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Today: 75 articles and 229 comments as of 11:28.
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41 Die in Suicide Bombing of Iraq Army Recruiting Center
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Thai Kickboxing Brawl Ends With US Marine Stabbed To Death
Snip, duplicate.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 08/17/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Looks like Longfellow will be kicking Aldhouse's a$$ even in death.
Posted by: gorb || 08/17/2010 0:23 Comments || Top||

#2  Another sad, pathetic piece of foreign trash in Thailand. A narcissistic bully who got his comeuppance and couldn't stand it because he honestly couldn't see how he could ever be wrong. A pity, the country is so beautiful otherwise.
Posted by: gromky || 08/17/2010 5:02 Comments || Top||

#3  The man was aid too be a bully who got his ass handed too him by the Marine. Afetr saying he was invincible.
Posted by: chris || 08/17/2010 8:16 Comments || Top||

#4  That headline's totally misleading. Longfellow's stabbing did not "end" a "brawl." He was pursued by his killer long after he thrashed him, to a convenience store where he was ambushed and stabbed. There was no "brawl", let alone one that ended in a stabbing.
Posted by: lex || 08/17/2010 10:39 Comments || Top||

#5  Well, "end" can also mean "results in", such as "ends and means".
Posted by: Anonymoose || 08/17/2010 10:59 Comments || Top||

#6  It just puts the victim in a bad light, and leads the reader to conclude that a marine hellraiser got what was coming to him, when the story below the headline leads to the opposite conclusion.
Posted by: lex || 08/17/2010 11:06 Comments || Top||


Briton kills Marine in Thailand
Dashawn Longfellow, a former U.S. Marine, in Thailand to study Thai boxing was killed by a British kickboxer, Lee Aldhouse. Police say that Aldhouse followed the Purple Heart recipient back to his hotel and stabbed him several times in the chest leading to his death.

Witnesses say that hours earlier Aldhouse and Longfellow got into a barroom fight after the Briton tried to block the former Marine from getting to the bathroom. Aldhouse, who was known for getting drunk, picking fights and bragging about being invincible, had been losing the fight when other patrons separated the two.
Male ego being what it is, of course he had to get a knife and follow up ...
Longfellow left the bar with his Thai girlfriend shortly after the fight but Aldhouse followed the couple to their hotel. Longfellow dropped his girlfriend off and then walked to a nearby convenience store. Aldhouse later ambushed Longfellow outside his hotel room, stabbing him twice in the chest as his girlfriend looked on.
Ah, brave fellow in seeking his revenge by staging an ambush ...
"At first it didn't look like [Aldhouse] had anything," the girlfriend said. "We didn't know he had a knife because his hands were in his pockets." She said a fistfight began between the American and the Brit and the latter pulled out a knife and stabbed Longfellow. She said that her boyfriend rushed inside and shut the door to protect her from Aldhouse. She called the police and an ambulance, but Longfellow died before they got there.

Longfellow had served in the Marines and was a machine gunner for the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment.
Thai police have launched a manhunt to find Aldhouse. Here's hoping that Aldhouse gets what he deserves.
Posted by: ryuge || 08/17/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Story continues or is it a duplicate post?
Posted by: Goodluck || 08/17/2010 3:37 Comments || Top||


-Obits-
James J. Kilpatrick, Conservative of 60 Minutes Point-Counterpoint
Man, I thought he was gone years ago...
James J. Kilpatrick, who rose from cub reporter to become one of the South's most prominent newspaper editors and the nation's most widely syndicated political columnist, has died. He was 89.

During the 1950s and 1960s, he was noted as a fervent segregationist and an advocate of the states' rights doctrine of interposition, arguing that the states had the right to oppose and even nullify federal court rulings on the subject. He eventually changed his position, though he remained a staunch opponent of actual or perceived federal encroachments upon the individual states.

Kilpatrick's wife, Marianne Means, says he died Sunday night at George Washington University Hospital. Means says he was being treated for congestive heart failure.

TV watchers in the 1970s knew Kilpatrick as the conservative half of the "Point-Counterpoint" segment of the CBS program "60 Minutes." His sparring with liberal commentator Shana Alexander was famously parodied on both "Saturday Night Live", and the movie "Airplane!"
Jane...you ignorant slut!
Posted by: Anonymoose || 08/17/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Best sendup of "Point-Counterpoint" was in "Kentucky Fried Movie". Short, sweet, and gut-bustingly funny.

RIP Mr Kilpatrick.
Posted by: no mo uro || 08/17/2010 6:47 Comments || Top||

#2  It is not clear to me if he was an R or a D: many Southern Democrats were very conservative.
Posted by: JFM || 08/17/2010 12:52 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
5 Ways to Get Your Wife to Have More Sex With You
By Logan Levkoff

OK guys, stop all your whining and complaining for a second and listen up: If you want more sex from your wives, you have to grow up and recognize that people change, relationships change, and your sex life doesn’t stay the same.

1. Snuggle, Don’t Grope.

2. Don’t Treat Us Like Pron Stars.

3. Do Unto Others.

4. Give Us Space.

5. Talk—and Listen.

Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 08/17/2010 10:07 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  O.K. I GOT IT!!!!
Posted by: armyguy || 08/17/2010 11:27 Comments || Top||

#2  6. Take a shower. Running under the sprinkler in the garden doesn't count.
7. Use soap. it's the fragrant round sphere attached to a rope dangling from the showerhead.
8. Brush your teeth. This is a twice-daily requirement not twice-weekly. Use toothpaste. Use of mouthwash earns you extra bedroom points.
Posted by: Swanimote || 08/17/2010 11:37 Comments || Top||

#3  Never trust a woman - or a male feminist - for advice about women. I did and I was a virgin for years after all my peers had girlfriends.
Posted by: gromky || 08/17/2010 11:49 Comments || Top||

#4  And when she still says no, what should you do?
Posted by: remoteman || 08/17/2010 11:59 Comments || Top||

#5  DX her.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 08/17/2010 14:19 Comments || Top||

#6  Gromky has it right. Women who give advice like this are into control, not advice. Or even, usually, sex.

You presume you get to make all the rules because you are a woman, "doctor"? Good-bye. There are plenty of excellent women who aren't control freaks that are probably better human beings than this arrogant one. Frankly, loneliness is preferable to sex with a control freak like you.

Most normal women understand that it's give and take.

I won't worship you, honey. Even if it means no nik-nik.

I already have a God.

How about.....

1. we meet 1/2 way all the time, or

2. I meet you 100% half the time and you meet me 100% half the time?

Anything else is a deal breaker.

Oh, and if you want to talk about "current events" without me offering my opinion, or someone to "just listen without trying to problem-solve or offer advice", go to one of your girlfriends. If you come to me with a problem, I'm going to try and solve it. Don't try and change my basic nature to suit your ridiculous fantasies.

Posted by: no mo uro || 08/17/2010 16:12 Comments || Top||

#7  There are plenty of excellent women who aren't control freaks.....

...being selected to mate by one is the challenge. :-)
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/17/2010 16:17 Comments || Top||

#8  #2 D *** NG IT, I KNEW IT! Thank God for JAPAN = its ROBO-ANDROID BABES.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 08/17/2010 23:30 Comments || Top||


10 yr Old Jackie Evancho amazes the crowd with her powerful opera singing
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 08/17/2010 02:12 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Harvard insists Israeli shares sale not driven by boycott
One of divestment's leading opponents at Harvard, Professor Alan Dershowitz, said he had checked with those involved in the decision to sell the shares and was satifisfied it was purely technical. "There will be some irresponsible anti-Israel extremists who will try to portray this economic decision as an attack against Israel," Dershowitz said. "Shame on them. They will continue to lose their credibility among all reasonable and objective people if they try to take political advantage of this purely technical decision."
Well, I guess I feel better about this. But the "lose credibility" part assumes the Legacy Media will pick up on those who try to take advantage of it.
Professor Dershowitz incorrectly assumes that the Joo-haters worry about their credibility, or that they even define the word the same as he and I ...
He added: "The end result may well be that Harvard will have greater rather than lesser holdings of Israeli stocks. No one should misinterpret this purely economic decision as support for any form of divestment against Israel. Indeed, Harvard has publicly committed itself not to divest from Israel and not to participate in any campaign of boycotting the Jewish nation."

The idea of boycotts and divestment against Israel was inspired by a similar strategy that some credit with bringing an end to apartheid in South Africa. US churches, students, academics, and others took a lead in that campaign.
And we all know how well that has been working.
Posted by: gorb || 08/17/2010 01:23 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Nod, nod. Wink, wink.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/17/2010 3:49 Comments || Top||

#2  In The meantime Arabs can kill over a million Blacks in Sudan, Turks can use WMDs on Kurds and you will never hear of Harvard boycotting them.
Posted by: JFM || 08/17/2010 11:24 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Authorities warn of more floods as heavy rains fall
[Dawn] Heavy rain lashed the makeshift camps housing Pakistan's flood survivors Monday and authorities warned of more flooding this week, adding to the urgency of the massive international relief effort.

Pakistan's worst floods in recorded history began more than two weeks ago in the mountainous northwest and have spread throughout the country. Some 20 million people and 160,000 square kilometres of land -- about 1/5 of the country -- have been affected.

''Floods seem to be chasing us everywhere,'' said 45-year-old Ali Bakhsh Bhaio, as monsoon downpours pounded his tent beside the major highway in Sukkur, a hard-hit area in Sindh province.

The Sindh irrigation minister, Jam Saifullah Dharejo, said the dam in Sukkur faced a major test of its strength as floodwaters coursed down the Indus River into Pakistan's highly populated agricultural heartland.

''The coming four to five days are still crucial,'' he said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon flew over the flood-hit area Sunday and said he had never seen a disaster on such a scale. He urged the international community to speed up assistance.

The world body has appealed for an initial $460 million to provide relief, of which around 60 per cent has been given.

The latest flooding over the weekend hit a poor region on the border between Sindh and Balochistan provinces.

Sher Khan Bazai, the top government official in Nasirabad district, said 25,000 families had been made homeless by waters eight feet high in some places. He said that some 4,000 small villages had been either cut off or washed out.

''Water is everywhere,'' he said.

Once the floods recede, billions more will be needed for reconstruction and getting people back to work in the already-poor nation of 170 million people. The International Monetary Fund has warned that the floods could dent economic growth and fuel inflation.

While local charities and international agencies have helped hundreds of thousands of people with food, water, shelter and medical treatment, the scale of the disaster has meant that many millions have received little or no assistance. The UN has voiced fears that disease in overcrowded and unsanitary relief camps may yet cause more deaths.
Posted by: Fred || 08/17/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  finally some good news. Its allahs will. Maybe they should think about maybe they are wrong and would be a good time for India too kick their asss once and for all.
Posted by: chris || 08/17/2010 8:17 Comments || Top||

#2  If the Pak government would spend less of our money on jihad and more on infrastructure to make life better for their people I might be more sympathetic. As it is I find it difficult to give a rat's ass.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 08/17/2010 15:04 Comments || Top||

#3  The world body has appealed for an initial $460 million to provide relief financial support and bomb making materials, rockets, and small arms ammo to the ISI, of which around 60 per cent has been given
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/17/2010 16:20 Comments || Top||


Britain
UK to abolish mixed-sex hospital rooms
[Iran Press TV Latest] British officials have promised that they will end most of the mixed-sex hospital accommodations in England this year.

"It's really difficult for people in wards where they feel they don't have the privacy they need, it's uncomfortable," said Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, adding that many patients are embarrassed as they are forced to share bathrooms and toilets with the opposite sex.

Eliminating mixed-sex hospitals was one of the programs proposed by the Labour Committee when it won power in 1997; the plan, however, failed to be implemented due to the additional costs imposed on the hospitals.

"I have made clear repeatedly my deep frustration at the fact that mixed-sex accommodation has not been eliminated from the NHS," said Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, adding that one in 10 hospital wards are still mixed.

Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham, however, claimed earlier that 95 percent of the UK hospitals already provide single sex accommodations. He stressed that Lansley only aims "to claim credit for something Labour has done and the media shouldn't fall for it".

According to a statement recently released by the British government, patients would soon be sharing sleeping, bathroom and toilet facilities only with individuals of the same sex in all wards except intensive care and A&E by the end of this year.

Emergency cases, however, would be considered as an exception as treating as many people as possible in the shortest time is the priority in the medicine.

Based on the statement whose details will be announced in the coming week, using a curtain as a divider to split men and women on a ward is not acceptable.

Mixed wards, on the other hand, may continue their existence in case separated bays or rooms would be available for men and women.
Posted by: Fred || 08/17/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [9 views] Top|| File under:

#1  British officials have promised that they will end most of the mixed-sex hospital accommodations in England this year.

Well, there goes the Health Tourist Trade.

/sarc off

Posted by: Goodluck || 08/17/2010 3:46 Comments || Top||

#2  ...I believe the NHS outsourced that overseas to Thailand.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/17/2010 8:30 Comments || Top||

#3  Goodluck - in your photo is that Don Knotts? Or Jacques Chirac?

Speaking of Don K., do you have the "separated at birth" side-by-side photos of Don and a bug-eyed Mick Jagger? tia, lex
Posted by: lex || 08/17/2010 10:32 Comments || Top||

#4  Besides, it violates sharia.
Posted by: DMFD || 08/17/2010 22:57 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Mexican Drug War Blog
Posted by: Mercutio || 08/17/2010 15:04 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:


China-Japan-Koreas
China dumps dollar
The timing of this is not a coincidence. I believe the Chinese will do whatever they can to disrupt markets in the lead up to the election. An effort, probably coordinated with Soros, to topple American capitalism through revolution at the ballot box. Not this time, perhaps, but they have enough to keep trying until they succeed.

China cut its holdings of long-term Treasuries by $21.2 billion in June to $839.7 billion, a U.S. government report showed yesterday. Total Chinese investment in U.S. debt declined 2.8 percent to $843.7 billion, the least in a year, following a 3.6 percent slide in May.
That's a lot of paper to put on the street. The effect is not immediately dramatic, but the cumulative effect will reach a tipping point.
China, America’s largest creditor, is cutting back after scrapping its currency peg in June, giving it less reason to buy dollars and invest them in Treasuries. China is also turning more bullish on Europe and Japan, purchasing bonds of both nations.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 08/17/2010 17:43 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  That's a lot of paper to put on the street.

It doesn't go on the street it get bought up by the Fed using newly printed dollars. Something that doesn't look like stopping until either inflation spikes up or the USD falls sharply (probably both together).

In essence this is a trillion dollar gamble that deflation will be around for a while.
Posted by: phil_b || 08/17/2010 19:26 Comments || Top||

#2  That paper is Treasury notes converted to Federal Reserve notes. More liquid. You can buy things with them. Like Euros. Right before an election.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 08/17/2010 19:41 Comments || Top||


USS Peleliu commander fired under suspicion for improper relationships with crew
The captain of the San Diego-based amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu was relieved of command Sunday during an investigation into improper relationships with his crewmembers.

Navy investigators are probing allegations that Capt. David A. Schnell "acted in an unprofessional manner toward several crew members that was inappropriate, improper and unduly familiar," according to a Navy news release.

Vice Adm. Mark Fox, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and 5th Fleet, officially relieved Schnell on Sunday due to loss of confidence in his ability to command, according to the release.

Capt. Mark E. Cedrun, chief of staff for Expeditionary Strike Group 3, will temporarily command the USS Peleliu until a permanent replacement is named, according to the news release.

Peleliu is currently aiding in relief efforts to flood-ravaged Pakistan, according to Navy reports. Marine Corps helicopters aboard the ship have the strength to lift 16 tons of food and equipment to the millions of people displaced by the disaster, the Navy said.

Schnell is the 12th commanding officer to be relieved in 2010. The Navy removed seven commanding officers between Jan. 1 and March 15 alone. Seventeen commanders were relieved in 2009.

Reasons for the firings this year have ranged from public alcohol abuse and prostitute solicitation to running a ship into a pier.

The Navy's highest profile removal this year came when Yokosuka, Japan-based USS Cowpens skipper Holly Graf was removed for "cruelty and maltreatment" toward the sailors under her command.

Schnell, who assumed command in September, was reassigned to administrative duties at Commander, Naval Surface Forces in San Diego.
Posted by: tipper || 08/17/2010 07:15 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  somseone explain why we are helping these savages.
Posted by: chris || 08/17/2010 8:12 Comments || Top||

#2  Because their situation is pretty sad - the UN is trying to help them. Like they did in Haiti.
Posted by: gorb || 08/17/2010 9:52 Comments || Top||

#3  Because, unlike them, we're not savages. Doesn't matter whether they're grateful for our help-- in all likelihood they'll resent us even more. No matter: we're Americans, not thuggish mercantilistic whores like a certain powerful neighbor of Pakistan's to the north.
Posted by: lex || 08/17/2010 10:42 Comments || Top||

#4  maybe it's time for us too stop helping evry country that hates us. I have no pity for them eveidently Allah didn't.
Posted by: chris || 08/17/2010 13:48 Comments || Top||

#5  Schnell is the 12th commanding officer to be relieved in 2010. The Navy removed seven commanding officers between Jan. 1 and March 15 alone. Seventeen commanders were relieved in 2009.

Is this a really high amount?

I'm sure it's Bush's fault
Posted by: Beavis || 08/17/2010 13:56 Comments || Top||

#6  Commander Holly Graf should never have been relieved and the crewmen need to be removed from the navy instead.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge || 08/17/2010 14:15 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Obama Planning To Lock Up Two States Worth Of Land For Non-Use By Citizens
GOP Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah has released the complete Bureau of Lands Management memo outlining a stealth federal land lock-up plan covering an area the size of Colorado and Wyoming combined. Via the Colorado Farm Bureau:

Bishop’s office has release the entire BLM document titled “Treasured Landscapes” of which only pages were released a few months ago. It lays out what some consider a sweeping and detailed plan for changing the way the federal government manages land over the next 25 years.

The document lays out a sea change in the way the federal government manages land. It proposed that rather than manage individual plots of land, regardless of size, the government should consider managing entire “landscapes, ecosystems, airsheds and watersheds.”

The document also gives a not-so-subtle clue as to the size of the land area it seeks to “protect”.

“Of the 264 million acres under BLM management, some 130-140 million acres are worthy of consideration as treasured lands. These areas, roughly equivalent in size to Colorado and Wyoming combined, are valuable for their unspoiled beauty…”

It took Bishop months to get the document, which lays out the context for the snippets released a few months ago.

“They have clearly been dragging their feet, and they don’t want to let us know what they’re trying to do,” Bishop says.

He is especially concerned about portions of the document that recommend using the Antiquities Act “should the legislative process not prove fruitful.” The act gives the president power to designate a national monument with no public or legislative input.


BLM dismisses criticism of the document by characterizing it merely as “brainstorming.” It’s become the standard alibi for Obama officials caught planning radical changes through regulatory means outside the legislative process.

Efforts to designate new monuments, conservation areas, wild and scenic rivers and historic trails “should not be focused solely on the West,” the paper says, “but also include areas in the rest of the country that warrant such protection.”

First the federal government took the land, requiring licenses and fees from those who wish to use its resources. Now it wants to put vast amounts of that land off limits to any non-federal use.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 08/17/2010 10:27 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "should not be focused solely on the West," the paper says, "but also include areas in the rest of the country that warrant such protection."

Why don't you go protect detroit you POS. He'll start a civil war yet
Posted by: armyguy || 08/17/2010 12:46 Comments || Top||

#2  140,000,000/40 = 3,500,000 mules ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/17/2010 16:08 Comments || Top||

#3  Anglo-American reservations ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/17/2010 16:31 Comments || Top||


Telegraph: US breast cancer drug decision 'marks start of death panels'
There are some serious questions about this drug's effectiveness but only in the breast cancer arena, not others. There comes a point where it's not worth it, for sure. I don't know whether or not the study that calls this drug's effectiveness is politically motivated or flawed or not.
A decision to rescind endorsement of the drug would reignite the highly charged debate over US health care reform and how much the state should spend on new and expensive treatments.

Avastin, the world's best selling cancer drug, is primarily used to treat colon cancer and was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2008 for use on women with breast cancer that has spread.

It costs $8,000 (£5,000) a month and is given to about 17,500 women in the US a year. The drug was initially approved after a study found that, by preventing blood flow to tumours, it extended the amount of time until the disease worsened by more than five months. However, two new studies have shown that the drug may not even extend life by an extra month.

The FDA advisory panel has now voted 12-1 to drop the endorsement for breast cancer treatment. The panel unusually cited "effectiveness" grounds for the decision. But it has been claimed that "cost effectiveness" was the real reason ahead of reforms in which the government will extend health insurance to the poorest.

If the approval of the drug is revoked then US insurers would be likely to stop paying for Avastin.
If the drug isn't effective then we don't want it, no one does. But 'not effective' and 'not cost-effective' are two different things.
Posted by: gorb || 08/17/2010 01:15 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Obama pleads to voters: 'Don't give in to fear'
Fasten your seat belts. Here we go again.
Flying thousands of miles to reap millions of dollars, President Barack Obama is dashing across the country to help his party retain power, essentially offering one familiar argument: Republicans don't solve problems.
Maybe not. But at least they don't create them at a "transformative" rate.
"Don't give in to fear," Obama said Monday in his latest ominous vision of a country led by the opposition party. "Let's reach for hope."
I'd rather you reach for your jacket.
Posted by: gorb || 08/17/2010 01:09 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Obama is the one causing fear. How many years would i FACE IS I SENT HIMA LETTER TELLING HIM TO SHUT THE FUCK UP? sorry about caps i just off thrid shift
Posted by: chris || 08/17/2010 8:14 Comments || Top||

#2  Mr. Obama: Hope you don't mind me addressing you as a common person (which you will soon be), please update your resume.

Sincerely,

King Saud University
Saudi Apartheid Islamic Republic
Posted by: HammerHead || 08/17/2010 9:56 Comments || Top||

#3  Obama pleads to voters: 'Don't give in to fear reality'

FIFY dude.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/17/2010 10:11 Comments || Top||

#4  Can we give in to disgust?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 08/17/2010 15:28 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
World Bank to provide 900 million dollar loan to Pakistan
[Dawn] The World Bank said on Monday it has agreed to provide a 900 million dollar loan to flood-hit Pakistan, saying the economic impact of the disaster on the economy was expected to be huge.

The government of Pakistan has requested around 900 million dollars of financial support from the World Bank, which we have committed to provide," a statement from the Washington-based bank said.
Posted by: Fred || 08/17/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  loan? lmao wonder how they will ever pay it back and wonder howmuch of it is coming from the taxpayers of the US. wE HAVE PROBLEMS HERE FUCK THEM. i FEEL SORRY FOR THE CHILDREN BUT THEY WILL GROW UP TOO BE FUTUTURE TALIBAN OR OTHER TERROR GROUP REPLACEMENTS.
Posted by: chris || 08/17/2010 8:20 Comments || Top||

#2  wonder how they will ever pay it back

Won't.

howmuch of it is coming from the taxpayers of the US.

Most, probably.
Posted by: trailing wife in Germany || 08/17/2010 8:54 Comments || Top||

#3  coming from the taxpayers of the US.

Which means, indirectly, from the government of China.
Posted by: Glenmore || 08/17/2010 10:38 Comments || Top||

#4  How much is Saudi Arabia contributing to their Muslim brethren?
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 08/17/2010 21:13 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
Global e-mail scams target the kindhearted
While Ramadan is seen as a time for worship and earning extra spiritual rewards through charity giving, there are others who see the holy month as a golden opportunity to swindle the kindhearted.

One of the latest scams involves people impersonating employees of charitable foundations throughout the world, seeking help for Muslims and orphans following devastating disasters that recently hit Pakistan and China.

"I am Ms. Chiara, the director of an organization for poor women and orphan children in Pakistan," says one such e-mail.

"Due to the recent floods we are seeking to help as many as 493 people currently sheltered without organization and in need of food and supplies, including clothing and blankets for the unfortunate during the holy month of Ramadan."

The e-mail then gives an account number for the reader to deposit money into.

"We are a poor family suffering from the floods and desperately need your help. Please send whatever amount you can to my account information listed below to help us during the holy month of Ramadan," another e-mail reads.

According to Internet security firms such as Security Advisor and TrendsMicro, these types of e-mails should never be taken seriously.

"If anyone would like to truly send a donation to help the victims of the floods, we advise that they contact the organization themselves such as the United Nations and the Islamic Relief Organization, which have legitimate links on their websites to accept donations for needy people," a source at TrendsMicro told Arab News.

Other Ramadan scams also include e-mails stating that the recipient has won a large cash prize in a random secret draw.

"Congratulations, you have been chosen as the winner of $300,000 in the Ramadan Online Global Lottery. You were picked randomly using our credit ballot system," said an e-mail claiming to be from London.

The catch is that in order to receive the winnings, the recipient must send personal information and a check for a certain amount to an account in London to cover shipping fees, insurance and taxes.

TrendsMicro has also said some fraudsters have been tracking the news to tailor their e-mails and persuade people to visit sites containing hidden malware, viruses and Trojan spyware.

Most recently, hackers have been offering links to supposed Ramadan websites, such as those purporting to offer free downloads of the Holy Qur'an, Hadiths and others. When Internet surfers visit these links, they are then subjected to various cyber-attacks.

"Once visitors access a fraudulent website address, it is possible for fraudsters to harvest personal data and financial information and even take control of their computers," a spokesman for the security firm told Arab News in a previous interview.

For this reason, many Internet security firms have warned people not to send money to any organization or source using private inboxes as a means of contact and to always have the latest antivirus software.
Posted by: Fred || 08/17/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  How is this different from the Nigerian scams (except they're targeting a different set of idiots)?

"'We are a poor family suffering from the floods and desperately need your help. Please send whatever amount you can to my account information listed below to help us during the holy month of Ramadan,' another e-mail reads."

Uh-huh. Must be a very special internet connection you're got there, bunky. Works underwater and without electricity. If you're so damn poor, how can you afford a computer and internet connection to begin with?

Only fools fall for this crap.

Wonder if anybody's tried to access the account number given and empty it? :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 08/17/2010 22:50 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
17 Red Shirts deny charges
[Straits Times] SEVENTEEN Thai anti-government protest leaders on Monday pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges and will now face trials for their role in recent political unrest, their lawyer said.

Many of the top 'Red Shirts', all of whom denied the accusations at Bangkok's Criminal Court, have already been held in detention for almost three months. 'They all pleaded not guilty,' the Red Shirts' lawyer Karom Poltaklang said. 'We are confident we can prove they are innocent'.

Mr Karom said the court agreed to proceed with trials and set September 27 for both sides to provide evidence before the hearings begin.

Prosecutors agreed last week to submit the case to court after the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) concluded its work saying 19 people were guilty of terrorist actions. They include key protest leaders such as Red Shirt chairman Veera Musikapong, lawmaker Jatuporn Prompan and Kokaew Pikulthong, who stood as an opposition candidate in a recent Bangkok by-election.

But Jatuporn and another accused protester, Karun Hosakul, did not appear before court on Monday as they are both opposition lawmakers and therefore have immunity during the parliamentary session.
Posted by: Fred || 08/17/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Culture Wars
Muslim leaders to abandon plans for Ground Zero community center
Posted by: miscellaneous || 08/17/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'll believe it when I see it.
Posted by: DarthVader || 08/17/2010 0:19 Comments || Top||

#2  Muslim leaders to abandon plans for Ground Zero community center

I wonder how long it would have taken Obama to figure this out.
Posted by: gorb || 08/17/2010 0:24 Comments || Top||

#3  Ummmmmmmmm...nope.
Kinda defeats the purpose if they did that.
Posted by: tu3031 || 08/17/2010 0:47 Comments || Top||

#4  That would mean Haaretz was finally right about something. Not likely.
Posted by: Goober Goobelopolous || 08/17/2010 1:52 Comments || Top||

#5  ... claim that the leaders are convinced abandoning the site is preferable to unleashing a wave of bitterness towards Muslims.
Sour grapes.

...a show of sensitivity to families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks, and to the American public generally.
Sour grapes.

... lack of funds to pay for construction of the center, estimated to cost a hundred million dollars. Backers hope moving it will lead to a wave of support, accompanied by cash donations.
Publicity stunt!

It is also possible that the decision was also influenced by comments made by U.S. President Barack Obama on Sunday, in which he appeared to reverse an earlier show of support.
Fat chance!
Posted by: Bobby || 08/17/2010 6:27 Comments || Top||

#6  Interesting comment from the NY Post article linked by tu3031 (#3) -
I am an American Muslim and I am sick and tired of hearing other Muslims constantly calling on all Americans to understand them and learn more about them and be sensitive to them and so on, without in the least bit being interested in learning about other human beings think and how they FEEL, irrational as those feelings might be. Clearly, judging from some of the writers here, the feelings towards Muslims is not positive.

Now that the Mosque project has blown in the faces of the organizers, why not take the opportunity to do something positive. Do not build a mosque, just raise money within the muslim communities to build a memorial to the victims of 9/11. No need to put a Mosque there, period.

This might be construed by other silly Muslims as giving in and sending the wrong message but on the contrary, this might be a golden opportunity for the organizers if indeed they want to build bridges as they say.

The original idea was ill-conceived and has been an utter disaster (why anyone would think that kind of a project would help build bridges is beyond me).

Posted by: Bobby || 08/17/2010 6:32 Comments || Top||

#7  I think it's more likely someone got scammed. The group owns one building but is leasing the other from Con-Ed. Ther is no income being taken in from either building so someone is forking out some serious dough. The plan was originally to build an apartment building but the real estate market has tanked. It's most likely the two brothers who own the one building were flim-flammed. It will never be built.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 08/17/2010 8:10 Comments || Top||

#8  Then there's the case of the St. Nicholas Church which was at ground zero and the obstruction, of the very same agents promoting the mosque, in its rebuilding. The elite can not see their own wanton display of double standards and it's consequential interpretation as a grave affront to the serfs citizenry.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/17/2010 8:37 Comments || Top||

#9  I'll believe it when I see it.

Ummm, you mean Don't see it, don't you?
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 08/17/2010 11:26 Comments || Top||

#10  It's time to remind the 30% or so of americans who support the construction of an islamic victory mosque at GZ just how peaceful, tolerant and understanding muslims are - including the ever-so elusive "moderate" muslim. It is time to stir the pot again as memories seem to have faded.

Let us present again the muslim response to one of the dearest and most important rights of democracy.

Cartoons. The right to mock or satirize anything. The right to rib. The right to tell a joke that starts: a rabbi, a priest and an imam walk into a bar....

Cartoon wars. Now. Everybody. Absolutely everybody. let us see once again the muslim demonstration of violence, intolerance and ignorance.

The "peace, tolerance and understanding" of which muslims speak are to be shown TOWARDS islam. Not FROM islam towards others.

Posted by: Swanimote || 08/17/2010 12:03 Comments || Top||

#11  I am an outside observer of the Ground Zero Mosque but one point more than anything strikes me square in my old logic box.

If the Muslims pushing for the mosque were so caring and peace loving to other people’s beliefs then they would see the pain and hurt this is causing and gracefully rescind on their ambitions.

Sooooooooo.
Posted by: A sausage at the gates of Mecca || 08/17/2010 14:18 Comments || Top||

#12  If this idea stayed alive just long enough for Obama to embarrass himself by endorsing it that's a good thing.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 08/17/2010 15:15 Comments || Top||

#13  But what about the gay bar....? Will it still open adjacent the Cordoba?
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/17/2010 16:24 Comments || Top||

#14  I've not seen anything about this except out of Israel. I will believe it when I see it--maybe.
Posted by: JohnQC || 08/17/2010 17:45 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2010-08-17
  41 Die in Suicide Bombing of Iraq Army Recruiting Center
Mon 2010-08-16
  AZ Sheriff: Border Patrol Abandoning Parts Of Border
Sun 2010-08-15
  Dronezap ices 12 turbans in Haqqaniland
Sat 2010-08-14
  B.O. defends plans for mosque near ground zero
Fri 2010-08-13
  Durango: Mexican Army Bags 12 Bad Guys; 5 Others Die
Thu 2010-08-12
  Afghan army reaches target strength
Wed 2010-08-11
  Nuevo Leon: Mexican Army Seizes $1.3 Million in Cash, Drugs
Tue 2010-08-10
  Hezbollah accuses Israel of Hariri assassination
Mon 2010-08-09
  Indonesian police arrest Bashir on terror charges
Sun 2010-08-08
  60 killed in triple bombing in Basra
Sat 2010-08-07
  10 Medical Aid Workers Murdered Near Kabul
Fri 2010-08-06
  Tamaulipas: Car Bomb Explodes at State Police HQ
Thu 2010-08-05
  Chief of Frontier Constabulary rubbed out in suicide attack
Wed 2010-08-04
  Hezbollah accuses Israel of killing Rafik Hariri
Tue 2010-08-03
  Two Lebanese soldiers killed in clash with IDF on northern border


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