SYDNEY, Australia -- An inmate who used laxatives to shed 31 pounds so he could squeeze through a hole in a prison wall had been frustrated by the indefinite sentence he was serving, a judge said.
"Where you off to, Cole?"
"Gotta go!"
"Again?"
Robert Cole, 37, spent three days on the run from police in January after slipping his 123-pound frame through a 6-inch wide hole he had chiseled with a butter knife in the window frame of a hospital wing at Sydney's Long Bay Jail. Cole, who had been hospitalized for psychiatric treatment, spent three weeks scraping the brickwork near the window bars to widen the space, District Court Judge Roger Dive said Friday.
Sounds like he shoulda spent the time being medicated...
Dive sentenced Cole to two years and two months' imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to a charge of escape. The sentence was backdated to his recapture on Jan. 21. When he escaped, Cole had been serving an indefinite sentence in the prison hospital after a jury found him not guilty of armed robbery in 2003 on the grounds of mental illness.
At least the two year sentence relieves his frustration at his indefinite sentence.
Dive said he accepted that Cole was "very frustrated" at the time of his escape, as "he did not have a definite date of release and no apparent treatment plan."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2006 00:00 ||
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HOUSTON -- Evacuees from Hurricane Katrina have contributed to an increase in Houston's annual murder rate, which could climb this year to its highest level in more than a decade, police said.
Houston had 316 homicides as of Oct. 16. That's an increase of 25 percent from the 252 slayings tallied at this time last year, putting the city on pace to record nearly 400 killings before the end of 2006.
Houston had 316 homicides as of Oct. 16. That's an increase of 25 percent from the 252 slayings tallied at this time last year, putting the city on pace to record nearly 400 killings before the end of 2006. "We recognize that the homicide rate is up as far as raw numbers and as well as percentages relative to the population," Capt. Dwayne Ready said. "We also recognize that Katrina evacuees continue to have an impact on the murder rate."
When Katrina swamped New Orleans last year, 250,000 people fled to Houston. As many as 150,000 evacuees remain in the city.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2006 00:00 ||
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Katrina/ murders/ Houston/ GWB's fault.
Don't forget Vote Treason and Vote DemoCrap!
Posted by: Nancy P ||
10/22/2006 1:00 Comments ||
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And yet despite exporting so many of our criminals to Houston, the New Orleans homicide rate is still way up. Guess we imported more criminals from somewhere else than we exported to Houston.
TACOMA, Wash. -- A man accused of having sex with the family dog has been charged under the state's new animal cruelty law, which makes bestiality a felony, a prosecutor said. Michael Patrick McPhail, 26, of nearby Spanaway, pleaded not guilty Thursday to one count of first-degree animal cruelty in Pierce County Superior Court.
McPhail's wife told investigators that she found her husband on their back porch Wednesday night having intercourse with their 4-year-old female pit bull terrier. The dog was squealing and crying. The woman took lurid photos with her cell phone and called the sheriff's office.
Assistant Pierce County Prosecutor Karen Watson said McPhail was the first person in Pierce County to be charged with the new bestiality offense. She said the dog was taken by animal control. McPhail posted $20,000 bail on Friday. Judge Katherine Stolz has set a trial date of Dec. 11. Calls to McPhail's public defender, David Katayama, were not immediately returned Friday.
McPhail's wife told investigators that she found her husband on their back porch Wednesday night having intercourse with their 4-year-old female pit bull terrier, the Pierce County sheriff's office report said. The dog was squealing and crying, according to charging papers. The woman took photos with her cell phone and called the sheriff's office.
There's a good chance he permanently injured the dog. I wonder if the sheriff would mind giving me a few minutes alone with this SOB. Oh, and just ignore any crying and squealing you might hear ...
The bestiality law, which took effect in June, was prompted by a case near Enumclaw in which a Seattle man died after having sex with a horse. Before the law was enacted, Washington was one of 14 states where bestiality had not been explicitly prohibited.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2006 00:00 ||
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with their 4-year-old female pit bull terrier
This story could have, should have, had a happy ending that left us with a new contestant for the Darwin Awards.
A German motorist followed the command "Turn right now!" from his navigation system and crashed into a small toilet hut by the side of the road -- about 30 metres (yards) before the crossing he was meant to take.
The overly obedient 53-year-old from Freiburg Homer Simpson drove his sport utility vehicle off the road onto into a building site, up a stairway and into the small toilet shack, police in the eastern town of Rudolstadt said on Sunday. D'oh!
It caused 2,000 euros (1,340 pounds) worth of damage to the stairway, 100 euros damage to his car, and he was also fined 35 euros.
Earlier this month an 80-year-old motorist Mr. Magoo also chose to follow his navigation system and ignored a "closed for construction" sign on a Hamburg motorway. He then crashed into a pile of sand (brought to you by Hanna-Barbara)but neither he nor his passenger were injured. The navigation aid is meant to assist your decision-making skills, not replace them. That's all folks!
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/22/2006 16:56 Comments ||
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#5
[Reading from flight instruction manual]
Colonel Manfred von Holstein: Step one: sit down.
Colonel Manfred von Holstein: There is nothing a German officer cannot do!
Posted by: bruce ||
10/22/2006 18:37 Comments ||
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There's no dashboard warning light for this...
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German car rental clerk had to take apart the interior of a removals van to take out an eight-foot boa constrictor that had escaped from a cloth sack on the passenger seat and slithered behind the dashboard. Thomas Weber, a rental clerk in the state of Thuringia, told Bild newspaper Friday the snake's owner had brought the van back seeking help for his unusual problem. Weber then took the dashboard apart and the owner slowly pulled the giant snake out. "The snake was completely content in there and didn't want to come out," said Weber. "Evidently, he liked the warm and cozy feeling near the engine."
A 59-YEAR-old German man who has spent the last 34 years in jail has turned down offers to be let out.
"Nope. Nope. Ain't goin'."
"He rejected an offer to leave in 1992," Thomas Melzer, a spokesman for the Brandenburg state justice ministry, told Bild newspaper today. "We can't do anything if someone sentenced to life in prison doesn't want to leave."
"I don't gotta if I don't wanna and you can't make me, so there!"
The man, identified only as Gerold H, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1972 when the area was part of communist East Germany. German prisoners have no obligation to agree to leave jail before their sentences have been completed.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
I guess he didn't want to leave his cellmate's behind.
#3
An Ossie. Makes sense. He was promised three hots and a cot for life, and by God the state owes it to him! Now that these capitalist running dogs are in charge, he might have to get a job. Aiieee!
A Sydney council wants to force local businesses to translate all shopfront signs in foreign languages into English.
Marrickville Council in Sydney's inner west is the latest local authority in the city to look at introducing the requirement.
Marrickville has a large foreign-born population and is well-known for its ethnic restaurants.
Local councillor Victor Macri said having shop signs only in foreign languages promoted segregation.
"If they are offended by the English language, they should seriously consider where they live," he told Sky News.
"Marrickville is an open and friendly place, and that's what we're showing. We're friendly to everyone."
Mr Kerkyasharian said it was sensible for businesses to have signs in English as well.
"Commercial signs send an important commercial message and it makes sense to have it in English as well so that it maximises commercial opportunities," Mr Kerkyasharian said.
"In some cases, eg a recent requirement by a Korean restaurant that only Koreans are allowed in their establishment, or any signs which send a signal that people of a particular linguistic background only are welcome in a shop, could be seen as bordering on racism."
Not all Marrickville councillors support the proposal, with Greens member Saeed Khan condemning it as a "very bad idea" that could even be illegal.
"Our area is a very diverse area, and language diversity is part of the area," he said.
"Not only does it add to the overall look and feel of the area, it also adds a sense of belonging. Nearly half of the population of the area was born overseas."
Marrickville Council's development and environmental services committee will discuss the proposal again early next month.
Seismologists are investigating a suspected earth tremor in Melbourne's southern suburbs tonight. A spokeswoman from Geoscience Australia says they have been flooded with calls from concerned residents in the suburb of Clayton, who felt the movement. Investigations are continuing as to the magnitude of the tremor.
The suspected tremor follows a magnitude four earthquake last night 30 kilometres east of Cowra, in the central west of New South Wales. No property was damaged in the quake.
RESIDENTS of the NSW central west mistook a magnitude four earthquake in the area last night for a thunderstorm. Geoscience Australia says the quake struck shortly before 8pm (AEST) yesterday at Wyangala, approximately half way between Bathurst and Young. There have been no reports of damage, although people from as far as 100km away have reported feeling the tremor.
"It sounds like people have felt it from a couple of hundred kilometres away, which is a little unusual for a magnitude four," Geoscience Australia's senior seismologist Phil Cummins told news agency AAP. This was probably due to the quake's depth, about 15km below ground, Mr Cummins said.
He described the quake as "moderate".
Marianna Xerri, an employee at the Wyangala Waters State Park, told AAP the quake created more noise than shake at her home, 16km south of Wyangala. "I've been in earthquakes before, and your clothes hangers all shake in the cupboard and all that sort of thing, but it didn't do that," Mrs Xerri said. "It was the noise, it was more like a thunderstorm, like a rolling thunderstorm."
The sound lasted about 20 seconds, she said. "It wasn't long but it was strange."
Geoscience Australia will use the data from the quake to assist in predicting the effects of larger earthquakes.
#3
Intraplate earthquakes are, obviously, not as common, but they certainly do occur - and some have been among the largest on record. The three 8.0+ quakes in New Madrid (Dec 16, 1811 - Feb 7, 1812) and the 7.9 Bhuj quake (Jan 26, 2001 - killed approx 20,000) in India are good examples. The science on them is speculative, but with enough grants...
On a day when the latest Quinnipiac poll showed Ned Lamont losing ground in the race against Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Howard Dean's presence at a boisterous Democratic rally Friday couldn't have been more timely - or necessary. Dean, the zealous chairman of the Democratic National Committee and former presidential candidate from Vermont, both railed against the Bush administration and exhorted the crowd of supporters and campaign volunteers to work their hardest until Election Day. "Now we've got 18 days left. Eighteen days of knocking on doors. I know you all know how to do that, because you did it for Ned Lamont before the primary," Dean said. "Work like crazy. Some of you might drop dead, but I promise you on Nov. 8, the resurrection will occur."
If the poll released Friday is correct, Lamont will need every drop of energy his supporters have before Election Day. According to that poll, Lieberman now holds a 52 percent to 35 percent lead over Lamont among likely voters, a 17-point advantage. Lamont was only trailing Lieberman by 10 points at the time of the last Quinnipiac poll, which was released Sept. 28. The Republican candidate in the race, Alan Schlesinger, picked up two percentage points, going from 4 percent to 6 percent. Seven percent of voters polled said they are still undecided.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2006 00:00 ||
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Hell, it's even worse than that. The little loony left rats deserting the ship have already written a "concession" speech for Lamont at the Puffington Host, blaming Lamont's loss on being too nice and going too far to the center.
I want to find out what the hell they are smoking or drinking so I know what I have to warn my kid about when he gets older. I'm thinking they might be hitting the absinthe or huffing lighter fluid. Sheesh.
Now Whitebread Ned is running ads about his being a compassionate capitalist businessman. Of course both he and the media fail to mention his ill-fated business career was funded by daddy's trust fund. A classic Limo Liberal.
The only visible Dems for Red Ned is Rainman Wesley Clark and Screamin' Deanie; the rest are making sucking sounds for Lieberman, who, of course will continue to caucus with them after a period of making 'em twist a bit.
Posted by: regular joe ||
10/22/2006 10:58 Comments ||
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I predict that most pro-GWOT Dems will win. Surrenderism is an ideology of defeat.
Too bad that the forthcoming new rules of engagement in Iraq, won't get aired until after the elections. I anticipate something positive coming out of that debate.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2006 00:00 ||
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From NewsMax:
Hillary Loses Senate Debate . . . Big Time
Dick Morris & Eileen McGann
On Friday night, Hillary Clinton finally had to face an unscripted, uncontrolled media event -- a debate with her feisty opponent John Spencer, the Republican candidate for Senator from New York this year.
Spencer pinned her ears back with his opening statement when he declared: "I am the only person here who really wants to be the Senator from New York .... she wants to be president."
And then he exploited the opening by reminding Hillary "you're not the president yet."
During the debate, Spencer highlighted Hillary's vote against the NSA's wiretapping program and her efforts to kill the Patriot Act.
John Spencer began his challenge to Hillary tonight. The race starts today.
Hillary's huge financial advantage and her lead in the polls was of little use tonight because it was obvious that the empress has no clothes.
While Hillary gave scripted, rehearsed answers, Spencer challenged her failure to deliver on her campaign promises of 200,000 new jobs and mocked her refusal to accept blame for anything, pinning the job loss on Bush and the North Korea bomb on the State Department.
But beyond the words, there were the appearances. Hillary Clinton was a Richard Nixon look-alike tonight, wearing pancake makeup, featuring hooded eyes that never met the camera, and looking like she felt -- angry at having to waste time justifying her Senate tenure in something as trivial as an election.
John Spencer may not beat Hillary, but he sure made her sweat tonight. If she wins by less than 12 points -- the margin Lazio lost by in 2000 --- she will have a lot of explaining to do. And John Spencer, may just be the guy to make it happen.
LORAIN, OH -- Rumors started by the influential liberal blog The Daily Kos claim that scores of frustrated Lorain County voters are learning they have been disqualified from voting due to minor glitches as part of a giant Republican scheme to purge voters from the rolls.
Rumors started by the influential liberal blog The Daily Kos claim that scores of frustrated Lorain County voters are learning they have been disqualified from voting due to minor glitches as part of a giant Republican scheme to purge voters from the rolls.
Not so, say county election officials. Voters can't be purged in one election cycle, there are no pending challenges to voter registration, and yesterday at the elections board, there were only a few early voters -- none of whom were disqualified.
Elections board Chairwoman Marilyn Jacobcik said the rumor seems to have come from mailings the board sent to registered voters in September as part of the new requirements set by the state legislature. The letter informs the voters of their polling place and new voting requirements, and also verifies addresses. But voters who have moved and don't receive the mailings can still vote if they have a valid photo ID. If they don't have identification, they can still vote with a provisional ballot. ''No one will be denied a ballot,'' said Jose Candelario, executive director of the board.
Said Jacobcik: ''There are groups out there trying to create mistrust of the system.''
State Democrats said they are looking into the rumor, but they don't think it's very credible. ''There is no way that voters can be purged,'' said Randy Bontrager, spokesman for the Ohio Democratic Party. ''The process to purge a voter takes years, and several federal election cycles.''
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2006 00:00 ||
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Gearing up with excuses for the Dem losses in the Nov. election. The Kos Kidz are nothing if not prepared.
#3
...Man, all KINDS of hometown news this morning. My mom's from Lorain and both my brothers still live south of town in Amherst. If it isn't now, Lorain proper has a population that is mostly minority - Puerto Rican, African-American, and Hispanic (Mexican, Central American). It's a good sized liberal voting bloc, and I wonder if this wasn't a setup to lay the groundowrk for an election challenge.
NOTE: Just re-read my post...we're going to end up a banana republic here right quick. No matter how the elections end up, I see a widespread effort on the part of the Democrats to challenge EVERY contest that doesn't go their way, and the KK's efforts to stir up trouble in Lorain County may be our first warning.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
10/22/2006 10:10 Comments ||
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Trust me on this they will try to float teh "stolen election" meme, so it's just a matter of where they will claim a battlefield. I ws leaning toward Texas, but I heard that Arizona won a court order to require voters to present an ID. Imagine that, requiring proof that you are the person that is casting a vote. Since the Democrats are the onlhy ones whining about this it makes you wonder who has been voting in the past. Look for a big made up fight about some poor disenfranchised voter that doesn't have an valid ID and couldn't vote.
Ginnnah Muhammad of Detroit was looking for her day in court. Instead, she said she felt as if a judge forced her to choose between her case and her religion in a small-claims dispute in Hamtramck District Court.
A devout Muslim, she wore a niqab - a scarf and veil to cover her face and head except for her eyes - Oct. 11 as she contested a rental car company's charging her $2,750 to repair a vehicle after thieves broke into it.
Judge Paul Paruk said he needed to see her face to judge her truthfulness and gave Muhammad, 42, a choice: take off the veil when testifying or the case would be dismissed. She kept the veil on.
"I just feel so sad," Muhammad said last week. "I feel that the court is there for justice for us. I didn't feel like the court recognized me as a person that needed justice. I just feel I can't trust the court."
The wearing of a niqab has spurred increasing debate, particularly in Europe. In 2004, France banned the wearing of it and other religious symbols in public schools. It has sparked controversy in the United States as well. A Muslim woman from Florida unsuccessfully went to court in an effort to overturn the state's order in 2001 that she reveal her face for her driver's license photo.
In metro Detroit, which has one of the country's largest Muslim populations, a small minority of Muslim women - primarily those of Yemeni descent - wear the niqab, said Dawud Walid , executive director of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Paruk said that as a fact finder, he needs to see the face of a person testifying. Michigan has no rules governing what judges can do regarding religious attire of people in court, so the judges have leeway on how to run their courtrooms. "My job in the courtroom is to make a determination as to the veracity of somebody's claim," he said. "Part of that, you need to identify the witness and you need to look at the witness and watch how they testify."
Paruk said he offered to let Muhammad, who was born in the United States and converted to Islam at the age of 10, wear the veil during the proceedings except when she testified. He said this was the first time someone had come before his court wearing a niqab, and he noted that many Muslims do not consider it a religious symbol. "I felt I was trying to accommodate her as best I could," he said.
Walid said Paruk still violated Muhammad's civil rights. "Although a niqab is donned by a minority of Muslim females, it is still a bona fide religious practice," he said.
And they're working to make it a majority practice.
Hamtramck, once almost entirely populated by residents of eastern European descent, now has a large and growing population of Muslims. "There definitely needs to be greater sensitivity toward the growing populace in that municipality," Walid said.
Judges should seek to strike a balance between running their courtrooms and respecting the religious views of those appearing before them, said Steve Leben, a Kansas trial court judge who is president of the American Judges Association. "I'm not trying to be critical of the judge because it is difficult to make decisions on the fly," Leben said. "But if it's a person's legitimate religious belief, we have a duty to try to reconcile these competing interests."
Which the judge tried to do.
Mark Somers, chief judge of the Dearborn District Court, which covers the bulk of the Detroit area's Muslim population, said he could not recall an instance when a woman who wore a niqab came before his court to testify. But he said he would not require a woman to remove her veil during a civil case. "To me, it would not be an issue," he said. "I simply as a matter of personal policy would never ask someone to do that."
#2
Finally, a judge with more than two functioning brain cells. This is precisely the way to handle this stupidity. Don't wanna play by the rules. Dismiss the case. Bravo !
#3
Some states have anti-mask laws meant to marginalize the Klan.
There could also be sixth amendment issues in a criminal case where a defendant has a right to confront his accusor face to face. Courts work around it in cases of mob informants who get special permission to hide behind a screen for their own safety, but wearing a mask to court is going to raise legal issues. Stay tuned.
Posted by: Baba Tutu ||
10/22/2006 1:09 Comments ||
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#4
Judge Paul Paruk said he needed to see her face to judge her truthfulness ...
"... I didn't feel like the court recognized me as a person that needed justice."
It's hard to recognize you with that stoopid veil on, nitwit. The judge even extended you every courtesy of his court and you demanded that the bench follow your dictates anyway. Wow! Where have we seen this shit before?
Hamtramck, once almost entirely populated by residents of eastern European descent, now has a large and growing population of Muslims.
Muslim outrage over being forced to live in a city with a haram name like Hamtramck in 5 ... 4 ... 3 ...
"But if it's a person's legitimate religious belief, we have a duty to try to reconcile these competing interests."
A coutroom is a dispensary of law, not scripture. Certain conditions must be met in order for justice to be rendered correctly. One of them is appearing before a judge who evaluates the merits of your case. While in court, I am required to remove my hat despite belonging to the Church of Stetson, so these assholes can remove their headcoverings as well. Don't like it? Go back to your Islamic hell hole utopia and whine about it there.
#5
I wonder if these asshats would like the US court system to honor another islamic religious custom, under wich a womens testimony has half the weight of a males?
#9
Steve, from what I was able to gather, the contact information is for the actual municipal office of the court and not the individual's personal residence (which I would most definitely not list). The same identical address and contact information was shown for other officers of the court. Unfortunately, there was no email address which is what I really wanted to post.
#10
ok... wow. I have to admit that my surprise meter is really pegging tonight. Someone here said that it will not be a nuke or bomb - but an emotional issue that will trigger the shift. And whoever you were - feel free to take the credit - right you were.
You probably didn't hear it from me first, but you are hearing it from me now - the veil will be it.
And when I think about it logically, it is not a surprise in any way shape or form.
I was in Walmart today there were a significant number of tall, black women covered from head to toe in dark, heavy flowing fabric. Among the pumpkins and smiling Casper ghosts, I could not help thinking of how much they looked like ghouls.
I have to admit that it surprised me how visceral my reaction was. I really, really, really, really, really, really, really do understand that these women are individuals who should not be made into symbols. That is wrong and unfair. Yet they represnt the gravest threat that I have yet faced.
Women have only had the vote since the turn of the century. All that I take for granted is fragile, temporary and not guaranteed. I could not help but to look at them and understand how easily it could all be taken away. Overnight my status in life could change from a woman to less than that of a favored dog or a horse!
So it is to be that the veil is to be the symbol by which we all can grasp the conflict that "faces" us.
anon - I understand your reaction. The first sight of a Band of Ninjas or a Mob of MBO's (Moving Black Objects) shuffling down the street, appearing to almost float sometimes, is, um, unsettling and an eye-opener. When you see signs on the two entry doors to every restaurant, one saying "Families" and the other "Single Men", you will know you have arrived in Sharia Hell. The Muzzy "men" are cowards and chickenshits who are worried they'll lose control of their chattel. Ol' Mo sure did a number on them - foisting all of his personal fears and quirks and hatreds and superstitions and perversions upon the billions that followed. Waaay twisted.
The judge was absolutely right to require removal of the veil. Observing someone's facial features can indeed be a guide to their credibility.
For example, until the day she passed away, if asked an incriminating question by my mother I was doomed if she could watch my face and were I to responded with less than the complete and unvarnished truth.
Simply put: How can you see their lips fall off if they're wearing a veil?
Dawud Walid says there needs to be "greater sensitivity toward the growing muslim population". BS. It's the obligation of the muzzie to accomodate the culture and customs of the USA, not the other way around.
Dhimmi Award for the week goes to Judge Mark Somers, chief judge of the Dearborn District, who says that as a matter of personal policy he wouldn't require a woman to remove the veil. Again, that's BS. Credibility is always any issue in a trial. If my case turned on the credibility of a muzzie I'd want the muzzie to testify without the veil. If my request to have the veil removed was denied by the judge, I'd feel I was unable to get a fair trial.
Judge Somers says that, to date, he hasn't had to address this issue in his courtroom. It's only a matter time before he does. It's an issue coming sooner rather than later. We now know how the coward Judge Somers will respond.
The muzzies appear to be feelin' a bit uppity these days. It's well past time for some much needed cultural push back.
Posted by: Mark Z ||
10/22/2006 7:14 Comments ||
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#13
The judge should have given her 30 days for contempt of court. That's what he'd do if I didn't take off my hat. And that's what it is. The law of the land is the supreme law in this country. Those unwilling to acknowledge it should be prepared to pay the price.
#16
Actually, most States have all sorts of ways of swearing before giving testimony, not just the Bible. There is even an atheist oath that can be given in a lot of places. They have them for Wiccans, Scientologists, etc.
#17
Oztralian, if she wanted to, yup, she could swear on a Koran. But most jurisdictions don't use a Bible, anyways. That's pretty much a Hollywood thing. You just promise to say the truth, etc.
#18
They have them for Wiccans, Scientologists, etc. Swearing to tell the truth on a shlock scince fiction writers ramblings? At least the Wiccans appear to be to be moral if IMO slightly wacked out.
#19
"I have to admit that it surprised me how visceral my reaction was. I really, really, really, really, really, really, really do understand that these women are individuals who should not be made into symbols. That is wrong and unfair. Yet they represnt the gravest threat that I have yet faced."
Anon: I could not agree more. But I think it is important to remember it the ideology of the niqab that turns these women into symbols, not our reaction to it.
#20
"I feel that the court is there for justice for us. I didn't feel like the court recognized me as a person that needed justice. I just feel I can't trust the court."
The court couldn't recognize you at all, under that veil. As for not recognizing you as a person? That's what your religion won't do and that's why it demands you be hidden.
#22
Thanks for the update, Zen, when I looked at it I thought it was the personal number for his office.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/22/2006 12:32 Comments ||
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#23
Women have only had the vote since the turn of the century. All that I take for granted is fragile, temporary and not guaranteed. I could not help but to look at them and understand how easily it could all be taken away. Overnight my status in life could change from a woman to less than that of a favored dog or a horse!
So it is to be that the veil is to be the symbol by which we all can grasp the conflict that "faces" us.
It's good to know that you truly appreciate just how fragile so much of the West's recent progress is. This is why I continue to maintain that even in the absence of terrorism, Islam's institutionalized abused of women would still discredit it as any sort of acceptable filth faith.
PHILADELPHIA - The new publisher of The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News told employees Friday that layoffs are "unavoidable" because advertising revenue is down and the owners need to cut costs to meet their bank obligations. "We must reduce our work force so that it is in line with our reduced revenue," wrote Brian P. Tierney, chairman and chief executive of Philadelphia Media Holdings LLC. "To the extent we don't get the savings, those layoffs will be larger."
I suppose it could have something to do with the drop in quality of the newspapers. The Inquirer of my youth was a rather cerebral, moderately liberal paper. The Daily News was the feisty tabloid. Last few times I've bothered reading the Inquirer it was awful — trite, predictably liberal, and not very well written. It's not just the politix, it's the quality.
Philadelphia Media Holdings an investment group made up of Tierney, luxury homebuilder co-founder Bruce Toll and other local investors bought the two dailies, their Web site and sister properties from McClatchy Co. in June in a deal valued at $562 million. Tierney expressed optimism after the sale was announced, saying he wanted to invest in the newspapers to ensure their continued growth. But in his letter, he said the investors needed to make changes. Citing negotiations with the newspapers' unions, he said the company needs to restructure labor contracts and the work force. "We need to reach agreements that allow us to achieve the savings to meet our loan obligations, and to reinvest in and to grow our business," he wrote.
The old "we need to shrink our business in order to grow it" routine. I learned that one back in MBA school, too.
Cash flow dropped from $100 million in 2004 to $76 million last year and is estimated to be less than $50 million for 2006, Tierney said. Jay Devine, a spokesman for Philadelphia Media Holdings, said the financial picture has changed dramatically in the last few months. Investors initially had thought they needed to save $20 million a year going forward, but now they believe they will have to save more, he said. "We also were optimistic about the end-of-the year quarter," Devine said of the group's initial hopes. "That, too, now looks very grim."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2006 00:00 ||
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ho, ho, ho. Merry Christmas!!
Also read in USA today Friday that NBC is laying off 700 of their TV staff. teh, heh, heh.
CLEVELAND - City schools will expand sex education curriculum to include age-appropriate lessons that begin as early as kindergarten, officials said.
Ohfergawdsake.
The initiative comes as Cleveland's teen birth rates are high but dropping - about 40 of every 1,000 girls ages 15-19 become pregnant every year, according to state data - and rates of some sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, are rising.
Among kindergartners?
Cases of chlamydia, the most common STD, rose 30 percent over the past five years while HIV, rarely diagnosed in adolescents, turned up in 19 Cuyahoga County teens. "One-third of all the HIV/AIDS cases in Ohio are in Cleveland," said Lita Townsend, responsible sexual behavior coordinator for the district. "Really, the best weapon we have right now is education."
"Education" for kiddygartners consists of tracing their letters. At that age they can't even pronounce "chlamydia."
Cleveland schools already offer sex education to many of their middle- and high-school students. The schools also are required to teach HIV prevention.
Even though the world we live in often doesn't make any sense, HIV prevention for preschoolers doesn't seem like it should take an awful lot of time away from the ABCs, recess, or nap time. Seems like we could at least wait until they start losing their baby teeth.
The new classes, which begin soon, will address self-esteem and peer pressure as well as biology.
Oh, boy. More self-esteem.
Children in grades K-3 will learn about how viruses work and appropriate and inappropriate touching. Grades 4-6 will start learning about menstruation and other aspects of reproductive health. In grades 7-12, the discussion shifts to interpersonal relationships, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, teen pregnancy and respect for sexual orientation.
That'd be gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgendered-hermaphroditic, but not for the asexual, which is what most kids are until they discover puberty.
Abortion will be explained and defined but not promoted, said Townsend, adding that she's unaware of other programs in the state that target every grade level.
We're sure that abortion won't be demoted, either.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Since the Cleveland school district dropped time-wasters like reading, writing, and math - there's more time for these innovative programs.
#2
Outrageous. I'm a strong advocate of sex education but this is entirely beyond the pale.
The new classes, which begin soon, will address self-esteem and peer pressure as well as biology.
One day, I hope that I'm able to give proper credit to whomever said the following:
NEVER HAS THERE BEEN A GENERATION SO FULL OF SELF-ESTEEM ... FOR SO LITTLE REASON
This shit is simply ridiculous. It represents agenda-oriented individuals using whatever vehicle is available to convey their particular brand of politically correct tripe. Fuck them to death with a ball peen hammer.
#3
It is possible to teach a child to believe anything, absolutely anything, if you only start soon enough, repeat it constantly, and provide "power figures" who act like it's normal.
No matter what lame liberal idiocy they use to justify it, this is not simply insane, it is an attempt to be first to indoctrinate the children in the secular progressive social model, to plant their seed - for later manipulation.
#4
...Having been born/raised/resided in Mistake-On-The-Lake, let me assure you that there are many, many wonderful things about Cleveland. The school system ain't one of them. Even a decade ago, the Cleveland Public Schools housed only those students whose parents were simply unable to move or pay for private schools, and those beknighted souls had a graduation rate in the low forty percentile range. Mind you, the schools were never good, but almost two decades of one-man rule by a Federal judge turned them into what is arguably the worst major urban school system in the country. The teacher's union is the most politically powerful labor organization in the city, and at one point, the city was paying for five, count 'em, FIVE superintendents who had been hired then quit or were fired after having had the good sense to get play-or-pay contracts. Bottom line - as long as the teacher's union keeps supporting wildly liberal city council and school board members (a couple of whom make Cynthia McKinney look like Rush Limbaugh), the Cleveland schools will be nothing more than a holding pen full of experimental critters.
Who will have NO hope of anything resembling an education.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
10/22/2006 9:02 Comments ||
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I was at one of these "community forum" events where they squared off Barbara Byrd-Bennett (then Cleveland City Schools superintendent) against an advocate of vouchers and charter schools. Byrd-Brain had two talking points, which she repeated over and over again:
-- The state should get rid of its mandatory proficiency testing system because when the test scores come out, it makes the public schools look bad, and that's not fair.
-- There should be no vouchers or charter schools (or even private schools) anywhere because they draw re$ource$ away from the vital work of the public schools.
This only reinforced my belief that my kids will not go to public schools.
Posted by: Mike ||
10/22/2006 10:27 Comments ||
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#6
Meanwhile in Mass. they're banning playing tag at the schoolyard.
Posted by: regular joe ||
10/22/2006 10:45 Comments ||
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"It is possible to teach a child to believe anything, absolutely anything, if you only start soon enough, repeat it constantly, and provide "power figures" who act like it's normal.
The puppies in 'Animal Farm'?
Posted by: no mo uro ||
10/22/2006 11:52 Comments ||
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Mike - that is the exact arguments the WEA (Washington [state] Education Association aka Teachers Union) said in a recent initiative to have charter schools.
Instead they advocated 'smaller class sizes' (i.e. hire more teachers - who must then give to the WEA and its politics in order to work). They had 40 years of 'smaller class sizes' and it hasn't helped yet.
Unfortunately they convinced the public and the initiative lost.
Oh and, by law, a public school district cannot be audited -- unless they consent to be audited (and how likely is that).
Contra Costa Times says it also has plan to reduce expenses
Bet you thought it was a duplicate or even a triplicate post, didn't you? We're witnessing the end of the newsprint Cenozoic.
Two major Bay Area daily newspapers that recently got a new owner are making aggressive moves to slash costs. The San Jose Mercury News plans to reduce its workforce by 101 positions, or 8.5 percent, by Dec. 19 because of declines in revenue, the newspaper said Friday. The projected staff cuts include 40 jobs in the newsroom, or about 14 percent of the editorial staff of 280.
The Contra Costa Times, which has also experienced steep declines in advertising revenue, plans to act quickly to lower operating costs, according to a memo Thursday from its publisher. And in another memo on Friday, the Times said that Editor Chris Lopez is leaving the paper because his position has become "redundant." Executive Editor Kevin Keane will take over Lopez's responsibilities.
The Mercury and the Contra Costa Times were acquired earlier this year by MediaNews Group, a Denver publisher that already owns every major newspaper in the Bay Area except The Chronicle, which is owned by New York's Hearst Corp., and the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, owned by the New York Times Co. In a complex transaction, Hearst provided financial backing for MediaNews' purchase of some other papers in exchange for an unspecified stake in MediaNews properties outside the Bay Area. An antitrust lawsuit challenging the Hearst-MediaNews arrangement is scheduled to be heard in federal court in San Francisco in April.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
The Murky News has only itself to blame. Well, maybe themselves and Craig Newmark. Personally, I have little pity. Rarely have I seen anything but banner headlines bearing gloom and doom portrayals of the Global War on Terrorism. When you compare their advertising rates with competing providers, the cost is exorbitant.
As a Rantburg participant, it gives me particular satisfaction to see these ink-stained dinosaurs fall by the wayside.
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.
SYDNEY, Australia -- An inmate who used laxatives to shed 31 pounds so he could squeeze through a hole in a prison wall had been frustrated by the indefinite sentence he was serving, a judge said. 
HOUSTON -- Evacuees from Hurricane Katrina have contributed to an increase in Houston's annual murder rate, which could climb this year to its highest level in more than a decade, police said. 
A German motorist followed the command "Turn right now!" from his navigation system and crashed into a small toilet hut by the side of the road -- about 30 metres (yards) before the crossing he was meant to take.
On a day when the latest Quinnipiac poll showed Ned Lamont losing ground in the race against Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Howard Dean's presence at a boisterous Democratic rally Friday couldn't have been more timely - or necessary. Dean, the zealous chairman of the Democratic National Committee and former presidential candidate from Vermont, both railed against the Bush administration and exhorted the crowd of supporters and campaign volunteers to work their hardest until Election Day. "Now we've got 18 days left. Eighteen days of knocking on doors. I know you all know how to do that, because you did it for Ned Lamont before the primary," Dean said. "Work like crazy. Some of you might drop dead, but I promise you on Nov. 8, the resurrection will occur."
Ginnnah Muhammad of Detroit was looking for her day in court. Instead, she said she felt as if a judge forced her to choose between her case and her religion in a small-claims dispute in Hamtramck District Court.
PHILADELPHIA - The new publisher of The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News told employees Friday that layoffs are "unavoidable" because advertising revenue is down and the owners need to cut costs to meet their bank obligations. "We must reduce our work force so that it is in line with our reduced revenue," wrote Brian P. Tierney, chairman and chief executive of Philadelphia Media Holdings LLC. "To the extent we don't get the savings, those layoffs will be larger."
CLEVELAND - City schools will expand sex education curriculum to include age-appropriate lessons that begin as early as kindergarten, officials said.
