#1
"Maybe it was his age, maybe happiness over finally being in a home that didn't contain his sociopathic wife," Maria Scorsone wrote.
Important word. Don't leave it out.
Franzese, who was dubbed The Nodfather for snoozing at his three-week trial, told the Daily News last year he wasn't afraid of dying in prison. "Who cares?" he said. "I gotta die someplace."
KARACHI, Pakistan - Panic-stricken people rushed out of their homes in Pakistan late on Tuesday night after a strong earthquake shook parts of the country, underlining another dimension of the challenges faced by Washington's key south Asia ally.
Pakistan's government officials said the earthquake emanated from a remote part of Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province which borders Iran and Afghanistan. It measured approximately 7.4 on the Richter scale, the international yardstick to measure earthquakes, and was powerful enough that its tremors were felt as far as Dubai in the Middle East.
The earthquake's intensity was just below that of another earthquake measuring 7.6 that struck parts of northern Pakistan in 2005 and killed more than 70,000 people. Early reports suggest that the extent of damage to property and human casualties may have been limited, as the earthquake's epicenter was near Dalbandin, a remote and sparsely populated town in the western Baluchistan province.
Government officials warned Pakistan will live with the danger of possible aftershocks in coming days. In some instances such aftershocks have come within a week of previous earthquakes.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/19/2011 00:00 ||
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Compare HISTORY CHANNEL'S SHOW > on can Humanity + World survive a MAGNITUDE-TEN-OR-HIGHER QUAKE, as due to GLOBAL WARMING + CLIMATE CHANGE = POTUS DUBYA.
versies
ME [old] > "2012" + "QUAKE-HEARD/FELT-AROUND- THE-WORLD", aka UNIVERSAL QUAKE???
----------
* NEWS KERALA > EARTH MAY WITNESS TWIN SUNS IN BETELGEUSE STAR IN ORION NEBULA EXPLODES.
{1960's = 1980's MADONNA "OPEN YOUR HEART" VIDEO + "TWIN MIL OFFICERS" Scene here].
D *** NGED WEIRDO KIDZ - this is what happens when GOP-Right Conservatives have Lefty Kidz ala ALEX KEATON + "FAMILY TIES"!
Of course you know this means War, but first a Hoagie, or Three!
[Ennahar] A new cable from the U.S. Embassy in Tunis dated five years ago, revealed by Wikileaks, sheds new light on the political ambitions of former President Ben Ali, who suffers from a cancer. The latter wants to stay in power until his death.
Classified "secret", this cable, written in January 2006 by U.S. Ambassador S. E. William J. Hudson, the telegram is a detailed analysis of the constitutional arrangements set up by President Ben Ali who came to power in November 1987 to secure a life presidency.
In this list were current Prime Minister, Mohamed Ghannouchi, Abdelaziz Ben Dhia, the current President of the Parliament Fouad Mebazaa, the Foreign Minister Kamel Morjane (then in charge of Defense) or even the former First Lady of Tunisia, Trabelsi Leila Ben Ali.
According to the document, classified secret, passed by the U.S. Ambassador in Washington January 9, 2006, Americans knew that Ben Ali had prostate cancer and had been unable to assume the presidency during a period of days without having been replaced by Prime Minister according to the constitution in such cases.
The document reveals the intentions of Ben Ali who did not intend to quit the presidency. The latter, according to the U.S. cable, wanted to die president.
The U.S. ambassador takes up a joke that circulated at the time in Tunisia saying that Ben Ali had (03) three objectives: staying in power, staying in power and staying in power.
Are those not the top three objectives of every leader in the Arab world?
Ben Ali had ruled out all potential opponents either in opposition or even among his supporters.
The cable cites five names of Tunisian figures that he believes could be on the list of potential candidates to succeed Ben Ali in the event of death or resignation, although this second hypothesis is rejected. The paper mentions the Minister of State and advised staff of Ben Ali and spokesman of the presidency, Abdelaziz Ben Dhia, Chaouche Ali, Minister of Social Affairs and Solidarity, Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, the former Minister of Defense and Foreign Minister Kamel Morjane, and also former First Lady of Tunisia Leila Trabelsi.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/19/2011 00:00 ||
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Ben Ali's wife repor raided the national coffers of DILYUHNS-N-TILYUHNS OF $$$ before departure.
AND TO THINK AMERICA = AMERIKA COMPLAINED WHEN IMELDA MARCOS HAD SEVERAL 000 PAIRS OF SHOES BACK IN THE 1980's.
Within a day of forming a "unity government", four ministers resign and the PM and president quit the ruling party.
Cracks have already appeared in Tunisia's so-called "unity government", just 24 hours after it was formed in the wake of an uprising that led to the departure of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the president of 23 years.
On Tuesday, the interim prime minister and president resigned from the former ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) party of the deposed president in an attempt to keep the fragile coalition together. Mohamed Ghannouchi and Fouad Mebazaa were forced into the move after four ministers refused to sit in a cabinet that contained eight high-ranking memebrs of Ben Ali's government, which many Tunisians see as corrupt.
"They do not want to be in the government with certain members of the ruling party," Al Jazeera's Nazinine Moshiri said, reporting from Tunis.
Earlier on Tuesday, Tunisia's junior minister for transportation said that he and two other ministers with ties to a labour union had resigned from the newly formed government, leaving it in a state of limbo. Anouar Ben Gueddour said that he resigned along with Houssine Dimassi, the minister of training and employment, and Abdeljelil Bedoui, a minister dealing with prime ministerial affairs. They are all members of a general national labour union.
Mustapha Ben Jaafar, the newly-appointed health minister, has also resigned.
Abid al-Briki of the UGTT union said it wanted to see all ministers from Ben Ali's cabinet pushed out of the new government, but it would make an exception for the prime minister.
"This is in response to the demands of people on the streets," Briki said.
The opposition Ettajdid party will also pull out of the coalition if ministers from Ben Ali's RCD do not give up party membership and return to the state all properties they obtained through the RCD, state television said.
Ghannouchi, who has been prime minister since 1999, said that ministers from Ben Ali's party were included in the new government "because we need them in this phase".
They either can be inside the tent peeing out or outside the tent peeing in...
In an interview with France's Europe-1 radio, he insisted the ministers chosen "have clean hands, in addition to great competence".
"Give us a chance so that we can put in place this ambitious programme of reform."
It was not immediately clear if the resignations could bring down the government, which has 40 full and junior ministers.
The announcement of the new government was also met with anger by some of the Tunisian public. Police used tear gas in an attempt to break up several hundred opposition supporters and trade union activists gathered in Tunis.
I guess some folks are ready to tear down the tent and pee on everyone who flees from it.
Perhaps we should work up a care package of XXXL Pampers?
Blake Hounshell, managing editor of Foreign Policy magazine, told Al Jazeera that it's clear that Ghannouchi made an error in reappointing so many ministers from Ben Ali's government.
"If you see what happened on the Tunisian streets today, the people who came out rejected the idea that the same old faces are going to still run the country," Hounshell said. "I think it remains to be seen whether this new government will even be able to stand and hold these elections in 60 days, as they're required to."
Meanwhile, Moncek Marzouki, a Tunisian political leader returned from more than 20 years of exile in France to a joyful reception from supporters at Tunis' airport. Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelbarra reported that Marzouki, a 65-year-old medical doctor and human rights activist, was met by a crowd on his supporters.
Marzouki told them that he would ask Saudi Arabia to hand over Ben Ali (who has sought refuge there since Friday) who has to be prosecuted in Tunisia for "crimes committed against the people of Tunisia".
He also urged fellow Tunisians to hold firm in their efforts to bring down the RCD.
Marzouki called the ruling RCD a "parasite of the country".
"It's a government that isn't one, they have to leave," he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/19/2011 00:00 ||
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Compare wid DAILY TIMES>PK > [Arab League Chief Amr Mussa] MUSSA WARNS ARABS OF [universal]
"UNPRECEDENTED" ANGER, + frustration, etc. as represented by the Tunisian troubles.
ARTIC > MUSSA argues that the ARAB SOUL has been effec "broken" by [neverending?] "POVERTY, UNEMPLOYMENT, + GENERAL RECESSION".
IIUC MUSSA'S ARGUMENT > 'Tis "broken" by LACK OF ALL-AROUND ECON, POLITICAL, SOCIETAL + SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT + PROGRESS.
versus
* TOPIX > ANALYSTS: LACK OF ISLAMIST SLOGANS IN TUNISIA RIOTS.
IIUC, IOW the Demonstrators are truly PO'ed at Ben Ali, etal. + Tunisian Govt BUT AT THE SAME TIME ARE UNLIKELY TO GO FULL-MONTY TERRORIST.
Unless the post-Ali Govt does something really stupid.
[Emirates 24/7] Soddy Arabia's main human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... group attacked the Gulf Kingdom's feared Islamic police for chasing a girl in the middle of the streets, wreaking havoc on he busy roads of the capital, a newspaper said on Tuesday.
Alwatan Arabic language daily said the girl was later captured by members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice after an exciting chase in the streets of Riyadh on Sunday.
It quoted Commission sources as saying its members chased the girl and seized her after public complaints that she had done what they described as obscene acts in a public place along with some boys.
The boys were arrested too, right?
Since she was barefoot, maybe they just assumed she wanted to be pregnant too.
It said the sources refused to give other details until after the interrogation of the unnamed girl is completed.
"What these men did to the girl is a reckless act that threatened people's lives on the roads," the paper quoted a source from the Saudi National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) as saying.
"This behavior is a flagrant violation of the rules and of the Commission's policy of carrying out its duties without encroaching or harming the rights of others...this irresponsible behavior confirms the negative impression of the Commission."
In a statement carried by local newspapers, NCHR and other local groups urged the Commission to investigate the incident and punish those responsible.
In their report on the chase on Monday, Saudi newspapers said three Commission members pushed their four-wheel car on the pavement and headed in the wrong direction of a busy road before they got off the vehicle and chased the woman on foot through the streets of Riyadh.
"Hundreds of people stopped to watch the chase of the unknown woman, who was bare-footed.....the Commission members caused chaos on the roads by chasing the unknown woman," it said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/19/2011 00:00 ||
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High-speed pursuit...driving on the sidewalk...pursuing a fleeing barefoot girl...sounds like a 70s road flick.
#8
Here's a sort-of safe for work link to a picture (explanations alone just don't cut it if you truly don't know what they are).
I agree GB will post something a lot better. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/19/2011 17:57 Comments ||
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Oh, cut-offs! We all wore those then. I didn't know they had a more formal name -- the family television broke when I was seven, and my baby brother bought a new 13" b&w out of his bar mitzvah gifts when I was seventeen, so I missed a big chunk of the common culture, going straight from "Flipper" and "Gentle Ben" to "Soap" and "Saturday Night Live". Thanks, guys!
#10
Well TW, i would not categorize them as just any old 'cut-offs' unless you define cut offs as a garment that is missing the entire leg panel and a goodly portion of that which would cover the hip and/or buttocks...... ( the latest Victoria Secret catalog recieved by the lovely Spousal Unit now calls such a short cut as 'cheeky')
A judge will decide whether former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier will be tried on charges that include corruption and embezzlement for allegedly pilfering the treasury before his 1986 ouster, a lawyer for the ex-strongman said Tuesday.
A judge questioned the former dictator known as "Baby Doc" in an hourslong, closed-door court session, defense attorney Gervais Charles said. The decision to move toward a trial makes clear that whatever Duvalier's reasons were for returning to Haiti on Sunday, the government is poised to take the opportunity to seek justice for his 15-year regime, widely regarded as brutal and corrupt.
Charles said the case is now in the hands of a judge of instruction who will decide whether there is enough evidence to go to trial, a process that can take up to three months.
I really don't get this. The man returns to Haiti and gets jugged? He had to have figured he was coming back to run the place, and it seems as though he was double-crossed. Why, it's almost as if we have a CIA worthy of the name...
Several hundred Duvalier supporters gathered outside the court, burning tires, chanting slogans and calling for the arrest of President Rene Preval, then cheering as Duvalier left the courthouse and headed to his hotel under police escort. Earlier, some supporters had tried to block streets with overturned trash bins and rocks to keep police from taking Duvalier from his hotel to the courthouse.
There are no signs of widespread support for Duvalier, however. Demonstrations on his behalf have been relatively small by Haiti standards. More than half the nation's people are too young to have lived through his government.
Haiti's system allows for pretrial detention, but Duvalier was allowed to remain free, though he cannot leave the country.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/19/2011 00:00 ||
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As I remember, Baby Doc wasn't the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree. Probably thought he'd walk right in and take over.
Maybe Aristide will show up and they'll make 'em fight...
Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie suggested in an interview published today that a long-form, hospital-generated birth certificate for Barack Obama may not exist within the vital records maintained by the Hawaii Department of Health.
...
WND has also reported that Tim Adams, a former senior elections clerk for the city and county of Honolulu in 2008, has maintained that there is no long-form, hospital-generated birth certificate on file with the Hawaii Department of Health and that neither Honolulu hospital Queens Medical Center or Kapiolani Medical Center has any record that Obama was born there.
[Pak Daily Times] A family from Sialkot has appealed to government officials to provide them with justice and security.
According to details, Amar Ali and Nazia Amar, who were accused of desecrating the holy Koran in Sialkot, protested at the Bloody Karachi Press Club on Tuesday denying the allegation levelled against them.
Talking to journalists, Amar Ali said that his business competitors might be behind the conspiracy against him and his family. He said that he belonged to a very noble and religious family and could not even think of committing such an evil deed.
He said that their business and family lives had been totally ruined after the incident and they were being forced to live out of their homes in order to survive. He expressed the fear that after the tragic murder of former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer, how could a person survive with allegations of blasphemy in Pakistain and in the presence of the "worst religious extremism and intolerance" in society, where even high-ups cannot raise their voices against the blasphemy law.
Talking to journalists, he claimed that law enforcers were continuously searching their family houses in order to arrest them. "They are only investigating the case with a typical religious mindset, instead of resolving it with justice," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/19/2011 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Police has jugged apex court judge Javed Iqbal's younger brother, Naveed Iqbal, on the charges of killing his parents, Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Aslam Tareen, said on Tuesday.
Reportedly, the judge's brother had confessed to the police to having hired killers to murder his parents.
Naveed had nurtured a grudge against his parents over a monetary row, the CCPO told a presser.
Tareen said that Naveed did not shun his bad habits and wasted all the money, and even resorted to taking loans from other people. When the situation became unmanageable for him, the CCPO added, he plotted against his parents, assuming them to be millionaire.
"The accused took his accomplices, Abbas and Ameen, to the residence of his parents and introduced Abbas as a new house servant. The couple was sitting in the TV lounge when Naveed signalled them to overpower them. Abbas overpowered Malik Abdul Majeed, father of Naveed Iqbal, and suffocated him to death with a pillow while Ameen grabbed Zarina Bibi (his mother). Later, they took away a briefcase containing cash and important papers from the house," Tareen said.
They broke open the lock at the bank of the River Ravi. After dividing the booty among themselves, they went away. Abbas told news hounds that Naveed called him to visit his place in Shahdara and told him about his plan.
In reply to a query, the CCPO said that Naveed did not visit the house on the day of the incident, but appeared the next day and that too at the time of last rites of the victims. The police discovered his presence on the scene of the crime and links with Abbas and Ameen through their cellphone data. The accused Naveed and Abbas would appear before the local magistrate today (Wednesday).
Posted by: Fred ||
01/19/2011 00:00 ||
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[Arab News] Jordan's powerful Mohammedan opposition says Jordanians should be able to elect their prime minister and other government officials rather than having them appointed.
The rare call by Islamic Action Front leader Hamza Mansour underlines a rising tension with Jordan's King Abdullah II, who has the ultimate authority that includes appointing Cabinets, dismissing parliament and ruling by decree.
Mansour said Tuesday an interim Cabinet should be formed until an elected one is in place.
He accused the serving Cabinet of corruption, burdening the poor and being detached from society.
Mansour's Front is the political arm of the Mohammedan Brotherhood, a vocal opponent of Abdullah's policies, including diplomatic ties with Israel under a 1994 peace treaty.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/19/2011 00:00 ||
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Hey, leave him alone. It's just part of his culture.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
01/19/2011 7:35 Comments ||
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Second degree murder? She files and he stabs her 40 times. Crime of passion? Maybe. But then he saws her head off? That looks like some premeditation to me.
25 to life in NY. If he does 2/3rds, he's out in 16.
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.
The estranged wife of 93-year-old mobster John (Sonny) Franzese is pleading for mercy on his behalf, telling a judge they're "in love."
[Ennahar] A new cable from the U.S. Embassy in Tunis dated five years ago, revealed by Wikileaks, sheds new light on the political ambitions of former President Ben Ali, who suffers from a cancer. The latter wants to stay in power until his death.
Within a day of forming a "unity government", four ministers resign and the PM and president quit the ruling party.
[Emirates 24/7] 
