(Xinhuanet) -- A judge on Tuesday named Anna Nicole Smith's 18-month-old daughter Dannielynn the sole heir of the former Playboy Playmate's estate, according to U.S. media reports Wednesday.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff also ruled that a trust should be established for Dannielynn. Her father, Larry Birkhead, and Smith's executor, Howard K. Stern, will be co-trustees. "We and Mr. Stern always believed that Anna Nicole never intended to disinherit her daughter," said Stern's attorney, Bruce S. Ross. "I'm pleased to say this chapter in the saga is closed." Ross said after Tuesday's hearing.
Stern filed papers in Supreme Court in October 2007 seeking to clarify Smith's intentions in the will that she drafted five years before Dannielynn was born, since Smith's son, Daniel, had been her heir, according to the will. Smith did not change it after her daughter was born. However, Stern's petition said the assets in Daniel's trust should be shared equally if she had future children.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Both PARIS HILTON and ANNA NICOLE are distant relations to me and my family, although I wonder iff they knew about each other???
#3
Here in Tennessee Family Reunions are a great place to pick up chicks.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/06/2008 10:17 Comments ||
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#4
My daughter's social studies class had to make and show their family trees - when she hung hers up a classmate said "That's not a family tree, it's a family vine!"
#2
A government derives it power from the consent of the governed. That consent isn't votes. It's the willingness to give that last full measure of devotion. The EU has a serious lack of devotion other than the ruling class. Don't look to the Western Atlantic to show up again to pull your chestnuts out of the next fire.
David Cameron accused Gordon Brown of cheating the voters and stoking cynicism about politics yesterday as he attacked the Governments refusal to offer a referendum on the Lisbon treaty. MPs rejected the Conservative proposal by 311 votes to 248 votes last night, after a six-hour debate. The result means that Parliament will decide whether to ratify the treaty, signed by EU leaders last December.
Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, suffered most from rebellions against the party line, with 13 of his 63 MPs ignoring orders to abstain on the vote, inclduing three who resigned from the front bench. Mr Brown also faced a substantial revolt, with 29 Labour MPs supporting a referendum.
The Conservative leader, three of whose MPs would later vote with the Government, goaded Mr Brown during Prime Ministers Questions. He asked him twice whether his refusal to agree to the referendum was because he feared that voters would reject the treaty if it were put to a vote. Does he not understand that this is one of the reasons why our political system is so badly broken?
All three main parties in this House made a promise to our constituents for a vote on the EU constitution. When we turn around and say, You cant have it any more, it is no wonder people feel cheated and cynical because promises are being made and broken.
Mr Brown insisted that Labours manifesto pledge to hold a referendum applied to Europes previous proposed constitution, not to the Lisbon treaty, and accused Mr Cameron of appeasing sceptics within the Conservative Party.
If his party had truly changed and moved to the centre, he would be standing up to his backbenchers. He would be leading them instead of following them, Mr Brown told MPs. He would be standing up to the Eurosceptics instead of appeasing them, and he would be moving to the centre of Europe instead of being left at the margins of Europe.
Mr Clegg said that it was Mr Brown who was colluding with the anti-European Conservatives, and attacked the Tories and Labour for having voted against the Lib Dem preference for a ballot on Britains EU membership. The Prime Minister talks about leadership, but the fact is that he has bottled it and, as far as I can make out, the leader of the Conservatives wants to leave the European Union but has not got the guts to say it, Mr Clegg told MPs. Is not the truth that this country will never lead in Europe until politicians who believe in the European Union have the courage to stand up for it, and politicians who want to leave it are flushed out in an honest debate on our membership?
Mr Brown ridiculed the Lib Dems for having walked out of the Commons last week in a protest over Commons procedure and told the Lib Dem leader: I agree with him that we need to put the pro-European case in the country, but I have to say that to go back to the 1970s and relive a referendum in the 1970s is not the way to plan for the future.
Later, as MPs began the eleventh day of debate on the European Union (Amendment) Bill, whose committee stage is being taken on the floor of the Commons, the Conservatives amendment for a referendum on the treaty was moved by William Hague, the Shadow Foreign Secretary.
HAVANA A growing underground network of young people armed with computer memory sticks, digital cameras and clandestine Internet hookups has been mounting some challenges to the Cuban government in recent months, spreading news that the official state media try to suppress.
Last month, students at a prestigious computer science university videotaped an ugly confrontation they had with Ricardo Alarcón, the president of the National Assembly.
Mr. Alarcón seemed flummoxed when students grilled him on why they could not travel abroad, stay at hotels, earn better wages or use search engines like Google. The video spread like wildfire through Havana, passed from person to person, and seriously damaged Mr. Alarcóns reputation in some circles.
Something similar happened in late January when officials tried to impose a tax on the tips and wages of employees of foreign companies. Workers erupted in jeers and shouts when told about the new tax, a moment caught on a cellphone camera and passed along by memory sticks.
It passes from flash drive to flash drive, said Ariel, 33, a computer programmer, who, like almost everyone else interviewed for this article, asked that his last name not be used for fear of political persecution. This is going to get out of the governments hands because the technology is moving so rapidly.
#1
Cuban officials have long limited the publics access to the Internet and digital videos, tearing down unauthorized satellite dishes and keeping down the number of Internet cafes open to Cubans. Only one Internet cafe remains open in Old Havana, down from three a few years ago.
I wonder how the hollyweirdo types justify this clamp down on freedom of expression? Must create a little dissonance unless of course they are completely blinded by the promises of a communistic utopian mecca. No first or second amendments. Probably no constitution--I guess the constitution is whatever Fidel says from day to day; now his brother.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Wednesday that "we want peace," but that Colombia and its allies in Washington represent war - and that conflict with the United States is inevitable. "It must be said: They, the empire and its lackeys, are war," Chavez said in a televised speech, his first since Colombia alleged that documents seized from a leftist rebel's computer prove the Venezuelan leader has been supporting the guerrillas for years.
"We are the path to peace," said Chavez, who ordered 10 battalions of troops to reinforce the border after Colombia entered Ecuadorean territory to attack a leftist rebel hideout.
Chavez spoke as diplomats from many countries struggled to defuse the crisis sparked by the Colombian attack.
Ecuador rejected a Colombian apology for the cross-border strike as insufficient before an emergency meeting of the Organization of American States, where the United States was the only country to offer Colombia unqualified support.
Many other countries worried openly about the violation to Ecuador's sovereignty, despite complaints that Venezuela and Ecuador have long provided refuge to leftist Colombian guerrillas.
Chavez has warned Colombian President Alvaro Uribe that Venezuela would respond militarily to any violation of its border, and Venezuela's justice minister ramped up the threat Tuesday by declaring that war "has already begun." He said Wednesday that Colombia's "warlike government" follows US dictates and conflict of some sort with the US cannot be avoided: "While we want freedom, they want to keep us in chains. ... We want a fatherland; they want a colony. How can a confrontation be avoided? It's inevitable."
"Venezuela will never again be a US colony," Chavez said to applause.
Venezuela's agriculture minister, Elias Jaua, said Venezuela had closed the border - which sees annual trade worth roughly US$5 billion (3.3 billion) - to imports and exports.
Leonardo Mendez, a spokesman for a Colombian cargo transport association, said some 300 vehicles, including trucks carrying food, shoes, ceramics and other products, were stuck at one major border crossing.
Despite the shrill rhetoric from the Andean governments, in several border towns there was little sign of tension apart from the turning away of trucks by Venezuelan border guards.
Contenting themselves by calling Chavez "crazy", Colombian truckers lounged in the shade drinking beer and saying they hope the crisis won't persist long.
When the border is open, each day some 8,500 metric tons of merchandise cross between Colombia and Venezuela in both directions, said Jaime Sorzano, head of the cargo transport association. "In the past, we've had episodes, problems, but like this crisis no. It's unprecedented," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
conflict with the United States is inevitable
Fortunately for Chavez, regime change in the US is less than a year away. Of course, he already knew that when he uttered these brave words.
Personally I hope W hands the flyswatter to McCain when the day comes.
#3
UN or OAS,
They have their place, I guess.
But when in doubt,
Send the Marines!
Tom Lehrer
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
03/06/2008 7:42 Comments ||
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#4
I love that Colombia strikes a terrorist camp inside Ecuador, Venezuela jumps in, and no one bothers to say "WTF".
Um, folks, it's perfectly acceptable for a nation to strike against terrorist camps in another nation if the other nation doesn't try to control them. Venezuela jumping in argues that the Venezuelan government has more interest in the terrorists than in sovereignty.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
03/06/2008 8:45 Comments ||
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#5
Castro had the advantage of wiping out or expelling both the upper classes and the educated from Cuba. But both these groups are still in Venezuela, and both are still have some influence that Chavez cannot control.
#8
There were more violent deaths last year in Venezuela than in Iraq. If 20% of them were politically motivated killings made to look like random violence Chavez has beaten the body counts of Castro and that perrenial bogeyman-of-the-left Pinochet combined.
Interview with a publisher friend of FARC perp killed.
list:
Mario Murillo, longtime journalist and author of Colombia and the United States: War, Terrorism and Destablization. He is co-host of Wake-Up Call on the Pacifica Radio station WBAI in New York. He joins me from the Hofstra University studio in Long Island, where he teaches media and communications.
Helga Serrano, Ecuadorian activist with the international network for the abolition of foreign military bases, No Bases, speaking from Quito, Ecuador.
Arlene Tickner, Professor of International Affairs at the University of Los Andes in Bogota, where she joins us on the phone.
#13
AMY GOODMAN: That is, well, the now slain FARC commander, Raul Reyes. I wanted to ask you, Mario, a high-placed official in the Colombian Defense Ministry said, on condition of anonymity, it was the US intelligence agency that first told Bogota several weeks ago that Reyes was sporadically using a satellite phone whose signal could be pinpointed.
Colombia and Ecuador moved closer to settling a dispute stemming from Colombia's cross-border military incursion to kill a rebel leader last week. Colombia avoided condemnation of its raid in an accord with neighboring Ecuador approved by the Organization of American States. The agreement sets a framework for an investigation into the incident. ``Ecuador is a nation of peace that rejects violence from wherever it comes,'' said Maria Isabel Salvador, Ecuador's foreign minister. ``This accord guarantees that no country again violates our sovereignty.''
The deal calls for OAS Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza to form a panel to probe the incident and convene a meeting of foreign ministers to consider the results. It may help lower tension in the region, and comes as Venezuelan tanks are moving to the Colombian border on orders from President Hugo Chavez, who said Colombia's March 1 strike risks a war. Venezuela activated the country's navy and air force in addition to the 10 tank battalions.
Chavez has pledged to support Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, who has also added troops on the border after the Colombian raid killed the second- in-command of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Chavez, a socialist who blames the U.S. ``empire'' for Colombia's attack, today said Venezuela is a ``peaceful'' country and isn't seeking a war. An expanded military presence along the border -- already rife with paramilitary, drug trafficking and rebel activity -- raises tensions to a level that a miscalculation could trigger a military clash.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
"Venezuela will never again be a US colony,"
Provinces of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Maine, Connecticut, New York, Vermont, New Jersy, Pennslyvania, Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Venezuela.
U.S. and South Korean fighter jets scrambled to turn back a Russian bomber that approached a U.S. aircraft carrier during training exercises, South Korean and U.S. officials said Thursday.
The Russian plane flew close to the USS Nimitz in waters off South Korea's eastern coast Wednesday, but retreated shortly after the fighter jets approached, an official at the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said on condition of anonymity, citing policy. The official refused to provide details of the fighter jets involved.
Yonhap news agency quoted an unidentified military official as saying two F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters from the carrier and four South Korean F-16 jets were deployed to intercept the Russian plane.
The Russian navy confirmed that a Tu-142 anti-submarine aircraft flew over the American carrier, calling it a routine mission over the open sea. "Attempts by U.S. officials to portray almost every flight of the Russian military aviation, including our naval aviation, over the world ocean as some sort of breach are appalling," Igor Dygalo, assistant to the navy commander in chief, said, according to Russia's Interfax-AVN news agency.
In February, U.S. fighter planes intercepted two Russian bombers one directly flying over the Nimitz in the western Pacific ocean.
In Washington, a defense official downplayed the significance of the latest incident. "We don't view this activity as threatening or of concern," the official said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The official said it was standard operating procedure for Navy aircraft to escort a plane flying near its ships.
To get close to the U.S. carrier, the Russian plane intruded into a South Korean-controlled air defense zone above the open sea, Yonhap reported. The zone does not belong to South Korea's aerial territory but was demarcated by the U.S. military a year after the Korean War broke out in 1950 as part of efforts to prevent accidental aerial clashes among regional powers.
#1
Seems like they want to poke the american eagle with a sharp pointed stick, then whine about their missing fingers.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/06/2008 17:17 Comments ||
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#2
The Rooski Bear drivers may want to line their underpants with tinfoil to prevent glow-in-the-dark testicle syndrome. I'm guessing every target acquisition and fire control radar in the neighborhood is turned up to 11.
This is basically cheap political theater. Bears are dangerous a couple hundred miles out. If there was a real threat, they would be dealt with there.
#6
Everybody is still twiddling their thumbs to see iff the escalations between "anti-lame duck" Dubya + 'Iran will never stop" Moud will hit the fan and turn mil vv ANTI-US MULTI-FRONT WAR SCENARIOS - iff not this May-July, then to wait again in the Fall while the USA is heavily preoccupied wid the 2008 elex. The colder the better for tech-poor North Korea [Taiwan?]. A ME EVENT(S) MAY BE THE ORIGINAL CATALYST, BUT IRAN DESIRES TO BE INVADED BY THE US/US-ALLIES VV ASYMMETRIC PEOPLE'S WAR, WHICH LEAVES ANY GROUND/CONVENTIONAL "OFFENSE" MAINLY TO THE NOKORS???
Azerbaijan accused neighbour Armenia on Wednesday of stoking unrest in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, following shooting there in which Azerbaijan said 16 soldiers had been killed.
Is there another show playing? We've already seen this one.
The Azeri Defence Ministry said 12 Armenian forces and four Azeri soldiers were killed during clashes in the disputed enclave, seized by pro-Armenian forces from Azerbaijan in a war in the 1990s in which an estimated 35,000 people died. The ministry said the clashes had lasted 13 hours on Tuesday, killing three Azeri soldiers. The fourth serviceman died in a new shootout on Wednesday. Armenia has blamed the Azeri for Tuesdays incident but has given no clear casualty figures.
A death toll of 16 would mark the worst skirmish in recent years between Muslim Azerbaijan and Christian Armenia, who are still technically at war with each other. The Armenian side resorted to provocations on the frontline in a bid to switch the attention of the international community and its own citizens from internal tensions to an external enemy, said an Azeri foreign ministry spokesman.
Azerbaijan will never resort to provocations, but will give a proper response to them, Khazar Ibrahim added. The West is closely watching the latest flare-up between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a big oil producer and home to pipelines taking oil and gas from the Caspian Sea to world markets. We do not want a war in the region, said a US diplomat in Baku. We are following the situation very closely and we urge both sides to exercise restraint and avoid any violence.
Robert Simmons, NATOs envoy for the region, said the alliance was ready to help facilitate the peace process. I think there is a chance for settlement and we will work for it, he was quoted as saying on a visit to Moscow by Russian news agencies. We are closely watching the peace process.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Let the digging begin. Seems there's an awful lot of Muzz filth accumulated in Chicago. I was just thinking last night that Obama-rama has admitted to raising something like $100-150 million bucks for his campaign. He has commented that these are typically in levels of $20-100 dollars. Now we see that his main support is blacks and very young college kids who tend to be very generous with others money because they have none of their own. The max donation per individual is $2300, but very few of these probably can make this level of outlay. What if Muzz money goes to the many imams, who disperse it at the Friday cult meetings. Then it gets cycled back to Obama-rama(after the imams' cut). Someone better start looking at the names on these donor lists. Are they mostly Smiths and Bennetts ? Or are they Abu Masu Mahmoud and the like ?
#2
The problem for Obama is that nothing will come from this association, in all likelyhood... but this trial, being a very complicated mesh, still going to stick to his shoes and track all over for the next 7 weeks. He needed to knock her out Tuesday.
Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson, taking the campaign a bit meta on a conference call today, attacked Obama for attacking Clinton, and compared him to a notorious Clinton foe.
"When Senator Obama was confronted with questions over whether he was ready to be Commander-in-Chief and steward of the economy, he chose not to address those questions, but to attack Senator Clinton," Wolfson said. "I for one do not believe that imitating Ken Starr is the way to win a Democratic primary election for president."
Wolfson was attacking Obama's explicit strategy, in the wake of his March 4 losses, to attack elements of Clinton's record on the grounds of secrecy, and to revisit the questions raised by Clinton foes in the 1990s and earlier. . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
03/06/2008 12:00 ||
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#1
If you don't want a Clinton-Obama ticket and you don't want to see a 2012 run by Hillary (if McCain wins), then the protracted contest on the Dem side is a good thing.
#3
It is hard to imagine a Clinton-Obama ticket after the Clinton-Obama primary/caucus slugfest is over. It's going to get uglier before it's done.
If the donks can't manage their process to select a candidate, how are they going to manage the country?
The WSJ quoted Democratic strategist Tad Devine: "It would be an absolutely gigantic fight that would spill over not only to the convention floor, but the streets of Denver."
Hillary is going to push hard for the Florida and Michigan delegates despite the donk rules saying these states were disenfranchised because of violation of the rules accepted by the donk party. They tend to selectively follow the rules depending on who they advantage or disadvantage. They tend to cherry pick the Constitution as well.
Why were executives at the helm of some of the world's largest banks compensated so richly even as their industry was being pummeled by the mortgage meltdown?
Lawmakers will pursue this question Friday when the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hears testimony from two former Wall Street CEOs, Charles Prince and Stanley O'Neal, and the chief of the nation's largest mortgage lender, Angelo Mozilo.
At issue are the salaries, bonuses, perks and stock awards that the executives received as the companies under their leadership took enormous losses on bad bets related to mortgage backed securities. Calls for accountability have become increasingly louder as the housing market continues to deteriorate and homeowners across the country face foreclosure.
Henry Waxman, the Democratic congressman who chairs the Committee, has developed a reputation as an aggressive reformer during his thirty years representing the Los Angeles area on Capitol Hill.
As a ranking member on the Committee, Waxman has tackled issues ranging from the high cost of prescription drugs to waste, fraud, and abuse in government contracting. Most recently, Waxman's committee made headlines when it held a series of high-profile hearings on the illegal use of steroids in major league baseball.
My thoughts: The government should not get involved here unless government is causing the problem. Maybe poke around and make sure there is no corruption, but that's it. And it seems to me the lawmakers have a problem of their own they need to clean up before they start looking into others' back yards. Perhaps they could start by legislating the kind of nose job Waxman needs before he's allowed to return to work.
#1
Zero concern about trust fund babies and the Hampton's group that throw away money on companies that engage in this activity, cause its all in the "family". Of course the concern rightfully is for the investors relegated to large mutual funds who are stuck along for the ride. The mutual fund managers aren't too concerned about the compensation packages per se rather just the bottom line commissions they get. The people who should be hauled before the public officials are the 'raters'. Those businesses and institutions which grant acceptable ratings to companies that engage in nothing more than raiding the corporate assets to line the pockets of their managers and board members. Such entities should see their rating plummet and remain basement level which would cause the investment houses [to preclude existent and precedent laws from biting their asses] to keep their little fingers off of them.
#3
I want them to investigate Hollywood. Why does the star of a movie get $5,000,000, while the gaffer and best boy only get a few thousand?
There's a congressional investigation I would support.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
03/06/2008 11:45 Comments ||
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#4
I have a CPAP (sleep apnea) machine with nasal pillows, and I'm constantly fretting I'll someday look like Waxman. Better to die in my sleep, I think
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/06/2008 18:22 Comments ||
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#5
IANAL, but I have been a shareholder of some publicly-held corporations. I have no voice in their governance other than selling my shares (which I did). Many corporations run independently of shareholder input nowadays. In many cases shareholders receive no dividends but CEO's and select corporate employees receive huge bonuses regardless of their own or corporate performance. This is corruption. Shareholder lawsuits are the only other means of redress in situations like these. In recent years the government has severely restricted shareholder access to the legal system.
State & federal governments have created corporations, and court decisions have refined the rules which corporations must live by. Over the years the electorate has had little or no say in the birth of these fictitious persons. Corporations do not have human rights, except as granted by the government. This is one way to distinguish them from real people. (One advantage corporations have over the rest of us is immortality.) When corporate abuse, misallocation & destruction of resources cause enough damage to real citizens, corporate operations, and even corporate existence, can be modified, if not by lawsuits, then by the legislative process, the same process that brought corporations into existence.
#10
better than the mask (which I had for a year), but then I have the newest bestest pillows thang. I like it.... despite my fears. My BP's dropped dramatically with both. Those of youse with sleeping/snoring issues need to look into the CPAP cure - CHANGED my life, no sh*t
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/06/2008 21:49 Comments ||
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#11
I don't wanna get on the soapbox too much, but RB prolly has its' share of older guys/wymyns with apnea issues. Fix it! It's not that hard and it makes a life-changing for the better turn in your energy, work ability, everything. K?
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/06/2008 21:52 Comments ||
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#2
She does. Fast Eddie Rendell has endorsed her, so she has the Philly machine behind her. And Pennsyltucky ain't gettin' behind O, so that leaves the Steel City, and there's not enough votes there. So she'll "win" the state, but neither will have enough delegates to wrap up the nomination.
So there will be some interesting gymnastics leading up to what could be an interesting convention.
I suspect the top donks are trying to figure out whether an open convention would provide more drama and interest than a backroom deal that works everything out way ahead of time and gives the party plenty of time to heal. In either case, the trick will be to avoid a Chicago '68 replay from their own true believers.
Hours after clinching the Republican presidential nomination, John McCain strode through the front door of the White House on Wednesday to receive the endorsement of the man who defeated him for the nomination eight years ago. McCain stood stiffly in the Rose Garden as President Bush hailed him for showing "incredible courage and strength of character and perseverance" during the long Republican campaign.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2008 00:00 ||
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Her experience. His charm and fundraising ability. His support among liberals, independents and black voters. Her hold on white female voters, low-income Democrats, and Latinos. With energized Democrats facing a difficult choice between two historic, formidable candidates vying to be the nation's first black or first women president, some have suggested that the two join forces on a single Democratic "dream ticket."
And if the actual election gets tight, they can call for a "government of national unity."
Fresh from her victories in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., appeared on network morning news programs Wednesday and suggested that a joint ticket with Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., is a real possibility.
On CBS' morning program, anchor Harry Smith said to Clinton, "We talked to a lot of people in Ohio who said there really isn't that significant a difference between you two, and they'd like to see you both on the ticket. Well, you know, that may be where this is headed. But of course we have to decide who is on the top of the ticket. I think the people of Ohio very clearly said that it should be me."
On a plane from Texas to Chicago Wednesday, Obama smiled wryly when asked about the possibility of a joint Clinton-Obama or Obama-Clinton ticket. "You know, we are just focused on winning this nomination," he said. "That's my focus. And you know, I've said before I respect Sen. Clinton as a public servant. She's a tenacious opponent. I think it is very premature to start talking about a joint ticket right now."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
"Obama, are you pondering what I'm pondering?"
* "Wuh, I think so, Hillary, but if we didn't have ears, we'd look like weasels."
Posted by: bruce ||
03/06/2008 7:31 Comments ||
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#2
"I would be pleased to have Senator Obama, the closet Muslim and inauthentic half-breed who lied about his willingness to tear up NAFTA and gives prety speeches about nothing, as my runing mate. He and his slimy slum-lord backers would bring great strength to the Clinton Administration, even if he wouldn't quite be ready on day one."
Posted by: Mike ||
03/06/2008 10:10 Comments ||
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#3
"...and, oh yeah, I hear he's a cokehead, too. Or was it crackhead?"
Islamabad, Mar 5: Pakistan today said the introduction of new weapon systems should be avoided in the region for the sake of poverty alleviation. India had informed Pakistan before the launch of sea-borne surface-to-surface missile but we believe that the introduction of new weapon systems should be avoided in the region, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq told a press briefing in Islamabad.
He added regional countries must focus on improving social indicators and alleviate the poverty in the region.
To a question about the progress towards the resolution of the Kashmir issue, Mr Sadiq said there is a need to make serious efforts to resolve the core issue of Kashmir and all Pakistani political parties too share this view. He added there is an opportunity and it must be seized to reach a just settlement of the dispute acceptable to Pakistan, India and Kashmiris.
Posted by: john frum ||
03/06/2008 00:00 ||
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but we believe that the introduction of new weapon systems should be avoided in the region, "But we believe they should be stopped before they get the damned thing working."
There. Fixed that.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/06/2008 11:46 Comments ||
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#2
I does work, and if Pakiland was really concerned about poverty, they'd shut down all the madrassas and open schools where actual learning occurs. I'd say the odds on that are long...
Accountability Courts No II and IV on Wednesday terminated five corruption cases against Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and released his frozen assets. The judges said the cases stand terminated after implementation of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).
Accountability Court No III adjourned the hearing in two cases against Zardari until March 12, because the judge was on leave. Accountability courts also dropped two corruption cases against former Federal Investigation Agency director general Rehman Malik.
Accountability Court No II Judge Chaudhry Muhammad Younas quashed the ARY Gold and SGS references against Asif Zardari and three former federal secretaries Salmaan Farooqi, Talat Javaid and Aslam Hayat Qureshi. Zardari, Benazir Bhutto and former Central Board of Revenue chairman AR Siddiqui were accused in the SGS reference.
Accountability Court IV Judge Khalid Mehmood terminated the Polo Ground, Ursus Tractors and unlawful accumulation of assets references against Zardari. The judge dropped two references of misappropriation of money against Rehman Malik. He also ordered unfreezing of assets of Zardari and Rehman Malik that included three cars, a polo ground and sugar mills. Allah has differentiated truth from lies and justice has been done, Zardaris lawyer Farooq Naik told reporters outside the court in Rawalpindi.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/06/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I read the comments most of them were off the mark by quite a bit. One fact is true however growing fuel on land that should be producing food is a mortal sin.
#2
I lay the starvation of millions at the feet of Al Gore and his religious flock. The ethanol craze and the cooling of the planet will form a perfect storm of starvation and food shortage.
Once again, the poor third world countries will suffer because they don't have the technology or ability to help themselves through this because of the "Green" movement.
The "Green" movement has and will have more blood on their hands. Maybe even more than Stalin.
#3
I am not so much worried about the 3rd world I am worried about us right here in the USA. Oil has gone up 73% in one year, food will have to follow. Will Farmers be able to buy the fuel to grow it?
#6
Most of the food problems in the Third world are due to the destruction of war, most of which are within countries rather than between them, these days. How many of those millions in refugee camps used to farm or herd? For that matter, as we all know Zimbabwe used to export foodstuffs, now the people are almost all fled or starving or both.
#7
ION SCIENCE > RUMORMILLNEWS > EARTH CHANGES MEDIA - ON-GOING EARTHQUAKE SWARMS COULD BE PRECURSOR FOR A "CASCADIA SUDUCTION" MEGAQUAKE.
A "Quake felt/heard around the World", AND ITS NOT EVEN 2012 YET???; + FEDS/HOMELAND SECURITY EMERGENCY MANAGMENT OFFICIALS PREPARE FOR CATASTROPHIC EARTHQUAKE.
Also, from RMN > YOUTUBE VIDEO - ALLEGED PLANET X/NIBIRU footage. Headed earth's way and to start being seen from Earth in circa TWO YEARS [2010?]???
REDDIT SCIENCE > NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC > GLOBAL WARMING? - SEA LEVELS HIGHER BACK IN DINO ERAS. ANCIENT WARMING???
The United Nations has launched a team of conflict mediators that can rapidly deploy to global hotspots with advice on security, constitution drafting and human rights. Hold my beer. Now watch this!
Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe on Wednesday likened the six-member team of mobile mediators to "a SWAT team" that can respond to requests from U.N. officials in the field, governments and regional groups.
"When you get a situation that no one expected, like Kenya, our idea is to be able to move, and move extremely quickly," he said, referring to violence that followed a disputed election in December. I wonder what quickly looks like to an organization that takes three months to react to a famine.
In fact, two team members a constitution-writing expert and a security expert skipped this week's orientation at U.N. headquarters in New York and were sent to Kenya because their skills were needed there urgently, Pascoe said. Congratulations on figuring out that writing a constitution takes a back seat to world crises. Now I'd just like to know why a guy who writes constitutions is needed in a crisis situation in Kenya, where I doubt it will make any difference whatsoever.
"We're using ... members of the team in areas where there's something that really can be done," he said. "For example, if we get to the point where we're doing a constitutional revision or discussion in Somalia, then there might be a need for them." Since when does a constitutional revision or discussion constitute a "crisis". Oh, nevermind. I get it now.
Pascoe said the list of possible places that team members will be sent "is longer than any of us would like." Sage comment. Up there with "Be excellent to each other!"
Jan Eliasson, the U.N. envoy trying to promote a peace agreement in Darfur, "has pestered me for more expertise," he said, and there could be a need for the U.N. experts in Iraq, and in Cyprus if there is "another full-blown effort" to reunite the divided Mediterranean island. Did you mean to say "fully blown"?
"If we get to the point where we're doing a constitutional revision or discussion in Somalia, then there might be a need for them," he added.
Pascoe said he expects the team to be "oversubscribed" with requests for their expertise fairly soon, and to spend about 80 percent of their time in the field. The team also has expertise in such areas as justice and power sharing. Well, if there's such a demand, make a bigger team, dumbass. Or are you trying to be as cost-effective as an HMO?
The team, which was chosen from over 400 applicants, is being funded for a year by the Norwegian government.
"Our hope is that this will be such an incredible success that everybody will agree that it should be extended," Pascoe said. I hope they succeed at all. Many of the powers heading these conflicts would probably just consider these teams an obstacle to what they will end up doing by their nature anyway, and the UN would be able to say "See, we don't have to do anything of substance because we have a crisis team on it! Now what we really need to do is find a five-star hotel where we can hold a catered conference about this.".
Team leader Joyce Neu, an American who has mediated in conflicts and conducted conflict assessments in dozen of countries, said all the members are "very excited."
"There are innumerable conflicts in the world, and our hope is that as a team we can apply some of our knowledge to these efforts to bring about peace more effectively and more sustainably," she said. Good luck with that. You can start with that situation that Venezuela and Ecuador are manufacturing against Columbia.
#1
"There are innumerable conflicts in the world, and our hope is that as a team we can apply some of our knowledge to these efforts to bring about peace more effectively and more sustainably,"
With one side's objective being to wipe the planet of the existence of the other, I don't think there a whole lot of room for compromise or five star hotel/dining opportunities on both sides of the line of demarcation.
#2
So ya got a 6 member team and how many support people? I mean, valets, pimps, chefs, hookers, waiters, chauffeurs, yes men, ass kissers, and, of course, all their support people...could be thousands.
#1
//cynic mode on//
After the Nighthawks are retired, the USAF can then say with a straight face that they need new assets, something to tide them over until the JSF comes on line.
Something like maybe the Euro-fighter; it would complement the KC-45 wonderfully.
//cynic mode off//
Gotta wonder if they aleady have something that is more stealthyier on the ramp at Tonapah....
#4
Do you think the USAF would retire these without having a replacement already in sufficient quantity and operational shape?
They sure do not seem to be kicking up a fuss, now, do they?
Remember nobody at all knew these things in 1986 when they were flying in squadron strength.
And consider that its even easier to make something extremely maneuverable and stealthy if it dos NOT have a crew. Not to mention lighter, cheaper, more payload and longer ranged. And controllable in large numbers from current highly survivable mobile platforms.
#5
Trying to remember off the top of my head, but wasn't the F-117 only built in small numbers (like 28 maybe) and that after 30 years of service their are down to half that number?
#7
Yes they have the F-22, but check out the price.
and (show of hands please) does anybody remember a time the ascot boys weren't fishing about for some new shiny toy? I tend to think there is something out there that we haven't been shown yet.
(old fighter pilot joke:)
Q: What is the difference between a jet fighter and a jet fighter pilot?'
#8
The speculations I've heard involve ground-attack versions of the f-22 and f-23, with modifications from their public designs.
Of course, some of the F-22's apparently have different weapons bay layouts than others, and can carry more air-to-ground bombs than the original. (In the old days they'd have called them F-22B's or F-22C's, but these days that would actually take a different funding bill, so they just pretend it's a different block of the same model).
#2
During the DoD budget process, the congressional commitee did in fact slash the ABL funds drastically, something like almost 50% if i remember correctly.
#1
"Get out of that foxhole, Soldier, you don't belong there!"
Posted by: Mike ||
03/06/2008 10:58 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I am not sure how the Army works but in the Air Force you need a LOT of documnetation (bad kind) to deny some a promotion or to re-up. I cant fathom that in yhese times of personnel shortages that this troop is being discriminated because of his religion. I do rememebt a similar article aout a Zoomy grad that had his vagina in a twist because some of his fellow clasmates prayed at lunch and that they were given time off for services. That one and this guy will most likely run for congress in Vermont after they have a non-denominational "union" ceremony.
#3
According to the lawsuit, Hall was counseled by his platoon sergeant after being informed that his promotion was blocked. He says the sergeant explained that Hall would be "unable to put aside his personal convictions and pray with his troops" and would have trouble bonding with them if promoted to a leadership position.
If that is true, than the good sergeant needs a bit of counseling. Certainly there are idiots like that in civilian life. I grew up in a community that was 10% Jewish, and mostly academic or professional, and yet Liz, a classmate in my 9th grade advanced biology class reared up on her hind legs -- during the class, one day -- to argue that Jews are not capable of love like Christians, which she said she'd been taught in her Sunday School class. Of the entire class I was the only one to speak up against her, although a girl from her church whispered to me that she'd no idea what Liz was talking about.
Cyber Sarge, how would the leadership of a unit respond to a member who'd sued the Air Force? Organizations tend to close ranks against that kind of thing.
#4
Well, in my opinion this shows that the Islamo-Fascists are dragging us down to their level.
And CS, while it is easy to conjure that this guy and the USAF grad were just whiners looking for excuses, it is just as easy to believe that his unit leaders are just proselytizing dickheads.
Any organization that has Ed Asner as one of their spokesmen should make one question if preserving the integrity of the military is their first order of business.
#6
I doubt this is true. Most likely the guy is a career E4 and a jackoff. He is just fishing for scapegoats since the Army really doesn't give 3 flying shits what your religion is.
#7
the Army really doesn't give 3 flying shits what your religion is.
That's true in general, but I have to admit I've met a couple O-5s who have stepped over the line from time to time when lower-ranked officers who were or could reasonably expect to become subordinates were present.
In general, the soldiers I've known don't care about your flavor of religion. Legalities aside, tho, I can imagine that a militant atheist in a deployed unit could well have a negative impact on morale. Key word being 'militant'.
#8
Darth is correct. Most don't give a flying f*** what your religion or lack thereof UNLESS you make a big deal about it. If he was so inconsiderate as to berate others for their faith he is lucky he was not given the modern equivalent of a blanket party. I suspect he would not tolerate others showing faith in his presence (atheist version of a religious bigot). OR he could have been a lousy leader.
Note: I'm not particularly religious myself but I won't make a big deal of it unless you start to preach at me. And I very much WON'T interfere with what comforts you as an individual or as a group (unless you are an islamo-nazi or equivalent).
#11
Of course the media being absolutely ignorant of military matters, didn't ask the accuser when he filed his redress of grievance papers while in service -
Art. 138. Complaints of wrongs
Any member of the armed forces who believes himself wronged by his commanding officer, and who, upon due application to that commanding officer, is refused redress, may complain to any superior commissioned officer, who shall forward the complaint to the officer exercising general court-martial jurisdiction over the officer against whom it is made. The officer exercising general court-martial jurisdiction shall examine into the complaint and take proper measures for redressing the wrong complained of; and he shall, as soon as possible, send to the Secretary concerned a true statement of that complaint, with the proceedings had thereon.
Obstruction of an Art. 138 complaint makes those responsible subject to punishment under the UCMJ.
MICROSOFT founder Bill Gates has been knocked off his perch as the world's richest man after 13 years at the top, according to the Forbes annual billionaires' list.
US financier Warren Buffett has overtaken Mr Gates as the world's richest in this year's list, which saw Russia, China and India making increasing inroads.
Mr Buffett, the 77-year-old chief of the Berkshire Hathaway, saw his wealth jump from $US52 billion ($55 billion) last year to $US62 billion ($66 billion), pushing Microsoft co-founder Mr Gates into third position after 13 years as number one.
Andrew Forrest is the top Australian on the list, the Fortescue boss coming in at 145 with a net worth of $US6.5 billion. Next Aussie on the list is James Packer at 173, with a net worth of $US5.7 billion.
For billionaires with publicly traded fortunes, Forbes said the net worths were calculated using share prices and exchange rates from February 11, 2008.
Mexico's telecom mogul Carlos Slim Helu grabbed second place with a tidy nest egg of $US60 billion, up from $US49 billion last year.
Mr Buffett, who announced in 2006 he was giving the majority of his fortune to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, saw his wealth spike mostly due to the rising value of his Berkshire Hathaway stock.
In total, this year's list sees 1125 people around the world making the billionaire's list, up from 946 last year. Their total net worth stands at $US4.4 trillion, up from $US3.5 trillion in 2007.
By nationality, the United States still easily led the rankings with 469 billionaires up from 415 last year, but Russia replaced Germany as the second placed country with 87 billionaires.
Third-placed India saw the number of its super-rich jump to 53 entries on the list -- four of them in the top 10 -- although China and Hong Kong would overtake India if they were counted together.
China and Hong Kong have 42 and 26 billionaires respectively.
Japan, although still the second largest economy in the world, saw its number of billionaires trailing at 24 - overtaken by Turkey, which this year saw its number of mega-tycoons on the list jump from 22 in 2007 to 35.
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.
(Xinhuanet) -- A judge on Tuesday named Anna Nicole Smith's 18-month-old daughter Dannielynn the sole heir of the former Playboy Playmate's estate, according to U.S. media reports Wednesday. 
HAVANA A growing underground network of young people armed with computer memory sticks, digital cameras and clandestine Internet hookups has been mounting some challenges to the Cuban government in recent months, spreading news that the official state media try to suppress.
Why were executives at the helm of some of the world's largest banks compensated so richly even as their industry was being pummeled by the mortgage meltdown?
Her experience. His charm and fundraising ability. His support among liberals, independents and black voters. Her hold on white female voters, low-income Democrats, and Latinos. With energized Democrats facing a difficult choice between two historic, formidable candidates vying to be the nation's first black or first women president, some have suggested that the two join forces on a single Democratic "dream ticket." 
