More than $15 billion in U.S. crops rides each year on the tiny legs of an insect. The honeybee is the major carrier of pollen for seeded fruits and just about anything that grows on a vine. Everything, in other words, from apples to zucchini. "If honeybees ceased to exist, two-thirds of the citrus, all of the watermelons, the blueberries, strawberries, pecans and beans would disappear," said Jerry Hayes, apiary inspection chief with the state's Division of Plant Industry.
But now it's the bee itself that is disappearing. Under attack from a Southeast Asian parasite, vast numbers of the creatures are dying off, worried industry experts say. More than 50 percent of the bees in California, critical to the success of the Golden State's almond crop, have died during the past six months. Frantic growers there have sent out the call around the world, including Florida, for hives.
Not only California is suffering the ravages of the determined pest. As many as 40 percent to 60 percent of the bees nationwide have perished during the same six-month period, experts say. "It's the biggest crisis that has ever faced the U.S. beekeeping industry," said Laurence Cutts of Chipley, president of the Florida State Beekeepers Association and a retired apiary inspector with the state Department of Agriculture. Cutts lost two-thirds of his beehives to the predator, an eight-legged animal no bigger than a grain of salt that attaches itself to a bee and slowly sucks out its internal fluids.
The pest is the varroa mite, which has been in the United States since 1986, when it first showed up in Florida. But the pace of devastation has increased only during the past year. An entire hive can be wiped out within less than a year as the parasites, colloquially known as "vampire mites," lodge in a hive and begin to reproduce. "The varroa mites have become resistant to the chemicals we use to kill them," said Loxahatchee beekeeper Mark McCoy.
McCoy is one of hundreds of beekeepers from around the country and as far away as Australia who responded to California's need for an additional 400,000 hives. He packed up more than 1,500 hives, housing 30 million-plus bees, last month and shipped them west on two flatbed semis. "The bees are the only tool we have to pollinate the trees," said Colleen Aguiar, a spokeswoman for the California Almond Board, based in Modesto. The state grows about 80 percent of the global almond crop, which is some 1 billion pounds of nuts a year. It takes 1.2 million hives to pollinate those groves, Aguiar said.
And almonds are only the beginning of the crisis. Apple growers in Virginia normally call on their own state's beekeepers for pollination help, but not this year, said Troy Fore, executive director of the 1,200-member American Beekeeping Federation Inc., based in Jesup, Ga. "Now those apple growers have also turned to Florida beekeepers to provide pollination because they have lost bees in Virginia to the mite," Fore said.
But Florida itself needs its bees, and some industry observers suggest it might already have given away too many. "I really think you will see a crunch here in Florida in a couple of months," said David Hackenberg, who operates hives in Dade City and Lewisburg, Pa. "A lot of guys have lost a lot of bees. The watermelon guys are just starting and they are already scrambling for bees."
Hackenberg and others in the business said the state's largest beekeeper, Horace Bell of DeLand, sold his more than 40,000 hives to companies in California this year and went out of business. That automatically reduces Florida's 200,000 bee colonies by 20 percent. A spokeswoman at Bell's office said she could not confirm that Bell had left the business, but did say he was "semi-retired." Bell did not return phone calls seeking comment.
The honeybee emergency has not gone unnoticed in the scientific community. Hundreds of researchers across the globe are looking for a solution, either through new treatments or by breeding mite-resistant bees. So far, the search hasn't yielded much success, said Jay Evans, a geneticist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Bee Research Lab in Beltsville, Md. "Beekeepers need something this year or next to keep their colonies going," Evans said. "For the longer-term focus, we need to understand how the mites are so successful as parasites and breed bees that have a defense against them."
The loss of bee hives during the past year has been so catastrophic, Evans said, that researchers are questioning whether factors other than the varroa mite are at work. Officials are scrambling for money to get to the heart of the problem. The state Agriculture Department is seeking $300,000 from the legislature for bee research. As of Thursday, the request was heading for a conference committee, said Carolee Howe, assistant director of agriculture policy at the Florida Farm Bureau in Gainesville.
The American Bee Federation has asked the federal government for help. The group wants the USDA to spend $16 million a year, twice what it now allocates, on bee research. Howe said the mite problem is getting worse. "These mites are getting stronger," she said. "One day you will have a healthy hive. The next day your hives can be dead."
Those who work in the bee industry feel that the crops that don't need bees sometimes get more attention than they do. It's also admittedly difficult to evoke a passion for bees in the public mind, which often views them only as a stinging nuisance. "We have this wonderful insect that can do marvelous things. It's not warm and fuzzy," said Hayes, the state apiary inspection chief. "It's not like a manatee. You can't cuddle and pet it. Yet without it, we have a negative impact on how our society eats. Maybe we can help people not love the bee, but at least appreciate it more." Last time I checked, bees are somewhat fuzzy. Cuddly, they're not. Perhaps they harbor some mistrust vis-a-vis mammalians. As for the lil' vampires, perhaps there is a way
#1
The honeybee is the major carrier of pollen for seeded fruits and just about anything that grows on a vine. Everything, in other words, from apples to zucchini
To include watermelon and strawberries. That means there won't be jobs for all those workers being illegally imported by employers seeking pickers. This may be a feature, not a bug.
#2
This may be the mite that our favorite beekeeper told us about; he uses a tray with stickum in the bottom of his hives to catch the mite eggs. Eggs stuck in stickum; larvae don't hatch to bug the bees. Says that wild honeybee colonies are GONE. Hope this mite doesn't attack the native solitary bees; they're needed for the wildflowers.
#3
And, Thinese Whatever: This is no joking matter. We're talking serious food shortages here. Food shortages here> food shortages somewhere else> more people scrambling for a living> trouble for everybody.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/28/2005 21:06 Comments ||
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#5
In the time it took to read the story, mom and FrankG almost said it all. This is some serious shit and deserving of 1000x the attention given to most BS social causes. I have zero doubt that Dubya will "get it", once he's brought into the loop by domestic advisors, and make the resources available. It will be a question of time - can researchers figure out effective means to combat this menace before it does irreparable harm.
#6
Beekeepers were so essential that many were not allowed in the military in WW2. They had to stay on the home front and take care of pollination. Huge crops of almonds and fruits depend on pollination in California. Yields plummet without proper pollination
#7
One more thing, on a related topic: Check your local library for "The Forgotten Pollinators," about solitary bees and other insects, birds, and other critters who pollinate flowers.
#8
Apple growers in Virginia normally call on their own stateâs beekeepers for pollination help, but not this year, said Troy Fore, executive director of the 1,200-member American Beekeeping Federation Inc., based in Jesup, Ga.
Jesup's just down the road a good piece from Vidalia.
LOS ANGELES — The way former President Reagan and his wife, Nancy, would carry on about their love for each other, one might have gotten the impression their romance was carved in stone - and it turns out it was.
A part-time estate liquidation consultant who was looking for anything the Reagans might have left behind at a Pacific Palisades (Near Malibu, West of Downtown Los Angeles) home they lived in 50 years ago recently uncovered a slab of concrete. Carved into it was a heart and the initials "ND (for Mrs. Reagan's maiden name, Nancy Davis) and "RR."
"I got a hose and washed it off and said, 'Oh my goodness,' " recalled Terre Hirsch.
Instead of rushing to eBay with his treasure, he decided to turn it over to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. The former first lady, whose husband died last year, couldn't be happier.
"Mrs. Reagan remembers well the day her husband drew a heart with their initials inside in the concrete patio of their home ... ," the former first lady's office said in a statement.
"In a time when so many people are motivated by financial gain, she was moved and very grateful that Mr. Hirsch offered the piece to her," the statement added.
With all the upset today, this might cheer up some folks. Cute story. I know I need it...BE
Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Inc.
http://www.aapsonline.org/
I hope we never have to use this information, but please keep it available in case the evil forces win.
SAMPLE LETTER FROM READER:
Dear Dr. Thogmartin:
When Terri Schiavo dies, the potential exists that a crime will be covered up by her planned cremation without autopsy. That potential crime is NOT the issue at the center of the present controversy, but the yet unsubstantiated allegation that an assault led to her condition in the first place.
It has been reported in the press that Michael Schiavo intends to cremate Terri Schiavo immediately upon her death.
According to the Medical Examiner's department policy posted at: http://www.co.pinellas.fl.us/forensics/policy/policystatement.htm#CA , the medical examiner must approve or deny all such requests.
The attending physician in Terri Schiavo's case has a history of 5 NPDB reported malpractice cases. There is an open quesiton of what led to her original "event".
Please disallow the cremation until the medical examiner's office can perform an appropriate investigation and/or postmortem examination to determine both the immediate cause of death AND the proximate cause of death, including the search for any injuries from the past consistent with a potential crime.
Despite the currently accepted rationale for her initial ?event?, evidence on postmortem examination may reveal that Terri Schiavo was the victim of a crime many years ago.
Judge Greer has not allowed an MRI or PET Scan. PET scans are of no value post mortem, but MRI may have some limited benefit, in addition to the physical autopsy, particularly for small, old injuries to ligaments and muscles that would be consistent with a trauma that occurred due to a crime (e.g. strangulation or abuse) if one had occurred.
If there are perpetrators of a crime covering something up, they will not want such an examination done. They will be afraid of justice.
Please act now to assure no authorization is given for cremation without a proper investigation and autopsy to address these issues.
XI. CREMATION APPROVAL (Florida Statutes 406.11(1)(c))
A. All requests for cremation must be approved by the Medical Examiner prior to the actual cremation.
1. Before authorizing the irretrievable disposal of a body by cremation, the Medical Examiner must be assured that no future question will arise about the cause or circumstances of the death of the individual.
2. The death, if previously unreported to the Medical Examiner, must first be verified as a non-Medical Examiner case according to Florida Statutes, 406.11.
B. Approval of a cremation, and accepting the responsibility for irretrievably destroying potential evidence, is a decision based on the quality of the information on the death certificate. The death certificate should be accompanied by a CREMATION APPROVAL FORM filled out by the attending physician to demonstrate that the death was due to natural causes. The cause of death on the death certificate must be sufficient to:
1. rule out trauma,
2. identify the immediate cause(s) of death, i.e. septicemia, peritonitis, bronchopneumonia, renal failure, etc., and
3. identify the underlying or proximate cause of death - the ?due to? disease or injury responsible for initiating the lethal sequence of events.
C. The most common pitfalls this office encounters with causes of death are:
1. failure to state the underlying cause of death;
2. scrambling of immediate and underlying causes of death; and
3. listing extraneous data in the section entitled 'Other Significant Conditions'. The section 'Other Significant Conditions' (Part II) should be used only for those conditions that contribute to death, but are unrelated to the cause(s) listed in Part I.
D. The CREMATION APPROVAL FORM is often helpful in clarifying the cause of death as well as providing additional medical history that assures that the death was not by violence.
? Words like subdural, fracture, sepsis, fall, trauma, cardiac arrest, heart failure, hemiplegia, quadriplegia, paraplegia, and shock are mechanism of death and typically do not explain a natural death, and may indicate a traumatic origin. It is necessary to rule out traumatic underlying causes or identify the natural disease processes, which resulted in the cardiac arrest, for example.
E. The procedure used to obtain and validate the approval of the Medical Examiner for a cremation, dissection (i.e. Anatomical Board) or burial at sea can be done in one of two ways.
1. The funeral home or direct disposer may bring the completed Burial Transit Permit, CREMATION APPROVAL FORM and the signed death certificate, with the cause of death section legibly completed to this office for approval between the hours of 8:00 am to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday; or,
2. The funeral home or direct disposer may fax to this office (at 727-582-6820, 24 hours a day) the CREMATION APPROVAL FORM and signed death certificate with the cause of death section legibly completed. Approval will be made and the cremation approval document will be faxed back to the requesting funeral home, generally between the hours of 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, seven days a week (excluding holidays). In certain circumstances, the cremation approval information will be provided to the requesting funeral home by return phone call, generally between the hours of 8:00 am to 4:00 p.m. seven days a week (excluding holidays).
F. Prior to submission of the death certificate to the Office of Vital Statistics, the cremation approval case number must be placed:
1. on the WHITE copy of the burial transit permit in Section C on the ?Signature? line; and
2. on the death certificate at the bottom right hand corner of the backside.
(NOTE: use only light pencil because any dark ink will show through on the front and force Vital Statistics to have the funeral home redo the death certificate.
G. Due to the 11,000+ approvals handled each year the Medical Examiner's Office limits approval times to 8:00 am to 4:00 p.m. seven days a week (excluding holidays) to permit adequate time for staff investigation of cause of death. Additional phone calls will be made to the requesting funeral home or direct disposer whenever additional death certificate information is required because it fails to adequately explain a non-traumatic (i.e. non-medical examiner) cause of death.
H. Please note that on the death certificate Box 28 ?Case Reported to Medical Examiner? (Yes or No)? does refer to cremation approval in addition to deaths reported for investigation to determine if the death falls under the medical examiner?s jurisdiction. This box must have a ?Yes? if a cremation approval was given.
#4
Gee, we have the chief, judge ,jury, prosecutors
the church- but where are Terri's right's? religous et al. If this happened to a cat or dog the parties involved would be arrested!
Shakesphere said "get rid of them all!".
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: andrea jackson ||
03/28/2005 19:46 Comments ||
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#5
Gee, we have the chief, judge ,jury, prosecutors
the church- but where are Terri's right's? religous et al. If this happened to a cat or dog the parties involved would be arrested!
Shakesphere said "get rid of them all!".
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: andrea jackson ||
03/28/2005 19:48 Comments ||
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#6
I finally e-mailed Jon Thogmartin, M.D., the current district chief medical examiner for the Pinellas-Pasco County Medical Examinerâs Office. It took me like forever, since I only have a Bachelorâs degree in science, but I finally discovered that these guys have a website and want to be contacted: Link to District Six Medical Examinerâs Office
I also âccâdâ the e-mail to Governor Bush and several media outlets. I hope the autopsy is done, without opposition from Michael Schiavo. Whoever does the autopsy must know that the eyes of the world will be upon them, and should visually record the autopsy as it is conducted.
#7
Cingold- Nice work! This whole story seems so wrong and illegal! I know many new statues will come out of this case. civil and criminal.
Oh, yes, God sees all- and the x-hubby will get his~~Lutherford (spelling?) will be awaiting at the gates of Saint Helens. If I arrive before Mr. Schiavo- I'll take care of him. He seems to be the fox in charge here!
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: andrea jackson ||
03/28/2005 21:00 Comments ||
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March 28, 2005 -- SANTA MARIA, Calif. - A shameless Michael Jackson yesterday compared himself to 20th-century black icons Nelson Mandela and Jack Johnson, implying he's been persecuted because of race.
Kind of hard to play the race card when no one can tell you're a black man anymore
The accused child molester made that stunning assessment on the Rev. Jesse Jackson's radio show on the eve of Jacko's biggest day yet in court. ----snip----
Jackson yesterday invoked the names of the human-rights legend Mandela and boxing champ Johnson, who drew social scorn in the early 20th century by flaunting his relationships with white women.
Hey, Michael, if you had been nailing white women (above the age of consent) you wouldn't be in trouble
"This has been a kind of a pattern among black luminaries in this country," Jacko told the Rev. Jackson. "Mandela's story has given me a lot of strength, what he's gone through. The Jack Johnson story . . . this society didn't want to accept his position and his lifestyle and what they put him through, and how they changed laws to imprison the man, to keep him away behind bars. "All these stories that I can go back in history and read about give me strength."
Posted by: Steve ||
03/28/2005 9:35:12 AM ||
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#1
I'm sure this upset the Rev. so much that he immediately set out to find another girlfriend he could knock up.
THE MAN's out to get all of us...
#2
I don't remember Johnson playing funny games with underage males. Must be my white guilt gettin' in the way, I suppose. Bad karma from my great-great-great grandfather owning a Malian...
#6
Did Jacko forget that it was his relations with CHILDREN that brought the 5-o's to his crib? Big gap in the persecution tale from somebody known for his live performances.
BEIJING: A woman in eastern China drugged her husband with the help of her lesbian lover and then buried him alive in his own home to stop him from interfering in their relationship, state media said yesterday. The two women, Wang Lanying and Mou Hongxiu, from Jiangsu province have been arrested in what is being considered the first reported murder case motivated by a lesbian relationship in China, the Beijing News said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/28/2005 00:00:00 ||
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The Chinese must not do crossword puzzles. They have a gazillion "amah", who are live-in maids that as a condition of employment are spinsters, i.e. are often lesbians. I find it hard to believe that this is the first time the woman of the house and the amah have offed the husband.
#3
The word in Mandarin is "ayi", which means "aunt". Mine doesn't live here...I don't want her around more than 2 hours a day! Keeps the place spotless, does laundry once a week, and cooks dinner every night (food paid by me), all for the low, low price of 25RMB/day ($3.10USD).
I've never, ever seen an ayi that was remotely attractive. Besides, you want an older one with decades of experience cooking ;).
Looks like they've dodge the bullet water-wise - any tsunami headed for Banda Aceh should have arrived by now - but other reports say there's widespread damage to buildings and dozens of lives lost in Indonesia. Don't know about India yet. Hat tip: Drudge.
SYDNEY : A 10-centimetre tsunami rolled into Australia's remote Cocos Island early on Tuesday following a powerful earthquake off Indonesia, Australian authorities reported.
"The Bureau of Meteorology has reported a 10-centimetre tsunami was measured by the tide gauge at Cocos Island," Geoscience Australia said.
*snip*
Cocos was hit by a 50-centimetre tsunami following the December 26 earthquake off Sumatra, but no damage was caused.
Cocos Island lies south of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean. - AFP
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/28/2005 4:13:31 PM ||
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Sorry, editors - meant this to go on page 3.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/28/2005 16:14 Comments ||
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a 4" Tsunami?
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/28/2005 16:17 Comments ||
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#3
They dropped Michael Moore from the Gulfstream V, Frank....
Five hundred Asian workers of a Bahraini garment factory rioted on Saturday night damaging machinery and factory premises after a fellow worker committed suicide. Human rights activists expressed concern over the incident at MRS Fashions, which produces one of JC Penny brands, and called for a thorough investigation into a number of suicides at the factory in the past.
Madhu Babu, 28, was found hanging from the ceiling fan in an "isolation room" on the company premises. It was not clear why Babu, who is from Chittoor district in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, had committed suicide. Babu, who is not married, arrived in Bahrain eight months ago to work as a line operator in the factory. His death sparked a riot among workers who went on a rampage for almost two hours and prevented police from removing his body. Workers blocked the path to Babu's room thus hampering the efforts of medical crews and police. It was not until riot police stepped in that the workers ended their protest and allowed the police to remove the body.
The workers, mainly from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, branded the room where Babu's body was found as a "torture room". They claimed that workers were kept there as punishment for failing to meet target goals on production lines. They also claimed that two other workers had committed suicide in the past, another died of heart attack and five others went insane as a result of the harsh work conditions that require them to work more than 12-hour shifts daily. "We get 37 Bahraini dinars ($98) as salary and if we meet production targets we receive up to 49 dinars ($130)," one worker said. The workers also claimed physical abuse by floor managers and said they were not getting proper food or medical care.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/28/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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I would be so thrilled if Mr. Wife would cut back to mere 12-hour days. But then, he isn't working in a Third World piecework factory. It sounds like our Western factories at the end of the 19th century -- Company detectives beating newly organized workers bloody, socialist and communist labour leaders getting drunk on their own words, owners talking of "the natural order." I wonder how the wages and conditions mentioned compare to what the workers would have earned back home, and to what other Bahraini companies pay.
DHAKA: A mob beat five suspected robbers to death after catching them looting a jewellery shop in central Bangladesh, police said yesterday. The five were stealing cash and gold late on Saturday from the shop at Raipura in Narsingdi district, 80km east of the capital, Dhaka, said area Police Chief Mir Rezaul Karim. As the alleged robbers started to flee with 5,000 takas (BD32) in cash and an unspecified amount of gold, the shop owner shouted for help, prompting passers-by and other traders to catch the five, Karim said. The severely injured suspects died before police arrived, he said. Police later recovered a revolver and two mobile phones from the scene. Police are investigating the incident, Karim said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/28/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Bangladeshi street justice strikes again. I am encouraged in humanity when I read this stuff.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/28/2005 12:17 Comments ||
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Don't be too encouraged. In Monrovia, you could try chasing a personal enemy and yelling "rogue!" and stand a fair chance of getting him thrashed for you. Guilty or innocent, you didn't want the mob catching you.
Posted by: James ||
03/28/2005 12:53 Comments ||
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#4
"Sorceror! He stole my penis!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/28/2005 13:06 Comments ||
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FIRST came the Angel of the North. Now motorists using the A1 are to be confronted with the far earthier figure of a giant reclining "goddess" stretching her curves alongside nearly half a mile of the dual carriageway.
The woman, with breasts and hips up to 100ft high, will be created 10 miles north of Newcastle from the waste material generated by open-cast mining, with each of her enormous curves concealing millions of tons of mining spoil. By the time the "Goddess of the North" is finished in two to three years she should be among the world's largest sculptures and visible from a passing passenger jet. if this doesn't get the attention of those UFOs, nothing will
Posted by: mhw ||
03/28/2005 10:38:27 AM ||
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So, would it be fair to assume that the sculptor is a breast man?
Posted by: Jonathan ||
03/28/2005 11:05 Comments ||
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What a creative use of mine waste! Someone should do something similar (perhaps just a tad less earthy, so to speak) on this side of the pond. So many Kentucky streams would benefit from the result.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
03/28/2005 17:07 Comments ||
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#20
I saw those in a marine equipment catalogue under "dock fenders." That is a serious structural engineering design issue. Rather than a brassier, the apparatus should be called support works. The moments generated by these baby milk factories would destroy a normal vertebre, disc, and muscle system.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/28/2005 17:23 Comments ||
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#21
Andrea - Just think how long ago Nature had to begin creating this - to be prepared for your request...
#22
Where did Charles Jencks really get his inspiration?
(Assume that none of these are safe for work, of course)
Was it simply because Chuck came across an egregious case of dress abuse which set him to wondering? Perhaps it was the t-shirt his cousin in America sent his, now, ex-wife... Or was it Tonka Jencks, his Big Sister, and her fascination with "big equipment"? Perhaps it was Gunther Jencks, the Adventurer in the family. Maybe it was the was the play of shadows on his secretary Myrtle... The way his old girlfriend looked up at him... Or how his new girlfriend always got the munchies late at night - it was lovely how the light framed her girlish figure. Or is it simply that Chuck finally opened his eyes - seeing the worldanew - finally seeing the ocean on that last trip to the beach? What is certain is that Chuck is going through some serious changes - his midlifecrisis, you might say - altering his view of the world. Chuck has been digging for answers and believes the veil has parted and he has found a universaltruth - a new perspective. And he wants to share it.
#26
Jeez - here it is Easter, and it's still a bit nippy out...
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/28/2005 20:12 Comments ||
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#27
A dangerous thing, nippiness... almost like running with scissors... Hafta be careful or you might, like, put your eye out or something! Mom warned us, heh. (NSFW)
#28
.com you cannot imagine the back ache that woman must have?? This photo looks like something out of In Living Color T.V. show or Saturday night live. I once knew of a man who was over 500 pound's and he broke the toilet- fell on the floor and "help I can't get up".
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: andrea jackson ||
03/28/2005 20:47 Comments ||
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#29
HELP I'VE FALLEN AND I CAN'T GET UP!
ANDREA JACKSON
Posted by: andrea jackson ||
03/28/2005 20:48 Comments ||
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#30
Unless you've been there, Andrea, and prove it with pix, lol, you'll have to accept the voice of experience. Here's "Crystal Storm" giving the lowdown on her knockers. She makes a very good living to go with her backache, methinks.
A high-ranking Church of England official has called for Prince Charles to apologise to the ex-husband of his fiancee Camilla Parker Bowles. Bishop David Stancliffe said church rules dictated Prince Charles must atone for committing adultery and he should apologise to Andrew Parker Bowles for breaking up his marriage, The Sunday Times newspaper said. Stancliffe, who is a church authority on rules of worship, said the apology should come before the April 8 wedding. "The Prince of Wales and Mrs Parker Bowles will be taking part in prayers of penitence at the service of prayer and dedication following their civil marriage," Stancliffe reportedly said.
"Sorry I doinked your wife, old man!"
Mrs Parker Bowles divorced army officer Andrew Parker Bowles in 1995. Their divorce came after Charles admitted in a TV documentary in 1994 that he had strayed from his marriage vows, but insisted infidelity happened only after the marriage was "irretrievably broken down, us having both tried." It was widely assumed, but never confirmed, that Parker Bowles was the other woman. Prince Charles divorced Princess Diana in 1996.
"I say, Cam! Charles just said on national TV that he was bumping bellies with some wench!"
"That was me, Andrew!"
"Really? I suppose we must divorce, then?"
Posted by: Fred ||
03/28/2005 00:00:00 A.M. ||
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Nothing like a pair of adulterers to give the Church of England a moral compass from the top. Henry VIII would be proud.
Posted by: Tom ||
03/28/2005 11:11 Comments ||
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lol! Being a little uninformed on the etiqutte and formalities of the whole process, I still imagine Charles is glad the UK has not yet sanctioned compulsory "honour" killing! Camillah's husband's family isn't paki are they?
#4
Hey, look on the bright side. Charles has not put on the Druid white robes that the Anglican clergy chaps did a while back.........uh, I believe that he didn't........
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/28/2005 14:03 Comments ||
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#5
I personaly think he ought to apologize for having "done" Camilla. Ugly to the bone.
Where are the God-dammed liberals for whom freedom of speech(around the world) is a matter of life and death? Wait....it is a leftist/dictator who is passing these laws so they must be necessary for the greater social good...
Venezuela's minister of communication and information, Andres Izarra, recently accused The Post and several other American media of being part of a campaign to defame Venezuela directed by the Bush administration and funded by the State Department. Apparently I drew Izarra's attention by writing several columns and editorials lamenting President Hugo Chavez's assault on press freedom and the independent judiciary and his support for anti-democratic movements elsewhere in Latin America.
One of the journalists libeled by Izarra pointed out that he had no evidence to back up his accusations. According to the newspaper El Universal, that inspired the following outburst, in Spanish, from the cabinet minister: "Mister gringo, be sure that we are going to come back to defeat you . . . because we work with the truth, we have spirit and above all something very special, a leader who unites and inspires us, the commandante Chavez!"
It's easy to laugh at such buffoonery if, like me, you have the privilege of working for an independent newspaper in a capital where demagogues such as Izarra aren't taken seriously. In Caracas, however, the minister's rantings -- and those of his master, Chavez -- are no longer funny. Beginning this month journalists or other independent activists accused by the government of the sort of offenses alleged by Izarra can be jailed without due process and sentenced to up to 30 years.
To be sure, much of the Venezuelan media has aggressively opposed Chavez's populist "Bolivarian revolution," though not without reason: The former coup-plotting colonel is well on his way to destroying what was once the most stable and prosperous democracy in Latin America. Some newspapers and television stations openly sided with attempts to oust the president via coup, strike or a national referendum. Having survived all three, a strengthened Chavez is moving to eliminate critical journalists and create in Venezuela the kind of state-controlled media environment in which a minister of information such as Izarra is all-powerful.
The first step was a new media content law, adopted by the Chavez-controlled legislature last December, that subjects broadcast media to heavy fines or the loss of their licenses for disseminating information deemed "contrary to national security." Its impact was soon felt: Two of the most prominent anti-government journalists lost their jobs as anchors on morning television shows, and Venezuelans quickly noticed the appearance of self-censorship among those who remained.
Ten days ago Chavez handed Izarra a still-bigger stick: a new penal code that criminalizes virtually any expression to which the government objects -- not only in public but also in private.
Start with Article 147: "Anyone who offends with his words or in writing or in any other way disrespects the President of the Republic or whomever is fulfilling his duties will be punished with prison of 6 to 30 months if the offense is serious and half of that if it is light." That sanction, the code implies, applies to those who "disrespect" the president or his functionaries in private; "the term will be increased by a third if the offense is made publicly."
There's more: Article 444 says that comments that "expose another person to contempt or public hatred" can bring a prison sentence of one to three years; Article 297a says that someone who "causes public panic or anxiety" with inaccurate reports can receive five years. Prosecutors are authorized to track down allegedly criminal inaccuracies not only in newspapers and electronic media, but also in e-mail and telephone communications.
The new code reserves the toughest sanctions for journalists or others who receive foreign funding, such as the election monitoring group Sumate, which has been funded in part by the National Endowment for Democracy. Venezuelans or foreigners living in the country can be punished with a 10- to 15-year sentence for receiving foreign support that "can prejudice the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela . . . or destabilize the social order," whatever that means. Persons accused of conspiring against the government with a foreign country can get 20 to 30 years in prison. The new code specifies that anyone charged with these crimes will not be entitled to legal due process. In other words, should Izarra determine that my Caracas-based colleagues continue to collude with the State Department against Venezuela, they could be summarily jailed.
Chavez and his propaganda apparatus don't feel compelled to live by their own rules. The president has directed crude epithets at President Bush and even more vulgar sexual innuendo at Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. His government has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund Americans in the United States who write articles and letters glorifying Chavez and attacking the Bush administration. Izarra himself could be charged under his own slander law for his false claims about American journalists. Lucky for him his adversaries here are a democratic government, and a columnist who merely thinks he's ridiculous.
Posted by: TMH ||
03/28/2005 11:07:16 AM ||
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#2
Irony alert: in the hardcopy edition of the Washington Post, this oped appeared right next to an oped by Jimmy Carter.
Mr. Carter's certification of what is seen by both Chavez and anti-Chavez fans as a rigged referendum is largely responsible for the new oppression in this formally democratic republic.
#3
mhw,
I used to think that Jimmy the Peanut Farmer was just a harmless fool. He still might just be a fool but a fool that has condemned around 24 million people to a life of oppression. People like him go through life without paying for the irreparable damage that they do. It is not fair!
A Cuban dissident poured scorn yesterday on a visiting European Union leader who told pro-democracy activists to avoid 'provoking' Fidel Castro. The EU development commissioner, Louis Michel, also earned criticism for declaring, at the end of a four-day visit, that he was "very optimistic" about human rights on the communist island because he was allowed to meet groups of senior democracy activists and the wives of political prisoners. "The government did not interfere with these meetings," Mr Michel said, calling that a hopeful sign. But one of the dissident leaders who met the commissioner, Marta Beatriz Roque, the economist, said the encounter was window-dressing by the Castro regime, which continued to repress democratic activists. She also "respectfully disagreed" with an EU decision to suspend diplomatic sanctions on Cuba, and to seek closer ties.
"The government is not going to change. Castro is deaf. Sanctions have a political value because they demonstrate to the whole world that Castro is a human rights abuser. The EU should not be seeking deeper relations with a totalitarian regime," she said. "The fact that we could meet Mr Michel one day, for an hour, is an isolated phenomenon. The Cuban government allowed it to take place so the EU would see what the authorities wanted them to see. I don't understand how Mr Michel, who is an intelligent person, can think that he understands Cuba in the short time that he was here."
Mr Michel's visit was intended to herald a fresh start for friendly relations between Cuba and Europe, following the EU's recent decision - under heavy pressure from the socialist government in Spain - to suspend diplomatic sanctions imposed on Havana in 2003. Mr Michel, a Belgian, said he was encouraged by signs of change in Cuba and declined to offer support for a planned dissident "congress", uniting 300 Cuban rights groups.
Posted by: Bulldog ||
03/28/2005 2:11:16 AM ||
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"...poured scorn yesterday on a visiting European Union leader..."
Like pouring perfume on a skunk...
Posted by: Tom ||
03/28/2005 10:25 Comments ||
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EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel has ended a visit to Cuba, optimistic that relations with the communist state will strengthen. The EU is Cuba's largest trading partner, but diplomatic relations have been frozen for almost two years. Europe has criticised Cuba over its imprisonment of 75 dissidents and execution of three hijackers. Earlier this year, Europe decided temporarily to lift its diplomatic sanctions for a six-month trial period. Mr Michel said he had left Cuba far more positive than when he arrived. The former Belgian foreign minister appeared particularly heartened by his meeting with President Fidel Castro. The two men held what the commissioner described as a "deep conversation" until the early hours of Saturday morning. Mr Michel also met leading Cuban dissidents and some of the relatives of those critics of Mr Castro who were imprisoned two years ago. ...
Methinks Mr Michel is rather easily amused persuaded.
Posted by: .com ||
03/28/2005 2:59:38 AM ||
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Mr Michel:
Castro, have we got a deal for you...
We are just as envious of those American pigs as you are and want you to join Chirac and Old Europe in ruining anything any Mer'kins will try to do anywhere. So here is the deal...
You can't live much longer and all those MerKin Batista supporters in Miami are just drooling about returning to Cuba as gringo businessman and restoring all thier old holdings...
Well Merkia is not in the ICC and we control it so just sign everything worth deeding over to these nice French, German and Belgium firms and we will make sure your Swiss bank accounts are flowing over and the Merkins never touch an inch of Cuba.
When we start selling hightech arms to China this summer we will pay for China to put a huge army in Cuba to protect you and out flank those Merkin's too.
TOKYO (AP) - Japan said Monday it will set up weather radar on a pair of Pacific Ocean islands at the center of a territorial dispute with China. The Land and Transport Ministry will spend $3.08 million to install the radar in June atop an existing structure straddling the two rocky outposts that comprise the Okinotorishima islands. The radar will collect wave patterns and other meteorological data, but will also monitor ships within Japan's territorial waters, ministry official Toru Noda said.
Japan claims the Okinotorishima outcroppings - heavily fortified by cement embankments - are islands that enable it to extend its exclusive economic zone far into the Pacific.
China does not dispute Japan's territorial claim to Okinotorishima, about 1,070 miles southwest of Tokyo, but says they're only rocks - meaning Beijing is free to exploit the natural resources in some of the waters currently claimed by Japan.
Under international law, an island is defined as a naturally formed land mass that stays above water during high tide, and can be used to determine the limits of a country's economic zone. Japan added cement embankments to prevent the already small islets' further erosion and sends workers there twice a year for maintenance. The radar will be installed during their next regular visit in June, Noda said.
The outcroppings have triggered recent disputes between the two countries. Japan on Friday accused China of illegally conducting undersea surveys in its territory 22 times last year, including nine times near Okinotorishima. Tokyo has three telescopes on the islets to monitor Chinese ships in the area.
A delegation of Japanese conservatives plans to visit the islets this week to study the possibility of building a lighthouse it hopes would strengthen Japan's foothold there.
Tokyo's metropolitan government, which has jurisdiction over the islets, plans to begin fishing in nearby waters beginning in April. Its governor has proposed building a power plant there. Japan and China are also at odds over another group of southern small islands - called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China - in the rich fishing waters of the East China Sea.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/28/2005 12:13:18 PM ||
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Do the Chinese really want to mess with the Japanese?
The last time they crossed paths, it didn't turn out too well for the Chinese.
(Yeah, yeah - I know the Japanese are nicer now. But still....)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/28/2005 14:56 Comments ||
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#2
But the last time, Japan was an Industrial nation, and China had a (basically) 19th century military. Mao changed all that. The PLA is nothing to mess with.
#3
I think it's time we say we're thinking of sharing nukes with the Japanese. (Don't know if they'd want them or not, but saying it would certainly get an interesting reaction.)
I think they've shown they will not misuse them (if they get them) - but the thought of the Japanese having them would surely get some Chinese knickers in a twist. And that's a good thing. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/28/2005 18:13 Comments ||
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#4
They're under the Umbrella of
Pax Americana/Trumana/Reganus.
#5
The Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force is nothing that China wants to mess with today. Japan has been building up the MSDF for some time and their training is serious when it comes to defending their territory.
Look it up. There are several very good websites that link to the MSDF's capabilities. They really don't need the US all that much to defend their interests these days (especially since Clinton and his ilk reduced the US Navy to about 200 combat ships effective - something the MSDF might just be able to challenge these days).
#6
The legacy of the Clintoon Dynasty, from gutting the military to infecting State with Moonbats and PCized Ambassadors, will evenutally be our end -- if we don't sterilize every institution we have. Amazing.
We haven't heard much from Greer today, because he hopped a plane to Monte Carlo with a couple of Pinellas County sheriffs in tow. They are going to pull the plug themselves!
He said that the Rebel Alliance was "run by the evil Jedi" and that the Rebels had been building the Death Star at Endor. He called the late Emperor Dantius Palpatine "a hero in the fight against corporate greed." He also demanded that Lando Calrissian, the man believed to have murdered Palpatine, be arrested and shot.
Also at issue were Churchill's claims to be of Rhommamoolian descent. Rhommamoolian activist Nom Anor praised him, saying "Churchill serves justice and freedom first and last."
Churchill's presence met with protests led by alleged war criminal Leia Organa and by Hari Seldona, author of the Rebel propaganda essay Requiem for Alderaan. These protestors were as fervent as Dooku's separatists. "Churchill is a fraud and a grave-dancer," said Lanius Baskalaà of Agamar, a planet known for producing rubes.
Posted by: Steve from Relto ||
03/28/2005 9:03:33 AM ||
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Steve- everyone has one---an A_ _ whole!
Andrea
Posted by: Andrea Jackson ||
03/28/2005 16:24 Comments ||
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#2
Andrea -- and they all stink!
From the quote (I dont know who):
Opinions are like ass-oles: Everyone has one and they all stink!
PAT CADDELL (DEMOCRATIC POLLSTER): Well I'm very concerned, because I've always said in the years I was polling, that if you tell me the results you want and I'll write the questions for you. Now sometimes we ask people when they don't have a lot of information, this is a very complex case, what they think. But what's being presented in these polls, particularly with CBS when it's so disturbing to me because it's being cited everywhere, and it's not being cited accurately. But when you start your survey interviewing people, and describe a situation which is not the actual condition of Terri Schiavo, you have a problem. But even more importantly, the question that has been drawing the most attention is the argument that 82% of the people said they didn't want the President or Congress involved in this matter. Well that's not what the question was actually asked. The question that was asked on the poll was whether they should be involved in determining, in deciding what should happen to her. I happen to disagree with what the Congress did, but that is not what they did. They simply allowed her the right to go to Federal Court to seek a review of the facts. This is being presented, and then everyone is saying well look, we have a huge majority of evangelicals concerned, everyone's saying they're against it. That means George Bush is in trouble, everyone's opposed to this. That's not what was asked. And you have to be very careful, both that people understand the actual situation, and form the questions the way that people can make a proper judgment.
...
this verges on a push-poll, which you--
CADDELL: Yes. Exactly.
SELLERS: So if you ask enough questions you can lead up to an answer that you want. Do you think CBS is doing that purposely, or carelessly, or what?
CADDELL: I don't--I never--let me just put it this way. Usually they do their surveys most of the time in conjunction with the New York Times. This was one they did separately. I have to tell you, when I've seen complex issues, only once, which is in the Los Angeles Times with the recall here in California, have I seen a survey that made me wonder whether or not the results were prejudged before they were written. This poll is so basically designed to produce certain results, and then is being reported as such, makes me very concerned. Now it could be just pure incompetence, however I suspect that there's more here than that.
SELLERS: Can you give--
CADDELL: And I'm a pollster. My business, it's not about where you stand on the political scale. If you're in the business of public opinion, it is to give the American people a proper reflection of their voice once they've had a chance to properly reflect what the actual facts are. It is not to design a poll to come out and try to drive the news media.
Is there somone, (anyone?) that can get thru to the Blogosphere - PLEASE push this to them - the public is unaware the CBS is once again distorting background and fooling the American people with false news in order to drive their Anti-Bush agenda further. THIS MUST STOP - and we need the blogosphere to jump on this push-poll and CBS's abuse of it - and the MSM's echo of the poll as gospel!
#2
Accepting a forgery about Bush's Gurd service, then the so-called "talking points memo" fabrication, and now putting a Push Poll out as if it were an unbiased poll....
CBS News continues its march to decieve the American People in its push against Bush and conservatism. And the MSM steps in as the chior until the Blogosphere steps up with the facts.
OK Blogosphere - Pat Caddell pointed the way - will you listen and act?
#3
Greer recieves $250 from Felos
Since Mr Caddell is on our side on this one... if anyone has an EMail address for him, the link needs to be sent his way!
#4
Too bad Instapundit, LGF or other former mainstay conservative blogs are on the wrong side of this one. Normally they woudl be first in line to correct an injustice by the MSM, but since Glenn Reynolds, Charles Johnson and other formerly reliable/truthful bloggers have come out on the "let Terri die" side, I no longer have any faith they can overcome their bias any more than Robert Byrd.
Like Byrd and the left, they've chosen political expediency and decided back "process" over justice, and lower ideals (less government intrusion) over higher principles (Life).
I hold out little hope for this being given the proper grilling it deserves. They don't care about life as much as conservatives like I do - they values smaller government to the point where they will let a woman starve to death rather than give in and acknowledge that sometimes the goernment has to stand up for the lives of those who cannot do so themselves.
As you may know, a woman in Florida named Terri Schiavo suffered brain damage and has been on life support for 15 years. Doctors say she has no consciousness and her condition is irreversible. Her parents and her husband disagree on whether or not she should be kept on life support. In cases like this who do you think should have final say, (the parents) or (the spouse)?
And the followup: If you were in this condition, [on life support] would you want to be kept alive, or not?
Michelle points out that A) Terri is not, and never has been on life support. and B) Not all doctors agree that she is PVS. (Or the anti-life bias of the 'doctors').
#6
Andrew McCarthy at NRO sums up the case best - and in doing so damns Johnson, Reynolds and all the others who sat on their hands and refused to see the doubt present in this case - from the legitimacy of Michael Schiavo as the advocate, to the procedures being just, to the lack of a proper diagnosis (deemed by one expert to be "Criminal").
They are on the wrong side of this, and I wonder if their l;ack of moral integrity will allow them to pursue this story, which certainly sheds doubt on thier stands.
The ultimate solution is straing from Andrew McCarthy:
Before the state may permit the termination of life in a PVS case, the guardian should be required to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the stricken person is in a PVS and that the stricken person evinced, in a knowing and intelligent way, a desire to be removed from sustenance if ever in a hopeless, incapacitated state. On the latter finding, we should encourage living wills to induce a person who considers and feels strongly about this choice to make her intentions clear. In the absence of such a living will, there should be a presumption that the person wants to live. It is life, not death, that our constitution protects.
This is where CJ and INstapundit and others miss the boat and sacrificse the principle of life to politicial bias against government intrusion. Regarding life issues, CJ, Instapundit and others like them are of no greater moral stature than those they stand with, like Michael Moore.
#7
OS: I be down wif you on all that, except for the part about living wills.
My view is that life should be voluntarily terminated under the terms of such a 'will' only when the person is suffering and death would indeed be preferable to living.
As it is, I think we need to get tough on such 'wills' that ensure the exact wish, and not just the wishes granted at some moment in time that a patient wants to die.
I can think of no instance outside of actual pain that a person would voluntarily want to die, because in my opinion such 'living wills' only reflect a sentiment at the time the 'will' is drawn up and not the actual wishes of the person.
#11
A woman who called to Rush right now, and explained it somewhat...valid in my sister's case, anyway, but this Schiavo Case becomes a connect-the-dots scenario...
Since Terri Schiavo has no life options left, this dehydration by now having screwed up her kidneys and liver beyond healing, then the best we can do is get the autopsy, and if the autopsy has the results we think it might, remove Greer from office by impeachment, and let him spend the rest of his life looking at himself in a mirror every morning! "But I 'followed' the laws", just won't cut it, and he has to live with that...
#15
Didn't Greer order that Terri be cremated? I think I read somewhere that a Judge ordered her to be cremated according to what her husband said she wanted.
#17
Big ED what ever happened to terri's religous
right's? I still can't believe that this is happening. Attorney Michael Bissonnette of Chicopee, Mass is offering a free service to the public "come in, make an appointment- have a living will done for FREE". Avoid what the Schiavo family has gone through!
Andrea Jackson
ED- who do you think will be arrested first in this case?
Posted by: Andrea Jackson ||
03/28/2005 16:19 Comments ||
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#18
I don't know who'll be the first arrested...
I want the truth, and I think the actions of Michael Schiavo, Attorney Felos, and Judge Greer are all suspect.
Greer is protected by his office, and is not subject to any criminal procectuion, but that is why he needs to be impeached. Not for his original decision, but for his subsequent refusal to look at new information in the case, and he should be forced to explain why he accepterd the campaign contribution ONE DAY after the law was overturned (not by him) that was passed by the FL legislature, and signed by Gov Jeb... He still could not be procecuted for the actions in the case itself, but accepting the contribution while he was hearing the case stinks to high heaven. In the end it was more ego than any petty $250 contribution. But ego is lack of judicial 'temperament' and thus he should be impeached...
Felos is a hired gun, and it is hard to see anything here except, his part in donating to Greer's campaign May 2004 which has to be treated seperately from the case iteself...
So it comes back to Michael Schiavo. It would be the best for him if an autopsy was performed, and nothing suspicious was found. And Terri Schiavo's brain was found to be in the condition that these so-called experts say it is. If not, then that opens up a whole new can of worms...
#19
...That subpoena was issued March 18, the day Schiavo's feeding tube was removed by order of a Florida state judge. That same judge quashed the House subpoena, and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal of that decision by Republican congressional leaders.
#20
What is that picture, Big Ed? It looks to me like some teaching-aid for a proctology Resident studying loathsome social diseases. Now that I think of it, that would be a good logo for CBS.
CBS affiliate in WACO TX?????
Cannot find anywhere else??????
{Excuse me but } W T F
Attorney George Felos told reporters late Monday afternoon in Florida that Michael Schiavo has requested that Pinellas Countyâs chief medical examiner perform on autopsy on his wife once she dies in order to answer questions about the severity of brain damage and to put to rest rumors about her physical condition.
#23
BigEd- It sounds like we have the fox in charge of the hen house! TOO many chiefs not enough indians. I wish her body could be donated to science.
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: andrea jackson ||
03/28/2005 19:38 Comments ||
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#24
Accepting a forgery about Bush's Gurd service, then the so-called "talking points memo" fabrication, and now putting a Push Poll out as if it were an unbiased poll....
CBS News continues its march to decieve the American People in its push against Bush and conservatism. And the MSM steps in as the chior until the Blogosphere steps up with the facts.
OK Blogosphere - Pat Caddell pointed the way - will you listen and act?
#25
Too bad Instapundit, LGF or other former mainstay conservative blogs are on the wrong side of this one. Normally they woudl be first in line to correct an injustice by the MSM, but since Glenn Reynolds, Charles Johnson and other formerly reliable/truthful bloggers have come out on the "let Terri die" side, I no longer have any faith they can overcome their bias any more than Robert Byrd.
Like Byrd and the left, they've chosen political expediency and decided back "process" over justice, and lower ideals (less government intrusion) over higher principles (Life).
I hold out little hope for this being given the proper grilling it deserves. They don't care about life as much as conservatives like I do - they values smaller government to the point where they will let a woman starve to death rather than give in and acknowledge that sometimes the goernment has to stand up for the lives of those who cannot do so themselves.
#26
Andrew McCarthy at NRO sums up the case best - and in doing so damns Johnson, Reynolds and all the others who sat on their hands and refused to see the doubt present in this case - from the legitimacy of Michael Schiavo as the advocate, to the procedures being just, to the lack of a proper diagnosis (deemed by one expert to be "Criminal").
They are on the wrong side of this, and I wonder if their l;ack of moral integrity will allow them to pursue this story, which certainly sheds doubt on thier stands.
The ultimate solution is straing from Andrew McCarthy:
Before the state may permit the termination of life in a PVS case, the guardian should be required to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the stricken person is in a PVS and that the stricken person evinced, in a knowing and intelligent way, a desire to be removed from sustenance if ever in a hopeless, incapacitated state. On the latter finding, we should encourage living wills to induce a person who considers and feels strongly about this choice to make her intentions clear. In the absence of such a living will, there should be a presumption that the person wants to live. It is life, not death, that our constitution protects.
This is where CJ and INstapundit and others miss the boat and sacrificse the principle of life to politicial bias against government intrusion. Regarding life issues, CJ, Instapundit and others like them are of no greater moral stature than those they stand with, like Michael Moore.
#27
Accepting a forgery about Bush's Gurd service, then the so-called "talking points memo" fabrication, and now putting a Push Poll out as if it were an unbiased poll....
CBS News continues its march to decieve the American People in its push against Bush and conservatism. And the MSM steps in as the chior until the Blogosphere steps up with the facts.
OK Blogosphere - Pat Caddell pointed the way - will you listen and act?
#28
Too bad Instapundit, LGF or other former mainstay conservative blogs are on the wrong side of this one. Normally they woudl be first in line to correct an injustice by the MSM, but since Glenn Reynolds, Charles Johnson and other formerly reliable/truthful bloggers have come out on the "let Terri die" side, I no longer have any faith they can overcome their bias any more than Robert Byrd.
Like Byrd and the left, they've chosen political expediency and decided back "process" over justice, and lower ideals (less government intrusion) over higher principles (Life).
I hold out little hope for this being given the proper grilling it deserves. They don't care about life as much as conservatives like I do - they values smaller government to the point where they will let a woman starve to death rather than give in and acknowledge that sometimes the goernment has to stand up for the lives of those who cannot do so themselves.
#29
Andrew McCarthy at NRO sums up the case best - and in doing so damns Johnson, Reynolds and all the others who sat on their hands and refused to see the doubt present in this case - from the legitimacy of Michael Schiavo as the advocate, to the procedures being just, to the lack of a proper diagnosis (deemed by one expert to be "Criminal").
They are on the wrong side of this, and I wonder if their l;ack of moral integrity will allow them to pursue this story, which certainly sheds doubt on thier stands.
The ultimate solution is straing from Andrew McCarthy:
Before the state may permit the termination of life in a PVS case, the guardian should be required to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the stricken person is in a PVS and that the stricken person evinced, in a knowing and intelligent way, a desire to be removed from sustenance if ever in a hopeless, incapacitated state. On the latter finding, we should encourage living wills to induce a person who considers and feels strongly about this choice to make her intentions clear. In the absence of such a living will, there should be a presumption that the person wants to live. It is life, not death, that our constitution protects.
This is where CJ and INstapundit and others miss the boat and sacrificse the principle of life to politicial bias against government intrusion. Regarding life issues, CJ, Instapundit and others like them are of no greater moral stature than those they stand with, like Michael Moore.
#5
... TSUNAMI INFORMATION BULLETIN ...
THIS MESSAGE IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. THERE IS NO TSUNAMI WARNING OR WATCH IN EFFECT. AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS
ORIGIN TIME - 1610Z 28 MAR 2005
COORDINATES - 2.3 NORTH 97.1 EAST
LOCATION - NORTHERN SUMATERA INDONESIA MAGNITUDE - 8.5
EVALUATION
THIS EARTHQUAKE IS LOCATED OUTSIDE THE PACIFIC. NO TSUNAMI THREAT EXISTS TO COASTLINES IN THE PACIFIC.
WARNING... THIS EARTHQUAKE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO GENERATE A WIDELY DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI IN THE OCEAN OR SEAS NEAR THE EARTHQUAKE. AUTHORITIES IN THOSE REGIONS SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS POSSIBILITY AND TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION. THIS ACTION SHOULD INCLUDE EVACUATION OF COASTS WITHIN A THOUSAND KILOMETERS OF THE EPICENTER AND CLOSE MONITORING TO DETERMINE THE NEED FOR EVACUATION FURTHER AWAY.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/28/2005 12:18 Comments ||
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#6
N.B.: That warning is for the Pacific Ocean, not the Indian Ocean (just like last time)
This earthquake struck at just after midnight...a scary dark time to get shaken out of bed, if you ask me. The moon is close to full though...
#8
IIUC, that particular section of fault had a lot of stress on it because of the 12/26 quake. This quake was predicted.
We'll see if it was actually enough to relieve the pressure.
The stalemate continued for another three months. On Thursday, April 20, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals--the same court that rejected the pleas of Terri Schiavo's parents last week--turned down the Justice Department's request to order Elian removed from the home of his Miami relatives. Moreover, the court expressed serious doubts about the Justice Department's reading of both the law and its own regulations, adding that Elian had made a "substantial case on the merits" of his claim. It further established a record that Elain, "although a young child, has expressed a wish that he not be returned to Cuba."
The Reno Justice Department acted the next day to short-circuit a legal process that was clearly going against it. On Good Friday evening, after all courts had closed for the day, the department obtained a "search" warrant from a night-duty magistrate who was not familiar with the case, submitting a supporting affidavit that seriously distorted the facts. Armed with that dubious warrant, the INS's helmeted officers, assault rifles at the ready, burst into the home of Elian's relatives and snatched the screaming boy from a bedroom closet. Many local bystanders were tear-gassed even though they did nothing to block the raid. Elian was quickly returned to Cuba; because he was never able to meet with his lawyers a scheduled May 11 asylum hearing on his case in Atlanta became moot.
Of course, there are differences between the Gonzalez and Schiavo cases. But clearly many of the people who approved of dramatic federal intervention to return Elian to Cuba took a completely different tack when it came to the argument over saving Terri Schiavo. Rep. Frank makes a compelling argument that Congress took an extraordinary step when it met in special session to create a procedure whereby the federal courts could decide whether Ms. Schiavo's rights were being violated. He may have a point when he accuses Republicans of "trying to command judicial activism and dictate outcomes when they don't like" rulings. But where were Mr. Frank and other liberals when the Clinton administration decided to sidestep a federal appeals court and order an armed raid against Elian Gonzalez? While Mr. Frank allowed that the use of assault rifles in the Elian raid was "excessive" and "frightening," he also defended the Justice Department's view that "of course [agents] had to use force."
Posted by: Steve ||
03/28/2005 9:03:20 AM ||
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#1
Perhaps they did, sure. But to point a finger at the Left and yell "Hypocrites!" isn't an argument on the merits.
If we allow ourselves to devolve to that level of argument we'll find ourselves in the same position as the today's Left. Even this week they are playing the "Hypocrisy" card--as if it matters--with respect to Tom DeLay in the Terri Schiavo affair.
#2
.com - Power Line archive won't come up on my PC.
But, on another part of Powerline, more recent, a quote from Michelle Malkin seems appropriate.
I can't comment on the quality of the work done at the trial level without reading the transcript, but in general, what this lawyer says is correct. The reason why appeals don't often succeed is that all fact-finding is done in the trial court. If there is evidence to support the facts found by the judge or the jury, those facts are set in concrete from that point on. The question on appeal is only whether proper procedures were followed and the law was correctly applied. It is not hard to imagine that the Schindlers had no idea what they were getting into, and were ill-equipped, financially and otherwise, to fight a legal battle against their son-in-law. By the time they started garnering outside support, it was too late.
Also, BigEd is a troublemaker. (excuse vanity)
I EMailed any friendly talk show person I could on the campaign contribution issue simply to state what I had found. A link to the Florida division of elections, and what to input where.
At 5:00 AM I called Bill Bennett show, and talked to the screener who said my EMail had been given to Dr. Bennett. He also suggested I EMail DRUDGE, and I tld him that I had.
I did something else.
I printed out the page from the Florida Division of Elections,
Put a note at the bottom of the page "Is there something wrong here?" and put a note with an arrow to the date asking if the date was one day after the Judge overturned their law...
I FAXED this to every Republican member of the Florida State Senate...
I make no accusations, but...
One of my EMails reached Kevin James, overnight guy on KABC in Los Angeles. "My source sent me an Email..." He was reading from my EMail which also contained information how to access the Fla website... "I think some people should at least answer questions about the timing of this."
#3
Thanks for the article .com. WAY TO GO! BigEd. Ha!
And in this photo, we see the "evil" pro-lifers, fanatically gathering at a Roman Catholic mass for Terri Schiavo. Wonder what Michael was doing that same hour.
(hat tip: photo by Carolos Barria/Reuters @ mywaynews)
#4
The first flaw is that Michael Schiavo should not have had any input into the case after he ceased to be Terrri schindler's husband. Michael Schiavo ceased to be the husband of Terri Schindler when he bagan living with another woman, and fathered 2 children with her. Had she had adequate representation, her guardian would have been able to seek a divorce for infidelity, at a minimum. His rights as a guardian should have been termianted at that point and given to her next of kin, her parents.
Why did this not happen? Because the very same jude in the process to decide such things was also a self appointed guardian. This is the second flaw: that Terri had no independent voice to speak for her in the court. Judge Greer was her judge and supposed advocate, a clear conflict of interests and a violation of the presumed impartiality of the courts.
Third, the medical examinations were not competently done, with the "experts" being brought in for thier viewpoint instead of their competence. Outside expert neurologists who specialize in brain injuries were asounded that no MRI nor PET scans were done. A nobel Prize nominee examined Terri for 10 hours and then went over the medical history said that the diagnosis of PVS was in error and that Terri was treatable. This was discounted or ingored by the courts: a controversy of facts that should have required a re-hearing, and a stay.
Additionally, there was no written directive. It was only on hearsay from Michael Schivoa of an off-hand remark at a funeral of somone who died after heroic measures (ventilator, heart machines etc) that this case was build. A thin reed in comparison to Terri's professed Catholicism which says heroice measures need not be taken, but that basics like food, water and routine care shoudl be given.
And finally, all the courts ignored a Congressional directive (i.e. the elected voice of the people) to review the case De Novo (i.e. a clean slate look at the evidence, not a review of the process). They instead cast things so narrowly as to avoide the meaning of the law, looking only at the letter so as to avoid any change in the judicial process.
All these summed up give us the bottom line:
The bottom line is that procedures were followed, but an unjust result was produced, ending in a government mandated starvation of a human being who may or may not have been in a persistent vegetative state, at the behest of the lawyers for a man who has not de facto been her husband for years.
If the system is producing results that are obviously cruel (yes it is cruel to starve a human to death) then it is broken and needs to be fixed.
And that is why I am upset: as a real conservative one of my bedrock principles is that Life Has Value. From the abortable fetus to the severely impaired adult, the Law must err on the side of life, it must presume life to be valued to the point where it requires extraordinary things, not just hearsay and judicial fiat, in order for the state to end it. The Law must protect Life that has no voice.
For those who call themselves conservatives and are standing on the "let her starve to death" side of this (and that is the side you have joined, whether overtly or tacitly), you should question your position: you have abandoned the first and most important principle conservatives should hold, sacrificied life to your desire for less government intrusion, even when it was warranted.
In my eyes, you "procedure over life" types are no conservatives, selling out your highest principles for politics.
As the conservative icon Burke said: All that is neccesary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
And you, dear friends, former conservatives, are doing nothing.
Whether the State of California had jurisdiction over French citizens who attempted to enforce an order of a French court requiring Yahoo! Inc., a California resident, to comply with that order by modifying its computer hardware and software systems physically located in the United States?
Holding
Yes.
Reasoning
The California long arm statute permits California courts to assert jurisdiction over nonresidents consistent with the due process clause of the United States Constitution. Jurisdiction may be premised on general jurisdiction requiring systematic and continuous contacts or specific jurisdiction requiring "express aiming" at the forum. LICRA and UEJF had neither systematic nor continuous contacts with California. Consequently, the sole question was whether the French citizens had "expressly aimed" their conduct at California and otherwise met the requirements of specific jurisdiction: (1) the suit arises out of the contacts and (2) compelling the nonresidents to litigate in California is reasonable under the circumstances.
First, Yahoo! Inc. was the target of LICRA and UEJF, both located in France. The defendants knowingly engaged in conduct directed at Yahoo! Inc. in California. The activities were: the cease and desist letter delivered to Yahoo! INc. in Santa Clara, California, the obtaining of the French court order requiring Yahoo! Inc. to re-engineer its servers located in the United States, and the use of United States Marshals to serve process on Yahoo! Inc. in California related to the French lawsuit. Consequently, the District Court concluded that LICRA's and UEJF's contacts with California satisfied the "purposeful availment" test of specific jurisdiction because they should have known that they risked litigation in California based on their activities.
The holding was consistent with the "foreign effects" test. Nonresidents that commit a wrong in one jurisdiction intending that it have its effect in another jurisdiction are subject to the jurisdiction of that forum state. Although the filing of the lawsuit in France was proper under that country's laws, nevertheless it was wrongful from the United States's point of view. The purpose of the French litigation was to deprive Yahoo! Inc. of its First Amendment rights under the United States Constitution. The Court, using the term "express aiming," emphasized that the key to jurisdictional analysis is knowing your target, not wrong doing. The Court found this view consistent with the Restatement (Third) of Foreign Relations Law §421(2)(j)(finding jurisdiction proper if the act outside the state has an effect in the state).
Second, but for the French court order Yahoo! Inc. would not have sought a judicial declaration of its enforceable effect in the United States. Hence, the action arose out of the contacts of the French nonresidents.
Third, compelling the French citizens (non-profit organizations) to litigate in California was not constitutionally unreasonable. The Court maintained that the defendants could communicate with their local counsel by e-mail, telephone or fax and that the case would be resolved largely on legal issues not requiring lengthy or substantial discovery. In addition, defendants' argument of inconvenience was not specific, relying instead on the generalized reference to the increased cost of litigating in a foreign country.
The Court also found that, as between the two sovereigns involved - France and the United States -- the United States had more at stake than France, since it was being asked to enforce a foreign censorship order; hence, there was no conflict with the sovereignty of France. In addition, California had a strong interest in resolving the dispute because of Yahoo!Inc.'s fundamental right of free expression. Lastly, the Court determined that California was the most efficient and effective forum in which to settle the dispute.
Conclusion
The United States Supreme Court formally adopted the "foreign effects" test in Calder v. Jones to prevent wrongdoers from avoiding litigation in their victim's forum state. In Calder, Shirley Jones filed a libel action against the National Enquirer that obtained enormous revenue from the sale of its paper in California. Likewise, in Panavision Int'l, L.P. v. Toeppen, Toeppen was a thoroughly unsympathetic "cyber-pirate" trying to extort money from Panavision. The Court stretched the "foreign effects" to make certain Toeppen was not getting off on a technical argument. The court in Yahoo! has taken the foreign effects test to its ultimate conclusion.
LICRA and UEJF did not do anything wrong; they did not make a financial gain nor seek to cause financial harm in California. Of course, they intended to effect Yahoo! Inc. by forcing it to comply with French law by obtaining a judgment against Yahoo! Inc. in France. That fact together with one cease and desist letter plus the use of officials to serve process in California is slim compared to the criteria supporting the result in Calder.
Rather, Yahoo! Inc. involves a clash of two legal systems in a world that is wired together. Whether a French magistrate has (or should have) the authority to require a United States corporation to re-engineer its Internet service to comply with French law is highly debatable and has far reaching consequences. But the language of Yahoo! Inc., for purposes of establishing jurisdiction over nonresidents, has the capacity to be misused later by other courts. The result is the extinction of any meaningful limits to court jurisdiction.
And yes the suit was about autions and sales of Nazi stuff but it is French censorship on media in the US.
#6
Punk Greer is a probate judge. And closely connected with Scientology which controls Clearwater Florida. The locals hacks, legal establishment (the connected courthouse crowd) and sheriff suck up to this wealthy cult. Can you believe a punk probate judge decided Terri Schiavo must die? A punk probate judge gave her a death sentence.
I'm glad that Rantburg posters were not fooled by Michael Schiavo. Ya'll passed the test :)
#8
The more I learn about the matter, the more I agree with Old Spook.
Good for you German ally. You thought differently ten days ago but you changed when presented with the facts.
Fact #1
Michael Schiavo is not be believed or trusted on anything. All one has to see is what he's done to Terri in the last decade to her and stealing her insurance settlement to spend on his pro-death lawyers. And that bastard judge Greer has accepted Michael Schiavo's lies. Terri never said a damn thing to him about wanting to live or not live in certain circumstances.
#9
The first flaw is that Michael Schiavo should not have had any input into the case after he ceased to be Terrri schindler's husband. Michael Schiavo ceased to be the husband of Terri Schindler when he bagan living with another woman, and fathered 2 children with her. Had she had adequate representation, her guardian would have been able to seek a divorce for infidelity, at a minimum. His rights as a guardian should have been termianted at that point and given to her next of kin, her parents.
Why did this not happen? Because the very same jude in the process to decide such things was also a self appointed guardian. This is the second flaw: that Terri had no independent voice to speak for her in the court. Judge Greer was her judge and supposed advocate, a clear conflict of interests and a violation of the presumed impartiality of the courts.
Third, the medical examinations were not competently done, with the "experts" being brought in for thier viewpoint instead of their competence. Outside expert neurologists who specialize in brain injuries were asounded that no MRI nor PET scans were done. A nobel Prize nominee examined Terri for 10 hours and then went over the medical history said that the diagnosis of PVS was in error and that Terri was treatable. This was discounted or ingored by the courts: a controversy of facts that should have required a re-hearing, and a stay.
Additionally, there was no written directive. It was only on hearsay from Michael Schivoa of an off-hand remark at a funeral of somone who died after heroic measures (ventilator, heart machines etc) that this case was build. A thin reed in comparison to Terri's professed Catholicism which says heroice measures need not be taken, but that basics like food, water and routine care shoudl be given.
And finally, all the courts ignored a Congressional directive (i.e. the elected voice of the people) to review the case De Novo (i.e. a clean slate look at the evidence, not a review of the process). They instead cast things so narrowly as to avoide the meaning of the law, looking only at the letter so as to avoid any change in the judicial process.
All these summed up give us the bottom line:
The bottom line is that procedures were followed, but an unjust result was produced, ending in a government mandated starvation of a human being who may or may not have been in a persistent vegetative state, at the behest of the lawyers for a man who has not de facto been her husband for years.
If the system is producing results that are obviously cruel (yes it is cruel to starve a human to death) then it is broken and needs to be fixed.
And that is why I am upset: as a real conservative one of my bedrock principles is that Life Has Value. From the abortable fetus to the severely impaired adult, the Law must err on the side of life, it must presume life to be valued to the point where it requires extraordinary things, not just hearsay and judicial fiat, in order for the state to end it. The Law must protect Life that has no voice.
For those who call themselves conservatives and are standing on the "let her starve to death" side of this (and that is the side you have joined, whether overtly or tacitly), you should question your position: you have abandoned the first and most important principle conservatives should hold, sacrificied life to your desire for less government intrusion, even when it was warranted.
In my eyes, you "procedure over life" types are no conservatives, selling out your highest principles for politics.
As the conservative icon Burke said: All that is neccesary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
And you, dear friends, former conservatives, are doing nothing.
#10
The first flaw is that Michael Schiavo should not have had any input into the case after he ceased to be Terrri schindler's husband. Michael Schiavo ceased to be the husband of Terri Schindler when he bagan living with another woman, and fathered 2 children with her. Had she had adequate representation, her guardian would have been able to seek a divorce for infidelity, at a minimum. His rights as a guardian should have been termianted at that point and given to her next of kin, her parents.
Why did this not happen? Because the very same jude in the process to decide such things was also a self appointed guardian. This is the second flaw: that Terri had no independent voice to speak for her in the court. Judge Greer was her judge and supposed advocate, a clear conflict of interests and a violation of the presumed impartiality of the courts.
Third, the medical examinations were not competently done, with the "experts" being brought in for thier viewpoint instead of their competence. Outside expert neurologists who specialize in brain injuries were asounded that no MRI nor PET scans were done. A nobel Prize nominee examined Terri for 10 hours and then went over the medical history said that the diagnosis of PVS was in error and that Terri was treatable. This was discounted or ingored by the courts: a controversy of facts that should have required a re-hearing, and a stay.
Additionally, there was no written directive. It was only on hearsay from Michael Schivoa of an off-hand remark at a funeral of somone who died after heroic measures (ventilator, heart machines etc) that this case was build. A thin reed in comparison to Terri's professed Catholicism which says heroice measures need not be taken, but that basics like food, water and routine care shoudl be given.
And finally, all the courts ignored a Congressional directive (i.e. the elected voice of the people) to review the case De Novo (i.e. a clean slate look at the evidence, not a review of the process). They instead cast things so narrowly as to avoide the meaning of the law, looking only at the letter so as to avoid any change in the judicial process.
All these summed up give us the bottom line:
The bottom line is that procedures were followed, but an unjust result was produced, ending in a government mandated starvation of a human being who may or may not have been in a persistent vegetative state, at the behest of the lawyers for a man who has not de facto been her husband for years.
If the system is producing results that are obviously cruel (yes it is cruel to starve a human to death) then it is broken and needs to be fixed.
And that is why I am upset: as a real conservative one of my bedrock principles is that Life Has Value. From the abortable fetus to the severely impaired adult, the Law must err on the side of life, it must presume life to be valued to the point where it requires extraordinary things, not just hearsay and judicial fiat, in order for the state to end it. The Law must protect Life that has no voice.
For those who call themselves conservatives and are standing on the "let her starve to death" side of this (and that is the side you have joined, whether overtly or tacitly), you should question your position: you have abandoned the first and most important principle conservatives should hold, sacrificied life to your desire for less government intrusion, even when it was warranted.
In my eyes, you "procedure over life" types are no conservatives, selling out your highest principles for politics.
As the conservative icon Burke said: All that is neccesary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
And you, dear friends, former conservatives, are doing nothing.
CHEERING crowds greeted Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe's main opposition leader, as he told a rally in Harare yesterday that President Robert Mugabe had "no option but to go" in this week's parliamentary elections. Waving flags, supporters climbed trees in the dusty Highfield suburb to get a better view of the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, to whom Mugabe supporters refer disparagingly as "chamatama" - the fat-cheeked one.
More than 5.6million Zimbabweans are due to go to the polls on Thursday for elections that Mr Mugabe's party has vowed to win. The opposition claims the ruling party has employed intimidation, propaganda and hundreds of thousands of non-existent voters in its attempt to steal the polls. "We are just saying, this time he [Mugabe] must go," said one supporter. Mr Mugabe told his followers last week that the elections were "a matter of life and death". The president has been fighting his campaign on an anti-Blair ticket, warning Zimbabweans that Britain wants to recolonise the country and make them "slaves of the whites again".
Posted by: .com ||
03/28/2005 3:12:00 AM ||
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#1
I look forward to discovering which is more important to the Zimbabweans: anti-white racism and "African pride," or eating actual food in peace -- despite the guns currently arrayed against them.
#2
Wonder if it's a source of pride to an African that the guy with his foot on your neck is usually black now instead of white?
You've come a long way, baby!
#1
I've not seen any data that suggests that this virus is behaving in an unusual fashion. It's still spread by contact with an infected person's bodily fluids. Standard, for the U.S., precautions [gloves, gowns and masks] should prevent the spread. As I teach my trainees, if it's yucky and it's not yours, don't touch it.
#5
I wouldn't get too complacent about this. We will know in a week or two whether this burns out like they normally do or gets bigger. But the area is remote with almost no roads and we are seeing significant numbers of healthcare workers (8 dead so far) and people who have travelled out of the area infected, which indicates to me this outbreak is bigger than the 120 reported cases.
#7
Shipman, I was in Singapore at the time of the SARS outbreak. It made me realize a number of things, not least how crucial trace and isolate is in stopping the spread of viral epidemic diseases. Becuase large parts of Africa have limited capacity to implement a trace and isolate regime, once an epidemic starts it will be very difficult to stop and that raises all kinds of questions that no one wants to address like isolating whole countries.
#9
It's a little known fact that virtually any location in the world is only about 3 stops away by airliner. At the worst that means less than 24-36 hours travel time (by airliner of course - backwoods hiking & travel doesn;t count).
Marburg is _VERY_ serious. The last information I read on it indicated there was still no cure, no known source of the virus itself (though it's suspect site is a cave complex in Congo if my memory serves me right though no virus has ever actually been found there), and extremely virulent and deadly.
It's a Category 4 virus (ie HOT Zone) meaning it is never handled outside of a Class 4 laboratory with full life support for the handlers, full insulation for the laboratory (including the capability to cut off the lab from the world if the unthinkable occurs), and full isolation of everything contained within the lab (exterior overpressure, UV sterilzation (plus washdowns), no exposed flesh, full "bunny suits", and more, etc. etc.).
Marburg's nasty and it's one that the guy who wrote "The Hot Zone" warned about in that book (can't remember the author right off the top right now). The only good thing about it is that it appears to be transferred by contact.
An airborne version or mutation could kill literally _billions_.
#10
Given the relatively high percentage of Africans already infected with HIV/Aids, Malaria, and other tasty goodies, I would think that a higher percentage (than in healthier parts of the world) would succumb to any new infectious disease agent. Shoot: more little African orphans trying to figure out how not to starve to death.
#11
Here in the West we could all just stay home for 10 days, and the disease would burn itself out. But I think I'll restock the pantry staples tomorrow, anyway. We'll be having a small crowd in this weekend for t.daughter #2's bat mitzvah, so Mr. Wife won't look at me oddly again. Thank goodness Passover doesn't start until April 23rd for the entire Jewish world; t.d. #1's bat mitzvah was just before the Seder (think Christ's last supper, except we don't sit all on one side of the table ;), and I just couldn't handle both family and holiday celebrations, so we ran away to Mexico for the duration.
Filoviruses belong to a virus family called Filoviridae and can cause severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates. So far, only two members of this virus family have been identified: Marburg virus and Ebola virus. Four species of Ebola virus have been identified: Ivory Coast, Sudan, Zaire, and Reston. Ebola-Reston is the only known filovirus that does not cause severe disease in humans; however, it can be fatal in monkeys.
n an outbreak or isolated case among humans, just how the virus is transmitted from the natural reservoir to a human is unknown. Once a human is infected, however, person-to-person transmission is the means by which further infections occur. Specifically, transmission involves close personal contact between an infected individual or their body fluids, and another person. During recorded outbreaks of hemorrhagic fever caused by filovirus infection, persons who cared for (fed, washed, medicated) or worked very closely with infected individuals were especially at risk of becoming infected themselves. Nosocomial (hospital) transmission through contact with infected body fluids â via reuse of unsterilized syringes, needles, or other medical equipment contaminated with these fluids â has also been an important factor in the spread of disease. When close contact between uninfected and infected persons is minimized, the number of new filovirus infections in humans usually declines. Although in the laboratory the viruses display some capability of infection through small-particle aerosols, airborne spread among humans has not been clearly demonstrated.
During outbreaks, isolation of patients and use of protective clothing and disinfection procedures (together called viral hemorrhagic fever isolation precautions or barrier nursing) has been sufficient to interrupt further transmission of Marburg or Ebola viruses, and thus to control and end the outbreak. Because there is no known effective treatment for the hemorrhagic fevers caused by filoviruses, transmission prevention through application of VHF isolation precautions is currently the centerpiece of filovirus control.
#13
I don't think Marburg is a threat in developed countries, but it could devastate large areas of the developing world. LC F the cave was eliminated as the source.
LAHORE: A man killed his wife and cousin in the name of honour on Sunday and surrendered himself to the South Cantt police. Muhammad Akram, a resident of Nadirabad, had married Razia a few years ago. Akram's cousin, Muhammad Basharat, visited him on Saturday and stayed the night at his house. In the morning, Akram found his wife and cousin in a compromising position. He got angry and shot them dead. Later, he surrendered himself to the police. The bodies were sent for an autopsy.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/28/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#1
IMHO, it's a remarkable fact that honor in Islam / Shari'a always means the death of someone else. In Western culture, almost all honor involves the death of self in a selfless act. Odd, that.
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.
March 28, 2005 -- SANTA MARIA, Calif. - A shameless Michael Jackson yesterday compared himself to 20th-century black icons Nelson Mandela and Jack Johnson, implying he's been persecuted because of race. 
BEIJING: A woman in eastern China drugged her husband with the help of her lesbian lover and then buried him alive in his own home to stop him from interfering in their relationship, state media said yesterday. The two women, Wang Lanying and Mou Hongxiu, from Jiangsu province have been arrested in what is being considered the first reported murder case motivated by a lesbian relationship in China, the Beijing News said.
DHAKA: A mob beat five suspected robbers to death after catching them looting a jewellery shop in central Bangladesh, police said yesterday. The five were stealing cash and gold late on Saturday from the shop at Raipura in Narsingdi district, 80km east of the capital, Dhaka, said area Police Chief Mir Rezaul Karim. As the alleged robbers started to flee with 5,000 takas (BD32) in cash and an unspecified amount of gold, the shop owner shouted for help, prompting passers-by and other traders to catch the five, Karim said. The severely injured suspects died before police arrived, he said. Police later recovered a revolver and two mobile phones from the scene. Police are investigating the incident, Karim said.
A high-ranking Church of England official has called for Prince Charles to apologise to the ex-husband of his fiancee Camilla Parker Bowles. Bishop David Stancliffe said church rules dictated Prince Charles must atone for committing adultery and he should apologise to Andrew Parker Bowles for breaking up his marriage, The Sunday Times newspaper said. Stancliffe, who is a church authority on rules of worship, said the apology should come before the April 8 wedding. "The Prince of Wales and Mrs Parker Bowles will be taking part in prayers of penitence at the service of prayer and dedication following their civil marriage," Stancliffe reportedly said.
EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel has ended a visit to Cuba, optimistic that relations with the communist state will strengthen. The EU is Cuba's largest trading partner, but diplomatic relations have been frozen for almost two years. Europe has criticised Cuba over its imprisonment of 75 dissidents and execution of three hijackers. Earlier this year, Europe decided temporarily to lift its diplomatic sanctions for a six-month trial period. Mr Michel said he had left Cuba far more positive than when he arrived. The former Belgian foreign minister appeared particularly heartened by his meeting with President Fidel Castro. The two men held what the commissioner described as a "deep conversation" until the early hours of Saturday morning. Mr Michel also met leading Cuban dissidents and some of the relatives of those critics of Mr Castro who were imprisoned two years ago.
CHEERING crowds greeted Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe's main opposition leader, as he told a rally in Harare yesterday that President Robert Mugabe had "no option but to go" in this week's parliamentary elections. Waving flags, supporters climbed trees in the dusty Highfield suburb to get a better view of the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, to whom Mugabe supporters refer disparagingly as "chamatama" - the fat-cheeked one. 
LAHORE: A man killed his wife and cousin in the name of honour on Sunday and surrendered himself to the South Cantt police. Muhammad Akram, a resident of Nadirabad, had married Razia a few years ago. Akram's cousin, Muhammad Basharat, visited him on Saturday and stayed the night at his house. In the morning, Akram found his wife and cousin in a compromising position. He got angry and shot them dead. Later, he surrendered himself to the police. The bodies were sent for an autopsy.
