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Coalition strike on Haqqani compound
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 5: Russia-Former Soviet Union
2 00:00 Grand Proconsul Sock Puppet [3] 
7 00:00 swksvolFF [9] 
4 00:00 SteveS [3] 
6 00:00 JosephMendiola [3] 
1 00:00 tu3031 [4] 
1 00:00 JosephMendiola [3] 
6 00:00 USN, Ret. [3] 
8 00:00 Redneck Jim [4] 
4 00:00 Politician to be [3] 
10 00:00 Abu do you love [3] 
1 00:00 JosephMendiola [3] 
16 00:00 McZoid [10] 
13 00:00 Hupaper Lumplump4499 [11] 
12 00:00 Nimble Spemble [3] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
15 00:00 Rambler in California [10]
7 00:00 Grand Proconsul Sock Puppet [10]
5 00:00 JosephMendiola [12]
9 00:00 Oscar Whusing4341 [6]
7 00:00 swksvolFF [14]
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3 00:00 SteveS [3]
6 00:00 Procopius2k [3]
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Page 2: WoT Background
1 00:00 3dc [3]
6 00:00 JosephMendiola [13]
12 00:00 Redneck Jim [5]
5 00:00 Frank G [3]
3 00:00 JosephMendiola [3]
1 00:00 trailing wife [4]
19 00:00 3dc [20]
12 00:00 Grand Proconsul Sock Puppet [10]
5 00:00 Galactic Coordinator Sneter1588 [3]
6 00:00 Old Patriot [4]
16 00:00 Frank G [3]
9 00:00 Barbara Skolaut [10]
10 00:00 Grand Proconsul Sock Puppet [3]
4 00:00 Old Patriot [3]
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9 00:00 Abu do you love [7]
9 00:00 3dc [11]
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2 00:00 JosephMendiola [13]
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3 00:00 sinse [3]
1 00:00 JosephMendiola [13]
3 00:00 Grand Proconsul Sock Puppet [9]
Page 3: Non-WoT
3 00:00 ex-lib [5]
10 00:00 swksvolFF [12]
3 00:00 sinse [3]
19 00:00 Bright Pebbles [3]
6 00:00 USN, Ret. [4]
1 00:00 JosephMendiola [6]
8 00:00 JFM [3]
3 00:00 Beavis [3]
Page 4: Opinion
8 00:00 bigjim-ky [3]
7 00:00 Barbara Skolaut [11]
1 00:00 ed [4]
4 00:00 JosephMendiola [18]
-Lurid Crime Tales-
This Week's Idiot
Wife is listening to the TV news, just ran a bit about two "Youths" who went into a south carolina storefront police substation guns in hand to rob it, twenty officers were in the next room in a training session, they're in jail.
Just like in the Chuck Norris movie "Code of Silence", only in a coppe shoppe instead of a cops' bar.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 03/14/2008 16:48 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  everyone thinks GA is the shit hole of the south but compared too south carolina we are living like kings
Posted by: sinse || 03/14/2008 17:14 Comments || Top||

#2  You could deport the village idiot from any town in Georgia to South Carolina and raise the average IQ of both states.
Posted by: Grand Proconsul Sock Puppet || 03/14/2008 21:45 Comments || Top||


Kennedy dumping diesel fuel into Nantucket Sound
Posted by: BrerRabbit || 03/14/2008 15:01 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  When told that he was moored in coastal waters near shellfish beds and people swimming, the man replied, "whatever."

"Whatever", which I believe is the Kennedy family motto...
Here's what's gonna happen.
Nothing.
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/14/2008 17:22 Comments || Top||

#2  2002 Figawi Race

See, I was right.
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/14/2008 17:37 Comments || Top||

#3  What I find so ironic is that one of Robert Kennedy Jr's objections to the wind farm was that they would need to have oil available as lubricants. If the lubricants escaped into the water, it would be an environmental disaster.
Posted by: Rambler in California || 03/14/2008 19:54 Comments || Top||

#4  At least they are not dumping Mary Jo Kopechnes in the bay.
Posted by: SteveS || 03/14/2008 20:08 Comments || Top||


Scruggs Pleads Guilty; And a Profile of the ‘King of Torts’
Richard Scruggs, the well-known asshole plaintiffs lawyer who made a name for himself pursuing asbestos and tobacco cases, has ended his career with a guilty plea this morning in a Mississippi courtroom.

Scruggs and co-defendant Sidney Backstrom pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe a judge in a dispute over attorney fees, the Associated Press reports. The trial had been scheduled to begin March 31.

Prosecutors will recommend a sentence of five years in prison for Scruggs and a sentence of two-and-a-half years in prison for Backstrom, the AP story says. The Northeast Mississippi Journal says they also face a maximum fine of $250,000.
Life without parole wouldn't be long enough.
Scruggs' son, Zach, is the only defendant remaining in the case who has not pleaded guilty.

Scruggs' wife and Backstrom both fought tears during the hearing. Scruggs contained his emotions, although he looked pale and thin, according to the Northeast Mississippi Journal report. Scruggs and Backstrom admitted they conspired to bribe a judge, the allegations in the first count in the indictment. The government will seek dismissal of the remaining counts.
Lerach and now this; if only Edwards were next.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 03/14/2008 14:27 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Meanwhile, at Castle Breck...candles are lit.
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/14/2008 17:42 Comments || Top||


Spitzer Fights to Avoid Charges After Resignation
New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who resigned yesterday amid allegations that he patronized prostitutes, is now in a legal fight to avoid criminal charges.

Spitzer, 48, stepped down after the New York Times reported he was ``Client 9'' of an international call-girl ring whose operators were charged with crimes last week. Spitzer's lawyers need to persuade the U.S. government not to file related charges against him because he allegedly summoned prostitutes to Washington and paid them secretly, former prosecutors said.

Prosecutors are more likely to consider going after Spitzer, a Democrat, for money laundering or misusing his office than for prostitution because customers of call girls are rarely pursued by federal authorities, the lawyers and ex-prosecutors said. ``Given the rarity of federal prosecutions of this kind of conduct, the motives of the prosecutors might be called into question,'' said Steven Peikin, a former U.S. prosecutor in Manhattan. ``The facts that are not well known are those surrounding the financial transactions. That would be an area of greater concern.''
Posted by: Fred || 03/14/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Plus the money laundering charges are felonies.
Like I said before, this effectively ends any hope he ever had of becoming President. Which I think is a good thing.
Posted by: Rambler in California || 03/14/2008 0:50 Comments || Top||

#2  Mr Spitzer,

How many money launderers and hookers have you put in prison in your time as a public servant?

You think the law is neat, Neatly allow the law it's path.
Posted by: newc || 03/14/2008 0:54 Comments || Top||

#3  Don't go down alone Governor. A list of your politician pals that you've referred, or who came along for the ride Eliot.... that's what we're looking for as well. Here's a pencil, start jotting them down please.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/14/2008 2:35 Comments || Top||

#4  I don't think he could shake a Breach of Trust charge. I don't know if NY governors can issue general pardons, but the public will want some punishment.
Posted by: McZoid || 03/14/2008 5:45 Comments || Top||

#5  ``Given the rarity of federal prosecutions of this kind of conduct, the motives of the prosecutors might be called into question,'' said Steven Peikin, a former U.S. prosecutor in Manhattan.

Then perhaps they should be prosecuting this kind of conduct more often, a$$hole.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 03/14/2008 7:50 Comments || Top||

#6  Making use of prostitutes, which I find icky, isn't nearly as bad as misusing public funds and accepting financial gifts from those one knows to be professional criminals. Then, too, it's best to prosecute what a jury is likely to convict.

It's not clear from the article, though, whether former governor Spitzer is fighting to avoid all charges, or just those for patronizing prostitutes.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/14/2008 9:18 Comments || Top||

#7  I smell... I smell.... I smell the faint whiff of, yes.... it's, it's a Clintonian Presidential PARDON!!!!
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/14/2008 9:41 Comments || Top||

#8  I don't know if the DoJ has figured out what court to use, but odds are it will be the Lower Manhattan district.

If so, I'm pretty sure they will wait a month or so to see Spitzer's level of cooperation and also see if shows any real contrition or if he goes on a 'blame the FBI' offensive. I would bet Spitzer and the district will work something out so this does not go to trial.

In they meantime, it's fair game for the media to ask Clinton (especially) and Obama whether they intend to pardon the guy or commute any post sentencing prison time (the latter was the Libby deal).
Posted by: mhw || 03/14/2008 10:47 Comments || Top||

#9  He'll pay lots of $$$. No indictment on laundering charges.

There, I just saved you all a bunch of reading time in the future, cause that's how it will work. That's how it almost always works. $$$ for fines or for lawyers to grind the process to a halt until it can quietly die away. Only us little people go to the slam, usually.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 03/14/2008 11:09 Comments || Top||

#10  Good point, mhw: remember when the Libby trial was going on, how the Dhimmicrats were demanding George Bush to commit, in advance, regarding a pardon? Turn about is fair play.
Posted by: Steve White || 03/14/2008 11:29 Comments || Top||

#11  Saw this tidbit in New York Post (ht HA):
The 22-year-old call girl had several dates with the governor over the past year, the sources said, but always knew him as "George Fox" - the name of one of Spitzer's close friends that he used to hide his identity.

Some friend spitzer is.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 03/14/2008 14:07 Comments || Top||

#12  perhaps he can get some legal pointers from Mr. Nifong, another prominent (former) attorney)
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 03/14/2008 14:30 Comments || Top||

#13  George Fox was the founder of the Religious Society of Friends, parent of the AFSC.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 03/14/2008 14:46 Comments || Top||

#14  I smell... I smell.... I smell the faint whiff of, yes.... it's, it's a Clintonian Presidential PARDON!!!!

Big problem with some words in your post,

"Clintonian Presidential", Ummm, yep those words, highly unlikely as Shrillary is LOSING.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 03/14/2008 17:20 Comments || Top||

#15  Look at the story about Dickie Scruggs just above. Spitzer might get hammered!
Posted by: Eric Jablow || 03/14/2008 18:56 Comments || Top||

#16  Splitz used "George Fox" as a nome de depravite? Fox was a Quaker leader. I am not amused.
Posted by: McZoid || 03/14/2008 22:08 Comments || Top||


Sheriff Recommends Charge in Toilet Case
Someone else figure this one out for me.
NESS CITY, Kan. — A man should be charged for allowing his girlfriend to sit on their toilet so long that her body became stuck to the seat, the sheriff said Thursday.

Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple was among authorities who discovered the woman last month living in the bathroom of a mobile home she shared with her boyfriend, Kory McFarren. "The house was cluttered but not in shambles," he said. "The smell was overpowering — a terrible smell about the house, obviously coming from where she was at."

McFarren, 36, told police his girlfriend, Pam Babcock, 35, had a phobia about leaving the bathroom and may not have left the bathroom in two years, although he's unsure how long she was in there. He said during that time, he brought her food, water, and clean clothes. "The only thing I am guilty of is I didn't get her help sooner," he told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The sheriff said that judging by the woman's condition — she had open sores on which the toilet seat would stick — it appeared she likely sat on the toilet continually for at least a month. "She would have to be sleeping on the toilet," the sheriff said.

Whipple asked the county attorney to charge McFarren for mistreatment of a dependent adult. The prosecutor did not return phone calls seeking comment. "The unfortunate thing is this truly is a case of two people, in my opinion, with diminished mental capacity," Whipple said.

McFarren, who works at an antique store, said he has been taking care of Babcock for the 16 years they have lived together. He insisted that he tried to coax her out of the bathroom every day. The home has a second bathroom.

McFarren said he finally called police Feb. 27 after he became worried because Babcock was acting groggy, as if she didn't know what was going on around her. What emergency responders found when they entered the bathroom has left many in the town of about 1,500 people buzzing and authorities incredulous. Whipple said the seat was taken off the toilet so the woman could be transported to the hospital for treatment. Doctors at the Wichita hospital told the boyfriend an infection in her legs has damaged her nerves and may leave her in a wheelchair, he said.
Posted by: Free Radical || 03/14/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [11 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Whipple asked the county attorney to charge McFarren for mistreatment of a dependent adult. The prosecutor did not return phone calls seeking comment. "The unfortunate thing is this truly is a case of two people, in my opinion, with diminished mental capacity," Whipple said.

I think the whole thing is sad. So, mr. whipple, you want to charge someone who has diminished mental capacity with not being able to properly care for someone with diminished mental capacity? I have a hard time imagining that nobody stopped by their residence in 2 years - family, friends, social workers, plumbers, electricians, neighbors - I'm tellin ya a town of 1500 people somebody had to know or have an idea that something was amiss. Methinks the sheriff is suddenly in the limelight and feels he needs to do something.

In other thoughts of Kansas, I think these poor souls may have stumbled upon a good time out session for phelps.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 03/14/2008 11:07 Comments || Top||

#2  That's their default answer to everything swksvolFF,
meanwhile they are in a total quandary about what to do with the likes of Spitzer. I'm telling you from personal experience that the lesser the crime, the more heavy handed the punishment. I'm sure there will be a big fine in there somewhere for the guy.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 03/14/2008 11:14 Comments || Top||

#3  After reading this...I guess I should finally get off the toilet seat then....eh...maybe tomorrow...
Posted by: Glolurt and Tenille6317 || 03/14/2008 14:15 Comments || Top||

#4  The home has a second bathroom.

If it didn't, I'll bet this would've been over a helluva lot quicker...
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/14/2008 14:17 Comments || Top||

#5  Maybe she was just practicing her excremeditation.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 03/14/2008 14:37 Comments || Top||

#6  None of you are apparently from a small town of 1500 on the Kansas plains or had a Sheriff Whipple pursue youthful shenannigans for lack of anything else to do to earn your salary or you wouldn't be so perplexed. Sadly, the pic reflects the real state of affairs for much of rural America; they are perplexed and dismayed at the likes of Spitzer, who can afford a $5,000 hooker without his wife noticing, when that is their yearly disability income. Unfortunately, that is also why mental health and health care woes in general are not addressed--it is all too common and the tax base just is not there.
Posted by: Thealing Borgia6122 || 03/14/2008 15:39 Comments || Top||

#7  Clearly the fault lies in laws that allow for multiple bathrooms. If there was a single bathroom this woman would not have lost two years of her life. We must put an end to this wasteful practice and restore the historical balanced position of a single bathroom on the exterior of the home (with a moon shaped cutput in the door to symbilize Islam).
Posted by: Politician to be || 03/14/2008 16:02 Comments || Top||

#8  Artfully handled, you may have a shot at political office.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 03/14/2008 16:48 Comments || Top||

#9  This is just too good, Mr. WHIPPLE is considering charges in TOILET case.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 03/14/2008 17:23 Comments || Top||

#10  TB6122, the Kansas town I'm in is about 1/2 that size and you are absolutely correct.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 03/14/2008 18:44 Comments || Top||

#11  I agree Redneck Jim. lol

Wondering about the phobia, though. Hey, at least he kept TRYING to take care of her.
Posted by: ex-lib || 03/14/2008 19:29 Comments || Top||

#12  Dealing with a mentally ill loved one is tough even when there's a strong family system of people with lots of resources to call on. Sounds like this guy was just trying to do what he could and didn't have the judgement or insight to get help.
Posted by: lotp || 03/14/2008 19:54 Comments || Top||

#13  I have a hard time imagining that nobody stopped by their residence in 2 years...

It happens!

I'm tellin ya a town of 1500 people somebody had to know or have an idea that something was amiss.

Certainly! Most people in that town probably knew she was a shut in. And in most small towns like that, everybody may know everyone else's business to a large extent...but they don't pry.

Some of these real small towns can be very scary places if you did not grow up there.
Posted by: Hupaper Lumplump4499 || 03/14/2008 22:41 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Today's Idiot
Everybody make the Big L sign...
LONDON (Reuters) - It is the one moment every man wants to get right -- and which London floor-fitter Lefkos Hajji could hardly have got more wrong. The luckless 28 year-old's dreams of giving his sweetheart, Leanne, 26, the ultimate proposal have literally vanished into thin air.
I'm sure ya meant well, kid...
Hajji, of Hackney, east London, had concealed a 6,000-pound engagement ring inside a helium balloon.
Hey. Isn't that about 12000 bucks?
The idea was that she would pop the balloon as he popped the question.But as he left the shop, a gust of wind pulled the balloon from his hand and he watched the ring -- and quite possibly the affections of his girlfriend -- sailing away over the rooftops.
Ooooooooooooooh. Bet that wasn't part of the plan.
"I couldn't believe it," he told The Sun newspaper. "I just watched as it went further and further into the air. "I felt like such a plonker. It cost a fortune and I knew my girlfriend would kill me."
Y'know, Lefkos, maybe we should see other people...
Hajji spent two hours in his car trying to chase and find the balloon, without success. "I thought I would give Leanne a pin so I could literally pop the question," he said.
Now she can stick it in your eye...
"But I had to tell her the story -- she went absolutely mad. Now she is refusing to speak to me until I get her a new ring."
Geez, she sounds like an angel. Aren't you a...lucky man.
He is hoping the ring will still turn up. "It would be amazing if someone found it," he added.
And monkeys might fly outta...nah, nevermind.
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/14/2008 15:07 || Comments || Link || [9 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Are we all sure that this is not a "the dog ate my homework" story?
Posted by: GK || 03/14/2008 15:43 Comments || Top||

#2  Florist Helen Savva, of Cockfosters, North London, who put the ring in the balloon, said: “I thought he was taking a risk. I said, ‘I hope you hold on to it’.”
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/14/2008 15:46 Comments || Top||

#3  (Hajji spent two hours in his car trying to chase and find the balloon)
Barney: " So, Mr., un Hajji, would you tell me again why you are driving so erratically? People were phonhing Dispatch with these wild tales of a motorist driving like a madman sticking his head out of the window weaving in and out of traffic....
Lefkos: I know you aren't gong to believe this, Ossifer, but i had this ring and this gurlfriend see......"

YJCBMTSU
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 03/14/2008 15:48 Comments || Top||

#4  concealed a 6,000-pound engagement ring inside a helium balloon.

Must have been one big-ass helium balloon to loft a 3 ton engagement ring.
Posted by: SteveS || 03/14/2008 20:10 Comments || Top||

#5  badda bing!
Posted by: lotp || 03/14/2008 20:29 Comments || Top||

#6  OTOH, REDDIT [old?] > ONMYLIST - DON'T FALL ASLEEP IN THE JUNGLE! big Big BIG B-I-G BBBBBBBIIIIIIGGGGGGG, D **** YOU, JUNGLE SNAKE SWALLOWED A WHOLE MAN???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/14/2008 21:09 Comments || Top||

#7  ...couldn't tie the knot...
Posted by: swksvolFF || 03/14/2008 21:46 Comments || Top||


Run, Jessie, run! (No, not that one, the other Jessie.)
To hear Jesse Ventura tell it, he’s either out to become president or an expatriate.

"Jessie who?"
"Jessie Ventura."
"Who?"
"You know, Jessie 'The Body' Ventura? Predator? The WWF? That Jessie Ventura?"
"Oh, yeah, now I remember him. He's still alive?"
"Apparently."
"Still married to Paris Hilton?"


In the opening to his fourth book, due out April 1, the former wrestler and governor of Minnesota writes: “As I begin to write this book, I’m facing probably the most monumental decision of my 56 years on this planet. Will I run for president of the United States, as an independent, in 2008? Or will I stay as far away from the fray as possible, in a place with no electricity, on a remote beach in Mexico?”

At the same time, the American people face monumental questions of their own: will any of them care? Will any of them beyond his immediate family even notice?

Throughout the book, called “Don’t Start the Revolution Without Me!,” Ventura seems to go back and forth on the question, pro and con

Coming soon to a Half-Price Books or Odd Lots near you.
Posted by: Mike || 03/14/2008 09:37 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Presidential election in 2008? It's too late to get started now, so it seems he's off for the beach.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/14/2008 9:59 Comments || Top||

#2  Will he be running on the Irrelevant Big Ego ticket or does Nader all ready have that nomination sewed up?
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/14/2008 10:34 Comments || Top||

#3  As Professor Reynolds said (about Nader's candidacy, but applies here too):

Forgotten, but not gone.
Posted by: Seafarious || 03/14/2008 11:18 Comments || Top||

#4  Heh, will he get the independant ticket Repossessed and become The Running Man?
Posted by: swksvolFF || 03/14/2008 12:13 Comments || Top||

#5  April Fools release date just pops right out at me.
Posted by: 3dc || 03/14/2008 13:18 Comments || Top||

#6  Come on guys, at least he served a term as a Governor, more than can be said for any of the current bunch of nominees.......
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 03/14/2008 14:32 Comments || Top||


Happy Pi Day
Pi, Greek letter (ð), is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi = 3.1415926535... Pi Day is celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world on March 14th.

I intend to have 3.1415926535 pieces of cake in celebration.
Posted by: Mike || 03/14/2008 08:19 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Excuse me if I seem irrational today. :)
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/14/2008 8:26 Comments || Top||

#2  P2k - that my friend, is truely snort worthy!
Posted by: GORT || 03/14/2008 8:35 Comments || Top||

#3  Everyone wants a bigger piece of the pi, right?
Posted by: Korora || 03/14/2008 10:27 Comments || Top||

#4  "In order to see the first four million digits you will need to upgrade your browser."

Gee, thanks, Korora.

I'll get right on that....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 03/14/2008 10:48 Comments || Top||

#5  That figure can't be right, Koroa. It's not in the Qu'ran.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 03/14/2008 12:17 Comments || Top||

#6  Or Indiana:

http://tinyurl.com/cn92t
Posted by: Anonymoose || 03/14/2008 14:35 Comments || Top||

#7  It's Friday Night.

It's Pi day.

Who's getting the round in?
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 03/14/2008 14:39 Comments || Top||

#8  (Old Joke)
Sign in the university bookstore window "Pi R Square".
Pasing (Alabama) freshman looks at it and says
"That's Stupid, everybody knows pie are round, Not square, cornbread are square).
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 03/14/2008 17:02 Comments || Top||


Maverick, Call the Ball - Video
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 03/14/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ION, STARS-N-STRIPES > COST OF F35 FLEET NEARS ONE TRILLION DOLLARS.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/14/2008 0:39 Comments || Top||


Britain
Terminal 5 opens in H*LL
I swear I would pay double my ticket price to connect through ANYWHERE but Heathrow. Worst. Airport. Ever.
Heathrow's new Terminal 5 is to be opened by the Queen
Heathrow Airport's controversial Terminal 5 is set to be opened by the Queen in a ceremony involving hundreds of airport and construction workers.
She lives off the public dole too.
The £4.3bn terminal offers extra passenger capacity although the number of flights will not increase after it opens for business on 27 March.
Build more castles. You all are better at it.
Operator BAA says it will "transform" the level of service at the airport.
Cause YOU ALL are the only ones who get to use it!
Environmental and residents groups who have opposed it say it will lead to more flights, noise and pollution.
Noise? Yes. Pollution? Probably. More flights? NO- BECAUSE ALL YOUR AIRPORTS S*CK!
Its construction has involved diverting two rivers, building what is claimed to be the UK's largest free-standing building and tunneling 13km for rail and baggage links.
For one stupid terminal? Burn the place down and start over... with a REAL design architect.
Virgin Atlantic has complained that BA will be the only airline to benefit from the new terminal.

Director Paul Charles said: "This is a great new building, there's no doubt about it, and it may be a wonderful new piece of infrastructure and architecture, but it doesn't do anything for most of the airlines that operate at Heathrow.
What did you expect??
Posted by: Free Radical || 03/14/2008 07:22 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  5 terminals?

Was this just to catch up to JFK?
Posted by: DoDo || 03/14/2008 12:44 Comments || Top||

#2  FR, I sense that you disagree. Don't hold it in.
Posted by: Formerly Dan || 03/14/2008 15:48 Comments || Top||

#3  Don't fly through PHL much?
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 03/14/2008 16:27 Comments || Top||

#4  Regarding being good at castle building, the English were the one of the best but they appear to have topped out like five hundred years ago.
Posted by: Politician to be || 03/14/2008 18:23 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
Group tries tours to North Korea's isolated golf course
Ah, welcome. Wang, what tee time do the Imperialist human scum have?
SEOUL (Reuters) - A South Korean tour group is in talks with hermit North Korea to take golfers to one of the world's most exclusive courses where legend has it Dear Leader Kim Jong-il made history by shooting 11 holes-in-one.
That's all?
"We are not advertising for the trip yet," said an official with Pyeonghwa Air Travel Agency, but the firm has applied with North Korean authorities to conduct the golf tour. According to estimates in South Korean media, a five-day trip including rounds at the course outside Pyongyang, would run close to $3,000. That is about double what it costs for similar trips to other neighbouring countries.
3 grand? Who caddys for you? One of the Emperors Club girls?
The few golfers who have played the 7,000 metre (7,655 yard), 18-hole course say the greens are well manicured and caddies can take long naps because of the yawning gaps between tee-offs.
Let's go! While we're young!!
It is used mostly by the handful of foreign businessmen in Pyongyang who play golf. North Korea's official media has described the holes as "diverse and peculiar in styles."
They probably move the mines around. Adds to the challenge.
It has a modern club house supported by pillars shaped like golf clubs and is situated by a scenic lake, the KCNA news agency reported in 2002.
Oh, this is the worst-looking hat I ever saw. What, when you buy a hat like this I bet you get a free bowl of soup, huh?
Oh, it looks good on you though.

"During breaks, golfers enjoy collecting plants, boating and angling in the picturesque recreation ground," it said.
Yeah, if they want lunch...
At his famed round, novice golfer Kim reportedly shot about 20 strokes lower than best round ever for a professional event over 18 holes.
Feats don't fail me now...
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/14/2008 14:38 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Picturing a line of nkors shoulder to shoulder, hands and knees nibbling the grass to height. And the bunkers, whoa watch out buddy!

I'd bet that dear leader looks like dorf when he's out "shootin' eagles".
Posted by: swksvolFF || 03/14/2008 15:19 Comments || Top||

#2  "diverse and peculiar in styles"

I shot a couple of 'aces' at our local putt-putt course where they also have 'diverse and peculiar styles' (several kinds of windmills, fluffy pets and an odd fish or two).
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 03/14/2008 16:42 Comments || Top||

#3  Here on GUAM, I believe the former LEOPALACE RESORT + GOLF COURSE is now the BROADMOOR RESORT + GOLF COURSE [Federal Contractor?], although I'm not certain whether its still run by the same corporation that oper the Leo.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/14/2008 18:25 Comments || Top||

#4  Yeah, if they want lunch...

The state of the people in NORK is pretty sad. But I had to laugh at the inline, tu3031
Posted by: lotp || 03/14/2008 19:29 Comments || Top||

#5  Whenever I play Golf I really get my money's worth. I don't think I've ever shot under 120.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 03/14/2008 20:04 Comments || Top||

#6  The GOLFING MUST BE GOOD iff starving NK can give Thailand US$100Million, ala EINNEWS.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/14/2008 21:15 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Paterson Says He Is Ready To Assume Governorship
David Paterson, who will become New York's first black governor and the first legally blind chief executive in the nation, said Thursday he is ready to lead the state after Gov. Eliot Spitzer's stunning resignation amid a cäll-girl scandal.
Everybody's gotta be the first something or other nowadays. I'm waiting for the first one-legged dwarf lesbiän dog catcher to make the papers. I'm sure some J-school graduate will think it newsworthy.
Unless the one-legged dwarf lesbiän dog catcher's a Republican, in which case you won't hear a word ...
At a news conference in the Capitol's Red Room,
Awww, c'mon! The Red Room? Associated with a whörehouse story?
"But last week I had the same babe in the Red Room and it only cost me twenty bucks!"
"But then you wuz on the teevee!"
a ceremonial setting where governor's frequently address the media, Mr. Paterson said he told Mr. Spitzer when he reluctantly accepted the job as lieutenant governor that "I would be prepared in the event I had to assume authority. I am prepared."

Mr. Spitzer resigned Wednesday after being exposed as a client in a high-priced pröstitution ring. "This has been a very sad few days in the history of New York, and for me, it's been sadder," said Mr. Paterson, a Harlem Democrat with a home near Albany.
Wouldn't that make him an "Albany Democrat"?
Elected to the state Senate from Harlem before running for LtGov. Guy's waaay to the left, but a nicer person than the Spritzer. Son of a longtime politician and wholly grown by the NYC Dem machine.
"My heart goes out to Eliot Spitzer, his wife, his daughters and his parents. We used to call them our other family." Mr. Paterson will be officially sworn in at 1 p.m. Monday, an hour after Mr. Spitzer's resignation takes effect.
Posted by: Fred || 03/14/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ION< CHINESE MIL FORUM > BLOOMBERG - MCCAIN MORE HAWKISH THAN BUSH ON RUSSIA, CHINA, AND IRAQ. Mccain describes as a "REALIST IDEALIST", GOP SPLIT BETWEEN [anti-Mil Venture]REALISTS VERSUS [pro-War/Mil Venturist]IDEALISTS; + ASIA TIMES > WHILE CHINA MARCHES, AMERICA GUESSES. China's "true intentions".
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/14/2008 0:24 Comments || Top||

#2  The blind leading the blind. How appropriate.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/14/2008 2:38 Comments || Top||

#3  At least he will be happy with the $100 girls. They all look the same.
Posted by: Creling Darling of the Lichtensteiners8341 || 03/14/2008 9:07 Comments || Top||

#4  Wouldn't it be cake if this guy got busted in a $50 hotel room, smoking crack, with a bunch of hookers.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 03/14/2008 11:16 Comments || Top||

#5  He's actually pretty well respected in Albany at a personal level by Rs and Ds alike. Spitzer's goon squads hated him and v.v.
Posted by: lotp || 03/14/2008 12:19 Comments || Top||

#6  I thought the name sounded familiar...

Dem Pol pushes bill: Cops may only shoot to wound, not kill

ALBANY - Sen. David Paterson is pushing a bill that would require cops to shoot to wound, rather than using deadly force - drawing outrage from officers. The bill also would create a new provision for second-degree manslaughter that would be reserved specifically for an officer who "uses more than the minimal amount necessary" to stop a crime suspect.

Paterson, who is on Eliot Spitzer's ticket as lieutenant governor, has reintroduced the bill twice since first sponsoring it in 2001, refusing to let it die. In a memo urging its passage, Paterson wrote: "There is no justification for terminating another's life when a less extreme measure may accomplish the same objective."

Current law gives cops a wide berth to use deadly force when a suspect presents a danger to another person's life. Paterson (D-Harlem) wrote that a police officer, under his legislation, "would have to try to shoot a suspect in the arm or the leg."

"This bill shows absolutely no understanding of just how difficult it is for a police officer when they get into situations requiring the use of deadly force," John Grebert, director of the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police, told the Daily News.

His sentiment was echoed by Dan DeFedericis, president of the New York State Troopers PBA, who said: "We are definitely opposed to this bill ... and we strongly believe it could endanger the lives of police officers and innocent civilians."
While Spitzer already has the endorsement of the New York City Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, that group's Albany lobbyist, John Poklemba, said, "This bill is very ill conceived. I can't imagine any police agencies not being opposed to it."

Paterson told The News last night that his bill would safeguard the public. He explained that he wrote the bill in response to the acquittal of four NYPD officers charged in the 1999 shooting death of the unarmed Amadou Diallo in the Bronx."Many people were surprised the officers weren't guilty of something, criminally negligent homicide or something that involved some negligence," he said. "I thought I was writing the bill that really mirrored what the department rules are."


I'm thinking if this is indicative of the legislation he introduces, this guy is either in way over his head or is maybe going to get eaten alive.
Either that, or New York is screwed...

http://207.114.86.27/poparticle.php?ID=143601&D=2006-02-23
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/14/2008 12:36 Comments || Top||

#7  v.v.?
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 03/14/2008 13:32 Comments || Top||

#8  "The blind leading the blind. How appropriate."

Indeed...at least now the ugly hookers will get a chance.
Posted by: Kelly || 03/14/2008 15:44 Comments || Top||

#9  ALBANY - Sen. David Paterson is pushing a bill that would require cops to shoot to wound, rather than using deadly force

Hey Judge, I shot to wound... can I help it if I'm a lousy shot? with a 12 gauge....? __Officer Friendly
Posted by: Dino Jomoger3586 || 03/14/2008 18:02 Comments || Top||

#10  I take it soon-to-be Governor Patterson is not too famaliar with shooting sports and certainly unfamiliar with shooting to save a life situations. Legally blind?
Posted by: Sgt. D.T. || 03/14/2008 18:15 Comments || Top||

#11  v.v.?

vice versa, NS. I can't stand Paterson's political preferences, but I admire the fact that he was not about to ingratiate himself with Spitzer's spies and enforcers.

OTOH it might just be different power bases. Spitzer from the real estate maven crowd, Paterson the son of a Dem pol by way of the NYC machine.
Posted by: lotp || 03/14/2008 19:34 Comments || Top||

#12  duh
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 03/14/2008 19:55 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Tectonic shift in Malaysia
Posted by: ryuge || 03/14/2008 10:01 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ION, EINNEWS > NORTH KOREA GIVES THAILAND US$100MILYUHN LOAN.

D *** NG IT, have no food and shoot/execute starving people searching for food, BUT THEY GOT THE BIG BUCKS!
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/14/2008 21:13 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Pimp: Spitzer busted call girl's agency
THE call girl whose tryst with disgraced New York Governor Eliot Spitzer brought about his downfall once worked for an escort service he busted, its former owner said.

The former pimp said he met and employed Ashley Dupre, at her initiative, when she was just 19. "We knew that we had found a rock star escort when we met Ashley,'' Jason Itzler told CNN's Larry King Live. "She was spectacular. In my opinion, she was the hottest, sexiest escort we ever had," Itzler said.

"We were getting easily 2000 dollars an hour for her, with three, four, five-hour minimums."

Authorities shut down Itzler's big-bucks New York Confidential escort service in January 2005, and he spent two years in jail. His was one of seven or eight escort services Mr Spitzer busted when he was New York state attorney general, Itzler said.

"How funny it is. What goes around does come around," he said. "I'm the king of all pimps. He was the king of hypocrites."

Itlzer said he lost contact with Miss Dupre after going to jail, but believes her recent notoriety could ultimately make her a "star". "She's drop-dead gorgeous, a great personality, unbelievable singing voice. And maybe this will launch her into becoming a star," he said.

The woman federal wiretappers heard Spitzer arranging to meet at a Washington hotel in February was identified in court papers as "Kristen". But the New York Times later identified her as Dupre, 22, a prostitute and an aspiring singer from New Jersey.
Posted by: tipper || 03/14/2008 07:06 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Can we just see her naked and get this thing over with? I mean, Larry King's interviewing pimps for crissakes...not that that's much of a atretch for him.
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/14/2008 9:06 Comments || Top||

#2  I didn't see the show, but Im sure the pimp was between interviews of a hedge fund manager and an energy analist analyst.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 03/14/2008 11:05 Comments || Top||

#3  Can we just see her naked and get this thing over with?

tu3031
Guess you'll just have to wait until Penthouse comes out
Posted by: tipper || 03/14/2008 12:04 Comments || Top||

#4  Guess who client #6 is?
Posted by: tipper || 03/14/2008 13:16 Comments || Top||

#5  Pics at the NY Post. Not nekkid but close.

Posted as a public service. Yeah, that's it!
Posted by: Steve White || 03/14/2008 17:46 Comments || Top||

#6  Nice rack, too many tats.
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/14/2008 17:55 Comments || Top||

#7  "She's drop-dead gorgeous, a great personality" said the pimp--what a salesman. I think she's a dumb troubled kid with boobs and a vagina. Big deal.
Posted by: ex-lib || 03/14/2008 19:26 Comments || Top||

#8  From the 'article' Mr. White so selflessly posted: He (Spitzer) used the alias "George Fox," the name of his best friend.

His best friend's name as an alias? Dang, that Spitzer is a veritable criminal genius. How ever did the feds drag him down?
Posted by: SteveS || 03/14/2008 20:06 Comments || Top||

#9  George Fox has made a statement that he knew nothing about Spitzer using his name. With friends like this, who needs enemies?
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 03/14/2008 20:12 Comments || Top||

#10  sounds like old Elliott was getting a cut rate.

quid pro quo?

will she be prosecuted for tax evasion?

inquiring minds want to know.
Posted by: Abu do you love || 03/14/2008 20:56 Comments || Top||



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