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Tel Aviv hit by rush-hour blast
Today's Headlines
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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Journalists Caught Fighting In Senate Room
EFL
Two journalists were caught on video making man love this week in a cat fight in the Senate Press Conference room. The tape shows two men in the back planning cunning lies about GWB of the room. One journalist appears to push another just after talks about homeland security wrapped-up Thursday. The man who was pushed shoved back. That knocked over the man who apparently started the scuffle. Then all the girls giggled and continued playing with thier Barbie dolls.
Great! A canndyass shoving match. Whatever happened to just snapping a man’s skull back?

Posted by: Dragon Fly || 07/11/2004 8:06:46 AM || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They're liars, not fighters...
Posted by: Pappy || 07/11/2004 23:28 Comments || Top||


Boston's parking meter cheats giving token appreciation
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 07/11/2004 04:01 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Burr-Hamilton redux, this time with blanks
Posted by: .com || 07/11/2004 01:57 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It's on CSPAN right now. C'mon, stop talkin' and start shootin'. Let's see some bluuuuuuuuuud!
Posted by: Zpaz || 07/11/2004 11:28 Comments || Top||

#2  Ohmygod, this is gay.
Posted by: Zpaz || 07/11/2004 11:33 Comments || Top||

#3  Col Burr has an afro. Cool. Dude.
Posted by: Zpaz || 07/11/2004 11:34 Comments || Top||


NEW! Recently declassified French SpecOps Tactical Hand-Signal manual
Posted by: OldSpook || 07/11/2004 01:45 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  LOL! I like the "Shooting at us" and "He was on our side" ones.
Posted by: Charles || 07/11/2004 3:14 Comments || Top||

#2  "They Haven't Got A Chance!..."

Classic! Thanks Oldspook.
Posted by: Bulldog || 07/11/2004 3:42 Comments || Top||

#3  lol, OUI! Funny posting! :)
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 07/11/2004 4:06 Comments || Top||

#4  The funniest part was, he actually was holding a weapon! Bwawawawawa!
Posted by: Dragon Fly || 07/11/2004 7:40 Comments || Top||

#5  Thumb and index finger extended forming a right angle, other fingers curled. Yep, losers. Just plant that baby on yer forehead, Phillipe.
Posted by: Zpaz || 07/11/2004 11:32 Comments || Top||

#6  I dunno...

I liked "He'll be out in a minute" (Make the hand shape and motion yourself if it isnt clear).
Posted by: OldSpook || 07/11/2004 12:12 Comments || Top||


Hindoos Enraged over Bush’s Cat (not the Onion or Scrappleface)
Bush’s cat India gets Indians enraged
This reminds me somehow of one of those science-fiction stories where the hero goes to sleep for a long time, then awakens to somehow find himself in a mad world where everyone else is either crazy or stupid or both. Cyril Kornbluth’s The Marching Morons comes especially to mind.
By Indo-Asian News Service
Thiruvananthapuram, July 2 (IANS) Angry youths in this Kerala capital Friday burnt an effigy of US President George W. Bush, not because they are anti-American but because he has named his cat India.
They can retaliate by naming a local cow "America." We wouldn’t send a Delta hit squad after them, I promise.
Members of the citizens group Prathikarana Vedi assembled before the Kerala assembly
(a good place to assemble, I’d say)
saying that Bush calling his cat India was an insult to the country.
While the foolish antics of Prathikarana Vedi (Hindi for "too much time on our hands"?) probably instill nothing but pride in the hearts of sober Indians.
"We areThis is a disgrace to our great country and this has come from none other than US President George W. Bush. This is nothing but an insult to India because there are hundreds of thousands of Indians in US, and many who occupy key posts in the White House," said M.A. Latheef, president of the group.
My dog’s full name is Roswell the Atomic Poodle.
Sheesh, I hope the residents of that esteemed New Mexico community don’t consider it an insult. I would really be in trouble if nuclear weapons workers from Sandia National Laboratory also decide to take offense.
Ros is really a wonder-dog, though getting a bit frail at age 13.

"He should make amends," Latheef added.
You might think that eradicating the Taliban terror-sanctuary would count for something with these folks. They obviously read the papers and watch the news or they wouldn’t know about Bush’s cat.
The members of the group walked to the front gate of the assembly building but were stopped by police. After a brief speech and some slogans, the members burnt an effigy of the US president.
I wonder if Al-Jazeerah has picked this up? Burning them for real in effigy might be a more logical course for Indians.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy || 07/11/2004 1:18:08 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Did it ever occur to these idiots that the cat might be named after the ink, not the country? Of course not; the whole world obviously revolves around them.

These clowns have far too much time on their hands. Wotta buncha losers.
Posted by: Anonymous5673 || 07/11/2004 1:42 Comments || Top||

#2  They ought to really love my cat named Shiva then. LOL
Posted by: FlameBait93268 || 07/11/2004 1:54 Comments || Top||

#3  Good grief. People are gettin' down right idiotic... The damn hindu leeches are after money.
Posted by: Halfass Pete || 07/11/2004 4:20 Comments || Top||

#4  AC,
The doctors at the Roswell Park cancer institute in Buffalo, NY will no doubt start seething shortly, as well. You might want to give up smoking ;-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/11/2004 4:50 Comments || Top||

#5  The family named her after the former Texas Ranger baseball player, Ruben Sierra, who was called "El Indio".

Read all about it. Where besides RantBurg are you gonna get analysis of an issue this important? ;)
Posted by: AzCat || 07/11/2004 5:31 Comments || Top||

#6  Hmmm. Who's going to tell them about India Wilkes, Ashley's sister?
Posted by: Angie Schultz || 07/11/2004 11:54 Comments || Top||

#7  Gone with the Hind.
Posted by: Matt || 07/11/2004 12:11 Comments || Top||

#8  BAST: Egyptian Cat Goddess.
___________________________For those who worship pussy...
Posted by: borgboy || 07/11/2004 18:40 Comments || Top||

#9  I named my cat "Islamic Heroes" since she's a pussy...she, however, answers to "Katie" the infidel name my kids gave her
Posted by: Frank G || 07/11/2004 18:57 Comments || Top||

#10  LOL Matt.
Posted by: Shipman || 07/11/2004 19:38 Comments || Top||


Centenarian Breaks 100-Meter Sprint Mark
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) - It took him two tries, but South African Philip Rabinowitz made it into the Guinness Book of World Records Saturday as the fastest 100-year-old to run 100 meters. Rabinowitz made his run at the Green Point stadium in 30.86 seconds, beating the previous record of 36.1 seconds.

Last week Rabinowitz also broke the record, clocking 28.7 seconds at the Mandela Park Athletics stadium in Khayelitsha, outside Cape Town. But a power outage stopped the official electronic clock, so the time was not recorded or recognized. But the man known as "Rabinoblitz" and "Flying Phil" was not deterred, and this week he returned for a second try, the South African Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Rabinowitz already holds the record for world's oldest competitive walker. He practices daily by walking 3.7 miles and sticks to a healthy diet. Rabinowitz, who turned 100 in February, still works, handling accounts for his daughter's business. He participated in the South African leg of the Olympic torch relay across the globe earlier this year.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/11/2004 12:00:00 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Arabia
Saudis to Hold First Vote Since 1960s
Saudi Arabia said Saturday it will hold municipal elections in September, the first polls to be held in decades in this conservative kingdom. Municipal Affairs Minister Prince Mutaeb said election preparations have started and a list of regulations would be issued soon, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. The vote will cover 178 municipal councils organized in 13 districts, Mutaeb said. The elections are scheduled to be held after summer vacation ends and the at the start of the school year and bombing season, which begins Sept. 11, a date that means nothing to them. The municipal elections would give Saudis but not the majority of people the chance to participate - if only in a meaningless limited manner - in faux decision making, a unheard of rare event in the oil rich and achievement poor kingdom which is an absolute thugocracy monarchy that has an unelected Consultative Council of Congenital Idiots that acts in a vague way like a conclave of yes-men parliament. Political parties are shot on sight banned and press freedoms are non-existent limited. Last year, Crown Prince Abdullah, the kingdom's de facto chief thug leader, ordered authorities to prepare for municipal elections within a year. The pace of reform has been fitful, reflecting the government's need to conciliate conservative and progressive strands in society.
"progressive"? Is that a Saudi who carries his own wallet?
Muslim radicals see some reforms - such as deleting material offensive to Christians and Jews from school textbooks - a deliberate attempt by the government to de-Islamize the kingdom. Progressive Saudis, however, want faster and more radical changes. Mutaeb said several election preparation teams participated in studies conducted by the ministry in cooperation with foreign experts. He did not say if women would be allowed to run or vote.
Need we ask?
The last elections were held in the 1960s, but it is unclear why they were halted. In the 1970s, a new election law for municipal councils was written but no elections were held.
Too busy stealing the boodle?
Posted by: Steve White || 07/11/2004 12:00:00 AM || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The ballot question: "Paper or plastic?"
Posted by: Seafarious || 07/11/2004 0:11 Comments || Top||

#2  I recommend using Florida voting machines!
Posted by: RTH34 || 07/11/2004 0:55 Comments || Top||


Britain
UK Animal Cruelty Laws: Slugs & Snails Could Get Same Protection As Cats & Dogs
Sorry Mucky, but this is madness...
A new animal welfare law that will offer slugs and snails the same protection as cats and dogs was condemned by gardeners yesterday. Legislation to be announced by the Government this week will give courts the power to impose fines of up to £20,000 and 12 months in jail on people found guilty of mistreating animals. Anyone under the age of 16 will be banned from owning a pet...
- when the insane PC socialists are in power, sometimes you don’t need the EU for laws of mindblowing stupidity -
...and goldfish will no longer be allowed to be given as prizes at fairgrounds.
The legislation could lead to gardeners [and presumably farmers, vets, anglers etc.] being fined for killing insects, worms, caterpillars, slugs and snails, if scientific evidence proves they have suffered pain and distress. Ministers say the law, which updates existing legislation, is needed to protect animals from abuse. Horticulturalists rejected the idea that they could be guilty of cruelty. Bunny Guinness, The Telegraph gardening columnist and six-times winner of the gold medal at the Chelsea Flower Show, said gardeners should not be liable to fines for protecting their gardens. "Hundreds of slugs and snails are being slaughtered in gardens up and down the country. It would be quite ridiculous to call that cruelty. Almost all gardeners use slug pellets or salt to keep the pests at bay," she said.
Hmm, ’Bunny’, a tip: using emotive phrases like "slaughtered" isn’t a good idea when you’re trying to defend the slaughtering. Just a bit of PR advice.
John Cushnie, a regular panellist on Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time, said some aspects of the legislation were nonsensical. "To give worms and slugs protection under the law is ludicrous. If I have an infestation of slugs or snails or cabbage white butterflies then I will get rid of them in whatever way I choose. No one is going to tell me that the things are suffering. If I want to boil them alive, stamp on them or treat them to a slow drawn-out death by poison then I will - and would like to see the Government that would try to interfere with a man and his garden."
John, I agree with what you’re getting at, but see above.
The draft Bill, which updates the Protection of Animals Act 1911, will be published next week by Ben Bradshaw, the minister for animal welfare. The penalties for cruelty would double the present maximum jail sentence and substantially increase the £5,000 maximum fine. Anyone owning a pet, farm or exotic animal would have a statutory duty of care towards it and could have it taken away. They could also be banned from looking after another. Unborn animals will receive the same protection.
That’s convenient - we’ve got an abortion debate going on at the moment. So let me see - on the one hand we’ve got greens and reds arguing for the rights of slug eggs and aphid nymphs, on the other we’ve got many of the same people arguing that viable unborn human kids are dispensible irritations. Hypocrisy, anyone?
RSPCA inspectors would gain the right to enter without a warrant any lorry, ferry, plane or hovercraft carrying animals. This has been included because of the growing awareness of the suffering of livestock on long journeys.
Howja know the vehicle’s carrying animals till you get inside? It’s only a matter before these self-satisfied charity workers will have legal access to anywhere they please.
Inspectors entering a private home without a warrant would need to be accompanied by police. The crackdown follows pressure from the RSPCA and organisations such as the Kennel Club, but has been criticised for not going far enough. The draft contains no reference to circus animals and fails to ban tail docking.
"NOOOOooooooo!!! No specific mention of Sammy the Seal?! Calamity! The new law’s useless! USELESS!!! More!"
The RSPCA welcomed the Bill but said it would continue to campaign for stricter protection.
"MORE!"
"This would be the single most stupid important piece of welfare legislation affecting animals since 1911," a spokesman said. The Countryside Alliance expressed concern that the law would be interpreted for animals used for sport or recreation. Even though the changes are not intended to affect hunting, shooting or fishing, the alliance fears animal rights campaigners could attempt to use them in relation to dogs in hunt kennels, racehorses in stables and pheasants reared for game shoots. A spokesman said: "The law could be taken too literally. If people can be prosecuted for causing their pets psychological distress then a man could be arrested for having a depressed dog." So what will you do if your dog has fleas? If your chickens are being eaten by foxes? Cockchafers are eating your wheat? Cockroaches are infesting your kitchen? Headlice are crawling through your hair? The armoured assault RSPCA SWAT team aren’t going to be on your side. Mad, mad, mad, mad, mad...
Posted by: Bulldog || 07/11/2004 6:19:55 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The secret society of NIHM has more influence than I realized.
Posted by: ed || 07/11/2004 10:35 Comments || Top||

#2  "Even though the changes are not intended to affect hunting, shooting or fishing, the alliance fears animal rights campaigners could attempt to use them in relation to dogs in hunt kennels, racehorses in stables and pheasants reared for game shoots"

these laws are intended to do exactly that. Idjits
Posted by: Frank G || 07/11/2004 10:46 Comments || Top||

#3  In other news, the British gubmint is going to regiment every aspect of its subject's diets in an effort to avoide unnecessary loss of intestinal flora and fauna.
Posted by: therien || 07/11/2004 11:51 Comments || Top||

#4  "All we are saying, is give fleas a chance."
Posted by: Seafarious || 07/11/2004 11:58 Comments || Top||

#5  The term "over-civilised" comes to mind.
Posted by: Dave D. || 07/11/2004 13:21 Comments || Top||

#6  A cynical person might believe that no one under 16 can own pets because youngsters tend to have no money.The bill appears to be another way for English Gov't.to raise funds for social programs by fining people at will for animal cruelty.No jail time,unless you refuse to pay your fine.
Posted by: Stephen || 07/11/2004 14:36 Comments || Top||

#7  haha very funy. that link is go to story have nothing do with this.
Posted by: muck4doo || 07/11/2004 19:50 Comments || Top||

#8  From my daily visit to the BBC website and a regular reading of "have your say" my opinion is this is. It is typical UK legislation and will to the detriment the UK be passed.

Now if you will excuse me whilst I go out and toss some snails in to the roadway.
Posted by: FlameBait93268 || 07/11/2004 22:20 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
U.S. Humanitarian Group Arrives in Cuba - Group wants regime change in America - Not in Cuba
Members of an American humanitarian aid group arrived in Cuba Saturday in defiance of U.S. law and wearing T-shirts calling for "regime change" in the United States.
If I were a cuban stuck living under Castro, and would beat the living s**t out anybody who would show up to try to keep the as***le in power...specially somebody wearing such stupid t-shirt.
About 120 volunteers with Pastors for Peace flew in from Tampico, Mexico, where they had loaded a caravan of 12 vehicles filled with goods including medicine, computers and bicycles onto boats bound for Cuba — all in violation of a long-running U.S. trade embargo. "We know in our hearts and in our heads ... that the blockade is immoral, is illegal, is illogical and is unjust," said the Rev. Lucius Walker, a Baptist minister from New Jersey who founded Pastors for Peace. The volunteers, who ranged in age from 10 to 91, came in from the United States and six other countries. They wore T-shirts reading "Regime Change in the US — Not in Cuba."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Anonymous4617 || 07/11/2004 3:23:34 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The US needs something like the Athenian concept to exile. Deny entry permission for venal or misguided utopians who violate US law such as this. Let them live in Cuba or Saddam's Iraq for a few years so they can be educated on the true nature of such regimes.
Posted by: ed || 07/11/2004 16:01 Comments || Top||

#2  This is easy for me. Since they love Cuba so much, STAY THERE!
Posted by: Cyber Sarge || 07/11/2004 16:07 Comments || Top||

#3  I agree with both Ed and Sarge, if you leave the US to give Aid and Comfort to the enemy you should not expect to return. At the very least the US should uphold the law for a change. If its against the law to travel to Cuba there must be a punishment. Let them suffer the punishment.

I also don't undersstand this "blockade is immoral and illegal". There is no blockade, the US has a refusal to trade with Cuba. Who said a nation must trade with everyone? That's the talk of a simpleton.
Posted by: Yank || 07/11/2004 18:27 Comments || Top||

#4  The "blockade" was over in the 1960's but some aholes still are living there. Take a look around there ain't any "workers paradises left"

"Some peoples needs a good beating" to quote an employee of a freind of mine. He was old, black, could not read or write and was way wise. He worked in my friends familys paint store and was their most valued employee. These dorks brought that quote to mind.
Posted by: FlameBait93268 || 07/11/2004 18:37 Comments || Top||


Keep the Cuba embargo? YES by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart
New York Daily News July 11th, 2004
By REP. MARIO DIAZ-BALART
The riveting story of Jose Contreras’ family’s daring escape from Cuba has captivated the attention of millions of people. Their story has helped put a magnifying glass onto Cuba and our policies toward a hostile terrorist regime just 90 miles off our shore. Last year, President Bush established the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, tasking the group with identifying ways in which the U.S. could best help accelerate a democratic transition. In response to the commission’s recommendations, the President acted decisively to strengthen sanctions against the dictatorship, such as taking steps that would enable the Cuban people to view TV Marti, which Fidel Castro has been jamming, and significantly increasing support for Cuba’s growing pro-democracy movement.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 07/11/2004 4:52:35 AM || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Some people do not understand the embargo of Cuba. Its purpose is to keep American hard currency out of the hands of a Communist thug by restricting most trade and travel. Since the military controls all tourism-related business ventures in Cuba, lifting the U.S. travel embargo would put at least $5 billion to $6 billion directly into Castro’s hands every year. That influx of cash would allow Castro to return to his practice of exporting his troops to wage terror against the U.S., as he did in Grenada."

Absolutely! Cuba is easy to deal with but what to do with Hugo Chavez in Venezuela? We have a madman with petrodollars to finance all sorts of terror against the US. Look what he is doing in Bolivia and Ecuador.
Posted by: Anonymous4617 || 07/11/2004 5:13 Comments || Top||

#2  Hugo needs to depart in Yugo, but they are too slow!
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 07/11/2004 5:23 Comments || Top||

#3  Many believe (including the Economist) that trade embargos actually help keep dictators in power (see Hussain, Saddam). The trade embargo, coupled with the travel embargo, are issues we should be seriously debating rather than simply excepting. The goal is to remove castro in the best way possible and if we can do that faster with a flood of levis we should consider it.
Posted by: Yank || 07/11/2004 10:38 Comments || Top||

#4  Is that why the Soviet Union is history, while China gets stronger every day? I think the best way to remove a dictator is to form an opposition army with US advisors and use US forces to neutralize the airforce and heavy weapons.
Posted by: ed || 07/11/2004 11:12 Comments || Top||

#5  Ed, we tried that once. See "Bay of Pigs".
Posted by: Steve White || 07/11/2004 13:20 Comments || Top||

#6  I think he means do it for real...JFK and the CIA hung those guys out to dry
Posted by: Frank G || 07/11/2004 13:25 Comments || Top||

#7  JFK had a problem with premature withdrawal. JFK withdrew air support and resupply so the exiles were not able to break out into the highlands. I am talking about about air attacks to destroy the heavy equipment and not allow the enemy to concentrate forces.

As an example, there are over a million Iranian exiles in the US and who knows how many in Europe. Why not build and exile army of 100-200K light to medium equipped forces using US cold war surplus arms to take back Iran. The US can provide air attack and fast, heavy mechanised to go after the really stubborn forces. If the Iranian hate the mullahs as advertised, then it should not be that difficult to recruit additional 100s of thousands on the march. Why not apply such a model to other murderous regimes such as Zimbabwe and Sudan.
Posted by: ed || 07/11/2004 13:52 Comments || Top||

#8  Ed, we didn't have a true embargo against Russia. Russia collapsed because their economy was centrally planned and incapable of competing against the US economy. With sanctions on Cuba we avoid that same competition and allow Castro to blame the US for all of Cubas problems.

If you look at a list of the dictators that have remained in power the longest you will recognize them as the same anti-American folks we've imposed sanctions against. Blaming the US for your problems is a good way to prevent revolution and we shouldn't give our enemies that card to play.
Posted by: Yank || 07/11/2004 18:22 Comments || Top||

#9  #3. I see what you are saying.Flood the market with expensive goods creating a demand for which they can not afford.HMMMMMM.
Posted by: rich woods || 07/11/2004 22:35 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
Japan Elects Hippy to Parliament
Posted by: Anon4021 || 07/11/2004 14:23 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Massive rainstorm hits Beijing, causing damage/floods (photos)
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 07/11/2004 05:25 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Red China 'maneuvers' planned at Dongshan Island (PHOTO)
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 07/11/2004 05:21 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Here's a page they ought to look at before they think they are anywhere near reality (lots of nice photos there too... Harpoon, Tomahawk, JSOW, CBUs, etc)
Posted by: OldSpook || 07/11/2004 20:21 Comments || Top||

#2  surprised Tomahawks are that cheap
Posted by: Frank G || 07/11/2004 20:42 Comments || Top||


Accused US army deserter (1965) spends time with family
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 07/11/2004 03:30 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Too bad Kerry didn't know about this, he could have flown in and presented medals to this traitor.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge || 07/11/2004 10:24 Comments || Top||


Down Under
Latham ’sought open marriage’
Could be our next Prime Minister!
OPPOSITION Leader Mark Latham demanded an "open marriage" from his first wife, Gabrielle Gwyther, during a visit to Spain in 1997, she claims. As their marriage fell apart, the young Labor frontbencher told his wife he wanted more "flexibility" to explore life’s opportunities, Ms Gwyther claims. Mr Latham, possibly Australia’s next prime minister, put the request to her as they sat in a Hooters cafe in Madrid after her long flight from Australia, Ms Gwyther said. "He wanted ’new experiences’. It was like he wanted to do other things. My understanding was that he was asking for an open marriage," she said.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: tipper || 07/11/2004 12:00:30 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Pity Latham wasn't prime minister a few years ago. He and Clinton could have double dated.
Posted by: ed || 07/11/2004 14:11 Comments || Top||


Tracking down a killer disease in New Zealand
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 07/11/2004 05:32 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
Jews of Gibraltar reflect on their roots
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 07/11/2004 04:22 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Politix
Oh, and Dick Cheney, too!
Posted by: Anonymous2U || 07/11/2004 20:10 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  lol!
thanks ima needed good laff today. :)
Posted by: muck4doo || 07/11/2004 20:28 Comments || Top||

#2  ROTFLMAO.

Pretty darned good.
Posted by: FlameBait93268 || 07/11/2004 20:34 Comments || Top||

#3  OMG,That was hilarious sombody needs to put a coffee warning on that one.
Posted by: djohn66 || 07/11/2004 20:43 Comments || Top||

#4  Ima like John Kerry on his knees with a harness, ball gag and leash. Least no animals were hurt, right, Mucky?
Posted by: Frank G || 07/11/2004 20:50 Comments || Top||

#5  ima addicted that website now. they are have all kindsa fun stuff.
Posted by: muck4doo || 07/11/2004 22:11 Comments || Top||


Clinton Says ’I was Wrong’ on Bin Laden Offer
For the first time ever, ex-President Bill Clinton has admitted that he once publicly confessed to turning down an offer to have Osama bin Laden arrested before the 9/11 attacks. But in an interview broadcast Sunday, he now says that his confession was "not accurate."
They usually aren't, are they?
"What I said there was wrong, what I said was in error," Clinton told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, after she asked specifically about a 2002 speech to a Long Island business group where he detailed a 1996 offer from Sudan for bin Laden’s extradition. The ex-president did not contest - as some of his defenders have - that his 2002 remarks sounded like a confession. "I’d said that we were told we couldn’t hold him, implying that we had a chance to get him," he told CNN. "But we didn’t. That’s not factually accurate," he insisted again. The speech was recorded by NewsMax.com, as well as the Long Island Association, which hosted the event. The LIA has declined to make their own recording public, though the group has supplied the 9/11 Commission with a videotape.

Just three months ago, when asked about print reports documenting his bin Laden confession, Clinton told the Commission: "That was a misquote." But that was before he learned that his remarks were on tape. When Amanpour asked him directly about the recording, Clinton said he had "reconstructed all the records, read all the documents" about the Sudanese controversey and had concluded his earlier recollection was wrong. "Here’s what is factually accurate," he told her. "In 1996 - and before then when we found out about bin Laden - we at first thought he was a financier of terrorism but not a ringleader . . . When he took up residence in Sudan, after having been ejected from Saudi Arabia, it is true that at some point during that period, there was some discussion in the Justice Department casting a doubt on how long we could hold him."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Anonymous4617 || 07/11/2004 12:26:51 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  why even bother. He will never tell the truth on any manner - a pathological liar. He could at least adopt the Hildabeast's "Senator I don't have any recollection on that"
Posted by: Frank G || 07/11/2004 13:35 Comments || Top||

#2  But I just love the big hunk Mr G. He's so good at it, waxing to and fro. And you know, you just can't kid a kidder.
Posted by: Lucky || 07/11/2004 14:22 Comments || Top||


Democrats Support Vouchers!
The party of the people wants to rip off Boston cabdrivers. With John Kerry’s fund-raising going so well, you’d think the Democratic National Committee wouldn’t need to hustle Boston cabbies for a cheap ride--or illegal campaign contributions. But that’s pretty much the effect of the DNC’s misguided plan to provide subsidized cab rides for delegates at their Boston convention. At issue are the taxi vouchers the DNC wants to give to delegates arriving at Boston’s Logan Airport. Under the DNC’s proposal, taxi drivers would be required to accept the vouchers, worth $12 per passenger, in lieu of payment, even though the meter fare from Logan into the city, including tolls and an airport surcharge, is typically over $40. To add insult to injury, they’d then have to apply to the DNC to redeem the vouchers. In the spirit of civic boosterism, the Massachusetts Port Authority magnanimously offered to waive their surcharge, although the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, known for making fire engines stop to pay tolls on the way to emergencies, declined to follow suit. So even with three passengers per cab, which the DNC’s voucher rules permit, the drivers would still be subsidizing the cost of the ride.

What the cabbies want to do is nothing more revolutionary than to charge the meter rate--something they do for every other convention that comes to town, from dentists’ to paleontologists’. Many have threatened to take the week off. Some are even talking about filing a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission, on the grounds that the voucher scheme amounts to a coerced contribution to the Democrats. In short, it’s been a PR nightmare for the party of the working stiff. This fiasco could easily have been avoided if the DNC had simply applied some basic knowledge about how people make choices in competitive markets. One obvious approach would be to let the delegates pay for their own rides. According to published estimates, 35,000 people will be spending around $125 million at the convention. That’s an average of over $3,500 per person, and that doesn’t include the cost of airfare or cab rides between the delegates’ homes and home airports.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: tipper || 07/11/2004 11:43:31 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  To add insult to injury, they’d then have to apply to the DNC to redeem the vouchers.

Good luck cashing that check...
Posted by: Raj || 07/11/2004 12:13 Comments || Top||

#2  what if a school student got a hold of these vouchers. Could they use them to pay for transportation to a Charter School? A Catholic school? Woo Hoo! The possibilities are endless
Posted by: Frank G || 07/11/2004 12:35 Comments || Top||

#3  They are just applying their vision of 'National Health Care' to cabbies.....

How can the DNC force cabbies to take the vouchers? Will they take away their license as the teachers union does here in washington state (i.e. You will contribute to the democratic party or you will not work...).
Posted by: CrazyFool || 07/11/2004 12:42 Comments || Top||

#4  don't delgates get per diem for sh*t like this anyways?
Posted by: Jarhead || 07/11/2004 13:20 Comments || Top||


The tearjerker
By Mark Steyn
Profile: John Edwards
'We've got better vision. We've got better ideas. We've got real plans. And we've got better hair," said John Kerry, introducing his running mate. The Kerry-Edwards vision, ideas, etc don't look so good in the cold light of day, but John Edwards's hair does.

I can personally vouch for his beautiful layered nape, having spent much of New Hampshire primary season looking at the back of his tanned neck on chilly winter mornings. He likes to campaign in the round, so all winter, in Legion halls and diners, the advance men rearranged the furniture and then the pretty-boy Southerner would come bouncing into the circle to the strains of Small Town (by has-been rocker John Mellencamp).

Radiating all the vigour and enthusiasm Kerry had surgically removed at birth, the honey-toned Edwards found himself adored by the media for his "two Americas" stump speech, a Disraelian portrait of Dickensian gloom conjured in the tones of a Depression-era sob-sister...
More at the link, and masterful it is...
Posted by: Fred || 07/11/2004 11:22:27 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Kerry’s brother to visit Israel, meet Sharon
Cameron Kerry, the brother of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry will travel to Israel on Tuesday for what the Kerry campaign is describing as a "personal trip," but which will be packed with meetings with senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The six-day visit will be Kerry’s first trip to Israel and the second for his wife Kathy Weinman, who is Jewish. Cameron converted to Judaism two decades ago before they married. "Cam Kerry and his wife Kathy will be traveling to Israel. It’s personal trip to listen and learn, and to experience Israel up close," said Jay Footlik, the Kerry campaign’s senior adviser on Middle East and Jewish Affairs, who will be accompanying the Kerry couple. Kerry, who is a close adviser to his brother, will also be joined by a handful of Kerry supporters and contributors to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, an arm of which – the American Israel Education Fund – is sponsoring the trip.

In addition to Sharon, Kerry is scheduled to meet Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, Defense Minsiter Shaul Mofaz, Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Sharon’s national security adviser Giora Eiland, Labor party leader Shimon Peres, former prime minister Ehud Barak, and others. The group is scheduled to visit the major sites including the Western Wall, Yad Vashem, and the Golan Heights. A visit to Masada is tentatively scheduled.
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 07/11/2004 5:40:41 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  How heart-warming -- and how thoroughly transparent.
Posted by: Deb || 07/11/2004 9:37 Comments || Top||

#2  Why send the brother?
Would it be too "pro-Israel" for Hairy Kerry himself to go?
Posted by: Jen || 07/11/2004 10:35 Comments || Top||

#3  LowellGate!
Posted by: Raj || 07/11/2004 12:16 Comments || Top||

#4  Maybe Sharon was one of the foreign leaders Kerry has already talked to?
Posted by: Seafarious || 07/11/2004 12:21 Comments || Top||


Analysis: President Kerry on Israel
Wash Times - EFL
This is Kerry at his best - which means his worst. Prepare to be nuanced within an inch of Israel’s life... it’s a work in progress.

By Gadi Dechter
Washington, DC, Jul. 9 (UPI)

A leaked draft of the Democratic Party platform and recent statements by John Kerry suggest that a Democratic White House would continue the Bush administration’s enthusiastic support for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. However, the decidedly circumspect wording of these documents do hint at subtle, but potentially significant, differences in a Kerry administration’s likely policy regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Last month, Kerry released a position paper titled, "John Kerry: Strengthening Israel’s Security and Bolstering the U.S.-Israel Special Relationship." The paper was designed to assuage concerns of pro-Israel voters still rankled by Kerry’s comments during the primaries, in which he harshly criticized the Israeli construction of the barrier in the West Bank. "I know how disheartened Palestinians are by the Israeli government’s decision to build a barrier off the ’Green Line,’ cutting deeply into Palestinian areas," Kerry told members of the Arab-American Institute in October 2003, a month after he had announced his candidacy. "We do not need another barrier to peace." He went on to say that the barrier was a "provocative and counterproductive measure" that was not in Israel’s interest.

Assured of the nomination, Kerry appears to have reversed his position on the West Bank barrier, which was ruled illegal Friday by the International Court of Justice. "John Kerry supports the construction of Israel’s security fence to stop terrorists from entering Israel," the June statement reads. "The security fence is a legitimate act of self-defense erected in response to the wave of terror attacks against Israeli citizens. He believes the security fence is not a matter for the International Court of Justice." In a statement released Friday evening after the court’s ruling, Kerry reiterated his support for the barrier, and said he was "deeply disappointed by today’s International Court of Justice ruling."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: .com || 07/11/2004 2:40:25 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Kerry merely points out -- using the ambiguous present perfect tense -- that he "has supported (Arafat’s) total isolation," but does not explicitly call for a continuation of the Palestinian Authority chairman’s restriction to his Ramallah compound by Israel.

Let's get this straight. He supports total isolation but is not explicitly supporting "house arrest" in Ramallah.
So how does he suggest it be implemented? In a grave maybe?
Posted by: Cynic || 07/11/2004 8:33 Comments || Top||

#2 
US policy on the Middle East is very bi-partisan. In general, there is little difference between the opinions of Democrats and Republicans on the Israel-Palestinian issue.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester || 07/11/2004 9:53 Comments || Top||

#3  What a crock of shit, Mike!
There's a world of difference--You don't see Arafat being the only guest at the White House, the way you did under Clinton.
And Clinton used his power as Prez to pressure Barak into giving away almost all of Israel's land for peace!
Thank God Arafat didn't take it!
And on Friday, Hitlery was supporting the fence, but when she was "Co-Prez," she had to kiss Suha Arafat like a lover.

President Bush is the best friend Israel's ever had--Ask around!
Sharon, Netanyahu and even Mubarak of Egypt (and probably King Abdullah of Jordan) will tell you that Bush is the first U.S. President to present a workable solution to the Middle East "problem."
Posted by: Jen || 07/11/2004 10:24 Comments || Top||

#4 
Bush's policy on the Israel-Palestine issue is generally supported by the Democrats, as Clinton's policy was generally supported by the Republicans. As the Israel-Palestine situation evolves, and as our US policy evolves, our policy remains generally bi-partisan, no matter which party occupies the White House.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester || 07/11/2004 10:37 Comments || Top||

#5  Kerry fense sitting on the fense issue is vital.

The dems have a very large pro Israel faction, a large Israel neutral faction but also there is an anti Israel faction. Although this latter group is probably less than 10% of registered dems, it makes up a higher percentage of activists. For Kerry to win, he has to keep the pro Israel voters but also keep the anti Israel activists.

This is why the PA is delaying any anti fense resolution in the UN until after the election. The PA knows that if Kerry wins, he can be made to waffle on Israel's security - and a waffle is a victory for terrorism.
Posted by: mhw || 07/11/2004 10:40 Comments || Top||

#6  It's still a crock to believe that there's "no difference!
AS IF it'll be OK under a President Kerry (Retch)....
Kerry is evil and will sell Israel out the same way Clinton did and the real way Jimmy Carter did with the Camp David fiasco.
All that did was lock us into giving Egypt $2 billion a year in aid for "being nice."
Posted by: Jen || 07/11/2004 10:41 Comments || Top||

#7  Jimmy Carter has been the Dem voice of authority on the ME, and has never failed to back the Paleos over the Israelis. Bzzzzt! Nice try Mikey.
Another strike
Posted by: Frank G || 07/11/2004 10:44 Comments || Top||

#8 
When Carter was President, his policy on the Israel-Palestinian issue was generally supported by the Republicans.

When Reagan and Bush Sr. were Presidents, the Democrats as a whole never opposed the administration policies on the Israel-Palestinian issue. The same is true in the current administration.

Our bi-partisan policy is generally supported by the US population as a whole. That's why neither party will make a major issue of it in this election. The US population is overwhelmingly united on the issue.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester || 07/11/2004 11:04 Comments || Top||

#9  you don't see Colin Powell hanging out in Ramallah, do you. Dem whackos (like Maxine Waters, Charlie Rangel, Elijah Cummings) do not support this "bipartisan" foreign policy, do they? Republicans have been the strongest supporters of Israel, particularly W, and the sooner American Jews awaken to that the better for them
Posted by: Frank G || 07/11/2004 11:10 Comments || Top||

#10  Frank G.

I think it is almost a sure bet that W will get a higher percentage of Jewish votes in 04 then he did in 00. This may be critical in Florida.

However, there is a very large contingent of Jewish voters who really don't care much about Israel or who care more about other things.

Probably 50% of Reform Jews are virulently anti Bush and most of the rest are leaning to the dems. Virtually every Jew who is an activist for homosexual rights or higher preschool teacher pay or any of the other warm/fuzzy leftist causes is virulently anti Bush.
Posted by: mhw || 07/11/2004 11:24 Comments || Top||

#11 
... there is a very large contingent of Jewish voters who really don't care much about Israel or who care more about other things ...

... or who do care but don't perceive a significant difference between the two parties on the issue.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester || 07/11/2004 11:31 Comments || Top||

#12  acknowledged, mhw. Stripping off the non-socialist/ultralib Jews would be a good start.
Posted by: Frank G || 07/11/2004 11:31 Comments || Top||

#13  Kerry's statements are a masterpiece of tightrope rhetoric. The Dems are dead meat politically if they alienate a much larger segment of the Jewish vote. At the same time, they have a large and rabid anti-semitic contingent on the far left.

Ralph Nader has openly invited the latter to join his effort, and he is doing the same, albeit more circumspectly, with residual right-wing antisemites.

The election could well hinge on just how far Kerry wants to go in appeasing the far-left moonbat contingent.
They have great power and influence within the party organization, but the products of that influence; pacifism, taxation, regulation, and multiculturalism, are the kiss of death in national politics.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy || 07/11/2004 13:35 Comments || Top||

#14  The Dems are dead meat politically if they alienate a much larger segment of the Jewish vote.

Really, AC? I know the Jewish community are influential, but they're - what - 2 % of the total US population? I know polls show it's a close race at the moment, but you're looking at a swing group that's got to be a fraction of one percent of the electorate. I'll bet there are a lot more voters with anti-Semitic political leanings, and a lot more people who could be targeted with anti-Semitic/anti-Israel propaganda than there are Jews, the the US...
Posted by: Bulldog || 07/11/2004 17:59 Comments || Top||

#15  Bulldog, true to the stereotype though, American Jews are fairly well off, and contribute $ far in excess to their numbers. The GOP needs to stay strong for Israel on principle, and if it brings in $, votes, so much the better. Interestingly, some of the strongest support for Israel come from conservative Christians, which vote overwhelmingly Republican
Posted by: Frank G || 07/11/2004 18:15 Comments || Top||

#16  Once again, more pandering.

Kerry was agaisnt the fence before he was for it...
Posted by: OldSpook || 07/11/2004 19:14 Comments || Top||


Terror Networks
Aritstotle Onassis, the Palestinian Fatah, and Sirhan Sirhan (Part 4)
This is Part 4 in a series of articles written by me, Mike Sylwester, based on a new book, Nemesis, written by Peter Evans. (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)
Mahmoud Hamshari was born in a village near Jaffa in 1939 and eventually became an important official in the Palestinian Fatah. In June 1967, following the Six-Day War, he attended a Fatah meeting in Damascus to discuss further strategy. The meeting’s participants represented a broad scope of attitudes within Fatah, and Hamshari appeared to be among the most aggressive. When he spoke, he focused his anger on US support of Israel and proposed actions that would attack the US. In particular, he proposed the Fatah "kill a high-profile American on American soil" in order to make the US "think twice about backing the Jews."

This proposal seemed to earn little explicit support at the meeting, so Hamshari then proposed that the organization greatly increase its fund-raising activities in the US, in order to manipulate the US to support the Palestinians too. Fatah apparently adopted this proposal and assigned Hamshari himself to implement it, operating under the supervision of Fatah’s intelligence chief, Abu Iyad (Salah Khalef). In the following months, Hamshari began to travel to Europe and the United States, using several false names, including Dr. Michel Hassner. Late in 1967 a Fatah official gave Hamshari a list of Palestinian immigrants living in Los Angeles. The list had been acquired from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which had records on the Sirhan family, then living in Los Angeles.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Mike Sylwester || 07/11/2004 4:58:36 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq-Jordan
Iraq Says Zarqawi Likely Seeking WMD Materials
By Edmund Blair Sunday, July 11th, 2004

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq’s national security adviser said Sunday unconventional weapons material might have gone to neighboring states in the war and Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is probably trying to get some.

Mowaffaq al-Rubaie also said the Iraqi interim government had approved the transfer of all radioactive material in its possession to the United States, but said he could not be sure more material was not hidden inside Iraq by Saddam Hussein.

Rubaie did not provide any evidence that unconventional weapons materials had crossed the border, or of attempts by militants to acquire them in Iraq.

U.S. and U.N. officials said Wednesday Washington had transported about 1.8 tonnes of enriched uranium out of Iraq for safekeeping more than a year after looters stole it from a U.N.-sealed facility left unguarded by U.S. troops.

Artillery shells found by Polish troops in Iraq in June contained the deadly nerve agent cyclosarin, the Polish army said last week.

"Just imagine if these weapons of mass destruction or any of these capabilities of making a dirty bomb or a chemical weapon or anything like this, if it falls in the hands of Zarqawi’s gangsters and Zarqawi’s people and these global terrorists or Saddam’s former regime, what will happen?" he said.

"I have no shadow of doubt that..., with his evil mind, he (Zarqawi) will try to acquire these unconventional weapons," he told a news conference.

Zarqawi is Washington’s top militant target in Iraq and has offered a $25 million reward for his capture. Zarqawi’s group has claimed responsibility for bombings in Iraq and the beheadings of an American and South Korean.

MISTAKES

Asked if unconventional weapons material may already be in the hands of Zarqawi or others like him, Rubaie said: "We don’t know. We have no intelligence information on that."

But he said "many mistakes" were made in failing to secure sensitive sites after the U.S.-led war that toppled Saddam.

Continued ... (in link)


Posted by: Mark Espinola || 07/11/2004 11:50:46 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Tech
Konarka announces $2 watt solar panels for end of this year
Konarka has announced that it will enter the market with a photovoltaic cell in late 2004 that will generate solar power at about $2 per watt. It hopes to start selling its solar films next year for use in consumer electronics and defense applications.
I’ve been waiting to hear what their initial pricing was going to be and $2/watt is the magic number where solar becomes cost competitive with oil/natural gas/coal etc. This is exciting news, especially considering as they ramp up and pay off their r&d expenses the cost should drop further. Expect to see them sell panels as fast as they can make them.
Posted by: Damn_Proud_American || 07/11/2004 6:18:05 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Another line from the article that I hadn't thought of but opens up all kinds of possibilities...

"Samuelson says that Tripathy’s cold-sintering technique has been vital to the Army’s efforts at self-powering devices and the much-hyped initiative to create the “Soldier of the Future.” The Army-Konarka contract supports research on “solar fiber,” which will help shift Konarka’s PVC technology from plastics into textiles.

And how about an army uniform that generates its own electricity? The concept is not as futuristic as it may seem. In fact, prototypes may be ready for field-testing in the next year or so, according to Gaudiana. "
Posted by: Damn_Proud_American || 07/11/2004 18:21 Comments || Top||

#2  The question always is, does it take more energy to create than it will ever make and, what kinds of nasty crap is left over when you do make it. I have a stack of 2 volt "mud pannels" you can wield with the current off of these.

That question is alway the stickler for me.
Posted by: FlameBait93268 || 07/11/2004 18:30 Comments || Top||

#3  The cost of the panels is a function of how much energy it takes to make them among other things. By definition if the panels cost less per watt than our traditional providers of energy than they are more energy efficient to create.

I'm not worried about what crap is left over... the whole landfill environmentalist arguement is bs. I'm more concerned about getting off of oil so we can remove a huge threat to our national security as well as providing power to rural areas of 3rd world nations to greatly raise their standards of living.
Posted by: Damn_Proud_American || 07/11/2004 18:35 Comments || Top||

#4  This is a first step that also enables a Hydrogen economy - the cost/watt is finally hittig a reasonable trheshold. All thats needed now is backup fuel-cells to be made part of this. Combine those with the hybrid cars we are seeing come off the assembly line...

And you have a nightmare for all the Arabs and oil soaked Islamists. No more American dollars. No need to treat them so nicely (vis a vis Saudi Arabia and the Wahabbi cancer they are trying to spread aroudn the world).

We get to that point, Osama can friggen have Saudi - won't do him any good other than being the one stuck guarding Mecca with no money and fundamendalists tribesmen trying to maintain 20th century gear they cannot even comprehend, much less use.
Posted by: OldSpook || 07/11/2004 19:12 Comments || Top||

#5  Konarka's cells are only about half as efficient at as silicon based cells. If they're cheap enough to roof your house with, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Posted by: 11A5S || 07/11/2004 19:28 Comments || Top||

#6  Hope it's legit.
But I expect PG&E will buy up the patents and bury all the evidence in the same potters field that entombed the fabulous Pogue carbureator and the build- it- your- basement cold fusion battery.
Posted by: Shipman || 07/11/2004 19:36 Comments || Top||

#7  They don't seem to use any nasty crap that will end up in my drinking water or lungs. We will see how long they thay take to get to market.
Posted by: FlameBait93268 || 07/11/2004 19:51 Comments || Top||

#8  Its nice to have $2/watt panels. Its also nice that the company is a consortium of serious players.

However there are a number of concerns other than the ones mentioned so far:
1. durability
2. flexibility
3. weight per sq ft

depending on these things, it may or may not be a big deal
Posted by: mhw || 07/11/2004 21:33 Comments || Top||

#9  They say they are flexible so they should be pretty light. Not anything like what I got.
Posted by: FlameBait93268 || 07/11/2004 21:43 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Parliamentarians with fake bachelor’s degrees.
Pakistan People’s Party has appealed to the chief justice of the Supreme Court to take action against the legislators who contested general elections on the basis of fake degrees. "The Chief Justice of Pakistan should order for early disposal of the cases through which the fake degrees have been challenged", said Mir Imran Bajarani, member of PPP central working committee while addressing a press conference here Wednesday. On the PPP campaign against the fake degree holders, seated in the parliament, he said that under the directives of party chairperson, Benazir Bhutto he was engaged in collecting the details about the lawmakers who won the election under government patronage on the basis of fake degrees. He regretted that fake degrees of those legislators were accepted who showed readiness to support government. Abdul Sattar Lalika and Salim Jan Mazari are among heavy weights of the ruling party who are sitting in the parliament with fake degrees, he pointed out.

He informed that his rival, Salim Jan Mazari, filed his nomination papers with fake degree. How ironical it is that Mazari mentioned his educational qualification as intermediate when he filed his nomination papers in 1997 and the degree he submitted alongwith his nomination papers in general elections 2002 is shown to have been issued in 1997, he indicated. Giving details of his campaign on tracing the cases of fake degrees, he said that " I proceed to London to probe into fake degree awarding process. An office is set up in a room of a building at London where fake degrees are issue. Degree is given within a week at the cost of 2 to 3 thousands pounds, he hinted. Besides Salim Jan Mazari, MPA from Badin, Ali Bakhsh Shah comes second in the line of the provincial assembly members who obtained fake degrees from London, he disclosed. Election Commission should declare all the parliamentarians holding fake degrees, he demanded.
No source on this...
Posted by: Anonymous5683 || 07/11/2004 12:03:51 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Beaten Imam’s wife kicked out of hospital
The wife of the imam of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Hospital Jame Mosque, whom his associates assaulted and critically injured on Tuesday night, received repeated death threats from his (imam’s) men and the hospital authorities released her without proper treatment, she alleged yesterday. Sabina Islam, wife of imam Saiful Islam, left the hospital yesterday but did not return to their residence fearing further assault by Saiful’s men and some hospital workers. Sources said the hospital authorities had released Sabina on Friday night since they found her ’okay’ after some hospital workers’ samity men attacked her in her cabin and tore medical reports on her. The attackers also asked doctors to release her and threatened her family members to leave the residence.

The incident followed arrest of Aman Ullah, one of the three accused in the case concerning the assault on Sabina. The other accused, Saiful and muazzin of the mosque Abdul Kader, are absconding. "I still have fever and pains in my neck," Sabina said yesterday. A three-member committee headed by Pro Vice-chancellor of the BSMMU Abdul Mannan was formed yesterday to look into the matter. "We asked the imam and his wife to turn up at the hospital superintendent’s office at around noon yesterday but they did not," said Abdul Mannan. Sabina told this correspondent, "The attack on me on Friday night showed the hospital authorities cannot ensure my security. So I am afraid of going there again. Meanwhile, Sabina’s 10-year-old daughter Shammi said yesterday, "I am alone in our house. Some people came to the house and threatened me to leave it."
Posted by: TS(vice girl) || 07/11/2004 12:22:09 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Never say Islam is not without justice and mercy.

And to prove Islam does not believe in age discrimination:
Meanwhile, Sabina’s 10-year-old daughter Shammi said yesterday, "I am alone in our house. Some people came to the house and threatened me to leave it."
Posted by: ed || 07/11/2004 14:19 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
International Day Against Stoning
Posted by: tipper || 07/11/2004 11:50 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Flags Vandalized in Vermont
EFL & Hate
In Vermont’s Capital City, the American Flag is flying high. The city adorns buildings and parking meters with old glory around holidays. "The downtown looks great, we dressed up for the fourth of July," says Montpelier Mayor Mary Hooper. But almost as quickly as they go up, the stars and stripes are being stolen and burned in a series of flag desecrations and thefts. The first incident happened at the statehouse about three weeks ago. Someone ripped up two American flags and wrapped them around a statue of Ethan Allen. Then last week, someone draped the flag around a statue of the Virgin Mary and set it on fire.
Speechless.
"We should put a penalty on these guys that are deforming the flag, they’re not Americans, get rid of ’em!" says Neil Manning of Montpelier.
Good to see not everyone up there has drank eaten the Ben and Jerry’s cool-aide.
Posted by: Dragon Fly || 07/11/2004 7:54:48 AM || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  So put up some surveillance cameras and catch 'em in the act. How hard is that?
Posted by: PBMcL || 07/11/2004 15:29 Comments || Top||

#2  So put up some surveillance cameras and catch 'em in the act. How hard is that?
Posted by: PBMcL || 07/11/2004 15:30 Comments || Top||

#3  So put up some surveillance cameras and catch 'em in the act. How hard is that?
Posted by: PBMcL || 07/11/2004 15:34 Comments || Top||

#4  That area of Vermont is loaded with old hippy radicals from the 1960's.
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 07/11/2004 19:26 Comments || Top||

#5  Remember - they have a "You own a gun, you can carry it concealed" law up there. And this is at a minimum vandalizim or criminal mischief.


I wonder how the old hippy radicals would like a visit from an old conservative soldier (and intelligence operator, now desk jockey), and a few of his friends...

Smile for the camera - now face down on the ground, hands over your head...
Posted by: OldSpook || 07/11/2004 20:07 Comments || Top||

#6  Its not that their anti-war, its that they are on the other side. Heres another example from the seattle area:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/jamieson/181422_robert09.html
Posted by: Frank Martin || 07/11/2004 21:39 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Bangladesh Floods Maroon 3 Million, Death Toll 13
Incessant rain swelled flood waters that have covered large areas of Bangladesh, hampering efforts Sunday to rescue three million people marooned by rising waters and raising the death toll to 13. Two children died after they were bitten by snakes floating in the roiling waters in northern Kurigram area, officials said. The northeastern town of Sylhet at the center of the worst-hit district lay under two feet of water and neighboring Sunamganj district was inundated by the Surma and Kushiara rivers, local officials said. Road links between Sylhet and Sunamganj were severed and the railway between Sylhet and Akhaura was threatened by the floods. More rain was forecast in the next few days and could flood areas around the capital, Dhaka, weather officials said.
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 07/11/2004 4:26:03 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Tech
Techies Working on Spam Blockers
Aggravating, time consuming, and expensive — spam, cyberspeak for junk mail — has gotten so bad that many computers are virtually unusable.
Tell me about it. I was so busy for two days last week that I didn't have time to read my mail. I had over 900 messages, of which most were spam. Anybody whose mail I didn't answer, I apologize...
"This is totally illegal and something needs to be done about it," said Peter Chambers of Affinity Web Services.
Actually, sending email is a legal activity in most places. It's hijacking other people's computers to use as SMTP servers that's illegal...
Last year, President Bush signed a law making spam illegal in some cases. The Bush administration has declined to create a national "do not spam" registry to discourage unwanted e-mails, arguing that using the current technology could allow such a registry to be hacked, giving the unscrupulous spammers access to the e-mail addresses on the list. Spam costs U.S. businesses $4 billion a year in lost productivity alone. Consumers can buy spam blockers for about $50 but larger businesses and Web service providers are spending $1 million or more on software to block certain headers or words in incoming e-mails.
Spam blockers aren't infallible, either. I have tales of woe on that one, too...
While spammers defend their right to send unwanted e-mail, experts say many of the messages carry viruses, trick consumers into buying useless products at inflated prices and lure consumers into authenticating their addresses and giving up their personal information.
Pay Pal and EBay phishing seems to be down this week. I wonder if those guys were caught?
Tech giants Microsoft, AOL, Yahoo and Earthlink are developing "Sender ID," which identifies and deletes any e-mail that can’t be traced to its Internet address. It is similar to caller ID for telephones.
That's a damned good idea. I've got telstra.com and bigpond.com blocked at the server, and I've come close to doing the same with AO-Hell a few times. Instead, this afternoon, instead of working on Rantburg — I should have the new server installed this week — I'll be working on a spam killer that I started a couple months ago.

Posted by: Mark Espinola || 07/11/2004 3:40:52 AM || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Yea wonderful. I have had one of my domains Joe Jobed by this scum. I get 600 + spam messages a day to my personal mail box. (I filter it out mostly) Congress could have done something but it bent over for the telemarketers who want to get in on the action. Opt out doesn't work.

Make sending spam a federal crime and buying crap from them one too. Put "legit" business that hire this waste of skin out of business.

If I ever find out who is Joe Jobbing me they are getting a 45 cal enema. When you steal my name you asked for it.
Posted by: FlameBait93268 || 07/11/2004 5:21 Comments || Top||

#2  Developing spam blockers won't work -- someone will simply get more creative and fraudulant. I think the protocol needs to be replaced or updatted. The protocol was written back when the internet was a small and much more secure network (DARPA) and is wide open and insecure. It was never meant for massive use over a insecure network.

How many people know that you should not send credit card numbers through email?

Sender-ID is a good idea (Will that be an 'open' protocol?) Some means of possitivly identifying the sender is needed (I opt for PGP signing/ecrypting everything) and having heavy fines against people who accumilate a good number of 'complaints'.

Another is to make it unprofitable by educating people not to do business with Spam senders or the people they represent. -- If they will commit fraud to send you the offer you probably don't want to do business with them.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 07/11/2004 10:09 Comments || Top||

#3  Some people take a lot of education. I win eight or nine international lotteries a day, a matter of millions and millions of dollars. I had an interesting conversation with a lady at work not long ago, who quite by coincidence won a few of the very same lotteries herself, also without buying a ticket. It took me awhile to convince her that giving the prize committee her bank account number for them to deposit all that money from the payout might be a bad idea.
Posted by: Fred || 07/11/2004 10:48 Comments || Top||

#4  "Anybody whose mail I didn't answer, I apologize... "

Fred, I sent you one about how to get rich answering surveys online at home while getting your penis enlarged....
Posted by: Frank G || 07/11/2004 11:03 Comments || Top||

#5  And I sent Fred 10,000 emails telling him how to get rich surfing the internet.
Posted by: ed || 07/11/2004 11:16 Comments || Top||

#6  You are wrong, Crazyfool. There are a type of adaptive filter programs that learn what spam looks like and filter with great accuracy. When spammers change strategy, the filter learns the new key words very quicky. I get 400 emails a day, 395 of which are Spam and the free program I use, PopFile, makes about one mistake per week or so. It is 100 times better than Norton/ MacAfee antispam programs

You can even use it to categorize your good mail into groups
Posted by: Chris Smith || 07/11/2004 20:15 Comments || Top||

#7  Popfile does an excellent job - its a Bayesian filter. Glad to see that stuff making its way out into the unclassified world, finally.

Secondly, the "SenderID" is already out there in an open standard. pobox.com has it and has open sourced it.

POBox's advice:

1. Don't use a common word or name as an email address. One of the most common spam tactics nowadays is to send millions of messages to every name and word they can think of, from adam@yourdomain.com to zebra@yourdomain.com.

2. "Munge" your email address
"Munge" means to alter your email address so that a human can figure it out, but an automatic harvesting program will get a fake address. Do not make up domain names or simply alter your user name, as that will cause spam to go to someone else. A good example is ouralias@pobox.nospam.com, although the more commonly used a munge tactic is, the more likely it is to be stripped out by the harvesting program. On web pages, include your email address as a graphic, instead of text.

3. Remove your email address from online directories. Unless the online directory has restricted access (like an intranet behind a firewall), online directories are a potential pool for email addresses.

4. Use a spam-catching account. Create an account that isn't your primary address. Or use an alias that you filter to a different mailbox. Then use that address for everything except emailing people you know personally. You should use it when posting to newsgroups and chat rooms, subscribing to public mailing lists, registering at websites, on your web page, or anywhere else that could be found by a program or sold by a company. You should not throw this mail away, but separate it from your regular email, so you can deal with it when you feel like it.

Use an anonymous remailer when posting to public forums. This allows you to post anonymously. See About.com's page on remailers.

If you are subscribed to a large, public mailing list, you may want to ask the listowner who can access the subscriber list. Some mailing lists will provide a subscriber list to anyone who knows how to ask for it.

Use an image that displays your email address on your web page.

NEVER reply to spam or fall for the "remove me" trick. Once they have verified that your address is active, it will be a lot harder to get removed. "Reputable" companies (ex. amazon.com) will honor remove requests. But if you aren't certain, don't respond.

If you are on a site that asks you for your email address, assume that they will use it to send you spam unless they are a reputable company you feel you can trust.

Some spammers have been using personal messages that give you the impression that you have received mail intended for someone else. When you reply, they verify your address and add you to their list. If you get suspicious looking mail that seems just too personal, ignore it.

Report it! While most ISPs do take steps to prevent their resources from being misused, there is always the possibility of getting around it. There are a lot of programs out there that will automate the process for you.
Posted by: OldSpook || 07/11/2004 20:43 Comments || Top||

#8  Chris, I know about the adaptive spam filters. I myself use Spam Assasin and others. I also know my ISP (earthlink) does some filtering as well....

My point is why should I have to use my bandwidth downloading their crap? I pay for my connection and even if it is broadband it still is a cost. I am also afraid that the filter might throw away something good (which has happened as well).

I also use a 'dummy' account like the one given as my link for Rantburg (its a yahoo account).

I also get 'bounce' messages from spammers fraudulantly using my email account as the 'from' address for their spam spews.

I also used 'sneakemail,.com'. This is where you can setup a free email address which gets 'forwarded' to you real address. Among other things you can track who is selling your address by tracking who you give it to. You can also direct it to simply drop all email sent thru that address.

And I dont how many emails I forwarded to the ebay abuse line in the hope that they can catch the abuser.....
Posted by: CrazyFool || 07/11/2004 22:07 Comments || Top||

#9  Great advice all around, OS. I consider that to be a comment for the archives.
Posted by: eLarson || 07/11/2004 22:13 Comments || Top||

#10 
Bold:
Italic:
Strike:
Posted by: Ebbavith Angereling7227 || 12/21/2004 1:47 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
12-year-old car thief strikes again
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 07/11/2004 03:01 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Kerry's astounding abortion positions
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 07/11/2004 02:54 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It would be humorous if it wasn't so deadly.
Posted by: Capt America || 07/11/2004 4:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Again, he was against abortion before he was for it, or some other such nonsense...
Posted by: jawa || 07/11/2004 16:10 Comments || Top||

#3  Kerry's position elevates the individual's right to choose (on this issue and this issue only) above trivial matters such as the right of the highly dependent little individual having his or her life snatched away while he or she fritters away the hours waiting to be born.

When the choice is about where to send a kid to school, though, well... now we have all kinds of complicated issues trumping THAT right to choose.
Posted by: eLarson || 07/11/2004 22:10 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Tech
Will you get 'chipped'?
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 07/11/2004 02:52 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Not only have the RFID and Verichip people come out with a (leaked) memo on how to fool the public into accepting their monstrosities, but they have a regular programme for getting people to like them.
Start by forcibly implanting criminals. Everybody hates criminals and most people are actively sadistic about their treatment (see Joe Arpaio, Maricopa County, AZ).
Then "nicen up" by touting its "medical value". Then pitch to the government to require the implanting of long-term foreign visitors with student or work visas.

Anyway, if you really want to see a truly EVIL corporation, one that seems to exist solely to dehumanize and debase people, it's Applied Digital Solutions (maker of Verichip.) It's like they wake up each morning and say to themselves, "How can we hurt people today? Really make them cry and hate their lives? Make them feel like slaves?"
Posted by: Anonymoose || 07/11/2004 11:27 Comments || Top||

#2  Voluntary chips for people with special medical needs could be very useful. Chips in very young children could also ve very useful with kidnappings and lost kids.

A dictatorship-type government could get the same info from DNA or facial matching or a dozen other ways. Yes the chip would be quicker, in theory, but technology will speed up the other methods a lot quicker than you could convince a population to adapt such draconic measures.

Do not let the potential draconian aspects distract you from the potential good. That's like denying everyone home pc's because the government could possible trace email and wire transfers.
Posted by: Yank || 07/11/2004 18:17 Comments || Top||

#3  An implanted RFID chip would allow yourself to be tracked, every time you walk by a scanner, somebody would have a record of you.

Thats just too invasive for me.
Posted by: RussSchultz || 07/11/2004 21:19 Comments || Top||

#4  Blunket will love it.
Posted by: FlameBait93268 || 07/11/2004 21:32 Comments || Top||

#5  I'll just keep my dog with me at all times. She's already chipped.
Posted by: eLarson || 07/11/2004 22:14 Comments || Top||

#6  Hmm... I'm not that up on my book of Reveations... But isn't there a mention of something like this? The mark of the beast on your hand or forehead or something?

Just think what the Hildabeast of Healthcare (Hillary) reform would make of this.....
Posted by: CrazyFool || 07/11/2004 22:25 Comments || Top||

#7  (I realize this is from yesterday, but I was waiting for the Revelation mention...)

CrazyFool - I think the Revelation mention of the mark of the Beast being on the forehead/wrist is a reference back to the Old Testament pronouncement to keep the word of G-d on your forehead/wrist. In other words, the people who keep the mark of the Beast on their head/wrist are people who utterly disregard the word of G-d.
Posted by: eLarson || 07/12/2004 9:41 Comments || Top||



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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
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Meet the Mods
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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2004-07-11
  Tel Aviv hit by rush-hour blast
Sat 2004-07-10
  Forbes (Russian edition) editor shot dead in Moscow street!
Fri 2004-07-09
  Al-Tawhid threatens to kill Bulgarian hostages
Thu 2004-07-08
  Missing Marine at U.S. Embassy in Beirut
Wed 2004-07-07
  5 dead in LTTE suicide bombing
Tue 2004-07-06
  Iraqi boomer kills six 14 at funeral
Mon 2004-07-05
  Hussein family funding the insurgency
Sun 2004-07-04
  6 hurt in Kabul work accident
Sat 2004-07-03
  Iraqi oil-for-food investigator bumped off
Fri 2004-07-02
  Jordan may send troops to Iraq
Thu 2004-07-01
  10 al-Houthi hard boyz bumped off
Wed 2004-06-30
  Sammy to face death penalty
Tue 2004-06-29
  US expels 2 Iranians; videotaping transportation and monuments in NYC
Mon 2004-06-28
  Iraqi handover of power takes place 2 days early
Sun 2004-06-27
  10 Afghans Killed After Vote Registration


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