Oh, so our finest can taser granny but can't put a bag over a spitting perp's head for fear of looking politically incorrect. A fully-trained 20-year vet tossed out with the trash. Brilliant. Who gives a $hit about the perp? Even if he's innocent of whatever he was arrested for, he's guilty of assault on an officer. Who knows if he has something communicable or not? In fact, I kind of like the idea of the bag over the stupid hood anyway. Thanks to the cowardly pols for wisely shepherding my money, for taking care of our public servants and their families, and for having no faith in the public's ability to see that this officers action were warranted enough to not be concerned about it. This would never have happened in wiser times.
A Fort Lauderdale cop is out of a job after he put a paper bag over the head of a spitting mad perp.
Part-time reserve Officer John Wezkiewicz had been with the force 20 years before he was sent home last month, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
The incident that got him fired happened Nov. 1, when a man, Gerald Feldhaus, was arrested outside Yolo Restaurant on Las Olas for trespassing and resisting arrest.
"He was spitting and screaming as he would look and yell at other people," Wezkiewicz told investigators.
Rather than use a department-issued hood designed specifically for prisoner control, Wezkiewicz used a brown paper bag.
"Poor judgment prevailed concerning his decision to utilize a brown paper bag," Capt. Rick Maglione wrote in a report on the incident.
Claiming Wezkiewicz "shed a negative light" on the department, the report said using the hood instead would not "be falsely perceived as an attempt to humiliate an individual."
#4
Not only that, he's a part-time reserve officer. That generally means, no pay, all of the aggravation, and doing it just for the chance to have Mr Feldhaus spray him with viral crud, too.
Now they'll have to pay for someone to cover that area instead, out of their (more than likely) shrinking budget, just because some desk diva imagines a paper bag is more humiliating than an "official department-issued hood". Way to go, Cap'n Rick!
About fuc&ing time.
It's a big day for the porn industry. And a sad day for nanny software designed to protect my kids from the harm caused by viewing pr0n. Viewing it before they are an adult, that is. ;-)
On Friday, ICANN, the not-for-profit corporation that coordinates the internet's naming system, voted to allow the application of the controversial ".xxx" top-level domain name for sites that display adult content. Hand-wringing ninnies.
The domain, which would need further approval before going live on the internet, would be applied to adult entertainment sites just as ".com" is now.
The .xxx internet suffix, which was first proposed six years ago by ICM Registry, a group that sells domain names, "will provide a place online for adult entertainment providers and their service providers who want to be part of our voluntary self regulatory community," according to that company's news release. Voluntary? Damn.
Adopting .xxx will be optional. However, some tech blogs speculate a push to make the domain mandatory for adult-only sites. One step at a time. Just like the liberals do.
ICM Registry has already taken 110,000 pre-reservations for the domain, which could be available in early 2011, if not sooner, its news release states.
While the company says labeling adult content online "will allow for simple and effective filtering for those who wish to do so," not everyone is pleased with ICANN's decision to approve the domain.
Some people involved in the industry are hesitant to accept the domain, "fearing it will lead to censorship, as it would be very easy to block the entire domain instead of individual sites," Rick Johnson of Portfolio.com wrote Thursday. Uh, yeah. And reduce backlash against you because you are out of sight and out of mind. Maybe you have a problem with my kids not being indictrinated into your "work"?
On the other hand, "some religious groups are against the creation of the domain, as it would lend more legitimacy to the adult entertainment industry," he wrote. Too late.
#1
Ima registering algore.xxx and sexpoodle.xxx immediately.
Posted by: ed ||
06/26/2010 7:24 Comments ||
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#2
The adult industry has been calling for an .xxx domain for a long time, now. Those opposed to it are both those that want to close down all adult websites, as well as generally censorial regimes, who want to use adult sites as an excuse for blanket censorship.
This game has been going on long before .xxx as well. The adult industry craves regulation, so it has clear boundaries behind which it is legal. The forces of morality don't want such boundaries, so they can use vague laws to shut down adult businesses.
In any event, .xxx is going to result in a whole bunch of litigation over "domain squatting".
#6
YAY! Still not taken: bigusdickus.xxx!
I could make thematic subdomains (obama.bigusdickus.xxx, rahm.bigusdickus.xxx, etc) explaining how they intent to screw you bad.
A spokesman for Dick Cheney said the former U.S. vice president was admitted to a hospital Friday after feeling unwell.
Cheney, who has a long history of heart problems, was admitted to the George Washington University's hospital for tests. His office said he is expected to remain in the hospital for a few days.
Cheney has had five heart attacks, the first in 1978 when he was 37 years old. He suffered his last heart attack in February. In 2001, Cheney had a heart defibrillator implanted to monitor his heart and shock it back into a normal rhythm if abnormal beating occurred.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/26/2010 00:15 ||
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Could Idaho get an all-volunteer state militia that's out from under any federal control?
A Butte County delegate to the state Republican Party convention in Idaho Falls on Friday got his compatriots on a committee to go along with the plan - at least on paper. The measure cleared the committee on a 21-18 vote. It must still win full convention approval Saturday.
Butte County delegate Guy Mongan says such a force could assist in the event of natural disasters and wouldn't be subject to a military call-up, such like the Idaho National Guard.
Ada County delegate Phil Hardy says he appreciates the notion that Idaho could be left unprotected if many of its citizen soldiers are dispatched to defend the nation. But Hardy contends the time isn't ripe for the plan.
We are the change we've been waiting for, it was said, although I don't think this is quite what President Obama and his campaign managers had in mind when he said it.
#1
...Many states, including my home here in SC, have such militias that are intended to take over NG functions in the event the bulk of the NG is mobilized and deployed out of state:
http://www.sg.sc.gov/
However, anyone wanna put bets on when this suddenly becomes 'right-wing extremism'?
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
06/26/2010 1:34 Comments ||
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#2
Militia nonsense only lasts to the election cycle that gains the Democrats the government. It's electorial poison.
#3
Ship, during Hurricane Katrina a substantial portion of the Louisiana Army National Guard was deployed to Iraq. And during the current crisis, when everyone was asking why Jindal hasn't called out the National Guard, it turns out the 256th brigade is.... on its second deployment to Iraq.
Louisiana kinda _needs_ a national guard that can't be called out to make up for Clinton's and Bush's respective delusions that the country could get by with only 13 divisions of full-time troops.
#4
Texas has such a guard. You can call them "militia", however, that is a pretty weak term. The Texas Guard has ground, air, and marine unites. They have been very effective assisting during Katrina assisting those who sought refuge in Texas. The developing hurricane in the news today is expected to hit Texas. The Texas guard will be ready.
#5
The Texas State Guard (TXSG) is one of three branches of the Texas Military Forces (TXMF), reporting to The Texas Adjutant General located at Texas Military Forces HQ, Camp Mabry (Austin), Texas. The Commander in Chief of the Texas Military Forces is the Governor of Texas. The other two branches are the Texas Army National Guard (TXARNG) and the Texas Air National Guard (TXANG).
From Daffy's link.
The idiot militia movement wants to be the arm of a party.... SA. Make it formal, put it under State control and I have no problem... other wise you're looking at dressing up SA.
#6
Oregon has a state militia as well - "http://www.orsdf.org/". It is directly permitted by the national militia law, as long as the state pays for EVERYTHING connected with the militia : in Oregon, the state militia is directed/controlled by the State Police.
The mission of the California State Military Reserve, as recognized in National Guard Regulation 10-4, is to provide an adequately trained and organized State military reserve force under the exclusive control of the Governor. The CSMR is meant to be capable of accomplishing those State emergency responsibilities normally assigned to the National Guard, when the Guard is federalized or otherwise not available.
Ay-Pee . . .
The Obama administration is ridiculing North Korea for claiming the U.S. owes it $65 trillion in Korean War damages. Obviously this hasn't made it across Obama's desk yet. When it does, he will fire the low-level aide responsible for this logical statement. Apparently the low-level aide has yet to have been indoctrinated on The One's "redistribution" theory of economic success, and this is just too good an opportunity to give these poor, misunderstood folks some money to hammer into nukes to use against us as we so richly deserve. Obama can make a two-fer out of this by personally delivering the money and bowing in abject apology to Kimmie and/or his son. Some of his sycophant LLL press groupies can turn this into some kind of talking point, and Obama can orate on how we ought to follow the successful Nork example of a socialist economy.
HUNTSVILLE, Ontario, June 25 (Reuters) - The world's richest economies, saddled with huge debts after spending their way out of the credit crisis, papered over differences on Friday on how to clean up their finances with minimal damage to growth.
Sorta how they'll paper over the real problems ...
Leaders from the Group of Eight, a club that spans the large industrialized nations and Russia, met in Canada before a broader summit with China and other rising economic powers of the G20, now the world's dominant economic policy forum.
Washington appeared to be at loggerheads with Berlin in the run-up to the Canada summits. U.S. officials expressed concerns that a nascent recovery from the global recession could be derailed by accelerating austerity in much of Western Europe.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, however, that the G8 talks had not produced any conflict over economic policy. "The discussion was not controversial but was based on great mutual understanding," she told reporters.
A U.S. official said, "There is a broad consensus among the G8 leaders, a convergence of views ... about how to maintain durable growth while also reaffirming, of course, the common shared commitments to fiscal consolidation going forward."
According to off-the-record briefings by European officials, U.S. President Barack Obama told his counterparts he was worried that excessively deep and fast cuts in Europe could eat into growth, but he did not question the need for cuts themselves.
The Group of 20 has struggled to keep the unity of last year when governments pumped trillions of dollars into the economy to prevent recession turning into depression and vowed to prevent another credit crisis from endangering the world economy.
Obama, buoyed by a deal in the U.S. Congress in the early hours of Friday to toughen rules for Wall Street, urged other G20 leaders to make good on promises to curb risky bank behavior that sparked the financial crisis in 2007. "We need to act in concert for a simple reason: this crisis proved, and events continue to affirm, that our national economies are inextricably linked," Obama said, calling on other leaders to match the U.S. progress on financial reform.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/26/2010 00:17 ||
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#1
It takes a peculiar sense of humor to characterize a cut in government spending below 50% of GDP as "austerity."
Videos at link.
I think I saw Costner say something to the effect of "The government won't allow it to be used because it hasn't been proven, but it can't be proven because I'm not allowed to use it." Our government pinheads in action. If I were king, I'd say "Well, it can't hurt! Give it a try. Just stay out of the way. If it works, we'll use it. We'll even help you solve technical problems if it helps."
It was treated as an oddball twist in the otherwise wrenching saga of the BP oil spill when Kevin Costner stepped forward to promote a device he said could work wonders in containing the spill's damage. But as Henry Fountain explains in the New York Times, the gadget in question -- an oil-separating centrifuge -- marks a major breakthrough in spill cleanup technology. And BP, after trial runs with the device, is ordering 32 more of the Costner-endorsed centrifuges to aid the Gulf cleanup.
The "Waterworld" actor has invested some $20 million and spent the past 15 years in developing the centrifuges. He helped found a manufacturing company, Ocean Therapy Solutions, to advance his brother's research in spill cleanup technology. In testimony before Congress this month, Costner walked through the device's operation--explaining how it spins oil-contaminated water at a rapid speed, so as to separate out the oil and capture it in a containment tank:
The device can purportedly take in thousands of gallons of oil-tainted water and remove up to 99% of the oil from it. On Thursday, BP posted to its YouTube page a video of the news conference featuring Costner and BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles announcing the news.
"Doug Suttles was the first guy to step up in the oil industry," Costner said at the presser, "and I'm really happy to say when he ordered 32 machines, it's a signal to the world, to the industry, where we need to be."
Suttles said the additional machines will be used to build four new deep-water systems: on two barges and two 280-foot supply boats.
"We tested it in some of the toughest environments we could find, and actually what it's done -- it's quite robust," Suttles said. "This is real technology with real science behind it, and it's passed all of those tests." He added that Costner's device has proved effective at processing 128,000 barrels of water a day, which "can make a real difference to our spill response efforts."
In his congressional testimony, Costner recounted his struggle to effectively market the centrifuge. He explained that although the machines are quite effective, they can still leave trace amounts of oil in the treated water that exceeds current environmental regulations. Because of that regulatory hurdle, he said, he had great difficulty getting oil industry giants interested without first having the approval of the federal government.
It's true, as Fountain notes in the Times, that innovation on spill technology has been hobbled in part by the reach of federal regulation -- though Fountain also notes that oil companies have elected to devote comparatively little money for researching cleanup devices in the intensely competitive industry.
Costner said that after the device was patented in 1993, he sought to overcome oil-company jitters by offering to allow U.S. oil concerns to use it on a trial basis. He'd extended the same offer to the Japanese government in 1997, he said, but got no takers there either.
BTW, this idea has been around a long time. I recall something similar was tried during the Torrey Canyon (a supertanker that ran aground off the UK coast and spilled almost all its cargo) spill in the 1960s.
#3
From Texas to Florida of thousands of people are lined up waiting to go to work cleaning up the spill. They all have the same problem. Environmental Protection Agency Regulations are preventing them from doing whatever is needed to protect the coast and clean up the oil.
I think Keven Costner has every potential for becoming the new Al Gore. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing would depend on his stance in relation to the EPA.
In my opinion EPA negligence is the number one contributing factor that caused this disaster in the first place. Attempting to expose that reality in today's media brainwashed world is no more than an exercise self defeating futility.
Revealing the truth is the only thing that could prevent the reoccurrence of this horrible event. In a country where the governments main purpose is to protect itself, rather than it's people, that truth will never be told.
#4
Equipment almost identical to Keven Costners has been used in the oil industry for decades.
I think the first system he purchased was used on the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989.
The main problem is what do you do with the processed water?
There is an old saying in the oil industry. "If can't drink it, you need a permit to get rid of it. And if you don't drink now, you will by the time you get the permit."
I think the Dutch skimmers may have received a permit to discharge processed water back into the ocean. However all mechanical processes are far far inferior to bioremediation. People who reject the idea of bioremediation probably don't know that if they live in a large city, they are probably drinking water that has basicly been through the same bioremediation process BP uses as a dispersant.
Some pretty good information about the bioremediation of hydrocarbons can be found here:
#5
I think the Dutch skimmers may have received a permit to discharge processed water back into the ocean. However all mechanical processes are far far inferior to bioremediation. People who reject the idea of bioremediation probably don't know that if they live in a large city, they are probably drinking water that has basicly been through the same bioremediation process BP uses as a dispersant.
OTOH, bioremediation may work much better after there's been a first pass of mechanical separation. Currently BP's first step in the biorememdiation process is to use dispersants on the oil at depth, which keeps the oil at depth in an oxygen-depleted environment, helps deplete the oxygen there even more (read up on the Dead Zones in the gulf for more background), and keeps much of the oil away from the surface, where all the strong ultraviolet light in sunlight is. (And yes, that helps in bioremediation).
#6
It is the mechanical agitation of the oil and water either by skimmers or the natural wave action that causes the oil to go into solution with the water which allows the oil to sink below surface. The purpose of dispersants spread by aircraft is to cause the hydrocarbon molecules to disperse on the surface which allows the microbiology to surround and eat away at all sides of the hydrocarbon rather than just one. This accelerates the removal of the hydrocarbon exponentially. The whole purpose is to remove the oil before it goes into solution.
I can attest to the fact that in past decades , huge volumes of dispersants such joy dish soap, were used to cause the oil to go into solution with the water. Today however those methods are strictly prohibited by law.
Kevins Costners argument that a small percentage of subsurface oil is far less damaging than huge amount of oil on the surface is strongly supported by a study of the Alaska Prince William Sound released in 2009. This study claims that 20 years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, there is very strong evidence that the overall marine biology of the area, as a whole, actually benefited more than it was harmed by the spill.
I am not inferring that any method used to clean up the oil should be aborted. Only that bioremediation appears to be far superior to mechanical methods.
Top White House officials expressed confidence Friday that Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan will earn the respect and votes of senators during her confirmation hearings, which begin next week.
In a conference call with reporters, senior political aide David Axelrod dismissed suggestions Kagan's lack of judicial experience and political service in two Democratic administrations will hurt her chances to sit on the high court. Not if Obowma wants her there.
"We know it's an extremely polarized political climate, and we are preparing to make a vigorous case," for her confirmation, he said. "We are prepared and she is certainly prepared to respond. And we anticipate once the hearings are done, she'll take her seat on the court." Polarized. And short-lived. They have until November to install a new Justice.
Kagan, 50, was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 10 to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens.
White House Counsel Bob Bauer, who is coordinating the nomination process, said Kagan has been preparing with mock sessions with staffers and attorneys brought in by the administration. The goal is to help her anticipate the kinds of questions she can expect from senators.
The sessions -- known as "murder boards" for the intensity of some of the prep questions -- have been held several hours a day for the past week or so, Bauer said.
"I attended a session with her yesterday, and I simply marvel at what she will bring to the hearings," he told reporters. I'm sure we all will. But for different reasons.
The nominee earned the support Friday of the Urban League, to go along with endorsements from other left-leaning groups. The American Bar Association also has given her its highest rating, "well qualified." The group scrutinizes every federal judicial nominee.
Axelrod and Bauer noted the nominee also has earned support from some conservatives, including three former solicitors general from Republican administrations. Kagan is the current solicitor general, the top lawyer who argues before the Supreme Court.
But a military family advocacy group Friday questioned Kagan's well-reported opposition to having military recruiters on the Harvard Law School campus, when she was dean from 2003-09. This was in response to the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military, which Kagan had labeled "a moral injustice of the first order."
"We find Ms. Kagan's failure to offer support to our military in a time of war and her willingness to defy federal law as troubling and appalling," said Military Families United, in a statement to the Judiciary Committee. "Thousands of military families, if not all Americans, deserve to hear an explanation of her actions."
The Supreme Court in 2006 ruled in favor of the military in a lawsuit brought by several universities over the recruiting controversy.
Kagan has met with 62 senators since her nomination, courtesy calls in anticipation her hearings. That is far fewer than the 92 lawmaker visits by Sonia Sotomayor before she was elevated to the high court last year.
Axelrod said Obama is "extraordinarily proud" of Kagan, and noted the words over the Supreme Court's building: "Equal Justice Under Law," which he said means "everyone gets a fair shot before the court. The president believes in that deeply and he know Elena believes in that deeply."
#2
But a military family advocacy group Friday questioned Kagan's well-reported opposition to having military recruiters on the Harvard Law School campus.
That should kill any nomination to an office or trust and confidence as membership in a exclusive club that banned participation based upon color or race. Period.
Why stop there? Cancel their welfare if they make a transaction involving a casino, liquor store, lottery, strip club, restaurant or anything else that doesn't have to do with basic needs. And if diapers aren't allowed, then neither should TV dinners or organic salmon.
Spurred by a newspaper's report that California's welfare debit cards can be used to withdraw cash in more than half the casinos in the state, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday issued an immediate ban on state-provided cash assistance at ATMs in gambling establishments.
The Los Angeles Times disclosed that Electronic Benefit Transfer cards work in automated teller machines at 32 of 58 tribal casinos and 47 of 90 state-licensed poker rooms. The report also found the state Department of Social Services published a list of useable ATMs where the EBT cards that work like debit cards could be cashed.
I am soooo going to enjoy the schadenfreude these ignoramii so richly deserve.
Oh yeah, NY Slimes alert, so enjoy.
A struggling economy has historically meant trouble for the president's party in midterm elections. So it comes as no surprise that Democrats are girding for a tough November.
They should be. The economy is slowly recovering but remains on its sickbed, and most signs still point to a rough cycle for the party. Political analysts expect Republicans to make gains -- possibly significant ones -- in Congress in November, threatening to retake the House and maybe even the Senate. But digging deeper, beyond the national numbers, reveals at least a few glimmers of hope for Democrats -- still fairly distant and faint, but bright enough to get campaign strategists scanning the horizon and weighing the odds.
That is because different parts of the country are recovering at different rates -- and, in a bit of electoral good luck for the Democrats, some of the areas that are beginning to edge upward more quickly, like parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, happen to be in important battlegrounds for the House and the Senate.
#1
That was a long way of saying "the economy is still shedding jobs. Those whose jobs have been shed are not happy..."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
06/26/2010 1:36 Comments ||
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#2
Heads up to y'all. What has not been reported in any news is that Cali has suspended all EDD payments. Cali is broke. Has been for some time. Until congress specifically funds Cali... all is done. Of course, the Dems have already announced "...no budget!" for this year. The result will be unlimited spending with no deadlines. "We'll spend what we want when we want". Thank you Dems. I've been warning about this for over a year. Noone cares. No prob. In 4 weeks I'm homeless so you all won't be dealin' with me much longer. But then there's Satan. Let's see who wins out. Cheers!
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
06/26/2010 1:38 Comments ||
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#3
Rex,
I was without a job for over a year - so I sympathize with you. Salvation came when I finally decided that I couldn't wait any longer for somebody else to hire me; I had to make my own job. 20 or 30 applications and not a single call-back. So, I started a consulting business.
I'm not rich, but I'm not worried about feeding my kids anymore or cashing out my 401K. (Except paying for health insurance - that might be a problem!)
The end of benefits isn't necessarily the end. It can be a beginning.
#4
For years now the Dems have been saying "But cuts will hurt families!" Well, how about now? I think the conservative way is better. It may hurt a bit now, but we aren't stealing from our nameless, faceless future. Well, that future is now, and we are utterly broke, with no hope of even trying to help anyone. We can't even rely on family as much as we should be able to because we are all broke. Dems? Where are you? Out printing money? Maybe trying to plant some money trees so you can get some in the future? Maybe selling off some infrastructure to some foreigner for pennies on the dollar? Or even dollar for dollar isn't worth it. Out strategizing on how to make the Trunks look bad after November after they start trying to fix the mess you've left us in? How's that "Don't want to hurt families" crap working out now that you have your heads out of the sand? Learning anything? Changing anything? Implementing anything? Or is it subversion and ignorance as usual? You guys have to decide what your core values are and how to accomplish them. Whose side are you on anyway? I am not on the side of illegal aliens. I am on the side of America and Americans. It's not fair to legitimate Americans for you to piss away our way of life to a bunch of parasite illegals and indiginous leeches hoping for a few votes. You're be kings of a poisoned kingdom. But not for long. And if you keep this up, that kingdom will be a thing of the past. Then where will your children be? Your grandchildren? At which generation is it safe to say that you don't really care?
Rex, do you feel like posting what kind of jobs you could do for a living? If so, does anyone have any ideas?
#5
"Then where will your children be? Your grandchildren? At which generation is it safe to say that you don't really care?"
How about the Roe v Wade one, gorb?
They aborted the work force we needed because it was too "inconvenient" to raise them (might interfere with career plans and "self-actualization" or some such BS, doncha know) and instead imported a workforce from another country and culture. It is NOT a coincidence that the number of people who have come here illegally in the past thirty or so years is roughly equal to the number of abortions that have been performed.
Careers are nice, but having kids is more important. Hierarchy of needs, and all that.
Beyond the demographics discussion, most of the areas where jobs are still there or increasing are in the realm of the public sector, so they hardly qualify as pockets of joy as the NYT implies.
As a small business guy for more than two decades, I heartily agree that now is the time to go on your own. Part of that is scary but part of it is very liberating. Plus it makes it a lot harder to pick us off. Army of Davids, and all that.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
06/26/2010 5:14 Comments ||
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#6
I think the Dems are looking at Madame Pelosi's Tea Leafs too long, and hoping that people trust their economic actions on the economy. No one in their right mind sees any action which the Dems have done since 2009 as having a positive effect. Why are over 60% of the people saying we are going in the wrong direction?
At risk of ticking off the mods - Rex here is a link to a low cost start-up "Personal Concierge"
Ba$tards. This is like an insurance payment. This action does not help the victims. And don't look for Bambi to get in the way of collecting those taxes, either.
BAGHDAD - Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani on Friday revoked electricity privileges enjoyed by government officials as he took temporary control of the power portfolio amid public fury over rationing. Shahristani, a key ally of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, said his measures would redirect much-needed supplies to a national grid that currently provides ordinary citizens with power for only one hour in every five, or less.
It is impossible for anyone who takes responsibility (for electricity) for a few days to end the suffering of the Iraqi people,' he told reporters at a news conference in Baghdad.
But I have taken these measures to reduce the problems facing those who have a limited amount of electricity,' a situation that sparked a riot in the southern city of Basra on June 19 that saw two men shot dead by police.
Shahristani said he had ordered a stop to special supplies given to Iraqi officials living in the International Green Zone and elsewhere in the capital.
The country's daily power generation averages 8,000 megawatts, while demand in temperatures that have hit 54 degrees Celsius (130 degrees Fahrenheit) is typically more than 14,000 megawatts, forcing the use of unpopular rationing. Only those with access to their own generators and fuel have been able to refrigerate foodstuffs or air-condition their homes around the clock.
Shahristani also said production hikes ordered at several power stations, including ones at Beiji, 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of Baghdad, and Nasiriyah, a southern city, would increase production by 250 megawatts.
Maliki on Wednesday accepted the resignation of Karim Wahid, who as electricity minister had been the main target of protests over limited power supplies as temperatures soared across the country.
The prime minister warned on Tuesday that two more years of shortages lay ahead as there was no quick fix to the problem, which worsened dramatically in the wake of the US-led invasion in 2003.
Which was bad before the invasion because, as it turns out, the stalinist/fascist Saddam wasn't keen on infrastructure maintenance.
A permanent replacement for Wahid is expected to be chosen when parliament reconvenes before a July 14 deadline.
At the bloodiest protest in the main southern city of Basra, last Saturday police opened fire on demonstrators hurling stones at provincial government offices, killing two protesters.
In a sermon at the main weekly prayers in the shrine city of Najaf on Friday, a leading Shiite cleric condemned the police action.
The right to demonstrate is enshrined in the constitution and nobody can override it,' said Sadr al-Din al-Qubbanchi, who is considered close to the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, a Shiite religious bloc which sits in an uncomfortable alliance with Maliki's faction. We reject the use of live fire (against protesters). Nobody can accept it,' he told the faithful.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/26/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Not much sympathy from me.
Maybe if they decided to create a rational plan to sell power to people who pay for what they use... then they would have enough generation capacity to cover critical uses.
Socialized (free) power is a stupid idea. Just like socialized free medicine - you get what you pay for.
(CNN) -- Google Inc., owner of YouTube, said an outage of the popular video-sharing site Thursday was technical and not caused by outside tampering.
"YouTube is up again following a technical issue which has now been resolved," a spokeswoman for Google said in a written statement. "We know how important YouTube is for people and apologize for any inconvenience the downtime may have caused."
The outage apparently lasted for just over an hour, from roughly 7 to 8 a.m. ET.
Continued on Page 49
BRUSSELS - Russia's envoy to the European Union slammed Friday unilateral US and EU sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme, warning the measures should not hit Russian business interests.
"Hey! Youze guys are messing wit our meal tickets!"
We do not support them. We think they are totally wrong in substance and in tactics,' ambassador Vladimir Chizhov told reporters in Brussels.
The United States and European Union angered Russia last week when they imposed sanctions on Iran's oil and gas sector, measures that went beyond a fourth set of UN sanctions which Moscow supported.
The sanctions contained in (UN Security Council) Resolution 1929 are clever sanctions, the follow-on measures by the European Union are not,' Chizhov said.
He charged: If you want to dissuade Iran from pursuing a nuclear programme ... then why the hell are you banning the supply of equipment for the oil and gas industry?'
Because it hurts them. Apparently it also hurts you. Our bad ...
The sanctions will certainly hinder' diplomatic efforts to convince Iran to halt its nuclear activities because Iranian officials will immediately sense a difference of views' among world powers, he said.
Russia is also concerned about any interference with Russian business interests in Iran, the envoy said. We will certainly not accept any infringement of the rights and of the activities of Russian companies on the basis of those unilateral decisions,' he said.
Russian cooperation with the EU on the Iran nuclear issue could be affected by the sanctions, he said.
As far as our cooperation with the EU, that will certainly depend on the degree to which the EU will be taking into consideration our sensitivities regarding the interests of Russian companies involved,' Chizhov said.
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06/26/2010 00:00 ||
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Vandals reportedly smeared excrement on a van displaying ads for Islam while the vehicle was parked outside a Bellevue mosque Thursday.
A local Muslim returning from noon prayer found a substance that appeared to be feces on the van's windshield, driver's side window, and side door handle. He called police around 7:40 p.m. The Washington state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIRN-WA) has asked authorities to investigate the matter as a possible hate crime.
Bellevue police will increase patrols near the mosque, and they are treating the incident as a case of vandalism or malicious mischief, according department spokeswoman Carla Iafrate. "It could possibly be bias or a hate crime, but there's no indication right now that it's anything other than poop smeared on a van," she said.
The van involved in the incident is wrapped with graphics related to the Islamic Circle of North America's "Why Islam" campaign. Why Islam aims to help people "understand Islam and do away with misconceptions," according to CAIRN-WA executive director Arsalan Bukhari.
Bellevue Police captain Patrick Spak met with Bukhari and two Why Islam vounteers this afternoon to talk about the incident and explain that police plan to increase patrols near the mosque. "We have to keep this in perspective," he said. "The van is not damaged and the building is not damaged. From a police department perspective, we don't want to over-react, but we don't want to under-react."
Police have no leads on suspects. They are urging anyone with information to come forward by calling 9-1-1. "It's very likely somebody out there has information on this," Bukhari said. "Tips from the public can really help solve this."
Bukhari said he doesn't know of any incidents of malice against local Muslims, but a group called Act! For America recently put "nasty fliers" with anti-Islam rhetoric under the wipers of every car parked at three Muslim schools renting space in Newport, Redmond, and Tacoma.
#12
Did they find out precisely what kind of feces it was? Would pig feces be doubly offensive? Is it half as offensive if it came from a female? And even less so from a kufr female?
#18
If this was a hate/bias crime (by their definition, not mine), and anything to do with pigs vs. islam parallels that (again, by their definition)...
Then I presume a horse's head in their bed is 'political speech'?
Illegal immigration crackdowns popping up across the country have a common thread: a 44-year-old constitutional law professor and former Bush administration attorney who crafted the legal framework behind Arizona's controversial immigration law.
What odds he will one day be nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court? I know, I know, but a girl can dream for all of that.
Kris Kobach has become a sought-after figure for states and cities looking to replicate tough immigration statutes similar to Arizona's new law, which gives unprecedented power to local police in questioning and detaining individuals they suspect are in the country illegally.
Kobach was the legal architect behind Arizona's SB 1070, which is being challenged by the Obama administration. With that combination of cachet and infamy, he's become the go-to guy for crafters of copycat laws, and he is putting his mark on legislation across the country, most recently in Fremont, Nebraska.
"I've been in touch with state representatives in Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Alabama and Idaho," Kobach said in an interview with FoxNews.com.
Kobach, of Kansas City, Missouri, has paved a formidable path for himself in legal and political circles, positioning himself as a rising star within the Republican Party. He has at the same time attracted a host of critics, from lawmakers to civil libertarians who say his work promotes racial profiling.
"Who say"... But it certainly does promote profiling behaviour. Were I an illegal stopped by the police in a community with such laws, I'd feel very nervous indeed, which generally show up in behaviour.
Kobach's crusade against illegal immigration began when he was working for the Justice Department under Attorney General John Ashcroft in the days following the Sept. 11 attacks. Kobach helped create the "National Security Entry-Exit Registration System," which required immigration officials to fingerprint and question more than 80,000 male visitors, most of whom were from Muslim countries. None was ever charged with terrorist activity, however, and the program was eventually cancelled.
That's because as soon as the program was announced Muslim males started leaving the country, often enough taking their families with them. I remember NPR reporting indignantly about the near-traffic jams at major airports and border crossings to Canada.
After leaving the White House in 2003, the Harvard and Yale-educated attorney went on to assist local governments around the country on various immigration statutes, taking him from Hazleton, Pennsylvania, to Valley Park, Missouri, to Farmers Branch, Texas.
The Hazleton statute has been struck down as unconstitutional, which ruling Hazleton is appealing. In the meantime, about half of the estimated 10,000 illegal aliens have moved away, and illegal-related businesses have closed.
But perhaps in no other place is his legal influence greater than in Arizona.
In 2006, Kobach successfully defended an Arizona law that made immigrant smuggling a state crime. In 2007, Arizona State Sen. Russell Pearce, the author of SB 1070, contacted him for assistance in drafting the Legal Arizona Workers Act, which ensures that no business in Arizona knowingly hires or employs illegal immigrants. His legal triumphs in defending the two statutes led to state officials recruiting his help in crafting SB 1070.
Aside from his legislative work, Kobach has also represented U.S. citizens as plaintiffs trying to prevent states from giving in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants.
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.
A spokesman for Dick Cheney said the former U.S. vice president was admitted to a hospital Friday after feeling unwell.
Top White House officials expressed confidence Friday that Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan will earn the respect and votes of senators during her confirmation hearings, which begin next week.
Vandals reportedly smeared excrement on a van displaying ads for Islam while the vehicle was parked outside a Bellevue mosque Thursday.
