A bat on a flight from Wisconsin to Atlanta last week has sparked a national search for passengers to protect them against possible rabies.
No one knows if the bat had rabies because it escaped. Airline staffers facilitated the escape of the suspect bat, who, according to CDC standards, should have been captured & submitted for exam. I'm oh-so sure the airline staffers were thinking of CDC standards when the damned bat was flying around inside the plane...
A video of the event was made by a passenger & posted on YouTube, see here:
Note the jocular & casual attitude of the passengers towards the animal, very clearly a bat. The CDC recommendations on casual contact with bats are largely unknown and extremely ill-publicized. Nearly everyone who contracts rabies in the USA, for several years now, has contracted the rabies from a bat.
There were 50 passengers on the flight. The airline could only name 15 of them. Finding the other 35 (to be interviewed by CDC reps) hasn't been possible so far. Apparently the TSA has no idea who these 35 people are, either. OTL = out to lunch. Apparently the "S" is TSA doesn't mean 'security' after all.
#1
I'm oh-so sure the airline staffers were thinking of CDC standards when the damned bat was flying around inside the plane... OTOH, staffers would have known exactly what needed to be done if a small dog had run through the plane and bit people.
TUNIS: Zine Al-Abidine Ben Alis feared former security chief was acquitted Friday on charges of forging passports to help relatives of the deposed Tunisian leader and his wife escape with cash and jewelry.
A Tunisian court dropped the case against Ali Seriati, but he remains in custody pending more serious charges of trying to sow strife in the wake of the revolution that sparked the Arab Spring protests that spread across the region.
In the same session, the court sentenced 23 relatives of Ben Ali and his wife, Leila Trabelsi, to jail terms ranging between four months and six years. Leila Trabelsi was sentenced to six years in absentia and Ben Alis powerful son-in-law Sakher Materi was sentenced to four years in absentia.
These verdicts are disappointing, said Abdelmajid, a Tunisian man who came to watch the sentencing. Is it possible that some of the Trabelsi get just four months or a year? Why dont they just release them too?
The court released from custody on Friday the former Finance Minister Mohammed Rechid Kchich, though corruption charges against him have not been dropped. His release comes on the heels of the release of the reviled former justice minister, who also still faces charges.
Analysts and politicians say Ben Alis former allies are still in positions of power and are working behind the scenes to save their friends, protect their interests and roll back the gains Tunisians have made since Ben Ali fled the country.
Seriati was considered close to the Tunisian leader and many Tunisians accuse him of orchestrating a spree of violence after Ben Ali fled the country on Jan. 14 for Saudi Arabia. The relatives were captured at the airport as they prepared to flee with cash and jewelry on the night Ben Ali left.
Seriati was arrested shortly after Ben Alis departure, and appealed for forgiveness in court on Wednesday. I ask the Tunisian people to forgive me. I am Tunisian and I love Tunisia, he shouted at the end of the hearing.
Even Seriati is innocent. So who are the criminals? The people who went on protests from Dec. 17 to Jan. 14? And they said it was a revolution, wrote one Tunisian on Facebook.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/13/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
h/t Gates of Vienna Remember, this is satire. Today...
Throughout London, thousands of angry youths last night stormed out from the Bantustan-style patchwork of communities to which they are confined in a defiant search for fresh hope, for brighter prospects, for a newer pair of trainers.
The Police reaction was sadly all too predictable in this conflicted region of the world: Baton charges, handcuffs, even the erection of a wall of separation of plastic shields.
The Guardian's Harriet Sherwood told us she had seen police deliberately targeting a man whose only crime was desperately defending his property -- a pocketful of BlackBerrys and a flat screen TV.
The BBC's London East editor, Jeremy Bowlegs, said:
"I saw children, some as young as eleven, being chased by gangs of police as they tried to rescue what they could of their new-found possessions."
Baroness Jenny Wronge, spokesperson for Justice for Scum in a Permanent Rage told our reporter:
"What started as a peaceful orgy of arson and looting only turned nasty with the arrival of the Police. This kind of fascist provocation has to stop".
...Little surprise, then, that in some quarters there is talk of Britain as an apartheid state and that calls are being heard to boycott entirely innocent British businesses and academics until the tragic plight of the country's hoodies is addressed.
The UN has called on the UK government to recognise an immediate Right of Return of vandals to their nearest shopping centre, preferably at midnight with the CCTV cameras turned off.
Iran, Syria and the Socialist Republic of Libya issued a joint statement condemning the UK government's use of violence against its own people, although Iran is also thought to have offered to supply a consignment of cranes and nooses in exchange for the imposition of Sharia law.
Only Israel and the US has refused to comment but, when pressed, the Israeli Ambassador was heard to comment:
"We in Israel like to mind our own business. Unlike some, eh, Mr Hague?"
A suspected looter in this week's riots and his mother are being thrown out of their council home.
In the first case of its kind, Daniel Sartain-Clarke, 18, and his mother have been served with an eviction notice as council bosses seek to turf them out of their £225,000 taxpayer-subsidised flat.
The times, they are a-changing
Sartain-Clarke is charged with violent disorder and attempting to steal electronic goods from the Currys store at Clapham Junction, South London, on Monday night.
Under housing rules his mother -- as the tenant -- can be evicted from their two-bedroom flat in Battersea if anyone living there is involved in criminality.
There is likely to be a flood of similar cases as council leaders across England respond to public demands that looters face the toughest penalties possible.
It's an easy way to cut government spending, and a strong message to behave. Good for them.
In another day of dramatic developments:
A serving paratrooper was remanded in custody charged with looting a £1,900 electric guitar in Manchester;
The Ministry of Justice revealed that the arrest total had reached 1,600, and that 796 of those had already been before courts;
Police were in revolt against the Government after criticism of their handling of the crisis by the Prime Minister and Home Secretary;
Fresh revelations emerged about the gangster background of Mark Duggan, whose death sparked the riots.
Sartain-Clarke was arrested after more than 100 looters went on the rampage on Monday night. For two hours, the mob ransacked mobile phone stores and sports shops such as Foot Locker and JD Sports.
He appeared before magistrates in Battersea on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to burglary and violent disorder. He and two co-defendants were remanded in custody.
Last night Ravi Govindia, the leader of Wandsworth Council, which issued the eviction notice, said he wanted the 'strongest possible action' taken against rioters and looters.
'This council will do its utmost to ensure that those who are responsible pay a proper price,' he said. 'Ultimately this could lead to eviction from their homes.
'Our officers will continue to work with the courts to establish the identities of other council tenants or members of their households as more cases are processed in the coming days and weeks.
'Most residents on our housing estates are decent law-abiding citizens who will have been sickened at the scenes they witnessed on their TV screens this week.
'As much as anything else we owe it to them to send out a strong signal that this kind of violence will not be tolerated.'
But Sartain-Clarke's mother said her human rights had been 'taken for granted'.
Spanish-born Maite de la Calva, 43, said: 'I understand there are people who have got to face justice because all this has been madness and savagery.
'But, I believe our human rights have been completely taken for granted. Daniel was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
'As a mother, I'm not responsible for my son's actions and they are penalising me for his actions.'
The part-time worker said the decision had left her 'very upset' and she did not know where she and daughter Revecca, eight, would go.
#1
Just out of curiosity WHAT is Iran's immigration policy for people who want to move there and start new lives in one of Islams most "interesting" countries?
Convert to Islam , learn Farsi, and start a new LIFE..AND did I mention that one out of every 16 Iranians uses Heroin? They use just about everything Pakistan processes from the Afghan Opium crop.
A beautiful life await you in sunny Iran. Throw over the grim grey streets of sooty Britain and seek Utopia in the land of the smiling Mullahs. You owe it to yourself.
Posted by: de Medici ||
08/13/2011 7:56 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Ravi Govindia should be given the Rantburg 'Hero of the Day' Award. The day after the lost weekend is a bitch, isn't it, Danny Boy...
Posted by: Shakey Steve ||
08/13/2011 8:02 Comments ||
Top||
#3
I understand the desire to cheer this move. Anything that makes these louts more accountable for their action is to be applauded
Especially good to see parents held accountable for the actions of their children. Better parenting, after all, is what was required to stop the riots in the first place.
But there are a couple of problems with this particular story:
1) He hasn't been found guilty. Innocent until proven. What if he wasn't looting?
2) If you evict rioters they then have to go somewhere else. They were in public housing so they have no money. If they are on the streets, then they may commit further crimes to get money for a bond etc.
if caught they will end up in jail where it costs lots and lots of money to keep them.
if not caught they will only cause more problems for ordinary people than they would otherwise.
The good bit of this policy though is collective responsibility of the family. inconvenience the rest of the family and they will kick the boy's butt to make sure no further looting goes on
#4
Seeing as how the rioters made a great many other people homeless by setting fire to the shops with inhabited flats over them ... my well of sympathy is pretty-well drained dry for the rioting yoots and their families at this point.
#5
2) If you evict rioters they then have to go somewhere else.
No different than a downturn in the economy. When you have no rent money, where do you go? First option is family or friends, which means doubling up and living like a lot of humans did a mere fifty years ago. Of course that was before the state set out on policies to destroy the basic family unit. So if you or your progenitors didn't establish a 'traditional' family infrastructure and/or basically made a pest of yourself among the population failing to make real friends, you've burned your own bridges to sustainment.
#6
have been served with an eviction notice as council bosses seek to turf them out
It appears that, like a mortgage foreclosure, this will go through the courts. If the lad isn't found guilty of looting, they'll be able to appeal for cause, and no doubt win in a court system which leans away from bloody landlords, however wonderfully governmental.
#7
As much as I support this action, it is premature. Once they are found guilty, then let the evictions begin. Just simple CYA on the part of the council. I would imagine that trials will be fairly swift. Patience.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/13/2011 10:58 Comments ||
Top||
#8
...just remember while we trace much of our law back to England, their concepts and processes are different from ours. Thus, the Bill of Rights [not that many modern American progressives sitting on our benches are sticklers for the printed word].
#9
Yes there is innocent until proven guilty but there is also a chance with all the cameras up throughout the area they have him dead to rights committing the act, which is why Daniel is one of the first to go through the process. I could be wrong of course, but if I were processing this stuff i'd get a few clear cut ones through to start off and leave the less clear ones for later.
#15
Awesome!
Throw their butts out, I'm so tired of folks expecting to be taken care of while they sit on their butts feeling entitled to all kinds of services and amenities. Hell, they probably felt entitled to the stuff they looted.
Here the government is trying to help the downtrodden and this is what they get in return. Folks don't seem to appreciate things given to them, I always have felt you need to earn or work for something, the person will value it more.
However, I do agree that the evictions should wait until proven guilty, hopefully the many videos will lead to a swift determination. Regarding them not having anyplace to go, they should go directly to jail, I'd rather pay for their jail stay instead of the housing they're getting now. As Procopius2k said, look to your family first when faced with homelessness instead of government. When I was younger, I babysat and cleaned a home for a room and board. I worked my tail off but felt good that I was able to make ends meet until I got into a better situation.
Posted by: Jan ||
08/13/2011 13:28 Comments ||
Top||
#16
Sartain-Clarke was arrested after more than 100 looters went on the rampage on Monday night. For two hours, the mob ransacked mobile phone stores and sports shops such as Foot Locker and JD Sports.
#18
#3: "They were in public housing so they have no money"
a pure fallacy. odds are that they have far more money that those of us carrying a mortgage. last month my wife went drove her sister to the office for WIC assistance. how odd the feeling to notice that she the working and responsible one was the only person in the waiting room without a smart phone and a data plan.
Posted by: abu do you love ||
08/13/2011 14:02 Comments ||
Top||
#19
Most of those brought before the court have plead guilty (probably because their mugs are on CCTV)
#20
Abu, I agree with you. If you don't have to pay for housing, food or insurance, you have awhole lotta money to spend on the extras. While those of us paying our mortgage and monthly bills don't have the luxury of buying the extras such as the big screen TV's, I-phones or just enjoying a nice dinner out. I see many folks getting assistance with intricate tattoos (nothing against tattoos, I just know they don't come cheap)and clothing while driving a nice high end truck. Angry? You bet I am. Not to get too far off the subject, but I'd like to see food stamps not be able to buy candy, fast foods such as frozen pizza or other crap. With the white house wanting to push the healthy food agenda this would be a good place to start if it gets going at all. If these folks needing assistance aren't working, they have time to cook their meals. Also, I suspect some double dipping going on with folks getting food stamps and then the kids get fed at school too, instead of their parents preparing or fixing a lunch and feeding their kids. Alot of the food for the kids at school gets thrown out too, I've seen it.
Posted by: Jan ||
08/13/2011 15:04 Comments ||
Top||
#21
They were in public housing so they have no money.
Bullsh*t check section 8 housing. My dad used to own several in Savannah. I had the pleasure of collecting the $50-$75 they paid monthly. Every room had a better TV than my main one and all the cars in the yard were newer.
#22
Jan, don't even bother changing the rules on how food stamps can be used n order to make people eat healthy. Many of the people on food stamps have been that way for a long time and know how to work the system. They will find a way to work around any restrictions. For example, I once heard a story of a food stamp recipient was told he couldn't buy dog food with food stamps. So he took the dog food back and bought steak for his dog.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
08/13/2011 15:26 Comments ||
Top||
#23
"They were in public housing so they have no money"
#25
First the state tells parents (and teachers) that it's illegal to discipline kids, then 10 years later when the kids run riot the family gets thrown out of their accomodation. Don't worry though, the towering geniuses that subjected us to this failed experiment in social engineering have the solution - yet *more* state intrusion into our lives.
#26
whoa, Vernal. "First the state tells parents (and teachers) that it's illegal to discipline kids,..."
Supporting and teaching your children what is right and wrong along with being a good role model showing them how to show respect and be a kind decent person doesn't always involve "discipline". It involves good parenting skills.
Posted by: Jan ||
08/13/2011 16:27 Comments ||
Top||
#28
Spanking wouldn't work, to scare these kids you need to get really medieval. No Blackberry for a month. Jeans with elasticated waistbands. Pudding bowl haircuts. I know it's harsh, but sometimes a bit of tough love is needed.
#29
"Spanking wouldn't work, to scare these kids you need to get really medieval. No Blackberry for a month. Jeans with elasticated waistbands. Pudding bowl haircuts. I know it's harsh, but sometimes a bit of tough love is needed."
#30
growing up now seems alot harder than when my kids grew up and moreso when I grew up.
Bottom line I like that these rioters are getting what they deserve.
Any chance of seeing this maneuver here in the states? Wishful thinking ;)
Posted by: Jan ||
08/13/2011 19:17 Comments ||
Top||
#31
I know of one frustrated parent who told social services "if you think you can do a better job you take them". Many children are in public school systems. They have had many years of social training. Much of it conflicts with parents efforts. I refuse to blame parents entirely. I know of several inner city people who survived social services managed care. The scars
never go away. When able they got out as fast as they could. Then never go back.
#32
a nice move to encourage the rest of the looter's parents on the dole to actually take an interest in what Junior is doing in a hoodie at 10PM with a gasoline smell on him
Posted by: Frank G on Tour ||
08/13/2011 20:03 Comments ||
Top||
#33
having had the claptrap the schools sends home with a kid about 'you tell your parents they cant touch you. you call 911 if they threaten to spank you' replete with roll playing. i can tell you that it requires a significant will to overcome. and at some point inventive measures are required.
my oldest never quite had the attitude i see in some of the people i know at church's kids but at age 15 when he tried the 'F-U' attitude, i merely went to the breaker box and physically removed the breaker to his room and placed duct tape over the hole. After a couple days of fruitless whining to my wife, he came to me to get it turned back on whereupon i replied with "you spent weeks telling me to F*** myself when i had things important to me and the running of the house, so for now, you can go f*** yourself and see how well that attitude will connect you to the internet or charge your cell phone."
funny, the very next day,the lawn was mowed, the trash taken out, room cleaned, all kinds of stuff all without me saying a word. after a couple days of it i quietly put the breaker back in and restored power. periodically, we had some back-sliding and i would hit the utility room and 'Flick'.
Discipline is not always a sharp smack on the rear-end. as my dad told us growing up "this... it aint punishment. it's just to make sure you're listening."
Posted by: abu do you love ||
08/13/2011 21:37 Comments ||
Top||
#34
if they did this in the US THEN THERE WOULD BE NO MORE HOUSING PROJECTS.Not too mention they where living in a 225,000 pound flat? WTF
Posted by: chris ||
08/13/2011 22:45 Comments ||
Top||
[Al Jazeera] Republican presidential candidates lashed out at President Barack B.O. Obama and each other as they slugged it out for front-runner position in a televised debate to launch next year's election season.
The debate late on Thursday was the opening act for Saturday's Iowa straw poll, a traditional test of campaign strength in the state that holds the first presidential nominating contest in 2012. The uncertain state of the US economy and deep ideological divisions over how to fix it provided the event's backdrop.
The proceedings were overshadowed by Texas Governor Rick Perry's announcement that he will enter the race on Saturday, a move that could push him into the top tier of contenders with Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts.
Recent stock market volatility and a downgrade in the US credit rating gave Republicans ample opportunities to criticise Obama. The president will get his chance to counter the criticism next week during a bus tour that will take him through the Midwestern region.
On Thursday, Obama also tried to align himself with a public fed up with economic uncertainty and Washington gridlock.
"There is nothing wrong with our country. There is something wrong with our politics,'' he declared in Michigan, where he was touring a factory.
Obama's Democratic faithful have worked to paint the entire Republican field as beturbanned goons with a new ad campaign highlighting positions they say "would end Medicare as we know it" and approve "more tax giveaways to millionaires, billionaires and the special interests".
Candidates get mean
In Iowa, the squabbling by Minnesota rivals Tim Pawlenty and Michelle Bachmann allowed Romney to remain above the fray and emerge relatively unscathed by his rivals. Pawlenty is desperately seeking to gain ground on Bachmann, a conservative and Tea Party favourite. He wasted little time in ripping into her record in Congress.
"It's an indisputable fact that her record of accomplishment and results is nonexistent," said Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota who was criticized for passing up an opportunity to criticise Romney in the last debate.
He said Bachmann, a US representative from Minnesota, had fought in Congress against spending, against the healthcare overhaul and against other initiatives that had passed despite her efforts.
"She said she's got a titanium spine. It's not her spine we're worried about, it's her record of results," he said. "If that's your view of effective leadership with results, please stop, because you're killing us."
Bachmann responded by attacking Pawlenty's record as governor, including his support for a state cap-and-trade ... a government initiative to set limits on carbon emissions that could then be traded for money by the people who designed it ... environmental plan and for individual mandates in healthcare.
"You said the era of small government is over,'' she said. "That sounds a lot like Barack Obama if you ask me."
Pawlenty shot back that Bachmann had "a record of misstating and making false statements."
The repeated festivities between the two contenders caused former Senator Rick Santorum to interrupt at one point and beg moderators of the debate to ask him a question.
'Contrasts, not similarities'
The debate's timing two days before the straw poll raised the stakes for several candidates, most notably Pawlenty, who could be fighting for his political life in the nonbinding mock election.
Pawlenty, who hesitated in a June debate to criticise the former Massachusetts governor, this time accused him of sharing views with Obama on spending and health care.
"We're going to have to show contrast, not similarities'' with the incumbent president, Pawlenty said. He sought repeatedly to tie Romney and Obama together by poking at both.
"Where's Barack Obama on these issues? You can't find his plans on the most pressing issues in this country,'' Pawlenty said, promising audience members and TV viewers he would "come to your house and cook you dinner'' if they could find Obama's proposals.
"Or if you prefer I'll come to your house and mow your lawn ... In case Mitt wins, I'd limit it to one acre.''
But Romney kept his focus on Obama, saying: "Our president simply doesn't understand how to lead and how to grow the economy.''
Palin and the polls
Notably absent from the eight-candidate spectacle was former Alaska governor Sarah Mama Grizzly Palin ... the babe libs love to hate ... , a conservative darling who has flirted with a presidential bid but will not appear on Saturday's ballot. She is, however, bringing her "One Nation" bus tour to the Iowa State Fair on Friday.
Romney, who is leading in recent polls with 20.4 per cent support in a Real Clear Politics average, has spent little time in Iowa.
Bachmann has invested a lot more here, which means her campaign could lose momentum if she does not come out on top in the straw poll. She has slipped to fourth with 10.4 per cent, while the undeclared Palin garners 10.6 per cent.
Perry has surged into second place in recent days with support at 15.4 per cent, according to the recent polls average. Libertarian congressman Ron Paul has 8.9 per cent support in the polls, while businessman Herman Cain is polling at 5.6 per cent, former House speaker Newt Gingrich at 4.6 per cent and former Utah governor Jon Huntsman at just 2.3 per cent.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/13/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#2
Trenchant comment from the article cited in #1: Not even 10% of the populace even care what you stand for and curse all of you who make that a bigger issue than our collapsing economic system. So many of the issues the GOP candidates are falling in that category.
#3
They are all the same to me. DemocRAT and Republican, no difference. Bail out bankers and strip the middle class of what few jobs and dollars they have left, that's what it all boils down to.
They'll say ANYTHING to get elected, I want the hear a real plan from someone before I vote for anyone.
Mexican troops have discovered an unfinished 300-meter (980-foot) tunnel beneath the US border that would likely have been used to smuggle drugs and people, officials said Friday. But now the question is: Were the drugs and people to be smuggled TO Mexico? (Seriously, since when have the MEXICAN troops been finding these tunnels?) Since at least 2010 when we started covering the Mexican Drug War and prolly well before that.
Dope is easy to get into the US, apparently. Money and guns go the other way. As I understand it, getting money out of the US securely is one of their more difficult chores. You can use any jackass to sneak dope in, you would probably want to be careful who you recruit to bring back the $40 Million in cash.
An acquaintance of mine (who some of you may be familiar with) was attacked at the Wisconsin State Capitol yesterday by leftists. She apparently was pointed out by a union leader to one of their goons while she was videotaping the daily union 'festivities'. She and her husband have most of the attack on video (he was filming separately).
I haven't talked to her, but it appears she's okay. Her son received a small cut on his arm as he tried to help her.
Yes, the police are involved. Unfortunately, in Madison, they'll usually side with the 'oppressed class'.
A*holes
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
08/13/2011 07:31 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[9 views]
Top|| File under:
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/13/2011 13:02 Comments ||
Top||
#3
That's why you usually counter-protest from the other side of the street.
But go ahead and wade off into a huge protesting crowd and start pissing them off if you want to.
I really don't care.
If that was me in the middle of 20,000 NAACP members, I doubt the cops would even show up to collect my body.
#4
You'd have a point Bigjim, if ALTHOUSE was doing anything but video-taping. The argument was between a Preacher debating a protester saying "Jesus would be on our side against Walker". A 2nd person came up, swore at them, and then tried to rip the camera out of Althouse hands. Her son defended her and ended up getting cut enough to bleed. The police threatened Althouse son with arrest even though he just moved to defend his mother.
They didn't go in there with Scott Walker signs and t-shirts yelling "Down with Unions!" ya know. The video clearly shows what happened.
Posted by: Charles ||
08/13/2011 18:41 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Don't excuse union thuggery. The police in Madison are hacks
Posted by: Frank G on Tour ||
08/13/2011 20:00 Comments ||
Top||
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A suspected looter in this week's riots and his mother are being thrown out of their council home.
Sarah 
