MOOSE JAW, Saskatchewan -- A Canadian pilot was killed Friday when two military jets collided during a routine practice by the renowned Snowbirds aerobatics team. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reports that both pilots were able to eject from their planes. The collision occurred over Mossbank, about 70 miles from Regina in Saskatchewan and about 40 miles south of Moose Jaw, where the Snowbirds are based. The Snowbirds use Canadair Tutor aircraft, which were used as training jets by the Air Force until 2000. Training flights have been suspended while the crash is investigated.
Copyright 2004 by United Press International. This sucks - they're damned good. Condolences to family and friends.
Posted by: .com ||
12/11/2004 2:03:47 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
*nods* They were in Vidalia this year at the Onion Festival Air show. Very good.
The top American diplomat in Cuba says the end is near for Fidel Castro and his government and that even Castro's supporters are preparing for a transition to democracy. U.S. Interests Section Chief James Cason spoke at his official residence where dissidents gathered Friday for a time capsule ceremony marking International Human Rights Day. Castro's government "is on its last legs," Cason said as dissidents filled the capsule with messages spelling out their dreams for a different kind of Cuba. "Even regime supporters are discreetly preparing for the inevitable democratic transition" on the communist-run island, the American official said.
Come New Year's Day, Castro, 78, will have been in power 46 years. Cuba's communist leaders say the island will retain its current political system for many years to come. Castro's designated successor is his younger brother, 73-year-old Defense Minister Raul Castro, who is also No. 2 in Cuba's ruling Communist Party. There was no immediate reaction from Castro's government, which traditionally takes several days to respond to statements by American officials. In the past Castro has accused Cason of being a "bully with diplomatic immunity" charged by Washington with trying to provoke the island.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: tipper ||
12/11/2004 2:39:19 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
riight--come to neverland wendy
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
12/11/2004 3:51 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Nope, not until Castro dies. Which could be a decade or more off.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/11/2004 8:54 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Betcha there is no coordinated plan in the US government to handle economic and humanitarian support to Cuba once the Cuban government implodes. If you think the bill for Afghanistan and Iraq reconstruction is expensive, just wait. If we're willing to rebuild Falluja, we're going to be sucked into reconstituting Cuba too. Unlike allied assistance in the Middle East, I don't think we're going to have too many allies on this one. The refrain will be that since we're the runs who ran the embargo, we can be the ones to pay the cleanup.
Posted by: Don ||
12/11/2004 10:23 Comments ||
Top||
#9
My #2 yut should brought back the allowed two box of Cubans.... unfortunately neither he nor I have a clue about which ones he should have bought. I think he got floor sweepings, nice boxes tho.
#13
Don:
If the countries like Sweden that send millions in foreign aid to Cuba continue to do so for a few years after the commies are evicted, there won't be any problems.
You know, I wonder what all the anti-NAFTA and anti-WTO types think of the embargo? We simply doing to Cuba what they want us to do to the rest of the world.
#14
Unlike allied assistance in the Middle East, I don't think we're going to have too many allies on this one.
Always remember, FL is full of Cuban expats. If anyone is going to lead the way, it'll be the ones that decide to return home after the Castro regime is gone.
Taiwan's pro-independence parties lost a hotly contested legislative election Saturday — a defeat that might reduce the risk of a conflict with China but also continue the political gridlock that has paralyzed one of Asia's youngest democracies. The loss was a big blow to President Chen Shui-bian, who tirelessly campaigned for candidates and promised to use his control of parliament to revise the constitution and push for a new Taiwanese identity — pledges that unnerved China. Chinese leaders dislike Chen because he refuses to accept their goal of unification. Taiwan has had loose ties with the mainland — just 100 miles to the west — throughout much of China's history. The Communists, who took over China in 1949, say Taiwan must unify eventually or endure a punishing attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2004 7:23:22 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
The result is likely to come as a relief to Beijing, which has been angry about Chen's pro-independence stance.
While China's politburo may be exultant over this upset, I remain confident of the fact that such a moderation of Taiwan's pro-independence movement being the result of democratic processes escapes them entirely.
Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko was poisoned with dioxin, doctors said Saturday, adding that the highly toxic chemical could have been put in the opposition leader's soup, producing the severe disfigurement and partial paralysis of his face.
If Yushchenko does manage to take charge in Ukraine, I'll be somebody's gonna be way out of a job...
Yushchenko was in satisfactory condition and was expected to be released from Vienna's private Rudolfinerhaus clinic Sunday or Monday to return to the campaign trail in Ukraine, said hospital director Dr. Michael Zimpfer. Yushchenko, who faces Viktor Yanukovych in a rerun of a disputed presidential runoff on Dec. 26, has claimed that he was poisoned by Ukrainian authorities, who deny the charges. His supporters at home expressed little surprise over the doctors' conclusion.
If Yanokovych loses, he might consider moving to Khabarovsk or Perm.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2004 6:57:23 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
Some detail on that high quality of life award they get every year...
OSLO, Norway, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Tons of radioactive waste produced in the last half century in Norway is stored in two garages, the newspaper Aftenposten reports. "Plutonium? Yeah, we got that - over by the Chevy."
The total includes 16 tons of uranium fuel and other dangerous radioactive waste and 10.1 kilograms of plutonium. A committee in a report three years ago strongly recommended that the country build a new secure central storage site for the waste. "We're thinking - don't rush us! 'Sides, those places cost real money! We'd have to cut back on ski trail maintenance - and you know how that would go over, heh!"
The newspaper suggests that the stored waste is both a potential environmental and health hazard for thousands of people and an attraction for terrorists seeking material for a dirty bomb. "You wanna buy this shit? No kidding? Wow, we've been trying to figure out how to get rid of it! Talk about serendipity!"
The waste is stored near Norway's four research reactors in the cities of Kjeller and Halden. "Just fire up your Geiger counter and cruise around - you can't miss it."
Eric Martiniussen called the present storage conditions "indefensible." "Uh, Eric, would that be 'indefensible' because it's stupid or 'indefensible' because the local hiking club could prolly walk right in and take it?"
"In the center of the city of Halden there are over 10 tons of highly radioactive waste," Martiniussen told the newspaper. "To get to one of these storage points all you need to do is pass a thin garage door made of aluminum." "It's secured and everything, but if you're serious about buying, hell, the passphrase to give at the door is 'Mullah Krekar sez hey'."
Copyright 2004 by United Press International. Rumors of an upcoming garage sale are prolly unfounded.
Posted by: .com ||
12/11/2004 1:43:12 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Some detail on that high quality of life award they get every year...
#7
Haven't heard that Norwegians are dropping like flies from radiation poisioning. Maybe 'highly radioactive waste' aint that dangerous (assuming you don't eat it, have a mud bath, etc.)
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/11/2004 9:00 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Frank, it keeps the garages nice and toasty in the winter!
Posted by: Darth VAda ||
12/11/2004 9:31 Comments ||
Top||
#10
Wonder over the years, how many Norgies have dropped dead from skin cancer due to sun exposure? The Sun is the nearest continuous nuclear reactor, without containment walls, in the neighborhood.
Posted by: Don ||
12/11/2004 9:57 Comments ||
Top||
#11
Now that my sockets glow in the dark, it's much easier to tell the 1/2" from the 7/16" when I'm under the car.
Posted by: Dar ||
12/11/2004 12:06 Comments ||
Top||
#19
A few years ago, during my arch-Skeptic phase, I investigated a claim that a local resident was keeping a black helicopter in his garage.
It turned out to be just an old AMC Pacer with a tarp over it.
#20
Damn AC you missed the real stooooory! There's nothing scarier than someone who'd keep a Pacer in a garage. Bet it had a sealed atmosphere for the big Grays.
#21
I used to work for AMC. They made retro vehicles, before retro was, well, retro. Always wondered who did their vehicle styling. Thanks for the heads-up, Shipman.
Ukraine's Opposition leader and presidential candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, has reiterated his assertion that the disfiguration of his face is the result of an attempt to kill him by poisoning. "I believe now more and more that what happened to me was an act of a settling of political scores," Mr Yushchenko said. "The aim was to kill me." He says forensic tests may be made public in the next few days that will set the record straight on what has happened to him.
Mr Yushchenko, 50, fell ill on September 6. Four days later he was admitted to the Vienna clinic, where he remained until September 19. When he finally re-emerged weeks later, voters in Ukraine were shocked to see a man who appeared to have aged by at least a decade. Mr Yushchenko, who will now face his pro-Russian opponent and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich on December 26 in a repeat of the disputed November 21 presidential election, vows that the episode is behind him. "I'm in good physical condition and on my way to full recovery," he said. "I give you my word - all data, all analysis concerning my health will be made public."
Vienna treatment
Mr Yushchenko has been treated for the ailment at a clinic in Vienna. The head of that facility, Michael Zimpfer, says that the results of further tests on blood samples taken recently in Kiev will be published today (local time). On Wednesday, Nikolai Korpan, a surgeon who treated Mr Yushchenko in the well-known private clinic, said he and his colleagues were working on three theories, all of which were related to poisoning. "But to this date we have no proof that it really was a case of poisoning," Dr Korpan said. He said that the first of the three theories involved dioxin, or endotoxin poisoning, but he would not elaborate on the two others, citing medical confidentiality. Endotoxin is a toxin synthesised by a bacteria, which is not detectable in the blood or urine as little as just hours after it has found its way into the body. If Mr Yushchenko had indeed been the victim of poisoning "it will probably be very difficult to demonstrate it," Dr Zimpfer said.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
12/11/2004 5:14:48 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Just heard a report(tv)that the poison is dioxen.If so this has to be the luckiest man alive,dioxen is just about the deadliest substance on the planet,if 1 ounce of dioxen is divided evenly among 1 million people,92% of those people will die.
#3
how about a uranium keyfob...might keep him from reproducing?
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/11/2004 9:16 Comments ||
Top||
#4
I think he's kinda muleish Frank, I wouldn't worry. Save your money for the Tie Chelseas Tubes Bribe Fund. She's from a rich family now so I figure it's gonna take 100 million or so. I started the TCTB 8 years ago when a mere million would have done the trick.... But noooooo, everyone thought I was kidding.
With slogans of "Workers of the world--Relax!!!" and "Alarm clocks kill dreams", the Work Less Party is set to field at least three candidates in the next British Columbia election. It should come as no surprise that a political party that advocates working less should first take hold in B.C., the Canadian equivalent of La-La land that is often referred to as British California.
The major plank of the WL (perhaps they should be called "willies") is to bring in a 4-day, 32 hour work week. The party wants to go back to the heady days of the 1950s when robotics were all the rage and people were looking forward to the time when machines took over and the population would have more leisure time. But as the Work Less Party points out, those days never came. We are now all working more while real incomes have declined since the days when a carefree Beaver Cleaver romped happily through the streets of Mayfield.
But not all of the Work Less Party's policies are from the 1950s. According to the party's platform, it is all this work that is responsible for pollution and the destruction of the planet. Working also leads to social decay and too much competition. The WL wants to replace competition with co-operation (where have we heard that before?). Other policies include a greater participation in the arts, as if that is even possible, as well as a tax on luxury goods that pollute. That last policy is a downer--who wants more time off from work if they can't afford a pollution-causing SUV to drive around in?
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: tipper ||
12/11/2004 7:46:08 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I think I'm gonna get the "Alarm Clocks Kill Dreams" tee shirt for my brother, if they have it in XL.
Calling humanity a threat to the planet, Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai urged democratic reform and an end to corporate greed after becoming the first African woman to collect the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday...
Posted by: Anonymoose ||
12/11/2004 10:35:50 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
If humanity is a threat to the planet as she says, why would AIDS be a thing to overcome? Clearly she should be working to spread the virus, block treatments and so forth.
#5
It would be dangerous to the environment to eradicate the humans until the original top predator populations are restored to viable levels across their original ranges. Without the population control accomplished by predator species, prey populations explode, as described by Malthus, leading to range devastation and depopulation. (See: deer in North America, goats in Sub- and Supra-Saharan Africa, rabbits in Australia)
Honestly! What do they teach environmentalists nowadays?!?
#6
We really need to restore the top predator populations since the proliferation of the common scapegoat has reached alarming levels in Washington DC.
#8
This represents the ultimate in self-loathing apologism. Morons who are so obsessed with the preservation of nature that they would suggest removing human life to restore balance epitomize the Quixotic politics of ultra-environmentalists. One can only imagine that they would prefer a school bus full of children plunge off a cliff to avoid running over a rabbit.
I find it striking that wingnuts who spout this sort of nihilistic claptrap nonetheless remain unable to self-actualize their revered doctrine by capping themselves at the earliest opportunity. They lack even the most basic rudiments of leadership.
I guess what this really is must be some misplaced notion of "lebensraum." What these brain-dead navel-gazers actually want is for the rest of humanity to off itself so they no longer have to deal with the great unwashed. Anyone who spews this sort of drivel immediately should be suspected of pushing an elitist agenda.
"Everyone but me is a threat to my happiness."
We've heard this crap before. The Nazis and communists made a career out of spreading such poison. Just because some vacuous nit swaddles this garbage in environmentalist rhetoric doesn't mean it isn't the exact same sort of horseshit.
#10
Quite true TW, most self-proclaimed environmentalists like the fuzzy and cute creatures; the hyena doesn't have too many spokesmen. Those of us who are truly conservationists would like to see a balance of all creatures to best extent possible. Nature and man are part of the same coin.
#11
Maathai said a stream where she used to see frogs and tadpoles as a child 50 years ago had dried up. I'm willing to bet thats because of wells that give people clean drinking water. Nothing in this world is without consequences.
Otherwise, Rooters is now refering to 'climate instability'. Might indicate people have started to notice that the wolf of global warming has failed to materialize and the propagandists feel the need to peg back the rhetoric.
#12
Cyclical weather patterns - why do they hate us?
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/11/2004 20:15 Comments ||
Top||
#13
And the cold water anomaly in the southern oceans, especially in the central Pacific, is still developing strongly and so far unoticed by the MSM. lex, there's blogosphere exclusive here.
Myanmar's ruling military junta announced Saturday that more than 5,000 prisoners have had their sentences suspended and will be freed from various prisons around the country, the third such release in less than a month. A brief announcement on state radio and television evening news programs said a third batch of 5,070 prisoners whose detentions were ruled irrelevant or improper have had their sentences reduced and will be freed. No other details were provided and it was unknown whether any of those to be released were political prisoners. Only a few dozen political prisoners were included in the two earlier releases.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2004 7:41:40 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
The high number of women dying in Sudan from causes linked to pregnancy, childbirth and low prevalence of natal care is of serious concern, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) said on Thursday during its annual country programme review in Khartoum. "With the current gap in primary health facilities and the overall number of people affected by the emergency, the situation requires additional efforts to meet the current needs," Nimal Hettiaratchy, UNFPA representative for Sudan, said in a press statement.
The remarks were made during the annual review of the 2002-2006 country programme of the government of Sudan and UNFPA, which focuses on reproductive health, population and development strategies, and awareness on various population issues. "UNFPA's main goal is the attainment of Millennium Development Goal No. 5 - the reduction of maternal mortality by 75 percent by 2015," Hettiaratchy told the meeting. "In the Sudanese context, this means that the maternal-mortality ratios have to fall down to 178 per 100,000 live births, from the current nationwide average of 509 per 100,000 live births - still one of the highest in the world," the UNFPA official continued.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2004 9:31:03 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
UN troops shut down a militia camp on Thursday in the embattled northeastern district of Ituri in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a UN official said on Thursday. Christophe Boulierac, a spokesman of the UN Mission in the DRC, known as MONUC, said the militia camp was near a transit demobilisation centre that had been set up in the town of Mahagi, to receive fighters from the Forces armees du peuple Congolais (FAPC) militia group. "The operation aimed to force the militiamen out of the camp because they were a threat to demobilised soldiers whom they threatened with death," Boulierac said.
MONUC broke up the camp early on Thursday. It subsequently discovered 15 AK-47 rifles, a rocket, munitions and some documents. "A small number [of militiamen] accepted to leave of the camp and surrender their weapons, the others fled and about ten of them went to the transit camp for demobilised soldiers," Boulierac added. Boulierac said UN Pakistani soldiers were now occupying the militia camp. The Mahagi demobilisation centre was one of five set up to receive soldiers as part of the country's disarmament, demobilisation and reinsertion programme.
MONUC's operation on Thursday came in the wake of allegations on Sunday that child combatants, who had accepted to be demobilised, were executed; that other civilians were also killed; that taxes were being levied illegally; and that there were other violations by FAPC militiamen in another camp in Ndrele, 20 km southeast of Mahagi. It also comes as the public prosecutor is investigating these abuses. According to MONUC, the prosecutor arrived in Ndrele on Wednesday and has begun interviewing some of the accused militiamen. "There are testimonies on executions, on children being used in Ndrele as workers or sexual slaves and the existence of an illegal detention facility," Boulierac said. Boulierac said MONUC had discovered human bones in the dismantled militia camp, but it was unclear if they belonged to one or more persons.
In DRC they could be leftovers from lunch last week. Is anybody missing any pygmies?
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2004 9:20:29 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
via Instapundit.com
Los Altos Hills, CA (PRWEB) December 10, 2004 -- On Tuesday, December 7th, in an ongoing controversy at Foothill College, Political-Science Professor Joseph Woolcock filed a grievance against student Ahmad Al-Qloushi for mentioning Woolcock's name in the media. Don Dorsey, Dean of Student Affairs, summarized the grievance as, "Professor Woolcock feels harrased by your (Al-Qloushi) having mentioned his name to the media."
On Wednesday December 1st, Foothill College Political-Science Professor Joseph Woolcock tried to intimidate student Ahmad Al-Qloushi into seeing a therapist because of a Pro-American essay he wrote in Woolcock's class. The thesis of Al-Qloushi's essay is that the US constitution was a very progressive document, which has contributed to freedom beyond America's borders. Al-Qloushi and the Foothill College Republicans defended that intellectual diversity must be respected on campus, and are lobbying to have the "Academic Bill of Rights" adopted as official policy by the college"s elected Board of Trustees. Professor Woolcock's name was mentioned on numerous websites including www.townhall.com/clog and www.davidlimbaugh.com. "This (Woolcock"s) grievance will not detour us from our goal," said Cori Jenab, Vice-President of Foothill College Republicans. "This grievance ignited a First Amendment rights outrage from the kindling of existing controversy at Foothill College."
"Intellectual diversity must be respected at Foothill College," said Ahmad Al-Qloushi. "This grievance will not detour us from our goal of having Foothill's Board of Trustees pass the "Academic Bill of Rights" as official school policy." Woolcock filed the grievance through an institutional process normally used by students who experience inappropriate behavior on behalf of Foothill teachers such as an "act or threat of intimidation or general harassment." Dorsey was not able to release the case number or text of the grievance at this time.
Posted by: ed ||
12/11/2004 2:36:18 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Typical lib prof - can dish it out but cannot take it. After all, the most dangerous thing to a liar is someone who tells the truth.
#2
I find it hee-hee-larious that all the college Publicans have Arab names.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2004 19:11 Comments ||
Top||
#3
So Woodcock is going to file a grievance, BFD. Then the grievance committee will look into it and they might say, "Al-Qloushi, old boy, you mentioned Woodcock's name in the media, so say you're sorry."
Al-Qloushi will say, "Hokay, sorry Woodcock. Now can I go?"
And the committee will say, "Yes, we feel that justice was done and we can all go. Hey, fellow academics, hey, Woodcock and Al-Qloushi, let's all go down to the local boozer and have a beer, or at least an O'Douls. Wacha say, for brotherly love and all that?"
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/11/2004 19:59 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Woolcock, AP. A "Woodcock" would not be considered a defamation
:-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/11/2004 20:16 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Alaska
I think for that type of guy, woolcock is a better name woodcock
#7
Yeah yeah yeah I thought about that, but I was thinking of this little bird hanging around in the woods, flitting about from the slightest noise.
If we are in that subject area, **ahem** then woolcock would be the right choice. You see, I was just trying to elevate the discussion out of the gutter.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/11/2004 20:35 Comments ||
Top||
#8
You see, I was just trying to elevate the discussion out of the gutter
fine - take it out of my element, huh?
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/11/2004 20:37 Comments ||
Top||
#9
****sigh**** I give up, OK, alright already! Leave the name of this damned LLL academic as Woolcock. Are yeh happy now? Uh, what about Woodchuck?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/11/2004 20:48 Comments ||
Top||
#10
Typical lib prof - can dish it out but cannot take it. After all, the most dangerous thing to a liar is someone who tells the truth.
For background, see here
The Democratic Republic of Congo yesterday accused Rwanda of invading its eastern jungles and pledged to deploy 10,000 troops in response, as the scale of human suffering in the Africa's third largest country was laid bare. A new report found that 1,000 people are dying in Congo every day in the wake of its last war, which ended - on paper at least - with a treaty two years ago and is considered the world's worst conflict since 1945. The turmoil threatened to deepen still further yesterday. If there has been a large-scale incursion by Rwanda, the danger of a new regional war engulfing central African would be acute. An estimated 3.8 million people from a population of 60 million have been killed in six years of fighting, meaning that the conflict dwarfs every other humanitarian emergency, including that in Sudan's Darfur region.
The fighting in this anarchic swathe of Africa has, according to the International Rescue Committee, a New York-based aid agency, created hunger and disease on an unprecedented scale. The mortality survey by the IRC also shows that 500,000 died between January 2003 and April this year. Richard Brennan, one of the report's authors, said: "How many innocent Congolese have to perish before the world pays attention?"
The overwhelming majority of deaths were caused by starvation or disease. The war has wrecked schools and hospitals, leaving millions without the most basic health care. Children have borne the brunt of the suffering. The IRC survey found that Congo's mortality rate for children under the age of five was 70 per cent higher than the African average. The report said that Congo was suffering "by far the deadliest war in the world since World War Two", adding: "International engagement is typically lacking in Congo and hundreds of thousands of innocent people are dying as a result."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: tipper ||
12/11/2004 4:01:33 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#2
unfortunately, except for the "bloody frontier of Islam clashes", I'm suffering a real 'African vs, African' clash attention fatigue. The African countries seem almost beyond help, when I see them allow ZimBobWe to operate as a welcome AU member, I wanna puke
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/11/2004 8:58 Comments ||
Top||
#3
The U.N. is on the case, I'm sure...ZZZZZ...
What do you think the UN should do?
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
12/11/2004 9:06 Comments ||
Top||
#4
no bots/autocommenters, please
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/11/2004 9:18 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Maybe Mike, confess that it can't do a thing and drop all pretense that it has any influence upon the situation.
Posted by: Don ||
12/11/2004 10:02 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Mike what would be the best way to create a more effective and vital UN? Would more money help? Or would a deep seated conviction be better? Do you think losing the powder puff blue would help? Or is the tradition to strong. Let's talk silver patterns now, I am fond of Stratevari, should the UN cafeteria settle on one or spread out the patterns in hope of spreading good cheer? Do you think UN licesne plates are a good thing Mike? Should I be allowed to buy one?
1. Ignore the problem until the NGOs start really screaming. (Already done)
2. Guilt-trip the Europeans into coughing up more money and troops. Settle for extra money in lieu of European troops and hire Angolan Boy Scout troop instead. Pocket difference.
3. Appropriate 40% of funds earmarked for Congo as 'administrative costs'.
4. Hold "Malaise in Congo" conferences in Paris and Brussels (be sure to get generous shopping-discount for conference-goers and spouses).
5. Blame the US for inaction.
6. Repeat until ennui sets in, or NGOs need new fund-raising campaign.
#10
Even if the EU came up with troops (of dubious quality) they would still need Air America to take them to the war zone. The EU does not have a credible air lift or even sea lift capability.
Posted by: Douglas De Bono ||
12/11/2004 15:47 Comments ||
Top||
#11
Hey Mike! Time's money and Life is short! Look! They're easy questions and I'm not the critical sort.
#12
I think all RBers left right and Aris should get together and form a committe to examine a way to start to get ready to make changes in the baseline propostion that the UN is essentialy a pretty damn good way to make a living. With this committee we might, no will, get permanent funding. I nominate MS to chair the self-sustaining committee on getting lotsa money from elsewhere.
#13
Great idea! MS can live off the administrative fees, his son can take kickbacks, and the rest of us can park anywhere we want with diplomatic immunity. Count me in!
Posted by: Tom ||
12/11/2004 17:05 Comments ||
Top||
#14
Even if the EU came up with troops (of dubious quality) they would still need Air America to take them to the war zone. The EU does not have a credible air lift or even sea lift capability.
While there is truth to the latter assertion, the former is not. European troops are good; when compared to nearly all African forces, superior (even the Greeks :p).
The 'quality issue' lies in the chronic UN forces' problems regarding mandate, command and control, and ROE.
#15
"Even if the EU came up with troops (of dubious quality) they would still need Air America to take them to the war zone."
Al Franken owns an airline? Sheesh...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
12/11/2004 17:38 Comments ||
Top||
#16
Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia and Chad had all deployed troops in the country by the close of 1998. The main objective of all the warring parties was to loot Congoâs immense mineral wealth. Gold and diamonds flowed into the coffers of all the governments involved.
So long as there is financial incentive involved, don't count on any of these bloodthirsty parasites giving a hot damn about the cost in terms of human life.
While early colonial influences and their arbitrary national boundaries have done Africa no great favors, the tribal mindset that persists to this day is what continues to cripple the dark continent. Leaders consider their nation's assets to be personal property and act accordingly.
Until the African people cease to cooperate with such corrupt leadership and begin killing these tribal chieftains, nothing is going to change. However brutal it might sound, AIDS is going to end up curing a lot of Africa's problems. The common philandering male (along with a lot of very unfortunate innocent women) will finally be exterminated and a new behavioral profile will emerge for anyone who wants to survive.
Lack of substantial change in African politics has generated a global attention-span fatigue rivaled only by the Palestinian cause. At some point, the outside world must commit to full scale military intervention (the UN does not count) or simply back away slowly and let the meltdown proceed on its own. Only when enough of those who perpetuate stone-age tribal thinking are dead will there be any chance for progress. While I detest the notion of so much innocent life being lost, it represents expectable collateral damage caused by the continuing existence of such malign leadership.
The African people need to begin killing their corrupt leaders or settle for being killed by them. No realistic alternatives exist, short of global powers routinely decapitatng corrupt African governments until the local elitist class is depopulated. When African populations stop cheering on their war-criminal leaders, only then will some sort of progress begin. Until that time, bloodshed on a massive scale is the only thing to expect.
Argonne National Laboratory scientists are revamping an old X-ray technique to study proteins in an attempt to see enough detail to tell if a medicine is working. The technique is called wide-angle X-ray scattering and was previously used to determine the crystalline structures of polymers. When used on proteins, WAXS results are comparable to those provided by X-ray chrystallography and are easier and quicker to obtain. The technique is sensitive enough to tell the difference between a drug that is only sticking to the surface of a protein and may have no effect and a drug that is actually changing the protein's structure and therefore is more likely to be effective. In the past, detecting this difference required the use of several techniques combined. No other previous method has been able to distinguish the difference on its own, or as quickly, the scientists said. The only drawback is the power level required. If they can get past the glow-in-the-dark side effects... Just kidding - this is cool tech.
Posted by: .com ||
12/11/2004 1:57:49 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Set the power on high and you have the Zionist Death Ray.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/11/2004 14:05 Comments ||
Top||
Nearly 2,000 newspaper reports on child sex abuse cases were published in Pakistan during 2003 — a marked increase from last year, revealed a national conference arranged by non-government organisations Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) and SAHIL. The conference titled 'Child Protection: The Citizens' Role and Responsibility' was held at a local hotel on Friday in connection with the International Human Rights Day. Dr Faiza Asgher, the children affairs advisor to the Punjab chief minister, and Ashfa Riaz, the Punjab minister for Human Rights and Women Development, were the chief guests. Asgher said that the Punjab government would urge the federal government to move the Supreme Court against the recent abolition of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2002 by the Lahore High Court. Riaz said that sexual exploitation of children was a social taboo and people needed to overcome their hesitation of admitting or talking about it. She said that the time had come to debate the more horrifying aspects of society.
The speakers said that Pakistani children faced the worst forms of abuse and exploitation and were not being protected by the government. "The fates of homeless children are worse; they are abused, tortured, and often killed by both the police and the public," they said. The recorded figures show that five children are sexually abused everyday, and can only hint the severity of the problem. According to the figures released by SPARC and SAHIL, 1,788 child sex abuse cases (526 boys and 1,262 girls) were reported by the media in 2003, a marked increase from the 679 cases reported in 2002. SPARC national coordinator Anees Jillani said that Pakistan's education policy discriminated different groups and talked about corporal punishments. SAHIL executive director Manizeh Bano said that child abuse would continue to rise unless citizens were educated about it. Eight research papers were presented during the conference by NGOs Save the Children-Sweden, Save the Children-UK, International Labour Organisation, Aahung, Pakistan Pediatric Association, Vision, The Researchers and Punjab University Special Education Department.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2004 11:53:23 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I strongly suspect that the only change is in the level of reporting, not of occurrence. This would mark a significant change in attitude about the acceptability of such behaviour, a hopeful sign in an otherwise highly corrupt society where so many are designated as worthless (women - except for the families of some progressive and powerful men; all poor people; non-Muslims; madrassa students; foreigners who are not terrorists).
An Islamic Sharia court in northern Nigeria has overturned a death sentence imposed on a 29-year-old woman, who gave birth after a divorce and was convicted of adultery. Daso Adamu was acquitted by the upper Sharia court after the judge, Yusuf Suleiman, ruled that her being pregnant was not enough evidence to warrant a sentence that she be stoned to death. "The court faulted the lower court's judgement, saying that since Daso became pregnant within two years of her divorce it was wrong to assume the pregnancy was illegal because there is the possibility that the pregnancy was from her former husband," defence counsel Abdulkadir Suleiman said.
Under the interpretation of Sharia, which is in force in much of northern Nigeria, it is regarded as possible that a "dormant pregnancy" might last up to five years from the end of a marriage. Once a woman is married any sexual relations she conducts with a man other than her husband is considered adultery, even if she has divorced. "The court further argued that her trial in court was improper because she didn't present herself to court but was dragged and tried against her wish," Mr Suleiman said.
Ms Adamu, who has been married five times and is a mother of three, was sentenced to death by stoning last July by a lower Sharia court after she gave birth to her daughter, Dije. She challenged the sentence with the help of a women's rights group, Baobab, which paid for the legal services of the defence counsel. Ms Adamu's acquittal comes one month after 18-year-old Hajara Ibrahim also escaped a death sentence when the Dass upper Sharia court acquitted her of having had sex outside marriage. Ms Adamu was the sixth woman to be sentenced to death for adultery since the state reintroduced the Sharia legal system two years ago, although none of the sentences has yet been carried out. Allahu Fuckbar !
Posted by: God Save The World ||
12/11/2004 5:16:56 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
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.
poisoning. "I believe now more and more that what happened to me was an act of a settling of political scores," Mr Yushchenko said. "The aim was to kill me." He says forensic tests may be made public in the next few days that will set the record straight on what has happened to him. 
Nearly 2,000 newspaper reports on child sex abuse cases were published in Pakistan during 2003 — a marked increase from last year, revealed a national conference arranged by non-government organisations Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) and SAHIL. The conference titled 'Child Protection: The Citizens' Role and Responsibility' was held at a local hotel on Friday in connection with the International Human Rights Day. Dr Faiza Asgher, the children affairs advisor to the Punjab chief minister, and Ashfa Riaz, the Punjab minister for Human Rights and Women Development, were the chief guests. Asgher said that the Punjab government would urge the federal government to move the Supreme Court against the recent abolition of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2002 by the Lahore High Court. Riaz said that sexual exploitation of children was a social taboo and people needed to overcome their hesitation of admitting or talking about it. She said that the time had come to debate the more horrifying aspects of society. 
