BDEL MAR -- Sheriff's deputies confiscated about 400 pounds of marijuana Wednesday near a Del Mar beach after a surfer found several bags of the drug and then encountered two men carrying another.
The surfer told deputies he found six burlap sacks about 4 a.m on the east side of the railroad tracks as he was walking to the beach along a trail at the end of 11th Street, sheriff's Sgt. Jack Reynolds said. As he continued to walk toward the water, he came across two men lugging a seventh sack and he asked what they were doing, Reynolds said.
The men said something in Spanish, dropped what they were carrying and ran. The surfer called deputies, who later found an eighth sack closer to the water, Reynolds said. The sacks were filled with 80 plastic-wrapped bundles of marijuana, Reynolds said.
Investigators believe someone used a boat to drop off the drugs. It is common for smugglers to drop off narcotics at a prearranged point and have someone waiting to pick it up, Reynolds said.
In June 2007, about 70 pounds of marijuana were found on the beach in roughly the same location.
Reynolds said he could not estimate the current street value of the Mexican-grade marijuana, but last year at this time it was selling for about $300 to $400 per pound.
The surfer was not able to give deputies a detailed description of the men because it was dark and foggy at the time. Duuuude, like, how many sacks did you take home before you called the cops?
A Metro Transit driver has been relieved of duty after running out of his bus on Spring Garden Road to bludgeon a fake baby seal in front of stunned protestors.
Yesterday, Metro Transit general manager Pat Soanes called the incident "unacceptable" and said the man is no longer allowed to operate a bus. He will be on paid leave until his situation is resolved. I'd say his doom is sealed.
According to eyewitnesses, the driver had been joking Saturday about how bus drivers were getting a bad rap recently. Moments later, he drove by a seal hunt protest in front of the Halifax Common. The driver then allegedly remarked: "Oh, there are the animal lovers," and asked a rider he was chatting with, "Should I? Should I?"
Apparently, he decided he should. He stopped the bus, ran across the busy street and began clubbing a fake baby seal with a baton as baffled protestors looked on.
"We said, 'Hey! Beat it, you jerk!'" explained one of the protestors, "and I guess he took us literally."
The driver then ran back onto his bus and drove off, continuing his route.
The bloody and tear-stained seal prop was in front of a sign that said: "Hug me, don't club me."
Posted by: Mike ||
03/18/2009 10:02 ||
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No one can take a joke anymore.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
03/18/2009 10:30 Comments ||
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Perhaps he was hoping to see some naked Italian chicks, per GolfBravoUSMC.
Posted by: ed ||
03/18/2009 10:33 Comments ||
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A Nigerian student has been jailed 19 years for swindling an Australian woman out of $47 000 dollars through an internet scam, the country's anti-graft agency said Tuesday.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said Lawal Adekunle Nurudeen (29) was found guilty by a Lagos high court on 19 charges of obtaining money by false pretence and forgery.
The EFCC said that Nurudeen, a University of Lagos student, met the woman in 2007 over the internet and introduced himself as Benson Lawson, a British engineer working with a multinational company in Nigeria.
The woman (56) told her "penpal" she wanted a husband and Nurudeen, who is married with three children, applied claiming to be a 57-year-old widower.
A few weeks later, Nurudeen called the woman, introducing himself as a doctor and informing her that her "fiance" Benson Lawson had had an accident and needed money for his treatment.
The love-struck woman sent some money. Two weeks later Nurudeen called her, thanked her for her kindness and said he would like to visit her in Australia so that they could consummate their relationship. He asked for cash for the trip.
In all he had swindled the woman of $47 000 dollars before his arrest.
EFCC said Nurudeen was also ordered to reimburse the money he stole.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2009 00:00 ||
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The problem was that he stole too little money. If he would have stolen billions, we'd call him a banker.
The idea has been suggested by a number of key figures, including billionaire investor George Soros and US Treasury adviser Ted Truman.
The International Monetary Fund is poised to embark on what analysts have described as "global quantitative easing" by printing billions of dollars worth of a global "super-currency" in an unprecedented new effort to address the economic crisis.
Alistair Darling and senior figures in the US Treasury have been encouraging the Fund to issue hundreds of billions of dollars worth of so-called Special Drawing Rights in the coming months as part of its campaign to prevent the recession from turning into a global depression.
Should the move, which is up for discussion by the summit of G20 finance ministers this weekend, be adopted, it will represent a global equivalent of the Bank of England's plan to pump extra cash into the UK economy.
However, economists warned that the scheme could cause a major swell of inflation around the world as the newly-created money filters through the system. The idea has been suggested by a number of key figures, including billionaire investor George Soros and US Treasury adviser Ted Truman.
Simon Johnson, former chief economist at the IMF, said: "The principle behind it is that everyone would get bonus dollars and instead of the Federal Reserve having to print them, everyone gets them.
"The objective is to create a windfall of cash. However if everybody goes out and spends the money it could be very inflationary."
Pyongyang's first authentic pizzeria opens its doors. Timing's a little awkward. UK Telegraph:
The launch of Pyongyang's first Italian restaurant meanwhile brings to fruition a ten-year effort by Kim Jong-il - a renowned gourmand and lover of western food - to create the perfect pizza and pasta in his homeland.
Last year a delegation of local chefs was sent by Kim to Naples and Rome to learn the proper Italian techniques after their homegrown efforts to mimic Italian cuisine were found by Kim to contain "errors".
That could be bad. No word on what happened to those pizza chefs. Also, nothing what the errors were. Kimchee and pepperoni pizza? Buffalo squid Chicago-style deep-dish? Mushroom and eel calzone?
In the late 1990s Kim brought a team of Italian pizza chefs to North Korea to instruct his army officers how to make pizza, a luxury which is now being offered to a tiny elite able to afford such luxuries in a country that cannot feed many of its 24 million inhabitants.
Despite the food shortages high-quality Italian wheat, flour, butter and cheese are being imported to ensure the perfect pizza is created every time.
"Our people should be also allowed to enjoy the world-famous food," the manager of the Pyongyang eatery quoted Kim as saying.
Dude's cold! That guy could do some wicked pizza phone pranks. Telegraph fails to mention what this joint is called. Papa Juche? Pyongyang Uno -- no, there's only one Uno in Pyongyang. Pizza To Die For. Not bad, but I like Kim Hut. No, too grubby, insufficently deferential. Better play it safe. Dear Leader's Joyous Pizza Palace For The Workers. Here's a slogan, "Pizza -- That's A Good Juche Idea!"
About the awkward timing issue, US State Department, via VOA:
In the latest of a series of moves toward apparent self-isolation, North Korea has informed the United States that it no longer wants American food assistance. U.S. officials are expressing disappointment over the move because of continuing food shortages in that country. . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
03/18/2009 12:15 ||
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Can I get a tree bark, with moss and extra bird droppings?
Singer Amy Winehouse turned a court appearance into a spring fashion show Tuesday as she pleaded innocent to assaulting a fan at a party last year.
The 25-year-old star known for battles with addiction and frequent run-ins with the law stepped out of a car wearing a low-cut floral mini-dress and her trademark beehive hairdo. Paparazzi flashed away at their first sighting of the diva since she returned from an extended break on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia.
Winehouse, who has been in and out of rehab, looked healthier than in recent appearances and appeared to be in good spirits. She covered her bosom in faux modesty as she entered the courtroom.
Once inside the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court, she confirmed her name and date of birth and pleaded not guilty to a charge of common assault.
Winehouse gave her name as Amy Jade Civil. Her husband of two years, Blake Fielder-Civil, has filed for divorce.
Her lawyer, Mark Haslam, apologized for what he called the singer's slightly late arrival in court, saying she had left her north London home more than two hours earlier but had been delayed.
Judge Timothy Workman ordered Winehouse to attend a new hearing at the same court on July 23. She was released on unconditional bail.
Winehouse's drug problems have been front page news in Britain, where she was pictured puffing on what appeared to be a crack pipe last year. She was fined for illegally possessing marijuana in Norway in 2007, and also got a police warning in April of last year after scuffling with two men during a night out on the town in Camden, a north London neighborhood known for its music scene and drug culture.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2009 00:00 ||
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Some one should plead guilty for creating such an ugly mutt.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
03/18/2009 10:33 Comments ||
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The politically correct rules also mean a ban on Continental titles, such as Madame and Mademoiselle, Frau and Fraulein and Senora and Senorita.
Guidance issued in a new 'Gender-Neutral Language' pamphlet instead orders politicians to address female members by their full name only. Officials have also ordered that 'sportsmen' be called 'athletes', 'statesmen' be referred to as 'political leaders' and even that 'synthetic' or 'artificial' be used instead of 'man-made'.
The guidance lists banned terms for describing professions, including fireman, air hostess, headmaster, policeman, salesman, manageress, cinema usherette and male nurse.
Also banned are 'soldier', 'sailor', 'airman', and most especially, 'marine'.
It has been circulated by Harold Romer, the parliament's secretary general, to the 785 MEPs working in Brussels and Strasbourg.
Struan Stevenson, a Scottish Conservative MEP described the guidelines as "political correctness gone mad." He said: "We have seen the EU institutions try to ban the bagpipes and dictate the shape of bananas, but now they see determined to tell us which words we are entitled to use in our own language."
Philip Bradbourn, another Conservative MEP, vowed to ignore the booklet, which he described as a "waste of taxpayers' money" and called on Mr Romer to reveal its cost. He added: "I will have no part of it. I will continue to use my own language and expressions, which I have used all my life, and will not be instructed by this institution or anyone else in these matters."
#7
*happy sigh* One of the things I love about Rantburgers is that so many are tied into non-American cultures and languages. Sitzpinkler/douchebags, indeed!
#8
TW, always looking on the bright side with a sense of humor. (You remind me of Mrs. Gabby.)
I used to work in a restaurant in San Diego, where I picked up some NSFW (except for restaurant kitchens) Spanish. If I am remembering correctly, "mamalote" (sp?) might be another synonym.
Mauritanian authorities arrested online journalist Abbas Ould Braham Sunday over an article critical of the government published by online newspaper Taqadoumy, Journal Tahalil reported on Monday (March 16th). The popular website has reportedly been blocked by Mauritania internet service providers.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2009 00:00 ||
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Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe should be hauled before the International Criminal Court (ICC) to explain the "tragic situation" in his country, the Congress of the People (Cope) presidential candidate Mvume Dandala said on Tuesday. "There must be ways by which the rest of humanity can ask questions. I believe the ICC is one of those instruments that can be used," Dandala told reporters in Kliptown, Soweto. "Just look at how well it's working for Darfur!"
"Given the tragic situation in Zimbabwe I personally feel that if President Mugabe was taken to the international court ... he would be given a chance to actually explain himself."
Dandala said this was his personal view and that Cope was still in the process of clarifying its position on several policy issues.
Cope Gauteng Premier candidate Lyndall Shope-Mafole later said that Dandala's views on Mugabe were "consistent, in fact, with the policies of the Congress of the People".
Zimbabwe is currently in the throes of a political and economic crisis which has caused instability, severe food shortages and thousands of cholera deaths.
More than 91 000 cases of cholera have been reported in the country since the disease broke out last August, killing 4 035, according to latest World Health Organisation (WHO) data published on Monday.
The WHO said earlier this month that the outbreak was showing signs of slowing, with the number of cases averaging 4 000 to 4 500 a week compared to peaks of about 8 000 earlier in the outbreak.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2009 00:00 ||
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ANTANANARIVO - Madagascar President Marc Ravalomanana resigned on Tuesday, diplomats said, bowing to the inevitable after the army blasted its way into his offices and let the opposition leader take control. Diplomats told AFP that the 59-year-old Ravalomanana signed a document transferring authority over the Indian Ocean island to a board of high-ranking military officials.
The move marked a dramatic victory for Andry Rajoelina, the sacked mayor of Antanarivo who has been leading a months-long push to topple Ravalomanana after seven years as president. Rajoelina was cheered by thousands of supporters and saluted by the army as he took over a deserted presidency, while his long-time rival was holed up in the presidential palace with a handful of diehard loyalists.
“The order signed by Ravalomanana transfers the powers of the president and the prime minister to a military board,” said one diplomat.
A text message sent by the French consulate to the expatriate community read: “President resigns, risk of demonstrations. Remain cautious and avoid driving after dark.”
The proposed life span of military rule on the island and other details of the arrangement were not immediately known.
The 34-year-old Rajoelina was already behaving like the country’s new ruler however when he entered the deserted presidential compound in the city centre in the wake of a spectacular night-time assault by the army backed by around 100 tanks. “I solemnly declare that I will not spare any effort,” he said, proclaiming that the transitional authority he set up last month was in charge of the country’s affairs.
“We are now free but the road ahead remains rough,” he added, as Christian clerics conducted ceremonies in the presidential compound to mark the occasion.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/18/2009 00:00 ||
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Please God, when I open my eyes change Madagascar to USA
KUWAIT CITY - The Kuwaiti parliament could be suspended for up to two years after the Gulf state's cabinet resigned over a political dispute with MPs, local newspapers reported on Tuesday. Quoting ‘well-informed sources,’ Al-Qabas newspaper said the most likely scenario to resolve political crises that have rocked the oil-rich emirate for the past three years will be to suspend parliament.
Al-Siyassah said the move could last up to two years and be accompanied by a number of measures to "put the Kuwaiti house in order."
A suspension would see Amir of Kuwait, His Highness Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah dissolve the 50-seat assembly but not call for new elections within 60 days as required by the constitution.
Since embracing parliamentary democracy in 1962, the Kuwaiti assembly has been suspended twice -- in 1976 for five years and then in 1986 for six years -- because of strained relations between the government and MPs. Parliament has also been dissolved and fresh election held on three occasions since 1999, the last in March 2008.
The Kuwaiti ruler on Monday accepted the government's resignation and asked it to run the country's urgent matters is until a new government was formed. Parliamentary sources told AFP that the emir could opt to change the prime minister or dissolve parliament and call for fresh elections.
The resignation came after five Islamist MPs filed three requests to grill Prime Minister Shaikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah, the emir's nephew, over allegations of mismangement, breach of the constitution and misuse of public funds. Since becoming prime minister for the first time in 2006, Sheikh Nasser has resigned five times due to political disputes with MPs.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/18/2009 00:00 ||
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The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday sued Arafat Rahman Koko for laundering money he had illegally taken from a Chinese company, Siemens and other sources in exchange for helping them get government contracts.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2009 00:00 ||
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The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday issued a notice on Major (retd) Sayeed Iskandar, younger brother of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, asking him to submit wealth statement in a week.
ACC sources said the commission served him with the notice after a primary enquiry found a mismatch between his legal sources of income and the huge wealth he amassed.
The notice was issued under sections 26 (1) of the ACC Act, 2004 and section 17 of the ACC Rules, 2007, according to which physical appearance of the individuals, served with notice, is not mandatory.
The seven working-day deadline for submission will begin after the notice is received. Upon receipt of application from the individual, the commission might give him or her another seven working days for submission on valid grounds.
The ACC began issuing notices on corruption suspects after publishing the first list of 50 such suspects, including former ministers and lawmakers, top politicians and businessmen on February 18, 2007.
Since then the commission has served over 200 corruption suspects with notices and filed cases against many of them as their wealth did not match their legal sources of income.
Many including high-profile politicians were handed down different jail terms for accumulating wealth illegally and concealing wealth information from the commission.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2009 00:00 ||
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The UK will begin to scale back its stockpile of nuclear warheads if Russia and the US agree to new reductions, the prime minister said yesterday, as he gave warning that Iran faces harsher penalties if attempts to enrich uranium continue. Speaking to scientists and diplomats from 37 countries at Lancaster House in London, Gordon Brown said that as one of the six nations with confirmed nuclear capability the UK had to show the lead by striking "a global bargain". The next international five-yearly proliferation review conference is due next year.
Brown said: "Step by step, we have to transform the discussion of nuclear disarmament from one of platitudes to one of hard commitments. Britain has cut the number of its nuclear warheads by 50% since 1997 ... If it is possible to reduce the number of UK warheads further, Britain will be ready to do so."
Might as well, it'll keep them out of certain grubby hands after Britain becomes an islamic caliphate ...
Though the UK's warheads now number fewer than 160, the government has provoked anger by announcing a £20bn programme to build four new submarines and taking part in an American programme to extend the life of the Trident D5 missile.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/18/2009 00:00 ||
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Brown's done the numbers & come to the conclusion that his government can't afford the maintenance & upkeep on his nuclear forces. It's not as if he can't tuck in under the American thermonuclear umbrella with Germany.
Makes perfect sense if you have no sense of national pride. Since the political class of Britain is notable for that very quality, I'm only surprised that it took this long.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
03/18/2009 13:42 Comments ||
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Well, if you want to get nukes out of Pakland, why wouldn't you also want to get them out of their colony?
#3
FREEREPUBLIC > RUSSIA, CHINA [ + Others] PREPARING NEW CHALLENGES FOR AMERICA; + PAKISTANI DEFENSE FORUM > US-CHINA NAVAL STANDOFF SHOWS CHINA IS PREPARING, WILLING TO CHALLENGE AMERICA'S SPHERE OF INFLUENCE.
As for any future BRITAIN = LONDONISTAN? + EURABIA?, WAFF > MEXICAN ILLEGAL ALIEN IN THE UK.
MEXICO'S DRUG CARTELS > FIRST GREECE, now BRITAIN, AND ALL IN ONE AM TOO.
From Xinhua news, so season the commentary with plenty of MSG.
Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) commissioned its largest helicopter-carrying destroyer with resemblance to a light aircraft carrier on Wednesday amid international concerns.
The 197-meter long, 13,950-ton Hyuga, which can carry 11 helicopters on its flat deck, will be stationed in Yokosuka port, near Tokyo, and is expected to be sent on overseas missions such as disaster relief, according to the Defense Ministry. The Hyuga has 340 crew, including 17 women officers and sailors on board, the first time since the Self-Defense Forces' was established in 1954.
Self-Defense Force commissioned the warship on Wednesday, marking the largest "helicopter carrier" with a length of 197 meters in service officially.
Under Japan's post-war pacifist constitution, it renounced using or threatening force in international disputes. However, the Japanese Self-Defence Forces (SDF) is one of the best funded armies in the world. Translation error: "army" in Chinese is "jun", which means "military". Navy is "ocean army", for instance.
The carrier raises concern in the region. But the government insisted the destroyer will not carry fighter plane and is different from an aircraft carrier, and that the constitution grants the SDF the right to possess a minimum level of armed force for self-defence. Photo gallery here, click next next next for hot IJN action pics.
Posted by: Large Snerong7311 ||
03/18/2009 9:56 Comments ||
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Could use a ski jump and some of those new F-35 helos.
Speculation grows on China aircraft carrier plans China will have an aircraft carrier "very soon," a top Chinese naval officer told a newspaper published Friday, fueling speculation over a pending official announcement on the long-awaited project.
Posted by: ed ||
03/18/2009 10:10 Comments ||
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It's not the world's largest, it's Japan's largest.
Posted by: Mike ||
03/18/2009 13:50 Comments ||
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This thing is not even a small Gator, way too light in displacement and too short a deck. What it is might be a jump jet landing pad that can carry helos, Harriers could use it but they would be flying a little light.
#9
Come on, guys, at least give us Akagi, or Hiryu, or Ryuho ..... I just love the IJN names being carried over by the JMSDF.
Gotta love the line about the new ship causing "concern in the region". Yeah, right. The Taiwanese and Vietnamese are absolutely petrified in fear of Japan ..... and not of the Middle Kingdom. Uh huh.
Want to know how dirty the previous Roh government in South Korea was, and how 'liberal' it was? They were willing to implicate their own intelligence agency to blow up an airliner just to score points with Kimmie. That airliner was the one that had government leaders on it and was quite a shock at the time. It was proven that the Norks did it and it almost led to war. But the Roh folks couldn't let that legacy stand. Read on ...
The ruling Grand National Party will hold a National Assembly hearing about allegations by the surviving bomber of Korean Air flight 858 that the previous government bullied her into backing a conspiracy theory surrounding the 1987 bombing. Kim Hyun-hee, the former North Korean agent now living in the South, has claimed that the National Intelligence Service under the Roh Moo-hyun government leaned on her to appear on a TV program that would examine whether the incident was a setup by South Korean intelligence.
Kim Hyun-hee was the chippie who bombed the plane. Her compatriot swallowed a cyanide capsule and died. She tried to swallow one but failed to do so and thus lived to tell the tale.
GNP lawmaker Gu Sang-chan, a member of the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee, on Sunday said, "If anybody attempted to force Kim to give false testimony on the bombing of the KAL flight, we must find out truth about who did it and why." The hearing is to be in April.
GNP floor leader Hong Joon-pyo said the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee will find out whether the NIS was really involved in such an attempt.
Gu, who has been researching the issue since the previous government, said, "It is clearly confirmed that the bombing of Korean Air flight 858 was committed in 1987 by North Korean agents, including Kim, at Kim Jong-il's instruction. Nonetheless, it seems that the former government made consistent attempts to cast doubt on that explanation. A hearing will disclose facts and testimonies about such attempts."
In a recent letter, Kim said pro-North Korean leftwing groups, including those within the NIS, under the former government attempted to coerce her into appearing on TV and denying she had instructions from the North Korean leader. But in a press conference on Mar. 11, Kim left room for speculation by saying it was "difficult to give a full explanation now of what happened back then."
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/18/2009 00:00 ||
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U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the lone woman on the nine-member court, said on Tuesday she would undergo chemotherapy after her surgery for pancreatic cancer.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2009 00:00 ||
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For Shipman
WASHINGTON, District of Columbia USA -- District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton for the District of Columbia today issued an order finding in favor of the Tripoli Rocketry Association and National Association of Rocketry vs. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The decision followed a status hearing this past Friday in Washington.
Walton's order granted a summary judgment motion in favor of the plaintiffs TRA and NAR, denied the summary judgment motion of BATFE, and vacated the classification of Ammonium Perchlorate Composite Propellant (APCP) as an explosive.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/18/2009 12:14 ||
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This is wrong, nowhere do the agent(s) responsible get ANYTHING, not even a name mentioned in the findings, so they'll just feel free to do it again.
Reminds me when I heard on the radio of a tornado bearing down on "Continental Motors" (Where I worked then) and sounded the alarm, not only was I chewed out because "I wasn't authorized to sound the alarm", but they then misclassed Radios as "Audio-visual Devices" and banned them from the plant.
Their stock was 40 bucks at the time, and is 2 now, so to hell with them.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/18/2009 16:30 Comments ||
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(CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Army has launched an inquiry into how and why active duty troops from Fort Rucker, Ala., came to be placed on the streets of Samson, Ala., during last week's murder spree in that tiny South Alabama community. The use of the troops was a possible violation of federal law. "On March 10, after a report of an apparent mass murder in Samson, Ala., 22 military police soldiers from Fort Rucker, Ala., along with the provost marshal, were sent to the city of Samson," Harvey Perritt, spokesman for the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) at Fort Monroe, Va., told CNSNews.com on Monday.
"The purpose for sending the military police, the authority for doing so, and what duties they performed is the subject of an ongoing commander's inquiry--directed by the commanding general of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, Gen. Martin Dempsey." TRADOC is the headquarters command for Ft. Rucker. "In addition to determining the facts, this inquiry will also determine whether law, regulation and policy were followed," Perritt added. "Until those facts are determined, it would be inappropriate to speculate or comment further."
Jim Stromenger, a dispatcher at the Samson Police Department, confirmed the MP's presence in the town, telling CNSNews.com that the troops "came in to help with traffic control and to secure the crime scene"--and the department was glad for the help. We've been getting a lot of calls," Stromenger said. "They weren't here to police, let me make that clear. They were here to help with traffic and to control the crime scene--so people wouldn't trample all over (it)."
#4
Drawn from the Ministry of Truth memory hole. When the Donks do it, it's ok.
The "Battle of Oxford" spanned 14 hours from Sept. 30-Oct.1, 1962, resulted in 375 civilian and military casualties and over 300 civilian arrests. The incident included one of the largest federal confiscations of privately held firearms, and two civilian gunshot deaths that occurred during the rioting remain a mystery.
#5
The Govt doesn't even blink when they break laws, then raise a fuss when the law gets broken for a damn good reason?
Hypocritical bastards, I'd thank the troops and maybe throw a pizza party for their help.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/18/2009 16:39 Comments ||
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#6
A big city police department would have had trouble dealing with a murder spree, so I can believe that the little town of Samson could easily have been overwhelmed. If I'm not mistaken, the perp killed people over a large area, so it's not like the cops in the next town over were probably available to help....they very well may have had their own crime scene(s) to deal with.
Looks like someone out there needs a big dose of chill pills and a refresher course in "mutual aid".
#7
FOX NEWS AM > GLENN BECK segment + Guest Panel > IIUC Glenn, etal. argued that A NEW "FRENCH REVOLUTION" [EVIL/CORRUPTION, etc. NEPOTIST PDENIABLE EXCESSES of the SYSTEM] is steadily brewing in America, NOT A NEW "AMERICAN" REVOLUTION as perceived by many???
GUEST > "MOB/MAFIA MENTALITY" in America + Amer Govt???
(APP): Deposed Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and ten deposed judges of the Supreme Court and high courts have been restored through two separate notifications issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice here on Tuesday, as per announcement made by Prime Minister Syed Yusaf Raza Gilani.
According to the notifications, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will assume his office on March 22, after the retirement of Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, who is retiring on March 21 after attaining age of 65 years. Ten other judges who were restored through another notification will assume their offices with immediate effect.
Four judges of the Supreme Court, who have been restored are: Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Khalil‑ur‑Rehman Ramday, Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed and Justice Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmad.
Three Judges of the Lahore High Court who were restored are: Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif, Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry and Justice Iqbal Hameed‑ur‑ Rehman.
Two judges of the Sindh High Court, who have been restored are: Justice Mushir Alam and Justice Maqbool Baqar.
Only one judge of the Peshawar High Court who has been restored is: Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2009 00:00 ||
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(IsraelNN.com) In an editorial published last week, the respected publication, The Japan Times newspaper, said the upcoming United Nations anti-racism conference in Geneva, Switzerland, will "enshrine" vilification of Jews. The editors called for Durban II to be cancelled. Japan is still slated to attend.
"One could argue that Durban is an attempt to punish Israel and the Jews..."
-- Japan Times editorial
The Japan Times, the longest running English-language periodical in Japan, declared on March 10 that the U.N. World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (Durban II) scheduled for next month is either cruel and mistaken, or blatantly anti-Semitic. After reviewing the run-up to the conference, the editors conclude:
"The charitable explanation for the mentality behind the Durban meetings is the mistaken belief that the best way to remedy the sufferings of one group is to victimize another. Less charitably, one could argue that Durban is an attempt to punish Israel and the Jews, regardless of what they have done."
Acknowledging that "on paper" Durban II "is an eminently laudable project - if you believe that the United Nations should promote grand statements that promote norms of good behavior," the newspaper protested that "instead of fighting racism, the conference looks set to enshrine it as policy by singling out Israel for criticism and equating Zionism with racism."
The Japan Times laments that Libya, the chair of the conference, and Cuba, the special rapporteur, "are not the only countries that desire to single out Israel for international censure."
Protecting Islam, Defaming Jews
Aside from the issue of Israel and Zionism, Western states have objected to the Durban II conference's planned call for restrictions on free speech, specifically protecting religion from "defamation". However, as noted by the The Japan Times, "the only religion identified by name is Islam."
The newspaper explains that "members of the Muslim world are also using the frictions generated by the war against terrorism to privilege their religion at the conference. ...At the same time, protections for Jews are being blocked. An effort to protect against discrimination and intolerance looks like anything but."
Ignoring Slavery Among Africans and Arabs
In addition, the conference will apparently be calling for Western states to provide "reparations" for the slavery of Africans. Here, again, the The Japan Times observes an ingrained hypocrisy.
"Many Western governments have acknowledged their role in enslaving and relocating millions of Africans," the newspaper said. "The demand that they make compensation payments may be cathartic but it is unrealistic. Moreover, it ignores the role of other players, some African and Arab, in the slave trade."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2009 00:00 ||
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HONOLULU -- The military's ground-based mobile missile-defense system successfully shot down a medium-range ballistic missile during a test in Hawaii, the Missile Defense Agency said Tuesday.
It was the first time the military fired two interceptors at one target using the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, a program designed to shoot down ballistic missiles in their last stage of flight. The drill followed through on a test that was planned for last September but had to be aborted when the target malfunctioned shortly after launch.
On Tuesday, the target missile was fired from a vessel off the island of Kauai.
Soldiers with the Army's 6th Air Defense Artillery Brigade then launched two interceptors from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai's west coast. Two interceptors were used to increase the chances of success. The first shot down the target over the Pacific Ocean. The second was destroyed.
"Any time you're in a combat situation, more than likely you will launch more than one interceptor in case one fails," said Missile Defense Agency spokesman Rick Lehner.
The target separated in flight, meaning the interceptors had to differentiate between the target missile's warhead and booster.
The military also has Patriot anti-missile batteries to intercept missiles just before they strike.
But the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system is designed to protect larger areas than the Patriot system because it intercepts targets at higher altitudes. Even so, it can only target short- and medium-range missiles. Intercontinental ballistic missiles are out of its range.
THAAD is one of two missile-defense systems the military tests at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai. The other is the sea-based Aegis system. The Missile Defense Agency coordinates U.S. missile tests in cooperation with the Army, Navy and Air Force. The artillery brigade is based in Fort Bliss, Texas.
#2
Another "non-successful" test of the BMD, time to dismantle all systems and redistribute the squandered wealth to the homeless. At least, that'll be the mindset of Pelosi/Reid braintrust.
#3
The Nike Hercules program in the 1960s had nuclear warheads to down "fleets" of Rooskie bombers.
The Nike-Hercules Missile was fitted with a nuclear warhead, W31 type, or sometimes a conventional T-45 fragmenting warhead. The missile was 41 feet 6 inches (12.6 m) long with a wingspan of 6 feet 2 inches (1.9 m). 145 missile batteries were deployed during the cold war. The missile had a range of about 77 miles (110 km). Because of the missile's effectiveness against certain ICBMs, it was made a part of the SALT I treaty.
#4
I'm sure the city fathers of Chicago [right along the lake front], Baltimore, LA, etc were surprised to learned that a Nike had the 'capability' that DoD neither confirms nor denies in the attached assets.
A Muslim cleric whose marriage to a 12-year-old girl triggered controversy in Indonesia has been detained for violating child protection laws, police said Wednesday. Cleric Pujiono Cahyo Widianto, 43, wed the girl before thousands of people in Central Java province last August, arguing that he had committed no crime because he intended to wait until she reached puberty before consummating their relationship.
Police Detective Roy Siahaan said the cleric, who runs an Islamic boarding school and several businesses, was officially named a criminal suspect Tuesday following several days of questioning. He has not been charged but is in police detention. Widianto could face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty of violating the country's child protection law, which specifically forbids marriage to anyone under 18 years old.
The cleric's wedding and proclamations that he intended also to marry two other girls, aged 7 and 9, angered many in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation with more than 210 million believers. Complaints came from Religious Affairs Minister Maftuh Basuni, child rights groups and the Indonesia Ulemma Council -- the country's top Islamic body. "This is pedophilia ... pure and simple," said Arist Merdeka Sirait, secretary general of the national commission for children's rights, in praising the police action. "We aren't living in the Stone Age here, we have to protect our children against these kinds of things."
The police returned Widianto's young wife to her parents' care not long after the marriage ceremony.
MALAYSIA has shed 26,000 jobs since the global financial crisis blew up in September and nearly twice as many workers could lose their jobs this year as struggling manufacturers cut output, a senior government official said.
''It (unemployment) is going to be quite long and badly affected,'' Sheikh Yahya Sheikh Mohamed, deputy director of labour in Malaysia's Human Resources Ministry, told Reuters in an interview.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2009 00:00 ||
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DOMESTIC auto sales in Thailand fell 30.7 per cent in February, the ninth month of decline as the sector suffered from the economic downturn and flagging consumer confidence, the industry said on Tuesday.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2009 00:00 ||
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The Iranian foreign minister says oil prices are 'unrealistic and unfair', two days after OPEC decided to leave output unchanged.
"The current price of oil is unrealistic and unjust. Oil producers should take measures beyond the traditional mechanism of OPEC," Manouchehr Mottaki said in a Tuesday meeting with UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided in a Sunday summit not to cut its current production level at least until May, when the group meets in Vienna to reevaluate the oil market. OPEC said it would instead push its members to 'comply fully' with earlier agreements to reduce oil output. The 12-member group agreed to cut production by 4.2 million bpd starting from September last year.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), OPEC members have complied with 80 percent of their output quotas. The UAE president, for his part, said all regional states should strive to bring prices to a 'fair and real' level.
US light crude for April delivery climbed $1.24 to $48.59 a barrel on Tuesday. April crude oil options expire on Tuesday. Brent crude for May delivery was up 90 cents at 47.36 a barrel. The April contract expired Monday at $43.98.
Mottaki, who is on a visit to Persian Gulf countries, has already visited Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2009 00:00 ||
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For at least two values of bully.
The chief executive officer of failed insurance conglomerate AIG told lawmakers Wednesday that he has asked executives to give back at least half of their bonuses. Edward Libby, chairman and CEO of the American International Group, said that some workers there already have volunteered to return the money. Liddy said given the national uproar, he has asked those who got "retention payments" of more than $100,000 return at least half of it. AIG paid $220 million in retention bonuses to employees in its troubled financial products division. The most recent payment of $165 million began to be paid last Friday and caused a furor. The retention payments -- ranging from $1,000 to nearly $6.5 million -- were put together in early 2008, long before then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson asked Liddy to take over the company.
Testifying under oath at a congressional hearing, Liddy acknowledged that the company's multimillion-dollar bonuses were "distasteful" to many and had provoked a firestorm of wrath. Liddy was named six months ago to take over the company as part of the government rescue. Liddy, a former Allstate chief executive, is not getting a bonus and is only drawing $1 a year in salary. Some $170 billion in tax money has now been pledged to AIG.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/18/2009 16:20 Comments ||
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#2
Unless they get a waiver from the IRS prior to the return of funds I'd think that anyone returning a portion of the bonus would technically (which will mean actually in this case) be liable for income taxes on 100% of the amount originally received.
The U.S. government will modify a planned $30 billion capital injection for American International Group Inc to try to recoup hundreds of millions of dollars in controversial bonuses, a Treasury official said on Monday.
Meanwhile, New York's top legal officer vowed to take AIG to court if it did not provide full details of the bonus payments.
The U.S. government's actions came after President Barack Obama expressed "outrage" on Monday over the bonuses to AIG employees, and ordered officials to take all legal measures to block them.
The Treasury Department plans to attach new provisions to the terms of its latest AIG rescue package, announced on March 2, to force repayment of the bonuses, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said he will subpoena the insurer for more information, including the names of those enriched by the bonuses, as taxpayers continue to pour billions of dollars into the insurer.
Obama said in remarks at the White House he was "choked up with anger" over the executive payments, which is a hot button issue in the deepening recession. "How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?," said Obama.
The U.S. government has spent up to $180 billion in taxpayer money to bail out AIG, and the insurance giant continues to bleed red ink.
AIG said on Saturday its hands were tied contractually over $165 million in bonuses due to AIG employees on Sunday. Cuomo told reporters on a conference call on Monday that he believed the bonus payments were paid last Friday.
Chief Executive Edward Liddy told U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in a letter on Saturday the insurer was legally obligated to make 2008 employee retention payments, but had agreed to revamp its system for future bonuses after the Obama administration objected.
On Sunday, AIG disclosed that Goldman Sachs Group Inc and a parade of European banks were the major beneficiaries of $93 billion in payments -- more than half of the U.S. taxpayer money spent to rescue the massive insurer.
CONTRACTUALLY REQUIRED?
Cuomo, who has been pressing troubled banks and financial institutions such as AIG since last October for details of their bonus payments, said he was probing whether the AIG payments are contractually required or can be voided under New York law. "We need this information immediately in order to investigate and determine whether any of the individuals receiving such payments were involved in the conduct that led to AIG's demise and subsequent bailout," Cuomo wrote in a letter to Liddy.
Cuomo said his office is investigating whether any of the retention payments may be considered fraudulent conveyances under New York law, and threatened to drag AIG into court if it fought the subpoena.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
The republican party could easily step in with a lawsuit stopping the treasury department from doing this until congress passes the legislation necessary to stop bonus payouts.
They wouldn't let a sitting republican president change legislation like this.
#2
This outrage is all so phony. Geithner had full knowledge of this from the time he was Governor of the New York Fed. Dodd ensured that the agreements were effective [see the article I just posted on this point]. Obama says he just found out about this on Thursday.
In any normal corporation heads would roll. Geithner would be gone for not bringing it up earlier. Dodd would be complicit in the whole process and canned. And the Head of the organization would resign out of shame and common decency because that is where the buck stops.
Any chance of any common decency here? Maybe Geithner? If so, there won't be anyone at Treasury to empty the trash can or open the door in the morning - to say nothing of answering the phone.
Remember Hilary's ad - who do you want to answer the phone at 3 in the morning? Answer - somebody, anybody because there's no one there at the moment. This is such a joke.
#5
What's needed is an exit strategy for bailouts. No more bailouts, no more problems and embarrassments like this.
All that's needed is for the Donks to suppress their natural reflex to tax and spend.
#7
Better yet, save the $30 billion and another $30 billion each and every month. Wave bye-bye to AIG and let the claimants fight over the carcass. Private deals, private risk.
Kiss the $150 billion of taxpayer money already flushed in the greatest swindle every perpetrated. It makes Bernie Madoff seem like the neighborhood numbers runner. May the taxpayer learn something from all this: to keep their hard earned money close and out of reach of the corrupt political class.
Posted by: ed ||
03/18/2009 8:33 Comments ||
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#8
Statute explicitly permits the AIG bonuses
If Treasury does something that obviates statute per administrative regulation, they could be sued and would probably lose quickly and perhaps even made to pay court costs.
#9
Opensecrets.org is a bit flooded at this time, but I recall that Obama was one of or the top recipient of AIG money. All this outrage is a bunch of posturing. The problem is that AIG was a big funnel for covering a bunch of others with toxic assets. We taxpayers have funded $180 billion literally down this rathole. And now the cat is out of the bag.
The Big O is full of it. Choked with anger my a$$. The problem is not AIG. The problem is the President and the Congress. NOTHING is going to happen until these people are thrown out of office.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/18/2009 14:50 Comments ||
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Caterpillar Inc, the world''s largest maker of construction and mining equipment, notified an additional 2,454 workers in three states on Tuesday that they were losing their jobs as the company continues to try to bring production in line with plummeting demand.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Is there any evidence that the boycott is having an effect?
Posted by: Formerly Dan ||
03/18/2009 7:36 Comments ||
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#2
I have a relative who works at Cat Peoria. Like many, he didn't go down to the Obama function. He did tell me that CAT CEO Jim Owens was a little put off with Barry's statement about the "stimulus package would stopping the 22,000 layoffs." Owens had to correct Barry's statement by later saying "I think realistically no. The truth is we're going to have more layoffs before we start hiring again." "It is going to take some time before that stimulus bill means re-hiring."
#3
There's a downturn in the construction industry, and that's bad news for people who make construction equipment--more than any boycott by a bunch of Palestinian sympathizers.
Posted by: Mike ||
03/18/2009 8:36 Comments ||
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#4
Well, there is hope for CAT in China. Their stimulus is actually building things instead of shoveling billions $ to Deutsche Bank.
Posted by: ed ||
03/18/2009 8:39 Comments ||
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#5
I thought China was overbuilt, at least in terms of housing, and they've finished the Three Gorges Dam. Are they building roads and bridges now?
#6
Yes. And buying up the world's resource companies with the dollars they know will depreciate shortly.
Posted by: ed ||
03/18/2009 9:07 Comments ||
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#7
The stimulus provides about $40 billion for construction projects. Construction spending in the U.S. dropped about $30 billion in January alone. The stimulus construction will be performed by equipment currently sitting idle.
China is a one party kleptocracy and will continue to build to keep money flowing to companies controlled by the ruling elite. Think of the Democratic party and ACORN, SEIU, PMA, etc.
The Internal Revenue Service issued new rules on Tuesday that would allow victims of Ponzi schemes like the one run by Bernard Madoff to recoup some money by claiming theft losses on their tax returns for 2008.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/18/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
This is the tip of a very large iceberg. Tax revenues are plunging.
#2
Does this mean the millions of Americans who have lost most of their retirement due to federal government sponsorship of the mortgage Ponzi scheme can also deduct their losses? Or are only the politically connected, fatcat, social climbing dumbasses allowed to do so?
What of those who have seen their portfolios evaporate? Will they be allowed to do the same or only deduct $3000/year for the next several hundred years? Which congressmen do ordinary people have to bride to obtain extraordinary benefits?
Posted by: ed ||
03/18/2009 8:22 Comments ||
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#3
So let me get this straight. All US taxpayers will now be indirectly funding the gross stupdity and simple greed of the folks who went "all in" with Madeoff?
Please pass the Manischewitz. I'll drink, you can dance.
#4
Manischewitz? You'll get sick if you drink that stuff, Besoeker. How about a nice white from hills overlooking Syria, instead? If I recall correctly, the Rothschilds grow some vines there...
Separately, I thought that when one sells losing investments, one can write off the losses against any gains for tax purposes -- carrying the losses forward until they're zeroed out. Of course, that means actually selling the duds, and not just crying about the numbers. I'm not good at tax stuff, so I could very well be wrong.
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.
A Nigerian student has been jailed 19 years for swindling an Australian woman out of $47 000 dollars through an internet scam, the country's anti-graft agency said Tuesday. 
Singer Amy Winehouse turned a court appearance into a spring fashion show Tuesday as she pleaded innocent to assaulting a fan at a party last year.
The politically correct rules also mean a ban on Continental titles, such as Madame and Mademoiselle, Frau and Fraulein and Senora and Senorita.
ANTANANARIVO - Madagascar President Marc Ravalomanana resigned on Tuesday, diplomats said, bowing to the inevitable after the army blasted its way into his offices and let the opposition leader take control. Diplomats told AFP that the 59-year-old Ravalomanana signed a document transferring authority over the Indian Ocean island to a board of high-ranking military officials.
The UK will begin to scale back its stockpile of nuclear warheads if Russia and the US agree to new reductions, the prime minister said yesterday, as he gave warning that Iran faces harsher penalties if attempts to enrich uranium continue. Speaking to scientists and diplomats from 37 countries at Lancaster House in London, Gordon Brown said that as one of the six nations with confirmed nuclear capability the UK had to show the lead by striking "a global bargain". The next international five-yearly proliferation review conference is due next year.
(APP): Deposed Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and ten deposed judges of the Supreme Court and high courts have been restored through two separate notifications issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice here on Tuesday, as per announcement made by Prime Minister Syed Yusaf Raza Gilani. 
A Muslim cleric whose marriage to a 12-year-old girl triggered controversy in Indonesia has been detained for violating child protection laws, police said Wednesday. Cleric Pujiono Cahyo Widianto, 43, wed the girl before thousands of people in Central Java province last August, arguing that he had committed no crime because he intended to wait until she reached puberty before consummating their relationship. 
The Iranian foreign minister says oil prices are 'unrealistic and unfair', two days after OPEC decided to leave output unchanged. 
