When France's most dashing philosopher took aim at Immanuel Kant in his latest book, calling him raving mad' and a fake', his observations were greeted with the usual adulation. To support his attack, Bernard-Henri Lévy a showman-penseur known simply by his initials, BHL cited the little-known 20th-century thinker Jean-Baptiste Botul.
There was one problem: Botul was invented by a journalist in 1999 as an elaborate joke, and BHL has become the laughing stock of the Left Bank.
There were clues. One supposed work by Botul from which BHL quoted was entitled The Sex Life of Immanuel Kant. The philosopher's school is known as Botulism and subscribes to his theory of La Metaphysique du Mou' the Metaphysics of the Flabby. Botul even has a Wikipedia entry that explains that he is a fictional French philosopher'.
But Mr Lévy, a leader among the nouveaux philosophes school of the 1970s, was unaware. In On War in Philosophy, he writes that Botul had proved once and for all just after the Second World War, in his series of lectures to the neo-Kantians of Paraguay, that their hero was an abstract fake, a pure spirit of pure appearance'.
The blunder was seized on with glee by a literary world fiercely jealous of BHL's success. His credulity was spotted by Aude Lancelin, a journalist with the Le Nouvel Observateur, the left-leaning weekly that is de rigueur for the thinking classes. The Botul quotes were a nuclear gaffe that raises questions on the Lévy method', she wrote.
Mr Lévy admitted last night that he had been fooled by Botul, the creation of a literary journalist, Frédéric Pages, but he was not exactly contrite.
Appearing on Canal+ television, he said he had always admired The Sex Life of Immanuel Kant and that its arguments were solid, whether written by Botul or Pages. I salute the artist [Pages],' he said, adding with a philosophical flourish: Hats off for this invented-but-more-real-than-real Kant, whose portrait, whether signed Botul, Pages or John Smith, seems to be in harmony with my idea of a Kant who was tormented by demons that were less theoretical than it seemed.'
Ms Lancelin told The Times she was surprised that none of the journalists who had been giving Mr Lévy the celebrity treatment had noted that he spent two pages using a non-existent philosopher to prove his argument. I came across the quotes from Botul and burst out laughing,' she said.
On the internet, where the affair took off yesterday afternoon, many others questioned why the reviewers and interviewers who have been filling pages and air time with Mr Lévy's new book had failed to spot the blunder.
Mr Lévy's slip was far from his first. His career as writer, moralist, occasional war correspondent and media commentator has been punctuated by claims that he cuts corners.
In his television interview last night he called philosophy a combat sport, insisting: It's the role of the philosopher to land blows.'
I received the following SPAM from the DSCC. Just a little juvenile (but pretty mature for the DNC...)
This can be fun
(link goes to a site where you can apparently fill in what Sarah is saying...)
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
Dear XXXXXXX,
Tell us what Sarah Palin is saying. Use the new whiteboard. Be creative!
Did you read about last weekend's "tea party" convention in Nashville? Attendees paid $549 apiece for a weekend of activism and education capped by the main attraction: a speech by everybody's favorite half-term former Alaska governor, Sarah Palin. For her efforts, Palin received more than $100,000 in speaking fees - and the adoration of legions of fans.
In honor of the tea party convention, we came up with a way for you to tell us what you think she's saying. Just click on the link below, fill in the speech bubble, then submit it to us. We'll post the best creations at dscc.org.
Canada's spy agency is pulling out all the stops to block the release of decades-old intelligence on socialist icon Tommy Douglas.
In an affidavit filed in Federal Court, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service argues that full disclosure of the file on Douglas could endanger the lives of confidential informants and jeopardize the agency's ability to conduct secret surveillance.
The battle over Douglas' intelligence file began in November 2005, when reporter Jim Bronskill made an Access to Information Act request for the RCMP dossier on the fabled prairie preacher-turned-politician.
Some material in the file, now in the possession of Library and Archives Canada, was eventually released.
It showed that spies with the now defunct RCMP Security Service had shadowed Douglas for more than three decades, attending his speeches, analyzing his writings and eavesdropping on private conversations. His links to the peace movement and Communist Party members were of particular interest.
But the government refused to release big chunks of Douglas' file some of it dating back to the 1930s because of national security concerns. Its decision was upheld by the information commissioner of Canada. Makes you wonder if there is a bit of fire underneath all that smoke.
A freshman Southern Arizona lawmaker is leading the effort to strip Arizona voters of the right to nominate U.S. senators.
The proposal by Rep. David Stevens, R-Sierra Vista, would give that right to the elected legislators from each party. Only after that process is complete would voters get a say, in the general election, who they actually want to send to Washington.
Stevens said his measure, if approved by Arizona voters in November, would be a partial return to the way things were before the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was adopted.
Until then, each state legislature actually got to choose its U.S. senators, with voters allowed only to pick only the folks going to the House of Representatives. The 1913 amendment requires direct election of all members of Congress.
Stevens said that amendment was a mistake. He said the old system ensured that senators were responsive to the desires of state lawmakers.
"The state is supreme over the federal government,' he said. "And when they weren't doing what we thought they should be doing, we could recall them at any time.' With direct election, Stevens said, federal senators are less interested in protecting the rights of the states and more interested in looking out for the powers of the federal government.
"It takes away the ability of the state to negotiate with the federal government,' he said.
Unable to repeal the 17th Amendment, Stevens is trying the next best thing: changing the nominating process.
He said HCR 2046 would not run afoul of the U.S. Constitution because it does preserve the direct election of senators as required. He said nothing in that amendment spells out the nominating process for those candidates, which is what he wants to change.
Because his plan requires voter approval, nothing in his measure would affect this year's Republican primary battle involving incumbent John McCain and challengers J.D. Hayworth and Chris Simcox.
Stevens said, though, there might be an entirely different political landscape if McCain, Hayworth and Simcox were busy battling for the support of the 35 House Republicans and 18 GOP senators rather than seeing who can corral more popular votes at the primary in August.
In fact, he said it is possible that someone like Hayworth, whose campaign warchest is going to be dwarfed by McCain, actually might have a better chance of becoming the party's nominee.
"He would have to come down and, basically, campaign us,' Stevens said.
Stevens said he believes he can sell voters on the idea of giving up their right to nominate their U.S. senators.
"I'll ask them if they feel like they're being served by their senators,' Stevens said.
"And I can pretty much tell you what they're answer is going to be, that is 'no,' ' he continued. Stevens added, though, he said he's not just talking about Arizona but the situation nationwide.
The plan will get no backing from McCain.
"Senator McCain believes all elections, primary and general, should be decided by the people, as stated in the Constitution,' said aide Brooke Buchanan.
Hayworth said he is sympathetic to what Stevens is trying to do.
"I believe in states' rights,' he said. But Hayworth said he can't support this specific measure.
"Right now I just think it's important for the people to decide' who are their Arizona senators.
And Simcox said he's not sure if such a change would make the process better.
On one hand, he said the measure might help candidates like himself who he contends are more committed to the principles of the party and less to being loyal to those who control the party structure. But Simcox said he also can foresee a way that this system also can be co-opted by the party leadership.
The measure does have an escape clause for recognized parties that don't happen to have any members in the Arizona Legislature: Their U.S. Senate nominees would continue to be chosen the way they are now through a primary race.
Stevens said even if he gets his wish and the nominating process is changed, it still might be difficult for Arizona lawmakers to keep their federal senators' feet to the fire. That goes back to the 17th Amendment and that federal requirement for direct election.
"Once they get elected to their six years, we (legislators) don't have the ability to call them back,' Stevens said. This is brilliant! McCain hates it, because right now his rich wife and lobbyists buy him his seat. He doesn't give a damn about Arizona. But even if a bad senator, who betrays his State, is elected once, it means that he will be a 1-term senator only. Term limits.
#1
Don't get the anti-federalist in the title. This sounds more federalist to me. I've often thought that the old way might be a better curb on Washington.
#2
I vaguely remember some really good reasons to take selection of Senators away the state legislatures, which was the reason for the 17th amendment. The electorate has always had the power of term limits. Adding more regulations on top of that is superfluous. I keep hoping that eventually the electorate will suffer enough to take the government back, but some days I'm not as optimistic as others.
#4
I suggest the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, then the Federalist Papers. If anything can help, that's it.
#5
State ledislature corruption, deadlock and no sitting senators, etc. were the reasons that the populist apporach was pushed. While I think that the state should have the ability to pull back their senators after a 2/3 vote of the state government, term limits would be the best way to keep bad senators from stinking up the hill for long periods.
#6
AlanC: By today's definition, a Federalist supports the idea of a balance of power between the national government, the individual States, and the people.
An Anti-Federalist supports the idea that the individual States, as a group, should be superior to the national government. This is more like Rep. Stevens statement, "The state is supreme over the federal government."
So today, Federalists and Anti-Federalists are not in contention, because they both hold that the national government has taken far too many powers not authorized it by the constitution.
This has gone so far that it means that all three branches of the national government have usurped power that is constitutionally denied them. The executive branch and the bureaucracy, the legislative branch, and the judiciary, all need to be reduced in stature, in relation to the individual States and the people.
In 1913, the national government stripped away the power of the States, with the 17th Amendment, and directly inserted itself into the lives of the people with the 16th Amendment. So in effect, the national government took absolute power from the States and the people.
And this is as bad as if the POTUS declared himself dictator. Which, now that the States cannot constrain the national government, has been one of the directions the national government has taken. The POTUS thinks himself above the law, and able to create law on his own.
The federal judiciary now demands that States must obey them as well, appropriating money as judges see fit, and being given "special masters" if they refuse to obey.
And senators are now paid by lobbyists and corporations, and are responsive only to them.
#8
Moose, 1913 also was the year the Federal Reserve was created. I've often thought of getting an on line newspaper archive for 1912 and 1913 and reading the paper daily for two years to find out what they thought was going on. 1913 was a black year for freedom.
With apologies to the mods and our lady regulars, I just can't resist this one.
For the first time since Super Bowl XII the Super Bowl MVP will be shared. In 1978 Randy White and Harvey Martin of the Dallas Cowboys shared the award, and now the left and right nuts of New Orleans Saints' head coach Sean Payton have earned the honor.
"They stepped up huge for us," said Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who threw for 288 yards and two touchdowns in the win. "They don't get a lot of attention because they're hidden inside his pants, but we couldn't have won without them."
Despite being smaller than every player on the field at just 140 pounds apiece, Payton's testicles proved the difference in the game by calling for an onside kick to open the second half. This after going for it on 4th-and-goal -- and failing -- late in the second half. The Saints recovered the kick and scored their first touchdown of the game, taking the lead in the game.
"I don't know which one of them called for it, or if they made the decision together," said Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey. "But I wanted to hug his entire scrotum after we got the kick."
Indianapolis head coach Jim Caldwell said he could only tip his cap to Payton's nuts."We prepared for Drew Brees, we prepared for their running backs and receivers," he said. "But we couldn't contain his balls. They overwhelmed us."
With their newfound notoriety, Payton's testicles are expected to have numerous endorsement and adult film opportunities. But they are first headed to Disney World.
"My wife and I are taking a much needed vacation," said Payton. "My testicles still have some work to do."
Posted by: Matt ||
02/10/2010
15:13 ||
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With a tip of the hat to MissileThreat.com, there are several issues presented by this commercial enterprise that offers convenient "missiles in shipping containers" that can be fired from highways, railroads and the sea.
#2
The article reads like an ad for defense contractors of various sorts. AFAICT, it would be a trivial exercise to pack a ship with dirty bomb materials & detonate upwind near a key seaport, &/or smuggle all sorts of nasty stuff over the southern border, mixed in with all the illegal drugs we have an insatiable desire for. Or simply burn a ship full of NH4NO3. (Wikipedia) Once NH4NO3 has started to decompose then a runaway reaction will normally occur as the heat of decomposition is very large. The compound evolves so much heat that this runaway reaction is not normally possible to stop. This well-known hazard is responsible for the loss of several cargo ships. The US needs more than missile defense.
#3
Article: LA ports add ship to screen for biological weapons Feb 10, 3:39 PM (ET)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A new ship to detect chemical and biological weapons has been launched to protect the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said Wednesday it started using the $3 million vessel this week. It is staffed by explosives experts and equipped with tools to screen cargo ships for threats before they enter the nation's busiest port complex.
The experts board the ships and screen for substances used for weapons of mass destruction. Deputies have also added a helicopter to screen for radioactive material, while the ship's sonar system looks for underwater threats.
Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter continues to hold a significant lead over his Democratic primary challenger, Rep. Joe Sestak, but has not made a dent in his general election deficit former Republican congressman Pat Toomey, according to a new Rasmussen survey.
Democratic Primary (Feb. 8, 425 Dem LV, MoE +/- 5%)
Specter 51 (-2 vs. last poll, Jan. 20)
Sestak 36 (+4)
Und 9
Specter leads Sestak by 18.4 points in the RCP Average
General Election (Feb. 8, 1000 LV, MoE +/- 3%)
Toomey 47 (-2 vs. last poll, Jan. 21)
Specter 38 (-2)
Und 10
Toomey 43 (nc vs. last poll, Jan. 21)
Sestak 35 (nc)
Und 15
Toomey leads Specter by 7.6 points and Sestak by 11.6 points in the RCP Average
We've just received breaking news that there has been an earthquake in Chicago , Illinois . The Chicago Earthquake occurred at around 4 am and woke Illinois natives as well as people from nearby states. The Illinois Earthquake was only an
Seismologists were surprised by the event because it was not attributable to geologic phenomena. They theorized that the state's Democratic majority voting block (Mostly residing in cemeteries) simultaneously rolled over in their graves after hearing about their party's loss of domination in our nation's capital. Others theorize that Mayor Daily arranged it to get Federal relief funds like Haiti .
#7
I'm in the N/W 'burbs. The dog went whack-o but, aside of that, nada.
Posted by: Andy Chegum4157 ||
02/10/2010 16:55
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#8
It's been downgraded to a 3.8 tremor. I felt a 3.2 in Germany, but you have to be awake and fairly sensitive to do that (living on the top floor of a three-story building doesn't hurt, either).
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/10/2010 17:03
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#1
"Columbo" is the nickname of freshman Assemblyman Dan Logue, R-Linda, who is battling to suspend a landmark greenhouse gas emissions law pushed by Democrats and touted as part of Schwarzenegger's environmental legacy.
Despite all the talk of green jobs, the overwhelming majority of stimulus money spent on wind power has gone to foreign companies, according to a new report by the Investigative Reporting Workshop at the American University's School of Communication in Washington, D.C.
Nearly $2 billion in money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has been spent on wind power, funding the creation of enough new wind farms to power 2.4 million homes over the past year. But the study found that nearly 80 percent of that money has gone to foreign manufacturers of wind turbines. But it does attract 3.5 cents/kWh taxpayer subsidies to the politically connected. That's more than the wholesale cost of nuke or coal generated electricity.
Posted by: ed ||
02/10/2010
10:35 ||
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#1
Although wind turbines have a few manufacturers in the midwest, many in use were imported and cannot stand up to the harsh winters in MN. Another problem is even though Pickens' plan has started construction through multiple rural states, there is no grid to connect the power to the cities in need. We need private investment and entrepeneurs to spark construction privately, not relying on the federal subsidies for everything.
#2
Totally agree there LE5091. Its the Field of Dreams Theory.
The problem is private investors tend to be smarter than the high risk-low return proposal, as you stated there are many projects which look great on paper but do not make the real world test. So to create this industry there needed to be a PR campaign to convince taxpayers that a 5% increase in their taxes justifies a 1% (bs numbers but you get the point) decrease in their energy bills. The environmentalists cannot justify it either; I am sure that somebody did a study of how much energy it takes to manufacture the parts, transport them to site, install, and hookup to the grid vs. energy created. Neither side can say with any conviction that these things pay off in a reasonable amount of time.
Its not so different than buying a car, then finding out all you did was buy the transmission because you didn't read the fine print of the contract. And if it is to save the polar bears and such, how much is each polar bear worth now? I agree with Picken's sales pitch that each one of these turbines is less money going to the muddled east, but discounts the numerous other options available to go about that route.
"Nearly $2 billion in money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has been spent on wind power. . . . But the study found that nearly 80 percent of that money has gone to foreign manufacturers of wind turbines"
See, it's done what it was supposed to do - line the pockets of our "leaders'" buddies.
What - you thought these clowns give a rat's ass about jobs for the little people?
Silly you.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/10/2010 12:47
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#4
Well somebody's raking in a lotta "green" on them...
#5
The way to make windpower work is to build the windmills in cities. The germans have done this along the North Sea coast. Well not in cities so much but small towns have a windmill or two that satisfy their power needs. A city would be even better because the buildings tend to channel wind or a turbine could be put atop existing buildings. I imagine San Francisco and Chicago could be taken off the grid fairly easily with all that wind all the time.
Same with solar in the Southwest. Put it on existing buildings, not in some big solar farm that takes up half the desert.
The real problem is people think centralized power becuase they want control and union jobs.
#6
rjschwartz is right although it won't come from wind and solar. It will come from mini-nuke plants and in-home/building natural gas electricity generation. The latter being the most efficient way to distribute electricity and the waste heat can be used for heating.
Otherwise, the green stimulus is just a subsidy to foreign manufacturers. Just like bio-fuels are subsidy to foreign consumers.
The Republican Party has grown dramatically more competitive in public trust to handle the country's most pressing issues, capitalizing on seething economic discontent and doubt about President Obama's performance to challenge the Democrats in midterm election preferences.
Among registered voters in this ABC News/Washington Post poll, 48 percent say they'd support the Republican candidate in their congressional district if the midterm elections were today, 45 percent the Democrat. That's a rare level of GOP support in nearly three decades of polls.
Posted by: ed ||
02/10/2010
10:30 ||
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#1
I get the feeling its an incumbant thing. Out here, R's are on the block as well. Generally we thought well until the state decided to raise taxes and cut school activities without addressing other expenditures first. I'm not completely against low income food assistance, but some of the products which qualify makes a person think, "Hey, if they are so low on cash why are they getting discounts for gourmet pizza places?" They are addressing the concept of if your going to get UA from the state ya gonna have to give a UA to the state. Its a start I guess.
Point is, Republicans may be more trusted, but if this pork your children spending isn't taken care of it will not matter how much tax revenue they generate, and then nobody is safe.
YJCMTSU
The following Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works hearings have been postponed due to inclement weather this week:
- The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife, will hold a hearing entitled, "Collaborative Solutions to Wildlife and Habitat Management."
- The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a hearing entitled, "Global Warming Impacts, Including Public Health, in the United States."
Once the hearings are rescheduled, information will be posted.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/10/2010
10:24 ||
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#1
- The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a hearing entitled, "Global WarmingClimate Change Stuff That Impacts Stuff, Including Public Health, in the United States."
#4
Previous record for seasonal snowfall was 1898-99 for D.C. Today we broke that record by (about) a foot, and there's still five more weeks of winter!
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/10/2010 21:30
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#5
ION NEWSKERALA > CLIMATE "TIPPING POINTS" COULD SUDDENLY OCCUR WITHOUT NOTICE; + URBANIZATION, GLOBAL TRADE STRIPPING GLOBE OF FOREST COVER, + 38%/40% OF GLOBAL LAND AT RISK FOR DESERTIFICATION [becom deserts + dry tundra], + SCIENTIST: CLIMATE CHANGE WILL MAKE THE WORLD MORE FRAGRANT.
D *** NG IT, THE WORLD = GAIA HAS SERIOUS BO [Body Odor], + ONLY OUR WARMING-HAPPY SUN CAN GET GAIA TO USE DEODORANT, OR AT LEAST TAKE MORE BATHS = GLOBAL FLOODS NOW AND THEN, LIKE DAT BIBLE GUY NOAH!
The best show on television. He was a big reason why...
Phil Harris, the salty skipper of the Cornelia Marie on Discovery's Deadliest Catch, has died. He was 53.
The deep-sea fisherman suffered a stroke on Jan. 29 and, although both his immediate and TV families were clinging to small signs of a recovery, he ultimately succumbed to the trauma on Tuesday.
"It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our dad," Harris' sons, Jake and Josh, said in a statement. "Dad has always been a fighter and continued to be until the end. For us and the crew, he was someone who never backed down. We will remember and celebrate that strength. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers."
Talking about his life at sea recently, Harris said there are certain superstitions he always abided by.
"I don't leave on a Friday, ever," he said, "because the last two times I did I blew up the main engine. So I just don't do it."
Harris was unloading his latest catch when he suffered his stroke on the 29th, a Friday.
#1
Never saw the show, but my condolences to his family.
It may be for the best (for him; his family of course won't think so) - a major stroke would probably have permanently disabled him, which would have been torture for so active a man.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/10/2010 10:32
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#2
It is the Phil Harris's and millions of others like him that make this country work. We will miss him, and we should all take the time to say a little prayer for him and his family.
#3
"It is the Phil Harris's and millions of others like him that make this country work"
Absolutely right, Waldemar. Without people willing to do the hard and dirty jobs, we'd all be screwed. Mr. Harris, and others like him, have my greatest respect and gratitude.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/10/2010 10:49
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#4
love the show and really liked Phil. He lived hard, played hard. RIP
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/10/2010 11:26
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#5
My wife is not going to like this news. Our condolences to the family and friends.
#8
If the way he came across on the show is any indication, he was a decent and honorable man and a good steward of his ship and crew.
He'd had health problems the last two years. It was a major plot-line two seasons ago; the camera crew got so worried about him they broke protocol and told his sons about it so they could convince him to go to the hospital. I got the impression that he really should have retired after that, but he got himself back out to sea by sheer force of will. If he'd stayed on the beach, he would have been miserable; this way, he got to do what he loved most right up to the last. Not a bad way to go, I suppose.
Rest in peace.
Posted by: Mike ||
02/10/2010 14:59
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#9
VARIOUS NET POSTERS > As per they way they believed he was abusing his own body on the show, CAPT PHIL was the proverbial "HEART ATTACK/STROKE WAITING TO HAPPEN" [medically speaking].
OTOH, LEADERSHIP IS NEVER EASY - NEVER WAS, NEVER WILL, + NO REAL MAN WANTS IT TO BE ANYWAYS. It takes a lot to be a good or outstanding leader.
Civilian stabbed while waiting in jeep at Tapuah junction, vehicle overturns as he tries to speed away; assailant lightly hurt as he is run over by security officer, arrested. Tomorrow NYT headline "Israeli security officer deliverately runs over a Palestinian with his car"
The envoy had only met the woman a few times, during which she had hidden her face behind a niqab, the Gulf News reported.
After the marriage contract was signed, the ambassador attempted to kiss his bride-to-be. It was only then that he discovered her facial hair and eyes.
The ambassador told an Islamic Sharia court in the United Arab Emirates he was tricked into the marriage as the woman's mother had shown his own mother pictures of her sister instead of his bride-to-be.
He sued for the contract to be annulled and also demanded the woman pay him 500,000 dirhams (£85,000) for clothes, jewelry and other gifts he had bought for her.
The court annulled the contract but rejected the ambassador's demand for compensation.
#2
I'm sure the woman would use a sugar/honey or beeswax product rather than shave, Besoeker. That is, she would if she knew about them. Apparently she didn't since she failed to use one prior to meeting up with her newly betrothed spouse.
And for that matter there are quite effective surgical and rehab exercise programs for strabismus. It's a pity her family didn't bother to invest in them - it would improve not only her appearance but also her ability to read, drive and otherwise participate in the various social and economic activities that are so trendy these days.
#2
190$ million$ in five years. That is 38 million a year saved by Obama. Wow! I am sure it will make a differnce on the multi-trillion deficit. In the meantime America is left without a backup to GPS were it taken down by thugs, terrorists or the Chinese.
#9
We still have an effective non-GPS nav system, and nobody can shut it down. Now if only there were still some navigators who knew how to use a sextant...
#10
Just another example of the academic mindset where everything is theoretically perfect vs the real world where things slop, leak and fail - and usually in such a way as to cause the most possible inconvenience and damage.
Like they say: In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice, but in practice there is.
#11
Hah, I was watching Revenge of the Nerds 2 and they figured latitude and longitude from a shadow. Both? Now either I don't know or they don't know, proving the point either way.
#14
Latitude from a shadow? Easy to within 30 miles. With a good sextant, make that a mile or less.
Longitude from a shadow? Nope - that's why Harrison struggled for decades to perfect his chronometers. Lunar distance tables work, also, but they are inaccurate compared to methods involving accurate clocks.
#15
I try to keep the sextant in the box, but it goes with me offshore. Don't go far offshore without 2 means of navigation. Have to dig out the old Ray-Jeff.Jim
#2
catapult the EU across the Rubicon towards fiscal federalism and a de facto debt union. The EU's top brass are seizing on the crisis to push for a radical extension of EU powers, saying Greece has exposed the deep flaws in the structure of monetary union.
You can't have monetary union without fiscal union.
#3
Things don't go well for the Germans when they bail folks out over Greece. You'd think they'd learn. Paying for EUrope won't work out much better than last time.
A new Web site targeting the tea parties is a part of a complex network of money flowing from the mountainous coffers of the country's biggest labor unions and trickling slowly into political slush funds for Democratic activists.
A seemingly grassroots organization that's mounted an online campaign to counter the tea party movement is actually the front end of an elaborate scheme that funnels funds -- including sizable labor union contributions -- through the offices of a prominent Democratic party lawyer.
A Web site popped up in January dedicated to preventing the tea party's "radical" and "dangerous" ideas from "gaining legislative traction," targeting GOP candidates in Illinois for the firing squad.
"This movement is a fad," proclaims TheTeaPartyIsOver.org, which was established by the American Public Policy Center (APPC), a D.C.-based campaign shop that few people have ever heard of.
But a close look reveals the APPC's place in a complex network of money flowing from the mountainous coffers of the country's biggest labor unions into political slush funds for Democratic activists.
Here's how it works: What appears like a local groundswell is in fact the creation of two men -- Craig Varoga and George Rakis, Democratic Party strategists who have set up a number of so-called 527 groups, the non-profit election organizations that hammer on contentious issues (think Swift Boats, for example).
Varoga and Rakis keep a central mailing address in Washington, pulling in soft money contributions from unions and other well-padded sources to engage in what amounts to a legal laundering system. The money -- tens of millions of dollars -- gets circulated around to different states by the 527s, which pay for TV ads, Internet campaigns and lobbyist salaries, all while keeping the hands of the unions clean -- for the most part.
The system helps hide the true sources of funding, giving the appearance of locally bred opposition in states from Oklahoma to New Jersey, or in the case of the Tea Party Web site, in Illinois.
And this whitewash is entirely legal, say election law experts, who told FoxNews.com that this arrangement more or less the norm in Washington.
"It's not illegal but it is, I think, dishonest on the part of the organizations," said Paul Ryan, a legal counsel at the Campaign Legal Center. "And there's a reason they do it: they know voters don't like outsiders coming in to sway the vote."
Calls and e-mails to the Maryland-based consultant firm Independent Strategies, run by Varoga and Rakis, were not returned.
Outside of that firm, the center of their activity appears to be a single office in Southeast D.C. -- 300 M Street, Suite 1102 -- which plays host to a sprawling political shell game they have established.
Public records show at least seven political shops listed in Suite 1102, most of which are essentially clones of one another, but all of which have offered money -- from measly thousands to game-changing millions -- in state-level elections across the country:
#2
And how much of that Union money is extolled from their membership in the form of mandatory union-dues under threat of their livelihood. (As in 'you must join the union to work at your profession').
#6
Via InstaPundit: Fox Uncovers Anti-Tea-Party Slush-Fund Scam Fox has the list of donors, which comprises a set of interlocking slush-type funds that pay for the antiTea Party campaign. The largest of these is the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME,) which has kicked in a total of $9.9M in a single year to two funds that provide the cash for the non-grassroots movement. Yes government workers money is being used to fend off Tea Party protesters.
But Fox is not a real news organization.
Posted by: ed ||
02/10/2010 11:10
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#7
I want them all gainfully employed at-will.
Just think of replacing so many unmotivated and lesser skilled minions and clerks with people who have degrees and papers and had experienced the real hunger [without welfare] of unemployment. It's not like being a clerk in the patent office stops you from formulating something like, say, relativity.
#9
That's right, charger. We pay them, they pay their union dues and the union uses the money to complain about "radical" and "dangerous" ideas like not squandering the taxpayers' money.
1. Repeal the Wagner Act and all other similar federal laws, rules & regulations that followed it.
2. Dissolve the Department of Labor and other similar federal governmental units.
3. Decertify and outlaw public employee unions due to the inherent and unavoidable conflicts of interest they present.
4. Implement a strong federal right-to-work law.
5. Liquidate the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
6. Convert all public employee retirement benefits, cash & health care, to the present cash value of the investments that back them today and prohibit any defined-benefit pensions or non-Medicare health retirement benefits for government employees.
Of course that would fix lots of other problems as well. ;)
#11
A plan to prohibit any defined-benefit pensions or non-Medicare health retirement benefits for retired military will not fly in this county. They of all people deserve that. Otherwise it certainly should apply to most other retired government workers. Defined-benefit pensions are not feasible for the vast majority of employees due simply to unsustainable financial projections.
#14
Very true AH, military folks definitely deserve more than we do for them. I was definitely thinking of the millions of present and past unionized "civil servants".
#15
The military is one of only a very few government agencies that is FORBIDDEN from forming a union. The military is also the most independent-thinking government agency that exists. I know that sounds contradictory, but ideas in the military that come from within OR without are given a fair evaluation (unless it's something to do with the Pentagon, and there the "Secretaries" get into the act, and spoil everything). It should be JUST as unlawful to be a member of a union at any government agency. What's even worse is that the US Government mandates that some jobs be unionized, regardless of the wishes of the employees or the leadership (Roosevelt forced unionization of the railroads in 1942, and they've been dictated to remain unionized ever since. Other examples exist). Unfortunately the current government structure is going to have to be totally broken and torn down before any improvement can be made.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/10/2010 16:51
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#1
The PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain) are old hat. The new acronym on trading floors for possible dominoes if Greece should fall is STUPID (Spain, Turkey, UK, Portugal, Italy, Dubai).
This should worry the UK. It's not one of the PIGS but is considered STUPID. Given the way such acronyms can become contagious, the UK needs to distance itself from the others.
* WMF > ISLAMISTS' WAR OF PEACE/WAR IN PEACE: "AFGHANISTANS IN EUROPE" MAY BE CREATED AS A CONSEQUENCE OD SERIOUS ECONOMIC TROUBLES IN GREECE, FORMER YUGOSLAVIA AND EASTERN EUROPE, AND TURKEY.
Declining to poor economies may lead to ETHNIC + LABOR UNRESTS, MIGRATIONS = ECON DIASPORAS which in turn may lead to NEWFOUND ETHNIC, MIXED LOCAL DEMANDS FOR DE FACTO "SOVEREIGNTY" = AUTONOMY OR INDEPENDENCE FROM MAIN GOVTS.
I'm a'guessin the USDOD might wanna dust off + upgrade those old Cold War NATO WAR/OPPLANS as per FULDA GAP + USMC DEFENSE OF SCANDINAVIA. MAKE SURE THE PLANNING BOYZ BUY ENUFF NASAL ANTI-HISTIMINE(S) WHEN THEY DO!
President Obama has attempted, through his health care plan, one of the most ambitious government takeovers of the private economy in our lifetime. Republican lawmakers have, to a person, declined to assist Obama in this effort. Opposition by the out-of-power party is not unusual -- although the degree of polarization we have seen during the Obama presidency is unprecedented. Barack Obama is the most polarizing first year president since the 1950s, when Gallup first began polling on this issue.
What is unusual, and politically worrisome for Obama, is for a president this early in his tenure to see his own party increasingly pay little heed to his wishes. For example, the Obama administration took great pride in announcing that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would be given a civilian trial in New York City, just a few blocks from where the World Trade Center buildings were attacked and destroyed.
This was supposed to be emblematic of what a law-abiding, image-changing administration it is. Yet late last week most of the New York Congressional delegation and other New York officials told the president that he best find a new venue. Sen. Chuck Schumer, one of the administration's closest allies on Capitol Hill, said that he was hopeful the administration could "find suitable alternatives." Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein agreed that the trial should be moved, saying, "from an intelligence perspective, the situation has changed with the Christmas attack . . . and the administration should take note of that and make a change as well." And on Sunday, Indiana Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh said that the KSM trial "sounded good in theory way back when but, in practice, it just was not the right thing to do."
#1
With the help of the MSM the Democratic party has has been able to hide its agenda, its complicity in the nation's problems and its corruption by blaming Bush and the Republicans. With control of both the executive and legislative branches that is no longer possible.
Obama is the face of the problem because the gap between his campaign promises and his adminstration's actions is painfully apparent to the voters. However, that gap is no bigger than the gap between promises and actions of any other swing state/district democrat.
#2
Most painful to many voters is their unemployment, falling standard of living and decreasing ability to afford necessities. They don't need the MSM to tell them about that.
Fearless prediction: watch Barry's 2008 electoral coalition fall apart the way Jimmah's did in 1980: first blue-collar whites, then left-libs, finally jews will defect, leaving only afr-americans and some hispanics.
Wonder who will play the Teddy K role and challenge Barry from the left in 2012?
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/10/2010 19:05
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#6
All this publicity makes me this thing is set up for failure. I hope not for the troops sake. Even though I think the war on the Taliban/Pashtuns is doomed to failure.
#7
There is another psychological impact of telling them we are coming. First of all, it completely neutralizes any of their intelligence that might have warned them in advance. By assuming that they would have found out anyway and making a show out of the buildup, at least a certain segment of Taliban intelligence collection is mooted.
But more importantly, if we say we are going to kick their asses and then go about doing so, there is a certain amount of loss of credibility among the civilian population that they will find hard to get back. They have been sitting there in that town clinking their bottles taunting our warriors to come out and play (somewhat obscure movie reference). In the meantime, reinforcements have been arriving by the planeload. They are, I believe, going to discover themselves surrounded before the battle begins in earnest.
#8
I stand behind my statement: 500+ rounds for a POGUE is a more than usual. 99% of POGUES won't fire that much in their entire deployment. That's why I said I hope he gets to use all of it.
#9
Ammo loadout depends on the unit. In the Cav we always carried a ton, 600 per man even with HQ units, but half that was in the track still on bandoliers. Nice thing about being armored Cav, the only thing we humped were TOW missles when we dismounted. "Scout DISMOUNT!". 300m dash with a frikken TOW missile, and full battle rattle including chem gear and mask packed along, enough to tear your lungs up, especially in sand. I remeber one of the better things about making NCO was I got to carry the launcher and only had to run once, instead of humping 2 TOW rounds on 2 trips.
Airborne was a different story. Everyone carried full battle load, because you never knew where you'd land, so everyone had to have full ammo (lesson learned at Normandy and passed down ever since)
Israeli warplanes attacked targets near Egypt's borders in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, Palestinian witnesses and security sources said early Wednesday.
Minutes before midnight, F-16 jets dropped a bomb on a smuggling tunnel beneath the borders, used by Palestinians to bring in various goods into the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip, witnesses said. Shortly afterwards, the planes fired three missiles at destroyed installations that once served as Gaza's airport in southeastern Rafah, security sources added.
On Tuesday night, a home-made rocket fired from Gaza landed in southern Israel, causing no damage. The Israeli attacks in Rafah apparently came in response to the rocket-fire which was claimed by a previously-unknown Islamist Salafi group.
#2
The tipping point in Gaza will come soon. The population of Gaza will have to decide whether Hamas is their best option or is it peace.
The Israelis would do well to continuously remind the Gazans (and the whole world for that matter) that the blockade will be lifted as soon as the attacks stop. Israel left Gaza in an attempt to find a peaceful solution. Land for Peace. This was met with scorn and thousands of rockets shot into Israel. Israel really has no choice. Every country has the right to protect it's citizens. There must be penalties in place as a result of Hamas Gaza's bad behavior. The world must stop funding terror in the middle east. Especially the UN.
Posted by: Mike Hunt ||
02/10/2010 12:10
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#3
"Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip"
Gee, it's too bad Gaza doesn't have any other place they could get goods & services from except Israel. If only Egypt were next door....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/10/2010 12:53
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#4
The tipping point in Gaza will come soon.
I disagree. There is still a lot of foreign money flowing into a very small area, and the flow of that money is controlled by Hamas. The only possible alternate power is the PA, which is not competent to do much of anything.
#5
From the report: Shortly afterwards, the planes fired three missiles at destroyed installations that once served as Gaza's airport in southeastern Rafah, security sources added. Hmm. That's interesting.
Terrorists Suspected militants shot dead two Muslims and a Buddhist and wounded two other men in a fresh series of gun attacks in Thailand's troubled south on Wednesday, police said.
A 45-year-old Muslim villager was killed instantly when two men on a motorcycle opened fire as he rode his motorbike home from a mosque in the province of Pattani. In a similar attack in Pattani, terrorists suspected militants shot the assistant to a village leader, a 47-year-old Muslim man, as he rode home from a market. He later died of his injuries.
A 47-year-old former government volunteer was also shot dead by two gunmen at a bird singing competition in Pattani.
At least three terrorists suspected militants in neighbouring Yala province hid by a roadside and fired at a car carrying a 35-year-old Buddhist soldier and a 39-year-old village leader, wounding them both.
#2
How, then, could Abdulmutallab have been thoroughly interrogated immediately after he was arrested if the most important breakthrough came six weeks later,
I think the point here is that he wasn't waterboarded.
we Mirandized Abdulmutallab because we had to under FBI policy because we called in the FBI.
I'd like to think that the FBI or any US agency on US soil would follow miranda rules.
The family convinced him to cooperate. That's more reliable than torture in my opinion.
#3
Oh for crying out loud, flash91. Only 3 people - 3 - were waterboarded in 8 years under Bush, and one of them was a top mastermind who'd planned and attempted multiple such attacks in the past before managing to pull off 9/11.
The issue isn't torture vs. Mirandizing.
The issue is treating an ongoing war as if it were a crime spree in the 'hood. And if you don't get that you're either dense or deliberately closing your eyes to the core issue here.
#5
I know the stuff I went thru they did for Army in Texas for cross assignment. Can't really speak to the stuff at Mackall.
Does SERE in Navy still waterboard at SERE-B in California? That was the rumor we always heard.
Waterboarding isn't torture. No permanent damage, no physical risk of damage or death, if its done right. Its just a way of breaking a person quickly. Being broken is a hell of a psychological blow but no permanent damage once you are taught how to deal with it. WB just does it quicker than other methods.
#4
I'm just going to pretend that's her vajayjay talking.
Posted by: ed ||
02/10/2010 7:43
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#5
Someone wrote the Vagina Monologues? I always assumed it was the product of a scholastic Mad Libs session gone horribly wrong.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
02/10/2010 7:53
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#6
Makes as much sense as "Look at 'Earthquakes and Tsunamis' for God's Wrath
Sorry Gladys it doesn't make nearly that much sense. At least if there is a God in the JC tradition he would have the power to do earthquakes and tsunamis, at least through Halliburton.
Global Warming? No way unless they're saying the it's the great god Gaia running amok.
#8
Stick to what you're good at, Eve. When it's Tales of the Talking Coochie, you're my go-to expert. Anything else, not so much.
And maybe Joy Behar can drop by tomorrow morning and help shovel out the foot of global warming that's gonna be in my driveway.
#10
"'Vagina Monologues' Creator Tells Palin to Look at 'Earthquakes and Tsunamis' for Global Warming"
Big deal. We already knew she was an idiot from her "play."
Thanks for confirming it, though.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/10/2010 10:52
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#11
A couple days after Mr. Glover blamed the Haiti earthquake on global warming, I saw a 30 minute segment on one of the major science style entertainment networks which made the case that melting glaciers, because of goebbal worming, were the reason for the earthquake. To me, that is more disturbing than this insecure shitbird using Mrs. Palin to achieve a headline.
Think about that...can't stand the mushroom laden children's programing, don't want your kid to think that approaching wild or stranger animals is safe so long as you have a camera or make a funny noise, so you go to an education channel and they sell bullcrap in the guise of science.
#13
The radical vaginocentrists do come out with some really goofy shit from time to time, but this is hardly the goofiest: this gem from the Rantburg Classics files, The Jane Fonda Martyrs Brigades, features Hanoi Jane yammering about a "flow of soft, hot, empathic, breathing, authentic, vagina-friendly, relational lava" that will emanate from, uh, somewhere, and envelope us all in its smothering embrace.
Earthquakes and tsunamis as indicators of global warming, is merely ignorant.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
02/10/2010 15:22
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#14
These ladies obviously don't appreciate the skillz....
#15
The Vagina Monologues creator -- talk about a C-List guest. The Sarahphobes are throwing everything at Mrs. Palin to little effect.
Posted by: regular joe ||
02/10/2010 15:35
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#16
All along I've been told that only guys sometimes think with the wrong body part.
One other thing....on behalf of other similarly pigmented females, please note that neither one of these two rocket scientists are blonde. I hope we get a break for a week from all the "stupid" jokes because of Eve and Joy.
A suspected member of late terror leader Noordin Mohammad Top's network appeared in an Indonesian court Wednesday charged over twin suicide attacks on luxury hotels in Jakarta last year.
The bombings killed seven people as well as the two suicide bombers and marked the bloody end of a four-year hiatus in attacks attributed to Noordin and Al-Qaeda-linked regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah.
Noordin's alleged driver, Amir Abdillah, could face multiple death sentences if convicted on charges including carrying out an act of terrorism, providing explosive materials and harbouring terrorist suspects.
Prosecutors said he was also part of a plot to assassinate Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and had booked a room at the JW Marriott hotel which the hotel bombers used to prepare their attacks.
"He assisted in an act of terrorism by way of purposely using violence and stirring an atmosphere of terror and widespread fear," prosecutor Totok Bambang said.
Two Islamic extremists with backpacks filled with homemade bombs blew themselves up at the neighbouring JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels in downtown Jakarta on July 17.
Abdillah wore the white garb of a devout Muslim, joked with journalists and smiled during the hearing, but was not required to enter a plea.
Police have said his arrest shortly after the hotel blasts was crucial to subsequent operations which ultimately led to the killing or capture of Malaysian Islamist Noordin and several of his accomplices.
Yeah. Sure. Back in business tomorrow with a different sign paid for by the government.
Police in China shut down what officials think was the largest training Web site for computer hackers, local media said.
The Black Hawk Safety Net offered lessons on cyber attacks and sold Trojan software, which allows outside access to a computer when remotely installed, media reports said.
Police arrested three people who ran the Web site and charged 100 to 200 yuan ($14 to $29) for lessons, the China Daily newspaper said.
Established in 2005, the site had recruited more than 12,000 paid and 170,000 free members and collected more than 7 million yuan ($1.02 million) in membership fees, the reports said.
Authorities were tipped off to its existence while investigating a cyber attack in 2007. Some suspects arrested in that case were members of Black Hawk.
The suspects in the Black Hawk case were arrested under a law revised last year in response to cyber crimes.
China says hackers caused 7.6 billion yuan ($1.02 billion) in losses in the country last year.
Last month, online search giant Google threatened to pull out of China, saying Chinese hackers had penetrated some of its services in a politically motivated attempt at intelligence gathering.
China's information information technology ministry called the accusations of government involvement "groundless."
The Chinese government has said that the Google case is a business dispute and should not affect relations between Beijing and Washington.
Last month, foreign correspondents in at least two Chinese bureaus of news organizations had their Google e-mail accounts attacked, with e-mails forwarded to a mysterious address, according to the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China.
Promises promises. So the regime administration is starting to finally crack. Funny how he went in with the right idea to televise every second of these debates, but his brain stopped working the second he took office.
President Obama's bipartisan meeting on health care reform planned for February 25 will be broadcast live, a senior administration official said Monday.
Coverage details were not complete, but the official said the White House expected "the whole thing to be live." Wow. One whole day of HC takeover debates. Which they are going to try to blow off the second the Trunks leave the room and they continue the meeting behind closed doors the next day.
The half-day meeting is an attempt by the Obama administration to rescue health care legislation, a top domestic priority for the president. Televising it also would help fulfill a campaign promise by Obama that health care negotiations would be broadcast live.
On Tuesday, Obama will meet with Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and Senate for bipartisan talks that the president promised in his State of the Union address last month. Tuesday's meeting now will help prepare for the February 25 health care talks.
Republican leaders in Congress said they would welcome an opportunity to take part in drafting health care legislation, but they repeated their past calls for Obama and Democratic leaders to throw out separate health care bills already passed by the House and Senate in order to start over in a bipartisan effort.
Continued on Page 49
#2
During the televised meeting the Pubs need to full court press the Obama and the Dems to make public all government health care take over meetings and documents. Ask Obama why it good to televise this meeting but not make public the secret meetings where all the real decisions are made.
Posted by: ed ||
02/10/2010 8:56
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#3
All the Pubs need to do is show up, be cordial, and play it low key. Bottom line, even when the Democrats had a supra majority in the Senate they still couldnt pass a final bill. Unless the House Dems go against their Union masters and swallow the Senate version this bad boy is DOA.
#4
DG is right. Rahm thinks he's set a win-win trap for the trunks, but only if they appear obstructionist and uncooperative. All they have to do is show up and force the donks to sell their plan to the American people. They have an alternative and they should present it, but only as the kick off to the fall campaign.
#5
Given the limited time, I don't know if it would be wise to talk about the Dem plan. We already know everything about it. It's the Dems who need to listen to the Republicans long and hard, so it should be a one-sided conversation, with the Dems only asking truly information-oriented questions.
#7
We'll do this during the day when most working stiffs are hard at work and will have to see it on the evening news - after the editors have a chance to make the Republicans look as stupid as possible...
And all this is crap unless the congresscritters and public are allowed to read (in its entirety) and think about the final bill before the vote. Which to me means 1 day for each 100 pages.
Are they braced for the Al Qaeda reaction to this sacrilege? Well, maybe they can blunt it by offering a free super-sized fries with that to any card-carrying Taliban.
A new fast food sensation has hit the Emirates' culinary scene. Right now, Dubai diners can't seem to get enough of the "camel burger."
"It's a sensation," Ramesh, restaurant manager at "Local House" the restaurant chain behind the burgers told CNN. "Everyone's bored of beef and chicken. So, as soon as the word got out, we had queues of customers eager to give it a try."
Not only are the exotic burgers a novelty, they are also a healthier alternative to their beefy American cousins, the restaurant claims. The $6 "camel quarter-pounder" is virtually fat and cholesterol-free, according to Ramesh.
"Not only are they super healthy, but the flavor is amazing," he told CNN of the centuries-old Bedouin delicacy they have given a 21st century twist.
Instead of the familiar sesame bun, they serve the burgers with freshly-baked "khameer" -- a popular and yeasty regional bread.
"It also comes with melted cheddar cheese, our very own burger sauce and a portion of fries," Ramesh said.
The restaurant's novel burgers have so far been a runaway success with inquisitive tourists and local Emirates alike.
"Many have said they prefer it to normal burgers, and a lot of people can hardly taste the difference," Ramesh told CNN.
Although camel meat is similar to beef in taste, it has a reputation for being extraordinarily tough. How the "Local House" transforms it into a soft and tender patty remains a closely guarded secret.
"Khalib [camel-burger inventor and the restaurant's owner] spent over two months perfecting the recipe and working out how to tenderize the meat. I'm not permitted to tell you how it's done," Ramesh said.
For the full camel experience, patrons are invited to wash their order down with a vitamin and insulin-rich vanilla-flavored camel milkshake. In fact, so popular are their camel products that the restaurant has plans to open a new section -- provisionally called the "Camel Corner."
Camel meat has, for centuries, been a feature of traditional nomad recipes as a result of its ability to survive in the very arid conditions of the Arabian Peninsula.
The transition to a more urban, sedentary way of life has replaced these customs in all but the most isolated tribes, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
The camel burger is a modern way of engaging with traditional foods, Ramesh told CNN. "Local House" is not the only establishment in Dubai exploring the desert-dweller's culinary potential.
Last year, the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum founded "Al nassma," which produces exclusive camels' milk chocolate. The unusual chocolatiers aim to become the "Godiva of the Middle East," according to Reuters.
With plans for a new burger joint to be built in the shadow of the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, camel meat is on its way to being a food of Dubai's future as well as its ancient past.
Posted by: Your Caterer ||
02/10/2010 12:39
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#9
MSM-NET > the RUSSIANS + AUSSIES-NZ wanna bring back select extinct Species, albeit scientifically manipulated, to improve or broaden Humanity's choice of food.
Lest we fergit, HOLIDAY TURKEYS > form of VULTURE, i.e. TV's legendary CARRION EATERS.
* PIGS > are OMNIVORES.
* COWS/BOVINE > EAT THEIR OWN CRUD, like Camels.
YOUTUBE - INDIAN "SACRED COWS" are not above eating CUTE SOFT FURRY LIVE BABY CHICKENS that cross their path.
* CHIMPANZEES > ARTIC > PERT suggests may engage in possible GROUP HUNTS OF YOUNG LIONS OR LEOPARDS IN AFRICA.
* BIGFOOT/SASQUATCH > allegedly been seen carrying DEAD DEER, SHEEP, + WILD BOARS, ostens for food???
D *** NG IT, MORIARITY, DON'T BE FOOLED - DAT BAMBI'S A KILLER, A WILD BLOOD-THIRSTY KILLER THEY TELLS YA, LIKE CUTE BEAGLE DOGS!
1980's "FAR SIDE" SKIT > FARMER DISCOVERS HIS SEEMINGLY LOYAL MILK COWS PLANNING TO CARVE HIM UP FOR STEAKS [wid Wall Chart].
The latest high-pressure U.S. tactic to get Iran to comply. /sarc
In what appears to be an attempt to call Iran's bluff on its nuclear program, the United States is poised to offer Tehran a way to obtain medical isotopes that Iran says it desperately needs to treat cancer patients, according to the State Department.
The United States, along with "other countries," will present a new proposal to the International Atomic Energy Agency to provide Iran with those isotopes, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Tuesday.
"Our point is, if Iran feels it has a specific need, we are willing to engage constructively and try to identify ways in which the international community and potentially the United States can meet that need," Crowley said.
The move appeared to be a response to Iran's announcement Monday that it will carry out its own uranium enrichment to 20 percent to provide fuel to make the isotopes. The United States, along with other countries, questioned Iran's motives for that enrichment, saying it increases Iran's ability to produce fuel for a nuclear weapon.
Crowley told reporters that under the new proposal, the international community would "facilitate Iran's procurement of medical isotopes from third countries."
"There are alternatives," Crowley said. "The Iranian decision to improve their processing to 20 percent is an unnecessary step." Providing the opportunity to buy the isotopes directly, Crowley said, would be the "fastest and cheapest" way for Iran to avoid running out of isotopes and could help "build confidence."
Tehran separately has rejected an IAEA proposal under which it would ship most of its low-enriched uranium out of the country for further enrichment by Russia. France would process that uranium into fuel rods that would then be returned to Iran.
The new offer from the United States comes as Washington and other major countries move closer to imposing harsh new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, which those countries say is designed to develop a nuclear weapon. Iran says its nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes.
President Obama told reporters on Tuesday that the international community will try to pressure Iran more if Iran is not willing to cooperate.
"What we are going to be working on over the next several weeks is developing a significant regime of sanctions that will indicate to them how isolated they are from the international community as a whole," Obama said.
Presenting details of the latest proposal, the State Department spokesman said, "We stand ready to work with Iran, we stand ready to address its legitimate needs, but we need to see Iran come to the table prepared to address our concerns and the concerns of the international community regarding its nuclear ambitions."
The Government has been accused of pursuing a secret policy of encouraging mass immigration for its own political ends. The release of a previously unseen document suggested that Labour's migration policy over the past decade had been aimed not just at meeting the country's economic needs, but also the Government's "social objectives". The paper said migration would "enhance economic growth" and made clear that trying to halt or reverse it could be "economically damaging". But it also stated that immigration had general "benefits" and that a new policy framework was needed to "maximise" the contribution of migration to the Government's wider social aims. More evidence (if it were needed) that left-wing politics represents cultural suicide.
The Government has always lied through its teeth/
denied that social engineering played a part in its migration policy. However, the paper, which was written in 2000 at a time when immigration began to increase dramatically, said controls were contrary to its policy objectives and could lead to "social exclusion".
That was on Tony Blair's watch. While we Americans appreciated his foreign policy, and especially his ability to articulate so beautifully George W. Bush's ideas, you Brits insisted there were serious problems on the domestic side. So it now appears.
Last night, the Conservatives demanded an independent inquiry into the issue. It was alleged that the document showed that Labour had overseen a deliberate open-door policy on immigration to boost multi-culturalism.
Voting trends indicate that migrants and their descendants are much more likely to vote Labour.
The existence of the draft policy paper, which was drawn up by a Cabinet Office think tank and a Home Office research unit, was disclosed last year by Andrew Neather, a former adviser to Tony Blair, Jack Straw and David Blunkett. He alleged at the time that the sharp increase in immigration over the past 10 years was partly due to a "driving political purpose: that mass immigration was the way that the Government was going to make the UK truly multi-cultural".
However, the full document was made public only yesterday following a Freedom of Information request by Migrationwatch, a pressure group. A version of the paper was published in 2001, but most of the references to "social objectives" had been removed. In the executive summary alone, six out of eight uses of the phrase were deleted.
Labour has overseen an unprecedented rise in immigration, which has led to a rise of about three million in the UK population since 1997. Until recently, it accused opponents who called for tougher controls of playing the "race card".
Gosh, that sounds familiar.
Labour was forced to change its rhetoric amid concerns that the economic and social reality of immigration had alienated voters in its heartlands.
Gordon Brown pledged to secure "British jobs for British workers" as the recession led to a rise in unemployment and, just four months ago, he was accused of a U-turn when he insisted that it was "not racist" to discuss the issue. There is no level of contempt that Brown is unworthy of.
The document released yesterday suggested that Labour originally pursued a different direction. It was published under the title "Migration: an economic and social analysis" but the removal of significant extracts suggested that officials or ministers were nervous over references to "social objectives". The original paper called for the need of a new framework for thinking about migration policy but the concluding phrase -- "if we are to maximise the contribution of migration to the Government's economic and social objectives" -- was edited out.Another deleted phrase suggested that it was "correct that the Government has both economic and social objectives for migration policy".
Sir Andrew Green, the chairman of Migrationwatch, said the document showed that Mr Neather, who claimed ministers wanted to radically change the country and "rub the Right's nose in diversity", had been correct in his account of Labour's immigration policy. "Labour had a political agenda which they sought to conceal for initiating mass immigration to Britain," he said. "Why else would they be so anxious to remove any mention of social aspects? Only now that their working-class supporters are deserting them in droves have they started to talk about restricting immigration."
Damian Green, the shadow immigration minister, accused the Government of having a secret policy. "This shows that Labour's open-door immigration policy was deliberate, and ministers should apologise," he said. "This makes it all the more important that there is a proper independent inquiry in the origins of this policy and whether ministers have been deceiving people."
Jack Straw, who was home secretary when the paper was drawn up, has adamantly denied any secret plot and insisted that he had been tough on immigration.
Liar! I do apologize. For a given value of tough that statement would of course be true. Granted, the value would not match common dictionary definitions, but even so.
Phil Woolas, the Immigration Minister, said the policy changes introduced in the 1997-2001 Parliament toughened immigration rules.
Do tell. Really, do tell us.
"The reports confirm there is no evidence to back the idea there was an open-door policy," he said. "The Government was criticised at the time for tightening the policy." Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, will announce today moves to make it harder to earn citizenship.
Tightened citizenship rules are lovely idea. How about radically reducing the number of entrants allowed into the country as well?
#2
Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, will announce today moves to make it harder to earn citizenship.
Just throw the illegals out , we know who they are and how little they contribute , then tighten immigration for just Highly Skilled Migrant Programme. Makes sure they stay for 6-10 years and pay back what we have given , i.e. a superior education in medicine , engineering or whatever than what they would get the sh1thole they came from.
Oooh wait , labour want the votes to keep their skanky slimey selves in power.. corrupt socialism at its best .
Well done Labour , in doing what Communsim , Fascism , and terrorism have tried to do over the years , but failed.
Shot in the foot by the Government voted in by a dumb average jo citizen. Irony.
Posted by: Oscar ||
02/10/2010 4:37
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#3
Political power comes from the eye slit of a burka
#2
I got the same pop-up but not before I scanned the first paragraph. They index the amount of diesel truckers are using to track GDP. We had just noted locally that most traffic is only tractor-trailers with few personal, and mostly local, vehicles on the road. People are definitely not traveling much, with consumption and manufacturing down. Trucking has been the last chance employer for many of the laid-off bluecollar workers so this is definetly a dire harbinger of our economy. Also, cargo theft is up, with many shipments intercepted shortly after being imported and unloaded at the docks.
#3
I got the same popup. Following the consumption of diesel fuel by trucks is a great way to take the pulse of domestic commerce. A friend of mine is a long-time OTR trucker who works the eastern half of the US, except for New England. He's had a harder time making the money he is used to. His company cut their driver employee's per mile compensation in the last year, but is continuing to invest in its own operations. ASAICT, his company is privately owned and is not leveraged. Other trucking companies needing infusions of credit on a routine basis are not doing as well. So he's working more hours to make the same. --- OTOH, shipping fraudulent financial instruments world-wide is very fuel efficient.
#4
An index that measures the health of the US economy by analysing real-time diesel consumption of trucks has cast doubt on the strength of the economic recovery after recording a sharp decline in January.
The Pulse of Commerce Index was created by Ceridian, which processes electronic card transactions, and the UCLA Anderson School of Management. It receives data every time a commercial driver fills up a truck with diesel, generating a picture of manufacturing and retail traffic.
The index, which launches on Wednesday, has data going back to 1999. Its performance closely tracked rises and falls of gross domestic product. But while the PCI and GDP both rose in the last quarter of 2009, the PCI stalled in January.
The decline in the PCI suggests US economic activity slowed in January after the index fell at an annualised rate of 36.8 per cent.
The new index provides a window into the economic health of the US, said Edward Leamer, chief economist for the PCI and director of the Anderson Business Forecast: Inter-state freeways that criss-cross the country are the arteries of the US economy and goods that are transported on them are the lifeblood.
The three-month moving average PCI grew 7.3 per cent in December, mirroring the recently announced 5.7 per cent last-quarter GDP growth figure.
The US economy needed a strong January, said Prof Leamer. But it just didnt happen. The economy is a lot softer than the GDP numbers suggest.
Recoveries from past recessions often have GDP growth nearing 5 per cent, which is why the data from the final quarter of 2009 was received so positively, mainly because it suggested the job market was set to rebound.
But while US unemployment fell slightly dipped from 10 per cent to 9.7 per cent in January, the overall jobs picture has failed to improve significantly. Professor Prof Leamer said the weak performance of the PCI in January supported those forecasting lower rates of GDP growth in 2010.
The movement of lumber from the Pacific north west to California may also provide some early clues about a rebound in commercial construction and housing, which will show up in the PCI, Professor Leamer added. Goods have to be transported for an economy to grow, so it will be important to monitor this index to see if the economy really is on the move, said Craig Manson, senior vice-president and index analyst with Ceridian.
Sorry, Ladies-o'-the-Burg. It seems they haven't made it out to the general public for them to be posted here, yet.
In any case, here is the article in all its glory (pun intended). Might be true, and it might be the rantings of a paranoid elite.
Claims on behalf of authorities that naked body scanner images are immediately destroyed after passengers pass through new x-ray backscatter devices have been proven fraudulent after it was revealed that naked images of Indian film star Shahrukh Khan were printed out and circulated by airport staff at Heathrow in London.
UK Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said last week that the images produced by the scanners were deleted "immediately" and airport staff carrying out the procedure are fully trained and supervised. If they are always immediately deleted, then why does the capacity to save them even exist at all? You'd think that in any case where they would need to be saved as evidence, that the whole line would be stopped in any case and any real evidence be removed from a terrorist's person. Perhaps the capacity could exist, but superiors would have to be notified to authorize the capture of the images.
"It is very important to stress that the images which are captured by body scanners are immediately deleted after the passenger has gone through the body scanner," Adonis told the London Evening Standard.
Adonis was forced to address privacy concerns following reports that the images produced by the scanners broke child pornography laws in the UK. When the scanners were first introduced, it was also speculated that images of famous people would be ripe for abuse as the pictures produced by the devices make genitals "eerily visible" according to journalists who have investigated trials of the technology.
However, the Transport Secretary's assurances were demolished after it was revealed on the BBC's Jonathan Ross show Friday that Indian actor Shahrukh Khan had passed through a body scan and later had the image of his naked body printed out and circulated by Heathrow security staff.
"I was in London recently going through the airport and these new machines have come up, the body scans. You've got to see them. It makes you embarrassed -- if you're not well endowed," said Khan, referring to how the scans produce clear images of a person's genitals. Apparently Mr. Khan didn't feel that he had much to be embarrassed about.
"You walk into the machine and everything -- the whole outline of your body -- comes out," he said.
"I was a little scared. Something happens [inside the scans], and I came out. Then I saw these girls -- they had these printouts. I looked at them. I thought they were some forms you had to fill. I said 'give them to me' -- and you could see everything inside. So I autographed them for them," stated Khan. That didn't take long. Suspiciously so.
The story was carried by Yahoo News under the headline "Shah Rukh signs off sexy body-scan printouts to gaggle of giggling girls at Heathrow".
Khan's reference to "girls" with printouts of his naked body scan can only refer to female airport security staff responsible for processing the images produced by the scanners, "professionals" who are supposed to instantly delete the images, according to Lord Adonis.
The revelation that airport security staff are completely abusing any notion of the professionalism promised by authorities by printing out and circulating images of naked body scans should set alarm bells ringing, especially in light of the fact that such images of minors break child pornography laws. British authorities have made it mandatory for travelers to submit to the naked body scanners when asked and have overturned previous rules that prevented under 18's from passing through the devices.
Within days of the devices being introduced at Heathrow, staff have abused their professionalism and printed out naked scans of a famous actor for their own titillation. I'm shocked that human nature would override law. Who could have guessed?
We were promised all along that the body scanners "increased privacy" because they were only accessible to a single staff member who had no personal contact with the passenger taking the scan, in addition to the assurance that the images could not be saved and were instantly deleted. It in fact turns out that airport staff have been saving, printing and circulating naked body scans in complete violation of these supposed guarantees.
Furthermore, we were told that the identity of the person undergoing the virtual strip search would also be kept private. The fact that Heathrow employees must have known that the actor was about to take the body scan in order to print out copies of the image also proves this claim to be a total fallacy. Ever heard of text messaging, folks?
The abuse of the naked body scan images in this instance is a total violation of every data protection law in the UK. Far from treating the story in a comical manner, Khan should be filing a very expensive lawsuit and preparing for a successful and lucrative outcome.
In the meantime, the revelation that the naked body scanner images are being freely printed out and circulated by airport security staff should prove to be the death knell for plans on behalf of governments worldwide to institute the scanners on a widespread basis.
Courts have consistently found that strip searches are only legal when performed on a person who has already been found guilty of a crime or on arrestees pending trial where a reasonable suspicion has to exist that they are carrying a weapon. Subjecting masses of people to blanket strip searches in airports reverses the very notion of innocent until proven guilty.
Barring people from flying and essentially treating them like terrorists for refusing to be humiliated by the virtual strip search is a clear breach of the basic human right of freedom of movement. Security experts agree that such scanners would not even have stopped the incident that has been exploited to justify their widespread introduction -- the Christmas Day underwear bomber.
Not only have the scanners proven to be a total violation of privacy, but major international radiation safety groups are now warning of the health risks they pose.
Despite governments claiming that backscatter x-ray systems produce radiation too low to pose a threat, the Inter-Agency Committee on Radiation Safety concluded in their report that governments must justify the use of the scanners and that a more accurate assessment of the health risks is needed.
Pregnant women and children should not be subject to scanning, according to the report, adding that governments should consider "other techniques to achieve the same end without the use of ionizing radiation."
"The Committee cited the IAEA's 1996 Basic Safety Standards agreement, drafted over three decades, that protects people from radiation. Frequent exposure to low doses of radiation can lead to cancer and birth defects, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,"
OK, legacy media, here's a scoop for you . . . .
Dick Cheney is not the most popular of politicians, but when he offered a harsh assessment of the Obama Administration's approach to terrorism last May, his criticism stung--so much that the President gave a speech the same day that was widely seen as a direct response. Though neither man would admit it, eight months later political and security realities are forcing Mr. Obama's antiterror policies ever-closer to the former Vice President's.
In fact, the President's changes in antiterror policy have never been as dramatic as he or his critics have advertised. His supporters on the left have repeatedly howled when the Justice Department quietly went to court and offered the same legal arguments the Bush Administration made, among them that the President has the power to detain enemy combatants indefinitely without charge. He has also ramped up drone strikes against al Qaeda and Taliban operatives in Pakistan.
Political opinion from some Chinese military generals. Notice anything about where they think they are headed, and the lack of censorship on the part of the Chinese government? Personally, I think some of those TARP funds should be used to buy back some of these bonds, but not too aggresively lest they artificially raise the buyback price.
The calls for broad retaliation over the planned U.S. weapons sales to the disputed island came from officers at China's National Defence University and Academy of Military Sciences, interviewed by Outlook Weekly, a Chinese-language magazine published by the official Xinhua news agency.
The interviews with Major Generals Zhu Chenghu and Luo Yuan and Senior Colonel Ke Chunqiao appeared in the issue published on Monday.
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) plays no role in setting policy for China's foreign exchange holdings. Officials in charge of that area have given no sign of any moves to sell U.S. Treasury bonds over the weapons sales, a move that could alarm markets and damage the value of China's own holdings.
While far from representing fixed government policy, the open demands for retaliation by the PLA officers underscored the domestic pressures on Beijing to deliver on its threats to punish the Obama administration over the arms sales.
"Our retaliation should not be restricted to merely military matters, and we should adopt a strategic package of counter-punches covering politics, military affairs, diplomacy and economics to treat both the symptoms and root cause of this disease," said Luo Yuan, a researcher at the Academy of Military Sciences.
"Just like two people rowing a boat, if the United States first throws the strokes into chaos, then so must we."
Luo said Beijing could "attack by oblique means and stealthy feints" to make its point in Washington.
Because if the Washington doesn't understand the attack is from China, it will be so much more likely to respond in a way designed to placate the Chinese attackers. Major General Luo is so sharp he'll cut himself. If he's the best China has, they'll have lost their little war for supremacy before it starts because clearly he hasn't read The Art of War.
"For example, we could sanction them using economic means, such as dumping some U.S. government bonds," Luo said.
Oh, please, please throw us in that brier patch, Bre'r China! It'll hurt us so much more than it hurts you when our economy falls and we can't buy your products anymore -- after all, you can always sell more to Europe or sub-Saharan Africa or somewhere... What? You can't? When America gets a cold, China gets H1N1 flu? Goodness -- I had absolutely no idea!
The warnings from the PLA come after weeks of strains between Washington and Beijing, who have also been at odds over Internet controls and hacking, trade and currency quarrels, and President Barack Obama's planned meeting with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader reviled by China as a "separatist."
MILITARY SPENDING BOOST
Chinese has blasted the United States over the planned $6.4 billion arms package for Taiwan unveiled in late January, saying it will sanction U.S. firms that sell weapons to the self-ruled island that Beijing considers a breakaway province of China.
China is likely to unveil its official military budget for 2010 next month, when the Communist Party-controlled national parliament meets for its annual session.
The PLA officers suggested that budget should mirror China's ire toward Washington.
"Clearly propose that due to the threat in the Taiwan Sea, we are increasing military spending," said Luo.
Last year, the government set the official military budget at 480.7 billion yuan ($70.4 billion), a 14.9 percent rise on the one in 2008, continuing a nearly unbroken succession of double-digit increases over more than two decades.
The fresh U.S. arms sales threatened Chinese military installations on the mainland coast facing Taiwan, and "this gives us no choice but to increase defense spending and adjust (military) deployments," said Zhu Chenghu, a major general at China's National Defence University in Beijing.
In 2005, Zhu stirred controversy by suggesting China could use nuclear weapons if the United States intervened militarily in a conflict over Taiwan.
The United States switched official recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979. But the Taiwan Relations Act, passed the same year, guarantees Taiwan a continued supply of defensive weapons.
China has the world's biggest pile of foreign currency reserves, much of it held in U.S. treasury debt. China held $798.9 billion in U.S. Treasuries at end-October.
But any attempt to use that stake against Washington would probably maul the value of China's own dollar-denominated assets.
China has condemned previous arms sales, but has taken little action in response to them. But Luo said the country's growing strength meant that time has passed. "China's attitude and actions over U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan will be increasingly tough," the magazine cited him as saying. "That is inevitable with rising national strength."
#4
I wonder what kind of a punch the US could deliver by simply repudiating US debt held by China? I suspect China would be hurt way more than the US would.
#5
Interesting background article here, courtesy of Instapundit. China hasn't much time before their aging population, and particularly the aging excess of males, causes them real problems. In the meantime, there are plenty of other countries that can provide low-cost manufacturing without the dangerous quality control issues Chinese firms cause entirely too often, and at least some of the manufacturing contracts that used to go to China are going elsewhere as a result.
#6
some of the manufacturing contracts that used to go to China are going elsewhere as a result One lesson to be drawn from this is, don't alienate your customers.
#7
I wonder what kind of a punch the US could deliver by simply repudiating US debt held by China?
You might want to add Alexander Hamilton's Report on the Public Credit to your reading list. You might then wonder where such a punch might land. The US should honor all its debts. It used to. That's why the dollar was good as gold. But something tells me you're too young to have ever heard that expression except perhaps in a social studies class.
#8
The US should honor all its debts. It used to. That's why the dollar was good as gold. I'm older than you think (on SS). It was before my time, when the US outlawed the possession of gold coins, exchanged them for an arbitrary amount of dollars, and then devalued the dollar. The US Supreme Court ratified that action, when they should have called it unconstitutional. The dollar is only a ghost of what it once was. I do not see how the US public debt can ever be paid off. It can only devalued one way or another. Repudiating a debt is one way to devalue it. But there are other ways.
#9
ION WMF > TWO US SIRCRAFT CARRIERS PER HOTSPOT: USDOD PREPARES STRATEGIC PLANS TO FIGHT WARS IN KOREA, TAIWAN STRAIT, AND PERSIAN GULF [North KOrea, China, Iran]. US NUCLEAR FORCES ON GUAM CAN STRIKE UP TO 944 NORTH KOREAN TARGETS, DENYING OR DESTROYING NORTH KOREA'S ABILITY TO FIGHT.
* SAME > STRATEGIC FLEXIBILITY: US HAS OPTION TO TURN SOUTH KOREA INTO ITS "GLOBAL MILITARY FORCES" SUPERBASE IN NORTH ASIA. GLOBAL OFFENSE, DEFENSIVE THORN IN CHINA'S SIDE.
* INDIA GIVES WAR SIGNAL TO CHINA: WE ARE WILLING TO WAGE WAR OVER BRAHAMAPUTRA DAMS WATER CONTROL PROJECTS. INDIA WILL NOT ACCEPT CHINESE DOMINATION OF SOUTH ASIA'S WATER.
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) on Tuesday used the D.C. snowstorm to make a political jab, saying that it provides evidence for global warming skeptics.
The conservative senator took to Twitter on Tuesday amid reports that the area is due to receive another 10 to 20 inches of snow this week:
It's going to keep snowing in DC until Al Gore cries "uncle"
Some conservatives have echoed DeMint's sentiments that the snowstorm should poke holes in evidence backing global warming.
DeMint took direct aim at the former vice president, who is one of the foremost proponents of government action to counter global warming.
Reports of more snow caused the House of Representatives to call off the rest of its votes scheduled for this week. The Washington, D.C. area was blanketed with about two feet of snow last week, causing the Senate to adjourn earlier than expected on Thursday.
The South Carolina senator was not the first Republican to use the snowstorm to make a political point. Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kansas) said that absence of votes in the House is a plus for taxpayers.
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri says he is concerned about "escalating" threats posed to the Middle East by Israel.
Mr Hariri told the BBC that Israeli planes were entering Lebanese airspace every day, and he feared the prospect of another war with Israel. He accused Israel of making a huge mistake by allegedly threatening both Lebanon and neighbouring Syria.
"We see what's happening on the ground and in our airspace and what's happening all the time during the past two months - every day we have Israeli planes entering Lebanese airspace.
"This is something that is escalating, and this is something that is really dangerous."
Mr Hariri also said that Lebanon was united, and that the government would stand by Hezbollah - the Lebanese militant group which fought Israel in 2006.
"I think they're betting that there might be some division in Lebanon, if there is a war against us. Well, there won't be a division in Lebanon. We will stand against Israel. We will stand with our own people."
#2
I wonder if Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is also equally concerned about the buildup of Hezbollah men and the overwhelming amount of rocket munitions imported into his country, all aimed at Israel? Maybe that's why Israel is 'violating' he airspace to find out how much and where all these weapons are.
ya think?
Posted by: Mike Hunt ||
02/10/2010 11:28
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#3
PM Hariri can't do a damned thing about it, Mike, and he knows it. So do the Israelis, who have announced that with the formal inclusion of Hizb'allah into the Lebanese government all of Lebanon will be treated as equally responsible for Hizb'allah actions against Israel. The next phase of the Lebanon-Israel war may well result in rubble up to the Syrian border. Or beyond the Syrian border, if current posturing on both sides is to be believed.
How much more would Israel see from fly-overs than they would from satellites and drones? I know Israeli planes periodically break the sound barrier over Damascus as a reminder to the bad guys that they can, with impunity. Would that be a primary or secondary motivation for similar behaviour over Lebanon -- "Behave or we'll bring something you don't like"?
#4
Mike, Hizbollah and the Syrians he wants to stand with against Israel are the guys who blew his dad into very small pieces.
I suspect at the moment he is facing the choice of having himself and his remaining family blown up by Hezbollah today or whatever Israel is going to do next week.
Given the choice between exploding today or exploding next week, what would you pick?
Maybe something will happen between now and next week.
In the meantime, I have my doubts about the general strategy; Israel can't really deter any Lebanese besides Hezbollah because they don't get to make decisions anyway. And if they want to deter Hezbollah, they'd be better off threatening Damascus and Teheran than Beirut, as they're currently doing.
The Nigerian Parliament has voted to suspend the ailing President Umaru Yar'Adua from office and hand power to his deputy, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan. Well, good luck...ummmmmmmmm...nevermind.
Following the Tuesday's vote, Jonathan is now the acting leader of Africa's most populous nation, taking on the country's reigns in place of Yar'Adua, who has been undergoing medical treatment in Saudi Arabia since late November. "Mmmff!"
"He's doing it again, Doctor!" Send my brother Badluck to Saudi to step on Umaru's oxygen line. But tell him not to make it too obvious... "And keep my brother Noluck away from the presidential plane!"
The parliamentary motion, which was passed by both the senate and the lower house, also names the deputy as the commander-in-chief.
However, Yar'Adua will reassume his duties as soon as he recovers from heart and kidney complications and is well enough to take hold of the presidential responsibilities. [Gibber?]
"Yes, you can still be president, yer Excellency!"
The move comes following an emergency meeting on Friday, when thirty-six Nigerian governors backed Jonathan's bid to take temporarily control of the government.
Yar'Adua's absence has caused legal challenges and cabinet splits, triggering mass protests in the country. The new vote was aimed at ending the political uncertainty in the country. So I wonder when we'll start getting the scam emails?
Some Western governments voiced concerns late last month over Yar'Adua's prolonged absence, but a Nigerian court rejected suggestions that a caretaker head of state be appointed until Yar'Adua's return.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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[Dawn] Sri Lanka's president Mahinda Rajapakse on Tuesday sacked the national parliament, clearing the way for a national election two months ahead of schedule, his spokesman said.
Rajapakse, who won re-election in presidential polls last month, signed a decree dissolving the national assembly with effect from midnight Tuesday, spokesman Lucien Rajakarunanayake said.
"It is now up to the elections commissioner to decide on the dates for the parliamentary election," he said.
The legislature elected in 2004 could have continued till April but Rajapakse's latest move allows the ruling party to hold a snap election hot on the heels of his stunning success in the January 26 presidential vote.
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#2
Over the weekend, the Dartmouth board voted to reinstate loans of $2,500 to $5,500 per academic year for financial aid recipients from families with incomes above $75,000. Students from families that earn less will continue to receive free tuition and loan-free aid packages.
Diversity marches on. This is just another way of increasing tuition for those "who can afford it."
#3
Sure never had anyone lose sleep over decreasing my student debt. As a white male that had previously made a little money in my life I was on my own. Had to borrow like the State of California to pay for mine. Why should the guy next to me get a free ride for being a member of an ever increasing list of 'minorities'?
Malaysia has sought the help of southern Philippines in the hunt for two Malaysians snatched from a seaweed farm off Sabah by a group of Filipino gunmen believed to be linked to the Abu Sayyaf terror group.
Tawi-Tawi governor Sadikul Sahali said yesterday that the Malaysian authorities have informed Filipino police in Sitangkai of the possibility of the armed group with the two hostages heading towards Philippines waters. He said naval forces under the Western Mindanao Command and the police were keeping an eye out for the group and the two hostages.
From information received, there is still no sign of the gunmen or the hostages on our side,' Sadikul was quoted as saying in the Star.
The two Malaysian Chinese a 40 year-old manager and a 25 year-old supervisor of seaweed farm operated by a Hong Kong and local investment company, Dynasty Marine Farm - were abducted by the gunmen at about 1 am on Monday. They fled in two pump boats. Tawi-Tawi in southern Philippines, about 20km away from the Sabah coast, has been a hot spot for hiding hostages before they are slipped off to neighbouring Jolo or Basilan islands where the various factions of the Abu Sayyaf operates from.
Worried family members of the abducted men have declined interviews, as they pray for the safe return of the two hostages before Chinese New Year.
According to Sabah Police Commissioner Noor Rashid Ibrahim, the Malaysian police believe the gunmen might still be in Sabah waters and the search was focused around the districts of Lahad Datu, Tawau and Semporna. Describing the gunmen as robbers who came to grab the payroll from the seaward farm, Rashid said they were not part of any organised group, such as the militant Abu Sayyaf operating in southern Philippines.
Foreign Minister Anifah Aman who is a Sabahan and the brother of Chief Minister Musa Anam, also believes that the gunmen were not part of the Abu Sayyaf group.
The United States, which recently issued a travel warning to Sabah in view of possible kidnappings of foreigners, has linked the Abu Sayyaf to the Al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden. The Malaysian authorities who were unhappy with the US travel warning, have maintained that security along the Sabah borders was tight and they were always on the alert.
#2
You know some time ago I read about the Philippine- Malay kidnap racket. According to this account the Malay powers to be import Muslim Filipino muscle around election time. To pay them for their service some patsy is kidnapped. The ransom is then paid by the Malay powers to be. Don't know how true this but it does have the right sound.
#1
I was expecting this to be about a bunch of marines or corpsmen from twentynine palms, trained in some ancient scandiknavian martial art, but it wasn't.
[Dawn] Sources said that Maulvi Noor Jamal has been nominated as Hakimullah Mehsud's succesor. "Into the barrel wit' yez, Nur!" Maluvi Noor Jamal! C'mon down!! "You look like a man who needs life insurance to cover all your wives and kiddies!"
Maulvi Noor Jamal is a native of the Orakzai Agency and rose to power as the leader of the Taliban in the Kurram tribal area. He was also given responsibilities for Orakzai when the military began the Waziristan offensive in October.
Jamal is in his late thirties and was a maulana at a local madrassah before he was made the leader of the Taliban in Kurram. "What do you mean, you haven't done your homework?"
He had a close relationship with Mehsud and is known for his brutality. [SLAP! SLAP! SLAPPETY SLAP!]
"Owwwww!"
One resident who left Khurram for fear of being wanted by him said Jamal "...kills humans like one will kill chickens." [BANG!]
"Aaaiiieee! [Thud!]"
Jamal is also the man who is allegedly overseeing the flogging of two men and a teenage boy in a recently broadcast video.
This article starring:
Maulvi Noor Jamal
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Hmm... Asia Times was betting on "Qari Hussain Ahmed Mehsud, 22".
....
Along with Hakeemullah Mehsud, other hardline commanders emerged, such as the brutal Qari Hussain Ahmed Mehsud, the chief of suicide bombers. The militants who had moved from South Waziristan, mainly to North Waziristan and Orakzai Agency, practically abandoned their "Pakistani" dispensation as they moved closer to al-Qaeda or its allied groups.
A suicide attack this year on a US Central Intelligence Agency base in Khost province in Afghanistan, in which several top agents were killed, is an example in which several North Waziristan-based groups joined hands. These included al-Qaeda's Lashkar al-Zil (Shadow Army), headed by Ilyas Kashmiri and Hakeemullah.
Unlike Baitullah Mehsud, Hakeemullah never saw himself as a tribal warlord of any particular region; he moved around a lot, never staying in one place for too long.
If Hakeemullah is dead, Qari Hussain Ahmed Mehsud, 22, is likely to take over his position, which is now centered on spreading the Takfeeri ideology and which calls for attacks from Kabul to Karachi. Qari Hussain has already personally undertaken such work in Swat and other Pakistani tribal areas.
Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief. He can be reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com
[Al Arabiya Latest] Russia's top general said on Tuesday that U.S. missile defense plans were directed against his country, and differences over the issue were holding up an arms treaty with Washington, Russian news agencies reported.
"The development and deployment of missile defenses is aimed against the Russia Federation," General Nikolai Makarov, chief of staff of the Russian armed forces, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.
"The development of these missile defense systems without question weakens our potential nuclear deterrent."
The renewed blast from Moscow raised questions about the chances of an early agreement on a successor to a Cold War-era nuclear arms reduction treaty that expired in December.
A U.S. defense official rejected his comment. Washington has insisted its plans for a limited missile defense are intended to intercept a small number of warheads that might be fired by a "rogue state" such as Iran or North Korea.
U.S. President Barack Obama pleased Russia by scrapping the previous administration's plans to deploy elements of a missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, which was bitterly opposed by Moscow.
But Makarov said Russia still had serious concerns about Obama's revised plans, which are based on sea- and land-based missile interceptors in Europe, despite U.S. insistence that they are no threat to Russia.
"Despite the declarations of those statesmen who say that, on the contrary, it provides for our security, that's far from the case," state-run RIA news agency quoted him as saying.
"For this reason it's completely understandable that we have a very negative attitude about this issue," Makarov added.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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#1
Markarov should be thanked for having the same surname as that chain guy..... and then be told to bug off.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010 11:05
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#7
Just Russians being Russians. Smile and nod.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
02/10/2010 11:13
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Is there a reason the US should consider Russia a threat? Perhaps all the bluster and threats and arms and nuclear sales to enemies.
The main way the shield is aimed at Russia (in the short term) is that it would make Russian sold missiles worthless and cut of a cash stream the Russians like. In the long run, of course the shield will be expanded to protect from everyone, including Madagascar if needed.
#10
ION GUAM K57 > US-JAPAN "FUTENMA" base controvery > JAPANESE DELEGATION CONSIDER RECOMMENDING THAT 4000 US TROOPS BE SENT TO CNMI.
versus
MARIANAS VARIETY GUAM [MVGUAM] > DEMAND, DON'T ASK: JAPANESE PARLIAMENTARIAN WANTS GUAM TO BE ASSERTIVE, on its Rights as per every kind of issue or debate, etc. related to the US Marine Reloc from Okinawa to Guam + other.
The home of Somalia's Islamic Party leader Sheikh Oman Fidow Hassan was firebombed near the capital Mogadishu on Tuesday, the country's Radio Shabelle reported. So there you have it: his home was "attacked" with a "bomb."
Hassan and his family were not at home at the time and no casualties were reported in the attack on Afgoi village, 30 kms south of Mogadishu, the radio reported. They were "out."
Villagers said the attack caused a deafening explosion that was heard several kilometres away. The "explosion" was deafening.
"It's not the first time that we've been attacked liked this. Next time I will tell you who ordered the attack," an unnamed villager was quoted telling Radio Shabelle. We'll be "waiting."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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Some explosives can be pretty sensitive about how they are stored.
[Bangla Daily Star] A final-year student and activist of Bangladesh Chhatra League was hacked to death by cadres of Islami Chhatra Shibir at Rajshahi University early yesterday.
Around 100 others were wounded in overnight clashes between BCL and Shibir activists.
Motihar police recovered the body of Faruk Hossain, a BCL activist and student of mathematics, from inside a manhole yesterday morning. Police say Faruk was hacked in the television room of Shah Mokhdum Hall around 2:00am and dumped into the manhole. The Islami Chhatra Shibir...in the television room...with the machetes.
The injured were admitted to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital and RU Medical Centre. Condition of 17 of them is stated to be critical.
Shibir men had cut tendons of at least four BCL activists, said leaders of Chhatra League, associated student body of the ruling Awami League.
Police arrested 16 cadres of Shibir, associated student organisation of Jamaat-e-Islami, on charge of killing Faruk.
The RU syndicate at an emergency meeting last night suspended all classes till tomorrow and examinations till February 17. A five-member committee headed by Prof Golam Kabir, dean of Life and Earth Science Faculty, has been formed to probe the violence and submit a report as soon as possible.
Students said the clashes erupted when BCL activist Asaduzzaman tried to enter his room at Shibir-dominated Bangabandhu Hall. Khalid, secretary of hall unit Shibir, barred Asad from entering his room around 8:00pm Monday and allegedly beat up him and another BCL activist Muhammad Kawser.
On information, police raided Bangabandhu and Latif halls and arrested 13 Shibir activists.
As the law enforcers left the dormitories, BCL activists attacked a Shibir worker at the TV room of Shah Mokhdum Hall. Shibir men equipped with firearms and sharp weapons reiterated, triggering a gunfight on the campus.
Police fired about 500 blank shots, rubber bullets and teargas shells to bring the situation under control. Shooting blanks at cadres wouldn't strike me as especially effective ...
Armed Shibir cadres sporadically clashed and exchanged gunshots with the police turning the campus into a battlefield. They also torched two rooms and damaged 30 others at the Suhrawardi Hall.
Faruk, son of Fazlur Rahman, hailed from Khoddorsagna village in Joypurhat sadar and was a resident student of Shah Mokhdum Hall. His body was sent to his village home after namaj-e-janaza at the university central mosque.
Among the injured, 19 BCL workers were admitted to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital. Of them, condition of Shafiur Rahman Badsha, Ruhul Amin, Feroz Mahmud and Shahidul Islam Johnny is stated to be critical as their tendons of hands and legs were severed.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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[Dawn] Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Tuesday said terrorists escaping military operations in the northwest were seeking refuge in Karachi.
The minister was winding up a debate on incidents in Karachi in the National Assembly. He also vowed to eliminate terrorism from the country.
Malik said the technique used in the Chehlum bomb blasts was the same as used in the Ashura blast.
He said the National Assembly would be taken into confidence on completion of probe into the blasts in Karachi.
He also informed the National Assembly that 36 arrests had been made in Karachi.
Rehman Malik said some 2,200 suspected terrorists had been nabbed from Swat and another 600 suspected militants had been apprehended from the tribal areas.
Investigations were underway against the arrested suspects, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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#1
Militants always feel safe when they return home ie.Pakistan!
Top New York Democrats were silent Tuesday as Gov. David Paterson, already fighting to remain politically viable, fought to lay to rest unconfirmed rumors and news reports of womanizing and drug use.
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, many Democrats' preferred candidate for governor in 2010, refused to comment Tuesday on the unsubstantiated tales, all of which Paterson denies. Cuomo's office also won't comment on whether he supports Paterson in his battle.
"We don't comment on rumors," a Cuomo spokesman said. "There are serious problems facing our state and the attorney general is busy doing the job he was elected to do."
Many Democrats have voiced wishes that Cuomo run for governor instead of Paterson, who took the post upon the resignation of Eliot Spitzer, named in a prostitution investigation 23 months ago.
A Republican candidate for governor came to Paterson's side.
"The Capitol is paralyzed by rumor and innuendo, and somehow we need to get past that and focus on the basic problems that people care about," Rick Lazio said. "I don't think anyone trying to get their job done deserves this kind of phantom threat."
Paterson has cited as fabricated a Jan. 30 New York Post report that he was caught by state police in the mansion with a woman other than his wife. The Post has said it stands by its story.
Paterson decried those allegations and other statehouse rumors Monday in an Associated Press interview. Paterson, trailing Cuomo in the polls and in fundraising, would face a tougher campaign against Lazio, which could threaten the whole Democratic ticket.
Democratic leaders wouldn't comment on Paterson or the rumors that have undermined him as he confronts the Legislature over the state budget, an ethics bill he vetoed and the awarding of a contract for video slot machines at Aqueduct race track.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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--Looks like this guy's following Spitzer's foot-steps, whose next in line ?
Posted by: Tom- Pa ||
02/10/2010 9:21
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The administration asked for public comments on a plan to expand offshore drilling. When they came in 2-to-1 in favor, the Interior Department sat on the news. Time for a "Texas tea" party?
When you ask for public comment on a major policy issue, at some point you should make the results public, not hide them until you can figure out a way to spin the public reaction to support a conclusion you've already drawn.
On its last business day in office, the Bush administration published a proposed draft of a five-year plan to lease areas in the Atlantic and Pacific waters for oil and natural gas drilling. The plan authorized 31 energy exploration lease sales between 2010 and 2015 for tracts along the East Coast and off the coasts of Alaska and California.
Hopes that America would soon develop vast untapped energy reserves were dashed when the incoming Obama administration ordered all federal agencies and departments to halt all such pending regulations until they could be reviewed by incoming staff. Incoming Interior Secretary Ken Salazar extended the public comment period by 180 days.
Last April, Salazar said President Obama told him regarding the comment period "to make sure that we have an open and transparent government" and to make sure that DOI was "maximizing the opportunity for the public to give us guidance on what it is they want us to do" about expanding domestic energy exploration and development.
Well, the public provided no small amount of guidance. The Interior Department announced in September it had received more than 530,000 comments. It did not say, however, how many supported or opposed expanded drilling. It's now four months after the close of this extended comment period, so where are the results? What happened to the open and transparent process?
Instead, on Jan. 6 Salazar announced plans, as the energy news service Greenwire put it, that "will require more detailed environmental reviews, more public input and less use of a provision to streamline leasing." In other words, we were being promised more stalling, not more drilling.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's group, American Solutions, wanted to know and filed a Freedom of Information Act request on the comment period tabulation on Oct. 26, 2009. After weeks of delay and a second FOIA request, some 500 pages of e-mails were received from the DOI's Minerals Management Service (MMS).
Gingrich's group had heard from sources that the result of the tabulation was a 2-to-1 lopsided victory for expanded drilling. An e-mail dated Oct. 27, 2009 from MMS Director Liz Birnbaum to other senior MMS and DOI officials, including Salazar's chief of staff, confirmed the result and discussed ways of hiding it from the American people.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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Ken Salazar (D-Econut) is from Colorado. He and his brother, John, were elected together by the Denver democratic machine. The state of Colorado has a population of 5 million - 4.4 million of those live in the Fort Collins - Castle Rock corridor around I-25, and pretty much control state elections. Both Salazars have always been against any additional development of local resources. The minute I heard Ken Salazar was going to be the Secretary of the Interior, I knew "Drill, baby, Drill" was dead. I'm sorry to see my premonition proved true. Both Salazars need to face the "Tea Party" music that will be "President" Obumble's funeral march.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/10/2010 16:31
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City Councilmember Larry Seabrook was charged Tuesday with presiding over a reign of corruption in the Bronx that included shakedowns, favoritism, nepotism - and even a scam to collect $177 for a $7 bagel and soda.
The endless schemes to line his pockets were detailed in a stunning 66-page federal indictment that charged nothing - not even a cheap snack purchased near City Hall - was beyond Seabrook's greedy grasp.
"Councilman Seabrook basically operated his own corrupt, City Council-funded friends and family plan," said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.
The married Seabrook funneled city money to shaky Bronx non-profits where his girlfriend and relatives were paid more than $500,000 between 2002 and 2009, prosecutors charged.
The three-term councilman also shook down a Bronx businessman for $50,000 in return for landing a boiler contract at the new Yankee Stadium - and used the money to pay parking fines and credit card bills.
A 13-count indictment charged Seabrook abused his position to benefit his wife, his girlfriend, his family - and himself.
[Al Arabiya Latest] A German convert to Islam who has admitted involvement in a thwarted plot to blow up U.S. targets in Germany has now "renounced terror", his lawyer said Tuesday, asking for a lighter sentence.
In closing arguments at the trial of four Islamists charged with belonging to an extremist group linked to al-Qaeda, Dirk Uden said his client, 30-year-old Fritz Gelowicz, had made a "full confession" and deserved leniency.
"In what more impressive way could one demonstrate that one is finished with armed jihad?" Uden added.
Another lawyer for Gelowicz, Hannes Linke, called for a sentence of less than 10 years, as the confession had given authorities "very valuable information for preventing terror."
"Fritz Gelowicz has given unprecedented insight into the inner workings of Islamic terrorism," Linke said.
After months of surveillance, police using U.S. and German intelligence said they caught three of the suspects red-handed, mixing chemicals to make the equivalent of 410 kilograms (900 pounds) of explosives. This was 100 times the amount used in the 2005 London bombings that killed more than 50 people.
Prosecutors had demanded 12 and a half years behind bars for Gelowicz, a member of the so-called Sauerland cell after the region where they were captured. All four have been charged with belonging to the Islamic Jihadic Union (IJU) in Pakistan.
Uden told the court that the authorities' knowledge of the IJU was "sketchy at best" before Gelowicz's confession.
Prosecutors have called for 13 years for another German convert to Islam, 24-year-old Daniel Schneider and 11 and a half years for Adem Yilmaz, a 31-year-old Turkish citizen.
A fourth plotter, 24-year-old German Atilla Selek who was arrested in Turkey, could face five and a half years' imprisonment for planning what prosecutors said would have been a "massacre".
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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Impose a longer sentence , send a message
Posted by: Oscar ||
02/10/2010 5:15
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#2
Well, if that does not work he can always find Jesus.
Posted by: Kelly ||
02/10/2010 7:56
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"In what more impressive way could one demonstrate that one is finished with armed jihad?" Uden added
[Dawn] The Pakistani authorities who had handed over Dr Aafia to US government must be brought to justice.
This was demanded by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan while addressing a worker's convention at Zafarwal on Monday.
Khan alleged Pakistani intelligence agencies had handed over Dr Aafia to Americans, along with her three children and two of them died of torture in Afghan jails controlled by US authorities.
He said any adverse verdict by an American court in Dr Aafia's case would increase hatred against the US and might enhance terrorism. Khan said after achieving freedom for the judiciary, the media and people should strive to make the Election Commission of Pakistan a free, transparent and independent institution to get rid of poll rigging.
He said if there were free and fair elections his party would bring a democratic revolution in Pakistan and ensure justice for all.
Khan lashed out at the government for what he called sheer wastage of public money on luxuries and foreign tours.
He said it was deplorable that tax defaulters were sitting in the assemblies while the poor were paying taxes.
He alleged the government allowed Americans to kill Pakistani people in drone attacks only for money which was unjust.
PTI provincial president Ahsan Rasheed, secretary general Raja Javaid, central vice-president Shaid Zulfiqar, provincial information secretary Naveed Ahmed, and district president Rana Lal Badsha also spoke.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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#1
I'm bettin Khan hasn't missed many meals lately.
Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) called on Deputy National Security Advisor John Brennan's resignation on Tuesday.
Bond said Brennan, with whom he's tangled publicly over the Obama administration's handling of the attempted bombing of a flight on Christmas, to resign. Brennan "needs to go," Bond said in an interview with National Review Online, a stance that was confirmed later by a spokeswoman.
"A drastic change in policy is needed," Bond said. "Our problem now is that we have to wonder whether we can trust [Brennan] after he has been a mouthpiece for the political arm that I thought only came out of the White House press office."
Bond, the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has clashed openly with Brennan and the Obama administration in regards to the handling of suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's alleged attempted bombing of a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day.
Republicans have complained that the administration was too quick to treat Abdulmutallab as a criminal suspect and read him his Miranda rights. Bond, along with his House counterpart, Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.), have also raised questions about the White House's revelation of certain facts about the investigation.
Brennan shot back at Republican critics in an op-ed for USA Today on Tuesday, accusing them of undermining national security in their criticism.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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wasn't Brennen the one in 1996-98 who was unwilling to advise Clinton that bin Laden, whose location was precisely known, should not be killed?
#4
Kit's got the right idea, but he's expressing it poorly. The problem isn't merely that Brennan is playing the political stooge, which seems like a petty partisan complaint, it's that his being a stooge is a distraction from keeping Americans safe.
These are dangerous times Republicans, let's play to win.
Posted by: regular joe ||
02/10/2010 15:56
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Democrats in Congress are holding White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel accountable for his part in the collapse of healthcare reform.
The emerging consensus among critics in both chambers is that Emanuel's lack of Senate experience slowed President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.
The share of the blame comes as cracks are beginning to show in Emanuel's once-impregnable political armor. Last week he had to apologize after a report surfaced that he called liberal groups "retarded" in a private meeting.
While Emanuel has quelled that controversy by meeting with advocates for people with disabilities, on Capitol Hill he's under fire for poor execution of the president's healthcare agenda in the Senate.
"I think Rahm ran the play his boss called; once Obama called the play, Rahm did everything he could to pass it, scorched-earth and all that," said a senior lawmaker, who added that Emanuel didn't seek a broader base of Senate Republicans. "I think he did miscalculate the Senate. He did what he thought he had to do to win."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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Last week he had to apologize after a report surfaced that he called liberal groups "retarded" in a private meeting.
And why, pray tell, does he have to apologize for that?
Posted by: Alaska Paul in Copper Center, AK ||
02/10/2010 0:04
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#2
Michael Kinsley: A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
02/10/2010 1:59
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#3
In recognition of Rahm's retard crack, maybe he'll get thrown under the short bus...
[Maghrebia] Mali will not concede to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb's demands to free four jailed terrorists in exchange for French hostage Pierre Camatte, AFP reported on Monday (February 8th), citing security sources in Bamako. Among the 4 prisoners is an Algerian said to be a "high-ranking" AQIM member. Last Friday, al-Qaeda extended the deadline for executing Camatte to February 20th.
In related news, the $5 million ransom demanded by AQIM for three kidnapped aid workers should arrive in Mali from Spain this week, Spanish daily El Mundo reported on Monday. Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's son, Seif al-Islam, will reportedly mediate the exchange.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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#1
Kudos to Mali for showing some backbone. Satisfying to see Al Qaeda looking weak, postponing deadlines, being cry-babies. Wish Spain would be as tough as Mali.
Posted by: American Delight ||
02/10/2010 18:17
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[Quqnoos] NATO warns Afghan civilians to "keep their heads down" when a major joint military offensive begins in Helmand province. Mark Sedwill, NATO's senior civilian representative in Afghanistan, admitted on Tuesday that the offensive was likely to prompt more people to leave the area.
The fighting around the town of Marjah -- a key Taliban stronghold and a hub for nacro-trade -- is expected to be one of the largest since the collapse of the Taliban. Thousands of US Marines, NATO and Afghan troops are massed in the province for Operation Mushtarak which aims to drive Taliban out of Marjah.
"We very much hope that the military phase of this operation will go ahead swiftly and with as little incident as possible," Sedwell told reporters in a briefing at NATO headquarters in Kabul. "The success of the operation will not be in the military phase.
"It will be over the next weeks and months as the people ... feel the benefits of better governance, of economic opportunities and of operating under the legitimate authorities of Afghanistan," he said.
Gulab Mangal, Helmand's provincial governor, said a commission has been formed to handle the flow of displaced people.
"The commission is fully prepared. We have got tents. We've got food. We've got everything in place," he said at the joint news conference with Sedwill on Tuesday. "So far we have had two waves of displaced people from the area - 72 and 92 families."
Authorities have not advised people to leave the Marjah area but have warned them to stay inside and avoid road travel once the operation begins. "The message to the people of the area is of course keep your heads down, stay inside when the operation is going ahead," Sedwell said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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Two senior aides to Iran's defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi have been released from prison.
Alireza Beheshti and Mohamad-Reza Tajik were both released on bail, the website of the Tehran judiciary announced on Tuesday.
The statement did not elaborate on the amount of the bail for the two men.
Beheshti, the son of the late Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti, the martyred head of Iran's judiciary in June 1981, was arrested more than a month ago.
Tajik, who has served as vice president of the Strategic Studies Center during President Khatami's government, was also among the dozens of people detained for involvement in the post-election riots in Iran.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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Starting at midnight local time on Tuesday, all Greek airports were set to come to a halt in response to a call for a walkout by civil aviation workers. They plan to join civil servants' strike the next day over budget cuts. All incoming and outgoing flights will be disrupted as of Wednesday, DPA reported.
The walkout is in protest against the government's plans to adopt strict austerity measures, including wage freezes and bonus cuts, which will affect the country's schools, hospitals, and government offices.
Rather demonstrates that the governed don't think that the government governs them ...
Private sector workers have announced that they will go on strike on February 24.
Greece's financial credibility has taken a battering since last October as the deficit has hit 12.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
For one month now, the country's farmers have been demanding subsidies and have been blocking major roads across the country as a sign of protest, but to no avail.
On Tuesday, the Greek government started debates on austerity measures, including pension and wage reform, raising the retirement age from 61 to 63, and banning early retirement.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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#1
You are broke you bozos. Deal with it.
We will be soon to...
#4
The Greek gov't could have simply buggered their Consumer Price Index (CPI) calculations, then quietly suspended pensioners annual COLA raises for the next....5-10 years. What were they thinking.
#1
Republican House Minority Leader Anthony O'Donnell wants Maryland to require state and local governments to verify adults are legally in the country before providing them most public benefits.
The measure would block illegal immigrants from receiving benefits such as public housing, welfare, food assistance, unemployment benefits and other subsidies.
#4
Prop 187, which passed overwhelmingly here, did precisely that, and the California Supreme COurt found it unconsitutional, an amazing act of reasoning even for liberal idiots. I guarantee that CA decision will be used to defeat such a reasonable idea in Maryland.
A ransom of 3.1 million dollars has secured the release of a Panamanian-flagged ship and its crew of 26, said the Somali pirates holding the ship since October. "Aaar! Rum fer everybody! The check's cleared!"
The 22,000-ton bulk carrier, Al Khaliq, was seized on October 22, some 180 nautical miles from Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. The ship's crew is said to consist of 24 Indians and two Burmese.
Pirate leaders in the pirate den of Harardhere, north of the capital Mogadishu, told the media by phone that the ship had been deserted following the payment.
Other sources confirmed that the ship was free.
A fisherman told the AFP that he had seen some of the pirates returning ashore from the ship with bags of cash.
The sea bandits are currently holding 11 foreign vessels together with more than 200 crew members, and have made millions of dollars in the past weeks in exchange for several ships.
In one instance, the pirates received seven million dollars for the 330-metre-long Greek supertanker hijacked last month.
Despite an international naval presence off the coast of Somalia to take on the rising piracy in one the world's busiest shipping lanes, Somali pirates were responsible for more than half of the 406 hijacking attacks worldwide last year, showing an alarming 40 percent increase, according to figures from the International Maritime Bureau.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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When British trainers administered random drugs tests to 25 Afghan police recruits at a base in southern Helmand province, most of them failed. One recruit was kicked out of the force. The others were given warnings.
Heroin shouldn't be tolerated, but there is no point kicking out the ones who smoke hashish: there would be too few left, their Afghan commander said. Islam makes a lot more sense when you're on drugs...
Training Afghan police is a central part of NATO's strategy to eventually turn over responsibility for security in the country to Afghan forces so that Western troops -- soon to number 150,000 -- can begin withdrawing next year.
NATO aims to increase the number of Afghan soldiers and police by 50 percent to a total of 282,000 by mid-2011, when U.S. President Barack Obama says he will begin withdrawing forces.
But commanders acknowledge it is an uphill battle. Afghan recruits are frequently illiterate, many desert soon after joining. Some may be insurgent infiltrators. One policeman killed five British soldiers in November.
And -- if the random testing administered in Helmand is anything to go by -- many are on drugs.
"So far we've found three tested positive for amphetamines and also opiates, approximately 15 for the use of hashish," British Army Captain Pete Alexander, a police instructor, told Reuters, looking over the results of the 25 tests.
The amphetamine and opiates test can only find traces of use of the drugs within the past three days. When the three who failed were given a second chance a few days later, two of them managed to pass. The other was fired.
Those who had failed the test for hashish were forced to stand up and be reprimanded in front of their class of 300 recruits at a parade. But there is no point in kicking them out, since use of the drug is so common, their commander said.
"At first when we understand someone is using hashish we tell them it is not right to use hashish. The second time we just give them a warning. The third time we try helping them to quit the stuff, and finally we sack them," Colonel Mahmoud Refik Sheriar told Reuters.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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#1
Look a fungus for the opium and a virus for the mary jane... Just do it!
#4
They don't have beer so it is no surprise they would use hash in their off time. Every culture has an intoxicant it uses socially. Ours is alcohol, there's is hash. Not a big deal. The opium, on the other hand, should not be tolerated.
You can smoke hash every day for a month and then go out to the field on a mission and not suffer physically from withdrawal. The same is not true with opiates.
In response to the US military buildup in the Persian Gulf, Iran will soon launch a domestically-built air defense system to counter the ballistic missile threat in the future.
On Tuesday, more than a week after Washington started ramping up its military hardware in the Persian Gulf region, senior Air Force Commander Mohammad-Hassan Mansourian announced that the country will set up a sophisticated system "to detect and deter ballistic missiles" before they reach their targets.
"At the end of the day, it all comes down to how strong your air command is," Mansourian told Fars News Agency. "The better your air deterrence capabilities, the more chances you have to gain the upper hand in combat."
Mansourian said Iran's military and government officials have emphasized on the need to strengthen the defenses around vital spots, particularly the country's various nuclear sites.
"To protect our nuclear installations, particularly the ones in Tehran and Esfahan, we have devised a set of defense strategies to sabotage any attempt or plan to attack us," he said.
The Iranian commander said it is of utmost importance to reduce the effectiveness of a planned strike, be it on the country's nuclear sites or any other sensitive location.
After years of accusing Iran of developing nuclear weapons, Washington has taken silent steps in the past weeks to upgrade its missile systems and war machine in the Persian Gulf, under the pretext of defending its regional allies against missile strikes by Iran.
The US allegations come despite insistence by Iran that neither its missile program, nor its uranium enrichment pose a threat to regional stability.
On a different note, Mansourian said the growing threat of cruise missiles could be easily neutralized by studying the enemy's standard methods of using these weapons in recent warfare and also by building applicable ground-based systems such as heavy artillery units.
His remarks come one day after Heshmatollah Kassiri, another senior military official, announced that Iran has plans to develop an air defense system that is comparable to and even more sophisticated than the advanced Russian S-300 system.
"The domestically-built air defense system, which will be unveiled in the near future, is as powerful as the S-300 system, or even stronger," IRNA quoted Heshmatollah Kassiri as saying.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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#1
"The domestically-built air defense system, which will be unveiled in the near future, is as powerful as the S-300 system, or even stronger," IRNA quoted Heshmatollah Kassiri as saying.
#2
One Trident nuke sub can stand off Diego Garcia and totally DESTROY Iran. There wouldn't be enough left to qualify as a fourth-world country. Iran typifies "Alligator mouth, hummingbird brain".
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/10/2010 16:13
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I say again that, wid NUCWEAPS [or even widout] come Year 2012, Islamist Iran will pragmatically prefer to stay on the GEOPOL, PR DEFENSIVE regardless of its rants agz the US-ISRAEL, + instead let FUTURE NUCLEAR MILTERRS do all the bloody work in Islam's name.
ALL THINGS EQUAL, IMO THE ONLY REASON FOR IRAN + SIMIL ISLAMIST GOVTS TO GO ON THE GEOPOL OFFENSIVE 2010-2020/2025 maxima IS BECUZ THE POWERS OR PERSONAGES THAT BE IN WASHINGTON ARE NO LONGER ENGAGING IN TRADITIONAL, PCORRECT "POLITICAL CENTRISM/NEUTRALISM" IN ORDER TO FORCE THE US UNDER LARGER OWG-NWO + GLOBAL COMMIE-SOCIALIST ORDER [CWO-SWO].
* See also WND > IRAN'S NUCLEAR CRSIS IS ALREADY HERE.
Khamenei, whose public statements should be taken seriously, is promising some sort of devastating "punch" against the West on Thursday the 11th...Some think he's preparing some kind of attack against Israel...The other obvious possibility is that he's ordered a massive, Chinese-style crackdown on the opposition... or they might announce they have a new weapon or that they have discovered a domestic source of Uranium or that he is going to host a late night comedy/variety show to compete with Leno beginning Mar 1
Posted by: lord garth ||
02/10/2010
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#1
from a link at the link ...
this comment: 23. Steven Den Beste:
#7
Does Steven Den Beste still do commentary/geopolitical blogging? His stuff on Walter Russell Mead and Jacksonian Democrats was very interesting back in the day.
#15
Joking aside, I think Den Beste is betting on the wrong horse.
If they have a nuclear test, the planes will be striking within 48 hours. I don't believe even the mullahs are that stupid to have a test without others mated to an offensive launch system.
#1
One side of this "debate" welcomes him and no doubt pays him well to do what he does best. The other side would kill him and his husband if given half the chance for being infidels, and homosexuals to boot.
[Al Arabiya Latest] At least 10 polling stations are to open in Jordan for Iraqi expatriates to take part in their country's March 7 election, as part of worldwide out-of-country voting, Iraq's ambassador said on Tuesday.
"We have agreed with Jordan to open from 10 to 15 voting centers in Amman and Irbid and other cities, and an office for the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) has been opened to supervise the voting," Saad Hayyani said.
"The voting is scheduled to take place on March 5 and 6. Eligible voters are estimated at between 100,000 and 200,000," he told AFP, with the ballot abroad taking place just ahead of voting inside Iraq as was the case in 2005.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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#1
More precisely, the article says that farm fertilizer and pesticide use cause more water pollution than industry, and they get to that conclusion by apparently limiting it to organic pollution, not heavy metals and the like. Which is true, and probably is even true in the US. Agriculture has a heavy and wide footprint by its very nature.
The Chinese probably have a severe problem with inefficient resource usage; it takes a good deal of science to properly schedule and meter chemical fertilizer and pesticide applications. Soil testing is expensive and time-consuming; so are VRA rigs and the data-processing & prescription map generating necessary to exploit soil testing properly (business plug! this is what my division specializes in, it pays my salary!). If you're not being careful, a lot of the (very expensive and polluting!) chemical fertilizer you've dumped onto your fields are going to end up downstream from you, killing off the aquatic ecosystem instead of feeding your crops.
Up to about thirty years ago, the Chinese didn't use chemical fertilizers at all - it was mostly manure, and heavily human waste manure at that. It took the death of that maniac Mao to free up the ChiComs to even think about chemical fertilizers, they can't possibly have all that much human capital in terms of extension offices, soil labs, and experienced commercial farmers, no matter how much equipment and raw materials they might have been able to buy. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they're making a mess of it.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
02/10/2010 8:14
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U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) tried to persuade the Federal Reserve to approve the acquisition of a New Jersey bank where the chairman and vice chairman were both major contributors.
The Federal Reserve did not act and Elizabeth-based First BankAmericano failed on July 31.
The Wall Street Journal reports it's unusual for individual members of Congress to make such requests.
The chairman of the bank at the time Menendez requested help was Joseph Ginarte. He had contributed $30,000 to the Democrat over the last decade. The bank's vice chairman was state Sen. Raymond Lesniak, a powerbroker in the state Democratic Party.
Menendez says trying to save the bank was the right thing to do.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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Nearly 10,000 San Francisco city workers will be laid off and most rehired for jobs with shorter hours under a controversial plan being examined by Mayor Gavin Newsom.
The mayor's budget office came up with the idea of cutting hours to reduce costs. Fulltime employees will work 37.5 hour weeks instead of the traditional 40.
Newsom's budget office estimates that paying workers for 2.5 fewer hours of work each week would save more than $50 million a year as the city grapples with how to close a devastating $522 million budget gap for the 2010-11 fiscal year.
"We have to look at unprecedented tools to close an unprecedented shortfall," said Tony Winnicker, the spokesman for the mayor. "These times call for unusual measures, so we have to look at all options."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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#1
Brought to you by the city that built the Golden Gate Bridge during the Great Depression.
Posted by: Kelly ||
02/10/2010 7:51
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I wonder what the union contracts look like - in many places anything less than 40 hrs / week mean no or fewer benefits. If that's the case for SF workers then the city will be reaping most of the benefit from reduced overhead rather than hourly wage labor costs.
#5
There was no RDS&TP yesterday. No gams, no women who bathe, no nightie-night either. My life felt strangely incomplete.
Posted by: Mike ||
02/10/2010 9:46
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#6
Don't forget that Heather Angel was the voice of "Alice" in the Disney animated version of "Alice in Wonderland" also she was in "Lifeboat".
I loved the Bulldog Drummond stuff when I was a kid, they would show those movies on saturday morning TV in Houston.
Posted by: James Carville ||
02/10/2010 10:23
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#7
I forgot to upload yesterday's bloid, then spent most of the day chasing a single bug and didn't notice it wasn't there. Doc usually picks it up when I do that so I guess he was busy, too, which leaves Scooter, who musta also been busy...
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010 10:51
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#8
An open letter to Fred
Apparently I've been blocked by Gloria? (Pink)
I find it unlike the "Burg" to refuse emails from my home computer.
This Violates all that the "Burg" stands for, such dictatorial peactices are a Violaton of free speech , Setting a computer to refuse emails ammounts to dictatorial Cesorsip akin to Castro, Chaez, and Ortega, NOT FRED, In short refusing to allow any appeal, or in fact any communications at all.
I suspect this was done without Fred's knowledge or approval, and ask that this acion (Not being allowed to "Speak") be reiewed by Fred as a Violation of both policy, and ciility.
I had thought the Burg better than this.
Jim David
Redneck Jim
PS Don't bother to block this computer too, it's at the Library, and there are quite a few different libraries in My area
#10
I haven't banned you, nor has Gloria. How'd you know it was her? As far as I know no one else has, and your IP's not in the "banned" file.
Email me at fred-dot-pruitt-at-gmail-dot-com with details. Same with you, Dale.
The last non-spammer I can recall being banned was Zenster, and I wasn't happy with that. I prefer to sinktrap individual comments that go over the line.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010 18:19
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#14
Equally for the record, Mr. David, it was the moderators in conference who got tired of being baited. I missed it, or I would have voted aye, once I found out what the things you wrote meant -- the vocabulary was new to me.
Bottom line, THIS IS NOT A FREEDOM OF SPEECH ISSUE. So all of you, please shut the fuck up about your Constitutional rights. Constitutional rights are what you have in a government building or a public square patrolled by the police, not Fred's private living room. You can tell it's private, because with a couple of keystrokes he could shut the door to all of us, and never have to put up with such nonsense again. Contrariwise, Constitutional rights are what bratty teenagers complain are being taken away when they don't get to wear miniskirts to necking parties.
*clue bat returned to rest position.* Excuse me while I go in the corner and cry over having to yell.
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/10/2010 22:35
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Strong language for strong feelings, Frank. When I curse it is a sign that I am seriously angry. It would be a good idea to walk very carefully through that minefield.
[Al Arabiya Latest] A British court jailed the country's most senior Asian police officer for four years on Monday for attacking a man and trying to frame him in a petty row over money.
Ali Dizaei, 47, was convicted of misconduct in public office and perverting the course of justice following a four-week trial in London, and given a sentence that the judge said was intended as a deterrent for others. The officer will now be sacked for gross misconduct and faces losing all or part of his pension under measures to punish corrupt officers.
Investigators who led the probe against Dizaei branded him a "criminal in uniform" and said he had behaved like a bully.
The jury heard how Iranian-born Dizaei had met his victim, 24-year-old Iraqi businessman Waad al-Baghdadi, in a west London restaurant run by a friend of the police officer in July 2008.
The Iraqi approached Dizaei, who held the rank of commander and rose to become head of the National Black Police Association (NBPA), and asked him for 600 pounds ($940, 685 euros) he was owed for building a website for him.
The policeman grew angry and confronted Baghdadi in a nearby side street where a scuffle took place and the Iraqi was roughly arrested and handcuffed.
Dizaei called for back-up and when the officers arrived, he handed them the metal mouthpiece of a shisha pipe that was held on Baghdadi's keyring and claimed that he had been stabbed with it.
However, a doctor later concluded that two red marks on Dizaei's torso did not match the pipe and were probably self-inflicted.
When Baghdadi was told he would not be charged, he complained about his treatment and suspicions were raised -- marking the beginning of the end of Dizaei's 24-year career with London's Metropolitan Police.
"Dizaei behaved like a bully and the only way to deal with bullies is to stand up to them," said Nick Hardwick, head of the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
"The greatest threat to the reputation of the police service is criminals in uniform like Dizaei," he added.
Sentencing him at London's Southwark Crown Court, the judge told Dizaei that his jail term included a deterrent element "to send a clear message that police officers of whatever rank are not above the law."
He told the police officer: "You knew how the system worked and you thought you would never be discovered. It is to the credit of the investigators in this case that early on they questioned your account."
Dizaei also made headlines in 2008 when he represented Tarique Ghaffur, then Britain's top Muslim police officer, in threatening legal action against then Met chief Sir Ian Blair for discrimination and bullying.
Met chief Paul Stephenson said Monday that Dizaei's "disgraceful behavior" damaged the reputation of the entire police force.
"It is extremely disappointing and concerning that this very senior officer has been found guilty of abusing his position and power," he said.
"The public expect the police to treat them fairly and honestly and we are resolved to tackle corruption at every opportunity. He has breached that trust and damaged not only his own reputation but that of the entire police service."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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The Iraqi approached Dizaei, who held the rank of commander and rose to become head of the National Black Police Association (NBPA)
In all the coverage I've heard of this, no one has questioned how an Iranian could come to be head of the National Black Police Association! Um... he ain't black.
Just because they're not in the news doesn't mean Bob isn't stealing everything that isn't nailed down ...
White-owned companies in Zimbabwe are to be forced to hand majority control to black businessmen in a move that could lead to chaos rivalling the seizure of the country's commercial farms. The new regulations demand that all foreign and locally owned companies hand over at least 51 per cent ownership to black Zimbabweans.
Thousands of firms, including the Zimbabwean operations of giants such as Barclays Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and the mining company Rio Tinto, will be affected, and they must submit their plans to comply by March 1.
The new law plunged the unity government into deeper crisis. Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the former opposition Movement for Democratic Change turned prime minister in the coalition, told The Daily Telegraph the move had been made without his knowledge.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/10/2010
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Yo, Bob. Do dis mean I can be one o dem ontropinours now?
Posted by: Farmin B. Hard ||
02/10/2010 0:05
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#2
But the farm seizures worked so well didn't they?
#3
Somehow I can't work up a lot of sympathy, seein' as how this crap was going on with the farmers right under their noses......
however, having said that, i would not be surprised if maybe there is some pushback..
#5
Rhetorical question I suppose, but does anyone out there besides myself ever wonder why these horrid Zimbob stories never appear on US teevee, or gain an audible comment from our US State Department?
#6
Be sure to take over the airliners. Esp, the one Bobby Z flies.
Posted by: ed ||
02/10/2010 8:10
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#7
Hey, give all those businesses to the Haitians that would work out on the Humanitarian Relief side of the equation but probably be only slightly better for the Zbob economy.
#9
Rhetorical question I suppose, but does anyone out there besides myself ever wonder why these horrid Zimbob stories never appear on US teevee, or gain an audible comment from our US State Department?
Professional courtesy...Socialist usually don't diss other Socialists [until they want to put a knife in their back or ice pick in their head].
[Al Arabiya Latest] U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday the international community was "moving along fairly quickly" toward imposing fresh sanctions on Iran, as the Islamic Republic further expanded its nuclear program.
Obama also said Iran's refusal to accept a U.N.-brokered nuclear fuel supply deal suggested it was intent on trying to build nuclear weapons, despite its insistence that its nuclear program was only for the peaceful generation of electricity.
Obama was asked in an impromptu appearance in the White House briefing room how quickly six key world powers were moving to toughen a regime against Tehran given Iran's enrichment activity.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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#1
It has been said before, but I'll say it again ... our empty suit POTUS has absolutely NOCLUE. What are the new sanctions going to be? Another sternly worded reprimand? Gimme' a break!
So will the Army go out and buy the Xbox? Not quite. Roger Smith, chief technology officer for PEO STRI, the Army command responsible for purchasing training equipment, claims that Microsoft refused to sell him the consoles. Smith told me that he discussed acquiring the Xbox with Microsoft representatives at a trade show back in 2006. According to Smith, the Microsoft executives said they would neither sell the Xbox 360 nor license XNA game development tools to the Army for three reasons:
Microsoft was afraid that the military would buy up lots of Xbox 360s, but would buy only one game for each of them, so MS wouldn't make much money off of the games.
A big military purchase could create a shortage of Xbox 360s.
If the Xbox became an Army training device, it could taint its reputation. Microsoft was concerned that "do we want the Xbox 360 to be seen as having the flavor of a weapon? Do we want Mom and Dad knowing that their kid is buying the same game console as the military trains the SEALs and Rangers on?" Smith told me during an interview for Training & Simulation Journal.
It's hard to believe that Microsoft would risk a public relations disaster by refusing to sell products that would save the lives of American soldiers during time of war. So I contacted Microsoft, and received an e-mail response, or rather a response relayed through their outside PR agency Edelman.
Interesting story. In the mid-80s the agency I worked for after I got out of the Army was in the process of adding personal computers to its inventory and the competitors were Apple and IBM. Apple preferred not to sell to us because they were against war and stuff. IBM was perfectly happy to sell us PC/XTs with with enormous 10mb hard drives running PC/IX. We were very happy with them since we had Apollos and some other brand (can't remember what it was called) for graphics composition. That was a pretty big sale, and I believe DIA went with the IBM product at the same time for compatibility purposes.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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#1
Wehell, I've seen various young men, teens to young adult, playing "COD:MODERN WARFARE 2" at the local Internet Cafe. Their XBOX 360's seem to have little difficulty being hooked up to the Cafe's systems.
FYI "MODERN WARFARE 2" looks pretty good from my vantage point [rear].
#2
It will be interesting to see if IBM offers the Army a product based on the PowerXCell8 graphics-heavy gaming boards. They've used them to great effect in building high end supercomputers for Los Alamos National Labs, teaming them with Opteron PC-sytle boards.
The PowerXCell microprocessor was developed jointly with Sony (it's in Playstation 3s).
#3
But, but, but... I thought that with the new CinC everyone would love America, Ayatollahs would send us flowers and Microsoft would give Xboxes to the Army for free.
#4
Face saving are they? Really, because of existing laws and statutes governing government purchases, Microsoft couldn't afford to handle its liability because of the XBox's Red Ring of Death.
Loads of XBoxes are sold to the Army and Air Force Exchange system, a non-appropriated fund activity [which means the tax payers aren't paying for it], aka as the BX or PX. Those don't have the legal coverage for liability that a direct DoD materials contract has.
#5
I play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 as often as possible and its a rare game when there isn't a cluster of Military online playing as well. Seems the DOD just needs to provide the games and perhaps a rebate for those reluctant or unable and the troops will manage to get their own equipment.
#6
Where are those games at rjschwarz? I seem to end up in rooms where my handful of hours and no map knowledge earns me a tirade by some punk kid who has weeks of game time and gets to cuss at people from distance before mom and dad get home (and I still get'm 1/4 times so I just smile)...but I can tell when players have a plan and tactic..I propose that for the military/police/etc types that comes from the real world training translating into game tactics. For those who get good solely by hours of play, they will not understand the difficulties of humping gear, decisions under dangerous conditions and fatigue, and that a battlefield is a bit more nuanced than the game, as quality as it is.
The Red Ring of Death is real. And there will be those people who would avoid buying an xbox simply because it would be the official game system of the military, that is real as well.
I could envision it, and please correct me if I'm wrong soldiers et al, as a compliment to training like a very interactive powerpoint, but could not be a substitute for getting out in the field simply because there is no depth perception (a learned ability, ever seen someone fresh from the city try to gauge country distances?) or environment stresses.
#7
I had a red ring of death a few years ago. Now my dvd seems to be going. Anyway, I often play without the headset to avoid listening when annoying kids are on, either that or I mute them or block them. I haven't really had any troubles. In Modern Warfare 1 I ran into annoying kids over and over until I simply couldn't stand listening to the headset anymore.
The military members talk smack to each other as well, but its at a higher level. They also tend to cooperate and have clan tags.
[Maghrebia] The Spanish Supreme Court on Monday (February 8th) acquitted Moroccan-born Mohamed El Idrissi, one of four terrorists convicted of helping one of the 2004 Madrid bombers to escape, MAP reported. The court upheld the sentences of Algerian Kamal Ahbar and Moroccan Samir Tahtah for recruiting suicide bombers for Iraq. The Maghreb men were arrested when their terrorist network was dismantled in Barcelona in 2005.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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#1
So how do you acquit someone who has already been convicted? And what does the prison time to? About 16 hours per dead and injured.
Posted by: ed ||
02/10/2010 8:42
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#3
That assumes it's a real discussion. Expect him to come with emotion-laden video clips that leave the impression the R's are heartless SOBs out of touch with real people and their needs. The real audience here is the MSM, wavering Congresscritters and the voting public.
#4
The Dems need to listen before they should speak. If they do anything other than ask questions, then they are doing something other than what is best for America right now. I've heard and feel that I understand very well what they are offering. I don't feel they understand what Republicans want because I never hear those issues addressed by Dems. It's as if they aren't even aware.
#5
I'm waiting for the first commentator who says that Obama is fretting "not having a legacy", like Bill Clinton fretted, once his real legacy was assured.
#6
Why is the Rebups even considering a meeting with this POS? first of all, he doesn't make the laws, Congress does. So that would intimate that the Ds and Rs get together, come up w/ a compromise and then bring that to the Waffler-in-Chief.
this is nothing but show for the mouthbreathing libtards.
#9
Of course it's a trap -- Oblahblah wants a repeat of last week's televised debate where he looks big standing at the Presidential rostrum while his critics look small sitting in the audience like Jerry Springer guests.
Smart thing to do would be to treat this like the funeral of some obscure dictator: send an articulate back-bencher along with the message that the minority leadership is too focused on tax cut legislation to improve the economy to attend this sideshow.
Posted by: regular joe ||
02/10/2010 15:46
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#10
He's never tried to negotiate anything prior to this
Forget his ideology, an even bigger rap against this guy is his track record of never having shepherded ANY piece of complex, major legislation through any legislative body, anywhere. Even (especially?) the man's left-wing supporters can see now that he is totally out of his depth.
#2
Was done with John Bolton. However, the appointment is only good for one year, which is, what with every step, the life expectancy of this administration. Just identify the agencies and departments who's budget is going to be 'tight' in a year when it comes to Congress' turn to fund.
[Dawn] Security forces arrested a militant commander on Tuesday who also happens to be the nephew of Lashkar-e-Islam leader Mangal Bagh during a search operation in Bara Tehsil.
According to an FC official, the action was taken on a tip-off and the arrested militant has been shifted to an unknown location for investigation.
An operation is underway since the past few months and security forces claimed that they have killed at least 100 militants and arrested over 200.
A curfew has been placed in Bara Tehsil while security forces target militant hideouts in the area.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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The United States may slap economic sanctions if the Umno-led Barisan Nasional government fails to resolve two key issues considered crucial by the international community, according to diplomatic sources.
The latest edition of the Pakatan Rakyat weekly, Suara Keadilan, quoting the sources as saying that the administration of President Barrack Obama is demanding a detailed explanation from Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's government on the two missing F-5E jet engines and the series of arson attacks on churches and other places of worship over the last two weeks. It also quoted Wisma Putra [Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs] sources as saying if Najib viewed these issues lightly then Washington could slap economic sanctions on Malaysia.
Wisma Putra sources said Washington's diplomatic note reflects the seriousness of the Obama administration, which until now had only voiced their objections with statements. In an SMS revert to Suara Keadilan, the US embassy's media officer, Tina Malone, said Washington took a serious view of media reports of the missing jet engines, which were manufactured in the US. One of the Wisma Putra sources also confirmed that Waashington had sent a diplomatic note to the Malaysian Government over the petrol bomb attacks and vandalism on Christian churches.
The United States is Malaysia's number one trading partner and in recent years has been ranked among the top three foreign investors. In 2008, it was the second largest investor, with investments totalling RM8.7 billion. Any economic sanction will have a painful effect on the country, which is already suffering from a large deficit.
[Al Arabiya Latest] British legal aid authorities have seized the London home of jailed radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza to recover costs spent on defending him, they said Tuesday.
The Egyptian-born former imam, who has one eye and a hook for one hand, was jailed for seven years in 2007 for inciting followers to murder non-believers, and is fighting extradition to the United States.
The Legal Services Commission (LSC) said it had seized the property in Greenford, west London, and hopes to sell it to pay off some of the 300,000 pounds ($470,000) spent on him.
The LSC "can confirm it has taken possession of Abu Hamza's property, as a contribution to recovering the legal aid costs spent on his defense," said LSC chief executive Carolyn Regan.
"The LSC will not tolerate people trying to conceal their financial assets in an attempt to have their defense costs paid for by the taxpayer," she added.
Abu Hamza is wanted in the United States on charges including setting up an al-Qaeda-style training camp for militants in the northwest state of Oregon.
He is also accused of sending money and recruits to assist Afghanistan's hardline former rulers the Taliban and al-Qaeda and helping a gang of kidnappers in Yemen who abducted a 16-strong party of Western tourists in 1998.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/10/2010
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#1
If I may ..
Ha-ha-ha .
On 7 February 2006 he was found guilty on eleven charges and not guilty on four. He was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment to run concurrently for eight counts and 21 months for the others, giving a total of 57 years and 11 months.
Let me re-iterate
ha-ha-ha ,Im sure we'll give you him soon though
Posted by: Oscar ||
02/10/2010 10:12
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#2
Oooh and the rest of his family :
On 28 May 2009, three of his sons were jailed at Southwark Crown Court for a two-year fraud involving stolen cars. Hamza Kamel, aged 22 and Mohamed Mostafa, aged 27 (both from Acton, London) ran the scam operation with Abu Hamza's stepson Mohssin Ghailam, aged 28. Four other men were jailed on related charges.
Just had a little laugh at the names .. Seems he has a Mustapha Kamel in his ranks ..
Posted by: Oscar ||
02/10/2010 10:16
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
If this guy becomes a Martyr, he's going to be really disappointed with the bearded Virgins. 
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) on Tuesday used the D.C. snowstorm to make a political jab, saying that it provides evidence for global warming skeptics.
[Bangla Daily Star] A final-year student and activist of Bangladesh Chhatra League was hacked to death by cadres of Islami Chhatra Shibir at Rajshahi University early yesterday. 
Top New York Democrats were silent Tuesday as Gov. David Paterson, already fighting to remain politically viable, fought to lay to rest unconfirmed rumors and news reports of womanizing and drug use.
City Councilmember Larry Seabrook was charged Tuesday with presiding over a reign of corruption in the Bronx that included shakedowns, favoritism, nepotism - and even a scam to collect $177 for a $7 bagel and soda.
[Al Arabiya Latest] A German convert to Islam who has admitted involvement in a thwarted plot to blow up U.S. targets in Germany has now "renounced terror", his lawyer said Tuesday, asking for a lighter sentence.
Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) called on Deputy National Security Advisor John Brennan's resignation on Tuesday.
Democrats in Congress are holding White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel accountable for his part in the collapse of healthcare reform.
[Quqnoos] NATO warns Afghan civilians to "keep their heads down" when a major joint military offensive begins in Helmand province. Mark Sedwill, NATO's senior civilian representative in Afghanistan, admitted on Tuesday that the offensive was likely to prompt more people to leave the area.
Two senior aides to Iran's defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi have been released from prison. 
A ransom of 3.1 million dollars has secured the release of a Panamanian-flagged ship and its crew of 26, said the Somali pirates holding the ship since October. 
When British trainers administered random drugs tests to 25 Afghan police recruits at a base in southern Helmand province, most of them failed. One recruit was kicked out of the force. The others were given warnings.
[Al Arabiya Latest] A British court jailed the country's most senior Asian police officer for four years on Monday for attacking a man and trying to frame him in a petty row over money.
[Dawn] Security forces arrested a militant commander on Tuesday who also happens to be the nephew of Lashkar-e-Islam leader Mangal Bagh during a search operation in Bara Tehsil.
[Al Arabiya Latest] British legal aid authorities have seized the London home of jailed radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza to recover costs spent on defending him, they said Tuesday.
