joining in the recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia," Chavez said during a visit to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's residence outside Moscow. "We soon will begin actions to establish diplomatic relations with these countries," Chavez added.
"Thank you, Hugo," Medvedev replied, as the two leaders sat by a fireplace for a public appearance before the start of closed-door talks. Chavez, an outspoken critic of the United States, had been expected to discuss with Medvedev possible arms purchases as well as a loan to Venezuela from Russia.
The decision -- which Chavez said was effective immediately -- is viewed as a triumph for Russia, which has struggled to convince other countries to follow its lead in granting diplomatic recognition to the two territories.
Abkhazia and South Ossetia sought independence from Georgian rule, following the collapse of the Soviet Union in early 1990s. Despite enjoying tacit support from Moscow for years, they were not recognized as independent states by Russia until August 2008. the trait was followed by Nicaragua and Now Venezuela.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/11/2009 00:00 ||
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Recognizes it? I'd lay odds he can't even pronounce it.
Mysterious needle attacks have spread to new cities in China's restive far-western region of Xinjiang, the China Daily said on Friday, although once again the assaults appear to be a mix of real and imagined.
Nearly 600 people in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, home to the native Muslim Uighurs, have said they were stabbed with needles over the last two weeks, leading to mass demonstrations by Han Chinese against a government they said could not guarantee their safety. Nine suspects were detained in the cities of Hotan, Altay and Kashgar, the China Daily said.
The pattern of real and imagined attacks appears to be continuing. Of nine reported attacks in Hotan, three were actually pricked, while in Altay, four of five reported attacks were false alarms and in Kashgar, three of five were false alarms, the paper said, citing local officials. Officials and state media blamed the attacks in Urumqi on separatists bent on destroying ethnic unity.
On July 5, a demonstration by Uighurs turned into a riot in which 197 people, mostly Han Chinese, were killed. Han Chinese launched revenge attacks two days later. Since then, Urumqi has been cut off from Internet access, international phone calls, and most text messaging, to avoid a repeat of the violence. The result is that rumours reign supreme.
A police text message was the spark that ignited the rash of reports in the divided city of Urumqi. Five people died in unrest last week and tens of thousands poured into the streets to demand the ouster of the powerful regional Party Secretary, Wang Lequan. "Recently, several residents were attacked by hypodermic syringes. Local police security departments have also uncovered a case in which assailants used syringes to attack passers-by," read the text message, sent to Urumqi residents on Aug. 31. "Please don't panic over the incident, and inform police officers if you find any suspects."
Panic they did. By Sept. 4, 513 people had turned up at police stations to report they had been jabbed, stabbed or pricked. They were tested for HIV, hepatitis and sexually transmitted diseases, adding to fears that the attacks would spread AIDS. At least another 77 attacks have since been reported.
On Sept 3, Han Chinese crowded into People's Square demanding Wang's resignation for not ensuring their safety during the July riots, or against the mystery stabbers. The five died on Sept 3, when crowds beat up a Uighur man accused of jabbing a woman, and then attacked the ambulance ferrying him to hospital.
New orders punishing rumour-mongers and forbidding citizens from beating up suspects imply that the city government is trying to dampen the firestorm it started. Most of the stabbings appear to be simple hysteria. Only 106 victims had shown signs of jabs, bumps or rashes as of Sept 4. Some were pricked by sewing needles or pins, not syringes, doctors said. Other marks might be insect bites.
Authorities have revealed details of four crimes that appear to have prompted the syringe warning. On Aug. 28, a 19-year-old Uighur followed a fruit seller home and stuck a pin in her buttocks. The next day, two Uighur drug addicts, a man and woman aged 22 and 34, used a syringe to mug a cabbie, stealing 710 yuan ($100). On Aug. 31, a Uighur addict used a syringe with heroin in it to fend off arresting officers, some of whom were injured. On Sept 3, four men jabbed a woman in the neck with a syringe loaded with an unidentified dangerous substance.
Authorities have not explained how the crimes by junkies and molesters comprise an organised plot. It is possible that those who were actually pricked, many on crowded buses, were targets of people seeking revenge or trying to stir up hatred, or just bored people looking for drama.
#2
IMO the use of "Needles" or Syringes are intentional PYWAR on the minds of traditional, CONFUCIANISM-CENTRIC/HAPPY CHINESE > DRUG ADDICTION being an added bonus.
#3
See also TOPIX > PERSONAL POWER PLAYS THREATEN CHINA'S STABILITY/DISORDERS IN XINJIANG AND TIBET REEVAL CHINKS IN RULING [CPC = CCCC] PARTY'S ARMOR/THOUSANDS OF ETHNIC HAN CHINESE DEMONSTRATE AGZ CPC POLITBURO STRONGMAN WANG LEQUAN.
Texas governor Perry announced he will be sending teams of Texas Rangers to the Mexican border to quell violence allowed to get out of hand by the understaffed federal Border Patrol. The Rangers will be deployed to high traffic and high crime areas. and those stretches of the border containing isolated ranchers have complained of being overrun by people smugglers.
Two hundred troops from the Texas Army National Guard have begun training with the Rangers for this assignment.
#2
Rats. Not quite the type of Rangers I hoped for when I first saw the headline...
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
09/11/2009 8:55 Comments ||
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#3
"Texans know better than that. You go down to the border regions of the state of Texas and they will tell you Washington, D.C., has been an abject failure in securing our border."
What was it again that happened to your request for 1000 National Guardsmen? Yep, seems that way to me too Gov.
#12
#11, #12, IIRC, the first responder to the Texas Tower shooter in 1966 was a civilian who took his shootin' arn off the mantel & up the stairs to confront Charles Whitman. At that point Whitman stopped shooting at the people below. Local law enforcers were next on the scene.
[Geo News] Power supply to Sindh Assembly building could not be restored Thursday even after three days. According to Assembly Secretary, Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) is not taking the issue seriously, whereas KESC spokesperson claims that the power company is not responsible for the failure. Power supply to the building was cut off two days ago due to a cable fault. Due to the absence of power employees are facing difficulties, and the security cameras, scanners, walkthrough gates, lifts and other equipments installed in the building have become useless.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/11/2009 00:00 ||
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Back on September 2nd, 2006/2007 instruments were selling as low as 20 cents and held that way until Sept 8th. So this is a boost...
Zimbabwe money notes are doing pretty well on Ebay. Right now they are actually more valuable than carbon credit notes. Apparently with about the same confidence level.
Rest at Link - With Graphs!
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
09/11/2009 00:00 ||
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Of course Zim notes have more value! You can use them as toilet paper in case of emergency...carbon credits, not so much.
#2
carbon credits on ebay would be voluntary ones. That they are low, would indicate lots of people are trying to sell, and not so many trying to buy. Logical given a weak economy. Perhaps also a sign more people are actually conserving, and so have more credits to sell, and fewer feel a need to buy.
The whole idea of a carbon market is to introduce market principles. One of which is that sometimes the items traded go down in value.
Posted by: liberal hawk ||
09/11/2009 11:20 Comments ||
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Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
09/11/2009 13:33 Comments ||
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#4
TOPIX > VARIOUS - GLOBAL WARMING HAS STOPPED AND COOLING HAS BEGUN; + SCIENTISTS: ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION MAY INCREASE BY 20% + GLOBAL COOLING AS SOLAR MAGNETIC ACTIVITY CONTINUES TO DROP.
DREAM > FUTURE GUAM = Super-thicky "LONDON FOG" oer GUAM-WESTPAC; + HAND-DIP into a "SLUSHY" PACIFIC.........@???
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.
Mysterious needle attacks have spread to new cities in China's restive far-western region of Xinjiang, the China Daily said on Friday, although once again the assaults appear to be a mix of real and imagined.
Back on September 2nd, 2006/2007 instruments were selling as low as 20 cents and held that way until Sept 8th. So this is a boost...
