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Syrian Ex-VP and Muslim Brotherhood Put Past Behind Them
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 3: Non-WoT
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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Man goes bankrupt turning apartment into Star Trek: Voyager
Tony Alleyne, the man who turned his apartment into the Star Trek Starship Voyager has gone bankrupt. He started transforming his apartment after his wife left him when he replaced the refrigerator with a 'warp coil'. The apartment is located in Hinckley, Leics, has moulded walls, touch-panel blue lighting, and a command console. He even built a life-size model of the show's transporter room with reshaped windows to look like portholes and set up vertical lights to give the illusion of being beamed up. Tony at one time had the apartment for auction on eBay for $2 million but had no luck in selling. Tony maxed out 14 credit cards accumulating £100,000 in debt.
Ouch! That's a lot of interest.
His goal was to lure other Trekkies to pay him to convert their humble abodes.
Commonly known to economists as the "Bigger Fool" theory.
If you start as the biggest fool ...
Here's what Tony has to say on his grand plan: "But I was wrong and just overstretched. Building it in my apartment was the enjoyable and easy bit. But then I got hooked up with marketing and merchandise people here and in America and it all got out of hand.

"I'm still proud of what I created but it's been a financial disaster."

At least with all that credit card use, he probably earned a trip to space with all the accumulated airmiles. Here is Tony's Official Website: 24th Century Interior Design
This is a Flash file. I don't know if it does anything. Caveat Surfer.
Posted by: Jackal || 02/08/2006 21:06 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This is a Flash file. I don't know if it does anything. Caveat Surfer.

"We are the Macromedia. Your computer's individuality and distinctiveness will be added to our own. You will be assimilated..."
Posted by: Phil || 02/08/2006 22:28 Comments || Top||


Spengler calls for reverse Berlin airlift.
Excerpt from the Asia Times Journalist:Spengler discussion
Carlsberg in Europe (all forms) - Yummy ... Carlsberg in bottles in the US - skunky! the only way to get it here is from a tap, and not many of those around,... is it just shipping time or what?
{Spengler 02/07/2006 : 18:38:30} Beer should be drunk fresh, of course. It is shipping time and nothing else. The US should repeat the Berlin airlift, this time to bring fresh Carlsberg to Americans.

I'll drink to that
Posted by: Snuns Thromp1484 || 02/08/2006 19:36 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Boy howdy, if we could only get Carlsburg's black label holiday brew here stateside. It's the schizne. I prefer Tuborg but that has only recently been brought back to market in America. They essentially p!ssed away their trade name by letting Miller brew that Tuborg Gold swill. Blind tastings could not distinguish Tuborg Gold from other Miller products.

All beer drinkers owe Carlsburg a great debt. Emil Christian Hansen, a Carlsburg employee was the first to successfully isolated the pure strain of brewer's yeast back in 1883. Before then, beer brewing was mainly a winter time activity when summer's warmer temperatures could not activate other wild strains of yeast that tended to sour the beer. Thanks to Hansen, we can brew beer year-round.

SKOAL!
Posted by: Zenster || 02/08/2006 22:50 Comments || Top||


Seething Midwest Explodes Over Lombardi Cartoons
Posted by: BrerRabbit || 02/08/2006 10:34 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Ooops, this was supposed to show up in page 3.
Posted by: BrerRabbit || 02/08/2006 10:53 Comments || Top||

#2  *snort-giggle*
Posted by: Ptah || 02/08/2006 10:54 Comments || Top||

#3  I assure you we aren't all like that. But some of us are.
Posted by: Cheaderhead || 02/08/2006 11:13 Comments || Top||

#4  Do NOT insult the Prophet (Touchdowns Be Upon Him).
Posted by: ed || 02/08/2006 11:46 Comments || Top||

#5  Wow ... that was a good laugh! Makes this old 'scony boy miss home a bit. ;-)
Posted by: ExtremeModerate || 02/08/2006 12:15 Comments || Top||

#6  If this cartoon was to show up in the Press-Gazette, Main Street (between Ashland and Webster) WOULD be ablaze. Lombardi Ave. & Holmgren Way (both high on the list of 'sacred sites') would remain calm, however.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 02/08/2006 12:30 Comments || Top||

#7  "Those who sow the curds of blasphemy will reap the cheddar wheel of destruction,” he added cryptically.

Snigger. Have the Kurds hear about this?
Posted by: Zenster || 02/08/2006 15:33 Comments || Top||

#8  How DARE you raise false Gods before Woody Hayes!!
Posted by: Brutus Buckeye || 02/08/2006 20:13 Comments || Top||

#9  They may attack New York and Washington, they may burn cartoons and Danish flags, they may burn embassies -- but even Allan can not save them if they assault the Midwest.
Posted by: Darrell || 02/08/2006 21:08 Comments || Top||

#10  LOL - the Hawk can certainly write - and nail BS - with the best. Imagine having him as you Bio Lab partner or being on the Speech debate team with him in HS, LOL.
Posted by: .com || 02/08/2006 21:09 Comments || Top||


Karate experts to defend auto show from parrots
No, this is not Scrappleface. Hat tip: View through the windshield

Organizers of a vintage car rally in New Zealand have hired karate experts to protect vehicles from marauding native parrots, a news report said Friday. About 40 members of a karate club have been enlisted to protect some 140 classic cars due to visit an alpine village near Mount Cook on New Zealand's South Island on Sunday, the New Zealand Press Association reported. The karate experts will protect the cars from Keas, sharp-beaked native parrots which have been known to damage vehicles in their search for shiny items, NZPA said.

Denis Callesen, manager of the nearby Hermitage Hotel, said bird lovers needn't be concerned the karate experts would use martial arts moves on the parrots, which are a protected species. Their job would simply be to scare the birds away, he said.

Local wildlife ranger Ray Bellringer said the karate masters are unlikely to deter the Keas. "They will fly around and laugh," he said.

The best method to prevent Keas from damaging vehicles is to squirt them with shotguns water pistols, he added.
Honest to Gawd, we don't make this stuff up.
Posted by: Jackal || 02/08/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Yeah, they will laugh at karatekas, no doubt, but wait until the thai kickboxers and the MMA fighters are called in... then, theses birdies will understand what a real ass-kicking is!
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 02/08/2006 8:11 Comments || Top||

#2  Meh. I'l see your karate experts and raise you a 9th degree master of Tai-Kwan-Leap. (And do click on the audio link.)
Posted by: Seafarious || 02/08/2006 10:10 Comments || Top||

#3  Boot to the head.


Peeve: As funny as that skit is, and the Frantics were in general, the song "Boot to the Head" describes "people voting Republican" as deserving a boot to the head. Keep in mind, the Frantics were Canadian.
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 02/08/2006 10:11 Comments || Top||

#4  I heard a segment on BBC news about this. Not quite as silly as it sounds. One of the guys in the car club taught karate and suggested hiring guys from the karate club to stand around and shoo off parrots. The fact that they are karate students is completely incidental to their task.
Posted by: SteveS || 02/08/2006 10:14 Comments || Top||

#5  This is one of the all-time great Rantburg headlines.
Posted by: Angie Schultz || 02/08/2006 13:01 Comments || Top||

#6  Maybe it could be made into a chopsocky movie.

Master of the flying parakeet?

Drunken Macaw Kung-Fu?

Champion of guacamole?
Posted by: Anonymoose || 02/08/2006 13:17 Comments || Top||

#7  Saw a prog on this before. Apparently, those parrots are quite capable of grabbing hold of and pulling off a car's exposed weatherstripping, something they seem to take enjoyment in doing.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 02/08/2006 13:26 Comments || Top||

#8  How about hiring shao-lin monks who will use the eagle or crane kung-fu style for some bird-on-bird violence.
Posted by: radrh8r || 02/08/2006 17:07 Comments || Top||

#9  Ululating Muslims. That would frighten parrots
Posted by: JFM || 02/08/2006 18:12 Comments || Top||

#10  This just in, said parrots have hired fighting cocks from the Philipines to protect them during their car raids. Their leader was quoted as saying
Awk, we'll see who gets an ass kicking, awk !
Posted by: wxjames || 02/08/2006 18:43 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Kuwaiti emir appoints crown prince as prime minister
Kuwait's new emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah appointed Tuesday Interior Minister Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed al-Sabah as crown prince and Sheikh Nasser Mohammed al-Ahmed al-Sabah as prime minister. The appointments were made in two decrees. Sheikh Nawaf is the emir's half-brother and has held the post of first deputy prime minister since 2003, while Sheikh Nasser has been the minister of the emiri court since 1998. The crown prince's appointment to become effective needs to be approved by a majority in the oil-rich emirate's elected parliament. Under the constitution, the new premier, a nephew of the emir, has two weeks to form a government which must first be approved by the emir and take the oath of office in parliament before assuming power.

The two men are from the Al-Jaber branch of the Al-Sabah ruling family, which by tradition has been alternating the leadership of the state with the Al-Salem branch for the past 85 years. The appointment follows a crisis of succession in Kuwait that saw ailing emir Sheikh Saad al-Abdallah al-Sabah voted out of office after only nine days in power following the death of his predecessor Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah on January 15. Sheikh Sabah was later nominated as new ruler and was confirmed by parliament on January 29. He was sworn in the same day.
Can't tell the Sabahs without a scorecard.
Posted by: Fred || 02/08/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  My congratulations to Sheikh al-Sabah. Mind the aggressive ring road drivers.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/08/2006 10:06 Comments || Top||

#2  Good. Now that that's been handled, can I go back to the mall? I'm in desperate need of a pair of sparkly, pink sandles, and a pedicure to match.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/08/2006 13:07 Comments || Top||

#3  If you're headed to Shark TW, bring me back a nice Latte from Starbucks please.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/08/2006 13:40 Comments || Top||

#4  By the time I'm done, Besoeker, it'll be cold. Why don't you have some tea and a milk tart from the sideboard over there, instead? ;-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/08/2006 14:35 Comments || Top||

#5  Whahahahahaa.... very civilized TW. I think I will indeed, then possibly a nice nap (after the 3rd milk tart).
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/08/2006 14:45 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Evo Morales
Interesting tidbit from StrategyPage. There was a discussion here about whether Morales was from the same mold as Castro and Chavez. Changing into a suit does not make one a moderate.
February 8, 2006: While the Chinese get blamed for having an adventurous foreign policy, they are actually quite prudent. The Chinese often turn down opportunities to get their weapons, or troops (as trainers, advisors, or whatever) into distant lands. A recent example of this occurred when leftist Evo Morales, the newly elected president of Bolivia, visited China. He made a big pitch for significant aid, apparently invoking revolutionary rhetoric about " fighting the Imperialists." The Chinese made polite noises, promised some aid, and did not commit themselves. This seems to be in keeping with recent Chinese policy, to be publicly somewhat distant from the US, but to support its actions – or at least not oppose them – when it comes to real issues.
Posted by: ed || 02/08/2006 09:47 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Of course, they are in a delicate balencing act with the US financially.
Posted by: bk || 02/08/2006 12:14 Comments || Top||

#2  No, just don't know or haven't discovered it yet.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/08/2006 21:56 Comments || Top||


Violent start to Haiti elections
Voting got off to a rough start in volatile Haiti as angry mobs stormed voting centres that failed to open on time, with one person dying of a heart attack and another of asphyxia. Several more people were injured or fainted as they were trampled or shoved by crowds that rushed voting offices. Many voters rose well before dawn, walked for several hours only to wait in long lines to cast their ballot in the first election since Jean Bertrand Aristide, the former president, fled the violence-wracked country two years ago. There were no reports of violence overnight. "We had a very calm night, contrary to past election eves in Haiti," said Juan Gabriel Valdez, the UN special representative to Haiti.
Posted by: Fred || 02/08/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  There were no reports of violence overnight. "We had a very calm night, contrary to past election eves in Haiti," but we desperately need President Jimmy Carder down here said Juan Gabriel Valdez, the UN special representative to Haiti.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/08/2006 11:54 Comments || Top||

#2  "we were able to vote frequently and ...oops"
Posted by: Frank G || 02/08/2006 22:00 Comments || Top||


Fifth Column
Job hunting online gets trickier

NEW YORK (FORTUNE) - Friends, be warned: If you're hoping to find a new job through a job board or other online channel -- or if you're an employer seeking candidates on the Web -- the world just got a little bit more difficult.

New federal guidelines meant to standardize how employers track data on the diversity of their job-applicant pool are taking effect starting today for jobs at federal contractors -- and similar rules will kick in later this year at U.S. companies with more than 50 employees. And resumes and search approaches that worked perfectly well before may no longer do the trick.

In the new system, federal regulators will be checking to see that companies are keeping diversity data on all applicants, according to a new, more uniform definition of "applicant."

According to this definition, an applicant must "express interest" in the job, whether by sending in a resume, applying on the company's site, or whatever other means the company requests, says Gerry Crispin, founder and principal of CareerXRoads and a long-time Internet job hunting expert.

That "expression of interest" must show that he or she has all the qualifications for the job listed in the company's job description (not just some or most of them) -- and those qualifications must be specific and measurable.

The applicant must be considered for a specific current or future position, and "never remove himself from consideration for the job," says Crispin. For example, "if I have a job opening in Boston, for example, and you've specified that you want to work in Chicago, I can infer that you've removed yourself," he says.

To comply with these new rules and get the most diversity, employers will have an incentive to keep the pool of applicants for each job relatively small and as random as possible. To make sure you're considered now, you'll have to:

Follow the company's instructions. "If an employer says that, to apply for a given job, you must go to their web site and enter a certain code number, then do that," says Crispin. "Otherwise your resume will never be seen."

Spell out your qualifications clearly. "Pay very close attention to the specific qualifications an employer lists for a particular job, and make sure your resume contains those exact words," Crispin says.

For instance, if a job description includes the words "three years of credit accounting experience," put "three years of credit accounting experience" on your resume. "Don't just list a credit-accounting position with the dates you had it and assume someone will figure it out," Crispin advises. This may mean you have to rewrite your resume for each job opening you apply for.

Keep your resume up-to-the-minute current. "The rules allow companies to pick a random pool of applicants by searching the job boards for 'most recent' qualified applicants," Crispin notes. "In those cases, no one will even look at a resume that is more than two or three weeks old." Yikes.

Target specific companies and visit their web sites often. "The first announcement of a job opening very often appears on a company's own site before it is posted anywhere else," says Crispin. If enough applicants turn up on the site, the employer is unlikely to look any further. "Companies really do not want 500 or 1,000 applicants for each job," Crispin says. "If they get 30 who are qualified, that's a reasonable number for a hiring manager to consider and select from."

If someone is referring you for a job, make sure you -- and they -- understand how to do it. About one-third of all new hires now come through employee-referral programs, and companies are still permitted to run these however they like, as long as they follow a consistent policy. So if your pal at Ostrich Corp. wants to refer you for a job, know what Ostrich's policy is (whether via the company web site, having your friend submit your resume for you in a particular way, or what-have-you) and follow it to the letter.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether the new rules will actually increase diversity in companies or just create extra work for everybody. Either way, if you're looking for a new job, you can't afford to ignore them.
Posted by: 3dc || 02/08/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  In the new system, federal regulators will be checking to see that companies are keeping diversity data on all applicants, according to a new, more uniform definition of "applicant."

It't the regulator man again Helen, the dog has him cornered out by the pig pen, get my shotgun he's a gone'r this time!


Posted by: Besoeker || 02/08/2006 10:03 Comments || Top||

#2  That "expression of interest" must show that he or she has all the qualifications for the job listed in the company's job description (not just some or most of them) -- and those qualifications must be specific and measurable.

I smell 1HB visas here. Supervisors and personnel offices write up some outrageous job technical descriptions to preclude hiring 'American'. So when no one meets their extreme want list, they use that as a justification to hire out. Of course, there is no follow up by the 'regulators' to insure that the qualifications of the imported labor is an exact match or superior to the original post.

Business could train up personnel but that requires an investment and to secure that investment, they have to have binding contracts. They don't want to do that because the individual becomes a liability rather than an asset on their books. So they play this game.
Posted by: Sneatle Thrineck2833 || 02/08/2006 14:54 Comments || Top||

#3  Hmmm doesn't have 10 years of .Net, 10 years of J2EE, or 5 years of Windows Vista experience. Guess we've got to hire an H1B.
Posted by: DMFD || 02/08/2006 20:16 Comments || Top||

#4  LOL, DMFD. Sooooooo true. 8^)
Posted by: .com || 02/08/2006 20:28 Comments || Top||

#5  In other words, no more crazy Irish crackers will be considered. Only "people of color", until the quota is filled?
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 02/08/2006 23:10 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Veterans Prefer the VA
A U.S. survey of "heath care consumers" found that users of the U.S. Veterans Administration health care system rated their care at 83, on a scale of 1-100. Users of general (private) health gave their experience a 73 rating.

The ratings were obtained from the annual American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) survey. This survey questions a random sample of Americans in order to rank "customer satisfaction" with federal and private sector health care programs.

The conventional wisdom, as derived from media reports and anecdotal evidence, is that the Veterans Administration is a mess, and that its care is substandard. But when you ask a random sample of the military veterans who get that medical care, they rate it rather highly.

This is not a one year spike in approval, but a pattern that has been consistent over the last six years.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 02/08/2006 18:13 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  My Mother-in-law was a VA nurse for many years, and she, like most of her coworkers, went to great lengths to treat her patients with utmost respect in gratitude for their service.
Posted by: Xbalanke || 02/08/2006 18:23 Comments || Top||

#2  Since the all volunteer army, the VA has been much better than the private hospitals.
Posted by: mmurray821 || 02/08/2006 18:28 Comments || Top||

#3  The VA is not YET mandated by the Federal Govm't to treat non-veteran walk-ins so they are not overrun with trying to make up losses due to non-payers, freeloading "undocumented citizens" and welfare scam artists.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/08/2006 20:07 Comments || Top||


Pro-Kelo Republicans
(3rd item)

The nation's Republican mayors, in a closed-door White House meeting last week, nearly unanimously supported the U.S. Supreme Court's Kelo decision permitting local governments to force property owners to sell or give way to private developers.

The GOP mayors, in Washington for the U.S. Conference of Mayors winter meeting, heard a report on the Kelo decision by Dearborn, Mich., Mayor Michael A. Guido. Chairman of the conference's advisory board, Guido opposed undermining the Supreme Court's ruling.

Anaheim, Calif., Mayor Curt Pringle, a former speaker of the California Assembly, objected with arguments that reflected widespread Republican abhorrence of Kelo. Guido insisted the mayors support local government's authority, and not a single additional mayor rose in support of Pringle.
This could become a major local political campaign issue. Kelo is overwhelmingly opposed by the public even more vigorously than NIMBY projects.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 02/08/2006 13:40 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The city needs money. And what the city needs, the city takes.
Posted by: eLarson || 02/08/2006 14:19 Comments || Top||

#2  Stupid is as Stupid does.
Posted by: Forrest Gump || 02/08/2006 15:10 Comments || Top||

#3  There is no true small government political party in America anymore.
Posted by: VAMark || 02/08/2006 15:13 Comments || Top||


John Bolton Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, is one of two Americans who have been nominated for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.
"I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced."
Last year, Democrats and a few Republicans refused to confirm Bolton to the U.N. post, forcing President Bush to resort to a recess appointment.

Bolton and Kenneth R. Timmerman were formally nominated by Sweden's former deputy prime minister Per Ahlmark, for playing a major role in exposing Iran's secret plans to develop nuclear weapons.
Will the left now attack Sweden's embassies for this outrage against their most beloved award?
They documented Iran's secret nuclear buildup and revealed Iran's "repeated lying" and false reports to the International Atomic Energy Agency, a press release said.

Bolton formerly served as U.S. undersecretary for arms control and international security, and he authored the Proliferation Security Initiative, an international effort to block WMD shipments. The effort eventually unmasked the secret nuclear network directed by Pakistan nuclear scientist A. Q. Khan.

Timmerman, an independent researcher, has written extensively on Iran's nuclear activities for more than 20 years. His report for the Simon Wiesenthal Center in 1992 first detailed Iran's ties to A.Q. Khan. His most recent book, "Countdown to Crisis: The Coming Nuclear Showdown with Iran," was published last year.

In June 2005, Senate Republicans fell six votes in their second effort to end a Democrat filibuster of Bolton's nomination to serve as U.N. ambassador. Bolton's supporters complained that Bolton was the target of a Democrat smear campaign. A number of Democrats and some Republicans complained about Bolton's brusque dealings with co-workers and underlings. One of Bolton's Republican critics - Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio - now says he thinks Bolton is doing a good job. "I spend a lot of time with John on the phone. I think he is really working very constructively to move forward," Reuters quoted Voinovich as saying on Monday. Voinovich added that he's still watching Bolton - but, "at this stage of the game I am pleased with the progress that is being made here and the team that he has gathered together here."

In May 2006, the thought that Bolton might be confirmed as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations almost brought Voinovich to tears. Voinovich's emotional moment came one day after he sent a letter to his fellow senators, telling them, "In these dangerous times, we cannot afford to put at risk our nation's ability to successfully wage and win the war on terror with a controversial and ineffective ambassador to the United Nations."
Posted by: || 02/08/2006 11:15 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  These two have my vote (if there was such a thing as a vote).

But they are on the wrong side in seeking to rid Iran of nuke weapons and reforming the UN. Ultimately, some yaahoos who want to coddle the Moolahs and who want the thugs to run the UN HRC will win the Nobel "Peace" Prize.
Posted by: Captain America || 02/08/2006 11:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Maybe they can share it with Centcom.
Posted by: Angaviting Ebbumble1629 || 02/08/2006 12:51 Comments || Top||

#3 
Its about time for a Nobel War Prize.
Posted by: Master of Obvious || 02/08/2006 13:09 Comments || Top||

#4  Community Relations thanks to the nominating committee: Halliburton is committed to being a good corporate citizen and neighbor because doing so reflects our core values -- along with our understanding of the responsibility we have to the communities in which we live and work. Community involvement helps strengthen our Company by building and maintaining relationships of trust with our neighbors. It also fosters positive morale among our employees by giving them an opportunity to show that Halliburton cares about making a difference in our communities through substantial contributions of financial, time and "energy" resources. This is why we say that Halliburton has "the energy to help."
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/08/2006 13:15 Comments || Top||

#5  I wonder if Bolten reads Rantburg or has seen this depiction of him. I think he would be proud and inspired.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 02/08/2006 14:40 Comments || Top||

#6  For some reason, I read that as "I feel a great disturbance in the French..."

Seems more appropriate in some way.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 02/08/2006 15:14 Comments || Top||

#7  I thought people here liked Bolton? Why would any support putting this man in with Arafish and Jimmeh?
Posted by: Jackal || 02/08/2006 20:19 Comments || Top||

#8  Oh he won't win, Jackal, lol...

What amuses me about this is how it will cause indigestion among those who do think it matters and that the previous winners deserved it. ;-)
Posted by: .com || 02/08/2006 20:30 Comments || Top||

#9  better he wins and turns it down based on past awardees :-)
Posted by: Frank G || 02/08/2006 20:46 Comments || Top||

#10  Lol - now Ima thinking yer sleep-walking, lol.
Posted by: .com || 02/08/2006 20:49 Comments || Top||

#11  to coin a phrase: "I have a dream..."

mine isn't perverted by race-based hustlers and partisan BDS koolaid drinkers though
Posted by: Frank G || 02/08/2006 21:01 Comments || Top||

#12  Ture -- I was only referring to the notion that Bolton stands a snowball's chance in Hell of winning. Heh.
Posted by: .com || 02/08/2006 21:04 Comments || Top||

#13  True. PIMF. ;-)
Posted by: .com || 02/08/2006 21:04 Comments || Top||

#14  better to nominate Kojo, Mugabe, and Chavez to totally disrupt the process: "so many worthy candidates! How do I choose?"
Posted by: Frank G || 02/08/2006 21:08 Comments || Top||

#15  Well if Mugabe doesn't win the Nobbie nom, he'll surely win the 2006 World Co**suckelry award for meanness, racism, and nation breaking.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/08/2006 22:06 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
U.S. Navy boards suspected pirate ship in Indian Ocean
This one's for Pappy, and all the rest of our Navy types. ;-)

The United States was striking a pre-emptive blow when it ordered a U.S. Navy destroyer to detain and board a suspected pirate ship in the Indian Ocean last month, aiming to see that terrorists do not lash up with pirates in the Asia-Pacific region.

The destroyer, the USS Winston S. Churchill, was ordered to intercept the suspected pirate ship on Jan. 21 after the U.S. Central Command, from its forward headquarters in Bahrain in the Persian Gulf, was contacted by the International Maritime Bureau, based in Malaysia. The maritime bureau monitors piracy all over the world, but especially in Asia.

It took the U.S. warship several hours of maneuvering and firing warning shots to get the smaller vessel to surrender. A Navy boarding party then confiscated a cache of small arms to disarm the ship before sending it on its way. "This was a maritime security operation," said a Navy officer informed of events in the Indian Ocean. That effort, broadly defined, includes tracking thousands of ships, much as aircraft are monitored, knowing what cargoes the ships are carrying, driving off pirates when they attack a ship, or recovering the ship if it is seized.

For several years, leaders of maritime nations from India and Sri Lanka in South Asia to Singapore and Australia and South Korea and Japan in Northeast Asia have worried that terrorists would seek alliances with pirates, particularly those operating in the South China Sea. Through that sea lane passes more international shipping each year than through the Suez and Panama canals combined. Terrorists who might seize, for instance, a large oil tanker and scuttle the vessel in the Straits of Malacca between Singapore and Indonesia would wreak economic, political, military and environmental havoc.

Until now, the U.S. Navy has been reluctant to engage pirates because the service is stretched out with other duties. Asian coastal nations, meanwhile, have said they do not want outside powers, notably the United States, operating in their sovereign waters, where many pirate assaults occur. Many Asian naval officers argue that combating piracy is the job of law enforcement, not navies. Many U.S. Navy officers agree but assert that some Asian nations lack the proper ships -- small, high speed and adequately armed -- to defeat or capture pirates. Moreover, coordination and intelligence sharing among the littoral nations has not been fully developed.

The war against terror has led many U.S. Navy officers to the conclusion that their service needs to be involved, if for no other reason to preserve its standing among the U.S. armed forces. Thus, said a Navy officer, "there is no overall policy on going after pirates." Rather, an internal debate seems to be rumbling through the Navy.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/08/2006 20:30 || Comments || Link || [9 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Many Asian naval officers argue that combating piracy is the job of law enforcement, not navies.

A convenient paradigm, particulaly if you are supporting the pirates and the denying law enforcement maritime access.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/08/2006 21:09 Comments || Top||

#2  Another example of "What have the Romans Americans done for us?". How much of the world's trade and therefore economy rests upon the US Navy keeping the sea lanes open? The advocates and UN bureaucrats never ever count that cost into foreign aid or humanitarian service.
Posted by: Uleart Spack3244 || 02/08/2006 21:52 Comments || Top||

#3  Yes, as always the "F" character in the phrase "Yankee Go Home" stands for friendship.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/08/2006 22:00 Comments || Top||

#4  Many Asian naval officers argue that combating piracy is the job of law enforcement, not navies. Many U.S. Navy officers agree

I was always under the impression that streching pirate necks from the yardarm was/is a core competencey of any lawful navy. If they endanger freedom of navigation and commerce on the high seas, they're the navy's buisness.
Posted by: N guard || 02/08/2006 22:29 Comments || Top||

#5  If in interantional waters any nations navys bussiness at that. Drum head justice and a quick drop. Forget the "law enforcement" Pirates know whats up. That hadn't changed except in the last century.
Posted by: Sock Puppet O´ Doom || 02/08/2006 23:02 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Donks Struggle To Find Anti-War Vets To Run For Congress
...Mr Horne, 44, is not alone. He is one of a dozen Iraq war veterans running for congressional seats in the November mid-term elections. What makes this new band of political brothers extraordinary is that all but one are running as Democrats, and against a war that only months ago they were fighting in.

"It's unprecedented. It's amazing the Democrats have found this many," said Larry Sabato, a politics professor at the University of Virginia.

Thirty military veterans from the wars in Vietnam, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq are seeking seats in the US House of Representatives as antiwar Democrats in a country where more than half the public now consider the war a mistake.

The only Iraq veteran running as a prowar Republican is Van Taylor, a decorated Marine captain challenging a Democrat incumbent in Texas. Republicans also have 35 candidates for House seats who fought in other wars.

The Democrat veterans have been aggressively recruited by a party desperate to burnish its national security credentials, and keen to exploit the two issues that its strategists believe most threaten the Republican grip on Capitol Hill: Iraq and congressional corruption.

They hope there will be nothing more appealing to voters and harder to attack than a candidate who has actually fought in Iraq...
Though the article is hopelessly biased, it still shows the utter pathos and desperation of the democrats.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 02/08/2006 13:50 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Ya know, I think the Donks are doing a much better job recruiting Iraq vets to run for office. The first vet to run lost in a close election last year, and he ran as a anti-war Dem.

My personal opinion is that the nation-building our troops are doing on the fly will make them outstanding politicians here, but I'm mystified as to why the GOP is not reaching out to them and grooming them for office.

Wake up, GOP!
Posted by: Seafarious || 02/08/2006 14:32 Comments || Top||

#2  Seafarious, I suspect that the those troops who would be the strongest Republican candidates are choosing to re-up and continue the job they started, rather than getting out as soon as feasible. In a few years, however, when those 40-somethings become 50-somethings, I think they'll return and flood the market. The 2012 elections should be highly amusing...
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/08/2006 14:40 Comments || Top||

#3  It has been my experience that these anti-war veterans usually leave out the fact in thier campaign that they are anti-war and a Democrat. To me it is comical to see an ex-Captain/Major/Sgt who now is quasi anti-military after they are discharged. Example: Lt JF sKerry.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge || 02/08/2006 15:24 Comments || Top||

#4 
"What Would Karl Marx Do"
Posted by: macofromoc || 02/08/2006 15:52 Comments || Top||

#5  I don't get it. Why can't the Dems just run on abortion, gun control and more social programs?

/sarcasm
Posted by: Iblis || 02/08/2006 16:24 Comments || Top||

#6  Bobby Bran's got an excellent perspective on this trick over at his site Read it all

http://bobbybran.blogs.com/bobbys_world/2006/02/books_and_cover.html
Posted by: Fodamage || 02/08/2006 17:45 Comments || Top||

#7  What Em said. Headline is innacurate.
Posted by: 6 || 02/08/2006 17:52 Comments || Top||

#8  suggestion: the GOP-leaning Vets do not have the lack of seriousness it takes to be a successful politician, nor do they have the anti-American feelings required to be a successful Dem, leaving them only one party to support, rather than lead?
(/sarcasm)

Actually Emily, I bet they are simply getting their lives back in order before doing the political thang. Should be a truly admirable wave of candidates
Posted by: Frank G || 02/08/2006 19:02 Comments || Top||

#9  Translation - the only winning strategy the Dems have is to hide who they really are.
Posted by: DMFD || 02/08/2006 19:45 Comments || Top||

#10  MURTHA-GATE > definitely showed the latent hypocrisies within the Dems vv voting for something before voting against it. The NET > Amer voters and patriots now know that the Dems are in reality are de facto supporting the Bush agenda at the same time that they criticize Dubya's policies, and NOT necessarily for patriotic reasons. To paraphrase RUSH LIMBAUGH this AM, "The Amer people know the Dems are lying; that the Dems are behaving in a most un-patriotic, anti-American manner; and that unless the Dems change any POTUS HILLARY will go down in history as an example of how Dems/pols will scare away the voters". THE AMER PEOPLE DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT "CENTRISTS" OR "MODERATES" - THEY WANT TRUE BELIEVERS, GOD AND AMERICA FIRSTERS, HOWEVER IMPERFECT, NOT UNIVERSAL = PERMANENT PROFESSIONAL WAFFLIN' POLICRATS.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/08/2006 20:10 Comments || Top||

#11  I don't agree with Bobby that that Veterans or anybody else for that matter is taken for granted by the GOP. Rather that trying to pander to a certain group they have demonstrated that he GOP is a party for everyone. I do agree that putting Nacy Pelosi's comments in the mouth of a Vet will nhot help Amercia swallow a cut and run policy. I also love his insight to Wes Clark (buddy of Bill Clinton) and how he almost universally hated in military circles. The Donks are pissing into the wind on this issue.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge || 02/08/2006 22:48 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
Steve Fossett is the Man Again - Going for 1.5 time Around the World
Posted by: Yosemite Sam || 02/08/2006 13:01 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  HAS HE ACTUA;;Y SUCCEEDED IN ANY OF HIS ATTEMPTS YET
Posted by: Elmiting Gluger1772 || 02/08/2006 20:48 Comments || Top||


WSJ: One small step for drones
...
Lockheed is drawing its drones from the same well that produced its stealth fighters: the company's secretive Skunk Works unit. And the unmanned craft are just as radical as some of the unit's past creations. "You have to throw out conventional aerodynamics," Skunk Works head Frank Cappuccio says of the so-called morphing drone, with the folding wings.
...
Posted by: 3dc || 02/08/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Stories about the Skunk Works always make me say "cooooolll."
Posted by: Jonathan || 02/08/2006 10:01 Comments || Top||

#2  Skynet should be fully operational any day now...
Posted by: bk || 02/08/2006 12:08 Comments || Top||

#3  www.choppercam.net

a cheap alternative
Posted by: bk || 02/08/2006 12:12 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Girls Searches For Care Bears, Finds Woman's Bare Bottom, Traumatized For Life
A metro area parent was shocked recently when her daughter stumbled across a pornographic Web site while looking for a cartoon site.

Tracy O'Neal said her daughter, Stephanie, was looking for the Web site of the Care Bears, the cuddly cartoon characters, but because of a missing hyphen, the daughter unexpectedly found a porn site.

"I was repulsed," Tracy O'Neal told KMBC's Martin Augustine.

"All of a sudden, here comes up a lady and her pants were pulled down, and she was showing her bottom ... I will probably never go back on that site again," Stephanie O'Neal said.

"If that Web site has predators behind it, they need to be stopped. These kids don't need to be in this type of business. They don't need to see it," Tracy O'Neal said.

The mother said she'll be watching her daughter's Internet activity more closely from now on.
You never see the buttocks that get you.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 02/08/2006 17:32 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ... I will probably never go back on that site again,"

Yea right, "probably never go back", shes hooked on porn for life now. Jimmy Swaggert will tell ya, theres no way to control it once you start.
Posted by: BrerRabbit || 02/08/2006 17:41 Comments || Top||

#2  The mother said she'll be watching her daughter's Internet activity more closely from now on.
Purdy radical move, watching your chillruns and such.
Posted by: 6 || 02/08/2006 17:49 Comments || Top||

#3  What was that URL?
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 02/08/2006 18:37 Comments || Top||

#4  A.B.P.E.butts
Posted by: Frank G || 02/08/2006 19:10 Comments || Top||

#5  Make sure you type whitehouse.gov and not .com too!
Posted by: Uleart Spack3244 || 02/08/2006 21:55 Comments || Top||

#6  "probably" just "probably"

Honey, when Steph's asleep. I got sumpin to show ya.
Posted by: Hupomoger Clans9827 || 02/08/2006 22:15 Comments || Top||

#7  Teach your kid how to spell,lady. I googled images "care Bear" and got a page of cute cuddly bears. Then I searched on "care bare" and about 2/3 down the page was a woman walking on the beach bare bottom exposed. If she's that easily traumatized, best she start reading good books and stay away from image searches.
Posted by: GK || 02/08/2006 23:34 Comments || Top||

#8  And eschew any notion of Club Med. Goodness!
Posted by: .com || 02/08/2006 23:35 Comments || Top||


Priest Outs Cardinal, Archbishop, Bishop
Who knows whether Cardinal Edward Egan is sleeping soundly these days. But as head of the New York archdiocese—as the top Roman Catholic prelate in the state—he'd have every reason to be restless after the recent advent of a little-noticed lawsuit.

The suit, now pending in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, was filed on December 13 by Bob Hoatson—a 53-year-old New Jersey priest considered a stalwart ally among survivors of sexual abuse by clergy. Hoatson, the now-suspended chaplain for Catholic Charities in Newark, is suing Egan and nine other Catholic officials and institutions, claiming a pattern of "retaliation and harassment" that began after Hoatson alleged a cover-up of clergy abuse in New York and started helping victims.

But that's not all his lawsuit claims. Halfway through the 44-page complaint, the priest-turned-advocate drops a bomb on the cardinal: He alleges that Egan is "actively homosexual," and that he has "personal knowledge of this." His suit names two other top Catholic clerics in the region as actively gay—Albany bishop Howard Hubbard and Newark archbishop John Myers...
Posted by: Anonymoose || 02/08/2006 13:17 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


California Weird: MP Iraq Vet Shot By Deputy For No Reason? -- Video
LOS ANGELES -- The shooting of Senior Airman, Elio Carrion, on leave from Iraq was caught on videotape. Carrion is recovering from his injuries and has been released from the hospital. His family is demanding answers and calling for the arrest of the deputy involved in the shooting.

Amateur video caught the confrontation between San Bernardino Sheriff deputies and Carrion, who was home after serving in Iraq as a military policeman. He was a passenger in a Corvette that was stopped by police after a short pursuit. He was unarmed and in the video seemed to be cooperating with deputies appearing to tell them, 'I'm on your side.'

Deputy Ivory Webb is on paid administrative leave while the department and FBI investigates. Carrion's family says the deputy should face criminal charges.

Elio is out of the hospital recovering from gunshot wounds to the chest, legs and shoulders.

The man who shot the video is now in jail under what police say are unrelated charges from an old warrant. Elio's family say they are thankful to him for recording the shooting that now represent their best hope for justice...
Posted by: Anonymoose || 02/08/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Bummer of a name, Elio.
Posted by: Gronter Elmolugum6351 || 02/08/2006 13:27 Comments || Top||

#2  Why did they order him to get up? Couldn't they cuff or restrain him on the ground?

Elio certainly needs to pick better friends--riding around with idiots who run from the cops is not the smartest thing to do when you're in the military, much less if you're an MP--but he certainly doesn't deserve to get shot for it.
Posted by: Dar || 02/08/2006 13:43 Comments || Top||

#3  I saw the video, like everyone else, and We should wait out the FBI to find the truth. Being a soldier I want to side with the troop but remember they had finally stopped after a short chase, running from the cops is bad. When you run from a cop and finally stop the first thing his dumb ass should have done is what the cops says and then stay silent. How was that cop supposed to know he an Airman, the Airman should have known better and acticted differently knowing what the procedures were.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 02/08/2006 14:37 Comments || Top||

#4  I haven't seen the video yet (can't at work) but have a question. Is it 100% certain that the cop ordered him up? If the voice came from elsewhere it could go a long way towards *explaining* what happened (not excusing by any measure though).

As it is the whole thing is just bizare.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 02/08/2006 15:10 Comments || Top||



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