Our "friends" down south:
Mexico proposed establishing a World Fund Against Climate Change (Green Fund) that would finance mitigation and adaptation of developing countries as a complementary scheme to the Kyoto Protocol.
Mexican Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada told reporters on the second day of the Group of Eight environment ministers meeting that his country was recommending the scheme because the current system doesn't impoverish the U.S. enough is "insufficient," with greenhouse gas emissions reductions focused around developed countries.
"The current scheme is centered on the priorities of developed economies Which sure as hell leaves Mexico out
and supports only a limited amount of projects in developing countries," Quesada said. "It compensates [for] excess emissions, but it does not reduce them." You could reduce CO2 emissions a lot if you and your pals would STFU, Juan-boy.
Quesada said Mexico's proposed Green Fund has four specific goals in addition to bankrupting the U.S.: fostering mitigation actions; supporting adaptation efforts to reverse the adverse effects of climate change; promoting the transfer and diffusion of technologies; and contributing to the financial underpinnings of the new global climate change regime.
'new global climate change regime': is that like a new world order?
Under the Mexican proposal, the fund would be operated by existing multilateral regimes and not by creating a new institution like the World Bank or other lending institutions. Contributions to it would be based on the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" in light of a country's share in total global emissions, per capital greenhouse gas emissions, and per capital gross domestic product. In other words, another way the world's losers, failed states, and tin despots can shake down the U.S. Ah, yes - equality of poverty, except for them.
Contributing to an eventual world government, of course ...
According to Quesada, that means developed countries must make the largest contributions to the fund, And of course in this context Mexico can't possibly be considered a developed country....
while emerging economies will not be limited to withdraw only the amount of their contributions from the fund but will have an incentive to withdraw additional resources according to their potential to mitigate emissions. In other words, outright thievery - rob from the "rich" U.S., give to the rich kleptocrats and despots.
Participants at the G-8 environment ministerial did not adopt the funding proposal. What, they couldn't figure out how to damage the U.S. economy without damaging their own? Funny that....
Quesada, however, said Mexico will submit its proposal at future multilateral forums. We ain't giving this up, suckers - why should we work for our money when we can steal guilt it from you?
Asked whether Mexico was ready to accept a climate change framework after the Kyoto Protocol, Quesada said his country is willing to make voluntary efforts but is "not ready for the next framework." What, do we look stupid?
This generally goes one direction, not the other ...
I wonder if these kleptocratic losers have ever stopped to think exactly where their money is going to come from if they actually manage to destroy the U.S. economy. The "rising" Chinese won't be nearly as nice as we are when it comes to taking getting what they want.
(Note that the link goes to a Mexican press release (in English - imagine that); I got the story from a proprietary newsletter that can't be linked to.)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/01/2008 12:37 ||
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Crap - this should have gone in non-WOT. :-(
Mods, can you move? Thnx.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/01/2008 13:03 Comments ||
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Hmmm... how about ....
Fuck you Mexico, Fuck your economy and fuck the burrito you rode in on.
Take your escapees back and we are building a wall.
#3
Compare wid LA TIMES > NEW GENERATION OF LOS ANGELES-AREA LATINO LEADERS/SHOPPERS AREN'T AS FRIENDLY TO "AMIGO" STORES. Desire and want America and American Way, NOT Mexico and perennial Mexican probs including "fly-by-night" commercial scams despite the many of the latter being "ethnic"???
A senior Zimbabwean opposition politician has been arrested over a written attack on Robert Mugabe. Arthur Mutambara, who recently pledged to work with a rival opposition leader to defeat President Mugabe in run-off elections, was detained in Harare. His lawyer told the BBC his client had been accused of publishing falsehoods and contempt of court after a critical article he wrote in April.
Mr Mutambara leads a break-away faction of the country's main opposition group. He was arrested at his home and his lawyer believes he is being held at a Harare police station, the BBC's Caroline Hawley reports from Johannesburg. Our correspondent says Mr Mutambara is the most senior opposition figure to be arrested thus far in a state-run campaign of political intimidation.
The editor of the country's only independent Sunday paper, The Standard, was arrested last month over Mr Mutambara's article, which accused Mr Mugabe of running down the Zimbabwean economy and his security forces of abuses.
Mr Mutambara fell out with main Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai in 2005, but had recently agreed to work with the MDC in the lead up to 27 June run-off election between Mr Tsvangirai and Mr Mugabe. Mr Mutambara's lawyer said he did not expect his client, who lost his parliamentary seat in the 29 March general election, to be brought before a court until Tuesday.
Zimbabwe's army chief yesterday told soldiers they must leave the military if they do not vote for President Robert Mugabe in next month's run-off poll. Chief-of-staff Major General Martin Chedondo said soldiers had signed up to protect Mugabe's principles of defending the revolution. 'If you have other thoughts, then you should remove that uniform,' he told them. Chedondo was speaking at a target-shooting competition outside Harare, the Herald newspaper reported.
This isn't going to end well ...
Zimbabwe's generals, most of them veterans of the independence war against Britain, have, in the past, vowed never to salute the opposition candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change, if he is elected in the 27 June run-off election.
'Soldiers are not apolitical; only mercenaries are apolitical,' said the major general. 'We should therefore stand behind our commander-in-chief.' His comments came after civic groups in Zimbabwe said they were worried that most opposition voters were now too scared to participate in the election, adding that a free and fair poll was therefore no longer possible.
In a report last week, the International Crisis Group said military commanders opposed to Tsvangirai were instrumental in preventing a democratic transition after the March 29 election. The MDC won a majority in Parliament and Tsvangirai won the presidential race, though the official figures gave him too small a majority to prevent a run-off. The crisis group warned of a 'growing risk of a coup' either before the 27 June run-off vote as a pre-emptive motive to deny Tsvangirai victory, or after a Tsvangirai win.
On Friday the MDC convened what it called a session of Parliament and declared itself as Zimbabwe's new ruling party - Tsvangirai has long been called 'Mr President' by his supporters. The opposition won 110 seats in the 210-seat parliament in the elections, giving it control of the legislature for the first time since independence in 1980.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/01/2008 00:00 ||
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Does no one in Africa have a sniper rifle?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/01/2008 0:17 Comments ||
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I doubt that one would be enough. I suspect that the survivor of the succession squabble would be little different from Mr M: same party, same cronies, same greed...
Posted by: James ||
06/01/2008 4:04 Comments ||
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#3
We could supply the sniper(s) with extra bullets.....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/01/2008 11:56 Comments ||
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Over 200 people including 33 district and upazila level top leaders of Awami League, BNP and their front organisations, municipality and union parishad chairmen and transport leaders were arrested as of yesterday during a sudden crackdown by the joint forces starting Friday midnight.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2008 00:00 ||
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LONDON - Britain's Prince William is to patrol for drug smugglers in seas around the Caribbean during a two-month attachment with the Royal Navy, it said Saturday. William, the 25-year-old second-in-line to the throne, is an officer in the army but is also training with other parts of the British military, of which he will be commander-in-chief when he becomes king. William will be known as Sub-Lieutenant Wales and will follow his father Prince Charles, uncle Prince Andrew and grandfather Prince Philip, who have all spent time in the navy.
William's naval deployment starts Monday. He will learn basic skills like navigation and boat handling at first before spending five weeks on HMS Iron Duke, which is stationed in the Caribbean. The ship's crew will be involved in operations to catch drug runners which have seen British vessels seize around 20 tonnes of cocaine in the north Atlantic in the last 18 months.
Rear Admiral Robert Cooling, the assistant chief of naval staff, said of William's new role: 'It will be a real thrill and privilege -- not a pain in the ass -- for the ship's company... He's going to come just like any other young officers and do all the things that young officers get involved in.'
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/01/2008 00:00 ||
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...British military, of which he will be commander-in-chief when he becomes king.
The way the Brits are going, by the time he's king the military will consist of two or three ceremonial guards at the palace and a Royal dinghy.
IIUC, this is actually worth following, as this could deal a serious blow to castro/chavez plan of turning bolivia into the stepping stone of their "bolivarian" expansion into latin america (as che guevarra tried to do); like the FARC crumbling down, this bodes ills for huuuugo, I wonder what the response will be?
Two provinces in Bolivia are set to vote in a referendum on whether to declare autonomy from President Evo Morales's socialist government.
The votes on Sunday have been organised by conservative opponents in the lowland provinces of Beni and Pando. They hope to follow the lead of the country's economic powerhouse, Santa Cruz, which voted for an autonomy package four weeks ago.
President Morales said the autonomy move was illegal.
Another autonomy vote is planned in Tarija, which has major gas reserves.
Santa Cruz Beni, Pando, Tarija why, that's almost enough to form a new nation ...
Analysts say the votes reflect the hostility of the country's business and landowning elite towards President Morales, and his policies aimed at transferring wealth to the poor indigenous people of the western Andean regions.
The president, who has more than two years left in office, faces a recall referendum on his leadership in August. If successful in the ballot, Mr Morales says he wants to hold a public referendum on a draft constitution which has been awaiting approval since last year. The constitution aims to enshrine reforms such as land redistribution to Bolivia's indigenous majority and sharing of wealth with the poorer western regions.
However, critics say it cedes too much control to the government in La Paz. It's a feature, not a bug, the revised, heavily centralized and jacobine constitution was IIUC a legal coup, with the army and mobs of armed morales drones protecting the military school where it was drafted.
Mr Morales's opponents in the eastern states - home to a large part of Bolivia's oil and gas deposits - argue that his plans would unfairly privilege indigenous groups and would mean greater central control, including two consecutive five-year terms for the president. Again, IIUC, "unfair priviliges" for the indians is a feature, not a bug, the neomarxists all over latin america are using race resentment as a lever, from chiapas to venezuela.
#1
There's a small chance this could turn into another Bolivian bloodbath. Many players, long borders, no port.
Posted by: George Smiley ||
06/01/2008 12:52 Comments ||
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I wonder how many factions the drug cartels will split into and/or support? They have lots of guns and men, and were very powerful in Bolivia until around 2000 or 2001, BEFORE Morales got in. The previous government had broken at least 2 of the cartels, but the cartels were run by Latinos and not Indians. That could be a big factor in which side they might choose to jump in on.
The racial dividing line between Indians and Latinos is HUGE in Latin America.
#4
I don't know about that. We'd have to have access, and I doubt seriously that Brazil, Paraguay, Chile or Argentina would give us access. It would be the one thing we'd do that would cause them to rush to Morales' side, since (after all) it could be seen as the big old U.S. throwing its weight around again, treating Bolivia as a banana republic.
I don't know what assets the eastern provinces have to stand up in a fight, and it isn't clear to me that the Bolivian military would remain cohesive.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/01/2008 20:52 Comments ||
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Voting in Macedonia's parliamentary election was halted for security reasons in an ethnic Albanian area in the north of the country, the electoral commission said on Sunday.
The commission did not elaborate and police were unavailable to comment on reports of shooting in the town of Aracinovo.
The poll is seen as a test of the nation's political maturity after campaign violence raised fears that slow progress toward European Union membership could be further delayed.
In an ethnic Albanian area of the Macedonian capital Skopje, at least three people were wounded in shooting, police and party officials said.
"We were attacked," said Izet Mexhiti, an official of the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) party, blaming activists of the rival Democratic Party of Albanians.
He said a DUI official from the party branch of the Cair neighborhood was wounded in the stomach and was treated in hospital. Two passers-by were wounded, he said, adding that his party had reports that three other people were also injured.
In the election, the conservative VMRO-DPMNE party of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski is expected to win on a surge of nationalist defiance after Greece blocked a NATO invitation to Macedonia in April in a 17-year row over the name it shares with a Greek province.
His government, which will likely have to include a partner from the ethnic Albanian minority parties, will be asked to get NATO accession back on track, start EU membership talks and calm tensions after weeks of violence among rival Albanian factions.
HARD TIMES
"These elections are not just important, they are crucial, Macedonia is facing hard times," said voter Goran Petkovski, 44. "I hope everyone does as I did and casts their vote peacefully."
The state news agency MIA had reported scuffles in ethnic Albanian areas, and said a small explosive device had been thrown at an empty cafe.
President Branko Crvenkovski has appealed for calm, noting that the first step to the EU and NATO was "to have peaceful, fair and democratic elections." Brussels has made clear the election is a test Macedonia must pass to start EU negotiations.
Some 1.77 million people are entitled to vote out of a population of 2 million. Polls close at 7 p.m. (1 p.m. EDT), with voting overseen by some 2,000 local and 460 foreign monitors.
Serhiy Holovaty, head of the Council of Europe monitoring mission, told Rooters he had seen some irregularities in his early morning visits to a few polling stations, and had "noticed the possibility of manipulation of the results."
#1
Its shamefull to make the artical that bad for macedoniaa!!! people must know that 99 procent of the election proces went well and that its only normal the police to strike back when beeing attack!! the international community asks for fair ellection so what the police should stay away and let those(albanins) to do what they want!! and theee worst thing is every newss makes this image for our countryy so bad wheeen we are the most peacfull nation on the balkan for the last 500 yr. shame to cnn and all the international station shame cuz they dont care that with their words they can ruin 2 milions lifee!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Ivo ||
06/01/2008 15:56 Comments ||
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Even if it does pass, is it too late? Swiss voters go to the polls Sunday in a referendum proposed by the far-right Swiss People's Party (SVP) that would make it much harder for foreigners to become naturalised citizens.
Do these "far rightists" have storm troopers and nifty uniforms and such? Or do they merely want to reserve Switzerland for people who act like Helvetii?
The controversial proposal would give local communities the power to decide by a popular vote which immigrants are granted naturalisation, with no right to appeal.
That causes me to suspect they're the latter, which relieves me of the nightmare of imagining the Horst Wessel Lied yodeled to the accompaniment of an Alpenhorn.
At present, the decision is made by an ad hoc commission, usually at cantonal or communal level.
Ad hoc commissions being ever so much more susceptible to packing by our social and innalekshul betters...
Switzerland's multi-party government -- which includes two SVP ministers generally perceived as 'moderate' -- is against the initiative which it deems arbitrary and discriminatory, a view shared by most members of parliament.
But is it "arbitrary and discretionary" in the eyes of the Helvetii in the street?
The SVP has long made the question of "foreigners" in Switzerland one of its hobby-horses -- they made up 20.7 percent of the Swiss population according to a 2006 census -- and this weekend's vote is the sixth time it has launched a popular referendum on the subject. The SVP has transformed itself from a small farmers' party into a fiercely populist force with an anti-immigrant message over the past few decades, and scored 29 percent in last October's general elections.
Half again the proportion of foreigners in the country...
The party drew accusations of racism from a United Nations expert during last year's general election for a poster showing three white sheep kicking a black sheep off the Swiss flag.
White sheep symbolicly ejecting a black sheep? From Switzerland? I suspect the imagery resonated more with the UN "expert" than with the average Helvetius.
This time around it has plastered the country with posters showing a sea of black and brown hands grasping for a pile of Swiss passports, with the huge word "STOP!".
Switzerland defines nationality by virtue of blood, and those who wish to acquire citizenship must navigate a lengthy naturalisation procedure which includes demonstrating knowledge of the country's traditions, history and culture -- after having lived at least 12 years on Swiss soil.
"Not until you learn to yodel, put holes in your cheese, play the Alpenhorn, and make watches! Oh, an you'll also have to learn to speak German, French, Italian, and/or Rumantsch."
Switzerland defines nationality by virtue of blood, and those foreigners who do wish to acquire citizenship must already navigate a lengthy naturalisation procedure which includes demonstrating a good knowledge of the country's traditions, history and culture -- after having lived at least 12 years on Swiss soil. Children who have one Swiss parent, or the partner of a Swiss citizen, can benefit from a fast-track procedure.
But they're not automatically Swiss, like they would be Americans. We could learn something from them if we had any sense. But our demagogues swing in the other direction.
The SVP proposal harks back to a controversial case at the beginning of the decade, when the small commune of Emmen in the eastern canton of Lucerne decided to rule on naturalisation cases by a popular vote. In 2000, the commune approved eight candidates of Italian origin, but rejected all 48 applications from people from the Balkans.
I notice they don't say where in the Balkans: Croatia? Montenegro? Kosovo? Senegal?
Switzerland's federal court subsequently ruled that this was discriminatory after the unsuccessful applicants complained. Under the SVP proposals, they would not have this right of appeal.
No. Unlike England which has disarmed its citizenry, the Swiss with universal conscription, has each soldier/citizen keep his weapon and ammo at home for quick mobilization. Don't expect the Berne government to act like the ruling caste in London.
#4
This just in: Swiss voters rejected Sunday by nearly 64 percent a far-right initiative that would have made it harder for foreigners to become naturalised citizens, according to official results reported by the Swiss News Agency.
#5
I notice they don't say where in the Balkans: Croatia? Montenegro? Kosovo? Senegal?
From swiss blog commenters, most of them are serbians or kosovars (plus lotsa "romanians, that is gypsies, not technically from the balkans I guess), both type being heavily represented in organized crime, and the later siding with Youths when their timeframe is right, to beat up ethnic swiss and say they "don't want them in their country", aka the Inverted World.
#7
That causes me to suspect they're the latter, which relieves me of the nightmare of imagining the Horst Wessel Lied yodeled to the accompaniment of an Alpenhorn.
Alpenhorn or not, the Swiss have not been involved in a large scale military conflict either internal or external for nearly 700 years. Since we no longer have any say in it here, I'll let the Swiss be the judge of who gets citizenship.
New and dramatic developments. This is a heads up. Ill post the news Monday morning by 0900 hours. Now I know why people who have seen the videotape say it is stunning. Baracks headaches are only starting.
As the good Professor observes, this might explain Obama's oddly-timed decision to toss Trinity under the bus . . . though if it's his wife doing the ranting, I don't know what good breaking with Trinity does him.
Guess he'll have to get a divorce, huh?
Posted by: Mike ||
06/01/2008 09:18 ||
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This is welcome news. Big Mama Obama has been stifled for too long. I was beginning to be worried that she had been disappeared by Axelrod. Good to know that like Osama, she just keeps coming back, and coming back, and coming baaack!
#2
The Obama's mouths are their worst enemy. Every time they talk, they stick their foot in. Obama shows his naivety and ignorance and his wife shows her anger and hate. Not a winning combo.
#4
Obama clinches the nomination about the same time his chances die. The timing couldn't be better for the Republicans. I wonder if the Dems will hold HIllary, Obama or "Repubican dirty tricks" responsible when the bloodletting is finally through.
#5
I'll believe it when I see it.
There seems to be no gaffe to which the Obamas are not susceptible, however, and I suspect that John McNafta is headed for the mother of all landslides. This will be followed by much wailing and gnashing of teeth (and private rejoicing) from the likes of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.
#7
Obama ain't clinched nothing. Every one of the super delegates can change their mind as many times as they like prior to the first ballot. The question is, will the super delegates throw the black community under the bus as fast as Obama did his grandmother? We'll know when Jesse and Al endorse Hillary.
#9
Larry Johnson is indeed a bit loony, but no more so than the rest of the Left.
It's clear to me that a substantial number of the supporters of the loser of the nomination will take to the streets. It's not going to be pretty. But for all the problems of the Republicans, the Dhimmicratic party just might tear itself apart.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/01/2008 11:29 Comments ||
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"the Dhimmicratic party just might tear itself apart"
What's the downside, Steve?
(Note I don't live in Denver.)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/01/2008 11:47 Comments ||
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The republican side of things supposedly had a "Blame Whitey" tape as well, in the hands of a private 527. I've been hearing that for a while, and that they were going to wait until after the convention to drop it on the public.
#12
Gateway Pundit says the news is that Hussein has an Iranian agent employed by the campaign team. This makes more sense to me as if the Michelle tape existed, Hildebeast would have used it long ago.
#13
Our little boy is forty some years old and quite a little man
So we spell out the words we don't want him to understand
Like J-E-W or maybe S-U-R P-R-I-S-E
But the words we're hiding from him now
Tear the heart right out of me.
Our D-I-V-O-R-C-E; becomes final today
Me and little D-N-C will be goin' away
I love you both and it will be pure H-E double L for me
Oh, I wish that we could stop this D-I-V-O-R-C-E.
Posted by: George Smiley ||
06/01/2008 12:18 Comments ||
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Michelle is the gift that keeps on giving. Let her speak! Ungag the mouth!
heh heh. I'll have a happy day if there's a tape of her. I have no doubt she's said Wright-like things. I'm of the opinion that the TUCC was her choice more than his
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/01/2008 12:22 Comments ||
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She for the hate, he for the Marxist attitudes underlying the theology. Remember, his Mom was a communist.
#16
his Mom was a communist. I am eagerly awaiting the revelations of her activities, pronouncements & collaborations with Obama, to be made this summer & fall. Probably make Rev. Wright & Michelle look like William F. Buckley by comparison.
#19
My better half listens to Sean Hannity's radio program in the afternoons. She tells me that for the past couple weeks Hannity has been making veiled/vague comments hinting/suggesting that either he possesses a tape of Mrs O or that a tape of Mrs. O exists which will cause the Obama campaign extreme damage. If such a tape exists (Mrs. O raggin' on 'whitey') it will be like an IED/EFP going off on the Obama campaign wagon.
#24
lotp, do you have an authoritative cite on his mom being a red?
It was not only his mum who was red but his grandfather as well. He is the "invisible man" in all this. He hung around with a black group in Hawaii (nothing wrong with that) but who that group is revealing. It was through his grandfather that Frank Marshall Davis ended up mentoring Obama and through Davis contacts were made on the mainland and facilitated his move to Chicago. Research Grandaddy (his mother was mostly absent during his formative years) and the key will be revealed.
#26
from spengler asia times:
Never underestimate the influence of a wife who bitch-slaps her husband in public. Early in Obama's campaign, Michelle Obama could not restrain herself from belittling the senator. "I have some difficulty reconciling the two images I have of Barack Obama. There's Barack Obama the phenomenon. He's an amazing orator, Harvard Law Review, or whatever it was, law professor, best-selling author, Grammy winner. Pretty amazing, right? And then there's the Barack Obama that lives with me in my house, and that guy's a little less impressive," she told a fundraiser in February 2007.
"For some reason this guy still can't manage to put the butter up when he makes toast, secure the bread so that it doesn't get stale, and his five-year-old is still better at making the bed than he is." New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd reported at the time, "She added that the TV version of Barack Obama sounded really interesting and that she'd like to meet him sometime." Her handlers have convinced her to be more tactful since then.
#27
same spengler article:
"Frustration" and "disappointment" have dogged Michelle Obama these past 20 years, despite her US$300,000 a year salary and corporate board memberships. It is hard for the descendants of slaves not to resent America. They were not voluntary immigrants but kidnap victims, subjected to a century of second-class citizenship even after the Civil War ended slavery. Blackness is not the issue; General Colin Powell, whose parents chose to immigrate to America from the West Indies, saw America just as other immigrants do, as a land of opportunity. Obama's choice of wife is a failsafe indicator of his own sentiments. Spouses do not necessarily share their likes, but they must have their hatreds in common. Obama imbibed this hatred with his mother's milk.
Michelle Obama speaks with greater warmth of her mother-in-law than of her husband. "She was kind of a dreamer, his mother," Michelle Obama was quoted in the January 25 Boston Globe. "She wanted the world to be open to her and her children. And as a result of her naivete, sometimes they lived on food stamps, because sometimes dreams don't pay the rent. But as a result of her naivete, Barack got to see the world like most of us don't in this country." How strong the ideological motivation must be of a mother to raise her children on the thin fair in pursuit of a political agenda.
#28
on one of the links from the above links
Barack Obama is a clever fellow who imbibed hatred of America with his mother's milk, but worked his way up the elite ladder of education and career. He shares the resentment of Muslims against the encroachment of American culture, although not their religion. He has the empathetic skill set of an anthropologist who lives with his subjects, learns their language, and elicits their hopes and fears while remaining at emotional distance. That is, he is the political equivalent of a sociopath. The difference is that he is practicing not on a primitive tribe but on the population of the United States.
" . . . [O]n May 31, 2008, a group of elitist insiders of the DNC have effectively said that some of my ancestors progeny equal only 1/2 and that men and women in Florida who voted on January 29th are 1/2 also. For a Party which will crown its historic nominee on the 45th anniversary of Dr. Kings I Have a Dream speech, the DNCs decision today is tragically ironic.
"As a matter of protest, I do not intend to attend the Democratic National Convention in Denver."
Posted by: Mike ||
06/01/2008 00:00 ||
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And this is a problem because....?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/01/2008 0:15 Comments ||
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#2
Actually the constitution said that a slave counted as 3/5 of a white (for census purposes). SO the DNC has reduced the worth of all Floridians, but of course, Alcee only cares about the African Americans.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
06/01/2008 0:29 Comments ||
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#3
Amazing. Here the donks are on the verge of gaining complete control..likely for the next decade or more...and then they start shootout. The trunks are getting a gift they absolutely do not deserve.
#4
I love this comment Punish Those Voters (5.00 / 1) (#105)
by MO Blue on Sat May 31, 2008 at 10:34:22 PM EST
They broke the rulz. Rules are more important than voters and more important than winning states in the GE. Stick to those rulz. Who needs those voters anyhow?
Senator Barack Obama is ending his membership at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, a congregation he has belonged to for about two decades and one that had become a lightning rod in his Democratic presidential bid.
Mr. Obama informed his campaign advisers of his decision today, according to people familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak for the candidate. Mr. Obama is scheduled to explain his decision tonight in South Dakota. For Mr. Obama, this is the latest effort to distance himself from a church that had repeatedly drawn negative attention to his candidacy. And, in turn, Mr. Obama drew negative attention to the church on Chicagos South Side, where he was married and his two daughters were baptized.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2008 00:00 ||
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Fun part is, this is made by a french guy, who also runs the Drzz blog linked in the vid, the only actual french neocon I know of, bar Guy Millière (the translator of Reagan's memoir) and Yves Roucaute.
#14
No need to mention that this is not a church, but rather a political action committee. If they truly believe it is a church, it needs to be razed to the ground. It is an abomination.
Democrats approve seating half of Michigan delegation
A Democratic Party panel backed a compromise plan to seat the delegates from Michigan with a half-vote each on Saturday in a blow to U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
The panel voted 19-8 to try to resolve the disputed contest won by Clinton over rival Barack Obama by giving Clinton a net gain of five delegate votes in the state. She will have 69 pledged delegates to Obama's 59, giving her 34.5 voting delegates to Obama's 29.5.
The state's superdelegates also will get half votes.
Clinton had pushed for seating the delegation in full and not granting delegates to Obama, who had withdrawn his name from the Michigan ballot because of a dispute between the state and the national party over the timing of the contest.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Please insert a picture of Mr. Bluto Blutarsky herein.
Thank you kindly.
FLOOR FIIIIIIIIIIGHT!
Posted by: George Smiley ||
06/01/2008 12:50 Comments ||
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#2
Hey Michigan - remember this in November. Obama thinks you are only half a voter.
Officials say Fla., Mich. delegates will get half-votes
Democratic Party officials agreed Saturday to seat Michigan and Florida delegates with half-votes, ruling on a long-running dispute that has threatened the party's chances in November and maintaining Barack Obama's front-runner status as he moves closer to the nomination.
The decision was a blow to Hillary Rodham Clinton as she was on the verge of watching Obama make history as the first black Democratic presidential nominee. It prompted an irate reaction from boisterous Clinton supporters in the audience and her chief delegate counter, Harold Ickes.
Ickes angrily informed the party's Rules Committee that Clinton had instructed him to reserve her right to appeal the matter to the Democrats' credentials committee, which could potentially drag the matter to the party's convention in August. "There's been a lot of talk about party unity let's all come together, and put our arms around each other," said Ickes, who is also a member of the Rules Committee that approved the deal. "I submit to you ladies and gentlemen, hijacking four delegates ... is not a good way to start down the path of party unity."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
. . . . was a blow to Hillary Rodham Clinton . . .
A Democratic party committee has declined to fully seat Florida's and Michigan's convention delegations, striking a serious blow to Hillary Clinton's increasingly long chances of overcoming Barack Obama to win the party nomination. The committee opted instead to halve the states' delegate votes, awarding in total 87 new delegates to Clinton and 63 to Obama. The committee rejected a move backed by the Clinton camp to recognise fully the Florida delegation.
When the meeting began, Obama was only 42 delegates short of the 2,026 then needed to clinch the nomination, but the added Florida and Michigan delegates have increased the number now needed to win.
Obama picked up a total of 32 delegates in Michigan, including superdelegates who have already committed, and 36 in Florida. Clinton picked up 38 in Michigan, including superdelegates, and 56.5 in Florida. Obama's total increased to 2,052, and Clinton had 1,877.5.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/01/2008 00:00 ||
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#4
The principle of one man one vote is an anathema to the party's being. Just collect the chits of everyone who mouthed about the 'popular vote' in 2000. It's never been about right, justice, or truth. It's always been about POWER.
#7
FOX NEWS + CNBC-MSNBC > rough consensus that, PRESUMING NO HILLARY FOR VPOTUS OR MAJOR ADMIN POSITION, ANY OBAMA VICTORY AGZ MCCAIN [Polls -anticipated November winner] MAY DEPEND ON HIS CHOICE OF RUNNING MATE + ESPEC THE ME SITUATION NOW THRU EOY 2008???
#8
I love the irony..these idiots can't even get their own delegates right and they think they have a snowman's chance in hell of running the country...bunch of black & decker tools...
Posted by: Snash Oppressor of the Mohammatans aka Broadhead6 ||
06/01/2008 22:10 Comments ||
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#9
I guess the Democrats know what 'disenfranchised voters' are after all.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will not try to block primaries from taking place in his party, Kadima, he said Saturday. However, Olmert is asking that internal moves toward primaries not begin until he returns from his visit to the United States next weekend. However, Olmert may ask for the pause to be extended until his defense lawyers have an opportunity to cross-examine Morris Talansky, a chief witness for the prosecution in the corruption probe of the PM if this could be scheduled in about 10 days.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2008 00:00 ||
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On 23 March 1989 Martin Fleischmann of the University of Southampton, UK, and Stanley Pons of the University of Utah, US, announced that they had observed controlled nuclear fusion in a glass jar at room temperature, and for around a month the world was under the impression that the world's energy woes had been remedied.
But, even as other groups claimed to repeat the pair's results, sceptical reports began trickle in. An editorial in Nature predicted cold fusion to be unfounded. And a US Department of Energy report judged that the experiments did "not provide convincing evidence that useful sources of energy will result from cold fusion."
This hasn't prevented a handful of scientists persevering with cold-fusion research. They stand on the sidelines, diligently getting on with their experiments and, every so often, they wave their arms frantically when they think have made some progress.
Nobody notices, though. Why? These days the mainstream science media wouldn't touch cold-fusion experiments with a barge pole. They have learnt their lesson from 1989, and now treat "cold fusion" as a byword for bad science. Most scientists agree, and some even go so far as to brand cold fusion a "pathological science" science that is plagued by falsehood but practiced nonetheless.
There is a reasonable chance that the naysayers are (to some extent) right and that cold fusion experiments in their current form will not amount to anything. But it's too easy to be drawn in by the crowd and overlook a genuine breakthrough, which is why I'd like to let you know that one of the handful of diligent cold-fusion practitioners has started waving his arms again.
His name is Yoshiaki Arata, a retired (now emeritus) physics professor at Osaka University, Japan. Yesterday, Arata performed a demonstration at Osaka of one his cold-fusion experiments.
Although I couldn't attend the demonstration (it was in Japanese, anyway), I know that it was based on reports published here and here.
Essentially Arata, together with his co-researcher Yue-Chang Zhang, uses pressure to force deuterium (D) gas into an evacuated cell containing a sample of palladium dispersed in zirconium oxide (ZrO2Pd). He claims the deuterium is absorbed by the sample in large amounts producing what he calls dense or "pynco" deuterium so that the deuterium nuclei become close enough together to fuse.
So, did this method work yesterday? Here's an email I received from Akito Takahashi, a colleague of Arata's, this morning:
"Arata's demonstration...was successfully done. There came about 60 people from universities and companies in Japan and few foreign people. Six major newspapers and two TV [stations] (Asahi, Nikkei, Mainichi, NHK, et al.) were there...Demonstrated live data looked just similar to the data they reported in [the] papers...This showed the method highly reproducible. Arata's lecture and Q&A were also attractive and active."
I also received a detailed account from Jed Rothwell, who is editor of the US site LENR (Low Energy Nuclear Reactions) and who has long thought that cold-fusion research shows promise.
He said that, after Arata had started the injection of gas, the temperature rose to about 70 °C, which according to Arata was due to both chemical and nuclear reactions. When the gas was shut off, the temperature in the centre of the cell remained significantly warmer than the cell wall for 50 hours. This, according to Arata, was due solely to nuclear fusion.
Rothwell also pointed out that Arata performed three other control experiments: hydrogen with the ZrO2Pd sample (no lasting heat); deuterium with no ZrO2Pd sample (no heating at all); and hydrogen with no ZrO2Pd sample (again, no heating). Nevertheless, Rothwell added that Arata neglected to mention certain details, such as the method of calibration. "His lecture was very difficult to follow, even for native speakers, so I may have overlooked something," he wrote.
It will be interesting to see what other scientists think of Arata's demonstration. Last week I got in touch with Augustin McEvoy, a retired condensed-matter physicist who has studied Arata's previous cold-fusion experiments in detail. He said that he has found "no conclusive evidence of excess heat" before, though he would like to know how this demonstration turned out.
I will update you if and when I get any more information about the demonstration (apparently there might be some videos circulating soon). For now, though, you can form your own opinions about the reliability of cold fusion. Doesn't matter until it is reproduced.
#1
1/ Pressurisation will increase the heat.
2/ Repeat with Hydrogen/Helium instead of D2 to see if it really is fusion, rather than chemical or pressure that causes heat.
#3
Whether reproduceable or not, cold fusion as the energy panacea may have missed it's window of opportunity. Recent articles on focus fusion using plasma make it seem like the "next big thing". Inexpensive, extremely efficient due to the lack of steam turbines and generators, small facility footprint and the fact it'd going into a production test cycle fairly soon may mean it's the way to go. Of course, I'm not sure I'd trust some of the local power engineers with a plasma generator.....
#9
ION RENSE > APOCALYPSE IN OUR OCEANS. Massive Sea/Ocean Die-Off + 150 [and counting?] ocean "Dead Zones"; + CLIMATE CHANGE WILL PRODUCE MILLIONS OF ENVIROFUGEES/ENVIROGEES [Environmental Refugees].
ALso, REDDIT > VARIOUS > IS PEAK WATER THE NEW PEAK OIL?
#11
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#15
Seems to me that some chemical reactions involving Zr go up to about 7000 degrees Fahrenheit. Very vigorous. I wouldn't be surprised if a very slow reaction involving that Zr is going on here.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday he will make a decision within "a matter of days" to withdraw U.S. Navy ships from the coast of Myanmar, because "it's becoming pretty clear the regime is not going to let us help."
As a result, he said many more people will die, particularly those in areas that can only be reached by helicopters, such as those sitting idle on the U.S. ships.
Asked if the military junta there is guilty of genocide, Gates said, "I tend to see genocide more as a purposeful elimination of people, this is more akin, in my view, to criminal neglect."
Speaking to reporters at the close of an international security conference here, Gates said the Myanmar representative at the forum did not seem interested in speaking with him. But, he said "it was interesting to watch as minister after minister described their respective unhappiness at their inability to get assistance in to Burma."
It was particularly pointed, he said, since Chinese officials thanked other countries for the help provided after the earthquake in China.
Still, Gates affirmed again that there is unanimous opposition in the international community to forcing aid to the Myanmar people suffering in the wake of the devastating cyclone that struck in early May. "There is great sensitivity all over the world to violating a country's sovereignty," Gates said. "Particularly in the absence of some kind of U.N. umbrella that would authorize it." Asked if that sensitivity is linked to the controversy surrounding the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Gates said he has heard no one make that connection.
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that even when the decision is made to pull the four U.S. Navy ships off the coast, the vessels will move away slowly enough to turn back if there is an unexpected change of heart by the Myanmar government.
Gates comments came a day after he made his strongest public condemnation of the Myanmar government at the conference, saying that Myanmar's rulers "have kept their hands in their pockets" while other countries sought to help cyclone victims. The widespread displeasure with the Myanmar government was clear at the conference, coming up in nearly all conversations among leaders.
Following the conference, Gates flew to Thailand on Sunday where large anti-government demonstrations threaten to lead to the country's second military coup in two years. Gates said he was not concerned about the potentially difficult situation and that canceling his visit could cause more of a problem than continuing on. He said he would urge officials in Bangkok to move to a democratically elected government.
#3
I seem to remember the Burmese leadership is really Chinese Army remnants from WWII. I doubt they have much in common or sympathy with the native Burmese.
Posted by: ed ||
06/01/2008 8:06 Comments ||
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#4
Gates is getting a little Rummified.
Nah. It's verbal backhand - a 'don't attribute to evil genius what can be explained by garden-variety thuggery' comment.
#7
CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > US SECRETARY GATES WARNS CHINA NOT TO BULLY [Asian/Neighboring States] REGION ON ENERGY. BE TRANSPARENT - don't use the Chin PLA.
* SAME ARTICLE > GATES INDCS THAT US HAD TRIED 15 TIMES TO GET MYANMAR TO OPEN UP ON RELIEF BUT TO NO AVAIL???
#6
Qin Gang, spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, said Stone "should do more to promote understanding and friendship between nations."
I think we understand all too well. China is ruled by murdering, agressive, totalitarian thugs. Sharon Stone spoke her mind, such as it is, for just a moment and she seems to have struck a nerve. Too bad she didn't have the courage to stand by her remarks but awkardly backed away from them when she realized it wasn't a good career move.
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.
Voting in Macedonia's parliamentary election was halted for security reasons in an ethnic Albanian area in the north of the country, the electoral commission said on Sunday.
Swiss voters go to the polls Sunday in a referendum proposed by the far-right Swiss People's Party (SVP) that would make it much harder for foreigners to become naturalised citizens. 
A Democratic party committee has declined to fully seat Florida's and Michigan's convention delegations, striking a serious blow to Hillary Clinton's increasingly long chances of overcoming Barack Obama to win the party nomination. The committee opted instead to halve the states' delegate votes, awarding in total 87 new delegates to Clinton and 63 to Obama. The committee rejected a move backed by the Clinton camp to recognise fully the Florida delegation.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday he will make a decision within "a matter of days" to withdraw U.S. Navy ships from the coast of Myanmar, because "it's becoming pretty clear the regime is not going to let us help." 
