Hold the jokes and snark for a bit; this is potentially very serious. Put in 'non-WoT' until we know more.
(WBZ) ROCHESTER, N.H. A man is holding at least two people hostage at the presidential campaign office for Sen. Hillary Clinton in Rochester, New Hampshire. WBZ has learned he walked into the office with some sort of device strapped to him, claiming it was a bomb. State Police said the man released a mother and a child from the office, but is holding others.
Clinton is not there. She is in Iowa. The Senator was scheduled to appear by satellite at a Democratic National Committee event in Virginia this afternoon, but she has cancelled her appearance.
Bill Shaheen, chairman of Clinton's campaign, said someone walked into the satellite office with what appears to be a bomb strapped to his chest. Two staffers, whom he described as volunteers, were held hostage and others were released.
Workers for Sen. Barack Obama's campaign office in Rochester also were evacuated, a campaign spokesman said. The office is four doors away from Clinton's. John Edwards' staffers and several businesses in the neighborhood also were evacuated. A nearby school is locked down.
Police have gathered at a nearby church and set up a command post there. SWAT teams and the State Police bomb squad are heading to the scene. "We are trying to establish contact with the person inside," Rochester Police Capt. Callahan told WBZ's Joe Shortsleeve.
(SomaliNet) SomaliÂ’s new interim prime minister Nor Hassan Hussein is now involving in greater efforts over how he would form his government and continue to make consultations with the parliament members, reports say on Thursday. Sources close to the state house in Baidoa city say that the prime minister is due to announce his expected cabinet on 1st December.
Unconfirmed reports also say the premier has already selected his cabinet in the parliament despite he was appointed from the outside. It will be the fifth cabinet for the transitional federal government since it was formed in Kenya 2004.
Three weeks ago, former prime minister in Somalia Ali Mohamed Gedi resigned after political pressure from the outside over conflict with the countryÂ’s president Abdulahi Yusuf.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/30/2007 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) BURUNDI peace keepers are deploying in Somalia in two weeks time to bolster the pacification efforts by the Ugandan contingent, the UPDF Chief of Training and Operations, Brig. Silver Kayemba has said. "In a fortnight's time, Burundi's peace keepers will be deploying in Somalia," Brig. Kayemba said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/30/2007 00:00 ||
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Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Thursday asked leaders of the 1994 failed secessionist rebellion to return home from self- imposed exile following a brief civil war. 'We welcome the opposition leaders who live abroad to come back and exercise their political rights,' Saleh said in a speech he delivered in the southern port city of Aden marking the 40th anniversary of southern Yemen's independence from the British occupation. 'We should open a new chapter in our political work,' Saleh said, without naming any of the exiled leaders.
Senior government officials told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that Saleh's call was addressed to his former deputy, Ali Salim al-Beedh and former prime minister Haidar al-Attas. Al-Beedh has served as vice president of the Democratic Republic of Yemen, declared in May 1994 by breakaway politicians in the southern part of Yemen only four years after the reunification of the north and south. The secession was rejected by the central government in Sana'a and went unrecognized by the international community. The attempt was quashed by forces of President Saleh after a ten- week war in which more than 10,000 people were killed.
Al-Beedh and al-Attas and 14 other top secessionist leaders fled to Syria, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Oman and the United Kingdom. They were among four southern leaders who received death sentences in absentia by a state security court in 1997.
In the aftermath of the war, Saleh announced a general amnesty, which applied to nearly 8,000 southerners who left the country after the war, but not for the 16 top dissidents. Most of the breakaway politicians who led the secession attempt were leaders of the communist Yemeni Socialist Party that ruled Southern Yemen for nearly 20 years, and shared authority with Saleh's General People's Congress party in a unity government after 1990.
This article starring:
Ali Abdullah Saleh
Ali Salim al-Beedh
Haidar al-Attas
Posted by: Fred ||
11/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
It's hard to round them up and execute them when they're out of the country...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
11/30/2007 10:16 Comments ||
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More than 80 Islamist-leaning teachers in the United Arab Emirates have been ‘unfairly’ moved from the education ministry to other departments because they support reform, one of them said on Thursday. “We did not commit any offence. The only ‘offence’ of these 83 people ... is that they demand democracy and human rights and uphold the rights of (Emirati) citizens. They are active elements,” Ahmad al-Nuaimi told AFP.
The former school director said the 83 were told in August not to report to work in the new academic year and were transferred to other ministries, such as health and labour, “which are outside the scope of their specialisation.” To publicise their plight, around 25 of the educators, including school directors and teachers, staged a sit-in in Dubai last week, a rare event in a conservative oil-rich Gulf state which bans any form of public protest.
The UAE government, which has close ties with Western countries, prides itself on its moderation and does not allow Islamist or other political organisations such as those active in Gulf neighbours Bahrain and Kuwait. Islamist commentators are also banned from writing in the government-guided local press.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/30/2007 00:00 ||
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Dhaka: Customs officials at the Zia International Airport have seized large quantities of V14gra, other banned drugs, pr0nographic material and precious stones that Haj pilgrims were trying to smuggle out of the country.
Reports of seizures and arrests have come even as authorities are struggling to send the pilgrims on the journey to Saudi Arabia amidst chaos caused by disruption of flight schedules of the ailing national carrier Bangladesh Biman International. Long delays have led to angry demonstrations by the pilgrims, media reports said.
A joint task force of customs and the Bangladesh Air Force seized over 5,000 V14gra and Munish pills, prescrixion drugs used for treating male limpotence, from the luggage of a Haj pilgrim on Nov 22. More than 6,000 precious stones were seized Tuesday from the luggage of another pilgrim, the Daily Star reported Wednesday.
In two separate drives Tuesday, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) seized illegal drugs worth about $320,000 and 50,000 CDs with pr0nographic movies.
Humayun Kabir, additional commissioner of customs at the international airport, said during luggage scanning the joint task force discovered large quantities of banned pharmaceutical drugs and 47 cans of zarda (chewing tobacco) inside the luggage of a man called Shahdur Rahman at a camp where pilgrims are housed before making the journey. Rahman, however, beat feet managed to leave for Jeddah. The customs commissioner said he had asked the immigration officials here to arrest him on his return. Humayun said they found the precious gems while scanning the luggage of another pilgrim, Ali Azam. The luggage had 696 rings studded with precious stones and 5,968 other gems hidden inside.
During interrogation, Azam confessed to smuggling out gems while in the guise of a pilgrim for the last four years.
President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Friday suspending Russia's participation in a key post-Cold War arms treaty, a move which could allow it to deploy more forces close to western Europe. I guess this means V Corps can now deploy to Estonia.
Putin's moratorium on the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty follows months of increasingly aggressive rhetoric directed against the West ahead of a parliamentary election on Sunday and a presidential vote next March. "President Putin signed the federal law on suspending the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty," the Kremlin said in a short statement. The bill was passed by parliament this month and needed the president's signature to become law.
The United States, the European Union and NATO had urged Putin not to suspend the treaty, seen as a cornerstone of European security. But Putin, who has sought to restore the Kremlin's clout after the chaos which accompanied the fall of the Soviet Union, countered that NATO members had not ratified an amended version of the pact and had flexed their muscles near Russia's borders.
The suspension, which will come into effect from Dec 12-13, would allow Moscow to boost military forces on its western and southern borders, although Russian generals have said that will not happen immediately.
Polls show that talking tough about Russia standing up to foreigners strikes a chord with millions of Russians who yearn for the Soviet Union's once mighty superpower status. Putin has also been sparring with the United States and European Union over plans for a missile defense shield in Europe and proposed independence for Serbia's Kosovo province.
Signed in 1990 and updated in 1999, the CFE treaty limits the number of battle tanks, heavy artillery, combat aircraft and attack helicopters deployed and stored between the Atlantic and Russia's Ural mountains. It was originally negotiated among the then-22 member states of NATO and the Warsaw Pact and Russia says it is outdated. Moscow argues it has been used by an enlarged NATO to limit Russian military movements while NATO builds up forces close to Russia in contravention of earlier agreements.
Western partners have refused to ratify an amended version of the pact until Russia pulls its forces out of Georgia and Moldova as it promised in 1999 when the treaty was reviewed.
Moscow's key problem with the treaty are flank limits which prevent Russia from moving tanks and artillery around its own territory, Russia's top generals say. NATO has said it would be worrying to see large amounts of equipment limited by the treaty suddenly moving around. But Russia's top general, Yuri Baluyevsky, said this month said there would be no immediate movement of forces after the moratorium came into effect.
Posted by: ed ||
11/30/2007 08:33 ||
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#1
Putie really wants to be the Soviet Union again.
Watch it numbnut, the energy cash surge you got won't last forever and the money you are throwing around now won't always be there with your shitty economy. Sound familiar? Oh like, 1986-89 time frame?
#6
NEWSMAX > RUSSIA IS STILL USA'S CRITICAL PARTNER.
OTOH, REUTERS > GERMANY'S EXPECTED WORLD CUP BABY BOOM CONTNUES TO FAIL TO HAPPEN.
* D ** NG IT, GERMAN VICTORY IN SOCCER DOES NOT EQUAL EFFICIENT GERMAN SEX [Homer Simpson]"! Yet another reason for Amers to dislike soccer - its taking over Amer's job in world war(s)???
President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday he was intent on reform to boost France's economy and raise living standards, but that there was no money left in state coffers for huge cash handouts. In a wide-ranging television interview, Sarkozy sought to address voters' top concern, purchasing power, by saying firms could in future be freer to circumvent the 35-hour limit on the working week as long as they struck a deal on pay increases.
During his 45-minute interview Sarkozy said employees should be free to choose cash rather than time off for overtime and be given more scope to work voluntarily, on double pay, on Sundays.
And, following unrest in poor Paris suburbs this week, the president also vowed to help those in tough neighborhoods who wanted to improve their lot.
Sarkozy did not cost the measures he trailed on Thursday and said he would not throw money at every problem. "The French people are not expecting me to hand out presents like Father Christmas as they know perfectly well that there's no money in the coffers," said Sarkozy, whose popularity has fallen below 50 percent for the first time since elected in May. "There is already a lot of deficit and too much debt. The only way to help purchasing power is to create the conditions for growth and to rehabilitate work."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Like Reagan, there's got to be a period of pain before the growth starts. And look for the media to purposefully misunderstand this.
Damn! I can't find a picture of Bob and Doug McKenzie!
Scientists have found a new threat to the planet: Canadian beer drinkers. Yeah, if they run out of it maybe...
The government-commissioned study says the old, inefficient "beer fridges" that one in three Canadian households use to store their Molson and Labatt's contribute significantly to global warming by guzzling gas- and coal-fired electricity. So buy a used SUV, park it out back, start it up, throw your beer in it, put the AC on, let it run 24 hours a day...and get rid of that inefficient second fridge.
"People need to understand the impact of their lifestyles," British environmental consultant Joanna Yarrow tells New Scientist magazine. "Clearly the environmental implications of having a frivolous luxury like a beer fridge are not hitting home. This research helps inform people — let's hope it has an effect." Oh...clearly. And...I doubt it.
The problem is that the beer fridges are mostly decades-old machines that began their second careers as beverage dispensers when Canadians upgraded to more energy-efficient models to store whatever Canadians eat besides doughnuts and poutine. I think they eat "environmental consultants" and snotty AP copy writers. Raw. Eh?
University of Alberta researcher Denise Young, who led the study, suggests that provincial authorities hold beer-fridge buy-backs or round-ups to eliminate the threat — methods that Americans use to get guns off the streets. ...and Midnight Hockey.
#1
In college in the early 70's I had a 50s Pepsi Machine (one of those with the cursive script). Used it for beer cooler.
It was more efficient than any fridge I currently own. It sipped power. I know because I had a huge fight with the dorm lords over it and they put a power meter on it. It made the little cube fridges look like fat hogs.
#6
This article makes me so proud that I could just. . . . . . have another beer. Today's outside air temperature is -21 C. Who needs a fridge when you can just use nature?
#7
Heck yeah Canuckistan sniper! I call it my 'walk out cooler'. Yours looks to be set a little lower than mine, gotta get at it before you get hopsickles : )
A few weeks before the first ever India-China military exercises, the real war games have begun. On November 8, Chinese forces demolished some unmanned Indian forward posts near two Army bunkers against which Beijing had raised objections since July.
"The Chinese came, destroyed the posts and went back," said an Army officer. The incident is learned to have taken place around November 8.
The revelation came on the day a 12-member People's Liberation Army delegation landed in Kolkata on a recce for the military exercises to be held next month in China.
The destroyed posts were near the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet border tri-junction. Intelligence sources in Gangtok on Friday said that a "third bunker" located near the two disputed ones had been destroyed by the Chinese. But, Army sources attached to formations overseeing the location said the structures were fibre glass huts, which are manned by a few soldiers when winter sets in.
Senior Army officers in Kolkata were tightlipped about the incident, particularly because the Chinese army delegation led by a senior colonel is in the city. "I have nothing to comment," said a defence spokesman.
The two disputed bunkers at Doka La, near Torsa Nala, had been set up about two years ago. The Chinese first objected to them in July, after which a series of border personnel meetings took place till September. Beijing wanted the bunkers to be shifted but the Indian Army stood its ground and continued to man and arm the bunkers.
The Chinese were left smarting. It is believed the attack on the unmanned posts earlier this month were carried out by the PLA "to show their strength".
Indian officials feel if the Chinese had any objection against these bunkers they should have lodged a protest soon after they were established, or at least within a year.
Border disputes between China and India are nothing new, because China does not recognise the border and even triggered a war over it. Even the Line of Actual Control is difficult to demarcate at places because of the mountainous terrain. Two decades ago, in 1986, the two countries had come perilously close to a skirmish in the Sumdorong Chu valley.
In view of the latest dispute, the visit of Defence Minister A K Anthony and chief of Army staff Deepak Kapoor to Sikkim and north Bengal during the weekend is being considered significant. They will land in Siliguri on Saturday and visit the border at Nathu La on Sunday.
However, military observers believe confidence-building measures like joint war exercises will prove instrumental in easing border tensions.
Posted by: john frum ||
11/30/2007 15:24 ||
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Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
11/30/2007 17:25 Comments ||
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#4
As per their new investments or collusions wid their non-Chinese, East-South Asian neighbors, the post-USSR/Cold War RUSSIANS are learning vv econ competition wid CHINA that they = Russ policies cannot remain EURO-CENTRIC forever. EURO-CENTRICITY is NOT "GLOBALISM" NOR [purist]FREE MARKET CAPITALISM.
#5
A: I still have a feeling that demographic forces beyond the control of either nation are going to propel them into a protracted and bloody war.
The only way such a thing is going to happen is if the Indians insist on having the war. The Chinese are pretty rational about this. They're relentlessly expansionist, but do apply a cost-benefit calculation. The odds are good that they'll nibble, digest, nibble, digest some more.
#6
Zhang Fei: What I have called "demographic war" is truly a bizarre phenomenon, precisely because it is based on murderously cold reasoning masquerading as irrationality.
Unlike any other war, its real purpose is not to win or lose something tangible, but to kill men. That is why it has to be choreographed in such a way as to both guarantee stalemate and limit technology that could break the stalemate.
It is based in the realization in both China and in India that surplus males are a disaster, that unless they are eliminated, they threaten to destroy both nations. In its way, it is as if there were 30 million voracious tigers loose in a nation. An awesomely destructive force.
Both nations would draft any excess males they can catch. Give them a cheap uniform and half a pound of rice a day, a rifle and some bullets and send them to the front. The only other weapons used are machine guns and some artillery. The professional armies remain in the rear to prevent accidental breakthroughs.
It is much like World War I trench warfare, using dueling human wave attacks against machine guns.
Even if there are a hundred thousand casualties A DAY, it will take well over a year to solve the problem.
It is an unthinkable thing. But neither country would feel they have a choice.
If the Chinese don't act, they could very well face a civil war ten times the size of the Taiping Rebellion. Something they still remember with a shudder.
#8
A: Zhang Fei: What I have called "demographic war" is truly a bizarre phenomenon, precisely because it is based on murderously cold reasoning masquerading as irrationality.
I think your theory is based on the idea that the average Chinese male is like a worker ant that will do anything and everything for the hive. I'm afraid that's wrong. The average Chinese is no automaton and worships nothing and no one (and certainly not the leaders of the current Communist Party). He's nationalistic to a fault - out of personal self-interest - and has no problem having somebody else fight for his country. But if you ask him to personally lay down his life, he'll balk. At the height of its ideological fervor, just after the Communist victory in 1949, the Chinese cried uncle after losing just a million men during the Korean War, despite Mao's war aim of unifying the Korean peninsula. Roughly 2/3 of the 21,000 odd Chinese prisoners taken alive defected to Taiwan. For comparison, in all of WWII, the US took a few hundred Japanese POW's.
Note that all of the preceding was before the mandatory one-child family policy came into play. Today, the government would be risking its very existence if it carelessly threw their lives away on some foreign adventure without end.
Any knowledge of Chinese history - with which all Party members, including the late Mao Zedong, are likely acquainted - would tell you that some of China's biggest rebellions occurred in the wake of successful military campaigns - in part because of conscription and high taxes. My point is that the average Chinese's view is that patriotism means lip service. Yes, every Chinese you meet will say he supports the government - that's what he's been taught to say since he started school. He probably even thinks he supports the government. But if personal sacrifice is involved, I expect every Chinese to talk a good game but look for a way out*. Because in the Chinese scheme of things, only the family is worth sacrificing for, not the nation or any notion of morality or principles. Because that's been the rule in China for thousands of years, and the decrepit mish-mash of Western (communist and capitalistic) ideologies that is today's Communist party can't change that value system.
Every Chinese I've met is survival-oriented. You know how we say "it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game"? Well, if I had to sum up their worldview, it would be "it's whether you win or lose, it's not how you play the game". A shorter version would be "by hook or by crook". But only for their personal interests - not for some ephemeral nation, religion, ideology or moral principles. I think John Derbyshire, a long-time China watcher (and my favorite columnist) at National Review, put it best when he said that the Chinese people are fundamentally atheistic and have been for thousands of years. That is to say they believe - all ideological cant required for physical survival aside - that when you die, you die alone, no matter what anyone says. This seriously gets in the way of dying for the Emperor or becoming part of the Divine Wind a la Imperial Japan.
Bottom line is that the Chinese government will go for what it views as the sure thing (such as the Korean War, where Mao mistakenly thought the PLA would sweep aside the token force of American troops just as his forces had overrun the Nationalist Chinese armies) but won't throw away the lives of ordinary Chinese just to cut down their numbers. Because this could lead to the untimely end of the regime, and the deaths of all of their loved ones, given the lack of historical Chinese squeamishness about massacres. (In case you're wondering, entire families of Nationalist politicians were killed during the Chinese Civil War, in addition to large numbers of people who were viewed as friends of those families).
* In Chinese history, that has included removing the existing government by hacking to pieces the rulers and every one of their friends and relatives.
#9
With one child per family I suspect Chinese leaders will face much the same problem as European leaders in fielding aggressive armies - the mothers have everything invested in just one offspring, one very protected offspring, and they will not easily send it off to war. Out of a billion people there will still be large numbers of potential soldiers available, but nowhere near the numbers one would expect from a 'normal' demographic distribution - such as the Muslim world. Hence China's increasing emphasis on improving their war technology.
#10
Zhang Fei: I would expect the traditional style of recruitment to be used, the "man tax" levied on every village, town or city. Of course this means that those given to the army will be the utterly worthless and unwanted, the retarded, the jails to be emptied, the derelicts, etc. Strong families with good potential in their son are not going to be at issue.
I also note in the demographic analysis, that these men are not only surplus because they can never mate, but also because they will never have the opportunity for a job. This implies that they really are out in the cold and to a great extent on their own. A starving army of homeless.
So on one hand they are being expelled from their town, and on the other they are being offered clothes and food, a job. The last thing they would be told is that they are cannon fodder. They would think they are joining the regular army.
Importantly, the sales pitch from the leaders to themselves is that they have to put a huge number of soldiers on the border, because the other side is doing so as well. But equally important, the real armies have to stay far back.
There also has to be equal hesitation to commit either navies or air forces. Amazing rationalizations, really stretching the boundaries of reason.
By the time the conflict begins, a large part of those to be killed off will already be at the front, perhaps hundreds of miles from escape and on foot. News on either side will have to be strictly controlled.
Unlike WWI, the surreal slaughter will not be acknowledged, much less publicized. A very wide front will insure that soldiers see only the carnage they are involved in. Engineers with backhoes will dispose of the dead.
Survivors will be sent on dangerous attacks, so that there will be little or no record of massacre. As horrible as it sounds, it may come to pass.
A lethal epidemic might solve many problems as well.
#11
Unlike WWI, the surreal slaughter will not be acknowledged, much less publicized. A very wide front will insure that soldiers see only the carnage they are involved in. Engineers with backhoes will dispose of the dead.
Not in today's world.
Pakistan tried this during the Kargil war, disavowing the bodies of their dead soldiers, burying others in secret. It still got out, and generated tremendous resentment.
Kargil was also India's first media war and the TV footage of funerals did not go down well.
The public will not tolerate mass casualties. Governments will fall.
Posted by: john frum ||
11/30/2007 22:43 Comments ||
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#12
A: Unlike WWI, the surreal slaughter will not be acknowledged, much less publicized. A very wide front will insure that soldiers see only the carnage they are involved in. Engineers with backhoes will dispose of the dead.
No offense - when Chinese armies were sent to war in antiquity, CNN reporters weren't on hand to report on friendly casualties. People who reported negative information and caught were executed as spies, typically after gruesome and lingering tortures, to set an example. Word got out anyway. The reason for this is simple. Like I said earlier, individual Chinese aren't automatons. Every Chinese has a sense of region and place. Shandong people will look out for other Shandong people, and Shanghai natives will look out for other Shanghai natives. This is actually pretty natural, given that the vast majority of the people from a given area are probably blood kin from hundreds, if not thousands of years ago.
Chinese soldiers - from rank and file to officers - and porters will report the conditions from the front. You don't have to be a genius to figure out that if wave after wave of fresh troops are going to the front and no one is coming back - or logistical requirements are the same as they were when the first wave hit - that no one is coming back. China is not the US - in China, everyone is related to someone and generally doesn't leave his home region and zone of comfort (since welfare payments are non-existent most places and - where they exist - only apply if you're native to the region from many generations ago), unless he's got opportunities elsewhere. Jobless people stay in their hometowns and farm. Missing people are noticed. Big time.
#13
A lethal epidemic might solve many problems as well.
I think this is a much more likely scenario. Inadvertently or not, the Chinese government has actively contributed to a massive AIDS epidemic. Originating with corrupt and unhygienic plasma collection methods in Henan Province during the late 1990s, through a combination of inaction and coverup, the Politburo has allowed infected people to migrate into large city centers and has yet to adequately deal with the issue. The upshot is the world's largest medically caused AIDS epidemic. Rest assured that all who publicly protest about it are arrested promptly.
Everything I have ever studied and encountered first hand in my relationships with Chinese people and travel to Taiwan all confirm Zhang Fei's analysis. Communist China's corrupt Mandarins have painted themselves into a serious demographic corner and there's going to be Hell for breakfast before it is over.
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 29, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is Benedict XVI's response to the open letter that 138 Muslims scholars addressed to the Holy Father and Christian leaders on Oct. 13. The response was released by the Vatican press office today, and signed Nov. 19 on the Pontiff's behalf by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Pope's secretary of state.
* * *
His Royal Highness
Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal
The Royal Palace
Amman
Jordan
From the Vatican, November 19, 2007
Your Royal Highness,
On 13 October 2007 an open letter addressed to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and to other Christian leaders was signed by one hundred and thirty-eight Muslim religious leaders, including Your Royal Highness. You, in turn, were kind enough to present it to Bishop Salim Sayegh, Vicar of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem in Jordan, with the request that it be forwarded to His Holiness.
The Pope has asked me to convey his gratitude to Your Royal Highness and to all who signed the letter. He also wishes to express his deep appreciation for this gesture, for the positive spirit which inspired the text and for the call for a common commitment to promoting peace in the world.
Without ignoring or downplaying our differences as Christians and Muslims, we can and therefore should look to what unites us, namely, belief in the one God, the provident Creator and universal Judge who at the end of time will deal with each person according to his or her actions. We are all called to commit ourselves totally to him and to obey his sacred will.
Mindful of the content of his Encyclical Letter "Deus Caritas Est" (God is Love), His Holiness was particularly impressed by the attention given in the letter to the twofold commandment to love God and oneÂ’s neighbour.
As you may know, at the beginning of his Pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI stated: "I am profoundly convinced that we must not yield to the negative pressures in our midst, but must affirm the values of mutual respect, solidarity and peace. The life of every human being is sacred, both for Christians and for Muslims. There is plenty of scope for us to act together in the service of fundamental moral values" (Address to Representatives of Some Muslim Communities, Cologne, 20 August 2005). Such common ground allows us to base dialogue on effective respect for the dignity of every human person, on objective knowledge of the religion of the other, on the sharing of religious experience and, finally, on common commitment to promoting mutual respect and acceptance among the younger generation. The Pope is confident that, once this is achieved, it will be possible to cooperate in a productive way in the areas of culture and society, and for the promotion of justice and peace in society and throughout the world.
With a view to encouraging your praiseworthy initiative, I am pleased to communicate that His Holiness would be most willing to receive Your Royal Highness and a restricted group of signatories of the open letter, chosen by you. At the same time, a working meeting could be organized between your delegation and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, with the cooperation of some specialized Pontifical Institutes (such as the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies and the Pontifical Gregorian University). The precise details of these meetings could be decided later, should this proposal prove acceptable to you in principle.
I avail myself of the occasion to renew to Your Royal Highness the assurance of my highest consideration.
#2
Diplomatic way of saying "Yes we will meet with you but expect it to be purely symbolic".
Read the Pope's other speeches and writings on Reason and Faith, and the necessity for the free practice of Relgion - a fundamental sticking point that the Muslims cannot allow with the dictatorial brutality written into the Koran.
Thats why the reference to "loving your neighbor" was about - a bit of a heads up that they will need to answer how they are supposed to be loving their neighbor and instead they cut their heads off.
McZoid, you anticatholic bigot, stop now or I will bust you like the dubmass you are.
#3
OldSpook, I think McZoid was using "Nuts" the same way it was used at the Battle of the Bulge.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/30/2007 7:34 Comments ||
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#4
It wont be solved between some Pontifical Conclave in some historical apartment with cherubs on the ceiling sitting across the table from a bunch of Mullahs drinking bottled water and eating fresh fruit.
It will be settled in an upstairs dark hallway in some place like Fallujah with a grenade in the door and then a burst on 9mm. When they dump the collected bodies in the basement and pour 90 pound sacks of Lye on the corpses and bulldoze the place over before they call in the reporters....then both sides the Cardinals and the Mullahs will all smile and come to the microphone to reiterate what "they have said all along" that Peace is just around the corner.
Nothing says it like somebody getting a bullet in the head. That's where Islam is headed. Its only a matter of time. Fallujah is the Future.
History isnt decided by talkers. Its decided in the dark with a knife. Its decided with a shovel and callouses. Its decided by Joe in a ditch.
#7
belief in the one God, the provident Creator and universal Judge who at the end of time will deal with each person according to his or her actions. We are all called to commit ourselves totally to him and to obey his sacred will.
Speaking as an agnostic, I've still got to call bullshit on this. No effing way is Christianity's God and Islam's Allah the same item. Only Islam grants entrance to paradise for murdering people in cold blood. This one single fact is a total deal-breaker and any Christian deluded enough to think that there's some possible correspondence is begging to become Islam's next victim.
#11
And precisely what do you take issue with in my post, Pappy? Do you even know what an agnostic is? Do you maintain that an agnostic cannot possibly have any sort of formulated approach to the existence of a Supreme Being?
#12
It does strike one as ... odd ... that an affirmed agnostic has the ... hubris? ... to insist that the Pope's statement about the Christian God is "bullshit".
Suggests you think you know more about Christian doctrine than he does.
#13
I call any equating of Christianity's God with Allah "bullshit" and stand by it. If there is a God in this universe, that Being is one of boundless love and life-giving properties. There is no way possible that such a Being could reward those who eagerly slay innocents in cold blood. Do you dispute such an idea?
#14
I dispute your manners, at a minimum, and your knowlegeability about Christian doctrine - yes.
It's one thing to say "I don't see how that could be true - but you know, I'm not a believer so perhaps I'm missing something. After all, the Pope is a respected Christian leader which a track record of holding firm on doctrine."
It's another thing to think you have the credentials or the credibility to "call bullshit" on a papal statement about the identity of the Christian God.
And before you go there, Zenster -- yes, I *do* have the credentials to make a judgement on this. At least, the well-known seminary from which I earned my MDiv with honors thought so.
(And yes, I make my living in another field entirely, related to artificial intelligence, including for robotics and natural language understanding, including Defense applications. )
#16
And precisely what do you take issue with in my post, Pappy?
The chronic expert-opinion?
Do you even know what an agnostic is?
What type? Scientific, existentialist, libertarian, or humanist? Pyrex or Corningware synod?
Do you maintain that an agnostic cannot possibly have any sort of formulated approach to the existence of a Supreme Being?
Just that you have no formulated approach to the existence of diplomacy. Read the Vatican response very slowly with your filters disabled.
What part of "Without ignoring or downplaying our differences as Christians and Muslims, we can and therefore should look to what unites us, namely, belief in the one God" seems to be problematic? Either the muslim scholars have to acknowledge that, disagree, or stay silent. They're the ones on the spot.
Or:
"Such common ground allows us to base dialogue on effective respect for the dignity of every human person, on objective knowledge of the religion of the other, on the sharing of religious experience and, finally, on common commitment to promoting mutual respect and acceptance among the younger generation. The Pope is confident that, once this is achieved, it will be possible to cooperate in a productive way in the areas of culture and society, and for the promotion of justice and peace in society and throughout the world."
Maybe it's too subtle. Sounds to me like the Vatican response, couched in polite diplomat-language, is 'start behaving like a religion worthy of G-d, and we'll talk'.
#18
It's another thing to think you have the credentials or the credibility to "call bullshit" on a papal statement about the identity of the Christian God.
You continue to skirt the central question of whether God and Allah are equivalent. We've already seen plenty of evidence that an individual's deep faith can blind them to the possibility that others of equally deep but different faith may seek their destruction. This has been made abundantly clear by Bush's continued insistence that Islam is the Religion of Peace [spit].
Keenly insightful as Benedict may be, he—or, at least his spokesman— demonstrates a similar willful blindness to the brutal and intolerant nature of Islam. I had hoped that Benedict's Regensburg address would have been the opening volley of complete and thorough distinction between the Catholic Church and Islam. Instead, there continues to issue forth all sorts of blather about equivalency.
#19
Maybe it's too subtle. Sounds to me like the Vatican response, couched in polite diplomat-language, is 'start behaving like a religion worthy of G-d, and we'll talk'.
None of that escaped me, Pappy. I just happen to take issue with all this dialogue crap. It's like trying to negotiate verbally on a full-scale battlefront. Islam has declared outright war upon the non-Muslim world and repeatedly proven that no negotiations are either possible or even to be respected by them. How many more Catholics and Christians and Jews and Buddhists and innocent people in general will have to die at Islam's hands before Benedict and other religious leaders recognize that a real-life embodiment of their Satan now walks the earth?
#20
None of that escaped me, Pappy. I just happen to take issue with all this dialogue crap. It's like trying to negotiate verbally on a full-scale battlefront.
There are many fronts. Not all of them require the use of munitions.
#21
There are many fronts. Not all of them require the use of munitions.
I realize that as well, Pappy. All of us have seen just how far Europe's "nuanced dialogue" has gotten them with Islam. How does the Pope think it will be any different for him? While I recognize that the Church is largely limited to dialogue they, too, have other "fronts" and other "munitions". At present, Islam has made it abundantly clear that no form of dialogue will be of any success. Why then waste one's breath with the usual diplomatic blather? The clock is running out for the Western world. Benedict has a greater responsibility to his own flock than to Islam's. Yes, his mission is to seek the betterment of all mankind, but diverting much needed attention from his congregation at such a crucial hour in the pursuit of a illusory detente that cannot be obtained is a fool's errand at best.
Let's hear from you Pappy, since lotp is vigorously side-stepping the issue. Do you believe that there is equivalency between the Christian God and Allah? I welcome the views of all other Rantburgers on this subject as well.
#24
Zen, you might want to stop wasting everyones time with your God/Allan thing.
The simple fact is, that no matter how much you don't like Muslims, when they speak of Allah, they're talking about the exact same diety as the Christians do when they speak of God.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
11/30/2007 13:48 Comments ||
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#25
Zenster dear, it doesn't matter what we think on this one, although I happen to agree that those who worship what they call God/Allah by deliberately murdering innocents are worshipping a deity said to live somewhere south of God's stated abode. This is about the pope opening a diplomatic/theological front in the War on Terror that only he can fight. Perhaps it will be effective, perhaps not, but that's what this needs to be judged upon, not whether or not God=Allah. The pope is challenging those 138 Muslim religious leaders who wrote the original taqqiya letter to prove that their religion and their god are indeed similar enough to the loving god of Christianity that a discussion can even be held short of at the point of a sword. It will be interesting to watch the 138 try to do so, given their record of fatwahs, writings and recorded preachings. Educational, too, for those like you and I who've not devoted a lifetime to the history and intricacies of Christian and Muslim theology as this pope has done.
#26
its the God of Abraham they refer to as the common root, and the same God Jews. Chrstians and Moslems share.
I used to think the same thing: That there was but one single God that all men worshipped inadvertently or not. I'd like to believe that this is just a matter of poor interpretation by the messenger Mohammed. Granting that, in fact, even the Muslims are worshipping the one True Supreme Being, I still find it difficult to reconcile how Islam has suvived the wrath of whatever existing God for this long after committing some of the most egregious crimes against humainty in all of earth's history.
Here, I am not referring to Islam's recent string of terrorist atrocities. I am alluding to the near constant slaughter and oppression of huge portions of our world's population. The misogyny of Islam alone stands as an enduring atrocity all by itself.
This is one reason why I remain an agnostic. Whatever backwardness and deprivation that so many Muslims experience is all wildly insufficient with respect to the retribution that they deserve. According to the Bible, God long ago forbade human sacrifice in His name. Yet, Islam continues to practice the most hideous forms of human sacrifice. One would think that a just and wise God long ago would have smote a fatal blow to such barbarians and their evil practices.
Similarly, it is just as difficult to believe that any reasonable God would be pleased with the idolatry of being forcibly prayed to five times a day, having man's every waking moment circumscribed by stringent and punishible religious edict or countenancing the gleeful murder of innocents in His name.
Something doesn't add up and the discrepancy is enormous.
#27
The pope is challenging those 138 Muslim religious leaders who wrote the original taqqiya letter to prove that their religion and their god are indeed similar enough to the loving god of Christianity that a discussion can even be held short of at the point of a sword. It will be interesting to watch the 138 try to do so, given their record of fatwahs, writings and recorded preachings.
Exceptionally well said, trailing wife. It obliges me to demand that you stop deprecating your own depth of wisdom and knowledge. While I can applaud the Pope attempting to get these 138 liars scholars on record and in their own words, it is just as predictable that some violent faction will disavow their writings as heretical and go about committing even more Islamic atrocities whilst these same 138 cretins remain conspicuously silent. Cynical? Hell yes. Islam allows for no other possible assumptions.
#28
For what it's worth, I've suspected for some time that Allah and the Christian God are two separate entities. Evidence includes Allah's arbitrary nature, the brutality of his "laws," the specific lack of any concept of a Trinity in his character (and hence the refusal to accept that Christ could be a Son), his afterlife rewards for bloodthirsty murderers, the frankly horrifying treatment of women, the way that the Koran requires a freezing of certain social customs and attitudes at a 7th century level, and the actions of his people (both throughout history and in the present day).
That said, while I would like the Pope to write a two-word letter to these Muslims, with one of the words being "you" and the other one containing four letters, and while I'm disappointed at what sounds on its surface like a wishy-washy response, I more than trust Benedict to stand up for Christianity. This particular battle is one that only he can fight. But regardless of the outcome of this dialogue, I too fear that we may all have to take up arms at some point.
Posted by: The Doctor ||
11/30/2007 16:25 Comments ||
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#29
Now I see why mother said never discuss religion, sex or politics.
#30
it is just as predictable that some violent faction will disavow their writings as heretical and go about committing even more Islamic atrocities whilst these same 138 cretins remain conspicuously silent.
Of course. Which allows Pope Benedict to gently point out the contradiction, and publicly ask the 138 to explain -- within their theology. Putting the 138 in the position of either publicly disavowing the atrocitizers (*giggle*), or twist themselves in knots explaining how the gentle Christian god would agree to such behaviour be true believers in such a way that the apologists can straight-facedly accept. It should be very amusing and meat for a great deal of creative snarkery here.
#31
The only problem, trailing wife, is that all the while, people will be dying. I can easily recognize why Benedict is setting about this rather academic task. What I do not understand is why it is not being done is a less gentle and more confrontational manner. Furthermore, what use is there in attempting any rapprochement with those who cheerfully employ deceit and dissembling at a moment's notice? All "progress" in such an endeavor would be entirely illusory and serve only to grant Islam more time in its pursuit of Global Cultural Genocide. I doubt that anyone here continues to doubt that Global Cultural Genocide remains Islam's specific goal.
Better to simply call Islam on the carpet directly, challenge its sanctioning of taqiyya and shari'a, then set about rallying this world's Christian population to the task of banning Islam in all their lands. There is no possibility of obtaining any sort of binding agreement with Islam. Ergo, the pursuit of it is a vain and futile exercise at best. There is a vast historical body of evidence to prove any of the points that Benedict is seeking to expose currently. Going over the rutted terrain yet again is akin to repeating the same shop-worn experiment one more time and hoping for different results.
Finally, thank you, The Doctor. I appreciate your contribution to this discussion. You and I clearly share the same grave doubts.
#32
I have to agree with Angleton 9, and that there is a diplomatic (if that is the right word) front as well - Saint Paul at Ephesus instigated many changes without a (bow)shot being fired, Socrates, and many others. The people in the trenches can give these debaters leverage in the war of words and ideas. The muslim skullers made their move and required a response. The king of sod gave the gift of the sword - if it were a really powerful icon (eg giving a piece of the true cross in return) there would have been uproar in islamland so it comes off, to me, as a veiled threat. Now it is their move and they have to back it up per the wording of the Vatican's response. They will have to put it in writing and can be dissected as their intent.
I know it is a touchy subject, and as stated in the sister post I am for anyone who brings glory to civilization. I think the Koran is a plagerized piece of work to justify conquest. Ol mo was rejected as a prophet and vowed revenge. The law of the Torah (lifeguards please) had been around and established for centuries but mo went about adding and changing things according to his own agenda and without consultation with Jewish or Christian scholars.
#33
One would think that a just and wise God long ago would have smote a fatal blow to such barbarians and their evil practices
Theodicy has been a topic of thought and prayer for a very long time, well before Muhammed rallied the Bedouin tribes. A summary of some Catholic responses can be found online here. Jewish theologians struggled with theodicy after the Holocaust but as early as the Book of Job the issue of reconciling God's justice with the existence of evil has been discussed.
Any real discussion of theodicy would take us way off course at the Burg, suck up Fred's bandwidth and drive many people away. I will say, however, that Benedict's letter does not entail any assertion whatsoever that the God of the Church and Allah are "equivalent".
#34
Let's hear from you Pappy...Do you believe that there is equivalency between the Christian God and Allah?
No. Just that there is a G-d. For both Christianity and Islam, there is a merciful G-d. The difference lies in the interpretation of G-d's behavior and actions by religions. For example, both the Koran and the Book of Mormon are claimed to be the direct word of G-d, while the Bible(s) and the Torah are works of human beings through which G-d has spoken or inspired. Big difference.
But the basic premise is that there is a G-d. And when you are trying to engage in a theological battle, it's usually a good idea to define the battleground beforehand.
I still find it difficult to reconcile how Islam has suvived the wrath of whatever existing God for this long after committing some of the most egregious crimes against humainty in all of earth's history.
There is a basic concept in Catholicism called 'free will'. Basically means G-d left it up to his creations what path(s) they wished to choose. And they get to deal with the consequences.
It's not something fundamentalists of either religion are crazy about.
#35
what use is there in attempting any rapprochement with those who cheerfully employ deceit and dissembling at a moment's notice?
Benedict has a much wider and broader intent than you seem to realize. His job is, among other things, to preach the Gospel, to teach correct doctrine and to encourage those in the Church not to stray.
He is establishing the groundwork for a theological defense against the claims of Islam that will last for centuries. He is (among others) preaching to the lapsed in Europe. And the steps he is taking will, if it comes to that, provide the theological justification for war.
As I mentioned in the other thread today, he leads and is responsible for 1.1 billion Catholics. His ex cathedra teaching, when offered, will be binding on all Catholics in the future. He is seeing and working for the ages, not just for today or this week or this month.
And given that most of the Christians being killed by Muslims are Catholic he is quite aware of their threat. But remember: Christians were martyrs, to powerful effect, long before Islam arose. Martyrdom for the faith is by no means the worst fate one can suffer as a Christian.
#38
Any chance you'll be happy with anything other than the last post?
For a while i thought you might only be happy if the bomb called for the death of Muslim leaders and included your hitlist, but now I'm pretty sure you would still insist on being a windbag.
Let it go..
Posted by: Mike N. ||
11/30/2007 19:46 Comments ||
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#39
I have to agree with The Doctor. The God of Abraham that Jews and Christians worship is not the God of Abraham that Mohamed invented by combining aspects of the Judeo-Christian God with the Idolatary Moon God.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
11/30/2007 20:04 Comments ||
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Just because the Koran talks about the God of Abraham does not make the motivating spirit of Islam the God who revealed himself to the Jews. The Pope is too much of a gentleman to say this. I agree that Benedict has a larger purpose than to answer the Islamic "clerics." He prabably does not intend to hold a meaningful dialog with them. He has also stated elsewhere that Islam cannot be reformed since they believe that the Koran is the exact and unchangeable word of Allah. Jesus said, "By their fruits you will know them."
#41
Methinks you miss the point. Muslims consider it the same God. That its shit theology and that Mo made it up is for a different discussion entirely.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
11/30/2007 22:55 Comments ||
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WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Thursday hinted that another interest rate cut may be needed to bolster the economy. The worsening credit crunch, a deepening housing slump and rising energy prices probably will create some "headwinds for the consumer in the months ahead," he said.
Bernanke said he expects consumer spending will continue to grow and suggested the country can withstand the current problems without falling into a recession. But he indicated that consumers could turn more cautious as they try to cope with all the stresses.
The odds have grown that the country could enter a recession. A sharp cutback in consumer spending could send the economy into a tailspin. Against this backdrop, Fed policymakers will need to be "exceptionally alert and flexible," Bernanke said.
That comment probably will be viewed as a sign the Fed may lower interest rates when it meets on Dec. 11, its last session of the year. Twice this year the central bank has trimmed rates to keep the housing collapse and credit crunch from throwing the economy into a recession. Those cuts came in September and late October.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/30/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
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#1
Hmmm. Many large lenders are actually insolvent and energy prices will likely only rise even more if the Fed cuts interest rates again. Just who would benefit from a cut in rates?
#6
BP is spot on. Unless interest rates reflect the actual cost of borrowing money, far worse things will occur than the popping of market bubbles in one (albeit large) sector of the economy. Artificially keeping interest rates below what the free market would dictate creates all sorts of problems.
We need only look to Japan over the last fifteen or so years for an example.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
11/30/2007 6:04 Comments ||
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#7
BP talking about the run on the SBA? You're correct - teachers in a few small counties will not be paid today without some sort of State intervention. Turns out the SBA (a parking spot for government funds) had 10% of it portfolio in SubPrime lenders.... criminal negligence.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
11/30/2007 7:50 Comments ||
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#8
Thomas,
They were supposed to be AAA rated funds. They got sold a shit-sandwich by someone who should be going to jail.
shrug A similar thing happened in Orange County California a while back - overly aggressive funds manager tanked $1.6 billion by investing in derivatives they didn't understand.
#11
I would leave rates where they are. People in trouble with their houses now can't be saved. Take the short term pain rather than stretching it out over years and raising the possibly of triggering more problems by lowering the rate of what actual borrowing costs are.
#13
AH: Hmmm. Many large lenders are actually insolvent and energy prices will likely only rise even more if the Fed cuts interest rates again. Just who would benefit from a cut in rates?
Banks. If their portfolios were marked to market today, probably just about every bank in the country is insolvent right now (liabilities > assets). If they all fail, we get the Great Depression all over again. A rate cut will rescue the banks. Which will rescue the American economy. And by extension, the world economy. People trying to figure out whether to hold the dollar have to decide whether a collapsed economy with high interest rates is preferable (or politically sustainable) compared to a recovering economy with low interest rates.
#14
Cutting the short rate won't do a damn thing about housing. we'd have to go back in time to do something about that. Berny is likely going to cut the short rate by 25 basis points. Not massive by any means, but it's enough to help the banks a little.
I think when this is all said and done, we'll be looking back over this period as the credit crunch that wasn't. Interesst rates are still low, which doesn't seem to me like what we would expect from a lack of lenders, and long term bond rates are still unimpressive. Again, about the opposite of what I would expect from an economy in trouble.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
11/30/2007 13:37 Comments ||
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#15
MN: I think when this is all said and done, we'll be looking back over this period as the credit crunch that wasn't. Interesst rates are still low, which doesn't seem to me like what we would expect from a lack of lenders, and long term bond rates are still unimpressive. Again, about the opposite of what I would expect from an economy in trouble.
Treasury rates are low. Corporate yields are high. Very high. Companies with mortgage exposure that used to roll over their debt via commercial paper issues can't float this stuff any more because buyers are leery. Treasury rates are low because of a flight to safety. Nobody knows what is safe any more, and in this environment, it makes no sense to reach for another point of yield when payment of principal is in doubt. This means everybody buys Treasuries. Which includes foreign investors who used to park their dollars in big hunks of agency issues (Fannie, Freddie). Now they're avoiding even agencies, preferring the safety of Treasuries.
#16
Which signifies low demand for bonds. So if bonds aren't in demand and everybody is afraid of committing capital to the market, then where is the money?
I suspect hoarded because of the current uncertainty. Cash holding combined with low interest rates is no credit crunch.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
11/30/2007 17:40 Comments ||
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WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration reported a small drop in greenhouse gas emissions for the United States last year, the first decline since 2001, but the emissions still represented a sizable increase over the last decade and a half. The gases, including carbon dioxide, are widely blamed by some for global warming.
The Energy Information Administration said that in 2006 the United States released 1.5% fewer tons than in 2005. The increase over 1990, which is used as a base year in international deliberations on long-range targets for gas reductions, was 15.1%.
The White House drew attention to the decline on the eve of a meeting in Bali, Indonesia, to launch negotiations on a global treaty to reduce such emissions. President Bush said in a written statement that, when measured against economic growth, it demonstrated "the largest annual improvement since 1985."
However, the government agency attributed the reduced emissions to several factors -- one of which, "favorable weather conditions," the administration had no hand in creating; and a second, higher energy prices, for which it would not want to claim responsibility. The energy agency also said the reduction was due to a greater use of nonfossil fuels and natural gas in generating electricity.
Robert Stavins, director of Harvard University's environmental economics program, said that although any year-to-year decrease is a positive development, long-range targets under consideration call for decreases by 2050 in the range of 50% to 80% compared with 1990.
Good luck with that, unless you plan on building a few thousand nuclear power plants.
Those decreases represent the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions that some wacky scientists estimate would be needed to avoid serious consequences of global warming. Philip E. Clapp, president of the National Environmental Trust, said the previous one-year drop in 2001 was the result of a recession.
Which is sorta how we'd cut emissions by 50%, only we'd need a depression.
The decrease in emissions -- the equivalent of 117 million tons of carbon -- reported by the government Wednesday would be sufficient to hit the long-range targets if repeated each year. Emissions in 2005 increased 16.8% over 1990. They have increased 3.2% since the Bush administration took office in 2001.
So it's going up less under the eeeeeeeeevil Bush?
In addition to reporting the total tonnage of gases emitted, the Bush administration compared the tons emitted to economic growth. Using this measure of "greenhouse gas intensity," it reported a reduction of nearly 28% since 1990. That reflects an economy growing at a much faster pace than the gas emissions, but also a shift away from the energy-intensive manufacturing industry.
And increased efficiency.
David Sandalow, an assistant secretary of State specializing in the environment during the Clinton administration, noted that some European nations with economies similar to that of the United States had achieved greater emissions reductions.
Never met a joy he couldn't kill.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/30/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"...David Sandalow, an assistant secretary of State specializing in the environment during the Clinton administration, noted that some European nations with economies similar to that of the United States had achieved greater emissions reductions."
note that the Clinton apologist didn't name them
That's because there are no countries in Europe with economies similar to the US. They all have near zero population growth, use DC current rather than AC, etc.
#3
ION, PAYVAND > Iran Petroleum MInister reports that Iran has 138 Bilyuhn barrels of oil + 28.2 Trilyuhn cu. m of natural gas. OPEC countries includ Iran > control approxi 34% of World's oil production. Iran per se exports 4.145 M barrels/day but can export 4.3Mb/day. *Also from PAYVAND > THE WORLDWIDE SPREAD OF OIL - Saudi Arabia + Persian Gulf States control 28% of world oil production, wid US Energy Dept. estim the same hold approxi 55% of known world reserves/fields.
Several protesters were forcibly removed from the audience at a speech given by former Attorney General John Ashcroft at the University of Colorado at Boulder Tuesday night. The organizers of the event called in extra security from the Boulder Police Department at the last minute after hearing rumors about the protests, said Jessica Forthofer, chair of CU's Cultural Events Board, which was responsible for organizing the speech. "We thought that the conservative viewpoint isn't very espoused on the CU campus, and that's why we wanted John Ashcroft," Forthofer said, but she added that the board's guest speakers, who have included the Rev. Al Sharpton and Charlton Heston, had never received such a heated reception.
About 20 student protesters from CU and Naropa University, wearing shirts with "shame" written on the backs and wearing American flags over their faces, welcomed Ashcroft to the stage by standing up and turning their backs to him. But the small group of silent protesters from the Students for Peace and Justice were overshadowed by several other unidentified demonstrators who rushed the stage to confront Ashcroft repeatedly during his speech and the question-and-answer portion.
"I have a question," yelled one woman who was removed several times but kept finding a way back into the auditorium. "What medication are you on that you could violate our rights with such a clear conscience because I'd really like to get some."
Ashcroft spent most of his speech defending to the estimated crowd of about 1,000 people the legacy of his tenure as attorney general: the implementation of the Patriot Act following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "The way we defend our country is to prosecute, but the threat of prosecution is empty to those who would willingly extinguish themselves to harm us," Ashcroft said. "Prosecution is the re-creation of the past. My directive from the president was to prevent, so we changed the way we did things."
Ashcroft remained calm while the crowd booed him loudly several times during his speech, including when he said Guantanamo Bay was a "good place" for detainees and that he was proud of the United States government and its self-policing of Abu Ghraib, but he lost his composure when a man in the audience called him a liar. "For those of you who have nothing to learn," Ashcroft asked. "Why did you come tonight?"
#2
Attacking speakers that they disagree with...what would the newspapers say if it were conservative students attacking radical feminists, for instance? Strangely, that never happens...
#7
Well I for one am shocked. The Students for Peace and Justice had an excellent opportunity to ask the former Attorney General of the USA questions of law surrounding the Gillian Gibbons situation. You know, the overseas minority woman teacher falsly accused of a crime of superstition? I mean what other perfect scenario do neo-hippy activists need? Must have been to heavy, man, to like, you know, pow wow after a 'bag of medication' if you know what I mean man on Happy Tuesday, and, you know, like umm, come up with some good thoughts and vibes. Yeah. We had some good thoughts though but Sparkles over there (hey.) started chewing on the only pencil. So this morning over a bowl of Captain Munchies we decided we would just be really loud man. Power to truth man! (raises fist after almost raising peace sign, rainbow binki cap falls off)
#8
Seems to be a feature not a bug at universities across the board. A friend of mine is taking a political class at KU's Bob Dole building and they bring in a good collection of guests - former governers from many states and both parties - and he will only go to the democrat functions. There was a PBS deal on the other night about berkely ca students on the Israel/palestine situation and the teacher was showing film about the wall and it was only the negative effects - dark forboding pictures of different sections of the wall. Student gets up and makes a big speech (in heavy California accent with appropriate 'ya knows' to emphasize her point) completely off topic. During operation Desert Storm my grade school history teacher was crying one morning saying "When Israel nukes Iraq the radiation will span the globe and poison us within a couple of days.
Funny background about the PBS story: they were interviewing this white girl at the palestinian booth and she was going on and on about this and that. In the background was a dark olive skin dude with the beanie hat and full beard eating a sandwich. He is disinterested and takes a big bite of sandwich which gets into his beard big time. So what does he do? starts picking out all the crumbs and sauce and well, while there, starts rubbing and picking his nose for a good 3 minutes(!). It was in stark contrast to the articulate well spoken members at the Israeli booth.
#10
"For those of you who have nothing to learn," Ashcroft asked. "Why did you come tonight?"
-actually a good response methinks. I would've encouraged anyone who wanted to rush the stage to meet me in the parking lot after the event - see how tough they are then. Most lefty's are total pussies. They'll pose & peacock when the cameras are on but their bowels go to water in a real scrap.
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.
Yemeni President 
President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday he was intent on reform to boost France's economy and raise living standards, but that there was no money left in state coffers for huge cash handouts. In a wide-ranging television interview, Sarkozy sought to address voters' top concern, purchasing power, by saying firms could in future be freer to circumvent the 35-hour limit on the working week as long as they struck a deal on pay increases.
WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Thursday hinted that another interest rate cut may be needed to bolster the economy. The worsening credit crunch, a deepening housing slump and rising energy prices probably will create some "headwinds for the consumer in the months ahead," he said.
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration reported a small drop in greenhouse gas emissions for the United States last year, the first decline since 2001, but the emissions still represented a sizable increase over the last decade and a half. The gases, including carbon dioxide, are widely blamed 
