Headline is Drudge's... Oscar-winning US actress Gwyneth Paltrow feels dinner talk is far more interesting in her adopted homeland Britain than back in her native country. "I love the English lifestyle, it's not as capitalistic as America. Yasss. Once you've got it, you don't have to worry about it, so why do the little people insist on continuing to talk about it?
"People don't talk about work and money, they talk about interesting things at dinner," she told "NS," the weekend magazine supplement of daily Portuguese newspaper Diario de Noticias on Saturday. Interesting things like Gwyneth Paltrow, I'm guessing...
"I like living here because I don't fit into the bad side of American psychology. The British are much more intelligent and civilized than the Americans," the 34-year-old added. While there are minor variances from area to area, the average IQ worldwide remains 100. 50 percent of everyone is below average and statistically 80 percent of everyone is middlin'. The fact that you're good looking statistically doesn't protect you from being a dipshit; in fact, statistically, 50 percent of good-looking wimmin are dipshits. That statement is based upon both psychological theory and empirical observation.
Paltrow, who won a best actress Oscar for 1998's "Shakespeare in Love," lives in London with British band Coldplay's frontman Chris Martin whom she wed in 2003. Of course, she could fall into the upper reaches of the bell curve. That's not what I'd really expect, though, she being married to a latter day Nigel Tufnel and all. I'm guessing her dinner conversation is similar to Britney Spears'.
She said having US pop star Madonna, 48, who married British film director Guy Ritchie six years ago, nearby was another advantage to living in London. "She's like an older sister. Everything I have gone through, she went through ten times worse and ten times longer. She gives me good advice about how to say no and take care of myself," said Paltrow. Does she slip you the tongue when she kisses you, too?
Posted by: Fred ||
12/04/2006 11:24 ||
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#1
Perhaps she'd care to visit us , up north .. I can show her some whippet racing , steak n kidney pies , cheap beer . and some fat lasses wandering round town half naked with a bottle of vodka , vomiting in gutters , if shes that way inclined anyways ..
She needs to move out and away from London and that soft twat of a boyfriend , and come up north where the REAL MEN reside
On December 5, 2003, she married Chris Martin of the British rock group Coldplay in a secret wedding ceremony in Southern California. Paltrow gave birth to their first child, Apple Blythe Alison Martin, on May 14, 2004, in London. She explained the unusual first name on Oprah, saying,
Gwyneth Paltrow
It sounded so sweet and it conjured such a lovely picture for me you know, apples are so sweet and they're wholesome and it's biblical and I just thought it sounded so lovely and...clean! And I just thought, "Perfect!"[2]
#3
It's biblical? WTF? Yeah, it may BE biblical, but only in a "bringing evil into the world for the first time" sense. Is that what's she's trying to say about her own daughter?
Posted by: BA ||
12/04/2006 12:02 Comments ||
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#4
It really is time to evacuate the country when vacuos ey-jits like these two start priaisng Blairistan.
#5
That's why I much prefer pr0n starlets to actors and actresses; it's not they're more intelligent or knowledgeable, but when they talk (I won't say "open their mouths", for someone could misinterpret me), no one take them seriously, as it should be. Plus, they're generally better looking, on average.
Movie star.
Marry alleged rock star.
Move to foreign country.
Name kid funny name.
Trash America in foreign paper.
Glad you like interesting people lady, cuz that's about as sterotypically dull as it gets. What's your next move, the "climbing out of the limo" crotch shot?
#7
Got to wonder about the intelligence of an actress insulting 300 million potential fans. Oh well, I hope she enjoys her new career in London theatre.
#13
Doesn't surprise me, the lead singer from cold play has said some pretty stupid things that made me wonder if he hasn't been reading Marx or something.
She's cute but dumb and will provide fun quotes for a long time if we're lucky.
#16
Hmm. A translation problem? Maybe the press got it all wrong. Incredible, I know. But she sounds earnest.
Grom, we Americans care because we don't like other Americans going abroad and trashing us, particularly those who lucked into a life of obscene luxury we made possible.
#20
I read this as an indictment of Hollywood. I suspect her American dining companions are her Hollywood pals: scheming producers and directors, weasly agents and fellow members of the Film Actors Guild. I doubt she is hanging out at the VFW with Bob and Charlie from the local tool & die.
Considering the source, this is more hilarious than insulting.
#21
I'm not convinced, exJAG. She may sound earnest but she is an oscar winning actress, after all. Personally, I'm not a big fan of her work although I've probably only seen 2 or 3 of her films. As chance would have it, I actually had the "honor" of meeting her on one occasion about 10 years ago (she went big time not long thereafter). While she didn't strike me as the sharpest knife in the drawer, she was pleasant enough.
She's your typical limousine liberal. Born into priviledge, educated at an Ivy (Columbia, IIRC), and living the charmed life. Pretty standard, really.
If you ask me, I think somebody close to her with a bit of sense still left gave her some sorely needed career advice. And she had the sense to heed it. After all, she is an American. And if there's one thing we Americans do know, stupid is as stupid does.
#22
I'm with ex-jag. I think she's on the level, and besides, she's speaking socially, NOT politically. This is what I think she's talking about: in the arts world, London is A LOT more fun and A LOT more relaxed than New York or Los Angeles. Also, London is a galaxy away from all the narcissistic Hollywood crap. Actors and actresses can just go about their business like everyone else, without getting mobbed by rabid fans. It's more sane, lifestyle-wise, and some of the best actors, musicians, and so forth, enjoy living there, so there's a strong community of working actors, rather than "stars." SO CALM DOWN, EVERYONE. The fact is, the people she probably hangs out with there, ARE more intelligent than the Hollywood bimbos, and the English are indeed more "civilized," in that they have a social code of conduct that's clear, and for the upper classes, it can be pleasantly polite.
As for her daughter's name being Apple, I think it's cute--"apple of my eye" and all that. Of course I always think of a Mac computer, so it wouldn't work for me.
Gwyn's biggest problem is her relationship with Madonna. Gwyn's kind of simple and straightforward, and somewhat insecure--a lamb, while Madonna is . . . well, don't get me started.
Anyway, I would save the pirahna attacks for the terrorists.
#23
It's considered bad form Grom. Just like you going to your local bar and trashing your family. You can do it, but don't expect others to hold you in high regard. As for Paltrow, I wish her luck in her new residence, working in English movies, earning English wages.
Posted by: ed ||
12/04/2006 23:03 Comments ||
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KYLIE Minogue's Ummm... Heard of her. Vaguely. A singer?
partner, Olivier Martinez, Never heard of him...
has been photographed out on the town in Paris with model, actress and author Sarai Givati, Who?
a British newspaper reported today. Why would it do that?
The Sunday Mirror said 24-year-old Givati spent three days in Paris with the Frenchman, who has not been seen in public with Minogue since October 13. So they're shacked up at a 2-star hotel, frequenting dives where the clientele speaks funny French, the wine tastes like horse whizz, and the entertainment consists of smutty baggy pants comedians, Apache dancers, and torch singers with lipstick on their teeth and withered cleavage displayed to declining advantage in cheap evening gowns. And I'm concerned with this because...?
The Australian pop princess is performing in her homeland on her comeback tour following her recovery from breast cancer. Oh, I see. Ollie lacks both class and discretion. In precisely which way does that make him unique? Or even interesting?
A spokesman for Minogue said the pop star and Martinez were still a couple. Just not a very close couple. In a month or so he'll be double dating with Fed-Ex. It remains to be seen whether Kylie will be running around with no underpants with the likes of Paris Hilton.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/04/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
and torch singers with lipstick on their teeth and withered cleavage displayed to declining advantage in cheap evening gowns.
Wow -- I couldn't be that catty even if I strained to the utmost! I'm going to steal that, Fred, and I promise to be very careful upon whom I use it. That's a lethal weapon, that is!
#4
While i agree with the inlines, anybody that is a cancer survivor deserves to celebrate each and every day. I am 2 for 3 in the lost family members to it and Mrs. RET is having tests for a lump soon.
but again: I agree with the inlines.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - An election monitor in Bahrain said on Sunday there was circumstantial evidence that pro-government Sunni Muslims used fraud to win a majority of seats in the US allys parliament. The island kingdoms incoming legislature is dominated by religious hardliners who are split between Islams Sunni and Shia sects.
Abdulla Al Derazi of the Bahrain Human Rights society said it appeared that at least three liberal opposition candidates in this kingdom were defeated by fraudulent means in Saturdays runoff election. The opposition, led by the countrys majority Shias, won just two of 11 runoff races, leaving them three seats short of a majority in parliaments elected lower house.
Calls made to a pair of government spokesmen went unanswered on Sunday, but Minister of Information Mohammed Abdel Ghaffar has downplayed previous reports of irregularities, saying the vote was largely fair and problems were minor.
Al Derazi, whose organization was tasked by the government to monitor the balloting in this Gulf island nation, said there were widespread reports of soldiers being ordered to vote for pro-government candidates, as well as some 8,000 floating Chicago voters without addresses who were reportedly sent to tip the balance in the tightest races.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/04/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Jee, sounds just like Nuu Joisey! Whats wrong wid dat????
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/04/2006 14:14 Comments ||
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#2
See! See what happens when you don't hire Jimmy Carter to shill for your election! You get caught!
If him and Desmond Tutu and Bianca Jagger were around to keep an eye on things, they would've went fine. But noooooooooooooooo!
At least you never would've heard about this shit.
PEOPLE wanting to live permanently in Britain will have to prove their proficiency in the English language and demonstrate their knowledge of life in the UK from next year, the government said today. The measures will come into force on April 2, 2007 with only those who pass the tests being given permanent residence status, the Home Office announced.
"It is essential that migrants wishing to live in the United Kingdom permanently recognise that there are responsibilities that go with this," said immigration minister Liam Byrne. "Having a good grasp of English is essential in order for them to play a full role in society and properly integrate into our communities."
Applicants who already possess a good standard of English will take the existing "Life in the UK" exam. Those with poorer English can take a specially developed English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) course with a simplified citizenship course.
The changes bring the requirements for granting permanent residency into line with those introduced in 2004 for immigrants applying for citizenship. In 2005, there were 217,475 applications for citizenship while 179,120 grants of settlement were made, according to official statistics.
Scotland Yard officers are to fly to Russia to interview three businessmen among the last people to have seen Alexander Litvinenko alive before he was given a huge dose of radioactive poison.
Detectives of the newly-formed counter-terrorism command may arrive in Moscow as early as today to question the trio, as well as two other men who may have met Mr Litvinenko during a visit to London. They have already interviewed Boris Berezovsky, the oligarch who employed Mr Litvinenko after they fled to Britain from Russia six years ago. Mr Berezovsky is convinced that his friend was assassinated on the orders of the Kremlin. "Alexander was my friend," he said. "I don't want to comment any more until after the police investigation."
Police are understood to be interested in the movements of at least two visiting Russians whose names have not emerged in public.
Detectives are also said to have travelled to Washington last week to interview a former KGB agent, Yuri Shvets, who said he had vital information on the case. He told the Observer that Mr Litvinenko had claimed to possess a dossier containing damaging revelations about the Kremlin.
John Reid, the home secretary, said yesterday the investigation would expand wherever necessary. "The police will follow wherever this investigation leads inside or outside of Britain." He declined to comment on motives for the poisoning. "The worst thing we can do is speculate," he said. "This isn't a game of Cluedo."
Tony Blair will promise today to cut by a fifth the operational nuclear warheads on Britain's Trident submarines, from 200 to 160, the Guardian understands. The cut is part of the prime minister's campaign to persuade MPs that the government must start work almost immediately on plans detailed in a white paper to build a replacement fleet.
The white paper will also say the new Trident system will cost less than £25bn. But it will say this figure represents 5% of the annual defence budget, and about 0.1% of GDP, Whitehall sources said yesterday. Ministers have rejected claims Britain no longer needs nuclear weapons to deter a potential enemy and have embraced the "insurance policy" argument that it is impossible to predict the shape of threats in 20 years. Who knows, you might be fighting the French Muslims in 20 years.
The promised reduction in Trident, whose warheads will have been halved from 300 since 1997 when Labour came to power, is unlikely to appease critics of nuclear weapons or MPs in all parties who challenge Downing Street's view that Trident must not only be renewed, but that a decision is urgent.
With a public debate and then a Commons vote in February set to follow the white paper, ministers hope they will win the vote comfortably. But they accept they will need Conservative support to push it through.
Up to 40 Labour MPs oppose nuclear weapons, but the key group Mr Blair seeks to persuade are those, including the Liberal Democrats, who think there is no need to take an early decision. The Tories remain pro-deterrent, but their defence spokesman, Dr Liam Fox, said yesterday they would only "replace it [Trident] when necessary".
One Labour minister seemed confident the government would prevail: "There will be some trouble in the parliamentary party. My activists will not want it, but they will not object to it."
The white paper will also reject arguments urging a delay on a decision to commission new submarines by at least five years, as the Lib Dem leader, Sir Menzies Campbell, and many independent analysts have proposed. Given the long lead times before operational availability - 14 years between the Trident decision and the day it replaced Polaris - it would be too risky. Delay would also not be cost effective, mainly because the nuclear reactors that propel the present boats need replacing soon. I think they mean that the fuel needs to be replaced; as I understand it that's a costly and time-consuming business.
The white paper will say that a sea-based system is the only "credible" nuclear deterrent, rejecting arguments for land-based cruise missiles. The government has also rejected the argument that a Trident submarine need not be continuously at sea. Instead it will suggest that advances in technology may allow Britain to manage on three rather than four submarines, which would save up to £2bn, one minister said last night.
Anti-nuclear campaigners will step up their protest today. CND and a number of MPs will hand an alternative white paper to No 10 and express concern over the short amount of time being given to discuss the issue. The ArchDruid Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, is also expected today to signal his opposition to replacing the nuclear deterrent. Is he a religious leader or something?
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/04/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
They'll be down to the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch before long.
#4
See also NAVY TIMES > US House Armed Services Cmte Members WANTS NEW CONGRESS TO BUILD MORE SHIPS, ESPEC NUKE-POWERED CGN's =CGN(X)'s. America's ACHILLES HEEL = FUEL, thus desire for nuke power. ZEE NEWS > CHINA [pro-Chicom Nations/Neutral Trading Partners]SHAPE MARITIME BATTLEFIELD [in ASIA-PACIFIC]; + CHINA WILL NOT ENGAGE IN ARMS RACE WITH USA > Xperts claim will put a drag on China's pace of national-econ development and modernization. SUNDAYTIMES.UK > Proposal for Britain's TRIDENT Subs to Be built overseas [i.e. SSSSSSSHHHHH, in America?].
#5
In a way, this is a welcome development. With little indication that they intend to resist being conquered by their Islamist "guests," I'm no longer real comfortable with France and Britain being nuclear powers (the only two in Europe, no less).
Even in a worst-case scenario, I'm sure that getting operational control over a Trident sub armed with nuclear missiles would have to be accomplished over the crew's dead bodies. However, generally speaking, if European leaders aren't gonna get off the dime and fight for what's theirs, reducing the loot is the next best option. I'd appreciate it if they'd at least make sure they don't take the rest of us down with 'em.
#6
The BBC and the TRNAZIs that it represents are hammer and tongs agaist anything nuclear, weapons, power, whatever. The Trident program is a hard thing to sell due to the fifth column of the BBC and "new labor" back benchers of Blair's own party.
#7
Does anyone else get the feeling that, in the midst of Iran trying to come online with nuclear bombs, such a roll-back in atomic weapons inventory is nothing short of silly?
I agree with exJAG that, so long as Europe is acting like they're going to roll over for their Islamic colonizers, a reduction in whatever arms that can fall into Muslim hands can only be a good thing. Still, the timing seems a little off.
It's pretty damn clear that the free world is heading into a perfect storm. With Russia and China (not to mention France) colluding with Islam and triangulating against Western interests at every turn, keeping whatever existing nuclear weapons inventories functional without any voluntary reduction in head-count would certainly seem like the wisest option.
#9
Does anyone else get the feeling that, in the midst of Iran trying to come online with nuclear bombs, such a roll-back in atomic weapons inventory is nothing short of silly?
Not here. What good do nukes do Britain? It's not as if Britain will launch a nuclear attack and the U. S. won't. And if the U. S. does any UK nukes would probably only contribute to fratricide.
And in order to use them, you have to have the will to use them. Britain clearly does not. I'd rather see the budget used to properly equip the squaddies so that they can fight on the same battlefield as the Americans rather than squandered on systems that will never be used.
#11
While I sympathize with Nimble Spemble I feel obligated to point out these weapons are and always have been intended as a deterrent to France. The need for such deterrence is greater than ever.
#14
Interesting point, Excalibur. So France and Britain have invested all these decades in the grand project of European integration ("ever closer union") . . . yet still need a nuclear deterrent against each other.
Like the historically bitter rivals, Texas and North Dakota. ;)
#16
That's right, Mac. Only at the 'burg could you discuss the Holy Handgrenade of Antioch in the same serious discussions of nuclear diarmament, lol!
Posted by: BA ||
12/04/2006 11:51 Comments ||
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#17
Why cut at all? The British Tridents are already way underarmed (3x100kT warheads, US 8x475kT). The US is upgrading Trident missile guidance systems and extending it's service life. I suspect the British will get those for free or little money because all the Tridents come from a common pool. If the British really want to save money, instead of being no nukes ninnies, they should buy into the successor of the Ohio class and build it in their shipyards if they choose.
Posted by: ed ||
12/04/2006 13:19 Comments ||
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#18
What good do nukes do Britain? It's not as if Britain will launch a nuclear attack and the U. S. won't. And if the U. S. does any UK nukes would probably only contribute to fratricide.
The same good they've always done her. I also think that any launch would be sufficiently coordinated whereby there would be staggered arrival of inbound vehicles to avoid fratricide. It would be a critical message for Europe to send by launching a first wave of retaliation for any nuclear assault from the MME (Muslim Middle East). It is also of great importance that the best of our allies not huddle beneath America's nuclear umbrella. They must be seen as having strength of their own so as to distribute the threat of deterrence and maintain a significantly wide dispersion of weapons basing. To do otherwise would focus undue attention solely upon America and is most definitely NOT in our national interest.
these weapons are and always have been intended as a deterrent to France. The need for such deterrence is greater than ever.
Not so. The placement of nuclear weapons in Britain was always, first and foremost, a Cold War deterrent. By comparison, France was much further down the list. However, it is agreed that their continued need for the purposes of deterrence remains unchanged.
And yes, exJAG, it bodes not at all well for the nascent EU that one member might actually require a nuclear deterrent against another. Then again, France is rapidly assuming the proportions of a special case due to its EAD (European-Arab Dialogue) and quantity of Muslim colonizers.
#20
I would expect to see the UK navy come to Canada or the United States if the muzzies ever took control in Great Britain. I doubt the subbies would allow those weapons to fall into islamic hands. As for replacing their existing Trident subs, I think we have a few older boats we could refurbish and sell them, cheap, and then recondition their existing vessels while they're using the replacements for "deterrence". I would love to see a British/Canadian/US consortium building much of Britain's future warfighting equipment. Canada NEEDS a couple of Arleigh Burke class DDs, and the Brits might like to buy the JFK when it's retired. Saves a bundle building a new ship.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/04/2006 14:25 Comments ||
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Fears? The only one with any fear might be Castro himself. And maybe those on the take from him.
With fireworks over Havana harbour and the first military parade of this century, hundreds of thousands of Cubans turned out yesterday for Fidel Castro's belated 80th birthday party, but the veteran leader did not appear.
No one had said he would, but there had been hints, including one from vice-president Carlos Lage, who said in advance that "we will have him among us" but left it open as to whether he meant yesterday or simply for ever. The Comandante's absence strongly suggested that his illness was serious, possibly even terminal, and that he was unlikely to grasp the reins of power again.
Most of those on the streets were pro-Castro Cubans, some bussed in by local communist groups, who had hoped the Comandante would make a surprise appearance, which would have been his first in public since intestinal surgery in July. His opponents, including the so-called Ladies in White, wives and mothers of imprisoned dissidents, had also hoped he would show himself, just so they could check on his condition - indeed, whether he was still alive.
European diplomats said Mr Castro would have loved nothing more than to appear at such an occasion, beamed around the world, with leftist leaders such as Evo Morales of Colombia and Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, as well as old friend Gabriel García Márquez among the dignitaries. (His closest regional ally, Hugo Chávez, was kept away by today's election.)
As ageing Soviet-made tanks, MiG jet fighters and anti-missile launchers trundled through Havana's Revolution Square, it was a bit like the old days of Kremlin-watching to see who would be on the podium, in which order, and who would take the salute. In the end, it was Mr Castro's younger brother Raul, acting president since Fidel's illness, who played the role of Jefe Máximo, or Maximum Chief.
Fidel was said to be watching on TV under medical supervision at home. Hence, it was seen as significant when Raul, 75, said in his speech: "We are willing to resolve at the negotiating table the long-standing dispute between the United States and Cuba, so long as this is based on the principle of equality, reciprocity, non-interference and mutual respect."
In his nearly 48 years in power, Fidel Castro always used such rallies to slam the superpower 90 miles to the north. For Raul to offer an olive branch suggested either that Fidel had used his brother to push a softer line, or that the younger brother was asserting himself. Either way, it was seen as heralding a possible turning point in US-Cuban relations.
#5
Cuba has no "anti-missile" launchers. It has missile launchers. Just when you think the MSM couldn't get any more stupid, they surprise you. Fidel is as good as dead. Even if he recovered, I don't think Raul would be willing to give up power. Formalize the vulture-watch - it's only a matter of time (months, maybe even days, not years).
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/04/2006 14:29 Comments ||
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#6
Evo Morales is the communist president of BOLIVIA not Colombia! Can't the leftstream media get anything right?
Yeah, elections, that's just what Haiti needs, they'll get everything straightened out right after they have elections.
PORT-AU-PRINCE - Four Haitians were killed during voting in municipal elections Sunday, while UN peacekeepers fired tear gas to quell a disturbance at one polling station.
The voting for mayors and local representatives showed a weak turnout amid a handful of disruptive incidents, mainly scuffles between Haitians and local authorities, according to reports and AFP reporters, but officials were pleased.
The voting went well generally, said Jacques Bernard, director of the election council. "Except for the dead guys; things didn't go well for them."
Among the four people killed by gunshots around the country was an off-duty police officer in the capital of the impoverished Caribbean nation.
One person was killed when a polling station in northern Limonade came under fire by unknown assailants. The men first set fire to the polling place with a Molotov cocktail. One of them was wounded by a joint response of Haitian police and UN forces. Election council president Max Mathurin blamed the incidents on partisan zealots looking to sway the vote.
Some 29,000 candidates were vying for 1,420 positions in the vote, according to Bernard. More than 6,500 UN soldiers, 1,900 international police and 4,500 Haitian police officers provided security for some 3.5 million Haitians eligible to vote.
The first results of the elections are not expected before December 9 and the final results not until the second week in January, Bernard told AFP. The elections will complete a series of polls that began last February.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/04/2006 00:00 ||
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CARACAS, Venezuela Officials identifying themselves as members of a state regulatory agency forced the U.S.-based Spanish-language TV network Telemundo to halt transmission Sunday of its presidential election coverage.
Telemundo Communications Group is owned by NBC Universal Inc., which is controlled by General Electric Co. It claims to reach about 93 percent of Hispanic households in the U.S. and also has viewers in Mexico.
AUGUSTO PINOCHET has been given the last rites after a massive heart attack left the former Chilean strongman clinging to life. His fate is in the hands of God and his doctors, the former dictators son Marco Antonio Pinochet Hiriart said yesterday as his father remained conscious and in a stable condition. Juan Ignacio Vergara, a doctor treating the retired general, said 91-year-old Pinochets life was in danger. State television later reported that doctors had decided to carry out heart bypass surgery. A family spokesman, Guillermo Garin, said that a Catholic priest had given Pinochet the last rites.
#4
Let's remember that Castro has killed between 6 and 10 times more people thahn Pinochet, lined his pockets MUUUCH more than Pinochet, ruined the country and didn't step down from power. But the MSM are lamneting that Pinochet not Castro will die unpunished.
Many of us have a certain disdain for the MSM and journalists in general. Some of that comes from the fact that the journalists and editors at the NYT, etc., risk little and understand little about the hard facts of life. Here's a group of journalists who deserve our support.
Staff at a major Fijian newspaper have been warned they will be the first people shot after an army coup. The verbal threats -- by army officers -- and other bomb threats against the Fiji Daily Post have led the newspaper to seek political asylum in Australia for its entire staff.
Weve had death threats, bomb threats and our publisher is in and out of hiding after being named by Commander Bainimarama on Friday, said Editor-in-Chief Robert Wolfgramm in an exclusive interview with ninemsn. Were in a state of meltdown and the publisher has suggested we all ask for asylum. The army is moving on certain police buildings as we speak, including the Tactical Response Group headquarters.
The Fiji Daily Post is owned by the SDL party, headed by Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase. It has written a number of strongly worded editorials backing constitutional rule in Fiji.
Mr Wolfgramm said his newspaper was sick of the intimidation by certain elements of the army and had to take the threats of violence seriously. Over the past year weve had, at regular intervals, calls from army personnel saying when we take over you are the first people well shoot.
It has been escalating with bomb threats as well and then last Friday the Commander named our publisher. Weve just had enough. The situation has led the publisher, Mr Alan Hinkling, to recommend asking the Australian High Commission to support applications by staff for asylum.
In its editorials, The Fiji Daily Post has stridently supported the legitimacy of the Qarase government. In an open letter to Commander Bainimarama and his supporters the Post wrote: You will have a torrid time getting legitimate acceptance of your newfound role from both local and indigenous peoples, and from the international community. Indigenous Fijians are not ethno-nationalists they are ordinary citizens who made a choice for the government they wanted ruling Fiji back in May this year. An overwhelming 80 percent of these ordinary Fijians chose the SDL party and its parliamentary candidates for national leadership. Because we are a democracy, they had every right to expect that their choice the Qarase government would be honoured by all peoples and every key institution that comprises the nation.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/04/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
The problem in Fidji is that the colonizers brought Indian workers until these outnumbered the locals (sounds familiar?) and now prime miniter is most of the time an Indian. That doesn't fit weel with then Fijians who control the Army.
Also there is a culture shock because Indian teachers teach soccer to their Fijian pupils while their fathers would have them learning Rugby.
Now don't miss an opportunity to see the Fijians playing Rugby (specially 7 Ruby where they are best in world), they have an amazing creativiy, rarely kick the ball out of the field (that comes because as child they played barefooted with coconuts) and often pass the ball one handed like football quaterbacks but with the far bigger and heavier rugby ball.
In 1987 they came close to eliminate France (the hand slipped from the hands of half fly Koroduadua who had an open highway for the try but was holding tha ball one handed) in quarter finals and in 1999 or 2003 (don't remember) only partial refereeing impeded them from eliminating the French.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/04/2006 10:21 Comments ||
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#4
JFM him say:
Division II Fiji nearly took out top 10 France but for a fumble towards the end of the game.
/
Posted by: Leg Bowler Jones ||
12/04/2006 13:50 Comments ||
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#5
My money sez 3:1 on rugby players wailing on soccer players during any coup or civil war.
Posted by: ed ||
12/04/2006 14:40 Comments ||
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#6
JFM - all too true, but you left out one important part. Many of the Indians the British brought to Fiji were muslims. Today, 80% of the businesses are owned by Indians, and the majority of the government is Indian. The Fijians have little problems with the Hindus, but there are major problems with other groups. There is also little industry other than tourism. Fiji is not on anyone's beaten path, so even that is hampered. There are some other major problems, too. The Fijians still maintain control of the military, but the police is mostly Indian. There is no love lost, especially when the non-Fijians out-breed the natives by about seven to two.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/04/2006 14:41 Comments ||
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#7
Time and again genius of French three quarters has dazzled their British and to a far lessser degree, Southern hemisphere opponents but in this day of 1987 they looked like teenagers facing the Harlem Globe Trotters (that is if the Trotters played serious) completely outbrained.
But that idiot Koro Dua Dua, he was at fifteen yards of the French line, there was no French betwen him and the line and he had a ten yards lead over his nearest pursuer but instead of running with the ball clutched to his chest like every other rugby player in history, he was holding it like athetes hold the baton in relay races: in one hand and moving this in synchro with his legs. Then the ball slipped from his hand.
But I have never seen such pure wizardry in a rugby field like the one displayed by the Fijians this day.
FIJIAN soldiers have taken over a police tactical response unit's headquarters, local television has reported, as fears grow that the South Pacific nation is about to suffer its fourth coup in 20 years. The television report has said police have been locked out of their premises on the outskirts of the capital Suva. The report has said no shots have been fired.
The disbanding of the police unit was one of the demands of military chief Commodore Frank Bainimarama, who is threatening to overthrow Fiji's government.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/04/2006 00:00 ||
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WASHINGTON (AFP) - A US sailor pleaded guilty to espionage after admitting to stealing a laptop from a fast attack submarine and peddling classified information to an unidentified foreign government, a US Navy spokesman said.
Petty officer 3rd Class Ariel Weinmann, 22, entered the guilty plea in Norfolk, Va., before a military judge, who questioned him on each of the charges, including desertion, espionage, failure to obey a general order, larceny and destruction of military property.
"He plead guilty to all charges and specifications with the exception of the espionage charge," said Ted Brown. "He pled guilty to one specification (of espionage) and he pled not guilty to two specifications."
The espionage charge said Weinmann "did ... communicate, deliver or transmit classified confidential and secret information relating to the national defense, to a representative, officer, agent or employee of a foreign government" on October 19, 2005 in Vienna, Austria, Brown said.
Brown said the guilty plea was part of a pre-trial agreement, but it was not known what it entailed.
Weinmann faces a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole.
The charges did not identify the country that Weinmann passed information to, but a defense official said earlier this year that it was believed to be Russia.
Weinmann was accused of making an electronic copy of classified confidential or secret defense information while serving as a fire control technician aboard the USS Albuquerque sometime between May and July 2005.
On July 1, he stole a laptop computer on board the submarine and two days later deserted while the vessel was at a base at New London, Connecticut, according to the charge sheets.
Weinmann pleaded not guilty to an espionage charge that he turned over confidential or secret classified information to foreign agents in Manama, Bahrain in March 2005 and in Mexico City on 19 March 2006.
Weinmann destroyed the laptop's hard drive "by smashing it with a mallet and cutting off the pins" in March 2006, according to the destruction of government property charge that he admitted.
He was arrested 26 March at the Fort Worth/Dallas International Airport by immigration and customs officials after they learned he was listed as a deserter. When are they gonna start shooting these bastards?
#1
Being a Fire Control Specialist, he had some level of access to the weapon systems; this is or could be a big deal. if we cannot hang him, perhaps the other boys in the pen will show him how to drop the soap......
Nah. Just return him to his former command the next time they go out for a cruise. Explain to the crew what he did. Have them give him a tour of the torpedo room while they are submerged. Who knows, he could accidentally get into the tube and Whoosh! Problem solved.
#5
I would suspect that what awaits him is the special federal max prison block at Florence, Colorado. It is reserved for people like Walker, Pollard, and some others.
They wear pajamas, not the regular prison uniform, and sandals with no heels. They are in lockdown in their cells 23 hours a day, and are given 1 hour in a concrete pit in the center of the block to exercise, alone, each day.
Guards are forbidden to speak to them. They are given food in their cells on a paper plate with no implements, to eat by hand. They must return the paper plate. They are not permitted anything else in their cells on a permanent basis. No blankets are allowed and lights are on 24 hours.
They can be issued one book at a time, which is checked when they are done to insure no pages are missing, and then it is destroyed. They are permitted only one visitor per month, which is very difficult, as the prison is located in an isolated place in the Rocky Mountains. No plane traffic is permitted near the prison.
#8
He's under military jurisdiction, which means no Supermax. Servicemembers get more protections, in court and in confinement.
In a typical pre-trial agreement, the accused agrees to plead guilty and the prosecution agrees to a cap on the sentence, usually well below the max possible.
The military judge doesn't know what the cap is, so the accused is sentenced as if no PTA exists, and then the cap will kick in if the judge's sentence exceeds it. I couldn't begin to guess what the cap might be, since it depends on a million things known only to the prosecution and defense.
I would love to know what possessed him to do this. Hard to believe that money is all.
#10
"he turned over confidential or secret classified information to foreign agents in Manama, Bahrain in March 2005 and in Mexico City on 19 March 2006."
-okay, got that part. However, exactly which foreign govt's was he dealing with?
#11
CNN says Russia. As a fire control tech he would have access to info on torpedo, Tomahawk, and decoy capabilities but, hopefully, not submarine sensor capabilities. The USS Albuquerque is an original Los Angeles class, not a 688I.
Posted by: ed ||
12/04/2006 22:39 Comments ||
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#4
Not me. I don't do call-ins anyway, and I wouldn't pollute myself by so much as sharing electrons with that man. I'd be less uncomfortable letting one of the trailing daughters work directly for former President Clinton (if only because the poor man would find it a true learning experience).
#6
..Dinner for whoever did it is on me.
That oughta get us an answer right quick. :)
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/04/2006 10:24 Comments ||
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#7
His goal, "to bring peace to the people of Israel", doesn't mean what most C-Span viewers think it means... He has a different "peace" in mind - for Israelis and for everyone in the West.
His grand claim to fame - peace with Egypt - came not from a cessation (or even moderation) of hatred or hostility, but from our pockets - he bought 'em off with our hard-earned taxes. A never-ending jizya.
#8
Goober is actually pretty easy to understand. If he can prove that America is wrong about everything, then America MUST have been wrong to kick his cracker ass out of office.
#9
Hmmm! I notice Barbara isn't rushing to deny the charge!
Goober is actually pretty easy to understand. If he can prove that America is wrong about everything, then America MUST have been wrong to kick his cracker ass out of office.
I disagree. He was like that back then, too. I think he's entirely motivated by a warped sense of piety. Sort of a "strength through weakness" thing. The weakest, the meekest, is also the most Christ-like. Baring our throats to be cut a) shows our spiritual superiority and b) will really convince the throat-cutters of our desire for peace and harmony.
This is the mark of a man more concerned with his image than with his deeds. For him there is no downside to his dictator-hugging act. The very, very worst that can happen to such a man is that he is remembered as well-intentioned but naive. When you, personally, are untouchable there is no way you can go wrong by being too supine.
Not that I've made a study of it, but I don't remember him taking a hard line toward Israel in the '70s. His stance there speaks of some disappointment. Perhaps he expected the Jews to be more Christian.
I wish I could recall where I read it for you but there was a recent scathing article on Carter's relations with not just Israelis (he and PM Begin loathed each other while JC thought the sun shone out of Sadat's ass) but with American Jews. Apparently, Dem Big Wig Bob Shrum quit because he thought Carter disliked Jews. Several other Dems got the same vibe.
Unlike crotchety ol' paranoid Nixon, Carter never did a thing for Jews and that ptoves his Juden Hass is heartfelt.
#11
I don't necessarily want jimmah dead, just crushed between a concrete wall and an M1 in a slide. Six to eight hours of suffering before he croaks would be just a meager partial payback for all the sh$$ he put the 1970's military through.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/04/2006 14:45 Comments ||
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#12
I would like to see Jimmuh Cahtuh disembowled and strangled with his own entrails. Not to put too fine a point on it.
I wouldn't have been nearly as polite to that festering boil on America's ass.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/04/2006 19:44 Comments ||
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#17
So it wasn't any of the "Prominent Womyn Of Rantburg"... all props anyway. There must be hundreds of thousands of us who despise his pseudo-pious, poor-mouthing, dictator-embracing, worthless ass.
#20
lol, dot! I just love it that our "Prominent Womyn of Rantburg" have more testosterone coursing through their veins than Jimmuh does, and can serve tea and crumpets (in TW's case) with the best of 'em, to boot! What a place....hear, hear for the 'burg!
Posted by: BA ||
12/04/2006 22:42 Comments ||
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#21
And they all look better 'n Ava Gardner to boot, w00t!
Brains, Beauty, Bawdy, Bruising, Blogoriffic - you know it when the "bring on the love", lol.
Brazil has shown interest in becoming the first foreign nation to procure the 300-km range Brahmos cruise missile.
Commander of the Brazilian army Gen Francisco Roberto De Albuqurque now on a six-day state visit here today visited the Brahmos aerospace complex in Delhi cantonment. He also held discussions with the Brahmos project director S Pillai.
The South American nation has shown interest in acquiring the sea as well as surface to surface version of the Indo-Russian missiles.
While, the sea version of the missile has already entered service with the Indian Navy, the surface to surface version of missile has been cleared for induction early next year.
The Brazilian Chief of Defence Staff held discussion with Chairman Chiefs of staff Committee S P Tyagi, Army Chief J J Singh, Naval Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta and Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt.
He also called on the Defence Minister AK Antony.
During his stay in India, De Alburqurque will visit counter insurgency warfare school in Mizoram, Eastern Command headquarters, Line of control in Jammu and Kashmir and Agra.
Posted by: john ||
12/04/2006 14:54 ||
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HYDERABAD, India: India's newly tested missile interception system will likely be turned into a weapon and deployed within four years, the head of the country's missiles development program said.
India is also working toward testing a newer and faster missile, Vijay Kumar Saraswat said at a news conference late Sunday.
His comments came a week after India's defense ministry said it had conducted its first successful test interception of a ballistic missile, using a rocket to shoot down an incoming missile. The missile was intercepted at an altitude of 50 kilometers (30 miles).
If the interceptor missile, the medium-range and nuclear-capable Prithvi II, can be transformed into a viable defense system, it would see India join an elite club of nations with working missile shields.
Saraswat said the Defense Research and Development Organization of India plans to add an improved homing device and faster maneuverability to the interceptor missile to shoot down an "enemy" missile at an altitude below 30 kilometers (20 miles).
The upgraded version, which will also be able to target aircraft, will be tested within four months.
"This is being done to increase the killing probability of our intercepting missile and to leave no leakage in the air defense system," Saraswat said.
Six to seven more tests are needed over the next four years before the interception system could be made into a weapon, he added.
The tests will involve firing five intercepting missiles two seconds apart to guarantee that an incoming missile is destroyed. Saraswat expected the success rate in intercepting a missile would be 99.8 percent.
India could produce 200 interceptor missiles a year, at a cost of 60 million rupees (US$1.3 million) each, Saraswat said.
Posted by: john ||
12/04/2006 14:50 ||
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#3
Moud = Hillary = NOT RESPONSIBLE for anything, everything and nothing becuz same IS NOT IN OFFICE = NO LONGER IN OFFICE when nuclear Mushroom Clouds officially start occurring. OOOOOPPPPPSIES.
#4
Not so sure Jo. Quite a few mullahs consider what they have in Iran a racket to die for, but they prefer not to die for it. They don't mind a regular Reza schmuck to take a bullet, if needs to be, but there is not that many that subscribe to the apocalyptic mahdi lunacy. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that if Ahmadinutjob will be in power when the nuke program may be completed, it would spell trouble. They don't care about others, but do about themselves. The presiding Nutjob has to go before becoming more dangerous.
Not that Rafsanjani is not an anti-semite spitting venom, he is. But he knows what a nice scapegoat Jews make and would milk it to what it is worth, this constant Nutjob's rhetoric about wiping out Jews is too much and may get many people killed.
#5
One of the reasons cited in the proposal for bringing the two elections together is cutting the costs brought on by a double election.
I'm sure that was the reason! The Persians need to work on their spin so it's not quite so obvious.
Opponents to the bill claimed that cutting the president's term is unconstitutional and that parliament's term should be extended to meet the original date for the presidential election.
In other words, "If we're gonna be unconstitutional, my way is better than your way."
I would not have guessed something from Iran would've brightened my morning!
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/04/2006 6:22 Comments ||
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#6
Most constitutions allow terms of office to end when the office holder dies. Slip Ahmad some Po-210 in his halvah.
#8
I would much rather have Amadinenutjob shortened - about 12 inches, starting from the top down. Sharp sword, nice follow-through, step back to keep from getting splattered. Problem solved. May take three minutes, max.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/04/2006 14:48 Comments ||
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#9
3 minutes, OP? You allowing for "warm up" time in the "on-deck circle"?
Posted by: BA ||
12/04/2006 15:12 Comments ||
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#13
While I truly don't wish death on anyone, this does make me chuckle. Imagine all of use conservatives spitting on his grave, while the lefties flock to it like John Lennon's grave (or the other Lenin, for that matter).
Posted by: BA ||
12/04/2006 11:58 Comments ||
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#14
BA, not that many lefties. Clinton, yeah, I could see them flocking to his grave, but not Jimmah.
#18
Imagine the dignitaries at dhimmi carter's funeral: Castro, Chavez, kim jong il, akmididmyjob, a whose-who list of paleo terrorists and the smoldering spirits of arafat and khomeni.
Some day the history books will chronicle dhimmis carter's version of Sherman's "march to the sea". It can never be said of carter that he did not do his part in laying waste to Western Civilization.
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.
Oscar-winning US actress Gwyneth Paltrow feels dinner talk is far more interesting in her adopted homeland Britain than back in her native country. "I love the English lifestyle, it's not as capitalistic as America. 
Chris Martin whom she wed in 2003. 
KYLIE Minogue's 
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - An election monitor in Bahrain said on Sunday there was circumstantial evidence that pro-government Sunni Muslims used fraud to win a majority of seats in the US allys parliament. The island kingdoms incoming legislature is dominated by religious hardliners who are split between Islams Sunni and Shia sects.
Tony Blair will promise today to cut by a fifth the operational nuclear warheads on Britain's Trident submarines, from 200 to 160, the Guardian understands. The cut is part of the prime minister's campaign to persuade MPs that the government must start work almost immediately on plans detailed in a white paper to build a replacement fleet.
CARACAS, Venezuela Officials identifying themselves as members of a state regulatory agency forced the U.S.-based Spanish-language TV network Telemundo to halt transmission Sunday of its presidential election coverage.
FIJIAN soldiers have taken over a police tactical response unit's headquarters, local television has reported, as fears grow that the South Pacific nation is about to suffer its fourth coup in 20 years. The television report has said police have been locked out of their premises on the outskirts of the capital Suva. The report has said no shots have been fired. 
