#1
In England, the Marine would have been arrested and charged - from the article, he really beat the crap out of the robber. (They probably would have let the robber go.)
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
12/11/2009 7:00 Comments ||
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#2
Did Toys for Tots with a couple of USMC Martial Arts Instructors last nite. They told me about an 80 year old USMC vet on vacation in the Caribbean..possibly Jamaica, who was threatened with a knife while standing with his elderly wife in the street.
The Old Marine got the robber in a headlock and snapped the robber's neck. That fast.
You make that one mistake and it can be quick. You didnt get up this morning thinking it was your last day alive, did you? Dont threaten a US Marine. No, really.
You dont NEED a weapon when you have an attitude. The whole room is full of weapons, just look around you. Weapons all over the damn place.
The corner of the desk can kill you...trust me.
Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Burmese pythons, anacondas and boa constrictors would be banned as imports under a measure backed by U.S. lawmakers, who said escaped or abandoned snakes are overrunning Florida's Everglades.
"As stewards of our country's vast public lands and natural resources we have to deal with the threats posed by invasive species," Senator Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat and the measure's sponsor, said in a statement.
The bill, approved by voice vote today by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, now goes to the full Senate. It would ban from import and interstate commerce nine specific species of snakes, classifying them as injurious species. The list includes the Burmese python, northern and southern African python, boa constrictor and yellow anaconda....
Posted by: Mike ||
12/11/2009 16:54 ||
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Tiger Woods' list of possible paramours grew to 12 on Friday with the admission by former Playboy model Loredana Jolie that she slept with the married golfer, and that "he purchased gifts for me - diamonds and stuff like that."
For madame Michelle Braun said he also paid $15,000 for a single "date" with Loredana.
This follows the addition of a second porn star to Tiger's roster. The New York Post reported that Veronica Siwik-Daniels, aka Joslyn James, was linked to Tiger in a post on the sports website Deadspin.com.
She was the second porn star to surface, after adult entertainer Holly Sampson, who said she slept with Woods at his bachelor party. Link has list of Tiger's litter.
#7
Lest we fergit, EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND > Barone Patriarch FRANK BARONE > [paraph]"D *** NG IT, HAVE I TAUGHT YOU NOTHING - IFF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WID YOUR WOMAN YOU DON'T GO TO ANOTHER WOMAN. NOW YOU HAVE TWO PROBLEMS"!
As of this AM, this MICHELLE now makes 12 probs [and counting?] for Le Tigre.
#8
Lest we fergit, EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND > Barone Patriarch FRANK BARONE > [paraph]"D *** NG IT, HAVE I TAUGHT YOU NOTHING - IFF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WID YOUR WOMAN YOU DON'T GO TO ANOTHER WOMAN. NOW YOU HAVE TWO PROBLEMS"!
As of this AM, this MICHELLE now makes 12 probs [and counting?] for Le Tigre.
A liver transplant recipient was given a public intoxication warning Monday afternoon after he registered a 0.39 percent blood-alcohol level, according to La Crosse police reports.
The 34-year-old man was found on a curb at Springbrook Way and Cliffside Drive about 3 p.m., reports stated. He could not stand or walk unassisted when a family member took him home, police noted.
He was taken to Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center for detoxification.
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#3
Dunno, I find it kinda nice that not just the US, but the entire world (sans Izr'l and Taiwan, and Russia and China and India) are beclowning themselves this way over our sad non-entity of a prezident.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/11/2009 12:36 Comments ||
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#6
Herbert Hoover is remembered with respect for his work in the Australian mining industry, before moving to China (and learning Mandarin there) and so on. He traveled and worked around the world from 1897 to the outbreak of WW1 in 1914.
Obama is remarkably ignorant whenever he is not talking about himself, admittedly that is not often the case.
To launch in January, 2010. Will provide both agglomeration from open sources and original, in-depth reporting on stories the mainstream media either ignored or covered improperly. Ladies and gentlemen, this is what the start-up of a modern day newspaper of record looks.
#2
Nah, anything that's not in their groupthink they immediately reject, for a number of reasons. It's like trying to tell a Chinese peasant about Tianenmen, they simply won't believe you no matter what you say.
The number of federal workers earning six-figure salaries has exploded during the recession, according to a USA TODAY analysis of federal salary data.
Federal employees making salaries of $100,000 or more jumped from 14% to 19% of civil servants during the recession's first 18 months -- and that's before overtime pay and bonuses are counted.
Federal workers are enjoying an extraordinary boom time -- in pay and hiring -- during a recession that has cost 7.3 million jobs in the private sector.
The highest-paid federal employees are doing best of all on salary increases. Defense Department civilian employees earning $150,000 or more increased from 1,868 in December 2007 to 10,100 in June 2009, the most recent figure available.
When the recession started, the Transportation Department had only one person earning a salary of $170,000 or more. Eighteen months later, 1,690 employees had salaries above $170,000.
The trend to six-figure salaries is occurring throughout the federal government, in agencies big and small, high-tech and low-tech. The primary cause: substantial pay raises and new salary rules.
"There's no way to justify this to the American people. It's ridiculous," says Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, a first-term lawmaker who is on the House's federal workforce subcommittee.
Jessica Klement, government affairs director for the Federal Managers Association, says the federal workforce is highly paid because the government employs skilled people such as scientists, physicians and lawyers. She says federal employees make 26% less than private workers for comparable jobs.
USA TODAY analyzed the Office of Personnel Management's database that tracks salaries of more than 2 million federal workers. Excluded from OPM's data: the White House, Congress, the Postal Service, intelligence agencies and uniformed military personnel.
The growth in six-figure salaries has pushed the average federal worker's pay to $71,206, compared with $40,331 in the private sector.
Key reasons for the boom in six-figure salaries:
Pay hikes. Then-president Bush recommended -- and Congress approved -- across-the-board raises of 3% in January 2008 and 3.9% in January 2009. President Obama has recommended 2% pay raises in January 2010, the smallest since 1975. Most federal workers also get longevity pay hikes -- called steps -- that average 1.5% per year.
New pay system. Congress created a new National Security Personnel System for the Defense Department to reward merit, in addition to the across-the-board increases. The merit raises, which started in January 2008, were larger than expected and rewarded high-ranking employees. In October, Congress voted to end the new pay scale by 2012.
Pay caps eased. Many top civil servants are prohibited from making more than an agency's leader. But if Congress lifts the boss' salary, others get raises, too. When the Federal Aviation Administration chief's salary rose, nearly 1,700 employees' had their salaries lifted above $170,000, too. And the average benefit package is worth an additional $40,000.
#2
Plus, they just raised the debt ceiling to like 13 Trillion. AAA status is about to go junk. Banks are failing. Healthcare for all but where is the money coming from? Governor of California can't even afford to pay his taxes.
This country is about to break apart and I do mean break apart. Kiss the 50 stars on Old Glory goodbye.
#4
Gee as a civil servant, I wished I was getting a 40K benefit package.
Oh wait - this is Senior Executive Service (SES). We're talking management. It isn't Civil Service. Something that kinda gets left out of the McNews article.
It'd be outrageous if it wasn't for the fact that the lawmakers themselves are either wealthy going in, or retire with nice pension. And their benefits package is in excess of 40K.
Seventeen people have lost their lives mostly in traffic accidents as US Midwest is experiencing heavy snow storms and record snowfalls.
Schools and Universities have cancelled their classes, government offices have temporarily closed, flights have been cancelled and power has been cut off to thousands of residents.
Residents of Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan have suffered the most from the blizzard with Iowa receiving the highest snowfall since 1988, calling in the National Guard to help.
"We are snowed in. It's not good," said Courtney Green, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Public Safety.
"It's bitterly, bitterly cold. It's just been gusting all day. When you have the volume of snow and the high winds, there are just huge drifts."
A 28 year old woman was killed when a truck ploughing snow in a parking lot backed into her car, Omaha, Nebraska police said.
Stock up your pantry and your freezer (if the power goes out you can move the contents to the garage during a freeze) and make sure you have something like granola bars in the car, just in case. Also, I keep a stock of those Thermacare heat wraps in both house and cars (yes, my family think I'm silly), so we needn't worry when there's a power outage or the car is stuck. Stay safe and warm, y'all.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2009 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Three alleged robbers were killed and another injured in mob beating at Peshkarhat Bazar in Hathazari upazila early yesterday. Identity of the deceased could not be known immediately.
It's a puzzle that so many survive long enough to experience encounters with the police or Rab.
Darwin at work. The young stupid bucks get picked off by the angry villagers, or each other in street fights. Clever criminals work their way up to trophy status. Rab then goes hunting, mounts their heads on the wall of the clubhouse.
Sources said a gang of armed robbers numbering eight to ten stormed into the bazar around 2:30am and beat up its night guard Abu Ahmed when he tried to resist them from robbery. "Ouch, ouch! Help!"
Hearing his screaming for help, the villagers encircled the gang and caught four of them. The angry mob beat them up mercilessly, leaving three bandits spot dead and another critically injured. There's that dreaded spot again.
The rest of the gang managed to flee, sources said. On information, police rushed to the spot and recovered the bodies. Not that they were going anywhere.
Injured Tajul Islam, 25, son of Kabir Ahmed of Gobindapur village in Feni district, was sent to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH).
Hopefully no enraged mob will feel the need to call on him upon his return home.
The bodies were sent to CMCH for autopsy. "Dr. Quincy, delivery for you."
Two cases were filed with the police in this connection.
Nizam Uddin of neighbouring Guman Mardan village filed a robbery case against Tajul Islam and seven others while local UP member Badiul Alam filed another case against unidentified 1,500/2,000 persons for killing the robbers, Duty Officer Sub Inspector Tajul Islam of the police station said. "Sub Inspector, I'm charging 1,500 to 2,000 unidenfified people with stomping three poor robbers to death! What are you going to do about it?"
"Hummmm, round up the usual suspects?"
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2009 00:00 ||
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Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya says he will leave the Brazilian Embassy in Honduras by Jan. 27, when his presidential term ends, according to an interview broadcast Friday. Zelaya said in the telephone interview with Globo TV that he wants to leave soon but did not say where he will go.
Posted by: ed ||
12/11/2009 10:02 ||
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#1
So he sits there with his feet on the coffee table while the Hondurans are picking up the plates and glasses? Can't he take the hint that it is 1 a.m. and all the other guests have left? Somebody throw his coat in his lap.
[Iran Press TV Latest] The White House and Kremlin are very close to finalizing a new treaty on nuclear arms reduction, says the US secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Clinton said on Thursday that the negotiators on both sides are working toward fixing the remaining sticking points to pave the way for hammering out a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
"We are working very hard on the START final negotiations," Clinton told reporters, according to AFP.
"I think that both sides are committed to completing the START treaty. It's just a question of when that will be achieved."
Both Washington and Moscow have agreed to replace the old 1991 treaty with a new accord. The old deal expired on December 5.
President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev have set as a goal reducing the number of warheads on either side to between 1,500 and 1,675 and the number of "carriers" capable of delivering them to between 500 and 1,100.
The United States has said it currently has some 2,200 nuclear warheads, while Russia is believed to have about 3,000.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2009 00:00 ||
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North Korea said Friday that it has agreed with the United States to cooperate in narrowing differences over its nuclear issue, raising hopes for follow-up negotiations. They also found some common ground on the need to resume stalled six-party disarmament negotiations, a foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement published by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
"Both sides agreed to continue to cooperate with each other in the future to narrow down the remaining differences," the spokesman said.
The statement comes as US envoy Stephen Bosworth is set to leave Seoul after a three-day visit to Pyongyang. Bosworth goes on to Beijing on Friday, Tokyo on Saturday and Moscow on Sunday.
In Seoul on Thursday, Bosworth said the United States and North Korea agreed on the need to resume six-party talks. But he said it was unclear when the North would return to the forum. The envoy's visit was nonetheless described as "quite positive" by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said the US approach was one of "strategic patience".
"For a preliminary meeting, it was quite positive.... The approach that our administration is taking is of strategic patience in close coordination with our six-party allies," Clinton said. "And I think that making it clear to the North Koreans what we had expected and how we were moving forward is exactly what was called for."
Bosworth's three-day visit was the first official contact between Washington and Pyongyang since President Barack Obama took office in January, pledging direct diplomacy with America's adversaries.
Analysts believe Pyongyang's main goal is to negotiate a peace treaty with Washington, which says this must be discussed within the six-party format. The six-party talks group the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia.
[Iran Press TV Latest] The Danish police have clashed with environmental activists as world leaders prepare for the final stage of talks in the Copenhagen climate meeting.
Police also beefed up security at Denmark's land and sea borders to prevent troublemakers from entering the country amid fears that Saturday's march through the Danish capital could be joined by violent far-left groups.
On Friday police arrested 75 Danish and international sympathizers of the "Our Climate - Not Your Business" movement which held demonstrations around the city under the banner "don't buy the lie."
The protesters gathered downtown where corporate officials were meeting to discuss their role in the fight against global warming. The meeting was one of the side events during the two-week long UN conference.
About 35 protesters were arrested according to the police. Around 20 of those arrested were released by the evening while six were charged mainly with vandalism or attempted vandalism and were expected to appear in court, police said.
The protests, which police said involved around 500 people, were the first at the December 7-18 talks.
Meanwhile, a large demonstration which is anticipated to draw tens of thousands of protesters is scheduled to take place on Saturday.
Danish authorities have warned it could turn violent.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2009 19:30 ||
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MOSCOW, December 10 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian Defense Ministry reported a failure of the third stage engine during a launch test of the Bulava seaborne intercontinental ballistic missile. Anyone got any Bulava jokes? This is entering the realm of the ridiculous now. I bet the Russians have some jokes (nobody is better at bitter, truthful jokes about their own culture than the Russians.)
"On December 9, the Dmitry Donskoi nuclear-powered submarine performed an underwater launch of a Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile from the White Sea, within the framework of design and flight tests," the press service of the Defense Ministry told Itar-Tass on Thursday.
"After the return of the submarine to a naval base, experts examined telemetry returns. The first two stages of the missile operated in normal mode, but a technical failure occurred at the third stage of the flight trajectory.
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#1
They're slipping. In the old days they'd have put a spin on the story to match the spin on the missile, saying that it successfully illustrated evasive maneuvers no interceptor could possibly deal with.
Posted by: James ||
12/11/2009 2:18 Comments ||
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The Met Office, Britain's national weather service, "has embarked on an urgent exercise to bolster the reputation of climate-change science" in the wake of a whistle-blower's revelation of widespread misconduct by climate scientists, London's Times reports:
More than 1,700 scientists have agreed to sign a statement defending the "professional integrity" of global warming research. They were responding to a round-robin request from the Met Office, which has spent four days collecting signatures.
One scientist told The Times he felt under pressure to sign. "The Met Office is a major employer of scientists and has long had a policy of only appointing and working with those who subscribe to their views on man-made global warming," he said.
The concept of scientists--or journalists, or artists--signing a petition is ludicrous. The idea is that they are lending their authority to whatever cause the petition represents--but in fact they are undermining that authority, which is based on the presumption that they think for themselves.
The problem with the petition as a form is also a problem with the Met Office petition's substance. The purpose of the petition is to shore up scientists' authority by vouching for their integrity. But signing a loyalty oath under pressure from the government is itself a corrupt act. Anyone who signs this petition thereby raises doubts about his own integrity. And once again, the question arises: Why should any layman regard global warmism as credible when the "consensus" rests on political machinations, statistical tricks and efforts to suppress alternative hypotheses?
To be sure, Joseph McCarthy was right about communism even though the ways he combated it were wrong and counterproductive. But that's all the more reason that honest scientists who view global warmism as credible--if such creatures exist--should rise up against these McCarthyite tactics.
#6
Don't know about youz guyz, but for me it's not just the substance of this scandal/fiasco (which I have regarded as such for many years, not just since CRUgate), but the utter collapse of critical intelligence and integrity it implies about the broader "educated" community in developed nations, that I find devastating.
The intellectual/moral collapse of the institutions rests of course on a parallel collapse among a large swath of the populace - in this case the "educated" swath. My views on all this are too dark to even express here - which is saying something.
#7
There is a profoundly insightful editorial today by Krauthammer on precisely this topic. I found it a perfect explaination for the "watermelon" effect- Green on the outside-red inside.
#8
This is nothing new to the scientific community. They once discredited anyone who argued that the world was round. Nothing new with this elitist community.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
12/11/2009 3:27 Comments ||
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#9
ION PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > [FT Artic]BRITISH EXPOSE TRUE INTENTION OF COPENHAGEN SUMMIT: POPULATION REDUCTION. World must adopt China's "One-Child" Policy. WORLD ALL COUNTRIES must drastically reduce their national Populations impose stringent Conservation measures.
versus
CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > [UN World Bank Report]TERRIFYING WATER CRISES FACING INDIA, MOST CITIES TO RUN DRY, by Year 2020 or shortly afterwards???
#10
Heard an interview on the radio the other morning. The weatherbabe being interviewd flat out said that if she spoke against MMGW, "they" would take away her (American Meteorological Society?) seal, thus depriving her of her livelihood....
#11
TOPIX > UN BODIES WANT US$60BILYUHN TO MONITOR...EVERYTHING [Lands, Seas, Air = Space?]!
versus
WORLD NEWS > GHORMLEY: CLIMATE LAW IMPORTANT FOR STATES' DUTIES. MMGW-Cooling "CLIMATE CHANGE" > catalyst for NEW [Global] SOCIALISM now also GEOPOLITICS
That Guy from Guam > D *** NG IT, THE HELL YOU SAY! SAY IT TAINT SO!
#12
TOPIX > UN BODIES WANT US$60BILYUHN TO MONITOR...EVERYTHING [Lands, Seas, Air = Space?]!
versus
WORLD NEWS > GHORMLEY: CLIMATE LAW IMPORTANT FOR STATES' DUTIES. MMGW-Cooling "CLIMATE CHANGE" > catalyst for NEW [Global] SOCIALISM now also GEOPOLITICS
That Guy from Guam > D *** NG IT, THE HELL YOU SAY! SAY IT TAINT SO!
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.
The number of federal workers earning six-figure salaries has exploded during the recession, according to a USA TODAY analysis of federal salary data.
[Iran Press TV Latest] The Danish police have clashed with environmental activists as world leaders prepare for the final stage of talks in the Copenhagen climate meeting. 
