In case you were still looking for that elusive, last-minute Christmas present for Alaska Paul... Edited for brevity. Hat tip: Drudge
Canadian rancher Albert Kolk's small plane banked uncontrollably in darkness over the Monashee mountains, then began spiraling toward earth. "Seat belts!" he barked to his teenage grandson and two young friends. Then he reached for a red lever in the cockpit. Suddenly, an orange-and-white parachute as big as a house opened above the plane and gently landed his stricken aircraft in a rocky clearing. If the maker of the parachute that saved Kolk's life this past spring succeeds, one day commercial aircraft like regional commuter jets may have similar safety systems. Kolk, who was piloting his private plane April 8 from Seattle to his ranch in British Columbia, remembered reaching for the parachute handle as his plane slipped into a dangerous flat spin over the mountains in British Columbia, "like how a dog chases its tail." A seasoned pilot, Kolk said he had never experienced such a disaster in over a decade of private flying. "I knew I was in trouble. I couldn't straighten out," Kolk said. "When that chute opened, it was a peaceful, wonderful feeling." Kolk's experience is one of four cases where parachute-equipped planes landed safely beneath a canopy since U.S. regulators approved the system six years ago. Ballistic Recovery System, based in St. Paul, Minn., says eight lives were saved in those four incidents, plus dozens of other people in accidents involving smaller parachute-equipped ultralight planes that resemble motorized gliders.
Posted by: Dar ||
12/22/2004 3:23:08 PM ||
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The 25th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit in Bahrain ended yesterday without elaborating on Saudi-Bahraini differences concerning Bahrain's free trade agreement with the US.
Blew the Soddies off, did they?
The final statement agreed upon by all six member states was made public by Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah, GCC secretary-general. "Regarding the relationship of the GCC countries with other countries, the High Council has taken into consideration developments regarding the matter which happened in 2004 and the deals that have been made to establish free trade zones, in addition to other economic agreements between GCC member states and other countries." Upon arrival in Riyadh from Manama, Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, expressed the hope that the outcome of the summit would benefit the people of the region. "I pray to the Almighty Allah that the summit would succeed in serving the entire peoples of the Gulf," he was quoted by the Saudi Press Agency as saying. In reply to a question about attempts by some to blow up the signing of unilateral trade agreements by some GCC states, he said: "We would settle for what has been issued by the summit. God willing, everything will be all right."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2004 00:00:00 ||
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#1
"I have thought and smoked upon this matter, and it is my decision - that Little Big Man has returned!"
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom ||
12/22/2004 15:43 ||
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#1
Hussain had told the court he was not teaching at the time the offences were committed, having left the mosque a month before the first assault was carried out.
Oh well, then - that makes all the difference in the world.
Let the man go immediately. What was the court thinking?
Wanker.
Bet he gets let out early for good behavior; after all, there are no little girls in jail for him to molest.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/22/2004 20:03 Comments ||
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#2
Ten years? In Ohio the iman would've got LIFE.
Posted by: Mark Z. ||
12/22/2004 20:43 Comments ||
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ISN SECURITY WATCH (22/12/04) - For the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia's Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) has successfully test-fired on Russian territory a heavy intercontinental ballistic missile RS-20V Voevoda, classified by NATO as the SS-18 Satan. The RS-20, the heaviest in the inventory of the Russia's strategic nuclear forces, was fired today from a silo in the Urals Mountains and hit its target at the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Far East, more than 6'000 kilometers away. RVSN's spokesman told RIA Novosti news agency today that the test was the first in a series that RVSN has planned under orders from President Vladimir Putin to boost the effectiveness of the deployment of the Russian nuclear potential. After a thorough examination of the test-fire results, RVSN may decide to prolong the Satan missile deployment span for another year. The missiles were produced in the late 1980's. The missile that was fired today had been deployed for combat for 16 years, according to Interfax news agency.
Ah, they launched a missile that had been in a silo for 16 years, checking to see if they can get a few more years out of them. Now that "beyond warranty" story from yesterday makes sense.
It was fired from a missile base Dombarovka in the Orenburg region, some 1'300 kilometers southeast of Moscow. Since 1991, heavy missiles were not fired from bases, as it was believed to be too dangerous. Instead, they were fired from Baikonur spacecraft and missile facilities in Northern Kazakhstan. Satan missile's range is 10'000 kilometers and it can carry 10 warheads and is believed to be able to destroy objects within an area of 500 square kilometers. On Friday, Russia will test-fire a mobile version of the Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk missile base in the northern Arkhangelsk region. An unnamed Defense Ministry official told Interfax that it would be the last test for the mobile Topol-M missile, after which it would be deployed to serve as the chief weapon for Russia's strategic missile forces. The Topol-M system has been deployed in silos since 1998. The missiles can carry up to 1'200 kilograms in warheads and have a range of about 10'000 kilometers. Reportedly able to conduct in-flight maneuvers and to avoid detection and interception, the Topol-M is sometimes presented by the Russian military as Moscow's response to the US National Missile Defense shield (NMD) program. President Putin has repeatedly called on Russia's defense forces to boost the country's strategic nuclear potential. Two months ago, he announced that Russia was developing a new nuclear missile system that no other nuclear-armed nation would possess in the near future.
Which isn't ready for prime time, otherwise they wouldn't be trying to get more mileage out of those old Satans.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/22/2004 9:21:37 AM ||
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Police on Tuesday broke up a rally in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku that had been called to protest official restrictions on freedom of assembly.
I guess that makes sense. It was predictable, but it makes sense...
About 50 members of the Popular Front gathered near a subway station and shouted slogans including "Resign!" "Freedom!" and "Return the freedom of assembly to the people!" They began moving toward City Hall but were met by police, who dispersed the picketers and detained more than 15 of them. They did not have the permission required to hold a demonstration. Tension between the government and the opposition in tightly controlled, oil-rich Azerbaijan has increased since an October 2003 election in which Ilham Aliev replaced his father, longtime leader Geidar Aliev, as president in a vote the opposition said was marred by fraud. Thousands rioted in Baku for two days after the vote. One person died, and 25 civilians and 163 law enforcement officials were injured. Authorities charged about 120 people, more than 40 of whom have been sentenced to prison terms. Seven opposition leaders were sentenced to up to seven years in prison.
Azerbaijan is another hereditary presidency. But it's not seriously troubled by Islamism and markedly non-truculent in its relations with the U.S., so we don't pay it much attention. I suppose that'll change if it explodes, but I doubt Aliev will let it explode for awhile.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2004 00:00:00 ||
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A group of French teenagers have mugged Father Christmas, attempting to steal his sack of presents. The man dressed as Santa Claus was handing out sweets in the southern town of Ales when things turned nasty.
One of the teenagers demanded extra sweets and, when the red-cloaked Santa refused, he and his friends started kicking and pummelling the man.
The teenager and his friends, all about 15 years of age, were eventually scared off by passers-by.
Father Christmas suffered multiple bruises and has lodged a criminal complaint, the AFP news agency reported.
#3
Now I want you to seriously consider something. Why would you give someone that's bad a lump of coal in their stocking. I mean, basically you've giving them a sock, with a rock in it. And they're bad? That's just an invitation to more trouble. Of course, if their parents beat them with the rock in a sock, that'd be alright.
#1
the gist of this is that Mohammad messed up by not doing yoga the right way and this is responsible for the badness in Islam (surprise - this is a Hindu site).
#2
If I recall correctly, there weren't too many swamis wandering around the Arabian peninsula c. 610 A.D., and even if there were Mohammed probably would have killed him as an unbeliever. Kinda ironic, really.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
12/22/2004 14:23 Comments ||
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December 22, 2004: Libya is rivaling Syria for the position of having the worst military in the Arab world. Both countries' military equipment is obsolete and its personnel poorly trained, but Libya's military is among the most unprofessional and poorly-trained in the world.
I wonder if that's why Muammar can't get promoted? Good thing they don't have an up or out policy.
The Libyan Army currently consist of about 45,000 personnel. Out of those 45,000, about 40,000 are conscripts, leaving only 5,000 career officers and NCOs to lead the force. This low ratio of professional to conscript is almost unheard of, even among the poorer Arab states in North Africa. Libya's neighbor to the east, Egypt, also retains conscription, but about one third (around 30 percent) of its manpower is professional careerists. With such a shortage of capable leaders, it comes as little surprise that the Libyan military has performed so poorly in combat. Essentially, the Libyan army is a force of compulsory servicemen with little training led by understaffed, inadequate leaders. For all of the problems facing the country's military, this may be the biggest one.
Another major obstacle to any modernization that Libya might want to undertake is money. Libya's military budget is only about $1.3 billion annually. This is significantly larger than, say, Syria's which is only $858 million, but its certainly not enough to undertake massive modernization and repairs of equipment on a large scale. By contrast, Egypt's defense budget is around $2.4 billion a year, in addition to over a billion dollars in US military aid annually.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve ||
12/22/2004 9:50:26 AM ||
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#1
Syrian forces given a border would over run Libya in 10 days.
#3
This may not be such a bad thing, and should be encouraged elsewhere. The Cold War created an unfortunate belief among third and fourth world nations that they actually *needed* a serious army. Dozens of little spats started to parody the great arms race, a terribly expensive waste of resources. So, except for arms manufacturers, who really needs or wants a heavily militarized Libya, Costa Rica, Paraguay or Mozambique? In fact, if you look at the Middle East, what countries really *need* an offensive army? What countries really need a world-class defense?
#2
Sympathetic members of the left are reminded to generously give them their styrofoam leftover containers when stepping over them, as they exit the restaraunts.
Sympathetic member's of the right are asked to contribute at least $20 to the local homeless shelter.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/22/2004 12:32 Comments ||
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Not sure why but there is an increase of bums (aka homeless people) in downtown Sacramento. It might be that my building has exhaust ports near the street and they are congregating more near my office to keep warm. Usually there is one or two bumâs pan handling in the morning, but this week there have been four or five. I also suspect that the change in San Franciscoâs policy on homeless has sent some of them packing. That city no longer gives cash assistance to the homeless. Seems that after they started to give cash assistance there was an explosion of homeless entering the city. It also might be because of the illegal war and anti-worker policies of the Bush administration? JK ;-)
#7
I only got half-way through the article and could not take the pc b.s. anymore. My sympathies for those who have been torn down by the circumstances of life but continue to press on is high. My sympathies for for those who have been torn down by the circumstances of life but continue to wallow in their own misfortune is low.
#8
Anyone who has worked with the homeless knows that 99 percent of the time homelessness exists when drug and/or alchohol abuse, or mental illness is a factor.
There really is no excuse for homelessness due to 'circumstances of life.' It amounts to plain old bad decisions made.
Fortunately, the good news is that help is available to those who really want it.
I have zero sympathy for bums. They don't want sympathy or help. They just want the next drink or rock.
#9
Badanov is right: the leaders of a very successful inner city ministry in Atlanta distinguish between the unfortunate poor and the lazy poor: the Media hold up the former, although it is the latter that consume the bulk of resources.
One of the most dangerous studies ordered by President Reagan was a spectral time analysis of welfare handouts. It turns out its a dumbbell curve, with the first hump centering at about 6 months, and the second around when it started in the 60's. This accorded with their assertion that a majority of people work their way through welfare in about 6 months.
I knew a gentleman who used to be homeless: he lost his wife from cancer, and the poor man simply couldn't cope with a job and his grief. After about a year, he finally worked through it, crawled out of the car he slept in, got a job, and re-entered society.
#10
I was in SF four years ago and lost any desire to go back after seeing the pro-homeless policy. I heard bums lying on sleeping bags outside the Marriott verbally assault passing women. Drunks vomiting while I waited to ride the cable cars. And lots of and lots of homeless wandering or laying about. I also felt my safety at risk walking around after dark, which I had not felt before on previous visits. I have no simpathy for Political Correctness, when it infringes on an ordinary person's rights to a clean, safe, and orderly, urban environment.
Bums and Hobos, which is what many of these people are, used to not be tolerated in most cities and towns and life for the majority of ordinary people was a lot more pleasant.
Posted by: DO ||
12/22/2004 15:27 Comments ||
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I was in SF four years ago and lost any desire to go back after seeing the pro-homeless policy.
Hell, I live fifty minutes away from there and I keep my jaunts into that craphole to a minimum. If it were not for the excellent dim sum available in Chinatown, I'd have no reason whatsoever to go there, period.
#13
Me too bomb, but beyond the homeless problem there are some cool sites in SF. China Town, Little Italy, The Wharf, and Pier 39. I am taking the family there next week.
#14
I don't feel as though our government really cares about the homeless- after all they don't vote and are not counted in our census. WHO CARES tends to be the overall attitude of many.
# 8 & # 9 you are correct in your analysis and your etiology.
I have thought about persuing the idea of a U.S. postage stamp symbolizing the homeless. The money would go to housing effort's - Keep 'em off our streets. They are a social problem- often get blamed for crimes they did not commit~~ no lawyer to represent them correctly etc The problem's for those folks never end. It cost all taxpayer's plenty to support them.
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: ANdrea ||
12/22/2004 18:32 Comments ||
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hint Andrea? Don't make it a scratch and sniff stamp
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/22/2004 18:44 Comments ||
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#16
Jeez, you guys are cold.
I love it.
Thanks for the tip on where to send the card, BAR. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/22/2004 20:09 Comments ||
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#17
# 8 & # 9 you are correct in your analysis and your etiology.
#18
I don't feel as though our government really cares about the homeless- after all they don't vote and are not counted in our census.
It isn't that the government doesn't care - it's that the government can't do anything constructive.
It can't compel the mentally ill to get treatment, or ensure they take their medications.
It can't compel the drug-addicted or alcoholic to go into a treament program, or confine them for acts that any middle-class taxpayer under the influence would get nailed and humiliated for.
It can't make those who like living in the street clean up, get a job and stop living off the dole.
"Housing efforts"? How long do you think such housing would stay intact?
And btw, nothing constructive will happen, because many so-called homeless advocates and their political'judicial supporters need their charges for both use as fundraising tools and political weapons.
Some 180,000 civilians have fled the fighting between renegade soldiers and army loyalists in eastern Congo in recent days, a human rights group said Tuesday, warning the exodus could be the start of a humanitarian disaster. Human Rights Watch said many of the civilians are hiding in eastern Congo's deep forests where they can't be reached by aid groups that have been forced by the fighting to scale back their operations. The United Nations on Sunday said 100,000 civilians had fled the fighting. Human Right Watch said that number has now swelled to 180,000. Citing an unnamed U.N. humanitarian worker, the group said the exodus stands as the worst single incident of mass flight since Congo's 1998-2002 war. An estimated 3 million people died in the six-nation conflict, most from war-induced disease and hunger. "Forcing civilians to flee into the forest has been one of the worst killers in the Congo wars," Alison Des Forges of the New York-based group said in a statement.
Don't worry about it. They're just natives. They don't feel pain like we do. Just ask Kofi.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2004 00:00:00 ||
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Jealous, are they? PML-N's been snuggling with the MMA...
The sources said PML leaders including Farooq Leghari and Mian Afzal Hayat had voiced their concern at the reports at Monday's party meeting in Islamabad that was also attended by Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, PML president, and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. Farooq Leghari, backed by Mian Afzal Hayat, reportedly threatened to cancel the merger of his party with the PML if the government intended to make a deal with the PPP and demanded a clarification of the reports.
"Nope. Nope. Ain't gonna do it unless we can be the stars!"
"We merged our party into the PML just to strengthen it and the democracy in Pakistan." Lt Gen (r) Abdul Majeed Malik said the government should have opted to make a deal with the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal instead of the PPP. Sindh Chief Minister Ghulam Arbab Rahim expressed unhappiness over the reported contact between President Pervez Musharraf and Pir Pagara and said that it would weaken the Muslim League in Sindh. The sources said that Shujaat and Aziz tried to assure them that the government was not planning a deal with PPP or the PML-Nawaz at the cost of their allies.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2004 00:00:00 ||
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Pakistan is making progress in all fields as an enlightened modern Islamic state where everyone is free to exercise one's religious beliefs, said Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Tuesday.
Exercising one's religious beliefs occasionally consistst of shooting up churches or temples or the mosques of other sects, of course...
But they're very ecumenical about it, they'll shoot up anyone's buildings ...
Talking to a 56-member delegation of religious scholars led by Senator Muhammad Abbas Komeli, the prime minister urged them to guide people and caution them against those trying to create dissention and stop development in Pakistan through propaganda. "Islam is a religion of peace and harmony and strongly condemns violence and terrorism. It is our responsibility to highlight the glorious traditions of Islam and be a model for the world to see that Muslims are peace-loving, enlightened and tolerant," the prime minister said.
I'm not sure which they're going to get tired of first: killing people or uttering that kind of nonsense...
He said the Muslim world needed to unite and spread the real message of Islam. Prime Minister Aziz said the nation had to rise above differences and work for the country's welfare.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2004 00:00:00 ||
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#1
Everyone is free to accept Islam.
Posted by: Stephen ||
12/22/2004 1:02 Comments ||
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Yeah, it's the "rejecting Islam" part that is the most troublesome...for everyone involved.
Posted by: Rafael ||
12/22/2004 1:04 Comments ||
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#3
How many Hindus elected to stay in Pakistan after the partition? How many are there now? How many Hindus were massacred in Pakistan? Where did all that Hindu property go? Now should we go down the list and list the muslim brotherly love shown to other religious minorities.
Posted by: ed ||
12/22/2004 9:05 Comments ||
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#4
Islam is a religion of peace and harmony and..."
Love, brother. Make peace, not war. This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. Throw down your weapons. Dismantle your nukes. May the followers of Osama bin Laden line-dance out of the tribal regions and poke flowers into your every gun barrel.
Posted by: Tom ||
12/22/2004 9:46 Comments ||
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#6
Tom,
How do you say "Allah-hu-Akbar" in Sanskrit ??
your post sounds like a quotation from the "Yellow Submarine" can you mail me a few grams of the stuff you are smoking... :)
Benazir Bhutto believes her husband Asif Zardari's arrest is an attempt by certain quarters to prevent national reconciliation. Speaking to CNN, Benazir said, "General Musharraf had said that relations with the Pakistan People's Party improved following the release of my husband, so his arrest was a big shock to all the party workers. I hope it doesn't mean that the regime is changing its view on national reconciliation and I hope the people trying to stop the reconciliation process will not succeed."
Obviously there's a bit of infighting going on here. Benazir's confused, I'm confused, Perv's prob'ly saying "What the hell?" I'm guessing this'll sort out and Zardari will be sprung again.
Didn't take very long: A Pakistani court has granted bail to the husband of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, a day after he was re-arrested in Islamabad. Asif Ali Zardari had been detained on court orders after failing to attend a murder trial hearing. His lawyers say they hope his house arrest in the southern city of Karachi will be lifted later on Wednesday.
To another private news channel, she said the arrest would harm the reconciliation process. On CNN, Benazir said, "We have always offered dialogue as a way to resolve issues with Gen Musharraf. We understand that there is an international situation and that Pakistan is a key ally in the war against terrorism. We believe that stability in Pakistan depends on reaching harmony with the popular political forces and we want to see tension resolved through dialogue."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2004 8:58:28 PM ||
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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.
