[NYDAILYNEWS] The vice president's nastyspoiled rotten feisty niece took a conditional dismissal deal Wednesday in her misdemeanor Manhattan cop attack case. "Do you know who my uncle is?"
Caroline Biden wasn't in Manhattan Criminal Court as her case was fixed resolved because she's in the nut house undergoing inpatient treatment for "her issues" including temper tantrums anger management, her mouthpiece lawyer James Liguori said.
If Biden, 26, stays out of trouble for six months, her case will be dismissed and sealed.
The foul-tempered spitfire relative of Vice President Joe Foreign Policy Whiz Kid Biden The former Senator-for-Life from Delaware, an example of the kind of top-notch Washington intellect to be found in the World's Greatest Deliberative Body... was arrested for assaulting a cop and refusing arrest, but none of the officers were injured in the temper tantrum, Assistant District Attorney Alyssa Gunther said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/06/2014 00:00 ||
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"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others".
The Iditarod Trail Committee is no doubt busy preparing for this years race, which begins March 1. The Last Great Race attracts thousands of visitors to Alaska -- and millions of fans around the world. The ITC is also busy trying to protect its brand by threatening legal action against so-called urban Iditarod charity events in places like New York and Boston. But does sending the brand police after groups who are simply trying to help feed the hungry actually protect the Iditarod brand? I dont think so.
Trust me, I understand brand value and the importance of protecting it. This past November, Forbes released its list of the worlds most valuable brands. Apple was at the top with a brand value of $104.3 billion, followed by Microsoft at $56.7 billion. Coca-Colas brand was third with a value of $54.9 billion. An organizations brand means everything when it comes to attracting and retaining customers. It is worthy of police protection and court orders in most situations.
But every brand has two components, the first of which is brand identity. This is defined and controlled by the business and typically includes the companys name, logo, tagline, website, advertising, etc. Collectively, these elements symbolize the promise or commitment an organization makes to consumers. Brand identity is how a business perceives itself -- or wants to be perceived in the marketplace.
Brand image is different. It forms in the minds of consumers in response to interactions with an organization -- either direct or indirect. It is the image or feeling that immediately surfaces when thinking about an business. Because brand image is at the mercy of others perceptions, it is much more difficult for a company (including its brand police and lawyers) to manage, and impossible to control entirely.
The ITC is right -- and obligated -- to monitor and protect both its brand identity and image. After all, Iditarod sponsors like GCI, ExxonMobil, Wells Fargo and others pay handsomely for the right to affiliate with this world-class, Alaska event. But by clamping down on urban Iditarod groups such as Bostons, the ITC damages the Iditarods brand image without gaining anything.
Posted by: Au Auric ||
02/06/2014 18:08 ||
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[BOSTON] A realistic-looking statue of a man sleepwalking in his underwear near the center of Wellesley College has created a stir among the women on campus, I can hear the tittering now...
especially as more than 100 students at the all-women's college signed a petition asking administrators to remove it. Oh, shucks. Banned in Boston? Shoulda tried Texas A&M. Their guy'd be wearing a cowboy hat now.
The statue, called Sleepwalker, is part of an art exhibit featuring sculptor Tony Matelli at the college's Davis Museum. The exhibit, New Gravity, features sculptures that are often reversed, upended or atomized. Sounds very trendy, doesn't it?
However, the statue of the sleepwalker -- which is hard to miss in a high-traffic area by both pedestrians and drivers near the campus center -- has caused outrage among some students in just one day after its Feb. 3 installation. "Yes outrage! How dare they?"
Zoe Magid, a Wellesley College junior majoring in political science, started a petition on Change.org with other students asking college president H. Kim Bottomly to have the statue removed. "Oh, take the beastly thing awa-a-a-a-y!"
"[T]his highly lifelike sculpture has, within just a few hours of its outdoor installation, become a source of apprehension, fear, and triggering thoughts regarding sexual assault for many members of our campus community," says the petition, which was penned by student Lauren Walsh. Skinless people. Sandpaper world. Pain the insensitive like us couldn't possibly understand...
"While it may appear humorous, or thought-provoking to some, it has already become a source of undue stress for many Wellesley College students, the majority of whom live, study, and work in this space." "Tut tut, my dear! Why'd we come to an expensive all-women's school if you're going to have to see realistic-looking statues of a man in his underwear? We could see the real thing at Amherst!"
Davis Museum director Lisa Fischman wrote on Wellesley College's official website that the sculpture was meant to evoke response. Outrage is a response, I guess.
"We placed the Sleepwalker on the roadside just beyond the Davis to connect the exhibition -- within the museum -- to the campus world beyond," Fischman wrote, also posting it on Change.org as her response to the petition. "I love the idea of art escaping the museum and muddling the line between what we expect to be inside (art) and what we expect to be outside (life)." Yes, yes. We all love the idea of pretentious bullshit. Though judging from the pic at the site it's pretty well done pretentious bullshit.
Fischman noted that reactions on campus have been "varied," and even wrote that she has heard that some find the statue "troubling." Well, yes. Most of us are 'troubled' by statues of guys in their underwear. Kinda the same way we're 'troubled' by flat beer or stepping in something we're afraid might be poop. However, some people cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go... she noted that the sculpture's whole intent was to start discussion. Does anyone do anything on a college campus other than to 'start discussion?'
"As the best art does, Tony Matelli's work provokes dialogue, and discourse is at the core of education," she wrote. Really great art starts discussions that go: "It's really good, ain't it?"... "Yep. Sure is." However, there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened... Magid said over the phone Tuesday that Fischman's response failed to address students' concerns. "I didn't get my way, therefore my concerns aren't addressed. So there."
"We were really disappointed that she seemed to articulate that she was glad it was starting discussion, but didn't respond to the fact that it's making students on campus feel unsafe, "Statues of guys in their underwear make most of us feel unsafe, don't they?... Don't they?... Or is it just me?"
which is not appropriate," Magid said. "We really feel that if a piece of art makes students feel unsafe, that steps over a line." Whatcha might call a 'redline.'
At the college on Tuesday, many drivers could be seen slamming on their brakes as they approached or passed the statue, craning their necks for a second look. I guess that could be considered making people feel unsafe, having been rear-ended once.
Many students were seen making a casual beeline for the new addition on campus -- some smiled and laughed as they got closer; others frowned and seemed apprehensive. Of a friggin' oversize dolly?
All reached for their smartphones to take a photo. If you're gonna be unsafe you might as well post it on Facebook.
"I honestly didn't even want to get too close to him," said Laura Mayron, a Wellesley College sophomore. "It honestly makes me a little uncomfortable with how real he looks. It's odd." "I mean, what if he's anatomically correct?"
Bridget Schreiner, a Wellesley freshman, said Tuesday afternoon that she had already signed the Change.org petition that was posted late Monday night. "Oh, yasss. I'm sure he has a pee-pee. That simply doesn't do at Wellesly, y'know."
Schreiner said she felt "freaked out" the first time she saw the statue, thinking for a moment that a real, nearly naked person was lingering near the campus center. "What would anybody who goes to Wellesly do with a doinker?"
"This could be a trigger for students who have experienced sexual assault," she said. "And I'm sure we all have, at one time or another, in one form or another. In fact... Yes, I think I'm being assaulted right now..."
Others said while the statue came as a surprise, they understood the artist's intention. "Does the phrase 'funny' mean anything to you tea sippers?"
"I find it disturbing, but in a good way," said Sarah Wall-Randell, an English professor at Wellesley. "I think it's meant to be off-putting -- it's a schlumpy guy in underpants in an all-women environment." "But then, I saw a dangling participle once. I'm not afraid of them!"
Wellesley College senior Annie Wang, an art history major, Boy, is she employable!
said she acknowledged that the statue forced passers-by to contemplate the very nature of art. "That's right!" she harrumphed. "The very nature of art! I been studying that stuff for almost four years now, so I know something about it!" However, a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth... she said she wished to see the statue moved out of such a public space. "Put him in the hallway. He'd make a good hatrack, if us ladies wore hats anymore."
"I think art's intention is to confront, but not assault, "And no hickeys, dammit!'
and people can see this as assaulting," Wang said. "That's why you see Wellesley women curled up in little fetal balls all over the campus!"
"Wellesley is a place where we're supposed to feel safe. "Oh, hold me, Mildred!"
I think place and a context matters, and I don't think this is the place to put it."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/06/2014 00:00 ||
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If it's a statue, it needs to be stone colored, Pink flesh is just wrong.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/06/2014 1:29 Comments ||
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The women of Wellesley are always involved
Any time that a sister has a booboo unsalved.
It would be for the best if this sculpture evolved,
So rename him "Gay Sleepwalker." Problem solved.
#3
IIRC, the 'classical' Greek statues were painted. Like so many things left out in the open and subject to environmental wear, they bleached out along with the 'classical' period. When the Renaissance society made collecting the old stuff a display of class and status, the raw appearance that we associate with them rather than the original display became the new norm.
They told me if I voted for Mitt Romney, America would be overrun with prudes whod faint at the thought of a Hanes ad. And they were right!
UPDATE: Jonathan Adler emails: I always thought one purpose of art was to challenge, provoke and, yes, make us uncomfortable. Its fine to make squares in flyover country uncomfortable. But not members of the elite.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/06/2014 7:57 Comments ||
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#5
It's entirely different for a college to stage the Vagina Monologues or to have some screechy woman glorify her lady parts on stage. Very different indeed, and anyone with a degree in art history or gender studies would know the difference.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/06/2014 8:01 Comments ||
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#7
"Wellesley is a place where we're supposed to feel safe"
That's it in a nutshell. You don't actually have to BE safe, just FEEL safe. After all, it is all about FEELINGS.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
02/06/2014 12:17 Comments ||
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Want to end the caterwauling? Just hang a sign on it that's says "Know The Enemy".
#10
I think the next step would be to have the statue on a motorized skateboard and travel to various campus GPS coordinates, with the occasional follow program.
#12
First the statue clearly mocks men and they are still threatened? Imagine if the statue was of a woman in her underwear? Oh the rage at the women's college would be audible in California (too fat, too thin, too sexist, too threatening!)
#13
Hillary's college. Come to think, the statue looks a little like Bill -- mouth open, arms out stretched, tighty whities... although Hillary hasn't seen him that way in 30 years.
Posted by: regular joe ||
02/06/2014 15:36 Comments ||
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#14
No does she want to, rj.
Posted by: Barbara ||
02/06/2014 15:40 Comments ||
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Oops! :-(
"Nor"
Posted by: Barbara ||
02/06/2014 16:16 Comments ||
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I dunno, rjs.
I think a similar statue of a woman - in underwear and sleepwalking - right next to the guy, but in a position showing that they just missed bumping into each other, would be hilarious. :-D
Posted by: Barbara ||
02/06/2014 16:19 Comments ||
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Barbara I think that would work if the female statue had cankles -- the hallmark of a Wellesley Woman.
Posted by: regular joe ||
02/06/2014 16:31 Comments ||
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#18
What's funny is the knee jerk bitchfest that results in... A petition. How typical, did not DO anything, instead go whine to the authorities about hurt feelings. Tells you a lot about their lack of character.
Put that statue out in the open on a public university campus, and within a few days it would have had several wardrobe changes including at least one cross dressing, a couple of inventive paint jobs, and at least one frat would have attached an "anatomical enhancement" overnight.
Police responding to reports of screaming coming from a home in Maine didn't find a victim of domestic violence as they feared. Instead, they found an amorous pig.
State police say a woman called last week after hearing what she believed to be a fight coming from a neighbor's home in the town of China. The caller said she heard screaming and thought there was a domestic assault.
The Morning Sentinel reports that four state troopers responded and talked to the neighbor. The neighbor explained that she raises pigs and the screaming was coming from an overjoyed male pig that had been placed in a pen with five sows in heat.
Police say there was no assault and no disturbance "other than the screaming male pig."
Posted by: Au Auric ||
02/06/2014 00:00 ||
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Police say there was no assault and no disturbance "other than the screaming male pig."
...apparently similar to complaints arising at Wellesley College.
In 1985, Nike released the Air Jordan. Michael Jordan's signature shoe was different. It was one of the first to have crossover appeal. However, a Portland, Oregon pimp has taken it further. He used the shoes to beat a man and now he's suing Nike for $100 million.
Posted by: Au Auric ||
02/06/2014 00:00 ||
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It will probably be thrown out of court.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/06/2014 1:26 Comments ||
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I don't think there is enough information here to come to a conclusion; should wait for the full court press release.
Posted by: Au Auric ||
02/06/2014 17:50 ||
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Getting the Obama-ammo web site and sign-up fully operational up may lead to some possible delays in 'back end' procurement. Best to stock up in advance of the transition.
[Washington Post] The Des Moines Register has the latest on that volatile police raid that I wrote about yesterday. The raid was apparently for suspected credit card fraud. Ankeny Police Department officials are now speaking out. But I'm not sure they're helping their cause:
Ankeny police are defending the raid, saying they needed to use that approach to protect officers' safety.
Ankeny police Capt. Makai Echer said officers knew at least one person in the house had a permit to carry a firearm. She said the department isn't currently investigating how officers handled the search, nor does the department have a written policy for executing warrants.
Unlike every other police department in the country...
So they see nothing wrong with how the raid was handled, and the department has no stated policy for executing warrants. All of that is troubling enough. (The lack of a written policy also suggests a lack of training.) As is the "officer safety" justification, as if that in itself trumps the rights of the people inside the house.
But citing the fact that one of the occupants in the house -- Justin Ross -- had applied and was approved for a gun permit is probably most disturbing of all. First, hardened criminals who are a threat to kill cops tend not to be the sort of people who bother with permits, or to register their firearms with the government. I don't think that point needs more elaboration.
Second, Ross was not one of the suspects for whom the police were looking. It seems highly, highly unlikely that had the police knocked on the door, announced themselves and waited for someone to answer it, a law-abiding citizen like Justin Ross would be a threat to suddenly decide to kill some cops. But it's much more likely that Justin Ross might feel the need to defend himself upon hearing unidentified parties break down two doors, followed by the sight of several gunnies in his home. Indeed, that's very nearly what happened.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/06/2014 00:00 ||
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I've noticed OUR (Small town?) Police force have a smallish armored vehicle, similar to a small water fording vehicle, (Open top, tracked,)looks like it would be used storming Normandy.
I can't think of any use the would have for it. We have no swamps.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/06/2014 1:21 Comments ||
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officers knew at least one person in the house had a permit to carry a firearm
The moral of the story: you own a gun, you had it coming.
#3
Our local constabulary bought 2 FN "sniper" rifles last year (local rag's verbiage not mine)... to "save lives during hostage situations". ...Of which there have been none.
n the other hand, they bought them just after a bill calling for the confiscation of most firearms hit the state senate. Some times 2+2 = 4... some times it equals .308
#4
The militarization of the police for DHS is seen at big events all across the country. There is a both a surplus of war & budget cuts, with new orders one of the few successful manufacturing businesses in America.
[An Nahar] A campaign of "no tolerance" for violence against women was launched in Morocco Wednesday by rights groups pressing the government to take greater action.
The "Strength of Women" group, which is partly funded by the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... , has drawn up a petition that it will present to Islamist premier Abdelilah Benkirane listing a number of demands.
These include guaranteeing equal access to employment, criminalizing all forms of violence against women, including marital violence, protecting women in public and creating units to monitor the abuse of women's rights.
Women enjoy greater liberties in Morocco than in much of the rest of the Moslem world, but rights groups say violence, particularly within marriages, is largely ignored.
In a report published two years ago, the state planning commission (HCP) said 2.4 million Moroccan women over 18 had been subjected to sexual violence at some point in their lives, while 3.4 million women had suffered physical violence at least once.
More than 50 percent of violence against women is thought to take place within marriage, and marital rape is not recognized as a crime.
The HCP report said an estimated 38,000 Moroccan women were the victims of rape, including marital rape, in the preceding 12 months.
A long-awaited law to combat violence against women is currently under study in Morocco, but the Islamist-led government has had to revise its proposals after sharp criticism from rights groups who say they lack clarity.
The bill threatens prison sentences of up to 25 years for perpetrators of violence against women.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/06/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] The central African nation of Burundi was plunged deeper into a political crisis Wednesday after the three government ministers from the main Tutsi party resigned.
The walkout by the Uprona party members upsets an increasingly delicate power-sharing arrangement between Burundi's majority Hutu and minority Tutsi communities, who are still struggling to reconcile after decades of conflict.
The Uprona party said District Development Minister Jean-Claude Ndihokubwayo, Communications Minister Leocadie Nihaza and Trade Minister Victoire Ndikumana had all quit.
"We refuse to cohabit with the ruling party of President Pierre Nkurunziza, which is going out of its way to destroy us," Uprona front man Tatien Sibomana told Agence La Belle France Presse.
The resignations follow an attempt by the ruling party, the CNDD-FDD, to force out Uprona party chairman Charles Nditije ahead of elections scheduled for 2015, and replace him with a sympathizer.
Uprona is the only Burundian grouping other than the CNDD-FDD not to have boycotted the 2010 elections. The other parties complained that the vote was marred by rigging.
In addition to the three ministers, Uprona had a vice-president in government, but he was removed by Nkurunziza on Saturday after he opposed the party change.
Over the past few months Uprona has become increasingly critical of the ruling party over sensitive issues such as a possible third term for Nkurunziza, the revision of the constitution and the distribution of land.
Several observers see the crisis as having been sparked by Nkurunziza's desire to stay on in office despite a constitutional limit set at two terms.
"President Nkurunziza will stop at nothing to get a third term in office," said Pacifique Nininahazwe, a prominent civil society leader.
Tensions over land also run high in densely-populated Burundi, where successive waves of Hutus and Tutsis returning from exile have often laid claim to the same plots. The government body tasked with resolving land disputes has been accused in recent months of a pro-Hutu bias.
The constitution is similarly sensitive as -- after decades of large-scale ethnic massacres -- it guarantees power sharing between the Hutu majority, which represents 85 percent of the population, and the Tutsi minority.
Presidential front man Willy Nyamitwe however dismissed the idea that the president and his party "had played any role in the Uprona crisis" conceding only that there had been "crises and misunderstandings".
He said Nkurunziza has not yet declared himself a candidate for the next polls, saying: "Let's wait for 2015 and the opening of the electoral lists."
A foreign diplomat, who asked not to be named, warned that the crisis could escalate.
"The situation is very worrying, because an attack on Uprona is an attack on the Tutsi community," said the diplomat.
"The frightening thing is that a lot of people consider that the ruling party has broken the delicate balance put in place in this country, and that is extremely serious."
Burundi's history is marred by bitter ethnic killings, with massacres in 1972 and 1988, as well as civil war.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/06/2014 00:00 ||
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[Dhaka Tribune] A woman was tossed in the calaboose Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! yesterday for allegedly torturing a 12-year-old maid at her house in the capital's Tolarbagh area.
Police also rescued the victim, identified as Reshma Akhter, in a critical condition and admitted her to the One Stop Crisis Centre at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.
The detained housewife, Laizu Begum, 35, was taken to Darussalam cop shoppe, while a case was filed against her by the victim's aunt.
Reshma bears severe wounds, including burn marks made with heated spoons, on different parts of her body, police said.
Reshma came to Dhaka from her village in Bhola three months ago with her aunt to get a job, as her impoverished father was unable to provide for the family.
Reshma then found work at the house of one Bulbul Ahmed, police and neighbours said. They added that Bulbul's wife, Laizu, would often torture the girl.
"As part of continuous torture on the poor girl, Laizu Begum yesterday beat her mercilessly. Witnessing the brutality unleashed on the 12-year-old, the local people rescued her and informed the police," said Rafiqul Islam, officer in charge of Darussalam cop shoppe.
Police then rushed to the area and took the girl to the hospital. They also arrested Laizu from her residence.
"The housewife often used to torture the girl in many ways on various excuses," the officer said, adding, "Different parts of the girl's body bore injury marks caused by the torture."
Rafiqul said after her rescue, Reshma described how her employer used to torture her. He also claimed that during questioning, Laizu admitted to police that she would beat up Reshma for her various faults.
"The neighbours and local people also narrated how Laizu Begum had been torturing the poor girl," Rafiqul said. "The locals also said Laizu did not pay any heed to their requests to stop beating the child."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/06/2014 00:00 ||
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Not America, (It doesn't say where)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/06/2014 1:25 Comments ||
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Oh, yeah. Sure they do.
[Dhaka Tribune] Prime Minister the loathesome Sheikh Hasina ...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums.. Wednesday said the international community had accepted the results of the 10th national election as an optimistic achievement.
"The international community has accepted the results of the last general elections in Bangladesh in a positive way against the ill motive of BNP-Jamaat, which was out to foil the poll through violence," she told parliament.
Replying to a question from Awami League politician AKM Rahmatullah during her scheduled question-answer session, Hasina said a good number of heads of states had hailed the government and sent messages to her upon becoming the primeminister for the third time.
"Ten countries, including the heads of the United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... and other international organizations, also greeted me as the prime minister of the newly elected government," she said. Hasina expressed hope that more greetings would come in.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/06/2014 00:00 ||
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[ELUNIVERSAL] "We will expropriate whatever needs to be expropriated," Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro cautioned in reference to the new Law of Costs and Fair Prices.
Concomitantly, the president urged private companies to comply with the new law. His statements came during the commemoration of the coup attempt of February 4, 1992.
The Venezuelan president threatened to take "the most radical measures to protect our people's economy."
"I make an appeal to the country economic sectors, for work and self-regulation of commodities and prices. You have time until next Monday; otherwise, I will take the most radical measures," Maduro specified.
"I am determined to make an economic revolution. Nobody, nothing will stop me!" he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/06/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
aka Command Economy
(it's the 'in' thing, just ask anyone in the Beltway or Pyongyang)
#5
I think back to my study of the USSR back in the early 70's and I just can't fathom how anyone could think that a command economy like that could ever possibly work. Really mind boggling levels of stupidity at work among all leftists apparently. (see also Obamanation)
[An Nahar] President Rafael Correa has pulled Ecuador out of a 1947 hemispheric mutual defense treaty on Wednesday on grounds it is outdated, the foreign ministry announced Wednesday. The move was the latest in a shift away from U.S.-led security arrangements in the region by Ecuador and other leftist Latin American allies.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/06/2014 00:00 ||
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Maybe things are starting to heat up with Peru. They fought a naval war back in the '40s for a couple weeks. With America out of the game, it's time to settle some local hash.
[An Nahar] EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele
I must apologize to someone -- I thought that was a typo in the headline.
said Wednesday he will return to the Ukrainian capital next week to continue efforts to help defuse the country's crisis.
"The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... stands ready to assist all sides," Fuele told the European Parliament, adding that he and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton "are working as a team on Ukraine".
"She is there today trying to stop the crisis from escalating and I will be returning there next week again."
Fuele warned that "what is at stake now is not only the respect of the most basic fundamental rights, but also the future of Ukraine."
He called for quick discussion on the constitution under a new government and said the EU could assist revisions with expertise and advice.
It was crucial to ensure free and fair elections in 2015, he said.
"In case of a positive scenario", the EU would be ready to extend assistance, based on a genuine commitment to political and economic reforms, in cooperation with the IMF and other global actors, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/06/2014 00:00 ||
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New IRS commissioner Koskinen said that the rules should put to rest all of the issues surrounding applications for tax-exempt status. But Madrigals email to Lerner proves that the regulations were being developed long before the IRS needed to publicly put anything to rest.
So now what we have [by slow-rolling the gov't investigations] is an attempt to make legitimate what Lerner had kept secret and potentially unlawful.
[Jerusalem Post] The current talks with the Palestinians are unlikely to go anywhere because of both sides terms, Construction and Housing Minister Uri Ariel predicted Wednesday.
Everyone in the coalition agrees, including [Justice Minister Tzipi] Livni and [Finance Minister Yair] Lapid, that the major settlement blocs will remain intact, the Jordan Valley will remain part of Israel, there cannot be a right of return and Jerusalem will remain united. The other side wants the right of return, wont recognize Israel as Jewish and doesnt want any Jews on their land, Ariel pointed out.
If you ask me if we can reach an agreement with those terms, I say no, he added.
Ariel called the continuing talks déjà vu, saying theres no way for a breakthrough as US Secretary of State John Kerry has no room to maneuver. Déjà vu all over again. Another waste of AVGAS by the US. Stay home, stay out of it.
#4
As per FREEREPUBLIC Artic, iff true then there is no reason for Israel to unilater give up 90% of the West Bank as the Artic denoted, now is there!?
[Fox News] WASHINGTON -- The IRS is set to pay roughly $70 million in employee-union bonuses, contrary to an Obama administration directive to halt such rewards amid the deep, government-wide budget cuts known as sequestration.
The apparent deal with the National Treasury Employees Union is scheduled for Wednesday and was made public by Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa. Grassley's office said the information came from a "person with knowledge of IRS budgetary procedures." Source remains unnamed, due to fear of IRS recrimination.
The IRS is already facing widespread criticism, which started last month when IRS officials acknowledged that agents had improperly targeted Tea Party groups and conservative organizations for additional scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status during the 2010 and 2012 elections. Then the agency's inspector general issued a report a few weeks later that documented lavish employee conferences during the same time period. Bonuses and other regime incentives [denials of even a smidgen of wrong doing] just prior to the tax season should bolster the agencies lagging morale. Audit these infidels you bastids!
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.
Joe 
[BOSTON] A realistic-looking statue of a man sleepwalking in his underwear near the center of Wellesley College has created a stir among the women on campus, 
[Washington Post] The Des Moines Register has the latest on that volatile police raid that I wrote about yesterday. The raid was apparently for suspected credit card fraud. Ankeny Police Department officials are now speaking out. But I'm not sure they're helping their cause:
...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as 
[An Nahar] EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele 
