THIS is a movie I'll go see; IIRC, Peter Jackson's original script for "King Kong" was heavily borrowed from by Hollywood, most notably in the second "Mummy" flick. From "Bad taste" and "Meet the Feebles" to "LOTR" and "King kong", what a great carreer so far!
And you thought canadian health system was bad...
A Chinese peasant woman who suffered a brain hemorrhage was left at the undertakers alive for cremation because her family could no longer afford hospital treatment, state media said on Friday.
She was only saved by the tears in her eyes.
The case is the latest in a series of tragedies illustrating China's stretched health care system and the inability of rural workers to meet spiraling medical costs.
You Guoying, a 47-year-old migrant worker from southwestern Sichuan province, was taken for cremation by her husband and children in Taizhou, eastern Zhejiang province, where she worked, the China Youth Daily said.
Fortunately for You, the undertaker realized she was still alive when he saw her move and tears in her eyes, the newspaper said.
"This is not only a tragedy for the family, but also for society," it quoted Xu Yinghe, a Taizhou official, as saying.
"The fundamental reason is the absence of a social welfare system."
You was taken back to hospital for further treatment with money donated by sympathetic citizens of prosperous Zhejiang, the newspaper said.
"Three days of treatment cost us more than 10,000 yuan," it quoted her daughter as saying, adding that was the sum of the family's life savings.
"If there had been another option, who would have the heart to send a member of their own family for cremation while there was still a hope of survival?"
The newspaper did not say if the family would face charges.
Vice Health Minister Zhu Qingsheng said last December that about half of all farmers could not afford medical treatment when sick.
A 42-year-old farmer too poor to afford treatment for lung cancer set off a home-made bomb aboard a bus in Fuzhou, capital of the southeastern province of Fujian, in August, killing himself and another passenger and wounding 30.
Also in August, a security guard hailed a hero for fighting off a purse snatcher jumped to his death from a hospital window in south Guangxi province because he couldn't afford the bills.
In the late 1970s, 94 percent of China's villagers were covered by cooperative medical schemes. But the collectives were disbanded during market reforms of the 1980s which ended cradle-to-grave welfare for the masses.
During its live coverage of the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, NBC did not tell viewers that a giant balloon had caught on a street lamp and injured two sisters.
At the point in the broadcast when the "M&M's Chocolate Candies" balloon was supposed to have crossed the finish line, announcers Katie Couric, Matt Lauer and Al Roker stuck close to their scripts and the network ran footage of the balloon from last year's parade. Couric told the audience they were seeing old footage and bantered with Lauer and Roker, but there was no further mention of the accident. An NBC spokeswoman said Friday that producers knew something had happened with the balloon but didn't know exactly what.
The accident happened in Times Square, where the balloon's tethers became entangled on the head of a street lamp and knocked part of it off. Sarah and Mary Chamberlain, 11 and 26, were hit by the debris. Sarah needed nine stitches to her head, and Mary, who uses a wheelchair, suffered a bump on her forehead.
Their father, Stephen Chamberlain, called it a freak accident and said the family didn't plan to sue. He said his daughters are looking forward to the special VIP seating Macy's offered them for next year's parade. The street lamp had been among those replaced following a similar incident in 1997 that seriously injured two people. The old lamp posts had arms that extended over the parade route. The new posts are lighter and smaller.
#1
It occurs to me that had this accident happened in any third world country (and possibly one or two of the Old World countries), the resultant stampede would have killed a few dozen bystanders and injured a hundred or more.
#2
have no doubt 2-3,000 will file personal injury suits - over 60% by the same lawyer....it was a HUGE light
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2005 1:11 Comments ||
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#3
it was a HUGE light
with layers of old lead paint.
Posted by: f lee ambulance chaser ||
11/26/2005 2:14 Comments ||
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#4
What? No asbestos?
Posted by: Rafael ||
11/26/2005 4:24 Comments ||
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#5
It occurs to me that had this accident happened in any third world country (and possibly one or two of the Old World countries), the resultant stampede would have killed a few dozen bystanders and injured a hundred or more.
Something like "Dehli man in car accident; 5000 dead"?
With the 19th election of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry fast approaching, candidates were eager to publicize the lists they belong to such as the Golden list, the Platinum list, and al Afdal (the best). Put forward by Hisham Basrah, an imam at the Sayyidah Raqiyah mosque in southern Jeddah, the lists were published on the internet last Monday. The accompanying statement written by the imam opposed the participation of female candidates in Saturday's elections since it contravened Islamic Sharia (Islamic law). "I gathered important information on this issue which I addressed in a Friday sermon a few months ago about women's issues. After the sermon, an honorable member of the audience posted the section about female participation in the Chamber on the internet."
The former teacher of Islamic studies decided to submit a list of candidates after he consulted a number of trusted businessmen. He asked them to propose names of the best independent or coalition candidates, according to certain criteria. Accordingly, the candidate has to be religiously observant and pious, sincere and able to devote his time and effort to the Chamber. He should not be known to have committed any sins and he should not support the participation of women in Jeddah's Chamber of Commerce.
The Imam bases his opposition to the candidacy of women on the need to resist westernization and protect society from the dangerous and corrupt association of women and money. He also warned against encouraging women to take part in public life without consideration for the differences between the sexes. Asked by Asharq al Awsat about the indirect offense his list might have caused to some candidates, he refused to answer and referred us to his statement above. On the subject of female candidates, Basrah said, "As far as I know, the Chamber did not consult religious figures" in its decision. When told that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry had decided to allow women to run for elections, he replied, "The problem is not in the decisions but in their application."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/26/2005 00:00 ||
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Production on two new Pirates of the Caribbean films, starring Keira Knightley, has been halted because of raids by real-life brigands, according to reports from the Bahamas. Two cast members have been forced to flee for their lives after a series of robberies at the Grand Bahama island location, producers of the Disney film said. Two sequels to the £500 million-grossing first film...are being shot back-to-back in the Bahamas. Jason Kakebeen, head of location production, said:
âWe have had a slew of robberies on the actors who are working for Pirates of the Caribbean over at the Port Lucaya resort. âThey [the robbers] were able to get into the room with a key and stole everything from ship's stores, laptops, passports, cheques and other equipment. The money they stole was actually the actorsâ pay cheques.â
Drat. I was expecting to read that the Black Pearl had been attacked at sea, with scimitars clenched between teeth, grappling claws, and lots of grog.
Some actors and crew members have been robbed four times in a month. The last incident happened on November 11. It is claimed that $20,000 (£11,500) in cash and equipment was taken. Mr Kakebeen, chief executive of Jemini Seven Entertainment, declined to say whether any of the filmâs stars had been targeted. But he said that two actors had left the island in fear of their lives as a result of the robberies. The equipment and cast losses have brought production to a standstill. Police and the Bahamas Film and Television Commission are investigating the allegations.
CSI: Port Lucaya on the case, and Rita Cosby is taking a puddle jumper over from Aruba.
Film production provides valuable income for the islands but Mr Kakebeen predicted that leading US studios would pull future productions if robberies could not be prevented.
Japan Airline and All Nippon Airways airplanes bound for China's Xiamen were not permitted to land at an airport in the Chinese city because of military exercises, Japanese transport ministry said Friday.
JAL Flight 607, with 179 passengers onboard, was forced to return to Narita airport, about six hours after its departure from there, JAL officials said. Meanwhile, ANA Flight 957, carrying 162 passengers and crew members, left Kansai International Airport in Osaka at about 10:30 a.m. but was informed by Chinese authorities that the plane would not be permitted to land. The plane then landed at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, but was later allowed to land in Xiamen. The plane arrived there four hours later than scheduled, ministry officials said.
When runway use is limited, the authorities usually inform airline companies concerned beforehand, but the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said JAL had received no advance notice from China. Such incidents happen several times a year, according to JAL officials. The passengers on the JAL flight will head to Xiamen on Saturday, they said. JAL officials said China has indicated it will not shoulder costs involved in the schedule change.
Turkey's Islamist-rooted governing party has begun a crackdown on alcohol in the local districts it controls, in a move which has sparked heavy criticism in the strictly secular country. Justice and Development Party (AKP) mayors in Ankara, the capital and symbol of the Turkish secular republic, have banned alcohol from local government cafes and restaurants citing a need to protect family values.
They doing it for The Children™, see?
They are also refusing to issue new sales licenses, while extensions to existing permits are getting bogged down in interminable bureaucratic delays. Turks follow a more moderate interpretation of the Koran and the sale and consumption of alcohol is legal under license.
For now, anyway. Some places.
The ruling AKP, an offshoot of a now-dissolved Islamist group, has not published an official directive on the issue but does not seem unduly alarmed by developments. Even Turkey's traditional aniseed-flavored liqueur, raki, has been banned in Anatolia, where some AKP mayors favor the introduction of an out-of-town "drinking zone." The deputy mayor of the northwestern town of Osmangazi, Abdullah Karadag, supports the idea of casting out the bars. "We want to create drinking streets like in Europe," Karadag told the media.
Istanbul saw the beginnings of a similar ban in local government establishments some 10 years ago, when the current Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was elected as mayor of the country's largest city. In government since 2003, Erdogan now disowns his Islamist past and has embraced Turkey's bid to join the European Union. Erdogan, who abstains from alcohol even at state banquets where he makes toasts with a glass of fruit juice, recently endorsed his mayors, saying the government had "a duty to protect young people from the dangers of alcohol."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/26/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Better buy French wine now, it won't be produced in another decade.
Posted by: Curt Simon ||
11/26/2005 7:26 Comments ||
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In a historic break with the past, Poland's newly elected government threw open its top secret Warsaw Pact military archives - including a 1979 map revealing the Soviet bloc's vision of a seven-day atomic holocaust between Nato and Warsaw Pact forces. The defence minister, Radek Sikorsky, showed off the map at an emotional press conference. About two million Polish civilians would die in such a war, and the country would be all but wiped off the face of the Earth, he said.
The map dates from a time when the balance of power was radically different from now. In Washington the vacillating Jimmy Carter was suffering a series of defeats - the Iranian revolution and the subsequent seizure of the United States embassy in Teheran. Britain was at a low ebb, racked by strikes, and just putting its faith in Margaret Thatcher. The Kremlin, however, was stretching its muscles - preparing for its ill-fated takeover of Afghanistan.
Perhaps because the map shows a limited war game exercise, entitled Seven Days to the River Rhine, rather than full invasion plans, troops stop at the Rhine, and there are no attacks or bomb strikes on Britain, or on France.
The decision to unveil the Warsaw Pact documents is one of the first moves of Poland's new conservative government. Mr Sikorsky described it as an attempt to draw a line under the country's Communist past, and "educate" the Polish public about the old regime. He did not deny that the opening of the archives will be seen as a provocation in Moscow. Russian-Polish relations have sharply deteriorated recently, amid rows over a planned oil pipeline, and Polish support for democratic revolutions in Russia's backyard, first in Ukraine, and now Belarus.
The files being released would include documents about "Operation Danube", the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia. They also included files on an army massacre of Polish workers in Szczecin in the 1970s, and from the martial law era of the 1980s.
#1
So, in other words, the American cold war doctrine of being prepared to repulse a massive Soviet thrust of ground forces into Western Germany was completely spot on.
Someone needs to give Sikorsky a medal for revealing just how precisely tuned US strategy was in its time. It must be some slight cold comfort to Poland to confirm that they were nothing more than a killing field for advancing Soviet troops. Lech Walensa may well have saved his nation's collective life in rebelling against its communist overlords.
If RasPutin raises a ruckus over this, it will only prove that Russia has yet to completely abandon its, now thwarted, imperialistic aspirations.
#2
Good for them. Sweet revenge on Poland's communists. "It's important for citizens to know who was a hero, and who was a villain. It is important for the civic health of society to make these things public." Too bad Poland doesn't have the death penalty.
...and thank God for Reagan.
Posted by: Rafael ||
11/26/2005 4:23 Comments ||
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#3
very interesting! i find the cold war stuff amazing in its scale of destruction. I mean you get a car bomb these days and its amazing for the simple media and know nothing onlookers but an atomic war would simply be something else beyond most peoples imagination. I do fear cold war 2 is already warming up with china however - i mean how can we not be entering a cold war 2 with them (unless bird flu or something kills em all or someting) .
Posted by: Shep UK ||
11/26/2005 4:53 Comments ||
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A high school teacher is facing questions from administrators after giving a vocabulary quiz that included digs at President Bush and the extreme right. Bret Chenkin, a social studies and English teacher at Mount Anthony Union High School, said he gave the quiz to his students several months ago. The quiz asked students to pick the proper words to complete sentences.
One example: "I wish Bush would be (coherent, eschewed) for once during a speech, but there are theories that his everyday diction charms the below-average mind, hence insuring him Republican votes." "Coherent" is the right answer.
Wotta card.
Principal Sue Maguire said she hoped to speak to whomever complained about the quiz and any students who might be concerned. She said she also would talk with Chenkin. School Superintendent Wesley Knapp said he was taking the situation seriously. "It's absolutely unacceptable," Knapp said. "They (teachers) don't have a license to hold forth on a particular standpoint."
Probably haven't reminded them of that in a while.
Chenkin, 36, a teacher for seven years, said he isn't shy about sharing his liberal views with students as a way of prompting debate, but said the quizzes are being taken out of context. "The kids know it's hyperbolic, so-to-speak," he said. "They know it's tongue in cheek."
I suspect the kids are wiser than he is on a number of issues ...
But he said he would change his teaching methods if some are concerned. "I'll put in both sides," he said. "Especially if it's going to cause a lot of grief."
Bet you never thought of that until now, huh.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/26/2005 01:08 ||
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#1
What's upsetting here also is that these are only the cases that we hear about. There are probably many more instances happening around our country, especially in smaller communities, where teachers have a lot of influence and can push their own agenda re: religion/politics. (growing up in a very rural area, and being in the minority this I know very well)
The age of the kids I feel comes into play here as well. Pushing some of these issues to be "discussed" with younger grades, where they may often be brainwashed, verses older grades where there can be frank discussion, after studying both sides of the issues involved.
I would like to see schools held more responsible/accountable and have some real punishment enacted if they are found to be doing this personal type influence to our kids. Punishment directed toward the school and toward the teacher involved.
Posted by: Jan ||
11/26/2005 9:47 Comments ||
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BOSTON (Reuters) - Boston set off a furor this week when it officially renamed a giant tree erected in a city park a "holiday tree" instead of a "Christmas tree." Wonder who signed off on this?
The move drew an angry response from Christian conservatives, including evangelist Jerry Falwell who heckled Boston officials and pressed the city to change the name back. "There's been a concerted effort to steal Christmas," Falwell told Fox Television. Well, better Falwell than Robertson...
The Nova Scotia logger who cut down the 48-foot (14-meter) tree was indignant and said he would not have donated the tree if he had known of the name change.
"I'd have cut it down and put it through the chipper," Donnie Hatt told a Canadian newspaper. "If they decide it should be a holiday tree, I'll tell them to send it back. If it was a holiday tree, you might as well put it up at Easter."
Falwell and the conservative Liberty Counsel led a campaign that threatened to sue anyone who spreads what they see as misinformation about Christmas celebrations in public spaces.
The controversy reflects the legal vulnerability of city and state governments over taxpayer-funded displays of religious icons and concern over crossing the line in the separation between church and state. Last year, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger lit what he called a "Christmas tree" at a state ceremony. The year before, he and former California Gov. Gray Davis presided over ceremonies for the more secular "holiday trees." In Boston, many residents voiced their dismay over the Web site that promotes a December 1 ceremony for "Boston's Official Holiday Tree Lighting."
Christmas has become too politically correct, said 64 percent of people who responded to an online poll by a CBS television affiliate in Boston.
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said he would keep calling the Nova Scotia spruce a "Christmas tree" regardless of what it said on the city's official Web site.
"I grew up with a Christmas tree, I'm going to stay with a Christmas tree," Menino told reporters on Thursday. But he won't do anything about it? Who's in charge here, Mayor?
But the controversy cast a pall over a long-standing tradition between Boston and Canada. Nova Scotia donates a tree each year to Boston in gratitude for the city's help after an explosion killed about 1,900 people and injured 4,000 others in Halifax in 1917. Not anymore...
This one's for you, Mucky.
Gode, Ethiopia (AHN) - U.S. troops discover two cheetah cubs, one of them blinded, being forced to fight each other for the amusement of residents in this small Ethiopian village. Soldiers of the U.S. counterterrorism force for the Horn of Africa were carrying out humanitarian work when they came across the cheetahs "performing" at a local restaurant.
The task force provides help in intelligence gathering to several countries in the region as well as offering border protection.The troops provided medical treatment for the blinded cub, fed them both, and tried to persuade the restaurant owner to hand them over to wildlife officials. They then contacted U.S.-based cheetah experts, as well as Ethiopian authorities.
The restaurant owner says he will hand over the cheetahs if he is paid $1,000 for each animal. Which is essentially a king's ransom. These animals have very little chance of living another year in their captor's cruel hands. This is merely extortion.
Housing wild animals is illegal without a proper license, but these laws are rarely enforced in Ethiopia. Deputy Wildlife Minister Ahmed Nisir has deployed officials to attempt to ensure the cheetahs' release, and a government vet is expected to visit the them Saturday. Due to an extremely constricted genetic pool, cheetahs are amongst some of the most endangered of all the big cats, ranking alongside snow leopards. It's hard not to want to gouge out one of the restaurant owner's eyes and tie him to a fence so he can fight an adult cheetah.
#1
reminds me of the mindless pricks that go fox hunting over in this country, lame
Posted by: Shep UK ||
11/26/2005 4:38 Comments ||
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#2
Historically, one of the major pressures on Cheetah populations was that the animals were easy to tame/train but hard to breed in captivity. People would go out and kill the parents in order to adopt the cubs.
Posted by: Phil ||
11/26/2005 4:38 Comments ||
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On March 7, 2003, as a result of actions and policies by certain members of the government of Zimbabwe, and its supporters to undermine democratic institutions and processes in Zimbabwe, President Bush issued Executive Order 13288 imposing sanctions against specifically identified individuals and entities in Zimbabwe.
On November 23, 2005, the President issued a new Executive Order superseding E.O. 13288. The new Executive Order expands the list of sanctions targets to include immediate family members of any designated individual of the Zimbabwe sanctions, as well as those persons providing assistance to any sanctions target. The new Executive Order prohibits U.S. persons, wherever located, or anyone in the United States from engaging in any transactions with any person, entity or organization found to be undermining democratic institutions and processes in Zimbabwe; have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support to these entities; be or have been an immediate family member of a sanctions target; or be owned, controlled or acting on behalf of a sanctions target.
Under the Executive Order, U.S. persons are also required to block any property of any Zimbabwe Specially Designated Nationals that is in the United States, that comes into the United States, or that comes under the control of a U.S. person wherever located. Foreign branches and representative offices of U.S. companies, as well as U.S. branches and representative offices of foreign companies are considered U.S. persons for purposes of these prohibitions.
#1
This is the second 'Tit' by the U.S., for the Zimbabwe 'Tat' toward Iron Fisted Rule! This Chavez clone will run open armed to the Red Dragon for comfort and support!
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Friday he would consider granting clemency to convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams, the Crips gang founder who became an anti-gang activist while in prison and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The governor said he would meet Dec. 8 in a private hearing with Williams' lawyers, Los Angeles County prosecutors and others involved.
Schwarzenegger has the authority to commute a death sentence to life without parole, but he is not obligated to hold a hearing. In Schwarzenegger's case, he decides clemency requests on a "case-by-case basis," spokeswoman Margita Thompson said. Two other clemency petitions have come before Schwarzenegger. Neither was granted.
Williams, 51, faces a lethal injection on Dec. 13 for the 1979 slayings of a Whittier convenience store clerk and three people at a Pico Rivera motel. He has maintained his innocence and has asked the California Supreme Court to reopen his case, alleging shoddy forensics wrongly connected him to three of the murders. The Supreme Court hasn't ruled on the petition. Los Angeles County prosecutors and victims' relatives have demanded his execution.
#1
Tookie Williams has not demonstrated true remorse. There is no reason to commute his well deserved death penalty. This maggot has sent countless hundreds of victims and young gang members to their deaths with his hideous Crips syndicate. Yet, he refuses to help dismantle this mob that he knows so well. The needle is too good.
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/26/2005 1:12 Comments ||
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#4
This Nobel Peace Prize has lost it's punch with me ever since they awarded it to Arafat.
Hope the governator terminates him.
Posted by: Jan ||
11/26/2005 9:01 Comments ||
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#5
You know back in the old days, these issues were usually resolved by the offended family offing the SOB. Then the state stepped into the process and said that to stop then unending cycle of vendetta, it, the state would provide justice. Now the state is forfeiting that responsibility it assumed. If the state is unwilling or unable to provide the victims justice, then it is time the state return the power back to the people it took it from. Its not a choice of whether or not the state should do it. It is the responsibility of the state to do it or get out of the process.
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.
During its live coverage of the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, NBC did not tell viewers that a giant balloon had caught on a street lamp and injured two sisters.
With the 19th election of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry fast approaching, candidates were eager to publicize the lists they belong to such as the Golden list, the Platinum list, and al Afdal (the best). Put forward by Hisham Basrah, an imam at the Sayyidah Raqiyah mosque in southern Jeddah, the lists were published on the internet last Monday. The accompanying statement written by the imam opposed the participation of female candidates in Saturday's elections since it contravened Islamic Sharia (Islamic law). "I gathered important information on this issue which I addressed in a Friday sermon a few months ago about women's issues. After the sermon, an honorable member of the audience posted the section about female participation in the Chamber on the internet." 
Production on two new Pirates of the Caribbean films, starring Keira Knightley, has been halted because of raids by real-life brigands, according to reports from the Bahamas. Two cast members have been forced to flee for their lives after a series of robberies at the Grand Bahama island location, producers of the Disney film said. Two sequels to the £500 million-grossing first film...are being shot back-to-back in the Bahamas. Jason Kakebeen, head of location production, said: 
Japan Airline and All Nippon Airways airplanes bound for China's Xiamen were not permitted to land at an airport in the Chinese city because of military exercises, Japanese transport ministry said Friday.
Turkey's Islamist-rooted governing party has begun a crackdown on alcohol in the local districts it controls, in a move which has sparked heavy criticism in the strictly secular country. Justice and Development Party (AKP) mayors in Ankara, the capital and symbol of the Turkish secular republic, have banned alcohol from local government cafes and restaurants citing a need to protect family values.
On March 7, 2003, as a result of actions and policies by certain members of the government of Zimbabwe, and its supporters to undermine democratic institutions and processes in Zimbabwe, President Bush issued Executive Order 13288 imposing sanctions against specifically identified individuals and entities in Zimbabwe. 
