Olympic security shake-up after online casino stunt
Olympics Games organisers ordered beefed-up security at all venues after an embarrassing breach involving a Canadian man who leapt into the pool during a synchronised diving event. The order to step up security was launched after the 31-year-old, dressed in a tutu and clown shoes, mounted one of the boards and plunged into the water during the competition Monday evening. The shoes help keep him afloat, y'know... He stayed in the pool for several minutes before officials at the Aquatic Centre realised he was not supposed to be there and pulled him out. Well, he WAS wearing a tutu, after all...
Marton Simitsek, CEO of the Athens organising committee, told a press conference that the man "wanted to present a message to his wife by getting on television." Yoo-hoo! Honey! Look, I'm a moron!
"He took off his shirt and he had a message on his chest," Simitsek said. "This space for rent"
In fact the message carefully printed on the man's bare chest was the name of an online gambling website, which has launched similar stunts at a host of major sporting events. Men and women representing the company have run on the field of play, sometimes half-dressed and sometimes nude, bearing the slogan at the 2002 European Cup football final in Glasgow, this year's Superbowl and the 2003 US Open Golf among other events. The man was taken away by security staff and handed over to the police who hopefully will beat him mercilessly. He will remain in custody to face trial in Athens Wednesday for violating public order rules, a court official said. Simitsek said that because of the prank, police would now be placed around all competition areas in every venue to prevent another 'invasion'. But to play down the police presence the officers will be dressed in the bright multi-coloured shirts worn by volunteers. What, no clown shoes?
"We want to keep the appearance of security low-key. Security people are there but we don't want venues to be packed with people in uniforms," said Simitsek. As for the arrested husband, "this gentleman will go through the normal legal channels like everbody else, Greek or foreign," said Simitsek. Hit him again, harder!
When told that the man had in fact been advertising, Games organisers said they had merely repeated what the man had told Greek police. Athens is spending 1.2 billion euros (1.4 billion dollars) on guarding the Games, making it the biggest security bill in Olympic history. Yep, money well spent...
Ten years after the U.S. Air Force closed its books on the claim that a UFO crashed in Roswell, N.M., in 1947, a top Democratic Party figure wants to reopen the investigation into the cosmic legend.
New democratic party slogan: "Green cards for little green men"
Despite denials by federal officials, many UFO buffs cherish the notion that in early summer of 1947, a flying saucer crashed in rural Roswell, scattering alien bodies and saucer debris.
"Bush lied, Aliens died!"
Now Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who chaired the recent Democratic convention in Boston, says in his foreword to a new book, The Roswell Dig Diaries, that ''the mystery surrounding this crash has never been adequately explained -- not by independent investigators, and not by the U.S. government."
Paging Agent Mulder.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/17/2004 11:06:55 AM ||
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Jeez, Bill. You're at the DNC, you're writing UFO books, you're on every friggin talk show known to man. Think you might have time one of these days to, oh, I don't know, govern New Mexico maybe?
On July 8, 1947, witnesses claim that a spaceship with five aliens aboard crashed at a sheep and cattle ranch just outside of Roswell, an incident that was reportedly covered up by the military.
On March 31, 1948, nine months after that day, Al Gore was born. That clears up a lot of things....
#10
And just when I think I've figured out a way to sort-of test Corso's claims on the crash.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
08/17/2004 15:51 Comments ||
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#11
Might be hiding another Kerry hair stylist in the hangar.
Posted by: Capt America ||
08/17/2004 20:07 Comments ||
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Robert Goddard the father of American rocketry had a ranch outside of Roswell. He moved there in 1930 with his wife and four assistants so they'd have enough room for their experiments. Goddard died in 1945. Roswell incident was 1947.
Connecting the dots I get the impression the assitants tried to continue his work, with less success, and the military covered it up, and he freaks made up their own stories, and the military shrugged and let them think it was about aliens and not the quest to have intercontinental ballistic missiles cable of striking the Soviet Union.
Posted by: more trees less bush ||
08/17/2004 04:31 ||
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Thanks for posting only the link. Anything more would have been theft of Fred's bandwidth. By posting this you demonstrate either unforgivable ignorance or Bush-hatred so deep as to stop your brain from functioning.
#3
I nominate this fuckwit for the RBFF Award for today. Nice comments, folks. This dysfunctional induhvidual suffers from neural idiotarian gridlock and cranial-rectal insertion syndrome.
Whoever posted that obviously knows little of the regulations of that era in how they were applied, and in the amount of things a Guard pilot did - and also in how officers in the Guard are commissioned. Obviously the author never heard of "begging the question", because he continuously does so.
Its just flamebait - wordy, but still flamebait, filled with innuendo, and poorly drawn conclusions, rife with fallacies and thinking errors.
#5
more trees less bush. Good one! You were up early this morning. Do you have to be there early at Burger King when the french fry truck shows up to deliver a new load?
#6
Shall we dump it or just point fingers and make fun of him? My dump finger is awfull itchy this morning, I need to scratch it.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/17/2004 9:57 Comments ||
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dump!
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/17/2004 10:03 Comments ||
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Troll site, to be sure, but to those lucky souls ignorant of the miasma of reserve management, this is a pretty impressive site. Having herded cats, I mean, managed reserves for another service, I can tell you that the system can let you make any reservist look like a hero, or a complete waste of good air--as a rule, the system's documentation makes the reservist look like a deserter or loose cannon when he's doing exactly what his supported command wants him to do. If the privacy act allowed someone to comb through the records, I'd lay very good odds that a hundred other Air Force aviators drifted out of the guard and reserves in pretty much the same way--staff assignment, loss of currency and no seats to regain it in, civilian career preventing one from spending six months qualifying in a new airframe, loss of up-chit and no need to go through the medical hassle to get it. Not to mention how many of these guys got their wings and multi-engine quals at the military's expense, only to jump over to the airlines at the earliest possible convenience. All in all, Bush's military service seems to be the most selfless.
Try to view the site from the viewpoint of the uncommitted voter--is it enough to convince the uncommitted that Bush skated out of his service obligations? Might be. Myself, I feel that anyone who earned his wings in the F-102 assumed more than enough risk in the service of his country.
#9
Kerry bailed out of Vietanm after four months through exploiting a technicality - a ticket home for three minor injuries that in no way prevented him from continuing his duty. Someone else had to cover his shirking ass. DESERTION, anyone?
#10
I looked at this link and read the entire article. I read comment #8 with interest. I'm willing to accept that it's possible to make things look like whatever you wnat them to look like in a large organization, but the other comments boil down to: he's a f*cking lunatic without any commentary on why he's a f*cking lunatic. So if somebody wants to do an analysis of the artice section by section, I'd like to see it. Name calling just doesn't impress me, though.
#12
This won't change most Veterans minds. Most know what W is made of and what Kerry is amde of. There is no comaprison. Kerry dishonored his flag, country and uniform and still does that today. Not to worry. Kerry will never be the CIC in the USA.
Posted by: Bill Nelson ||
08/17/2004 10:34 Comments ||
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Well, shit. Six months ago you moonbats were screeching that Bush never served at all, now you claim that he served and then "deserted". Do get your story straight and stick to it.
Please dump this waste of bandwidth and drive space.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
08/17/2004 10:49 Comments ||
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#14
John Kerry is like an overgrown Peter Brady trying to make sure everyone knows how much he's a hero. Real heros don't do that; they don't need to.
#17
The guy that wrote this little gem, and in case you didn't notice you have to dig for it, is one
Paul Lukasiak. Google the name and you can read about his research on the stolen 2000 presidential election and a bunch of other good stuff. No agenda here. At least the Swift Boat guys put their names on the cover.
#21
I hate to sound like JF Kerry but I have had large chunks of my military records vanish for no reason at all. Some hard copy and some electronic. President Bush is in possession of a DD14 that states he was honorably discharged from military service. You can turn it upside down, side ways, or whatever but it still the ONLY proof needed for completing your obligation of service. I have a complete copy of my OFFICIAL 20-year military record at home and they are far from all encompassing. They are missing temporary orders, training, promotions, and some service awards (luckily I have my own records to augment). So if you asked me where I was in say July 1986 I could give you a pretty good idea, but I doubt I could produce a piece of paper from that time (let alone find someone who knew me during that time). MTLB, if you are reading this, please understand you are reaching for some very thin branches on the tree (pun intended) if you think this is a smoking gun.
Geez - I hope he is on opur side
Ahmed al-Maktoum has become the first Olympic medallist from the United Arab Emirates, with gold in the shooting. He won the men's double trap with score of 189 points, equalling the current Olympic record. Maktoum is a member of Dubai's ruling family and was once the UAE's national squash champion. India's Rajyavardhan Rathore took the silver, that country's first medal of the Games, while China's Zheng Wang collected bronze.
In the double trap, competitors fire with a double-barrelled shotgun at two clay targets released simultaneously at different heights and angles. The person who hits the most targets wins. The shooter must fire just one shot at each target. Maktoum's accuracy was stunning as he made it through to the final round with a world record breaking score of 144 points, six points clear of his nearest rival. Comfortably in the lead and with the title effectively won, his concentration seemed to fail in the last round and he missed several targets, costing him the Olympic record. "I knew I had the gold medal well before the final was finished because my coach had signalled to me from the stand," he said. "My job was done, so I didn't concentrate on the final few shots." UAE National Olympic Committee head Ibrahim Abdulmalik Ahli was delighted with the result. "We entered Olympic history through the main gate," he said. Isn't "Gentle" from the UAE? She has to be happy about this one.
Posted by: BigEd ||
08/17/2004 11:21:59 AM ||
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Now if only we could figure out a way to incorporate the use of explosives in Olympic events, the arabs would be able to gild one o' them big onion domes.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/17/2004 14:35 Comments ||
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This is so what I was thinking about last night as I was watching the mens gymnastics.
Where are almost all the Muslims concentrated? In the combat sports esp boxing and wrestling, in the shooting sports, and in the brute strength sports like weight lifting.
On the other hand they are completely absent from the sports that Westerners prefer in overwhelming numbers. We are most admire sports like gymnastics and swimming where the body is displayed at its most asthetically beautiful and which emphasise strength, endurance, grace, flexibility, agility and artistry in their purest physical and athletic forms. These sports also rely on a individual excellence which doesn't rely on physically overpowering someone else.
Of course the line between the two groups of sporting events aren't absolute. I'm sure the Muslim boxing fan sees art and physical beauty in the ring while on the other hand its a fact that full contact sports are extremely popular in the west. But I think that the sports preferences we see reflected in the Olympics are very instructive as to the overall differences between our two cultures. Note the breadth and depth of our sporting preferences and the narrowess and stunted quality of theirs which I feel are due entirely to their religious beliefs.
Yet more proof, I think, that Islam makes the world a much more narrow and impoverished place for those who follow it. No wonder they are so attracted to the combat sports. When physical freedom is brutally caged by backswards beliefs about the body, the only way to get relief is through violence in some form or another.
#5
You know something else? As I was watching the men last night, I don't think I even once thought one of them was hot. Now I am girl who loves a guy with a good upper body and normally the sight of a man with shoulders like those guys have is more than enough to raise my heart rate. Yet, I didn't think about that. All I remember thinking was that the human body is so very beautiful in a way that goes beyond the sexual. Maybe its because I am a girl and I actually have the ability to appreciate something besides sex. I also find that I am able to appreciate the beauty of the women's bodies in sport too when I normally don't take much notice at all.
My point is that there are other dimensions of the human body which most certainly exist and are entirely wholesome and which enhance society and culture. These are expressed in Western art in ballet and in Western sports like gymnastics and ice-skating. This is something that mohammed's decidedly human and puritanical mind couldn't imagine. He couldn't think outside the incredibly narrow box of his culture. The broader Western conception of the body stands as a reproof to Islam proving that mohammed had no special knowledge at all and that he was a peasant genius like so many other peasant geniuses in history unable to see beyond the horizon to see the whole picture. This of course is why they hate us and why the olympics are censored in Muslim countries. We wouldn't want to take the chance that any good obedient Muslim might just start to get a clue.
"Maybe its because I am a girl and I actually have the ability to appreciate something besides sex." and I forgot to indicate that I am kidding about this statement.
If I really thought that men couldn't possibly appreciate women for anything except sex unless they were in a burka then I'd be a moooslim.
I know that sex is still your predominant thought, but I give you guys credit for having other thoughts on occasion ;) and for being able to control yourselves like civilized adults in the presence of women.
#7
Peggy...interesting post. You might find it of interest to discover that the Romans would take their families to the Colliseum to see people eaten alive (all good fun, ya see) ...but not to watch men run naked in the Olympics! That was not something a "family" could watch...might scar the children.
Posted by: B ||
08/17/2004 17:34 Comments ||
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Peggy and Steve.. I see you hate Muslim and Islam or maybe just ignorant aboyt it? not (all) muslims are crimenal or just like body sport not even lazy asses, don't generalize, acknowledge that Arab countries have got people from different religions how lives in peace as citezins and can participate in all national events in equality. No doubt!! And both of you Know it dam well.. Arab are smart strong and tough in faith, sport, science, art, and other stuff, as any nation in this world when it get the right chance cos we have solid roots glorious history and and most strong beliefe in god not in devil as it looks from your queries, of course superpower countries are making arab life in some regions like "hell!!" pushing them to seek death for better life!! But not all of the muslims are that desperate or negative, Muslims are more than billion most in third world ruled by selfish leaders that govern them for life with no human rights! Why? Simply they are not following the right way which is in the soul of Islam before we have to import it from the west, why don't you focos at UAE achevment only.. say good or shut up!? this small country? why you have to give it that wide dimention, I don't get it! ..In gulf countries individual sport can achieve better cos they are little but rich, other country with big population like Egypt gained golden medal in gymnastic games, you shouldnât speak in such discriminated way. We all human with the same blood color and god, you free how you worship god, stop mocking at people, What's with the SEX issue? arent you human too? or you prefer living like animals? where is wildness and no shame, If you have faith in god you should follow what he Command or Banns? , i am sure you'll change alot of your Ideas about it and please don't compare Islam to it's people often cos people don't followed their religion all the time. But Islam encourages women and men to do sport; we have many examples from history,you Finally.. The western can Arabic Muslim or black or Chinese You should compare things that are equivalents. Islam with Christianity and west with east, Right?
OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia has the capacity to meet all market requirements for oil and wants to see crude prices between 25 to 30 dollars a barrel, the kingdom's crown prince said in comments published Monday. "I truly tell you that the kingdom does not want to harm the world economy ... We believe that prices should range between 25 and 30 dollars a barrel," Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz told Kuwait's Al-Siyassa newspaper.
It was the second time in a week that the leading oil producer and exporter has moved to assure a nervous market where prices have soared to new highs. Oil Minister Ali al-Nuaimi said Wednesday the kingdom was prepared to hike output by 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) in a bid to cope with world demand and curb soaring prices. Prince Abdullah, the kingdom's de facto ruler, said his country has the capacity to meet increasing demand, but blamed international oil majors for hiking oil prices. "We have the (production) capacity to meet current requirements of the market," he said. "At the same time, I want to assure you that we have no hand in the current increase in prices. Big companies dealing with the crude are responsible for the increase, through stockpiling and speculations," he said. World crude prices spiralled to a new high of 46.91 dollars a barrel in Asian trading Monday as a nervous market ignored producers' assurances that there was enough oil to meet demand. The International Energy Agency estimated on Wednesday that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), straining to increase production, is set to add 400,000 bpd of capacity this year and slightly more than 2.0 million bpd from 2005 to 2007.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
08/17/2004 2:27:23 AM ||
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Gettin' sKerry over in Riyahd?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/17/2004 7:26 Comments ||
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By Stockpiling, they mean the Strategic Reserve Bush is refillling after Clinton drew it down for political purposes. Obviously, The saudis don't "see a need" for us to stockpile, but to trust to their good graces.
Fat chance. The Reserve is for when things blow up in the Magic kingdom.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
08/17/2004 02:22 ||
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The BBC is such a total waste of capital. Any really negative comments will never be shown even if they out number the "socialism is double plus good" ones. The US hating BBC will always sugar coat it's hate the US first policy and forment hate against the US world wide.
The poor in Venezuela will stay poor and the country will further align with Cuba. The rich will take their wealth if they can, and educations and move to Miami. Another former Spanish colony down the toilet. Of couse Chavez will blame the US for any problems he has. He was making the claim that is Victory hurt the US. If we wanted him out or wanted their oil he would be dead and we would have their oil. That is why he is just such a total fraud.
#2
Someone has had a visit from the Clue Bat - and read the story that soon the EU won't be able to feed itself, much less be a net exporter, without GM crops. Reality is rather unforgiving like that.
#3
Actualy, if one wanted to be realy cold blooded, we would want the euros to torpedo their own ag sector. I'm thinking trade advantages, and doing in the euros ag subsidy policy. Sorry if I am being unclear.
Posted by: N Guard ||
08/17/2004 9:34 Comments ||
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Sounds reasonable to me, NGuard. In fact, if Kanada wasn't just to the Left of Trotsky, I've wondered several times about the US starting a wheat cartel with them. Food comes before oil...
#5
If we nuke everyone else's wheat fields, then they have to buy our crops. Hrmm..there's a flaw in this plan. Seems like the only money the rest of the world has is the aid money we give them. So how are they going to buy anything?
Citing what they called a public health emergency, New York officials on Tuesday ordered power plants to reduce emissions blamed for acid rain. Not to mention electric power to drive the economy
State Environmental Conservation Commissioner Erin Crotty announced the emergency order aimed at reducing emissions at least temporarily. At the same time, she announced an appeal of the decision by a state judge this spring that had blocked the same regulations from taking effect permanently. "These regulations are critical in order to further protect public health and New York's precious natural resources," Crotty said. Moonbats are natural resources apparently
"Any delay in implementing these critical regulations will result in more than 40,000 tons of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide being pumped into New York's air," she added. As much as a single volcano in the pacific rim, we are working on getting a lawsuit to block the volcanoes too
Power plants and unions had sued the state over its anti-pollution regulations. In the ruling in May, Supreme Court Judge Leslie Stein upheld the state's right to establish the strict measures, but found the state had missed its own deadline to adopt them. Typical government efficiency at its bestBecause the new order cites a health emergency, it is not directly reviewed by the court, but power plants could still sue to reverse it. The emergency order would reduce pollution levels for at least 90 days but could be extended to 1 1/2 years or more. And the costs of doing business for the power plants will be extended to at least 5 years but could be extended to infinity
Crotty said the state has requested an expedited ruling on the appeal that struck down the permanent regulations. The executive order from Gov. George Pataki had called for reductions of nitrogen oxide by 70 percent and of sulfur by 50 percent by 2008. A spokeswoman for NRG Energy declined to comment.
#1
Because plan includes a simple mandate without any practicality or consideration for the market, it is liable to cause economic disaster in that part of the country. I hope they implement this moronic plan immediately because it will excentuate the positive aspects of Bush's energy plan to voters in NJ and Pennsylvania that will take it in the shorts almost immediately.
Once NY throttles back on its electrical power production, energy prices will climb immediately in the general area because NY like California has no intention of reducing usage.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/17/2004 22:58 Comments ||
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You left out the part about NY and California have no intentions of allowing any REAL development of "cleaner" power generating stations Super Hose. Moonbats are funny like that.
YELLOW ALERT!! C.A.B.—Cabbies Against Bush—announces a mass protest by NYC taxicab divers during the 2004 Republican Convention at Madison Square Garden August 30- September 1, 2004. All NYC cabbies will keep their headlights ON during daylight hours to "Shine the Light" on G W Bush, the War President, and his War Policies. We are encouraging all passengers to join the protest, by politely asking their driver to turn on the headlights during their trip. You're lucky if your cabbie knows how to drive, let alone use headlights.
Cabbies Against Bush and participating drivers are also offering a special value coupon to any Convention Delegate, Right Wing Talk Show Host or other Chicken Hawk who will fly to Baghdad and volunteer to fight in Iraq. Offer valid only to those that hold a one way ticket to Baghdad. Return trip is the responsibilty of the Federal Government. Ah, the tired old chickenhawk argument.
Coupons will be available from "Shine the Light" participants or can be downloaded at www.liteupbush.com. A PRESS CONFERENCE will be held outside Fox News offices at 1211 Avenue of the Americas (48th St) at 12 noon on Monday August 23rd. Hope Fox gets wind of this beforehand. They can run amusing slogans on their ticker, like they did when antiwar protesters had a die-in in front of the HQ. Also, there's no way in hell this group was started by cabbies. Cabbies lease their cars each day, and have a hard enough time making enough fares to pay the lease and get some income. No way one of them will give a free ride to the airport. Wonder if it's moveon.org or ANSWER behind this.
Several high muckety's of the Anarchistic Morons of AmeriKKKa plan on causing trouble for the NYPD during the Republican Convention at Madison Square Gardens.
The NY Post has the story, if you care (most won't): FINEST PREP FOR ANARCHY
And the award for Stupidest Statement is won by Lisa Fithian:
Among them are Canadian activist Jaggi Singh; Lisa Fithian of Los Angeles, a top organizer in the umbrella group United for Peace and Justice; and Miriam "Starhawk" Simos of San Francisco, author of a widely read essay, "How We Shut Down the WTO."
"We're not calling for a shutdown of the convention," Fithian said.
"No one has an intention of being arrested. If the police exercise restraint. . . they have nothing to fear."
See? The NYPD has "nothing to fear" as long as they "excercise restraint". Mighty white of the Anarcho-Moron party, ain't it?
If I was Miz Lisa, I'd be a-fearin' that the NYPD was gonna crack my pan fer bein' stoopid, if ya knows what I mean.
Schmucks...
Posted by: mojo ||
08/17/2004 11:44:53 AM ||
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"Exercise restraint" is moonbat code for "let us break windows and burn cars." My advice for the NYPD: Remember that these guys were probably happy about 9/11. Now remember the men and women you lost. And be sure to bring extra night sticks in case you break one.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
08/17/2004 13:49 Comments ||
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Sounds like she's talking with her hemp-muscles.
#4
If the police exercise restraint. . . they have nothing to fear
Sure. If I'm a New York cop, I fear this bunch of pussies, right? Wear your helmets ladies, because I got a feeling this article went up on every squadroom wall in the city.
#5
Preemption! Shit-for-brains has conveyed a threat to the NYPD. They should arrest (club/spindle/mutilate) the whole lot of them today and try them for attempted assault and inciting a riot. While they are incarcerated the NYPD should use them as practice dummies for chock holds, Taser, and baton training. We need some South Korean police to help demonstrate the proper handing of hoodlums. FYI I was cheering when they used the wooden bullets on the gang in Oakland, come on NYPD kick some ass.
#4
Kerry is in full opposition mode. A la Groucho Marx, whatever it is, he's against it. Bush should come out in favor of sending US troops to Darfur to stop/prevent genocide and see if Kerry has the balls to be contrarian on that. He then should come out in favor of Congressional and Judicial term limits, a Constitutional amendment to provide the President with a line item veto, an increase in intelligence and defense spending and another pay raise for active duty, Reserve and Guard soldiers and dare Kerry to oppose those items. Kerry's only other response to those last two would be to promise more money, but that's not possible given his already phony promise to reduce the deficit. As to the first two, he could either oppose them or agree with them -- in either case, it's win-win for the country.
Posted by: Tibor ||
08/17/2004 18:50 Comments ||
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All of these difficult decisons to make. a favorite Dim ploy is Bush's intelligence. In all due respect to the CIC Kerry makes W look like a genius (which he is). Poor Hanoi John. Just can't make his mind up. I'm 1/2 way through Unfit for
Command and if even one chapter is true (I tend to believe 200 over hanoi John and his "Band of Brothers) this man is a luny case.
Posted by: Bill Nelson ||
08/17/2004 22:18 Comments ||
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Wow. Another Kerry whopper, this from U.S. News & World Reports of May 8, 2000.
"Is a trial deal near? by Kevin Whitelaw
Sen. John Kerry made his first forays into Cambodia during the Vietnam War as a Navy lieutenant on clandestine missions to deliver weapons to anticommunist forces.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/17/2004 15:34 Comments ||
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Ol' Hugh seems to be getting more pissed by the day. He is on a one man crusade. There is a lot to hear from him. His show today at 3PM Pacific may have even more good stuff.
#3
Think Skeery can even name any of the tribes he would've supposedly been delivering arms to? Think he'd know the difference between the Khmer and the Hmong (Meo)?
Not a chance.
I had a Khmer girlfriend - hey I'll bet she speaks, reads, and writes both English and French better than the exceptionally Indistinguished Senator from Mass - the guy with the reality problem. Oops, was that redundant? No I mean the other Mass. Senator with a reality problem, sheesh!
Suddenly, there appeared at the American Embassy in Phnom Penh, a man, half-asian, and half Anglo, in his mid-30's. He appeared with a local woman who appeared to be in her late 50's. He declared, "I am the son of John Kerry."
The man demanded a DNA test, declaring, "I want to prove my father was in Cambodia in early 1969!"
#7
a Navy lieutenant on clandestine missions to deliver weapons to anticommunist forces.
Like the CIA would borrow a newby Navy lieutenant for a secret mission. Hell, the CIA had their own airforce, Air America, to use on missions like that.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/17/2004 16:41 Comments ||
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It's surprising:
1. that none of his posse went along for the ride.
2. that they would pick someone with less than 4 months boat experience for a "black ops" mission.
3. that his illegal trip into Cambodia was not utilized more fully during his Soviet-backed mission to undercut American foriegn policy immediately after his return CONUS.
4. that they would tap the one SWIFTee with a Super 8 camera for a mission where secrecy was paramount.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/17/2004 17:18 Comments ||
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ah...but he really brought the camera along to record all of those "war crimes". And he would have...he just ran out of batteries due to recording all of his heroics.
Posted by: B ||
08/17/2004 17:20 Comments ||
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#10
Jeebus... it's like "Walter Mitty For President!"
If this jerk wins, I really wonder whether we'll survive his presidency. Those who are stupid enough to vote for him certainly don't deserve to.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
08/17/2004 17:56 Comments ||
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Hugh may have up dated his site after growler's posting. Because that statement isn't a direct quote of Kerry, I (Hugh) contacted the reporter, Kevin Whitelaw, this afternoon. Whitelaw still works at U.S. News & World report where he covers foreign affairs and intelligence matters. Hugh: "Did John Kerry tell you that he ran guns into Cambodia?"
Kevin Whitelaw: "That's exactly what he told me."
Mr. Whitelaw declined my invitation to appear on my radio program, explaining that he doesn't report on or comment on the presidential campaign.
Can we now agree that John Kerry has engaged in wild claims about his service? Since he told that tale to Mr. Whitelaw, who else has he told it to?
#12
LOL Big Ed! SH, of course they recruited the draftee Jr officers for Clandestine (illegal) mission! They were expendable and they (the officers) knew that. Despite this, brave John F. Kerry single handedly piloted his HUGE NOISY boat up the narrow passages on four occasions to bring relief supplies to a beleaguered (but defiant) freedom forces in Cambodia. I have tears of joy streaming down my face! John F Kerry can count on my vote come November 2! But I am also going to vote against him because he is a lying, no good, and elitist swine!
#13
You know, I checked, and found I sent this link to Hugh Hewitt on August 10. I just thought he wasn't interested. Now it is the centerpiece of his show today. How odd.
In the September 2004 issue of GQ, Senator John Kerry sits down with the magazine's deputy editor Michael Hainey, who bellies up to the bar with the contender and dares him to show some personality. Kerry reveals his favorite sports heroes and actresses, his greatest athletic moment, and gives advice on what to look for in a woman. In the interview, "A Beer with John Kerry," Kerry says he loves GQ and always has it around the house. Highlights of the interview include:
On the sexiest film actress of all time: "I think Charlize Theron is pretty extraordinary ... Catherine Zeta-Jones ... and Marilyn Monroe. I thought she was funny. Complicated. And obviously very attractive, very beautiful."
"I slept with her, you know."
Kerry tells Hainey that he had a telephone relationship with Marlon Brando in 1985 and 1986, during the contras: "He took a huge interest in it. And he would call me. He was always asking questions. And he'd give me advice. I took his advice on a couple of angles. A couple of points."
"We talked about our days together in Cambodia, when I took my boat up the river searching for him.."
On what it was like when he was the "Bachelor Senator": "Those were not good days ... I think if you ask anyone, Bob Kerrey, or anyone who's been single on Capitol Hill, you'll find it's no fun ...
Teddy wouldn't let you hang with him, huh?
That's not a good world, and everyone wants a piece of you, and all I can say is thank God I found Teresa."
"Jackpot!"
Kerry says he loves competition, loves the feeling of it, throwing the lacrosse ball around, and talks about his greatest athletic moment: "A hat trick as a senior in the Harvard-Yale soccer game ... I think I got down on my knees and hit the ground."
He scored three times in a soccer game? Had the other team left the field?
The fictional character Kerry most identifies with: "There's a little Huck Finn in me; there's a little Tom Sawyer in me ... I like the adventure ..."
"Floating on a raft down the river, watching out for Charlie....."
And while Kerry won't say whether he thinks the Stones or the Beatles are the better band, his favorites Stones songs include: ""Brown Sugar," "Jumpin' Jack Flash," "Satisfaction," and "Little Red Rooster." Kerry says he loves every Beatles song and the Abby Road album and the White Album.
"... in an octopus's garden, with yoooooou!"
On Bob Dylan: "I love Dylan. He's brilliant. I mean, I can name any number of his songs that I love, but you know, 'Lay across my big brass bed' -- 'Lay, Lady, Lay.'"
"Lay, Teresa, lay. Lay that checkbook on my big brass bed"
Posted by: Steve ||
08/17/2004 12:48:09 PM ||
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Teddy wouldn't let you hang with him, huh?
It's not that Teddy wouldn't let him hang, it's that he insisted on driving. Haven't been that scared since Cambodia.
#3
"We talked about our days together in Cambodia, when I took my boat up the river searching for him.."
This gets my vote for Today's Funniest Comment.
Is Kerry doing GQ iterviews to help connect with his core constituency of laid-off Rust Belt factory workers? They may be unemployed, but they still dress stylishly.
In the new GQ, the Democratic presidential nominee offers relationship advice for men:
On what to seek in a woman:
"Look for what gets your heart. Someone who excites you, turns you on. ... It's a woman who loves being a woman. Who wears her womanhood. Who knows how to flirt and have fun. Smart. Confident. ... And obviously sexy and saucy and challenging."
"And a really big bank account"
The WASH POST is set to preview GQ's: "A Beer With John Kerry."
Imported beer of course
Which hot actresses float his boat:
"I think Charlize Theron is pretty extraordinary," he gushes. He's also fond of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Marilyn Monroe.
Damm, that meter does work. We agree on something.
Developing...
Posted by: Steve ||
08/17/2004 11:13:06 AM ||
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"Look for what gets your heart. Someone who excites you, turns you on. ... It's a woman who loves being a woman. Who wears her womanhood. Who knows how to flirt and have fun. Smart. Confident. ... And obviously sexy and saucy and challenging."
Posted by: Steve ||
08/17/2004 12:14 Comments ||
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He's also fond of.... Marilyn Monroe.
Still trying to portray himself as the Real JFK.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/17/2004 12:25 Comments ||
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How about this: who cares? I'm not voting for a guy just because he likes women (although it's always a good idea to check when it comes to Democrats). I also don't care if he's a likable, average guy.... not that Kerry is. I want some quality, dammit, not a bunch of BS!
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/17/2004 13:53 Comments ||
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Charlize Theron, and Catherine Zeta-Jones amongst the living.
Well, so 99% of heterosexual males agree those two wemen are fine. Leftist nutballs, but good to look at. So? Is that supposed to make Lurchy special???
#3
I'm sure that cost more than Clinton's $200 haircut.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
08/17/2004 11:06 Comments ||
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Except Clinton had his on the tarmac, which held up numerous flights. Less cost to him personally, but difficult to gauge the economic impact in full. :)
Press release from John Kerry HQ:
WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Following is the Kerry Campaign's response to the latest Bush-Cheney ad: blah--blah--blah-- THE RECORD
John Kerry is an Experienced Leader in the Intelligence Field - - John Kerry served on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence for 6 years and is the former Vice Chairman of the Committee. Kerry joined the Committee in early 1993 and served until early 2001.
One tiny little problem, The Volokh Conspiracy, the RNC and several other bloggers have fact checked, it's the other Kerry who was Vice Chairman:
Now the Republican National Committee is pointing out — correctly, I think, based on my quick search — that Kerry never was the Vice Chairman of the Committee; that post was held by former Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey. Whoops .
Sen. John F. Kerry - Sen. J. Robert Kerry, easy mistake to make. I mean, they both were in Vietnam.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/17/2004 9:23:59 AM ||
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Jesus Christ, Kerry's own website can't even get simple verifiable facts straight about him. Every day there is another example of his campaign's complete incompetance, yet there are so many in the "I Hate Bushâ¢" crowd that this (normally) unelectable boob still has a chance to be president of the United States. Sickening.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
08/17/2004 11:01 Comments ||
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#10
so am I...who isn't. The only people who aren't linked to Royalty are the ones who don't have an aunt or uncle who spent years tracing back the line. Come on....this far down the line, I'm guessing we all have links. BFD
Posted by: B ||
08/17/2004 16:53 Comments ||
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Exactamundo B!!!
I am more interested in the folks who left Europe to come here. They have far more dynamic personalities than some stuffy KING.
#12
No surprise. We were famine Irish - its a sure bet that Kerry was "Lace Curtain" Irish for the non-french/jewish/cherokee/watusi/what-ever-group-hes-pandering-to-at-the-moment part of his heritage.
The "Royalty" threw our asses out of Ireland after trying to starve us off our land.
SO, now I have yet another reason to vote agaisnt the opportunistic, patrician, lying, traitorous, taxing, vacillating, internationalist liberal Senator from Taxachussets.
h/t Lucianne -- and I've been meaning to ask for awhile, now: Is this the same dreadnought that posts here? I sure hope so!
BY ROBERT L. POLLOCK - Monday, August 16, 2004 12:01 a.m. EDT The most damning testimony on John Kerry in Vietnam has come from John Kerry.
John Kerry volunteered for service in Vietnam. John Kerry was wounded in Vietnam. And a number of the men with whom John Kerry served testify to acts of courage on his part. This much seems beyond question, and I see no reason to weigh in on the factual disputes surrounding Mr. Kerry's medals being waged by pro-Kerry vets like Jim Rassmann and the anti-Kerry vets of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Both sides strike me as sincere, but eyewitness accounts of fast-moving and stressful situations like combat are too unreliable for there to be much hope of getting at the "truth" here.
But Americans have never accepted that a record of service, however honorable, should forever entitle a man to deference on matters of war and peace. (Ask George McGovern.) And the political uses to which Mr. Kerry would later put his Vietnam experience are certainly fair game for criticism. Which brings up Mr. Kerry's claim--repeated in at least three different decades, and on the floor of the Senate--that he spent Christmas Eve of 1968 not in Vietnam but in Cambodia. He obviously considered it a point of some significance, since he used it to impugn the integrity of those who waged the Vietnam War.
This is how he described it to the Boston Herald in 1979: "I remember spending Christmas Eve of 1968 five miles across the Cambodian border being shot at by our South Vietnamese allies. . . . The absurdity of almost being killed by our own allies in a country in which President Nixon claimed there were no American troops was very real."
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Posted by: .com ||
08/17/2004 12:49:56 AM ||
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Oh, almost forgot:
And what about that potential First Lady, eh?
World water supplies will not be enough for our descendants to enjoy the sort of diet the West eats now, experts say. The World Water Week in Stockholm will be told the growth in demand for meat and dairy products is unsustainable... ...and by the 1970s there will be over twelve billion people in the world and all the oil will be depleted and the air will be so polluted everyone will have to breathe through masks and Soylent Green is made of peeeple.
Thank goodness we have experts to tell us what to do.
Posted by: Anonymoose ||
08/17/2004 12:00:00 AM ||
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The World Water Week in Stockholm will be told the growth in demand for meat and dairy products is unsustainable...
No problem. If this is indeed what's in store, we'll either make do, or find a solution. Don't like it? Tough.
#4
In 1974, the noted eco-quack Paul Ehrlich predicted that the world would run out of oil by 1980. He also predicted that there would be food rationing in the United States by the early 1990s. Today, with the 90s over, his sycophants and followers instead talk about an obesity crisis. These people are not just frauds, they are depraved, systematic, concious liars whose only goal is power through fear. As with terrorists and every other demonic force on the planet, they work in close cooperation with the institutional media.
#5
Whats more you "export water" when you sell meat for export acording to these clowns. This is PETA crap. "Meat" is too expenseive to raise","grain is better" and other tripe follows. I read this yesterday and considered it a was of time. The BBC freaks are also against "blood sports" like any hunting or riding to hounds. The English and Euros have become such mental cripples that they eat this fecal matter up as fact with no real peer review. Yes clean water is scarce and we need to use it better but it's not a problem outside of the 3rd world. Find some gross poluter in the US some place and they are being protected by a Democratic party hack or are the actual government. It's not 1968 anymore.
#6
In 1974, the noted eco-quack Paul Ehrlich predicted that the world would run out of oil by 1980. He also predicted that there would be food rationing in the United States by the early 1990s.
Who was the economist who made a wager with him about commodity prices 20 years ago....?
#12
Not too worried about the water -- the trickle-down theory works. As for food, well, I'm sure these organically-raised vegans would taste great slathered in Gates BBQ sauce.
BTW: Have you guys ever shopped in a Wild Oats and noticed that the health-food people... don't really look very healthy?
#14
We have an "organic pork products" company in the same building as mine. Not one "model for a healthy lifestyle" works there. In fact one of them is down smoking a butt in the parking lot as I type this.
I guess the Marlboro could be considered organic though.
#15
if they're into natural Capsu, that's probably an unfiltered Camel
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/17/2004 10:51 Comments ||
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Bush lied! Water dried!
Posted by: Chris W. ||
08/17/2004 10:53 Comments ||
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Animals need much more water than grain to produce the same amount of food, and ending malnutrition and feeding even more mouths will take still more water.
#18
BH: soooooo true. You see these people shopping in Whole Foods and the like....and they look (and smell) awful. Sunken eyes, pasty skin, as they shuffle about looking for whatever soy product it is they feel is gonna keep em alive. With apologies to muck....that kinda livin' ain't natural and it's unhealthy and can lead to acute Bovine infestation.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
08/17/2004 11:10 Comments ||
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Hey Rex, what's a Bovine infestation? Is that like getting fucked by a bull?
Posted by: Chris W. ||
08/17/2004 11:11 Comments ||
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Chris W.: Well I gotta say I would have no basis of comparison so I can't help ya there. Regarding bovine infestation, the only way we can keep from being overrun by an out of control cattle population is to eat beef regularly....lots of it. Also helps to reduce that Bovine Flatulence thingy. Of course, there are no promises regarding Rex Flatus Horibilus
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
08/17/2004 11:44 Comments ||
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Shipman: The economist you are thinking of was Julian Simon.
#22
There are three answers to this problem. (1) Force third world government to abandon idiotic protectionisms, socialist fantasies, and authoritarian governments that keep their nations poor. Richer nations have lower population growths. (2) Go to war. People die in war, with less people population growth problems are lessoned. (3) Force the rich nations, that without immigration would actually have zero or negative population growth to change their dietary habits and allow the third world to continue in their own version of hell.
To me the answer is simple. Use answer 1 as a targeting mechanism for answer 2 and totally ignore answer 3 as foolishness.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
08/17/2004 12:03 Comments ||
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Actually Ehrlich was the "genius". He won a MacAurther Foundation genius grant--which is depressing. Simon was a genuinely good guy armed with facts, logic and common sense.
#26
Wait a minute: isn't water vapour the worst of the greenhouse gasses, both as a percent of atmospheric volume and efficacy per unit volume?
In that case, don't we want to rapidly reduce the amount of air-borne H2O in order to reduce the threat of global warming?
Logically, therefore, we should all change to the Atkins diet as a personal sacrifice (O! my heart and arteries!) for the continuation of life on this planet...
From Shareeah
Some Muslims argue that the physics law E=mc2 is kufr, because it states that energy can not be destroyed, but it is still theoretically proven, and it doesnt state that Allaah can't destroy it, can't we accept that formula in terms of human capability?
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
08/17/2004 11:47:37 PM ||
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Didn't Allen's prophet claim thatr Pi was equals to exactly 3 or something like that? Except on Tuesday in a month with an 'R' in the name when the value is 2 3/4.....
Just how friggin' dumb are these people? I don't know all that much about physics, but even I can tell you that the answer is complete bullshit. And it ain't theoretically proven. Two words: Manhattan Project.
As silly as I think the evolution/creationism debate is, as far as I know you don't see Christians questioning fundamental tenets of science. More proof that these idiots are stuck in the seventh century.
*/seething*
Posted by: The Doctor ||
08/18/2004 9:54 Comments ||
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LAHORE: Lahore High Court Justice Nasim Sabir has summoned the lawyer of a man on a petition filed by his mother charging him with marrying his wife's sister without divorcing her [the sister, not the mother] first. The court asked the petitioner, Hakim, and the lawyer of her son, Abdul Ghani, to appear in court on August 24. The judge stated that according to Sharia and Pakistani law, a man could not marry his sister-in-law unless his wife had died or he had divorced her and a person could be charged with adultery if this law was violated. The petitioner asked the court to provide her and other family members protection from Mr Ghani because she feared her son might murder them for approaching the court.
Always a distinct possibility in Pakland...
Mr Ghani's first wife also appeared with her mother and said her husband had not divorced her and asked that a criminal case be registered against that rat bastard her husband and the selfish bitch sister.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/17/2004 7:15:51 PM ||
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Comes now Mahmood with knifes and wifes before the court of Paki with Wigs like the big guys...
#2
Since all Islam requires him to say I divorce you, I divorce you, I divorce you. And his word as a man is stronger than her word as a woman all he has to do is lie. In fact he can claim that he divorced her for whoring around and get her stoned if she's not careful. It is always important to remember what religion runs the country before creating a shit-storm.
Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has approved a controversial bill seeking to outlaw 'unethical' religious conversions in the Buddhist-majority island, the parliament was told Tuesday. The court ruling clears the way for the bill to be passed into law with a simple majority vote, despite protests from minority Christian organisations. The bill was proposed last month by the all-monk National Heritage Party, which won nine seats in the 225-member assembly in April elections. President Chandrika Kumaratunga's minority government in June announced similar plans to restrict conversions and asked the legal draftsman's department to prepare the legislation. The bill proposed by the monks calls for 'prohibition of conversion from one religion to another by use of force, allurement or by fraudulent measure.'
A spokesman for the monks' party said the bill would outlaw 'unethical conversions' in which the rural poor are allegedly offered cash or other inducements to change from Buddhism or Hinduism to Christianity. There had been a spate of attacks against Christian places of worship since December after the funeral of a popular Buddhist monk, Gangodavila Soma, who led a campaign against religious conversions. The monk's death after he suffered a heart attack in Russia fuelled conspiracy theories despite an autopsy showing he died of natural causes. Sri Lanka's constitution grants the foremost place to Buddhism, which is practised by nearly 70 percent of the island's 19 million people. Hindus make up about 15 percent and Muslims about 7.5 percent.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/17/2004 6:38:43 PM ||
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There had been a spate of attacks against Christian places of worship since December after the funeral of a popular Buddhist monk
Congo's peace process has broken down after the massacre of 160 Congolese Tutsi refugees in neighbouring Burundi, according to a former rebel group. Leaders of the mainly Tutsi RCD-Goma expressed this view as they gathered for talks on Tuesday in their stronghold, Goma, located in the eastern part of the country along the Rwanda border. Western diplomats in the capital Kinshasa said there was a risk the RCD might pull out of the transitional government, meant to shepherd the Democratic Republic of Congo to elections in 2005 after a five-year civil war. "The process has broken down and we need to repair this break down," Azarius Ruberwa, the head of RCD and one of Congo's four vice-presidents, told United Nations radio.
Ruberwa and other RCD senior officials attended Monday's mass burial of the 160 people shot, hacked and burned to death on Friday night at a refugee camp in western Burundi. "We need to stop, re-read the (peace) agreement and the conclusions of the negotiations because it is incomprehensible that, during a peace process, genocide of Congolese people takes place abroad," he said. A Hutu rebel group fighting in Burundi has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the RCD has accused the Congolese army of taking part in the killing. Renegade RCD soldiers launched a revolt in eastern Congo in June, saying they wanted to protect Congolese Tutsi - known as Banyamulenge - living in the area.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/17/2004 6:18:09 PM ||
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How can what is already a trainwreck be any more "broken down?"
Tue Aug 17, 8:14 AM ET EAGAN, Minn. - Several Minnesota police departments are field testing a handheld device that scans a suspect's fingerprint and digitally checks it against Minnesota's criminal history and fingerprint database. Police and the device maker say it's helping law enforcement officers identify suspicious persons quickly when they don't have a driver's license, but defense attorneys and civil liberties advocates are wary.
The device, IBIS (for Integrated Biometric Identification System), was recently put to work when a 25-year-old St. Paul woman was stopped at the exit of Rainbow Foods in Eagan carrying baby formula that had not been purchased. She didn't have her driver's license and gave police several versions of her name. Within minutes, IBIS identified the woman, who had four warrants out for her arrest for shoplifting and providing false information to police, said Eagan police officer Jennifer Ruby. Eagan police arrested the woman on July 22 and charged her with a misdemeanor for giving false information to police. She was not charged with theft.
Eagan police have just one of 130 IBIS units in the country being tested in Minnesota, California and Oregon, according to its Minnetonka-based manufacturer, Indentix Inc. The technology debuted in October 2002 in Hennepin County and Ontario, Calif., with the help of a multimillion-dollar National Institute of Justice grant, and the handheld IBIS unit debuted last summer. Today the technology is being tested in the Twin Cities in about 20 mostly west-metro police departments. The cost of the IBIS unit has dropped from $14,000 to $4,500, according to Identix. Improving cellular phone network technology means IBIS units one day could be standard-issue equipment for every officer. But at least one defense attorney cautions that IBIS, if used recklessly, could trample individuals' search-and-seizure rights and may be ripe for a legal challenge.
Continued on Page 49
The United Nations has suspended talks with Burundian Hutu rebels who claimed responsibility for the massacre of at least 160 Congolese Tutsi refugees at a U.N.-run camp, a spokeswoman for the organization said Tuesday. The U.N. had been brokering peace talks between Burundi's government and the National Liberation Forces — the last rebel group still fighting in the country's 11-year-old civil war, said Isabelle Abric. "The negotiations have been suspended because they are claiming responsibility for the attack" in which Congolese Tutsi refugees were shot, hacked, stabbed and burned to death, Abric told The Associated Press. "It seems they are not willing to contribute to the peace process."
I'd call bumping off 180 civilians not contributing to the peace process...
Conflicts between Hutus, who comprise a majority in Burundi and Rwanda, and Tutsis, a minority in those two countries and the eastern Congo, have wracked this corner of Africa for more than a decade, spawning a civil war in Burundi, the 1994 Rwandan genocide and a five-year war in Congo. The fighting in Congo mostly ended in 2003, but former rebels and government loyalists continue to clash in the east. The massacre threatens to jeopardize efforts to restore peace in Congo, warned Congolese Vice President Azarias Ruberwa, a former rebel leader who attended the funeral along with Burundian President Domitien Ndayizeye. "This is a real genocide," said Ruberwa, who is a Tutsi. The victims "were killed simply because of the fact that they were Congolese Tutsis." The rebel National Liberation Forces said its fighters staged the attack, claiming Burundian soldiers and Congolese Tutsi militiamen were hiding at the camp.
"Yeah! They wuz disguised as wimmin an' children!"
Burundian officials and witnesses said the Burundian rebels were accompanied by Hutu extremists based in Congo. "If these groups are not disarmed — if all efforts are not devoted to disarm these groups, including through the foreign powers or interests that tend to control them — the region will not be at peace," said Felix Nkundabagenzi of the Peace and Security Information and Research Group, a think tank in Brussels, Belgium.
Thank you for today's Statement of the Obvious™...
Posted by: Fred ||
08/17/2004 8:38:58 AM ||
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Perhaps they could start talks with the Burundi Beef Council.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
08/17/2004 12:01 Comments ||
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The United Nations has suspended talks with Burundian Hutu rebels...
U.N. Rwandan troops were dispatched to the southern Sudan to stop 'genocide'. Something wrong here.
Rwanda has warned it could intervene to prevent any new genocide, as massacred Tutsi refugees were buried in Burundi. Rwandan Foreign Minister Charles Murigande told the BBC his country had the right to defend itself against rebel Hutu militias. He was speaking after more than 150 mostly Congolese ethnic Tutsis were buried in a mass grave. The refugees, many of them children, were allegedly killed on Friday by men from Burundi, DR Congo and Rwanda. Mr Murigande blamed the killings on the lack of action by the international community, who, he said, had failed to disarm the Hutu militias after the 1994 Rwanda genocide. He told the BBC World Service's Newshour programme that if armed groups crossed into Rwanda to carry out attacks, Rwanda would pursue them back into DR Congo if necessary. "This border cannot be a shield behind which they should always hide," he said.
A Burundian Hutu rebel group has claimed responsibility for Friday night's attack but a Rwandan group has denied taking part. Among the several thousand people at Monday's funeral were Burundi's President Domitien Ndayizeye and DR Congo's Vice-President Azarias Ruberwa - himself a Congolese Tutsi. Speaking at the funeral, a Rwandan minister, Christophe Bazivamo, said his country would act to stop further violence. "Rwanda is resolved to no longer tolerate acts of genocide," he said, quoted by AFP news agency. "Rwanda is ready to bring aid and intervene... to stop genocide and calm down the people as in Darfur." Rwanda was one of the first countries to send troops to protect African Union ceasefire monitors in war-ravaged western Sudan.
At the funeral, the coffins were laid side by side in a huge common grave, measuring 20m wide by 25m deep. A banner next to the grave read: "The genocide of Tutsis is a reality". Other placards read: "Onub go home," referring to the UN's peace-keeping mission of some 2,000 troops, which failed to prevent the massacre. The UN Security Council has condemned the killing and called on Burundi and Congolese authorities to co-operate to bring those responsible to justice. It has asked Burundi to set up a refugee camp away from the DR Congo border where the killings took place. Many of the victims were Tutsi women, children and babies, who fled southern DR Congo in June after fighting between Tutsi rebels and the army. Armed with machetes, guns and grenades, the attackers entered the Gatumba camp some 10km from the Burundi capital on Friday evening and set fire to several shelters. The president of Burundi said the massacre was carried out by Congolese who had crossed into his country. The border between the two countries has now been closed. But a Burundi rebel group - the National Liberation Front (FNL) - said the killings had occurred during its attack on an army base next to the refugee camp and Congolese and Rwandan fighters were not involved.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
08/17/2004 2:06:35 AM ||
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Other placards read: "Onub go home," referring to the UNâs peace-keeping mission of some 2,000 troops, which failed to prevent the massacre. The UN Security Council has condemned the killing and called on Burundi and Congolese authorities to co-operate to bring those responsible to justice.
Not to worry...the UN was there to watch it happen. And they've "condenmed" and "called on" everyone to cooperate.
So move along..everything's under control here. They'll let us know when it rises to the level of "genocide". Until then, nothing to see here.
By MARIA DANILOVA, Associated Press Writer Mon Aug 16,10:27 PM ET MOSCOW - If you can judge a book by its cover, then the "History of Russia and the World in the 20th Century" tells students the Soviet past was all pride and glory — three of four cover photos invoke Soviet propaganda images. That goes for what's inside too: the textbook for Russian high school seniors touts the Soviet system's achievements — but treads lightly, if at all, on its failures and abuses. It is virtually mute on the deportation of ethnic groups under Josef Stalin that left hundreds of thousands dead and sowed the resentment that exploded in Chechnya a half-century later. The Gulag labor camp system gets scant attention and anti-Semitism the barest of mentions. "Labor camps, what labor camps? Those were summer camps!"
President Vladimir Putin — a former KGB officer who has resurrected such Soviet symbols as the anthem and the military's red star — is a strong proponent of instilling Russia's young people with national pride. But critics warn that sanitizing Russia's tormented history will leave students unprepared to cope with the challenges they face in the post-Soviet era. "The Gulag is given minimal coverage in textbooks. Yet without the Gulag, they cannot understand the history of the Soviet Union and Russia. Without these pages, their education will not be complete," said Semyon Vilensky, a 76-year-old survivor of the Gulag labor camp system who heads an association that documents the horrors of the Stalin era.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Zenster ||
08/17/2004 2:24:59 AM ||
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I'd like to hear TGA's take on this. It's one thing to do the "we invented everything" trip - it's quite another for Tsar Putty & Minions to try to hide 20+ million bodies.
#3
Just an example: Boris Yeltsin allowed ex-inmates of Workuta, the worst GULag that ever existed (temperatures fell below minus 60°C in winter), to revisit the place. A gruesome experience.
Putin made the place off limits for foreigners again.
#4
Then there's the attempts by residents to build a monument for those lost at the Norilsk Gulag:
"But when the city unveiled a monument to "the builders of Norilsk" two years ago, the bas-relief bronze sculpture depicted a strapping, shirtless man wielding a trowel in the finest tradition of Socialist Realism ...
In 2002, President Vladimir V. Putin visited the memorial site, laying a wreath to the camps' victims. But his visit was unannounced, and the authorities did not invite any of the organization's members to meet him. He met instead with the chairwoman of a war veterans' committee.
Yelizaveta I. Obst, whose father, an ethnic German, was sent to the gulag in 1943, said history in Russia remained ambivalent because so many were implicated in it.
"The memories of the past are restored only with great difficulty," she said. "The people who wouldn't like to remember this past are still alive and still in power."
#5
My views on this are mixed. I donât believe history books should lie. On the other hand I donât believe a nationâs schools should teach their students to hate their nation and government.
Perhaps age-adjusted versions are appropriate. Young children would be fed sweetness and light. Teens would be exposed to some harsher realities. College students should be exposed to competing versions of history.
#6
My views on this are mixed. I donât believe history books should lie. On the other hand I donât believe a nationâs schools should teach their students to hate their nation and government.
In other words, all the Nazi school children should have gotten "The Bobsy Twins go to Summercamp at Auschwitz" textbook to read?
This is about modern Russians learning how the Soviet communists slaughtered innocent citizens by the millions. What's the problem? Putin's febrile attempts to sweep this crap under the rug only makes those Russians who complete their educations less competent to judge world affairs and history. Exactly how is it bad in learning to hate communism?
#7
Fully agree Zenster.
And I wonder what these "competing versions of history" are all about when it comes to the GULag?
The younger children learn, the better. I know too well. When I did the schools' tour to tell the story about the concentration camps, the ten year old listened attentively. The 14yo already were smartasses who "knew better".
#8
Glad to hear it, TGA. My mother survived the occupation of Denmark and made d@mn sure that we kids went and saw "Night and Fog." I was all of six or eight years old at the time. Watching the screen flicker with images of bulldozers scraping ten foot high piles of matchstick thin human bodies into mass graves is forever seared into my consciousness.
So long as even one Neo Nazi remains breathing, this movie should be mandatory viewing in all high schools. TGA, I admire your honorable efforts to ensure that such a thing happens, NEVER AGAIN.
#9
Zenster, I think kids should see this images, but of course they MUST not left alone with them.
It's very important that they can talk about them openly and honestly... at school and back home.
In the 90s, with the rise of Neo Nazism, some 14yo youth would tell it in my face that these things didn't happen, that the movies and documents were faked. But if they had to face someone who LIVED it, they had a hard time. They could maybe go on and fool themselves but not the other boys and girls in the classroom.
The little things: They'd see people in those films with a number tattoo and pretend that this was a lie. The kids look at you.
#10
Thank you, TGA. My mother and her family were fortunate to spend the war years in hiding in Holland, so we kids never had to deal directly with that. A few years ago she translated her mother's memoirs into English, and now she is doing talks on the Holocaust at schools around her home in Buffalo, New York. She accompanies each talk with a copy of her manuscript. As you say, its hard to look at the living, and continue to pretend it never happened.
TGA, my thanks are meaningless against what you have endured. That you have the fortitude and courage to carry such an important lesson into classrooms of young impressionable German minds is something beyond the scope of my puny gratitude. I lift my glass in your honor and drink to your precious health.
#12
True German Ally, I apologize for blathering on like this, but the extra perspective into your world provided by the above comments obliges me to go on a bit.
The other day you expressed affirmation when Frank G made a deft comparison of Islamists with Brown Shirts. I recall you applauding the analogy at the time.
I view Islamism as just another brand of Nazism. Genocide is their prime agenda, different only in how it's Global Cultural Genocide that they seek. It is this one single similarity which drives my personal belief that the battle against Islamic terrorism is a new World War.
While I am not of enlistment age anymore, please rest assured that I will take up arms in order to stop this menace when that time comes. At some point, all other faiths must eventually realize that they too have now become the same as Jews in the eyes of Islamists.
What you have suffered shall not be in vain. Gladly will I stake my life on that. Skoal!
We'll get back to that comparison between Nazism and Islamism. Of course they are not exactly the same but Islamism is indeed the challenge of this time. I'm sure we'll get an occasion very soon to discuss the matter further.
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.
