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10 dead in Mosul suicide bombings
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-Short Attention Span Theater-
"Got it bad, got it bad, got it bad/I'm hot for teacher!"
TRYST TEACHER'S SHAME
by David Andreatta, NY Post.
EFL.
Life imitates old Van Halen single . . . .

A Manhattan high-school teacher slept with her student for months and got pregnant with his child — but gave him only a barely passing 65 in social-studies class, according to a bombshell report obtained by The Post. The 18-year-old boy toy
[ouch!]
from the HS for Health Professions and Human Services shrugged off the grade, but couldn't forgive his teacher, Rhianna Ellis, 25, for reneging on her promise to abort the pregnancy.
He's attending a vocational school for future apparatchiks of the nanny state. Looks like he's got the liberal mindset down pat already.
The details of the sordid 10-month affair — which included romps at a Queens motel and "one last time" in Ellis' Queens home — were chronicled in a recent letter from Special Schools Investigator Richard Condon to Chancellor Joel Klein. . . . The teen, whom investigators describe only as "Humpy" "the male equivalent of Nabokov's 'Lolita'" "Student B," said he had sex with Ellis four times a week at the onset of their affair in August 2003 — settling for three times a week as the relationship wound down in March 2004, according to the letter. By the end of May, the student had broken up with his teacher because she was "jealous, possessive and paranoid," but not before engaging in a final tryst at her home — with disastrous consequences. The student told probers that Ellis called him in June to tell him that she was pregnant with his child, investigators said. When he blew up in anger and suggested she have an abortion, Ellis allegedly agreed. By last fall, however, Ellis was five months pregnant, and in October filed for an unpaid "restoration of health" sabbatical, investigators said. . . . The teen first became smitten with Ellis when she was his teacher in the 10th grade, telling investigators that she was "hot," . . .
No, she's not. There's a picture accompanying the article. Call it youthful misjudgment.
Posted by: Mike || 04/13/2005 3:29:56 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Well, when a teenager's hormones get percolating just about anything looks good. Although somebody who gets a 65 in social sciences isn't likely to have a triple-digit IQ.
Posted by: Jonathan || 04/13/2005 15:48 Comments || Top||

#2  98.6? Check.
Femalian? Check.
Standard-issue plumbing? Check.
Teenaged male? Check.
Alive? Check.

Surprise meter at zero, lol!

Picture not showing up now, for me, anyway...
here's the link to it.
Posted by: .com || 04/13/2005 16:05 Comments || Top||

#3  Teen boy,anything warm and wet.Wonder if he has to shave his palm?
Posted by: raptor || 04/13/2005 16:08 Comments || Top||

#4  With a 65 in social sciences, I'm baffled how he figured out it was a female. Had to look twice myself.
Posted by: BH || 04/13/2005 16:08 Comments || Top||

#5  I'd bet she cleans up well. The picture looks like it was definitely her casual day.
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 04/13/2005 16:13 Comments || Top||

#6  I think she blinded me.
Posted by: Chuck Simmins || 04/13/2005 16:23 Comments || Top||

#7  That's as cleaned up as she probably gets. Only serious testosterone posioning would cause a normal young male to consider this chubby Olive Oil chick "hot."
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) || 04/13/2005 16:26 Comments || Top||

#8  At least she's not Andrea Dworkin ugly, but then again, who is?
Posted by: tu3031 || 04/13/2005 16:39 Comments || Top||

#9  Now the kid's on the hook for 60% of his income in child support for the next 18 years. Way to screw up your life, buddy.
Posted by: gromky || 04/13/2005 16:51 Comments || Top||

#10  ..elling investigators that she was "hot," . . .

I don't see anything remarkable there. I wonder if the investigators had to hold back laughter upon hearing the "hot" label?
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 04/13/2005 17:02 Comments || Top||

#11  Well, on the "hot" issue - on the picture
a. She's just had a baby - her figure is out of whack. Pregnancy does that.
b. She's got glasses on and her hair is up
c. Her expression is not a flattering one.
d. She could well "clean up nice", or may have pre-baby.
Posted by: buwaya || 04/13/2005 17:45 Comments || Top||

#12  Was that photo link to the teacher or to the Deter Sprockets fan club website?
Posted by: Capsu78 || 04/13/2005 19:00 Comments || Top||

#13  Dave D.?
Frank?

Don't make me say it, ima married.
Posted by: Sssssshipman || 04/13/2005 19:44 Comments || Top||


Startling New Underground Group Spreads Lack of Panic!
NOT Scrappleface!
Jon Carroll
Friday, April 8, 2005
The following is the first communique from a group calling itself Unitarian Jihad. It was sent to me at The Chronicle via an anonymous spam remailer. I have no idea whether other news organizations have received this communique, and, if so, why they have not chosen to print it. Perhaps they fear starting a panic. I feel strongly that the truth, no matter how alarming, trivial or disgusting, must always be told. I am pleased to report that the words below are at least not disgusting:
Greetings to the Imprisoned Citizens of the United States. We are Unitarian Jihad. There is only God, unless there is more than one God. The vote of our God subcommittee is 10-8 in favor of one God, with two abstentions. Brother Flaming Sword of Moderation noted the possibility of there being no God at all, and his objection was noted with love by the secretary.
Greetings to the Imprisoned Citizens of the United States! Too long has your attention been waylaid by the bright baubles of extremist thought. My attention seems to be waylaid by the bright baubles of Terri HatcherToo long have fundamentalist yahoos Who you callin a yahoo? of all religions (except Buddhism -- 14-5 vote, no abstentions, fundamentalism subcommittee) made your head hurt. Too long have you been buffeted by angry people who think that God talks to them. You have a right to your moderation! You have the power to be calm! We will use the IED of truth to explode the SUV of dogmatic expression!
People of the United States, why is everyone yelling at you??? Whatever happened to ... you know, everything? Why is the news dominated by nutballs saying that the Ten Commandments have to be tattooed inside the eyelids of every American, or that Allah has told them to kill Americans in order to rid the world of Satan, or that Yahweh has instructed them to go live wherever they feel like, or that Shiva thinks bombing mosques is a great idea? Sister Immaculate Dagger of Peace notes for the record that we mean no disrespect to Jews, Muslims, Christians or Hindus. Referred back to the committee of the whole for further discussion.
We are Unitarian Jihad. We are everywhere. We have not been born again, nor have we sworn a blood oath. We do not think that God cares what we read, what we eat or whom we sleep with. Brother Neutron Bomb of Serenity notes for the record that he does not have a moral code but is nevertheless a good person, and Unexalted Leader Garrote of Forgiveness stipulates that Brother Neutron Bomb of Serenity is a good person, and this is to be reflected in the minutes.
Beware! Unless you people shut up and begin acting like grown-ups with brains enough to understand the difference between political belief and personal faith, the Unitarian Jihad will begin a series of terrorist-like actions. We will take over television studios, kidnap so-called commentators and broadcast calm, well-reasoned discussions of the issues of the day. We will not try for "balance" by hiring fruitcakes; we will try for balance by hiring non-ideologues who have carefully thought through the issues.
We are Unitarian Jihad. We will appear in public places and require people to shake hands with each other. (Sister Hand Grenade of Love suggested that we institute a terror regime of mandatory hugging, but her motion was not formally introduced because of lack of a quorum.) We will require all lobbyists, spokesmen and campaign managers to dress like trout in public. Televangelists will be forced to take jobs as Xerox repair specialists. Demagogues of all stripes will be required to read Proust out loud in prisons. Kinda harsh, don't you think?We are Unitarian Jihad, and our motto is: "Sincerity is not enough." We have heard from enough sincere people to last a lifetime already. Just because you believe it's true doesn't make it true. Just because your motives are pure doesn't mean you are not doing harm. Get a dog, or comfort someone in a nursing home, or just feed the birds in the park. Play basketball. Lighten up. The world is not out to get you, except in the sense that the world is out to get everyone. The World is out to get me? Where oh where can I hide?
Brother Gatling Gun of Patience notes that he's pretty sure the world is out to get him because everyone laughs when he says he is a Unitarian. There were murmurs of assent around the room, and someone suggested that we buy some Congress members and really stick it to the Baptists. But this was deemed against Revolutionary Principles, and Brother Gatling Gun of Patience was remanded to the Sunday Flowers and Banners committee.
People of the United States! We are Unitarian Jihad! We can strike without warning. Pockets of reasonableness and harmony will appear as if from nowhere! Nice people will run the government again! There will be coffee and cookies in the Gandhi Room after the revolution.
Fun to read, anyway

Posted by: Deacon Blues || 04/13/2005 12:14:41 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Dopey me, I forgot the link. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/04/08/DDG27BCFLG1.DTL
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 04/13/2005 13:38 Comments || Top||

#2  This would be funny if being against starving a brain-damaged woman to death wasn't sufficient qualification to get you labeled as a taliban-wannabe.
Posted by: Phil Fraering || 04/13/2005 13:59 Comments || Top||


ASSISTANCE REQUESTED
Haven't seen this variant before ...
Greetings, I am Prince Fayad W. Bolkiah, the eldest son of Prince Jefri Bolkiah,former Finance Minister of Brunei, the tiny oil-rich sultanate on the northern coast of the island of Borneo in eastern Asia.I will save your time by not amplifying my extended royal family history,which has already been disseminated by the international media during the controversial dispute that erupted between my father and his step brother,the sultan of Brunei Sheik Muda Hassanal Bolkiah.

As you may know from the international media,the sultan had accused my father of financial mismanagement and impropriety of US$14.8 Billion dollars. This was as a result of the Asian financial crisis that made my father company Amedeo Development Company and government owned Brunei Investment Company to be declared bankrupt during his tenure in office.However my father was kept under house arrest, his bank accounts and private properties including a crude oil export refinery were later confiscated by the sultanate.

Furthermore, during this unfortunate period i was advised to evacuate my immediate family outside the sultanate to avoid further prosecution from the sultan and his security operatives, but before I could do that I was placed under house arrest by the Sultan and i have no access to a phone but I have a Palm V hand-held computer from which I am sending you this mail.

Before my Incaceration, I went ahead to dispatch the sum of Fifty Eight Million Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars US$58.5 Million in cash under special arrangement into the custody of a Private security and Trustee company for safe keeping abroad. Hence I seek your good assistance to invest these funds into profitable investment in your country to facilitate future survival for my family abroad.

I have decided to offer 10% of these funds to you as compensation for your strong cooperation. Please I count on your absolute confidentiality,transparency and trust while looking forward to your prompt reply towards a swift conclusion of this business transaction.

I remain yours sincerely, Prince Fayad .W. Bolkiah Brunei Darussalam.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 04/13/2005 1:52:06 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...the sultan had accused my father of financial mismanagement and impropriety of US$14.8 Billion dollars.

Before my Incaceration, I went ahead to dispatch the sum of...US$58.5 Million in cash under special arrangement into the custody of a Private security and Trustee company for safe keeping abroad.

Ah, so the charges were true, then?
Posted by: Angie Schultz || 04/13/2005 12:21 Comments || Top||

#2  Jefri Bolkiah?

I guess Jello Biafra was already taken.
Posted by: Xbalanke || 04/13/2005 13:04 Comments || Top||

#3  hiya prince!
sory in heer the sultan man got ya down. ima never met any sultan before? your ever heer of ricky henderson before? we was used to call him sultan of swat. dire straits ima thinkin is sultan of swing or sumthin to but im never met them. family fites are always trublesum but ifn you pray about it things wurk out. you try prayin on this? jesus heers you prayers. just looker for a kingdom hall near you and theyn show you how. but ifn that dont help ima know a guy who is can help you with you oil refinery. his name in dick chainey. mebbe you herd of him before. as for the cash you can male me a chek and im helper you get yer money again. jus remeber to tithe 10% at the church fer jesus helpin you get the money.
sincerely,
muckford doo
Another one of Mucki's answers to this scam.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 04/13/2005 13:45 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Signs and Portents, part 183
More than 25,000 panicked residents have been evacuated from the slopes of a volcano on Indonesia's Sumatra island and officials raised the alert level Wednesday as the mountain's activity intensified. The heightened rumbling of Mount Talang has coincided with a string of moderate earthquakes on Sumatra, which is still recovering from a massive Dec. 26 quake and tsunami that killed nearly 130,000 people in Aceh province to the north. "The status of Mount Talang is now at top alert," Surono, a vulcanologist from the Directorate of Vulcanology and Geophysics in the Java city of Bandung, told Reuters. Local officials said 26,000 people had been evacuated from the slopes and areas around the 2,690 meter (9,825 ft) volcano in West Sumatra province, adding that number was likely to rise.
Posted by: God Save The World || 04/13/2005 12:12:38 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A volcano on Java has also become active. Over the last 40 years or so, there has been a marked uptrend in volcanic activity. The number of eruption days and the volume of volcanic emissions is about double the level 50 years ago. No one knows whether this is chance variation or a long term trend.
Posted by: phil_b || 04/13/2005 5:40 Comments || Top||

#2  Isn't there something about "rumors and wars of rumors" on the checklist?
Posted by: Xbalanke || 04/13/2005 11:15 Comments || Top||

#3  Krakatau (Krakatoa) which lies between Sumatra and Java is also showing signs of becoming active. This could get interesting.
Posted by: phil_b || 04/13/2005 18:29 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Saudi Arabia: Men 'Behaving Like Women' Face Flogging
In sentencing more than 100 men to imprisonment and flogging after unfair trials for reputed homosexual conduct, Saudi Arabia has advertised its contempt for the basic rights to privacy, fair trials and freedom from torture, Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists said today. Security police arrested the men on March 10 at a private party held in a rented hall in Jeddah. The government-affiliated newspaper Al-Wifaq reported that the men at the party were dancing and "behaving like women."

"Prosecuting and imprisoning people for homosexual conduct are flagrant human rights violations," said Scott Long, director of Human Rights Watch's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program. "Subjecting the victims to floggings is torture, pure and simple." On or about March 26, a Jeddah court, meeting in a closed session in which defense attorneys were excluded, sentenced 31 of the men to prison for six months to one year, and to 200 lashes each, for unreported offenses. Four other men received two years' imprisonment and 2,000 lashes. Police released more than 70 of the men not long after their initial arrest; reports in the Saudi press suggested that personal contacts with the government had intervened on their behalf. However, on April 3, police summoned the 70 men back to a local police station and informed them that they had been sentenced to one year's imprisonment.

Shari'a law, as interpreted and enforced in Saudi Arabia, allows sentences ranging from imprisonment and flogging to death for "deviant sexual behavior." Al-Wifaq claimed that the men seized at the gathering had been holding a "gay wedding." One friend of an arrested man denied this to Human Rights Watch, saying the gathering was a birthday party. The newspaper's assertion echoed claims made by Egyptian media that the 2001 "Queen Boat" raid in Cairo, in which security forces arrested and tortured dozens, was prompted by a wedding between two men. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which reflects customary international law, prohibits interference with the right to privacy and unfair trials. The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment-to which Saudi Arabia is a party-prohibits the use of flogging as a punishment. "These convictions and sentences are unacceptable-and imposing them based on the victims' real or perceived sexual orientation, or their consensual sexual conduct, is worse," said Nicholas Howen, secretary-general of the International Commission of Jurists. "Saudi Arabia is a member of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. We call on the government to stop these practices, which disregard basic principles of human rights law that all members of the Commission should uphold."

"These trials violate the right to privacy, and make a mockery of the rule of law," said Long. "The brutal sentences call into question the Saudi government's recent promises of reform."
Posted by: Anonymoose || 04/13/2005 6:36:49 PM || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Republican values spreading to the middle east
Posted by: jurisesq || 04/13/2005 18:57 Comments || Top||

#2  Don't even think about it PD.
Posted by: Shipman || 04/13/2005 19:27 Comments || Top||

#3  Nice try at transferrance, but you have much larger problems than Republicans in your little corner of the world. What are statistics for muslim rape of women in your country. Has it passed the 70% level like Denmark? Or is it worse, like in Sweden? Well get used to it slave, for it is your future. Enjoy what's little time you have left to be a clueless prick before your head is on the chopping block. Maybe if you are a good dhimmi, they will just cut off your balls and make you a eunuch f*ckslave.
Posted by: ed || 04/13/2005 19:41 Comments || Top||


Clerics Speak Out Against Forced Marriage
Romance comes to Arabia?
Saudi clerics took an unprecedented stand Tuesday against forcing women into marriage, saying that fathers who try to force their daughters to marry should be jailed until they change their minds. The kingdom's mufti, Sheik Abdul-Aziz bin Al al-Sheik, who has ministerial rank, issued a statement saying the board of top clerics had ruled that coercing women into marriage is "a major injustice" and "un-Islamic."

"Fathers who insist on making their daughters marry those they do not desire should be punished by imprisonment, and should not be released until they change their minds," al-Sheik said. According to Saudi newspapers, about half of all marriages end in divorce, and many believe the high number of forced marriages is to blame. The status and restrictions on Saudi women have long provoked criticism. Women cannot drive a car, mix with men in public, or leave home without covering themselves from head to toe. A Saudi woman typically marries the person her family chooses. As part of a recent campaign of limited reform, the authorities have taken steps toward giving women more rights and jobs. However, women are barred from running or voting in this year's landmark municipal elections.
Posted by: Fred || 04/13/2005 00:00:00 AM || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:


China-Japan-Koreas
Anti-Pollution Riot In China
After antipollution riots broke out in a village in the eastern province of Zhejiang earlier this week, witnesses said Wednesday that the local people had taken control of the scene and had no intention of surrendering to the police.
Thousand took part in the rioting last Sunday, overturning police cars and driving away officers who were trying to stop elderly villagers from protesting against pollution from nearby factories.
Police officers outside the village were reportedly blocking reporters from entering the scene, but local people reached by telephone said villagers controlled the riot area.
"The villagers will not give up if there is no concrete action to move the factories away," said a villager named Lu, who witnessed part of the confrontation and refused to give his full name. "The crowd is growing. There are at least 50,000 or 60,000 people." Lu said two elderly women had been wounded when a police vehicle ran them over.
Villagers said they had tried in vain for two years to curb pollution from chemical plants in a nearby industrial park, and had sent representatives to both Beijing and the provincial capital.
The state-controlled media blamed local agitators for the riot.
N.B.: Riots in China are odd affairs, often complaints to the central government that local government is ignoring central government edicts.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 04/13/2005 9:39:20 PM || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:


Belmont Club: Taiwan and China
(This is a copy of content currently on the new site which is unavailable due to the outage)

James Dunnigan at the Strategy Page discusses the idea of an "out of the blue" (OOTB) attack by China on Taiwan.

What this means is that, during what appears to be peacetime maneuvers, the troops involved will suddenly move against a nearby nation and invade. ... The OOTB was most noticeably used, and successfully at that, when the Russian trained Egyptian army surprised the Israelis and recaptured the Suez canal in 1973. ... if the Chinese could get control of the air over Taiwan for a day or so, three Chinese airborne divisions could be dropped on Taiwan as well. Taiwan has always expected assistance from the U.S. Navy and Air Force. But without advance warning to get a carrier or two into the area, and a few hundred U.S. Air Force planes alerted for movement to Taiwan, Japan and Guam, the American assistance would be too late.

An OOTB attack necessarily trades velocity for mass. By compressing decisive operations within a very short time span China puts aside its greatest asset, which is numerical superiority. The total force China can immediately put ashore is limited by its amphibious lift: one heavy division plus up to four light divisions.

.... wander over and read the whole thing
Posted by: 3dc || 04/13/2005 6:05:23 PM || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:


Fifth Column
Reuters admits 'terrible quality' E-mail from managing editor sparks anger among reporters
Reuters, the news agency which bars its reporters from using the word "terrorist" in stories, is in turmoil following an e-mail from its global managing editor lamenting "terrible quality problems" at the wire service.
"Our content platform is burning," wrote David Schlesinger in a memo intended for 10 senior managers, but was read by thousands of employees in the company's daily briefing. "Our news is perceived as not having enough insight; our data is perceived as having terrible quality problems. Both news and data are not nearly the differentiating factors in Reuters' offering that they should be, that they could be, that they need to be."
The memo continued to say the group had a "web of inefficient and duplicative technology."
After its initial distribution April 6, Schlesinger sent out a follow-up, stating, "Due to a misunderstanding, a note I wrote intended to stimulate discussion among a small group of colleagues was published for a short while on Daily Briefing."
"We're angry and perplexed," one Reuters staffer told the New York Post. "We're in the midst of contract negotiations, why would [Schlesinger] want to be telling the troops at this delicate time that they're all doing a crappy job?"
The last pay increase at Reuters was in February 2002, and the Newspaper Guild has been working without a contract at Reuters since February 2003.
Some reporters are now calling for the ouster of Schlesinger. Yesterday, the National Union of Journalists passed a nearly unanimous motion stating: "This chapel believes that the note written by David Schlesinger ... makes his position as global managing editor untenable. It's particularly offensive for him to denigrate his staff at a time when Reuters journalists are risking their lives in many countries to provide outstanding coverage."
A Reuters spokeswoman called the NUJ motion "ridiculous."
Schlesinger himself told the Guardian newspaper in Britain that "quite a bit" of the reaction he received was "supportive."
"They saw it for what it was, an attempt to provoke a small group of people ... into thinking about how we should improve for the future," he said.
He denied his comments denigrated Reuters, saying "We are very, very good in a number of the things we do ... but we are certainly not perfect."
One senior editor told FreelanceUK: "A lot of what he is saying is true. However, how it was expressed shows that the problems we have in our writing go right to the top."
The London-based news agency which also has offices in New York's Times Square came under fire shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. when it instituted a policy on labeling violent extremists.
Stephen Jukes, Reuters' global head of news, decreed that the wire service's 2,500 reporters shouldn't use the word "terrorist" unless in a direct quote.
"We all know that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter and that Reuters upholds the principle that we do not use the word terrorist," Jukes wrote in an internal memo. "To be frank, it adds little to call the attack on the World Trade Center a terrorist attack."
Attempting to explain his values-neutral approach, Jukes added: "We're trying to treat everyone on a level playing field, however tragic it's been and however awful and cataclysmic for the American people and people around the world."
Schlesinger echoed those comments, telling the New York Times, "Our editorial policy is that we don't use emotive words when labeling someone."
Posted by: Anonymoose || 04/13/2005 8:28:08 PM || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "why would [Schlesinger] want to be telling the troops at this delicate time that they’re all doing a crappy job"

Maybe because they ARE doing a crappy job? Heloooo?!!
Posted by: Glereper Craviter7929 || 04/13/2005 20:57 Comments || Top||

#2  Lol, GC!

Saying Rooters has a "quality" problem is a scream. Water, wet. Etc.
Posted by: .com || 04/13/2005 21:09 Comments || Top||

#3  This is Scrappleface, right?

How can you be "values-neutral" and still talk about having a "principle" of not using the word "terrorist"? In a values-neutral world, aren't wire services that use the word "terrorist" just as good as wires services that don't?
Posted by: Matt || 04/13/2005 22:01 Comments || Top||

#4  Another legacy media dinosaur on its way to oblivion.

Would Reuters be worth buying out (by Yahoo or Google or a blog/new media giant of the future)? Where exactly is the source of value in their operations?
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) || 04/13/2005 22:26 Comments || Top||

#5  "We’re angry and perplexed," one Reuters staffer told the New York Post. "We’re in the midst of contract negotiations, why would [Schlesinger] want to be telling the troops at this delicate time that they’re all doing a crappy job?"

Odd. I've never seen Reuters being the least bit reluctant to tell REAL troops they're doing a lousy job for a lousy cause. Particularly when that's not true.
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 04/13/2005 22:30 Comments || Top||


Great White North
Canada Collapsing In Liberal Chaos And Despair?
Posted by: Anonymoose || 04/13/2005 12:54 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The link is missing a couple of characters (...p3).

I'm not sure Alberta would want to join the US, but it is a nice piece all the same.
Posted by: eLarson || 04/13/2005 13:40 Comments || Top||

#2  And the good news keeps on coming. A Raving Moonbat Troll Alert should be issued forthwith!
Posted by: .com || 04/13/2005 13:45 Comments || Top||

#3  http://jewishworldreview.com/0405/jkelly041305.php3

Sorry, my fault.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 04/13/2005 14:04 Comments || Top||

#4  A buncha hosers, eh?
Posted by: badanov || 04/13/2005 14:06 Comments || Top||

#5  Let Quebec secede already!

They don't think of themselves as Canadian anyway.

Let them go - hell, encourage them to go - and let them see how they like being a sovereign nation without the rest of the Canadian teat to suck on.

Then close our border with them and treat them as the hostile nation they are.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 04/13/2005 14:30 Comments || Top||

#6  Two can play the secession game. If Quebec can secede from the Canadian federation by a simple majority vote, so could Alberta. Albertans might well choose to leave a crumbling nation where they are made fun of for the greatest nation on earth, where they would be welcomed.
In the not too distant future we may have on our northern border a series of Canuckistans, and our 51st state.


Texas-Oklahoma of the North,

Quebec :

Grenouille d'Ouest!

Alberta :

Welcome brother!

If Alberta seceeded from Canada, and joined the US, how would their Senators, and congressman get around the residency requirement?

How would Brian Harper feel about a move from leader of the "LOYAL OPPOSITION" of Canada to one of 102 Seantors? What about the 4 or 5 congressmen they would get?
Posted by: BigEd || 04/13/2005 15:43 Comments || Top||

#7  Bring 'em in. Oil, Banff, self-reliant and entrepreneurial people: cool.
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) || 04/13/2005 16:06 Comments || Top||

#8  "If Alberta seceeded from Canada, and joined the US, how would their Senators, and congressman get around the residency requirement?"

No sweat - it's all handled in the Statehood Process - briefly described here - and many states have unique provisions, such as Texas owning its offshore mineral rights, etc. There's even a movement in the insanely Blue Hawaii claiming that the process was handled fraudulently.
Posted by: .com || 04/13/2005 16:16 Comments || Top||

#9  How about Yukon, NW Terrs, Manitoba and Saskatchewan while we're at it?
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) || 04/13/2005 16:17 Comments || Top||

#10  Link and addy still will not work(that's ok I got the drift).Would that include the Yukon,either way come on in,supper will be ready in a bit.Would you like a beer.
Posted by: raptor || 04/13/2005 16:20 Comments || Top||

#11  Moosehead for me, Raptor. Like, thanks, eh?
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) || 04/13/2005 16:24 Comments || Top||

#12  Whatever that guy is smoking I want some. I don't know one Canadian who would consider making any part of their territory part of the US.

Whatever political problems the Canadians have, and they have plenty right now, will have a Canadian solution. The US should keep it's mouth shut and hands to it's self.

Quebec is just bad French. Whatever is needed to keep them part of the Dominion, the other provinces politicians will do. Just look at past history. Thats not the best solution but that is the way it will be.

Canadian conservatives are more like Texas, Oklahoma or Louisiana Democrats. Not sure I really would want them in Congress or the Senate.

How do I know this? I interact with at least one Canadian everyday. They are from Alberta and British Columbia. I mean everyday. Weekends included.

This guy is smoking something funny.
Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom || 04/13/2005 16:38 Comments || Top||

#13  How would it work. Each Province becomes a state? That would lead to a lot of political power for the Great White North but considering they probably each have larger populations than a few US states I don't think it's unfair. Or a couple could be lumped into a state? Or all that wish to join could become a single state.

Or would each province cut their own deal.

And then would we make them stay as a territory for awhile? It's not as if they'd have much trouble assimilating (I know many Canadians probably cringe to read that) but a grace period to phase out the money and adjust the laws would probably be useful.

I'd love Canada to join the union as long as they left Quebec behind.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 04/13/2005 16:53 Comments || Top||

#14  I’m a dual US and Canadian citizen currently residing in Edmonton, Alberta. Just to get things out before I say my observations, my loyalties are with the US and I plan on moving back this summer. I think this article overstates the impact that this inquiry has and the resilience of the Liberal Party and how entrenched and powerful it is within Canada.

First things first, Alberta really isn’t as close to Texas as the author lets on. Edmonton is a very left-wing city and has generally supported the Liberals in the past. Calgary is another matter entirely and they’ve always supported conservative candidates. Both cities are about a million people each and the population outside those two metro areas is pretty much negligible, but they’re farmers, so you can assume they’d support the Conservatives. So, you have Alberta which is generally conservative, but not overwhelmingly so -- only by a small margin.

Secondly, this scandal has made big news, but hasn’t made that huge an impact on people’s minds. Sure, there are a lot of editorials scandalizing the whole thing, but you see a lot of papers actually supporting the Liberal Party, some with the audacity to use the “politics is dirty, but they did the right thing” defense to excuse this scandal. That alone shows how ingrained and supported this party is. You have a case of obvious and inexcusable fraud, but they still whitewash it.

And believe me, there are more “programs” that are probably even worse. I’m sure if there’s ever an investigation into the “gun registry” program, you’d find that it’s even worse than adscam. This is where the Liberal government proposed to spend something like $100 million on a gun-registry system, but the whole thing cost $2 billion.

Finally, there is no way in Hell the Liberal Party would ever be knocked out of the government if there was another election. The Conservative Party only has support in Calgary and the rural areas of the country. Toronto, where the majority of the votes lie, is very pro-Liberal. Quebec will vote Bloc (and they’ll never separate, even if them leaving would do the country a world of good, because they’d lose all the money they’d get in transfer payments). BC will probably split the vote between the Liberals and NDP (which is the socialist party). The Atlantic Provinces will be much the same as BC.

While many Canadians are outraged over this, the majority polled don’t want new elections and want to “wait the judicial process out”. Also, most Canadians polled said they’d vote for the Liberals anyways. Toronto is where the votes and influence are and they still overwhelmingly support the Liberals according to the latest polls.

And never underestimate the Liberal Party’s ability to play dirty politics; it’s their area of expertise. Last election (I voted Conservative, by the way), they were trailing in the polls until about a week before the elections. This is when the smear campaign came in. Not to mention the bombardment of anti-Americanism that was so pervasive. I remember Paul Martin saying that he wouldn’t do “American-style” tax-cuts or implement an “American-style” healthcare system, but that the Conservative Party would. That resonated with the voters and the Liberals ended up winning, albeit with a minority government. I’m sure they’ll play this angle even more this time around. Anti-Americanism is quite the rage in Canada at the moment.
Posted by: bonanzabucks || 04/13/2005 17:24 Comments || Top||

#15  An empty vessel defines itself by negation.
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) || 04/13/2005 17:26 Comments || Top||

#16  My favorite political slogan is from a few yrs ago,when Chretien supporters were going around saying "better the crook,than the fascist."

While anti-Americanism will play well for a while,there is the question of what happens when Americans opinion of Canada changes? Up til now most Americans opinion of Canada has been pretty good-it's like a distant relative,like us but w/a few quirks-eh? But more and more Canada looks like a banana republic,and is becoming a laughingstock to Americans. Trying to suppress the news,corruption on a massive scale,the bank involved so deeply in UN/Iraq messes,medical patients fleeing to US to get treated,it's taking a toll of Canad's rep. If ordinary Americans start holding Canada in contempt,how will that reverberate among the millions of Canadians who winter in Florida and elsewhere?
Posted by: Stephen || 04/13/2005 19:16 Comments || Top||

#17  If Canada broke up, the Republicans would be insane to accept any part of Canada into the US. It would simply create new blue states, even bluer than MA. As long as there's a Republican majority in Congress, it wouldn't happen. Now if New England wanted to JOIN Canada ...
Posted by: DMFD || 04/13/2005 19:19 Comments || Top||

#18  Gotta agree with SPoD and DMFD.
Posted by: too true || 04/13/2005 19:30 Comments || Top||

#19  Up til now most Americans opinion of Canada has been pretty good-it's like a distant relative,like us but w/a few quirks-eh?

Distant relative? No Way! More like our younger bachelor brother who has lived way too long in Ft. Lauderdale.
Posted by: Sssssshipman || 04/13/2005 19:54 Comments || Top||

#20  goodn have ya back ship. :)
Posted by: muck4doo || 04/13/2005 20:23 Comments || Top||

#21  My favorite political slogan is from a few yrs ago,when Chretien supporters were going around saying "better the crook,than the fascist."

And that’s a shame people thought this way because Chretien absolutely ruined this country. Ten years ago, it was a great place to be. Ten years of his rule has made this country an embarrassment. I don’t think Martin is that bad, but he has such the huge manure pile that Chretien made to clean up. If he was in a better political situation (i.e. majority government), you’d see less hostility towards the US.

While anti-Americanism will play well for a while,there is the question of what happens when Americans opinion of Canada changes? Up til now most Americans opinion of Canada has been pretty good-it's like a distant relative,like us but w/a few quirks-eh? But more and more Canada looks like a banana republic,and is becoming a laughingstock to Americans. Trying to suppress the news,corruption on a massive scale,the bank involved so deeply in UN/Iraq messes,medical patients fleeing to US to get treated,it's taking a toll of Canad's rep. If ordinary Americans start holding Canada in contempt,how will that reverberate among the millions of Canadians who winter in Florida and elsewhere?

Thing is that anti-Americanism has always been big here, even before Dubya got into office. I grew up experiencing it. This is something that’s innate to many Canadians and it’s like a way of defining themselves. That’s how insecure people are up here.

Actually, I’m hearing that there’s growing antipathy towards Canadians back home. And it’s about time too. If Americans knew what their distant “cousins” really thought of them, I doubt they’d still consider them family. Especially since most Canadians would do anything, and even take the other side, just to differentiate themselves. Canada needs a good kick in the ass to get back to reality and softening export sales to the US, which essentially runs the Canadian economy, would be this kick.
Posted by: bonanzabucks || 04/13/2005 22:10 Comments || Top||

#22  I consider Canadians "family" in the same sense that Michael considered Freddo family.
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) || 04/13/2005 22:22 Comments || Top||

#23  Let me be the first to say here, Welcome home, bonanzabucks! And thanks for the perspective. My Canadian friends here in the Midwest hope never to be sent back home, but they are giving up on old friends up North who refuse to see beyond the cozy parochialism and comfortable stereotypes you describe.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/13/2005 22:32 Comments || Top||

#24  Rantburg has a way of opening new mental horizons. The idea of encouraging Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine to join Canada is brilliant. Maybe we could convince them to take NYC and New Jersey as a package deal. Hillary could be the next PM of Canada, the first one with measurable testosterone levels since Mulroney.
Posted by: RWV || 04/13/2005 23:37 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
AIM Says "Follow the Money" to George Soros And One-Worlders Against John Bolton
WASHINGTON -- The pro-world government group known as Citizens for Global Solutions has given campaign contributions to four Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee now opposing John Bolton's nomination as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. In addition, according to Accuracy in Media (AIM), billionaire currency manipulator George Soros made financial contributions to six of eight Democratic members of the committee.
In the words of Gomer Pyle, "Surprise, surprise, surprise!"
"Reporters like to say they 'follow the money' in political stories," said AIM editor Cliff Kincaid, "but they've ignored the financial facts that may help explain why liberals on the Foreign Relations Committee are opposing Bolton."
Although another reason could be they just hate George Bush and everything he stands for
AIM's review of Federal Election Commission (FEC) data shows that a political action committee associated with Citizens for Global Solutions contributed financially to Foreign Relations Committee members Senators Barbara Boxer, Christopher Dodd, Russell Feingold, and Barack Obama. Citizens for Global Solutions used to be known as the World Federalist Association (WFA), a group that favors world government and global taxes on American citizens to pay for it. The organization, which is leading the opposition to Bolton through television ads and a "Stop Bolton" web site, also contributed to the Republican committee chairman Senator Richard Lugar, who declined to issue a statement of support for Bolton when his nomination was announced.
Two groups explicitly associated with George Soros — the Open Society Policy Center and the American Progress Action Fund -- are working with Citizens for Global Solutions to defeat Bolton. Soros, who spent $23 million in an effort to defeat President Bush's re-election, made financial contributions to six of eight Democratic members of the Foreign Relations Committee — Senators Obama, Boxer, and Bill Nelson, Joe Biden, Paul Sarbanes, and John Kerry.
Make of this what you will. I have a difficult time believing that Barak Obama could be bought off. Kerry, Biden, and boxer, on the other hand, would oppose Bolton no matter what just because he's not a spinless weeny who views the UN as the ultimate World Governmental Body but someone who actually has the best interests of the US as his goal.
Accuracy In Media (AIM) is a non-profit, grassroots citizens watchdog of the news media that critiques botched and bungled news stories and sets the record straight on important issues that have received slanted coverage.

Posted by: Deacon Blues || 04/13/2005 8:31:02 AM || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Make of this what you will. I have a difficult time believing that Barak Obama could be bought off.

Why?
Posted by: eLarson || 04/13/2005 13:42 Comments || Top||

#2  I don't think you'd need to buy any of them off.
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 04/13/2005 14:42 Comments || Top||

#3  eLarson, I don't really have any concrete facts but from listening to him during the recent elections he just doesn't strike me as someone who could be bought that cheaply. I could be wrong, but one point I did want to make is the others don't need to be bought as their hatred of everything republican is sufficient reason for them to oppose Mr. Bolton's appointment.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 04/13/2005 14:46 Comments || Top||

#4  He struck me as a garden variety lefty, if at least one that avoided red-faced, eye-bulging rants.

Obama's stated position is that Bolton is not the right man for the job, being that he feels Bolton has been very disdainful of international cooperation.

Disdainful of the UN? Gosh... how could anyone be disdainful of them? ;-)
Posted by: eLarson || 04/13/2005 15:24 Comments || Top||

#5  I love it when the MSM annoints an untouchable.
Posted by: .com || 04/13/2005 15:25 Comments || Top||

#6  Obama's missed a huge opportunity to gain the spotlight as a serious national security voice whom red staters can trust on foreign affairs.

If Obama had been on Coleman's side in investigating OFF, and if he refused to follow the chihuahua pack in opposing Bolton, he could've leapt to the head of the party's ranks. Pity.
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) || 04/13/2005 16:03 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Mr. President, please slaughter 1,000 sheep

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono revealed on Tuesday that he had been told to slaughter 1,000 sheep and to do other rituals to prevent further earthquakes.

He told some 200 members of the Family Welfare Movement (PKK) not to be superstitious about earthquakes, asserting that there was a scientific explanation for such natural disasters.

"There is a scientific explanation for the series of earthquakes; don't be superstitious ... There was an sms (short message system) sent to me, saying Mr. President please slaughter 1,000 sheep," Susilo said, referring to the telephone text messages.

Such a suggestion was not the only one as the President said that he had been bombarded by "a huge number" of similar wacky text messages.

"If I followed all of them, I would not have been able to visit the disaster-hit areas to give instructions to respond to the emergency situation. That is why I did not follow those suggestions," the President said.

During his official address to commence the 6th PKK national meeting, the President explained to the women members that earthquakes were a natural phenomenon.

He acknowledged that he had discussed the matter with the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) and an earthquake expert during his recent visit to New Zealand.

Posted by: classer || 04/13/2005 3:02:34 AM || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Bambang is definitely a cut above previous Indonesian presidents. Mind you thats not hard.
Posted by: phil_b || 04/13/2005 7:13 Comments || Top||

#2  Mr. President please slaughter 1,000 sheep jihadis, or else.
Posted by: Halliburton Earthquake Division || 04/13/2005 10:11 Comments || Top||

#3  I'd watch these PKK dorks closely. No telling what they'd consider if there's yet another earthquake in that part of the world.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 04/13/2005 14:05 Comments || Top||

#4  Those poor beasties have got a very long way to go.
Posted by: Tkat || 04/13/2005 14:12 Comments || Top||

#5  please slaughter 1,000 sheep

Fire up the BBQ pis in an impoverished part of the country...
Posted by: BigEd || 04/13/2005 15:45 Comments || Top||

#6  please slaughter 1,000 sheep

Fire up the BBQ pits in an impoverished part of the country...

{SORRY}
Posted by: BigEd || 04/13/2005 15:45 Comments || Top||


Malaysian man jailed for giving son to German
A Malaysian Muslim man was sentenced to 10 months' jail after he admitted to giving up his son to a non-Muslim German woman for adoption, a report said on Tuesday.
Honest, we don't make this stuff up.
Mazuri Mamat, 32, pleaded guilty to giving his son Mu'izzuddin Mazuri, now eight, to Ingrid Angelika Braun, who works in Malaysia, three years ago, the New Straits Times said. He was tried before an Islamic sharia court in the northeastern Kelantan state, which had earlier ordered that the child be returned to his 26-year old Muslim mother. "Your action of giving away your child to a non-Muslim is wrong in Islam," Sharia court judge Nik Najib Che Hassan was quoted as saying. "You have gone against your duty as a parent who is supposed to look after his children. What you did has also gone against public sensitivity, especially Muslims."
The new improved Malaysia...now with 20% more public sensitivity!
The court ruled that the child be handed back to his birth mother immediately. The Sharia court has jurisdiction in civil cases involving Malaysia's Muslims, who make up some 60 percent of the multi-religious population which also includes Buddhist, Christian and Hindu believers.
"Canada, please pick up the white courtesy phone..."
Posted by: seafarious || 04/13/2005 11:06:53 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "One standard for you, and another standard for you, and...."
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 04/13/2005 14:14 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran's Parliament eases abortion law
Iran's conservative-dominated Parliament adopted a bill Tuesday to allow abortions in limited cases, in a bid to stamp out a booming but dangerous backstreet business. "Abortion will be allowed within four months of gestation if the fetus is mentally or physically handicapped - inflicting a financial burden on the family - or the mother's life is in danger," according to the legislation.
Posted by: Fred || 04/13/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I break my non-commenting rule to admit the graphics are getting better and better, and that whoever thought of that particular picture has a seriously wicked sense of humour... is this you, Mr. Fred? Shame on you :-)! What will the RB ladies think?
Posted by: Anonymous5089 || 04/13/2005 17:41 Comments || Top||

#2  As usual, Mr. Fred pegged it with his thousand-word picture. In this lady's opinion.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/13/2005 22:35 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Kennedys in turmoil as 'drunk' Joan tries to sell family home
AMERICA'S most famous family was embroiled in a fresh crisis yesterday as Joan Kennedy's children branded her a hopeless drunk on the brink of self-destruction and waged a legal battle to block her from selling their $6.4 million home.
The 68-year-old former wife of Senator Edward Kennedy placed the ocean-front Cape Cod mansion on the market without telling her three children, who believe she did it out of revenge after a judge granted them control of her affairs.
"My mother is not happy with the court-ordered guardianship, but the most important thing to understand is we're trying to save our mother's life, simply put. That's what's at stake," said her son Edward Kennedy jnr.
He said that what he called his mother's irrational action "speaks to the insidiousness of alcoholism".
He went on: "Basically, my mother is taking it out on us by trying to sell the house. She's trying to retaliate against her own children by taking one of the things we love the most, which is Cape Cod. It's very sad."
The feud adds one more episode to the 50-year history of turbulence, tragedy and scandal that has beset the Kennedys, a clan viewed as the closest thing the United States has to royalty.
With her model looks and reputation for glamour, Joan was once dubbed "The Dish" by John F Kennedy, whose brother she married in 1958.
But while her outward image fitted that of the US's most glamorous and high-profile political dynasty, her timid nature did not. Crushed by shyness and struggling to fit in, she turned to the bottle.
Her problems worsened amid the public humiliation of the Chappaquiddick scandal of 1969, when her husband - who was by then a Democratic senator - drove his car off a bridge in Massachusetts, leaving his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, to die as he fled the scene.
Mrs Kennedy was pregnant with their fourth child at the time, but later suffered a miscarriage.
In a 1985 book, Living with the Kennedys, her former secretary, Marcia Chellis, revealed that, while Mrs Kennedy publicly stood by her man - even going on the stump for him during his failed presidential bid in 1980 - in private, she turned to drink, unable to cope with the shame and the hurt.
Surrounded by a family noted for its strong women - the matriarch, Ethel Kennedy, and JFK's wife, Jacqueline, among them - Joan was simply out of her depth. "She took on something she just couldn't handle," Chellis wrote.
Mrs Kennedy has been arrested for drink-driving four times since the mid-1970s and has repeatedly undergone rehabilitation treatment for alcohol addiction.
Only last month, she was taken to hospital suffering from a broken shoulder and concussion after being found lying face down in a Boston street in a drunken stupor.
Divorced from Senator Kennedy since 1982, she splits her time between a smart Boston apartment and the six-bedroom mansion on Squaw Island, Cape Cod, where their children Kara, 45, Edward, 44, and Patrick, 37, grew up and still spend each summer.
Last week, a family court judge, Robert Terry, ruled that Mrs Kennedy was incompetent and a danger to herself, and he granted her children guardianship of her affairs for 90 days. He will decide at a later hearing whether to make the order permanent.
Edward Kennedy jnr, who was himself treated for alcohol abuse in 1991, said: "You can imagine how bad this situation has gotten for us to risk angering her and undertaking this legal action against our own mother.
"We tried to keep this private until the story broke a couple of weeks ago - she tripped and fell because she was intoxicated. That is just exactly what we're trying to stop. I don't know if we're going to be successful but we have to try something. We're in a desperate situation."
Posted by: Anonymoose || 04/13/2005 10:37:29 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


FBI ethics agent charged with lying
Posted by: Anonymoose || 04/13/2005 22:29 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Tech
Prototype of Unmanned Airship Is Unveiled
A communications company unveiled a prototype of an unmanned airship that would function as a relay platform while floating in the stratosphere some 65,000 feet above service areas.
The lighter-than-air "stratellite" has been under construction by the GlobeTel Communications Corp. subsidiary Sanswire Networks LLC at an airport in San Bernardino County.
The company hopes to begin flight testing of its Sanswire One later this year over the California desert and is in discussions with NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base.
The prototype is 188 feet long, 42 feet high and 60 feet wide - about a third the size of the operational airships being planned, said Leigh Coleman, president of Pembroke Pines, Fla.-based GlobeTel.
By comparison, the Carson, Calif.-based Goodyear blimp Spirit of America is 192 feet long, 50 feet wide and 59 1/2 feet high.
Sanswire One, however, resembles a shark or whale, with a broad tapered nose rather than the cylindrical shape of a traditional blimp. It also has a rigid structure, like the Zeppelins of the early 20th century, but is very lightweight.
"It's a rebirth of an era in our minds," Coleman said. "... We see it as a link to the past."
The developers hope to fly it to an altitude of 45,000 feet in July, but first must deal with regulatory and flight safety issues, Coleman said.
"The actual airship is functional but it does need approvals, it needs certification," he said.
The developers planned to show off the airship during a press conference Tuesday.
GlobeTel foresees a fleet of helium-filled "stratellites," each able to stay aloft for months at a time and automatically held on station by electric motors powered by batteries charged by solar cells.
They would relay communications services including voice, broadband, high-definition TV, interactive high-definition TV and satellite radio at a cost far lower than traditional satellites in orbit, the company contends, and could also have military and government uses for surveillance and remote sensing.
"When we prove what we can do the military will use this immediately," Coleman said.
By positioning "stratellites" at an altitude more than a dozen miles high, the developers hope to minimize the effects of winds. There are still winds at 65,000 feet but the lower density of the atmosphere, combined with the shape of the "stratellite," should allow the motors to hold it in position, the developers believe.
"I would call that being in calm waters," he said.
Coleman would not release the development costs but offered a general comparison with satellite technology.
"It's hugely and significantly lower cost than a satellite - we're a satellite replacement technology - and you could talk in the order of this being $20 (million), $30 million as opposed to $250 million," he said. "Operationally, costs are very low compared to a satellite that might be $30 (million) or $40 million a year."
Posted by: Anonymoose || 04/13/2005 10:19:37 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Culture Wars
Life Imitates Art: "We need you to go undercover in a strip club"
Haley Dawson has never been a stripper. But Ohio liquor-control agents took her identity and gave it to a 22-year-old college student who they had recruited to work undercover as a nude dancer. As part of an investigation that resulted in nothing more than misdemeanor charges, police paid University of Dayton criminal-justice student Michelle Szuhay $100 a night to take it all off in early 2003 — as liquor-control officers drank beer and watched in the audience for three months, court papers show. Other officers watched her strip on the Internet, using an account created under the identity of a dead man.

The officers did all this by using Dawson's driver's license and Social Security number to hide Szuhay's identity while she worked at the targeted strip club, the now-closed Total Xposure in Troy. To Dawson's father, David Dawson, "It certainly looks like identity theft." But it's not, said Miami County Prosecutor Gary Nasal. Pointing to a 2002 change in Ohio's law aimed at fighting identity theft, Nasal said police are allowed to assume anyone's identity as long as it's part of an investigation. "I don't know much about law, but I would say that's just baloney," said David Dawson, who lives part of the year in Columbus. He is the brother of Mike Dawson, the chief policy adviser to U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine. Ohio Rep. Jim Hughes, the Columbus Republican who sponsored the change, also disagrees with Nasal, as do the American Civil Liberties Union and a lobbyist who pushed for the legal change. "It was not intended for that, I can tell you that," Hughes said.
Isn't this the plot line for about half the movies shown on Cinemax between the hours of 1 and 3am on weekends? You would almost think that it's mandatory that all policewomen, female FBI agents and other government investigator-babes have to spend time pole dancing.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 04/13/2005 2:32:08 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  police paid University of Dayton criminal-justice student Michelle Szuhay

NB: UD is a Catholic school.

Just adding to the weirdness of it, folks.
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 04/13/2005 14:47 Comments || Top||

#2  Isn’t this the plot line for about half the movies shown on Cinemax between the hours of 1 and 3am on weekends?

Moose, you've just summed up Shannon Tweed's career.
Posted by: tu3031 || 04/13/2005 15:04 Comments || Top||

#3  bad news when your "sidekick" is a polished pole
Posted by: Frank G || 04/13/2005 15:18 Comments || Top||

#4  Well, except for the whole Gene Simmons thing...
Posted by: mojo || 04/13/2005 15:20 Comments || Top||

#5  "I drink beer and watch hot babes do the pole dance, and get paid for it! Is this a great job or what?"
Posted by: Mike || 04/13/2005 15:46 Comments || Top||


Africa: Subsaharan
A 'Diary' - Firsthand View from Angola on the Uige Marburg Outbreak
Zoe Young of the medical NGO, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), is keeping a web diary for the BBC News Website from Angola as she helps with the emergency response to an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus. Here she describes her first two days of work in the town of Uige in the north-east of the country, which has so far been the town worst hit by the epidemic.
Interesting read. I hope it continues - sans Editorial Spin.
Posted by: .com || 04/13/2005 2:31:10 PM || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Culture Wars
The Idle Fool Is Whipt At School (Liberal Bias???)
Yet another study has come out documenting what most conservatives consider to be blindingly obvious: the leftward tilt of the American professoriate. The latest report, by political scientist Stanley Rothman of Smith College, communications professor S. Robert Lichter of George Mason University, and Canadian polling expert Neil Nevitte, published in the Berkeley Electronic Press' journal Forum, paints a stark picture of a politically skewed academy. Nearly three quarters of the professors in a 1999 survey of college faculty identified themselves as raving, looney left/liberal, only 15 percent as right/conservative; 50 percent were Democrats and 11 percent Republicans.
OK. If anyone is surprised you have been in a coma for past 100 years.
A typical reaction to such studies from the left has been to throw a pie in their face, or shout them off the podium like any open-minded liberal would shoot the messenger without denying the basic facts of the message. Thus, on his website, Michael Bérubé, a professor of literature and cultural studies at Penn State who has often locked horns with conservative critics of the academy, challenges the study's sample size and points out that it was financed by a conservative foundation.
Perfesser...I may not know much latin but I think you might want to look up "ad hominem"
Then he cites a 2001 survey by the UCLA Higher Education Research Institute which yielded fairly similar results: 5.3 percent of faculty members were classified as ''far left," 42.3 percent as ''liberal," 34.3 percent as ''middle of the road," 17.7 percent as ''conservative," and 0.3 percent as ''far right." ''Yep," concedes Bérubé, ''we're a pretty liberal bunch."
Uhh...yes you are. 50% liberal or more left v. 18% conservative or more right. Looks like 21/2 time more Perfesser.
Once that point is conceded, the next argument is that political imbalance in colleges and universities does not reflect bias against conservatives and does not pose any real problem.
Look!! Up in the sky! It's a bird. No...It's a plane. No...it's the other shoe beginning to fall!!
Some academic liberals earnestly explain that conservatives are scarce in the universities because—well, they're just not good enough.
Or maybe it's because conservatives with graduate degrees in science want to work for a living and produce...and not just sit on our collective asses living off of a case study or experiment that was performed 10 years ago so we can spend the next 10 years belittling graduate students who really did the work while we use the grant money to go from conference to conference presenting the same tired, arcane results. Nope...not bitter at all.
George P. Lakoff, professor of linguistics at the University of California-Berkeley, has told The New York Times that liberals go into the academy because, ''unlike conservatives, they believe in working for the public good and social justice, as well as knowledge and art for their own sake."
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!!
Another variation on this theme is that liberals are better suited to academic life because, unlike those closed-minded, intolerant conservatives, they are open-minded and willing to allow the free expression of ideas they find disagreeable.
That's just too precious! Perfesser...You might want to look to HYPOCRITE after you look up AD HOMINEM ATTACK.
Sure. Unless, of course, the upsetting idea is that racial preferences in college admissions are a bad policy (Ward Connerly, who espouses this heresy, has been repeatedly shouted down when appearing on college campuses). Or that the shortage of women among top scientists may be partly due to innate differences between the sexes (just ask Harvard President Lawrence Summers about liberal tolerance on this issue).
Somebody fire up the 1.2 jiggawatt flux capacitor!!!
It is true, of course, that statistical imbalances don't automatically prove discrimination (as conservatives usually argue when it comes to racial and gender disparities). Like-minded people, just like people of similar ethnic background, can gravitate to the same profession for a variety of reasons—including the desire to work with people like themselves. But bias, perhaps unconscious, may play a role: Rothman, Lichter, and Nevitte found evidence that Republican and conservative professors tend to be employed at lower-quality institutions than their similarly qualified liberal and Democratic colleagues.
And who grants tenure at universities? Hmmm...gotta think about that. It'll come to me.
Whatever its cause, this imbalance is a cause for concern. Liberals wryly point out that no one complains about the dominance of Republicans in business. But universities are different: Ideas are their lifeblood, Pu-leeze. and a lack of intellectual diversity endangers the very purpose of the academy.
ya think?
In a recent survey by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni nearly half of the students at America's top 50 universities and colleges complained of ''totally one-sided" presentations and readings on controversial topics.
No comment needed. These Truths we hold self evident.
On a subtler level, there is on many campuses a climate in which a ''normal" person is presumed to be liberal. A young woman who is a graduate student at a Midwestern university and a liberal Democrat told me in a recent e-mail exchange that after the 2004 election, the unanimous opinion among the professors was that Americans who voted for Bush were ''either too stupid to know they 'should' vote for Kerry, or a bunch of right-wing bigots." She was open-minded enough to read some pro-Bush Internet sites and find a lot of Bush voters who bore no resemblance to this caricature.
Oh my gosh...she is being assimilated by the Borg!?!?!
But she is convinced that if she were to share her observations with anyone in her department, the consequence would be social and professional ostracism.
guaranteed. been there. done that.
Some conservatives want a political solution: legislation that would not only protect the rights of dissenting students but penalize professors who use the classroom to push a political agenda.
WRONG. You can't have it both ways.
Many professors are appalled, understandably, by the idea of legislative intervention in the classroom. The best way to avoid such intervention is for the academy to make a good-faith effort to recognize and correct its intellectual diversity problem.
And it took MLB 20+ years to address the steroid issue. yadda yadda yadda. Fortunately for the right the blogosphere will smoke these cockroaches out...exposing them for what they are.
Posted by: anymouse || 04/13/2005 12:15:21 AM || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A close friend from my university days and possibly the smartest person I have ever known went on to be a philosophy prof at a leading Australian university. I went to visit him quite a few years ago and he said something that shocked me. I paraphrase - "I'm socialist, but that seems/is a natural and obvious choice living in the university." My point being, the university system creates and fosters Leftist convictions.
Posted by: phil_b || 04/13/2005 7:26 Comments || Top||

#2  for those people who say that the pool of careful researchers and good teachers who value objectivity just happen to be moreliberal, there is a simple two word response:
Ward Churchill
Posted by: mhw || 04/13/2005 8:17 Comments || Top||

#3  Let's remind that this is not a First Amendment case. It is about a breach of contract and damage to the future professional career of the student. It goes like this: you pay (or the tax payer pays) good money for getting an education. Instead you get propaganda. In addition your time has been wasted and you didn't learn the skills who, later would help you get a better job.

Instead of legislating how about easing the path for having universities sued for millions and milions of dollars when their teachers misbehave? I guess that would be a strong incentive for them no longer hiring clowns like Ward Churchill.
Posted by: JFM || 04/13/2005 9:29 Comments || Top||

#4  "Those who can,do.Those who can't,teach."
Posted by: raptor || 04/13/2005 9:37 Comments || Top||

#5  Of a group of 18 in my section at the University, I'm the only conservative, and I'm not a Hugh Hewitt-type conservative.
Posted by: Steve White || 04/13/2005 9:55 Comments || Top||

#6  gigawatt
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 04/13/2005 12:29 Comments || Top||

#7  Whiskey Dan...You need to watch "Back to the Future".
Posted by: anymouse || 04/13/2005 12:51 Comments || Top||

#8  Whiskey Mike, tomAto, tomAHto, eh.
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous6392 || 04/13/2005 15:05 Comments || Top||

#9  I think a lot of this needs to be seen in the context of demographics, geography and avocation. For example, if you polled all the engineering departments of public universities in the South I'll bet you'll get opposite results. But then we are turning out less engineers (leaving it up to Taiwan, India and China)and more arts and letters types that all want to ride bikes during Friday's critical mass, drink skinny lattes and discuss their I-pod playlist while totally slacking out.
Posted by: Jack is Back! || 04/13/2005 17:27 Comments || Top||

#10  Parents will eventually revolt, and the trigger will be ridiculously high tuition. At that point the backlash against clownish humanitarian/social science leftists and gender studies hucksters will merge with the rebellion against crushing tuitions, with second-tier colleges outside the blue state regions picking up quality students at the expense of the elite institutions.
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) || 04/13/2005 22:17 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
20 Die in India From Contaminated Liquor
"Hey! Where the hell's my paint remover? It was right here in the fridge, dammit!"
A shopkeeper in southern India sold batches of contaminated liquor, killing at least 20 people, most of them poor villagers, police said Tuesday. The death toll is likely to rise, as more than 30 people have been hospitalized since Monday night in the Neelamangala region, 20 miles west of Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka state, said police inspector Ramesh Kumar. Ten people died Monday night and another 10 died Tuesday, he said. Dozens of people from three villages in the region consumed the liquor, which was sold in small plastic bags. The bag, which had fake labels, looked like cheap name-brand liquor, Kumar said. "We are looking for a local gang that sold the liquor. No arrests have been made so far," Kumar said.
Posted by: Fred || 04/13/2005 00:00:00 AM || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Booze in a plastic bag?
That would have wrned most folks off right away.
Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom || 04/13/2005 3:33 Comments || Top||

#2  Advantage Islam here. The so called *prophet* prohibited liquor and he's honored in the breach.
Posted by: sea cruise || 04/13/2005 3:38 Comments || Top||

#3  SPoD - In Asia it seems almost everything is sold in baggies, nowadays. With all of the street vendors, and some of the "convenience" stores, you get a baggie and either a sharp little stick for spearing solid goodies (pineapple chunks, etc) or a straw for the liquids. I've been amazed to see what they "serve" in plastic bags, lol! Fill 'er up and tie a knot in it and away you go, heh. What did they do before the advent of cheap plactic film? Lol - we prolly don't wanna know!
Posted by: .com || 04/13/2005 4:15 Comments || Top||

#4  Advantage Islam here. The so called *prophet* prohibited liquor and he's honored in the breach.

So instead of alcohol Muslims use drugs (eg Assassins from Arabic Hashish'yun: made crazy by haschish). BTW do you think turkish raki is drunk only by Christians?
Posted by: JFM || 04/13/2005 9:21 Comments || Top||

#5  JFM, let's not forget qat, and the infamous "Janjaweed Militia" in the Sudan.
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 04/13/2005 9:29 Comments || Top||

#6  Booze in a plastic bag? That would have wrned most folks off right away.

You obviously never saw the Boone's Farm Strawberry Ripple in the 5 liter plastic pouch inside a cardboard carton.
Posted by: Steve White || 04/13/2005 9:57 Comments || Top||

#7  Mmmmmm, Boone's Farm! My first underage, barfing-my-shoes-up drinking experience was with Boone's Farm. I actually repeated the experiment several times before I figured out the pattern and stopped.
Posted by: Xbalanke || 04/13/2005 11:20 Comments || Top||

#8  I got dead drunk last night , but not that dead !
Wonder if they got blind drunk first ? ! :)
Posted by: MacNails || 04/13/2005 13:35 Comments || Top||

#9  Steve, They are talking about baggies not "boxed" reconstituted and fortified wines.

Hand me a baggie and a straw and am outta there.:D I don't care what label is on it. It's like those plastic beer bottles. It just won't do.

Bali High Wine was pretty good as I remember Xbalanke.
Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom || 04/13/2005 16:54 Comments || Top||

#10  Heh, a man of taste and means! You wouldn't care much for the street food, methinks, lol...
Posted by: .com || 04/13/2005 16:58 Comments || Top||

#11  Ripple for me Xbalanke. It caused a near death experience when I was 17. Learned better and starting mixing it with Batcardi rum, maker a drink called Cripple.
Posted by: Sssssshipman || 04/13/2005 19:49 Comments || Top||


Africa: Subsaharan
Rwanda Rebels Urged to Disarm As Promised
Posted by: Fred || 04/13/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


U.S. Hails Rwanda Group's Disarmament Plan
Posted by: Fred || 04/13/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:



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Wed 2005-04-13
  10 dead in Mosul suicide bombings
Tue 2005-04-12
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Mon 2005-04-11
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Fri 2005-04-08
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Thu 2005-04-07
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Wed 2005-04-06
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Tue 2005-04-05
  Turkey Seeks Life For Caliph of Cologne
Mon 2005-04-04
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