This is not an exclusively English story. There is now all too much of this going on in the U. S.
We shall call her L: L for Lithuanian, the nationality of the 15-year-old girl who arrived in Britain last year looking for work in a cafe, but was then kidnapped, raped and repeatedly traded on the female used-body market. Shaban Maka, her original abductor, collected her at Heathrow airport from her travelling companion - a charming character who apparently got away with his crime - and sold her on to an unnamed Albanian for ã4,000.
This worthy - who also seems to have avoided justice - raped her and then made her work in a brothel in Birmingham. L escaped but was recaptured and sent to work in another brothel in Coventry, where she was sold to yet another Albanian, Xhevahir Pisha, for ã3,000. He made her work in a brothel in Leicester, but L - oh the wretched ingrate! - ran away again. She was later recaptured, and taken to London, where she was traded several more times by various Albanians before she again fetched ã3,000, and was taken to Sheffield.
One problem about these ex-industrial cities is that goods never keep their value: the next time L was sold it was for only ã1,500, to a 25-year old Kosovan, Ilir Barjami, who of course raped her. He then made her work as a prostitute again, before, barefoot and helped by three local women, she escaped and fled to the police. I will remind you: L was just 15.
If this isn't a Terror worth a war, I don't know what is. Snip
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
03/19/2005 7:58:36 PM ||
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On the plus side, in the US, in Washington State I believe, is a federal police unit with the sole job of breaking up slavery rings. In the only piece I ever saw about this SWAT-like operation, it showed a unit that was continually busy and had sky-high morale. Ironically, they always prosecute slavers with some non-slavery statutes, as to charge someone with "slavery" is by itself almost so prejudicial they couldn't get a fair trial.
In case you haven't had your daily dose of moonbat conspiracy theories, this one is a multispectral doozy. Good for a laugh.
Posted by: too true ||
03/19/2005 12:56:20 PM ||
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These paranoid schizoids should worry about the moonbats in their midst, not the govt, lol! Wow, tt, that covers the entire gamut - even got the Halliburton Weather Machine guys...
Agence France Presse has sued Google Inc. (GOOG), alleging the Web search leader includes AFP's photos, news headlines and stories on its news site without permission. The French news service is seeking damages of at least $17.5 million and an order barring Google News from displaying AFP photographs, news headlines or story leads, according to the suit filed on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. "We allow publishers to opt out of Google News but most publishers want to be included because they believe it is a benefit to them and to their readers," Google spokesman Steve Langdon said of the AFP lawsuit. The attorney for AFP was not immediately available for comment. AFP sells subscriptions to its content and does not provide it free. Google News gathers photos and news stories from around the Web and posts them on its news site, which is free to users.
Guess we'll quit using anything from AFP.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2005 10:31:52 AM ||
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I had wondered what AFP was, but smelled something ... odd. Now that I know, what did the EVER have that I wanted to read? Good riddance.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/19/2005 11:21 Comments ||
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A lot of the articles we pick up from Arab News, Khaleej Times, and Pak Daily Times are from AFP. Since the links point back to the papers, rather than AFP, I'm not worrying about them.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2005 11:23 Comments ||
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This is the 3rd or 4th French suit against Google in the last 6 months.
It's how the French compete.
Posted by: too true ||
03/19/2005 11:26 Comments ||
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There's some interesting stuff at AFP from time to time.
But now, I get the feeling it's just not interesting enough.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
03/19/2005 11:42 Comments ||
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well, we can always access the Beeb for our anti-american fix
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/19/2005 12:09 Comments ||
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I prefer the NorKs -- they get right to the point.
Posted by: Tom ||
03/19/2005 12:12 Comments ||
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Rather stupid... quoting short text excerpts or headlines will always be fair use, and minuscule thumbnails of copyrighted photos should be fair use as well.
I'm not sure if the clients of AFP are too happy about this lawsuit.
#8
should cut down on the "IDF shot my baby" stories
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/19/2005 18:29 Comments ||
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TGA - That's probably correct as far as it goes but there's an old Supreme Court case in the US called Associated Press v. United Press International that might give AFP a solid argument. Basically UPI bought early editions of papers containing AP stories on the east coast of the US, did minimal rewrites of them usong only the basic facts, then sent them along to UPI client papers in the midwestern & western US. Since facts generally aren't subject to copyright (long discussion) UPI thought they were in the clear. The S.Ct. disagreed and by judicial fiat found that news had a shelf life and prohibited UPI from free-riding on AP's news while it was still fresh.
Google's use isn't perfectly analagous to what UPI was doing but they are bundling up links to news sources and using that bundle to draw traffic to their own site. Effectively they're free-riding on news sources worldwide and they aren't doing it for the purpose of comment / criticism so a Fair Use defense seems unlikely. Thus there's definitely a non-trivial argument to be made even though AP v. UPI is a somewhat disfavored precedent (I don't believe any significant case since has relied on the reasoning found therein).
"Hey, y'all! Look what happens when I do this!... Ow!"
A MAN who became a paraplegic at 14 when he dived off a road bridge into a New South Wales river was awarded more than $1 million in damages today. Philip Dederer, now 20, sued the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) and the Great Lakes Shire Council in the NSW Supreme Court after he was paralysed in a diving accident off the Forster/Tuncurry Bridge into the Wallamba River on December 31, 1998. Mr Dederer, from Newcastle, claimed the RTA and the council were negligent despite there being signs prohibiting diving, because the signs did not say diving was dangerous. Horrors!@ And no one mentioned that you could drown in water, either!! I think a second settlement is in order .... sigh.
Justice John Dunford agreed and today awarded Mr Dederer $1,050,000 in damages. He ruled the RTA was 80 per cent responsible for the accident and should pay $840,000, while the council was liable for 20 per cent of the damages to a total of $210,000. The judge ruled the signs erected were inadequate because young people continued to dive from the bridge. Couldn't be because they are stupid or unsupervised ... nope, it's the signs' fault. Ijits.
"I am satisfied that the signs were not effective in the sense that large numbers of young people continued to dive, do somersaults, etc from the bridge," he said. But he ruled Mr Dederer was partially responsible for his injuries and therefore reduced his original $1.4 million payout by 25 per cent. Outside court, Mr Dederer said he was relieved with the result but was concerned teenagers and children were still diving off the same bridge and the signs had not been changed. "I wouldn't like to see another person get into the same position as I did," he said. Judge Dunford ruled the RTA pay 80 per cent and the council 20 per cent of Mr Dederer's costs.
Posted by: anon ||
03/19/2005 8:35:19 AM ||
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Slowly but surely, we are becoming societies in which we bear not the slightest responsibility for the consequences to us of our own carelessness, impulsiveness, irresponsibility or stupidity, but we are somehow magically accountable for the consequences to others of their own stupid acts.
I can't imagine anything more sure to drive us mad.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
03/19/2005 11:08 Comments ||
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I wish the heck I had a better picture of this sign. ..
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
03/19/2005 11:19 Comments ||
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I think this is probably more a matter that a 20 year old paraplegic has high expenses and is just looking for a way to cover them. Somebody has to pay to support him because he can't support himself.
Posted by: Tom ||
03/19/2005 12:05 Comments ||
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too f*ckin bad. Actions have consequences
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/19/2005 12:25 Comments ||
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Life's tough, ain't it? He could afford to toss himself off a high bridge into low water.
No matter how much money he gets, it's not going to add a digit to his IQ.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2005 12:26 Comments ||
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I had a high school buddy who was cliff diving(short - like 20' high) into a pond, and missed the deep part. He had a nice funeral, and nobody got rich. Twas his own f*&kin fault
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/19/2005 12:32 Comments ||
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The solution to this is very simple. Sentence anyone caught diving off to death, fine them $500,000 and have the signs say that violators will be shot on sight. After the first 20 morons get shot, it'll stop. And humanity's average IQ will go up a fraction of a percent.
The headline is misleading as this is not volcanic eruption, although the phenomena is volcanic in origin. Essentially, a huge of amount of carbon dioxide is dissolved in the cold deep water of the lake and more is continually added from volcanic activity. You can think of the bottom of the lake as supersaturated soda water. Eventually the density of CO2 reaches a point where a single gas bubble forms and rises creating turbulence that releases some of the pressure and other bubbles form and suddenly the whole lake 'boils' like a shaken can of soda. It must be spectacular to watch. Unfortunately the CO2 is heavier than air and forms a suffercating cloud that kills people.
Worried by the looming disaster posed by the imminent volcanic eruption from Lake Nyos in the Republic of Cameroun and the danger it poses to some parts of Benue, Taraba, Adamawa and Cross River States, the House of Representatives yesterday urged the federal government to liaise with the Republic of Cameroun and relevant international agencies to find urgent and lasting solution to the impending disaster.
The House also urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), to be more proactive in disaster prevention just as it requested the federal ministry of environment to ascertain the scope and imminence of the explosion of the lake and furnish the House with an immediate report.
Also, the House committee on Emergency Preparedness was mandated to liaise with its Cameroon counterparts to fashion out ways in which the accumulated poisonous gas in the lake could be controlled.
Moving a motion on the impending catastrophe, Hon. Terngu Tsega, pointed out that the current volume of gas in the lake amounts to 300 million cubic meters of poisonous carbon dioxide which is over and above the volume that precipitated a similar explosion of the lake in 1986.
He also noted that about 1,800 people died in large scale volcanic eruptions in 1954, 1982, 1985 and 1986, with 843 hospitalised while there was widespread devastation of farmlands and vegetation in affected areas due to massive emissions of dangerous gaseous substances at very high velocity.
#1
I worked with a guy from Cameroon (a bright, well educated guy, BYW) who passed along a rumor that the last eruption of the lake was caused by Israel testing WMD. He didn't come right out and say he believed it, but he swore he saw Israeli military vehicles in the area after the fact, and he wouldn't believe any innocent explanation for their presence, of course.
As with all good conspiracy theories, innocent explanations never are innocent. I googled the rumor and only got a couple of hits (one claiming a neutron bomb) from some whack-job neo-nazi-type sites. I haven't googled it since (3 years) to check on any spread.
It just goes to show you: it's always the Jooooos, isn't it?
Posted by: Mossad Guy ||
03/19/2005 18:21 Comments ||
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Well, I googled it again and only got one hit on the rumor so far - probably the same neo-nazi site. Plus, as an added bonus, I caught a trojan when I followed the link. That's why I always practice safe surfing. Hmmm, I feel the need for a shower...
#6
Nah! .com, that's a - whaddayacallit? A FAKE! Right?
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/19/2005 23:01 Comments ||
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IIRC, after the last disastrous gas eruption, there was a project started to pipe the gas up from the deep water as it is produced. It was killed by local politics/sensibilities. Anybody know more?
This has been happening regularly for as long as records exist. Centuries at least. A very soluble problem.
Worth keeping an eye on but not to panic about at this point. An outbreak of an unidentified haemorrhagic fever has claimed the lives of 87 people in northern Angola over the past four months. The Angolan health ministry is awaiting the results of samples sent to Senegal and the United States to identify the strain of the fever, health ministry spokesman Carlos Alberto said on Friday. "Seventy-six people died between November last year and February and 11 others died between then and March 15 ... from a strain of haemorrhagic fever that we have not yet identified," Alberto told AFP. All the deaths occurred at the main provincial hospital of Uige town in northern Angola. The spokesman however denied that the fatalities were due to Ebola fever. "Ebola is highly contagious. But with this haemorrhagic fever there have been cases where children have died but their mothers have survived without displaying the slightest signs of the disease," said Alberto. Ebola kills by inducing massive internal haemorrhages. He underlined that the outbreak was confined to the town of Uige and surrounding areas. so far .... Most of those affected by the disease are children aged under five, the UN World Health Organisation (WHO) said from Geneva, which gave a figure of 39 dead since the start of this year. so the question is, will this spread to adults, perhaps starting with adults who have compromised immune systems (of which there are millions in Afric)
WHO expressed concern over the fact that children were the main victims, saying in general haemorrhagic fevers like the one caused by the Ebola virus hit all age groups without distinction, according to WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib. "We're perplexed. We don't know if it's Ebola fever or something else," she said.
There is no vaccine or cure for the highly contagious Ebola, which has since 2001 resurfaced to claim dozens of lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola's northern neighbour, as well as the Congo Republic, Gabon and Sudan. Patients can, however, recover if put in quarantine and given swift treatment for the symptoms, including high fever, diarrhoea and bleeding from the nose and gums. Ebola kills by inducing massive internal haemorrhages. The disease can be transmitted by body fluids, touching the corpses of victims without precautions and is considered to be caused at least in part by the eating of the flesh of infected animals.
Posted by: anon ||
03/19/2005 8:25:27 AM ||
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The emir should have the last word on granting women political rights if Muslim clerics disagree, said a religious edict issued by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs on Saturday.
The Cabinet and the suffrage supporters hope the edict - or fatwa - will convince undecided lawmakers, mostly tribal and independent, to approve a government-proposed bill that could give Kuwaiti women the right to vote and run as candidates.
The Cabinet's amendment to the 1962 election law that restricts political rights to men is expected to be up for a vote in the coming weeks.
The emir, Sheik Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah, supports women's rights. In 1999, Parliament acted against a suffrage decree he issued because it was signed when the legislature was not in session. Soon after, fundamentalist Sunni Muslims and tribal lawmakers narrowly defeated an identical bill.
According to a copy of Saturday's fatwa, "a decision by the ruler should end disputes on matters" upon which there is no religious consensus. The edict said both clerics who believe Islamic law gives women the right to vote and run for public office and those who don't have valid arguments. Some clerics say women can be allowed to vote but not run as candidates.
Most Muslim fundamentalist lawmakers have said they will vote against women's rights.
But the country's Islamist political Ummah Party broke ranks with other Islamist groups last month by announcing its support for women's political rights. Ummah, whose name means nation, said it based its decision on religious edicts by modern clerics.
Shiites do not have a problem with suffrage, according to their interpretation of Islam.
In other Muslim democratic nations, such as Indonesia and Iran, women vote and run for public office.
Kuwaiti women make up some 40 percent of the national work force in this oil-rich ally of Washington. They have reached high positions in education, oil and the diplomatic corps. Most women are ambivalent about political rights, believing they have nothing to gain from them. In a pig's eye. Two iron rules about the right to vote is that first, women like it, and second, they tend to vote the same way as their family. The Kuwaitis are in for a pleasant surprise.
Security officers shot dead a Saudi youth who tried to storm the headquarters of Al-Watan Arabic daily in the southern city of Abha ignoring warnings. The man in his 20s was killed after he drove through the building's exit gate ignoring three warning shots, Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Mansour Al-Turki told Arab News.
The driver's motives were not immediately clear. "He refused to stop, despite warnings from the police, even after they fired warning shots," Al-Turki said. "He was very close to the building so they fired at the car. One bullet killed him," he said. The incident took place at 7 a.m. yesterday and the man was later identified as Bandar Abdullah. Investigations found that the pickup van he used was stolen. Police found a knife and a stick in his car. According to sources, the man died of wounds from a gunshot that hit his shoulder. Born in Abha, Abdullah was living in Jeddah. Investigations have proved that Abdullah was previously involved in a number of criminal cases, which were not terror-related, Al-Turki said.
Sounds more like a nut than a terrorist.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2005 11:57:16 PM ||
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Fred, is this your nominee for the 2005 Darwin Award?
French hotel and tourism group Accor has won a bid to run the largest luxury hotel in the Middle East, located in the Muslim holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
Luxury hotels for the potentates being the sixth pillar of Islam. You could look it up.
Currently under construction, the Zam Zam Sofitel Grand Suites - named for the natural spring which Muslims believe yields holy water - will open its doors in September 2006, Accor said. The hotel, built with a total budget of USD 600 million (EUR 450 million ), will have 1,240 suites on 34 floors. It is part of a high-rise complex, Al Beit Towers, and is located a stone's throw 100 meters from the holy Kaaba stone.
"Hajj is for the little people, Excellency. The north terrazza affords you the best view of the tramplings, and remember to pray in the direction of the gift shop."
The hotel, which could house as many as 6,000 guests, will employ 1,500 people, most of them Saudi nationals, the French tourism group added.
"We're Aryan pure here at the Zam Zam, your Eminence."
Accor, which is active in 140 countries, currently has 17 hotels in the Middle East and is planning to boost its presence to 25 hotels in the next three years. So far, the group already has seven hotels under construction, slated to open in 2008: an Ibis hotel in Kuwait, a Novotel in the Saudi capital Riyadh, and five Sofitel hotels in Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates.
Accor's not alone in this. The Ritz-Carlton in DC was just remodelled, and the windowsill of every room has a Mecca-directional arrow painted on it.
#2
Actually this is the logical next step to what rich pilgrims to the Hajj have been doing for a long time. It's just that instead of having to put up with the inconvenience of an air-conditioned tent, they now have a luxury hotel. Now they can be pious without having to deal with so many NOKD surrounding them.
#5
My flock: your local Imam will tell you the proper direction to bow to Mecca. Since the great circle is a tool of the infidels, the so-called 7th Century Vector is the authoritative direction, BUT IF AND ONLY IF the local Imam spins the 7CV around its axis (which consists of a nail in its center securely driven into a block of Lebanese Cedar lying on the ground flat.
The vector will vary its direction, based upon the sincerity and religiousity of the individuals heart. A duplicitious person will get a vector that will force him to wander in the desert for 40 years, so better clear your head and heart before you ask the Imam for a spin of the 7CV. Now you know the answer.
#8
One reason I don't stay there. The other reason is that their rooms are a lot crappier than those of Red Roof, for nearly the same $$.
Posted by: too true ||
03/19/2005 14:16 Comments ||
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I had to stay at a Motel 6 one time. *shudder*
If I'm ever stuck in that situation again, I think I'll just put the back seat down in my SUV and sleep in the car.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/19/2005 16:18 Comments ||
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Yeah.
Red Roof is really a pretty good deal. Their rooms have always been clean and comfortable. AND they take dogs at most of the motels without additional charge. (If you take one there, please be responsible. Places that will are few and far between these days.)
Posted by: too true ||
03/19/2005 16:20 Comments ||
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I can't find any motel that will accept Ace. But then, he weighs about 1100 pounds. I have slept in the horse trailer next to him before. I put my cot up and we are just fine. Unless he has an "accident" during the night.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/19/2005 17:07 Comments ||
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didja ever consider marrying Ace? Afterwards you can claim discrimination if they don't let you bed together. Start in San Francisco
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/19/2005 17:26 Comments ||
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...Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, 70 — appointed Master of The Queen's Music last year — insists the Icelandic whooper swan was already dead when he found it near his home in the Orkney Isles.
"It ain 't mine. Somebody left it here."
Cops raided his house on Sanday with a search warrant after spotting it hanging up. The birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. Yesterday, Sir Peter denied any wrongdoing to the BBC's Around Orkney programme. His London manager added that swans are often killed by flying into power lines and it was "not unusual" for people to eat them on the Scottish isles. There must be a good half dozen limericks in there, somewhere.
World donors approved $1 billion in aid projects for Haiti on Friday, promising to repair its roads and rebuild its battered power grid, in an effort to help the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation as it prepares for fall elections. The relief is a confirmation of money pledged last summer, but diplomats attending the one-day summit said assigning specific projects to each nation would increase accountability. In July, donors pledged $1.3 billion for Haiti but less than a fifth of it has been disbursed. "If a project isn't going well or according to plan, you'll know who to ask," Canadian Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew said at the summit organized by France and held in French Guiana's capital, Cayenne.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2005 12:50:01 PM ||
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Ha! I am reading The Comedians by Grahame Greene today, and a billion dollars won't even touch the sides. Haiti will swallow it without a burp.
Those who have been following the situation in Venezuela are by now familiar with President Hugo Chavez's repeated claims that the U.S. government seeks to assassinate him. In fact, these claims are treated -- like those of Fidel Castro, Chavez's partner in International Thug Life -- as if they are statements of objective truth. For this we have to thank two seemingly disparate groups. One group is represented by countries in need of demonstrated oil reserves, such as China; the Chinese and others around the world. The other group lies closer to home -- useful idiots and communist symps in the U.S. media, who advocate the cause of Chavez to spite their own national interest. These toxic pronouncements from both home and abroad are a one-two punch square against the jaw of the Monroe Doctrine. And, as I've written before here, the longer we wait to act, the less possible corrective action is.
Throughout his presidency, we have seen Chavez reaching out to Asia with more confidence with each passing month. He presents himself and his nation as a handy economic lever, attractively priced for a long-term lend lease. His logic is simple: Why wouldn't it be in the interests of foreign powers to have a loose cannon in Latin America, frustrating US aims and advancing their own?
Chavez understands that his situation depends upon exacerbating tensions between Great Powers. Perhaps he continues to insist that his assassination is imminent to stoke those very tensions. On recent editions of his weekly live TV and radio programs, Chavez has sounded like Ayatollah Khomeini or Kim Jong-il. He has advanced the theory that the U.S. is planning to assassinate him, saying "If they kill me, there will be a really guilty party on this planet whose name is the president of the United States, George Bush. If, by the hand of the devil, those perverse plans succeed ... Forget about Venezuelan oil, Mr. Bush," he said.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: TMH ||
03/19/2005 8:29:29 AM ||
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All those Useful Idiots have a place to go here, in the US, and it is called the Venezuelan Information Office in Washington, DC.
Its website http://www.rethinkvenezuela.com/index.html contains the following statement: "NOTE: The Venezuela Information Office is dedicated to informing the American public about contemporary Venezuela, and receives its funding from the government of Venezuela. More information is available from the FARA office of the Department of Justice in Washington DC."
Venezuela Information Office
733 15th Street NW, Suite 932 Washington, DC 20005 tel: (202) 347-8081 fax: (202) 347-8091
And the money to build all this comes from.....fill in the blank. In order to meet an expected refining capacity deficit of 4.6 million barrels a day (mb/d) by 2010, Venezuela's state oil firm PDVSA is investing in deep conversion units at its existing refineries and is promoting the construction of three new refineries that would total some 500,000 barrels a day capacity, and add 15% to its existing refinery capacity, the company said in a statement Tuesday. The new refinery projects are Caripito, Barinas and Cabruta, all of which are near the Orinoco belt, said the statement, which quoted PDVSA vice-president Alejandro Granado's address to the annual meeting of the National Petrochemical and Refining Association in San Francisco, California.
Deep conversion cracking units transform low-value fuel oil into light products such as diesel and gasoline. Granado foresees the demand for refined products increasing by 12mb/d by 2010, and present refining capacity keeping pace until only 2008. Considering that building a new refinery takes 3-5 years, "we should do something and do it now," he said. Upstream, PDVSA plans to increase crude production capacity to more than 5mb/d by 2009 from present levels of 3.7mb/d in US$37bn investments that PDVSA would provide 74% of and private investors 26%.
Posted by: TMH ||
03/19/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
Considering that building a new refinery takes 3-5 years, "we should do something and do it now," he said.
A lot more forward-thinking than a lot of U.S. congressmen, without a doubt.
#2
He's saying they want to cut the US off from Venezuelan oil imports but can't do it right now because they lack the refinery capability to put the oil to good use.
Posted by: too true ||
03/19/2005 6:35 Comments ||
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#3
Still it's a good thing to have additional refinery capacity so close, are any even planned in the US?
#6
If I understand the problem correctly, they need refinery capacity if they want to sell to someone other than the U.S. because most places cannot handle their cheezy, low-grade oil.
Some 70,000 Russians — close to 200 people a day — die from drug overdoses, a top official said on Friday. The figures illustrate the shocking rate of unnatural deaths in Russia, which recorded 46,000 suicides and 36,000 murders last year. "Unfortunately, doctors don't collect precise statistics, otherwise we could compile more accurate figures," said Alexander Mikhailov, head of the Drug Control Service's information department, according to Itar-Tass news agency. High disease and crime rates and low birth rates have slashed Russia's population since the fall of the Soviet Union to less than 145 million from 152 million. With one million users, Russia is Europe's biggest heroin market, a U.N. report said last year. Drug abuse has also propelled the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, with more than 250,000 people infected across the country, according to U.N. figures for 2003.
With the trafficking of Russian women and girls through the Baltic into Scandanavia and elsewhere, that means a spread of HIV westward, too.
"The speed of the disease's spread is alarming," said Mikhailov.
Russia is in the middle of a demographic collapse. Not a Good Thing - I worry about the scientists, engineers and materiel from their defense programs. I don't envy Putin his balancing act.
Posted by: too true ||
03/19/2005 7:29:52 AM ||
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It's all part of the 2nd 50 Year Plan to provide apartments for all who need them.
The visiting chief of staff of Russia's army is denying reports that planned Russian-Chinese military exercises are meant as practice for a Chinese attack on Taiwan, according to Chinese and Russian news reports.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2005 12:48:49 PM ||
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...You know what would be the PERFECT answer to this? Sneak about a half-dozen US attack subs nearby, and then go active with the sonars for a minute or so and hightail it out of there.
Just to let 'em know we care.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/19/2005 15:58 Comments ||
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Mike K - I LIKE the way you think :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/19/2005 16:05 Comments ||
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*bows*Thank you, sir - I do my best.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/19/2005 16:27 Comments ||
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IOW, we Russkis and Chicoms, aka SOLYENT GREEN FOREVER lovers, are waiting for the new Islamist WMD attack ags Amerika which will take out the bulk of the GOP leadership, Dubya, and the Rightist Washington establishment, whereupon the PLA and Russki Airborne, Sub Commandoes, and SPECFORS will righteously but mistakenly attack NORAM in order to protect Amerika's new POTUS President Kerry, DNC CHair Dean, and Der StalinReich Martha Stewart-Frau, Der Amerikaner Fascista nein-Fascista Cookie-CuttterFrau Hllary!?
#5
you worked Martha AND Hillary in to that? You the man, Joe!
Posted by: Mossad Guy ||
03/19/2005 18:22 Comments ||
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#6
Ummm... what about the BettyCrockerCrats, Joe? You didn't mention them...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
03/19/2005 18:34 Comments ||
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#7
Give him time ..... sigh.
Posted by: tired of Joe already ||
03/19/2005 19:10 Comments ||
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#8
Practice invading Taiwan or a chance for the Rooskis to get an up-close and personal look at the PLA before the ChiComs take a crack at the Russian Far East?
#1
Sometimes the lack of comprehension is just too great to comprehend. A lady at work suggested somone should knock off Bush. I was agahst. (She had no intention herself, just thought "someone" really "ought " to do it. Now I was NEVER a fan of the previous president, but I NEVER hoped/wished/dreamed someone ought to wack him. I may not have respected the occupant, but I certainly do respect the office. Now I can do both.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/19/2005 22:38 Comments ||
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#2
As far as I know you can say such a thing. However it's a fine line and you also can get your rear tossed in jail so going to far and going beyond free speech into a conspiracy of several types. The government of their home counrty apperently is trying to deal with them it would appear.
Drive their bandwidth cost into orbit and they will shut down due to lack of funds. :p
#3
Yeah, my wif .... my lovely wife ... thought I ought to turn her over to the FBI. I considered it , but she had raved about soooo much other stuff....
Ad help me out - what can *I* do to burn up their bandwidth?
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/19/2005 23:06 Comments ||
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About 100 Sardinian separatists have broken into Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's luxury villa to protest against symbols of the Italian state on the Mediterranean island. The activists reached the villa's swimming pool on Saturday before being thrown out by police, said Gavino Sale, head of the Indipendentzia Repubrica Sardigna (IRS), movement. "Our gesture today has a largely political meaning. It is the affirmation of the sovereignty of Sardinians on their own land which is at stake for us," Sale said.
Some Sardinians want independence from Italy which they accuse of smothering their culture and their widely spoken local language, Sardo. Berlusconi, Italy's richest man, has also come under fire from environmentalists for building a replica Greek amphitheatre at Villa Certosa, his mansion on the largely protected Sardinian coast. The moonbats at DU are salivating at the thought that Berlusconi will dump Dubya.
Posted by: too true ||
03/19/2005 12:52:31 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
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Long article that is very interesting. The Germans are starting to fugure out what the EU really means. Read the whole article and see that the irony is that an Islamic terrorist is showing them what's at stake. More irony than Marbury v. Madison EFL The European Union wants to integrate law enforcement. But that means that laws passed in one country would be valid across the continent. Germany's high court believes such a provision is unconstitutional. A decision is set for April that may have serious consequences for the future of the European dream. Specifically, critics like high court justice Udo Di Fabio wonder if judicial cooperation throughout the European Union is a step in the direction of a "European super-state." In other words, could centralizing power at EU level limit member states' ability to guarantee rights currently enjoyed by their citizens? ...Now, the court, in case number 2 BvR 2236/04, intends not only to address the issue of judicial cooperation among EU member states, but also the very foundation of a united Europe.
If the judges' concerns prevail, says Federal Minister of Justice Brigitte Zypries "we would essentially be parting ways with the European Union." The list of issues Di Fabio intends to raise ranges from the implementation of the "principle of democracy" in the European Union, through the risks of "gradual elimination of the sovereign state" to the question of whether the pro-European softening of Germany's basic law four years ago was an unconstitutional amendment of the constitution. ....
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
03/19/2005 8:00:24 AM ||
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Link ||
[6 views]
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#1
At first, I thought this was simply a case of "If a German breaks the law in Spain, even if what he did isn't against German law, Spain can extradite him."
But reading the full article, I see that even if he never set foot in Spain, the Spanish courts could request his extradition. That's scary.
As an analogy, it's perfectly legal to have a gun sitting on the front seat of your car in Arizona. It is not legal in California. If we had EU rules, California could charge Me and request that Arizona extradite Me for trial, even though I never did such a thing in California.
Who knows how many laws of Delaware I'm breaking, even though I've never been there in My life.
I will be interested to see what Aris has to say about this (no sarcasm intended).
Personally I'm agnostic vis a vis a European Sovereignty since I'm from the USA. BUT, the way it seems to be happening (sleazy, back door, mechanations)and what it seems to be working toward (non-democratic, oligarchic, dictatorship by the elite) would scare me silly if I was a Brit or Greek or German or....
A detailed analysis that I found interesting contains this..."Simultaneously the EU Constitution becomes the fundamental source of legal authority within Europe, supplanting the Constitutions of the Member States as the ultimate source of legal power."
Basically the thrust of the analysis is that there is no true sovereignty below the level of European. The EU trumps all and member state citizenship becomes moot.
#4
I will be interested to see what Aris has to say about this
Before everyone starts dealing with false analogies about abortion or guns, let's deal first with the reality of the matter: This isn't about Spain asking an extradition of a crime that didn't affect Spain's citizens. This AFAIK is about Spain asking the extradition of a suspected accomplice of 3/11.
Can you honestly pretend that a proper analogy to that is driving legally with a gun sitting on the front seat of your car in Arizona? Can you?
Trans-border crime is a reality. If I knowingly fund or otherwise aid crimes done in Luxembourg, it seems to me that Luxembourg ought to have a right to ask my extradition, even if I never physically stepped foot there.
"never set foot in Spain" seems to me either naivety or sophistry if the person in question knowingly aided in the execution of crimes done in Spain.
When America itself demanded the extradition of Osama Bin Laden from Afghanistan or it'd start bombing them because of 9/11, then I definitely believe Spain has the right to atleast request the extradition of terrorists from Germany because of 3/11.
Did Osama bin Laden physically step foot in the United States? Mmm, AFAIK no he didn't.
#5
Nobody challenges the right of Spain to demand the extradition of a person wanted for terrorist acts in Spain. Blowing up people is as illegal in Germany as it is in Spain.
The problem lies with the European Warrant which, in my opinion, in its current form and application is indeed unconstitutional, because it denies the German citizen the right to fight his extradition at a German court. The European Warrant stipulates a prompt extradition without legal recourse in Germany, and this is absolutely inacceptable. Whether I actually set foot in the foreign country is besides the point, it just makes the case a bit more problematic.
I have to respect the law in the country I am. I don't have to respect laws of a foreign country about things that are not illegal in my country. Of course I better avoid stepping foot in said country.
There is no such thing as a common European Law, only the laws of 25 different member states. As a German I have no democratic influence over the making of those laws.
The German Constitutionm forbade the extradition of German nationals from German soil. This law was quietly changed to accomodate the European Warrant. Before that, Germany could not have extradited a German national to Spain against his will, but if that German national committed a crime in Spain that also was a crime in Germany, the suspect would have to face prosecution in Germany. Foreign nationals could always be extradited, but not after due legal process in Germany.
I can live with German criminals being extradited to other countries, but ONLY after due process in Germany. The analogy of jackal is valid. The analogy of Aris re Osama is not, for many reasons. First Osama was not a citizen of Afghanistan, second he had planned a crime that is a crime anywhere in the world.
If it was a crime in Greece to call Greek coffee "Turkish coffee", Greece could issue a European Warrant and Germany would be forced to extradite me without legal recourse in Germany, even if calling a coffee Turkish is not illegal in Germany.
This is blatantly unconstitutional, against all legal principles, undemocratic, even kafkaesque.
I just lost a long answer to you (damn two step posts 8^(
Anyway, it wasn't my analogy.
Since TGA has since dealt with that let me get to what is the main point.
The EU constitution creates a new sovereign over ALL citizens of the member states. Therefore, for all intents and purposes saying you are a Greek will have as much meaning as me saying I'm a Vermonter or Californian. You currently have a real mess of over-lapping ambiguous sovereignties (don't take my word, listen to the German Supreme Court) If you accept the EU constitution you will be a citizen of the EU and any law that comes from the EU will supercede anything that a member state has done constitutionally or otherwise.
The people that are leading this effort seem to be very cagey about saying exactly what this will mean. I think that you all should be demanding an explicit statement of which "competencies" belong to the central government and which are reserved to the member states.
I've said it before, but, you would do well to give a lot of study to the American experience in defining the meta-laws of a federation forget the specific laws, just look at what the structure means and what it has to have to work well; or not.
#8
3dc, which means that the U.S. states, which belong to a single nation, have more rights than European nations under the "umbrella" of the EU.
AlanC, the problem is even more complicated, as you won't get extradited to a "uberstate" called EU, but to any of the EU member states where you are suddenly subjected to a foreign legal system you had no part in creating or influencing.
The reason for this is that you're talking about state law as opposed to Federal Law. If you're arrested for a Federal crime there's no extradition.
As I understand it in the EU currently the European Warrant in effect makes ALL crimes Federal crimes, hence no need for extradition.
Now, since the EU has no police force nor court system for dealing at these levels, the member states forces are used.
I guess it would be similar to having Federal law enforced by state and local police and tried in state courts here. No FBI and no US District Courts.
high court justice Udo Di Fabio wonder if judicial cooperation throughout the European Union is a step in the direction of a "European super-state."
Well, yeah. Haven't you been paying attention?
Duh.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/19/2005 14:40 Comments ||
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#11
No AlanC, it's not about "Federal Law" versus State Law. Federal Law is applicable ANYWHERE in the U.S., while State Law is not.
With the EU Warrant you can be extradited without legal recourse in your own country for violating a law that does not exist in your own country.
There is no "EU Federal Law", only the laws of the member states.
This is a semantic distinction but an important one. As I understand it there are 32 crimes covered by the EU Warrant. Those crimes are de facto EU Federal crimes and anyone can be charged and tried on them regardsless of what member state they are a citizen of or what state the prosecutor is from. Thus this is EU Federal Law.
The whole thing IS a complicated mess of overlapping sovereignties BECAUSE THERE IS NO EU YET THAT IS SOVEREIGN, just a mess of proto-constitutional treaties that give the EU the trappings of sovereignty without the legality.
This is not a semantic distinction! The creation of a real and sovereign state changes everything.
Read my link to the eureferendum site and look at the Constitutional Analysis (the head guy for the group is: The National Platform's secretary is Anthony Coughlan, who is an economist and Senior Lecturer Emeritus in Social Policy at Trinity College Dublin, and who may be contacted at 00-353-1-8305792.
Here are some extended quotes:
1) The Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe, to call it by its proper official name, is not just another EU treaty. This Treaty (Art.IV-437) repeals all the existing EC/EU treaties from the Treaty of Rome to the Treaty of Nice and then founds or establishes quite a new EU, based on its own Constitution. Legally, constitutionally and politically this new European Union would be quite different from the existing EU.
2)A Constitution is the fundamental law of a State, setting out its institutions of government, how it makes its laws, determines its policies and actions and relates to other States
3)Article I-7 gives this new European Union, established now on the basis of its own Constitution, legal personality and a distinct corporate existence for the first time. Hitherto the EU has had no legal existence apart from its Members. At present the Member States, not the EU, are superior.
4)Article I-6 then provides that "The Constitution and law adopted by the Institution of the Union in exercising competences conferred on it shall have primacy over the law of the Member States." (so much for you German Supreme Court's ruling)
#15
AlanC> I'm a citizen of the EU already, regardless of whether I accept the Constitution or not.
I have no objection to German citizens being able to fight their extradition in German courts, and I admit that I do not know the details of the European arrest warrant. I'll have to look into them.
"The whole thing IS a complicated mess of overlapping sovereignties BECAUSE THERE IS NO EU YET THAT IS SOVEREIGN, just a mess of proto-constitutional treaties that give the EU the trappings of sovereignty without the legality."
See, this I don't understand. What's the legal difference between a constitution, and documents serving the function of a constitution? UK has no single written constitution but it has sets of laws that serve the function of one. What does this mean of UK's sovereignty? I'd say that it doesn't influence its existence.
"constitutionally and politically this new European Union would be quite different from the existing EU."
Article IV-438: Succession and legal continuity
1. The European Union established by this Treaty shall be the successor to the European Union established by the Treaty on European Union and to the European Community.
Article I-7 gives this new European Union, established now on the basis of its own Constitution, legal personality and a distinct corporate existence for the first time. Hitherto the EU has had no legal existence apart from its Members. At present the Member States, not the EU, are superior
The "European Union" itself had no legal idenity, but the "European Community" had. Since membership of the two was completely identical, this was a distinction without a difference.
Essentially the EU was composed of two different treaties -- the Treaty of Rome (first made in the 50s, as amended by every subsequent treaty)and the Treaty of Maastricht (as amended by Amsterdam and Nice).
The former created the European (Economic) Community, the second created the European Union, which is the European Community + Common Foreign Policy + Judicial & Police Cooperation
See the diagram I created: The "European Community" is now the so-called "first pillar". Not exactly (because there's also the mostly obsolete Euratom) but kinda-sorta.
It's complicated.
badanov> A "Confederation" is indeed a much closer description of what the EU is (and will still remain after the Constitution).
"European arrest warrants issued in respect of crimes or alleged crimes on this list have to be executed by the arresting state irrespective of whether or not the definition of the offence is the same, providing that the offence is serious enough and punished by at least 3 years' imprisonment in the Member State that has issued the warrant."
It says that the EU Warrant only applies to "32 categories of serious offences". So if those crimes are punishable in any member state, why would you extradite a German to Spain to have him tried there? You could do it easily in Germany. Note that one of those crimes covered by the warrant is "racism"... good luck with a common definition.
Let's say I write something that Latvia considers to be racism. Latvia could issue an European Warrant and Germany would be forced to extradite me without legal appeal, extradite me to a country with a different legal system, where I need to defend myself, hire translators etc.
And if EU law seeks to have primacy over the German Constitution, it is unconstitutional and void. This is what the German Supreme Court (and others) are waking up to. Our government cannot sign away the German constitution.
#17
Strictly speaking Aris is right. If say France made a law requiring all TV programming from 8-11 at night have nothing but French spoken,that law applies only to France. France could not get an EU warrant to arrest someone in Greece that was broadcasting in Greek. BUT,if a German TV station's signal was picked up in France,it would be theoretically possible for France to get an EU warrant against the German station's managers and have them extradited w/no recourse in German courts. In reality,the Germans take the French to court,but it would be the EU Court that would decide,and that court has shown itself to firmly believe that the EU is superior to any European nation. In the US analogy,the EU Court is firmly Federalist.
This is an extreme example,but it illustrates a major problem w/much of the EUFirst mindset. They are firmly locked in the 50s and 60s,and so much of what they propose would have been fine for the 60s,but totally ignores the changes since then. W/the EU warrant,any single Eu country can decide for every other EU member what is acceptable Internet content and what is not. If Belgium passes a law making it a crime to make jokes about Belgium waffles,you can stand in Poland and make all the Belgium waffle jokes you want and nothing will happen. But if you post a joke on a Spanish website,both you and the website's operators could be extradited to Belgium under the EU warrant because that website could be accessed in Belgium.
Posted by: Stephen ||
03/19/2005 17:07 Comments ||
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#18
Indeed, if Belgium passes a law against Belgian waffle jokes it could qualify for the EU Arrest Warrant if Belgium puts it under the covered "racism and xenophobia" clause.
Of course we're pushing the limits with our examples. But unfortunately, when you deal with the law, that's what you have to do.
#19
Now it makes sense. If anybody says anything about Chirac, anywhere in Europe then Chirac can make him dead meat. The recent suits by French firms against Google are just testing the waters on this...
Yep, complicated as all hell. Read the link it goes into the differences between legal sovereignty post constitution and current legalities pre-constitution.
I just scratched the surface with my quotes the whole discusstion gets into issues that I've not studied seriously for 30 years and deal with alot of specific details from the EU that I don't really understand.
Like I said, I don't care if there is a single sovereign state or 25, but, the one you seem to be headed for seems nasty.
#2
Not impossible, but highly inprobable. For one thing, we have (and had) much better seabottom recovery capabilities than the Soviets. And they did *not* like to leave things around where US intelligence might get their hands on them.
Posted by: Robin Burk ||
03/19/2005 6:30 Comments ||
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#3
"Where do you want this VW Beetle sized chunk of salt at?"
Even if they did exist, and I doubt it, after 25 years without maintance they would be no doubt quite useless.
#6
No doubt quite useless. I wonder whether the nuclear materials, if actually there and if eventually exposed by corrosion, would actually pose much risk. I speculate that they would be solids that would corrode slowly if at all and would be buried in sediments that would mitigate dispersion of the corrosion byproducts.
Posted by: Tom ||
03/19/2005 9:44 Comments ||
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Washington's nomination of Paul Wolfowitz as the World Bank's next president has triggered an outcry among the bank's staff, who have demanded the right to have a say in his confirmation, it emerged yesterday. The staff association has met the bank's executives to voice its concerns after it was swamped with complaints from employees over the selection of Mr Wolfowitz, the US deputy defence secretary and one of the architects of the Iraq war. One bank employee said yesterday: "When you work for the bank you have to be a compromise-seeker. Everyone sees him as a divisive figure." In an email to members, the staff association's chairwoman, Alison Cave, said: "While recognising that the selection and confirmation of the next World Bank president is the prerogative of the shareholders, staff are asking that their views be taken into consideration and taken seriously by the decision-makers." "The staff association is preparing to act as a conduit for these views, and the executive committee is urgently considering the most effective way to help staff be heard." Staff representatives met the outgoing bank president, James Wolfensohn, on Thursday to express the level of alarm. A bank official said: "There have been wild emails about petitions and rallies, but the association has assured us it definitively is not going to involved in any of that."
#1
Since have mere employees had the right to pick their boss? Bull Pucky! You are either part of the solution or part of the problem? I can already see what these employees problem are.
Such a panicked response? Lol, how Ivory Tower of them. This is simply code for "we don't like his politics" and an indicator of a BDS reservoir. I would also view this as fair proof the institution is as riddled with tranziboys and self-appointed politicos as the CIA and State. Apparently, most all of our institutions have a significant moonbat wanker quotient. Systemic stupidity. S'okay, more jobs come open for solid, uninfected, people.
They probably know very little about Wolfie, other than the twisted and biased MSM caricatures. May the lot, Fiskie, Dowd, Krugman, et al, roast in whatever vision of hell they fear most.
Don't like it? Resign. You can be replaced lickety split.
#5
How in the hell do these asswipes know in advance what's he's going to do and what's going to happen? The least they could have done was wait until after the guy's first day on the job to complain.
#6
NGOs have become a way for Euros to get very cushy jobs for life. Kosovo is a total mess because of them. This is why GWB wants Wolfie to go focus the place.
Posted by: too true ||
03/19/2005 6:39 Comments ||
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#7
These must be the folks who couldn't get a job on the Harvard faculty but are equally braindead.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
03/19/2005 7:23 Comments ||
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#9
"I am Police Sergeant Wolfowitz, and it has been alleged that these premises have been or are being used as a house of ill repute in contravention of the law. I have 'ere with me a lawfully exercised Search Warrant to inspect these 'ere premises and detain any such person or persons what has been allegedly engaged in the aforementioned unlawful enterprise! Alright, ladies! Front and center!"
#10
Man's politics mirror nature's ways. Some do the heavy lifting - and others come along after, to steal the success. They do it by numbers and persistence, not cunning or strength. The parallel with today's Jacksonian US vs the SocioFascist Tranzis is clear enough - even for the willfully asinine.
For about 2 minutes we have the heavy lifting and the ankle-biters trying to annoy, distract, and obfuscate to steal the prize - and even pick off the strong when isolated.
Then, when enough is enough, the tables turn. The last 1.5 minutes are pure payback. Melike.
lion vs hyena.wmv (by Tom Lowe; with musical soundtrack)
2 links to make sure you can get it. link 1 link 2
#11
Damn PD! I get it! Watch out for the one big bastard with the mane and an attitude. Pick out one bad guy at a time and bite 'is f**kin head off! yes!
Sorry for any OCR errors here. This came in the mail to my parents who are life long Republicans.
Democratic National Headquarters
Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
House Democratic Leader
Dear Friend,
How will George W.. Bush be remembered in the history books? As a "uniter, not a divider?" Please.
At a time when Americans need to come together and honestly confront the problems we face at home and abroad, the Gap ran a divisive campaign on "issues" like gay marriage that are driving people apart and distracting from the real work we need to do to get this country moving in the right direction again.
Here's how I think George W. Bush will be remembered: As one of the worst presidents in American history. As a man who pushed the most radical, short-sighted and mean-spirited agenda any of us have ever seen. If I were a betting woman, I'd wager you agree.
But rather than speculate, why don't you take the enclosed George W. Bush Disapproval Poll and use it to tell me how high (I doubt it) or how low President Bush ranks with you. It's your chance to tell me exactly what you think of the 43rd President. If you give George W.. Bush grades of A or B, then I have bad news: First, you are a Republican. Second, you are going to be on the losing side of history.
BUT...if you give George W. Bush C's D's or F's, then you are a true-blue Democrat and I urge you to join us in our fight to hold the line against President Bush's radical agenda and begin laying the groundwork for victory in the 2006 mid-term elections. Because if you disapprove of President Bush and the GOP-controlled Congress as much as you say you do, then you must get off the sidelines, roll up your sleeves, and help us choose new leadership in 2006 -Democratic leadership that will stand up to George W. Bush and the right-wing extremists and greedy corporate special interests that have their hooks into him.
My name is Nancy Pelosi. I am a Democratic congresswoman from California, and the House Democratic Leader. Committee DCCC and our movement to give America the new leadership -- Democratic leadership -- it desperately needs. I so hope you will become a member with a generous contribution of $25, $50, $100 or whatever you can afford to spend to take on George W. Bush and defeat his rightwing allies in the vitally important mid-term elections.
It is never too soon to begin preparing our strategy and picking top-notch candidates for the next election. So, all across America, the DCCC is generating momentum for a Democratic victory. As part of our efforts, we are reaching out to voters and telling them the truth about President Bush.
Why? Because America simply cannot afford to allow President Bush to act unopposed any longer. We must defeat his toady Congress and strip him of his power to ram his agenda down America's throat. His agenda, I'm sure you will agree, has been an unmitigated disaster.
Allow me to throw just a few numbers at you. ..
... 1,169,000 -- the number of American jobs that have been lost since George W. Bush became president ...
... 43.6 million -- the number of Americans without health insurance ...
... $1 trillion -- the amount President Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy, if made permanent as the President wants, would cost this country over the next ten years.
.,. $93,500 -- the amount of President Bush's tax cut for those making over $1 million per year. Yet because of the skyrocketing deficit caused by these reckless tax cuts for the wealthiest, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan stated that cuts in Social Security benefits would be necessary for our nation's seniors...
...485,000 P -- the number of kids George W. Bush eliminated from after-school programs ...
...Or $7,217,762,361,782.23 -- the national debt (your share is $24,512.70. So is your spouse's. Have children? They each owe that much. And their children do too. Remember when we had a surplus under President Clinton?)
But I don't think I have to convince you with numbers that George W. Bush has been a train wreck. I think you feel it, deep down in that Democratic soul of yours, every time he goes on television and suggests, "Trust me." The sad truth is that we can't trust the President. He hasn't been straight with us from the very beginning. For example. ..
His "Healthy Forests Initiative" is a blueprint for clear-cutting America's forests.
His "No Child Left Behind Act" leaves millions and millions of kids behind.
He said he cared about the struggles of American workers in a depressed economy. ..but he tried to rob eight million of them, including veterans, of their overtime pay.
But I haven't gotten to the biggest misrepresentation of them all - Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. That reckless claim has cost American families the lives of more than 1,000 of their loved ones and saddled taxpayers with a growing financial burden. In my opinion, misleading this nation into war is unforgivable and is all the reason anyone should need to never trust President Bush again.
We need to mount a fierce resistance to the President's assault on our American values and begin doing the work necessary to cut his legs out from under him by defeating his Congress in the mid-term elections. Because if we give this man free reign the next four years, here's what he will do:
.Bankrupt the Social Security Trust Fund that millions of elderly Americans rely on to live with dignity after a lifetime of hard work.
.Wreck the economy with permanent tax cuts for the wealthy and crippling, astronomical debt. Incredibly, in one of their first major actions after the election, America's debt level -further mortgaging our futures.
.Put millions more Americans out of work and send their jobs overseas.
.Dismantle Medicare and give more handouts to private insurance and pharmaceutical companies.
.Reverse decades of environmental progress and spoil America's remaining natural treasures like the Arctic Natural Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
.I'd like to think that President Bush would never again send our troops to die under false pretenses as he did in Iraq, but he just can't be trusted. The only way to ensure that he never again needlessly jeopardizes the lives of American soldiers is to elect a Democratic Congress that will take that power away from him.
America is a strong nation, full of proud, hard-working people who care about our collective future. It's going to take more than George W. Bush and his rogue gallery of radical right-wing Republicans to ruin this great country. But do you really want to give him another four years to try?
Believe me, politics is a full contact sport. And if we are to spare America four more years of Bush running wild and wreaking havoc, then people like you -who share our Democratic values -must get in the ring and land a few blows to the Republican political machine. It's up to us as Democrats to hold the line against George W. Bush until we defeat his Congress and send him into history as a speed bump on the road of American progress.
Can I count on you to help us do it?
We have recruited talented candidates and are laying the foundation for a Democratic victory in 2006. But President Bush's congressional lapdogs have raised hundreds of millions of dollars in special interest money and will stop at nothing to cling to power. So if we are to compete. we urgently need the support of people like you.
I hope you will accept this invitation to join the DCCC with a generous membership contribution of $25, $50, $100 or even more if you possibly can.
I look forward to hearing from you. Please respond today.
Sincerely,
Nancy Pelosi
House Democratic Leader
P.S. What grades has George W. Bush earned in his first term as president? Take a moment to fill out the enclosed George W. Bush Disapproval Poll and decide for yourself. If you give the President C's. D's or F's. I urge you to join the DCCC and help us see that President Bush gets the grounding he deserves. Thank you.
The survey
George W. Bush Disapproval Poll
What do you think of the job George W. Bush has done as President? Do you think he deserves another four years to push his radical right-wing agenda? Can he be trusted? Fill out the poll below to grade George W. Bush. Beneath each question, please circle the grade that you feel the President has earned. Then, if you have given him C's, D's or F's, take a moment to join the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and our movement to give America grade-A leadership in the White House and Congress.
JOBS
Since George W. Bush took office, more than 1 million American jobs have been lost. How would you grade President Bush's record on jobs?
A B C D F
TAX CUTS
Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy are mostly responsible for the record budget deficit that is approaching the level of fiscal crisis. Now he wants to make them permanent. How would you grade President Bush's tax cuts for millionaires?
A B C D F
PRESCRIPTION DRUGS
President Bush supported a Republican bill that prohibits Medicare from negotiating lower prescription drug prices from the pharmaceutical companies. How would you grade President Bush on reducing the price of prescription drugs for seniors?
A B C D F
IRAQ
The weapons of mass destruction that President Bush used to justify his preemptive invasion of Iraq are nowhere to be found. Now the President is trying to deny ever saying that Iraq had these weapons. How would you grade President Bush's honesty with regard to the war in Iraq?
A B C D F
EDUCATION
The President's budget underfunds his own "No Child Left Behind Act" by $7 billion, denying 4.6 million children the better teachers, smaller classes and extra help the Act promises. How would you grade President Bush's record on education for our kids?
A B C D F
BONUS QUESTION
Do you want George W. Bush to be allowed to do as he pleases the next four years? If you don't, then it's time to step up and do something about it.
YES NO
The DCCC is taking on George W Bush and the radical Republicans controlling Congress, but we need your support to throw up roadblocks to his irresponsible, fanatical agenda until we win a Democratic victory in the 2006 mid-term elections. Please join us today.
#5
Any missive sent to Republicans which professes to be from Democrats has a high probability of being a fraud. Especially when it says stuff like "deep down in that Democratic soul of yours".
At a time when Americans need to come together and honestly confront the problems we face at home and abroad, the Gap ran a divisive campaign...
#6
subsidiary of the GOP - with reverse-psychology "blue" jeans
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/19/2005 15:03 Comments ||
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#7
So there's Nancy's plan - to throw up roadblocks to his irresponsible, fanatical agenda until we win a Democratic victory in the 2006 mid-term elections. I thought it pretty obvious, but didn't expect the Dims to admit it!
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/19/2005 15:23 Comments ||
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#9
I donât listen to Rush that much but I caught a repeat this morning that really hit home a point. After the Senate votes to stop their ludicrous âfilibusterâ what will the Dems have to offer in the Senate? They might as well leave because they wonât have any chance of saving the left wing agenda and little chance of gaining any seats in the 2006 election. In fact they will probably lose more seats in the both houses and pretty much make them minority for the next decade or more. If the people see the government moving forward on IMPORTANT issues (Defense, SS, and energy) I donât see what the Dems will have to offer in 2008. Maybe the can use the motto: âWe love Gay Marriage, vote for us!â or âWe donât mind $4 a gallon, just donât drill in ANWR!â or â$50,000 equals rich, lets tax those bastards!â Nothing of substance to offer, but maybe I am missing something?
#15
The survey is bad enough, but that pic is positively cringe-worthy. If that was a stuffed Nancy Pelosi, I'd be wanting my money back from the taxidermist.
Togo's leading opposition politician spends little time in his homeland for fear of assassination, is barred by law from running in upcoming presidential elections and just heard his own cousin declare his candidacy in defiance of attempts to unify the opposition. But Gilchrist Olympio plans to campaign in Togo starting with a weekend rally to introduce his candidate. "Do I think the balloting will be free and fair? Not at this stage," he said in a telephone interview Friday as he prepared to drive across the Ghana-Togo border. But "we will find a way to make sure our views prevail."
Olympio fled in 1997 after a series of attempts on his life, including one in 1992 in which he was seriously wounded. He has since divided most of his time between France and Ghana, with occasional visits home. Olympio's is among six parties that agreed to back veteran opposition leader Emmanuel Bob Akitani in a bid to overcome the dissension that long has weakened the opposition. Unity was seen as the only way to seriously challenge front-runner Faure Gnassingbe, whose father Gnassingbe Eyadema had been Togo's military dictator for 38 years. Olympio's father Sylvanus Olympio, Togo's first democratically elected leader, was assassinated in a 1963 coup led by Eyadema, who openly took power four years later.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2005 12:37:45 PM ||
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The government of President Robert Mugabe has hand-picked observers for Zimbabwe's upcoming parliamentary vote in what critics call a shallow and transparent attempt to restore legitimacy to the country's discredited democracy. It has systematically barred observer missions from countries and groups that said elections in 2000 and 2002 were flawed and probably stolen by Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party amid massive vote-rigging and state-sponsored violence and intimidation.
Observers for the March 31 elections have been invited from generally pro-Mugabe African states such as South Africa, friendly countries such as China, Iran and Venezuela, and from the Southern African Development Community, a generally supportive regional body. "They left out everybody who gave them a negative report," said University of Zimbabwe political scientist John Makumbe. "Essentially it says the regime has something to hide, that it can't stand close scrutiny," Makumbe said in a telephone interview from the United States, where he is a guest lecturer at Michigan State University. Those excluded include the European Union, the United States, the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa, the South African Council of Churches and the SADC Parliamentary Forum _ the only African mission to condemn the 2002 presidential elections.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2005 11:57:35 AM ||
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#1
Jimmy Carter and his entourage will be an exception, no doubt.
EFL Why is Garry Trudeau doing a "Doonesbury" sequence inspired by disgraced Republican-friendly reporter Jeff Gannon? Maybe because strips about Abu Ghraib have been done to death?
"I'm not sure it's commonly understood to what lengths this administration is willing to go to bypass the 'filter,' as Bush calls the media," the cartoonist replied in an e-mail interview. Translation..."I'm relevant, DAMMIT!!"
"The president made it official Wednesday -- his Justice Department, fresh from signing off on torture, apparently thinks propaganda's OK too." As opposed to the careful analysis provided by, say, a hack overrated cartoonist. But I digress...
When asked if he thought the press has underreported the Gannon episode, pundit payola, and other examples of media manipulation, Trudeau said: "Payola? They get to wear pajamas to work and they get payola?" "It's not that it's been underreported so far. It's just that the media, in both its own and the public's interest, ought to stay with this story. If Bush is prepared to defend fake news, then the media should be equally prepared to say why it's anti-democratic and an abuse of power." "everybody knows the only ones allowed to defend fake news are troglodyte media like CBS and the NY Times!!"
Trudeau, who was referring to George W. Bush's remarks about government-created video news releases for TV stations, started the "Doonesbury" sequence this Monday and said he will continue it through next week. In it, Secretary of Toady Affairs Andrews finds a "stooge" to replace Gannon as a lobber of softball questions in the White House press corps. He's Roland Hedley, the stunningly accurate self portrait narcissistic journalist long known to "Doonesbury" readers.
Gannon is the former GOPUSA/Talon News White House correspondent who made the news after asking Bush softball questions, getting into press conferences under an alias (his real name is James Guckert), and being involved with sexual Web sites. Trudeau said he hasn't received any direct reaction from Gannon to the sequence. But on his personal Web site, Gannon on Monday linked to the first "Doonesbury" strip in the sequence, and on Thursday wrote that Trudeau "showed his leanings 30 years ago" -- while linking to one of his old strips that offered a pro-John Kerry view. "Doonesbury" appears in 1,400 newspapers via Universal Press Syndicate. Universal also distributes another comic, "La Cucaracha," which featured a Gannon-inspired sequence that ran before the "Doonesbury" one. Lalo Alcaraz, who started the 10-day story line on March 2, showed "Barrio Bugle" cub reporter Eddie Lopez joining the White House press corps. In a reference to Gannon allegedly being gay, Lopez and a couple of other reporters were dressed like members of the Village People. Such biting wit...
Alcaraz said one reason he did the sequence was because he likes to keep up to date on the latest wackjob trends he saw very little coverage of Gannon in the mainstream media. Maybe they don't feel like working out their repressed homosexuality on newsprint?
Was some of the media protecting the Bush administration? Alcaraz said this was possible, but added that a number of press outlets might have held back because of general lack of interest in that angle by readers secure in their sexual orientations, whatever they might be fear they might be misperceived as anti-gay even though the intent would have been to cover the Gannon situation as another example of the Bush administration's media manipulation.
Posted by: Desert Blondie ||
03/19/2005 11:15:29 AM ||
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#1
See? One of Ward Churchill's comrades got it right several days ago - to wit:
âI want to look at the attempts by the state and by corporate-driven media to manipulate and coerce its body politic into becoming docile entertainment consumers of US military hegemony.â
Corporate-driven media? Maybe that's to half-wit? I always found US Military hegemony more entertaining than "Friends", anyway.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/19/2005 11:31 Comments ||
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#3
Hell, I didn't know Trudeau was still alive. He hasn't had anything relevant to say in, lessee... Hmmm. Has he ever had a relevant and accurate political comment? Perhaps, not. Just another strained pseudo-intellectual voice in the press hegemony of the LLL.
#5
You mean somebody's still paying him to write his drivel?
If they make such bad decisions as that, no wonder newspapers are bleeding ink.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/19/2005 14:36 Comments ||
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#6
Maybe the reason the MSM went soft on the Gannon affair was that the Kos Kiddies have now declared open season on the sexuality of White House reporters. The Gannon affair does seem to establish a precedent, after all ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/19/2005 15:21 Comments ||
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#7
fine - "does Elizabeth Bumiller (NYT) have sex with collies, yes or no, and if no, what species does she like?"
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/19/2005 15:28 Comments ||
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#8
Better phrasing: "Ms. Bumiller, when did you stop having sex with collies?"
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/19/2005 16:38 Comments ||
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#9
I stand corrected - I approve this message
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/19/2005 16:41 Comments ||
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#10
Or you could take the BBC approach:
"Millions the world over have been shocked by your repeated and lascivious affairs with canines of all types, including border collies and rottweilers. Can you tell us, please, why you now intend to have sex with cats?"
Posted by: Matt ||
03/19/2005 17:14 Comments ||
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Vandals who broke into University of Iowa animal research labs in November cost the school $450,000, U of I officials reported Thursday.
Investigators this week also released a sketch and information about one woman believed to be connected to the Nov. 14 break-in at Spence Laboratories and Seashore Hall. The Animal Liberation Front claimed responsibility for the attack, in which masked intruders trashed computers and other equipment and stole hundreds of laboratory animals.
Steve Parrott, U of I spokesman, said preliminary estimates show vandals caused $275,000 damage to equipment, including computers, refrigerators, chemicals, pumps and beakers. The Health Protection Office spent $150,000 to dispose of dumped chemicals and other waste, and the U of I Police spent about $25,000 on additional security for the buildings, Parrott said.
Some stolen animals are included in the damage estimate, but not all, Parrott said.
The FBI has made no arrests in the case and Wednesday's sketch of an unidentified female was the first suspect information released in four months. The woman is described as being in her late teens to early 20s, 5-foot 2-inches to 5-6, with dark hair and a light or fair complexion.
The woman last was seen wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, light brown or khaki pants, white tennis shoes and a light-blue plastic wristwatch. The woman also carried a brown crocheted fabric purse with rope handles and a black nylon wallet with a picture of the Tinker Bell cartoon character on the side, according to the FBI.
FBI Special Agent Michele Stevenson said Thursday she could not say whether the sketch came from witnesses or whether sketches of other suspects might be released. The FBI provided no further details.
Islamacists aren't the only violent fascists afoot.
Posted by: Robin Burk ||
03/19/2005 9:43:06 AM ||
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These nutjobs need to get treated just like AQ and the other terror groups. Sic Delta, the SEALS and the CIA on them and when they're found, ensure that like most of the other terrorists, they simply die quietly and swiftly.
The Mary Frances Berry legacy - thanks, Billybob Clinton, for the 'gift' of her service.
Deeply in the red, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights voted yesterday to conduct an audit of how it has spent its $9 million annual budget over the past several years.
The meeting came a day after commission Staff Director Kenneth L. Marcus told a congressional subcommittee that the agency had failed to pay $75,000 in rent last year and that employees who won an equal opportunity complaint against the agency had not received the $188,000 partial payment owed them.
Marcus had more bad news yesterday, saying that the commission was more than likely underfunding its employee benefits package, and that budget shortfalls would force the board to consider a significant number of layoffs as it undertakes reforms recommended by the Government Accountability Office.
Commissioners said they had been kept in the dark on financial problems by former staff director Les Jin and the panel's former chairwoman, Mary Frances Berry. Two commissioners, Chairman Gerald A. Reynolds and Peter N. Kirsanow, asked Marcus whether he had uncovered any evidence of possible criminal wrongdoing. Marcus said he had not. Nope, not me -- didn't ask, didn't find. Yup. Now if you'll excuse me I have a long vacation planned ... not taking my phone or laptop along, promised the wife and kids ... good luck!
But commissioners were upset that the agency's acting budget director, George Harbison, had not seen its ledger of income and expenses for the past year. It was last known to be in Jin's possession, Harbison said.
"If a private company didn't have a ledger, then somebody goes to jail," Reynolds said. "But this is a government commission, so let's pretend we're EU commissioners and see what we can suck out of this thing."
The news of possible layoffs swept through the small audience, most commission employees.
"There's a lot of concern, because we don't know what they are going to do, what's going to happen to the commission, what's going to happen to employees and their careers," said Vanessa Williamson, vice president of the union local that represents commission workers.
Partisan wrangling that has plagued the commission's proceedings since the early 1980s also arose again yesterday, when members discussed a study that would examine federal contracts to businesses owned by minorities and women.
The study, approved in early 2004, was to examine whether the government was including firms owned by both genders and all races in the contract awards. But Marcus said that he had changed the study's parameters without the board's knowledge to reflect only concerns that the government use strict race-neutral measures when awarding contracts.
Michael Yaki, a liberal commissioner recently appointed to the board, charged that such an action clearly violated attempts to achieve a new bipartisan spirit of the board. Commissioner Jennifer Braceras, a conservative, said she had asked Marcus to add the language on race-neutral contracting because the study approved under Berry seemed one-sided. But Braceras also criticized Marcus, saying it was her intention to address both liberal and conservative concerns about minority contracting.
The study has already been distributed to several agencies, including the departments of Defense, Education and State and the Small Business Administration. If commissioners were to amend it, staff members said, it might not be finished before the end of the year as required by the commission's mandate.
Commissioner Russell G. Redenbaugh resigned from the panel Wednesday, effective April 1, citing many of the problems raised by the commission yesterday. His imminent departure appeared to have an immediate impact, prompting commissioners to spend most of the meeting discussing the changes he said were needed and ignoring their monthly agenda. Had to get their stories coordinated before it hit the press.
"I am not going to rest a day until I get an inspector general to look at our budget," Kirsanow said.
Isn't it sweet that this comes out on the Saturday before Easter, when approximately 119 total people read the WaPo?
Posted by: too true ||
03/19/2005 8:06:28 AM ||
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#1
She was appointed by Carter, I believe. 24 years in that job. A regular J. Edgar Hoover. Another demonstration of how important it is to have the new broom sweep frequently in the halls of government.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
03/19/2005 8:21 Comments ||
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#2
True 'nuff, Mrs. D.
But Clinton was her close buddy and promoted her heavily in the press and in meetings IIRC.
Posted by: too true ||
03/19/2005 8:27 Comments ||
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#5
Every "commission" (is that a noun or a verb, in this case?) should have a required sunset clause. It should have to pass review and prove value periodically.
Just imagine how many of your tax dollars go to wank-o-matic stupidity, such as a commission which probably should have been disbanded 10, 15, maybe even 20 years ago.
Bureaucratic inertia can drag any government down.
#6
Unfotunately, commissions will never go away because they give presidents and congress political cover. When you've got a divisive issue but you don't have the guts (or the votes) to deal with it, you appoint a commission. Then when a reporter asks you about it you say, "I appointed a commission. So there." Or words to that effect. It's a great way to reward your cronies too; give a place on the commission with a fat salary and let the staffers do all the work. Best scam in DC.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
03/19/2005 23:46 Comments ||
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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.
An outbreak of an unidentified haemorrhagic fever has claimed the lives of 87 people in northern Angola over the past four months. The Angolan health ministry is awaiting the results of samples sent to Senegal and the United States to identify the strain of the fever, health ministry spokesman Carlos Alberto said on Friday. "Seventy-six people died between November last year and February and 11 others died between then and March 15 ... from a strain of haemorrhagic fever that we have not yet identified," Alberto told AFP. All the deaths occurred at the main provincial hospital of Uige town in northern Angola. The spokesman however denied that the fatalities were due to Ebola fever. "Ebola is highly contagious. But with this haemorrhagic fever there have been cases where children have died but their mothers have survived without displaying the slightest signs of the disease," said Alberto. Ebola kills by inducing massive internal haemorrhages. He underlined that the outbreak was confined to the town of Uige and surrounding areas. 
Security officers shot dead a Saudi youth who tried to storm the headquarters of Al-Watan Arabic daily in the southern city of Abha ignoring warnings. The man in his 20s was killed after he drove through the building's exit gate ignoring three warning shots, Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. 
Those who have been following the situation in Venezuela are by now familiar with President Hugo Chavez's repeated claims that the U.S. government seeks to assassinate him. In fact, these claims are treated -- like those of Fidel Castro, Chavez's partner in International Thug Life -- as if they are statements of objective truth. For this we have to thank two seemingly disparate groups. One group is represented by countries in need of demonstrated oil reserves, such as China; the Chinese and others around the world. The other group lies closer to home -- useful idiots and communist symps in the U.S. media, who advocate the cause of Chavez to spite their own national interest. These toxic pronouncements from both home and abroad are a one-two punch square against the jaw of the Monroe Doctrine. And, as I've written before here, the longer we wait to act, the less possible corrective action is. 
In order to meet an expected refining capacity deficit of 4.6 million barrels a day (mb/d) by 2010, Venezuela's state oil firm PDVSA is investing in deep conversion units at its existing refineries and is promoting the construction of three new refineries that would total some 500,000 barrels a day capacity, and add 15% to its existing refinery capacity, the company said in a statement Tuesday. The new refinery projects are Caripito, Barinas and Cabruta, all of which are near the Orinoco belt, said the statement, which quoted PDVSA vice-president Alejandro Granado's address to the annual meeting of the National Petrochemical and Refining Association in San Francisco, California. 
The European Union wants to integrate law enforcement. But that means that laws passed in one country would be valid across the continent. Germany's high court believes such a provision is unconstitutional. A decision is set for April that may have serious consequences for the future of the European dream. Specifically, critics like high court justice Udo Di Fabio wonder if judicial cooperation throughout the European Union is a step in the direction of a "European super-state." In other words, could centralizing power at EU level limit member states' ability to guarantee rights currently enjoyed by their citizens? ...Now, the court, in case number 2 BvR 2236/04, intends not only to address the issue of judicial cooperation among EU member states, but also the very foundation of a united Europe. 
Washington's nomination of Paul Wolfowitz as the World Bank's next president has triggered an outcry among the bank's staff, who have demanded the right to have a say in his confirmation, it emerged yesterday. The staff association has met the bank's executives to voice its concerns after it was swamped with complaints from employees over the selection of Mr Wolfowitz, the US deputy defence secretary and one of the architects of the Iraq war. One bank employee said yesterday: "When you work for the bank you have to be a compromise-seeker. Everyone sees him as a divisive figure." In an email to members, the staff association's chairwoman, Alison Cave, said: "While recognising that the selection and confirmation of the next World Bank president is the prerogative of the shareholders, staff are asking that their views be taken into consideration and taken seriously by the decision-makers." "The staff association is preparing to act as a conduit for these views, and the executive committee is urgently considering the most effective way to help staff be heard." Staff representatives met the outgoing bank president, James Wolfensohn, on Thursday to express the level of alarm. A bank official said: "There have been wild emails about petitions and rallies, but the association has assured us it definitively is not going to involved in any of that."
Democratic National Headquarters
The government of President Robert Mugabe has hand-picked observers for Zimbabwe's upcoming parliamentary vote in what critics call a shallow and transparent attempt to restore legitimacy to the country's discredited democracy. It has systematically barred observer missions from countries and groups that said elections in 2000 and 2002 were flawed and probably stolen by Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party amid massive vote-rigging and state-sponsored violence and intimidation.
Why is Garry Trudeau doing a "Doonesbury" sequence inspired by disgraced Republican-friendly reporter Jeff Gannon? 
