#2
Didn't one of you observant people raise an "I dunno, sounds like a lawsuit scam to me?" alert back in March? THere's a prophet among the Rantburgers.
But you get to wear a special fan belt on your dish towel, and you become privy to the Secret Handshake.
BURAYDAH, Saudi Arabia - Hours before polling stations open for the final stage of Saudi Arabia's first nationwide elections Thursday, candidates in this authoritarian kingdom said they hoped for more than a symbolic outcome.
"Mahmoud, it's only hours before polling stations open for the final stage of our very first nationwide elections. I hope there's more than a symbolic outcome!"
But voters were skeptical that the Saudi royal family, which controls everything most of the key posts in the government, will cede much power to the elected councils. Those elected will "have to do whatever the leaders decide," said a Buraydah man who gave his name only as Badr.
Sucks to live in a feudal state, doesn't it?
The vote will not dilute the regime's ultimate authority. The ruling family does not tolerate dissidents who call for a constitutional monarchy and elected parliament in this country of 26 million.
"A constitutional monarchy? An elected parliament? Orf wiff 'is 'ead!"
The elections come as the royal family is cracking down on wackos and disgruntled princes militants seeking to overthrow the ruling House of Saud.
[BANG! BANG! BANGETY BANG!]
"Mahmoud! They got us surrounded!"
"Feet, don't fail me now!"
"Hey! Where'd they go?"
Nationwide, about 600 of some 1,200 council members are being elected. A total of 244 seats are up for grabs in the final round of the three stage elections for half the members of the 178 municipal councils across Saudi Arabia. Cities to vote Thursday include Jiddah, Mecca and Medina in the western province. Men will also cast ballots in the northern regions of Qassim, Hail, Tabuk, and also in Jouf on the northern frontier with Iraq and Jordan. More than 4,600 candidates are courting the votes of some 333,000 men aged over 21 who have registered to cast their ballots, according to election officers. Women are not and will never be permitted to vote in Saudi Arabia.
"No, you can't vote! Now get out back and graze!"
In Buraydah, some 200 candidates are contesting six seats, half of the city's council members. Like many candidates in this town, considered a stronghold for powerful Wahabbi clergy.
"Yarrr! We be holy men!"
Businessman Mohammed al-Saeed asked a prominent turban cleric to put the fix in address one of his election's meetings. Al-Saeed, a real estate investor, said he would do his best to implement the people's wishes, especially improving the city's outdated infrastructure. "People are entitled to have their needs fulfilled and I will work to fulfill them," he said.
Check with the princes first, though.
"Princes... fulfill all needs... we are... very happy... [bzdeep!]"
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/22/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Well, as long as the election guarantees a pension... Doing nothing would not be such a big deal, it comes to Soddies natural.
Hisham, who had arrived in Riyadh to participate in a number of social events following his win in the Star Academy popular reality show, was surrounded by fans, both male and female, when he was just browsing the mall. The teen fans, on spying the young star, mobbed him and vied to shake his hand. Some even kissed him while congratulating him on his achievement. This proved the last straw for the members of the commission who were at the mall. They waded into the crowd and broke up the impromptu crowd that had gathered around Hisham. They then asked Hisham to leave the mall for creating the chaos and triggering "immoral" acts — as they called it. Hisham then entered into a slanging match with the members of the commission and also called them names. He even threatened to take action against them if they did not leave. An altercation ensued with the members of the commission trying to pull Hisham away from the milling crowd. The crowd then joined in and began pulling the new star toward them as a veritable tug-of-war took place, leaving Hisham's clothes in tatters.
A member of the commission then managed to drag Hisham out and pushed him into their waiting van. He was then taken to the commission's center in Olaya where he was questioned and held under custody. The commission then received a direct order from an official in the Riyadh governor's office to immediately send the singer back to Jeddah. Hisham was then escorted by the commission's head to the airport and was put on the plane back to Jeddah. Bander Al-Mutairy, the head of the Commission's Center in Olaya, said that the case was over and the orders were direct and clear from the governor's office. Al-Mutairy, who refused to elaborate to Arab News, said that they had nothing personal against Hisham. But he violated a rule and created chaos in the Tower Mall and that had to be stopped. "I refuse to say more. We have everything under control and the governor is aware of what happened," Al-Mutairy said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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We should get hold of some typical members of the Commision for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. The medical experts really need to examine these folks. Interactive NMR scanning of their brains and such while noting their reactions to stimuli. Genetic tests and such. My guess is that its some sort of congential problem... one just crying out for a painfully long treatment program.
#3
3dc, no need to use expensive medical procedures to ascertain what must be apparent to any person with 2 brain cells--they are damaged. Whether it is psychosomatic or congenital, does not make much difference. I would suggest a short remedial program instead. ;-)
President Fidel Castro of Cuba has announced plans to more than double the country's minimum wage. Labourers earning about 100 Cuban pesos ($4.10; ã2.13) a month will see their wages rise to 225 pesos from 1 May. And you thought your allowance as a kid was terrible....
The move will benefit 1.6 million workers, including farmhands, plumbers and undertakers, who survive on the lowest wages in communist Cuba. President Castro's confidence in the economy has been buoyed by closer trade relations with Venezuela and China. Oil deposits have also recently been discovered off Cuba's coast. "Take that, Yankee Peeeeg!"
Many Cubans supplement their low wages by working on the black market. Cuba's economy has been struggling since the collapse in 1991 of its former sugar daddy backer, the Soviet Union. However, Cuba's government has recently introduced a number of measures in an attempt to improve the livelihood of its citizens. At the end of March, the 78-year-old president announced a rise in payments for Cubans claiming welfare, including single mothers, widows and disabled people. The increase in welfare payments, which will benefit 1.5 million Cubans, will also take place from 1 May. President Castro said the minimum wage increases would cost his net worth the Cuban government about 1.1bn pesos. The average Cuban government worker earns about 300 pesos a month, although most citizens pay no rent, while education and health care provision are also free.
Posted by: Desert Blondie ||
04/22/2005 10:35:56 AM ||
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I find the idea of a minimum wage undertaker a little off putting somehow.
When Minerva Alvarez gazed out of her window as dawn broke two weeks ago, she spotted something colorful lying on the bare concrete patio in her front yard.
Stepping out of her low-slung house, Alvarez walked a few steps, leaned over and picked up two small pamphlets. She recoiled when she saw a photograph of President Bush on one of them. "I took it straight to my husband," she said. "I didn't want to read it."
What Alvarez and scores of residents of her impoverished Havana neighborhood found at their doorstep was a pocket-size reprint of Bush's Jan. 20 inaugural address in which he vowed to free the world of tyranny. The speech and a second pamphlet containing the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights arrived anonymously in the dead of night and are part of an escalating U.S. government program to spur political change in this one-party state. For decades, the U.S. government's attempt to penetrate Cuba with information has had limited success. Cuban authorities routinely jam Radio and TV Marti, the anti-Castro broadcasts produced in Miami, and Internet access on the island is limited.
The clandestine, door-to-door leafleting is the latest in the Bush administration's stepped up effort to reach citizens who have little access to public information outside Cuba's government-controlled media.
In Zamora, a neighborhood of concrete homes and wood shacks packed tightly together, the pamphlets were met with dread, suspicion and curiosity. Although rumors about anything out of the ordinary usually spread like wildfire in Cuba, residents here have largely kept quiet about the mysterious pamphlets. Mitchel Hernandez, a 31-year-old gardener, found the pamphlets in a walkway leading to his home and tossed them out. "I'm not interested in them," he said, leaning against the side of a building. "These pamphlets don't solve anything."
But Emilio Roja said he put the pamphlets aside to read later. Shown copies of the two booklets, Roja flashed a nervous smile. "I don't want to talk about it," the 40-year-old said. "Here everyone is afraid. If you have this, you can be put in prison." Danilo Barrero Perez, a 52-year-old construction worker, sidled up on his bicycle. He eavesdropped on the conversation, then moved closer. "The idea is good that everyone can express themselves," Barrero said. "But who will talk to Fidel? We have had more than 40 years of the same thing. "Fidel is like a horse with blinders on," he added. "I read the human-rights declaration, and I signed the Varela Project. I am not afraid to say so, but nothing happens."
Headed by opposition activist Oswaldo Paya, the Varela Project collected thousands of signatures in recent years to petition for democratic reforms. Cuban authorities ignored it. "There are a lot of things that are not going well," said Roja, who said he was a political prisoner in the 1980s. "Things have to change. I don't have hope for myself but maybe for future generations."
Halfway down the block, a man in his 20s said he spotted the fliers in the early-morning darkness and thought they were children's books. He brought them inside, turned on the light and saw the photograph of Bush. "What is this?" he recalled thinking. He opened his front door and peered outside. "The rumor is that Cuban state security are giving them out to see who is allied with the opposition," he said. The resident said he read Bush's speech but was unmoved because he opposes the Iraq war and dislikes the president. "If it was another person, it would have inspired me," he said.
Across the street, Juan Dominguez, a 49-year-old seaman, said the pamphlets were just another tool for the U.S. government to impose its will on Cuba.
"I'm against these pamphlets," Dominguez said as he repaired an old Russian motorcycle. "There is no reason for the United States to be involved in our affairs. We are a free country. We don't go to the United States and hand out information."
Several doors down, Lazaro Gonzalez, a 58-year-old ice cream vendor, said he backed Castro and called the U.S. hypocritical for distributing fliers about democracy and human rights. "How many crimes have been committed by the Americans at the Guantanamo base?" Gonzalez asked, referring to the U.S. naval base in Cuba where terrorism suspects are detained. "How many Iraqis have been killed? This is what Bush should be concerned about."
Daniel Erikson, director of Caribbean programs at the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington policy group, said the leaflets are designed more to irritate Castro than to cause change on the island. Erikson said Cubans have become extremely "risk adverse" because they live in a police state. Cuban authorities have made clear that anyone associated with the U.S. government-financed program is a traitor who could be jailed. "Cubans do not see it to be in their own interest to be accepting or reading these flyers," Erikson said. "It's not that people are not interested in democracy. But the U.S. is not the best messenger."
Wayne Smith, a former top U.S. diplomat in Cuba, said exiles in Miami have periodically airdropped leaflets over Cuba since the 1959 revolution. He said the current effort apparently is the first of its kind involving Cuba and the U.S. government. "Giving out copies of Bush's speech and thinking it will change people's minds is really stupid," said Smith, a frequent critic of U.S. policy.
Which is why he's a former diplomat
But the Zamora resident who handed out the fliers said he did it because he hates Castro and communism and doesn't care if he ends up in prison.
Oh you will, after Castro reads this story. Thanks for revealing his name MSM.
"I'm fighting for freedom," said Raduel Martinez Gomez, 25, who got a boxload of pamphlets, books and other materials from the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, the country's diplomatic seat absent full relations. Sitting only two short blocks from Gonzalez's home, Martinez described how he grabbed two fistfuls of fliers and walked the bumpy, potholed streets of Zamora for six hours distributing them. When the police passed, he tucked them under his armpits or into his back pockets and waistband and continued. Sometimes he hands the fliers directly to people. Some residents call him a gusano, worm, or escoria, scum. Others thank him and ask for more.
He said the pamphlets probably won't bring an end to Castro's government, but it makes him feel good to distribute them. "If they throw them out or don't read them, what can I do?" he asked. "I do it because I feel like I have to do it."
Posted by: God Save The World ||
04/22/2005 1:14:55 AM ||
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Q: How many people does it take to bring down a communist dictatorship?
A: Not very many. Review the fall of communist regimes in Europe over the last 15 years. They were achieved by tiny proportions of the populations.
Despite its slant, the article nails the vulnerability of such regimes, the passivity of almost all of the 'people'.
#2
This guy's got some major cojones. And this is how it all starts too -- when people get so fed up that they don't care about the consequences. It would help if somebody gave Fidel a 9mm frontal lobotomy, but this sort of civil disobedience is a good start.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
04/22/2005 10:51 Comments ||
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#3
and I'm glad this asshat is a former top diplomat.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/22/2005 11:01 Comments ||
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Is the Chiacago Tribune the one nicknamed "Pravda by the Lake"?
PARIS, April 22 (AFP) - French soldiers trained Rwandan civilian militias in the two years leading up to the 1994 genocide, an officer in the French gendarmerie said Friday, contradicting persistent denials from the Paris government. "I saw French soldiers giving fire-arms training to civilian Rwandan militiamen in 1992. There were about 30 militiamen being trained. I am absolutely categoric about this. I saw them and that is all there is to it," said Thierry Prungnaud. "They must have been militiamen because the soldiers used to go around in fatigues and these were civilians," said Prungnaud, who was in Rwanda in 1992 on a training programme for the presidential guard. "It must have gone on till 1994. It didn't shock me - after all I didn't see how it all turned out. It just seemed normal," he said.
Prungnaud, a former sergeant in the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (GIGN), was speaking in an interview on France-Culture radio. He said the training took place in a sparsely populated area of the country in La Kagera park. The government in Kigali accuses France of training Hutu militias in Rwanda as the Tutsi-dominated Rwandan Patriotic Front mounted an insurrection from neighbouring Uganda. Hutu extremists went on to kill some 800,000 people in the genocide. Successive French governments have denied the allegation.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/22/2005 2:24:31 PM ||
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Wouldn't be surprising. French arms shipments ostensibly ordered before the genocide occurred, were delivered during the Hutu attacks. And French troops were guarding the Rwandan president.
#2
another proud moment for deliberate Gallic ignorance : "How were we to know??"
next episode: the massacre at Taiwan
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/22/2005 18:51 Comments ||
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Geez. Frank - that would be a hysterical comment - if this was a joke. As it is, it just boggles how low Chirac & CO can go. Now I guess it's clear there's no limit. None.
He's "in" until 2007. Imagine how much more damage he can do in that time. Time for either a contract or the Sixth Republic.
#4
I am praying for a stroke for the Boss, a traffic accident for at least one subordinates (the FM will do) and fatal food poisoning for another that ought to wipe the heads of this group of French vermin out.
#5
we can only hope. They used to be humorous in their whoring for Francs, but it's getting to the point that their greed knows no bounds on civil behavior. Bet Jacques wishes he'd got that reactor contract for Iran and NK
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/22/2005 19:04 Comments ||
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POPE Benedict XVI has conferred with cardinals as he seeks to put an early stamp on the papacy, but already he faces his first test as pontiff over a controversial Spanish vote on gay marriage.
The cardinal head of the Pontifical Council on the Family, denouncing a Bill in Spain's lower house of parliament that would allow homosexuals to marry and adopt children, said Christians had a duty to oppose "iniquitous" laws.
"A law as profoundly iniquitous as this one is not an obligation, it cannot be an obligation," Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo told Italy's Corriere della Sera.
"One cannot say that a law is right simply because it is law."
Spain is a traditionally deeply Catholic country, and King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia are due to attend Sunday's inauguration of the Pope.
The Pope is deeply conservative and has taken a strong line in the past on homosexuality, calling homosexual orientation a tendency toward "intrinsic moral evil".
His handling of the latest controversy will be scrutinised for clues about how he intends to drive forward his papacy in a Church divided over other hot-button issues such as contraception, abortion, divorce and the ordination of women.
The Spanish Bill, which is expected to be passed by the Senate upper house after approval by lower house deputies yesterday, would allow gays to marry as well as adopt children.
Cardinal Trujillo said anyone asked to conduct such a ceremony should exercise the same right to conscientious objection as doctors asked to perform abort a fetus.
"This is not a matter of choice," he said.
"All Christians ... must be prepared to pay the highest price, including the loss of a job.
The Pope, thanking cardinals for their support, meanwhile said he was aware of the intense burden thrust upon him as leader of 1.1 billion Catholics.
"I know well the nature of this mission that I was assigned," he said. "It is not about honours, but about service."
The 78-year-old pope, who was applauded when he entered the Clementine Hall in the Apostolic Palace, asked the prelates for their continuing support.
"Please never let me be deprived of your support," he urged.
"Your spiritual closeness, your wise counsel, and your active cooperation will be for me a gift for which I will always be grateful."
Each cardinal then went up to the Pope in turn, knelt, and kissed his hand before exchanging a few words.
The Pope, elected earlier this week by his 114 cardinal colleagues, will be inaugurated on Sunday at a mass expected to draw half a million people and a clutch of world leaders.
They will include a strong delegation out of his native Germany, including Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and President Horst Koehler as well as thousands of Germans now beginning to flock into Rome.
The Pope will formally receive the insignia of his office, a pallium — a circular band of fabric with a pendant and decorated with square crosses — and the Fisherman's Ring with the image of Saint Peter, a disciple of Jesus and the first pope in the Church's 2000-year history.
Yesterday, Pope Benedict sought to ensure continuity and stability after the 26-year pontificate of his mentor pope John Paul II by retaining his predecessor's Vatican team.
He confirmed Cardinal Angelo Sodano as Secretary of State, effectively his No.2, and kept Leonardo Sandri as Cardinal Sodano's deputy and Giovanni Lajolo as the Vatican's Foreign Minister.
Rome's chief rabbi meanwhile said the Pope had promised to foster the dialogue with Jews begun under his predecessor.
Riccardo Di Segni said Pope Benedict sent a message saying he was putting "trust in the help of the Almighty to continue and to strengthen the dialogue and collaboration with the sons and daughters of the Jewish people".
Pope John Paul II, who died on April 2, won widespread admiration in Israel not only for being the first pontiff to visit a synagogue but also for his work in reconciling the Roman Catholic Church with the Jewish people.
Posted by: tipper ||
04/22/2005 11:55:30 AM ||
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I'm sure Andrew Sullivan will get his panties bunched in indignation when the Pope does what everyone knows he will do. No church recognition of gay marriage will happen in the next 500 yrs
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/22/2005 12:10 Comments ||
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What's on the test?
Who will be grading the test?
Is there a make up?
Does neatness count?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
04/22/2005 12:48 Comments ||
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That's twice today, Mrs D, lol! You're gonna owe me some Windex if you keep this up, lol!
#7
Just the other day my dad asked the Lutheran Bishop (in a private synod leaders meeting) just what the church's current policy on Gays in the pulpit was:
Answer:
All power devolves to the local churches so our policy has to be don't ask/don't tell. Same as the Army. I know that some churches in some of our more "shall we say liberal intercity areas" are hiring Gays and Lesbians but nobody's pubilcly stating it. So, there is no problem to discuss.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#1
Just unreal. When one cannot believe that Frawnce cannot sink lower........they sink lower. Hope Air Frawnce has only good people on their flights around North America. No Fly List folks can make AF lose lots o' Francs.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/22/2005 0:52 Comments ||
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AP, you are pesimist. I, as an optimist, say that Frawnce can sink lower always, lickety split.
#4
Ah, come on guys. As the Ivory Coast events have shown, the French know how to operate a modern colonial empire and therefore certainly sympathize with fellow colonial empires. However, they failed to mention to their Airbus customer, that you need to be absolutely sure you'll win before even attempting any coup d'main.
Posted by: ed ||
04/22/2005 9:35 Comments ||
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#7
same hygiene habits
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/22/2005 9:43 Comments ||
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#8
Yeah, Frank. The Phwrench hygenic habits of le femme leave something to be desired......sigh.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/22/2005 10:57 Comments ||
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"French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin Thursday said Paris had no objections to Chinaâs anti-secession law aimed at Taiwan"
Taiwan should declare war on France. They could move to France and drive the French into Monaco. That would get them away from China and would give the French at least a chance to win at something.
Posted by: Tom ||
04/22/2005 11:03 Comments ||
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#10
Which, by implication, leaves the Taiwanese defeated and stuck in France. Why do you hate the Taiwanese, Tom?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
04/22/2005 12:20 Comments ||
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".. Paris had no objections to Chinaâs anti-secession law aimed at Taiwan"
Perhaps because France plans on slipping a anti-seccession law into the EU charter.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/22/2005 13:11 Comments ||
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Mitch France is a magnificient country. It's why God invented the French.
#13
nah god invented france to show us all what a bunch of pricks they are .
way i see it is , now 2 security council UN countries vote its ok to fuck taiwan over , not that kofi gives a fuck , he's too busy counting his pennies and watching people get mutilated and starved in other countries..
sorry about grammar , lil bit tiddly :P
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) - Marijuana Party officials kicked off their campaign in a British Columbia provincial election in a smoke-filled room at an art gallery here. Campaign manager Kirk Tousaw told about 1,000 people at the rally Wednesday that Marijuana is anything but a fringe group. "The majority of the people in this province smoke marijuana or have smoked marijuana," Tousaw said. "So either they're criminals or we're mainstream."
The party's main platform for the balloting on May 17 is to wrest control of marijuana from Ottawa.
"Don't bogart that joint, Ottawa."
"The provinces need to take over control, take back control from organized crime and begin to regulate and tax the marijuana industry," Tousaw said.
Bingo! Regulate and Tax, the key words that doom any plan to "legalize drugs". You have just priced your legal product higher than the street drugs and will still have the police busting people for buying and selling "untaxed" drugs, just as they do with cigarettes.
Some in attendance said they didn't know the event had anything to do with politics.
"Politics? Oh wow, man, we just came for the bud"
Pot smoking at the museum has been an annual event on April 20 for about a decade. The Marijuana Party plans to run candidates in 40 of the 79 legislative districts for the elections and asserted that Marijuana is anything but a fringe group.
"Fringes? Nah man, no fringes. Maybe a few tie-dyed shirts and bell-bottoms, nobody has worn fringes since....what was the question?"
Posted by: Steve ||
04/22/2005 9:09:14 AM ||
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Give them a couple of days and they'll forget what they were talking about...
#5
You better get their quick, Frank, with a gunny sack before the Mass Munchies⢠kick in.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/22/2005 11:00 Comments ||
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Like, doods, he's, like, a lawyer dood...
DETROIT, MI - July 19, 2004.... Kirk Tousaw has joined Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, P.C. as an associate in the firm's Litigation Department. Jaffe Raitt CEO Richard Zussman made the announcement. Mr. Tousaw will provide comprehensive representation for plaintiffs and defendants in commercial and criminal litigation matters.
Bet I can tell you his specialty... Formerly an associate with Jaffe Raitt from 1998-2002, Mr. Tousaw most recently served as Policy Director for the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA).
Mr. Tousaw is a 1994 graduate of Michigan State University's James Madison College and earned his J.D. from Wayne State University Law School in 1998, where he graduated cum laude. He will receive his LL.M from the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law in the fall. Mr. Tousaw is a member of the Michigan Bar Association (MBA), the American Bar Association (ABA), the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Which surprised me not at all...
#8
There has long been plans by serious companies to manufacture and market quality controlled marijuana cigarettes. However, such cigarettes will need to be "rated", according to strength, and there will be considerable debate about filtration. That is, the first inclination is to filter out "bad" ingredients, as with tobacco; but this may have just the opposite effect in marijuana, filtering out "good" ingredients with positive medical benefits. And *then*, of course, different varieties of marijuana are believed to have different medicinal effects (e.g. 'skunk' weed for macular degeneration). But then, what is your purpose for smoking marijuana? Should it be marketed for specific medical purposes, or as a recreational drug? The "regulation and taxation" problem stems from the belief that there will only be *one* set of regulations and *one* tax, where in fact, many of both may be needed. Last but not least, when marijuana is legalized, we have to assume that there will be all sorts of innovations in "marijuana technology", and in many fields. Intoxicating beverages or inhalants, non-intoxicating herbal supplements containing ingredients not found in hemp, etc. The plant and its substances are very, very useful.
#10
There has long been plans by serious companies to manufacture and market quality controlled marijuana cigarettes.
And plans by serious lawyers to sue them for selling an adictive substance that has been proven to cause serious medical harm. Just look what they've done to Big Tobacco. Do you think any company wants to get into that business knowing in advance what's going to happen?
Posted by: Steve ||
04/22/2005 15:09 Comments ||
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So is this past, the criminal, de-criminalization, legal point and entering some new waters?
If so what is their current state:
Criminal De-criminal Legal
use L ?
sell L/D ?
market C ?
#12
Steve, just curious. What medical harm? I remember there was supposed to be this huge surfeit of lung cancer cases from marijuana, but as it turned out, it has ingredients that actually fight lung cancer. Other than that, once you lose a couple dozen IQ points, it might convert you to liberalism, but I'm not entirely sure that that could be catagorized as pathological.
#13
an hemp growing will help with our fuel shortage and keep clothes on our back and did you know george washington raised it and feed it to the army at morristown during the brutally cold winter the year after the more famous valley forge hemp is a miracle plant and you can't smoke it, it different from pot looks identical but its not the same
#14
Hemp also grows like, well , a weed. You can grow it on marginal land. That also makes it attractive as a source of fiber and oil. Oil they you can legaly buy as well as teh fiber you can legaly buy. You just can't grow it or have it in manfactured form. Stupid laws.
#15
Years and years ago, Sen. William Proxmire of Wisconsin saddled Southern Illinois University with his famous Golden Fleece Award for a research project to determine whether marijuana has a negative effect on male sex drive. The grant money was already spent, and his committee spent ten times the funding in SIU's grant in order to cancel the SIU study, a nasty little detail about Proxmire's Golden Fleece Awards that the media never seemed to notice. Actually, the study probably wasn't a bad idea. People who don't want to hear about mental or health side effects might think twice about taking something that would effect their sex drives.
Canada's embattled Prime Minister Paul Martin has made a rare, nationally-televised address to apologise for a corruption scandal within his Liberal Party. The scandal hit headlines when an auditor-general's report found millions of dollars in a national unity fund had been diverted to Liberal-friendly advertising firms to promote federalism in Quebec following the narrow defeat of a separatist referendum in the French-speaking province. The scandal outraged the public when it was uncovered in 2002 and contributed to the Liberal Party's loss of its majority in parliament after federal elections last June.
Calling it an "unjustifiable mess", the prime minister on Thursday pledged to call an election within 30 days of an inquiry report on the scandal. "Those who are in power are to be held responsible, and that includes me. I was the minister of finance and knowing what I have learned in the past year, I am sorry that I was not more vigilant," Martin said. "Those who have violated the public trust will be identified and will pay the consequences." Martin was finance minister under then-prime minister Jean Chretien when the corruption was alleged to have occurred.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Kyoto 'carbon credits' and the oil-for-food scam have some striking similarities. Both involve large sums of money from commercial sources routed through dubious NGOs and similar organizations to destinations where accountability is limited or non-existent. Lots of opportunity to skim and scam.
#8
But of course, just when you think it can't get any worse, turn out the Strong company Tonsung Park buried Saddam's money is owned...by the Prime Minister of Canada!
Sen. Ted Kennedy's brother-in-law, who pled guilty to bank fraud charges yesterday in New Orleans, secretly tape recorded former top Hillary Clinton campaign aide David Rosen - and may have taped Hillary herself - as part of an FBI probe into an Aug. 12, 2000 gala fundraiser for Mrs. Clinton's Senate campaign.
Well, so much for being invited to vacation on the Cape.
Ray Reggie, the brother of Kennedy's wife Victoria Reggie, was identified by prosecutors yesterday as the confidential witness who had been cooperating with investigators for three years as part of his bank fraud plea bargain. "I wasn't sure if anybody made any of these connections yet or not," Assistant U.S. Attorney in New Orleans, Jan Mann, told the New York Sun, which first reported the wiretapping on Thursday. Prosecutors say Rosen, who served as finance chairman for Mrs. Clinton's 2000 Senate race, "made a number of incriminating statements" on the Reggie tapes, which they intend to introduce at his trial, set to begin on May 3.
In an indictment announced in January, Rosen was charged with hiding from the Federal Election Commission hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the related to the Hollywood gala. Mr. Reggie traveled extensively with both Bill and Hillary Clinton, put together fundraisers for the former first couple and was an overnight guest at the Clinton White House. During a June 2000 White House visit, the Clintons and the Reggies stayed up late into the night "chatting," the New York Post said. Asked if Reggie may have also recorded one or both of the Clintons, attorney David Kendall "had no immediate response," the Sun said. The key government witness was "wearing a wire and making secret tapes as recently as last December," the Post said. Another key witness in the probe, celebrity fundraiser Aaron Tonken, says the FBI asked him to record his conversations with Mrs. Clinton, in a bid to gather evidence about the Aug. 2000 fundraiser, which Tonken helped produce. But Clinton insiders suspected he was cooperating with investigators and refused to take his calls. If Mrs. Clinton was captured on tape making comments indicating she knew the extent of Rosen's alleged misdeeds, it could have a devastating impact on her plans to run for president in 2008.
Oh, please, please....
Both Tonken and Hollywood mogul Peter Paul - who bankrolled the Clinton gala - say they personally apprised the top Democrat about the costs of the fundraiser. "I told her about virtually every penny I'd spent on her behalf," Tonken recalled in his recent book "King of Cons." "I told her about the money and what a pleasure it was to spend it on her [Senate] candidacy." Mr. Paul says Mrs. Clinton was even involved in trying to trim some of the event's production costs. "Hillary Clinton personally called the producer of the concert part of this event," he told Fox News Channel's Eric Shawn last November. "She asked him to lower the fee that he was charging of $850,000 at my request. So I don't understand how she could possibly say that she didn't know" about the costs.
Since she is one of the smartest women on the planet
Posted by: Steve ||
04/22/2005 1:21:32 PM ||
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She'll run the Clinton PlaybookTM for all it's worth - Delay, Deny, Obfuscate. That said, I'm not sure if this would be admissible as evidence (secret recordings) unless Ray Reggie was wearing a wire. I sure as hell hope so.
#4
I'm not sure if this would be admissible as evidence (secret recordings) unless Ray Reggie was wearing a wire.
If the FBI wired him up as an informant, it will be admissible. They may be incompetent in a lot of matters, but they have taping conversations down to a art form.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/22/2005 14:12 Comments ||
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The popcorn is fresh ... pass the butter and salt please. This should get interesting.
#6
How...ahhhhhhmmmm...about a little...ahhhhhhhmmmmm...fishing...ahhhhhhhmmmm, Fredo...I mean...ahhhhhhmmmmmm, Ray? And...ahhhhhhmmmm...make sure to...ahhhhhhmmmm... say your...ahhhhhmmmmm... Hail marys. Maybe the...ahhhhhhmmmmm... kids can bring...ahhhhhmmmm Joan down from her...ahhhhhhhhhhmmmm rehab and we can knock off...ahhhhhhmmmmm two birds with...ahhhhhhhmmmm one stone, perhaps?
Posted by: Anonymous Senior US Senator from Massachusetts ||
04/22/2005 14:23 Comments ||
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This prosecutor's office is the same crew who put Edwin Edwards away. Welcome to Louisiana, cher.
Posted by: Matt ||
04/22/2005 14:32 Comments ||
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Eventually, the MSM will cover this. They'll couch it as "unproven allegations" and highlight the Clintons' denials.
Then, when the evidence comes out, they'll call it "old news" and refuse to cover it.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
04/22/2005 14:36 Comments ||
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Brilliant! Democrats eating their own young just like squirrels! The prosecution, if it comes to that, will surely be must see TV.
Hypocrisy, Nancy? I didn't think you were smart enough.. House Republicans yesterday called on Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to provide documentation to prove that a Washington lobbyist firm did not pay for a trip she and other Democrats took to Puerto Rico in 2001. "We feel that such lingering questions undermine the integrity of the institution and we hope [the questions] will be cleared up as soon as possible," wrote Republican Reps. Patrick T. McHenry of North Carolina and Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia.
The Washington Times reported earlier this week that Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Ohio Democrat and member of the House ethics committee, listed a registered lobbyist as the trip's sponsor. House rules prohibit registered lobbyists from paying for travel by members. On travel disclosure forms filed with the House clerk, Mrs. Pelosi and others on the trip listed a group called Todo Puerto Rico con Vieques as its sponsor. After the discrepancy was made public, Mrs. Jones amended her travel disclosure form to match those of Mrs. Pelosi and other travelers. A spokeswoman in Mrs. Jones' office blamed the conflicting information on "human error" but declined to provide proof that the trip was paid for by Todo Puerto Rico con Vieques, rather than D.C. lobbyist Smith, Dawson & Andrews. Mrs. Pelosi also refused to provide any such documentation, and testily dismissed questions yesterday about the matter. "There's no discrepancy in the records on my trip," the California Democrat said. "So that's all I can answer for."
Meanwhile, Rep. Tom Feeney, Florida Republican, yesterday became the latest to be ensnared in the escalating bipartisan hunt for ethical lapses in congressional travel. Mr. Feeney and his wife traveled from Orlando to West Palm Beach, Fla., to deliver a speech in November 2003. According to records he filed with the House clerk, the $1,946 tab for the trip was picked up by Rotterman & Associates, a North Carolina-based lobbying firm. Mr. Feeney amended his report this week, saying the California-based Center for the Study of Popular Culture had funded the trip.
The charges and countercharges about congressional travel come amid a prolonged standoff between Democrats and Republicans that has kept the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct from meeting this year. The questions also come after months of claims against Majority Leader Tom DeLay, accused of accepting a trip paid for by a lobbyist. Mr DeLay and the nonprofit group he listed as the trip's sponsor insist the lobbyist did not pay the bill. Mrs. Pelosi has called for a full investigation into that matter, which is an inconsistency, say Mr. McHenry and Mr. Westmoreland. "If you are serious that the mere allegation that a lobbyist paid for member travel warrants a full ethics investigation, it would seem that a member actually disclosing it as fact would more than merit it," the Republicans wrote. "We would hope that you would come forward with any and all documentation your office has proving that in fact the group, Todo Puerto Rico con Vieques, initiated and paid for your trip," Mr. McHenry and Mr. Westmoreland added. "Ms. Jones' disclosures that a lobbyist in fact paid for it, and her subsequent statement that the lobbying firm handled the logistics, has created an appearance that the true source of the funds may not actually be Todo Puerto Rico con Vieques."
Jose Paralitici, who organized the group to oppose the U.S. Navy bombing range in Vieques, yesterday returned a telephone message left earlier in the week by The Times. Mr. Paralitici said he operates the group from his home and that the group paid for the 2001 trips. Mr. Paralitici said he hadn't spoken to anyone in Congress this week but that he was volunteering the information after coming across The Times story on the Internet. He said the money to pay the more than $8,000 in travel bills came from "a lot of donations." clip and save for Delay-ethics conversations.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/22/2005 12:32:51 PM ||
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The Dance. Moonbat Tango. Music and Lyrics by the MSM.
Read the article and ask yourself "Why haven't we heard any of these charges?" They pale in comparison of Delay paying family members for working on his campaign. It reminds me of the cop in Caseblanca that is "Shocked to find out there is gambling at Ricks." The fact that the Democrats don't want a committee when there are EQUAL numbers from both parties tells you a lot. I would change the rules and say that only 50% of the committee need be present to form. After a couple of sesssion and charges leveled straight at Polosi and rest of the Fuerer Brigade you can bet they will want to play.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge ||
04/22/2005 8:37:13 AM ||
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we'll see - Bush pushed and got the Sen Reps to push two judges out of committee for a floor vote. The Dems are said to be seeking a deal, which they'd avoid if they had the stones to filibuster. Could be the turning point. I'd still rather see a kick-ass Sen majority leader
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/22/2005 9:37 Comments ||
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DC pols can't seem to understand that most of us common folk detest this bs and those who perpetuate it. If they have accusations that are founded, let us know and deal with it all regardless of party affiliation. Let them all face the questions raised and stand or fall on their own answers and merit or lack thereof. Novel idea that one is I suppose. As it stands, the conduct of the committee looks like a pack of sickly, greedy gut racoons having it out at an overturned garbage can.
#4
Bush pushed and got the Sen Reps to push two judges out of committee for a floor vote.
That's a spine? He needs to do a lot more before I'd believe that. In addition, his party needs to chip in with their own efforts; they haven't been sterling examples of leadership as of late.
#5
Frank G - Is there anyone in the GOP Senate Caucus that even 'dents ass'? Being from Illinois, I don't have one to offer. (Peter Fitzgerald was a disappointment to me.)
#6
When the politics and circumstances are right (read: ample ass coverage), then you see some of them step up. Example Sen Coleman on UNSCAM.
The problem is the same for every elected officeholder - they're always looking ahead to the next election and won't make a move without putting a finger in the wind first.
It's called political reality. It has ALWAYS been so - and always will be.
But don't let that stop you from blaming Bush for everything where you don't get immediate gratification. Seems to make perfect sense to those who never think shit through - and have zero memory for what has been accomplished in spite of this political reality thingy.
"Be assured that a walk through the ocean of most souls would scarcely get your feet wet."
-Deteriorata
#9
Hmmm. Seems to have a hell of a lot of spine to me. Afghanistan, Iraq, pushing through a total revamping of our Intelligence agencies and much more. You have to pick your fights and where you will spend your political capital. As irrelevant as the UN has become, spending too much capital on this might be a waste, no matter how nice it might be to see Bolton sent there.
That the Office of the President can't force Congress a separate part of the government into doing something is designed into the political system. Even if you don't like it BAR, it is a good thing. Keeps assholes like LBJ or some other assclown running the country off a cliff. Even when the President and Congress are the same party this separation of powers is a good thing. I learned that in High School Civics.
Saying Bush has no spine is total bull shit and totally untrue. Sounds like some craptard DU or MoveOn meme.
#10
The problem is the same for every elected officeholder - they're always looking ahead to the next election and won't make a move without putting a finger in the wind first. It's called political reality.
That's a shame. Seems to me that if someone believes in something, they should at least have the balls to stick up for it. Politicians might be thought of better as a result.
That the Office of the President can't force Congress a separate part of the government into doing something is designed into the political system.
He and members of his party don't have to force Congress into doing something; a little spirited defense of his appointees or their programs that are under constant attacks from leftists would be sufficient. There hasn't been enough of that.
Bloggers have so far been doing mosty of that sort of heavy lifting. But they can't carry the entire load; elected officials need to be doing some of this sort of thing also.
Saying Bush has no spine is total bull shit and totally untrue.
Domestically, that's how it looks. And then where he does display some determination, it's with regard to his persistence in pushing amnesty for mojados, something that flies in the face of logic, reason, and fairness.
#11
That's why I call bull shit BAR, because it is bull shit.
Bush has a hell of a lot more spine than most of the web loggers out there. Just because they and you don't agree with his efforts or the why he goes about things doesn't make it so. I don't agree with Bush on many things but he sure as hell isn't spineless.
#12
Apparently, B-a-R doesn't give credit where due, just blame. Lots of blame. Issuing blame must be like an antacid, so many are into it. Of course, all they're doing is anonymously posting their accumulated bile. Not much danger in that.
The funny thing is that giving credit and blame where due is only acknowledging reality. It's no skin off anyone's ass to do it. The inability to keep reality in mind and give credit implies other things, no?
You typed alot there, B-a-R, yet I see nothing that makes your bitching more compelling than Bush's actual record of accomplishment.
#13
SPOD - agreed, but note the question (at least as I read it) is stones on the Senate Republican side, not W
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/22/2005 18:14 Comments ||
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Regards the article content and what can be done about it, you're right, Frank. B-a-R blamed it on Bush's lack of a spine in #4. An anonymous poster in a blog blaming Bush for not creating the reality he wants, then saying that Bush has no spine. Pretty fucking funny shit, I'd say.
#15
I've got obvious issues on the border with W, other than that, what he says is what he does. I like that
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/22/2005 18:27 Comments ||
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And I agree 100% with what appears to be inaction on immigration. Since I'm not privy to what goes on in private, that's probably not an accurate assessment. I'd bet they are all fully aware of the storm going on out here. As I mentioned before, when he did try to offer a transition program, he was shot down. Presuming there is a stalemate is a fair charge to lay at the feet of all of them, all 537, from Bush to the greenest congressman.
#17
I'd agree that the blame goes all around and extends back to the end of the bracero program
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/22/2005 18:44 Comments ||
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B-a-R blamed it on Bush's lack of a spine in #4.
Well, the quote was: Bush pushed and got the Sen Reps to push two judges out of committee for a floor vote.
Just two? Hell, the GOP now has control and only two have gone to a floor vote, and only after the President pushed? I seem to remember that Priscilla Owen and Janice Rogers Brown have been waiting also. There's others, are there not? They should get their day too, but when is that going to be?
The President is the top honcho, and he should lead.
#19
I'm sure, once word reaches him that B-a-R wants action, you'll get it. He has nothing on his plate except whatever thingy puts your shorts in a bunch. And, of course, what you happen to read or hear or see is all there is to it. A team of agents should be assigned to follow you around and take notes.
When will you start giving credit where due?
You're like Zenster, all blame, all the time, all achievements forgotten, just the lame refrain: What have you done for me lately?
THE United Nations wants Australia to do more in the fight against drugs and corruption in Asia. "A mature economy, a democratic society like Australia has indeed a responsibility to assist the countries in the region," said Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the UN's Office of Drugs and Crime.
What's is it with all these guys with girls' middle names?
"I acknowledge the important role Australia's played in the past and I would like to reinforce the message that there is even more to do in the future," he said on the sidelines of a UN anti-crime conference in Bangkok.
"The important role you've played in the past just isn't good enough! You have lots more money over there. If you do things the way I tell you, I'll give you some more tasking. Not that you'll ever manage to meet my high expectations, but you won't have quite so much money..."
Attorney General Philip Ruddock and Justice Minister Chris Ellison are leading Australia's delegation at the international gathering.
"Chris, stop rolling your eyes like that!"
"You're doing it, too, Phil!"
It coincides with dramatic developments in neighbouring Indonesia, where alleged marijuana smuggler Schapelle Corby is on trial and nine other Australians have been arrested in a heroin smuggling probe. The conference is expected to focus on corruption, terrorism and human trafficking.
None of which are deeply embedded in Australian society...
It will also look at how globalisation has given rise to new opportunities in transnational crime, including in cyberspace. More than 3000 delegates from more than 130 countries are attending the congress, held every five years to discuss advances in crime prevention, issues of security and terrorism and matters concerning prisons and prison reform. The UN has described organised crime as a big threat to international peace and security in the 21st century. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, in a statement read to the congress, called on the world's governments to ratify and implement the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime as well as the Convention against Corruption and the 12 universal counter-terrorism instruments.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
04/22/2005 1:17:25 AM ||
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Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2005 00:00:00 ||
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ROFL! I know, I know, you just can't make stuff this good up - it has to be true. The planned re-org of the UN, given the details that have come out, should be the death knell. Extracting the US from this pack of parasites, thieves, and thugs will be a long drawn-out process, fought every step of the way by the tool-fools, but it has to begin. Egypt deserving a permanent UNSC seat. Now that's a corker.
EFL: Singapore has dropped the Eurofighter Typhoon combat jet from a $1 billion-plus warplane order, narrowing the race to replace its locally-upgraded but aging fleet of A-4SU Super Skyhawk light attack aircraft. "The committed schedule for the delivery of the Typhoon and its systems did not meet the requirements of the Singapore Air Force," said Singapore's Ministry of Defence in a statement. This decision narrows the race for the pivotal Singapore contract to the French Dassault's Rafale jet and Boeing Co.'s F-15.
Singapore is known globally as a sophisticated arms buyer, and its choice for its 20-plane order could influence other countries considering new fighters. The Singapore order is also pivotal because Boeing needs orders for the F-15 to ensure continued production, while Dassault and Eurofighter are hunting for their first export orders from beyond Europe. The Rafale has yet to win its first export order after Dassault lost out on orders from Norway (F-35 or Eurofighter), the Netherlands (F-35 Joint Strike Fighter) and South Korea (F-15K).
Singapore's decision deals a blow to the four-nation Eurofighter consortium, which includes Franco-German Airbus parent EADS, Britain's BAE Systems, and Italian Finmeccanica's Alenia Aeronautica. Until recently Eurofighter was confident that its performance in Singapore's 2004 evaluation had gone a long way to answering critics questioning the aircraft's capabilities. The multi-national December 2004 announcement of $16 billion in funds for Eurofighter Tranche 2 production and development was also seen as a significant boost to the plane's export prospects. The Eurofighter is slated to enter service with its development partners UK, Germany, and Italy, as well as Spain, Greece, and Austria. There has been talk of order cutbacks from several of these countries, however.
Singapore currently has a mixture of F-16s and locally-upgraded F-5 and RF-5 fighters in their combat inventory, as well as the soon to be retired A-4SUs. Singapore-based sources told Reuters the French Rafale would probably be competitively priced, but that Boeing could benefit from Singapore's close links to the United States. Singapore hosts a U.S. military communications and logistics command centre, U.S. Navy ships regularly call at Changi Naval Base, and U.S. aircraft are permitted to use the republic's air fields. In May 2003, the two countries signed a bilateral free trade agreement.
My money is on the F-15.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/22/2005 8:48:06 AM ||
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Singapore has close military relations with the US and France.
#2
I'm surprised the Typhoon delivery schedule was a disqualifier. I thought the UK was trying to unload as many as 1/2 of the Typhoons they are committed to buy and would have loved for Singapore to buy part of their commitment.
The F-15 airframe design is more than 30 years old and no longer outclasses the latest fighter airframes. Though it's avionics is very good and is still a very good fighter-bomber, it may no longer be the first choice of those who can afford the very best. BTW, Singapore is a member of the F-35 consortium, but won't receive planes until 2012 or later.
Posted by: ed ||
04/22/2005 9:31 Comments ||
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Even though the F-15 is 30 years old, it still can keep up with and kick the ass of 90% of fighters out there. I'm not surprised that Singapore dropped the Typhoon. From what I have heard from pilots who would know, it is a huge piece of crap. I think Singapore will take a mix of F-15s and Rafales and wait for 2012 to get some real hot rod new technology.
#4
Ed on a strategypage's website forums it was mentioned in another newspaper that one of the EADS personel was caught trying to bribe Singaporan officials into giving a favorable status for the Eurofighter and hence may have been linked to why the Eurofighter was disqualified. I'll try to get ya the link for it.
EFL:(CNSNews.com) - A human rights group says Burma may have used chemical weapons against ethnic minority rebels, raising new concerns about a repressive regime due to take the chairmanship of a leading regional grouping next year. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is coming under increasing pressure from the West over Burma, which is scheduled to take over the rotating chairmanship of the 10-member bloc and to host its 2006 annual meeting. Asean members are divided over whether Burma, also known as Myanmar, should forfeit its turn as chair unless the ruling military junta implements democratic reforms and frees opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest. The United States has imposed trade and investment sanctions on Burma, which Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in January named as one of six "outposts of tyranny." Republican Senator Mitch McConnell said this month the U.S. and European Union should boycott all Asean meetings if Burma becomes chair. A State Department spokesman said in reaction that the U.S. had made it clear "the prevailing situation in Burma complicates our dealings with Asean."
Pressure on Asean is expected to grow after a UK-based international rights group, Christian Solidarity International (CSW), said Thursday the Burmese military may have used chemical weapons against Karen rebels near the border with Thailand last February. The Karen are a mostly Christian agricultural hill tribe in eastern Burma on the frontier with Thailand, which has been fighting for decades for an independent state.
Other than the fact they've had to fund their fight by running drugs, they seem to be ok. At least, that's what I've read.
A ceasefire was signed in January 2004, but fighting resumed towards the end of the year after the junta removed and placed under house arrest the prime minister who had signed the truce with Karen commanders.
CSW quoted rebel fighters as saying a month-long artillery assault on a Karen position culminated on Feb. 15 with a shell which, unlike any witnessed before in the rebels' many years of fighting, released acrid yellow smoke. CSW president Martin Panter, an Australian physician, interviewed five rebels who reported that within a short time of the shell landing nearby, they began to experience symptoms including blistering of the skin, diarrhea and vomiting of blood. Over the following four weeks, each of four of the rebel soldiers had lost between 5-10 kilograms (11-22 pounds) in body weight each, he said.
Based on medical examinations, questioning of the rebels and information provided by chemical weapons experts, Panter said the shell may have contained a combination of blister, pulmonary and neurological agents. Blister agents, which cause the skin to blister, include mustard gas; pulmonary agents, such as chlorine, cause suffocation; while neurological or nerve agents, such as sarin, are absorbed through the skin and cause multiple symptoms including asphyxiation.
Hummm, I don't think you can mix a mustard gas in the same round with nerve agents.
CSW said in a report that the circumstantial evidence for a chemical weapon attack was "compelling," but it conceded the difficulty in obtaining harder evidence. The minimum requirements by the United Nations to prove the use of chemical weapons includes "isolation and identification of the chemicals used, along with photographic evidence that is both location and date specific and certified and a pony."
Meeting such a high burden of proof in a situation in which a rogue regime had used such weapons was virtually impossible, CSW acknowledged.
Well, it's not like the UN really wants proof. I mean, then they might have to do something.
"Such is the case here, However, we believe the evidence presented to us to be of sufficient gravity to be placed on the record."
CSW chief executive Mervyn Thomas said that the junta had been "waging a campaign of ethnic cleansing" against the Karen for many years. "The apparent use of chemical weapons is consistent with what we know of this brutal regime."
According to the military publication Jane's Nuclear, Biological And Chemical Defense, the Burmese junta is suspected chemical and biological warfare capabilities. "Uncorroborated reports have emerged since 1982 that chemical agent attacks had been made by government forces against Karen tribesmen and against other groups in remote areas," it said on Wednesday. "Weapons reported to have been involved include mortar and artillery projectiles."
Another Jane's publication, Jane's Sentinel, reports that Burma has signed, but not ratified, the Chemical Weapons Convention, which means the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) watchdog cannot hold inspections to ensure it is keeping to its pledge to abide by the principles of the convention.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/22/2005 8:33:44 AM ||
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Well, it not like they have a neighbor to the north that they can get stuff from...
#3
They fired *one* chemical shell in a barrage? I wonder if somebody's been buying munition lots of Iraqi looterssalvage dealers on the sly, and accidentally hit the jackpot?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
04/22/2005 12:10 Comments ||
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Accused heroin godfather Andrew Chan has been locked in an isolation cell in Bali to stop him allegedly making death threats against eight other Australians being held for heroin smuggling. Indonesian investigators have accused the 21-year-old Sydney man of trying to frighten his alleged cohorts into keeping silent after at least three fingered him as a drug kingpin. "We have moved him so he cannot contaminate the others," said the provost guard commander at Denpasar police headquarters where all nine suspects are being held and questioned.
Indonesian police have said they are building a strong case against Chan, who has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing. No drugs were found on Chan after he was pulled off a Sydney-bound plane on Sunday night when four others were caught in the departure lounge of Denpasar airport allegedly with heroin strapped to their bodies. Another four were arrested at a Kuta beachfront hotel where more drugs were found.
A Bali police spokesman Colonel AS Reniban said Chan had threatened the others several times since their arrest. "He had to be isolated, because the others are pointing at him," he said. Indonesian police have characterised Chan as a cool and calculating operator. A police video shot on the night of their arrest showed that most of the other suspects were clearly distraught and stunned by their predicament. Chan, in contrast, was seen joking with police, even sharing a light for a cigarette.
It's not clear what effect isolation will have on Chan's attitude toward the investigation. Police have said three suspects claimed that Chan ran the smuggling ring and had threatened to kill them and their families if they refused to obey his orders to take drugs into Australia. Meanwhile Indonesian police are investigating the possibility that there may have been another ringleader in the gang. They suspect Brisbane man Tach Duc Nguyen bought the 8.65kg of heroin somewhere in the Golden Triangle in Burma and Thailand.
The lawyer for two of the Australians arrested at the airport, Fransiskus Passar, said his two clients, Brisbane's Michael William Czugaj and Scott Anthony Rush, both 19, had come to Bali on holiday and had been co-opted into the drug ring. Rush was "an innocent victim of a trafficking syndicate," he said. "He is so young, he doesn't know anything." Passar said Czugaj and Rush had come to Bali separately from the other seven people and had been recruited after arriving. "When they were in Bali someone asked them to carry a package back to Australia," he said. "They didn't know what they would be taking, but they promised to do it for money. If they didn't, they would be killed."
On Thursday, the nine were officially declared suspects - the first step in towards prosecution under Indonesian law. It could be weeks before they see the inside of a courtroom. Currently the nine are being detained under a drugs law that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail. However, investigators have said that Chan and the four caught at the airport could be put on trial on trafficking charges that carry the death sentence. Police spokesman Reniban, meanwhile, denied reports several of the nine had become ill from the food at police headquarters where some have complained about lack of hygiene and even rats. Sleep has also been a problem for some with a mosque making customary prayers calls on loudspeakers before dawn every day. The only female suspect, Renee Lawrence, 27, from Wallsend, near Newcastle, was earlier this week treated at a police hospital for stress. But Reniban said all nine were now well enough for interrogation to continue. "It was only Lawrence, but she is already fine," he said. Friday was a public holiday in Indonesia and senior police said it was not clear whether their questioning would continue. Rush's parents have made a second visit to police headquarters to see their son. They made no comment when they passed through a group of news crews.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
04/22/2005 1:21:23 AM ||
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Syria denied yesterday that Israel's navy helped search for crewmen from a ship that sank in international waters in the Mediterranean, saying the disaster happened too far from the Jewish state's coast. Three crewmen — two Syrians and an Egyptian — have been rescued and four are still missing, said an official at Syria's port of Tartous, where the Syrian-owned ship was heading. The Korean-flagged ship sailed from Egypt's Mediterranean port of El-Arish, but the official did not when.
Israel's military said Wednesday that its navy vessels and helicopters joined US and French naval units in the search for the crew of a ship that it said sank about 56 kilometers off the coast of northern Israel. "Israeli military boats did not take any role in the search," the Syrian official told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. He said the ship sank about 160 kilometers off the Israeli coast. It was not clear why the Syrian and Israeli officials gave different locations.
The official said the ship was carrying 1,400 tons of cement. He said the three crewmen were saved by the Turkish crew of a Panamanian ship. They were later transferred to a French military vessel before being handed over to a Syrian ship on its way to Tartous. Three Syrians and an Egyptian are still missing, he said. An Israeli military spokesman said Wednesday that the search for the four missing men was suspended after several hours due to darkness and sea conditions and was to be renewed at daybreak yesterday.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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The four missing are crab bait by now.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/22/2005 0:54 Comments ||
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#2
"Hey! What's this fingertip doing in my seafood dinner??"
EFL - good pics at the link. AP - same place as the HMS Surprise is located
In the late 1980s, when the United States and the Soviet Union were military rivals, Jeff Loman hunted submarines in the Pacific. From his perch aboard a Navy H-2 helicopter, the vessel he saw slicing through the waves was unmistakable.
"Gotcha!" Loman thought.
It was a Soviet Foxtrot-class sub, and from 500 yards away, Loman and the helicopter crew could see sailors snapping photos of the Americans aiming their cameras at them. Yesterday, Loman got a closer look at a Foxtrot submarine, and wondered if it was a second meeting. This time, the vessel was cutting through the waves of San Diego Bay, and it was on a new mission.
Nicknamed "Cobra," the diesel-electric sub is the latest addition to the Maritime Museum of San Diego, and will be open to visitors beginning Memorial Day weekend. Owned by Legacy Cobra San Diego, the warship will be at the museum for at least a year. Its new berth is just a couple of blocks north of the aircraft carrier Midway, which it probably shadowed in the Pacific when the two were part of the Cold War chess game played by the United States and Soviet Union.
Having both vessels on display is unique, said Ray Ashley, the museum's executive director. "These were adversaries at one time, and there's nowhere else in the world where you can see an American aircraft carrier and the vessel that hunted it," Ashley said. The museum expects the submarine to be a big draw. It hopes to capitalize on interest in the Midway and is trying to develop a partnership that would promote both museums.
The Midway's 47-year career made it the longest-serving aircraft carrier in the Navy. It opened as a museum on June 7, 2004, and by mid-January it had drawn 575,000 visitors. The Maritime Museum receives about 125,000 visitors annually, but saw a spike to 190,000 last year because of the Midway's proximity.
The museum wants the exhibit to be an accurate depiction of life aboard a Soviet sub during the Cold War era. The vessel will be restored as closely as possible to its active-duty appearance. Other than some text panels describing life on the ship and its history, changes will be kept to a minimum.
"We want people to get a realistic idea of what it was like," museum spokesman Michael Shanahan said.
The submarine is welded shut, and before anyone is allowed on board, its air will be tested for any toxicity emitted by the batteries during the journey.
Web site: www.sdmaritime.org
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/22/2005 2:02:37 PM ||
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#1
Didn't I see a Russkie sub in the bay on Stargate SG-1? They had to blow it up because the replicators sliced and diced the Russian crew. Big international incident.
#2
Its new berth is just a couple of blocks north of the aircraft carrier Midway, which it probably shadowed in the Pacific when the two were part of the Cold War chess game played by the United States and Soviet Union.
I need to make it down to SD sometime in my life. Most of the local naval facilities I remember when I was much younger here are no more, and I miss seeing the hardware every now and then. (Dad worked at Mare Island and an uncle was in the MSTS)
#5
both museums are very cool - Alaska Paul and I had lunch around Christmas at Anthony's on the waterfront, walked down to check out the HMS Surprise (from Master and Commander movie fame) and the Star of India bark, and he and his family took the Midway tour...good time
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/22/2005 18:04 Comments ||
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#6
Ima gonna have to do the lunch and sub tour sometimes, Frank, when the sub gets set up.
I wonder if they welded up the sub during some hairy cold war missions (heh).
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/22/2005 19:19 Comments ||
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#7
hope everyone got out....
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/22/2005 19:21 Comments ||
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PBS Scrutiny Raises Political Antennas
By Paul Farhi
Washington Post Wanker Staff Writer
Friday, April 22, 2005; Page C01
Liberal commentator Bill Moyers is out on PBS stations. Buster the animated rabbit is under a cloud of suspicion. And right-wing yakkers from the Wall Street Journal editorial page have been handed their own public-television chat show. Left wing commentary - good, noble, virtuous. Right wing commentary - yakkers. Kinda says it all...
Some observers, including people inside the Public Broadcasting Service, see these recent developments as troubling.
"Bob, I'm trouble by these developments!"
"Are you an accredited observer, Herb?"
PBS, they say, is being forced to toe a more conservative line in its programming by the Republican-dominated agency that provides about $30 million in federal funds to the Alexandria-based service. For an organization that purports to be nonpartisan, this is rich. Anyone who can sit through Moyers' self-righteous gasbaggery surely knows better.
Officials at the agency, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, say they are merely seeking to ensure balance and fairness in the network's presentation of political news and ideas. Fair and Balanced - now where have I heard that before? Not from PBS.
Eventually, even the taxpayers are going to notice that it's MSNBC, only paid for with gummint money...
Under its mandate from Congress, which created the agency in 1967, CPB is required to act as an independent buffer between lawmakers and public broadcasters, although it can evade this mandate set broad programming goals. Appointees of President Bush currently control the majority of seats on CPB's eight-member board. Each board member serves a six-year term. Fred, got a picture of a baby crying? This article SCREAMS out for one!
How about the baby snoozing? That's my reaction...
Typically one of the quietest bureaucracies in Washington, the quasi-governmental CPB has been unusually whinypetulant active in recent weeks. CPB this month appointed a pair of veteran journalists to review public TV and radio programming for evidence of bias, the first time in CPB's 38-year history that it has established such positions. PBS officials were unaware that the corporation intended to review its news and public affairs programs, such as "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer" and "Frontline," until the appointments were publicly announced. Evidence of bias? I could dig it up with a pair of chopsticks.
In bare-knuckle negotiations with PBS earlier this year, the corporation also insisted, for the first time, on tying new funding to an agreement that would commit the network to strict "objectivity and balance" in each of its programs -- an idea that PBS's general counsel described in an internal memo as amounting to "government encroachment on and supervision of program content, potentially in violation of the First Amendment."
It's paid for by the public. Why shouldn't the public have control over it?
And you're in violation of your charter. What say you?
Late last week, CPB's board declined to renew the contract of its chief executive, Kathleen Cox, I'll pass, too obvious a veteran administrator at the agency. She was replaced by Ken Ferree, a Republican who had been a top adviser to Michael Powell, the former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. The Ferree appointment followed the dismissals or departures in recent months of at least three other senior CPB officials, all of whom had Democratic affiliations. "Don't rock the boat, baby!!"
"We don't want to be alarmist, but I would be less than honest if I said there wasn't concern here," said one senior executive at PBS, who insisted on anonymity because he'll get the Cartman anal probe CPB provides about 10 percent of its annual budget. "When you put it all together, a pattern starts to emerge." A test pattern, perhaps?
A senior FCC official, who would not speak for attribution because he must rule on issues affecting public broadcasting, went further, saying CPB "is engaged in a systematic effort not just to sanitize the truth, but to impose a right-wing agenda on PBS. It's almost like a right-wing coup. It appears to be orchestrated."
Who was it that granted public terriblevision to the left as a fiefdom? Was the grant made in perpetuity?
A right-wing coup? Shades of Pinochet?
In an interview yesterday, CPB board chairman Ken Tomlinson called such comments "paranoia," and said critics of CPB's initiatives should "grow up." Tomlinson's right. When the whiners offer little substantive criticism, as it has so far in this article, the adage 'put up or shut up' applies.
"We're only seeking balance," said Tomlinson. "I am concerned about perceptions that not all parts of the political spectrum are reflected on public broadcasting. [But] there are no hidden agendas." PBS' liberal agenda hides in plain sight.
Asked for specific examples of slanted or unfair programming, Tomlinson declined to name any. "You've heard the same complaints of bias that I have in congressional hearings year after year," he said. Translation - a list of complaints about their bias would read like War and Peace.
Try listening to All Things Considered. That's the Classix Illustrated version...
In fact, congressional Republicans have been generally critical of public broadcasting's news and informational programming for decadescenturieseons years, saying it favors liberal ideas. These criticisms fueled a movement led by then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich to "zero out" CPB's federal funding a decade ago. Those efforts unfortunately failed; federal appropriations to CPB have grown 40 percent since then, to some $386.8 million this year. About 90 percent of this money is passed directly to public radio and TV stations, which then pay fees to PBS and National Public Radio for programming such as "Nova" and "All Things Distorted Considered." Let me ask something - If the lead paragraph refers to PBS' most prominent (former) host as 'liberal', how much more evidence is needed to prove there's liberal bias at PBS?
However, conservatives were exercised that Moyers -- an outspoken liberal There it is, again!
-- was involved in hosting a weekly newsmagazine called "Now." (Moyers left the show in December, citing personal reasons.) PBS responded, in part, by trying to recruit Gingrich to host a weekly program. It wound up developing public affairs shows starring the Wall Street Journal's conservative pundits and Tucker Carlson, a columnist for the conservative Weekly Standard and a co-host of CNN's "Crossfire." (Carlson has since left PBS and CNN for a job at MSNBC.)
In January, PBS came in for more criticism, this time a rebuke from Education Secretary Margaret Spellings over an episode of a children's travelogue program in which a rabbit character named Buster paid a visit to two families headed by lesbians. PBS pulled the episode from distribution to stations around the country. Hmmm... Heather does have two mommies!
Tomlinson would not comment on specific programs. He said CPB's efforts were aimed at making "incremental changes that meet the needs of the American people and the aspirations of the American people." Tomlinson, who ran the Voice of America during the Reagan administration and was formerly editor in chief of Reader's Digest, became chairman of CPB in September 2003. If I was a PBS staffer, I'd be afraid, very afraid of someone with this resume. He sounds like Bolton - the Left's worst nightmare.
The corporation's own research indicates broad public satisfaction with the quality of news programming on PBS and NPR. How about independent research, cuz, like, we don't trust yours? A series of focus group sessions and two national surveys conducted by two polling firms -- the Tarrance Group and Lake Snell Perry & Associates -- found few perceptions of bias in PBS's or NPR's reporting in 2002 and 2003. Um... who did you ask? For example, among people who identified themselves as "news and information consumers," 36 percent said PBS's coverage of the Bush administration in 2003 was "fair and balanced," and 46 percent offered no opinion. Eleven percent judged NPR's coverage of the Middle East to be biased, and this group split almost equally between those who felt NPR was biased toward Israel and those who felt it was biased toward the Arab or Palestinian side. Oh, so things are Fair and Balanced at PBS. Never mind!
Wayne Godwin, PBS's veteran chief operating officer, said in an interview yesterday that he wanted to give CPB's new chief executive, Ferree, some time before he drew conclusions. "They're in such a significant state of flux at this time that we want to be fair in looking at it," he said. "I want to keep my cushy job!"
He added, "I don't know that Ken [Tomlinson] is or is not trying to change our programming. . . . I will say there is reason to remain aware and vigilant to what is going on. The long run will determine if he wants changes." "But I'm updating my resume, just in case..."
Tomlinson said his goal is to seek peaceful coexistence increases in federal funding of public broadcasting in order to strengthen it in an increasingly competitive media environment. "Public TV, public broadcasting, is in trouble," he said. "It will wither and die if we continue the way we have. That's why it's so important for us to rally national support for it. If we don't have true excellence, we won't be able to gain the support we need. We have to make sure that these [programming] concerns don't prevent us from gaining the national consensus we need. Just pull the freakin' plug already - LET THE MARKET DECIDE.
Press release or comedy script, you make the call!
LOS ANGELES, CA - Daryl Hannah, whose commitment to the environment is as notable as her acting career, bwahahaha
will host the "FORCES OF NATURE—The Future of Sustainability" panel from 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday, April 27, at LOHAS 9 Forum: Getting to the Heart of Conscious Commerce. Hannah is an environmental activist who has large breasts uses solar power, adopts animals, drives a clean burning vehicle that runs on biodiesel, and lives a sustainable lifestyle as only a fabulously rich Hollywood star can.
"Manny! You better find me some plum starring roles! Without a lot more money, I won't be able to sustain this sustainable lifestyle much longer!"
Sustainability is a state or process that can be maintained indefinitely and healthfully, incorporating elements of the environment, the economy, karma, vibes, mellow and social systems. Those committed to sustainable living strive to buy products that are made with the fewest resources or utilize earth-friendly materials that replenish themselves easily.
"Like silt! Silt's easily replenished! All my clothes are now made with silt!"
Hannah selected the members of the "FORCES OF NATURE—The Future of Sustainability" panel for their innovations and contributions toward sustainable processes and products. Panelists include Charris Ford, Biodiesel Pioneer and Founder of Grassolean.com; John Picard, President and Founder of E2 Environmental Enterprises; Paul Stamets, Mycologist, Author, Inventor & Founder of Fungi Perfecti;
His books include Saving the Environment Using Mushrooms and Lichen...
Danny Way, Pro Skateboarder, X-Games Gold Medalist and member of the Board of Action Sports Environmental Coalition (ASEC);
Dewwwwd!"
and Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Whoa! I bow in the face of such heavy duty mentation!
Ford created the first biodiesel facility in Colorado using recycled French fry oil he collects from evil Big Food local eateries. He and Hannah are shilling his product spreading the word about the efficiency of biofuels. Architect, builder and entrepreneur Picard, a leading environmental consultant, uses his knowledge of engineering and design to apply sustainability to structures and industrial campuses.
"You put your 'shrooms in between the second and third stories. Any higher than that, they don't get the vibes from Mother Gaia..."
Stamets, who has written six books on the cultivation and use of mushrooms, has been active in using mycelium in breaking down toxic wastes, capturing pathogenic bacteria, and has developed strategies where mycelium kick-starts habitat restoration in ecologically devastated environments and gives you really bitchin' visions.
Thought I was kidding about the book, didn't you?
Pro skateboarder Way is a member of ASEC, the Action Sports Environmental Coalition, which is behind the greening of the X-Games. Another panelist who changed the way his sector of the entertainment industry does business is Kiedis, lead singer for the now forgotten Red Hot Chili Peppers, who was instrumental in getting Warner Brothers Records to use paper made of hemp, flax and post-consumer waste in their major CD releases. In 2004, the Red Hot Chili Peppers also unveiled "The Red Hot Love Nest," a sustainably built party room eco-suite at San Francisco's Hotel Triton, which donates all of its profit to Julia Butterfly's non-profit organization, Circle of Life.
Julia Butterfly? "Circle of Life"? I think I'll go lie down...
The LOHAS 9 Forum: Getting to the Heart of Conscious Commerce begins the evening of April 25 at The Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey, California and ends April 27. Other panelists include experts in health and the environment, Fortune 500 and entertainment industry executives, and has-been celebrities who promote the LOHAS lifestyle, such as Amy Smart, Mariel Hemingway, Ed Begley Jr., and Raquel Welch.
Heavy hitters, each and every one. Welch once had an awesome pair of breasts, though these days they prob'ly hang between her knees, and she starred in a movie about cavemen. I understand Mariel Hemingway once made a movie, too. I'm not sure if it was with Ed Begley Jr., though. And I'm sure Amy Smart is somebody who did something notable. I'm just not sure what. It'll prob'ly come to me...
LOHAS 9 will include a musical performance by Rickie Lee Jones and other surprise entertainment.
Oooh! Oooh! I saw her on Saturday Nite Live once, about 20 years ago. Or maybe it was longer. I thought it was one of the comedy routines, but my sister assured me that R.L. Jones is a serious artiste. She could tell, because R.L. spent most of the number rearranging her beret...
The first Inspiration Film Festival will be launched in conjunction with LOHAS 9, showcasing spiritually uplifting work of emerging filmmakers worldwide.
Oooh! Mom! Take me there!
LOHAS sponsors and partners include Ford Escape Hybrid, Gaiam, Ben & Jerry's, Intel, Dell, Natural Health Magazine, Organic Bouquet, Clif Bar, Wellness Water Filters, Golden Temple, Antique Drapery Rod Co., Anna Sova Luxury Organics, Hemptown, Ajna Music, Izze Beverage Company, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, JASON Natural Cosmetics, Living Tree Paper Company, Utne Magazine, Co-Op America and the Environmental Media Association. Other sponsors include Under the Canopy, Experience Life Magazine, Breathe Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, Expansion Capital Partners, Portfolio 21, Zhena's Gypsy Tea, EV Rentals, Naked Juice, Concept Farm and Native Energy, who is powering the LOHAS conference with wind power generated by all the hot air being released. Full-priced tickets for all three days of LOHAS 9 cost $795.
$795! Cheap at half the price.
A pass to the Inspiration Film Festival, including Monday's joint program and reception at LOHAS 9, costs $50 or $25 when purchased with LOHAS 9 tickets. To purchase tickets or to learn more, visit www.lohas.com or www.inspirationfilmfestival.com or call 303-222-8263.
Damn! I'd just love to go, but I really do have to wash my hair that night.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/22/2005 11:06:13 AM ||
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#1
And I'm sure Amy Smart is somebody who did something notable. I'm just not sure what. Amy Smart had roles in such films as Varsity Blues, Road Trip, Rat Race, The Butterfly Effect, and Starsky & Hutch. Hard to see how you missed such a outstanding body of dreck.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/22/2005 13:21 Comments ||
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#2
Daryl Hannah, whose commitment to the environment is as notable as her acting career...
If this is their big selling point, they're in deep, deep shit...
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2005 14:05 Comments ||
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#14
The enviro panel circuit is looking more and more like the dinner theater of the 21st century...and they're prolly serving the same chicken cordon bleu.
#17
Paul Stamets?
He's the leading world expert on growing psilocybin mushrooms and drove there use in the direction of the smaller wood eating cyanescens species as they were stronger and could be grown discretely on cardboard under your bed with a few fresh woodchips instead of all that smelly cowchip stuff. Then he wrote a huge tome on growing them and treating all the diseases that they could get.
I bought the book to see what kind of diseases mushrooms could get. (somebody didn't return it and I suspect I know why?) Anyway, he went on and on about treating the diseases and how to work around them and what horrible sickness they could induce in people. After looking at half the diseases I wouldn't even eat a canned campbells mushroom for years... Seriously scary stuff.
He gets around the law by selling Spore Prints!
Spore Prints are what you use for id purposes but you can also grow stuff from them....
BTW: One of Saddam's food tasters died after eating some shitakke mushrooms. They couldn't figure out why so asked the net for help. Turned out that they grew them on Pistachio wood. It seems that Pistachio's are related to poison ivy! Mushrooms tend to concentrate poison so volia dead taster!
QUETTA: Seven prisoners escaped from Machh jail early on Thursday. Machh jail, some 50 kilometres south of Quetta, is a major prison in the province where mostly criminals facing the death penalty are kept. Jail official Saadullah Kakar told Daily Times that the seven prisoners were kept in a room in the jail hospital. They broke the toilet window and entered the 'B Class' area where they broke the fences and scaled the wall with the help of a rope.
He said that senior Home Department officials were investigating. The official said the prisoners were facing punishment from four to 26 years. Around nine prisoners had escaped from the same prison last year and a few were arrested in Dera Ismail Khan in the North West Frontier Province. They had kidnapped some passengers coming from the Punjab province in Loralai district of Balochistan, demanding the release of their colleague. But the law enforcement agencies rescued the abducted people in a rescue operation.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2005 00:00:00 ||
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They broke the toilet window and entered the âB Classâ area where they broke the fences and scaled the wall with the help of a rope.
SUSPENDED animation is poised to move from science fiction to reality: scientists have successfully induced a state of reversible hibernation in mammals for the first time, using methods that could eventually be applied to human beings. The breakthrough in the United States promises to allow doctors to slow human metabolism almost to a standstill, protecting critically ill patients from damage to the brain and other organs that would normally be inflicted by oxygen deprivation. Patient trials could begin within five years.
The "hibernation on demand" technique, which has been pioneered in mice, also raises the prospect of putting astronauts to sleep for long voyages in space — a staple of science fiction films such as Alien and 2001: A Space Odyssey. In a study at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle, a team led by Mark Roth used hydrogen sulphide gas to place mice into artificial hibernation, slowing their cellular activity virtually to a standstill. The animals were left in this state for up to six hours before being revived without any lasting ill effects. As hibernation drastically reduces the amount of oxygen that cells need to survive, such suspended animation would have significant medical benefits if it could be induced among human patients. It could be used to buy time when treating severe blood loss, hypothermia, fevers, heart attacks and strokes, in which oxygen deprivation kills off tissue, leading to disability or death. Dr Roth said that there was no technical reason why the same procedure would not work in humans. "We think this may be a latent ability that all mammals have — potentially humans — and we're just harnessing it and turning it on and off, inducing a state of hibernation on demand," he said.
The research, published today in the journal Science, could improve cancer therapy. Cancer cells do not require oxygen to grow and this makes them less vulnerable to radiation than healthy cells. Radiotherapy generally kills more ordinary cells than cancerous ones. Slowing down cell metabolism before treatment could allow increased radiation to knock out tumours better.While the notion of placing a human into hibernation appears far-fetched, there have been dozens of cases in which people have survived prolonged periods of low metabolism, usually brought on by extreme cold.
Posted by: 3dc ||
04/22/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#7
hydrogen sulphide gas=deadly poisonous gas,comes from valcanoes,is also found in sewer systems,swamps and oil/gas wells.Typically it has that rotten egg smell.
#10
As far as H2S, hydrogen sulfide gas, goes, if you can smell it you are ok for a short time. If you smell it very strongly and all of a sudden don't, you're most likely dead. It has a bad habit of deadening the sense of smell shortly before deadening the muscles of your lungs.
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.
The 
President 
House Republicans yesterday called on Minority Leader 
"I acknowledge the important role Australia's played in the past and I would like to reinforce the message that there is even more to do in the future," he said on the sidelines of a UN anti-crime conference in Bangkok.
Accused heroin godfather Andrew Chan has been locked in an isolation cell in Bali to stop him allegedly making death threats against eight other Australians being held for heroin smuggling. Indonesian investigators have accused the 21-year-old Sydney man of trying to frighten his alleged cohorts into keeping silent after at least three fingered him as a drug kingpin. "We have moved him so he cannot contaminate the others," said the provost guard commander at Denpasar police headquarters where all nine suspects are being held and questioned.
Syria denied yesterday that Israel's navy helped search for crewmen from a ship that sank in international waters in the Mediterranean, saying the disaster happened too far from the Jewish state's coast. Three crewmen — two Syrians and an Egyptian — have been rescued and four are still missing, said an official at Syria's port of Tartous, where the Syrian-owned ship was heading. The Korean-flagged ship sailed from Egypt's Mediterranean port of El-Arish, but the official did not when.
Typically one of the quietest bureaucracies in Washington, the quasi-governmental CPB has been unusually 
QUETTA: Seven prisoners escaped from Machh jail early on Thursday. Machh jail, some 50 kilometres south of Quetta, is a major prison in the province where mostly criminals facing the death penalty are kept. Jail official Saadullah Kakar told Daily Times that the seven prisoners were kept in a room in the jail hospital. They broke the toilet window and entered the 'B Class' area where they broke the fences and scaled the wall with the help of a rope. 
SUSPENDED animation is poised to move from science fiction to reality: scientists have successfully induced a state of reversible hibernation in mammals for the first time, using methods that could eventually be applied to human beings. The breakthrough in the United States promises to allow doctors to slow human metabolism almost to a standstill, protecting critically ill patients from damage to the brain and other organs that would normally be inflicted by oxygen deprivation. Patient trials could begin within five years.
