Here he was, being sworn in again as mayor of one of northern Mexico's most exclusive communities, and he had wonderful news to share: "Black Saldana, who apparently is the one who was asking for my head, was found dead today in Mexico City," he told his cheering supporters Saturday in San Pedro Garza Garcia, near Monterrey.
The problem was that the barefoot, blindfolded corpse of "Black Saldana" whose real first name is Hector wasn't found for another 3 1/2 hours, according to Mexico City prosecutors. And he wouldn't be identified for two days.
Now this cartel-plagued nation, usually nonchalant about a spate of kidnappings, extortion and executions, is engrossed with this not-so-straighforward murder that links drug lords and politicians.
The mayor is facing tough questions about the killings: How did he know his nemesis was dead before the authorities apparently did? Does he have associations with the cartel that may have killed the men?
And what exactly did he mean when he said, during his acceptance speech, that he knew Saldana and his associates wanted to hurt him, and that "by fair means or foul, we are not going to accept any kind of kidnapping ... and if not, they will pay for it."
The mayor's initial answer, repeated in a series of interviews, was simple: "Sometimes there are coincidences in life; it's better to look at it this way."
But when pressed, Fernandez offered an intriguing explanation. He said U.S. authorities tipped him off that somebody intercepted cartel communications and learned Saldana was planning to kill him, and he said unspecified intelligence sources told him Saldana was dead hours before the bodies were found.
A Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman in Washington, Paul Knierim, said Tuesday he couldn't comment on Fernandez's situation, but he said U.S. agents routinely coordinate with Mexican investigators trying to crack down on cartels.
"And if we learned in the course of an investigation that somebody's life was being threatened, we would definitely, definitely make sure that information was passed on to the appropriate authorities," Knierim said.
Newspapers around the country on Tuesday demanded answers about how Fernandez could have known of the deaths hundreds of miles (kilometers) away before police even arrived at the scene. A columnist in one of the nation's leading newspapers, Reforma, speculated he might have something to do with the killing. "Death squads?" the headline asked.
Fernandez wasn't apologetic.
During a radio interview Tuesday, he said he's setting up a group to clean up crime in San Pedro Garza Garcia and surrounding communities.
"Will this cleaning group act outside the law?" he was asked.
"In some form that's correct," he said.
With upscale strip malls, posh private schools and well developed parks, San Pedro holds beautiful and well-guarded estates that are called home by some of the nation's leading business executives and allegedly some leaders of the Beltran Leyva cartel.
Until recently, the suburb of Monterrey, about 135 miles south of Laredo, Texas, was considered one of the cleanest, safest towns in this country.
But a spate of kidnappings and extortion changed that. Fernandez blamed Saldana, who allegedly took over the Beltran Leyva drug cartel operations there a few months ago.
Fernandez told the El Norte newspaper that Saldana and his gang had been kidnapping two or three people a week, demanding about $375,000 each. Fernandez said they also were demanding monthly payments from stores, restaurants and bars.
Six months earlier, while running for mayor, Fernandez set off a national debate over ties between politicians and gangsters when Mexican news media broadcast a recording of him telling supporters that he knew top drug traffickers lived in the town and had an interest in keeping it quiet.
His words were widely taken to suggest that he would avoid confronting the Beltran Leyva cartel to maintain the peace.
Fernandez acknowledged making the remarks, but he said they were taken out of context.
"I don't know, nor have I sat down with or anything of the sort, with anyone from organized crime," he told The Associated Press.
But his remarks highlighted the dicey course political leaders face in this country where drug cartels wield tremendous power.
On Saturday, during his acceptance speech, Fernandez said he was going to crack down on crime, with or without federal or state assistance.
"We will take the bull by the horns," he said. "We will do this directly."
The statements drew a plea from state security secretary Carlos Jauregui that all elected officials should abide by the law when confronting organized crime.
"We should all govern with state, federal and city laws and we cannot transgress from that," he said.
Hours after Fernandez's speech, authorities found four bound bodies Saldana, his brother, his half brother and another man shoved in an SUV in Mexico City. They bore a clear message: "Kidnapper" was scrawled across three of their backs in black marker.
There were notes there, too. One said "For kidnapping," and was signed: "The Boss of Bosses" a relatively new nickname for alleged drug lord Arturo Beltran Leyva, one of Mexico's most wanted criminals. Another note said "Job 38:15," a reference to the biblical verse "The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken."
A woman fatally shot a suspected car burglar Monday night in the parking lot of her northwest Houston apartment complex, police said.
The woman, who is eight months pregnant, told Houston police she shot the man about 9 p.m. after she spotted him breaking into her car parked outside the apartment in the 5900 block of Pinemont at Alabonson.
The man still had a screwdriver in his hand when the woman opened fire with a shotgun. The door lock to her car also had been popped open, officers at the scene said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman was still being questioned late Monday.
The fatal shooting remains under investigation, Houston police said.
#6
If it was in Massaholia they would arrest her for not running away if they had to, BUT, they would arrest her for carrying the shotgun first and not having it (and the shells) locked in separate containers in separate places.
#8
I can see it now:
"Yo fat lady! Put down dat gun or I'll..."
**BLAM**
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/03/2009 23:14 Comments ||
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#9
Wonder how the 'Good Hands' people will react to the insurance claim: " So YOU shot your own car, is that it, Ma'am?"
"I don't think comprehensive covers THAT...."
A woman who police say was run over by her father on Oct. 20 has died, authorities said. Noor Almaleki, 20, of Surprise, died around noon, said Mike Tellef of the Peoria Police Department. She had undergone spinal surgery. Almaleki and her boyfriend's mother were walking across a Peoria parking lot when they were struck, officers said.
The girl's father, Faleh Almaleki, an Iraqi immigrant, was returned to Arizona Saturday to face aggravated assault charges.
Faleh Almaleki was arrested Thursday when he arrived at Atlanta's airport, sent from the United Kingdom after authorities denied him entrance. He was returned to the Phoenix-area city of Peoria, booked and taken to a county jail.
The other woman, Amal Khalaf, is in serious but stable condition, according to family members. Police said the Almalekis moved to Peoria from Iraq in the mid-1990s.
Family members said Noor Almaleki had been living with her boyfriend and Khalaf, and Faleh Almaleki was upset that his daughter had become too "Westernized," had failed to live by traditional Muslim values and had disrespected the family.
After the incident, authorities said Almaleki went to Mexico. He eventually flew to London, but United Kingdom Port of Entry authorities denied him entry into the country. They contacted U.S. authorities and Almaleki was put on a flight back to Atlanta, where he was arrested. This is now a death penalty case. Arizona juries are not forgiving, and his only grace is that hanging is no longer done.
#3
It will be interesting to see who lines up in support, who claims mitigating circumstances, who opposes the DP.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
11/03/2009 11:04 Comments ||
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#4
... the Almalekis moved to Peoria from Iraq in the mid-1990s.Faleh Almaleki was upset that his daughter had become too "Westernized," had failed to live by traditional Muslim values and had disrespected the family.
So they immigrate into a Western country out of their own volition and yet the notion of becoming "Westernized" is driving them into murderous rage.
#5
So, he will spend decades on death row supported by millions in CAIR and ACLU legal funds.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
11/03/2009 11:42 Comments ||
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#6
don't count on AZ going for the death penalty here
- not completely premeditated
- intent may have been only injury
AZ may go for a 50+ year sentence instead
Posted by: lord garth ||
11/03/2009 12:15 Comments ||
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#7
He may not get the death penalty, but there's always the chance of some prisoners taking a disliking to him. Somebody in there for the rest of his life might take him out over something. Afterall, he's not "Westernized" alot.
Posted by: Charles ||
11/03/2009 12:28 Comments ||
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#8
Depends on the make-up of the jury. Under certain circumstances, I can see him getting off with manslaughter.
#9
If he gets off on manslaughter, which I hope is doubtful, will he feel compelled to run over other muslim immigrants if he feels they too have strayed from his cherished traditional values?
#10
Almaleki went to Mexico. He eventually flew to London, but United Kingdom Port of Entry authorities denied him entry into the country. They contacted U.S. authorities and Almaleki was put on a flight back to Atlanta, where he was arrested.
Mr. Alamlecki got into his car, ran over his daughter and hit her boyfriend's mother, hard enough to break her arm if I recall correctly. Then he fled the country and attempted to flee the continent. I suspect he'll get more than a slap on the wrist.
#11
Not a lawyer, but don't you get felony murder if someone dies as a result of your dangerous behavior? I'd bet he was charged with aggravated assault so there were no problems getting him extradited. Some countries are fussy about the risk of the death penalty.
Personally, I'd give him 3-5 just for the irony of using an SUV to run down his daughter for being too Westernized.
#14
Several comments from Arizonans indicate that it was no business of the federals to tell us we couldn't hang such scum, and second, Joe Arpaio shouldn't be too hard on his jailers if they don't keep too close a suicide watch on this bird and he hangs himself in his cell.
A passenger enjoying a civilian joyride accidentally cut the trip short when he ejected himself from the plane after grabbing the eject lever while trying to brace himself.
The passenger was flying in a Pilatus PC-7 Mk II with an air force pilot friend, The Daily Mail reported.
He was instantly blasted 320-feet into the sky by the rocket-powered chair, before floating to the ground with an automatic parachute, the paper reported.
Air Force officers quickly deployed a helicopter to retrieve the passenger after his fall 80 miles south of Cape Town, South Africa.
The pilot of the craft, Captain Gerhard Lourens, is a long-time member of the Silver Falcons air force air display team, according to The Daily Mail.
[Mail and Globe] A New Zealand artist has sculpted the head of the government's environment minister out of cow dung in a conservation protest.
Sculptor Sam Mahon from Canterbury in the South Island usually works in bronze but he adapted his technique to fill a cast with cow dung, finishing with a bronze-like bust of minister Nick Smith.
The artist said on Thursday he was upset about plans to dam a local river and the pollution of waterways by effluent from dairy farms.
"The only way I can find to comment about this is to use the very medium that's killing our rivers to sculpt his beautiful face," Mahon told the TV3 network.
Smith took the protest in good spirit, describing it as "a bit of a laugh".
"Though I'd also say, excuse the pun, I'd call it 'crap art'."
Mahon has put the sculpture for sale on the Internet but is not worried if it fails to find a buyer.
"I'll just regrind it and spread it in the garden," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I thought you were only supposed to do that to make a picture of the Virgin Mary.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
11/03/2009 19:19 Comments ||
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A 35-mile rift in the desert of Ethiopia will likely become a new ocean eventually, researchers now confirm.
The crack, 20 feet wide in spots, opened in 2005 and some geologists believed then that it would spawn a new ocean. But that view was controversial, and the rift had not been well studied.
A new study involving an international team of scientists and reported in the journal Geophysical Research Letters finds the processes creating the rift are nearly identical to what goes on at the bottom of oceans, further indication a sea is in the region's future.
The same rift activity is slowly parting the Red Sea, too.... Say, didn't someone make a movie about this?
Posted by: Mike ||
11/03/2009 15:20 ||
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#1
Yup..and a great film it was...one of my favs with Dana Andrews. Pretty good special effects for the '60's. I have it on DVD and my wife just rolls her eyes when I cue it up.... ;)
#4
Plate tectonics is controversial? AGW is controversial, ACC is controversial, my sexlife is controversial! Plate tectonics is established theory. (ROLLS EYES) Reporter retardation is rampant. I need to make that into a T-shirt.
Posted by: ed ||
11/03/2009 17:57 Comments ||
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#6
AlmostAnonymous5839: Well, the part more than 10 miles below the surface is controversial. Especially in the Pacific northwest, where you have things like many mile wide stone "bearings" turning in a circle between plates, with volcanoes at their edges and stuff like that.
#7
Ona separate note, GUAM > proposals in the works to build a large tradional, antiquitious CHamorro or Micronesian House for tourists + community affairs in HOTEL ROW [ e.g. YPAO BEACH].
ME > "FUTURE TIME"? PROB> In an OLD DREAMS/VISIONS, I saw a similar designed structure being partially submerged by the sea [GLOBAL WARMING = RISING SEA LEVELS].
OTOH, iff our parents and grandparents, etc. can survive and prosper thru the GREAT DEPRESSION, WW1, WW2, COLD WAR, ....... + MTV RAP, WE CAN DO THE SAME. WE ARE ALL "PEOPLE OF OUR TIME, WE ARE ALL VICTIMS AND BENEFICIARIES OF THE TIMES WE LIVE IN.
Not quite, but California moved a step closer last month to pay-as-you-drive policies that could allow motorists to buy insurance like they do gasoline a little at a time.
Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner released regulations permitting and authorizing mileage verification for pay-as-you-drive, without dictating what form such plans must take.
The goal is to use per-mile pricing to entice Californians not to drive so much, thus easing air pollution, relieving traffic congestion and lowering the number of traffic collisions.
A first-of-its-kind plan is MileMeter, available only in Texas, which last year began offering six-month policies with chunks of insured miles ranging from 1,000 to 6,000 miles. When the "tank" runs dry, motorists buy more.
#1
First they push us to more efficient vehicles, but then tax revenues go down, so now they want to shift the taxes to distance-based? But I thought the whole point of gallon-based taxes was that the heavier vehicles caused disproportionately more pollution and road damage? I guess now it's that the light vehicles take up space and require more road building?
So next will be taxes based on which roads you drive on and when?
#2
My insurance company lowered my rates when I told them I wouldn't be driving so far to work anymore. I thought it made sense in that, if I'm driving fewer miles, there will be fewer opportunities for me to wreck my car.
But for the state to use this policy as a club to beat people who have no choice but to drive to work is Big Brother at his worst.
For years I've had a pet peeve about the way they add new lanes to I-5 and I-15 but they're carpool lanes and ordinary commuters can't use them. WTF? I pay my taxes just like everybody else, why can't I use those lanes?
I can't help it if my job is 30 miles from my home. I looked for a job that was closer and couldn't find one. I can't move either because then my wife would have to driver farther to her job and she'd make my life miserable for it. I couldn't find anybody to carpool with me either (I don't have body odor either, although I do comment on Rantburg).
#5
Drive less, pay less. Makes sense, so the government will outlaw it.
Posted by: ed ||
11/03/2009 18:01 Comments ||
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#6
Hillary told the Pakis that we tax everything that moves or doesn't move in the U.S. and that Pakistan should do the same if they want to come into the modern fold.
I agree that everything that moves or doesn't move is taxed. In other words Hillary is in favor of State sponsored slavery.
Need an antibiotic for that nasty lung infection? Your naturopath may soon be able to prescribe it.
That's because naturopathic doctors are among a group of medical professionals that are pushing for expanded prescribing rights and they're recently seeing success.
Ontario just became the second province in Canada to get the green light for increased prescribing rights for naturopaths. British Columbia granted its naturopaths the right to prescribe a greater number of medications as well as high-dose vitamins, amino acids, hormones, botanicals and herbs in April 2009.
The announcement follows the granting of more powers to other health professionals, such as midwives and registered nurses.
On Oct. 20, the province's standing committee on social policy voted to amend Ontario's Naturopathy Act through Bill 179, allowing naturopaths in the province to prescribe, dispense compound or sell a drug listed in the regulations.
The bill is expected to be approved by the end of the year.
[Maghrebia] A United Nations mission will be in Mauritania through November 4th to evaluate slavery practices in the country, ANI and Journal Tahalil reported on Monday (November 2nd). Upon the invitation of the Mauritanian government, the international experts arrived last week to meet with local officials and NGO representatives in communities where slavery endures. "Mauritania only criminalised slavery in 2007. This visit affords me the opportunity to investigate the impact of the recent legislation," ANI quoted UN Special Rapporteur and mission leader Gulnara Shahinian as saying. The mission's findings will be presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in 2010.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2009 00:00 ||
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(Moonbat) I didn't know there were white slavers anymore?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/03/2009 16:05 Comments ||
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UN investigatesinstalls modern-day slavery in Mauritania
[Bangla Daily Star] Jamaat-e-Islami, which criticised the draft national education policy 2009 at a press conference yesterday, came under a volley of questions from reporters that apparently put the party leaders into difficulties.
The party demanded cancellation or suspension of the education policy though it did not give any opinion on its final report posted at the ministry's website for opinions.
Jamaat also demanded forming an education commission with eminent educationists acceptable to all quarters or extend the time for giving opinion by two months to formulate an education policy in conformity with the constitution.
The press conference was held at its central party office to give its official statement about the education policy.
The party leaders raised questions about the policy formulation committee and its members, saying the committee did not consult with any representative organisation.
Jamaat Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami, Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, Assistant Secretary General Muhammad Kamaruzzaman and other central leaders were present.
In a written statement, Nizami said a small number of people are aware of the policy as a short time was given to give opinions on it.
"Adequate time was not given for this and no measure was taken to publicise the matter through the media," he said.
Asked whether the party gave its opinion on the policy at the website, Nizami said they did not post any opinion on the website directly.
"Different organisations gave their views and we are informing [the matter] through you [media]... who will give the guarantee that our views will be published through the website," he said.
Taking the floor, Mojaheed said thousands of people gave their opinions and they will give it if the government wants.
Both the leaders, however, remained silent when asked why they did not give any opinion when the government wanted it through the website.
Nizami said a proposal was included in the policy to destroy madrasha education because of the anti-Islamic mentality of the committee members.
He labelled committee chairman Kabir Chowdhury as a cultural activist saying, "Is he [Kabir Chowdhury] an educationist? We used to know him as a cultural activist."
When he was told that Kabir Chowdhury is a national professor and was a university teacher, he said no body could be an educationist by teaching only.
Asked whether Jamaat is going to give a definition for an educationist, both the leaders could not give proper answer.
Asked why they did not discuss with the committee, Nizami said the committee did not invite them while Mojaheed alleged that the government is doing everything secretly.
Replying to another question whether Jamaat had sought time to discuss with the committee to share their views as around 56 organisations did so, they said they were not aware of it.
When the newsmen asked whether the party was doing politics on the policy, he said: "Where do you [journalists] get politics here? We are just giving our opinion and we will respond if they call us."
The Jamaat chief said the policy says that the education system would be secular and pro-people which is contradictory.
"The meaning of pro-people education in Bangladesh is an education based on Islamic principles and the meaning of secular education is irreligious and anti-people education," he said, adding that the committee does not have the authority to force irreligious education on the people.
As the reporters asked why had the party not demanded for introducing an education policy based on Iman (faith) and Aqidah (Islamic creed) during their regime as the key ally of the government, Mojaheed said it is a wrong information as no report was published during the then four-party regime.
When informed about the report prepared by the Moniruzzaman Mia Commission, Nizami said a report was prepared but that did not go to the cabinet.
Asked whether they had demanded for an education system based on religion during their regime, he said, "We did not have time."
The Jamaat chief said it is the duty of the people to resist if an irreligious education system is forced on the people unilaterally.
Asked whether the party would announce any programme, he said, "Time will say."
Nizami alleged that religious and moral education have been removed from class I and II to teach anti-religious education.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2009 00:00 ||
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(RIA Novosti) - Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said he will refuse support to the country's reconciliation government if he is not be reinstated ahead of national elections next month, the EFE news agency reported on Monday.
The reconciliation government was agreed to be established during Friday's meeting between representatives of Zeleya and the country's de facto leader, Roberto Micheletti.
"The reconciliation government can only be established if we reach an agreement," Zelaya told EFE in a telephone interview.
"No agreement - no reconciliation government," he added.
Oh well. We tried ...
According to the deal, the Supreme Court is to decide whether the ousted leader will be reinstated ahead of national elections next month. The issue has been the sticking point between the two sides.
Micheletti says the agreement contains no guarantee that Zelaya will return to power.
Many countries and international bodies had warned they would not recognize the results if the Honduran elections were held under the Micheletti presidency.
Micheletti has argued that Zelaya's removal was a constitutional transfer of power and not a coup.
Zelaya was bundled out of Honduras on June 28 by the military, acting on instructions from the Supreme Court and parliament, over efforts to seek an unconstitutional second presidential term. He was flown to Costa Rica, and his place was taken by Micheletti, the parliamentary speaker.
The ousted president secretly returned to the country on September 21 and took refuge in the Brazilian Embassy.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2009 00:00 ||
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Mannie doesn't seem to understand he doesn't hold many cards and they get smaller the closer to the election it gets
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/03/2009 10:23 Comments ||
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#2
"Automatic re-negotiation mode". You don't understand. For a crapweasel like Zelaya, any compromise agreement is merely a basis for extorting further incremental concessions towards whatever the hell it is he wants. He'll never actually fulfill an agreement. He's like the North Koreans that way. Or any other group of gangsters, for that matter.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
11/03/2009 13:42 Comments ||
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#3
Khrushchev: If Adenauer has a Western sandwich, then Ill have an Eastern sandwich!
Kennedy: There is, uh, no Eastern sandwich
Khrushchev: Then I want the Eastern portion of his Western sandwich!
#1
Note to India - observe purchaser, seller and price
Posted by: john frum ||
11/03/2009 17:35 Comments ||
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ION WMF > RUSSIA MEDIA: RUSSIAN CHIEF-OF-STAFF GENERAL OLEG BURTSEV SAYS RUSSIA WILL DEV AND BUILD A "HIGH-TECH WARSHIP" FOR NAVY, EXPAND SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES AND CAPABILITIES.
* SAME > CIVIL TALENT: CHINA'S AEROSPACE 2000 EXHIBITION'S ORBITING AIRCRAFT CARRIER DESIGN/PROGRAMME. CGI Image of Advanced NUKULAAR MIL SUPER-DIRIGIBLE [Manned, Unmanned Air-Space].
Think NICK FURY + SHIELD, or that old "STAR TREK" episode where KIRK + USS ENTERPRISE traveled back in time to 1960's CONUS + were repor as a "UFO", later to encounter USAF NORAD Interceptors.
[Iran Press TV Latest] The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) says it plans to cut 3,700 jobs across its retail operations in Britain over the next two years.
RBS, which is 70 percent owned by the British government, said in a Monday statement that the job cuts are part of its plans to restructure its Retail Banking division.
RBS and Lloyds Banking Group are two major British lenders, which were rescued by the government this year in the wake of the global financial crisis.
The firm has already unveiled 10,000 job cuts in its investment banking and back office activities in the UK, and a further 6,000 redundancies in overseas operations. It has a total workforce of 170,000, of which 105,000 are in the UK, according to the BBC.
The government is on Tuesday set to lay out plans for further changes in the two lenders.
RBS said earlier on Monday EU regulators have demanded that it sell significant parts of its assets in order to win EU support for the state aid received by the group.
Over the weekend, UK finance minister Alistair Darling announced plans for the setting up of three new high street banks from RBS, Lloyds Banking and Northern Rock.
The BBC said RBS and Lloyds will on Tuesday unveil 'a big shake-up' with taxpayer support.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2009 00:00 ||
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Republicans wrested political control of Virginia from the Democrats on Tuesday and New Jersey's unpopular Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine was fighting for his political life as independent voters swung behind the GOP in both states. It was a troubling sign for President Barack Obama and his party heading into an important midterm election year.
Posted by: ed ||
11/03/2009 20:39 ||
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ap calls nj for Christie at 10:11
Posted by: lord garth ||
11/03/2009 22:13 Comments ||
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#2
McDonnell didn't just win, he beat Deeds like a red-headed baby seal on a rented mule.
Christie is going to come close to cracking 50%.
NY-23 still up in the air.
Posted by: Mike ||
11/03/2009 23:00 Comments ||
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#3
Hot double-damn!
Proud of my vote today. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
11/03/2009 23:03 Comments ||
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#4
"Metaphor Mike" strikes again - heh
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/03/2009 23:10 Comments ||
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#5
Frank, glad you liked my turn of phrase.
Posted by: Mike ||
11/03/2009 23:15 Comments ||
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#6
always!
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/03/2009 23:16 Comments ||
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#2
"Global markets need global regulations, but the regulations that are currently in force are rooted in the principle of national sovereignty. A new multilateral system needs to be invented that would serve the interests of both the United States and China and of course the rest of the world," he said.
Transnational Progressivism, AKA One World Government.
#6
Someday this guy is going to get in over his head and really piss off someone whom he shouldn't have. He will then speak no more. Can't happen fast enough IMO.
#7
George Soros, thanks for pointing out the obvious that China will probably emerge as winner-- is some of your eleven billion dollars coaxing the outcome?
#8
"A new multilateral system needs to be invented that would serve the interests of ME," he said.
Fixed.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
11/03/2009 19:54 Comments ||
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WMF > BELGIUM: CHINA'S GROWING ECONOMIC CLOUT BEGINS TO CHANGE THE WORLD [Global Order].
ARTIC > despite any CHIN rhetoric to the contary, CHINA'S ISOLATION-HAPPY DAYS, GOVT. POLICIES ARE OVER.
* WAFF > EASTERN EUROPE MOURNS THE LOSS OF COMMUNISM/IN EASTERN BLOC, WARY VIEW OF DEMOCRACY. Poll surveys from POST-COLD WAR = 1991 RUSSIA, WARPACT STATES.
Despite any local lamentations oer LOSS OF COLD WAR POWER, + ongoing trubles wid State-specific liberal/libertarian reforms, THOSE RUSS + EAST EUROS IN FAVOR OF ANTI-SOVIET DEMOCRACY, REFORMS STILL COMPRISE THE SLIGHT OR LARGER MAJORITY IN ALL.
An international team of researchers said Monday it had mapped the DNA of a domestic pig, work they say could help lead to better breeding techniques as well as improve vaccines against diseases such as swine flu.
They plan to look for genes useful in pork production and immunity in pigs, which are similar in size to humans. And, like humans, they catch influenza very easily. But, as they said in the Loverboy song, "Pig and Elephant DNA Just won't splice".
#8
The Tlelaxlu crossed pigs and slugs to produce Sligs.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
11/03/2009 19:52 Comments ||
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#9
"ARNOLD ZIFFEL" > Sniff, sniff, his character unwittingly did more positive or great things SIMUL for AMERICANA, BACON, US AGRICULTURE, ENVIRONMENTALISM, + THE US EDUCATION SYSTEM, ETC. than any other animal character in history.
DARE FUTURE OWG STARFLEET COMMAND BUILD THE USS ARNOLD ZIFFEL???
#2
Yeah, it's inevitable because one side makes it so. The Chinese have this sense of destiny that says that they want to overthrow the USA and dominate the world themselves. The pendulum will one day soon swing from "Learn from the West" to "The West needs to learn from China now". The fact that the West never consented to this teacher/student|master/underline relationship is irrelevant. At one point the Chinese will consider themselves superior (many already do) and demand that the rest of the world follow their lead. There's no such thing as equality, only superior/inferior relationships.
#6
Not quite g(r)om. It's been infected with the usual bureaucratic self perpetuating wonks in the program for multiple decades. It's vision was undermined like nearly everything else by the 'poverty guilt' crowd who always had another reason to implement soci@lism for those unwilling to be responsible by sucking out the money and vitality of the rest of society. It was exploited by the scientific community who thought they could get their very narrow needs of little practical application accomplished without understanding -
Gordon Cooper: You boys know what makes this bird go up? FUNDING makes this bird go up.
Gus Grissom: He's right. No bucks, no Buck Rogers.
#8
The Chinese made loud noises about the militarization of space until they developed some launch capability and enough tech to do anti-satellite operations. Now it's inevitable. Space is the new high ground - has been for awhile, but now it's something we can fight over.
A couple points:
- Major advantage accrues in any conflict to whoever makes the first move and destroys the other guy's comm and observation assets. Rapid escalation follows as the deaf, dumb and blind guy assumes the worst.
- Blowing up satellites leaves a lot of junk in orbit. Clouds of fast moving orbital junk are both hard to get rid of and deadly to thing like space stations and satellites they collide with. War in space will leave a big mess.
#9
ION DAILYNEWS.PK > OKINAWA POLLS: MAJORITY WANT US AIR BASE MOVED. Either moved, andor ANY + ALL US MILBASES ON OKINAWA + MAINLAND JAPAN TO LEAVE PERMANENTLY.
#1
Wherever they move it , it will always be a sh1thole whilst paranoid religious bigots run that country (into the ground)
Posted by: Oscar ||
11/03/2009 9:44 Comments ||
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#2
It appears to have worked for Burma. Why not relocate your capital and all important ministries to new city in the middle of nowhere where there no existing loyalties but those created out of whole cloth by the regime?
#3
There are some pretty remarkable places in and around Tehran; it would be better if they moved the targets somewhere we wouldn't have to cause collateral damage.
Roland Emmerich has admitted that he feared a fatwa would be placed on him if he filmed a scrapped scene for 2012.
The filmmaker is well known for decimating famed landmarks on movies including The Day After Tomorrow and Independence Day. He stated that while he decided to destroy the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro because he is "against organised religion", he was fearful of the Islamic religious decree for a sequence that was planned but not shot.
Catholics don't cut heads off anymore for blasphemy ...
The 53-year-old wanted to demolish the Kaaba, which is a cube-shaped building at the heart of Mecca and is the centre of prayers and the Islamic Hajj pilgrimage.
... but Muslims do ...
He told Sci-Fi Wire: "Well, I wanted to do that, I have to admit. But my co-writer Harald said I will not have a fatwa on my head because of a movie. And he was right. We have to all in the Western world think about this.
"You can actually let Christian symbols fall apart, but if you would do this with [an] Arab symbol, you would have a fatwa, and that sounds a little bit like what the state of this world is. "So, yeah, I'm against all organized religions, generally speaking, but, it's mostly against those which don't actually will hit back that I'm against, if you look at the finer picture."
"So it's just something which I kind of didn't [think] was [an] important element, anyway, in the film, so I kind of left it out." "Please, don't kill me".
2012 is scheduled to open in cinemas on November 13.
#1
I wish that, by default, this made him a Moslem, then I could watch his atheistic a** squirm. I used to be an atheist and don't mind them a bit. It's the bigoted ones I don't like.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
11/03/2009 16:08 Comments ||
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#2
The whispers are that this movie is so terrible that it's good in a comedic fashion. The pitiable cowardice of this clown is breathtaking. A bankrupt spirit eventually faces a bankrupt existence. (The Greeks called it hubris.)
#3
Emmerich has a unique talent to blow the world to pieces in his movies with absurd scenarios and stories.
The long counting of the Maya calender ends in 2012... and then begins anew, like it has done before.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
11/03/2009 17:31 Comments ||
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#4
Roland Emmerich. Is that German for P*ssy?
Posted by: ed ||
11/03/2009 17:42 Comments ||
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#5
Free Radical, from what I've heard it's somewhere between Plan 9 from Outer Space and Manos the Hands of Fate ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/03/2009 18:17 Comments ||
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#6
"movies including The Day After Tomorrow and Independence Day"
Those two titles shouldn't be used in the same sentence.
Independence Day - great.
Tomorrow - dreck.
Ol' Roland's gone off the deep end; can't tell if it's because he became a Warmenist fanatic, or he had a head injury series of small strokes.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
11/03/2009 19:16 Comments ||
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#7
The long counting of the Maya calender ends in 2012... and then begins anew, like it has done before.
Yes, but THIS TIME it's rolling over the same creation date as the end of the previous world!! AND it's happening on a winter solstice (which the Maya always considered to be BAD NEWS....) Fear! Fire! Foes! RUN AWAY!!
An inspiration to anyone contemplating action in their community! And to every organizer!
Saul Alinsky wrote the book on American radicalism - two books, in fact: a 1945 best-seller, "Reveille for Radicals" and "Rules for Radicals" in 1971. The "Reveille" title page quotes Thomas Paine... "Let them call me rebel and welcome, I feel no concern from it; but I should suffer the misery of devils, were I to make a whore of my soul."
Saul Alinsky, who was a labor and civil-rights activist from the 1910's until he died in 1972, has written here a guidebook for those who are out to change things. He sets down what the goal is: a society where people are free to live, and also aren't starving in the streets. A society where there is legal and economic justice. Then he sets out to say how to get there.
Alinsky spends a lot of time critiquing the idea that "The end does not justify the means." What end? What means? He feels that there are circumstances where one can and should use means that in other circumstances would be unethical. I am not sure I agree, but Alinsky certainly speaks with the voice of experience.
Alinsky's goal seems to be to encourage positive social change by equipping activists with a realistic view of the world, a kind of preemptive disillusionment. If a person already knows what evil the world is capable of, then perhaps the surprise factor can be eliminated, making the person a more effective activist. Alinsky further seems to be encouraging the budding activist not to worry to much about getting his or her hands dirty. It's all a part of the job, he seems to say.
Alinsky, the master political agitator, tactical planner and social organizer didn't mince words...
"Liberals in their meetings utter bold works; they strut, grimace belligerently, and then issue a weasel-worded statement 'which has tremendous implications, if read between the lines.' They sit calmly, dispassionately, studying the issue; judging both sides; they sit and still sit.
"The Radical does not sit frozen by cold objectivity. He sees injustice and strikes at it with hot passion. He is a man of decision and action. There is a saying that the Liberal is one who walks out of the room when the argument turns into a fight.
"Society has good reason to fear the Radical. Every shaking advance of mankind toward equality and justice has come from the Radical. He hits, he hurts, he is dangerous. Conservative interests know that while Liberals are most adept at breaking their own necks with their tongues, Radicals are most adept at breaking the necks of Conservatives.
"Radicals precipitate the social crisis by action - by using power. Liberals may then timidly follow along or else, as in most cases, be swept forward along the course set by Radicals, but all because of forces unloosed by Radical action. They are forced to positive action only in spite of their desires ...
*"The American Radical will fight privilege and power whether it be inherited or acquired by any small group, whether it be political or financial or organized creed.
*"He curses a caste system which he recognizes despite all patriotic denials.
*"He will fight conservatives whether they are business or labor leaders.
*"He will fight any concentration of power hostile to a broad, popular democracy, whether he finds it in financial circles or in politics.
*"The Radical recognizes that constant dissension and conflict is and has been the fire under the boiler of democracy. He firmly believes in that brave saying of a brave people, "Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees!"
*"The Radical may resort to the sword but when he does he is not filled with hatred against those individuals whom he attacks. He hates these individuals not as persons but as symbols representing ideas or interests which he believes to be inimical to the welfare of the people.
*"That is the reason why Radicals, although frequently embarking upon revolutions, have rarely resorted to personal terrorism."
Alinsky practiced what he preached. He said, "Tactics means doing what you can with what you have ... tactics is the art of how to take and how to give."
He uses eyes, ears and nose for examples...
Eyes
"If you have a vast organization, parade it before the enemy, openly show your power."
Ears
"If your organization is small, do what Gideon did: conceal the members in the dark but raise a clamor that will make the listener believe that your organization numbers many more that it does."
Nose
"If your organization is too tiny even for noise, stink up the place."
Alinsky devised and proved thirteen tactical rules for use against opponents vastly superior in power and wealth.
1. "Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.
2. "Never go outside the experience of your people.
3. "Wherever possible go outside of the experience of the enemy.
4. "Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules.
5. "Ridicule is man's most potent weapon.
6. "A good tactic is one that your people enjoy.
7. "A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.
8. "Keep the pressure on.
9. "The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.
10. "Major premise for tactics is development of operations that will maintain constant pressure upon the opposition.
11. "If you push a negative hard and deep enough it will break through into its counterside.
12. "The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.
13. "Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.
"The real action is in the enemy's reaction. The enemy properly goaded and guided in his reaction will be your major strength. Tactics, like life, require that you move with the action."
Alinsky was hated and defamed by powerful enemies, proof that his tactics worked. His simple formula for success...
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.
A passenger enjoying a civilian joyride accidentally cut the trip short when he ejected himself from the plane after grabbing the eject lever while trying to brace himself.
Car insurance by the tankful? 
[Iran Press TV Latest] The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) says it plans to cut 3,700 jobs across its retail operations in Britain over the next two years. 
Roland Emmerich has admitted that he feared a fatwa would be placed on him if he filmed a scrapped scene for 2012.
