#2
Haw Haw. I remember one old WWI veteran in the 1960s, who was such a skilled scrapper that he took out an aggressive big hippie guy Three Stooges style, while pretending to be a hobbling old dotard.
The best the witness could determine, the vet accidentally poked a pencil sized hole in his instep through some unknown means, tripped him, head butted him to the face, tripped him again, and head butted him again to the side of the jaw.
The big hippie was so befuddled that all he could do was sit down, take the shoe off his bleeding foot, hold his pounding head with a bleeding nose, and couldn't shut his jaw, and groan.
#3
Flag-burning *is* protected (although irony laden) speech. However, it is best to determine that the flag in question actually belongs to you before ignition. Otherwise, you are just a vandal.
#4
Even if you burn your own flag in a public place, you should still have to get a burning permit.
Public fire is public fire; it's either a danger to the public and should have rules, or not.
If the wind picks up a piece of burning flag and pushes it against the legs of a woman wearing nylon stockings, free speech ain't gonna cut it for the burner....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/27/2009 20:15 Comments ||
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The UK's largest haul of Anglo-Saxon treasure has been discovered buried in a field in Staffordshire. Experts say the collection of 1,500 gold and silver pieces, which may date to the 7th Century, is unparalleled in size and worth "a seven-figure sum".
It has been declared treasure by South Staffordshire coroner Andrew Haigh, meaning it belongs to the Crown.
The Staffordshire hoard contains about 5kg of gold and 2.5kg of silver, making it far bigger than the Sutton Hoo discovery in 1939 when 1.5kg of Anglo-Saxon gold was found near Woodbridge in Suffolk.
Leslie Webster, former keeper at the British Museum's Department of Prehistory and Europe, said: "This is going to alter our perceptions of Anglo-Saxon England as radically, if not more so, as the Sutton Hoo discoveries.
"(It is) absolutely the equivalent of finding a new Lindisfarne Gospels or Book of Kells."
The Book of Kells and Lindisfarne Gospels are intricately illuminated manuscripts of the four New Testament Gospels dating from the 9th and 8th Centuries.
Mr Herbert, 55, of Burntwood in Staffordshire, who has been metal detecting for 18 years, came across the hoard as he searched land belonging to a farmer friend over five days in July. The exact location has not been disclosed.
"I have this phrase that I say sometimes; 'spirits of yesteryear take me where the coins appear', but on that day I changed coins to gold," he said.
"I don't know why I said it that day but I think somebody was listening and directed me to it.
#1
"I have this phrase that I say sometimes; 'spirits of yesteryear take me where the coins appear', but on that day I changed coins to gold," he said.
And a hearty congratulations (probably all he'll harvest from his efforts) to Mr. Herbert. I'm certain "The Crown" will put it all to very, very good use.
#2
And a hearty congratulations (probably all he'll harvest from his efforts) to Mr. Herbert. I'm certain "The Crown" will put it all to very, very good use.
Worry not, Besoeker - Brown won't get his hands on this lot (you're presumably referring to the more-than-half of Britain's gold reserves he sold, at a time when its value was extremely low, to help finance New Labour's golden rain of wasted public spending). The discoverer and the landowner will share 50:50 the value of the gold, which will be purchased by museums.
[Iran Press TV Latest] The Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez both will sign eight cooperation agreements, Venezuela's state media says.
The accords will be signed in Caracas, according to Venezuela's ABN news agency.
Venezuelan Ambassador to Tripoli Afif Tajeldine said five agreements have already been signed with Libya, Venezuela's top African ally, but he did not provide the figures or domain involved.
"Libya is the gateway to Africa for us because it is a country well-known for its socialist policies that plays an important and strategic role for us," he added.
Gaddafi was on Venezuela's scenic Isla Margarita, where a two-day summit began on Saturday, bringing together nine South American presidents and some 20 African leaders.
Chavez's other high-profile guests at the Caribbean resort destination included the Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and the Democratic Republic of Congo's Joseph Kabila.
Gaddafi's trip to Venezuela is his first to Latin America since he came to power 40 years ago.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/27/2009 00:00 ||
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Over 66,000 farmworkers in Zimbabwe have been made homeless since February and are fighting for survival following a new spate of invasions of white-owned farms, a farm union said Friday.
The report by the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ) claimed the farm's new owners had hired the police to force farmworkers and their families off the land.
Most of the workers were living rough, by the roadside or in the mountains where they had set up squatter camps, GAPWUZ said in a report entitled Fresh Invasions and Challenges Faced by Farmworkers in Zimbabwe that it presented to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai this week.
The report expressed concerns for the health of the labourers, most of whom come from neighbouring Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia, saying they were forced to walk long distances to find water and that they were drinking from rivers contaminated with animal fecal matter.
GAPWUZ said the workers had been laid off by the new farmers - mostly military officials and/or members of President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party - because they were seen as loyal to their previous white bosses and because the new farmers were not engaged in productive farming.
'Farmworkers have been turned into nomads,' the report said.
The labourers, some of whom had been beaten by police, had no access to medical assistance in the squatter camps, which were regularly raided by the authorities, the report said.
Last year, GAPWUZ estimated that 350,000 black farmworkers had been displaced by the redistribution of farms to new black farmers since 2000.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/27/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Squatter nation. They will squat anything, anywhere.
#2
Another case of black on black violence that the MSM won't report.
The new black "farmers" aren't really farming. They don't need as many laborers. If they do need any, they will get them from among their cronies.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
09/27/2009 22:55 Comments ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] An Awami League (AL) activist was killed and 20 others were injured in a clash between AL and Jubo League factions at Chhoto Paina village under Bera municipality area of the district yesterday.
The deceased was identified as Azizul Haque, 36, son of Nayeemuddin hailed from Chhoto Paina.
The clash took place at a time when State Minister Shamsul Haque Tuku was on a daylong visit to mandaps (worship pavilion) in Bera, Santhia and Sujanagar upazilas of the district.
Zillur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Bera Police Station, told The Daily Star that additional police were deployed to avert further clash.
Locals said the clash took place over acquiring supremacy in the area between Manu Mannan and Main Uddin groups. Manu Mannan is president of Bera municipality unit AL and Main Uddin secretary of Bera municipality unit Jubo League.
The long-drawn internal feud between the two groups resurrected in recent weeks, said sources.
The supporters of two groups were locked in a clash with iron rod, hockey stick, bamboo and other sharp weapons in front of Bera Dak Bungalow around 1:00pm.
Caught in the melee, Azizul Haque fell into a pond and died.
Among the injured, Jafrul, Zia, Raju, Hasna, Milon, Monirul, Shafiqul, Milan, Arif, Farhad, and Alauddin were admitted to Bera upazila health complex.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/27/2009 00:00 ||
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HT to AOSHQ. I think they should let him rot there, but pretty obviously they're P.O.'d at Brazil's facilitation of this travesty
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/27/2009 12:16 ||
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#1
Honduras real message to Brazil should be to direct its embassy personnel to get ready to come home. This sends the clear message to Brazil that they are serious about closing the Brazilian embassy. This will force Brazil to poop or get off the pot.
Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, who has taken refuge in Brazil's Embassy in Tegucigalpa, has accused the interim government of using toxic gas to poison those inside the embassy.
A doctor was seen treating people at the embassy Friday. Mr. Zelaya charged that gas caused breathing difficulties and bleeding.
The caretaker government of Roberto Micheletti denied sending toxic gas into the embassy. Mr. Micheletti told the Associated Press during an interview Friday that international treaties on diplomatic relations are being "obeyed in every possible way."
Mr. Micheletti accused Mr. Zelaya of taking a hardline position that is stalling talks on resolving the political crisis. He said the ousted president told negotiators the only options are "restitution or death".
Posted by: Fred ||
09/27/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
"...the ousted president told negotiators the only options are "restitution or death".
I'll take 'Death' for $200 Alex.
Posted by: lord garth ||
09/27/2009 0:03 Comments ||
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#2
I'll see your $200 and raise $200 more, garth. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/27/2009 0:09 Comments ||
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#3
Personally I think its the food he's been chomping down.
#4
His diet consists of prunes, apples, raisins bananas, beans and peas, cabbage, radishes, onions, brussel sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli all produce gas.
Angela Merkel has cruised to victory at the helm of a new-centre right coalition in Germany's national election.
Her rival, Social Democrat Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has conceded defeat.
Mrs Merkel's coalition 'have a majority in the parliament and will be able to form a government,' Mr Steinmeier told dejected supporters after seeing support for his centre-left Social Democrats plunge by over 11 percentage points.
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Preliminary results indicate that Mrs Merkel's Christian Democrat Party will be able to ditch its coalition partners of the past four years, the centre-left Social Democrats, in favour of the business-friendly Free Democrats.
The campaign was overshadowed by security concerns following a series of al-Qaeda messages warning Germany to pull its troops out of Afghanistan.
Mrs Merkel emerged from obscurity four years ago to lead the male dominated and deeply conservative Christian Democrats.
At the time she was seen a potential Margaret Thatcher promising painful reforms to Germany's stagnant labour market.
However, her agenda was seen as harsh, and on the eve of the 2005 election her support evaporated. The Christian Democrats won enough seats but they had to form a grand coalition with their rivals on the left, the Social Democrats.
This time around Angela Merkel ditched any talk of cuts in the public sector, preferring instead to focus on stability and in keeping people in jobs.
Her campaign was short on specifics and instead her handlers have concentrated of her role as a kind of mother figure in a time of crisis
#1
Hurrah - my fondest short-term wishes with regard to Germany have been answered!!! Congratulations to European Conservative and the rest of Rantburg's German contingent!
#5
The very best thing they can do to celebrate is to turn their Afghanistan veterans into national heroes. Not out of a sense of militarism, but for national pride. That alone will subtly, but noticeably improve their economy, because the public will just feel better.
THE director Roman Polanski has been arrested in Switzerland on a 31-year-old US warrant, AP reports. Organisers of the Zurich Film Festival said Polanski was detained by police yesterday.
Zurich police did not immediately confirm the information to AP.
It is understood he traveled to Switzerland to receive a lifetime award for his work as a director.
Polanski fled the United States for France in 1978 after pleading guilty to unlawful sex with an underage girl. Polanski was originally indicted on six charges, including rape, for having sex with a 13-year-old girl after plying her with champagne and drugs. He insisted the sex was consensual but pleaded guilty to a single count of having sex with a minor, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Polanski spent 42 days incarcerated for psychiatric evaluation in 1978, but fled before sentencing because he became convinced the judge intended to send him back to prison, contrary to a plea agreement he had made with prosecutors.
A citizen of his native France, Polanski cannot be extradited but faces arrest if he sets foot back on US soil.
Vilified in the U.S. media at the time, the director has earned a measure of sympathy in Hollywood and won an Academy Award for directing 2002's Holocaust drama "The Pianist."
His attorneys had sought to disqualify the entire Los Angeles County court system from hearing the matter, a request that was rejected earlier this month by a California appeals court.
#5
Yeah. He gave a 13-year-old girl quaaludes and alcohol (who the F gives alcohol to a 13-year-old, much less quaaludes) and then anally raped her. And yet he's the toast of Tinseltown. Why? Well because he's an artiste, and they are above our petty morality.
#6
Too bad, Roman. I still think Chinatown is one of the best movies I've ever seen. But doing it with a 13-year-old is not OK.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
09/27/2009 13:00 Comments ||
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#7
Plus he tied her up before he raped her. I hope the victim gets to confront him during the trial.
P.S. A friend of mine was eating at Tommy's in Hollywood ~3 AM when in walks Roman Polanski with a 14 year old girl. They order and sit down and proceed to make out right at the table.
This was before the rape incident, so my friend was not surprised at all when it happened. I guess consensual sex got too boring for old Roman.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
09/27/2009 13:17 Comments ||
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#8
the now-44 yr old victim wants no part of this, but that's not germaine. He already pled guilty, then left the country before sentencing. It's a done deal
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/27/2009 13:31 Comments ||
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#9
You think they are kinder to "short eyes" in da big house if the offender is an artiste with an Oscar?
Yeah, I didn't think so, either...hope the fondue was worth it, Roman...
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.
[Iran Press TV Latest] The Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez both will sign eight cooperation agreements, Venezuela's state media says. 
[Bangla Daily Star] An Awami League (AL) activist was killed and 20 others were injured in a clash between AL and Jubo League factions at Chhoto Paina village under Bera municipality area of the district yesterday.
Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, who has taken refuge in Brazil's Embassy in Tegucigalpa, has accused the interim government of using toxic gas to poison those inside the embassy.
