DeParle made millions from companies under federal investigation
Nancy-Ann DeParle, President Barack Obamas health policy czar, served as a director of corporations that faced scores of federal investigations, whistleblower lawsuits and other regulatory actions, according to government records reviewed by the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University.
Several of the companies were investigated for alleged kickbacks or engaging in other illegal billing schemes, while others were accused of serious violations of federal quality standards, including one company that failed to warn patients of deadly problems with an implanted heart defibrillator. Several of the cases ended with substantial fines paid to the federal government, even though the companies admitted no wrongdoing.
Since leaving her government job running Medicare for the Clinton administration, DeParle built a lucrative private-sector career. Records show she earned more than $6.6 million since early 2001, according to a tally by the Investigative Reporting Workshop.
Much of that corporate career was built at companies that have frequently had to defend themselves against federal investigations. After leaving government, DeParle accepted director positions at half a dozen companies suspected of violating the very laws and regulations she had enforced for Medicare. Those companies got into further trouble on her watch as a director.
Now shes back in government as a leading voice in deciding the shape of health care reform. Named by Obama in March as director of the White House Office of Health Reform, making $158,000 a year, DeParle is the point person in pushing for the administration's plans for changing health care and the ways Americans pay for it changes in which her former companies have a great deal at stake.
Critics see DeParles re-emergence as a classic case of Washington revolving door syndrome, despite Obamas suggestions that he would shut that door.
The administration faces a balancing act, said Steve Ellis of the nonpartisan Taxpayers for Common Sense. Obama must find leaders with the proper expertise, but who are not so conflicted that they cannot engage in all facets of the debate.
Advocates of a single-payer coverage plan say that DeParle may be indebted to the companies she served, and more broadly to the health care industry.
This woman owes her fortune to the corporations that she is making decisions about, said Dr. David Himmelstein, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard University and a co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program.
She cashed in really big on her previous role in government and made millions and millions of dollars. Then she divests and all of a sudden shes Snow White. Its ridiculous.
Among DeParles corporate connections:
*DaVita Inc., which owns and operates kidney dialysis centers, has been the subject of several government probes into its billing and drug-prescribing practices, most recently in December by Justice Department investigators in Georgia. DeParle joined the DaVita board in May 2001 and resigned in July 2008 to devote more time to her other business activities, according to the company. She earned more than $2 million in compensation and stock sales, according to records at the Securities and Exchange Commission.
*Boston Scientific Corp. reported to the SEC that it received five state or federal subpoenas during 2008, including ones from the Justice Department and Health and Human Services, which oversees the Medicare agency. In addition, Defense Department criminal investigators are looking into the companys marketing interactions with doctors at a U.S. Army hospital in Tacoma, Wash. DeParle joined the Boston Scientific board in April 2006 and resigned on March 4 of this year, two days after she was appointed to the White House post. She earned more than $1.4 million in compensation and stock sales from her years at Boston Scientific and a company it bought, the Guidant Corp.
*Guidant, which already was in legal trouble for failing to disclose 12 patient deaths when DeParle joined the board in 2001, has since then faced new problems. After a college student died in 2005 when his implanted defibrillator failed on a biking trip, his doctor told Congress that Guidant officials had known of similar problems for three years, but failed to tell the public.
Read details of DeParles industry connections.
Five of the corporations whose boards DeParle served on have paid a total of $566 million since 2003 to settle fraud or product liability cases, often involving tax dollars paid by Medicare.
#1
boy, howdy! Now we know how the single-payer system will save money. The Feds aren't gonna regulate or fine themselves, so it's bottom-of-the-barrel treatment time
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/02/2009 18:43
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One of President Barack Obama's earliest backers, US Representative Robert Wexler, was in Jerusalem this week trying to persuade Israelis that a settlement freeze would be a win-win proposition.
Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Florida). "I want to call their bluff," Wexler told The Jerusalem Post, referring to the Arab countries.
"I want to see, if Israel makes substantial movement toward a credible peace process, whether they are willing to do it. And if they are not, better that we should find out five or six months into the process, before Israel is actually asked to compromise any significant position."
Wexler added: "And if the Arab world fails to deliver, you can rightly say that all bets are off." Betting with someone elses lives. Some might call this meddling.
The Democrat from south Florida told the Post that the Obama administration was placing America's Arab allies under heavy pressure to take substantial steps toward normalizing relations with Israel, in return for a settlement freeze. He said they were being lobbied to establish trade offices, economic links, and cultural and educational exchanges; and to permit Israeli airliners to traverse Arab airspace.
Wexler added that the US was "open to suggestions from the Israeli side" for "different indicators of normalization that would create credibility among the Israeli public."
IT IS notable that otherwise savvy Israeli and Western politicians have found themselves repeatedly out-maneuvered in attempting to "call the bluff" of their Arab interlocutors. The assumption is that if their ostensible demands are met, the Arabs will be painted into a corner and have no choice but to be accommodating.
Ehud Barak thought he had called Yasser Arafat's bluff at Camp David in 2000, offering roughly 90 percent of the West Bank, all of the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. Arafat said it wasn't enough - and launched the second intifada.
In 2005, Ariel Sharon unilaterally uprooted all Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and pulled the Israeli army out totally. He told the Palestinians: "To an outstretched hand, we shall respond with an olive branch." They replied with an onslaught of Kassam rockets against the Negev.
Rest of his useless, synchophatic drivel at the link.
#3
The man's self-chosen middle name is Hussein, what the hell do you think he is going to be like towards Israel? Any Jew that voted for Obama is self-deluding if they think he will do anything but sell Israel down the river.
#5
It is amazing that the Jews voted for Obama. Amazing. He told you his name was Hussein. You saw his friends. Did you just think he was lying to other people, and not to the Jews?
Maybe not in the sense of "never for the Juices in the first place" - otherwise, Dersh is blowing smoke (or smoking blow...)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/02/2009 17:31
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#8
Dur, Derfowitz. Guess WWII didn't teach him anything about Detecting your enemies before they have you by the balls can be achieved on Gut instinct alone, it is apparent from a mile away that Obama is a sly marauder. Jewish communities, unfortunately, you need to calibrate your B.S. Detector tolerance settings ---this naïveté is self -inflicted.
#2
What about EMP? Is the current shielding enough?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/02/2009 15:48
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I suspect EMP shielding will a primary design consideration considering what might be thrown at a carrier. One reason stuff like this is so expensive.
#4
I think Redneck Jim means the EMP generated by the emag catapult. Each catapult will have to generate 50-100MW over the 2 seconds it is launching an aircraft. That's a lot of amps ramping very quickly. And I'm sure the designers already factored in any EMP.
Posted by: ed ||
07/02/2009 22:12
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Looks like an all expense paid trip to the Jerry Springer Show awaits...
NIWOT, Colo. -- A Niwot woman accused of stabbing her fiancé and his friend in the back early Tuesday was engaged in a sexual threesome and drug use with the two men before they all started fighting, authorities said Wednesday. Wonder what the fight was about? Seconds, thirds, fifths?
According to Boulder County sheriff's officials, Ruffin Griffin and Clint Cadigan, both 28, left a Niwot bar together at about 11:30 p.m. and went to the house where Griffin lives with Serena M. Brooks, 30, and their 6-month-old son. Hunny, ah'm home! N' I brout Clint wif me!
A sheriff's report made public Wednesday indicates that all three of the adults started using methamphetamine and then engaged in three-way sex. During the encounter, the men began to argue and "fell to the floor" during a physical fight. Ah ain't inta that, Clint!
While they were tumbling, Brooks grabbed a nearby steak knife which, according to the report, "they had been using to scrape the methamphetamine as they smoked it." When the men wouldn't stop fighting, Brooks stabbed them both in the back "in an attempt to break up the fight." Stop it! Stop it!
Ouch ouch ouch!
The couple -- Brooks and Griffin -- began yelling at each other, and Griffin allegedly hit the woman in the face before leaving with his friend. The men drove together to Boulder Community Hospital, where they were treated for serious, but not life-threatening, injuries. She jus don't unnerstan me, Clint!
Brooks was treated later for injuries to her face. A hospital spokeswoman said Cadigan remained in intensive care Wednesday in fair condition, while hospital operators said Griffin was discharged Wednesday afternoon. Ah'll visit ya , Clint!
When reached Wednesday afternoon, Griffin said he was feeling better and would likely heal in about three weeks. He declined to discuss specifics of what happened during the altercation but did say, "I want to apologize to the citizens of Boulder and Niwot for my irresponsible actions over the weekend." Thanks, Ruffin. I'm sure the citizens of both towns appreciate the sentiments.
Sheriff's Cmdr. Rick Brough said deputies recovered drug paraphernalia from the home. Investigators believe that in addition to the suspected methamphetamine, the trio possibly was using marijuana and alcohol."Unfortunately, what we see is when you get alcohol, drugs and weapons involved ... someone gets hurt," Brough said. Thanks, commander. I'll write that down so I don't forget it.
He said the child was asleep during the fight and wasn't hurt, but the adults were in no condition to properly supervise him, and the drug paraphernalia created a hazard. According to the sheriff's report, the door to the bedroom was left open during the drug use, fighting and stabbing so that Brooks could hear if the child cried. Oh...well. Who wants to nominate her for Mother of the Year?
Brooks faces possible charges of first-degree assault and child abuse. She is being held at the Boulder County Jail on $50,000 bond. I'll wait fer ya, Serena!
Reached Wednesday morning, one of Cadigan's family members declined to comment. Ummmmmmm...whadda ya want us to say?
A phone listing for Griffin was no longer in service. The comments at the link are priceless.
#1
A Niwotnitwit woman accused of stabbing her fiancé and his friend in the back early Tuesday was engaged in a sexual threesome and drug use with the two men before they all started fighting, authorities said Wednesday.
There, fixed it for ya.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/02/2009 15:11
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tu3031, old buddy, you scare me the way you find these stories ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2009 15:21
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#3
My favorite comment at the link (but I'm only to #2 so far):
She is sexier than a new set of snow tires!
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2009 15:27
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#4
More comments at the link:
at 10:02 am
Sounds like these guys may have accidentally "crossed swords" and it resulted in a fist fight. Rather than throwing some cold water on the two, Serena went with the next best thing - a sharp knife to the back. Man, my weekends are pretty dull in comparison.
at 10:18 am
Dear Penthouse Forum,
I never thought this would happen to me...
at 10:21 am
I like how the guys made up and drove to the hospital together.
at 10:56 am
"Then he shouted, 'Hey! You were supposed to wait in the car!' And that's when the argument started."
at 12:44 pm
A double stabbing after a double stabbing? Quite the little redundant encounter.
at 3:15 pm
So, one of the guys is her fiancée, would the other be the "best man"?? One can only imagine how THAT wedding night will go! Probably also wanna keep the knife away from her when it's time to cut the cake.
at 3:50 pm
"nothing helps two dudes bond more than driving to the hospital together with crazy b*tch stab wounds."
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2009 15:39
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Nah, Redneck Math is 1+1=anywhere up to 15 kids.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/02/2009 16:03
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Odd thing: two guys fight during a threeway the chick grabs a knife. 2 girls do that, the guy will be running for his camera.
Smalltown meth heads - started with marijuana & booze.
Read the arrest report.
Everything was apparently OK with the female supplying all the action to either or both, but when she started tooting the visitor's horn and her boyfriend decided to help her, that's when the fight broke out.
Seems the girl and her boy both like guys, and the guest got a bit of unexpected unwanted action.
AP White House Correspondent= WASHINGTON (AP) â President Barack Obama said Thursday the Supreme Court was "moving the ball" on affirmative action in this week's decision favoring white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., but he added that the court had not ruled out the use of racial preferences in the future. Why must he always speak in sports jargon? It's what he knows ...
In a White House interview with The Associated Press, the president also said, "I don't think that hiring on the basis of race ... alone is constitutionally possible." Obama, a former teacher of constitutional law, said, "I've always believe that affirmative action was less of an issue or should be less of an issue than it has been made out to be in news reports." Former teacher was he? A Bill Ayers recruited, untenured 'guest lecturer' is more accurate.
Scheduled to depart next week on a trip to Russia, Italy and Ghana, Obama praised Moscow for its cooperation in attempting to persuade North Korea and Iran to abandon their nuclear development programs. The United Nations recently approved "the most robust sanction regime that we've ever seen with respect to North Korea," he said. Praising the bloody communists again. Does he ever tire of it?
The president said his agenda in Russia includes talks on a new treaty to curtail long-range nuclear missiles. Asked why he intends to meet with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the former president, Obama said he "still has a lot of sway." Putin now is nominally the second-in-command in the Kremlin. Yes of course, please continue to believe that Puttie is second in command.
Chiding the former president, he said Putin "has one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new."
Obama also is to meet with the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, and said it is important that both Medvedev and Putin hear the same message from the United States, the U.S. president said.
Obama expressed reservations about his recently announced policy that could leave some detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison indefinitely. "It gives me huge pause," he said, to the point where he may not see it through. He also ruled out establishing a system on his own by executive order if Congress refuses to pass legislation.
"We're going to proceed very carefully on this front, and it may turn out that after looking at all the dimensions of this that I don't feel comfortable with (it)," Obama said. The president has pledged to close the prison in Cuba and hopes to send most of those currently held there to other countries.
With joblessness rising, the president said he was "deeply concerned" about unemployment and conceded that too many families are worried about "whether they will be next." Still, he said that since he took office almost six months ago "we have successfully stabilized the financial markets," and "started to see some stabilization on housing."
"But what we are still seeing is too many jobs lost," said Obama, commenting after new government figures showed the unemployment rate had risen to 9.5 percent last month.
Since Obama signed the $780 billion economic stimulus bill in February, the economy has shed more than 2 million jobs. That's an additional two million on top of the 3-4 million he promised to create during the campaign.
Asked if he was resigned to Iran's possession of nuclear weapons, he said, "I'm not reconciled with that, and I don't think the international community is reconciled with that."
In his comments on the Supreme Court case, Obama said the 5-4 ruling was written narrowly, and "didn't close the door to affirmative action" to help minorities.
Obama, a former teacher of constitutional law, said of affirmative action, "It hasn't been as potent a force for racial progress as advocates will claim and it hasn't been as bad on white students seeking admissions or seeking a job as its critics say." No bias here...as the absolute ultimate benefactor of all time, precisely how would he hope to know?
On other totally useless and unrelated topics:
He said Michael Jackson was "one of our greatest entertainers" and "I still have all his stuff on my iPod." But he said Jackson's life had been tragic and in many ways sad. So let me get this straight. His personal hero, certainly not mine.
The president spoke enthusiastically of the White House pastry chef. "Whatever kind of pie you want, he will make it," Obama said, adding ruefully that that was a problem for him and wife Michelle in regard to their weight. Yes, we've all noticed. The pastry chefs appear to be working around the clock./span>
Asked whether he was a bigger fan of Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan, one the reigning MVP of the National Basketball Association and the other a retired superstar, the basketball-playing president said without hesitation: "Michael. I haven't seen anybody match up with Jordan yet. Someone please tell me why this is important to anyone.
Jim Geraghty, "The Campaign Spot" @ National Review
...the seeming happiness of Palin's life is a 24-7 irritant because it challenges the way some liberals see the world.
Liberals believe their ideas, philosophy, worldview and policies liberate its believers and contend the conservative equivalents limit people. Liberals see themselves are rejecting outdated beliefs and obsolete ideas, overturning established orders and discarding traditions established by superstitious and ignorant forebears who weren't as enlightened as we are. Conservatives, in their minds, are runaway cultural super-egos, always wagging their fingers about individual responsibility, dismissing excuses, reminding people that they always can't do what they want because of the consequences to themselves and to others.
Conservatism, they suspect, will leave you in a marriage that doesn't satisfy you, burden you with children you don't want, repress your passions and trap you in a empty, boring and unfulfilled life, with no hand of government able to help.
Today almost everyone faces some sort of challenge in balancing work and family; I don't know too many people who believe there are sufficient hours in a day. And then along comes this woman who's made all of these "conservative" choices and now has an amazing career, a supportive husband, a beautiful family, great health and appearance, and she bears it all, including the inevitable hard times, with pluck and a smile, as far as we can tell. (For all we know, perhaps behind closed doors, Sarah Palin screams into a pillow when it all gets to be too much. But what we know about her suggests she relieves her stress by shooting moose.)
A short while back, Los Angeles Times columnist Meghan Daum suggested, only half-jokingly, that actress Angelina Jolie's "entire Oscar-winning, serial-adopting, Brad Pitt-snagging, plane-piloting, unattainably hot-looking existence makes women around the world feel hopelessly inadequate and therefore unhappy." Perhaps Sarah Palin is the Angelina Jolie of the political world.
In her opponents' minds, Palin's made all the wrong choices, and cannot, they insist, be very bright. Yet she's happy and successful. She is an anomaly that invalidates their worldview, and for that, they attempt to immiserate her regardless of whether she wishes to run for national office again.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/02/2009
13:16 ||
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#1
"...always wagging their fingers about individual responsibility, dismissing excuses, reminding people that they always can't do what they want because of the consequences to themselves and to others."
Damn!! If this doesn't sound like a liberal I don't know what does. They are the ultimate Nannies. Don't eat meat, don't drive, don't make money (unless you give it to them). This is the sh** that makes me want to "water" the tree of Liberty.
#2
Conservatism will leave you in a marriage that doesn't satisfy you, burden you with children you don't want, repress your passions and trap you in a empty, boring and unfulfilled life, with no hand of government able to help.
Well, the only managed to get ONE point about conservatives right!
#3
Do not forget - ever - the role of anti-Christian bigotry in PDS. It is a huge chunk of the dynamic there.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
07/02/2009 20:36
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#4
of course clog wearing ugly lib chicks hate her...she was the popular bubbly hot chick in high school that could play sports well and every guy would want to take to prom and home to meet mom. Libs always claim conservatives as shallow I only see the opposite.
NAWA, Afghanistan U.S. Marines hiked through searing heat and took fire from small pockets of militants Thursday after landing in this Taliban-controlled southern region of tree-lined fields, mud homes and crisscrossing waterways in the first major operation under President Barack Obama's strategy to stabilize Afghanistan.
The southern offensive was launched shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday (4:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday, 2030 GMT), as thousands of Marines poured from helicopters and armored vehicles into Taliban-controlled villages along roughly 20 miles of the Helmand River in Helmand province, the world's largest opium poppy-producing area. The goal is to clear insurgents from the hotly contested region before the nation's Aug. 20 presidential election.
The Marines have not suffered any serious casualties and have seen only a sporadic resistance, said Lt. Abe Sipe, a spokesman for the unit.
"The enemy has chosen to withdraw rather than engage for the most part," Sipe said. "We had a couple of heat casualties, but not deemed serious in nature at this time."
Officials described the offensive as the largest and fastest-moving of the war's new phase and the biggest Marine assault since the one in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004. It involves nearly 4,000 newly arrived Marines plus 650 Afghan forces. British forces last week led similar, but smaller, missions to clear out insurgents in Helmand and neighboring Kandahar province.
Pakistan's army said it had moved troops from elsewhere on its side of the Afghan border to the stretch opposite Helmand to try to stop any militants from fleeing the offensive. It gave no more details, but U.S. and Pakistani officials have expressed concern that stepped-up operations in southern Afghanistan could push the insurgents across the border.
Transport helicopters carried hundreds of Marines into the village of Nawa, some 20 miles south of the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, in a region where no U.S. or other NATO troops have operated in large numbers.
The troops took many insurgents by surprise, dropping behind Taliban lines, said Capt. Drew Schoenmaker, from Greene, N.Y.
"We are kind of forging new ground here. We are going to a place nobody has been before," said Schoenmaker, 31, who commands Bravo Company of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.
Several hundred Marines took positions in a freshly plowed dirt field at 3 a.m. The soft, deep dirt proved challenging for troops weighed down with days' worth of water, food and gear, and many frequently stumbled.
At daybreak the Marines walked along tree lines, and at 6:15 a.m. the company took its first incoming fire, likely from an AK-47 along a tree-line. The next three hours brought repeated bursts of gunfire and volleys of rocket-propelled grenades, sending deep booms across the countryside.
A small force of Afghan soldiers accompanying the Camp Pendleton-based Marines got into several scraps with an insurgent force of about 20 fighters. The fire came from a mud-brick compound, and the Marines, the Afghan soldiers and their British advisers surrounded the compound on the east and the south.
Before the mission, Schoenmaker, the company commander, said he would practice "tactical patience" as a way to avoid civilian casualties an issue newly arrived Gen. Stanley McChrystal has underscored in recent weeks. Though troops in many similar circumstances have called in airstrikes on such a militant-controlled compound, Schoenmaker did not.
"We made the decision to isolate the compound and not destroy it because we couldn't confirm if civilians were inside," he said. The militants were believed to have escaped out the back.
A Cobra helicopter circling overhead for most of the day fired rockets at a tree line nearby. Other troops walked through fields of corn and past mud-wall homes. Only a handful of villagers dared to venture outside.
Helmand's deadly heat, well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, proved to be another enemy the Marines had to fight. Because soldiers were on foot, they had to carry all their own water and food. Forward observers and snipers spent the entire day under the cloudless sky.
"It's like when you open up the oven when you're cooking a pizza and you want to see if it's done. You get that blast of hot air. That's how it feels the whole time," said Lance Corp. Charlie Duggan Jr., 21, of Baldwinsville, N.Y.
The Marines trained for months in the heat of the Mojave desert for the deployment, and many appeared happy to be here.
At one point Thursday, some 50 Marines were relaxing in an abandoned and dilapidated mud brick compound, their dusty-brown uniforms stained with perspiration. Suddenly someone spotted an Afghan male who appeared to be watching them from a nearby road. The Marines quickly threw on their flak jackets and Kevlar helmets.
"It sucks but it's what you've been training for your whole life," Lt. Chris Wilson, 25, of Ramsey, N.J., said with a smile as he held a radio with an eight-foot antenna. Thursday was Wilson's first mission into a combat zone.
#1
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - The Marine Corps says one Marine has been killed in fighting in southern Afghanistan during a major offensive against the Taliban.
Capt. William Pelletier said the Marine died Thursday during the fighting along the Helmand River valley. The victim wasnt immediately identified.
Pelletier also said several others were injured or wounded but didnt have numbers.
#3
""We made the decision to isolate the compound and not destroy it because we couldn't confirm if civilians were inside," he said. The militants were believed to have escaped out the back."
Brings a whole new meaning to the world "isolate".
Bethlehem - Maan - Two of the 21 Free Gaza ship crew members were released without charges Wednesday, both Palestinian citizens of Israel, following interrogation by intelligence officers.
Nineteen other crew members, including a former US congresswoman and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, remain in prison cells at Israels Ashdod jail facility awaiting deportation. Enjoy it, Cynthia. It's for...THE PEOPLE!
The group was overwhelmed by eight Israeli naval warships as they steered a small ferry carrying reporters and humanitarian supplies toward the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. According to the capturing officers the ship was in violation of the Israeli blockade of the area, which was a closed military area as a consequence.
Free Gaza members on the Spirit of Humanity were threatened with live fire on two occasions, they said, and have pledged to continue their efforts to secure the safe release of the 19 remaining imprisoned crew members, and to continue efforts to break the Israeli siege on the coastal strip.
The two members released from prison Wednesday were Lubna Masarwa and Huwaida Arraf, both organisers of the Free Gaza Movement.
In an interview with the Israeli news agency Ynet, Arraf, who is also a citizen of Israel, said that authorities "put us in a warehouse, where we slept on a cockroach-infested cement floor, as armed soldiers were monitoring us. Probably felt right at home...
"They didn't say a word to us. They confiscated all our personal belongings and phones, and they didn't let us contact anyone. A day later they left us at the Ashdod central bus station without any money or belongings," Ynet quoted her as saying. "What they did to us is unforgivable, but we're not the story here," she added. Oh sure you are...
"The fact they threatened us with violence because we wanted to transfer medical supplies and drawing equipment for children is simply absurd."
#5
"Nineteen other crew members, including a former US congresswoman and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, remain in prison cells at Israel's Ashdod jail facility awaiting deportation."
Can't we make them keep her?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/02/2009 19:53
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#6
Maybe they can "lose" McKinney's passport - both her US one and her fake "Pakistani" one.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/02/2009 22:56
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Vice President Biden landed Thursday in Baghdad on a surprise visit to meet with Iraqi officials and U.S. military commanders, as well as speak to U.S. troops on the ground.
The trip comes two days after the White House announced the vice president would be assigned to oversee political reconciliation efforts among Iraqi factions.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama asked his No. 2 to work with Gen. Ray Odierno, the top commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Christopher Hill on mending fences in Iraq.
Biden will be "working with the Iraqis toward overcoming their political differences and achieving the type of reconciliation that we all understand has yet to fully take place, but needs to take place," Gibbs said.
As a senator, Biden advocated a plan to partition Iraq into semi-autonomous regions for the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds -- but Gibbs said the vice president is "perfectly suited" for the role of unifying the country given his knowledge of the region.
Such a responsibility would be the highest-level overseas duty assigned to Biden, who has trended toward more domestic matters despite his foreign policy credentials, touted during the campaign.
The Biden visit comes after the U.S. met its Tuesday deadline to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraqi cities.
Posted by: Titus Cruque5046 ||
07/02/2009 13:46
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#3
I don't follow links
Heh. Yeah, the Interwebs are fraught with danger. Not exactly Idiot of the Day material, but a good candidate for Low-Grade Buffoon of the Week. Inquiring minds will wonder how flash managed to end up on this page.
I would've loved to been a fly on the wall for this...
CHICAGO (AP) — There was no tear gas anywhere, and some of those who showed up for a reunion of Chicago Police officers who worked during the 1968 Democratic National Convention hung up their badges — and their billy clubs — a long time ago. But if this looked like just a gathering of retirees who came to knock back a few drinks and swap stories Friday night — "I was just looking to see who's still alive," joked retired patrolman Jeff Norris — it was much more than that.
Between men who almost spit out words like "scum" to describe demonstrators who descended on the city 41 years ago to the small crowd of protesters across the street, it was clear the days when the streets became a battlefield remain one of the most divisive chapters in Chicago history.
From the former cops came recollections, one after another, about what the cameras didn't capture, what the world didn't see on television along with the images of police wading into crowds of protesters, knocking them down and bloodying them with flailing billy clubs. They told of bags of urine and feces, and bricks that were thrown at them, the heavy glass ashtrays dropped on them from hotel windows high above, the nail-spiked rubber balls laced behind their car tires and sometimes thrown at them.
And they dismissed any talk of a "police riot," as a commission famously called the scene, speaking with pride about how they conducted themselves. "We were doing what we were supposed to do," said John Murray, a 62-year-old retired detective. "No regrets."
It was absolute chaos, they said, but they did not lose control even when faced with situations they never thought they'd ever see.
Like the woman disguised as a nun who punched Joe Mescall when the young patrolman wouldn't let her into the Conrad Hilton Hotel where he was stationed. Mescall laughed when he told of responding with a punch that was hard enough that she "landed on her keister right on Michigan Avenue," but he turned serious when he said that neither he nor any of his fellow "coppers" pulled their guns. "Not one shot was fired," he said, a sentiment echoed several times.
On the other side of the street, protesters say all this talk about doing their job and putting the blame for the rioting on the demonstrators amounts to a whitewash of history. That is obvious, they say, by the reunion organizers who did not just promote the gathering on a Web site called Chicagoriotcops.com, but promoted it as a way to honor those who protected the city from "Marxist street thugs."
"The language makes it very clear that this is a celebration of violence, of brutality and an attempt to rewrite history," said Jose Martin, a member of Chicago Copwatch, which organized a march that ended with a rally across the street from the Fraternal Order of Police lodge where the reunion was held. Wonder if thay want a rematch?
Martin said he wasn't sure if there would still be a march had the reunion been simply advertised as a reunion, but he said that kind of language sealed the deal."It was too golden," he said.
G. Flint Taylor, a prominent civil rights attorney whose clients include former death row inmates who have sued alleging police torture, saw his participation as his duty. "We have to constantly set the record straight, set the historical record straight," he said. "This new generation, half don't know what happened," he said, surrounded by a few dozen protesters, many of whom were not yet born when the 1968 convention occurred. And why miss a chance to break in a new crop of useful idiots...
That was one thing that even the former cops could agree to. "I don't think the young kids could tell you who was even running for office (in 1968)," said retired detective, Tom Flanagan, 67.
The other thing everyone agreed on is that the now-gray or balding men who were on duty during the 1968 convention remain a source of fascination for those who lived through it or studied it.
"Did you beat up anybody famous?" a young woman who rode up to the officers on her bicycle asked Murray.
The Supreme Court's decision in Ricci v. DeStefano, the case of the New Haven firefighters, was a ringing endorsement of the Civil Rights Act of 1964's ban on racial discrimination and a repudiation of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's decision in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. While five justices flatly rejected Sotomayor's ruling, even the four dissenters wouldn't have let stand her ruling allowing the results of a promotion exam to be set aside because no black firefighter had a top score.
Ricci is also something else: a riveting lesson in political sociology, thanks to the concurring opinion by Justice Samuel Alito. It shows how a combination of vote-hungry politicians and local political agitators -- you might call them community organizers -- worked with the approval of elite legal professionals like Sotomayor to employ racial quotas and preferences in defiance of the words of the Civil Rights Act.
One of the chief actors was the Rev. Boise Kimber, a supporter of Mayor John DeStefano. The mayor testified for him as a character witness in a 1996 trial in which he was convicted of stealing prepaid funeral expenses from an elderly woman. DeStefano later appointed Kimber the head of the board of fire commissioners, but Kimber resigned after saying he wouldn't hire certain recruits because "they just have too many vowels in their name."
After the results of the promotion test were announced, showing that 19 white and one Hispanic firefighter qualified for promotion, Kimber called the mayor's chief administrative officer opposing certification of the test results.
The record shows that DeStefano and his appointees went to work, holding secret meetings and concealing their motives, to get the Civil Service Board to decertify the test results. Kimber appeared at a board meeting and made "a loud, minutes-long outburst" and had to be ruled out of order three times.
City officials ignored the inconvenient fact that they had hired an independent and experienced firm -- this is a thriving business -- to draw up a bias-free test and paid a competing firm to draw up another test. Its head testified that the first firm's test was biased without seeing it. The board capitulated and decertified the test. DeStefano was prepared to overrule it if it had gone the other way.
Such is governance these days in a liberal university town. It may remind some of us old enough to remember of the machinations and contrivances of Southern white officials and agitators employed to prevent blacks from registering and voting.
This is the sort of thing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg described in the text as just the workings of politics. Writing in Slate, Yale Law faculty member Emily Bazelon goes further. She laments that the promotion test rewarded memorization and that it favored "'fire buffs' -- guys who read fire suppression manuals on their down time."
She is outraged that a fire department might want to promote firefighters who know more about suppressing fires, rescuing victims and protecting their colleagues rather than simply promote a predetermined number of members of specific racial groups whose self-appointed political spokesmen back the politicians in office.
Bazelon and Sotomayor, who voted to uphold the city's decertification of the promotion test, are typical of liberal elites who are ready to ratify squalid political deals -- and blatant racial discrimination -- in return for the political support and the votes that can be rallied by the likes of Kimber. You supply the numbers on Election Day, and we'll supply the verbiage to put a pretty label on your shenanigans.
Usually the people who are hurt by this are not as sympathetic as Frank Ricci, the dyslexic firefighter who paid a friend $1,000 to read the training manuals and studied hard enough to get the highest score on the test.
But I think we ought to reserve some of our sympathy for the purported beneficiaries of this wretched discrimination, the black firefighters. Their champions -- Kimber and DeStefano, Bazelon and Sotomayor -- are telling them that their way up in life should not be determined by the content of their character or by mastery of their worthy craft, but by the color of their skin. Not by a fair and unbiased test, but by dishonest wire-pulling and threats of political retaliation.
Thanks to Justice Alito, for pulling back the curtain and showing the ugly reality of racial discrimination in America today.
This is a good summary of how Franken won his Senate seat
The unfortunate lesson is that you don't need to win the vote on Election Day as long as your lawyers are creative enough to have enough new or disqualified ballots counted after the fact.
Mr. Franken trailed Mr. Coleman by 725 votes after the initial count on election night, and 215 after the first canvass. The Democrat's strategy from the start was to manipulate the recount in a way that would discover votes that could add to his total. The Franken legal team swarmed the recount, aggressively demanding that votes that had been disqualified be added to his count, while others be denied for Mr. Coleman.
But the team's real goldmine were absentee ballots, thousands of which the Franken team claimed had been mistakenly rejected. While Mr. Coleman's lawyers demanded a uniform standard for how counties should re-evaluate these rejected ballots, the Franken team ginned up an additional 1,350 absentees from Franken-leaning counties. By the time this treasure hunt ended, Mr. Franken was 312 votes up, and Mr. Coleman was left to file legal briefs.
What Mr. Franken understood was that courts would later be loathe to overrule decisions made by the canvassing board, however arbitrary those decisions were. He was right.
If the GOP hopes to avoid repeats, it should learn from Minnesota that modern elections don't end when voters cast their ballots. They only end after the lawyers count them.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
07/02/2009
12:26 ||
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#1
So they kept counting until they got the result that was desired. Sounds a little like Iran elections...except in Iran they never counted them in the first place, they just announced the results.
#2
Gore came close in 2000. Franken must've learned from that and then went on to perfect the method. They'll squeal like stuck pigs if Republicans ever pull this kind of crap.
Lahore: July 1, 2009. (SLMP reports for PCP) Over six hundred Muslims attacked Christians in village Bahmani District Kasur on June 30, 2009. Angry Muslims mob, after accusing of blasphemy, destroyed Christians houses, looted valuables / jewelry and tortured Christian men and women ruthlessly.
Bahmani village is situated at some short to Ganda Singh border Kasur between India and Pakistan . More then hundred Christian families are living in village Bahmani among perhaps 600 Muslim families since long time. Most of the Christians do labour work in the fields of Muslim landlords while some of them are doing reasonable job or getting education.
According to the recent facts collected by SLMP team there was a trivial quarrel between a Sardar Masih, 38 aged years, on 29th June 2009. Sardar Masih was driving a tractor at about 7:30pm while Muhammad Riaz riding on the bike stopped his way. Sardar Masih requested him to give way on which Muhammad Riaz became angry and abused Sardar saying, How dared you to stop me you low caste. A scuffle took place between both of them which, later, became reason of a critical incident.
Muhammad Riaz contacted a local clergyman named as Qari Lateef who is known to be bone of contention many other blasphemy cases in Kasur. Qari Lateef urged Muhammad Riaz to plot a blasphemy accusation against Sardar Masih and other Christians. After an agreement, Qari Lateef made several announcements in the loud speakers of the mosque in the village and urged Muslims of the village and in surrounding villages to get together against Christians of village Bahmani Wala.
SLMP team during facts finding witnessed and stunned by the announcements as he announced that Christians of the village have committed blasphemy, they have been passed derogate remarks against Prophet Muhammad therefore they are liable to death. He called hundred of Muslims from surrounding villages as well. The angry mob of Muslims, shouting on Christians attacked their houses and destroyed everything. They set many houses of Christians on fire, looted their money and valuables, tortured Christian men and women of the village and fled away from the spot.
SLMP team members interviewed some Christians of the village who told Muslims attacked their houses in presence of local police but the policemen did nothing to secure Christians. On the other hand some Muslim influential have registered a criminal case wide FIR No. 460, offense under section 148/149, 337/379 A2, A1, L2, F1 of Pakistan penal court, with police station Sadar Kasur, against eight nominated whereas three unknown Christians of the village. The FIR got registered on 29th June 2009.
On 30th June when Muslims attacked Christians police were also there to arrest Christians under the above-mentioned case.
Mr. Sohail Johnson, Chief Coordinator of SLMP, condemned the false accusation against Christians of Bahmani Wala and ruthless attack on them in his speech at District Police Officers office. He met with District Police Officer and District Coordination Officer and asked him to take appropriate action against the real culprits. He pointed out Qari Lateef who has played a wicked role to persecute innocent Christians.
Mr. Sohail Johnson also visited Christians at Bahmani Wala village to console them on the shameful incident.
He, in his special message for media, said that this incident refreshed the memories of brutal attack on Christians of Shanti Nagar, Chiyan Wala and Sangla Hill. He condemned polices and other high authorities ignorance to protect Christians of Kasur. He appealed Christians in all over the world to pray for persecuted Church in Pakistan as the situation worsening day by day. SLMP team is working to collect the facts and to interview different involved in the case. We will provide updated report by tomorrow.
#1
This, and a few thousand other reasons (mostly gleaned from Rantburg, but not all) make me want to declare war against this death cult and ALL its members, including the current "president" of the United States. The only thing holding me back is the lack of nuclear weapons. Think I could "borrow" a few from Nork?
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/02/2009 22:53
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If ya gonna be on the team, ya might as well make some money...
For $25,000 to $250,000, The Washington Post has offered lobbyists and association executives off-the-record, nonconfrontational access to "those powerful few": Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and -- at first -- even the papers own reporters and editors.
The astonishing offer was detailed in a flier circulated Wednesday to a health care lobbyist, who provided it to a reporter because the lobbyist said he felt it was a conflict for the paper to charge for access to, as the flier says, its "health care reporting and editorial staff."
With the newsroom in an uproar after POLITICO reported the solicitation, Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli said in a staffwide e-mail that the newsroom would not participate in the first of the planned events -- a dinner scheduled July 21 at the home of Publisher and Chief Executive Officer Katharine Weymouth.
The offer -- which essentially turns a news organization into a facilitator for private lobbyist-official encounters -- was a new sign of the lengths to which news organizations will go to find revenue at a time when most newspapers are struggling for survival.
And it's a turn of the times that a lobbyist is scolding The Washington Post for its ethical practices.
"Underwriting Opportunity: An evening with the right people can alter the debate," says the one-page flier. "Underwrite and participate in this intimate and exclusive Washington Post Salon, an off-the-record dinner and discussion at the home of CEO and Publisher Katharine Weymouth. ... Bring your organizations CEO or executive director literally to the table. Interact with key Obama administration and congressional leaders."
In response to requests for comment, The Post issued a statement that stopped short of canceling the event.
Kris Coratti, communications director of Washington Post Media, a division of The Washington Post Company, said: "The flier circulated this morning came out of a business division for conferences and events, and the newsroom was unaware of such communication. It went out before it was properly vetted, and this draft does not represent what the companys vision for these dinners are, which is meant to be an independent, policy-oriented event for newsmakers.
"As written, the newsroom could not participate in an event like this. We do believe there is an opportunity to have a conferences and events business, and that The Post should be leading these conversations in Washington, big or small, while maintaining journalistic integrity. The newsroom will participate where appropriate."
Brauchli, the executive editor, was named on the flier as one of the "Hosts and Discussion Leaders."
In an e-mail to the newsroom on Thursday morning labeled "Newsroom Independence," Brauchli wrote: "Colleagues, A flyer was distributed this week offering an 'underwriting opportunity' for a dinner on health-care reform, in which the news department had been asked to participate. The language in the flyer and the description of the event preclude our participation.
"We will not participate in events where promises are made that in exchange for money The Post will offer access to newsroom personnel or will refrain from confrontational questioning. Our independence from advertisers or sponsors is inviolable. There is a long tradition of news organizations hosting conferences and events, and we believe The Post, including the newsroom, can do these things in ways that are consistent with our values."
The flier says: "Spirited? Yes. Confrontational? No. The relaxed setting in the home of Katharine Weymouth assures it. What is guaranteed is a collegial evening, with Obama administration officials, Congress members, business leaders, advocacy leaders and other select minds typically on the guest list of 20 or less. ...
"Offered at $25,000 per sponsor, per Salon. Maximum of two sponsors per Salon. Underwriters CEO or Executive Director participates in the discussion. Underwriters appreciatively acknowledged in printed invitations and at the dinner. Annual series sponsorship of 11 Salons offered at $250,000 ... Hosts and Discussion Leaders ... Health-care reporting and editorial staff members of The Washington Post ... An exclusive opportunity to participate in the health-care reform debate among the select few who will actually get it done. ... A Washington Post Salon ... July 21, 2009 6:30 p.m. ...
"Washington Post Salons are extensions of The Washington Post brand of journalistic inquiry into the issues, a unique opportunity for stakeholders to hear and be heard," the flier says. "At the core is a critical topic of our day. Dinner and a volley of ideas unfold in an evening of intelligent, news-driven and off-the-record conversation. ... By bringing together those powerful few in business and policy-making who are forwarding, legislating and reporting on the issues, Washington Post Salons give life to the debate. Be at this nexus of business and policy with your underwriting of Washington Post Salons."
The first "Salon" is titled "Health-Care Reform: Better or Worse for Americans? The reform and funding debate."
Posted by: ed ||
07/02/2009 13:58
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As of about 15 minutes ago, the WaPo cancelled the event.
Posted by: Lord garth ||
07/02/2009 14:50
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Washington Post Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli contacted staff today over POLITICO's report on a flier that offered lobbyists access to Obama administration officials and staffers in exchange for large sums of money $25,000 to $250,000.
Brauchli, in a memo obtained by POLITICO, told staff that the paper "will not participate in events where promises are made ... in exchange for money." He noted that "the language in the flyer and the description of the event preclude our participation."
Colleagues,
A flyer was distributed this week offering an underwriting opportunity for a dinner on health-care reform, in which the news department had been asked to participate.
The language in the flyer and the description of the event preclude our participation.
We will not participate in events where promises are made that in exchange for money The Post will offer access to newsroom personnel or will refrain from confrontational questioning. Our independence from advertisers or sponsors is inviolable.
There is a long tradition of news organizations hosting conferences and events, and we believe The Post, including the newsroom, can do these things in ways that are consistent with our values.
Break out the flamethrowers, men!
A single mega-colony of ants has colonised much of the world, scientists have discovered. And we never even knew!
Argentine ants living in vast numbers across Europe, the US and Japan belong to the same inter-related colony, and will refuse to fight one another. The colony may be the largest of its type ever known for any insect species, and could rival humans in the scale of its world domination. Must be Zionist ants...
What's more, people are unwittingly helping the mega-colony stick together. Stoopid humans! Bow down before us!
Argentine ants (Linepithema humile) were once native to South America. But people have unintentionally introduced the ants to all continents except Antarctica. Get your antenna off me, you damn dirty ant!
These introduced Argentine ants are renowned for forming large colonies, and for becoming a significant pest, attacking native animals and crops. Barry will negotiate with them with no preconditions. Probably make an apologetic speech at one of their hills.
In Europe, one vast colony of Argentine ants is thought to stretch for 6,000km (3,700 miles) along the Mediterranean coast, while another in the US, known as the "Californian large", extends over 900km (560 miles) along the coast of California. A third huge colony exists on the west coast of Japan. They're everywhere, general! Everywhere!!
While ants are usually highly territorial, those living within each super-colony are tolerant of one another, even if they live tens or hundreds of kilometres apart. Each super-colony, however, was thought to be quite distinct. But it now appears that billions of Argentine ants around the world all actually belong to one single global mega-colony.
Researchers in Japan and Spain led by Eiriki Sunamura of the University of Tokyo found that Argentine ants living in Europe, Japan and California shared a strikingly similar chemical profile of hydrocarbons on their cuticles. I wonder who'll play him in the movie?
But further experiments revealed the true extent of the insects' global ambition.
The team selected wild ants from the main European super-colony, from another smaller one called the Catalonian super-colony which lives on the Iberian coast, the Californian super-colony and from the super-colony in west Japan, as well as another in Kobe, Japan.
They then matched up the ants in a series of one-on-one tests to see how aggressive individuals from different colonies would be to one another. Ants from the smaller super-colonies were always aggressive to one another. So ants from the west coast of Japan fought their rivals from Kobe, while ants from the European super-colony didn't get on with those from the Iberian colony. Okay, let's watch em fight!
But whenever ants from the main European and Californian super-colonies and those from the largest colony in Japan came into contact, they acted as if they were old friends. These ants rubbed antennae with one another and never became aggressive or tried to avoid one another. In short, they acted as if they all belonged to the same colony, despite living on different continents separated by vast oceans.
The most plausible explanation is that ants from these three super-colonies are indeed family, and are all genetically related, say the researchers. When they come into contact, they recognise each other by the chemical composition of their cuticles. "The enormous extent of this population is paralleled only by human society," the researchers write in the journal Insect Sociaux, in which they report their findings.
However, the irony is that it is us who likely created the ant mega-colony by initially transporting the insects around the world, and by continually introducing ants from the three continents to each other, ensuring the mega-colony continues to mingle. "Humans created this great non-aggressive ant population," the researchers write. What have we done! WHAT HAVE WE DONE!!!
#3
Well, I'm not surrendering to 'em. I'll get me a can of Raid and make them ants cry "Uncle!"
Posted by: Mike ||
07/02/2009 15:09
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1/2 cup of gasoline works every time, just pour in one place at the center of the hill, the fumes sink through the hill and kill everything, including the queen, ants just freeze where they stand.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/02/2009 16:23
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Don't want to sound too much like an advertisement but we found terro works pretty well. My own theory is they really like the kind of suburbs they find in California because we water our lawns and shrubbery. They cultivate other pests like mealy bugs and aphids on the shrubbery. They dig in under driveways, sidewalks and concrete slab foundations. I'm not sure they could hack the natural habitat here because it's too dry and the native vegetation is too resistant.
Spraying them with Raid is very gratifying though. That way you get to watch them die. I like to spray one hole and then wait and watch. Almost always they'll come streaming out of a back door carrying their little eggs. That's when the queens come out too. Then I spray again. Die you little mofos!!!
#6
Researchers in Japan and Spain led by Eiriki Sunamura of the University of Tokyo found that Argentine ants living in Europe, Japan and California shared a strikingly similar chemical profile of hydrocarbons on their cuticles. Don't tell Al, they'll get blamed for Golbal Climate Change/Warming
Via JihadWatch
A federal grand jury has indicted a group of Somali-Americans on terror-related charges after more than 20 young men from the Minneapolis area were recruited to join an Al Qaeda-linked group in Somalia, according to two law enforcement sources.
The indictments have yet to be unsealed, but an announcement is expected in the next few weeks. One law enforcement source told FOX News the grand jury already has handed up indictments against at least three people.
For much of the past year the FBI has been looking into how dozens of young, Somali-American men were recruited to train and possibly fight alongside al-Shabaab in anarchy-stricken Somalia. The investigation has centered around Minneapolis, where a grand jury has been hearing testimony from witnesses for several months, but the investigation has also been active in Seattle; Columbus, Ohio; Cincinnati; Boston; and San Diego.
Posted by: ed ||
07/02/2009
11:33 ||
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Nonfarm payroll employment continued to decline in June (-467,000), and the unemployment rate was little changed at 9.5 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Job losses were widespread across the major industry sectors, with large declines occurring in manufacturing, professional and business services, and construction. this puts a damper on the Obama 'creating or savings jobs' meme but there's always next month
Posted by: lord garth ||
07/02/2009
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There must be an enormous number of persons dropping from "unemployed" to uncounted "discouraged worker" status, otherwise an 0.1% rise in the unemployment rate on 467,000 new unemployed makes little sense following a month in which we lost just over 500,000 jobs and saw the unemployment rate spike by 0.5%.
#3
The White House is encouraged by the reports from the CBO that unemployment statistics for Americans born before 1909 continue to remain stable.
Posted by: Robert Gibbs ||
07/02/2009 17:26
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We got to the 40 hour standard work week in order to reduce unemployment by spreading the jobs out over more workers. Are we heading for a 35 hour work week? It's actually not the worst idea in the world. An alternative is more government-mandated positions - required featherbedding, if you will. I think I prefer the former.
#5
Unfortunately the spread the work around idea doesn't work as Europe shows. Where unemployment has jumped to a 10 year high.
Nor will we see increased government employment as governments everywhere will have to reduce payrolls because of reduced revenues (or spark hyperinflation).
#6
my gubbamint employer's imposed a 52 hour unpaid furlough and I know CA state employees are taking a third unpaid furlough day/month off.
I have no problem with that except that the same amount (actually more with hiring freezes) of work has to get done. I know several good engineers who've been laid off this month in the private field. I'm happy to have a job right now
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/02/2009 19:35
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as Europe shows. Where unemployment has jumped to a 10 year high.
hil_b
phil_b.
U unemployment is at a 27 year high?
I'm happy to have a job right now
Me too. Nephew in serious jeopardy as second-to-last hired engineer, and the last guy just got laid off.
Concept is same amount of work has to get done, but with fewer hours per worker and more workers. Biggest problem is that it is non-linear: the top workers are more productive per hour and the bottom workers (the ones re-hired) are less, so on an hour-production basis the weighted average productivity goes down or the cost goes up.
#8
My 10th anniversary party was today at work (2 of us share the hiring month and shared the party). Nice cake, cheese & crackers, veggies & dip, sodas, and a nice plaque presented by each of our bosses with a "we're glad you're here" speech. (I'm pretty sure the bosses paid for everything out of their own pockets except for the plaque and the anniversary gee-gaw to be chosen by me later.) I honestly told them I'm grateful for the job, and even more grateful it's one I love.
No raises for anyone this year. Thanks, that's fine, I'm glad for the job. Fewer hours of work this year than last - again, thanks, that's fine - have to cut back on things, but at least I've got a job.
I'd be grateful for any job I had, but I'm particularly grateful for having one I love. I tell them so on a regular basis (and did even before the economy went in the dumper).
My motto is "I'm here to work" and I tell people so whenever I can. Fingers crossed....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/02/2009 22:43
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Congratulations, Barbara dear. I have no doubt your employer is getting their money's worth, and then some.
CBS broke the story.
A Taliban commander told CBS News' Sami Yousafzai Thursday that militants had captured one U.S. soldier and three Afghan nationals in Paktika province, near the Pakistani border.
A U.S. military spokesperson in Kabul confirms that one soldier has been missing in Afghanistan since June 30.
Cpt. Elizabeth Mathias told CBS News Thursday, "a U.S. serviceman has been missing in Afghanistan since 30th June, it's believed the service person is being held by insurgents."
The Taliban commander, who spoke to Yousafzai via satellite telephone from the region, said a group of militants cornered the American soldier and his Afghan counterparts near a U.S. military base and took them hostage.
He said the captives' fate would be decided by Taliban leaders, but that the Islamic extremist group would consider a prisoner swap.
"The case will be referred to Sirajuddin Haqqani (senior Taliban commander in Afghanistan) and other Taliban top leadership. They have to decide the future of the U.S. soldier, but we would not mind a prisoner exchange in this case," the commander told CBS News. For high ranking ISI officer in custody.
Posted by: ed ||
07/02/2009
11:13 ||
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Time to bring in the pissed off JSOC guys. The Talibon are about to learn a very hard lesson.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/02/2009 11:52
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#2
Waiting for our Commander in Chief to demand answers to questions like:
Are you following the Geneva Conventions?
Did you read him his miranda rights?
Have you invited the Red Cross in to observe his treatment?
Has he been water-boarded and if so, how many times?
Nothing but silence from CIC -- about one of our own, and he has got to have known since Tuesday, the day he was captured. Should have had his statement to the public already written, so that as soon as the capture was announced--- well, nothing but silence from above.
I'm setting an extra plate for this soldier for my 4th of July celebration -- because it's folks like this soldier, who have given us our freedom.
#4
Funny how it was urgent that the story break as soon as possible. From what I heard, it's most important to deny publicty, so as to minimize the value of the captive.
Oh, sorry, that's just the MSM covering for itself. US soldiers don't receive special treatment.
#6
Pray for him, and for the men trying to find them, and that the damned idiot shit-fer-brains President Obama will not get in the way of the necessary operations.
#7
Copy that OS. I would be willing to bet commanders do not wait for permission on this one. Saving one of their own is worth any career.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/02/2009 17:18
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I do hope that the Taliban will treat this guy at least as well as we have treated the illegal combatants at Gitmo. Three square meals a day; opportunities to pray and practice his religion (including providing him with a Bible, a rosary, etc., chaplains) etc. He will not be tortured, although he may be interrogated a little roughly. He will not be beaten.
Who am I kidding. If he is still alive, he will probably be tortured to death and buried in a shallow grave.
And people will say it is our fault.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
07/02/2009 18:53
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Orders to U.S. factories jumped in May by the largest amount in nearly a year, another sign that the nosedive in manufacturing is nearing an end.
The Commerce Department said Thursday that total orders rose 1.2 percent in May, better than the 0.8 percent increase that economists had expected. The April performance was revised slightly lower to a gain of 0.5 percent, from 0.7 percent.
The May increase was the best showing since a 2.1 percent rise last June. The back-to-back increases in April and May were the first consecutive gains in nearly a year.
Analysts saw the back-to-back gains in orders as further evidence that a dismal stretch for manufacturers may be ending. Orders had fallen every month from August through January. Even with the recent increases, orders so far this year are running 23.3 percent below the year-ago level.
Posted by: ed ||
07/02/2009
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Even with the recent increases, orders so far this year are running 23.3 percent below the year-ago level.
As the Iranian authorities warned the opposition on Tuesday that they would tolerate no further protests over the disputed June 12 presidential elections, a report emerged of the hangings of six supporters of defeated candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.
Speaking after Iran's top legislative body upheld the election victory of incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, sources in Iran told this reporter in a telephone interview that the hangings took place in the holy city of Mashhad on Monday. There was no independent confirmation of the report.
Underlining the climate of fear among direct and even indirect supporters of Mousavi's campaign for the election to be annulled, the sources also reported that a prominent cleric gave a speech to opposition protesters in Teheran earlier this week in which he publicly acknowledged that the very act of speaking at the gathering would likely cost him his life.
"Ayatollah Hadi Gafouri said that the Imam [Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini] never wanted [current supreme Leader] Ali Khamenei to succeed him. He even went to say that the Islamic republic died the day the Imam did," one source said.
Other criticisms from senior clerics over the regime's handling of the elections and subsequent protests included a report from a Persian news agency, which on Tuesday quoted a senior cleric from the city of Esfahan, Ayatollah Seyyed Jalaleddin Taheri-Esfahani, defending Mousavi against the regime's criticisms.
The ayatollah was quoted as saying: "Is it a case of justice to see that an honorable and modest Seyyed [a descendant of the household of the prophet Muhammad], who until the last moments of Khomeini's life was a dear and close companion of that grand leader, is now considered to be a rioter and an agent of arrogance who must be punished?"
On Monday, witnesses said thousands of policemen and Basij militiamen carrying batons were deployed in Teheran's main squares to prevent any recurrence of the opposition protests. Drivers who so much as shouted "Allahu Akbar" or beeped their horns had their windows smashed by the Basiji and riot police.
Women police, better known as the Sisters of Zeynab, are also now out in force, the witnesses said.
"Some people are still going out into the streets, but there is despair and sadness," said one source. "Now we are told that [pro-Mousavi] green bands are illegal, which is ironic because it symbolizes the color of Islam."
On Monday, the daughter of former president Hashemi Rafsanjani, spoke a gathering of opposition protesters in Teheran's Enqelab Square, sources said. "Mrs. Faezeh Hashemi arrived and tried to give the people some words of encouragement," said one, "but the police broke up the rally within minutes."
He added, "My nephew saw one of these Sisters of Zeynab beat down an elderly woman with no mercy. When he tried to intervene, saying to her, 'Miss, she is like your grandmother,' the woman turned around to get a Basiji to deal with him."
Mousavi's Facebook page is still carrying messages aimed at quashing the notion that he is caving in. "He did not give in to the Guardians Council," runs one new message. "Mir Hossein Mousavi is not under house arrest, he is not about to leave the country, he is under strong pressure to end this, but he always said he will stand up for the people's will to the end! He is from and with the people."
Amid the talk of despair and quashed protests, one defiant reformist supporter told this reporter: "The regime wants the world to think they have won. Don't believe it... Even if this regime is about to collapse, they would not let anybody know until their final hour."
Posted by: Beavis ||
07/02/2009
09:58 ||
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[7 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
In further news President Obama spoke out in support of freedom and against these injustices by the tyrannical Iranian regime in comments to the press corps today, repeating his definitive stand by saying: "".
The US Mainstream Media reflected the president's concerns by headlining "who got what in Michael Jackson's will".
My take? Fuck Obama - I hope he drops dead this very minute, the evil bastard
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/02/2009 22:04
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#2
alive? tests are pending. The thought is that the high bile and acid content may have kept her in Zombie status
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/02/2009 22:11
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From over at American Digest: Is it my imagination or is Robert Gibbs now so out-front arrogant and condescending that even the whores of the White House Press Corps are beginning to feel insulted every time he opens his mouth?
I saw this clip on Fox News. First impluse was to leap thru the screen and strangle that feckless weasel Gibbs with my bare hands. Unfortunately, you need a higher tier of cable service for that. It was also the first time *ever* I felt any sympathy for Helen, the old crocodile. Suckers!
When President Obama announced on June 9 that some financial institutions would be allowed to repay Troubled Asset Relief Program dollars, he said the massively expensive TARP bailout had made money for the federal government. "It is worth noting that in the first round of repayments from these [TARP recipients], the government has actually turned a profit," the president said. Indeed, TARP supporters have long held out the hope that the program might be profitable.
But now Rep. Barney Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has come up with a proposal to spend any TARP profits before they can be returned to the taxpayers. Last Friday, Frank introduced the "TARP for Main Street Act of 2009," a bill that would take profits from the program and immediately redirect them toward housing proposals favored by Frank and some fellow Democrats.
In exchange for receiving TARP money, financial institutions were required to hand over shares of preferred stock that paid a dividend for the government. In theory, if a financial institution paid the dividend faithfully, and then repaid the TARP money, then the government would turn a profit. Last month, the General Accountability Office (GAO) reported that, through June 12, 2009, the government had received $6.2 billion in dividend payments. The original TARP legislation required that money made from the program "shall be paid into the general fund of the Treasury for reduction of the public debt."
Frank, however, wants to spend the money before it can be used to pay down anything. First, the "TARP for Main Street" proposal would take $1 billion "from dividends paid by financial institutions that have received financial assistance provided under...the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act" and apply it to a trust fund that Frank has long wanted to create for low-income rental housing. (The measure, unfunded, was part of last year's bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.) Next, Frank would take $1.5 billion from TARP dividends for a so-called "neighborhood stabilization" fund. Republican critics have charged that both measures might allow federal dollars to be distributed to activist groups like the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now, or ACORN.
The "TARP for Main Street" bill would also spend $2 billion, apparently from remaining TARP funds, to subsidize people who are delinquent on their mortgages, and another $2 billion to "stabilize multifamily properties that are in default or foreclosure."
Frank's proposal comes at a time when Republicans, and some Democrats, are expressing concern about the continued use of TARP money. Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch recently complained that TARP funds are "now being used as a go-to solution to address all of our nation's economic ills." Hatch and Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln recently introduced a bill that would require that TARP money goes back to the Treasury for debt reduction.
Spending the dividend payments now, as Frank proposes, would reduce the chance that TARP might ever be a break-even deal for the taxpayers. "We don't know if TARP is going to be making any money, so taking the dividend payments going back to Treasury is pretty questionable," says one House GOP aide. Indeed, in its June report, the GAO revealed that 17 troubled institutions have not paid their dividends, much less repaid the TARP money itself. And last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that three other institutions were not paying dividends. But now, Frank is proposing that dividends be spent immediately. "It defeats the idea of taxpayer protection," says the GOP aide.
Intentionally placed under "lurid crime tales"....
#2
Last Friday, Frank introduced the "TARP for Main Street Act of 2009," a bill that would take profits from the program and immediately redirect them toward housing proposals favored by Frank and some fellow Democrats more pork to benefit Frank and his cronies.
#3
The original TARP legislation required that money made from the program "shall be paid into the general fund of the Treasury for reduction of the public debt."
Watchdogs are an endangered species in the Age of Obama. The latest government ombudsman to get the muzzle: Amtrak Inspector General Fred Weiderhold. The longtime veteran employee was abruptly retired this month just as the government-subsidized rail service faces mounting complaints about its meddling in financial audits and probes.
Question the timing? Hell, yes.
On June 18, Weiderhold met with Amtrak officials to discuss the results of an independent report by the Washington, D.C., law firm Willkie, Farr and Gallagher. The 94-page report has been made publicly available through the office of whistleblower advocate Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. It concluded that the independence and effectiveness of the Amtrak inspector generals office are being substantially impaired by the agencys Law Department.
Amtrak bosses have effectively gagged their budgetary watchdogs from communicating with Congress without pre-approval.
An RAF Tornado has crashed in Argyll, police have confirmed. The plane is understood to have come down on a hillside near the Rest and Be Thankful beauty spot near Arrochar - two miles to the west of Loch Lomond.
The plane is believed to be from RAF Leuchars, in Fife. No civilians are thought to have been hurt. There are no details on the condition of the pilot and navigator. Strathclyde Police were alerted to the incident at about 1145 BST on Thursday.
An ambulance spokeswoman said two crews were at the scene. A specialist operations team was also on its way.
A Strathclyde Police spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that police were called at 11.45am to a report of a plane crash near the Rest and Be Thankful, Arrochar. Police are arriving at the scene."
The Rest and Be Thankful is a tourist spot on the A83 Arrochar to Inveraray Road, north west of Loch Lomond.
I know these birds aren't new, and I'm not sure how maintenance on them is, but I remember seeing one on static display at an airshow about 8 years ago - it had multiple 5 gallon buckets underneath to catch leaking fuel.
#3
xbalanke, the SR-51 used to leak fuel like a sieve on the ground. Sealed up at the flight temps. I know the Tornado's a totally diff animal, but perhaps it wasn't all "f*ck-it" maintenance and design
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/02/2009 18:47
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A lot of the "Taliban" violence, isn't caused by the Taliban. What is happening is the normal reaction of rural Afghans to new economic opportunities. Since September 11, 2001, the Afghan economy has been booming, with average annual growth of close to ten percent. This is happening to the poorest country in Asia, where about half the population is considered living below the poverty line, and there is 40 percent unemployment. In response to this, certain tribal traditions (especially among the Pushtun tribes in the south) developed over the centuries. The most popular of these traditions is "grab whatever you can, at any opportunity." Thus "loot" (goodies stolen from someone not belonging to your tribe) is a big deal, and a good thing (for the looter, of course.) The Taliban believe in traditional values, especially those that encourage and justify obtaining loot. So a lot of the gunmen thought to be working for the Taliban, aren't. They are just guys with guns taking advantage of the situation. Many of those civilians killed or kidnapped by the Taliban, were actually done by bandits (some of whom will claim to be Taliban, as that makes them more intimidating.)
With the increased number of troops available, U.S. and NATO commanders are planning many more operations against known targets that, until now, they simply could not hit because they did not have enough troops. Over the last few years, intelligence capabilities have found far more targets than there were troops available to go after. This was one reason for the call, over the last two years, for more armed UAVs. These could be used to attack many targets. But often you wanted troops there as well, to take prisoners and collect documents and other evidence. The enemy is elusive, and basically operating like bandits. The Taliban and drug gangs either buy off or, more usually, terrorize any civilians or police they encounter. But they can't do that with the foreign troops or, usually, the Afghan soldiers. But there are only about 100,000 soldiers (foreign and Afghan) in southern Afghanistan, where all the action is. There they face 10,000-15,000 Taliban, drug gang fighters and bandits. You can't put troops in every one of the thousands of villages or town neighborhoods where some thugs might show up and threaten pain or death to any who do not cooperate. But with more troops, more "clear and hold" operations can be conducted, to clear the gangs and Taliban out of large areas, establish a police and security (local armed volunteers) force to keep the gangs from returning, and moving on. The gangs will resist this, but they are not guaranteed success in fighting against "clear and hold." Most Afghans just want to be left alone, and given decent odds, will fight to achieve that. More foreign troops can even those odds.
The intensity of the fighting is increasing, but Taliban casualties continue to 5-10 times those of the foreign and Afghan forces. The Taliban are still unable to defeat, or even hold their ground, when fighting foreign troops. The Afghan troops are also getting better, and usually win any pitched battles with the Taliban or drug gangs (and you often have to interrogate prisoners or search the bodies before you can identify who you just defeated.) The Taliban and drug gangs are avoiding contact with foreign troops, and shifting their efforts to the use of roadside bombs. But these are also dangerous to use, because the growing number of UAVs and intelligence units are locating the roadside bomb crews, and putting them out of action. As in Iraq, the bomb crews are paid for their work. But it's not too difficult to discover who is making more money in an area, and trace that back to bomb making (rather than drugs, or a relative in the West sending home money). The foreign intelligence troops are often as dangerous as the foreign infantry because of that.
Continued on Page 49
Hat tip, No Passaran
Meet Barack Hussein Obama. The man who turned his own middle name into a no-go zone during the election, only to bring it out of the closet when he trotted down to a Muslim country. The man whose associates labeled talk about his Muslim background as racist, only to proclaim his Muslim background loudly and proudly from the podium of a Muslim country.
Meet Obama, the bright young Senator with a phony biography geared to playing up his biracial angst for the college campuses. Who promised his leftist volunteers an end to rendition, detentions, eavesdropping and a whole bundle of other things, only to pull a bait and switch on them.
After all tools like that come in handy, even if they're less likely to be used against Muslim terrorists, than they are against Tea Party protesters.
Meet Barack Obama, the man who was going to bring an end to the American coercion of other countries. No more would the White House tell the rest of the world what to do. Except of course to dictate where Jews can live in Israel, how the Honduran judiciary can operate and who can head the Muslim community in Greece.
Of course Obama has drawn the line somewhere. He has drawn the line against standing up to Ahmadinejad, Chavez or any Socialist or Muslim tyrant.
#2
"Obama cannot be held completely responsible for the ruthless crackdown that has followed, but some of the blood is certainly on his well manicured hands and sleeves."
Bullshit! This is the same kind of petty hyperbole that was hoisted upon President Obamas predecessor. This guys adolescent logic is simply a stealth version of Blame America First. Obamas tepid response was not tacit approval for the Mullahs to crack heads as the author suggests. Responsibility for the carnage in the aftermath of the Iranian elections rests exclusively with the Iranian regime.
#4
While the office of the President should be respected the man must earn respect. I don't think Obama has earned the respect of the author of this article. /s
#5
I guess Janeane Garofalo won't be subscribing to Sultan Knish. And ABC (NBC, CNN, CBS, NPR, etc, etc.) won't be publishing such a story. Although I recently did see Helen Thomas get very huffy about the scripted BO news(?) conference the other day.
South Korean military officials say North Korea has fired two short-range missiles off its east coast. A defence ministry spokesman says the missiles were launched from a base near the eastern port of Wonsan.
"They appear to be ground-to-ship missiles, which were launched into the East Sea (Sea of Japan)," the spokesman told AFP. "We have no detailed information now, but there have been preparations for missile launches in the region," he said.
The launch came amid a visit by the US delegation, which is in the region to discuss new United Nations sanctions against North Korea following the North's nuclear test of May 25.
North Korea has responded defiantly to the UN's condemnation of its long-range rocket launch in April 5 and subsequent nuclear test in May.
On Wednesday, Japan's Coast Guard said it had been warned by North Korea to stay clear of coastal areas in the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea until July 11, due to military exercises.
On June 25, the House passed the Waxman-Markey climate stabilization act, which would institute a cap-and-trade system to restrict Americans carbon emissions. While proponents of the bill have sought to argue that the costs of such a system would be negligible, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the bill proposes a massive and highly regressive tax on the U.S. economy, and could potentially cause not only extensive business failures, unemployment and privation within our borders, but starvation among poorer populations elsewhere.
To understand this, it is only necessary to look at the numbers. According to a report issued by the Environmental Protection Agency in April, by 2015 the price of carbon emission indulgences required by the bill for industries to operate could be expected to run between $13 and $17 per ton of CO2 emitted. It may be noted that this estimate was made by an Obama administration agency highly favorable to the bill and that it did not take into account the very real possibility that speculators might act aggressively to buy up all the available indulgences and then, acting like ticket scalpers, force industrial users to purchase them at greatly inflated prices. So these EPA figures for carbon emission costs should be viewed as minimal. That said, lets stipulate the $15/ton midrange of the EPA estimate, and see what it implies.
The United States emits about 9 billion tons of CO2 per year. Therefore, at a rate of $15/ton fee for emission indulgences, the bill would impose a tax of $135 billion per year on the nation. Divided by the U.S. population of 300 million, that works out to a cost of $450 per year levied on every American man, woman or child, or $1,800 for a family of four. While for wealthy individuals like Al Gore such an impost might represent a mere pittance, for working families struggling hard to make ends meet it would be a very significant burden.
But that is not even the worst part of it. As a result of the markup of carbon costs, a lot of those working families will be out of work and unable to pay their existing bills, let alone new ones. Consider: Burning one ton of coal produces about three tons of CO2. So a tax of $15 per ton of CO2 emitted is equivalent to a tax of $45/ton on coal. The price of Eastern anthracite coal runs in the neighborhood of $45/ton, so under the proposed system, such coal would be taxed at a rate of about 100 percent. The price of Western bituminous coal is currently about $12/ton. This coal would therefore be taxed at a rate of almost 400 percent. Coal provides half of Americas electricity, so such extraordinary imposts could easily double the electric bills paid by consumers and businesses across half the nation. In addition, many businesses, such as the metals and chemical industries, use a great deal of coal directly. By doubling or potentially even quadrupling the cost of their most basic feedstock, the cap-and-trade systems indulgence fees could make many such businesses uncompetitive and ultimately throw millions of working men and women onto the unemployment line
#2
It's not only direct CO2 taxes consumers will pay, but increases in all the competing technologies. For instance coal and nuclear electricity directly compete. For example, double the price of coal gen electricity and the price of nuclear power will also double. Billions/year in windfall for the nuke industry, higher costs for consumers courtesy of the our leaders in Washington DC. Repeat throughout the entire economy.
BTW, when did the proposed CO2 tax go to $15/ton? The politicians have have clambering for $30/ton forever. Strategy to get half the cake now, the rest later?
Posted by: ed ||
07/02/2009 9:26
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Double the electric bill of everyone, while the economy is inflating, Yeah that'll work.
Liberals in Congress and Obama are pushing us ever closer to pitchforks, tar and feathers.
#4
Dolly Parton was interviewed locally a few months back and asked if she would consider running for office and going to Washington? She said: "No, there are enough boobs in Washington already."
When was the last time our government did the work of the people?
#5
There is also a provision in the Bill that would require every building in the US have an "Energy Efficient Inspection". This includes homes. Homeowners would be required to let Federal Inspectors into their homes to do the evaluations and then mandate bringing those homes up to Federal Standards at the homeowners' expense. Privacy will no longer be possible.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
07/02/2009 10:57
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#6
every building in the US have an "Energy Efficient Inspection". This includes homes.
Very progressive indeed! The Federal Revenuers could check on private ownership of newly outlawed "gas guzzlers" and conduct firearms inventories and confiscations at the same time. Home Schooling text books could also be inspected along with "surrender gardens," excess tillage and watering, proper crop rotation, grass clippings, proper septic tank and soil sperk, etc. Toilet pipe ventage and wax ring replacement. The list is virtually endless.
Simply state that you dont debate religion, and if youre to be expected to treat it like science, your green friend has to do so first. They can accomplish this by answering three simple questions:
1) Given the age of the planet and how widely the temperature has fluctuated over time, what is the ideal temperature that the Earth must be, and how will we maintain it over time?
2) One of the foundations of scientific theory is that it stands up to defeating theories that prove it wrong. Weve heard how shrinking glaciers prove global warming, growing glaciers prove global warming, more storms prove global warming, and fewer storms prove global warming. What events prove their theories false?
3) Every few years a new threat comes along that threatens our very existence unless drastic action is taken yesterday. Of course, the media provides sensational screaming headlines backed up by irrefutable scientific evidence to promote these scares. Off of the top of my head here are a few from the last 40 years:
* Population would outgrow food supply causing mass starvation
* Oil reserves would be depleted by 1980
* Global Cooling
* Dioxin threatened us all (until it was discovered a pint of Ben & Jerrys contains 3,000 times the safe level)
* Oil reserves would be depleted by 2000
* The hole in the ozone layer would continue to grow at an exponential rate
Since all of these crises turned out to be wrong, why is it that this time is different?
Wattsburg, Pa. -- Vice President Joe Biden visited a small town on the outskirts of Erie today to talk to rural folks about federal stimulus money that can be used to expand broadband access to the Internet for rural areas that typically have poor connections.
Apparently stimulus money and broadband are not all that interesting to the local folk here: Only around 100 or so people have showed up so far to hear Biden talk at noon at Seneca High School off Route 8 in Wattsburg.
The room looked so sparse that about 30 or so chairs were removed by volunteers to give the illusion of a full house.
The effect didn't exactly work.
Pittsburgh native and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper are also on hand to talk about access to high speed internet as an essential tool for success in business and in school in our struggling economy.
#1
...to talk to rural folks about federal stimulus money that can be used to expand broadband access to the Internet for rural areas that typically have poor connections.
Does that mean that they these rural areas typically have poor connections with the BO government but votes and money will change that?
#3
Since Biden is usually seen as the court jester in the kingdom of Bambi, maybe this small turnout is a reflection of and reaction to Bambi's campaign comments ... "they (Pennsylvanians)cling to their guns and religion"... Just sayin', ya' know.
Crazed Islamic cleric Anjem Choudary yesterday hit back at French President Nicolas Sarkozy, 54, for trying to ban the burka by branding his wife a prostitute. He said former model Carla Bruni, 41, represents the face of a depraved Western society where women are treated like sex objects.
Choudary, 42, wrote on the Islam4UK website: Sarkozy may be content with being wed to a prostitute who flaunts her body to the world believing it to be righteous conduct, but he is reminded that a Muslim is not this shallow and depraved.
#6
Reminds me of the old joke....define "slut".....answer: a woman who you have reason to believe would have sex with every other man on the planet, except for you.
#11
When was the last time any national leader had a wife this hot? And, at least by European standards, he's even a conservative. We had our chance with Fred Thompson - oh, well.
That's nothing, France and Spain have already pulled their envoys from Honduras.
Iran risked diplomatic isolation from the European Union, as European officials discussed whether to withdraw the ambassadors of all 27 member nations in a dispute over the detention of the British Embassy's Iranian personnel. European diplomats said Wednesday that they had made no formal decision to order their envoys home, but that the measure was an option as the European Union -- Iran's biggest trading partner -- tried to work out how to defuse the dispute in a way that would shield other embassies in Tehran from similar action.
Withdrawing all 27 ambassadors would be a rare and unusually forceful display of European anger at Iran's crackdown on dissent after the June 12 presidential election, and several diplomats said the European Union would prefer to avoid such a move. Iran arrested nine employees of the British Embassy in Tehran over the weekend, but said it had released all but one of them by Wednesday.
The Iranian response to the potential European action was bellicose. A high-ranking Iranian military official demanded that the Europeans apologize for interference in Iran's affairs, which, he said, disqualified European countries from negotiating on Iran's nuclear program. The official, Maj. Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi, the armed forces chief of staff, was quoted by the semiofficial Fars news agency as saying that because of the European Union's "interference" in the postelection unrest, the bloc had "totally lost the competence and qualifications needed for holding any kind of talks with Iran." He added, "We believe that they don't have the right to speak of negotiations before apologizing for their obvious mistakes and showing their regret in practice," Fars said.
Iran appears to be caught between strategies: one that does not want to downgrade diplomatic relations with other nations for fear of international isolation, and another that is pushing the concept of foreign interference for domestic reasons. For the West, meanwhile, the Iranian reaction to a potential European diplomatic withdrawal added another layer of complexity to assessments of how to deal with Iran -- not only for Europe, but also for the United States, where the Obama administration had expressed hopes for a new dialogue with Iran before the election-related crackdown.
The Iranian authorities have sought to cast Britain in particular as an instigator of the unrest. The nine Iranian employees of the British Embassy who were arrested over the weekend were accused of fomenting unrest. Five were released by Monday night, and Press TV said that three more were released Wednesday, leaving one still in custody. That employee, Fars said Wednesday, "had a remarkable role during the recent unrest in managing it behind the scenes." As the dispute unfolded, the European Union said it would support Britain, but it has been unclear what form that backing would take. Britain has been pushing for a tough response, while Germany, Iran's biggest trading partner in the European Union, is being more cautious.
Some Europeans believe the Iranians can be persuaded to avert a confrontation by quickly releasing the remaining British Embassy staff member, diplomats said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the matter.
Carl Bildt, the foreign minister of Sweden, told reporters in Stockholm on Wednesday -- the day his country took over the presidency of the European Union -- that it was in the interests of the European Union and Iran to retain full diplomatic ties. But he did not exclude the withdrawal of ambassadors, saying that "from the diplomatic perspective, all options are on the table." However, he added that the bloc had "an interest in maintaining full diplomatic relations" with Tehran and that he thought "it would be in Iranian interests that we retain diplomatic courtesies in a situation like this."
Ethiopia Wednesday dismissed a threat of invasion from Somalia's hardline Islamist insurgents saying the rebels posed no clear and present danger.
Al Qaeda-linked fighters in Somalia's al Shabaab rebel group are battling to oust President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, himself a former Islamist insurgent who joined a peace process last year. Tuesday, al Shabaab threatened to attack Ethiopia, urging its fighters to wage jihad against its neighbor.
"We have heard the declaration of war from al Shabaab," said Ethiopian government head of information Bereket Simon. "We cannot say this is a clear and present danger to Ethiopia."
Al Shabaab and allied fighters control much of southern and central Somalia and have boxed the government and 4,300 African Union peackeepers into a few blocks of Mogadishu. Street fighting and mortar shelling killed at least 15 people and wounded 42 in the capital late Wednesday, residents and ambulance workers said.
Resident Abdullahi Ahmed said he had seen 6 dead fighters in the street and that he had been hit in the hand by shrapnel. Ambulance service official Ali Muse said they had taken 9 bodies and 42 wounded people to hospitals.
The government's military spokesman, Farhan Arsanyo, told Reuters late Wednesday they had captured two opposition fighters who admitted they were Pakistani. "We will be displaying them to the media tomorrow," he said.
Ethiopia has kept a strong military force along its common border since withdrawing. While it has repeatedly denied sending combat troops back into Somalia, it has acknowledged making "reconnaissance" missions into its neighbor. Somali residents, rebels and humanitarian workers have reported seeing Ethiopian soldiers in different parts of the country in recent weeks. Addis Ababa says the reports are being peddled by hardliners to mobilize support for the insurgency.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has not ruled out sending back troops if his country is threatened but says he is waiting to see how the international community responds to the deteriorating security situation in the country.
Kenya, east Africa's biggest economy, has beefed up its military presence along its porous border with southern Somalia, where the rebels have their main strongholds. Al Shabaab has threatened to strike in the capital Nairobi, which is home to a large Somali community, if Kenya intervenes and the country's security forces are on alert.
The district police commander in Isiolo district, Marius Tim, said Wednesday that anti-terrorism police had raided a village in the center of Kenya and arrested two people accused of helping a top al Shabaab official get Kenyan citizenship.
Islamist charities and the United States are competing for the allegiance of the 2 million people displaced by the fight against the Taliban in Swat and other parts of Pakistan and so far, the Islamists are in the lead. Although the United States is the largest contributor to a U.N. relief effort, the Pakistani authorities have refused to allow U.S. officials or planes to deliver the aid in the camps for displaced people. The Pakistanis do not want to be associated with their unpopular ally. Meanwhile, in the absence of effective aid from the government, hard-line Islamist charities are using the refugee crisis to push their anti-Western agenda and to sour public opinion against the war and the United States.
Last week, a crowd of men, the heads of households uprooted from Swat, gathered here in this village in northwestern Pakistan for handouts for their desperate families. But before they could even get a can of cooking oil, the aid director for a staunchly anti-Western Islamic charity took full advantage of having a captive audience, exhorting the men to jihad. "The Western organizations have spent millions and billions on family planning to destroy the Muslim family system," said the aid director, Mehmood ul-Hassan, who represented Al Khidmat, a powerful charity of the strongly anti-American political party Jamaat-e-Islami. The Western effort had failed, he said, but Pakistanis should show their strength by joining the fight against the infidels.
The authorities' insistence that the Americans remain nearly invisible reveals the strains that continue to underlie the U.S.-Pakistani relationship, even as cooperation improves in the fight against the Taliban, and public support for the war grows in Pakistan. Yet Islamist and jihadist groups openly work the camps. In contrast, although a substantial amount of U.S. aid is getting through, it is not branded as American, and Pakistani authorities have insisted that it be delivered in a "subtle" manner, said Lt. Gen. Nadeem Ahmad, the head of the Pakistani army's disaster-management group. The general said he had told U.S. officials that there would be an "extremely negative" reaction if Americans were seen to be distributing aid, particularly if it was delivered by U.S. military aircraft.
Iraq failed to award most contracts it offered yesterday in a bidding round aimed at attracting foreign partners and their cash, leaving the country seeking new ways to develop the worlds third-largest oil reserves.
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries producer fell short of its aim to assign development rights for six oil fields and two natural gas fields . A service agreement for the Rumaila oil field won by a BP-led group was the only contract awarded. The Middle Eastern country hoped to increase production more than 60% from the fields on offer, potentially raising 1,7-trillion in profit over 20 years , Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said in a speech televised at the start of the round on Tuesday.
What a fiasco, said Rochdi Younsi, an analyst at Eurasia Group in Washington. It shows the discrepancy between Iraqs expectations and what companies were willing to offer. Companies, including Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell, failed to meet Iraqi terms as the government asked bidders to cut their fees during a bidding ceremony, parts of which were shown on state television.
The cabinet met yesterday to be briefed on the licensing round by al-Shahristani, and to decide how to attract investors, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said by telephone from Baghdad on Tuesday.
BP and China National Petroleum won the contract for Rumaila, the largest of the eight fields in Tuesdays round Iraqs first international tender in more than 30 years. Of the 35 companies Iraq prequalified, 22 companies made 15 bids for 16bn for technical service contracts. Iraq invited international oil companies to return after kicking them out in 1972, when the party of late dictator Saddam Hussein nationalised concessions.
Iraq failed to agree with companies for six sites, including the Kirkuk and West Qurna oil fields, and received no bids for the Mansuriya natural gas field, the second it offered. Iraq wanted to squeeze the margins as much as possible for investors, and they squeezed too much, said Samuel Ciszuk, an analyst at IHS Global Insight in London.
Were satisfied with Rumaila, Asim Jihad, a spokesman for the oil ministry, said by telephone after the close of bidding. Its a big field and we gave the contract on our terms. The BP group agreed to boost output at Rumaila, which now produces 956000 barrels per day, to a plateau of 2,85-million barrels of oil a day. BPs initial bid for the remuneration fee was 3,99 a barrel.
Iraq is struggling to raise output and revenue from crude sales after six years of conflict and sanctions had destroyed the economy and infrastructure. The government aims to boost oil output to 4-million barrels a day within five years, from about 2,4- million barrels now.
On Tuesday , groups led by Italys Eni and China National dropped their proposals for Zubair oil field in southern Iraq.
The Marine Corp applies lessons learnt in Iraq: female Marines can search the women without causing riots, are told things the Marines need to know... they know if you've been bad or good (or lying), so you better be good for goodness' sake!
#1
This should frighten the radicals half to death. Unlike most men, who have a narrow focus of information transmission and reception with each other, many women can pass volumes of information between themselves quickly.
It sounds improbable, but the moment a female Marine enters the room, Iraqi women scope her out from top to bottom, looking for things men would not be consciously aware of: carriage, countenance, status, deference, physique, prosperity, command, attractiveness, attitude, etc., etc., and all at once. Before she even speaks.
#2
When I used to work in the ER, some times the female nurses would forget I was there. If they were getting along with each other, when the ER was quiet, they would share just about everything in the lives with each other. Their husbands, if they knew about it, would have been truly appalled.
SEOUL, July 2 (Yonhap) -- North Korea is expected to suffer from a food shortage of up to 840,000 tons this year as foreign countries withhold humanitarian aid, a government report said Thursday. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the state-run Korea Development Institute said North Korea's total grain production may reach around 4.29 million tons this year, which falls short of the minimum 5.13 million tons needed to feed its 20-plus million people.
The report based on estimates released by the United Nations World Food Program said the communist country may be able to produce 3.34 million tons of grain on its own, import 500,000 tons from abroad and receive aid amounting to 450,000 tons that could bring the total to 4.29 million tons.
"The calculation is based on an average North Korean consuming 1,600 calories per day, which is 75 percent of the 2,130 calories recommended for a healthy person by the World Health Organization," the assessment said.
It also said that if the total took into account the 330,000 tons of grain that Pyongyang declined to accept from the United States in March, the shortfall may top 1.17 million tons.
They don't want our grain? Perfect! Make sure we don't send them any more.
Other think tanks like the Korea Rural Economic Institute said the food shortage may reach 560,000 tons, with Pyongyang able to produce or import 4.86 million tons of grain out of 5.42 million tons it needs.
To overcome the expected shortfall, government experts said the only viable option is to let them starve for South Korea to give aid, although the testing of a second nuclear device in late May could hinder such a move. "The government's position on providing humanitarian aid remains unchanged from the past, but policymakers must consider public opinion, which is not favorable to the North at present," said a finance ministry official.
He said Seoul has set aside 426.4 billion won (US$338.6 million) in its budget this year to provide food assistance to North Korea, with a further 291.7 billion won worth of funds that can be used to offer fertilizer support.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2009
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Eight alleged members of what security forces call a "nascent terrorist organisation" went on trial Tuesday (June 30th) in Sale, MAP reported. The purported "Al Mourabitine Al Jodod" (Group of New Fighters) cell, which operated in Laâyoune, Guelmim, and Boujdour as part of the radical Islamist Salafia Jihadia movement, allegedly plotted to carry out terrorist attacks in Morocco. Security forces dismantled the group in May.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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Chicago Public School reform largely has failed, with the vast bulk of students either dropping out or unprepared for college and apparent gains at the grade-school level more perceived than real.
That's the bottom line of a blockbuster report released Tuesday by the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club, a report that directly challenges the legitimacy of one of Mayor Richard M. Daley's major claimed accomplishments.
Titled "Still Left Behind," the report freely uses terms like "abysmal" to describe the true state of public education in Chicago. The report was prepared by committee President R. Eden Martin, a lawyer, with analytical support from Paul Zavitkovsky of the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Half of the students drop out by high school, and of those who remain until 11th grade, 70% fail to meet state standards, the report says. In fact, "In the regular (non-magnet) neighborhood high schools, which serve the vast preponderance of students, almost no students are prepared to succeed in college."
The report directly challenges widespread claims by current and former CPS officials that local students have shown substantial progress over the last decade on standardized tests.
For instance, it notes a 2006 letter from then schools CEO Arne Duncan, now U.S. secretary of education, stating that the share of CPS students meeting or exceeding state standards had leapt 15 points in one year.
In fact, it says, the change occurred because of a change in the test, not because of real educational gains. As a result, it points out, while a test cited by local officials showed that 71% of 8th graders met or exceeded state standards in 2007, a national test taken here the same year showed just 13% were up to par.
Similarly, while the test employed locally reported that the share of 8th graders meeting math standards grew from 32% to 71% from 2005 to 2007, the national test, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, showed scores effectively flat, moving from 11% to only 13%.
The report does note that the changes in the test were ordered by the state, not by CPS.
CPS officials and Mayor Richard M. Daley had no immediate response to the report, but Ron Gidwitz, former chairman of the State Board of Education, said he believes its results are on point.
"It hard to refute their conclusions when you look at the evidence," including how CPS students do on college-enrollment tests, Mr. Gidwitz said. "We haven't made nearly as much progress as people thought."
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If you want education you're going to have to make parents interested in their childrens learning, and that means they have to pay for it out of their own money.
#4
...almost no students are prepared to succeed in college.
Well, we identified the first problem. The vast bulk of people shouldn't be going to college. It's part of the '60s hype which witnessed all sorts of trades move their certification from apprentice-journeymen-master to paper mill subsidy for academic empire building along with the blooming of 'studies' which lack direct application to practical work other than increasing the population of instructors in colleges. It's been compounded by lazy and ineffectual personnel management in our businesses that fall back on those same pieces of paper as 'job qualifications'.
The whole practicality of what a citizen needs to know to be productive and to participate in a real democracy has been subordinated to the education industry and self protection union.
#5
If you want education you're going to have to make parents interested in their childrens learning, and that means they have to pay for it out of their own money.
When I was in Korea, I'd watch the children march off to school in the morning. Then sometime just afternoon they'd trip on back home. The official school day was done. Then after their lunch, the kiddies spent the rest of the day with a tutor paid for by the families who pooled resources for the instructor. When the families paid, you can be certain the kids were 'encouraged' to focus.
#9
Courtesy of the Ayers and Obama Chicago school "reforms".
"Calling Bill Ayers a school reformer is a bit like calling Joseph Stalin an agricultural reformer."
Posted by: ed ||
07/02/2009 10:19
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#10
For instance, it notes a 2006 letter from then schools CEO Arne Duncan, now U.S. secretary of education, stating that the share of CPS students meeting or exceeding state standards had leapt 15 points in one year.
#11
Today's educational system runs on what I call the "Scarecrow Principle" based on the Scarecrow of the Wizad of Oz. The Wizard told the the Scarecrow, "You don't need an education, what you need is a Diploma".
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
07/02/2009 11:05
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#13
Bright Pebbles and Procopius2k; parents "paying" for their child's education is not always the answer. As a retired private school teacher (Catholic School) I see the biggest hurdle to education (public or private) as the culture of entitlement and enabling endemic in our society. Too many students (enabled by parents and family) feel they are entitled to no less than a "B", or at the very least a "C", simply for showing up for class; never mind how disruptive their behavior may be to others in the class. Until we make everyone accountable for for their own success or failure, no amount of monies spent will cure the problem. Just my two cents worth.
#15
It's just not the issue of paying. These were basic working families in Korea which would be classified as 'poor' by American bureaucratic standards. Note I wrote they 'pooled' money. The kids very well understood it was their 'job' in the family to succeed. There was no sense of 'entitlement' but rather 'obligation'. It is a current within the society derived from thousands of years of Chinese cultural influences [which also has its influence in Japan] and the Han Emperor who developed the first civil service and opportunity for anyone who could pass the exam. There was the means of social mobility. That trait is something absent in some of the subcultures here in America and is reflected in their approach and appreciation for education.
#16
Trailing daughter #2 became friends with a lovely Korean girl who came over here as an exchange student. She loves it here, because she gets more than four hours of sleep each night, and gets to sleep in on weekends. According to her the pattern over there is to study until one or two in the morning, get up at five for school, then sleep through classes and lunch, due to sheer exhaustion. She found the classes much easier as well, but the student exchange people had dropped her back two years (junior to freshman) because she came over with very little English.
That sleep pattern and pressure are to me unacceptably unhealthy, even if Korean students graduate knowing more than Americans.
I agree with WolfDog's prescription. At-home enrichment is only part of the solution. The other part is demanding the kids earn their grades themselves. I've a girlfriend who spends pots of money on private tutors and SAT training programs for her three sons... but she does all their school projects for them, "because they don't do things like that well," allowing them only to choose the subject. So of course two of the three don't understand why they should do their homework and turn it in on time.
#17
...compounded by lazy and ineffectual personnel management in our businesses...
There hasn't been anything resembling "personnel management" in business since the arrival of the HR mentality. I've always considered HR to be the point where Leftism managed to infect an otherwise capitalist venture. Namely...business.
[Iran Press TV Latest] A senior member of the Jundullah terrorist group says that the group has been trained and financed by "the US and Zionists".
Abdolhamid Rigi, the brother of Jundullah leader Abdolmalek Rigi made the remarks in a court session held in the southeastern city of Zahedan on Wednesday.
Abdolhamid Rigi was among the thirteen members of the Jundullah who were accused of terrorist activities, Fars news agency reported.
Pakistani security forces arrested Abdolhamid last year and extradited him to Iran.
The defendants told the court that foreign spy agencies support Jundullah.
Citing the defendant's confessions, the court's judge said that after the extradition of Abdolhamid, foreign intelligence agencies had incited Jundullah members to step up their terrorist attacks in Iran including hostage takings to put pressure on Iran to release Abdolhamid.
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At least 28 members of a militant group, including an important commander, were killed by security forces in Khyber Agency on Wednesday evening, said FC sources. The sources said that those killed by troops were members of Lashkar-e-Islam's (LI) Mangal Bagh group. The sources said the security forces had also destroyed five vehicles and hideouts of the militant group in the operation in Sandapal area of Tirah valley.
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Defeated Iranian candidate Mehdi Karroubi refused to recognize the Ahmadinejad's re-election after an electoral watchdog confirmed the results despite allegations of fraud, a statement on his Etemad Melli party website said on Wednesday. The statement prompted authorities to halt the publication of the party newspaper.
"Last night, after Karroubi's statement was released, representatives of the Tehran prosecutor and the culture ministry prevented the publication of Etemad Melli newspaper," the party said on its website. "They wanted the statement censored and not published -- so the newspaper will not be published today."
The newspaper is one of the few reformist publications to have survived a crackdown under Ahmadinejad's rule.
However, it chief editor Mohammad Ghoochani is among scores of reformist leaders and journalists detained in a crackdown by the authorities on opposition activists and protesters in the wake of the disputed election.
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Please take the following short quiz, answering each question with a simple yes or no:
Is your household income about the same as or greater than it has averaged over the past few years?
Is your job reasonably secure?
Are your financial obligations mortgage payments, car payments, school tuition and other family expenses about what they were last year?
Are you saving about 10% of your gross income for all of your future needs combined emergencies, retirement, the kids' college, a major purchase?
If you answered yes to those four questions, you are among the fortunate folks who are faring pretty well despite this severe economic downturn. And kudos to you for managing your career and your finances wisely. (If not, see these nine steps.)
Because you are both fortunate and wise, Uncle Sam wants you to play a key role in America's economic recovery. How? By maintaining your normal levels of consumer spending and charitable giving and, if possible, even increasing them a bit. Spend...Consume...OBEY!
Acting as you normally would will help offset belt-tightening by those in genuine distress, who have no choice but to cut back, and by those who aren't in trouble but are cutting back anyway.
Why are some people slashing spending even though their incomes are secure? One reason is a drop in their net worths, due to eroding home prices and financial assets.
It's the reverse of the so-called wealth effect, which caused people to spend and borrow more freely in boom times, confident that their net worths would keep rising unabated. Now, with their wealth declining, people are acting more cautiously even if their incomes haven't been cut. That's a reasonable response. Unfortunately, overdoing it will aggravate the economic slump.
Another psychological factor is at play here: a desire on the part of well-off Americans to show empathy for their less fortunate brethren by spending less. It seems that voluntary frugality is now as chic as high living was during the credit bubble in the middle of this decade. Nowadays, people who are still reasonably affluent are boasting about pinching pennies, eating at home, canceling trips and hanging on to the old car.
But I have news for them: If they really want to help individuals who are less fortunate, they should be doing precisely the opposite. Boosting their spending and their giving will help businesses forestall some layoffs and eventually put people who have lost their jobs back to work. read the whole thing at the link -I thought it was deeply warped satire at first. Read the comments of the posters too - they're funny and on target.
#3
It's hard to spend more money when you've lost your job or had your hours cut. Weinerheads.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
07/02/2009 7:26
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#4
My wife lost her job in January (pretty much mutual agreement) and at tax time wanted to put 'Economic Stimulator' for her profession on the 1040 form.
#5
Nowadays, people who are still reasonably affluent are boasting about pinching pennies, eating at home, canceling trips and hanging on to the old car.
I suspect this may be the "Conservative Resurgence" that Mark Lavin recently mentioned.
#6
Nowadays, people who are still reasonably affluent are boasting about pinching pennies, eating at home, canceling trips and hanging on to the old car.
Well, it's interesting to suddenly find you've been 'fashionable' for most of your life. Welcome to the ant colony Mr and Ms Grasshopper.
#7
Yeah, last night after toiling away at the part-time phone-bank job at the place that I affectionately refer to as "The Hellhole" I went out and willfully and frivolously spent some of my money on some (wait for it!) new clothes!
I had to have something nice to wear at the San Antonio Tea Party's 4th of July bash, you know.
It was a whole $18.85 at the thrift store, for a pair of jeans, two tops and a very nice Pendleton woolen blazer that was an absolute steal at $2.99, possibly because it was out of season. (All four of these garments appear to be brand new, BTW)
So, does the economy feel stimulated enough yet? I did my bit ... probably overspent, since I didn't actually need the blazer and the second top. I'll spend some more when I sell more books...
#10
Incoming calls, B - only incoming.
I do wish we could get fewer of the drunken, and incoherent ones on Saturday nights, though. The ones with bad cellphone reception, also.
#11
Did anyone read the article? The article says IF you have a secure job and IF you are saving (of course I'd prefer people to save more than 10%) and IF you still have money left over THEN to spend. If you claim to be a capitalist and can't understand this basic truth, you are a hypocrite. Capitalism only works through consumerism. It's pretty freaking simple really. So all of you whining about your part time job or not working at all, obviously failed reading comprehension. But if people, who are more fortunate, don't consume, then those of you who are less fortunate will be stuck that way. Unless you think the government is going to pull us out of this economic quagmire? I'm confused. By the way, net worth != income. So even if your house lost value, as long as it is worth more than your mortgage(s) then you are in decent shape and should be spending (as well as paying down debts starting with the highest marginal interest rate).
#12
I stimulated the economy to the tune of a bit over 600 bucks last month because I had to buy a lot more gas than usual, rent storage space at 2 places, and move my horses because I am noe homeless. Good enough?
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
07/02/2009 11:01
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#13
Sgt. Mom, I sympathize.
I've worked in call centers and it's possibly the worst job that you can have while sitting at a desk/cubicle.
#15
AP news:Employers cut a larger-than-expected 467,000 jobs in June and the unemployment rate climbed to a 26-year high of 9.5 percent. Workers also saw weekly wages fall The obvious solution is to send more government money (one way or the other) to Goldman Sachs.
#16
Sounds like it's become unpatriotic to leave within your means.
AllahHateMe: Capitalism only works through consumerism - No. Capitalism only means that people are free to own and operate businesses, own and trade assets (including homes), and generally make their own economic decisions. Capitalism in the U.S. did just fine before the latest bout of rampant cheap-debt driven buying, and continues to work well in parts of the world with better balance between savings and spending.
net worth != income Uh, no it doesn't.
The U.S., both the government and citizens, needs to live within their means. Economic forces are making that happen, and the current flood of government cash makes the short term look better, but will be no better at bringing prosperity than the overt socialist policies of Russia's communists, China's Maoists, Cuba's Castro or Venezuela's Chavez.
#17
AllahHateMe, I refuse to believe that capitalism needs Christmas to survive. If it does I think I'd rather be a commie. If capitalists want to survive they need to produce something that I really want or need bad enough to part with my hard earned dough. I will not trot my ass down to WalMart for a load of plastic crap from China just to be charitable.
When I was in high school, a Pendleton was about the coolest article of clothing a guy could have. Back in those days they were made in Pendleton, Oregon. The one I have now was made in Mexico but I think they still produce the wool in Oregon. Congratulations on the purchase, Sgt. Mom. You'll be glad you had the foresight to buy it next winter.
"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery." - Wilkins Micawber, from David Copperfield [the book by Charles Dickens].
#21
DoDo, I never said anything about rampant, stupid consumerism. Our economy is very simple, you buy item x from person a so that person a has money to buy item y from person b, ad infinitum. Items are interchangeable for services and person with busines. When people are too afraid to spend money, like they are now to one extent or another, the economy contracts. Even if you assume that everyone only wants to maintain there lifestyle (an idealistic assumption) then the economy must, by need, constantly grow because the population continues to grow. If people are sitting on their money, the economy can't grow. BTW, can no one on this site read? I, and this article, both explicitly mention savings, with me, personally thinking greater than 10%. The whole point of my post is that no one on tihs site appears to have any capability at reading comprehension anymore. Thanks for proving my point. As it were, I save nearly 20%, have a low mortgage rate on a house that is nearly paid off, own land so that I can build another house and have both of my children's college funds fully funded. I thank God every day for my blessings. Now I am going to go spend some money at Home Depot, to do my little part in making sure the local store doesn't go out of business. Maybe some of ya'll would do better in the business world if you learned how to comprehend the meaning of the words you are reading.
#23
Economies grow through the creation of wealth, not the mere exchange of it AHM. While it's nice that you have grasped the shallow view of Zero's economic plan, how about doing some real economic growth by creating industries and businesses that combine raw materials, innovative new concepts, and MAKE something, creating net new wealth that then gets passed around though salaries, materials procurement, taxes, etc. Since the USA hardly makes anything anymore, we are reduced to trading money back and forth, and sending much of it overseas, so the system isn't even self-contained. It bleeds out real wealth to foreigners. Since we are the only twits that still think the nice dream of free trade works, and the rest of the WTO read China) just cheats, their lower labor costs trumpt transportation costs and we have exported our real wealth production capacity to them.
#24
Another psychological factor is at play here: a desire on the part of well-off Americans to show empathy for their less fortunate brethren avoid being targeted by certain groups by spending less.
#25
Ummm Deacon, I have ten acres in Millbrook you can put your horses on if you wish, WARNING there's no fence (If you wish I'll chip in a bit of cash and labor to build one, it's something I need, Call it rent if you wish) If you don't need a fence come ahead.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/02/2009 16:55
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#26
Apparently I haven't, 3dc. I haven't had a lot of time the past month for Rantburg (or anything else fun).
I'm still in the dark following your explanation. :-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/02/2009 17:23
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#27
The habitues of the O Club were treated to the details, Barbara. 3dc shouldn't have said that. Deacon Blue's former landlord converted to Islam, quit paying the mortgage without telling his wife, then the bank foreclosed. The new buyer wanted to move in immediately, so Deacon Blues had to find a new home for horses, pigs, geese, and various house animals. He has found a temporary haven, and has settled all the critters while he looks for a permanent home.
[ADN Kronos] By Syed Saleem Shahzad - As NATO and Pakistan have moved to cooperate in containing the Taliban's attacks on NATO supply lines in restive North West Frontier Province, the Taliban are switching their strategy to focus attacks on the southwest and Afghanistan.
Informed sources told AKI that the Taliban's bombing of a NATO container on Tuesday in Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province's Qalat district is the result of newly established militant networks.
The networks include several Pakistani jihadi groups based in the southern port city of Karachi, the Afghan Taliban and their allied Pakistani groups based in Balochistan's provincial capital of Quetta. "We have information that some Karachi-based groups had planned to sabotage NATO's supply lines right in the middle of Karachi as soon as the NATO supplies come out of the Karachi ports," said one source. "But due to the hostile attitude of Karachiites towards the Taliban and heavy vigilance they were able to carry out few such attacks and could not sustain these."
Karachi based militant groups currently only note the travel schedules of the NATO trucks and inform their Quetta counterparts. Attacks are then arranged on trucks bound for NATO's Kandahar Air Field base in southern Afghanistan which transit Balochistan, a senior security official told AKI. He spoke on condition of anonymity as his position does not allow him to speak to the press.
Al least 20 percent of NATO supplies bound for Kandahar air base pass through Balochistan. All NATO supplies arrive at Karachi's port before making the overland journey to Afghanistan. Eighty percent of supplies for NATO troops are destined for the main US Bagram air base outside Kabul. From there, supplies are distributed to several NATO bases in different Afghan provinces.
The Taliban have long worked to establish a powerful network in the Pakistani tribal areas in the northwest as part of their broader scheme to sever NATO's supply lines. Supplies for Bagram pass through the area around the town of Torkham on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Taliban attacks have jumped since December but NATO and Pakistani security agencies undertook several military operations against militants in Pakistan's Khyber and Orakzai areas close to the Afghan border. These operations has seriously impaired the militants' ability to launch attacks in recent months, prompting them to regroup and begin targeting NATO supply lines in southwestern Pakistan instead.
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SEOUL (Reuters) - North Koreans who recently arrived in the South live in a world of contradictions where their upbringing instills them with reverence for Kim Jong-il but their daily struggle leads them to believe he is a brutal despot.
By all accounts, they say North Korea is gradually spiralling out of control, its economy dysfunctional while people are suspicious of one another because of a network of informants.
They also speak of a sense of normalcy in the North. Most left for the chance of a better life in the South but they are uncertain if they can find their way in the competitive capitalist state.
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Metro area unemployment rate hits 14.9% in May, even before General Motors' bankruptcy is taken into account. If they'd vote in some good Democrats I'm sure they'd take care of the city's problems in no time. 14.9%? I'm surprised it's that low.
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#1
It probably only counts the ones looking for work, and it's hard to see even bothering to look in Detroit.
[Al Arabiya Latest] A split tongue and a lazy eye may sound like some sort of ailment but for sorcerers in Morocco such attributes are a sign someone possesses supernatural skills that allow them to contact the spirit world and find buried treasures.
So strong is their belief in the signs of possession, that sorcerers have resorted to kidnapping children with features such as a cross on their right hand, tongues split in the middle or a lazy right eye.
According to Moroccan human rights activists gangs of sorcerers are targeting children with the specific features because they believe such children are "zohri," or born as jinn, but were replaced with human beings upon their birth.
The tradition says that such children have supernatural perception and can see things that are not visible to humans and with such "powers" they are able to find treasure believed to be buried in mountainous areas in Marrakech, Khénifra and other southern regions like Souss-Massa-Draâ. So...how come they can't see these guys coming to get them?
The children are believed to be able to see and consequently touch the treasure, unlike humans, which sorcerers fear will anger the jinns and result in severe punishment, such as being banished to the underworld.
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Police on Wednesday claimed to have arrested from Rahim Yar Khan a terrorist suspected of involvement in suicide attacks in Lahore, a private TV channel reported. The police said the suspect, Hafiz Shakeel, had confessed to masterminding the theft of vehicles used in various suicide attacks in Lahore, a private TV channel reported. The channel said the police had also arrested three other terror suspects on information provided by Shakeel from various areas of Punjab.
Police officials said they recovered four ID cards from Shakeel, adding that the suspects stole vehicles from Rahim Yar Khan, Bhakkar and Mianwali.Meanwhile, sources in Landikotal told Daily Times that security forces had arrested four terror suspects from Jamrud. Sources in the Khasadar Force said the suspects were arrested from Lala Kandao area following a tip-off.
This article starring:
HAFIZ SHAKIL
al-Qaeda in Pakistan
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SEOUL, July 1 (Yonhap) — The long-range rocket North Korea launched in April could be converted into a ballistic missile capable of striking half of the continental U.S., two American physicists have concluded in a joint study.
North Korea launched on April 5 what it claims was a rocket designed to carry a satellite into orbit. The U.S. and its allies say nothing entered orbit, calling the "Unha-2" rocket a disguised ballistic missile capable of flying over 6,700km. South Korean and U.S. officials have refrained from elaborating on the capabilities of the rocket, while media reports said the rocket flew at least 3,000km before falling into the Pacific Ocean.
MIT professor Theodore Postol and David Wright, a physicist at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), said the rocket could fly even farther — over 10,000km — if converted into a missile. "The Unha launcher represents a significant advance over North Korea's previous launchers and would have the capability to reach the continental United States with a payload of one ton or more if North Korea modified it for use as a ballistic missile," they said.
"It could have a range of 10,000-10,500km, allowing it to reach Alaska, Hawaii, and roughly half of the lower 48 states," they said in an article posted this week on the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Noting that a "first-generation plutonium warhead could have a mass of 1,000kg or more," Postol and Wright said the rocket could carry a 1-ton payload as far as 7,000-7,500km even if it completed only two of its three stages. "This would allow it to reach Alaska and parts of Hawaii, but not the lower 48 states," they said, writing on the assumption that the rocket was not designed to carry a lightweight satellite.
North Korea, which has conducted two known atomic tests since 2006 — including one on May 25 this year — is not believed to have obtained the capability to miniaturize nuclear warheads to mount on ballistic missiles.
But the scientists just told you that the missile can mount a 1 ton payload. That's not so 'miniature' ...
Even Libya got a copy of the Chinese warhead blueprints. AQ Khan gave it for free when they purchased centrifuges from him. Why would the authors think the North Koreans haven't gotten a copy of this miniaturized nuke design?
South Korean defense officials believe the North has enough weapons-grade plutonium to create at least six nuclear bombs, but they said each one would weigh far more than one ton.
Postol and Wright based their analysis partly on the video footage of the rocket launch North Korea released in April, and said computer modeling and past analysis also contributed to their study. "By measuring the distance the launcher moves as a function of time in these videos, we determined the thrust-to-weight ratio of the Unha vehicle at launch," they said. "Using estimates of the mass of the Unha launcher, we then estimated the thrust at liftoff generated by the engines."
Drawing similarities between the North Korean rocket and the components previously developed by China, Russia and Iran, the physicists concluded that "it's extremely unlikely that these technologies were indigenously produced by North Korea."
"It's likely that these critical rocket components were acquired from other countries, most notably Russia, although likely without the involvement of the Russian government," they said. "If these guesses are true, it could mean that North Korea's indigenous missile capability could be significantly constrained if Pyongyang is denied further access to such components."
Wright and Postol said North Korea would rely on "combining existing components in clever ways" or realize it has "a dead-end program" if it is blocked from importing technical supplies.
Why is it a dead-end? They continue to make progress. Their latest plutonium bomb had a higher yield than the previous one. Their last missile flew further than the previous one.
They also called on the U.S. to work with Russia to ascertain the extent of cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang that has likely helped North Korea build its stockpile of ballistic missiles. "It should be a high priority for the United States to assess it and work with Russia to determine what technical assistance and components North Korea may have received," they said.
'Work with' the Russians to discover just how extensive their canoodling with the Norks has been? Uh, sure, right ...
Wright and Postol also said evidence points to cooperation between Iran and North Korea, rebutting speculation that the last stage of the Unha-2 rocket was solid-fueled. "The third stage appears to be very similar, if not identical, to the upper stage of the Iranian Safir-2 launch vehicle, which placed a small satellite in orbit in February," they said.
Almost as if it were planned that way ...
"Therefore, the Unha-2 appears to use a third stage with liquid rather than solid fuel," they wrote.
South Korean and U.S. officials say the final stage of the Unha-2 rocket separated but failed to ignite, plunging into the Pacific Ocean along with the payload.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2009
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#1
It also "Potentialy" could be shot down long before it got anywhere near US soil.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/02/2009 1:00
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Obviously, a new round of negotiations is in order.
#5
Wouldn't it be nice if our government told NK's little dictator that it's not too late for him to step back. If they shoot missle(s) towards us, he will not survive the day. Sigh. Wouldn't it be nice to have a president with some true grit and not afraid of a little gun boat diplomacy.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
07/02/2009 15:38
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what we really need is an interception system that doesn't shoot it down but instead returns it to sender.
You've been watching Kung Fu movies again, Glenmore,Haven't you?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/02/2009 15:57
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State government limped into a new budget year Wednesday without a solid spending plan and rookie Gov. Pat Quinn threatened to drag the fight out all summer until he gets an income tax increase.
For the third year in a row, Democrats who control Springfield failed to reach agreement on time, once again creating uncertainty for social service providers, public employees and others who count on the state paying its bills.
Quinn scolded lawmakers in a rare joint session of the legislature and threatened to veto an admittedly underfunded spending plan passed by lawmakers in late May.
But in a day full of inconsistencies, Quinn also praised the House for passing a pension-borrowing plan to help fill the budget gap. Hours later, he turned around and successfully lobbied against its passage in the Senate.
Democratic legislative leaders had come up with the new twist -- a measure to borrow $2.2 billion for state pension payments -- to free up money to reduce cuts in social services. It was their answer to Quinn's criticism that their earlier spending plan would require severe cuts in services for the poor, elderly, disabled and children.
Quinn used his speech on the House floor to deride lawmakers for trying to defer a decision on his proposed income-tax hike until later in the year because "that's not what adults do."
"I'm prepared to stay here all summer to get the job done," Quinn said. "I think that's what the people want. That's why we're here -- to get the job done, whatever it takes."
Yet as Quinn criticized what he called "half measures and half-baked budgets," the governor earlier in the day had pitched a one-month budget extension in a closed-door meeting with the Democratic and House leaders of the legislature. The leaders rejected the plan, contending the budget they sent Quinn gave him the authority to spend money as he saw fit and that he could shut off the dollar tap at any time to try to force legislators to reach a final budget resolution.
Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), who had opposed a budget extension earlier in the year while lobbying for an income tax increase, said he agreed now that lawmakers should proceed with the budget to try to prevent social service cuts and to give more time to win support from minority Republicans for a tax hike. Cullerton said additional time could lead to backing by Democrats for GOP demands that include a less-costly pension plan for new state employees and managed health care to treat state-subsidized poor.
"The Republicans clearly need some time to come around to vote for the tax increase. We need their vote, can't do it without it," Cullerton said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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Marines Move Out on New Mission:
Thousands Deploy in Afghanistan's South in Crucial Test for Revised U.S. Strategy
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan, July 2 -- Thousands of U.S. Marines descended upon the volatile Helmand River valley in helicopters and armored convoys early Thursday, mounting an operation that represents the first large-scale test of the U.S. military's new counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan.
The operation will involve about 4,000 troops from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, which was dispatched to Afghanistan this year by President Obama to combat a growing Taliban insurgency in Helmand and other southern provinces. The Marines, along with an Army brigade that is scheduled to arrive later this summer, plan to push into pockets of the country where NATO forces have not had a presence. In many of those areas, the Taliban has evicted local police and government officials and taken power.
Once Marine units arrive in their designated towns and villages, they have been instructed to build and live in small outposts among the local population. The brigade's commander, Brig. Gen. Lawrence D. Nicholson, said his Marines will focus their efforts on protecting civilians from the Taliban and on restoring Afghan government services, instead of mounting a series of hunt-and-kill missions against the insurgents. "We're doing this very differently," Nicholson said to his senior officers a few hours before the mission began. "We're going to be with the people. We're not going to drive to work. We're going to walk to work."
Similar approaches have been tried in the eastern part of the country, but none has had the scope of the mission in Helmand, a vast province that is largely an arid moonscape save for a band of fertile land that lines the Helmand River. Poppies grown in that territory produce half the world's supply of opium and provide the Taliban with a valuable source of income.
The operation launched early Thursday represents a shift in strategy after years of thwarted U.S.-led efforts to destroy Taliban sanctuaries in Afghanistan and extend the authority of the Afghan government into the nation's southern and eastern regions. More than seven years after the fall of the Taliban government, the radical Islamist militia remains a potent force across broad swaths of the country. The Obama administration has made turning the war around a top priority, and the Helmand operation, if it succeeds, is seen as a potentially critical first step.
Traveling though swirling dust clouds under the light of a half-moon, the first Marine units departed from this remote desert base shortly after midnight on dual-rotor CH-47 Chinook transport helicopters backed by AH-64 Apache gunships and NATO fighter jets. Additional forces were slated to pour into the valley during the pre-dawn hours on more helicopters and in heavy transport vehicles designed to withstand the makeshift but lethal bombs that Taliban fighters have planted along the roads.
It was not immediately clear whether the initial Marine units faced resistance as they converged on their destinations. Marine commanders said before the start of the operation that they expected only minimal Taliban opposition at the outset but that assaults on the forces likely would increase once they moved into towns and began patrols. Field commanders have been told to prepare for suicide attacks, ambushes and roadside bombings.
Officers here said the mission, which required months of planning, is the Marines' largest operation since the 2004 invasion of Fallujah, in Iraq. In the minutes after midnight, well-armed Marines trudged across the tarmac at this sprawling outpost to board the Chinooks, which lumbered aloft with a burst of searing dust. A few hours later, another contingent of Marines was scheduled to board a row of CH-53 Super Stallion helicopters packed onto a relatively small landing pad at a staging base in the desert south of here. As the choppers clattered through the night sky, dozens of armored vehicles rolled toward towns along the river valley.
The U.S. strategy here is predicated on the belief that a majority of people in Helmand do not favor the Taliban, which enforces a strict brand of Islam that includes an eye-for-an-eye justice and strict limits on personal behavior. Instead, U.S. officials believe, residents would rather have the Afghan government in control, but they have been cowed into supporting the Taliban because there was nobody to protect them.
The Brits had neither manpower nor weaponry enough to do the job, though they've done their best.
In areas south of the provincial capital, local leaders, and even members of the police force, have fled. An initial priority for the Marines will be to bring back Afghan government officials and reinvigorate the local police forces. Marine commanders also plan to help district governors hold shuras -- meetings of elders in the community -- in the next week.
"Our focus is not the Taliban," Nicholson told his officers. "Our focus must be on getting this government back up on its feet."
More meat in the article, which is half again as long. Go read the whole thing.
The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!
[Quqnoos] A local Taliban commander was killed Tuesday during a NATO-led operation in the northern Jawzjan province, the forces said. The firefight was burst out after Taliban militants attacked a convoy of the NATO-led Swedish and Finnish troops in Darzab district of the relatively stable northern province. According to a NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) press release, the forces called for nearest air support and consequently a militant was killed and two more were injured. "Ja, sure! Give us some air support! Dey bane shootin' at us!"
The Swedish and Finnish troops stayed unharmed in the fighting that lasted about an hour. "You okay, Sven?"
"Ja, sure!"
"Ole?"
"Ja, sure!"
"Erkki?"
"Ja, suure! Do we have anymore gin?"
Jawzjan is a relatively peaceful Afghan province bordering Uzbekistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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This is the account of an 18 year old male protestor.
His shoulder blades and arms were wounded. There were some slashes on the face. No bone fractures, but he was bruised all over the body. I wanted to take some photos but he did not let me. The doctor said only four of his teeth were intact, the rest were broken. You could hardly understand what he said.
Then the doctor told me what had happened. He had suffered rupture of the rectum and the doctor feared colonic bleeding. He suggested we take him to the hospital immediately.
They registered him under a false name and with somebody else's insurance. The nurses were crying. Two of them asked what sort of beast had beaten him up like that. He was a broken man. He told us not to waste our money on him, and that he would kill himself.
He was arrested in Shiraz on 15 June, the Monday after the election.
"I was kept in a van till evening that day and then transferred to a solitary cell where I was kept for two days," he said. "Then I was repeatedly interrogated, beaten and hung from a ceiling. They call it chicken kebab. They tie your hands and feet together and hang you from the ceiling, turning you around and beating you with cables.
I believed I was going to be sent from the detention centre to prison. But they sent me to where they called Roughnecks' Room. It was on Saturday or Sunday that they raped me for the first time. There were three or four huge guys we had not seen before. They came to me and tore my clothes. I tried to resist but two of them laid me on the floor and the third did it. It was done in front of four other detainees."
"My cell mates, especially the older one, tried to console me. They said nobody loses his dignity through such an act. They did it to two other cell mates in the next days. Then it became a routine."
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
07/02/2009
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Nothing to see here... Just an internal concern of the 'democratically elected' government of Iran that our leadership in DC supports
Posted by: abu do you love ||
07/02/2009 1:52
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Yeah, vigorous debate and such.
Anyone for ice cream?
Posted by: Scott R ||
07/02/2009 2:59
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I am curious. What is it with the Iranian government and their henchmen? Is this the only way they can achieve satisfaction is through raping men? This is disgusting but then of course if Iran were to change their name to Honduras, then BO would have a comment within the minute.
Posted by: Art ||
07/02/2009 10:44
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Bambi's comment ... "but, but, but I told them I was appalled and disgusted." What a maroon.
#6
I am curious. What is it with the Iranian government and their henchmen? Is this the only way they can achieve satisfaction is through raping men? This is disgusting but then of course if Iran were to change their name to Honduras, then BO would have a comment within the minute.
IIUC, rape is a very common tactic in dictatorships - sorry to always bring that up, but don't forget that kaddafy had the bulgarian nurses raped by dogs to make them confess.
Here, we might have a special focus on homosexual rape because of of local psychosexual "habits"; while I don't doubt male prisoners have been raped by tortured all over the world and across the cultures (IIRC, sodomizing captured ennemies is a very common russian habit, that was and is a major sore point, no pun intended, even in now "pacified" chechnya), arabs seem to have "issues" here, this I gather from reading some israeli guys writing about how arab armies always try and feminize the adversary (notably by raping and/or emasculating prisoners or bodies, this was a notable SOP of the algerian FLN), or how arab secret polices use male-on-male rape to break political prisoners (read several bits about this, even way before getting online, heck, I read about a syrian - possible connection with the basiji's own FL - political prisoner being casually raped by his guards, back in a Reader's digest atleast 10-15 years ago).
The mysteries of the old and sophisticated east, I guess.
[Quqnoos] US air strikes have killed dozens of militants Tuesday night in the eastern Khost province, according to US military
Coalition troops launched an air strike overnight against senior Haqqani commanders on their safe havens in the western part of the restive Afghan province of Khost, a US defence department statement noted. "Coalition aircraft destroyed a pair of command bunkers, killing more than a dozen militants" the statement further said.
The militants were part of Haqqani network that allegedly facilitates foreign fighters in the eastern Afghanistan, a US military spokesman Col Greg Julian said in Kabul.
The spokesman for the coalition forces added that the operation is still in progress and will continue to target the top militant's leaders.
The US bombings have frequently caused civilian causalities but Col Julian said he is unaware of any civilian loss in the Khost air strike.
Haqqani network facilitates foreign fighters to come into Afghanistan and according to the US forces, the network spread them throughout the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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[Al Arabiya Latest] A United Nations commission appointed to investigate the assassination of Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto began work on Wednesday, a spokesman said, almost two years after the former prime minister was killed. Right about on schedule... Anyone see Carla del Ponte? Can't have an investigation start up without Carla ...
The panel, which has a six-month mandate, is being led by the Chilean ambassador to the U.N., Heraldo Munoz, and includes an Indonesian ex-attorney general and an Irish former police official.
" We want to know who was behind this, who had conspired it, who has financed it. And we think this was a big international conspiracy "
Interior minister
Bhutto, the first woman to become prime minister of a Muslim country, was killed on December 27, 2007 in a gun and suicide attack after addressing an election rally in Rawalpindi, a garrison city near the capital Islamabad.
"The six-month mandate of the Benazir Bhutto commission of inquiry has begun today. The commission is expected to visit Pakistan but the dates are not determined yet," Hiro Ueki, a U.N. spokesman in Pakistan, told AFP. Nah. Stay in Geneva. They got better restaurants.
The U.N. has said the panel will inquire into the facts and circumstances of the assassination, but have made clear it will be up to Pakistan to determine "the criminal responsibility of the perpetrators."
Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik said his government thought the murder was a "big international conspiracy. We want to know who was behind this, who had conspired it, who has financed it. And we think this was a big international conspiracy," Malik said in an interview with the BBC. Damn right, Rehman. The Foreign Hand boys. That's my bet...
"Obviously, there might be some actors within Pakistan or within the region, but we want really to expose the whole conspiracy, because we think that this was a kind of a beginning of an attempt to Balkanize Pakistan," he said. Oooh. Wouldn't want that...
It remains unclear who was behind Bhutto's killing but immediately after her murder, Pakistan blamed Qaeda and then the Taliban, both groups denied responsibility. Binny, wuz it you?
Wuzzn't me, Blinky. Wuz it you?
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea appears to be enriching uranium, potentially giving the state that has twice tested a plutonium-based nuclear device another path to making atomic weapons, South Korea's defense minister said on Tuesday.
And another path for sales to other, like-minded thug-states ...
"It is clear that they are moving forward with it," Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee told a parliamentary hearing, adding such a programme was far easier to hide than the North's current plutonium-based activities.
North Korea earlier this month responded to U.N. punishment for its most recent nuclear test in May by saying it would start enriching uranium for a light-water reactor. Experts said destitute North Korea lacks the technology and resources to build such a costly civilian reactor but may use the programme as a cover to enrich uranium for weapons.
North Korea, which has ample supplies of natural uranium, would be able to conduct an enrichment programme in underground or undisclosed facilities and away from the prying eyes of U.S. spy satellites.
Makes you wonder if they've been enriching all along. It's a pain to do but they have plenty of uranium and plenty of time. Perhaps they and Iran are working on this problem together.
The North's plutonium programme uses an aging reactor and is centered at its Soviet-era Yongbyon nuclear plant, which has been watched by U.S. aerial reconnaissance for years.
Proliferation experts said the North has purchased equipment needed for uranium enrichment, including centrifuges and high-strength aluminum tubes, but they doubt that Pyongyang has seriously pursued the project.
They bought centrifuges and tubes but they're not seriously pursuing it? How much more serious do they have to be to convince the experts? Shall we await the earth-shattering kaboom?
"It seems unlikely that North Korea will succeed in establishing a substantial enrichment capability ... in the near term," nuclear expert Hui Zhang wrote in an article this month in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, adding outside help from the likes of Pyongyang's ally Iran could speed up the process.
No kidding? By golly, it's like he reads Rantburg ...
A U.S. accusation that Pyongyang was clandestinely operating a uranium enrichment plan led to the breakdown of a 1994 disarmament deal. New, six-way nuclear talks began in 2003 but are now dormant after the North quit the process in April.
Which means we had suspicions, back in 2001, that the Norks were enriching uranium. Who thinks they gave it all up back then?
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2009
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[ADN Kronos] The elders of 260 Yemeni tribes have signed a document that criminalises the abduction and harming of foreigners in Yemen, the country's state media said on Wednesday. The elders - who come from the cities of Dhale, Mahara, Dhamar, Baidhaa, Lahj, Saada, Shabwa and Jawf - signed the document which also bans revenge, banditry and sheltering fugitives.
On Monday, hundreds of people gathered in the capital Sanaa to protest against the kidnapping of nine foreigners and the murder of three of them in north-western Yemen. The protest was organised by the country's tourism union. Gentlemen! We've got to protect our phony baloney jobs!
A German family of five and a British engineer were abducted as well as two German women and a South Korean woman during a picnic in the country's restive province of Saada on 12 June. Ahhh, to be picnicking in Yemen...
Two German women and the South Korean teacher were killed three days after the kidnapping.
But the fate of the German family and the British engineer is still unknown.
Yemen has developed a reputation as a haven for Islamist militants in recent years and there have been several attacks there against western targets and abductions of foreigners.
However, most foreigners are abducted by disgruntled tribesmen and most have been released unharmed.
The tribesmen kidnap foreigners as a means of bargaining with the government either to secure the release of jailed tribe members, for jobs or improved living conditions.
Yemeni authorities have accused Shia Zaidi rebels in Saada but the rebels have denied the charge.
However, an Al-Qaeda group reportedly operates in the region where the bodies of the foreigners was found.
The bodies were discovered one day after Hassan Hussein Alwan, said to be Al-Qaeda's finance chief in Yemen was arrested by authorities.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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Words, just empty words until the tribal elders take some action to stop thee abductions.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
07/02/2009 15:44
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When House Democratic leaders were rounding up votes Friday for the massive climate-change bill, they paid special attention to their colleagues from Ohio who remained stubbornly undecided.
They finally secured the vote of one Ohioan, veteran Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Toledo, the old-fashioned way. They gave her what she wanted - a new federal power authority, similar to Washington state's Bonneville Power Administration, stocked with up to $3.5 billion in taxpayer money available for lending to renewable energy and economic development projects in Ohio and other Midwestern states.
House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry A. Waxman, California Democrat, included the Kaptur project in a 310-page amendment to the legislation unveiled at 3 a.m. Friday, just hours before the bill was to be debated on the House floor. The amendment was packed with other vote-getting provisions, both large and small, that had been sought by dozens of wavering Democrats.
The wheeling and dealing proved successful. Mr. Waxman and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, backed by the personal lobbying of President Obama, won over enough lawmakers to pass the bill narrowly Friday evening, 219-212.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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Wow, and we (Israelis) complain endlessly about governmental corruption.
#4
For every government mandated "green" job, more than 2 jobs are lost in the productive economy to pay for it. Wost of all, that green job goes away when when government funding runs out, leaving Ms. Kaptur's constituents with nothing.
Posted by: ed ||
07/02/2009 10:01
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Remember these politicians who are so cavalier with the spending of taxpayer monies and don't forget the Tea Parties scheduled for July 4th and the elections of 2010.
#6
I suspect Barry and Rahm have something up their oily sleeves to overtake the upcoming July 4th Tea Party media coverage and poor unemployment news.
[ADN Kronos] Iran's Basij militia has called for an investigation into the role of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi in the violent street protests that followed last month's presidential election. The move came as a grenade attack was foiled against a religious shrine in the capital Tehran on Wednesday.
The semiofficial Fars news agency said the militia has sent Iran's chief prosecutor a letter accusing Mousavi of taking part in nine offences against the state, including "disturbing the nation's security."
That charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment.
The militia said that Mousavi was attempting to undermine state security and reports have been circulating that he could soon face a judge to respond to nine criminal offences against the state.
At least 20 people were killed and more than 1,000 were arrested in the protests that followed Ahmadinejad's re-election, which Mousavi supporters say was rigged.
"Police arrested 1,032 people in the recent riots. Many have been released and the rest are being prosecuted in Tehran's public and revolutionary courts," Iranian police chief Ahmadi Moghaddam was quoted as saying by Fars on Wednesday.
The Basiji are known as the street enforcers of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Mousavi is continuing to insist that he won the presidential election. He did not immediately respond to Wednesday's allegations.
Staff at the Imam Zadeh Saleh mausoleum found a grenade that had been left in a garbage can in the women's bathroom.
The grenade's safety pin had been removed and a piece of tape had been put in its place, said the chief of the Tehran section of the Charity Organisation, Yadollah Shirmardi, quoted by semi-official news agency Fars on Wednesday.
Shirmardi said the explosive device was set to explode ahead of evening prayers when the area is crowded.
The mausoleum - a popular tourist destination - is located near Tajrish square, one of the busiest parts of Tehran.
Imam Zadeh Saleh is the son of the seventh Shia Saint Musa al-Kazim, and the brother of Ali ar-Rida, the seventh descendant of Islam's Prophet Mohammed.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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#1
I have no more use for Mousavi than for Dinner Jacket. Like Hamas and Hezbollah. I do have sympathy for the people for whom these are the only choices, but for the true supporters of any of the above - let the Red on Red begin.
The U.S. on Tuesday stepped up pressure on North Korea, slapping sanctions on a North Korean trading company and an Iran-based Hong Kong firm under UN Security Council Resolution 1874, which was passed on June 12 in the wake of North Korea's second nuclear test.
This is good; not sure we needed to wait for the latest UN resolution but fine, they did it. Now they need to keep tightening the screws.
Under Executive Order 13382, the State Department on Tuesday banned Namchongang Trading Corporation, a North Korean firm suspected of involvement in the purchase of uranium enrichment equipment, from all transactions with enterprises and individuals in the U.S. and froze any U.S. assets held by the firm. The State Department said Namchongang has been "involved in the purchase of aluminum tubes and other equipment specifically suitable for a uranium enrichment program since the late 1990s."
The Treasury the same day said it was imposing sanctions on Hong Kong Electronics on Kish Island in southern Iran on suspicion of supporting North Korea's missile program. According to the Treasury, Hong Kong Electronics in April "facilitated the movement" of millions of dollars involved in the North's missile development program from Iran to North Korea on behalf of North Korea's Tanchon Commercial Bank and Korea Mining Development Trading Corp., both of which are subject to earlier UN sanctions.
This is the first time a foreign firm dealing with North Korea has been subject to sanctions under Resolution 1874.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2009
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[Al Arabiya Latest] It was for one of the biggest energy auctions in history that well-heeled executives braved the dust and danger of Baghdad this week to jet in and deliver bids for lucrative long-term oilfield contracts.
For months Iraq had hyped Tuesday's auction as a triumph in transparency and a bonanza for global firms, fending off critics at home by promising the multibillion-dollar service deals would mark a turning point for the struggling oil sector.
But by the end of the day, the carefully engineered auction had dissolved into chaos, with firms shaking their heads at exacting contract terms and wondering aloud how Iraq's cabinet would choose winners for deals that went unawarded.
In a cavernous hotel ballroom in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, exasperated executives crowded around a top auction official after a long day of bidding revealed a huge gap between what Iraq was prepared to pay them and what they expected.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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#1
So... Is someone too optimistic or just too greedy for the existing market?
#3
MMS lease auction system: there is a uniform nominal minimum bid, then any interested companies submit a secret bid for whatever amount they want, then the MMS checks the high bid against their own assessment of what the lease should cost. If the company bid is high enough, they get the lease, if not, the tract stays open. It kind of means that if you win the tract you paid too much.
#5
Other ways to make the determination:
1) Who's going to pay the most cash up front for the rights to explore (very useful when not much is known about how much is to be found and produced.)
2) Who's going to pay the most cash per barrel (as opposed to percentage) - useful when budgeting in a volitile oil price marketplace.
3) Who's going to hire the most natives, either in the oil projects or other committments - politically very useful.
4) Who's going to pay the biggest bribes - historically the most important but tougher these days (now done by paying 'fines' for imaginary infractions, especially 'green' infractions.)
#6
The thing is that the other option don't incentivise to get the oil out in the most profitable way, or provide ways to bribe state officials to undervalue assets.
[Kyodo: Korea] North Korea has issued navigation bans for 10 coastal sites along the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea citing military exercises, the Japan Coast Guard said Wednesday. According to the coast guard, which was informed of the bans by the North Korean government via e-mail, the latest move covers seven sites located off the Sea of Japan coast and three sites in waters off the Yellow Sea.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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#1
SOUTH KOREA believes that NOKOR may launch either a 300-500 KM IMPROVED SCUD-BASED MISSLE, or in altern a LR LAND-BASED ANTI-SHIP MISSLE.
Sen. Tom Davis, Gov. Mark Sanford's former chief of staff, said Wednesday he has spoken with both the governor and First Lady Jenny Sanford about the governor's future. Davis, in a statement, said only after those conversations and conversations with Attorney General Henry McMaster and SLED Chief Reggie Lloyd will he take a public position on Sanford's future.
"Obviously I have tremendous concern for my friends, Mark and Jenny Sanford and their family, but I also have a job to do as an elected official," said Davis, a Beaufort Republican. "Before any important decision I make comes due diligence, and I owe it to my constituents to perform that due diligence before taking a public position on an issue as important as whether to call for the resignation of a duly-elected statewide official."
"Accordingly, I have met today with the governor and members of his staff; I have had telephone conversations with my friend, Jenny Sanford; I have talked with the governor's legislative supporters and opponents; and I have talked with key reform leaders who have been fighting for the issues I believe in -- fiscal responsibility, limited government, market principles and individual liberty."
On Wednesday afternoon, Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell became the latest -- and one of the most significant -- members of the S.C. legislature to say the governor should consider stepping down after admitting to an affair.
In a statement, McConnell encouraged Sanford to do the right thing: "Neither I nor my colleagues in the General Assembly can require that the Governor resign," McConnell said in his statement. "That decision is his alone. I do believe, however, that the Governor has lost the support of the people that is needed to govern. Therefore, I would ask the Governor to look in his heart and decide whether with his family situation and the public uproar over what he has done and said locally and nationally whether he can lead our state for the remainder of his term."
Ten Republican state senators have asked the governor to step down, while others say they are leaning in that direction. The Associated Press is reporting that 14 Republican state senators are supporting a resignation, which is a majority of the 27 GOP members.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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#1
You stay right where you are, Sanford. Doing a clinton is not strange for the political class even as sad as it is. Just stay off the cameras for a while. Could you afford to just do governer work for awhile? And shut up and lay low and fix infrastructure and stuff?
#3
So, just because it is 'common enough' behavior, it's ok? I am sick and tired of the hypocrisy in this country. Than man is scum. Besides the infidelity, he vanished for several days. The fucking governor of a state was just gone, no one knew where he was. Not only that, he was using TAXPAYER money to fund his little affair. Sickening. And more sickening that people are defending him. If he was democrat you hypocrits would be demanding that he step down. And he should step down. He is a disgrace.
#4
Man up, conduct a professional handover, step down and end the sophomoric drama. You're doing the party and the State of South Carolina no good, no good at all. Worst of all, Barry and his cadre love it!
[Al Arabiya Latest] Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that one of three local British embassy staff still in detention had had a "remarkable role" in last month's post-election unrest in the Islamic Republic, according to a semi-official news agency.
Five of the detained Iranian staff at the British embassy in Tehran were freed while four were still being held for questioning, according to British officials. Wednesday's Fars news agency report suggested that one more person had also been freed.
" Among the three detained British embassy staff there was one who ... had a remarkable role during the recent unrest in managing it behind the scenes "
Fars news agency
"Among the three detained British embassy staff there was one who ... had a remarkable role during the recent unrest in managing it behind the scenes," Fars said, without giving a source.
It said another embassy employee had been a "main element behind the riots" but that she had been freed because she enjoyed diplomatic immunity.
The same news agency first revealed the detentions of what it said was eight British embassy staff on Sunday, saying they were accused of stirring unrest after Iran's disputed June 12 election, which moderate opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad say was rigged in his favor.
Iran has accused Western powers, but especially Britain, of inciting street protests and violence and the two countries have exchanged tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions. Britain has rejected the accusations.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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#1
I wonder if anybody revealed to the Mullahs the theory that Brits are descendants of the ten lost tribes?
Ameen Al-Peshawari allegedly provided assistance, including funding and recruits, to Al Qaeda and the Taliban currently fighting to regain control of Afghanistan. Qasmani is said to be the chief coordinator for Laskhar and Mujahid was the head of the group's media department. Javaid had allegedly served Lashkar's commander in Pakistan. The Treasury said its action came two days after Al-Peshawari, Qasmani and Mujahid were added to a UN blacklist of individuals.
This article starring:
ARIF QASMANI
Lashakar-e-Taiba
FAZILATTUL SHEIKH ABU MOHAMED AMIN AL PESHAWARI
Lashakar-e-Taiba
MOHAMED YAHYA MUJAHID
Lashakar-e-Taiba
NASIR JAVAID
Lashakar-e-Taiba
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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Tribesmen attacked Taliban hideouts in Kurram Agency, killing 28 Taliban on Wednesday as the intensifying battles prompted them to ask for army troops to help, said a local lawmaker.
At least seven tribesmen were also killed in the clash in Kurram which was the latest in two weeks of battles between the Taliban and tribesmen there that have killed 141 people -- including more than 100 Taliban, said two government officials.
Sajid Hussain Toori, a lawmaker from Kurram, said the Taliban were moving into Kurram from the Swat valley. He said hundreds of tribesmen took part in the attack early on Wednesday, triggering a gunbattle that killed 28 Taliban and seven tribesmen. "Kurram is an important place because the Taliban can cross the Afghan border from here easily," said Toori. "The lashkar is facing these armed Taliban, but we request that the government send troops to Kurram to fight the Taliban as quickly as possible."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/02/2009 1:18
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#3
What kind of uber-rich nutcase can't get a phony doctor's note? Jeez he got a doctor to prescribe him every kind of mind-numbing opiate in existence.
#4
The guy was sick. He was sick for a long time. How much was physical and how much was mental we will never know and it doesn't matter. He's dead, Jim.
ZAGREB, Croatia -- Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader unexpectedly resigned on Wednesday, saying he has decided to withdraw from politics after 20 years. At a hastily called news conference, Mr. Sanader told reporters: "My job has been done, my political life ends now."
Mr. Sanader has been Croatia's prime minister since 2003 and won a second term in November 2007. He said he would recommend to President Stipe Mesic to appoint the deputy prime minister, Jadranka Kosor, to replace him. If Mr. Mesic accepts that, parliament will have to approve Mr. Kosor within 30 days. If that fails, new elections are called. Mr. Kosor ran unsuccessfully for president in 2005.
Mr. Sanader, 54 years old, has been generally popular since taking over the Croatian Democratic Union in 2000, and his move came as a surprise. He insisted that the growing economic crisis and Croatia's deadlocked membership negotiations with the European Union didn't affect his decision.
"I never ran away from problems and challenges," he said, adding that his successors "will find a solution" for current problems too. "I have done my share; now it's time for others," he said.
He added that he is leaving "satisfied" since the country was admitted to the U.N. Security Council and NATO during his tenure and is "on the threshold" of the EU.
Despite Mr. Sanader's upbeat comments, he leaves with the country in its worst economic state since the devastating 1991 war. Gross domestic product fell 6.7% in the first quarter -- the biggest drop in 10 years, the country's Statistical Office reported earlier this week. Finance Minister Ivan Suker said this week that the budget might be revised for the second time next month. Also, the tourism industry -- the main source of foreign currency is recording losses due to the global financial crisis.
In addition, Croatia's bid to join the EU -- Mr. Sanader's goal for nearly a decade -- has been stopped by neighboring Slovenia, which has blocked negotiations because of a border dispute.
Mr. Sanader acknowledged that the EU snag "played a role" in his decision to resign. He scolded EU leaders for tolerating what he termed Slovenia's "blackmail."
Asked whether he really is leaving politics for good, Mr. Sanader said that he "cannot exclude" making a return. Croatian media have speculated that he plans to run for president in elections early next year.
Mr. Sanader, born to a poor Roman Catholic family in the southern city of Split, spent most of his early years in publishing and theater. He entered politics in 1992 and took over the Croatian Democratic Union in 2000, after the death of the nationalist President Franjo Tudjman. Mr. Sanader transformed the party -- once a bastion of nationalism in the Balkans -- into a Western-style conservative party.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2009
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#1
A politician wh just walks away? No defeat? No scandal? No arrest? He's a disgrace to the profession.
Reza was imprisoned in Tehran, and he said all sort of people were there. Some of them just unlucky people just walking in streets and captured for no reason.
Reza spent his first 48 hours of arrest at level -4 of ministry of interior building without food or water. According to Reza some of the injured people already passed out, and a taxi driver looked like dead by that time. Reza estimated around 200 people were in each room and there were not enough space to even sit on the ground. There was also an awful problem of only one toilet for all people in there and a impossible time limit of around 1 minute for each person. They randomly beat up people.
He said in the second day some pain cloth people came with papers forcing people to sign them. The papers were prewritten confessions all in different handwritings saying the signer violated national security and Islam. Reza said some people sign them and some other just faked their signatures and names. There were not enough confession papers for all people.
A man came and said the detainees would be released today, but an hour later another came and told them they would be in prison for 10 years.
So many people're put in Iran prison that prisoners only have standing space. They moved Reza and some of the selected people to Evin. Around 3am day 2 they started moving people in vans; Reza said a driver was talking to a Basiji about Evin prison is full.
They ran another confession show at Evin, this time with promise of instant freedom and new accusations.
But after they learned Reza is a student, they moved him to a harsher environment with some other prisoners. Guards prevented them from sleeping by keeping them standing all night long.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
07/02/2009
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Compare wid GUAM PDN FORUM > IS THERE A GITMO PRISON ALREADY IN PALAU? For 300 NON-SPARTAN MUSLIMS Palau was repor to accept beofre the recent "17 UIGHURS" fuss???
Fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Fazlullah has been critically injured in the ongoing military operation in Malakand Division, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Wednesday. "It has been confirmed that he has been hit and seriously injured," he told the BBC in an interview.
He said most "Taliban leaders" hid during the military action. "However, we will flush them out of their hideouts," he added. Malik urged the international community, especially the United Nations, to help Pakistan determine the source of the Taliban's funding. "The militants sitting in South Waziristan and planning terrorist activities, I won't call them Taliban, I would call them Zaliman (oppressors)," Malik said. To questions, he said the government had anticipated "unity" among the extremists once it launched an offensive against Baitullah Mehsud. "Be it Gul Bahadur or Commander Nazeer, be it Qari Hussain or Baitullah Mehsud or Hakimullah -- they are all branches of the same tree. They are all hardcore terrorists who should be called Zaliman and not Taliban," he added.
This article starring:
BAITULLAH MEHSUD
TTP
COMANDER NAZIR
TTP
GUL BAHADUR
TTP
HAKIMULLAH
TTP
MULLAH FAZLULLAH
TTP
QARI HUSEIN
TTP
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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[Maghrebia] Moroccan authorities referred four terror suspects to the public prosecutor of the Court of Appeal in Rabat on Monday (June 29th) on charges of forming a "criminal gang, preparation of terrorist acts, collecting funds for acts of terrorism, drug trafficking, car theft, and falsifying vehicle registration documents".
They will subsequently be referred to the investigation magistrate who examines terrorism cases in Salé.
Security officials announced the dismantling of a Salafia Jihadia terrorist cell last Friday, reporting the seizure of three Ceuta-registered vehicles and documents and audio tapes calling for jihad, legitimising suicide operations and killing hostages taken by al-Qaeda.
According to security authorities, the cell was planning violent strikes to destabilise Morocco, targeting tourist locations and diplomatic headquarters, while they had no intention of committing any acts on Spanish soil.
Local newspapers reported that the Spanish Intelligence Agency provided Moroccan authorities with detailed information leading to the raid on the cell. At the time of their arrest, the suspects were allegedly putting the final touches on their deadly plans.
The cell was reportedly led by 34-year old Abou Yacine, a resident of Ceuta. He served two years in prison following the 2006 dismantling of the "Ansar Al Mehdi" terrorist cell, which reportedly planned to overthrow the Moroccan monarchy.
Authorities said that members of the cell were involved in organised crime, justified under the principle of "istehlal", which is often used to excuse illicit behaviours.
According to press reports, the cell cultivated relations with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and various types of smugglers and terrorists in Morocco and Europe.
"The most important pillar in the ideology of the jihadist salafist movement is the call for political change through violent opposition to existing regimes," Mohammed Darif, an expert in Islamist armed groups, told Magharebia.
Darif said that many such groups benefit from the principle of istehlal.
"It's a principle on which jihadist salafism is based, and it regards taking the blood and money of others as permissible within sharia, so long as it considers them infidels," he said.
Darif added that the allegiance of these groups to al-Qaeda "makes them even more dangerous, as they can benefit from the [group's] logistical support".
Hassan, a young Moroccan man, spoke to Magharebia about the successful raid.
"No one has the right to undermine the stability of our nation," he said. "We reject the chaos that these groups intend to drag us into."
The young man suggested that terrorism is a cultural problem, rather than a security problem. "We have to stage a cultural revolution," he said, "to stand in the face of extremism."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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[Beirut Daily Star: Region] A senior military officer suspected of drafting an alleged plan to undermine Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) was arrested late Tuesday on suspicion of links to a separate plot to topple the government, state-run Anatolia said. Anatolia said Cicek was arrested for his suspected links to a shadowy, right-wing organization known as "Ergenekon," which prosecutors say planned a campaign of assassinations and bombings to provoke a military coup. Several retired and serving officers have been arrested in the "Ergenekon" case.
Taraf newspaper, which reported last month an alleged military plot to undermine the AKP by manipulating the media and whipping up nationalist angst, said Cicek drafted the document. The military has disowned the plan and said it would not prosecute Cicek as it was unclear if the document was fake.
Earlier in the day, civilian leaders and top generals met amid tensions over the alleged army plots and moves in parliament to curb the army's powers.
The meeting of the National Security Council (MGK), which lasted for nearly eight hours, took place amid angry protests by the once-omnipotent Turkish army that it has become the target of a "growing and organized" smear campaign.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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At least 110 Christian families, almost 700 people, were forced on Tuesday night to flee Bahmniwala, a village in Kasur, after angry mobs attacked and threatened to burn their houses for allegedly committing blasphemy.
The families sought safety in the fields surrounding their village, even as local mosques urged the Muslims to unite and "teach a lesson" to the Christians, residents told Daily Times. However, locals told Daily Times the problem started when a Christian boy, Arif Mashi, was travelling on a tractor and asked a Muslim boy, Muhammad Riaz, to allow him to pass. When Riaz refused, the two quarrelled.
Following this incident, on Tuesday night, a mob attacked houses of the area's Christian community with petrol-bombs, destroying their electricity meters and thrashing any Christians they found. On Wednesday, the Muslim community refused to communicate with the Christian community, boycotting their businesses. The Christians who returned to their homes found they had no electricity or drinking water the entire day. "Despite the presence of police, the mosques continued to urge a complete Christian boycott," Sohail Johnson, chief coordinator of the Sharing Life Ministry, said.
Human Rights and Minority Affairs Minister Kamran Michael said he had asked officials of the Revenue Department to compile an estimate of the loss suffered by the Christian community. He said justice would be ensured, adding the government would investigate the people responsible for turning the incident into a religious issue.
A committee comprising Christian and Muslim elders of the area, led by Kasur District Coordination Officer (DCO) Abdul Jabbar Shaheen, was formed on Wednesday to look into the matter and negotiate a peace deal between the two groups. The committee has been given four days to settle the matter.
Posted by: Fred ||
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One state senator's urge for a Coca Cola led to the latest fracas inside the New York State Capitol building in Albany on Tuesday.
As state Democrats convened around noon to hold a one-party session, Republican Sen. Frank Padavan of Queens walked through the chamber on a hunt for the soda machine -- a caffeine quest that would later result with him being tallied as voting with the Democrats.
Padavan reportedly claimed he was taking a short-cut to the members' lounge, but the 31 Democrats seized the opportunity to count him as their 32nd vote and unanimously passed 125 bills in three hours with Republicans absent -- the latest attempt to break the 3-week-old stalemate that has caused a power struggle in Albany.
Democrats won a majority in New York's state Legislature in January following years of Republican control over the state Senate. But in an effort to toss power back to the GOP, two rebellious Democrats -- Sen. Pedro Espada of the Bronx and Sen. Hiram Monserrate of Queens -- switched parties June 8 to join the Republicans. Monserrate, however, has since rejoined the Democrats, creating a 31-31 stalemate in the Senate.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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#1
Why does New York elect morons to state office?
The interim Honduran president has rejected an ultimatum from American governments to reinstate ousted leader Manuel Zelaya to the presidency. The ongoing political crisis has sparked new protests. Interim President Roberto Micheletti is facing new foreign pressure to allow the return of President Manuel Zelaya, who was forced to leave the country on Sunday.
The United States, United Nations and many Latin American nations have refused to acknowledge the government that took control from Mr. Zelaya, who has been accused of criminal charges. The Organization of American States (O.A.S.) went a step further Wednesday and said Honduras has 72 hours to reinstate Mr. Zelaya or the regional group may suspend the nation's membership.
In Tegucigalpa, Mr. Micheletti said his government will not bow to outside pressure, and that he is not fazed by the overwhelming negative reaction from foreign governments. The interim leader said he is confident that Honduras will not be isolated for long, and that other countries will begin to understand how the new government has saved the country. He added that God is with the new government to help it resolve the crisis.
He said officials from the new government were beginning to reach out to Washington and other foreign partners to offer details on why Mr. Zelaya was removed from power. Officials have announced a criminal investigation into the ousted leader, who is accused of 18 offenses including treason and abuse of power.
Still, pressure is mounting on the interim government, as Spain and France recalled their ambassadors to Honduras. In Washington, the Pentagon said it was suspending military activities while officials reassess the situation. U.S. military forces operate a security and counter-drug operation from the Soto Cano airbase outside the Honduran capital.
Meantime, the president of the Honduran Commission for Human Rights offered a proposal aimed at easing the political crisis between the interim government and foreign allies. Ramon Custodio said election officials should consider holding a referendum on whether to allow Mr. Zelaya to return to power or not. Custodio said the vote would offer a response to the international community, and show that only the Honduran people can decide the country's future.
The announcement marked a shift from the human rights chief, who has said officials acted properly in removing Mr. Zelaya and that the interim government has full authority. Custodio says he has received scores of threats for his actions, but says he will not be intimidated.
Supporters of the interim government held a large rally in the southern city of Choluteca on Wednesday, and smaller rallies took place in the capital. Also, some medical workers and school employees walked off their jobs after labor unions called for a strike until Mr. Zelaya is returned to power. Many schools have been closed since the coup, but businesses in the capital continue to operate
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2009
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#1
Good for them, Uphold the rule of law, defy Dictators and wannabe Dictators like Obama.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/02/2009 1:24
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#3
"...Ramon Custodio said election officials should consider holding a referendum on whether to allow Mr. Zelaya to return to power or not. Custodio said the vote would offer a response to the international community, and show that only the Honduran people can decide the country's future."
Obama (and Castro and Chavez and Ortega) would likely reject the vote before its even held.
Posted by: Lord garth ||
07/02/2009 7:15
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#4
A government with a spine. Keep it up Honduras. If your old president broke the law, you have nothing to be ashamed of.
#5
Sen. Feinstein said Sunday that she thought it was crucial for the United States not to be perceived as interfering with Iran's internal politics.
US President Barack Obama's Spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Wednesday that the president discussed universal principles such as the right to peacefully demonstrate and stressed that they should be observed in Iran.
"The President will continue to express those concerns and ensure that we are not meddling," he [Gibbs] said.
"It is not productive, given the history of US and Iranian relations to be seen as meddling in Iranian elections," [Obama] said.
#8
What about not "meddling" in Honduras?
Posted by: Willy 2009-07-02 10:32
Well said Willy. However, as has been said here and elsewhere in the past, Bambi could use this flouting of the Honduran constitution as a precedent for his own future actions.
NYPD publishes handbook for landlords, security personnel
"We understand that the threat of terrorism will remain a serious concern for the foreseeable future -- and we continue to do everything possible to prevent another attack and mitigate the harmful effects one might cause," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly touted a 100-page report "Engineering Security" as an ideal safety roadmap for property owners. "We have also provided in the publication and online the tools to calculate the risk to your building," Kelly told a group of owners gathered at One Police Plaza.
Police used the example of how a truck bomb filled with explosives can be loaded and driven to a target to illustrate the continuing terrorist threat. The report urged property owners to improve perimeter security, design buildings that can better withstand a blast, step up screening of visitors, design emergency evacuation plans and safeguard air systems in the event of a chemical attack.
These are not just lessons from 9-11, police said. The NYPD outlined more then 10 terrorist plots in past past years with the city in the cross-hairs of al Qaeda as well as homegrown groups. These included plans to attack the Citicorp Center and other landmarks, as well as plots on trains and transportation hubs. "Terrorist intention to attack New York city's people, building or critical infrastructures is unambiguous," said David Cohen, Deputy Commissioner of the NYPD's Intelligence Division.
Officials said the report was designed to help existing buildings as well as future ones. The NYPD has given its opinion on plans for ground zero and the building of the New Yankee Stadium and Citifield. Real Estate Groups and the city's building commissioner welcomed the report. "It will also act as an important tool for property owners to identify how to protect their buildings in the design phase," said Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri.
Also on Wednesday, President Ahmadinejad's office announced his trip to an African Union summit in Libya has been cancelled without giving any reason. "The president's visit to the summit that was supposed to start on Wednesday has been cancelled," said a presidential office spokesman.
Ahmadinejad was scheduled to join the summit of African leaders, which is set to get underway in Libya, to investigate Agricultural investment in Africa.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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Suspected Taliban killed a pro-government tribal leader, his driver and two gunmen on Wednesday while they were on their way to Peshawar. The vehicle of Malik Guli Shah of the Kokikhel tribe was ambushed on the main highway near Tedi Bazaar, Jamrud. The driver and one of the gunmen were shot and killed immediately, while Guli Shah and the other gunman died at a Peshawar hospital. Relatives of Guli Shah later protested against the government in Jamrud Bazaar.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Israel held firm once more against a total settlement freeze in defiance of international protocols and past peace agreements as talks on Tuesday between its Defense Minister Ehud Barak and United States envoy George Mitchell appeared to be at an impasse.
A public rift between Washington and Tel Aviv was starkly revealed as Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak refused to budge on freezing settlement growth in the West Bank and asserted the Jewish state's right to what it calls "natural growth."
The talks came after a meeting scheduled last week between the two was cancelled, in what was seen as an Israeli-U.S. tension.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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BAGHDAD -- Now that a BP PLC-led consortium has won the rights to rehabilitate one of the world's biggest oil fields in Iraq, the real work for the British giant and its Chinese partner is just beginning. The project will be a test case for how Western oil companies will be received in Iraq.
The BP consortium, which includes China National Petroleum Co. as the minority partner, won a fee-based contract to boost production at Iraq's Rumaila oil field.
Other major oil concerns, such as Exxon Mobil Corp., ConocoPhillips and Italy's Eni SpA, walked away from the bidding round this week, saying the ministry's terms -- in some cases payouts of as little as $2 per barrel of oil pumped -- weren't acceptable. Still, big oil companies, eager for new frontiers, will likely remain interested in Iraq, home to some of the world's largest reserves. India's ONGC; China's CNOOC and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec; Korea Gas Corp., or Kogas; and Russia's OAO Lukoil and OAO Gazprom, all were involved in the failed bids on Tuesday.
Iraq's cabinet officially approved the BP-led offer on Wednesday. It rejected bids submitted for six other fields, saying the bidders' demands for per-barrel payouts were too high. An eighth contract -- Mansuriya gas field -- in the volatile Diyala region drew no bidders.
The oil ministry is considering its next step, including whether to include the remaining fields in a second bidding round later in the year.
The successful BP-CNPC bid has cemented Beijing as a big player in Iraq, following the Chinese company's $3 billion deal late last year to develop a field in southern Iraq. Despite the terms, industry analysts say the consortium can make a profit in the deal, though the returns will be far less than initially expected.
The prize for BP is a rare opening to pump crude in the Middle East, where most of the world's oil is concentrated and which is largely off-limits to major oil concerns. A BP spokesman declined to comment. The project won't have a big impact on the value of BP's global portfolio, with the rates of return marginal and the upfront costs high, said Alex Munton, an Iraq specialist at oil consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
"But this is still a viable project economically," he said. "And where else in the world can you access an opportunity on this scale?"
BP's Rumaila deal faces other big uncertainties and challenges. Some Iraqi lawmakers are saying they have legal authority to vet the contract. The oil ministry maintains BP's contract needs approval only from Iraq's cabinet. Meanwhile, Iraq's parliament hasn't passed a petroleum law laying out the ground rules for foreign investment in the country's petroleum sector. This week's auction round was meant to spearhead development despite that stalled legislation.
Some executives have questioned whether contracts signed by the current government will be honored by the new government, due to take power after elections next year. And it is unclear how BP and CNPC will work with Iraq's state-owned oil companies, which now control almost every facet of production. One of the prospective local partners -- the South Oil Co., based in Basra in southern Iraq -- already has signaled its reluctance to work with the bid winners. "There are a lot of unknowns about how things will run on the ground," said Nadia Salem, Iraq legal team leader for Dubai-based Al Tamimi & Company, which advised some of the companies participating in the bid.
But Iraq -- suffering from a cash crunch due to faltering oil production and lower global crude prices -- has an interest in making BP's entry into Iraq smooth. "We will make every effort for them to succeed," said Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2009
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Three of Iran's most prominent opposition leaders flagrantly courted arrest yesterday by denouncing President Ahmadinejad's Government as illegitimate, one day after the regime said that it would tolerate no more challenges to the election result.
Mir Hossein Mousavi, the former Prime Minister who lost the election said that he was forming a political group to defend citizens' rights and votes, which suggested that he is preparing a campaign of resistance against Mr Ahmadinejad and his patron, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader. He still has powerful supporters including two former presidents, Mr Khatami and Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Ali Larijani, the parliamentary speaker. Ayatollah Mohammed Khatami, 65, a popular former President, accused the regime of mounting a "velvet revolution against the people and democracy" and called the security crackdown "poisonous". Mehdi Karroubi, 72, another defeated presidential candidate, said that "visible and invisible forces blocked any change in the executive power". He added: "I will continue the fight under any circumstances and using every means." The regime responded by shutting down his newspaper.
One Iranian analyst expressed astonishment at their audacity. "It looks like they're trying to become living martyrs," he said. "At the very least they will be put under house arrest. At worst they will be taken to jail and charged with threatening national security."
Forced from the streets by the security forces, Mr Mousavi's supporters are also preparing a campaign of civil disobedience. They are talking of strikes, boycotting goods advertised in the state-controlled media, moving money out of government-controlled banks and giving money directly to the needy instead of government-controlled charities.
That last would actually be felt by President Ahmadinejad and his supporters among the mullahs.
Analysts say that anger will grow and could erupt at football matches, prayer meetings or anywhere that large numbers gather. They say that opposition supporters will go underground and stage lightning demonstrations. They also expect some elements to start launching violent attacks on government targets.
In a possible sign of the regime's anxiety Mr Ahmadinejad abruptly cancelled a visit to Libya for an African Union summit yesterday.
That last bit may actually be meaningful information. After all, didn't Mr. Ahmadinejad run off to some meeting in Russia when things started getting interesting back home?
Al Franken's victory in the Minnesota Senate race gives Democrats a filibuster-proof majority in that chamber, and President Obama wants to keep it that way. That's why he has been asking Democrats across the country to refrain from challenging incumbent Democratic senators in primary races. But Representatives Joe Sestak and Carolyn Maloney are disregarding Mr. Obama's request. Both have announced their candidacy for 2010 Senate Democratic primaries.
According to the Pennsylvanian Wayne Independent, Sestak said Wednesday that he will challenge Senator Arlen Specter, the Republican-turned-Democrat of Pennsylvania. Speculation about Sestak's bid has been circulating for some time now. Last week, he wrote in a fundraising e-mail saying that he believed Specter would not be reelected to the Senate and that it was "time for a change."
"The leading polling organization in the state released its latest poll that finds a strong majority -- 57% -- of Pennsylvanians now believe Arlen Specter does not deserve to be reelected to the U.S. Senate; that it's time for a change!" Sestak wrote,as Politico reports.
According to a newly released Rassmussen poll, Specter is leading Sestak 51 percent to 32 percent, although Sestak hadn't officially announced his candidacy at the time of the survey. Former potential challenger Joe Torsella has already endorsed Specter, saying that he will "work hard" on issues "most important to me and families across Pennsylvania," Talking Points Memo reports.
Specter defected from the GOP in part because it would boost his chances for reelection.
A spokeswoman for Carolyn Maloney, meanwhile, announced today that the New York representative would run against incumbent New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, the Associated Press reports. "She's definitely decided to run," a senior adviser to Maloney told the New York Daily News
According to the AP, a statement by Maloney's chief strategist Paul Blank says that the representative feels New York needs a "strong, experienced and independent leader." Blank also says Maloney will make the announcement herself in two weeks. A recent Quinnipiac University poll shows Maloney leading Gillibrand among Democrats 27 percent to 23 percent with 44 percent undecided, CNN reports.
Gillibrand was appointed to the Senate by New York governor David Paterson to fill the seat vacated by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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#1
Is Sestak likely to run against Specter from the right? I don't know him, he's not from 'round these parts. If he does, he's probably got my primary vote. No promises about the general. Depends on whether Ridge pisses me off more than he already has these last ten years or so.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
07/02/2009 16:35
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The U.S. doesn't see any indication North Korea is poised to test-launch a long-range ballistic missile capable of landing near the Hawaiian Islands, according to four government officials. The officials don't rule out the firing of short- and medium-range missiles capable of reaching Japanese waters.
More details about why the officials think this at the link... but it is Bloomburg, not Special Forces News (if there is such a thing).
#2
I think a wise move would be to intercept at sea, any ships timed to enter american harbors from NORK, around, or slightly before any missile launch, seems to me a good idea to launch (Hey LOOK OVER HERE, AN OBVIOUS DISTRACTION) and ship in a nuke laden vessel at the sme time, then when the missile's launched wait a short while and BOOM.
Looks like the missile got through.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/02/2009 1:36
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Ummm, elsewhere in todays Burg it was announced NORK's today launched 2 anti-ship missiles?
What? They don't count?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/02/2009 16:19
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[Iran Press TV Latest] Pentagon officials claim the US has postponed all military cooperation with Honduras which has been hosting American troops for more than two decades. On Wednesday, Defense Department Spokesman Bryan Whitman said, "We've postponed any activities in Honduras right now while we are assessing the situation," AFP reported.
Currently about 600 US forces operate rotationally in the Soto Cano air base some 80 kilometers from the capital, Tegucigalpa. The base has been housing the Americans since the 1980s.
Two days before, The Miami Herald had quoted the United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), which overseas the country's Central and South American operations, as saying that no changes had been imposed on the duty descriptions of the troops.
Earlier in the day, the Latin American membership of the Organization of American States (OAS) claimed it was mandated to return the rule of people to the turmoil-hit Central American nation. The Washington-based grouping ordered its Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza to "undertake, together with representatives of various countries, diplomatic initiatives aimed at restoring democracy and the rule of law." The regional players gave the interim Honduran Leader Roberto Micheletti, whom they accuse of seizing power by force from the President Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales, a 72-hour deadline to restore the exiled leader. The Washington-based body said Tegucigalpa would face suspension from the body unless it respected the ultimatum.
The Obama administration said Wednesday it has suspended joint military operations with Honduras to protest a coup that forced President Manuel Zelaya into exile. Officials said the administration is still reviewing the possibility of cutting off U.S. aid.
At the State Department, spokesman Ian C. Kelly said the department's top diplomat for the Americas, Thomas Shannon, met with Zelaya at OAS headquarters on Tuesday evening. Kelly would not reveal details, except to say Zelaya thanked the administration for supporting his unconditional return to power.
Kelly said he was not aware of any plan to recall the U.S. ambassador from the Honduran capital. Another official, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal deliberations, said the administration believes it stands a better chance of achieving a peaceful outcome if it keeps a diplomat in Tegucigalpa.
The official also said the U.S. was not advocating that the matter be taken up by the U.N. Security Council.
The General Assembly is a talk shop. It only matters if the Security Council chooses to act.
Kelly said the administration was still studying whether the forced removal of Zelaya was a military coup in a legal sense that would trigger a cutoff or suspension of American financial assistance.
This may be the beginning of walking back President Obama's original position.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman would not be specific, but the suspension could have broad implications because the United States runs a large Central American security and counternarcotics operation from a jointly run air base in Honduras. Whitman said only operations affecting Honduras itself are on hold.
Counternarcotics work should be significantly reduced now that former President Zelaya has left the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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#1
Obama could still order our troops to work in conjunction with Venezuela and Nicaragua to enforce the mandates of the OSA and UN. I'm begining to believe our President is not well informed about who our friends are.
#2
BS. You back Honduras now or my backing for this government ceases. Back Israel as well. I do not play games with ignorance or bad policy that refutes law. Iran I put up with, this I shall not.
#4
Uphold and defend the constitution is all the Honduran Military did there - the Honrudan Supreme Court gave the Honduran Army the order to oust the lawbreaker ZeLiar for violating the Honduran constitution in contravention to Honduran Congress and the Honduran Supremes.
When will the dominant media tell the truth about this?
My guess is never since it show Obama to either be a complicit fool who is stooging for Chavez, or a fucking stupid moron who acted but didn't know the law.
#6
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman would not be specific, but the suspension could have broad implications because the United States runs a large Central American security and counternarcotics operation from a jointly run air base in Honduras. Whitman said only operations affecting Honduras itself are on hold.
No one should be questioning Barry's motives on this one. I fail to see General Jim Jones footprint on any of this. In fact, I've not seen much of him lately.
Got that part right anyway. or well educated either,
*Yes I know he supposedly graduated from Hahvahd, it shows either he bought his diploma, or used influence, he sure as hell did not absorb the knowledge offered.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/02/2009 16:39
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[Iran Press TV Latest] California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declares a fiscal emergency as lawmakers failed to pass a budget to close the state's $ 24.3 billion gap.
The emergency means that the state may start issuing IOU's instead of checks as soon as Wednesday. Schwarzenegger also ordered state workers to take a third unpaid day of leave every month, to help save the largest state in the US some 1 billion dollars annually.
Schwarzenegger declared the emergency after lawmakers failed to agree on a balanced budget prior to the start of the fiscal year which began on Wednesday morning. The Democratic majority did pass a bill, but Schwarzenegger vetoed it because it contained tax increases and not the roster of cuts and political reform that the former action movie star had advocated.
Schwarzenegger vowed to veto every bill until a budget is passed.
In Washington, White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs said the administration was eyeing California's crisis but had no plans to intervene. He touted the 144 billion dollars that went to struggling states as part of broader economic stimulus package approved in February.
"There are a number of states that find themselves at the end of the fiscal year and required to pass budgets. We're certainly watching," Gibbs said in Washington.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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ION LITTLE GREEN FOOTBALS > GLEN BECK AND MICHAEL SHEUER [former CIA Agent]> GLEN BECK Prog > [Sheuer]OSAMA MAY HAVE TO ATTACK AND DETONATE A NUCLEAR BOMB IN THE USA TO SAVE IT FROM ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION.
#7
No $hit Arnold. The genie has been out of the bottle for some time. After decades of liberal policies, run away government, rampant government spending, the fleeing of businesses, providing government welfare and services to everyone legal and illegal,in California, you are surprised? I don't know what will fix California or if it can be fixed.
#8
Beware the Fed Repo Man: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed closing 220 state parks. But the National Park Service warned in a letter to Schwarzenegger that six of those parks are on former federal land that could revert to the U.S. government if they are not kept open as parks.
#9
Doesn't the government pay for the courts?
if so try cutting judges pay, and the screaming will reach deafening levels, issue them IOU"s instead of pay.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/02/2009 17:13
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California after Man.... you wouldn't know we'd been there.
Man's environmental footprint would, according to a report in New Scientist, begin to deteriorate almost immediately, with light pollution the first to go as power stations ceased to provide energy.
By tomorrow, street lights and house lights left on by their former occupants would start to go out.
Streets and cultivated fields would be the next to go.
Within 20 years, village streets and rural roads would have vanished under a thick matting of weeds; fields would be overgrown within months.
Urban streets would take a little longer, but even in huge man-made sprawls such as London and Sydney, plants would have taken over within about 50 years. Buildings would decay rapidly. Wooden structures would collapse first, assaulted by bugs and grubs. All such homes would be gone in a century.
Glass and steel tower blocks that create city skylines would mostly fall down within 200 years.
Brick, stone and concrete structures would last longer.
With exceptions - the pyramids are already 3000 years old - by the next millennium there would be little more left than ruins.
#11
Sounds like an "envirionmentalist's" wet dream, B.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/02/2009 17:41
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They're ignoring massive earthworks, like dams (Solid concrete, acts like solid rock) Interstate and other major highways where they cut through small hills, and railroad cuts.
Those would remain.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/02/2009 19:18
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as would the bridges I work on
/full of shit bravado
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/02/2009 19:30
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#14
Ya know Ahnauld, your movie Commando* had a very satisfactory solution for a spendthrift legislature.
* I think Commando had the highest BPM (Bodycount Per Minute) of any movie.
Posted by: ed ||
07/02/2009 22:16
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LOWER HELMAND RIVER VALLEY, AFGHANISTAN (Reuters) U.S. Marines launched a helicopter assault early on Thursday in the lower Helmand river valley in southern Afghanistan, spokesman Capt. Bill Pelletier said.
A Reuters correspondent in the valley saw flares in the sky over the town of Nawa, south of the provincial capital Lashkar Gah.
Nearly 4,000 Marines and U.S. sailors are taking part in the assault, code-named Operation Khanjar (Strike of the Sword), along with about 650 Afghan troops and police, a Marines press statement said.
"What makes Operation Khanjar different from those that have occurred before is the massive size of the force introduced, the speed at which it will insert and the fact that where we go we will stay, and where we stay, we will hold ..." it quoted Brigadier General Larry Nicholson, commanding officer of the Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, as saying.
The valley of irrigated wheat and opium fields along the Helmand river is largely in the hands of Taliban fighters who have resisted British-led NATO forces for years.
The United States has sent 8,500 Marines to Helmand province in the last two months, the largest wave of a massive buildup of forces that will see the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan rise from 32,000 at the beginning of this year to 68,000 by year's end.
President Barack Obama has declared the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan to be the main security threat facing the United States.
Helmand province is one of the Taliban's main heartlands in southern Afghanistan and produces the largest share of the country's opium crop which supplies 90 percent of the world's heroin.
Attacks by Taliban fighters are at their highest levels since the strict Islamists were driven out of Kabul by U.S.-backed Afghan opponents in 2001 after refusing to turn over Osama bin Laden in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the United States.
U.S. and NATO commanders have said they intend to deploy American reinforcements to seize Taliban-held territory in the south in time for Afghanistan to hold a presidential election on August 20.
Thousands of British forces, fighting under NATO command, have been in Helmand since 2006 with broadly the same strategy, but security has deteriorated. They have met with stronger resistance than initially expected against Taliban fighters bankrolled by the vast opium and heroin trade.
Spokeswoman Capt. Elizabeth Mathias said the soldier went missing Tuesday.
"We are using all of our resources to find him and provide for his safe return," Mathias said.
Mathias did not provide details on the soldier, the location where he was captured or the circumstances.
"We are not providing further details to protect the soldier's well-being," she said.
An Afghan police official said the soldier went missing during the day Tuesday in the Mullakheil area of eastern Paktika province. Gen. Nabi Mullakheil said there is an American base in the area.
Posted by: ed ||
07/02/2009 9:49
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If he is still alive then probably in Pakistan by now.
Posted by: ed ||
07/02/2009 9:51
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Fox just reported he's "been missing for 3 days" and was "outside the wire with three indig." Bad smell to it, very bad.
#7
I wonder if this is a repeat of the episode in Iraq when a Lebanese immigrant US soldier essentially defected and went back to Lebanon.
Posted by: ed ||
07/02/2009 10:08
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Saw in the paper this a.m. that Gen. Nicholson said the marines were going to build and live in small outposts among the local population. He said: "We're going to be with the people. We're not going to drive to work. We're going to walk to work."
O.K. to try to win the "hearts and minds" but such policies may lead to more kidnappings.
[Beirut Daily Star: Region] Iran's embattled opposition leader urged his supporters Wednesday to keep pressing for their rights, and he joined a reformist ex-president to denounce what both men called the regime's "coup" against those contesting the outcome of last month's presidential election.
Mir Hossein Mousavi said Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government would be illegitimate, and demanded the release of all political prisoners and the institution of electoral reforms and press freedoms, while former President Mohammad Khatami lashed out at what he termed "a poisonous security situation" in the wake of violent street protests.
In separate but equally stinging statements posted on their Web sites, Khatami accused Iran's leadership of a "velvet coup against the people and democracy," and Mousavi said the government's crackdown on demonstrators was "tantamount to a coup."
"Given what has been done and declared unilaterally, we must say that a velvet revolution has taken place against the people and democratic roots of the system," Khatami said, alluding to the government's declaration of incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the winner of the June 12 election.
"People's protests were suppressed, those who were required to protect people's rights humiliated the people yet it [the government] speaks of national reconciliation and peace," Khatami said.
The two men's latest displays of defiance came as Iran's Basij militia accused Mousavi of undermining national security and asked a prosecutor to investigate his role in violent protests, and the European Union considered a pullout of all 27 of its ambassadors in protest.
Mousavi said he was troubled by "the bitter, widespread distrust of the people toward the declared election results and the government that caused it."
"It's not yet too late," said Mousavi, who has slipped from public view in recent days. "It's our historic responsibility to continue our complaint and make efforts not to give up the rights of the people." Mousavi also condemned alleged attacks by security forces on college dormitories where "blood was spilled and the youth were beaten," and he called for a return to a more "honest" political environment in the Islamic Republic.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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[Mail and Globe] Zimbabwe's former finance minister Simba Makoni on Wednesday launched a new opposition party that promises to "clean up" the country's political landscape. I'm not sure that, as Zim's former finance minister, I'd try running on a record of "proven accomplishment." Stick with "change." ...and "hope"
Mavambo Kusile Dawn (MKD), meaning "The Beginning of a New Dawn" in the Shona language, was launched at a low-key event in Mbare township, southwest of Harare.
"We are launching this party on a mission to clean up the politics of Zimbabwe," Makoni, who is the party's interim leader, told a group of supporters.
"We offer ourselves to support and assist the inclusive government, we have resources at our disposal so that Zimbabwe can get working again," said Makoni.
In 2001 Makoni publicly admitted that Zimbabwe's economy was in a state of crisis as poverty was spreading at an alarming rate.
"I would have to be foolish to deny what is evident to everybody in broad daylight, even in the darkness of night," he said at the time.
The following year he quit his position as finance minister, citing policy differences with President Robert Mugabe.
The 59-year-old Makoni has been denounced by Mugabe as a "prostitute" of the West and a "bloated frog" following his resignation from the Zanu-PF in 2008.
He then wanted to contest the controversial March 2008 presidential election as an independent candidate.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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[Geo News] The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has announced deportation of five persons over carrying illegal traveling documents. According to FIA sources, five persons were arrested at Jinnah international airport as they had arrived Pakistan having illegal traveling documents who had come here two days ago through Saudi airline. Arrested persons failed to prove their Pakistan nationality during FIA's two daylong investigation. Subsequently, FIA decided to deport them from country and will send to Saudi Arabia on Thursday morning, sources added. The Interior Ministry has been apprised of the situation, FIA sources said indicating that a notice has been served on Saudi airline, asking the declaration of the identity of those five arrested.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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[Kyodo: Korea] The U.N. World Food Program said Wednesday that a drying up of international food aid has given rise to a ""dramatic"" food shortage in North Korea and the WFP has been forced to scale back emergency operations trying to feed millions of hungry in the North. At a press conference in Beijing to call donor-community attention to what it called a severe situation in the reclusive North, WFP country representative Torben Due said only slightly more than 2 million of a planned 6.2 million people are now receiving food aid under its humanitarian food program.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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Story here a few days ago said they were selling us food aid to china for cash.
The hell with them, if true, the "Starvation" is engineered for pity.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/02/2009 0:58
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China never seems to get mentioned in these "the Norks are starving" stories. Let them feed their sock puppet.
#8
Its worse than that - Bambi will give the food to Kimmie - who will repackage it (as being provided from HIM) and give it to his Military and party favorites (or sell it to China) - that way he can divert even more funds to nuclear weapons.
To hell with the Peasants - they can eat tree bark and edible clay.
Yeah, I'll bet Five-O's on it too...
[Iran Press TV Latest] Iran's Police Chief, Brig. Gen. Esmail Ahmadi-Moqaddam, says Interpol is searching for a man who witnessed the death of Neda Agha-soltan.
Neda was shot dead in a central Tehran street on June 20, amid the post-election unrest in the capital city and her death has turned into a controversial issue.
Iranian authorities say that security forces have not fired at protesters, adding that the incident was "a premeditated scenario" to defame Iran.
Arash Hejazi, an Iranian physician, however, has told the BBC that he witnessed the incident and that a member of the Basij had shot at Neda, a claim strongly dismissed by the volunteer force. "Arash Hejazi is wanted by Interpol and Iran's Intelligence Ministry," Fars news agency quoted Ahmadi-Moqaddam as saying.
The police chief said that Hejazi is charged with helping the Western media to launch a psywar against Iran. "The murder of Neda Agha-Soltan was a scenario and is not related to the Tehran unrest in any way," he concluded.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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#1
No one can defame Iran. It's not possible. Perhaps the police chief would feel better if he went out & shot another girl.How brave! Little girls are so tough.
#2
I presume any witnesses they find will be turned over to Dinner Jacket's police for interviews - probably involving colonic rupture (see story elsewhere on this page).
[Geo News] Militants ambushed peace Lashkar, killing two and injuring 4 others in Dirbala, Geo News reported Wednesday. The Lashkar, formed with an aim of creating peace, headed to burn down house of a militants' commander Naeemullah when militants intercepted them, killing two and wounding 4 others.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2009
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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.
Bethlehem - Maan - Two of the 21 Free Gaza ship crew members were released without charges Wednesday, both Palestinian citizens of Israel, following interrogation by intelligence officers. 
Lahore: July 1, 2009. (SLMP reports for PCP) Over six hundred Muslims attacked Christians in village Bahmani District Kasur on June 30, 2009. Angry Muslims mob, after accusing of blasphemy, destroyed Christians houses, looted valuables / jewelry and tortured Christian men and women ruthlessly. 
When President Obama announced on June 9 that some financial institutions would be allowed to repay Troubled Asset Relief Program dollars, he said the massively expensive TARP bailout had made money for the federal government. "It is worth noting that in the first round of repayments from these [TARP recipients], the government has actually turned a profit," the president said. Indeed, TARP supporters have long held out the hope that the program might be profitable.
Wattsburg, Pa. -- Vice President Joe Biden visited a small town on the outskirts of Erie today to talk to rural folks about federal stimulus money that can be used to expand broadband access to the Internet for rural areas that typically have poor connections.
Crazed Islamic cleric Anjem Choudary yesterday hit back at French President Nicolas Sarkozy, 54, for trying to ban the burka by branding his wife a prostitute. He said former model Carla Bruni, 41, represents the face of a depraved Western society where women are treated like sex objects.
Islamist charities and the United States are competing for the allegiance of the 2 million people displaced by the fight against the Taliban in Swat and other parts of Pakistan and so far, the Islamists are in the lead. Although the United States is the largest contributor to a U.N. relief effort, the Pakistani authorities have refused to allow U.S. officials or planes to deliver the aid in the camps for displaced people. The Pakistanis do not want to be associated with their unpopular ally. Meanwhile, in the absence of effective aid from the government, hard-line Islamist charities are using the refugee crisis to push their anti-Western agenda and to sour public opinion against the war and the United States. 
Iraq failed to award most contracts it offered yesterday in a bidding round aimed at attracting foreign partners and their cash, leaving the country seeking new ways to develop the worlds third-largest oil reserves.
Defeated Iranian candidate Mehdi Karroubi refused to recognize the Ahmadinejad's re-election after an electoral watchdog confirmed the results despite allegations of fraud, a statement on his Etemad Melli party website said on Wednesday. The statement prompted authorities to halt the publication of the party newspaper.
SEOUL, July 1 (Yonhap) — The long-range rocket North Korea launched in April could be converted into a ballistic missile capable of striking half of the continental U.S., two American physicists have concluded in a joint study.
[Al Arabiya Latest] A United Nations commission appointed to investigate the assassination of Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto began work on Wednesday, a spokesman said, almost two years after the former prime minister was killed. 
Fugitive Taliban leader 
At least 110 Christian families, almost 700 people, were forced on Tuesday night to flee Bahmniwala, a village in Kasur, after angry mobs attacked and threatened to burn their houses for allegedly committing blasphemy.
One state senator's urge for a Coca Cola led to the latest fracas inside the New York State Capitol building in Albany on Tuesday.
The interim Honduran president has rejected an ultimatum from American governments to reinstate ousted leader Manuel Zelaya to the presidency. The ongoing political crisis has sparked new protests. Interim President Roberto Micheletti is facing new foreign pressure to allow the return of President Manuel Zelaya, who was forced to leave the country on Sunday.
Suspected Taliban killed a pro-government tribal leader, his driver and two gunmen on Wednesday while they were on their way to Peshawar. The vehicle of Malik Guli Shah of the Kokikhel tribe was ambushed on the main highway near Tedi Bazaar, Jamrud. The driver and one of the gunmen were shot and killed immediately, while Guli Shah and the other gunman died at a Peshawar hospital. Relatives of Guli Shah later protested against the government in Jamrud Bazaar.
BAGHDAD -- Now that a BP PLC-led consortium has won the rights to rehabilitate one of the world's biggest oil fields in Iraq, the real work for the British giant and its Chinese partner is just beginning. The project will be a test case for how Western oil companies will be received in Iraq.
[Beirut Daily Star: Region] Iran's embattled opposition leader urged his supporters Wednesday to keep pressing for their rights, and he joined a reformist ex-president to denounce what both men called the regime's "coup" against those contesting the outcome of last month's presidential election.
