An Afghan legislative committee has drafted a bill seeking to introduce Taliban-style Islamic morality codes banning women from wearing make-up in public and forbidding young boys from wearing female fashions. The draft, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, needs approval by both chambers of the Islamist-dominated parliament and President Hamid Karzai signature to become a law. "Women and girls are obliged to not wear make-up, wear suitable dresses and observe hijab (veil) while at work or classrooms," said one article of the draft.
It also aims to ban women dancers performing during concerts and other public events as well as on television. "The mass media including television and cable networks must avoid broadcasting programmes against Islamic morals," it said without giving details.
In a similar move the parliament, which is dominated by former anti-Soviet Islamist warlords, called earlier this month for a ban on dancing and Indian soap dramas on private television networks. Men and young boys must avoid wearing bracelets, necklaces, "feminist dresses," and hair-bands, the draft reads.
The proposals also demand an end to dog and bird-fighting, pigeon-flying, billiards and video games, all passtimes favoured by many Afghans. It demands separate halls for men and women during wedding parties, while loud music is banned at such gatherings. Afghans hold big and costly get-togethers for weddings, usually in a public hall with music. If the proposals are passed, violators could be fined 500 Afghanis (10 dollars) to 5,000, according to the draft.
The plans mirror many of the laws introduced by the extremist Taliban regime, which ruled the country from 1996 to 2001 with strict Islamic Sharia law.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
...and forbidding young boys from wearing female fashions.
I'll bet that one broke their hearts.
Although I don't see anything outlawing goats in bustiers in there. Must've been the compromise...
#2
It's a draft in committee. As far as I can tell, there is a substantial segment of the Afghan population that is very conservative, and so they will continue to propose this kind of thing. However, I'm not going to worry much about it unless it gets passed by both chambers of the parliament and signed by President Karzai, which I can't imagine is likely.
More than 50 Zimbabwean opposition supporters have been arrested after staging a strike, the party says. Police have accused the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) of trying to incite violence with their strike call, in protest at delayed poll results. But a coalition of Zimbabwean doctors said its members had seen and treated more than 150 people who had been beaten and tortured since the polls.
International concern has been raised at a UN Security Council session. The special meeting, called by South African's leader Thabo Mbeki, was supposed to be about how the UN can work with the African Union to bring peace to the Africa's conflicts, from Somalia to Sudan's Darfur region.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/17/2008 00:00 ||
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NYU president John Sexton has been promised a blank check to duplicate his university on a desert island in Abu Dhabi. The expansion will leave both campuses flush with petrodollars. But to many faculty, the deal amounts to a sellout.
John Sextons office, which sits on the top floor of NYUs Bobst Library and boasts an impressive view north to Washington Square Park, has recently begun to resemble a shrine to Abu Dhabi. The university president has installed a massive Oriental rug, a gift from the crown prince, on one entire wall. On another hangs a framed portrait of the sunglasses-clad founder of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. In the center of the room is a large framed photograph of an Emirati woman, hand covered in a henna tattoo, gazing provocatively from behind a sequined veil.
When we start to talk about NYUs expansion plans in Abu Dhabi, Sexton props his sneakers up on the coffee table, then folds them beneath his chair, kindergarten style. He looks uncomfortable, as if hed rather play the schlumpy college professorunkempt hair, rumpled clothes, rotund paunchthan a global tycoon. And over the next two hours, Sexton tries to downplay his own role in the universitys Abu Dhabi plans. But he just cant help himself.
Within less than three years, NYU plans to more or less clone itself in Abu Dhabi, thereby becoming the first major U.S. research institution to open a complete liberal-arts university off American soil. It is a wildly ambitious project, far more grandiose than simply opening up a foreign branch or study-abroad program. Unlike any other major American university, NYU will treat its offshore campus as virtually equal to its New York campus. NYU Abu Dhabi students will be chosen by the same admissions procedure, and will graduate with the same degrees, as their Washington Square colleagues. Eventually, Sexton hopes that New York and Abu Dhabi will serve as two nodes for a global network of NYU programs and classes.
The financing of the deal is equally extraordinary. The city-state of Abu Dhabi, having already committed a $50 million gift (effectively a down payment) to the university, has promised to finance the entire Middle East campus and a good deal of NYU New York as well. This is not just study abroad on steroids, says Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, a professor of globalization and education at NYU. This is really upping the ante. It will be a complete game-changer for higher education as we know it.
And despite his protestations, it is impossible to imagine NYUs initiating this expansion without John Sexton at the helm. The president has taken the thirteen-hour flight to the desert emirate four times over the past two years to personally broker the deal with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi. He refers to his trips there as a spiritual experience and sees the project as honoring his late wife.
When NYU opens its Abu Dhabi Institute (a precursor to the full-fledged campus) this fall, Sexton himself will be teaching one of the first coursestraveling from New York to Abu Dhabi and back every other weekend. I cant wait to teach my class over there, he exclaims, his face flushed with excitement as he throws his feet up in the air and falls back in his chair.
NYU Abu Dhabi may be global in ambition, but that ambition is plainly born of one mans psychology. Sexton is well known for his obsession with his better-endowed competitors (he refers often to Harvard, Yale, and Princeton as the holy trinity), his conviction that NYU must make bold moves, and, consequently, his enormous tolerance for risk. This is a deal between two kingsthe emir of Abu Dhabi and the emir of NYU, says one senior professor who has been lobbied aggressively by Sexton to support the project. But one ruler certainly has more to lose than the other.
Sexton admits he is worried whether, as he puts it, I have the leadership capability to explain adequately to my colleagues what were doing. Indeed, the project has faced particular criticism among a faculty that has often found itself at odds with Sextons empire-building. Of all of Sextons projects, Abu Dhabi is really the one where professors are drawing the line, says Andrew Ross, chair of the NYU chapter of the American Association of University Professors.
Many professors fear that, as sociology professor Craig Calhoun puts it, NYU is creating a second-tier version of itself, spreading itself too thin and turning the university into an academic chain restauranta conglomerate with a number of wholly owned subsidiaries. Others object not just to the risk of brand dilution but to Sextons wholesale embrace of a regime with a troubling history regarding academic freedom and human rights (not to mention the state of Israel). Similar entreaties by Arab states have recently been rejected by other American universities; why, critics wonder, has NYUs president not been dissuaded?...
#1
I'm sure they won't have any problem finding men willing to be English professors, but medical and engineering professors might be a bit more problematic... not to mention the entire department of Judaic Studies.
#2
Similar entreaties by Arab states have recently been rejected by other American universities; why, critics wonder, has NYUs president not been dissuaded?
#3
Academic freedom might be more of an issue in Abu Dhabi than in the US. Of course, since "academic freedom" is often just a codeword for bashing the United States, Christianity, and the West in general, it may not be a problem.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
04/17/2008 12:45 Comments ||
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#4
Well, as long as the prayer rooms are in place and the entire university is only for men as we don't want those evil, perversive women in there, everything should be fine!
#5
What percentage of NYU's profs are Jewish? I'm smiling at the prospect of a Marxist professoriate squirming at the sight of "No Jews Allowed" signs at it's sister campus.
Posted by: ed ||
04/17/2008 13:28 Comments ||
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#6
Academic freedom might be more of an issue in Abu Dhabi than in the US.
I'm not sure of freedom in Abu Dhabi, Rambler, but I'd bet it's *not* going to be that big of a stretch. And, that's coming from someone who went to a middle-of-nowhere/deep south university.
Posted by: BA ||
04/17/2008 15:49 Comments ||
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#7
On another hangs a framed portrait of the sunglasses-clad founder of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
LONDON - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown headed to the U.S. for a four-day visit with an optimistic message claiming that coordinated efforts to shore up the world economy can reinforce ties between Europe and Washington that were frayed by the Iraq war.
The British leader, who arrives in the U.S. late Tuesday with his wife, Sarah, for his second visit there since replacing Tony Blair last June, is seeking to rekindle ties with Washington. He offered praise for all three prospective presidential candidates before his visit, but specifically backed U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clintons plans on the economy.
After a first meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush in July, Brown said he hopes he can help strengthen U.S. and Europe ties, aiming to lead work on tackling spiraling food and fuel prices, reform global institutions and combat climate change. "I feel I can bring Europe and America closer together for the future, Brown said, in an interview with CBS News broadcast on Tuesday. That will be to the advantage of all of us, to deal with economic problems, climate change and help make for a more peaceful world in the future. I see huge opportunities in the next few years for Europe and America to work more closely together.
The men will hold White House talks, and a Rose Garden news conference, on Thursday, with the British leader eager to underline his enthusiasm for the U.S.
"Im very pro-American, and Ive always been so, Brown told CBS. Ours is a very special relationship. I feel that America and Britain can achieve so much in the next few years.
Brown hopes to meet with John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, and Democratic party rivals Barack Obama and Clinton in Washington on Thursday. He praised McCain and Obama in his CBS News interview, but acknowledged he is a longtime ally of Clinton, saying she has made strong arguments on how to deal with the economic downturn.
The prime minister said he will use his visit to warn against protectionism in the U.S. and call anew for international-level supervision of the financial markets. But Brown said he is optimistic about the long-term financial prospects for both Britain and the U.S.
"Well continue to lead the way, if we have confidence in our ability to create the next set of inventions, the new innovations of the future, Brown said. Im positive about the future. The world economy will grow a lot in the next 10 years, and America and Britain can have a very big lions share of that new wealth.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
ION TOPIX > SOUTH KOREA CALLS FOR ALLIANCE WITH US.
#3
"I feel I can bring Europe and America closer together for the future, Brown said, in an interview with CBS News broadcast on Tuesday.
The arrogance of that one statement is astounding. He's trying to take credit for things happening in *Europe* (instead of just his nation) already. Let's see, what's happened in the last year or two?
* Germany elects a "Pro-American" leader.
* France elects a "Pro-American" leader.
* Italy elects a "Pro-American" leader.
Heck, even the Netherlands/Amsterdam, ground-zero of multi-culti/LLL/Kum-ba-ya feelings, seems like *war-mongers* now, in light of the Islamization of Europe. Brown's only jumping on board a ship that left the harbor years ago.
Posted by: BA ||
04/17/2008 9:18 Comments ||
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#4
Why does this remind me of Monty Python's Oscar Wilde sketch?
#5
will use his visit to warn against protectionism in the U.S. and call anew for international-level supervision of the financial markets.
International-level? Does that mean he wants the UN to supervise Wall Street? And what about protectionism by the EU? Monty Python is always appropriate somehow, Pappy. ;-)
#6
Gee, I don't see the Left, the marxists, or the dame stream media raising objection one, about how this looting jerk was selected, not elected, to finish the job of destroying Britain in general, and British sovereignty in particular. He's, as quietly as possible ceding British foreign policy to the Euro "Union", without a public referendum. They've learned that these treasonous ideas will get the ever lovin shit kicked out of them in referendum, so they conveniently skip that part from now on. Just the way the the left wants it: a two fer; illegally take power away from the governed, hand it over to an unelected body, then destroy the legal precedent that forbids the very act in the first damn place, in the process.
Damn these devils. Go back to hell, and stay there
#7
If Brown's Britain is the best we can do for allies, we've got real problems. They're the best Europe has to offer and, truth be told, they aren't worth much. See Basra for proof.
The fine men and women of the British military sure deserve better than to be led by Brown's cowardly lot.
Posted by: Thaimble Scourge of the Pixies4707 ||
04/17/2008 18:48 Comments ||
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#8
I watched part of his speech. He said His most important job is to, "Make people feel safer". Nothing about actually making people safer, just making them feel safer. After all, it is about feelings!
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
04/17/2008 19:30 Comments ||
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Here is an image Spaniards will not soon forget: their new defence minister, reviewing trim, crisply uniformed soldiers, with her belly plump from seven months of pregnancy.
The surprise appointment of Carme Chacon, aged 37 and with no military experience, is the boldest statement yet from a socialist government that has made gender equality one of its top priorities, and lived up to the pledge when it comes to ministers.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who won re-election in March, unveiled a cabinet on Monday that not only gives Spain its first female defence minister in history but also features nine women to eight men. Photos of Chacon reviewing the soldiers Monday ran on the front page of seven national newspapers the next day, and footage of it dominated Spanish television. Zapatero's government has enacted sweeping social legislation designed to rid traditionally male-dominated Spain of gender discrimination.
It legalised gay marriage, streamlined divorce procedures, forced political parties to field more female candidates and passed a law designed to promote women in the workplace and pressure companies to put more of them in their boardrooms. This time Zapatero even created a new department, the Equality Ministry, to press these goals. The portfolio went to a woman named Bibiana Aido, who is only 31.
Women's advocacy groups are delighted with the prime minister's choice of Chacon to oversee a military force that was not even open to women a generation ago. Chacon, who was the housing minister in the last government, wore a black pant suit and white maternity blouse as she reviewed troops on Monday at a ceremony in which she officially took over her post.
She called the troops to attention, ordered them to join her in saying "Long live Spain, long live the King," and gave a brief speech in which she said her appointment was a sign of progress. "The fact that a woman is taking over responsibility for the Defence Ministry is proof of integration between Spanish society and its armed forces," Chacon said. Spaniards are now wondering how the military will digest having a female boss.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
What are her QUALIFICAITONS other than being a Socialist and female? Like some experience or expertise in managing and directing military activities?
"aged 37 and with no military experience"
Thats the disqualifier in my eyes. She could be a little green man from Mars and still be unqualified.
Picking people for their gender is as stupid as choosing them solely on skin color or who they are related to. The KKK operated that way.
Zapatero even created a new department, the Equality Ministry - Headed by Diana Moon Glampers, I bet.
#2
Her qualifications: she is pacifist, antimilitarist and supported a (very bad) theatre author called Rubianes when he said "Whore Spain, if only she exploded in the ass of the whorish Spaniards. If only the balls of the whorish Spaniards exploded" in the catalan TV. When the city opf Madrid declined to subsidize his new piece of crap, the future minister of Defence said "We are all Rubianes".
#3
I agree it would not be a problem if she had ANY qualifications. But seeing as how she does not, the sybolism is so thick you can cut it with a sword.
#7
Perhaps she will be more successful defending her country from outside threats than she was defending her eggs against single-celled spermatozoa. And no, I would not bet money on it.
#8
A pregnant, unmarried puta as head of the Ministry of Defense! Franco is spinning in his grave for sure.
Posted by: Thaimble Scourge of the Pixies4707 ||
04/17/2008 18:43 Comments ||
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#9
A lot of this mysogynistic crap is WAY out of bounds.
Criticise because its a stupid unqualified appointment meant only to satisfy some imaginary gender quota regardless of the competence.
Dont bash her because she's a pregnant female. Plenty of other bricks around to throw.
Talk about being utterly unqualified for the position to which she was appointed:
She became a member of the Cataluña Young Socialists in 1989, and five years later, in 1994, joined the PSC Catalan Socialist Party.
Carmen Chacóns career in politics began when she was elected as a Town Hall councillor in her home town in 1999, where she was First Deputy Mayor with responsibility for economic and human resources and public safety.
The year 2000 saw her elected as a Socialist MP for Barcelona, and her election as a member of the PSC executive.
In September 2003, she was named spokesperson for the PSOE party ahead of the following years general election, holding onto her seat for Barcelona in the national poll held on 14th March 2004.
With the Socialist Party now in central government, Carmen Chacón was named as First Vice-President of Congress. She has been PSOEs secretary for culture since July 2004, was an international observer for the OSCE (the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) in Bosnia-Herzegovina (1996) and in Albania (1997).
Carmen Chacón Piqueras was named as Spains New Housing Minister on 6th July 2007
Lets see, town hall human resources, party spokesperson, party hack, secretary for culture and finally Housing Minister.
Sterling qualifications for someone running the military. /sarcasm
Posted by: Thaimble Scourge of the Pixies4707 ||
04/17/2008 18:35 Comments ||
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#2
Obama's sniffy comment about Tom Coburn was pretty instructive. His "good friend" mentioned in the same context as a bona fide radical Leftist like Ayres? Some friend.
Of course Obama did throw his own grandmother under the Racism Express, didn't he?
AFAIAC, this is a completely honorable involuntary discharge. He should get his benefits. The rules are broken and should be fixed immediately. There should also be an easy way to recognize and remedy cases where the rules are broken.
Forced to leave the combat zone after his two brothers died in the Iraq war, Army Spc. Jason Hubbard faced another battle once he returned home: The military cut off his family's health care, stopped his G.I. educational subsidies and wanted him to repay his sign-up bonus. It wasn't until Hubbard petitioned his local congressman that he was able to restore some of his benefits.
Now that congressman, Rep. Devin Nunes, is leading an effort to pass a bill that would ensure basic benefits to all soldiers who are discharged under an Army policy governing sole surviving siblings and children of soldiers killed in combat. The rule is a holdover from World War II meant to protect the rights of service people who have lost a family member to war.
"I felt as if in some ways I was being punished for leaving even though it was under these difficult circumstances," Hubbard told The Associated Press. "The situation that happened to me is not a one-time thing. It's going to happen to other people, and to have a law in place is going to ease their tragedy in some way."
Hubbard, 33, and his youngest brother, Nathan, enlisted while they were still grieving for their brother, Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Hubbard, who was 22 when he was killed in a 2004 bomb explosion in Ramadi. At their request, the pair were assigned to the same unit, the 3rd Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii, and deployed to Iraq the next year.
In August, 21-year-old Cpl. Nathan died when his Black Hawk helicopter crashed near Kirkuk. Jason was part of the team assigned to remove his comrades' bodies from the wreckage.
Hubbard accompanied his little brother's body on a military aircraft to Kuwait, then on to California. He kept steady during Nathan's burial at Clovis Cemetery, standing in dress uniform between his younger brothers' graves as hundreds sobbed in the heat.
But Hubbard broke his silence when he found his wife, pregnant with their second child, had been cut off from the transitional health care the family needed to ease back to civilian life after he was discharged in October.
"This is a man who asked for nothing and gave a lot," said Nunes, R-Calif., who represents Hubbard's hometown of Clovis, a city of 90,000 next to Fresno. "Jason is one person who obviously has suffered tremendously and has given the ultimate sacrifice. One person is too many to have this happen to." Hubbard went to Nunes, who began advocating for the former soldier in December, after hearing the Army was demanding that he repay $6,000 from his enlistment bonus and was denying him up to $40,000 in educational benefits under the GI bill.
After speaking with Army Secretary Pete Geren, Nunes got the repayment waived, and a military health policy restored for Hubbard's wife. But the policy mandated that she be treated at a nearby base, and doctors at the Lemoore Naval Air Station warned that the 45-mile trip could put her and the fetus in danger. Hubbard said doctors offered alternative treatment at a hospital five hours away.
Meantime, Hubbard and his 2-year-old son went without any coverage for a few months.
The Hubbard Act, introduced Wednesday, would for the first time detail the rights of sole survivors, and extend to them a number of benefits already offered to other soldiers honorably discharged from military service. The bill co-sponsored by Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga. would waive payback of their enlistment bonuses, allow them to participate in G.I. educational programs, give them separation pay and access to transitional health care.
"I'm honored to be a part of this process, and although it's me that is involved directly, it's more than that. There are numerous other people out here who have been discharged under this sole survivor code," Hubbard said in a phone interview from Washington, where he joined lawmakers who introduced the bill Wednesday.
The Department of Defense has identified 52 sole survivors since the Sept. 11 attacks.
Meanwhile, Hubbard, his wife Linnea and his son Elijah, have permanent health coverage now that he is once again working as a Fresno County sheriff's deputy, the job he left in 2004 to serve in Iraq.
The Army will adopt to any changes in policy springing from the legislation, Army spokesman Maj. Nathan Banks said. "Foremost the Army itself sympathizes with him for the loss of his brothers," Banks said. "We will do everything within our means to rectify this issue. He is still one of ours."
Hubbard's father, Jeff, said that resolving the family's bureaucratic difficulties would provide some comfort, but would not help lessen their pain. "We're still very much deeply involved in a grieving process. We're pretty whacked," he said. "This doesn't relate back to the loss of our boys, it can't, but we would consider it a positive accomplishment."
#1
I can understand removing a sole surviving son from combat. However, if he wished to stay in the service, there are certainly lots of Stateside jobs available.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
04/17/2008 12:43 Comments ||
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#2
I completely agree, this was the Military's decision to terminate his enlistment, not his.
So there should be none of this bullshit about "Not fulfulling the terms of his enlistmen".
In wartime the length of enlistment is determined solely by the military anyway. Not the individual.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/17/2008 13:42 Comments ||
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#3
Thus it has been since the tragedy of the five Sullivan brothers in World War I.
#5
Gee, now why would I think a REMF was involved in the original decision?
I'm such a cynic.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/17/2008 16:34 Comments ||
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#6
does any of this really suprise any one that reads it?Here is a man willing to give all"in the fight on terrorism" and being drug through the red tape so the government can save a dime to build back the countries we have just pummulled ,,or hand it over to another recip. of welfare that hasn't done "jack" for our country. There should be no question over whats right it is common sense """"fix it and quickly"""cause we owe it to him.Instead of ,,,Once again lets run him through the wringer after loosing his brothers,just coming back and tring to get re adjusted from a hostile action.Serving, what he calls his country but apparently the country doesn't call him there soldier. To many times you see stupid stuff like this and wonder why anyone would sign up for the military. Used to be young men felt as though they wanted to be a part of this great countries military. But all to often now ,it is a, down on the luck I need a job, and they are making me all kinds of promises thing, basically the same as working for a typical employer "WOW lets compare working at Mcdonalds to serving the military".Its sad, and my prayers go out to him and his family that they don't end up doopt like so many do because of red tape. I would love to see a pole of how many military men and women during and after being in the military have felt like the government has been totally fair to them and their families and it was a good experience in the total overveiw
#7
My husband was a veteran. The care he received from the V.A. was a joke, and not in a funny way.The red tape is unrelenting. Just a few days before his death of CANCER the V.A. in Houston wanted to send him to an AIDS hospice hospital. If they had of treated his cancer sooner rather than sending him home with a wellness guide maybe he would not be dead now. I think all politicians should have the V.A. for their medical care without anyone really knowing who they are, so they get a taste of just how our vets are treated. I am not surprised at this injustice. The people who make these decisions are working with a major brain deficit!
#9
screw american military they fucked me after the 2 years i gave them in veitnan i would advise young people to get schooling and never join no military service never ever this dam half breed country is not worth your life
#10
I am writting to the Hubbard family. I truley think the U.S. Goverment is wrong for cutting the benefits to Army Spc. Jason Hubbard. Just because he was dicharged from the service. Are men and women put their lives on the line every day for us so we can be free. He did his duty and would still be doing it if his two brother was not killed in action doing their job to fight for FREEDOM. My heart goes out to the family and my thought are with the Hubbard Family
#12
WHEN DEALING WITH OUR GOVERNMENT YOU HAVE TO EXPECT TO BE CHEATED,THEY DO NOTHING TO HELP AMERICANS ,YOU HAVE TO A NON AMERICAN THEN YOU GET EVERY THING FREE. OUR SERVICE PERSONAL COUNT FOR NOT MUCH, BUT THEN WE ARE ALL IN THE SAME BOAT.
#13
Some paper bound pencil pushing desk pilot whose fat ass has never been outside of the air conditioning is probably the reason this happened.
My mom faced the potential for that will all 4 of us boys deployed back in 91 (3 Army, 1 Navy). They actually pulled our 3rd in line brother back (Army) due to this during Desert Shield. Funny thing is he was a medic back at KKMC, the rest of us Combat Arms on the front (or behind it on the bad guy side).
Both the McCain and Clinton campaigns are accusing Obama of giving a misleading answer to Charlie Gibson about whether his handwriting was on a questionnaire that reported him as favoring a complete ban on handguns. The Obama campaign has said that a staffer "mischaracterized" the senator's views while filling up answers to the questionnaire without Obama's input. You can see the questionnaire here. Obama's handwriting is on the first page, but tonight he said flatly, "no, my writing was not on that particular questionnaire."
There were, in fact, two versions of the questionnaire, filed under Obama's name in 1996 when he was running for the Illinois State Senate. One version has Obama's handwriting on it, one does not. Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor subsequently told Politico that the senator scribbled a few notes on the first page of the questionnaire, but did not read the response to the question about banning handguns, on a subsequent page.
Either way, it seems a rather lame explanation.
9:40 p.m.
Obama mentioned that 34 schoolchildren were killed in Chicago from gun violence. This indeed happened in the 2006-2007 school year, but Obama often compares this figure to the number of Illinois soldiers killed in Iraq, saying the number of school children is higher. Time Magazine crunched the numbers last year. It found that, when put in context, the death rate for Illinois soldiers in Iraq is 10 times the death rate for Chicago schoolchildren. There are 109,000 Chicago school children. Thirty four dead is equivalent to three per 10,000, compared to 30 per 10,000 for the soldiers. See the Time report here.
--Glenn Kessler
9:20 p.m.
Charlie Gibson twice challenged Obama on the question of why he might consider raising capital gains taxes when, he claimed, cuts in the tax always results in increases in revenues. Gibson must be unduly worried about his stock portfolio. Gibson is right that a cut in capital gains taxes results in a brief increase in revenue, but that's only because stockholders decide to unload some stocks they have held in the new tax regime; there is less incentive to sell the stock if you know the rate is going to soon drop.
But it really is only a temporary problem, according to a 2002 study by the Congressional Budget Office. "The potentially large difference between the long- and short-term sensitivity of realizations to tax rates can mislead observers into assuming a greater permanent responsiveness than actually exists," the study noted. "Because of the other influences on realizations, the relationship between them and tax rates can be hard to detect and easy to confuse with other phenomena."--Glenn Kessler.
8.55 p.m.
A questioner quotes from an exchange that I had with Clinton spokesman a couple of weeks ago. Howard Wolfson responded with a flat "Yes" when I asked him whether Clinton would stick with her timetable for withdrawing virtually all combat troops from Iraq by the end of 2009 whatever the circumstances on the ground and whatever the advice from her military commanders. You can read the exchange here. Asked whether Wolfson had indeed reflected her position, Clinton said "yes," but then she hedged a little. She talked about "beginning" the troop withdrawal within 60 days, but did not commit herself to completing the withdrawal by the end of 2009, a much more difficult goal to achieve.
Gibson and Stephanopoulos missed the opportunity to pin her down more precisely. They failed to ask the obvious question: what will she do if the U.S. withdrawal triggers massive ethnic bloodletting, even genocide, in Iraq? Does she really mean that she will pull 1-2 brigades out every month regardless of the consequences?
8:40 p.m
Asked about his relationship with the former Weatherman William Ayers, Obama questions the notion of guilt by association. He points out that he is also friendly with Tom Coburn, a Republican congressman who has advocated the death penalty for doctors who practice abortion. He disagrees with Coburn, but feels no need to apologize for his views, so why should he apologize for the 40-year-old actions of Ayers? It is a fair point, but the two cases are not exactly equivalent. Ayers contributed $200 to an Obama Illinois senate re-election campaign fund in 2001. As far as I know, Coburn has never contributed money to Obama, and can hardly be described as a political supporter.
According to Politico, Ayers also hosted a political event for Obama in 1995 with his wife Bernadine Dohrn, another former member of the radical weathermen group. The purpose of the event was to help launch Obama's campaign for the Illinois State Senate.
8:35 p.m.
Now it's Clinton's turn to eat humble pie about her Bosnia sniper comments. She acknowledges that she gave a misleading, exaggerated account of her March 1996 trip to Tuzla on more than one occasion. She initially insisted that she "misspoke" only once, late at night, when she was exhausted, a claim repeated by her husband on the campaign trail. Tonight, she concedes she has been less than accurate on "a few occasions."
8:30 p.m.
Charlie Gibson's question to Barack Obama about exactly when he heard offensive remarks from Rev. Wright puts the Land-of-Lincolner on the spot. Gibson asks Obama to explain why he disinvited Obama from blessing his presidential campaign a year ago, but failed to speak out publicly against him until very recently. Obama tried to draw a distinction between generally controversial remarks from Wright and the specific remarks that have been playing over and over again on YouTube, including the GD America comment. He seems to be walking a very fine line. He failed to clear up precisely why he withdrew the invitation to Wright. Clinton twisted the knife by saying that the choice of pastor is a personal choice, and she would not have remained a member of Wright's congregation.
I used to feel bad about copying stuff off the WaPo, but now they have a Toyota audio commercial that just plays right over my music. Therefore, I will post more complete articles from the WaPo so other 'Burgers are not subjected to such abuse.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/17/2008 06:10 ||
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The more you listen to Hussein, the more you realize he's the master of innuendo and word-splitting. He makes Bill look pedestrian. He's saying something very different to his "audience", who understand his doublespeak very well. He's indeed hoodwinking the remainder of his disciples. Calling them idiots, biggots, and racists to their face, and yet they bow down and beg for more. Very much like Muzz who constantly say one thing, but mean something very different. All big time talkers.
Sen. Barack Obama released his 2007 tax returns this evening, hours before his debate with Sen. Hillary Clinton.
The tax returns show he made $4,238,165 last year, most of it ($3.9 million) a result of profits from his best selling books. He reported paying $1,396,772 in federal taxes and making charitable contributions totaling $240,370. Those donations included $26,270 to the Trinity United Church of Christ, which was the Chicago parish of his controversial longtime pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/17/2008 06:03 ||
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The release, one day after the tax filing deadline, appeared to be the latest move in a game of transparency one-upmanship between Obama and Clinton. Earlier today, Clinton's campaign knocked Obama for failing to release returns from 1997 through 1999, something the Clintons had done as part of their time in the White House.
appeared to be the latest move in a game of transparency one-upmanship lol! Yeah right, transparency one-upmanship. Don't ya just love the way the media bends over?
If Obama were a Republican, the 24/7 newscycle would be Obama fails to release 97-99 returns. What is he hiding?
Quite frankly, I'd be more interested in the the 97-99 returns because that was prior to the time when he knew they would be scrutinized.
#3
...maybe his next book could be, "What's the matter with Kansas Pennsylvania, Guam, Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky, Puerto Rico, Montana, and South Dakota?"
You know, tell us how a raised overseas millionaire who lives in an exclusive neighborhood Ivy League freshman politician thinks that, because everything in illinois has been solved and going well, we need more big government teet, inspection, control, and oversight because - well shoot - miz mind just aint grab them thar big con-sept wurdlish ideers.
Maybe he could get his skinny butt down here for a week and fight some fire for free. Then maybe he would understand why it pisses us off that for half the money he spent getting Bryant Gumble to talk about his mad ball skillz we could get new turnout gear.
#4
If a publisher is stupid enough to front him the money and some people are stupid enough to wanna buy the thing, I don't begrudge the guy making some money.
Deval Patrick just got 1.35 million to write his autobiography. To me, who the hell wants to read Deval Friggin Patrick's life story? But there are people who do.
#5
And if he loses the Presidential campaign, he can make even more money from an Al Gore type of swindle. Al has "global warming"; Obama could take up another bureaucratization scam.
#6
tu - I would assert that those are in fact personal gains that should be claimed as political contributions. The publisher will NEVER get their money back in sold books, but Deval's in their pocket now
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/17/2008 21:12 Comments ||
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these book deals just have to be some sort of money laundering. I just can't believe they return the money they pay out.
I have to agree - IMO HILLARY did very well. While OBAMA was also good, his replies seemed disconnected and weak/waffling compared to Hillary, defin NOT ONE OF BARACK'S STRONGER PERFORMANCES.
#5
"They really want to get stomped again in November, don't they? "
It sure looks that way. Even more than in 2004, when the jackasses ran Road to "Surfdom" Kerry; Obama is in McGovern territory.
It's a really REALLY good thing that McCain will win the election because the Senate math is looking very bad indeed. Speaking of which (witch?), how is hiltery's senate re-election campaign going?
The late, great Mike Royko exhorted his readers to lie to exit pollsters to make the election night projections go crazy.
Politicians make too many choices based on what polls say people want to hear; and the polls are frequently skewed to make it seem that the public is saying what the politicians want to hear. It's a vicious circle.
If everybody would tell pollsters politely to bug off, or tell them they're voting for Mike Royko, then the politicians would actually have to start reading their constituents' mail to find out what the voters want.
Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama on Wednesday voiced criticism of former President Jimmy Carter's meeting with Hamas. Obama told a group of potential voters Jewish leaders in Pennsylvania that he has an "unshakable commitment" to help protect Israel from its "bitter enemies."
"That's why I have a fundamental difference with President Carter and disagree with his decision to meet with Hamas," Obama said. "We must not negotiate with a terrorist group intent on Israel's destruction. We should only sit down with Hamas if they renounce terrorism, recognize Israel's right to exist and abide by past agreements," he added.
The statement marks a reversal of Obama's previous position on the matter of Carter's Hamas visit. Obama had said, before: "I'm not going to comment on former President Carter. He's a private citizen. It's not my place to discuss who he shouldn't meet with."
Posted by: Steve ||
04/17/2008 00:00 ||
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Hussein is just trying to get on both sides of the issue.... what a wuss. It's terrifying to think this slimeball actually has a chance to become POTUS.
#2
while BO wants to meet with Chavez and Ahmadinejad to name a few.
I hate to say more as bad press seems to catapult him forward.
BO's followers don't seem to be digesting information correctly.
Posted by: Jan ||
04/17/2008 3:15 Comments ||
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More stupandering remarks from the freshman senator of illinois.
Hyderabad District and Sessions Court on Wednesday acquitted Pakistan Peoples Party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in a murder case registered against him 11 years ago, reported Geo News. The defence counsel, Yousuf Leghari, told the channel that the Qasimabad Police Station had lodged a first investigation report (FIR) against nine people, including Zardari and his father Hakim Ali Zardari, for allegedly murdering former Irrigation secretary Alim Baloch. The FIR was lodged at the request of Ramzan Baloch the cousin of Alim Baloch. According to the channel, the court had already acquitted Zardaris father Hakim Ali Zardari in the murder case four years ago. Advocate Leghari filed an application on Tuesday for the acquittal of Zardari in Alam Baloch murder case, APP added. It was stated in the application that the prosecution had failed to provide any evidence proving Zardaris involvement in the murder. The court accepted Zardaris application and acquitted him. However, the proceedings of the case against the other accused would continue.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/17/2008 00:00 ||
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ISLAMABAD: President General Pervez Musharraf has praised the Cuban medical teams efforts in treating earthquake victims. In his remarks on a Cuban documentary On the Hills of the Himalayas that would be shown on PTV World on Friday at 9pm, Musharraf praised the medical team, the Cuban government and its people. I have no words to express my gratitude (for the humanitarian work that they are doing), he said. The president said that he was extremely grateful to his Cuban counterpart, Fidel Castro, for sending the medics to help the people in the earthquake-affected areas of Pakistan. Interesting. Guess you don't need our help then.
Through interviews of Cubans and Pakistanis, the documentary depicts the efforts of the Cuban medical team to help the earthquake-affected people. The documentary has been directed by famous Cuban director, Roberto Chile Perez with background music composed by Frank Fernandez Tamayo, a renowned Cuban musician. At the premier of the film on Thursday, before the Cuban medical brigade, government officials and reporters, Information Secretary Shahid Rafi said that the Cubans had rendered outstanding services to over 1.5 million earthquake victims. Coming from halfway across the world, they set very high standards of professionalism and services in the earthquake-affected areas of Pakistan, he said. He said that the Ministry for Information and Broadcasting had maintained close contact with the relief and rescue agencies and provided information to the media. He said that the ministry helped more than 800 foreign reporters in covering the earthquake. The Press Information Department, he said, covered the daily visits of the president, the prime minister, ministers and foreign dignitaries to the earthquake-hit areas.
Rafi also praised the role of the electronic and print media for highlighting the governments relief and rescue efforts. During the donors conference in November 2005, the ministry showed a film Rising as One about the earthquake, Rafi said. The help and contribution of rescue workers, medical teams and rehabilitation groups can never be measured in terms of figures, he said.
Ivan Mora, the Cuban Embassy charged affairs, said that the medial teams had to work under difficult conditions. We want to send a message to the international community that human solidarity is really possible, he said. He said that the Cuban medical team, consisting of over 2,500 doctors, provided medical services at 45 locations in the NWFP and Azad Kashmir. APP
Posted by: Steve ||
04/17/2008 00:00 ||
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Egypt confirms 50th case of human bird flu infection - RIA Novosti
SKorean PM calls for 'all-out fight' against bird flu - culls 3 mln birds as bird flu spreads fast - Malaysia Star
Bird flu in W Bengal not contained - The News - International
India fails to contain bird flu Dawn - International
Meanwhile, reports from Perm, in the Urals, said a total of 37,500 birds have died, and tests are being carried out for the virus.
"It has adapted to hotter climates. Look at Indonesia and the southern parts of Vietnam, they are hot all year round but the virus has become endemic in these places," said Hong Kong-based microbiologist Guan Yi, a leading expert on the virus.
"The virus can survive up to three days in water. Its no problem even if the temperature of the water is up to 38 or 39 degrees (celsius) (100-102F) because that's the body temperature of the chicken and duck, which is fine for the virus," Guan said.
Japan Considers Bird Flu Inoculations For The General Public - "Japan has stockpiled vaccines for 10 million people using strains of the H5N1 virus from China, Indonesia and Vietnam. So far the governments stance has been to use them only after a breakout.
"If the first vaccination is deemed effective, the ministry will consider vaccinating an additional 10 million people, mainly those involved in maintaining social infrastructure such as gas and electricity networks, the official said."
Ducks, people and rice paddies rather than chickens are the major factors behind outbreaks of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza in Thailand and Viet Nam, and are probably behind outbreak persistence in other countries of the region such as Cambodia and Lao - PDR.
The Supreme Court's ruling that lethal injections can be used on inmates could speed up some proceedings in the state. California's last execution was in early 2006.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/17/2008 00:00 ||
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GOVERNATOR > "CA cannot balance its budget, so taday I'm ordering the resumption of State executions"???
The Supreme Court by a 7-2 vote Wednesday rejected a challenge to the lethal injection method of executions. The decision in a Kentucky case is likely to end the nationwide moratorium on the death penalty that began last fall when the justices agreed to take up the claim. The splintered rationale among the justices in the majority, however, could spur lawsuits in particular states over how their executions are carried out.
The two condemned prisoners who brought the case had said a widely used three-drug lethal injection method constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment.
Most of the 36 states that permit capital punishment use the same mix: sodium thiopental (an anesthetic), pancuronium bromide (a paralyzing agent) and potassium chloride (which stops the heart). The prisoners said the second drug can mask signs of distress and create a risk that inmates suffer excruciating pain before death occurs.
Chief Justice John Roberts, writing the leading opinion for the court, said the inmates failed to show that the method poses an unconstitutional risk of pain.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/17/2008 00:00 ||
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Gurney Rides! Git'cher tickets! Gurney Rides!
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/17/2008 10:00 Comments ||
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"Your lawyer must be at least this tall for you to ride."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/17/2008 10:00 Comments ||
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The prisoners said the second drug can mask signs of distress and create a risk that inmates suffer excruciating pain before death occurs.
Hmmmmmm...They didn't seem too concerned about this excruciating pain before death occurs when they murdered their victims
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.
An Afghan legislative committee has drafted a bill seeking to introduce Taliban-style Islamic morality codes banning women from wearing make-up in public and forbidding young boys from wearing female fashions. The draft, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, needs approval by both chambers of the Islamist-dominated parliament and President Hamid Karzai signature to become a law. "Women and girls are obliged to not wear make-up, wear suitable dresses and observe hijab (veil) while at work or classrooms," said one article of the draft.
LONDON - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown headed to the U.S. for a four-day visit with an optimistic message claiming that coordinated efforts to shore up the world economy can reinforce ties between Europe and Washington that were frayed by the Iraq war.
Here is an image Spaniards will not soon forget: their new defence minister, reviewing trim, crisply uniformed soldiers, with her belly plump from seven months of pregnancy.
Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama on Wednesday voiced criticism of former President Jimmy Carter's meeting with Hamas. Obama told a group of 
Hyderabad District and Sessions Court on Wednesday acquitted Pakistan Peoples Party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in a murder case registered against him 11 years ago, reported Geo News. The defence counsel, Yousuf Leghari, told the channel that the Qasimabad Police Station had lodged a first investigation report (FIR) against nine people, including Zardari and his father Hakim Ali Zardari, for allegedly murdering former Irrigation secretary Alim Baloch. The FIR was lodged at the request of Ramzan Baloch the cousin of Alim Baloch. According to the channel, the court had already acquitted Zardaris father Hakim Ali Zardari in the murder case four years ago. Advocate Leghari filed an application on Tuesday for the acquittal of Zardari in Alam Baloch murder case, APP added. It was stated in the application that the prosecution had failed to provide any evidence proving Zardaris involvement in the murder. The court accepted Zardaris application and acquitted him. However, the proceedings of the case against the other accused would continue.
The Supreme Court's ruling that lethal injections can be used on inmates could speed up some proceedings in the state. California's last execution was in early 2006.
