Pope Benedict, in his first clear pronouncement on gay marriages since his election, on Monday condemned same-sex unions as fake and expressions of "anarchic freedom" that threatened the future of the family.
The Pope, who was elected in April, also condemned divorce, artificial birth control, trial marriages and free-style unions, saying all of these practices were dangerous for the family.
"Today's various forms of dissolution of marriage, free unions, trial marriages as well as the pseudo-matrimonies between people of the same sex are instead expressions of anarchic freedom which falsely tries to pass itself off as the true liberation of man," he said.
The Pope spoke to families at Rome's St. John's Cathedral on an issue that has become highly controversial around the world, particularly in Europe and the United States.
In April, parliament in traditionally Catholic Spain gave initial approval to a law legalizing gay marriage. It is widely expected to be approved by the Senate and to become law.
But just last week, California's Assembly killed off a bill that would have allowed gay marriage in the most populous U.S. state.
The Pope, who as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger headed the Vatican's doctrinal department for more than two decades, said "pseudo freedoms" such as gay marriages were based on what he called the "banalisation of the human body" and of man himself
Posted by: Captain America ||
06/06/2005 17:35 ||
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Posted by: Frank G ||
06/06/2005 18:44 Comments ||
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#3
FG: Millions of critics out of work and you?
Personally, I don't know where you put "Short Attention Span Theater", but FRANKly, chill.
Posted by: Captain America ||
06/06/2005 20:42 Comments ||
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#4
non WOT - which this was - is welcome - and should be on Pg 3. I had no critique of the article or your posting it - just placement?
But if you wanna get in my face...
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/06/2005 20:52 Comments ||
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#5
Given the context of the article, I don't wanna get in your face.
Moreover, WoT v. "Short Attention Span Theater", do we need an indexing check on aisle 1?
Posted by: Captain America ||
06/06/2005 20:57 Comments ||
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#6
I thought Short attention span - went by default to Pg 2 or 3 - if not my apologies - that was my only point of argument
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/06/2005 21:34 Comments ||
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#7
well, not ONLY point, if you think this merits Real WOT -impact news.....
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/06/2005 21:44 Comments ||
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The Mars rover Opportunity has successfully escaped from a sand trap. JPL engineers cheered when images returned from Mars showed the rover's wheels were free. Engineers worked for nearly five weeks to carefully maneuver the rover out of the sand dune. (Jun. 4)
Posted by: Steve ||
06/06/2005 11:13 ||
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EFL: Downing Street has confirmed the UK has put on ice plans for a referendum next spring on the European constitution. It comes after "No" votes in France and the Netherlands which analysts said had effectively killed the treaty. Tony Blair's spokesman said: "We are in uncertain times and we do not proceed until we have got certainty." French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder are urging other members, including the UK, to continue the ratification process. EU leaders are preparing for a summit next week to discuss how to proceed.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/06/2005 08:57 ||
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#1
C: 'E's not pinin'! 'E's passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker!
'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed 'im to the perch 'e'd be pushing up the daisies!
'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's off the twig!
'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!!
THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!
(pause)
O: Well, I'd better replace it, then.
(he takes a quick peek behind the counter)
O: Sorry squire, I've had a look 'round the back of the shop, and uh, we're right out of parrots.
This is kinda like the Mafia families teaming up to fight organized crime.
MOSCOW (AFP) - Interior ministers from Russia and North Korea signed an agreement on joint action against cross-border organised crime and drug trafficking, Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev said."The accord provides more efficient regulation of our cooperation in law enforcement," Nurgaliyev was quoted by ITAR-TASS news agency as saying after meeting his counterpart from North Korea, Ju Sang-song. We eliminate the middleman and pass the savings onto...us!
Nurgaliyev said the agreement focused on training of law enforcement cadres which he described as a priority for both countries.A statement posted on the Russian foreign ministry's web site said senior officials from the interior ministries of both countries took part in the discussions, but provided no further details on the accord. Divvying up who gets what probably.
The Soviet Union had friendly relations with North Korea and Russia continues to enjoy privileged ties with the Stalinist state. Russian envoys frequently visit Pyongyang, though visits to Moscow by senior officials from North Korea are rare. Picking up or delivering?
An unnamed Russian interior ministry official was quoted earlier in the day as saying that Russia has "wide experience" in law enforcement training and continued to provide such training for senior police officers at a facility in Moscow. "Bribes: How much is too much."
Nurgaliyev and Ju also discussed bilateral cooperation in fighting against trafficking in wood, unspecified marine resources and metals. Yeah...ummmmmmmmmm...wood trafficking! That's it!
Ju was quoted by ITAR-TASS as saying that he was "pleased" to learn of Russian "successes in fighting crime and terrorism." Ju ought to talk to the average Russian. But that'd be bad for business.
The Australians claim that they wanted to verify the guy's identity. Now - the Australians would know of every single diplomat in the Chinese embassy - this is just a function of keeping track of their activities and potential intelligence contacts in Australia. There is no way the Aussies would not have been tracking these people's movments, unless they've adopted a see-no-evil attitude towards Chinese diplos. Whether they betrayed the defector or weren't monitoring the Chinese diplomats, it's pretty damning, overall.
The Chinese diplomat seeking asylum in Sydney says Australian officials alerted his bosses when he defected and urged him to return to the city's Chinese consulate, despite his claims that he was in grave danger.
Chen Yonglin abandoned his post 12 days ago, saying he feared persecution if he returned to China because of his democratic beliefs.
He is now in hiding with his wife and 6-year-old daughter.
Mr Chen is reported to have gone to the Department of Immigration offices in Sydney on May 26 to ask for asylum but his request to meet the New South Wales state director, Jim Collaghan, was refused.
Australian officials alerted the Chinese Embassy, and the consulate then phoned Mr Chen on his mobile, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Mr Chen immediately took his wife, Jin Ping, and daughter, Chen Fangong, into hiding.
Yesterday, a Chinese democracy activist said Mr Chen was unstable, highly stressed and "very desperate".
Chin Jin, spokesman for the Foundation for a Democratic China, said Mr Chen had received advice from a lawyer arranged by the Australian Greens.
"His condition is not stable, he is very nervous and stressful," Mr Chin told reporters.
Mr Chen said his job was to monitor the Falun Gong movement, democracy advocates and people who support the separation of Tibet, Taiwan and East Turkistan from China.
He claimed China has up to 1000 spies in Australia.
The Chinese Ambassador to Australia, Madame Fu Ying, said Mr Chen would not be punished if he returned to China, despite his actions. "I don't think there is any reason China would punish him," she said.
Madame Fu said the claims of a spy ring were untrue and Mr Chen was making the comments to boost his case to stay in Australia.
"I stand to be enlightened by anyone who has knowledge - whoever has the names [of spies] I would like to know," Madame Fu said.
A leading academic said Australia would face heavy political and economic pressure from China not to grant Mr Chen asylum.
Professor Hugh White of the Australian National University said growing trade relations with China were likely to weigh on the Government's mind in deciding whether to allow Mr Chen to stay.
Professor White said the situation put the Government in a tough diplomatic position.
"Obviously the concerns in the Australian community about the human rights of this individual are significant and valid," he told ABC Radio.
"On the other hand, China will want this guy back and would tend to view a decision by this Government to grant him political asylum or even refugee status ... as a fairly adversarial thing to do.
"And I think that would be something that the Chinese would register and the Chinese system doesn't forgive those things lightly."
Professor White said the pressure would be even greater if Mr Chen had access to secret Chinese Government documents - which Mr Chen claims he did have.
"The Chinese Government will want to make sure that classified information isn't passed on."
If this guy is deported to China and imprisoned and/or executed, the Howard administration is going to look pretty stupid. If the Aussies don't want him, they should at least give Uncle Sam the option of scooping him up.
The Chinese diplomat Chen Yonglin tried to defect to the United States last week after resistance from Australian officials to his request for asylum, the Herald has learnt.
The bid was met with surprise by the US, not least because the Australian Government had not informed its close ally of the explosive diplomatic and intelligence development almost a week after it came to light.
The Minister for Immigration, Amanda Vanstone, conceded yesterday that Australia had rejected Mr Chen's bid for political asylum.
China's ambassador, Fu Ying, promised that Mr Chen would not face jail or execution if he returned home, even though he had tarnished China's image.
Mr Chen - a senior diplomat at China's Sydney consulate who was responsible for monitoring dissidents among the Chinese diaspora in NSW - attempted to defect on May 26, weeks before he was due to be posted back to Beijing.
He says he was a democracy advocate and had helped Falun Gong members, among others, behaviour his successor in the Sydney consulate was likely to uncover.
Australian officials informed the Chinese Government, denied Mr Chen's plea for a safe meeting place and rejected his bid for political asylum without interviewing him.
On May 31 - after being told by a foreign affairs officer that his bid had failed and encouraged to apply for a tourist visa by an immigration official - Mr Chen turned to the US.
It is understood that the US consul-general in Sydney, Stephen T. Smith, was also involved in dealing with the request.
A US embassy spokeswoman said: "I can confirm that Mr Chen contacted a US mission in Australia about his situation."
The spokeswoman would not comment further, although the US took the approach that this was a matter for Australia to sort out. However, a well-placed source said Mr Stanton - the most senior US representative in Australia - and Mr Smith had had no prior knowledge of Mr Chen's walking out of a Chinese mission, even though Mr Chen's approach to the US occurred six days after the Australian Government first knew.
Australia and the US usually closely share intelligence, and a defection bid would have been a rare "code red" event, in the words of one espionage expert.
There have also been tensions between the US and Australia recently over the Howard Government's new closeness to China, especially after the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer, said Australia may not come to Taiwan's aid if China invaded.
The Federal Government has denied that its negative attitude to Mr Chen's asylum bid and offer of intelligence information was linked to its pitch for a free trade deal and multibillion-dollar gas contract with the emerging economic power.
However, the Australian National University's Professor Hugh White said: "China has made it clear consistently that the development of an economic relationship is dependent on Australia being sympathetic to China's concerns on political and security issues."
Ms Fu said: "China has moved on. It's not the 1970s. China's not behind a bamboo curtain. I don't see there is any reason he could face jail because there is no civil crime in his behaviour ⊠I don't know why he would be in jail."
#1
The ChiCom diplomat says: "China has moved on. It's not the 1970s. China's not behind a bamboo curtain. I don't see there is any reason he could face jail because there is no civil crime in his behaviour ⦠I don't know why he would be in jail."
Right . . . . My guess is that if this dude goes back to China, he will be dead inside three months.
Posted by: Tibor ||
06/06/2005 14:38 Comments ||
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China's ambassador, Fu Ying, promised that Mr Chen would not face jail or execution if he returned home, even though he had tarnished China's image.
Tibor, is it me or is this what tipped you off?
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
06/06/2005 15:10 Comments ||
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Three months, tibor?
You're mighty optimistic today.
How about 3 days. (just until the media loose interest)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/06/2005 16:54 Comments ||
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"He says he was a democracy advocate and had helped Falun Gong members..."
For 87-year-old Huang Tingxin, June 6 is no ordinary day. As a Chinese naval officer, Huang participated in the allied forces' Normandy Landing operation 61 years ago.
The veteran, who now lives in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province, is the only known mainland survivor of 24 Chinese naval officers who took part in the operation that released the Nazi grip on Western Europe. The old man, now troubled by Parkinson's Syndrome, is now recounting those extraordinary weeks from his younger life to his son.
Huang, who was educated at a Qingdao naval school, Shandong Province in the late 1930s, was selected by the Chinese army along with 23 other Chinese naval officers to study at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Greenwich, Britain, in 1942. Undoubtedly on the Nationalist side. Wonder how he's not in Taiwan now. Also wonder how he was treated by the Communists when they took over.
They were then posted to fleets operating in different war theatres for internship in March 1944.
Huang served on an escort carrier named "Searcher." His duty was to keep watch over the angle of the carrier on the sea and its position in the fleet formation. "It was no small task, as a smooth landing and taking-off of the aircraft depended on correct sailing of the carrier," Huang recalled. At midnight on of June 5, 1944 - the eve of D-Day - his warship slipped its moorings in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and sailed south. "We knew the action would be something special, but none of us knew what that would be," Huang said.
It was not until the next morning that he and his peers heard on the BBC, or the British Broadcasting Corporation, that the allied forces had landed at Normandy, France. The biggest combined invasion in the history of warfare had begun. "And only then did we know what our mission was that night," Huang said. "All of us were overjoyed at the news, but we didn't feel completely relieved until our escort mission ended. Then news came a few days later that the allied forces were moving into the continent smoothly."
Huang said that all his Chinese fellows took part in the operation, and some of them were on warships who helped destroy many of German army's defence establishments on the beaches of France.
In October the same year, Huang Tingxin took part in another operation on board the Searcher - the Toulon Landings. "The Searcher and three other carriers participated in the battle. Our task was to cover the landing of the main force by attacking the German defence lines with aircraft launched from our carrier," Huang said.
#2
Shipman, the San Antonio Express News did a story about that Mexican Air Force unit serving in the PI sometime during the last two or three years. I can't recollect any of the particulars, but they did interview some of the Mexican veterans. I cut out the whole story and sent it to my historical-trivia minded SO. I'm at work, so my internet time is limited, but yes, there is some media coverage out there...
To ease expected power shortages this summer, Zhejiang Province plans to control the use of energy in order to maintain supplies.
Nine different contingency measures have been planned, and will be introduced depending on the extent of the shortages, which could range from 1 million kilowatts to 9 million kilowatts, according to a statement released by the province's Economic and Trade Commission and its Electric Power Bureau.
The province is facing the most severe power shortages in its history, with an estimated maximum shortage of around 8 million kilowatts in the coming months, said the statement.
Small-scale steel mills will be asked to stop operations when there are severe shortages. Meanwhile, energy-consuming industries such as cement production and electroplating will temporarily be stopped from operating or be forced to reduce production by half from July to August, according to the statement.
Other enterprises, which require continuous production, such as the chemical industry, papermaking, and printing will be required to temporarily halt their operations for 10-15 days for machine checks.
At the same time, a number of local construction sites involved in non-essential industrial or infrastructure projects are supposed to stop working whenever the temperature reaches a specific level.
air conditioners
Moreover, local government departments, official buildings, hotels, large retail facilities and entertainment venues will not be allowed to use air conditioners unless the temperature exceeds 30 C. They will only be allowed to operate half of their air-conditioners during peak hours, from 8 am to 11 am and 6 pm to 10 pm.
Local street lamps, and lights for advertising and scenic spots will be turned off to maintain ordinary people's supplies, except during holidays.
"We will continue to experience electricity shortages this year and we will try our best to make sure most citizens have a supply of electricity," said Jin Deshui, vice-governor of Zhejiang Province.
According to local weather forecasters, Zhejiang will experience a hot summer this year.
Frequent use of air-conditioners will make power shortages more severe, said Jin.
He said a lack of coal in the country was also a problem as the province's power supply is mainly based on coal.
It has become impossible to buy power from other provinces in the summer. Everywhere will have shortages this year, said Jin.
Zhejiang Province has a shortfall of 5.87 billion kilowatts of electricity last year.
Power shortages have become a major issue in many parts of China since 2003. Nineteen out of 31 province-level regions on the Chinese mainland suffered from power shortages in 2003. That number rose to 24 last year.
#1
B-b-but they're supposed to be the land of coal, and milk and honey and endless resources ...! And consumers ... [/sarcasm]
Seriously, though, this could get interesting. Is rationing really the best way to handle this? And what's to say shortages will stop at 9 million kilowatts?
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
06/06/2005 10:17 Comments ||
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EY: Seriously, though, this could get interesting. Is rationing really the best way to handle this? And what's to say shortages will stop at 9 million kilowatts?
China has no inherent shortage of power. The reason that the government is rationing power is not because new power plants can't be built, but because the government massively subsidizes power. The average Chinese power bill, running one air-conditioner at night during the summer, is about $15. In NYC, it is $120, using hydroelectric power purchased from Canada. Think about the scale of the subsidy.
#4
When the Chinese government talks about a lack of resources, it is actually referring to a lack of *cheap* resources, not an actual shortage of the commodity in question. Pre-war Japanese officials also used to talk about a lack of (cheap) resources, which they attempted to remedy via their southern expeditions.
#5
I'm wondering, is this a lack of the resource, a lack of mining production, or a lack of generation capacity? It sounds like he's saying the first, when it seems more likely to be the second... at least for now. If they've actually begun to run out of accessible coal reserves and have no more of a plan to address it other than rolling brownouts, then Communism will fry in the summer heat. Morons.
Yo, Communist throwbacks: Demand outstripping supply - for lack of mining or generating capacity - is a no-brainer in the Capitalist world, lol! Morons.
I think there are some companies, particularly in the Western US, who would love to sell them coal - assuming they would be willing to pay the freight halfway around the world for something as bulky as coal... I'm thinking the trade deficit / balance of payments and that pegged currency all would play well in Poughkeepsie, er, so to speak. Welcome, Friends, lol!
Tell me, is that bubble wall starting to look a little thin and threadbare to you?
;-)
#7
Australia will sell them the coal .com, lots closer. AC will do it every time, it's that threat of an AC peak. Wonder what their winter peak is relative.
#8
Zhang Fei, I regularly got power bills for 800RMB/mo ($100 USD) last summer, running a standing unit AC. Of course, I ran it during the day, as that's when it's freaking hot. The Chinese can keep their sweltering offices with open windows letting in the polluted air.
#9
gromky: Zhang Fei, I regularly got power bills for 800RMB/mo ($100 USD) last summer, running a standing unit AC. Of course, I ran it during the day, as that's when it's freaking hot. The Chinese can keep their sweltering offices with open windows letting in the polluted air.
Was this to cool your entire 3-bedroom apartment, or just one bedroom?
#10
Well, I had a small wall unit in the bedroom for nighttime, and a standup unit for the rest of the house. The country would really benefit from central air conditioning. I don't think I've seen any place that has it save specialized housing for foreigners.
And, sadly, I had to give up the 1400 sq ft masterpiece...I live in a much less posh two-bedroom joint now...should be easier on the bills...waaaaaah. That's assuming the power stays on all summer. I had one power outage at my apartment last year...I assume that some important person who lived in the same building got on the horn to the power company, and told them not to do it again.
#11
I don't know if he'll see it, but I keep meaning to ask Zhang Fei, who just mentioned subsidized power and reminded me of my other, older question:
Is the Chinese government subsidizing steel prices to steel-intensive industries, like tubular goods?
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
06/06/2005 21:14 Comments ||
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#12
yep - and how much efficiency i.e.: insulation have the Chinese required? I bet little - means the energy expended to cool living areas i sost to the sky...
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/06/2005 22:01 Comments ||
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#13
or lost - damn lisp
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/06/2005 22:02 Comments ||
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#14
Oh, you nailed it, Frank G. NO insulation. Concrete or cinder-block walls. China is backwards in so many ways.
Former President Bill Clinton urged French President Jacques Chirac on Monday not to be discouraged by the travails of the EU constitution, counseling him to listen to voters' concerns and "go back to work." And to screw an intern to relieve his tension
"I told (Chirac) not to be too discouraged," Clinton said, recalling that he faced similar setbacks as Arkansas governor when he pushed for a new state constitution.
Clinton said it was very difficult to convince voters to approve complicated documents like 448-article EU charter. They're harder to fool than the Americans, Bill.
"So I don't think it means the end of the European Union," Shucks! Clinton said. "I think everybody should just take a deep breath, listen to the concerns of voters and go back to work." Someone out there CC this to the supreme court please That's pretty smug advice comming from him
A priest was slightly hurt Sunday at Paris's famed Notre-Dame cathedral when clashes broke out between church security personnel and gay rights activists who performed a mock marriage of two lesbians.
"Do you, Claudette, take Fifi...?"
"Vous betcha!"
About 20 members of the group Act Up entered the cathedral and proceeded to perform the mock marriage, before baffled tourists and worshippers, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene.
"Jean-Louis! What the hell are they doing?"
One militant - dressed as a priest - pronounced the two women married, while other Act UP members chanted: "Pope Benedict XVI, homophobe, AIDS accomplice."
"Oh. I see. That's what they're doing. Just ignore them, Jean-Pierre. They'll go away eventually."
With security officials in pursuit, the militants fled the cathedral, but clashes broke out outside the Paris landmark, during which Monsignor Patrick Jacquin suffered a minor neck injury.
"Minor? Mon necque, c'est almost busted!"
He was treated at the scene.
"Help me get his head turned around right, Jean-Jacques!"
"Cheeze! Is this what I look like from the back?... Owww!"
The demonstration marked the first anniversary of France's first gay wedding, performed last year in the Bordeaux suburb of Begles. The union of two men has since been declared null and void by the French courts.
"'At's okay, though. Jean-Michel met M. Right and dumped me. Now I don't have to pay for a divorce..."
"They are savages. I was pushed to the ground and trampled, kicked in the neck. It's a scandal for these people to lash out at me and the pope," Jacquin told AFP. Jacquin said he was considering filing charges against what he called "barbaric, odious and scandalous acts."
Beating up priests is so... ummm... revolutionary.
The president of Act Up Paris, Jerome Martin - who participated in Sunday's demonstration - told AFP by telephone that he also had been hit in the melee, but said the priest had exaggerated the actual events.
"Pooh. 'Twasn't like that at all! He's a liar!"
"We did not want to be aggressive with respect to the worshippers... the aggressive security detail wanted to rip up our banner," he said.
"So what else could we do? It's really all their fault, for not letting us do what we wanted to do on their property..."
Earlier, the Act Up militants demonstrated outside Paris city hall, denouncing homophobia and calling for equal rights for gays and lesbians.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/06/2005 10:14 ||
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#1
"We did not want to be aggressive with respect to the worshippers... the aggressive security detail wanted to rip up our banner,"
Yeah, don't blame us. We're the victims here. Like we always are...
#3
I wonder what would have happened had they tried this at Notre Dame University? I look forward to the day when some good Catholic lads with boxing experience just beat seven bells out of these a-holes.
#6
Definitely not funny, bigjim. Don't we have enough trouble with fanatic Muslims without having to deal with fanatic homophobes? Hate is hate, bigotry is bigotry.
#7
If anyone was wondering whats on the ultimate agenda, this is a good look. Once gay nuptials are OK'd by the courts, the next step is to force Churches to perform these services. The beating up of a priest is reminicent of the old Nazi days when they wanted to warn wayword clergy.
#8
When the EU gets fully installed the human rights imps will surely focus on forcing gay marriage ceremonies in religious properties that receive any type of government assistance or aid. The Church won't have to sanction the ceremony theologically but they will have to permit the use of Church property. Wonder how that will play with the faithful of the growing misfit toy diaspora of Allah in Europe?
#9
This is odd, since the mayor of Paris is gay and has been a big friend and supporter of that community. He was even stabbed in 2002 by some homophobe, but survived.
#14
fact of life Marlowe. Imagine - having unprotected anonymous anal sex with hundreds of men, and you actually catch something? Gays understand that the AIDS cocktails are keeping them alive (longer) and are going back to riding bareback...1st time was tragedy. This time it's farce, and deserves to be called for the irresponsible behavior that it is
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/06/2005 19:00 Comments ||
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#15
Well, thank heavens they didn't do something really offensive....like desecrate a Koran.
Italy's justice minister, a member of the right-wing Northern League party, has been accused of fuelling anti-Islamic sentiment in Italy after saying he would fine women wearing the all-covering burka. Roberto Castelli said an Italian law banning the covering of a person's face in public would be applied to women wearing the full-length religious robe that hides the head and face. "To go around with your face covered is a crime, you can't do it," Castelli told reporters. "Women who do so must be reported to the police and fined."
Castelli's outburst is the latest in a series to make headlines as overwhelmingly Catholic Italy comes to grips with a growing Muslim population some see as a blessing for the economy and others as a threat. Opposition politicians demanded his resignation and that of other Northern League ministers, whose party has come to be defined by its anti-immigrant rhetoric. They said the comments were irrelevant because it was rare to see a woman dressed in a burka on Italian streets and that Castelli was fanning hysteria. "Northern League ministers are ... feeding a culture of fear and defensiveness against migrants of Islamic origin," said Paolo Cento, vice chairman of parliament's justice committee.
Italy, with a population of 57 million, is home to an estimated one million officially registered Muslims, making Islam the country's second-largest religion. But social services groups say the number is much higher and growing. Some fear the nascent multiculturalism is already being met by a backlash, prompted in part by attacks against Italian troops and aid workers deployed in Iraq.
A judge last month ordered celebrated Italian writer and journalist Oriana Fallaci to stand trial on charges of defaming Islam in a recent trilogy written in response to the September 11 attacks on US cities. In the books, which sold more than one million copies in Italy, Fallaci complained that Muslim immigrants had "multiplied like rats". Castelli said Fallaci, who lives in New York, would not be found guilty because the government would change the defamation law to clear her, local news agencies ANSA and AGI reported
âThe clash between us and them is not a military clash. Oh, no. It is a cultural one, a religious one. And our military victories do not solve the offensive of Islamic terrorism. On the contrary, they encourage it. They exacerbate it, they multiply it. The worst is still to come.â
President Bush has said, âWe refuse to live in fear.â
Beautiful sentence, very beautiful. I loved it! But inexact, Mr. President, because the West does live in fear. People are afraid to speak against the Islamic world. Afraid to offend, and to be punished for offending, the sons of Allah. You can insult the Christians, the Buddhists, the Hindus, the Jews. You can slander the Catholics, you can spit on the Madonna and Jesus Christ. But, woe betide the citizen who pronounces a word against the Islamic religion.
#2
If you have ever been to Italy you would doubt that the women wear those things in that kind of heat by choice. Mooselimb men probably beat the bejesus out of them if they don't wear those damned things. Maybe Big Bob should fine the womens husbands given the fact that Sharia doesn't give women much choice in the matter.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and France's President Jacques Chirac have both affirmed their commitment to the EU's proposed constitution despite decisive rejections by French and Dutch voters. Schroeder's spokesman, Bela Anda, also underlined on Sunday a new willingness to show flexibility with the EU's future budget and said that "everyone has to move" on the issue. "We cannot drop the idea of Europe because there are difficulties," Anda said after the meeting at Schroeder's office. "We must use this development to make very, very clear that Europe is more than short-term voting behaviour - this is about creating lasting peace, bringing about prosperity and freedom."
Chirac's spokesman, Jerome Bonnafont, added that "one country cannot decide on its own the fate of a treaty negotiated and signed by 25 states. Each member state must be able to express itself in its turn". Ten countries have ratified the EU constitution, most of them in parliamentary votes - among them Germany.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/06/2005 00:00 ||
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Louis the XVI affirmed his commitmment to the Monarchy despite growing discontent of many of his countrymen. When asked her opinion, the Queen Marie Antoinette, the youngest and most beautiful daughter of Francis I and Maria Theresa, Emperor and Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, formally said 'let them eat cake'.
Whoooooooosh! CHOMP!!!
#7
Dear, foolish, naive Marie Antoinette never did say, "Let them eat cake." That was, if I recall correctly, Madame la Pompadour, mistress of her grandfather-in-law. Marie and her courtiers liked to play at shepherds and shepherdesses... although I can't imagine they enjoyed the simple life when the Revolution thrust it upon them.
#8
Mojo, the German Constituion forbids referenda. Granted, the same result could have been achieved with a survey, had the government wanted to know the opinion of the peepul, but let's not blame Schroeder for this one, when there is so much else he is legitimately culpable of.
#12
Had they wanted, they could have changed that provision in the German Constitution with a 2/3 majority in the Bundestag and Bundesrat.
It was a lot easier to hide behind the Basic Law, of course.
Chirac and Schroeder can back a corpse, but we won't back them. It's over. Or, in the words of the often quoted Dr McCoy:
#13
That would be why Schroeder is holding his nose.
Posted by: Tom ||
06/06/2005 14:09 Comments ||
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#14
short-term voting behaviour
That's rich. Does he mean that only a series of votes taken over a long period of time count? Would he be making the same comment if the vote had been "yes"?
Or apply it (no, don't) to US elections: "John Kerry declared today that he is in fact the President, despite the short-term voting behavior of 60,000,000 Americans."
Posted by: Matt ||
06/06/2005 14:11 Comments ||
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The Swiss have given a vote of confidence to the shaken European Union, approving participation in an EU system ending passport checks at the country's border. In a two-issue referendum on Sunday, a majority also voted in favour of granting more rights to same-sex couples in the first time the subject has been put to a national vote in Europe. About 55% of voters, or 1.47 million people, supported joining Europe's passport-free Schengen zone by 2007, indicating the Swiss favour closer integration with the EU, of which the country is not a member.
Swiss President Samuel Schmid hailed the result as backing for the coalition government's policy of developing closer links with the rest of Europe, but said it would not ignore the large minority that voted against Schengen membership
Posted by: Fred ||
06/06/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
I don't ever remember seeing the guardhouses manned at the Swiss border. Not even when we needed help during an unexpected snowfall. (This was over a decade ago.) I suppose now they are making it official.
#4
So does that mean their borders are as secure now as ours?
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
06/06/2005 10:42 Comments ||
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#5
So who stops the illegals from crossing the border into Switzerland and setting up shop in some anonymous ghetto? Or do the Swiss police do sweeps and clean out the trash on a regular basis? I am just asking a stupid question, but someone needs to ask.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/06/2005 23:02 Comments ||
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#6
I don't think it matters much in the case of Switzerland because, if you somehow managed to get into one of the surrounding countries...well you're pretty much in anyway. It's not like they're surrounded by Iran, Syria, etc.
Posted by: Rafael ||
06/06/2005 23:44 Comments ||
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THE CONTROVERSY over recent actions by the chair of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting might not be so disturbing if the organization were not engaging in the exact kind of political interference it was designed to prevent. I agree with this statement. Thomlinson is interfering.
Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, who has quietly headed CPB for 18 months, recently emerged with an agenda that includes hiring monitors to find examples of liberal bias on public affairs shows, appointing ombudsmen to carry out further monitoring and making thinly veiled threats to pull funding for shows that don't meet his fairness criteria. Oh how awful, monitors. It's fascism, isn't it?
Mr. Tomlinson's first salvo was to cut Bill Moyers' weekly show, NOW, from one hour to 30 minutes after Mr. Moyers' departure, then fund two programs with conservative viewpoints: one hosted by Paul Gigot, editor of The Wall Street Journal's editorial page, the other by former CNN commentator Tucker Carlson. Now Mr. Tomlinson is considering launching an investigation into whether National Public Radio's Middle East coverage is pro-Arab. No question that is is pro-terrorist.
To view these moves in their proper context, it's important to understand the origins of the CPB.
Congress established the CPB in 1967 as part of a new public broadcasting infrastructure. Unfortunately, in creating the system, Congress failed to set up an endowed trust to pay for programming, so monies are allocated annually by a panel of commissioners appointed by the U.S. president. The CPB was charged with shielding public broadcasting from political pressure and with ensuring that programming is objective and balanced. A mission it has failed, miserably.
Unlike the time-honored philosophy of openness and collaboration practiced by CPB boards for decades through Republican and Democratic administrations, the current board appears to prefer to work behind a wall of secrecy, shrouding its motives and agenda. How terrible. That is exactly how NPR came to be a leftist publicly funded news outlet. Funny how that works.
Mr. Tomlinson's reported efforts to terminate funding of startup national news programming appear to be an attempt to prevent the development and success of original content aimed at one of public broadcasting's core missions: to provide in-depth, contextual programming that promotes diverse voices and serves the underserved. Another mission it has failed, mierably.
It is important to note that a recent survey of the American public commissioned by the CPB, undertaken jointly by a Republican and a Democratic polling firm, found that "the majority of the U.S. adult population does not believe that the news and information programming on public broadcasting is biased." Specifically, 78 percent of the general respondents indicated that NPR did not have a liberal bias. Deomcracy works for in NPR's favor at last.
In another study, the NPR listening audience identified itself as one-third conservative, one-third independent and one-third liberal. And congressional support for public broadcasting is and always has been bipartisan in nature. Doesn't mean a thing to me.
Now The New York Times reports, "An association of news ombudsmen has rejected an attempt by two ombudsmen from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to join their organization as full-fledged members, questioning their independence." No, CPB did that all by themselves.
Ironically, the CPB's scrutiny of public radio has a minimal effect on NPR, as CPB funding to NPR is minimal. Rather, it's the individual stations across America that will suffer if the CPB withholds grants to them as a way of protesting perceived NPR biases. Then there is no reason not to cut them loose.
Locally, WYPR-FM has always attempted to fairly present all sides of an issue. The Marc Steiner Show and the 22 other programs produced by WYPR-FM are most certainly inclusive. While 7 percent of WYPR-FM's annual budget comes from the CPB, if the CPB pursues this errant course and attempts to assert influence upon our content, WYPR-FM would immediately reject CPB funds. Again, there is no reason not to cut them loose.
Government tampering with independent journalism is a very bad idea reserved for tyrannical governments. Attempting to inject balance into public broadcasting is an imprudent, and quite possibly dangerous, idea. I agree with a lot of this. Public broadcasting is garbage, not quite as bad as commercial TV, but very very bad in its own way. You are wasting time resources and effort trying to wash the garbage. And the concept of balance in public broascasting is long gone. The only cure, in my most humble opinion is the death penalty. Cut CPB loose, with no funding and no public support. Let them achieve their own balance.
#1
"78 percent of the general respondents indicated that NPR did not have a liberal bias"
Well then surely that was the 78% that never listens to it. What a crock.
Posted by: Tom ||
06/06/2005 8:55 Comments ||
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#2
NPR's bias is fairly pervasive and comes out in alot of idiotic ways. Much of it takes the form of Daniel Shore (senior (read senile)"news analyst" - somebody needs to tell him the world doesn't revolve around JFK, Nixon, and Watergate)and Robert Reich (sp)(nasty reckless SUV driving professor/midget) mutterings as well as bitter little stunted 1960's liberal ankle biter jabs thrown by newsreaders in with an adjective or phrase here and there. The bias can often be clearly seen in the choice of topics and context in the segments presented. It is annoying, pointless, and often juvenile at best. NPR's news and news oriented programing is an awkward dinosaur that can only be fixed with clearcutting and burning of the undergrowth followed by reseeding with a more intelligent staff operating under proper supervision and real guidelines for conduct. It seems to be a pervasive people problem there. Many of the reporters and news readers see their job as a crude personal soapbox. At last check that was not the role intended for NPR. I've been a sporadic listener for years but listen less and less as the quality drops and rhetoric rises. The idea of NPR is great but the crude expressions of political bias need to be brought to an end. Until that time I'll probably continue to get nausea and alternately, urges to inflict grievous bodily harm, ever time they start begging for money by tooting their own whistle claiming to be some sort of pure news outfit.
#4
Defund NPR and let them compete in the marketplace. If there are enough people who want to hear - and support - it, fine.
Otherwise, welcome to the real world.
QUIT TAKING MY TAX DOLLARS FOR THIS POS!
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/06/2005 12:04 Comments ||
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#5
NPR's news and news oriented programing is an awkward dinosaur that can only be fixed with clearcutting and burning of the undergrowth followed by reseeding
#6
NPR's news and news oriented programing is an awkward dinosaur that can only be fixed with clearcutting and burning of the undergrowth followed by reseeding
#7
Presumably the poll questioned only NPR listeners, since non-listeners would have no basis for an opinion. The same type of polling would show that 78% of CBS news viewers and 78% of Fox news viewers report no bias.
#8
NPR specifically is well-funded by a bequest form McDonald's heiress Joan Kroc. I read that only about 1% of their budget comes from federal funds. But
#9
Shipman - I've looked the beast in the eyes (well maybe about two dozen of the eyes literally and a bit intoxicated at that) at a number of parties down in DC over the years. To be sure, the people are nice enough but blindered, hypocritical and stuck in an ideological time warp of sorts that leaves them with a 290 degree moral blindspot. Don't worry 'bout me though because I'm not going to go Sunni, er uh, I mean "postal." As a member of the NYT's 91st percentile of classissitude I could never besmirch my good reputation or soft hands touching an axe, hatchet, chinese cleaver, newport menthol, masonry hammer, reciprocating saw, or orphan drink.
Lifted from a yearlong study by the New York Times about class structure in America, and how you don't belong. Fit yourself into their little categories, and see how you score! I got 51%, woohoo, I'm above average.
#2
F@#king liberals! Isn't this kind of thing exactly what they say is wrong with the country? I thought class struggle was central to their philosophy of socialistic nirvana. If they don't even know what they want, how the hell are we supposed to jump to it every time they whistle?
#3
83% here. I new that college edamucation would pay off some day! Now do I get my membership into the Society of People Who Are Unfairly Privileged? Cause I'm tried of having to work for what I have...
#4
To sum it up: Todays lead story appears to be about the tug of war of the new hyper rich vs. the old money rich on Nantucket.
How New York Timesian!
#5
Wow! I'm in the 'upper 5th portion! Whooo Hoo!!
Does this mean I should expect that invitation from the Kerry's and Kennedys any day now?
Only people like the NYT would rate someone on 'occupation', 'education', 'income' and 'wealth' - how Elitist... I'm suprised there isn't a 'race' column -- but then that would be to obvious wouldn't it...
Sorry but I rate people on a little thing called 'character'. I know some mechanics who are real decent people who I would like to hang around with and some collage grads and lawyers who are pure elitist assholes.
#6
So,are you supposed to take the results of the 4 catgories and average them out?
If so this explains why I feel like such an ignorant cracker around here.28%(no catagory for the disabiled)
#11
Well, I could not get in on my current occupation (military) but I could get in on management (retail & engineering) or on my side job as an educator (college level).
Average 66%
Does this mean that I can piss on 6 out of ten people that I meet? Or should I just raise my nose and sniff at them? Should I lick the boots of those whom I know make more money than I do? That would only be 3 out of ten people . . . I thnk I could live with that . . . NOT.
#12
I guess I can't associate with you low-lifes any more.
Out of my slimebag; I got an 87%.
Anyone notice that being a lawyer was far more prestigious than being an engineer or teacher. Guess they didn't talk to anyone in middle America. No bias here. Naaah.
#13
Out of my way, slimebag. Obviously my manservant Jeeves isn't up to his task, so I fired him. For that I have been elevated to the lofty 91% class.
#14
Whenever I see a "Wealth " column in a survey, I find it in my best interest not to take said survey as I would not wish to depress the shit out of myself for at least the remaninder of the day.
#15
Theres a slight problem: It has no real inclusion for a PhD candidate that has worked in the military and government for his living. The "wealth" I generated is of a kind that makes the others kind possible. And like any other soldier, I damn sure didnt get rich at it (but have done fairly well by "paying myself first" [10 percent off the top] and investing conservatively).
Does that make me a "patsy" of the rich in the NYT's eyes? Well there are some things money cannot buy, like self respect and knowing I have made a real difference in this world.
Besides that, I can kill any one of those uppity gits 7 different ways. [grin]
#16
To most of us, OldSpook, you're in a far higher class than anyone at the NYT, no matter what their occupation, degree, income, or wealth.
Posted by: Tom ||
06/06/2005 11:13 Comments ||
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#17
You know, we might be able to make something of this if we can get the raw data.
Offer a service where people (the elite of course... not those peasants!) can fill out the questionair and get a 'secret code' which they can put on their business card so others can run a compatability check (via cell phone -- for a fee) and get either:
a 'thumbs up' (compatable)
thumbs down' (your too good for them)
or a rasberry (with sound - your out of your league!).
It would prove most popular in certain high school chics and parties.
#18
I got 86%, which is proof the calc's busted, cuz I've got no class
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/06/2005 11:35 Comments ||
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#19
OS: Does that make me a "patsy" of the rich in the NYT's eyes? Well there are some things money cannot buy, like self respect and knowing I have made a real difference in this world.
In the calculator, reporters (64th percentile) are ranked higher than Financial Analysts (50th percentile). In the real world, reporters (if you're not Peter Jennings) would probably rank in the 1st percentile. Let's face it - military guys have a lot of prestige. When you move up through the ranks in corporate America, there's an aura associated with being an ex-military guy. An ex-reporter would be better off not mentioning his background.
#20
Note also that these are prestige factors as conceived by the liberals who work at and for the New York Times. Conservatives have a different scale.
#23
In a related article, the WaPo went to the NASCAR races at Dover this weekend and discovered that the peasants like to *drink beer* and *party* at these types of events. Heavens, what's the world coming to?
(Oh and also some of the unwashed are actually lawyers and stockbrokers out slumming. The Croquet, Lawn Tennis, and Squash Club must be notified immediately!)
#24
Occupation "Lawyer" gets an 84th percentile -- is this screwed up or what!
Posted by: Tom ||
06/06/2005 11:57 Comments ||
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#25
72nd percentile. Not bad for a redneck from Alabama living on a farm in the mountains of East Tennessee.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
06/06/2005 12:00 Comments ||
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#26
One way to think of a personâs position in society is in terms of 4 factors â education, income, occupation and wealth (4 commonly used criteria for gauging class).
Yeah, that's one way - if you're a self-centered, elitist twit.
Or, like most normal people, you could judge it based on things like character and what a person does to help others and actually improve the world.
Idiots.
(71% - big whoop)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/06/2005 12:16 Comments ||
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#27
Lack of stairs to the trailer house hurt me purdy bad, 5 cars couldnt make up for the deficit.
#28
How amusingly silly! I'll just have to have those NYTimes "journalists" over for tea, and make my own judgements. I shall, however, pick up a few things at the bakery -- no point in wasting my time baking for them with my own little hands. I save that for those who rate, like Rantburgers.
Truly, any survey that doesn't rank house-spouse as the prestigious accessory that it's become (house-husbands being even more prestigious than us housewives), just demonstrates how out of touch with the real world these "journalists" are. And relying on gov't rankings to determine relative value -- how jejune! (Do, please, forgive my overt snobbishness, y'all, it is absolutely not directed at you. And the social pretenses of the 'Timers is so very ridiculous.)
You're working in a foreign clime, making Chinese scale for expats, not expat scale for expats. Adjust it for the Chinese income sale, and you'd be a lot higher. I expect that locals see you as a high-income foreign expat.
#31
Depends, Cyber Sarge. If you like Proust, cheese and socialist policies, you are Good. If not, you are a racist oppressor who has made your fortune at the expense of brown men and womyn worldwide. You evil tyrant, you.
#33
Yay I always wanted to be an evil tyrant. Anyone need to be oppressed? Maybe I will check at the country club later today and see if there are any lower social types that need oppressing. Do I have to go to a class or something? I don't have a lot of experience in this area, but i am willing to learn.
#34
CS - You should check out the official portraits of Khadaffy, Chavez, and Mugabe for fashion tips. A colorful sash (usually tri-color) and lots of doo-dads and bike sprockets are prolly req'd to get your Evil Tyrant⢠ID card, not to mention the fawning attention of the MSM. You'll also need at least one radio and one TV station - so you can properly rant and rave and blame BusHitler and the Great Satan, etc., then demand aid and the full blueprints pkg for a deliverable nuke. I believe this last bit is part of the State Dept's Seditious Olde Money / Ivy League Snot Retirement Plan, but I could be wrong.
#36
You know the other I found myself contemplating if Bush really is evil and Saddam is just a victim of bad management policies. Does that get me into the club or do I need more Kool Aid? Anyone know where I can get one of those fancy sashes?
#39
I went through the job menus and did not see military anywhere. I also scored 48, 51 and 58 depending on how I chose my job. They didn't have a category that was anywhere close.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
06/06/2005 13:47 Comments ||
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#41
LotR - Try 'mass murderer' or 'killer of cute puppies and baby ducks' -- that is how the NYT views the military...
Oh and for your terrorist out there who monitor Rantburg (I suspect there are a few) the NYT (and your hero Mike Al-moore) would classify you as 'miniutemen' or 'freedom fighters'.....
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/06/2005 19:55 Comments ||
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#50
Desert Blondie, of course your sweetie married up! You're a girl, right? (pthhht to all you male readers. Even if you disagree, you are all clever enough not to say so out loud, right?)
I don't think, though, that I count as a true trophy wife. We married much too young for him to have discerned trophy attributes -- and I never did become a tall, slender blonde with a penchent for expensive jewelry and designer everything. ;-)
But then, NYT types are so riveted on the attributes of the class they are in that they can't recognize their superiors -- an amusing mark of their inferiority, of course. As mentioned in this thread, character is a key one, as is attachment to reality, and the willingness to beat the snot out of NYT journalists who need it -- strictly for their own good, of course.
Thank you all for the laughs -- it's been the kind of day that brings out the snottiness in me. Weather 92F with high humidity, a feeling of impending thunderstorms, Mr. Wife out on business dinners every night this week for the annual whatever-it-is, and I pushed too hard yesterday, so I'm paying for it today.
/end whin[g]ing, I promise!
#51
I got an 86, but I want to know how I stack up against Pinch Sulzburger. I guess I'll never know, because I didn't see "great-granddaddy bought a newspaper" in the "Occupation" section.
Posted by: Darth VAda ||
06/06/2005 22:55 Comments ||
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#52
Went to Nantucket July 5th 1976 - the day after the island workers 200th 4th celebration/orgy on the beach. Was having a brew in one of the pubs and some Johnson & Johnson heirs sat down next to me. I had just had a wierdo try to pick me up to go do his wife so they were a breath of fresh air. The sisters donated time helping out at the emergency room and never ever wanted to hear of something as stupid as an orgy on the beach again. They had spent the late hours of the 4th and most of the 5th picking sand and shells out of parts of peoples bodies that were not designed for it.
They really needed those drinks and were quite condesending to the white trash on Martha's Vineyard. Can't say I blamed them. The said no islanders were among the patients they had treated. Most were from Martha's Vineyard and Boston.
Don't know where this comment is going but for some reason it seemed to fit the NYT calculator (old Nantucket vs New Rich)
Dean: GOP has 'dark, difficult and dishonest' vision (USA Today)
Most of Howard Dean's speech at the "Take Back America" conference here was met with whoops, cheers and standing ovations as he attacked Republicans for "the culture of corruption and the abuse of power" in Washington, and accused the Bush administration of ignoring corporate "stealing" of pensions canceled during bankruptcy proceedings. Dean's remark was the latest in a string of provocative comments that Democratic strategists say fire up activists but complicate the job of expanding the party. "He's got a lot of pluses, and he fires off the occasional errant missile," consultant David Axelrod said.
Republicans See Glimmer of Hope in California (Yahoo news)
Every six weeks, Republican Party chairman Ken Mehlman has traveled to California, a large and solidly Democratic Party stronghold. With Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor and the state's most conservative areas growing rapidly, Republicans are sensing an opportunity. [W]hile population growth is slowing in left-leaning coastal areas like Los Angeles and San Francisco, it is accelerating in more conservative regions such as the Central Valley and the Inland Empire area east of Los Angeles. Mehlman has seized on those trends, traveling to California every six weeks this year for outreach work in Hispanic, black and Asian American areas. On a recent visit, he addressed a Hispanic community center south of Los Angeles and a black leadership forum in Sacramento, and held several fundraisers and meetings with GOP lawmakers. In his outreach to ethnic minorities, Mehlman said he stresses the party's commitment to economic self-reliance and traditional family values.
These two articles just struck me in the different way the two party chairmen behave towards their audiences. Dean howling in front of the party faithful, Ken Mehlman respectfully courting voters not traditionally aligned with his party.
#1
yes it's wrong but the Republicans should not take it to the next level (appeal). Let her keep her job and it will make the next state-wide office that much easier to win. I would trade the Gov for another Senator.
#2
Unfortunately Ron Sims (Democrat King County Executive - who basically runs the King County Elections office) now has a blank check to stuff as many dead, felon, illegal alien, and imaginary friend votes as possible into the ballot box before, during, and after the election to insure that his friends win.
For those who dont know the Judge basically said that an illegal vote cannot be claimed as 'illegal' unless one can specify exactly how the vote was cast (impossible under the secret ballot).
He did not even rebuke the King County elections office for their shamefull (and outright illegal) handling of the ballots.
That is unless the Legislature (controlled by Democrats) change the law. Yeah... right....
#3
There's always the federal route if GWB wasn't trying to make Dem's happy. Note to George, there is nothing you can do to make them happy other than to die. They are not going to change. Treat them the same. Certainly the actions of King County Election office denied citizens of their basic civil rights by defrauding the balloting processing. Fundamentally nothing different there than in the south in the 60s, except it's not black being robbed of a fair vote in this case, just everyone other than Dems.
#4
Dem senators? F*&k Em. Maria (Realplay popup senator) and Patty (Mom with tennis shoes) are THE weakest pair of boobs (so to speak) to populate a western state. Time to take the electorate away from the latte urban voters
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/06/2005 20:48 Comments ||
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#5
Hot Damn, Frank, we're not in the same state, are we?
Four US nationals have been arrested in Laos for "liaising illegally" with ethnic Hmong people, a foreign ministry official said on Monday.
The four were detained on Saturday and are now being questioned in Vientiane, said spokesman Yong Chanhthalansy. They were in Laos to try and ensure the safety of relatives of Hmong rebels surrendering to the Lao authorities. On Saturday, 170 women, children and old men surrendered after living in the jungle since the Vietnam War.
According to the Nation newspaper in Thailand, the four detainees were Sia Cher Vang and Nhia Vang Yang - two Hmong Americans - as well as Californians Ed and Georgie Szendrey.
All four are members of the Fact Finding Commission (FFC), a US-based organisation which has kept in touch with Hmong rebels still hiding in Laos. The Laos government spokesman told Reuters news agency that the four "were making trouble with the local authorities and local people, who reported that they were very unhappy". "So they have been placed under arrest and are now being interrogated in Vientiane," he said.
Talk about being unhappy
Ed Szendrey was in Laos to meet the first group of relatives to surrender. He said they were received warmly by local villagers in Xiang Khuang province. "The surrender went smoothly and food was provided by villagers at the request of the local government authorities," Mr Szendrey was quoted by the FFC as saying, before his arrest on Saturday. But Mr Yong disputed his account, saying the Americans' presence was interfering with a government programme to relocate jungle communities to improve their living conditions. Some members of the Hmong ethnic minority were recruited by the CIA to fight on behalf of the pro-American side during the Vietnam War. But when the Communist Pathet Lao took control of the country in 1975, the Hmong found themselves virtually abandoned by Washington. Many have since adapted to life in Communist Laos, while others have fled to Thailand and the US. But thousands of stayed in the Lao jungle, where they have faced growing hardship and continuing clashes with troops.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/06/2005 08:48 ||
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#1
BBC: But when the Communist Pathet Lao took control of the country in 1975, the Hmong found themselves virtually abandoned by Washington.
Actually, that's false, but what would you expect from the BBC? The US has accepted Montagnards for as refugees since the end of the Vietnam War. The problem is that they need to make it out of Laos to get refugee status. Since the Communist government will not allow them to leave, there is very little that we can do. That's what I like about the BBC - in every article involving Uncle Sam, you can expect a big lie hidden among seemingly innocuous facts.
#2
Communist Laos said it had freed four American "troublemakers" on Monday after detaining them for illegal contacts with ethnic Hmong, the hill people who once manned a secret CIA-backed army during the Vietnam War.
"We informed the U.S. consular people to pick them up and they were sent out via the Lao Friendship Bridge" into Thailand, Foreign Minister Somsavat Lengsavad told Reuters by telephone. Foreign Ministry spokesman Yong Chanhthalansy said earlier the four, members of a California-based group of Hmong sympathisers called the Fact Finding Commission, were detained on Saturday and were being interrogated in Vientiane.
Bangkok's Nation newspaper said the last communication from the group was a satellite phone call its leader, Ed Szendrey, made around 50 km (30 miles) outside Vientiane near a major military checkpoint.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/06/2005 10:14 Comments ||
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#3
Are Hmong and Montagarnards ethnically the same?
SWOT. I have a magnificient Montagarard crossbow. Not one piece of metal on it. Shoots/shot a bamboo bolt with built in bamboo fletching, bamboo and other-stuff string, kinda of a weird grassy composite.
#5
Although sympathetic to the Hmong, I have to say that the American FFC team apparently don't quite grasp the concept of national sovereignty. Whatever their opinions and loyalties, they need to grasp that when you travel to another country, and particularly when you travel to a designated "special military zone" within a country, you need to play by the local government's rules. The fcat that they - and the Hmong - are still living in 1975 - does not impose an obligation upon the present Lao government to subordinate its sovereignty to outsiders.
#7
Let's rememrber that genocides in South-East Asia were made possible by the kind of scum who works at BBC. I dream of someonbe managing to edit the tape before it is aired so people are reminded of the truth instad of what the BBC people want them to think.
Oh, boy! Call my travel agent!
The Palestinian Authority is intending to collect late leader Yasser Arafat's personal possessions for a museum, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday. Conde Nast calls it "an historical assault on the nasal passages"!
According to his decree, a special committee will be formed to gather Arafat's personal belongings and objects from his daily life, prior to his death in November. His head towel, his...other head towel. And ,of course, the famous red binder.
The decree said that relevant artifacts would be housed and displayed in a special museum dedicated to the man who led the Palestinian Liberation Organization for more than 30 years.Arafat was born in August 1929 and died on November 11, 2004 in Paris. Maybe The Mossad can contribute a mockup of The Zionist Death Ray?
The decree, published by the Palestinian news agency Wafa, said that the collections committee has been already formed and is to be headed by Palestinian presidency chief of staff Tayeb Abdel Rahim. Wonder if they'll use some of the stash money to pay for it or skim it off the top of the new aid money?
The decree named Foreign Minister Nasser al-Qedwa, a nephew of Arafat, as well as Ramzi Khouri, Arafat's personal secretary, as members of the committee, along with Palestinian officials Rafiq al- Husseini and Sami Musalam. All the members of the committee were among Arafat's closest confidants. Hopefully they've all been tested for that disease he didn't die of...
#6
According to his decree, a special committee will be formed to gather Arafat's personal belongings and objects from his daily life, prior to his death in November.
His head towel, his...other head towel. And ,of course, the famous red binder.
#10
Dear friend,
I am Mrs. SUHU ARAFAT, the wife of YASSER ARAFAT, the Palestinian leader who died recently in Paris. Since his death and even prior to the announcement, I have been thrown into a state of antagonism, confusion, humiliation,frustration
and hopelessness by the present leadership of the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the new Prime Minister. I have even been subjected to
physical and psychological torture. As a widow that is so traumatized, I have lost confidence with everybody in the country at the moment...
An outbreak of a lethal new bug at a leading specialist hospital has claimed 12 lives and is posing a grave new threat to the NHS, doctors have warned.
More than 300 patients have been infected with the bug, a virulent new strain of Clostridium difficile, at Stoke Mandeville hospital in Oxfordshire, known for its world-famous spinal injuries unit supported by the former disc jockey Sir Jimmy Savile. But all attempts to control the infection, which causes severe diarrhoea that can be life-threatening, have failed.
The disclosure raises new concerns about NHS hygiene following a series of scares over the superbug MRSA and the pressure on hospitals to hit waiting list targets.
Cases of C. difficile have soared from fewer than 1,000 in 1990 to 43,672 in 2004 but it has not received the same attention as MRSA. Latest figures show there were 934 deaths in 2003, a 38 per cent rise in two years. A similar number of people died from MRSA in the same year, with 955 people dying from the infection, a 30 per cent increase in two years.
The bug poses a particular threat to hospitals because it produces hardy spores that are resistant to normal methods of cleaning and can persist on hands, clothes, bedding and furniture, transmitting the infection to new patients. Alcohol gels used by medical staff to clean their hands between patients, in an attempt to combat MRSA, are ineffective against the spores of C. difficile. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said washing in soap and water was necessary to eliminate the bug and powerful disinfectants were needed instead of ordinary detergents to clean the wards.
Fears about the growing threat posed by the bug led the Department of Health to introduce mandatory reporting of infections caused by the bacterium last year. The cost of treating each case was estimated at £4,000 in 1996, implying a cost to the NHS today of more than £200m.
A report by the National C. difficile Standards Group set up by the health department in 2003 said the rise in cases was "dramatic" and it had happened "at a time when there is a general perception that standards of hospital cleaning have been declining".
Andrew Berrington, consultant microbiologist at Sunderland City hospital and a member of the standards group said: "It is a serious problem and in some ways more serious than MRSA. A new strain would be an important and concerning thing..."
SAN FRANCISCO — A stormy, decade-long relationship between Apple Computer Inc. and IBM is over, according to published reports. Apple Supreme Being CEO Steve Jobs is expected to announce Monday morning at the company's software developers conference in San Francisco that Apple will discontinue using microprocessor chips made by IBM in favor of Intel chips, according to CNET Networks Inc.'s News.com and The Wall Street Journal. Officials from Apple, Intel Corp. and International Business Machines Corp. could not be reached Sunday to confirm the report.
For years, rumors of Apple's wish to jump to the Dark Side Intel have been circulating. But two weeks ago, analysts were skeptical when The Wall Street Journal reported that Intel and Apple were in negotiations. One reason for the skepticism is that the move represents a significant risk for Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple.
Switching to Intel's x86 chips would force Apple's programmers to rewrite its software in order to adapt to the new processor while still preventing it from running on Intel boxes. "I don't know that Apple's market share can survive another architecture shift," Insight 64 analyst Nathan Brookwood told News.com. "Every time they do this, they lose more customers."
News.com reported that Apple would begin the transition to Intel with its lower-end computers, such as the Mac Mini, in mid-2006 and higher-end models a year later. Apple's break with IBM stemmed from Jobs' wish that IBM make a faster chip larger variety of the PowerPC processors used in Macintosh systems. IBM balked because of concerns over the profitability of a low-volume business, News.com reported.
By wrestling away Apple's business from IBM, Intel tightens its stranglehold on the PC processor business. The company holds more than an 80 percent share of the market.
Monopoly, anyone?
Although IBM suffers a setback with the loss of Apple, the company could reap a financial windfall from deals with Microsoft (MSFT), Nintendo and Sony Corp. (SNE) to put microprocessors it is producing in next-generation video-game consoles. A new microprocessor that IBM co-developed with Sony and Toshiba Corp, code-named Cell and planned for Sony's next PlayStation console, is being touted as capable of delivering 10 times the performance of today's PC processors.
As a dedicated Mac user, I'm finding this very hard to believe, but we'll know later today. The popular Mac website/weblog Macintouch has lots more info if you're interested.
But you guys will pry my one-button mouse from my cold, dead fingers. :-)
Posted by: Steve ||
06/06/2005 09:42 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
By wrestling away Apple's business from IBM, Intel tightens its stranglehold on the PC processor business.
Got you in a stranglehold, baby
You best get out of the way ...
#5
The new cell chips that will be in the new XBOX and SPS are so much faster than the new intel processors its not even funny. They are amazing. Also.. its been rumourded the ones that are shipping in the SPS and the XBOX are triple core. They are already faster than everything else and on top of that triple core. These are going to be multiteraflop processors (btween 1.5 and 3) which means they will be roughly 100 or 200 times faster than a P4 3.0
#6
WWDC 2005, SAN FRANCISCO, June 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- At its Worldwide Developer Conference today, Apple(R) announced plans to deliver models of its Macintosh(R) computers using Intel(R) microprocessors by this
time next year, and to transition all of its Macs to using Intel microprocessors by the end of 2007. Apple previewed a version of its
critically acclaimed operating system, Mac OS(R) X Tiger, running on an Intel-based Mac(R) to the over 3,800 developers attending CEO Steve Jobs' keynote address. Apple also announced the availability of a Developer Transition Kit,
consisting of an Intel-based Mac development system along with preview versions of Apple's software, which will allow developers to prepare versions of their applications which will run on both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs.
"Our goal is to provide our customers with the best personal computers in the world, and looking ahead Intel has the strongest processor roadmap by far," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "It's been ten years since our transition
to the PowerPC, and we think Intel's technology will help us create the best personal computers for the next ten years." "We are thrilled to have the world's most innovative personal computer company as a customer," said Paul Otellini, president and CEO of Intel. "Apple
helped found the PC industry and throughout the years has been known for fresh ideas and new approaches. We look forward to providing advanced chip technologies, and to collaborating on new initiatives, to help Apple continue
to deliver innovative products for years to come."
"We plan to create future versions of Microsoft Office for the Mac that support both PowerPC and Intel processors," said Roz Ho, general manager of Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit. "We have a strong relationship with Apple and will work closely with them to continue our long tradition of making great applications for a great platform." "We think this is a really smart move on Apple's part and plan to create
future versions of our Creative Suite for Macintosh that support both PowerPC and Intel processors," said Bruce Chizen, CEO of Adobe.
The Developer Transition Kit is available starting today for $999 to all Apple Developer Connection Select and Premier members. Further information for Apple Developer Connection members is available at developer.apple.com. Intel plans to provide industry leading development tools support for Apple later
this year, including the Intel C/C++ Compiler for Apple, Intel Fortran Compiler for Apple, Intel Math Kernel Libraries for Apple and Intel Integrated Performance Primitives for Apple.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/06/2005 13:46 Comments ||
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#7
Soooo, who's gonna buy a Mac until the new Intel models are available?
Posted by: Steve ||
06/06/2005 14:27 Comments ||
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#8
Fred - Here's one for your Apple-related image collection.
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.
The Mars rover Opportunity has successfully escaped from a sand trap. JPL engineers cheered when images returned from Mars showed the rover's wheels were free. Engineers worked for nearly five weeks to carefully maneuver the rover out of the sand dune. (Jun. 4)
Downing Street has confirmed the UK has put on ice plans for a referendum next spring on the European constitution. It comes after "No" votes in France and the Netherlands which analysts said had effectively killed the treaty. Tony Blair's spokesman said: "We are in uncertain times and we do not proceed until we have got certainty." French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder are urging other members, including the UK, to continue the ratification process. EU leaders are preparing for a summit next week to discuss how to proceed.
A priest was slightly hurt Sunday at Paris's famed Notre-Dame cathedral when clashes broke out between church security personnel and gay rights activists who performed a mock marriage of two lesbians. 
Italy's justice minister, a member of the right-wing Northern League party, has been accused of fuelling anti-Islamic sentiment in Italy after saying he would fine women wearing the all-covering burka. Roberto Castelli said an Italian law banning the covering of a person's face in public would be applied to women wearing the full-length religious robe that hides the head and face. "To go around with your face covered is a crime, you can't do it," Castelli told reporters. "Women who do so must be reported to the police and fined."
German Chancellor 
SAN FRANCISCO — A stormy, decade-long relationship between Apple Computer Inc. and IBM is over, according to published reports. Apple 
