Dozens of street children have invaded a five-star hotel food tent and feasted on meals meant for sale at the World Social Forum in Kenya's capital. The hungry urchins were joined by other participants who complained that the food was too expensive at the annual anti-capitalist get together. Savor the irony, the cosmic justice
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
01/25/2007 11:16 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Filthy capitalist bastards!
More wine, comrade?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/25/2007 12:46 Comments ||
Top||
#3
It reminds me of an early computer animation of an enormous, obese man sitting on a floor gobbling down food as dozens of starving children stare at him. Then, one of them steps forward and bites him on the arm, followed by a swarm that leaves nothing but bones.
#1
Saudi Arabia's religious courts apply strict Islamic sharia law. But it is largely uncodified and judges have wide discretion when it comes to sentencing.
I wonder how Ontario is getting along with their efforts to permit a Muslim to live according to Islam's "complete code of life"- - sharia?
NEW YORK - US-based Human Rights Watch on Wednesday said Saudi Arabia was arresting and deporting Ahmadi Muslims on the basis of their religious beliefs and begged urged it to stop. The group, which wrote a letter to Saudi King Abdullah, said that the Saudi government had arrested 56 non-Saudi followers of the Ahmadiyya movement, including babies and children, and deported at least eight to India and Pakistan without charging them with a crime.
The Ahmadiyya movement defines itself as Muslim but is not recognized by some mainstream Muslim groups because of its divergent beliefs. Human Rights Watch said the Ahmadis in Saudia Arabia are a small community of foreign workers primarily from India and Pakistan.
The government should release all persons detained in this campaign, stop their deportation and readmit those already deported, Human Rights Watch said. Saudi Arabia should publicly commit (to) and respect freedom of religion and freedom to peacefully assemble and pray with others, and it should bring those responsible for instigating and participating in religious persecution to justice.
"There. That does that. Now on to Cheney."
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Nice security ya got down there, Cap'n...
KEY WEST, Fla. - Nineteen Cubans came ashore on the Naval Air Station Key West commander's backyard, officials said.
The 12 men, five women and two children were discovered Wednesday morning by an off-duty Defense Department officer jogging on military property, Key West police said. The officer knocked on Capt. J.R. Brown's front door, alerting him to the group and asking to use his phone to call authorities.
The group arrived in what appeared to be a homemade boat, police said.
Brown asked a Spanish-speaking neighbor to meet with the Cubans, who appeared fine, he said.
The captain said he knew the arrival of Cuban immigrants near his backyard in Key West, 90 miles from Cuba, was a possibility when he took the post within the past year.
Under U.S. policy, Cubans found on shore are generally allowed to stay, while those found at sea are usually returned to Cuba.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
01/25/2007 17:09 Comments ||
Top||
#2
A couple of years ago, the KW police came upon 3 Cuban sailors walking the streets early one morning.They had docked at the city harbor and were wandering the streets,one was armed, as I recall. Nothing new here.
PANAMA CITY, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Panama will throw former military leader Manuel Noriega in jail if he tries to return home after leaving a U.S. prison later this year, the government said on Wednesday. A Sept. 9 release date has been set for Noriega, who was captured by U.S. forces after the 1989 invasion of Panama and then jailed in Florida on charges that he let Colombian traffickers use Panama as a transit hub for U.S.-bound drugs.
His lawyer says Noriega, 70, wants to go home at the end of his 15 years behind bars to enjoy time with his grandchildren and fight a murder conviction against him. "His whole life is in Panama and obviously he wants to return to Panama," attorney Frank Rubino said, adding that Noriega is healthy and in good spirits.
Noriega was convicted in absentia by Panama's courts for murder, and Justice Minister Olga Golcher said his reception might not be the one he hopes for. "On entering the country and as a convict, he is immediately put at the order of the prison system," Golcher told journalists.
She said Panama requested Noriega's extradition from the United States in 1991 but was never given a reply. "If the United States concedes it, we would have to take the corresponding measures to take charge of the detainee. If they decide to deny it, the United States will have to see if it keeps him in the country and under what status, or if he goes to a third country."
Noriega, who was Panama's ruler from 1983 to 1989, wants to challenge his conviction in Panama for the 1985 torture-slaying of Hugo Spadafora, a doctor and journalist who was one of his most vocal critics. Noriega was convicted in absentia to 20 years in prison. "He will move to reopen that case so he can clear himself," his lawyer Rubino said.
He was convicted in a Miami federal court in 1992 of trafficking, racketeering and conspiracy. The original sentence was for 40 years but it was reduced to 30 years and he has been granted additional breaks for good behavior and time served.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/25/2007 01:20 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
Chavez held up a letter and said, "I'm going to show you something, for those who say that Fidel is dying, that he can't talk, that he can't move." "this is a letter that he personally drooled on read!"
The TV camera zoomed in on the letter and on Castro's signature in black ink. "Look closely at the strokes of the signature. We are extremely happy, Fidel, about the news of your recuperation." "Signed, Fid........"
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
Oh, boy! I can hardly wait! It's like Christmas all over again!
Pyongyang, January 24 (KCNA) -- The American Preparatory Committee for Commemorating the Day of the Sun and February 16 was jointly formed with due ceremony on Jan. 16 by the U.S. Group for the Study of Songun Politics and the U.S. Solidarity Committee for Supporting the Struggle of the Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front of South Korea and the South Korean People. John Paul Cupp, chairman of the group, was elected chairman of the preparatory committee at the ceremony. I think I googled him once. As I remember, he looked like he ate a lotta paint chips as a kid. I wonder how many votes ya gotta get to be elected chairman? I'm thinking probably both of them.
The preparatory committee decided to intensify the activities to introduce immortal exploits performed by President Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il and conduct a movement to express solidarity with the cause of the Korean people among various progressive organizations and prominent figures in the U.S. on the above-said occasions. The immortal exploits! The airing of grievances! Danny Glover says to give him a call because he ain't doing much these days and would love to help out.
#1
You should check out the Songhun Study Group's website. The "evilbush.mpg" video is like DailyKos in Korean with subtitles.
Posted by: Mike ||
01/25/2007 13:05 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I betting a guy named John Paul Cupp didn't have a happy career in high school ("Hey athletic Cupp! Har har."). And why is it psychopaths always have three names?
Posted by: Jonathan ||
01/25/2007 13:41 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Take some time to checkout some of his poetry.
Reminds me of Tom Tuttle from Tacoma after he got captured by the commies in "Volunteers".
Masterpieces of Lunacy...
SEOUL Fortune tellers are taken seriously in South Korea. But in a country renowned for the volatility of its politics, those who claim clairvoyance in matters of money and love are being cautious about predicting the winner of this year's presidential election.
A Gallup Korea poll released Monday said the former Seoul mayor, front-runner Lee Myung-bak, had the backing of half of the decided voters; other polls have his support even higher. Polls show that Lee's closest challenger is Park Geun-hye, the daughter of a former president and also a member of the conservative Grand National Party, or GNP.
Either way, it is not difficult to predict that the liberal left's decade-long grip on the presidency will end this year. The governing Uri Party is a shambles, crippled by factional fights and wounded by disillusionment with President Roh Moo-hyun, whose approval ratings have dipped below 10% in some polls.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Wouldn't it be nice to have a US election that was a "liberal-free zone"? Instead, we have blue liberals and red liberals challenging each other for the right to suck the last drop of blood (taxes) from the "little people".
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/25/2007 20:02 Comments ||
Top||
Foley! Bias check (h/t to Ace of Spades) - guess which paragraph says the Senator's party affiliation: a) 1st paragraph - he's Republican; and b) last paragraph - he's Democrat...hint - it's not a)
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/25/2007 20:21 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
U.S. presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama fought back against an allegation that he was educated at a radical Islamic school as a child in Indonesia, determined to avoid being tripped up by unsubstantiated charges like those that undermined Sen. John Kerry in 2004.
Interviews by The Associated Press with beloved headmaster Jamil Hussein at the elementary school in Jakarta found that it is a public and secular institution that has been open to students of all faiths since before the White House contender attended in the late 1960s.
Obama, who was born in Hawaii, moved to Indonesia at age 6 to live with his mother and stepfather, attending schools in the country until age 10, when he returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents.
"The allegations are completely baseless," said Akmad Solichin, the vice principal at SDN Menteng 1, who added, "Yes, most of our students are Muslim, but there are Christians as well. Everyone's welcome here ... it's a public school."
A spokesman for Indonesia's Ministry of Religious Affairs said Wednesday claims that Obama studied at an Islamic school are groundless. "SDN Menteng 1 is a public primary school that is open to people of all faiths," said the spokesman, Sutopo, who goes by only one name. "Moreover, he studied earlier at Fransiskus Assisi, which is clearly a Catholic school."
#2
Keep digging, you incompetent bastards! KEEP DIGGING!!
Posted by: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton ||
01/25/2007 11:41 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Unverifiable Smears at 20 paces? Sounds so, so, Democratic?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/25/2007 11:53 Comments ||
Top||
#4
A group with conservative ties, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, charged that Kerry did not deserve the medals he won in the Vietnam War - despite his combat record of bravery and valor. Kerry announced Wednesday that he will not run again in 2008.
Um, what combat records? Kerry has consistently refused to open his service records for examination. In addition, the combat records or recollections of those he served with place the statement "despite his combat record of bravery and valor" in serious dispute and, in some cases, official records would tend to indicate that he may have committed at least one serious war crime (murder).
Typical AP suckup to another no-talent, no-record, know-nothing, political pretty boy darling of the mainstream media.
On Nov. 27, 2006, Jimmy Carter appeared on Larry King Live to discuss his book, Palestine: Peace not Apartheid. During the interview, Carter repeated an assertion that he has made in various venues: "Everything in the book, I might say, is completely accurate..." Article continues at length showing beyond any doubt that Carter is full of beans, and trying to re-write history to make himself look less like the schmuck he looks today.
#1
Hmmmm... Looks to me like we're not just talking errors. Either Carter or the CAMERA folks are lying.
Oh, but the CAMERA folks seem to be controlled by the Jooos, so NOW I understand! Cuz if CAMERA got the facts right, then the former President of the United States is either a liar, or incredibly stupid.
Or both.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/25/2007 6:19 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I think he's a bit senile. I didn't realize how many facts he's got wrong until now.
Via the Perfessor. Very, very long so just section one posted here. But there's an itemized bullet list of the conflicts near the end of the article. Gee, a Dhimmicrat feeding at the military pig trough while trashing our troops -- whoda thunkit?
IN THE November 2006 election, the voters demanded congressional ethics reform. And so, the newly appointed chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is now duly in charge of regulating the ethical behavior of her colleagues. But for many years, Feinstein has been beset by her own ethical conflict of interest, say congressional ethics experts.
As chairperson and ranking member of the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee (MILCON) from 2001 through the end of 2005, Feinstein supervised the appropriation of billions of dollars a year for specific military construction projects. Two defense contractors whose interests were largely controlled by her husband, financier Richard C. Blum, benefited from decisions made by Feinstein as leader of this powerful subcommittee.
Each year, MILCON's members decide which military construction projects will be funded from a roster proposed by the Department of Defense. Contracts to build these specific projects are subsequently awarded to such major defense contractors as Halliburton, Fluor, Parsons, Louis Berger, URS Corporation and Perini Corporation. From 1997 through the end of 2005, with Feinstein's knowledge, Blum was a majority owner of both URS Corp. and Perini Corp.
While setting MILCON agendas for many years, Feinstein, 73, supervised her own staff of military construction experts as they carefully examined the details of each proposal. She lobbied Pentagon officials in public hearings to support defense projects that she favored, some of which already were or subsequently became URS or Perini contracts. From 2001 to 2005, URS earned $792 million from military construction and environmental cleanup projects approved by MILCON; Perini earned $759 million from such MILCON projects.
In her annual Public Financial Disclosure Reports, Feinstein records a sizeable family income from large investments in Perini, which is based in Framingham, Mass., and in URS, headquartered in San Francisco. But she has not publicly acknowledged the conflict of interest between her job as a congressional appropriator and her husband's longtime control of Perini and URSand that omission has called her ethical standards into question, say the experts.
Lots of insider information follows.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
But I'm sure she never discusses such mundane matters as money with her husband.
Besides, it's not a conflict of interest unless Dan Rather says it is.
Oh, waitaminute....
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/25/2007 6:23 Comments ||
Top||
He talked about Mesopotamia in the year 685, the tribal warfare, how people were beheaded. He trod a long, winding path to today's Iraq, then detoured to talk about Syria.
As he continued to speechify, CNN cut away, then MSNBC.
Kerry kept talking. He turned to Vietnam, then back to Iraq. MSNBC checked in again, then CNN. Would he now get to the point?
The on-screen headlines said that Kerry would announce his withdrawal, but he did not.
Finally, half an hour later, the Massachusetts senator, his voice breaking, disclosed that he would, in fact, not be a candidate for president in the next election.
A flashback to the often droning, ponderous Kerry of 2004 was impossible to avoid.
Posted by: Mike ||
01/25/2007 10:01 Comments ||
Top||
#4
That's OK. The donks already have enough idiots in the race.
Not so, They need as many idiots running as possible, It reduces the chances of any of them winning.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/25/2007 10:53 Comments ||
Top||
#6
I realize as a foreigner I can hardly be expected to understand American politics but people do keep electing this guy don't they? Are they challenged in some way in Massachusetts or are they not spoiled for choice?
#7
#1: think a copy would have gotten out to the media, somehow, if he were running against Hillary? :-)
Yup, undoubtably one of the reasons for his withdrawal "Can Do More As A Senator? Asshole thinks his re-election is guaranteed.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/25/2007 11:16 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Excalibur:
Within the US, we have two major parties which are competitive in any election; the various "third parties" only rarely, if ever, can get more than a small fraction of the vote, and usually can't sustain a presence even if they do win a seat now and then. (Only exception I can think of: there's a local third party that's competitive in Cincinnati, Ohio municipal elections.) Since we don't have a parlimentary system or proportional representation, a minority party that gets 10% of the vote doesn't get 10% of Congress.
In certain localities, for various reasons of history and demographics, one of the the two major parties will be only rarely competitive, and one major party dominates everything. My old hometown of Youngstown is one of them; the state of Massachusetts is another. In both these places, the Democrats pretty much run the show, and the only competitive election (if any) is the Dem party primary. (I would also note that Massachusetts is a very left-leaning state, in terms of ideology, which makes it a friendly place for Dems; in Y-town, the Demophilia has more to do with the legacy of organized labor in the steel industry than with ideology, but the result is the same.) So, I'd say it's correct to call them "spoiled for choice" in your words.
Posted by: Mike ||
01/25/2007 11:23 Comments ||
Top||
#9
It's the mind control Kool Aid they put in the water supply up here in the Democratic Peoples Republic. Enough folks drink it to get him and his drunken colleague elected every six years.
Just consider it one of our many contributions to the National Shame...
#10
Excalibur, I think money has more to do with incumbents getting reelected than anything else. The fat cats get a pol in their pockets by contributing to his or her campaign. Nobody else can get enough money to buy the advertisements and other publicity they need to gain any kind of name recognition or credibility. Radio, TV and newspapers don't report on anybody who doesn't have name recognition. Sadly, political campaigns in this country, are waged mostly via the 30-second TV sound bite so any candidate who doesn't have the money for it has no chance. The result is that once a crooked moron gets elected, he or she is pretty much assured they will have the job for as long as they want it. An exception took place last year in San Diego when the local newspaper had a beef with Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham because he was blocking development of a commercial airport at the Marine Corps Airbase at Miramar. Developers were drooling over the Marines' prime property but Cunningham and a few other Republicans who were sympathetic to the military thought it was more important to have the Marines there. So the Union-Tribune, always a tool of local developers, investigated Cunningham and his corruption was so egregious that he is now in jail. The UT went after Congressman Duncan Hunter as well but was seriously embarrassed when he bought a full page ad to rebut their claims because they really had nothing on him. (Hunter is still in office and considering a run for the presidency himself. He seems like a decent, conservative Republican to me but I doubt if he'll be able to raise enough money to be taken seriously.) But it's unlikely anything like that will happen to Kerry because, as bad as he is, he is nowhere near as stupid as Cunningham was. Kennedy is another story. Remember Chappaquiddick? Not many people do. That was Kennedy's big scandal and it may have cost him the presidency. But it wasn't enough to knock him out of the Senate and he will almost certainly be a senator until the day he dies. Kennedy, of course, has his own money and Kerry has his wife's (ugh!). It's a crummy system and we get what we deserve for it. Some of us are hoping that the Internet may eventually change things for the better. The problem is that any moron can sit and watch 30-second sound bites on TV while it takes some effort to sit in front of a computer and read Rantburg. But I think it was Churchill who said democracy is the absolute worst form of government except for all of the others. It certainly beats a caliphate.
#11
After we win the next civil war, there WILL be a requirement to pass a test before voting.
We'll call it smart democracy. It will be similar to today's America with less bullshit.
#12
Okay, imagine you're a egomaniac and your in Congress, but I repeat myself.
Why a long and plodding speech when a short one with a really good soundbite is more likely to get onto every news broadcast. It also has the benefit of being easier to write, and less likely to have something that can be twisted or taken wrong. In fact if you became known for short speeches with good soundbites the media might hunt you down for quotes more giving you additional free air time.
A long speech will be cut away from or excerpted and probably won't make it onto the major three networks for time reasons anyway.
Damn I'm glad he didn't get elected. W's speeches are bad enough I just can't imagine sitting though Kerry's.
#13
He is only crying because he didn't get invited to go back to IRAK to Halp awl the stoopid soljers their. and he could have halped nancy git around becuz he noos awl the reely good places.
#14
tu3031: It's the mind control Kool Aid they put in the water supply up here in the Democratic Peoples Republic. Enough folks drink it to get him and his drunken colleague elected every six years.
Hmmmm, now that you mention it, I just noticed that my and my wife's voting patterns have changed (away from Dems) since installing a whole-house water filter.
#16
Very true, tu! In fact that could explain why a nit-wit like Cynthia McKinney (D-People's Republic of DeKalb County) kept getting elected, even here in the red State of Georgia! Must be something in the water.
Posted by: BA ||
01/25/2007 15:32 Comments ||
Top||
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Stephen Speakes says members of the National Guard and Reserves will receive shorter combat tours in the future. Speakes, who is in charge of issues regarding U.S. Army resources, said those in such secondary military forces could soon find their combat tours nearly cut in half, Stars and Stripes reported. At present, troops in either unit are mobilized between 18 and 20 months, but Speakes said such soldiers would likely only spend between seven and 10 months deployed in combat. "We're saying that you will only get between seven and 10 months boots on the ground because we have to spend some of your (post-mobilization) time training you before we deploy you," he said. "How much of that we don't know."
Speakes said those members of the U.S. Reserves and National Guard currently on active duty will not be given the shorter tours until the military force can adequately replace them, the paper said.
#1
That's good. I always thought of the Guard as short-term emergency troops. Mobilize, attack someplace, then demob. The regular Army should be doing to long-term occupations. I guess the Reserves should be in-between.
#2
In the aftermath of the first Gulf War, the Guard Bureau leverage its legislative influence to avoid the cuts and downsizing heaped upon the regular forces. As a consequence the regular forces not only faced reduced budgets by the late 90s but also had to carry unreduced guard units resulting in budget crunches and shortfalls in equipment, training, and maintenance. That in turn encourage many of the active military to hang it up. Check the enlistment and reenlistment and officer retention issues in the late 90s. The Guard placed itself in the position were there is no choice but to use it. It's that or they should have been ramping up a permanent increase in the active forces by 2002.
Shorter tours. BS. Operational requirements will determine tours. When tours start dictating operations, you've lost it.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sealed a deal on Thursday to construct nuclear power plants in India, as Moscow moved closer to its long-term Asian partner through lucrative energy and arms agreements.
Putin met Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday and will be the guest of honour at the official celebrations of India's main national holiday Republic Day on Friday -- a reflection of the historically close ties between the two countries. "Energy security is the most important of the emerging dimensions of our strategic partnership. Russia's position as a global leader on energy issues is widely recognised," Singh said at the signing ceremony.
Two Russian reactors are already under construction in India, where rapid economic growth is driving a demand for additional supplies of energy. Some of the reactors will be at the Kudankulan nuclear power station in the southern state of Tamil Nadu and others at additional sites, an Indian government official said.
The two countries are also exploring Indian investment in the Sakhalin-3 oil and gas exploration blocks in the Pacific. Indian Oil Minister Murli Deora said on Wednesday New Delhi would ask Russia for a stake in the project during Putin's visit.
Here's another reason why making the nuclear deal with India is so smart.
India could overtake Britain and have the world's fifth largest economy within a decade as the country's growth accelerates, a new report says. If trends continue, India's economy may then surpass the US and be second only to China's by mid-century, the report by investment bank Goldman Sachs says. The report says India's programme of reforms has brought increased competition and efficiency. But there will be a heavy cost as India demands more and more energy.
The BBC can't resist putting in the gloom-and-doom harpoon.
Everywhere you turn in India's cities are signs of economic boom. New cars choking the streets, middle-class housing and shopping malls swallowing up farmland, airports chock-a-block with travellers.
But this is probably only the start of a transformation that will reshape the global economy. Within a decade India can overtake Italy, France and the UK to become the world's fifth largest economy if it keeps up its current pace of expansion, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs.
India has shifted into a higher gear, they believe, because a decade of reforms have opened the country to greater competition, and spurred industries to become more efficient. By 2050 India's economy could be larger even than America's, only China's will be bigger, the bank predicts.
The result will be huge demand from this new giant. Within 15 years Indians should, on average, be four times richer than today, buying five times as many cars, and the country will burn three times as much crude oil to power its growth, putting yet more strain on the world's resources.
But India could also be held back. The country's poor infrastructure is already struggling to keep up with growth, power cuts are common as there isn't enough electricity to meet current demand, ports are overflowing, many roads pot-holed and crumbling. And a shortage of skilled workers may undermine the future expansion of India's much-vaunted IT industry.
However, other nations are increasingly waking up to the potentially vast market India holds. Last month the largest-ever American trade delegation to India spent two weeks searching out opportunities. They were followed by a British group 150-strong led by the finance minister, Gordon Brown. And the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, is to visit this week where he is pressing for major contracts providing nuclear power and defence equipment.
And the Dhimmicrats want to yoke us to Europe. Pah.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Weeelllll, CHINA > Global competitor-challenger to USA only has US$2000 Global GDP per Capita as of end-of-yarn 2006.
I've never understood how on one hand people overseas will tell the pollsters how much they hate America - and Americans, and yet our streets seem to be increasingly filled with people from all around the world who have risked life and limb and broken the law of their country and ours to get here.
I mean, if I dont like a restaurant, I dont stand in line for 4 hours to get in, I just go somewhere else. I sure dont stand in line for four hours and then say how much I hate the place.
I wonder if theres a sort of 'natural reflex' to just tell the pollsters what they want to hear, rather than tell them what you actually think.
Think about it, when the western United States was being settled, I dont think there were people saying how much they hated Oregon and California when they were selling everything they had and walking away from Ohio and other parts of the east. " I hate Oregon, so lets take our life in our hands and try to go there", followed by headlines that said " Oregon more unpopular than ever says poll of former residents of Ohio".
face it, if there is a line of people stretching across to continent walking to oregon, then any poll saying "oregon unpopular..." is clearly based on faulty data, right?
You'd think.
UPDATE: Various readers suggest that the world is made up of two kinds of people: Those who "get" America and those who don't. The former immigrate; the latter stay home and are polled.
ROME Food aid often does more harm than good, the United Nations food agency admitted yesterday in a report that said that a third of all such aid, worth $600 million (£305 million), is wasted.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said that emergency aid saved millions of lives but longer-term aid sometimes created dependency on imports, disrupted local markets and delayed reform. Jacques Diouf, Director-General of FAO, said that the aid system should be reformed, with coupons used to buy locally produced food, replacing tied food aid from the developed world.
The top recipients of cereals are North Korea, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Kenya, Indonesia, Mozambique, Angola and Jordan. About 854 million people lacked enough food to lead active and healthy lives, the report said.
Let's look at the list: NKors: total basket case with a poof-thug in charge. Ethiopia: strong enough to whack the Islamic Courts, not strong enough to feed itself. The Bangs: they can't do anything right 'less it looks like they're kowtowing to the Indians. Afghanistan is getting better. Why is Jordan on the list: not kissing Saoodi heinie enough? Pretty much the wasteland of humanity in that list.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/25/2007 00:48 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Jordan? Think Paleo Refugee Camps
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/25/2007 6:25 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I'm guessin' Afstan could grow enough grain to feed itself if our food aid didn't free up all its arable acreage for poppy fields...
#5
S: I'm guessin' Afstan could grow enough grain to feed itself if our food aid didn't free up all its arable acreage for poppy fields...
I think our food aid is a sunk cost (leaving out transportation costs). We buy grain from farmers under ag subsidy programs and store them. Without food aid programs, the granaries would keep expanding over time.
Two minutes in the microwave can kill 99 per cent of the germs harboured by kitchen sponges, scientists have found. Dishcloths and sponges are known to breed microbes such as E. coli and salmonella, that can cause potentially lethal food poisoning.
Gabriel Bitton, professor of environmental engineering at the University of Florida, said: 'Basically what we find is that we can knock out most bacteria in two minutes. People often put their sponges and scrubbers in the dishwasher but if they really want to decontaminate them and not just clean them, they should use the microwave.'
The scientists soaked sponges and scrubbing pads in untreated wastewater containing 'a witch's brew of faecal bacteria, viruses, protozoan parasites and bacterial spores including Bacillus cereus spores which are quite resistant to radiation, heat and toxic chemicals, and are notoriously difficult to kill'. They also used bacterial viruses as substitutes for disease-causing viruses, such as hepatitis A. Then they used a microwave oven to zap the sponges and scrub pads for varying lengths of time, wringing them out and checking for microbes after each test.
The results were unambiguous. Two minutes of microwaving on full power mode killed or inactivated more than 99 per cent of all the living pathogens in the sponges and pads. The Bacillus cereus spores required four minutes for total inactivation.
Professor Bitton said the heat, rather than the microwave radiation, was the most likely cause of death for the pathogens. As the microwave works by exciting water molecules, it is better to put wet rather than dry sponges or scrub pads into the oven. He added: 'The microwave is a very powerful and an inexpensive tool for sterilisation.'
Cooks should microwave their sponges every other day, he suggested. The warm, damp environment of kitchen cloths is the ideal breeding ground for microbes. In the right conditions one bacterium can multiply to more than four million in just eight hours. This can make them up to 200 times more infested that a lavatory seat.
The Food Standards Agency estimates that up to 5.5million people in the UK are struck down with food poisoning each year.
Professor Bitton, co-author of the report, published in the Journal of Environmental Health, said preliminary research also shows that microwaves might be effective against bioterrorism pathogens such as anthrax, although more study was needed.
#2
every time, after I use the restroom, I microwave my hands for two minutes. No germs, and they're almost well done
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/25/2007 6:24 Comments ||
Top||
#3
'a witch's brew of faecal bacteria, viruses, protozoan parasites and bacterial spores including Bacillus cereus spores which are quite resistant to radiation, heat and toxic chemicals, and are notoriously difficult to kill'.
Sounds like the menu from my local restaurant! Presentation is the key :)
#4
Yahoo has additions to this story reporting locals trying this at home, but without wetting the sponge first. Smokin' rubber takes ages to clear a kitchen. The usual idiots.
#6
It's the Daily Mail, Texhooey. We mustn't have unfair expectations. Rather like expecting me to not have typos in my posts these days, it seems. At first glance I didn't recognize the title of my own post, and wondered why researchers were throwing Germans in microwave ovens. *shudder*
President Gloria Arroyo has given orders to the national police to identify possible election hotspots and dismantle private armed groups ahead of the May congressional and local elections.
I'm guessing that doesn't include MILF, MNLF, or NPA.
Nope. That might threaten the Processor of Peas and its associated international aid gravy train...plus all those groups are Humiliated and thus have Legitimate Rights®.
In a statement, Arroyo said she has instructed the Philippine National Police (PNP) to map out in detail all potential election hotspots, disarm any private armies and help the Commission on Elections (Comelec) enforce clean, honest and peaceful elections. "The will of the people must be upheld because the strength of our democratic system must go hand in hand with the strength of our free enterprise system," Arroyo said.
More than six million voters are expected to cast their votes on May 14 midterm synchronised national and local elections and the PNP together with the Comelec will be at the forefront of keeping order during the political exercise, the president said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
Sri Lankan soldiers intensified patrols in the volatile east of the country on Wednesday to hunt down fleeing Tamil separatists, the military has said. The move comes days after the army captured rebel bases and left dozens of guerrillas dead. Hundreds of insurgents have deserted their camps and fled into jungles since Friday after troops routed rebel strongholds Vaharai and Kathiraveli in the eastern Batticaloa district.
On Wednesday, Sri Lankan soldiers displayed weapons and ammunition they claimed belonged to the LTTE or the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. "We should eradicate the terrorism and allow the civilians to live peacefully," Major General P Pannipitiya said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/25/2007 01:09 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
President George W. Bush triggered the biggest one-day jump in oil prices in 16 months on Tuesday when he set out plans in his State of the Union address to double US strategic oil reserves.
He didn't trigger it, prices rose because traders bought oil futures. But trust the MSM to blame Bush first.
Oil prices rose 4.7 per cent to $55 a barrel after Mr Bush pledged to double the size of the reserves by 1.5bn barrels by 2027. Sam Bodman, energy secretary, said his department would start purchasing crude oil in the spring at a rate of about 100,000 barrels per day.
The speech marked Mr Bushs strongest effort yet to slow the growth of greenhouse gases with a plan to cut US demand for petrol by 20 per cent over the next 10 years by raising fuel-economy standards and setting targets for a shift to alternative fuels. The plan will confront climate change by stopping the projected growth of carbon dioxide emissions from cars, light trucks and SUVs within 10 years, a White House document said.
In an echo of last years speech, when the president memorably warned that America was addicted to oil, Mr Bush said: For too long, our nation has been dependent on foreign oil. And this dependence leaves us more vulnerable to hostile regimes, and to terrorists who could cause huge disruptions of oil shipments.
Mr Bush defended his strategy. Many in this chamber understand that America must not fail in Iraq because you understand that the consequences of failure would be grievous and far-reaching.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Are these anonymous critics saying the US should not increase the size of its strategic oil reserve?
#4
Why not, as private property owners can't have TOO MANY things on their own property; + employment and job rates, etc. can't be TOO HIGH. D *** ng it, SOMEONE(S) HAS TO PC/PDENIABLY KILL OFF 3.0 BILYUHN to 90%-plus of earth's population, POLITELY BUT LAWFULLY NECESSARILY WID NO JAIL TIME OR EXECUTION FOR GLOBAL GENOCIDE.
HECK, WHY WAIT FOR YEAR 2029 WHEN PRAVDA SAYS AMERIKANS CAN DESTROY THE MOON NOW IN THE NAME OF HE-3? Hear that, SUN, your solar ass is ours once we destroy 1.5Milyuhn-plus Moons = 999,999-plus Earths just becuz we can - SURRENDER NOW TO NUREMBURG OR FACE OUR WRATH IN 1.0 Milyuhn Years.
#5
Bush triggered it and it is a damn good thing he did. The only way "alternative" fuels will be able to make it to market is if the price of oil is kept high. I prefer an oil import fee, but if he prefers to go with building up the strategic reserve, that's OK, too. Better to have the oil in CONUS salt mines than Arab sand dunes.
#6
right now would be a good time for the price of oil and nat gas to drop like a rock, to put big-time pressure on Iran's economy, cash flow. The Saooodis are doing that by temporarily bumping up production. Expect to see the price continue to fall after this very-temporary hike
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/25/2007 7:27 Comments ||
Top||
#7
#2: Now now, we mustn't anger the people who are perpetually angry at us. They might get angry.
Why not give them Real Greviances So They Can stew even harder, Then They"ll pop their Cork And vanish from the face of the earth quicker.
SOUNDS wIN-win to me
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/25/2007 10:39 Comments ||
Top||
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.
Dozens of street children have invaded a five-star hotel food tent and feasted on meals meant for sale at the World Social Forum in Kenya's capital. The hungry urchins were joined by other participants who complained that the food was too expensive at the annual anti-capitalist get together. 
NEW YORK - US-based 
SEOUL Fortune tellers are taken seriously in South Korea. But in a country renowned for the volatility of its politics, those who claim clairvoyance in matters of money and love are being cautious about predicting the winner of this year's presidential election.
ROME Food aid often does more harm than good, the United Nations food agency admitted yesterday in a report that said that a third of all such aid, worth $600 million (£305 million), is wasted.
President Gloria Arroyo has given orders to the national police to identify possible election hotspots and dismantle private armed groups ahead of the May congressional and local elections.
Sri Lankan soldiers intensified patrols in the volatile east of the country on Wednesday to hunt down fleeing Tamil separatists, the military has said. The move comes days after the army captured rebel bases and left dozens of guerrillas dead. Hundreds of insurgents have deserted their camps and fled into jungles since Friday after troops routed rebel strongholds Vaharai and Kathiraveli in the eastern Batticaloa district. 
President George W. Bush triggered the biggest one-day jump in oil prices in 16 months on Tuesday when he set out plans in his State of the Union address to double US strategic oil reserves.
