greatest.headline.evah. ht to Herr Morgenholz at AOSHQ!
Mexican authorities say two professional wrestlers found dead in a low-rent hotel in the capital may have been drugged to death by female robbers.
Autopsies are being performed on the two midget wrestlers, one of whom went by the name "La Parkita" or "Little Death" and wore a skeleton costume in the ring. The other was known as "Espectrito Jr."
Authorities say two women were seen leaving the men's hotel room before the bodies were discovered.
Prosecutor Miguel Angel Mancera said Wednesday that gangs of female robbers are experienced at using drugs to knock men out and rob them, but they may have used too strong a dose.
That may have been because of the wrestlers' small stature, although larger men have also died in similar crimes.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/03/2009 10:50 ||
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Do midgets get half off hookers? Or 2 for 1 deals?
Posted by: ed ||
07/03/2009 13:24 Comments ||
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I thought this was going to be a story about midget wrestlers attending a fake town hall meeting with fake reporters and fake prostitutes. They tried to hustle the prostitutes and came up short.
TORRINGTON, Conn. (AP) - Police say a Connecticut girl overheard her mother's screams during sex and thought she was being assaulted, so she rounded up some friends to attack the woman's companion. The 16-year-old girl, two boys and a 19-year-old man were arrested Tuesday and arraigned Wednesday on assault and conspiracy charges.
According to Torrington police and the woman, the girl thought her mother was being attacked on June 6. Police say the teens went into the bedroom and beat the mother's 25-year-old companion with a baseball bat and punched him. The man, Roger Swanson of Torrington, says he suffered a black eye and several bruises.
The woman, Melanie Arnold, denies she screamed. She tells The Associated Press her daughter heard a slap and thought it was an assault.
This is too cool. I clipped a lot but... can any of us even conceive of President Obama (shudder) having friends interested in such a thing?
For more than 200 years, buried deep within Thomas Jefferson's correspondence and papers, there lay a mysterious cipher -- a coded message that appears to have remained unsolved. Until now.
The cryptic message was sent to President Jefferson in December 1801 by his friend and frequent correspondent, Robert Patterson, a mathematics professor at the University of Pennsylvania. President Jefferson and Mr. Patterson were both officials at the American Philosophical Society -- a group that promoted scholarly research in the sciences and humanities -- and were enthusiasts of ciphers and other codes, regularly exchanging letters about them.
In this message, Mr. Patterson set out to show the president and primary author of the Declaration of Independence what he deemed to be a nearly flawless cipher. "The art of secret writing," or writing in cipher, has "engaged the attention both of the states-man & philosopher for many ages," Mr. Patterson wrote. But, he added, most ciphers fall "far short of perfection."
To Mr. Patterson's view, a perfect code had four properties: It should be adaptable to all languages; it should be simple to learn and memorize; it should be easy to write and to read; and most important of all, "it should be absolutely inscrutable to all unacquainted with the particular key or secret for decyphering."
Mr. Patterson then included in the letter an example of a message in his cipher, one that would be so difficult to decode that it would "defy the united ingenuity of the whole human race," he wrote.
The cipher finally met its match in Lawren Smithline, a 36-year-old mathematician. Dr. Smithline has a Ph.D. in mathematics and now works professionally with cryptology, or code-breaking, at the Center for Communications Research in Princeton, N.J., a division of the Institute for Defense Analyses.
The overall calculations necessary to solve the puzzle were fewer than 100,000, which Dr. Smithline says would be "tedious in the 19th century, but doable."
Using that digital key, he was able to unfurl the cipher's text:
"In Congress, July Fourth, one thousand seven hundred and seventy six. A declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. When in the course of human events..."
That, of course, is the beginning -- with a few liberties taken -- to the Declaration of Independence, written at least in part by Jefferson himself. "Patterson played this little joke on Thomas Jefferson," says Dr. Smithline. "And nobody knew until now."
Shanghai (AFP) July 1, 2009 -- General Motors China said Wednesday sales in the world's most populous nation have risen steeply so far in 2009, marking a stark contrast to the auto giant's woes elsewhere. The iconic but struggling US automaker reported its joint ventures sold 814,442 vehicles in China in the first half of 2009, up 38 percent from the same period last year.
That's 1.6 million a year; they're on a pace to sell about 3 million in the U.S.
"China's vehicle market continued to outpace most expectations for growth," GM China Group President Kevin Wale said in a statement. "The market benefited from stimulus policies adopted by the Chinese government as well as growing demand for personal transportation in tier-three and tier-four cities and rural areas."
China overtook the United States to become the world's largest car market for the first time in January.
GM China's fortunes are the reverse image of its US parent, which has filed for bankruptcy, underlining the Asian market's growing importance for the global auto industry. GM's troubles have been further highlighted here in recent weeks after Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co, a little-known Chinese machinery maker, placed a bid to buy its iconic Hummer brand.
Sales from GM's commercial-vehicle joint venture in China with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. Group jumped 49.9 percent to 524,598 units.
"Minivans are at the low end of the auto market, which means their profit margins are thinnest," said John Zeng, a Shanghai-based analyst with consultancy IHS Global Insight. "The jump in sales of these vehicles does not necessarily mean the profitability of the industry is improving."
Sales from the passenger vehicle joint venture, with Shanghai General Motors Corp, reached 288,843. The balance was accounted for by vehicles imported into the country, according to GM China.
The company said it was optimistic about the outlook for the rest of the year. "Vehicle sales in China are expected to remain strong in the second half of 2009," Wale said.
Recent Chinese incentives to stimulate domestic consumption include slashing purchase taxes on cars with engines smaller than 1.6 litres and subsidising alternative energy vehicles.
The China Passenger Car Association has forecast auto sales in the nation could hit a record 11 million units this year, as sales in the rest of 2009 are expected to improve on the first five months, the China Daily reported.
In 2008, vehicles sales in China rose about 6.7 percent to 9.4 million units -- a modest growth rate by Chinese standards as demand was hit by the global downturn. Given the market fundamentals in China and the United States, the current Chinese domination of sales figure is unlikely to last, analysts said.
"China's weight on the global auto market is increasing, but it is unlikely to replace the United States," said Zeng. "It may surpass the US this year as the US market is still in a V-shaped rebound. The US passenger vehicle market is around 16 to 17 million units, and the Chinese market is unlikely to reach that level yet."
#1
I hear GM is changing their name to Gweilo Motors.
Posted by: ed ||
07/03/2009 15:00 Comments ||
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"It may surpass the US this year as the US market is still in a V-shaped rebound. The US passenger vehicle market is around 16 to 17 million units, and the Chinese market is unlikely to reach that level yet.
In 2008, China surpassed the United States to become the world's second largest auto-making nation, and in 2009 is set to displace Japan as the planet's largest car producer, according to iSuppli Corp. Last year, China manufactured 9.3 million cars, while the United States built 8.7 million.
Posted by: ed ||
07/03/2009 15:03 Comments ||
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I got my memories. I can remember when GM was a blue chip investment. You could invest in GM and be certain to earn on your investments. You could count on it was solid. Now it is part of a sordid socialistic nightmare owned by the union and government and worth nothing and it earns nothing.
#4
that is what happens when you have a true stimulus package..china offered direct coupons for purchase of autos..unlike our dictators direct payments to his cronies in our ,cough cough, stimulas package
Posted by: Dan ||
07/03/2009 19:51 Comments ||
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"You don't multiply wealth by dividing it."
Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931-2005
[Maghrebia] Libyan leader and current AU chairman Moamer Kadhafi on Wednesday (July 1st) said Caribbean countries should join the African Union since they are "considered to be African countries", AFP reported. Addressing the 13th African Union Summit of Heads of State in Sirte, Libya, Kadhafi expressed his desire to strengthen ties between Africa and the Caribbean. Representatives of seven Caribbean countries attended the summit as observers.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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Betcha Haiti and The dominican republic will be pissed to hear that, Cuba, Dunno.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/03/2009 1:31 Comments ||
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[Maghrebia] Ten presidential candidates will begin campaigning Thursday (July 2nd) in Mauritania, AFP reported. The three main opposition party leaders - Ahmed Ould Daddah of the RFD, parliamentary speaker Messaoud Ould Boulkheir of the FNDD, and Islamist party Tewassoul leader Jemil Ould Mansour - are among the ten candidates on the provisional list announced Wednesday by the Constitutional Council.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] A Liberian commission calls for prosecution of former president Charles Taylor and seven other former warlords for crimes against humanity.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission announced on Thursday that it is to submit its recommendations to the country's legislature for consideration of the eight accused over their alleged roles in the West African country's civil war.
The offenses include human rights violations, violations of international humanitarian law, international human rights laws, war crimes and egregious domestic economic crimes, the commission added.
Taylor, who launched the 1989 invasion in neighboring Sierra Leone, is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. He is on trial at The Hague over the charges.
Among those recommended for prosecution is Prince Johnson, a former rebel leader who won a landslide victory in the 2005 postwar election and is now a sitting senator.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Former environment secretary Ismail Zabiullah was sent to jail yesterday in a graft case in which he was earlier sentenced to 13 years" imprisonment in absentia.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- Honduras' interim leader said he was open to early elections if it resolves an impasse with the world community, as a top diplomat headed to the Central American nation to demand he restore the president ousted by a coup.
With time running out on a Saturday deadline by the Organization of American States to return President Manuel Zelaya to power, OAS chief Jose Miguel Insulza was to arrive in Honduras Friday to push for his reinstatement. Insulza said he will meet with leaders of Honduras' Supreme Court and Congress -- institutions that approved Sunday's coup -- "basically to clarify exactly what our position is."
But he has said he will not meet with members of Roberto Micheletti's military-backed government, to avoid legitimizing it. It was unclear if Insulza would meet with U.S. Ambassador Hugo Llorens during the visit.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/03/2009 11:14 ||
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#1
But he has said he will not meet with members of Roberto Micheletti's military-backed government, to avoid legitimizing it. It was unclear if Insulza would meet with U.S. Ambassador Hugo Llorens during the visit.
Shit, just pretend he's a short little iranian dude with a bad beard, why don't you?
#3
Goes to show where journalists' hearts and minds are. And people are stupid enough to allow these lefty propagandists to filter information for them.
Posted by: ed ||
07/03/2009 14:13 Comments ||
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At the very least it shows the gullibility of the vast majority of journalists and editors, that it doesn't occur to them to question what they're told. Anyone who passes on such blather should be pink-slipped for incompetence irrespective of their political viewpoints.
July 1 (Bloomberg) -- Hondurass military acted under judicial orders in deposing President Manuel Zelaya, Supreme Court Justice Rosalinda Cruz said, rejecting the view of President Barack Obama and other leaders that he was toppled in a coup.
The only thing the armed forces did was carry out an arrest order, Cruz, 55, said in a telephone interview from the capital, Tegucigalpa. Theres no doubt he was preparing his own coup by conspiring to shut down the congress and courts.
Cruz said the court issued a sealed arrest order for Zelaya on June 26, charging him with treason and abuse of power, among other offenses. Zelaya had repeatedly breached the constitution by pushing ahead with a vote about rewriting the nations charter that the court ruled illegal, and which opponents contend would have paved the way for a prohibited second term.
She compared Zelayas tactics, including his dismissal of the armed forces chief for obeying a court order to impound ballots to be used in the vote, with those of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Some say it was not Zelaya but Chavez governing, she said.
The arrest order she cited, approved unanimously by the courts 15 justices, was released this afternoon along with documents pertaining to a secret investigation that went on for weeks under the high courts supervision.
Zelaya said yesterday he had no plans to seek re-election when his four-year term ends in January. In an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais the day before his overthrow, he said the non-binding vote, which included a question on allowing re- election, would only benefit his successor.
Cruz acknowledged that the interim government faced a very difficult task trying to sway the U.S. and other countries to recognize its authority. But as a sovereign and independent nation, we have the right to freely decide to remove a president who was violating our laws, she said. Unfortunately our voice hasnt been heard.
The United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution yesterday calling for Zelayas reinstatement and asking that no government recognize the interim replacement appointed by congress, Roberto Micheletti. The U.S. was a co-sponsor of the measure.
The U.S. also joined 33 other countries in an emergency session of the Organization of American States yesterday to demand Honduras reinstate Zelaya within 72 hours or face suspension from the Washington-based group. Zelaya said he will return to the country this week, with OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza and Argentinas President Cristina Fernandez.
Cruz said the military decided to shuttle Zelaya out of the country for his safety and that of other Hondurans because riots wouldve erupted had he been held for trial. If he had been allowed to stay in the country, there wouldve been blood on the streets, she said.
Although lawmakers were moving toward impeachment proceedings against Zelaya for trying to conduct the poll, the ouster allows him to portray himself as a victim, said Rafael Lopez, a senior Honduras adviser to the Washington-based International Foundation for Electoral Systems. No country on earth can legally force an elected official into exile without a formal proceeding, he added. The Honduran government cant just take any citizen to an airport and kick them out, let alone a president.
David Matamoros, a member of Honduras Supreme Electoral Tribunal, also defended the militarys action. He said Zelaya originally called the vote a plebiscite, then, when that was barred, shifted to describing it as a poll, creating uncertainty as to its legal standing and his intent. No government agency was willing to conduct the vote, he said. All the ballots and equipment for the illegal poll were flown in on a Venezuelan plane, he said. The court ordered the materials confiscated.
Still, he acknowledged the interim governments hold on power was tenuous. Now we have the international problem, he said in a phone interview from Tegucigalpa. How do we convince people this was in our best interest after the president was kicked out of the country in his pajamas?
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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The Honduran government cant just take any citizen to an airport and kick them out, let alone a president.
The president is not just any citizen. As president I suggest this precedent is applicable:
"whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it"
#2
Article 239: "No citizen who has already served as head of the Executive Branch can be President or Vice-President. Whoever violates this law or proposes its reform [emphasis added], as well as those that support such violation directly or indirectly, will immediately cease in their functions and will be unable to hold any public office for a period of 10 years."
Notice that the article speaks about intent and that it also says "immediately" as in "instant," as in "no trial required," as in "no impeachment needed."
#3
The following was published in the Christian Science Monitor by Octavio Sánchez, a lawyer, and a former presidential adviser (2002-05) and minister of culture (2005-06) of the Republic of Honduras:
..... On June 26, President Zelaya issued a decree ordering all government employees to take part in the "Public Opinion Poll to convene a National Constitutional Assembly." In doing so, Zelaya triggered a constitutional provision that automatically removed him from office ..... His actions showed intent.....
According to Article 239 [of the Honduras Constitution]: "No citizen who has already served as head of the Executive Branch can be President or Vice-President. Whoever violates this law or proposes its reform , as well as those that support such violation directly or indirectly, will immediately cease in their functions and will be unable to hold any public office for a period of 10 years."
Notice that the article speaks about intent and that it also says "immediately" â as in "instant," as in "no trial required," as in "no impeachment needed."
Continuismo â the tendency of heads of state to extend their rule indefinitely â has been the lifeblood of Latin America's authoritarian tradition. The Constitution's provision of instant sanction might sound draconian, but every Latin American democrat knows how much of a threat to our fragile democracies continuismo presents. In Latin America, chiefs of state have often been above the law. The instant sanction of the supreme law has successfully prevented the possibility of a new Honduran continuismo.
The Supreme Court and the attorney general ordered Zelaya's arrest for disobeying several court orders compelling him to obey the Constitution. He was detained and taken to Costa Rica. Why? Congress needed time to convene and remove him from office. With him inside the country that would have been impossible. This decision was taken by the 123 (of the 128) members of Congress present that day.
Don't believe the coup myth. The Honduran military acted entirely within the bounds of the Constitution. The military gained nothing but the respect of the nation by its actions .....
#4
The administration is going the reverse opposite direction on this case. It must back down NOW or risk having a military situation in the south that will be hard to justify.
Reverse order, Obama. New elections are to be heald very soon.
Article in Spanish, computer translation with clean-up by me.
El Salvador reopened this Thursday its border to the commerce with Honduras, after its closing 48 hours before by the proxies of the Group Central America-4 (CA-4) in retaliation by the supposed coup d'etat that deposed the president Manuel Zelaya, reported the Salvadorian government.
"The commerce between El Salvador and Honduras began to be normalized first thing in the morning of this day", stated the Office of the secretary of Communications of the Salvadorian Presidency in a communiqué.
The CA-4, that integrates Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, maintains free commerce, and free traffic of people through its terrestrial borders.
The closing of the borders was criticized by the business dome of El Salvador, that reckoned the losses to be about 3.2 million dollars.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) The head of the Organization of American States is warning that sanctions may be in store for Honduras. OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza says the international community has done "practically everything that can be done" to persuade interim leaders to give up power and restore ousted President Manuel Zelaya.
Insulza said at a news conference in Guyana on Thursday it will be "very hard to turn things around" by a Saturday deadline set by his organization. He says the OAS will discuss sanctions over the weekend.
International diplomats who have threatened and isolated Honduras' coup-spawned government said Thursday they would travel to Honduras in an attempt to persuade the interim leaders to restore the president they ousted.
It was a difficult balance for the Washington-based Organization of American States, which has taken the lead in international efforts to reverse the military overthrow of President Manuel Zelaya: It needs to engage the interim government to get Zelaya back, but can't be seen as compromising with a government it doesn't recognize.
OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza was planning to travel to Honduras on Friday, possibly accompanied by foreign ministers from the region, his deputy Albert Ramdin told The Associated Press. "We want to see a return of President Zelaya on safe and unconditional circumstances back to the country to resume his position," he said. "After that, they can discuss through dialogue whatever differences there are domestically."
Insulza has already made phone calls to former Honduran presidents and religious leaders in Honduras, he said. Talks with interim President Roberto Micheletti himself were apparently barred because the organization fears it would grant legitimacy to his military-backed government.
The OAS has given Hondurans until Saturday to restore Zelaya or be suspended from the organization, and Zelaya has delayed his planned return until after that deadline. Nations around the world have promised to shun Micheletti, who was sworn in after the Sunday coup.
Neighboring countries have imposed trade blockades, major lenders have cut aid, the Obama administration has halted joint military operations and Sweden announced Thursday that all European Union ambassadors have abandoned the Honduran capital.
That has left few ways to negotiate a solution. Micheletti backers have vowed to reject foreign pressure, saying the army acted legally on orders of Congress and the Supreme Court when it raided Zelaya's house amid the rattle of gunfire and deported him, still in his nightshirt.
Zelaya may have helped open an avenue to compromise by saying he will leave office at the end of his term in January and will not try to modify the constitution. He was toppled largely because Congress and the courts accused him of trying to change the constitution illegally to retain power.
But other issues still complicate a solution: Honduran officials say they will arrest Zelaya on more than a dozen charges ranging from corruption to treason if he sets foot in the country. Zelaya's backers say the coup leaders must be punished.
Thousands of people on both sides of the fight were mobilizing again Thursday. On Wednesday, Zelaya supporters held a large march in the capital and many many more Micheletti supporters demonstrated elsewhere. No violence was reported.
Seeking to stem internal unrest, Honduras' Congress approved a bill Wednesday toughening a nighttime curfew in place since the coup. The law gives authorities the power to conduct warrantless arrests and removes constitutional rights to assembly and movement from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. The new government also ordered home Honduras' pro-Zelaya ambassadors to the U.S., the United Nations and the OAS.
The U.N. ambassador, Jorge Arturo Reyna, refused, saying he took orders only from Zelaya, and OAS Ambassador Carlos Sosa called the order "an excellent joke." But Honduras' ambassador to Washington returned home and said he was recognizing Micheletti's government. "This is not a coup d'etat, but rather a process in which a judicial order has been carried out," envoy Roberto Flores Bermudez said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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So, by it's own admission, the OAS doesn't believe in the rule of law?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/03/2009 1:34 Comments ||
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The dude wants to change the constitution to allow an extension of his rule. Sounds undemocratic.
#3
Article 239: "No citizen who has already served as head of the Executive Branch can be President or Vice-President. Whoever violates this law or proposes its reform [emphasis added], as well as those that support such violation directly or indirectly, will immediately cease in their functions and will be unable to hold any public office for a period of 10 years."
Notice that the article speaks about intent and that it also says "immediately" as in "instant," as in "no trial required," as in "no impeachment needed."
Its a built in clause to prevent exactly the subversion that the assclown Zelaya is trying to do. And our dictator-loving president Barack "the F***wit" Obama supports imposition of this criminal by external force.
What happens when you put a Muslim imam, a Christian priest, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk in a room with 10 atheists?
Turkish television station Kanal T hopes the answer is a ratings success as it prepares to launch a gameshow where spiritual guides from the four faiths will seek to convert a group of non-believers. The prize for converts will be a pilgrimage to a holy site of their chosen religion -- Mecca for Muslims, the Vatican for Christians, Jerusalem for Jews and Tibet for Buddhists.
But religious authorities in Muslim but secular Turkey are not amused by the twist on the popular reality game show format and the Religious Affairs Directorate is refusing to provide an imam for the show. "Doing something like this for the sake of ratings is disrespectful to all religions. Religion should not be a subject for entertainment programs," High Board of Religious Affairs Chairman Hamza Aktan told state news agency Anatolian after news of the planned program emerged.
The makers of "Penitents Compete" are unrepentant and reject claims that the show, scheduled to begin broadcasting in September, will cheapen religion. "We are giving the biggest prize in the world, the gift of belief in God," Kanal T chief executive Seyhan Soylu told Reuters. "We don't approve of anyone being an atheist. God is great and it doesn't matter which religion you believe in. The important thing is to believe," Soylu said.
Some 200 people have so far applied to take part in the show and the 10 contestants will be chosen next month. A team of theologians will ensure that the atheists are truly non-believers and are not just seeking fame or a free holiday.
[Iran Press TV Latest] Italy has adopted a controversial law against illegal immigration, including a measure allowing citizens to mount their own patrols.
Under the new law, illegal immigration becomes a criminal offence; anyone caught housing an illegal immigrant could face jail; and parents registering a baby's birth have to present papers to show they are legal residents.
Perhaps the most controversial part of the legislation, passed on Thursday, is that it permits "citizens groups" to mount patrols on the lookout for public order offences.
After objections that they would be little more than vigilante groups, the local authorities said that they would monitor their activities, AFP reported.
Parents will also have to present their passport or residency permit when they declare the birth of a child, which some critics have warned could lead to a generation of "invisible" children growing up outside the system.
During its slow passage through parliament, the opposition denounced the measures as reminiscent of Italy's Fascist era.
The new law would "deprive children of their most basic rights," said Raffaele Salinari, the president of the Italian branch of Terre des Hommes, a campaign group dedicated to protecting the rights of children.
While other European countries have not actually criminalized illegal immigration, several, including France and Greece, have adopted similar measures.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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> Perhaps the most controversial part of the legislation, passed on Thursday, is that it permits "citizens groups" to mount patrols on the lookout for public order offences.
This is actually the idea behind the original police, before the state messed things up.
#5
So Italy is not courting the votes of illegal immigrants? They are actually protecting their borders?
Between 1986 and 1998, the Italian government held 4 amnesties, granting citizenship to about 700,000 people. But this did not solve the problem, it actually ended up attracting more migrants....Unfortunately, not only did these amnesties cost the government a lot of money, they made Italy's immigration policies appear lenient. This in turn has made even more foreigners want to move there, and since there is so much red tape involved with getting legal citizenship, many choose to enter the country illegally.
So much for the liberal dream of amnesty for illegals...
WASILLA, Alaska (AP) - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says she will resign from office July 26. Her spokesman wouldn't say why Palin decided to step down, but the announcement stirred speculation that she would focus on a bid for the 2012 Republican nomination for president.
Spokesman Dave Murrow says Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell will be inaugurated at the governor's picnic in Fairbanks at the end of the month.
This makes no sense. She should finish her term. Americans don't like quitters.
Is there something in her closet?
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/03/2009 15:39 ||
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#1
I think she's reached the point where she's beginning to carry a gun everywhere with her, and wanting desperately to use it. I think her early retirement is to give her lt.gov some experience before he runs for the job. I think the last hit on Trig was the straw that broke the camel's back. Personally, I think she should re-form the Bull Moose Party, and run against both our current "president" and whoever the Repuglycons put up. I think, however, she'll sit the next election out, give her family a bit of time to grow up some more, and run in 2016.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/03/2009 21:07 Comments ||
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WASHINGTON (CNN) Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is expected to announce Friday that she will not seek a second term, three sources tell CNN. Palin has scheduled a 3 p.m. ET news conference at her home in Wasilla. The governors office offered no further details about the subject of the news conference, but the sources tell CNN that Palin will announce her decision to forgo another run.
"She thinks she has accomplished goals she has set forward," one of the sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said. "She sees what a positive influence she has had on people's lives from traveling the country in the last year."
As the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, Palin is considered one of the frontrunners for the GOP nomination in 2012. Her decision not to seek another term as governor is sure to stoke speculation that Palin is seriously eyeing a run for the White House.
No, it means she's going to run for the Senate in 2010 ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/03/2009 15:37 ||
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He brother is saying she was spending %80 of her time legally defending herself from frivolous suits from the left.
#2
She is also resigning which to me is not a smart thing to do if you seek higher office. Personally I am dissapointed, she connected to us folks in fly over country better than any politician I can remember.
#3
She is setting her self up for 2012. She learned some good lessons and I'm with Seve in that she will run for Senate. Her voting will show the nay sayers how she stands, get the respect and build her leadership for 2012. The girls got tenacity, watch Palen tear up DC. Bring popcorn.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/03/2009 16:22 Comments ||
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#4
Alaskans will lay pine boughs at her feet along the road to the Senate. I wish her and her lekker family well in all their endeavors.
#5
Running for the senate, or not, nobody is talking about the fact that the Palins have paid $500,000 in legal fees responding to frivolous ethics complaints over the past year and a half - the Palin's don't make the kind of money required to maintain that kind of legal spending and remain solvent. I'll bet she didn't have much choice, either she puts an end to the ethics probe legal spending, or the family goes bankrupt, and the only way to make the moonbat complaints stop is to resign from the Governorship.
#6
the only way to make the moonbat complaints stop is to resign from the Governorship.
or arm and deputize Todd with a 00 number
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/03/2009 17:11 Comments ||
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#7
How many people would attend a TEA party if Sarah was the speaker? The Republicans don't like her, the democrats despise her, but she is very popular with middle America. Perhaps it is time for a legitimate third party candidate.
#9
Beoserker: then if she runs third party the Republicans better wise up and not run anyone.
I suspect if the national party had wanted to help defend her they could have. I think Steele has been a disaster in not being proactive enough to fight this sort of thing. They let office politics take precedence over winning while the democrats looked on politics as conquest-by-means-other-than-war.
If the Republicans won't be serious we need a serious patriotic party that is.
Life is too short to compromise time and resources... it may be tempting and more comfortable to just keep your head down, plod along, and appease those who demand: "Sit down and shut up", but that's the worthless, easy path; that's a quitter's way out. And a problem in our country today is apathy. It would be apathetic to just hunker down and go with the flow.
#11
You make an excellent point Snowy Mtn. I like Mike Steele but in spite of his best efforts, he has failed to show any signs of mustering the Republican party. Consider this:
a. Mike Steele resigns and Sarah Palin steps in to rally the Republican party.
b. Mitt Romney becomes Rep. front runner with Newt Gingrich as his running mate.
c. Palin becomes SECDEF under a Romney administrtion.
d. Palin becomes Secretary of State during a Romney second term.
e. Palin still in her mid-50's runs for President in 2020.
#13
and what has the Republican party done for conservatives, this is not Perot. This candidate threw out bums from both parties in Alaska, drew enormous crowds as a vp candidate, is not afraid to attack the political elites and their lapdog media talking heads. This might be the begining of a third party and the restoration of middle American Values. or so I can wish.
#15
The way the repubs are acting, with their milqetoask manner and not going for the throat, shows that they are virtually finished.
Both parties have failed the country. They both need to go.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/03/2009 20:07 Comments ||
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#16
I think the country would be better off if she became the anti-Oprah/Springer. A daytime TV show to deprogram the masses of women and stress family, community, country, responsibility.
Posted by: ed ||
07/03/2009 20:11 Comments ||
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#17
Beoserker, y'know, it's as the first Republican president said to one of his generals, "Could I borrow your army as long as you're not using it?"
It's time for the Republican "leadership" to start acting like a party again. You know, try to line up candidates for 2010, etc., like the Democrats did in 2006 and 2008.
#18
In case you hadn't noticed, the GOP is finished anyway. John McStain at the Presidential candidate who refused to engage Obama's lies head on? Idiot RINO Sentaros that voted for the Stimulus? Bush's "Big Government" medicare expansion? "Benedict" Arlen Specter with McStain screwing us on judges with the "Gang of 14" bullcrap? And most lately, the 8 Cap And Tax traitors in the house?
Is there really a GOP left that's worth doing anything to save?
#19
McCain is gone. His empty-headed daughter lives, but won't be a GOP supporter. I'd expect Romney to be the frontrunner next run. People might be open to economic competence and bizniss expertise by then
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/03/2009 20:29 Comments ||
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#20
As long as you ignore his health plans.
Also, when the sort of smear machine that was turned on Palin gets turned on Romney... it's gonna be bad.
The chain emails will be quoting everything non-progressive in the Book of Mormon and ending with "And Romney refuses to repudiate this."
#21
Oh criminy, people, the way everyone is wringing their hands I'd better buy the five-gallon size of lotion for y'all. I'll set it up on the bar at the O-Club.
Man up.
I like Sarah as a pol and a citizen. Not sure why she did this but we'll find out. If she runs for national office I'll look closely, but she'd better bring the real goods.
In the meantime the Republican party is NOT finished. It put up a lousy candidate (for whom I voted) who, running against a charismatic empty suit with the MSM blocking for him and the Dems stealing votes every way they could, STILL got 46% of the vote.
And a fair number of independents and moderates voted for Obama because they thought it would be cool to have a black prez (argue against that, why don't you). That won't happen again in '12.
The Pubs are not finished. The Pubs need to find a voice, a strategy, some candidates and some courage. They've done it before. They might do it again.
In early 2005 the Dems had no idea that Barack Obama would win the whole show. In 1997 George W Bush was on virtually no one's radar. And nobody thought Slick Willie would win in 92 because he talked too long and liked blondes too much.
So stop with the despair.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/03/2009 22:29 Comments ||
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#22
Bitchslap! RB style.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/03/2009 22:50 Comments ||
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#23
Steve, some of what I feel is despair, and some of what I feel is being p1ssed off.
The remaining management of the republican party needs to do some soul-searching.
If they don't have a use for it, I think I'd like to borrow it, or barring that, start my own.
#24
No despair here, I just don't like either of the representative parties because they don't represent me. I think Sarah has an opportunity to take a fiscal conservative, strong defense, anti corruption, anti elite bullshit media theme and shake the two party system. Call the party what you will but I hope she does it just so I can vote for someone I want to rather than the lesser of two evils.
Veteran Japanese diplomat Yukiya Amano won the contest on Thursday to head the International Atomic Energy Agency, giving him a pivotal role in dealing with Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Tokyo's current envoy to the UN nuclear watchdog was chosen after six rounds of voting when he scraped together the requisite two-thirds majority with backing of 23 of the 35 board members. Eleven voted against and one abstained.
Seen as the Western states' candidate to succeed outgoing director-general Mohamed ElBaradei, Amano had been running against South African ambassador Abdul Samad Minty, the perceived favourite among developing countries.
Under the rules of procedure, all 145 IAEA member states are to meet again on Friday where they will formally appoint Amano "by acclamation" and his appointment will need the final go-ahead at a general conference in September.
Egyptian Writer Muhammad Ibrahim Mabrouk: Columbus Was Trying to Recruit the Chinese Emperor to the Liberation of Jerusalem When He Stumbled Upon America
Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian writer Muhammad Ibrahim Mabrouk, which aired on Al-Majd TV on April 27, 2009.
"Columbus Wanted to Liberate Jerusalem From the Muslims"
Interviewer: "American society was not born and did not grow in the United States. It is a mixed society - a society of immigrants, of different nationalities. How can it be claimed that this society in its entirety was melted down into a single, utilitarian doctrine, if the original societies, which go back hundreds of years, were not able to melt down its people into a united society?"
Muhammad Ibrahim Mabrouk: "The main characteristic at the basis of a certain society... The ideology or concepts upon which a certain society is based become the main characteristics of the people who join it later.
"I will try to present some of the concepts... How was American society formed? It might come as a surprise to the viewers that when Christopher Columbus went to America... It is taught in every school that he..."
Interviewer: "... discovered [America]."
Muhammad Ibrahim Mabrouk: "Yes, he discovered it when he was on his way to India, from the other direction. He stumbled upon America and discovered it."
Interviewer: "You say that this is what we are taught. Do you have a different idea?"
Muhammad Ibrahim Mabrouk: "Of course. It wasn't like that at all. This is mentioned in a Western book titled The Conquest of America, which was translated by Shuruq Publishers."
Interviewer: "It was fabricated? It's a lie?"
Muhammad Ibrahim Mabrouk: "Completely fabricated. It is mentioned in the memoirs of Christopher Columbus..."
Interviewer: "So what is the truth?"
Muhammad Ibrahim Mabrouk: "The truth is that Christopher Columbus wanted to liberate Jerusalem from the Muslims. He was trying to reach the Chinese emperor.
"Europe had failed completely in its efforts to attack the Muslims, and to take Jerusalem from them. Columbus wanted to reach the Chinese emperor from the other direction, and to convince him to give him cavalry in order to liberate Jerusalem.
"Imagine, the whole thing is about aggression. He stumbled upon this new continent. When Christopher Columbus discovered this continent...
"It's not like we've been told - that he met a group of barbarian Indians. According to anthropological studies, the Indians have a civilization that is 12,000 years old - the Mayan civilization.
"It's not that he didn't encounter a civilization, but the annihilation of that civilization by the pioneers who came with Columbus, and later by the Dutch, the British, and the Portuguese..."
The Puritans Sought To Annihilate the Natives in Their 'New Israel' - According to the 'Notion of Annihilation That Appears in the Jewish Books'
"The most significant component of America to this day is the Pu... Pur... Puritans, who were of English origin."
Interviewer: "Could you say it again, as it's such a difficult word?"
Muhammad Ibrahim Mabrouk: "The Puritans. They were English Protestants. They believed - according to Protestant leaders Luther and Calvin - that some people are destined to go to Heaven, while others are destined to go to Hell, and they were among those who were going to Heaven. America means to them what Israel means to the Jews. It is the 'New Israel.' So, just like is written in the Book of Isaiah, they should annihilate the people that lived in this 'Israel.'
"This is the notion of annihilation that appears in the Jewish books. By annihilating the Indians, they would get closer to their god.
[...]
"Three percent of the people in New York have AIDS. Half of the children in England are illegitimate. 40% of all 15-year-old girls in the US have lost their virginity."
Interviewer: "In an illegitimate way, mind you..."
Muhammad Ibrahim Mabrouk: "What does Christianity have to say about this?"
#2
Funny how the interviewer added the bit on losing virginity because in Islam one can be 15 and legitimately lose you virginity and they see the west as mideviel.
#3
Maybe he came to America to rescue the Nephites.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
07/03/2009 9:47 Comments ||
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#4
As a Lutheran it is news to me that we believe in predestination!
heh heh...
This before you dig into the rest of his crap.
I don't recall Luther nailing anything about predestination on any church door.
I don't recall anything about it in Luther's Catechism.
I don't recall Luther wanting Chinese armies to invade the Holy Land. I think he was kind of busy with some of the Pope's.
On other points - where does he mention old Christopher hanging out in Iceland for a few years. Its kind-of-important to the story as we know the Vikings were in the New World.
I suspect he read the book 1421 the year China discovered the world.
It didn't matter who discovered the New World.. The difference with Chris is that he exploited his discovery to the max!
Nobody else did.
And... if he really wanted to attack the Holy Land he would have arranged some other method.
Now... some Portuguese did have that dream but they got sidetracked by the wealth of the spice trade and never got around to attacking Mecca. They did have a nasty battle with the Egyptian fleets in the Red Sea though.. Kind of sunk them.. then grabbed Aden...
An original first print of the American Declaration of Independence has been discovered gathering dust in Britain. The document that changed history was approved on July 4, 1776, and this is one of only 26 copies known to have survived out of 200 printed that night.
The poster size proclamation is in perfect condition and is said to be worth £5million.
It was found by chance by an American antiquarian bookseller carrying out unrelated research in the National Archives in Kew, West London. The manuscript was hidden among correspondence from U.S. colonists that had been intercepted by the British in the 18th century.
The Declaration, which helped establish the guiding principles of modern democracy, was written mainly by U.S. Founding Father Thomas Jefferson and is described by historians as 'America's birth certificate'. It includes the then extraordinary assertion: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,' which paved the way for the French Revolution 13 years later. It was signed by 56 delegates from the 13 American colonies that were at war with Britain.
The 200 first copies were made by printer John Dunlap that night and distributed throughout the colonies the following morning to be read aloud to the colonists and their militia.
It is not certain how the newly discovered copy came into British hands, but it is likely to have been captured by the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War which continued for seven years after the Declaration of Independence was signed.
The last discovery of a Dunlap print was at a flea market in 1989, and it sold at auction in 2000 for £4.94 million.
Despite its value, the National Archives said it will not be selling the print, although it might be loaned to former foes in the U.S.
'The Americans are very excited by it,' said a spokesman. 'We do often loan out our key documents and I'm sure if an American institution wanted to borrow it, we would consider lending it to them.
'It's amazing that it has been lying here for so long undetected. It just shows how many documents we have.'
Edward Hampshire, the diplomatic and colonial specialist at the National Archives, said it was an incredibly exciting find. 'It is likely that only around 200 of these were ever printed, so uncovering a new one nearly 250 years later is extremely rare, especially one in such good condition'.
The National Archives already has two other copies of the Declaration of Independence, one of which it keeps on display.
[Straits Times] MALAYSIAN opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has lost a final bid to have his sodomy trial held in a lower court, ending a long wrangle over where the case should be heard, his lawyer said on Thursday. The Court of Appeal rejected the application and affirmed an earlier decision that the politically charged case should be heard in the High Court. The trial is due to start July 8.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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[Straits Times] A FORMER child survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime's main torture centre sobbed on Thursday as he told Cambodia's war crimes court of his harrowing separation from his mother at the jail.
Norng Chan Phal, who was around nine years old at the time, also described seeing bodies when Tuol Sleng prison was finally liberated after invading Vietnamese-backed forces toppled the 1975-1979 movement. He was testifying at the trial of jail chief Duch, who is accused of overseeing the torture and execution of around 15,000 people who passed through Tuol Sleng.
'I could see my mother on the second floor with her hands on the bars of the window looking at me and she did not say even a single word to us,' Norng Chan Phal said of the last time he saw her.
Norng Chan Phal, now 39, said they had been promised they were going to meet his Khmer Rouge cadre father in the capital Phnom Penh, but they were locked in a room on their first night at Tuol Sleng and would never see him.
'When my jeep took us to that location, I and my brother were happy because we could ride on a jeep. But then we were threatened and my mother was forced to get off the jeep and she was not very well,' he told the court. 'They (Khmer Rouge cadres) shouted and threatened her and I was also terrified,' Norng Chan Phal said.
He and his younger brother were then separated from his mother the next day, he said. In 1979 Vietnamese-backed troops found the two brothers hiding along with three other children at the prison, a former high school.
He said the youngsters at Tuol Sleng were placed under the care of an old woman at a workshop and usually given two meals per day, but they never bathed and were not permitted to wander.
In April 1979, when the Khmer Rouge regime collapsed, the back entrance of the prison was flung wide open and 'there seemed to be a rush' of people leaving Tuol Sleng, he said. He remembered that the old woman insisted he leave through the back gate, but he hid near a pile of clothes instead.
'I was behind the building. I was looking and waiting to see my mother,' he said. 'I saw an opened door and climbed upstairs to the second floor to look through the opened door, but I could not find my mother.'
Norng Chan Phal said he then ran to the adjacent building and stumbled on a gruesome scene. 'I saw people lying inside the room and maybe they already died, although they were not swollen. I could see them lying on the beds and there was blood and I was scared,' he told the court.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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[Straits Times] CANCER-STRICKEN former Philippine President Corazon Aquino left the intensive care unit and was in stable condition, her spokeswoman said on Thursday, as prayers for her recovery poured in from friends and even political enemies.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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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.
Shanghai (AFP) July 1, 2009 -- General Motors China said Wednesday sales in the world's most populous nation have risen steeply so far in 2009, marking a stark contrast to the auto giant's woes elsewhere. The iconic but struggling US automaker reported its joint ventures sold 814,442 vehicles in China in the first half of 2009, up 38 percent from the same period last year.
[Maghrebia] Ten presidential candidates will begin campaigning Thursday (July 2nd) in Mauritania, AFP reported. The three main opposition party leaders - Ahmed Ould Daddah of the RFD, parliamentary speaker Messaoud Ould Boulkheir of the FNDD, and Islamist party Tewassoul leader Jemil Ould Mansour - are among the ten candidates on the provisional list announced Wednesday by the Constitutional Council.
[Iran Press TV Latest] A Liberian commission calls for prosecution of former president Charles Taylor and seven other former warlords for crimes against humanity. 
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) The head of the Organization of American States is warning that sanctions may be in store for Honduras. OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza says the international community has done "practically everything that can be done" to persuade interim leaders to give up power and restore ousted President Manuel Zelaya.
What happens when you put a Muslim imam, a Christian priest, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk in a room with 10 atheists? 
WASILLA, Alaska (AP) - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says she will resign from office July 26. Her spokesman wouldn't say why Palin decided to step down, but the announcement stirred speculation that she would focus on a bid for the 2012 Republican nomination for president.
