No comment necessary. But I have a nickel for the first to spot the origin of the headline...
A British man who accidentally shot himself in the testicles after drinking 15 pints of beer was jailed for five years on Tuesday for possessing an illegal firearm, a court spokesman said. David Walker, 28, was arguing with a friend at a pub in South Yorkshire, northern England, when he went home to get his sawed-off shotgun, which he jammed into his trousers. But as he walked back to the pub, the gun went off, blasting pellets into his testicles. Doctors later removed what remained of his testicles during emergency surgery. Walker admitted possessing a prohibited weapon at a hearing in June at the court in Sheffield.
Wait until our feminist worriors hear about this...
Yes. They'll sleep like babies...
Women are to be excluded from either voting or standing for office in the first partial elections ever to be held in Saudi Arabia, Al-Watan newspaper reported yesterday. Only male Saudis over the age of 21 will be eligible to vote or be elected in the upcoming municipal polls, the newspaper said quoting official sources. It said the elections will be held next April following registration of voters and candidates in September. The elections, which were announced last October, will be held to fill half of the seats on local and city councils. Those who wish to stand for office must be over 21, must be âable to read and writeâ and cannot have been convicted of fraud or have been bankrupt.
Besides women, military personnel and employees of the municipalities will be excluded from the vote, as will anyone contracted by the municipality. Earlier reports said the participation of women in the Shoura Council, a 90-member consultative body appointed by the king, was under consideration. Al-Watan said three committees would supervise the elections to the councils, which it said must have no fewer than four and no more than 14 members. Voters must have been registered with their local council for at least one year to qualify for the ballot and must not be registered in more than one locality. If the elections are a success then in future all council seats will be filled by public vote, the paper said quoting an unidentified official.
Posted by: Anonymous4617 ||
07/13/2004 4:43:20 AM ||
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How can such an unclean and feeble minded sex be allowed to have power over pious Muslim Masterrace Manhood? Might as well give the vote to dogs.
Posted by: ed ||
07/13/2004 9:30 Comments ||
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#2
The wymyns go on the pedestal, reserved for the favorite toys, the dogs go on the floor - or out the door.
"the participation of women in the Shoura Council, a 90-member consultative body appointed by the king, was under consideration"
Activists launched a campaign yesterday to protect the right of Muslim women in Europe to wear Islamic headscarves. The issue of the hijab has sparked controversy across the continent and underlined sharp divisions over integrating Muslims. Some 250 delegates from 14 countries congregated at Londonâs City Hall under the banner of a pro-hijab pressure group to campaign over what they see as human rights violations. Among their most vociferous supporters was leading Muslim theologian Yusuf Al Qaradawi who called on France to overturn a ban on headscarves in schools, due to begin in September. "The ban evokes a ghetto mentality," he told the conference. You are antagonising Muslims.
Can you think of anything that doesn't antagonize Muslims?
The Egyptian-born cleric has been mired in controversy on a week-long speaking tour of Britain. At the conference, the French headscarf move was also condemned by London Mayor Ken Livingstone who said: "The French ban is the most reactionary proposal to be considered by any parliament in Europe since the Second World War. But the issue has not just been confined to France. Several German states are to ban teachers from wearing headscarves. Last month, the European Court of Human Rights rejected appeals by a Turkish student barred from attending Istanbul University medical school in 1998 because her headscarf violated the official dress code
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
07/13/2004 12:33:43 AM ||
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#1
I'm not sure this is the best method for combating Islamism - but this time I will invoke France's right to do things in their own country as they see fit. Ha.
Also I couldn't help notice that they had to throw in the old classic line:
"You are antagonising Muslims"
No matter how many times I see this in a newspaper, it never fails to annoy me. Is that a threat? Or just the usual seetheing and whining? Probably a little bit of both - just the standard operating procedure, the old fall back line, the default position for Muslim spokespeople. They trot it out in every press release and the reporters and editors never fail to swallow it unquestioningly.
Posted by: John in Tokyo ||
07/13/2004 5:06 Comments ||
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Definitely a threat, John. There are some poisonous w*nkers in that community. Why they want to rock the status quo in the UK is beyond me. They get all they want and more besides. Reminds me of The Life of Brian - Palin's character shouting: 'Help! Help! I'm being oppressed!' Change the bloody record!
Posted by: Howard UK ||
07/13/2004 5:31 Comments ||
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#3
I'd like to see them campaign for the right of muslim women in the Magic Kingdom NOT to wear the scarf.
(sorry to be a snark Howard, but "help, I'm being repressed" was from the Holy Grail:)
Posted by: Howard UK ||
07/13/2004 8:56 Comments ||
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I see this as a wedge issue, where Muslim leaders a non-outrageuous demand that unites the Muslim population but doesn't horrify and disgust the majority non-muslim population. It is much more difficult to demonstrate ,demand, threaten for oppression of non-Muslims, forced marriage to cousins, female genital mutilation, honor killings, and all the other large and small things that makes Muslims loved the world over.
Posted by: ed ||
07/13/2004 9:27 Comments ||
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Howard/Spot-There's a lot in that movie that makes me think of these lunatics; blind obedience to a cause one doesn't understand comes to mind...
#8
The muslim "opression" reflex is a just a wedge, like ed sez, to attack the soft underbelly of western civilization. It ranks up there with Chilkoot Charlie's logic:
We cheat the other guy and pass the savings on to you.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/13/2004 11:37 Comments ||
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#9
Maybe the French should protest that non-Muslim women in Arab countries be allowed to walk around bare headed.
#10
I'm always impressed by their consistency - they are able, amid the din of war and screaming gurgles of beheading victims, to focus on the truly important shit: Mooslim Victimology 101. You gotta admire such single-mindedness.
An RAF Pilot has been grounded after hitting a lamppost at 600mph in his Jaguar attack jet. The wing clipped the airbase light at 54ft after the pilot, from RAF Cottishall, Norfolk, decided on a low-flying run after completing a week of training.
"Just one low pass, then to the club for drinks......oops!"
The collision happened at a coastal base near Akrotiri in Cyprus. According to reports in The Sun, the pilot wrestled control of the jet after the incident, headed out to sea before returning to the base and "slamming" the plane on the runway.
I'm sure his crew chief had a few words for him about "slamming" his plane into the runway.
RAF police have impounded the £25m plane and the pilot has been grounded pending an investigation. He now faces an official reprimand and court martial, which could cost him his wings.
The only thing he'll be flying now is a desk, if he's that lucky.
According to reports, the pilot was cleared by the control tower to make a pass of the base, but was ordered not to go below 200ft.
The lamp post was 54 feet high, methinks he was a tad bit low.
The collision is understood to have ripped off the tip of the wing containing navigational lighting and wiring. Repairs could cost as much as £2m.
Say goodbye to your pay.
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that an investigation has been launched.
Nobody, but nobody flies lower than the RAF. I've seen video of them flying down the autoban during an exercise back in the day, going under the overpasses.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
07/13/2004 09:06 ||
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Craziest bastards you ever saw--they used to do hops for their low level certs in Oman, if they exceeded 50 feet they failed.
#2
..At Nellis AFB, there are pics in the Range Control Center of an RAF Buccaneer that lost its radome after the pilot pulled UP into a telephone line. When my dad was visiting Scotland in the mid 90s, he was able to get a pic of two Harrier keeping formation...with his car.
NOBODY does low level like the RAF.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
07/13/2004 11:24 Comments ||
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Mike:
If there's a .jpg of that photo, a lot of people would probably love to see it. (Hint! Hint!)
Posted by: Mike ||
07/13/2004 11:36 Comments ||
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I remember knowing that the shooting was really getting ready to start in GGI when I saw video of a British Sea Harrier passing under the bow of an LPD to give the cousins an idea of what to expect if there was a leak in the air screen.
#5
Along the same lines.... remembering the A-6 that took down the ski lift. An awful accident, but did anyone notice that the damn tail of the A-6 was intact on landing? Build more.
After that, well, there's Fark's photoshop contests, Worth1000's incredible wealth of photoshopped goodies, and sundry. When really desperate, and occasionally there's a jewel worth wading through the crap to get, you can try StileMedia. Warning - there is some truly disgusting shit there and I seldom find it worth the trouble, anymore. Any site you run across with decent pix, check to see if they link to others, of course.
Just a hobby. Hey, you oughtta see the 500+ weird vids I've collected!
#13
.com: Did you hear the end of that Video? It was being tested by India I think.
Posted by: Charles ||
07/13/2004 22:27 Comments ||
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That was a French voice - it was the Airbus maiden flight of the fully computerized flight system. There were pilots on board fighting the system. The humans were trying to land the plane and the software, for whatever reason, did not allow the final descent. I believe there is a full explanation out there somewhere.
Loyalists and Nationalists pelted each other with missiles as Orangemen marched through a bitterly contested north Belfast flashpoint. Stones, bottles and golf balls were hurled as several hundred on either side were kept apart by a massive security operation in the Ardoyne district.Rival factions were also involved in a developing standoff along neighbouring backstreets. Youths attacked riot squad troops amid heightening tensions over the hotly disputed decision to impose restrictions on the Orange order returning from the city centre through the staunchly Catholic area. At one stage a crowd of nationalists seized control of army batons and shields and attacked a small pocket of soldiers who were hemmed in around their Land Rover. Politicians and police had earlier appealed for restraint as the Orangemen celebrated the 314th anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne. The Parades Commission has told Orangemen from Ballysillan they could march up the Crumlin Road past the interface with the nationalist Ardoyne, but not with their bands and supporters. The decision angered both the Orange Order and nationalists who say there should be no parade on the route.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
07/13/2004 5:39:41 AM ||
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We believe in Freedom, we won our right that day
At the Battle of the Boyne - we're very proud to say.
James he was defeated - Justice had been done
Raise now a glass to King William.
.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
07/13/2004 6:19 Comments ||
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The Catholic terrorists are causing havoc in the region and need to be disarmed immediately
#9
Boys will be boys.Nobody was shooting which is great news.
Posted by: Stephen ||
07/13/2004 13:28 Comments ||
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I remember that the Orangemen would always want to take their Big Drum et al and march through the Catholic areas on the Glorious Twelveth of July. Everyone needed to cool it. Last time I was in Belfast, we went pub crawling. Driving around there at night was like a version of Blade Runner.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/13/2004 14:31 Comments ||
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#12
I remember learning this Belfast street ditty of long ago:
King Billy was a gentleman
he wore a watch and chain
The Pope he was a beggarman
And lived on Chapel Lane
King Billy had an Orange cat
that sat upon the fender
And every time it caught a mouse
He shouted "NO SURRENDER"
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/13/2004 19:26 Comments ||
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Mexico's top prosecutor on Tuesday shrugged off threats of political retaliation by the former ruling party if charges are filed against an ex-president in the massacre of student demonstrators three decades ago. Leaders of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, urged their officials, who govern most states, to reconsider cooperation with President Vicente Fox's government if charges are brought against Luis Echeverria and top officials when he served as president in the early 1970s. The PRI was in power for 71 years before Fox took office 2000. A special prosecutor named by Fox, Ignacio Carrillo, said Tuesday he would say by July 24 whether Echeverria should face charges in a 1971 killing of the unarmed protesters -- charges that would be without precedent in modern Mexican history. That case is among several past crimes that Carrillo's office is probing, including a larger 1968 massacre of unarmed demonstrators and the disappearance and apparent killing of hundreds of leftist rebels and suspected sympathizers during the 1960s and 1970s.
The PRI's Permanent Political Commission said all elected PRI officials "should evaluate dialogue and negotiation with the head of the federal executive branch" as long as it maintains "criminal cases against civil and military authorities implicated in the pursuit of guerrillas in the 1970s," the commission said. When Fox took office in 2000, he promised his administration would finally investigate massacres of dissidents and a so-called "dirty war" against leftists in the 1960s and 1970s, a long-standing demand of Mexico's left. But the PRI already has stalled many of Fox's main proposals and the new warning could make it even harder for Fox to pass any legislation. The PRI commission, headed by party President Roberto Madrazo, called on party lawyers to come to the defense of "the Mexican state and its armed forces." Retired Gen. Ramon Mota Sanchez, a PRI senator, said the cases were part of "a joint attack on our political institutions," according to the party statement.
Gen. Ramon Mota Sanchez is the hero of the Battle of... uhhh...
"We are not speaking only about a specific ex-president," the commission said. "We are speaking about the chief of the Mexican state, of the presidential institution, of historical legitimacy that gave political stability to the country for more than 70 years." Echeverria's attorney Juan Velazquez said in a televised interview on Tuesday that he has seen the investigator's file against his client and "there is no proof, absolutely no proof" of responsibility. He also said that the statute of limitations had expired even for the most extreme charges officials could lodge.
"Yeah! And the witnesses are all dead!"
Fox's own defense secretary, Ricardo Vega, recently issued a call for national reconciliation that was widely seen in Mexico as a call by the military to drop prosecution of past crimes. And on July 1, the country's top organized crime prosecutor, Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos, said the country should pardon former officials investigated for their roles in past crimes.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
07/13/2004 9:48:36 PM ||
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Peru grounded the nation's largest airline, citing the carrier's inability to find an insurance policy after it landed on a U.S. government blacklist for suspected drug traffickers. The Transportation Ministry said in a statement Monday that it had suspended the operations of Aero Continente, adding that a contingency plan would be started to allow other airlines to take over its flight routes. Aero Continente handled between 60 percent and 70 percent of Peru's domestic aviation market. The decision came amid Peru's peak tourist season and the Copa America soccer tournament being held in several Peruvian cities.
The airline's insurance policy expired on Saturday. That same day an emergency presidential decree, published in Peru's official gazette El Peruano, said the Finance Ministry would act as a financial guarantor for Aero Continente for "a period not to exceed 30 days." But the Transportation Ministry said Monday that the government and the airline had been unable to find a replacement insurer. The world's largest airline insurer, Global Aerospace, pulled its contract with Aero Continente after the U.S. government blacklisted the airline on June 1.
The American blacklisting prohibits U.S. citizens or companies from conducting business with Aero Continente, its top executives or its subsidiary companies. Global Aerospace is partially owned by U.S. interests. It is illegal under Peruvian law and international regulations for airlines to fly without insurance policies that cover the planes and the passengers and cargo they carry. Aero Continente founder Fernando Zevallos, 47, has been the subject of numerous U.S. drug probes, but has never been convicted of a crime and denies any wrongdoing. He is now on trial in Peru on drug trafficking and money laundering charges. Aero Continente lost permission to enter U.S. air space in April after failing a safety inspection by the Federal Aviation Administration. After the blacklisting, the airline dropped its international flights that included a daily route to Miami. Aero Continente's fleet of some two dozen planes served 15 Peruvian destinations with about 30 domestic flights.
Operation Zabriska continues apace...
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/13/2004 12:43:50 AM ||
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When I was backpacking around Peru, it was widely rumored that Aero Continente got its seed capital from the cocaine trade.
#2
Relative to its modest wealth and power, Peru is one of the most aviation concious countries in the world. This has to do with geography. The country is quite large and is split by the Andean cordillera. As far as surface transport is concerned, the Amazon river port of Iquitos could almost be on a different planet from the capital, Lima, which lies on the other side of the mountains.
In the early 1930s, a border conflict broke out with neighboring Ecuador on the Amazon side.
It was easier for the Peruvian government to send reinforcements by sea; via the Panama Canal, the Caribbean, and the Brazilian Amazon (a distance of 6000 miles); than it was to send them a few hundred miles over the mountains.
The arrival of practical transport planes a few years later changed all that.
John Gunther's Inside Latin America, written in the summer of 1941, places great emphasis on aviation resources in that part of the world and the altogether suspicious fact that German interests had become heavily involved in developing air routes in Latin America during the 30s. The US devoted quite a bit of diplomatic effort to changing this situation in the years immediately before World War 2, and the German companies were seized or shut down in 1941-42.
I've flown quite a bit in Peru and share the following observations:
Not everyone is engaged in drug-smuggling or gun-running.
Even back-water communities have regular air service.
Equipment varies from ancient DC-3s to Boeing 777s.
Cessnas abound, while the products of the rival Piper and Beech organizations are fairly rare.
Air traffic controllers are highly skilled but nav-aids are haphazard at best and a threat to life and limb at worst.
The terrain is downright scary and many an overconfident yanqui visitor has ended up as a permanent addition to some 18000 foot mountainside.
Peru has some of the best mechanics in the world.
People really do fly with chickens and goats in the cabin, though not on jets.
Damn I wish I could throw a phrase like that out.
All I got is:
When I was limping near Macon or,
I remember Bainbridge in November or,
They don't make towns like Perry anymore or,
Sure, they remember me in Dothan.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
07/13/2004 19:48 ||
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We need to get over the "even in Japan" knee jerk reaction; there are grisly slayings in Japan by sicko kids every now and then, and have been for quite some time, even before the US Columbine tragedy imprinted on everybody's brain how sick our kids can be.
Posted by: Carl in N.H. ||
07/13/2004 20:39 Comments ||
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*thinks of Battle Royale before wondering why anyone's even surprised that they've gone this sick*
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
07/13/2004 20:40 Comments ||
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Kids can be sick everywhere. I remember discussing Bowling for Columbine with a Euro friend a couple of years ago. I had to remind (inform) her the *last* school shooting had taken place, recently, in Germany.
An earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale rattled through a remote part of Tibet Monday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, state media and local officials said. The quake hit at 7.08 am (2308 GMT Sunday) in a mountainous region of Zhongba county some 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Tibetâs border with Nepal, the Xinhua news agency said. "The earthquake happened around 7 am. We only felt a slight tremor. Thereâs no damage here, no windows broken. It is life as normal," Lapuqong, the head of the general office of Zhongba county government, told AFP. He said the epicentre was some 120 kilometres away (74 miles). "The government has sent a working group to the epicentre but they wonât arrive until this afternoon as the road conditions are bad," he said. Is there a âbig oneâ about to take place somewhere around the globe, soon, in addition to everything else in the news, as of late?
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
07/13/2004 12:38:28 AM ||
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This was the reflection from the first Zionist mirror in Turkey... seems to be focusing nicely.
The Dutch government has barred a ship operated by abortion rights activists from sailing to foreign countries. The boat - run by a group called Women on Waves - sparked protests when it visited Ireland and Poland. A Dutch court ruled last month that the governmentâs refusal to allow the group to carry out abortions was unjustified. Under Dutch law, no license is needed for abortions up to six weeks, but the group wants to give the abortion pill to women up to 12 weeks pregnant. After the centre-right governmentâs ban, the Langernort abortion ship has to stay docked within 25 kilometres (16 miles) of an Amsterdam hospital.
Services provided
In port:
Contraceptives
Pregnancy tests
General info
Offshore:
Non-surgical abortions
"They wonât be able to sail to other countries," said Dutch Health Ministry spokesman Richard Lancee. He added that the ministryâs decision was based on the potential risks related to abortions carried out after six weeks, such as acute bleeding. The ban was the latest legal challenge to prevent the volunteer crew aboard the floating clinic from working in countries were abortion is illegal. On 4 June, the court in Amsterdam ruled that the governmentâs refusal to issue the group with a permit to carry out abortions was unjustified. The group said it was studying legal options to fight the governmentâs decision. "We have the skills and the experience to provide all the necessary medical assistance for this type of abortion," Rebecca Gomperts, the groupâs founder, told the Associated Press news agency. The privately funded group was set up in 1999 and has in the past sailed to Ireland and Poland, where legislation prevents women from undergoing an abortion. The idea is to take women on board and sail out to international waters, where the group will be able to offer non-surgical abortions. However, no abortions were carried out when the ship visited Ireland. After Tuesdayâs ruling, the group still said it expected to sail again in the coming months.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
07/13/2004 9:39:34 PM ||
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07/13/2004 19:52 ||
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No witnesses had come forward and no video surveillance evidence had backed up her allegations that six youths of Arab and African origin assaulted her on a train in the suburbs of Paris. She has reportedly filed six unfounded reports of assault in the past few years
Hmmm .... IHT reported 2 people came forward. Wonder where the discrepancy came from. It was the 2 people allegedly who came forward that convinced me the story might be true since, as I commented yesterday, I was menaced once and found that noone was willing to alert the police or intervene at all.
Wonder what this young woman's issue is ..... need for attention or ????
Police patrolled suburban trains on Monday and studied video from surveillance cameras, trying to track down six men who allegedly attacked a young mother and scrawled swastikas on her stomach. But doubts began to surface about the truth of the attack report that stunned France. A 23-year-old mother told police that she was robbed by a knife-wielding gang of six young men while riding a train with her infant on Friday morning, then mistreated after being mistaken for a Jew. None of some 20 witnesses came to her rescue, she told police.
Investigators trying to track down the culprits had almost no clues to guide them. Surveillance cameras at the station where the culprits reportedly left the train showed no young men running from the scene, and no witnesses have come forward despite repeated calls from officials and promises of anonymity. Both France-Info radio and the television station LCI reported that the young woman had filed several complaints for violence and aggression in the past. Neither provided sources, but LCI said she had filed six such complaints in the past. That information could not be immediately confirmed. Police, their information based on the womanâs account, said that the gang, described by the victim as between 15 and 20, allegedly grabbed the womanâs backpack, taking her money and credit cards. When they saw that her identification card said she lived in the wealthy 16th district of Paris, they reportedly told the woman: "There are only Jews in the 16th."
The woman told police that the men, described as North Africans and blacks, then cut off locks of her hair, opened her shirt with their knives and used markers to draw three swastikas on her stomach. Guedj said the woman told her that about 20 people in the train were "capable of seeing" what was happening. One of the attackers held the woman by her neck, forcing her to keep her head to the ground so that she couldnât see them, several French newspapers quoted police as saying. For those who donât know, the Tawanna Brawley case was a big deal in the US. She claimed she was gang-raped by six white guys, smeared with dog crap and left in a Dumpster. It was all a lie. And itâs how Al Sharpton made his name. If this French woman is also a lying psycho, itâs a damn shame. Because that would provide ammo for those who claim anti-Semitism isnât a problem in France.
Posted by: growler ||
07/13/2004 11:02:41 AM ||
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well analysing the swastikas will show if it was written by her or another person.
#3
Oh, boy--there's going to be a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth if this turns out to be a bogus report. Mike S. will also be owed many an apology!
Posted by: Dar ||
07/13/2004 12:15 Comments ||
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#7
then I'm sorry Mike S. about this post, not your other editing challenges....
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/13/2004 14:39 Comments ||
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#8
Dar - Lol! Not from me. Mike Sylwester has an agenda. Period, full stop. The first item on it is to present Mike S as an authority. Of what, I have no idea! He certainly loves Abu Graib and other extremely gray areas where he can quibble for fucking days and split every hair on your head. Pfeh. Pure arrogant opinion and spin, not experience or fact. You can have him!
#9
.com--Oh, I agree he has an agenda, and he was more than ready to dismiss the story out of hand without any proof, but it was at least as arrogant for so many to swallow this story hook, line, and sinker and turn on him for expressing any doubt. Blindly accepting a story because it says what one wants to believe is a trend I'd rather see the lefties gain an exclusive monopoly on. I want the facts on my side!
Posted by: Dar ||
07/13/2004 15:30 Comments ||
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#10
.com never actually apologizes even after villifying the innocent for sins they've never committed.
When people are correct, according to .com, they have fallen to the crime of pretending to be "authorities". When people aren't willing to surrended in the face of insult, then they fall to the crime of "arrogance". When people are *precise* and prefer truth to lies, then they fall to the crime of "quibbling".
Frankly, I find that being quibbling and arrogant and having presumptions of 'authority', is a quite mild annoyances compared to the idea of villifying people for the crime of simply being *correct*.
On my part, I'm only ashamed that I didn't come to Mike's defense. The story was ringing warning bells for me also, but I hadn't been in the mood of yet another flame war at the time, and you can be sure that all the regulars would have found the excuse for the normal insults.
#11
Well, if we're going to question the story now, let's not make the same mistake in the opposite direction and claim it's definitely a fabrication. More will come out. The fact that there were no young men running from the scene, and no witnesses...despite repeated calls from officials and promises of anonymity does not disprove it. I just can't figure out the whole haircutting part--did anyone witness her cutting her own hair?
#13
It would've been perfect for you, Aris. Far too little fact, far too much faux-outrage, plenty of wiggle room to pontificate and muddle. A perfect fit.
You're just a twinkie who loves to argue...
Propostition:
Declare threads dead when they become 'arisified' or simply ignore the posts of Aris Katsaris and his enablers.
arisification; verb
1: to make thread a stage for moralizing, moaning, groaning, posturing, etc.
2: to make thread an endless, pointless, and confused babble of crosstalk
3: to prove who can piss higher, further, longer, without an actual point; write name in snow
4: to demonstrate crass leech capacity for wasting the resources of Fred Pruit - and never hit the tip jar
5: to practice argumentative techniques; test methods and themes
6: to distract others from other threads by number of posts, vitriol, invective, pot-kettle
7: to re-cast the thread arguments into a morality muddle
8: to hi-jack the thread for personal grandstanding and ego gratification
9: to make the thread a showcase for the annointed opinions of Aris The Grate
To save Fred's bandwidth on articles of this particular type once it becomes apparent, I suggest an RBer post something like:
"This thread has become arisified. Pfeh." - or something similar along that line.
Aris can then post something like:
"I am Aris. I speak for all idiotarians everywhere and demand immediate complicity with my obviously superior, but highly nuanced as the situation demands(situational ethicality), sense of morality. I will prevail for I can sit at my computer longer and type more shit than anyone else alive. I am the Master of Self-Debate and can carry on both (or more) sides of a 'discussion' withou assistance. Everyone else, once I have the bit between my teeth, is superfluous. Post, if you wish, derision, contempt, and insult. I will wear you down. Resistence is futile. You will be assimilated. My opinions are facts and I will prove it by the volume of opinion and invective available in my vast storehouse of (otherwise) useless drivel. As the most petty, pedantic, and obnoxious confirmed asshole ever to post on RB, including Boris and NMM, I have accumulated links on all of you - carefully spun to my advantage - and I will not debate your points, I will seek to overwhelm you with my shopworn bookmark organizational skills until you throw up your hands and go away in frustration. This venue is mine. This thread is mine. All your opinions are belong to me. They are inferior for I am the gratest of the grates: I am Aris The Grate."
And we can stop right there. Stop. There. Yes, this includes me.
This is how all Arisified threads play out: a patently obvious onanistic exercise in self-gratification for Aris with no discernable benefit to the rest of the universe. Or any other fucking universe.
Recognizing this fact and applying a modicum of common sense will save Fred lot of bandwidth / money and allow the less egregious leeches and dogmatic screechers as well as the open-minded to continue playing here at Rantburg.
Have You Made A Major Donation To Rantburg Yet, LEECH-BOY?
#16
LH - Not to offend your pride, but I have never seen you argue just for practice. We've disagreed, and I took exception to the style once, but I've never had reason to doubt your sincerity or integrity. I mean every word about LEECH-BOY.
#17
Keep "arisify" as a way to describe all attempts of .com (and in occasion Jen) to ignore every issue in a thread or every point in a post or every actual moral issue at hand, and instead try to turn the whole thing into the terrible crime that I *gasp* exist.
Attempted arisification of a thread is evident when .com could use THE EXACT SAME POST in every single thread I'm involved in -- when the post in question DOESN'T DEAL WITH A SINGLE ACTUAL POINT to the post it supposedly responds to.
The same way this post of .com now didn't include anything to actually indicate the identity of the thread it exists in -- it could have just as well been written weeks ago, he could have used it in a earlier or later thread. He quite possibly already has the next such post of his ready. He won't need to modify it one bit before posting, because he never actually responds to anything, he only insults.
Which thread are you gonna attempt to arisify next, .com?
#18
On my part, I'm only ashamed that I didn't come to Mike's defense. The story was ringing warning bells for me also, but I hadn't been in the mood of yet another flame war at the time, and you can be sure that all the regulars would have found the excuse for the normal insults.
It's all right, Aris. I posted a questioning article the other day and mentioned how train security videos should be able to solve the entire question. I also noted how the threats and insults made were totally inappropriate to any sort of rational discussion. For fun, here's exactly what I posted:
"#28 With all due respect, there continues to be some significant questions regarding this alleged crime.
The trains involved have video security cameras so all of this should be cleared up soon enough. Once again, I'm obliged to note that all of the vitriol directed at Mike S. during yesterday's feeding frenzy reduced Rantburg's overall tenor just that much more.
When posted online, threats of violence and the like merely come across as the usual tripe volcano. Facts are what spill best from a computer's keyboard."
For my trouble, I was belittled as well. You are correct in stating that some hereabouts are incapable of distinguishing between insult and rejoinder. Such inept conflation really brings down the tone of Rantburg.
Here's what was spewed at me for my troubles:
"Zenster4doo, there were no threats of violence directed against Mike here and lots of links were 'spilled' from several keyboards to counter his (and now your) crap posted to counter his arguments.
Given reactions like his and yours and the CNN story you cite, I'm now beginning to see how stories about the Holocaust out of Nazi Germany weren't believed in WWII.
Shameful counterspinning on both your and MS's part."
So, I guess I'm a Holocaust denier for having questioned the veracity of an unsubstantiated hate crime. Let's see if the author of the above has sufficient class or even the ovaries to admit their mistake. Like your own clash in this thread, Aris, I anticipate nothing more than what you've encountered.
#19
Lol! Angling for the hot buttered grub-cluster concession? The interesting part of Zen's attempt to create a stroke-fest between trolls, unmentioned, is that I didn't post on that thread as the verdict wasn't in.
I had a problem with Mike's Turkmen sympathies - on another day, different thread. But the implication is I did something here. Disingenuous liars.
LEECH-BOY - Did you read the thread, dumbass? No. Your favorite word applies: Idiot. You just figured there was a free shot available - and you never pass up a chance. Desperate to be an authority, just like Mike. How aporpos you would rush to his defence - and skip reading the thread. But the real challenge, LEECH-BOY is your honor (or obvious lack thereof): Hit the tip jar yet?
Shrubster, you may not be a holoccaust-denier, but you're a constitution-denier, eh? Wanna tell everyone who's the true elected President of the United States? How your ethicality hanging, Trolljan? Like it here? Wanna find out what the majority of Rantburgians would think of you if they knew what sort of secret zoomie asshat you really are? RB is just therapy and a chance to practice puffoonery for you. You're a trip. You try to figure out where the centers of gravity are, then suck up to them. I always enjoy it - the fawning is spectacular - you're as transparent as the Mad Mullahs. Desperate to be an authority, how fitting you'd join in. C'mon, fess up what kind of dysfunctional constitutionally / reality challenged Trolljan you really are. You'll feel better - though the feathers may stick in your throat.
#20
Zenster, very accurately predicted. It's the only way .com knows how to react when people he doesn't like are proven to be correct. Insults them for the terrible crime of existing and actually standing up for their opinions.
"But the implication is I did something here."
You did do something here, .com, you moron -- you used your ordinary tactics of attacking a person for doing nothing more than being *correct*. A person I might add, who had been rabidly attacked by this board, and was owed a collective apology instead of further villification by you.
If I somehow implied that you had villified Mike in connection to this incident *prior* to this thread, I didn't mean to do so, I only meant that this is your ordinary tactic, as experienced by me in the past, and exhibited again towards Mike in *this* thread. All those people who disagree with you, ofcourse *deserve* to be insulted, for the crime of disagreeing with you.
And what exact thread are you referring to? There were three or four of them.
#21
Thank you, you've made my point. I appreciate it.
You do not have a CLUE what I referred to, you just grabbed the chance to take a shot - as I said. What if I am right about Mike Sylwester's bullshit? You don't know, because you don't even what what fucking thread I referred to.
Thanks, Aris. You're a peach. Not intentionally, of course, but a peach nonetheless.
#22
This thread was about a quite specific issue, and referring to quite specific previous threads. If you are referring to some thread *besides* the ones that all the rest of the forum is referring to -- then you probably *shouldn't*: The unfair vilification of Mike (as an anti-Semite among other insults) doesn't become any more fair because he annoyed you in some random different thread.
And yes, I grabbed the chance to defend Mike. Belatedly, but grabbed it nonetheless. That's not something I'm ashamed of at all.
You grabbed the chance to *villify* him instead. Any shame at all about that, on *your* part?
#26
I actually appreciate Zen4doo using my quotes as I stand by them.
As I read history, this is exactly the way reports about the abuse of Jews in Nazi Germany--including reports of the death camps--were treated in the 1930's and 1940's.
And today's Holocaust deniers are the same ones who were anti-Semites then and our Enemy now--IslamoNazis. If it's true that this woman's story was a hoax, that doesn't change the fact that there have been numerous attacks on Jews in France (and throughout Western Europe and Canada) since the Intifada began.
This hoax angle is particularly evil for all of us but especially because if French Jews are threatened after this, noone will believe them and worse, the credibility of French Jews who have reported attacks in the past will be put into question.
This woman was a tool for the Evil Ones and by staging this hoax, has now stirred up French public concern about rascist hate crimes...AGAINST MUSLIMS AND ARABS.
More sympathy for the Devil.
We live in dark and important times, but nowhere else are they darker--except for Riyahd--than France.
Pray for them and for all of we "infidels" all over the world.
And if I were a Jew living in France, I'd leave for Israel now, if i hadn't already emigrated as I think this incident is a sign that life for Jews in France is about to get worse, i.e now, even the authorities won't believe Jews and help them if they're attacked.
That is the difference--Thank God!--betweeen WWII and this war, WWIV--the Jews have a home in Israel.
Posted by: Jen ||
07/13/2004 21:26 Comments ||
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#27
Let's see... say we have another report of some sort of terror-rape, and I come out and say it's bunk. Not for any particular reason, but because it is. And because women make up this kind of "crock" all the time. When challenged, I reassert my original thesis that it's a load of crap because I say it is. This is all within day one, when we're getting a lot of hype from the press and not a lot of fact.
Some people are going to call down on me, and some are going to go as far as the "women don't lie" and "men are evil" memes.
Say I stick to my guns, and when the incident does indeed prove to be bunk, I get a wholehearted apology from everybody that differed from my position---not because they were wrong, but because my position of calling a "hoax" without any apparent evidence of a "hoax" was "right."
Which is crap. Nobody who submits this kind of a premise deserves an apology for an attack on the premise.
It's an unholy crapshoot. Even flying pigs win some of the time. Perhaps some people do need to apologize, but apologizing for attacking a very flawed premise, even when it's eventually proven "true," is just plain silly.
#28
Mike did offer reasons. He said from the beginning that the story was preposterous and detailed it on post #24
Myself I didn't contribute on *that* discussion, but I had problems believing that a gang composed partly of Arabs and black people would draw swastikas.
#29
Let's see... say we have another report of some sort of terror-rape, and I come out and say it's bunk. Not for any particular reason, but because it is. And because women make up this kind of "crock" all the time. When challenged, I reassert my original thesis that it's a load of crap because I say it is. This is all within day one, when we're getting a lot of hype from the press and not a lot of fact.
Some people are going to call down on me, and some are going to go as far as the "women don't lie" and "men are evil" memes.
Say I stick to my guns, and when the incident does indeed prove to be bunk, I get a wholehearted apology from everybody that differed from my position---not because they were wrong, but because my position of calling a "hoax" without any apparent evidence of a "hoax" was "right."
Which is crap. Nobody who submits this kind of a premise deserves an apology for an attack on the premise.
It's an unholy crapshoot. Even flying pigs win some of the time. Perhaps some people do need to apologize, but apologizing for attacking a very flawed premise, even when it's eventually proven "true," is just plain silly.
Posted by: Al Sharpton ||
07/14/2004 0:40 Comments ||
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#30
That's right Al, Whitey is comin' to get ya!
On the other hand, it's OK to say yer kind are all liars who ask for it, because that's empirically correct a few percent of the time.
Cool talking wit you. Good job, bucko. Very original.
#33
Ok, so there's a crime been reported, and we've only 5 police investigators on hand. Two think it's plausible there was a crime, two think it's a total heap of crap hoax, and one guy doesn't give two bits. We need a sixth officer to break the tie and decide if we need an investigation.
Oh, and you'll get an apology if you are wrong, either way... Any takers?
#34
"Insulted." Gawd Aris, if nothing else you're consistently touchy.
Somehow every bit of rightfully deserved whupass becomes an insult worthy of apology, right or wrong at the moment.
Hence, "Arisification."
#35
therien, I guess I'm not *nuanced* enough to understand how comparing Mike to people who think that rape-victims 'ask for it' (simply because he believed something was a hoax and you didn't) doesn't qualify as an insult.
You feel he deserved the insult. Fine. Or not so fine. But an insult it was, and an insult it was clearly meant to be, "rightfully deserved" or not.
The technical terminology of "whupass" I'm afraid confuses my feeble brain.
#36
Sorry Aris, I think you misconstrued my "In other news..." bit. It's a carefully "nuanced" theme of exposing a questionable corrolary, made popular on America's "Saturday Night Live."
#38
On the other hand, and back to the subject, there seem to be some underlying issues exposed in this bizarre sequence of events.
Regardless of the immediate gut feeling toward belief or disbelief in the event reported, I believe they all require investigation before bias is inserted for or against belief in the fact of the alleged crime.
In the Brawley case there was immediate and widespread acceptance of the story by people buying into the ideology of black victimhood---these were the people that believed this happens every day, and is finally being reported.
Naysayers, even those that proposed an objective investigation into the alleged crime, were loudly denounced by Al Sharpton and others. Never mind that it was an incredible and unprecedented story---it must be believed because of its mere assertion.
In this recent incidence in France, I think the greatest comparison can be made in the way it was accepted as a common sense expectation of Muslims in France. The sheer number of public figures signing on in horror of the act is testament to the predisposition of the French for this attitude.
In contrast to the Brawley case, this is a woman claiming to be attacked for what her "attackers" allegedly thought she was, rather than what she actually was. This puts the French sentiment in a different tenor---namely regarding the target of the attack.
The French denied there was a problem with Antisemitism in France last year, and screwed with the numbers to prove it. This year it took twice the number of Antisemitic actions against Jews for the French to concede the point and issue the statement, days prior to this incident, condemning Antisemitism in France.
What I'm still undecided about is whether the French were so ready to buy into this story because of their inclination to expect this kind of thing from Muslims against Jews, or because of the misdirected attack against a supposedly Jewish, but really Frankish woman.
For evidence, worse things have happened to many Jews in France in recent months, but it took an alleged crime against a white woman supposedly mistaken for a Jew to get the French authorities really up in arms.
#39
No need for apologies, Aris. I don't do or expect that sort of thing. Point (punkte) or no point, the greatest thing to be achieved is the truth. I'm afraid hurt feelings don't count for much when I think of things in terms of the reality of "the thing as it is."
Yeah, I'm a Stoic at heart. (Sorry.) :)
#1
"Four legs good, two legs bad better." Remember animal farm when you hear about the UN and the equality of it's members. In Orwell's book they all started out equal until some wanted to be more equal. France and germany want to be more equal.
So France and Germany have had a few years setting a bad example to the smaller nations (and dodging rightful fines of n million euros); now the EU machinery has ruefully acknowledged that this state of affairs can't go on forever and symbolically lifts the suspension on sanctions on France and Germany - in order that smaller nations can't get away with the same behaviour in future.
Meanwhile:
There may be some modifications of the pact - something the European Commission has already foreshadowed."
i.e. The rules will flexed to be more accommodating to France and Germany...
Smaller states win a symbolic victory. Bigger states snicker and plough on as before.
#3
IIRC my int. fin. a common currency makes sense when the volume of trade between countries is relatively high compared to the differences in macroeconomic situation. EU members have lots of trade, but do they yet have a common macroeconomic situation? In particular is movement free enough to equilibrate differences in unemployment? Legally movement is free, but language and cultural barriers may still mean seperate labor markets, in which case the common currency will likely have persistent problems.
#4
Cyber Sarge, France and Germany wouldn't have achieved that (now aborted) suspension of sanction, if there weren't several of countries that thought would soon be in the same situation, and thus would like the same non-sanctioning.
Let me know when they do get sanctioned...
I will.
now the EU machinery has ruefully acknowledged that this state of affairs can't go on forever
What "now" are you talking about Bulldog? The case has been pending all the while, this wasn't a new decision by the "EU machinery", as if they somehow changed their minds for political reasons. It was a dispute between the national ministers and the Commission that was decided in the ECJ on the favour of the Commission.
What other course would you suggest? When there's a disagreement, the courts settle it. That sounds reasonable to me.
And Bulldog, Cyber Sarge, here's an article about *Britain* wanting to be "more equal". :-)
"...Polish Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz said on Monday (12 July): "We would like everybody to pay what is due"."
Fair enough. Britain receives HALF what it contributes to EU coffers, in return. Britain's rebate should be massively increased to reflect that. Do you think we're some sort of cash cow for other nations?!
The EU pushing for a revokation of Britain's rebate will be terrible news for Blair and the other British Europhiles, at the worst possible time. Provided it doesn't happen, I'm happy with that...
#6
Aris, seriously what's the deal?
This sets a damn poor precedent for enforcing
budgetary consistentency. Will the EU set aside the percentage of GDP rule?
The German Central Bankers (if no longer bank) will eventually freak if this is allowed to continue.
#7
Bulldog> Britain receives HALF what it contributes to EU coffers, in return.
That's because you are a richer country. Germany pays even more than Britain and receives even less, because it's an even richer country.
Do you think we're some sort of cash cow for other nations?!
I think you are a richer country. And I think it's normal for richer citizens to have to pay more money in tax than the poorer citizens.
In the UK, do your homeless pay as many British pounds in taxes as your billionaires? Are your billionaires cash cows for other people?
The "rebate" was part of the agreements between UK and EU, so it's lawful to let it continue -- but you have to concede that this is one more exception made for *UK's* favour.
Ofcourse this whole issue about how much money UK gives and receives could be sidestepped if direct federal taxation on EU citizens was implemented -- in that case *countries* wouldn't have to pay one dime, it would be directly taxed from the citizens throughout the union.
But UK opposes federal taxation.
Shipman> I don't think you understood the article. The court ruled in favour of enforcing sanctions, and in opposition to suspending them.
#8
Do you think we're some sort of cash cow for other nations?!
I think you are a richer country. And I think it's normal for richer citizens to have to pay more money in tax than the poorer citizens.
And is there a threshhold in paying for poorer countries, i.e., is there a top limit for the amount richer countries pay? Who decides? How deep can other governments go into your governments' pockets in the NEVER ENDING GRAIL to be fair?
When you spend someone else's money, it never runs out; when you spend your own, you understand its value better.
1) Government budget deficit of less than 3% of GDP;
2) Government national debt of less than 60% of GDP;
3) Price stability: an average rate of inflation no more than 1.5 percentage points above that of the three best performing member states;
4) Convergence of the interest rates between countries: an average nominal long-term interest rate not more than 2 percentage points above that of the three best performing member states;
5) Exchange rate stability: participation in the normal bands of the Exchange Rate Mechanism for at least two years without devaluations.
The one in question now is the 3% deficit. When the criteria were established a typical yearly GDP growth of 5% was the norm (The calculation was 5% of 60% debt is 3%).
The problem with the criteria is that they are inflexible. When growth is only 1 or 2 percent, the first criteria is almost impossible to fulfil, yet a violation does NOT encourage inflation. The real important criteria for the stability of the Euro currency is the national debt. Germany and France don't reach 60%, Italy or Belgium largely surpass it (but the "intent of reducing it" avoids the dreaded "blue letter").
Has Maastricht effected the European economy negatively? Yes, and no.
Its restrictive rules have had a negative impact in growth, investment and unemployment, especially for France and Germany, but they have had a positive influence on the convergence process in productivity in the EU.
Sanctions were intended to reign in the spending behavior of infringing nations. In the case of Germany this makes no sense as Germany has actively worked to reduce spending. Those cuts are painfully visible for everyone living in Germany. That said, Germany needs more reforms but those cannot be enforced by Maastricht.
I don't think the rules will be changed but more flexibility allowed. You can't "punish" a country for not having enough growth, only for irresponsible spending. This, in the case of Germany, has not been the case.
Funny enough, the world's strongest economy, the United States, would not meet the criteria either.
#11
TGA knows far more about economy than I do (after all, I know little to nothing about it), so I will let him do the speaking on this.
jules> You can do the research you are asking yourself. But one question of yours answered: I've read that the top ceiling on EU budgetary spending has been set at 1.27% of overall GNP.
#16
I don't believe I've ever "wondered" about lack of enthusiasm in the UK. The only thing I wonder (and am disgusted) at is the fact that UK chooses to stay within the EU, and nonetheless whines so much about it.
#17
You believe there's an obligation upon the richer nations in the EU to redistribute their wealth amongst the poorer ones. That's the crux of the EU project, as far as neosocialists like yourself are concerned - Marxist economics / Marxist social aspirations. That's the thinking that's turned the European community from something worthwhile into something insane, and that's the reason why the UK has become disillusioned with it. You should wonder why the UK has lost enthusiasm for it. That's what's going to destroy it.
#18
This discussion is extremely amusing. I was especially intrigued by the idea that richer countries should pay more. Brilliant. Sheer geniuses those EU'ers.
#19
Bulldog, you still didn't tell me whether the UK millionaires pay no more in tax than your poor homeless folk.
You believe there's an obligation upon the richer nations in the EU to redistribute their wealth amongst the poorer ones.
Yes, poorer nations join the EU in a great extent to get the economic support of the richer countries, and in return poorer nations open their economies to be used by the wealthy corporations of the richer nations.
It's called "everyone benefits, that's why everyone stays in"
Except UK which believes it's hurting itself by remaining but nonetheless stays for sheer masochism and altruism, it seems. That's a contradiction *you* have to solve, not I.
"That's the crux of the EU project,"
That the rich tend to be taxed more than the poor, and that a place with more rich people will have more money taxed from it than a place with poor people?
But I thought that Franco-German Domination was the crux of the EU project! And yet France and Germany are two of the net contributors, and they pay *more* money into the EU than UK does.
So, what is it Bulldog? Is the EU benefitting or hurting the wealthy big nations? Pick and choose, please, but stay consistent afterwards.
#20
The difference between a UK millionaire's disproportionate tax contribution to the UK and an average UK citizen's disproportionate tax contribution to the EU is twofold: 1) the UK millionaire's tax contribution pays for the precisely the same things a poor UK citizen pays for, and 2) the rich and the poor UK taxpayers both know they have an equal say in who spends their money. It's not a perfect system, but it's a damn sight better than the EU system of tax-and-distribute-somewhere-else.
France and Germany, as you well know, have political ambitions in Europe than go beyond the mere economic. And that's part of the reason why the German economy is in such bad shape. It's no reason why the UK should get dragged into the same misguided predicament.
In reference to your holier-than-thou comments about "economic support" for poorer nations: where do you think the UK comes, globally, in terms of investment in other countries? Apparently, this'll surprise you...
#21
and an average UK citizen's disproportionate tax contribution to the EU
Whoa!! I don't accept that the average UK citizen contributes more to the EU than a person of other nationality with the exact same income. Any evidence towards that?
France and Germany, as you well know, have political ambitions in Europe than go beyond the mere economic.
Good, so do the poor nations. Let Britain ALSO have political ambitions in what is ALSO a political union, as is the proper thing to do, rather than merely keep on living in the past and seeing it as ONLY an economical union or a free trade block.
But I think you delude yourself when you think Britain has no political ambitions in the Union -- I believe *that's* the reason it's staying inside, that it fears being voiceless outside it. I believe that UK's presence in the Union has strengthened its voice, same as all other nations -- even if she has used that voice mainly to thwart everyone else.
It's no reason why the UK should get dragged into the same misguided predicament.
I never asked it to. If you don't have a desire for political union, you shouldn't be part of a political union.
WHY IS UK STAYING IN???? According to you?
where do you think the UK comes, globally, in terms of investment in other countries?
I have no idea. But don't only think about investments, think also of trade and exports.
#23
LOL! I'm hardly making a lecture on how to trade. I'm just telling you that without the EU you might have had to deal with the trade areas of 24 different countries, some of which might have been very protective of their own.
#24
Bulldog, this is the beginning of the end for the Franco-German led EU economic "juggernaut."
Britain, quite rightly, should resist signing that dreadful EU Constitution (which will strip the UK of its sovereignity) and quit carrying the financial water for the Weasel powers.
France and Germany, who are supposed to "lead" the EU and who used to have the best economies, are now setting the example for the other EU countries by letting themselves off the hook for their poorly declining economies.
And those economies will get worse, not better whereas the UK's is quite robust.
Britain has nothing to gain and a lot to lose by surrendering to full EU membership whereas the Axis of Weasel will now begin to leach more and more money from the other EU countries, chief among them being the strong, expanding wealth and power of Great Britain.
Posted by: Jen ||
07/13/2004 21:03 Comments ||
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#25
Aris threatens trade protectionism to the UK if they don't get with and stay with the EU program.
But my own international finance and econ studies show clearly that it would be the small protectionist economies which would suffer the most. Protectionism, mercantilism, the Corn Laws of the 19th century -- there's a reason they were given up by the really productive countries of *all* sizes: they hurt the perpetrators more the competitors being kept out.
Except, of course, that they hurt the really poor, like the farmers in Africa who cannot sell to Europe because UK taxpayers are busy subsidizing French farmers to live on charming, family farms that are truly inefficient producers.
Have at it, if you like -- but do check out the facts. The UK would lose some economic benefits if it left the EU, but its potential gains could be rather large over time. Meanwhile, I'm still waiting for those awe-inspiring competitive moves that German and French engineers and policymakers have been threatening me, a mere (now semi-retired) American high-tech executive, with for decades now.
#26
Aris threatens trade protectionism to the UK if they don't get with and stay with the EU program.
For god's sake!! Since I want UK to leave the EU (until it *willingly*, not *whiningly*, chooses to rejoin us), I certainly didn't threaten trade protectionism if it didn't "stay with the EU Program". I spoke about what would happen if the EU never existed AT ALL. That was the point of my "trade areas of 24 different countries" remark. Now, even if UK leaves, it will only have to deal with one trade area, so that's not an issue.
But my own international finance and econ studies show clearly that it would be the small protectionist economies which would suffer the most.
Yeah, quite possibly. But that doesn't mean there wouldn't be countries that go that way, self-destructive though it may be. History shows us that many countries go that way.
And I'm not sure that UK investors would like to see their properties/investments occasionally nationalised if some of the smaller nations went ultra-protectionist, and said investors had no recourse to the EU court either.
#27
slightly OT: until it *willingly*, not *whiningly*, chooses to rejoin us
I've always been taught the same spelling of whining..lately I see whinging...what up with that? Is that a faux pas on my (and Aris's) part? Or a Brit term/spelling adoption? I'd hate to say the wrong thing while chastising my whining 'hip' teenagers :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/13/2004 21:55 Comments ||
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#28
Frank, 'whinging' is an English (British) expression and whining is more American.
Posted by: Jen ||
07/13/2004 22:05 Comments ||
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#29
Frank, they're two different phrases. Let me help:
I certainly didn't threaten trade protectionism if it didn't "stay with the EU Program". I spoke about what would happen if the EU never existed AT ALL. That was the point of my "trade areas of 24 different countries" remark.
Is an example of whining.
France and Germany are two of the net contributors, and they pay *more* money into the EU than UK does.
Is an example of whinging. I hope this helps you enjoy a more nuanced relationship with your teenagers.
#33
OK, I'm consulting the Chambers English Dictionary:
whine
to utter a plaintive cry, whimper; to complain peevishly; to cry fretfully; to speak in a thin, ingratiating or servile tone...
whinge
to complain peevishly; to whine; to cry peevishly...
I'd distinguish a whine as being a high pitched protestation, whereas a whinge can be expressed in the same manner, but, crucially, features a specific complaint. A whine need not be a complaint - it could, for instance, be a request.
#34
Hard to say, Aris, it depends on the tonality!
Oh a belated congratulation for the Greek football team (and their "crazy german coach"). Are there plans for a "Rehaklion" next to the Parthenon yet?
I think the Greek did play like the Germans in the 80s... but it looked better and defense was just stunningly good. If you can keep this up you'll go far in two years. Keep the spirit!
#38
family farms that are truly inefficient producers
Inefficient, maybe. But man can they produce some of the tastiest foods you can find.
Posted by: Rafael ||
07/13/2004 22:41 Comments ||
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#39
Rafael, agree on that. If the EU were only funding those producers. Most of the money goes to the biggest agrarian companies to churn out tasteless stuff (but complying with all the regulations)
#40
hhhmmmm back on OT: is it called whinging because they squeal like badly oiled hinges? I know my neighbor's kids do that... I hate those kids ....but in a good way :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/13/2004 22:49 Comments ||
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#41
*g* Thanks, TGA.
[singing]
Einai trelos, einai trelos o Germanos!
(He is mad, he is mad the german man!)
[/singing]
This victory was most definitely Otto Rehagel's, and I've actually heard that indeed there was a guy (a private individual) preparing to build a statue for him. *g* Though not infront of the Acropolis, mind you. :-)
#44
Both words stem from the Old English hwinan, meaning 'to whine', which itself derives from the Old Norse hvina - 'to whistle through the air'!
I do like 'whine' and 'whinge'. In argument they can be used like verbal smoke grenades - thrown at your interlocuter to cause momentary doubt and confusion, enabling a tactical withdrawl on your part and a fresh apporoach from another direction. To accuse someone of being a 'whinger' or 'whiner' is quite a powerful insult. Is that also the case in the US?
Doubts are growing about a reported anti-Semitic attack on a woman and her baby that stunned France. Police have found no evidence or witnesses, four days after the alleged assault took place on a train in the suburbs of Paris. The 23-year-old woman said six men cut her clothes and drew swastikas on her body, accusing her of being Jewish. It sparked widespread condemnation amid concern that racist and anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise in France. Police are advising caution as their investigations continue, noting that there are some contradictions in the woman's account. The woman said she was attacked on a suburban train on Friday. The gang, who mistook her for a Jew, cut her hair, slashed her clothes and daubed her body with swastikas, she said. The men, described as of North African appearance, are also said to have tipped her 13-month-old baby from her pram. According to the woman, about 20 people could have seen the attack but so far no-one has come forward. Investigators have also been studying footage from surveillance cameras at the train station where the six alleged attackers were supposed to have got out but have found nothing.
Either the french police are engaging in a coverup operation, or.....
French media report that the young woman has filed several complaints in the past about being the victim of violence.
Can you say "Tawanna"? I knew you could.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/13/2004 8:55:49 AM ||
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#1
With all due respect, a deservedly skeptical approach is quite different from calling it an outright a "crock" without any evidence.
#2
Actually, Drudge is reporting that the woman made up the story. She has been arrested.
Posted by: jawa ||
07/13/2004 15:36 Comments ||
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#3
Ah, hell. Mike will be impossible to live with now.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/13/2004 15:45 Comments ||
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#4
If all this is true, then a number of us owe Mike an apology.
I repeat: as they say in the newspaper biz, "if your mother says she loves you, check it out."
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/13/2004 17:04 Comments ||
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#5
Steve, at the risk of incurring your wrath, I'm not apologizing to anyone as even if this woman lied, there have been countless attacks on Jews and their property in France since the beginning of the Intifada in 2000.
This woman's lies will only make it worse for Jews there because now when they're attacked, they'll be doubted by law enforcement and not given any help.
This incident was staged to discredit Jews and to elevate the "victimhood" of French Moooslims.
And we have an RBer or 2 or 3 who will carry the IslamoNazis' water, too.
Is there a copy of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion on their nightstand, also?
Posted by: Jen ||
07/13/2004 21:38 Comments ||
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Who guitarist Peter Townshend is ticked off with Michael Moore â and heâs hitting back. Townshend used his Web site to strike back at Moore. The rocker writes of Moore: "He says â among other things â that I refused to allow him to use my song âWonât Get Fooled Againâ in [âFahrenheit 9/11â] because I support the war, and that at the last minute I recanted but he turned me down." Moore has claimed that he wanted to use the Who song at the end of his film after Bushâs last line in the pseudo-documentary. Moore blames Townshend for vetoing the use of the song because he is "not a fan of Michael Mooreâs and in fact supports the war and supports Tony Blair and doesnât want the song used in any way that would make Blair look bad." While Townshend admits he did support the war he is less than certain about it today. Townshend said that at first the song rights had nothing to do with the film. He had never heard of it. But his agent said Moore had offered too little money. Rebuffed, Moore dragged in Miramax honcho Harvey Weinstein to intervene.
At that point Townshend had second thoughts about Moore altogether. He didnât like his "Bowling for Columbine," which Townshend said was "a bullying film." Now Townshend is the target of Michael Mooreâs bullying. Townshend said he had been "slurred" by Moore because "he didnât get what he wanted from me. It seems to me that this aspect of his nature is not unlike that of the powerful and willful man at the center of his new documentary." Townshend concluded, "But heâll have to work very, very hard to convince me that a man with a camera is going to change the world more effectively than a man with a guitar."
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
07/13/2004 9:47:05 PM ||
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And what a lineup it could have been...
The right is upset that the GOP presidential convention is excluding conservative speakers, and now radical Democrats as well as centrists will be in a dither that moonbat volatile voices are being omitted from the Democrat convention, along with moderates and conservatives, of course. Uh, if you eliminate volatile, moderates and conservatives, whoâs left to do the speaking, the rats at the North Station rail tracks? The Mad Dog swilling bums on Causeway Street? Mayor âMumblesâ Menino?
The party today announced its lineup of prime-time speakers. True, John Kerry couldnât shun his mentor Teddy Kennedy, but he did manage to brush off his previous mentor Michael Dukakis. Dukakisâ appearance would have brough on the inevitable comparisons, thatâs a no-brainer.
"Hereâs just a sample of people who werenât rolled out today and, if the snub continues, are sure to make major waves come convention week: Hillary (âFucking Jew bastardâ) Clinton, Al (Tawana Brawley) Sharpton, Howard (âBush Knew! YEEEAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!â) Dean, Dennis (Dept. Of Peace) Kucinich, Dick (âmiserable faiureâ) Gephardt, Tom (âIâm deeeeeply saddened) Daschele, Nancy (âclear the airâ) Pelosi, Wesley (Bush was a deserter) Clark, Carol Mosley (mostly convicted) Braun, Joe Lieberman, Bob Graham and, of course, Mike (Captain Abrams) Dukakis," the Boston Heraldâs David Guarino noted today. A murdererâs row of misfits and the LLL standard bearers.
Not surprisingly, the snubbed also include Sen. Patty "Osama Mama" Murray, Rep. "Baghdad" Jim McDermott, Rep. Marcy Kaptur, ex-Klansman Sen. Robert Byrd, Cynthia McKinney, New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey, etc., etc. In terms of the 1986 Boston Celtics, this would be the âGreen Teamâ, almost as good as the starting five of Bird, McHale, Parrish, Ainge & Johnson.
Those who will speak, or rant, in prime time include Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Max Cleland, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, Baltimore Mayor Martin OâMalley and Reps. Stephanie Tubbs, Tammy Baldwin and Bob Menendez, in addition to Kerry, John Edwards and their wives. Never heard of the last five there, any opinions on them? Iâm betting theyâre either centrists or the stuffed shirt equivalent of JFKerry.
Guarino observed: "This morning at the National Press Club in Washington, the Kerry campaign and DNC leaders, unveiled a convention agenda they say will highlight an America thatâs âstronger at home, respected in the world.â How, exactly, they plan to do that with Jimmy Carter and Al Gore, I donât know." Some jokes just write themselves...
#2
I heard that noted deep thinker Ron "Sugar Plum Fairy" Reagan, Jr., was also planning to speak on stem cell research at the convention. Kerry promised him that among his first acts would be to sign an executive order reversing Bush's stance.
Heh, heh. A snippet:
One New York man-about-town says it boils down to party politics. âAs a ticket, âthe Johnsâ represent a substantial metrosexual presence, which will be an asset as they court the flat-front trouser-wearing vote,â said Peter Hyman, author of âThe Reluctant Metrosexual: Dispatches from an Almost Hip Life,â a collection of essays due out this month. âOf course, the Democrats have a history of well-tailored candidates,â he added. âWho can forget the dapper Paul Tsongas or the sartorial force of the Mondale/Ferraro polyblend whirlwind in 1984?â
#4
I was just thinking more about the photos on this link. Kerry never looks this happy. I don't think it's about running for president. I think he 's happy because he's got a new boyfriend and is finally "getting some." See for yourself.
#5
Of course, maybe he's just beside himself with glee, that with Edwards, he has a chance at finally winning and finally feeling important. These guys never recover after they leave office. Interesting that they won't vote on the Marraige Act, though.
#2
So they will avoid the procedural vote. Fine. Let everyone know how they face the tough issues. Regardless of which side of the issue you are on, this shows their true character when they avoid a vote.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/13/2004 14:34 Comments ||
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#3
Historically, societies that allows/embraces sexual perversion as a mainstay, die out or are destroyed.
Kerry and Edwards don't want to vote on this because it would jeopardize the gay vote -- especially since gays, as a demographic, have the largest amount of discretionary income (since they're not supporting families) which they will very willingly contribute to a campaign that supports their special interests. Kerry and Edwards are posturing for the gay vote. This is a serious thing.
#1
As a North Carolinian I could have told you that Edwards wouldn't much affect the race here. Charlotte's mayor has already come out and said Edwards has been absent in NC for the last 6 years. There was a good chance he would not have been reelected as senator if he had run. The more people learn about this trial lawyer, his voting record and his absenteeism from his senate job the less favorable people may see him.
Posted by: AF Lady ||
07/13/2004 12:21 Comments ||
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#3
Careful on the trial lawyer part, folks. Lotsa common folks out there think a trial lawyer is on their side against the evil insurance companies, etc. Fact is, for the average working joe/joan, a trial lawyer might just be the best advocate they'll ever have.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/13/2004 17:17 Comments ||
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#4
He's actually been a fairly strong supporter of democracy promotion. Not clear how that will fit in with Kerry's striped pants "realism". Also had Larry Diamond of Hoover Institution as a foreign policy advisor - LD was another democracy promoter, who actually worked for the CPA IIUC. IF Kerry want to run a "It was right to go into Iraq, but Dubya didnt do it quite right" campaign, this could be interesting. Unfortunately he alienates over half the Dem party if he does that, and they might either sit it out or vote for Nader.
#5
Fact is, for the average working joe/joan, a trial lawyer might just be the best advocate they'll ever have.
Take a look at the guy's cases. Was he suing for millions and millions? If judgements in his favor were for really large sums of money, I'd suspect that gunning for big paydays was more of an objective than an interest in being some sort of voice for the little guy.
#6
"Take a look at the guy's cases. Was he suing for millions and millions? If judgements in his favor were for really large sums of money, I'd suspect that gunning for big paydays was more of an objective than an interest in being some sort of voice for the little guy."
No doubt. But that's because he's him--not because he's a trial lawyer.
Another, easier-to-understand example: Warren Hern, "M.D." is responsible for perfecting the partial birth abortion technique (which is nothing more than a modifcation of another technique performed in utero, which he also developed) --not because he's a physician, but because he's him.
Scumbags are scumbags--regardless of their profession.
Even though Edwards might suck, the conservatives should get off the big-business payola of the insurance companies and support the lawyers and our consitutional right to jury trial. Despite the inequities and rip-offs that happen, when it all shakes out, the little guy stands a much better chance. It's a shame that the insurance companies and other business interestss have made ATLA pretty much a one-party organization.
#7
I know it is crazy to say nice things about lawyers, but since I have been in the business since 79, conservatives sometimes don't realize that there are plenty of little guys that get help by lawyers. No silk-stocking $450 per hour lawyer is going to take the case of a factory worker's kid who has become a vegetable because of a hung-over surgeon. It will be some variety of "ambulance chaser"if you will. The $450 per hour guy/gal will be working for the insurance company just as hard to make sure that family doesn't get one penny. It's a wicked world.
#8
1. Fact is, for the average working joe/joan, a trial lawyer might just be the best advocate they'll ever have.
Trial lawyers looking out for the little guy? LOL. I don't think so. Because of excessive tort litigation, the majority of "little guys" in America end up paying "tort tax" which is increasing each year. ...Tillinghast-Towers Perrin, an independent consulting firm, reports that in 2002, the total costs from tort litigation jumped by 13 percent to $233 billion. That's an astonishing 2.23 percent of our entire Gross National Product, and these costs are passed on to all consumers in the form of higher prices for goods and services. According to the Department of Treasury, this "tort tax" works out to $809 for every individual and more than $3,200 for a family of four, every year...
In fact, because of the out-of-control trial litigation situation in America, Congressman Chocola and Senator Lindsey Graham have introduced "loser pays all" legislation, called the Legal Expense Equity Act of 2004, similar to what many Western countries have in place for years, so that U.S. trial lawyers and their clients think twice before filing a frivolous lawsuit.
2. No silk-stocking $450 per hour lawyer is going to take the case of a factory worker's kid who has become a vegetable because of a hung-over surgeon
I would suggest to you that the number of "hung over" surgeons causing a vegetative state in the patient actually occured in maybe 1 case out of the hundreds of thousands of lawsuits filed in the past 20 years. More likely are hundreds of thousands of frivolous, trolling for an out-of-court settlement lawsuits filed against excellent and dedicated physicians. ...Frivolous lawsuits brought by irresponsible trial lawyers are hurting our nation-driving up healthcare costs, putting doctors out of business, eliminating thousands of jobs, while devastating our economy,â Chocola said. âIt is time to reform the tort process by ensuring that both defendants and plaintiffs have a vested interest in each case brought before a judge...
3. Here's an excellent website that Laura Ingraham, a constitutional lawyer herself, links to for further information on the excesses of tort litigation in the USA and the need for reform: http://www.pointoflaw.com/
Posted by: rex ||
07/13/2004 21:35 Comments ||
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The U.S. trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly in May as stronger growth overseas and the weak U.S. dollar helped propel exports to record levels, according to government data on Tuesday. Analysts said the smaller-than-expected trade gap would cause them to boost their second-quarter U.S. economic growth forecast. The May trade gap of $46.0 billion was below a median estimate of $48.3 billion made by Wall Street analysts surveyed before the report. The deficit narrowed for the first time in six months despite the highest prices for imported oil in nearly 22 years, which helped pushed overall imports to a record as well.
"The narrowing of the trade balance now looks to provide a favorable impact (on) second-quarter output," said Richard Dekaser, chief economist with National City Corp. in Cleveland.
More bad news for the donks.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/13/2004 11:04:38 AM ||
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Americaâs standing at risk!
London - More than 200 Americans studying in Britain have signed an open letter accusing President George W Bush of endangering the security of American nationals abroad through his unpopular foreign policies. The letter, released on Monday by the campaign group ââWin Back Respectââ is written to the studentsâ families and communities back home. It must be because I am the mother of bright children -- I commented on the posts of their weblog. Go ahead and amuse yourselves over there, but be gentle: they are young and ignorant and poorly informed, but if we help them, soon they will be as wise in understanding as we are ;-)
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/13/2004 3:15:44 AM ||
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#1
I think they need to win back their website first - looks like it's down.
#5
That's the thing about academic 'intellectuals' - they're easily led. They soak up information very well, but all too few are able to think outside their classroom-shaped box.
#7
Bulls#$t,Daddy needs to cancel thier credit cards,cut off thier trust funds and drag thier whiney ass' home,a kicken' and screamn'(after a good ass whoopin').
#10
TU3031, never mistake intelligence for common sense. Clearly some of these students are very intelligence they just lack common sense. I also remember a group of Oxford students that signed a letter of protest against Englands declaration of war on Germany. They were wrng then and they are wrong now.
#11
So, our European allies think America is the one to have to apologize for friends abandoning friends? Do these numbskulls have any idea how that enrages the people in my neck of the woods? THEY are the ones to apologize, if anyone, for shallow and short-lived compassion for America after 9/11, reckless endangerment of the world by hiding from the real dangers of Islamofascism and subsidizing corrupt psychopaths like Saddam, and insulting our people while digging into our pockets and draining our financial resources for their ill-thought-out world economic plans.
#12
Dragon Fly,
Thanks for telling the kidlings about Revel ... I blanked on the name. It looks like other than you, I am the only one to comment on their whole page -- so our thoughts will be eagerly, if not pleasurably read.
Sarge,
Two good points! I am living proof that common sense isn't connected to "intelligence". Very cleverly indeed, my keeper married me, and has kept me out of some of the trouble I otherwise would have inadvertently found myself in.
(2004-07-12) -- The U.S. intelligence community believes that the Democrat presidential ticket of John Forbes Kerry and John Edwards is "a slam dunk," according to a newly-released 28-page report.
Based on a larger secret CIA analysis, the public report claims that Mr. Kerry and Mr. Edwards, who are also U.S. Senators, have a strategy, ideas, positions on issues and even compelling reasons why Americans should vote for them.
"This evidence is almost as good as the intel we had on Saddam Husseinâs weapons of mass destruction," said an unnamed CIA source. "A Kerry-Edwards landslide is a slam dunk."
Posted by: Korora ||
07/13/2004 12:05:17 AM ||
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#1
"This evidence is almost as good as the intel we had on Saddam Husseinâs weapons of mass destruction,"
#3
Someone needs to take a flamethrower to CIA and to State. DoD needs a different but still firm hand. And Bush could use a VP "surprise" himself to put the campaign over the top. And I got just the people in mind...
Imagine this the day after the Dem convention ends...
Cheney resigns (effective end of this term) so Bush can make him head of re-organized US INtelligence Community and first job is to restructure CIA and integrate and delineate CIA/NSA/NRO/NGA/DIA areas of responsiblity.
Powell to resigns as Secretary of State to make room - Bush accepts him as his VP running mate. (Nice useless place for a softie like him, plus immediately whacks the meter on the ticket - puts NY into play, and blows the black vote into splinters, plus whacks the "Haliburton" factor right out of the park).
Rumsfeld needs to resign to clear out the mess from Dept of Defense make him Sec Of State with a mandate to use his blunt manner and non-BS approach to clean house.
Rice resigns as NS-Adv to make her the first female SecDef.
Only leaves N.S. Advisor to be filled - any ideas who?
Nightmare for Kerry. And actually a pretty damned good core staff for the second Bush term.
Now that it turns out that Valerie Plame was the CIA point"man" for getting her asshat husband, Joe Liar Wilson, appointed for the Nigeria "mission", what should her fate be? And whomever upstream in CIA approved the idea? This was pure policy sabotage.
I would keep Rumsfield as head of Defense. The military may not like change but its necessary and I believe time will bare this out. I would keep Condi as head of NSA, she's doing a good job
I would put Guilianni in charge of State. He's tough and respected and could clean house (which should be the primary mandate for the first year).
I would try to get McCain to head the "restructure CIA and integrate and delineate CIA/NSA/NRO/NGA/DIA areas of responsiblity"
That only leaves Ashcroft. He's doing a good job, but he's such a lightning rod and they've done such a poor job of defending him that he's damaged goods now.
#11
Fred's deep cover TW can't be spared, for who I don't know, actually I do know, but can't say, actually I can say, just shouldn't, but trust me... he's deep.
Posted by: Col Flagg ||
07/13/2004 13:02 Comments ||
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#12
Of course, on November 3, the refrain will be: "Scott lied; my cabinet post died."
Yank's got some ideas, too, but McCain? and the CIA? No way! He's a big fat liar that betrayed men to the enemy in 'Nam. Has spent the rest of his life covering it up. Bad, bad, bad idea.
#15
Hey, Guys and Gals!!! Hey! Can I be head of the FAA? OK?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/13/2004 22:36 Comments ||
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#16
I'm afraid not AP - you'd probably put us down as character references....BAD MOVE!
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/13/2004 22:39 Comments ||
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#17
I like your suggestions,OldSpook, especially Cheney for CIA. Though I think Powell might be a good VP candidate, I doubt he'd want to run for an elected position, because he has said previously that he does not want to expose his family to press scrutiny, particularly his wife.
If Powell would not run for office,I'd suggest Zell Miller for the VP position. Zell's a great gentleman,very articulate, and very popular in the South. I think Zell would effectively counter balance John Edwards re: Southern states and Zell would appeal to moderate Democrat voters across America.
I like Donald Rumsfeld myself, but perhaps he is too tainted with the Abu Graves thingey and the Chalabi scandal...maybe Rumsfeld needs to leave Defense along with Feith and Wolfowitz, so GWB is not tainted by the aforementioned scandals.
However, Rumsfeld would be great as head of State Dept. and perhaps a new portfolio would give him a "fresh start." His no-nonsense manner would sure put fear into the hearts of all those deadbeat chair warmers in that useless bureaucracy called State.
What about Stormin'Norman Schwarzkopf or Tommy Franks or Colin Powell for Secretary of Defense? I think any of those 3 men would be well respected within the department as well as being respected by the public.
Don't let flip-flop John McCain near an important cabinet position, puhleaze. Make McCain Ambassador to France , whatever, if he wants an appointment - just give him something far away from DC and where he won't be near a microphone to grandstand and backstab GWB.
I'd keep Condalezza Rice in the NSA. Ditto for Ashcroft in Justice. Both are good in those positions.
The weak links in GWB's cabinet, IMHO, are Tom Ridge and that idiot Mineta. Ridge does not inspire me whatsoever whenever he is interviewed, and he has allowed Homeland Security to stay a big inefficient lumbering operation instead of streamlining and making more efficient the departments that were brought under its wing. Maybe Rudy Guilliani or Ted Olsen should be offered Ridge's position? As for Transportation, there's got to be someone "out there" who is more capable and smarter than Mineta[and perhaps a Republican? gosh, what a novel idea!] That guy needs to be given a one way ticket from DC back to San Jose, CA, after the November election pronto. Hopeless.
Posted by: rex ||
07/13/2004 22:54 Comments ||
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#18
Zell Miller for VP would certainly stand on the brakes of Democrat post-convention momentum! But please keep Colin Powell away from SecDef -- if he can't harness all those clever boys and girls at State, how is he going to reorganize soldiers?!? I love the idea of McCain as Amb. to France -- and they thought Rumsfeld was lacking subtlety and nuance!!! Guilliani would do a great job at Homeland Security, and from there he could push whoever takes on SecTransportation.
Sounds like we've got it all sorted, guys. I hope GWB's people are paying close attention to this thread ;-)
via BBC - EFL UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has attacked the US for failing to deliver enough funds to tackle Aids worldwide.
In an exclusive interview with the BBC, he said the fight against terrorism was overshadowing the HIV/Aids epidemic. He expressed disappointment that the US and Europe were not doing enough to help the UNâs global Aids fund. But President Bushâs Aids adviser said the criticism was unfair, as the US was by far the biggest contributor to the campaign to tackle and prevent Aids. ...more...
Is he serious? Is he sane? Or is he obfuscating / distracting from the growing troubles at the UN, both his own and those of the dinosaur itself.
There's just no such things as "enough", is there?
Posted by: .com ||
07/13/2004 4:21:36 AM ||
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#1
Yes, Kofi. Isn't disappointment a terrible thing?
Give France a call. Or Zimbabawe. Or maybe Yasshole. See if they'll pick up the slack.
#3
Oh yeah? Then maybe we can resort to something he is completely used to-bargaining. He wants our money? We'll dole some out when we see UN members acting more like partners instead of arch rivals.
#4
Most of the world's funds to study and find a vaccine and treatments for AIDS also comes from the US. So the %#@! is the rest of the world doing other than bitching and moaning?
Posted by: ed ||
07/13/2004 10:00 Comments ||
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#5
Well, AIDS should be completely under control, once the UN takes the oil-for-food bribe money back.
#7
Kofi is just upset that the US won't let him and his UN cronies dip their beaks in the monies the US is spending on AIDS. You see no amount of money can do any good unless it is washed throught the UN bureaucracy and their Cayman Island accounts.
#8
Kofi's guilt trip on us does not wash any more. The thing that is paying a big part of his salary is US the U.S. There is alot more to the solution of the AIDS problem than just throwing money on it. It is also a matter of nations and citizens taking responsibility for their actions. The U.S. cannot take responsibility for every person in the world who chambers a bad round. World govt type people will drive the world economy into the ground and we will all become poor and f**ked up! Just like BOB.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/13/2004 15:55 Comments ||
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#9
Such claims are wrong. No other country is committing more money to the battle against HIV/AIDS than the US. The American taxpayer is spending $15 billion over five years to help combat the condition. This dwarfs the commitment from any other government. It is therefore extremely worrying to see that some influential HIV/AIDS activists have seized the opportunity of the Bangkok summit to play politics and aim a totally unmerited kick at the United States.
That paragraph is taken from Arab News, believe it or not....
I don't question the seriousness of the AIDS crisis. I do, however, question the seriousness of the AIDS response. And an un-serious response -- in which posturing for the media displaces saving people's lives -- could prove to be catastrophic. Not only will millions more die of AIDS as a consequence of such planetary showboating, but the basic system for developing cures to new maladies could be annihilated in a spasm of plundering political correctness.
Exhibit A in the unseriousness-can-have-serious-consequences argument is the so-called "World AIDS Summit." It kicked off Sunday night as UN Secretary General Kofi Annan gave the usual speech that worldocrats love to listen to -- an oration that combines a pat on the back with a call for a bigger budget. "Thank you, Thailand," he began. But then came the real meat of Annan's message: "We are not doing nearly well enough." Of course, in using the plural first person pronoun, he meant no real criticism of his audience; in the favored rhetoric of the careerist compassionate class, it's always a certainty that those in the audience are doing their utmost -- they came all the way to Thailand, didn't they? Instead, the "we" refers to the world, particularly "stingy" governments, corporations, and foundations. It is they that can always do better, serious-money-wise.
The official title of this conference is "The XV International AIDS Conference"; looking at those Roman numerals, I couldn't help but think of another megamedia event that attracts millions of people, and their billions of dollars, from around the world -- the Super Bowl. Indeed, while "XV" doesn't have a huge television audience, it's got everything else: crowds of well-heeled -- or at least well expense-accounted -- visitors, celebrities (reportedly including Oprah Winfrey, Richard Gere, and Ashley Judd), even an elephant parade straight out of "The King and I." But picturesque as it is, Thailand is no sleepy, Third World country. It has an AIDS problem, to be sure, but the 65 million Thais all seem to know English or want to learn the door-opening language of globalization; they are focused on gadgets, technology, and generally getting ahead. Bangkok reminds me of Tokyo 30 years ago -- nowhere to go but up. And part of that upward mobility means improving its balance of payments by taking as much money from tourists -- oops, I mean anti-AIDS activists -- as possible.
#1
Interesting read about efforts to ignore Patents on drugs. Now I know some patents on just plain stupid and the U.S. Patent office seriously needs to grow a brain (even if it is shared among them), but this is going way too far. Drug companies spend millions on R & D and now the AIDS activists want to be able to steal it....
This new activism spasm is already rippling the political economics of AIDS -- and the prospects for companies that make cures. Sunday's Bangkok Post included this headline: "Government plans to copy AIDS drugs." The piece was clear: Bangkok is planning to exercise "compulsory licensing to produce copies of drugs now under patent protection to help HIV/AIDS patients." This proposal, according to Tongchai Tavichachart, head of the Government Pharmaceutical Organization, could cut the cost of such drugs by 80 percent. Well, of course it could. "Compulsory licensing" is a synonym for "confiscation," and confiscating property always cuts down the cost of acquisition.
But there is a catch -- a big one. Confiscation is usually a one-shot deal, because those who get confiscated tend to wise up after that; if the lunch must be free, the baker and the butcher stop offering it.
via NYT - EFL
Login: crappy88 / crappy
By WILLIAM SAFIRE - Published: July 12, 2004
All our July chin-pulling about polls and veeps and C.I.A. missteps has little to do with Novemberâs election, which will be decided by unforeseeable events. Instead, letâs counter-program, to examine a political corruption story beginning to gain traction that will reach warp speed in hearings and headlines next spring. At least eight official investigations have begun into the largest financial rip-off in history: preliminary estimates from the G.A.O. point to $10 billion skimmed or kicked back or otherwise stolen in the U.N. dealings with Saddam Hussein.
Seeking to manage the news of the scandal, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan appointed former Fed chairman Paul Volcker to head an internal investigation. That seemed to slam the door on U.N. cooperation with truly independent inquiries, but Volcker last week announced that "appropriate memorandums of understanding with a number of official investigatory bodies are in place or in negotiation." To overcome criticism like mine of his committeeâs lack of subpoena power or ability to take testimony under oath, Volcker has hooked up with Robert Morgenthau, the Manhattan district attorney, who has been prosecuting two men in an unrelated distressed debt case at BNP Paribas; thatâs the French bank the U.N. used for its oil-for-food letters of credit. That grand old prosecutor has a staff skilled at following money and has sitting grand juries available to encourage truth-telling. ...more...
Perhaps the cesspool will be drained.
I doubt it. It's a well-loved cesspool in too many circles...
Posted by: .com ||
07/13/2004 12:54:16 AM ||
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since many of the members of the UN are corrupt, there is little reason the UN will be cleaned up
the more interesting question is whether Kerry/ Edwards can evade answering any serious questions about this issue (I think they will - if anyone asks they will say 'investigation under way - too early to comment' or if there will be any serious big media coverage of this
EFL: Police forces loyal to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen forced the acting head of state Chea Sim out of the country in a purge of the ruling party, diplomatic sources told AFP. "They used the police forces under (national police chief) Hok Lundy to surround the house of Chea Sim" in the early hours of the morning, one of the sources told AFP on condition of anonymity. "Negotiations occurred and the deal was that he had to leave the country with General Hok Lundy escorting him out. They forced him out of the country," he added.
"Git outa town, Chea, while the gittin's good!"
The removal of Chea Sim, who is also president of the long-ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP), came after he refused to sign a controversial bill into law aimed at resolving a year-long political crisis. Hun Sen and Chea Sim head different factions in the party. King Norodom Sihanouk, who is currently in North Korea in self-exile waiting out the crisis, had already declined to give his royal approval to the bill and instead asked Chea Sim to make a decision using "his conscience".
I think "self-exile", I think Tahiti or maybe Bangkok. North Korea would rank just above Hell.
North Korea would rank just above below Hell.
The CPP, an ex-communist party that had previously had strong internal discipline, denied any rift. "He was not forced out. He decided himself to go for medical treatment," CPP spokesman Khieu Kanharith told AFP, confirming that Hok Lundy was in Thailand along with other party officials.
"medical treatment" = avoiding the need for.
He admitted forces had descended near Chea Sim's house, which is next to the senate that he heads, but said they had done so at the request of the Constitutional Council which feared there had been a security breach in the area.
They were just there to protect him.
In neighbouring Thailand, Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said he was closely monitoring the situation. "There have been no reports of any kind of violence but there has been a significant build up of political tension," he told reporters. Opposition leader Sam Rainsy labelled Chea Sim's departure a "party coup d'etat" and told AFP he had left the kingdom bound for the United States where he would try to rally international support against the new government.
"You have reached the United Nations Coup d'Etat Hotline. All our operators are busy. Please hold, your coup is important to us."
The controversial law will now allow Hun Sen and royalist leader Prince Norodom Ranariddh to be jointly elected to their posts in the new administration at the next session. Fear and mistrust between and among their parties prompted the deal that will see them voted in with a show of hands.
"All in favor of living, Hands Up!"
Posted by: Steve ||
07/13/2004 10:40:53 AM ||
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Russia? Our friend? ...please...
Head of the Russian Duma Security Commission Vladimir Vasilyev in Moscow Monday underscored the importance of his countryâs ties Iran. In a meeting with Iranâs charge dâaffaires in Moscow Qorban Ali Sayfi, Vasilyev said Moscow is prepared for all out cooperation and expansion of bilateral ties in all areas. Sayfi also expressed hope that Tehran-Moscow ties will be expanded in the future. The two sides also reviewed ways of exchanging parliamentary delegation within the framework of their parliamentary friendship group. Sayfi also explored ways to expand parliamentary ties between Iran and Russia in a meeting with Russian head of the Iran-Russia parliamentary friendship group Yuri Savliev here last week. The two sides during the meeting exchanged views regarding the regular meetings of the two countriesâ parliamentary friendship groups, and how to take full advantage of them in order to achieve the pre-determined objectives. During the meeting it was also agreed that a similar friendship group would be established in Iranian Majlis and the two sides should establish closer ties. The two sides meanwhile talked about bilateral ties in various fields, the current status of the Central Asian republics and Iraq.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
07/13/2004 7:13:53 PM ||
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#1
As someone else here mentioned so presciently. Iran's first package may well go to the Chechens. What will Russia do then? After they're done decontaminating Moscow, that is.
Azerbajan, Dagestan, Chechnya, & all that energy wealth of the mid-Western Caspian Sea/Caucasus Mountains region is an area the mullahs to the south .......would love to grab.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
07/13/2004 19:28 Comments ||
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#3
Russia has the power to nuke Iran to utter oblivion, and none of the West's moral inhibitions against doing so. One or five nukes wouldn't bring Russia to its knees, it would bring Iran to annihilation.
I'm sure that Putin has explained carefully to Iran that all nuke material should only be applied towards the destruction of Israel, and never passed northwards to Caucasus. They could also add that they won't care to actually prove it was the Iranians who so did it, they will be held responsible regardless.
#4
that'll be moral comfort in the Russian blast radius
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/13/2004 20:47 Comments ||
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#5
The Iranian leadership may be evil but they've never shown themselves to be insane. They know what Russia is capable of, and Russia knows that the Iranians know it.
#6
..."They know what Russia is capable of..."
And what exactly is that, pray tell, Mr. Greek expert?
Russia can't pay its army, they blew themselves up at their own war games, their subs sink and they can't put down the Islamist insurgency in Chechnya, so what awesome feats are the mad mullahs marveling at?
Posted by: Jen ||
07/13/2004 21:59 Comments ||
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stone-cold cruelty? Maybe a slice of that should be opened for the mullahs? personally and in close-quarters?
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/13/2004 22:11 Comments ||
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Jen, read #3, where I've already answered your question.
#9
Actually, Russia indeed has a lot of the West's moral inhibitions and certainly more than the mullahs.
Further, Russia has nothing to gain from being allied with Iran and a lot to lose by getting on the wrong side of the USA (again).
You're talking out of your Greek posterior again (which I have no doubt is as repulsive as it is erroneous).
Posted by: Jen ||
07/14/2004 0:11 Comments ||
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#10
Russia has already allied itself with Iran, has already provided nuclear assistence to it. Your belief that it hasn't reflect once again nothing more than your complete rejection of reality.
Actually, Russia indeed has a lot of the West's moral inhibitions
Tell that to Grozny, you stupid ad-hominem girl.
Can we get Jen banned here? She's nothing more than one disgusting insult after another.
#11
Russia has already allied itself with Iran, has already provided nuclear assistence to it. Your belief that it hasn't reflect once again nothing more than your complete rejection of reality.
Actually, Russia indeed has a lot of the West's moral inhibitions
Tell that to Grozny, you stupid ad-hominem girl.
Can we get Jen banned here? She's nothing more than one disgusting insult after another.
Malaysian Idol is under attack by Islamic fundamentalist leaders, who have denounced the local version of the hit American TV show as an attempt to steer Muslim youths away from religious fidelity. Is the only acceptable form of 'live' entertainment, self detonation on a public bus?)
Thousands of young, aspiring pop stars - ranging from urban teenagers in Kuala Lumpur to struggling fishermen on Borneo island - have flocked to nationwide auditions for the singing competition, often belting out English-language ballads or gyrating to R&B tunes. But the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party urged audiences yesterday to boycott the show, which is attracting millions of viewers every week following its debut last month on this predominantly Muslim country's private 8TV network.
Aren't they the ones who got waxed in the last election?
Organisers promise the winner a recording contract and "platinum-selling artist treatment". Participants - none of them older than 26, due to the show's age restrictions - who bungle their performances are frequently shown tearful and devastated. Muslim youths have "forgotten their religious obligations, including prayers, because they are too busy practicing for show," the party's newspaper, Harakah, said in a recent commentary.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
07/13/2004 1:07:10 AM ||
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Ofcourse not,Mark.Self-flagelation with swords and chains is certainly within the bounds of acceptable,tasteful entertainment.
#2
Muslim youths have "forgotten their religious obligations, including prayers, because they are too busy practicing for show," the partyâs newspaper, Harakah, said in a recent commentary.
I'll take "Islamic Tight Asses" for 1 million, Acmed.
#3
Malaysian Idol is under attack by Islamic fundamentalist leaders, who have denounced the local version of the hit American TV show as an attempt to steer Muslim youths away from religious fidelity.
WTF are these idiots talking about? Is anyone actually forcing Muslim youths to watch the damned TV show?
#5
Raptor, I forgot about the revolting self flagellationists,parading up and down the streets of Hizballah controled Beirut and crazy Qom. (Mullahland.
The WWE needs to make inroads in the bastions of jihadic minded, so they can refocus on off-the-top-rope suplexing each other, instead of blowing up on a public bus. lol
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
07/13/2004 18:50 Comments ||
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MoveOn.org has been busy recruiting celebrities to help get President Bush tossed out of the White House. MoveOnâs political action committee, MoveOnPac, has amassed big-name Hollywood troops to produce campaign ads attacking Bush and assisting John Kerry. Rob Reiner will direct an ad written by âWest Wingâ creator Aaron Sorkin. Literary mudslinger Al Franken is writing copy. Comic Margaret Cho is writing and directing a piece, Danny Glover is set to make a splash, Alicia Silverstone is planning an appearance, and Woody Harrelson is scripting and directing a spot, according to reports. Thereâs even going to be an animated bit that uses the voices of Kevin Bacon, Ed Asner and Scarlett Johansson. The ads will supposedly be tested on focus groups, and MoveOn will then determine the best timing and location for each bitter broadcast. The Left Coast Report thinks, with the mock-umentaries and crock-udramas that Hollywood has been turning out lately, itâs clear that theyâre well practiced in the art of making campaign ads.
DNC Blogger Booboo
Some Democratic National Convention planners had a hip, trendy inspiration. Instead of inviting only the usual media types to their Beantown fest, they thought it might be cool to also beckon some Internet bloggers. So they thought theyâd throw an elite bloggersâ breakfast and serve convention credentials with their pancakes. A problem arose, though, because Dems gave out more credentials than they had allotted space for. This placed inclusive Dems in the sticky position of having to exclude some folks who had already been invited. Some bloggers with a conservative orientation lost their credentials and are frustrated and a bit suspicious. The Left Coast Report suggests that Republicans throw a brunch of their own, for slighted bloggers.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
07/13/2004 9:17:59 PM ||
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Another giant of the industry heard from. EFL.
Musicians often voice political opinions in their songs, especially during an election year, but most hip-hop acts have remained quiet on the current political environment -- until now. Ruff Ryders/Interscope artist Jadakiss -- also a member of rap trio the Lox -- is receiving a lot of attention for his single "Why?" The song questions President Bushâs involvement in the events of September 11, 2001, with the lyric "Why did Bush knock down the Towers?" Must be French. Or a Democrat. Or bucking for State Poet of New Jersey.I hear thatâs still open.
For Jadakiss, the song is a way to reach people."I wanted to make a song that could appeal to a broader -- and not only the hood," he says. "I wanted to make something that would touch people at home in white America." Yeah. I want their money too. For more bling-bling. And rides. And hoâs and bitches.
"I was thinking, âWhatâs the one thing that everyone has in common? Questions.â Everyone asks why, so I decided to write a song asking questions that everyone wants to," he adds. I got a question. How come rap sucks? Although it does "fascinate" John Kerry.
As for the controversial line, the Yonkers, N.Y., rapperâs view is unwavering. Referring to the events of September 11, Jadakiss says: "Thatâs why I put it in there like that. A lot of my people felt that he had something to do with it." His people being his posse, or black folks in general?
Some programmers say they received only the version that omitted the line -- in both the radio edit and the "clean" version."Actually, the uncensored version of that line is probably my favourite in the whole song," says one program director, who asked to remain anonymous."Since they can hear us in D.C., and I donât want Secret Service knocking down my door in the middle of the night," the program director adds, "Iâll stick to the clean version." Yeah. That "supression of dissent" thing. Well, now that Bush isnât going to cancel the election, the black helicopter guys will need something to do.
The type of controversy that surrounds "Why" can end up helping an artist, and Jadakiss knows it. "Theyâre censoring me all over the place, and thatâs good," he says. "That means itâs reaching out to everybody. When I made the song, I wrote it to be political, controversial, and to stir some things up.Somebody has to take the forefront and sacrifice," he adds. "Thatâs what I do -- I sacrifice myself." Yeah, Iâm sure they be nailing you to a cross soon. With hundred dollar bills.
#4
If you can't handle a rapper who wants to make a political statement in this country then maybe you don't understand that whole freedom of speech thing. You can find it in the first amendment in case you were wondering. Funny how people complain about rap being only about money, cash and hoes (thanks S. Carter) but then get pissed when hip hop turns political. Actions speak louder than words cause even a deaf man can hear everything that he observes.
Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade has urged world leaders to declare war on locusts that destroy vital crops in poor African states. In a letter to leaders of the âGroup of Eightâ major powers, President Wade said plagues of locusts expose hundreds of millions of people to the risk of hunger or famine. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Agency said last week that West Africa is facing its most serious threat from desert locusts in 15 years. President Wade said locustsâ capacity for destruction of human lives "is far greater than the worst conflicts".
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
07/13/2004 7:43:49 PM ||
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How come the United States isn't contributing billions to eradicate this scourge?
Truth is, I don't particularly care. I just wanted to beat the rush.
#2
The United States has done nothin like enough to help the poorer nations of the world fight the six-legged scourge that daily eats the bread out of starvin African children's hands. I have pleaded with George Bush but he has given nothin. Only Israel has been more contemptible.
Posted by: Kofi Annan ||
07/13/2004 21:08 Comments ||
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I think the Paleos should be part of the answer. Study their swarming techniques and you will prolly be better prepared to deal with this natural threat. So order up some helio-zaps and have other BDA units in place to film from several different angles.
CAPTION: A Palestinian boy works in his familyâs field next to Israelâs controversial security barrier that separates the West Bank from Israel, July 12, 2004. Security sources said on Tuesday that Israel was redrawing the route of the barrier closer to its borders to ensure Palestinians are not cut off from their lands in keeping with a High Court order. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini
The introduction of ox-drawn ambulances is a sign that President Robert Mugabe is taking Zimbabwe back to the stone ages, the opposition says.
Way to go, Bob. We knew you had it in you.
The nine ambulances are destined for rural areas around the capital, Harare, as well as more remote regions, where there is a lack of motorised transport. "Our neighbours are getting state-of-the-art services, while we are going backwards," an opposition official said. Zimbabwe's health minister said the new ambulances would save many lives.
Just where does one go to buy a ox-drawn ambulance and do they come with flashing torches on the light bar?
Zimbabwe is in the midst of an economic crisis, with annual inflation running at more than 400%, unemployment of some 70% and shortages of foreign currency. One health official told a South African newspaper that in many state-run hospitals, Panadol is the only available drug. "An ambulance will thus be a big luxury," he told the Johannesburg Star.
Pregnant women and children will be given priority on the ox-drawn carts, said Health Minister David Parirenyatwa. He urged the village leaders responsible for the ambulances to look after them and guard them against abuse.
"Them oxen be mighty good eating!"
"We are going back to the stone ages," Movement for Democratic Change spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi told BBC News Online. Rural communities have long used donkey-drawn carts to take the sick to health clinics "but when this is the official, state-provided service, you have to be worried," he said. The ox-drawn ambulances were donated by the United Nations Children's Fund, Unicef, following a request from the Zimbabwe government, reports the state-owned Herald newspaper.
I'd imagine the mark-up on a UN supplied ox cart must be several thousand dollars.
It reports that maternal mortality had increased from 283 per 100,000 live births in 1994 to 695 per 100,000 births in 1999.
Well, that's one way to avoid famine.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/13/2004 9:04:46 AM ||
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Welcome to the 21st century, BC. To complete the journey, Mugabe, like Idi Amin, will convert to Islam.
Posted by: ed ||
07/13/2004 9:18 Comments ||
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The ox-drawn ambulances were donated by the United Nations Children's Fund...
Wonder if they made the kid's kickback some of their milk money...
#4
The sheer stupidity of this crap makes me crazy. What the f*ck! I just don't understand why anyone would want to destroy a perfectly good country. Zimbabwe has had a lot going for it - lots of natural resources, good agricultural land, etc. But nooooo! Bob has to piss it away for no reason. Will no one rid us of this assclown?
#8
Meanwhile, the white farmers that Bob kicked off their land in Zimbabwe are being invited to farm in Zambia, Mozambique, and now Nigeria. Here's more from Zambia:
"Zambia's government, if somewhat cautiously, is welcoming them as the spark the country needs to jump-start its ailing economy. Largely as the result of the arrival of Zimbabwean tobacco farmers and their access to millions of dollars in loans, Zambia's tobacco industry is booming. Since 2001, annual harvests have increased from to 33 million pounds from 6.6 million pounds. More than 20,000 jobs have been created nationwide, according to tobacco industry representatives, and plans are also under way to build a tobacco-processing plant in Lusaka. By comparison, Zimbabwe's once-powerful tobacco industry is in tatters, shrinking to 143 million pounds of tobacco this year from a high of 528 million pounds in 2000. In more than just tobacco, Zimbabwe's economic loss has been Zambia's gain. Zimbabwean mechanics, engineers and other agricultural suppliers are moving to Zambia to do business. Tourists reluctant to visit Zimbabwe are choosing to visit Zambia to go on safaris and visit Victoria Falls, the spectacular waterfall on Zimbabwe's northern border with Zambia."
Posted by: Patrick Brown ||
07/13/2004 12:49 Comments ||
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#9
The ox-drawn ambulances were donated by the United Nations Children's Fund, Unicef, following a request from the Zimbabwe government, reports the state-owned Herald newspaper.
Nice to know that even though the UN won't do a damned thing to grab Mugabe by the ears and pull him outta there before Zimbabwe is totally ruined (assuming it isn't already), they'll at least help with ox-drawn carts.
Anybody still believe that the UN has some actual value?
When Fox News Channel was founded by Rupert Murdoch, the consensus was that no startup all-news cable channel could possibly compete with CNN, and if any startup had a chance, it was MSNBC, which had the combined clout of NBC's esteemed news division and Microsoft, which in those days was believed to own the future. Now, almost a decade later, Fox News Channel has left both CNN and MSNBC in the dust. There's no guarantee that this is permanent, of course. But it certainly has the left in a panic. They hated it that American conservatism had any voice at all, back when it was confined to a few radio talk shows--remember how everybody wanted to blame Rush Limbaugh and other conservative talk-radio hosts for the Oklahoma City bombing?
Now, though, to have Fox News Channel be the source for the largest portion of America's TV news junkies just sticks in their craw. How could such a thing happen? Scott Collins, author of "Crazy Like a Fox: The Inside Story of How Fox News Beat CNN," thinks he has the answer. It's not what Fox claims--that the American news media have a pronounced and painful liberal bias, so that huge numbers of Americans had given up on TV news, only to return in droves when Fox News offered them a balanced, trustworthy source of information. No, it's that a large number of Americans believed that the news was biased. How they got this idea is that they were . . . hmmm . . . idiots? But no matter. Mr. Collins repeatedly states that the perception is what mattered, and by homing in on the audience dumb enough to think the media was biased, Fox News won the ratings race (but not, of course, the race for quality news coverage).
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.
