This time the volunteer torch survived, thanks to some quick-thinking bystanders. (Obligatory insensitive gif)
ORLANDO, Fla. -- A homeless man tried to set himself on fire to protest the city's treatment of the homeless population, but was thwarted by bystanders before he could go through with it, police said. The man was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital and placed in protective custody under the state's Baker Act, which allows authorities to commit people for up to 36 hours for psychological evaluations if they appear to be a danger to themselves or others.
The suicide attempt Friday happened during Project Homeless Connect, an event that provided food, health care and other social services to about 600 people. The man shouted criticism of the city's policies on the homeless and poured gasoline over his head, said Sgt. Barbara Jones, a police spokeswoman. He was tackled by others before he could ignite himself.
The protest took place with a backdrop of public battles between city officials and social-advocacy groups over the rights of the homeless. City employees razed a downtown homeless encampment last month, and the Central Florida American Civil Liberties Union filed suit earlier this year after an ordinance that bans feeding the homeless in downtown parks without a special permit was put into effect.
Local ACLU Chairman George Crossley said the man had lived at the razed encampment and had run out of his diabetes medication at the time of the suicide attempt. What burns me about this is how certain lefties exploit obvious mental illness by making a saint and martyr out of that poor guy who fried himself to "protest the war" a while back. Expect the same with this one.
#2
Why, preciesely, is the Anti-Christian Lawyers' Union involved in something like this? Don't they usually come down on the side of the government superseding any provate property?
Posted by: no mo uro ||
12/10/2006 7:11 Comments ||
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#4
In Seattle(?) they put winos in a wino hotel but made no effort to stop them drinking, as costing far less to taxpayers than leaving them out on the street.
And though it was agonizing to all the people who wanted to force the winos to stop being winos, just letting them alone proved to be the best solution.
So I figure that eventually, western cities will create "transient towns" outside the city, that are clean, safe places for the single homeless to live for a while, out of sight.
By giving several amenities, like free soap and shower, washing machines, private security--not police, and letting charities set up shop nearby, it will be attractive enough for the single homeless to camp there for a month or two, before moving on.
The city police will 'encourage' the single homeless to hang out there, with homeless families having in-city services, since they are less trouble.
But the bottom line is that, except for protecting them from violence, the government leaves them alone. If it tries to "help them stop" being homeless, either the homeless will take off, or the place will become a minimum security prison, or both. And this is the critical thing.
Winos are winos because they are winos. The homeless are homeless because they are homeless. The biggest problem is people who just cannot stop wanting to control other people.
#9
They put winos in a wino hotel but made no effort to stop them drinking, as costing far less to taxpayers than leaving them out on the street.
Wonder if this would work for junkies as well as winos. It would sure kick the insanely profitable international drug trade in the nuts. And quickly make poppy growing in Afghanistan an unprofitable business.
#10
I don't understand his unhappiness with the local government. Didn't Orange county and Olando vote for Kerry in 2004?And aren't the Democrats the party who looks out for little guy and down trodden? Then those policies must be for his own good doncha know.
#4. The problem with transient towns is there ain't no non-winos around to panhandle wine from.
VIENNA, Dec 6 - A bogus priest and his girlfriend tricked an Austrian pensioner out of $200 after promising him a naked bathtub session with the woman. "The bogus priest and his girlfriend ran a bath for the pensioner, who undressed and got in straight away," a police spokeswoman in the northern Austrian town of Linz said on Wednesday.
The pensioner waited in the tub for about 10 minutes, but when he heard cupboards being opened and closed in the living room, he emerged from the bathroom and chased the pair out of his flat, she said. "The credulous 65-year-old pensioner was waiting in vain in the bathtub ... while the suspect stole about 150 euros ($200) in cash from his living room," a police statement said.
The smooth-talking priest, who is in custody, and his 42-year-old girlfriend cheated four other Linz residents out of various sums. The 40-year-old priest, who claimed to have left holy orders for the sake of his girlfriend, also stole 140 euros ($210) from a flower donations collecting box in a church, police said. His total haul was 720 euros ($1,080).
Before some mole clued in the Norks, the caption read: "Hey, Americans, you should learn a lot from our Norwegian friends who are having really good time with North Korean young school boys." Really
Check out Voice of Korea for your daily dose of juche. Loved: UNFORTUNATELY CAN NOT PARTICIPATE ROCK FOR PEACE THIS TIME (since he's been (de)composing with the Great Leader for 25 years) BUT WE STILL DO REMEMBER ALL GOOD SONGS OF FROM BRITAIN.
Posted by: ed ||
12/10/2006 00:00 ||
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Posted by: ed ||
12/10/2006 0:03 Comments ||
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#2
Is this a joke, or a previously-unknown Daily Kos diary?
Posted by: Mike ||
12/10/2006 7:35 Comments ||
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#3
Ok, I've gone a bit through past posts, and think it's a spoof... but it's harder and harder to tell the difference between The-Forces-Of-Progress gone amok for real, and the parody, so, who knows?
Yeah, sure. We bug everybody. We just can't stand not knowing the important shit, like whether Diana and Dodo did the nasty on the bearskin rug and what brand of caviar they preferred. It's what we live for. BTW, did you know Putin holds seances over Rasputin's bones? Yup. Purdy thruthy, ain't it?
The American secret service was bugging Princess Diana's telephone conversations without the approval of the British security services on the night she died, according to the most comprehensive report on her death, to be published this week.
Among extraordinary details due to emerge in the report by former Metropolitan police commissioner Lord Stevens is the revelation that the US security service was bugging her calls in the hours before she was killed in a car crash in Paris. Is Lord Stevens sane - or one to the "normal" UK cop types?
In a move that raises fresh questions over transatlantic agreements on intelligence-sharing, the surveillance arm of the US has admitted listening to her conversations as she stayed at the Ritz hotel, but failed to notify MI6. Stevens is understood to have been assured that the 39 classified documents detailing Diana's final conversations did not reveal anything sinister or contain material that might help explain her death.
Scotland Yard's inquiry, published this Thursday, also throws up further intelligence links with the Princess of Wales on the night she died. The driver of the Mercedes, Henri Paul, was in the pay of the French equivalent of M15. Stevens traced £100,000 he had amassed in 14 French bank accounts though no payments have been linked to Diana's death. Well, he died. So, silly me, I'm like thinging the crash thingy wasn't really planned, y'know?
Stevens's conclusion is that Diana, her companion Dodi Fayed, and Paul himself died in an accident caused by Paul driving too fast through the Pont de l'Alma underpass in Paris while under the influence of drink. The car was being pursued by photographers at the time. Gosh, go figure, huh? No Polonium 210, no secret plot to steal North Sea oil, just regular old run-of-the-mill stupidity. Damn.
Tests have confirmed that Paul was more than three times over the French drink-drive limit and was travelling at 'excessive' speed. The inquiry will quash a number of conspiracy theories that have circulated since 31 August 1997, among them that Diana was pregnant. It also found no evidence that the princess was planning to get engaged to Dodi, son of Mohamed Fayed.
The Harrods tycoon believes that Paul's blood samples were swapped to portray him as a drunk in an elaborate cover-up by the establishment to stop Diana marrying Dodi, a Muslim. Hey - you got Chucky in the bag - ain't than enough?
Stevens is expected to concede that while there was a mix-up it was an accident and that the original French post-mortem which found that Paul was three-times over the French drink-drive limit was correct.
He is also expected to discount the role of the white Fiat Uno which struck Diana's car shortly before the crash, even though British police officers have failed to track down the vehicle which left paintwork on the black Mercedes. Prolly driven by MI42 - Mormon Secret Intelligence.
The inquiry will support the findings of the original French accident inquiry in criticising the paparazzi as a possible reason for encouraging Paul to speed. The 'bright light' theory - the claim that the driver was deliberately blinded by a beam immediately before the crash - is also dismissed by Stevens. So, like, kill the paparazzi. Works for me.
Mebbe Clinton and Tenet were doing their own version of LBJ & J Edgar.
#1
The Secret Service??!! Was she threatening the President or counterfeiting US currency? If Lord Stevens is actually making this accusation - he must be off his meds.
#2
You laugh, but Diana tried to slip me a fake US$100. I told the bitch to go fuck herself with her Monopoly money, of course, but I expect she was down the off-license with it as soon as I turned my back.
#3
I could never understand why she was so popular. And then I've seen the picture of the Royal family---mystery solved (Brits were just so happy to have a royal who isn't dog ugly).
#6
They neglect to remind readers that this happened while Clinton was President. I have already seen leftist posters curse Bush for this and cite it as yet another example of the Patriot Act undermining our civil libertines liberties. They know their audience, its short memory, and its dependence on standard memes.
On a more serious note, the reason for this might well have been CIA fears that Islamic radicals could use a connection through Al-Fayed to set the princess up for kidnapping or assassination.
U.S. Rep. William Jefferson easily defeated his fellow Democratic opponent in a runoff election Saturday, despite an ongoing federal bribery investigation. What federal bribery investigation?
In complete but unofficial returns, Jefferson, Louisiana's first black congressman since Reconstruction, received 57 percent of the vote over state Rep. Karen Carter, who had 43 percent.
Carter was unable to capitalize on a scandal that included allegations the FBI found $90,000 in bribe money in Jefferson's freezer. In a concession speech, Carter embraced family members and pledged to work with Jefferson, especially on the area's recovery from Hurricane Katrina. "I guess the people are happy with the status-quo," she said. Very politely put, Karen.
Jefferson was forced into the runoff against Carter when he failed to win 50 percent of the vote in a crowded open multiparty primary. Carter had sought to become the first black woman from Louisiana elected to Congress.
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#1
Hey, NOLA! Want to hear my response to your requests for any more Fed cash? Thanks though for providing yet another absolutely irrefutable proof of Dem corruption and dishonesty. NOLA and the Dems: if you put all their elected officials in a barrel and rolled it down a hill, you'd always have a crooked bastard on top. You deserve each other.
Posted by: mac ||
12/10/2006 5:30 Comments ||
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#2
Brilliant work Mac. LA, politicians are the cheapest. Course it's a poor state. $90,000 ain't gonna get Mister Charley.
#3
I'll beat this dead horse again. You pay cheap, you get cheap. If you pay well enough, you'll actually attract people of substance, in skill, intelligence, and integrity to put up with the crap that is the American political game. But hey, it feels good to make them appear to 'serve' the public interest, that the position should not be full time, that .... and on with all the myths. And you think the LLL is living in another universe. Tell me where is the professional team that has the lowest payroll usually end up in the standings at the end of the year?
#4
Back when the British were running India, from the days of Cornwallis they had a simple way of making sure that officials were honest: combine paying them enough money to live a solid middle to upper middle class lifestyle relative to their peers with an absolute guarantee of punishment and disgrace if they failed to live up to the high moral standards set for them. It worked very well; I've had a number of Indian graduate students, including some with a very nationalistic bent, tell me that the British Raj was by far the most honest, even if rather hidebound, government India has ever had.
Posted by: mac ||
12/10/2006 8:31 Comments ||
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#5
The lead story in the local business section today is on the housing market here - inventory is up 50% and prices are tumbling. People here who have jobs and property are trying to get out; we know the corruption and incompetence of the powerful is too much for a Katrina recovery to overcome.
But wait, there's more: Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc. are for the most part not taking donations (no demand/room). You'd think with all these people who 'lost everything' there'd be demand for this serviceable used stuff, but it appears that only 'new' is good enough for them.
On the other hand, a few shops catering to luxuries for the elite (eg. $2000 Christening gowns) are doing very well. Somebody has money - presumably from the various layers of corruption and 'consultants' that are consuming all the 'recovery' money before it gets to the actual victims. Last I heard (a week or two ago), the actual grants paid out still totalled under $100,000. That is not a typo. Out of over a billion dollar budget.
Seriously, contact your elected officials and tell them to quit flushing money down the Mississippi River.
#6
Hah! In lllinois we have had the THIRD child of a politico appointed to their parents office WITHOUT RUNNING FOR ELECTION. No matter how you hard you try, you are bush league in corruption and usurpation of democracy
#7
And said Illinois (specifically, Chicago) parent politico manuevered this in such a way that she retires from the County Board with a double pension.
Wish I could get a double pension.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/10/2006 12:31 Comments ||
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#8
Hell, Steve, I wish I could get a pension.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/10/2006 15:17 Comments ||
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#9
Get yourself elected to the Cook County Board, DB, and we'll get you one. At least one. Mebbe more.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/10/2006 16:11 Comments ||
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MULTAN: Police on Saturday said they have arrested a faith healer from a remote town in southern Punjab for allegedly killing his daughter because he believed she was possessed by an evil spirit.
Mohammed Jamal, 50, was arrested on Friday after residents alerted the local police that he had killed his 22-year-old daughter by setting her on fire with the help of his two sons, said Javed Shah, an area police chief. This is a sad incident. We have also arrested the two sons of Mohammed Jamal, and officers are still investigating, he said. Shah said Jamals daughter used to have fits, and that Jamal believed she was under the control of an evil spirit. The faith healer and his sons are in our custody, and every thing will be clear in two, three days, he said, without giving any further details.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2006 00:00 ||
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The Two Seas Canal plan for resuscitating the dying Dead Sea
December 10, 2006, 9:47 PM (GMT+02:00)
Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and Israel agreed Sunday, Dec. 10, to go ahead with a feasibility study for a $2-4 billion project to save the shrinking Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, with water from the Red Sea in the south. The study, sponsored by the World Bank, must reverse the 25-meter fall in the Dead Sea level by means of a 180-km Two Seas Canal plan that would snake through the Negev desert. The between the seas might include a hydro-electric plant using the drop of about 450 meters from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea.
The study would also examine the effect on the environment.
A man was killed and another man was lightly to moderately wounded after the two were shot by assailants who fired from a passing car in the industrial zone of a Beduin village in the Negev on Saturday. Police set up roadblocks in an attempt to catch the shooters who sped away from the scene of the crime. The shooting was said to be based on a feud between two families living in the area.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/10/2006 00:00 ||
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BMW Group Middle East is the first premium car manufacturer in the Middle East to introduce the arrow to Qiblah in Makkah in BMW navigation systems, operational from March 2007.
"We have realised the changing needs of many of our customers in the Middle East, whose busy lifestyles mean they are spending more time on the roads travelling between one city to the other," said managing director, BMW Group Middle East, Guenther Seemann.
"BMW constantly leads through technology and innovation, and being the first car manufacturer to provide the arrow to Qiblah in Mecca proves once again that our customers come first.:"
Consistently looking towards the future, BMW is renowned for delivering ultimate customer satisfaction through innovations in technology and service.
The arrow towards Qiblah will be available in the BMW 7 Series, X3, Z4, Z4 Coupe and MINI Cabrio from March 2007, and will also be available for RetroFit in the existing BMW 7 Series, BMW X5, BMW 3 Series and MINI models.
#1
Once again proving German engineering superiority over the Saudi compass-rug.
Posted by: ed ||
12/10/2006 0:19 Comments ||
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#2
Engineering expertise is only superior if the local religious leader says it is. I've probably told this story before. In the early 1970s, a conference center with a mosque was built near what was to become "Embassy Row" in Riyadh. The British contractor's civil engineer employed the best survey technigues to assure the the Mosque was oriented towards the Qiblah in Mecca. After the foundation was laid and the building had begun to rise, the local Imam came by and said NO. He then pointed in a direction about 10 degrees from the alignment of the mosque. Back to square one. Tradition triumped over truth and knowledge.
#4
GK - maybe that Imam is right, and it is the Qiblah that is in the wrong place. Why don't we move it? With enough explosive power such that there is sure to be some piece of the rock in whatever direction a mosque points.
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.
Bogus priest held in bathtub scam
A man was killed and another man was lightly to moderately wounded after the two were shot by assailants who fired from a passing car in the industrial zone of a Beduin village in the Negev on Saturday. Police set up roadblocks in an attempt to catch the shooters who sped away from the scene of the crime. The shooting was said to be based on a feud between two families living in the area.
