Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2007 11:12 ||
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#1
O.J. Simpson discovered that, although you might be able to avoid jail time for committing a double homicide, the justice system draws the line at attempted theft of sports memorabilia.
#2
On the homeland-security front, the U.S. government begins requiring people arriving in the U.S. by air from Mexico or Canada to present passports, fueling speculation that Canada is a foreign country. The government notes that the passport requirement ``does not apply to people sneaking in by land.''
#3
The big international story is the Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, Md., which is opened by President Bush, who declares that he is ''pleased to grant a pardon to this turkey'' before being hustled from the room for what aides describe as ''a very important meeting.'' Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice takes over, declaring that the goals of the conference are to ''achieve lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians'' and ''find a real unicorn.'' The rest of the conference goes smoothly until what participants describe as a ''frank exchange of views'' concerning the conference-room thermostat setting ends in gunfire.
Rescue workers stepped up a hunt on Friday for victims of landslides and floods that claimed scores of lives on Indonesia's Java Island and left thousands homeless, an official said. The landslides smashed through homes, burying families alive, in the early hours of Wednesday after monsoon rains lashed Central and East Java provinces this week and also triggered devastating floods.
More than 1 000 rescue workers resumed a search for bodies for a third day on Friday in Central Java's worst-hit Karanganyar district, the head of the local disaster management centre, Heru Aji Pratomo, said. "We have intensified the search today [Friday] by deploying more rescuers," he said.
So far 49 bodies have been pulled from wreckage, with about 17 people still missing, Pratomo said. Pratomo said that more earth-movers were expected to arrive in the hilly region soon. Landslides blocked their way initially, but then winding roads and poor weather hindered the progress of more heavy-duty equipment, he said. "We have a small-scale excavator to help the search, but more will be arriving today," he said.
Oxfam is no doubt on the scene, putting on plays for the survivors.
There's never a bad time to promote gender equality.
"We just flew in from London and boy! are our arms tired!"
"I said, 'Mullah, mullah! It hoits when I pray like dis!' He said 'Don't pray like dat!'"
An Agence France-Presse correspondent at the scene said that the bodies of a couple and two children were extracted from deep mud on Friday morning. He said about half the workers were troops drafted in from the military commands in nearby districts.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2007 00:00 ||
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With the results from Kenya's closely contested elections still up in the air and evidence growing of election mischief, riots erupted across the country on Saturday. Columns of black smoke boiled up from the slums ringing Nairobi, the capital, as supporters of Raila Odinga, the leading presidential challenger, poured into the streets to protest what they said was a plot by the government to steal the vote.
The demonstrators clashed with police officers in riot gear and tore apart metal shanties with their bare hands. The scene replayed itself in Kisumu, Kakamega, Kajiado, Eldoret and other towns across Kenya, with several people killed. Just 12 hours before, Odinga, a flamboyant politician and businessman, had been cruising to victory, according to preliminary results. He was leading Kenya's president, Mwai Kibaki, by about one million votes in an election that was predicted to be the most fiercely fought in Kenya's history and perhaps the greatest test yet of this young, multiparty democracy.
In one area, Kibaki received 105,000 votes, even though there were only 70,000 registered voters. In another, the vote tally was changed, at the last minute, to give the president an extra 60,000 votes. In a third area, the turnout was reported at 98 percent.
But that lead nearly vanished overnight. On Saturday morning, the gap had been cut to about 100,000 votes, with Odinga still ahead, but barely, with 47 percent of the vote compared with 46 percent for Kibaki. By Saturday night, with about 90 percent of the vote counted, Odinga's lead had shrunk to a mere 38,000 votes.
But those results may not be valid. According to Kenya's election commission, which is considered somewhat independent from the government, at least three areas from Kibaki's stronghold of central Kenya reported suspiciously high numbers. In one area, Kibaki received 105,000 votes, even though there were only 70,000 registered voters. In another, the vote tally was changed, at the last minute, to give the president an extra 60,000 votes. In a third area, the turnout was reported at 98 percent.
Samuel Kivuitu, the chief of Kenya's election commission, said his officers would investigate. "We have powers to refuse results if they have obvious defects," he said. He delayed announcing final results until Sunday.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I didn't know there was a Chicago here and St. Louis and Philladelphia in Kenya, did you?
NAIROBI - Kenyas presidential rivals were neck-and-necklacing on Saturday with nearly 90 percent of official results counted and accusations of rigging ignited ethnic violence across the east African nation. Several people died in the unrest.
Chaos reigned as the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK)s latest results showed opposition challenger Raila Odinga leading President Mwai Kibaki by just 38,000 votes from a tally of 180 out of 210 constituencies. But the head of the commission was interrupted after reading tallies from seven other constituencies that would have put Kibaki in the lead by about four times as big a margin.
That's real encouraging.
With most of Kenyas 36 million people hanging on the commissions every word, it extended the torment by saying it would only give further results on Sunday.
The speaker of Yemen's parliament, Abdullah bin Hussein al-Ahmar, has died in Saudi Arabia after a long illness, officials said on Saturday. It was not clear who would succeed Ahmar as head of the Yemeni parliament, a position he had held since 1993, or as head of the main opposition Islah (Reform) Party.
Born in 1933, Ahmar was head of the powerful Hashed tribal confederation and has played a key role in the turbulent politics of the impoverished Arab state for almost half a century. Ahmar took part in elections through his Islah party, which combines tribal and Islamic elements, following the unification of northern Yemen with the communist south of the country in 1990 after years conflict.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2007 00:00 ||
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BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - A series of explosions ripped through an army base in the Colombian city of Medellin on Saturday, killing at least two people and forcing nearby residents to flee.
The first of at least six large blasts was apparently triggered by a grenade that detonated inside a weapons arsenal, according to witness accounts cited by local media. Smaller explosions continued in the afternoon.
A spokesman for Colombia's army ruled out the possibility of an attack. ``It was an accident, but we're still investigating what exactly happened,'' Maj. Fernando Avila told The Associated Press moments before boarding a Medellin-bound plane in Bogota.
Alfredo Munoz, head of Civil Defense in Medellin, told Caracol Radio that at least two people were killed and rescuers evacuated another seven wounded. He said the death toll could rise and authorities were evacuating residents in a two-block radius as a preventative measure.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
If China is serious, they would have to start stockpiling fuel now or put the nation on serious rationing for 30 days or more. That would really piss off an already irritated youth.
#2
If China is serious, they would have to start stockpiling fuel now or put the nation on serious rationing for 30 days or more. That would really piss off an already irritated youth.
This is probably why China has been putting together a strategic oil reserve. That's probably not counted in Chang's estimate of military reserves. I don't think they'll have a problem with fuel, unless the USAF flies interdiction missions in China proper. Besides, if China can't finish the job in two weeks or less, and Uncle Sam rolls into theater, it can't win the war, fuel or no fuel.
#3
The science of logistics is in detecting supply problems and overcoming them, or optimally, avoiding them altogether.
If it is terribly difficult for the mainland to invade Taiwan in a conventional manner, then their strategists would be tasked with doing so in an unconventional manner.
For example, why not send an enormous fifth column of invasion personnel to Taiwan over the course of months, or even years, on commercial aircraft and boats? Less "invasion" and more "immigration".
And everything would be easier if there was a political party and propaganda machine advocating reunification. Trying any number of schemes to see what might interest the Chinese living in Taiwan as well as the Taiwanese.
Promising a peaceful reunification like Hong Kong. Considerable self-government. Easy travel for business and pleasure with the mainland. Promises of lucrative business deals. The opening of trade with the rest of the world.
Of course, promising and delivering are two different things.
The primary objective of such activities would be to have so many mainland operatives in the big cities that they could not be rooted out by the US without destroying those cities.
The biggest sticking point would be the Taiwanese military command, but that would not be telling them to stand down against another military, just not to declare martial law and take over the government.
I know a number of "old Taiwanese" (A name I give to those whose ancestors were in Taiwan before the Japanses invasion and they think themselves as not Chinese. They want nothing with China period. I don't know the feelings between 1948 Taiwanese (those who came with Tchiang) but if my memory is any good the former are the majority.
#6
According to Factbook Taiwan: Taiwanese (Hoklo and Hakka) 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, indigenous 2%.
From the Wiki:
The composite category of "Taiwanese people" is often reputed by many Taiwanese to include a significant population of at least four constituent ethnic groups: the Hoklo (70%), the Hakka (15%), Mainlander (13%), and Taiwanese aborigines (2%).
However, within Taiwan, there is a nationalist criteria, self-identification (including the concept of "New Taiwanese") criteria, and socio-cultural criteria, that are used to distinguish Taiwanese from mainlanders.
Now, this being said, the big question is: would the Taiwanese accept being part of China in the bigger picture over a period of time, in exchange for Hong Kong-like political control, plus a big jump in their international and economic standing; or are they adamant about their independence at any cost?
#7
"the big question is: would the Taiwanese accept being part of China in the bigger picture over a period of time, in exchange for Hong Kong-like political control"
Yes, that is the big question. And the reality of the matter is that China can have Taiwan any time she wants it. It would take nothing more than wave after wave of paratroops.
It doesn't matter how good Taiwan's weapons are, at some point the supply of them or people to operate them becomes exhausted.
#8
CP - The riposte to your point is to ask how the paratroops get near Taiwan to begin with. I think Moose's point in #3 is far more likely, and the race is on to see whether Taiwan's counterstrategy along the same lines succeeds first.
PRC's big choice is whether it wants to be the PRC, or continue it's comparatively recent and limited foray into the world of free market economics. It's apparent that troubles are piling up there which only have political solutions, and the last place most dictatorships permit politics is in the area we generally recognize as political.
Taiwan has far more practice in these matters, and so do most of the PRC's neighbors for that matter (DPRK being the all-time exception).
If "China" wants to be a power, it won't be the PRC; to the extent the PRC wants power, the economy suffers; the extent the military is involved - everyone loses. I'm still hopeful we'll see the first option, with the PRC slowly but surely withering away. In another fifty years it will be Nixon's only legacy.
#9
Gotta get the planes over Taiwan before you can drop paratroopers. Taiwan has tens of thousands of anti-air missiles and guns. Maybe one in 10 planes would make it. If that. If they want to use paratroops instead of an amphibious landing, they would need a small tac nuke near the site to take out the electronics to make way.
HONG KONG - Hong Kongs communist leaders in Beijing said they would allow the territory to directly elect its own leader in 2017 and all its lawmakers after that, but critics warned China would still be in control behind the scenes.
Safely into the future and plenty of time to change their minds.
A timetable for obtaining universal suffrage has been set, Hong Kongs leader, Donald Tsang, said in announcing Beijings decision early Saturday. Hong Kong is entering a most important chapter of its constitutional history.
The decision comes amid fierce debate between political camps in Hong Kong on how hard to push Beijing to make good on its pledge to allow direct elections in the former British colony.
And ensuring that the 2008 Olympics aren't marred by any fussy democratic rallies and protests.
Presently, only half of the 60-seat legislature is elected, and the territorys top leader, or chief executive, is chosen by an 800-strong committee full of Beijing loyalists.
The opposition democrats have said the affluent city is mature enough now to choose its own government, and after failing to win approval for direct elections in 2007, had campaigned vigorously for 2012, including staging hunger strikes and mass protests.
Beijing has favored a more gradual approach, in part because it is wary of demands for democracy spilling over into other parts of China where the civil and political freedoms enjoyed in Hong Kong are absent.
Setting a timetable for universal suffrage showed Beijing had trust in Hong Kongs people and would allow the bustling financial hub to focus on developing its economy, said Qiao Xiaoyang, a senior member of Chinas parliament who flew to Hong Kong to explain the decision. He said Hong Kong would be allowed to choose its leader through a direct election in 2017, and all its lawmakers after that, with 2020 the earliest date.
But opposition democrats said the decision was vague and could allow Beijing to influence elections from behind the scenes, for example, by instructing its allies to vote against certain electoral reforms in the legislature. The decision stipulates that before 2017, changes to the electoral process must first win a two-thirds majority in the legislature, dominated by Beijings allies, and then be sent back to Beijing for approval.
"The central government seems to be advocating direct elections in 2017, but yet the details are unclear ... what if there is some interference from (Beijing) to veto demands for direct elections in the legislature," Democrat Party chairman Albert Ho told supporters outside Hong Kongs government headquarters late Saturday.
Political analysts also noted that candidates contesting the leadership race may still need to be nominated by an electoral committee yet to be announced. The current committee that chooses the chief executive is stacked by Beijings allies.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
A CHIN MIL FORUM POster argues that China chose Year 2017 in order to show that it is Beijing = China, NOT outsiders or local pro-democracy reformers, etc. that decides what Hong Kong is or isn't.
ABOARD THE RON PAUL BLIMP The big white airship heralding the "Ron Paul Revolution" dips and glides over downtown Baltimore, providing sky-high advertising for the maverick presidential contender from Texas. Paul's name is bannered on both sides of the 190-foot-long flying billboard. Inside the blimp's unheated cabin, the two young men most responsible for making the once-obscure Lake Jackson congressman into an Internet phenomenon are busy at work.
Elijah Lynn, 26, a locksmith and security expert from Colorado, is providing videostreams for the Republican candidate's fans on the ground and out in cyberspace. Trevor Lyman, 37, a music promoter from Florida, is trying to chart the next day's course.
The two masterminds behind this unorthodox campaign tool are clearly excited about their venture despite dealing with setbacks such as bad weather that prevented their flying to New Hampshire, and federal rules that stymied their plans to fly over the nation's capital. Both men are working without pay and are operating the blimp venture independently from the official Paul for President campaign. Their sole motivation, they say, is a newfound and passionate devotion to the libertarian-leaning GOP candidate from suburban Houston...
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2007 12:56 ||
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#1
I've noticed more and more Ron Paul banners on public property and graffiti...it'd be my pleasure to end the "adventures" of one or more of these assholes...but, nuff said
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/30/2007 17:20 Comments ||
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#2
"The two masterminds behind this unorthodox campaign tool are clearly excited about their venture.."
Yup, nothing says good taste like a 200-foot long flying sausage dipping and gliding over some city.
Too bad. I really like blimps, too.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
12/30/2007 17:20 Comments ||
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#3
I thought this was Scrappleface. And on a side note, I guess that backwards L is an intentional part of the logo. I always thought that the guy who hung the cardboard sign to a lamp post had not noticed that he had accidently put the stencil on backwards.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2007 11:11 ||
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#1
As well he should. The crude simplicity of hair color is grossly unfair to John. How can a single word like 'brown' capture the highlights, the lustre, the way a summer breeze gently tousles his silky lockes? How can a reductionist concept like hair color do justice to his luxurious, well coiffed mane?
On the other hand, all this talk about hair does distract attention from his ambulance chasing past.
John Edwards has clawed his way into contention to win Iowa's caucuses on Thursday in the first vote for the Democratic presidential nomination, gaining strength even as rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have lost ground, according to a new McClatchy-MSNBC poll.
At the same time, Mitt Romney has regained the lead among Iowa Republicans as Mike Huckabee has lost momentum and support, even among the evangelical Christians who had propelled him into the top spot just weeks ago.
Taken together, this first poll in Iowa since campaigning resumed after a Christmas break showed a dead-heat contest between the three leading Democratic candidates and a volatile clash between the two top Republican rivals here. On the Democratic side, the race is about as close as it can get, but keep an eye on Edwards, said Brad Coker of Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, which conducted the survey. Edwards has really moved up since our last poll. Obama and Clinton have each slipped a little bit. The new survey, taken Dec. 26-28, came three weeks after the initial Dec. 3-6 poll.
On the Republican side, Coker said, Romney has rebounded and the Huckabee bubble may have burst. Last time, Huckabee was getting all the good press and nobody had put him under any scrutiny. ... Now hes under the spotlight, and hes started to wilt a little.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2007 10:34 ||
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#1
Romney has rebounded and the Huckabee bubble may have burst.
Since the bubble was nothing more than media hype to sell something*, who's surprised? Polls - the original fake but true news.
*They've got to make something up to sell air time/print otherwise the news division gets another round of personnel cuts. William R. Hearst - "You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war."
Shouts of "The only superpower is Allah" rose to a crescendo as hundreds of bearded Pakistanis raised fists at Indians yards away. Across the two countries' border, the Indians retaliated with their own trademark anthem -- loud Bollywood music.
Welcome to Wagah, one of the few border crossings at one of the world's nuclear flashpoints, a non-descript place a few miles from Lahore in eastern Pakistan.
Wagah has always been charged with symbolism. A daily ritual of confrontation here between uniformed, quick marching border guards has become a crowd puller - part nationalistic theatre, part showmanship and part exaggerated diplomacy.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: john frum ||
12/30/2007 08:07 ||
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Police in the eastern Indian state of Orissa shot and killed at least three people on Thursday in continuing communal violence, officials say. Police opened fire on a large crowd of Hindus after a village police station was set on fire.
The crowd had been complaining about a lack of protection after Christians set fire to several Hindu homes. Christians had retaliated after 19 churches were destroyed in violence that began on Christmas Eve. The disorder in the remote tribal area has continued despite a curfew and the deployment of a large number of state and federal police.
The state government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the violence, which has disrupted telephone lines and other communications. An additional 200-strong paramilitary force is being deployed to the area after Orissa's chief minister, Naveen Patnaik, called for more federal help to quell the violence.
Members of the hardline Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) said Christians sparked the violence by attacking one of their leaders, Swami Laxamananda Saraswati, on Monday. Hindu groups also accuse Christian missionaries of forcing tribal people and low-caste Hindus to convert to Christianity. But Christians deny the claims and accuse the Hindus of objecting to them celebrating Christmas.
The BBC's Tinku Ray in Delhi says the issue of conversions is very sensitive in India, where several states have laws that forbid or make it difficult to convert. Orissa has seen some of the worst attacks on the minority Christian community.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/30/2007 00:00 ||
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Benazir Bhuttos son, Bilawal Zardari, is likely to succeed her as the PPPs chief but he will not be able to lead the PPP immediately because of his education. Ultimately, Bilawal has to lead the party. But someone else might lead the party for now as guide, PPP Deputy Information Secretary Sajjad Bokhari told Daily Times.
That's the downside of hereditary politix, isn't it? The kid's 19 years old. Now they can fight it out over who's gonna be regent.
This article starring:
Bilawal Zardari
Sajjad Bokhari
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2007 00:00 ||
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Nearly 700 Christians fearing attacks by Hindu hard-liners took shelter in government-run relief camps Saturday after sectarian violence in eastern India left at least four people dead last week.
Authorities were providing food, medicine and security to Christians who moved into the four relief camps on Friday in the rural district of Kandhamal in eastern Orissa state, said Pradeep Kapoor, the inspector-general of police. Meanwhile, two police officers were suspended for failing to prevent violence on Christmas Eve, when long-standing tensions between the Hindu majority and the small Christian community erupted over conversions to Christianity, Kapoor told The Associated Press.
Nearly 800 police and paramilitary forces were trying to restore calm, he said. No fresh incidents of violence were reported Saturday for a second day in Kandhamal, nearly 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Bhubaneshwar, the capital of Orissa state, Kapoor said.
The state government also transferred the top district administrator, Bhabagrahi Mohapatra, as punishment for failing to stop the fighting. Three people were killed Thursday when police opened fire on a group of hard-line Hindus who set fire to a police station in Kandhamal districts Brahmangaon village. They said police failed to protect them after a group of Christians burned down several Hindu homes in apparent retaliation for attacks on churches, officials said. Another person also died last week in communal fighting.
About 19 churches have been ransacked and burned since Monday and several homes have been destroyed. At least 25 people have been arrested, Superintendent of Police Narsingh Bhol said. India is overwhelmingly Hindu but officially secular.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Shame on you Hindus. Foolish cow worshipping multithiests. Knock this off.
#2
The issue here is the politicians stirring up the locals by using the Christians as a target for all the pent up anger. It keeps the locals from looking at (and running off) the politicians who are living well while screwing the people and their area with socialist policies.
Tense situation prevails as Kui tribals and Pana harijans are on collision course
Pana harijans want to be identified as Kui tribals
Kui tribals warn government of violent clashes
Posted by: john frum ||
12/30/2007 17:02 Comments ||
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#4
The Kui tribals are the ones who called for the 'Bandh' over Christmas.
Note what this is all really about... if the 'Pana' get recognized as "ST" (Scheduled Tribe), they will cut into the ST affirmative action quota monopolized by the 'Kui'.
Into this morass of Indian entitlement politics, you have two groups of outside activists ... Hindu and Christian
Posted by: john frum ||
12/30/2007 17:16 Comments ||
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#5
Under the latest forest act passed by the Indian parliament (but yet to be proclaimed) there are additional advantages to being a "tribal" instead of a "dalit".
As "indigenous people" they get land rights to vast areas of forest - logging, mining revenue etc.
Environmentalists are opposed to the law , believing it will result in widespread destruction of forests as land previously protected is opened up for tribal use.
Other activists support the law, believing the tribals are the traditional custodians of the land and should benefit from "sustainable use" of it.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/30/2007 17:20 Comments ||
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Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki flew to London on Saturday for what he said was a routine medical checkup, but an official in his office said it was treatment for exhaustion.
The official said Maliki, 57, would also undergo a series of routine checkups, including tests on his heart.
"He is suffering from mild exhaustion. He is also going to have a heart scan."
"He is suffering from mild exhaustion. He is also going to have a heart scan," the official said. "He should have gone to London for the checkup more than a month ago but he waited until after Eid (the Muslim Eid al-Adha feast). Now he has a good opportunity to go for the checkup."
State television showed Maliki, who has been in office since May 2006, boarding his private plane at Baghdad international airport. He appeared healthy and walked to the plane from the terminal building. "I am going for some routine medical checkups and I hope to return soon," Maliki told a reporter on the tarmac. A British Foreign Office spokesman in London said he understood Maliki was on his way to London for medical treatment. He had no further details.
Maliki's Shi'ite Islamist-led government has been paralyzed for months by infighting between the major sectarian and ethnic blocs that has largely stalled progress towards national reconciliation. He has been under pressure from Washington to speed up the passage of laws seen as crucial to easing sectarian tensions and reconciling Iraq's warring sects.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Well if he goes to an NHS hospital in London, he'll likely be going home with MRSA.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
12/30/2007 13:32 Comments ||
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#2
Coming home in a box more like.
State controlled treatment rationing means death.
Socialism kills.
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.
NAIROBI - Kenyas presidential rivals were neck-and-neck
The speaker of Yemen's parliament, Abdullah bin Hussein al-Ahmar, has died in Saudi Arabia after a long illness, officials said on Saturday. It was not clear who would succeed Ahmar as head of the Yemeni parliament, a position he had held since 1993, or as head of the main opposition Islah (Reform) Party.
HONG KONG - Hong Kongs communist leaders in Beijing said they would allow the territory to directly elect its own leader in 2017 and all its lawmakers after that, but critics warned China would still be in control behind the scenes.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki flew to London on Saturday for what he said was a routine medical checkup, but an official in his office said it was treatment for exhaustion.
