Chuck Simmins is running this series, which is well worth reading.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/17/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Despite some differences in the past between him and me, Chuck is one of the good guys and his citizen reporting efforts are admirable and deserve support.
A modest contribution is in order from me. As always Will S nailed it - (the) Past is (indeed) prologue.
#3
...are the more than 9 million resilient Haitians.
Well, they must be resilient to put up with all the crap that they've been subject to for at least 100 yrs. Of course, they'd probably be better off if they were also hard-working, honest and desirous of education. My sister-in-law goes down there on a lefty do-gooding mission every winter and tells the same stories year after year of the apathy and fatalism of her set of wards. She goes on at great length about the "great" strides the people are making but it really amounts to zilch.
The Haitians have evolved a "make do" culture in response to the last three generations of bandits running the country. Grassroots work is doing well, and small, religious NGOs who have lived among the people for years are succeeding in making changes.
People who have been to Afghanistan and Haiti both tell me this is far worse.
Phil, my contribute button got misplaced in the last theme change. Look at the stories in the two widgets in the sidebar. Those are my work and I get a few mils when someone reads the articles. You could also Twitter or Stumble them to help.
Police say two bank robbery suspects, including one dressed in a green leprechaun costume, have been shot dead after a St. Patrick's Day chase and shootout with police in Tennessee. Begorrah! I thought the wee men could do as they pleased on Paddy's Day...
Sgt. Bill Storment said First State Bank in the Nashville suburb of Gallatin was held up by a costumed man at 12:28 p.m. Wednesday, and the suspects fired at police during a car chase. A news release said the two ran into a field and died when they exchanged fire with officers. Well saints be praised...rosebud.
Sharon Riehemann, manager of the Fifth Third Bank next door, told The Associated Press that she saw a man in a green top hat, vest and shorts and a fake beard run away from First State Bank with a blue bag in his hands. She said he had just been in her bank but left without speaking. Got 'em right in the Lucky Charms.
#5
We were in Nashville last week, and saw the leprechaun at the bar, but he was well behaved. He was listening to country music and was quite docile.
Posted by: Alaska Paul in Hooper Bay, Alaska ||
03/17/2010 22:51 Comments ||
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#6
The 5th/3rd bank is next door to Deacons estate. They ran out of the bank yelling, "Look Ma, I'm on top of the world!" And then 1sgt Deacon yelled,"Commence firing!" and by the time the black powder smoke settled we were drinking Yinling, moonshine, eating some fine BBQ, and singing with our friends from Alaska over a bonfire! All in all an easy days work!
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
03/17/2010 23:14 Comments ||
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#7
Why would a leprechaun need to rob a bank?
Couldn't he just help himself to a few gold coins from the pot at the End of the Rainbow?
They left this one in charge and now the pot's empty you say!
Makes sense.
#7
most cops i have had contact are dicks anyway so what's the problem?
Posted by: chris ||
03/17/2010 16:48 Comments ||
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#8
Assault with a dead weapon?
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/17/2010 18:53 Comments ||
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#9
"so I disarmed the suspect"
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/17/2010 19:02 Comments ||
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#10
Does your hair hang low?, does it wobble to and fro?,
Can you tie it in a knot?, can you tie it in a bow?
Can you throw it over your shoulder,
like a Continental soldier
Does your hair...hang...low?
[Al Arabiya Latest] Egyptian television on Tuesday aired footage of President Hosni Mubarak for the first time since his March 6 surgery in Germany, as his doctor described him as "upbeat and in very good spirits." "See? Toldja he wasn't dead!"
"Of course he's not dead! Dead people don't drool!"
Doc Steve, could we get a second opinion on that?
Mubarak, 81, had his gallbladder and a growth removed from his small intestine in an operation at the University of Heidelberg hospital.
In footage apparently recorded Tuesday morning, a pale looking Mubarak in a dressing gown sat in a chair talking to doctors.
The president had made no appearances in public or on television since the operation and no pictures of him in hospital had been published, causing a stock market dip on Monday over speculation about his health.
"I met with President Mubarak early this morning as part of our daily routine medical checkup. He was upbeat and in very good spirits as usual," Dr. Markus Buechler of Heidelberg University Hospital said in a televised statement.
"His resolve and will power that we witnessed all last week was very obvious this morning as he looks forward to returning to normal activities," he said, adding that no further daily laboratory tests were required.
Mubarak has no clear successor, which unnerves Egyptian and foreign investors because it is not clear who could follow in power and whether a successor would pursue the same economic policies of his cabinet that have been praised by executives.
Despite worries about the continuation of policy, most investors and analysts expect a relatively smooth hand over in any transition with little likelihood of significant unrest.
Mubarak, who came to power in 1981, handed powers temporarily to his prime minister, Ahmed Nazif, before the operation
He has not said whether he will run again for a sixth six-year term in the 2011 presidential election. Many Egyptians believe that if he does not, he will try to hand power to his politician son, Gamal, 46. Both Mubaraks deny any such plan.
Mubarak's fifth six-year term as president ends in 2011. During a speech in 2005, he said he would stay in power until his "last breath."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/17/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
TOPIX > MUBARAK RECOVERY FAILS TO EASE CONCERNS [mainstream fears as per POST-MUBARAK].
El poder adquisitivo cayó 162% en los últimos 11 años
Economistas creen que el incremento del salario mínimo decretado por el Presidente sera insuficiente porque la inflación podría estar cerca de 40%. Entre los 10 productos con mas inflación estan bebidas alcohólicas y no alcohólicas, periódicos, libros, artículos de papelería, servicios médicos y paramédicos, vehículos y seguros
12 de marzo 2010 | 06:25 am - Alejandro Hinds Basically what this says is That since Chavez took control purchasing power has dropped 162%. In other words if, pre-Chavez, you could buy 100 potatoes, you can now only afford 62 anti-potatoes.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/17/2010 11:27 ||
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#1
Is that like 110% effort?
Posted by: ed ||
03/17/2010 12:59 Comments ||
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Purchasing power fell 162% in the last 11 years. Economists believe that the increase in minimum wage decreed by the president was not enough, because the inflation rate is around 40%. Among the ten products with the most inflation are alcoholic beverages and nonalcoholic beverages, newspapers, books, paper goods, medical services and paramedic services, vehicles, and insurance.
Russia must defend its claims to mineral riches of the Arctic in increasing competition with other powers, President Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday.
Medvedev said global climate change will likely fuel arguments between nations seeking access to energy and other resources.
"Other polar nations already have taken active steps to expand their scientific research as well as economic and even military presence in the Arctic," he told a session of the presidential Security Council.
Continued on Page 49
China prefers not to view itself as a global power that needs to take more responsibility in world politics, according to a wordy press statement from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Sunday following the annual meeting of China's National People's Congress. But reality and spin collided at times Sunday as Wen struggled to convince that China is not the world's newest superpower.
China is a developing country with a "weak economic basis," Wen said. Gaps between rich cities such as Beijing or Shanghai and the poor rural areas remains wide. "We want all the benefits of being rich but none of the drawbacks."
"It might still take 100 years to transform China into a modern country," the prime minister said, speaking under gigantic chandeliers in a splendid room of the Great Hall of the People.
Continued on Page 49
#2
Phuque the Chinese, we never should have done business with them in the first place. They're liers and thieves and have NEVER made anything by themselves, except for perhaps pasta and bird flu.
#3
I believe China must take care of the small things first (NORK).
But I agree with them.
China has mega problems that dwarf ours in comparison. With the population they have and the amount it will take to raise that country, I suspect that their GDP barely covers it.
Their pollution is grotesque tho.
#5
ION NEWS KERALA >[EIU] ECONOMIST: INDA'S ECONOMY WILL OVERTAKE CHINA'S BY 2018;
and
SAME > AUSTRALIAN MINING GIANT: INDIA TO OUTPACE CHINA in 15 YEARS [2025/2025-203 r.o]. Competition, Demand for Natural Resources will drive INJUH'S SUCCESS???
#6
They want a two-tier society where they exploit the hell out of the hinterland but get concessions from us because their hinterland is so poor.
That's exactly what Kommie and co are doing.
Hmmm, that explains those visits, gathering intel and fine tuning.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/17/2010 23:37 Comments ||
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#7
Dammit the O and I are too close together.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/17/2010 23:38 Comments ||
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#8
ION PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > INDIA NEEDS 100.0MILYUHN BROADBAND CONNECTIONS, SAYS PITRODA [India NKC Chair], as INDJUH curr only has 10.0MILYUHN FOR A COUNTRY OF ROUGHLY/APPROXI 1.0BILYUHN.
#1
I can just hear the Obama dialogue with Axlerod or Emmanuel: "Hey, it's time to have a White House press conference. We need to deal with this story or we will lose some of our support for health care. Orrin Hatch said we are all crazy on Fox. We can't let that stand. Got to fall back on the community organizer/Saul Alinsky model for dealing with this crap. Where are those white coated doctors and nurses we paraded in here last time for a news conference? Get em in here. Get some of those SEIU union guys that look like main stream voters in here too. Make sure they don't look like union thugs. Do it. Get Kucinich in here for support. I went through a lot of trouble to bend his arm. He got a ride on Air Force One. He owes us. Where's that woman with the cancer and the little kid who lost his mother? Get them too..." And the story goes on.
#6
He is a first class loonbat. In the end he puts party above all else like the rest of these left-wing idealogues. Caved in to Chicago gangsters. Sold out for special attention and the perks of a ride on Air Force One. Hope Ohio sees the light and dumps him in November.
#7
The horror stories coming from the NHS in the UK are growing daily. Canada has long wait times. Germany is billions in the red and considering going back to private.
Treasurer Tim Cahill ripped Gov. Deval Patrick and President Obama this morning for health care initiatives that the independent gubernatorial hopeful alleged will bankrupt the country in four years.'
Last week Gov. Patrick criticized me as missing in action' on the issue of health care in Massachusetts,' Cahill said. In reality, I've been critical of Gov. Patrick's implementation and management of the Massachusetts universal health care program for a long time.'
Cahill alleged the governor has spent like we're in a booming economy at a time when we're experiencing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.'
If President Obama and the Democrats repeat the mistakes of the health insurance mandate on a national level, they will bankrupt this country within four years,' Cahill said. It is time for the President and the Democratic leadership to go back to the drawing board and come up with a new plan that does not threaten to wipe out the American economy.'
Cahill's call for a new plan resembled the statement made during US Sen. Scott Brown's insurgent campaign.
But even as he called for knocking down barriers that exist statewide and nationally to allow for-profit plans to compete with non-profit insurers, Cahill was short on specifics. He did say expensive mandates that require all health insurance plans cover certain benefits in the Bay State should be on the table.'
Cahill said he wants to level the playing field' among medical service providers, like community hospitals and big city hospitals that receive disparate reimbursement from insurers. Yet Cahill did not offer his own health care plan as he called for Congress to go back to the drawing board on its health care overhaul, and did not spell out what he'd do as governor to solve the current health care crisis.
Standing in his state house office, Cahill insisted he was speaking as treasurer, not a candidate for governor. Cahill said he firmly' believes that health care is a right.
But as congress and President Obama prepare to ram though a government-run health care plan, they should heed the warnings about the way in which Gov. Patrick has managed the same model in Massachusetts,' Cahill, a former Democrat said.
#1
"If President Obama and the Democrats repeat the mistakes of the health insurance mandate on a national level, they will bankrupt this country within four years,"
Given what we know of Obama's friends ("Say me who are your friends and I will say you who you are") it is not sure Obama would consider this a bug.
#4
My local state rep, Karyn Polito (R), is running for State Treasurer. She's immensely popular (ran unopposed last 3 times) and has good rep outside her district. I think she smells a little blood in the water too.
A new federal tax requirement is exposing sensitive salary information of trade association lobbyists and other senior employees, setting off alarms downtown over how the information will be used.
The new filings, available publicly at Guidestar.org, offer a first comprehensive glimpse into the salaries not only of top association executives - which have been disclosed for years - but of lobbyists, spokesmen and other mid-level executives whose pay must now be disclosed.
"We're concerned," said Jim Clarke, a vice president of public policy with the American Society of Association Executives, a lobbying organization representing industry groups.
Along with other updates, the Internal Revenue Service in 2008 dramatically expanded its disclosure requirements for trade associations, charities and other nonprofit organizations, bulking up its Form 990 to require detailed salary information for executives and other "key employees."
Although organizations began filing the new IRS form as early as last year, tax experts say the overhaul's effects are just now emerging, as many groups filed extensions while sorting through the new rules.
"A lot of them are just coming in," Clarke said of the new tax forms. "A lot of our organizations have fiscal years that end in June, July and August."
A tax lawyer who represents downtown trade groups privately blasted the new rules for creating a fresh bureaucratic mess, calling the updated IRS form an example of "how bad facts make bad law." The lawyer claimed that Members and IRS officials set up the new system after overreacting to news reports of some nonprofit executives' generous compensation packages.
"The view evolved that maybe we couldn't stop these people from being compensated at a very high level, but we could do something quite similar: force them to make their compensation public, which will shame everyone into paying them less," the lawyer said.
When the changes were being considered, many nonprofit executives expressed concerns that "this was just too much information," the lawyer said, likely setting up inter-office squabbles and bidding wars for talented employees.
The IRS' press office did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
A spokesman for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which filed its 2008 return in November of last year, expressed skepticism on Tuesday about the IRS' new salary disclosure requirements.
The drug lobby in 2008 was required to disclose the salaries of 17 executives, including lobbyists. The year before, it needed only to disclose three employees' salaries.
"The IRS defines compensation very broadly," PhRMA spokesman Ken Johnson said. "It doesn't include just base salary, it includes bonus and retirement benefits. ... It also captures deferred compensation, which people may or may not ever receive."
Johnson's own $654,000 annual compensation package was outlined in PhRMA's most recent tax filing. In addition to Johnson's pay, the organization also disclosed the total pay for lobbyists Bryant Hall ($651,000), Steven Tilton ($642,000), Richard Smith ($756,000) and Mimi Kneuer ($831,000).
"PhRMA's compensation is benchmarked to the external market from which the organization is expected to recruit," Johnson said.
The American Society of Association Executives continues to lobby against the IRS' "vague" new salary disclosure requirements, Clarke said. He also said the new information may soon be used improperly by recruiters and rival trade groups looking to poach top lobbyists and communications staffers.
"If you put a big field of salary disclosure in there, other organizations will be using that information," he said. "You'll have cold calling from brokers. We really believe that will happen."
With year-to-year tax data not yet available and returns still streaming in, it's difficult to draw broad conclusions about salary trends at downtown trade associations yet. Still, many prominent groups such as PhRMA, America's Health Insurance Plans, the American Hospital Association, AARP and the American Petroleum Institute are already online.
For example, AHIP lobbyist Scott Styles was paid $535,000 overall in 2008, while co-worker Carmella Bocchino made $522,000 and Candy Schaller took home $402,000. American Hospital Association lobbyist Thomas Nickels was paid a total of $811,000 in 2008, while his colleague Linda Fishman made $517,000.
AHIP and AHA both declined to comment on employee salaries.
Lobbyists for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce also appeared on the organization's most recent tax filing. The trade association's top lobbyist, Bruce Josten, was given a total 2008 compensation package of $1.14 million, including a $622,000 base salary, $300,000 bonus and $61,000 in "deferred compensation."
Another chamber lobbyist, Rolf Lundberg, was paid a total of $567,000 in 2008, including $426,000 in base pay, a $72,000 bonus and $26,000 in deferred compensation.
Chamber spokesman J.P. Fielder said his organization is agnostic on the IRS' new requirements but said Josten and Lundberg "are on the tip of the spear in terms of the debate over a breadth of policy issues on how to create jobs.
"They handle broad portfolios in terms of issues that will support U.S. businesses," Fielder said. "We go out and hire the best executives, and we pay them salaries that are commensurate with their experience."
#1
"The view evolved that maybe we couldn't stop these people from being compensated at a very high level, but we could do something quite similar: force them to make their compensation public, which will shame everyone into paying them less," the lawyer said.
Everytime the Socialists who have taken over this country tries to shame an executive, that entity should give that executive a raise.
Posted by: Bob Gleanter3083 ||
03/17/2010 9:30 Comments ||
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I'm not sure which page this belongs on. We don't have a category called 'Home Front: Tragic Farce', though perhaps we should ...
From last year:
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President-elect Barack Obama's choice to run the Treasury Department and lead the nation's economic rescue failed to pay $34,000 in taxes from 2001 to 2004, but the last-minute disclosure didn't stop Senate Democrats from moving forward with his nomination.
Timothy Geithner had paid some of the back taxes in 2006 after the IRS sent him a bill. When the Obama transition team discovered he owed even more back taxes, Geithner paid those additional taxes days before Obama announced his choice in November, according to materials released by the Senate Finance Committee considering his nomination.
From this year:
Sacramento Bee, IRS Visits Sacramento Carwash in Pursuit of 4 Cents:
It was every businessperson's nightmare. Arriving at Harv's Metro Car Wash in midtown Wednesday afternoon were two dark-suited IRS agents demanding payment of delinquent taxes. "They were deadly serious, very aggressive, very condescending," says Harv's owner, Aaron Zeff.
The really odd part of this: The letter that was hand-delivered to Zeff's on-site manager showed the amount of money owed to the feds was ... 4 cents. Inexplicably, penalties and taxes accruing on the debt -- stemming from the 2006 tax year -- were listed as $202.31, leaving Harv's with an obligation of $202.35.
Zeff, who also owns local parking lots and is the president of the Midtown Business Association, finds the situation a bit comical. "It's hilarious," he says, "that two people hopped in a car and came down here for just 4 cents. I think (the IRS) may have a problem with priorities."
#2
$34,000 owed by Geithner is about what the debt for every man, woman, and child will be as the result of the current administrations increases to the debt.
COLOMBO: Court martial proceedings against the former Army Chief, General (retired) Sarath Fonseka, for alleged involvement in politics while in uniform, commenced here on Tuesday.
General (retired) Fonseka appeared before the court martial with his lawyers, headed by Rienzi Arsakularathne, the President's counsel. Representatives of the Attorney-General's Department appeared for the prosecution and the next date of hearing has been fixed two days ahead of the April 8 general election. There were reports of protests by the General's supporters in various parts of the island nation.
Last week, on a directive from President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Army Chief Jagath Jayasurya had named a three-member panel of two-star Generals to try General (retired) Fonseka on two different sets of charges. He is charged with engaging in politics while he was still the commander of the Army and making military purchases in contravention of set procedures.
Tuesday's court martial is the first against a former Army Chief in Sri Lanka and General (retired) Sarath Fonseka is the country's first four-star General. He was conferred the rank by Mr. Rajapaksa after the security forces defeated the LTTE in May last year.
General (retired) Fonseka was arrested on February 8 on several charges, including attempt to destabilise the government. He has challenged his arrest in the Supreme Court, which has fixed a hearing for April 26.
The two charges relating to politics and military purchases will be heard separately by the second court martial on Wednesday.
Both Courts Martial are presided over by Major-General H.L Weerathunga and served by Major-General A.L.R Wijethunga, Major-General D.R.A.B Jayathilake and Rear-Admiral W.W.J.S Fernando (Judge Advocate).
Separately, Presidential Secretariat, in a press statement, said that there had been a series of statements and comments on the internet in the past few days on alleged government plans to arrest NGO activists and to suppress and intimidate its opponents and critics.
It further said the government was in the process of preparing comprehensive legislation to govern NGO activities in the country, as there were many instances of malpractice, including misappropriation of huge sums donated by foreign governments and organisations. Once such legislation was in place, the government hoped NGO activities could be properly observed and monitored to suit national requirements, it added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/17/2010 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
El poder adquisitivo cayó 162% en los últimos 11 años 
Treasurer Tim Cahill ripped Gov. Deval Patrick and President Obama this morning for health care initiatives that the independent gubernatorial hopeful alleged will bankrupt the country in four years.'
