California's San Joaquin Valley for some time has had the dirtiest air in the country. Monday, officials said gases from ruminating dairy cows, not exhaust from cars, are the region's biggest single source of a chief smog-forming pollutant.
Every year, the average dairy cow produces 19.3 pounds of gases, called volatile organic compounds, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District said. Those gases react with other pollutants to form ground-level ozone, or smog.
With 2.5 million dairy cows ââ¬â roughly one of every five in the country ââ¬â emissions of almost 20 pounds per cow mean that cattle in the San Joaquin Valley produce more organic compounds than are generated by either cars or trucks or pesticides, the air district said. The finding will serve as the basis for strict air-quality regulations on the region's booming dairy industry.
The dairy industry will be forced to invest millions of dollars in expensive pollution-control technology in feedlots and waste lagoons, and may even have to consider altering animals' diets to meet the region's planned air-quality regulations. Not surprisingly, industry officials challenged the estimate as scientifically unsound.
Air-quality regulators defended their estimate as a conservative one based on the best available research. But it was criticized by some scientists ââ¬â including one whose work was used by the district to arrive at the figure.
Five members of Congress and 12 state legislators had demanded that the district reconsider a similar draft estimate, calling it absurdly high. Environmentalists and some community groups, meanwhile, called the same figure too low.
The entire exercise of estimating cow emissions has been lampooned on talk radio as "fart science" run amok ââ¬âalthough most gas actually comes from the front end of the cow.
"I'd like to challenge the people that came up with this information to enclose yourself in a shop with a cow, and at the same time have someone enclose themselves in a similar shop with a car or truck running," one critic, Steve Hofman of Ripon, Calif., wrote to the Modesto Bee. "Then let me know the results."
"This is not some arcane dispute about cow gases," said Brent Newell, an attorney for the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment. "We are talking about a public health crisis. It's not funny to joke about cow burps and farts when one in six children in Fresno schools is carrying an inhaler."
The dairy industry is growing fast in the San Joaquin Valley as farms driven out of the Chino area in Southern California by urbanization move into the Central Valley. Government officials estimate that over the next several years, the number of cows in the San Joaquin air basin will increase from 2.5 million to about 2.9 million.
Although air-quality officials now have a figure on the extent of the cow pollution problem, it remained unclear how far they could push dairies to reduce bovine emissions.
Cow manure is also a major source of emissions and will probably be targeted for regulation. Officials said they may also require dairies to alter the food cows eat in order to reduce flatulence.
Possible measures include scraping manure from cow corrals more frequently so it won't fester in the heat and installing digesters to break down pollution in the lagoons where cow waste is later flushed.
"We need immediate regulation now. We know the pollutants are coming off these dairies," said Tom Frantz, a native of Shafter, Calif., who heads a group called the Assn. of Irritated Residents. He says that he developed asthma in the last five years as factory dairy farms moved into the region. "Ag hasn't been regulated in the past, but times are changing. Our lungs will not become an agricultural subsidy."
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/02/2005 20:09 ||
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Although air-quality officials now have a figure on the extent of the cow pollution problem, it remained unclear how far they could push dairies to reduce bovine emissions.
Can't speak to dairy cattle but back in the midwest the folks report that beef cattle raised in feedlots result in a profit of about $20/head at current prices. Much regulation and California will find that they're regulating agriculture right out of the state. Of course that likely won't bother them at all.
#4
Jebus, if the anti dairy types can't stop the daries from being built (and they try like hell) They come up with some junk crap like this. I live here. Most of the air I can see is dirt! Cow farts are a distraction.
EFL. Todays Revelation in Rock History...
SEATTLE â Jimi Hendrix might have stayed in the Army. He might have been sent to Vietnam. Instead, he pretended he was gay. And with that, he was discharged from the 101st Airborne in 1962, launching a musical career that would redefine the guitar, leave other rock heroes of the day speechless and culminate with his headlining performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Woodstock in 1969.
Hendrix's subterfuge, contained in his military medical records, is revealed for the first time in Charles R. Cross' new biography, "Room Full of Mirrors." Publicly, Hendrix always claimed he was discharged after breaking his ankle on a parachute jump, but his medical records do not mention such an injury.
In regular visits to the base psychiatrist at Fort Campbell, Ky., in spring 1962, Hendrix complained that he was in love with one of his squad mates and that he had become addicted to masturbating, Cross writes. Finally, Capt. John Halbert recommended him for discharge, citing his "homosexual tendencies."
Hendrix's legendary appetite for women negates the notion that he might have been gay, Cross writes. Nor, Cross says, was his stunt politically motivated: Contrary to his later image, Hendrix was an avowed anti-communist who exhibited little unease about the escalating U.S. role in Vietnam.
He just wanted to escape the Army to play music â he had enlisted to avoid jail time after being repeatedly arrested in stolen cars in Seattle, his hometown.
#4
Whatevere else has been said about him: AFAIK, Jimi never publicly spoke out against the war. His only references to the war were to offer sympathy to the guys over there. (See: banter before Machine Gun on Band of Gypsys).
MUSCAT â Oman yesterday expressed its profound sorrow over the death of King Fahd bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia and declared three days of mourning. All government offices will remain closed during this period and private establishments for one day. A statement issued by the Diwan of Royal Court said His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said received the news of King Fahdâs demise with grief.
"Old Fahd? Dead? Dead, is he?"
"Yes, yer majesty. Passed on!"
"Shot through to the Great Beyond, did he? "
"Yes, yer majesty. No longer with us."
"Are they sure? How can they tell?"
"I think he was starting to stink, yer majesty!"
"Oh. Well. Send some flowers or something. Call out the Royal Weeping Corps. Give 'im a good send-off, eh?"
"Yes, yer majesty!"
"How about Abdullah? Is he still alive?"
"He says he is, yer majesty!"
"Hmph. Not sure I believe him..."
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/02/2005 00:24 ||
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Locals will observe the traditional day of no work practiced on the other 364 days of the year. Foreign lackies will however be required to carry on despite their immense sorrow they must surely feel.
Patients in the King Faisal Hospital were surprised when their dinner was delayed, Okaz daily reported. The food was delayed because the hospital chefs and cleaners were engaged in a fight over tips.
"Food fight!"
The staff engaged in the fight used plates, chairs and spoons and anything that came conveniently to hand.
"Ow! Ow! Hey! That ain't no pie!"
Hospital security intervened and ended the fight and took the injured to the emergency department for treatment.
Always bring a spork to a food fight, is my motto.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/02/2005 00:00 ||
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One person has been killed and another injured in an explosion on a Russian nuclear submarine in dock for decommissioning. The blast occurred at the Zvyozdochka shipyard, in Severodvinsk, where the vessel had been sent to be dismantled. Igor Grigoriyev, a spokesman for the Emergency Situations Ministry in the region, said a welding torch apparently ignited fuel vapours that had built up in one compartment of the submarine. The Viktor class submarine arrived at the yard in June and the work was due to be carried out using funds from Canada. The fire caused by the blast was extinguished after nearly four hours. Oleg Frolov, chief engineer for the shipyard, said there was no danger of radioactive contamination from the incident.
CHIZHOU, China -- Liu Liang, a slightly built computer student with big glasses, was home in Chizhou for summer vacation. At about 2:30 on the hot afternoon of June 26, he was pedaling his bicycle by the downtown vegetable market on Cuibai Street.
Driving down the same street in his new-looking black Toyota sedan was Wu Junxing, deputy manager of a hospital in nearby Anqing. Wu, accompanied by a friend and two bodyguards, had come to Chizhou that day to attend opening ceremonies of a new private hospital and, associates said, survey the market to judge whether he should invest in his own facility.
Liu's bicycle and Wu's shiny four-door sedan collided, sending Liu crashing to the ground. Almost immediately, witnesses said, Liu, 22, and Wu, 34, began arguing over who was at fault. In the heat of the dispute, they said, Liu damaged one of Wu's side-view mirrors, prompting Wu's muscular bodyguards to burst from the car and beat the skinny young man senseless, leaving him bleeding from his mouth and ears.
Well, to be fair, you don't mess with a man's car. He was asking to get beaten, and I don't care if you're in China or Chicago.
The beating, part of a minor traffic incident on a slow Sunday afternoon, ignited a spark of anger. The spark became a riot, evolving over eight chaotic hours into an expression of rage against the Chinese Communist Party's new fascination with businessmen, profits and economic growth.
After they saw what happened to Liu, Chizhou's self-described "common people" rose up against what they perceived as their local government's willingness to side with rich outside investors against Chizhou's own. By the end of the evening, 10,000 Chizhou residents had filled the streets, some of whom torched police cars, pelted overwhelmed anti-riot troops with stones and looted a nearby supermarket bare.
The violence in downtown Chizhou startled the leaders of this forward-looking city of 120,000, set in the rich alluvial farmland of Anhui province near the Yangtze River, about 250 miles southwest of Shanghai. Dismayed city officials deplored the impact on their campaign to attract investment and broaden Chizhou's economic base. "Illicit elements" were to blame, they said.
But the riot here, like a growing number of flare-ups in other Chinese cities, was in fact directed against the flourishing alliance of Communist Party officials and well-connected businessmen that runs Chizhou. Before calm returned to the streets, the disturbance had become a political rebellion against the increasingly intimate connection in modern China between big money and Communist government.
Someone else said, "Teach a nation that a corrupt exploitative ruling class deserves to be overthrown at your own risk, comrades."
#1
Something tells me the "peoples cadres" don't represent the people even remotely and the "people" are catching on ain't that a drag (not be me but.)
#4
Article: After they saw what happened to Liu, Chizhou's self-described "common people" rose up against what they perceived as their local government's willingness to side with rich outside investors against Chizhou's own.
The Chinese are xenophobic to a fault - even against people of other regions of China. I have been told that I should not drive in China. As a foreigner, any accident I get into automatically becomes my fault. And the reason isn't necessarily that government officials are biased - it's that the local population expects them to side with locals against outsiders, especially foreigners. This applies to road accidents, business disputes - everything. Nothing to do with the law - just popular expectations, backed up by the threat of violence.
The docile Chinese laundrymen of old (stateside) were docile perhaps they were foreigners in a strange land. Sun Yat Sen, the founder of the first Chinese republic, described his countrymen as a dish of loose sand. By this, he meant that unlike the docile Japanese, who obeyed authority without question, the Chinese stood up for their interests over the interests of whatever ruler was in power.
#8
Yes MunkarKat, and unless you have significant economic pull, either with the company (ie it going out of buisness if you pullout) or with the government (see bribes) you can pretty much kiss any money lost goodbye. You just have to either swallow your pride and do buisness again (after apologizing for the misunderstanding) or go with someone else. Most buisnesses here that work with China are willing to take the risk because the good usually outweighs the bad. When that happened to a company I worked for, I was all for sending over a "Thank-You" bomb to those cheating bastards. Fortunately, I wasn't in management. :D
#9
Penguin: Why does a guy who manages a hospital require two bodyguards? I think the MSM isn't telling everything about what is going on in China.
They may not have been bodyguards. Maybe the guy's job is kind of like the positions that NY mobsters hold in various unions and garbage collection companies. The other aspect of the accident that isn't clear is whether the cyclist caused the incident and then compounded it by smacking the other guy's mirror. Vigilantism is the rule of the road in China. Someone who steals someone else's bike and is caught can expect to get smacked around by the bike's owner while the local cops watch passively (the cops will typically have had a hand in apprehending the offender and bringing him over to the would-be victim).
Another important point is the fact that Chinese pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and motorcyclists do not use the road defensively. Cyclists will suddenly swerve directly onto the path of moving cars. My feeling is that the accident could have been the cyclist's fault, and the fight was of the kind you get occasionally in traffic altercations.
And the city rallying against outsiders isn't particularly remarkable - in this respect, China may be returning to the mores of the pre-communist era, where regional parochialism was intense enough that Westerners remarked upon the Chinese capacity for inter-village or -regional violence over apparently trivial issues.
#10
Article: But the riot here, like a growing number of flare-ups in other Chinese cities, was in fact directed against the flourishing alliance of Communist Party officials and well-connected businessmen that runs Chizhou. Before calm returned to the streets, the disturbance had become a political rebellion against the increasingly intimate connection in modern China between big money and Communist government.
I think this is overstated. No one wants to take on the Communist government. The general consensus in China is that local officials may be corrupt, but the central government means well. And corruption has been a central feature of officialdom on the land that is now China even before there was a China.
Mao has a god-like reputation in China. The communist party's reputation isn't at stake - what the locals seek is the replacement of specific officials, not the destruction of the system. And if there is a minority that seeks systemic change, it is change in favor of a return to the practices of the Maoist era.
#11
MK: I know the MSM are not reporting it all too well.
Reporters are leftists. What they see in China is laissez faire capitalism, similar to the kind we saw in 19th century America, when economic growth rates in the high single digits were not exceptional. Laissez faire in the 19th century meant essentially no regulation - public officials were regularly bribed for favorable rulings, and all kinds of sleazy undertakings were not regulated, let alone prosecuted. Reporters don't like the regulated capitalism we have today, let alone laissez faire capitalism in China. China has no welfare state, because it doesn't impose enough taxes to maintain one. To a Western reporter, this must mean that unrest and the overthrow of the government is inevitable, since it is his religious belief that the welfare state is what keeps the long-suffering proletariat from revolting.
#13
TH: why didn't the rioters beat the shit out of said dude and his body guards?
Probably because the guy and his bodyguards got out of Dodge in a hurry. The rule in China is that if you're going to beat the crap out of someone, do it in your hometown, or beat feet back to your hometown right after administering the beating. Note that there were no riots in the motorist's hometown - this was primarily a sectarian issue pitting locals against outsiders.
#14
ZF, Thanks for the education. That's why I scan for your comments.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/02/2005 10:25 Comments ||
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#15
It's not the wealth that's the problem, it's the ostentatious wealth. This often happens in noveau riche societies, where the rich flaunt their wealth in a still fairly poor society. It often results in extreme hatred of the wealthy, until they learn to be discreet with their money. Compare this with America, which is crawling with relatively wealthy people. They have their own neighborhoods, their own stores, their own entertainments, even their own cities. They almost never mingle with "the common folk" unless they dress down and act middle class, otherwise they would stick out and attract unwanted attention here, too.
#16
A: It's not the wealth that's the problem, it's the ostentatious wealth. This often happens in noveau riche societies, where the rich flaunt their wealth in a still fairly poor society. It often results in extreme hatred of the wealthy, until they learn to be discreet with their money.
Ostentation has been a feature of Chinese culture for thousands of years. There is a certain amount of noblesse oblige - but vanishingly small compared to what exists in the West. The Oriental attitude appears to be winner takes all. This is why you'll notice that people in the Far East tend to wear expensive labels. During my trips there, I see a lot of Rolex and other expensive Swiss watches. Some of this materialism is reflected among Asian Americans, many of whom seem to flock to expensive cars and designer labels. The attitude seems to be this - why be successful if nobody knows about it?
#19
Article: "Chinese Communist Party's new fascination with businessmen, profits and economic growth"
PR: WTH, Am I missing something? No one told me about a sale on "Contradiction".
China isn't really a communist dictatorship any more. It's a capitalist dictatorship. Why do the Communists keep on referring to Chinese capitalism as "communism with Chinese characteristics"? Because to explicitly repudiate communism would be to repudiate their right to rule. By calling China's conversion to capitalism "communism with Chinese characteristics", they are avoiding the question of the immense damage that communist economic policies have wreaked upon the Chinese people, and the consequent potential damage to the party's prestige. Most Chinese I have spoken to appear to have accepted the Communist Party's explanation of the past, and are hopeful that the capitalist economic policies implemented since Deng Xiaoping's reforms in the late 1970's will not be reversed.
How stable do you think the current regime is? Is there a "succession plan" for the old guard?
Posted by: Matt ||
08/02/2005 15:28 Comments ||
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#21
China isn't really a communist dictatorship any more. It's a capitalist dictatorship.
So Zbigniew Brzezinski was more or less correct when he said the best policy on China was to leave them alone, because communism and capitalism were two divergent paths. Nonetheless, it's still a dictatorship that we see in China, and a dangerous one.
The question is, can the Chinese "communists", then, continue down this road for long? Will there be a time when they give up on communism?
Posted by: Rafael ||
08/02/2005 23:11 Comments ||
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#1
Japan, along with other nations, challenged the law and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) declared it illegal. The European Union and Canada already have imposed retaliatory sanctions.
Anti-dumping sanctions. You financial types go ahead and duke it out. I'm not even going to try to venture and opinion. ;-)
#2
Ditto; I'm for free trade, but I'm into military and world geopolitics stuff, and I need Z's!
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
08/02/2005 8:28 Comments ||
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#3
The US, unfortunately, does use a lot of protectionism for its buisnesses. Results of political bribes, I think. I'm all for free trade and letting the Darwinism of buisness do its magic.
#4
It's not the anti-dumping law that's the issue here, nor is it the penalty, it's the fact that the penalty is handed back to affected industries directly as a subsidy rather than being kept by the government that's triggering the sanctions.
And anti-dumping laws aren't protectionist at all. It's every bit as illegal for a US company to dump in order to damage a competitor as it is for a foreign company to do the same.
It seems to me, however, that the primary allegiance might best be given to the nation, America, and not Kapital, if in obeying the second we give up the first.
Did you know that some essential American military technology is sourced ONLY in Taiwan?
Perhaps certain shareholders are pleased with this low cost arrangement, it saves them, after all, from having to hire a contingent of greedy SUV driving engineers in Waltham, or Palo Alto, or Missoula.
I'm sure that when the Straits of Taiwan are closed, replacement parts can readily be cobbled together on Wall Street.
Posted by: Red Lief ||
08/02/2005 23:42 Comments ||
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BERLIN (Reuters) Thus not as reliable as Drudge or WND - Left-wing Berlin senators want to reassemble a giant statue of Russian Communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin that was removed from the former eastern half of the city in 1991 shortly after German reunification.
A scene showing part of the 19-metre statue being borne through the air by a helicopter featured in the 2003 hit film "Goodbye Lenin!". Today it lies buried in pieces in a forest on the outskirts of Berlin.
Tourist industry experts say the monument would appeal to many of the German capital's six million visitors each year.
"The Communist period is the most asked-after period by tourists in Berlin," said Natascha Kompatzki of Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH.
One proposal is for the granite statue to be housed in Berlin's Museum of German History, Germany's Bild newspaper said on Monday.
EFL
Paul Hackett doesn't fit conventional political profiles. He is a Marine Reservist and an Iraq war veteran who opposed the war before the U.S. invasion and remains a harsh critic of President Bush's policy there. He is also a Democrat battling to win a special House election in Ohio in a district that has been in Republican hands for more than three decades.
On Tuesday, voters in Ohio's 2nd Congressional District will elect a successor to former representative Rob Portman, who quit Congress to become U.S. trade representative. Hackett hopes to beat the long odds by defeating Republican nominee Jean Schmidt, a former state representative, by stressing his military service and independence.
Paul Hackett -- an Ohio Democrat, a Marine Reservist and an Iraq war veteran -- has attracted GOP ire by criticizing the president. snip
A lawyer and a major in the Marine Reserves, Hackett volunteered last year to serve in Iraq and spent seven months there in a civilian affairs job, including service around Ramadi and Fallujah. He returned to Ohio in March and decided to jump into the race for Portman's seat, seeking to become the first Iraq war veteran elected to Congress.
His campaign has drawn support from Democrats across the country. Liberal blogs have defended him from GOP attacks. Former Ohio senator John Glenn, another former Marine, sent a message to online supporters of Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) asking them to pitch in financially. Democracy for America, the organization founded by former Vermont governor Howard Dean, says it has raised $80,000 for Hackett. snip
Hackett told USA Today that Bush's taunting line, "Bring 'em on!" was "the most incredibly stupid comment I've ever heard a president of the United States make." He also told the newspaper that, while he was willing to put his life on the line for the president, "I've said that I don't like the son-of-a-[expletive] that lives in the White House." snip
Hackett, hoping to capitalize on the widespread disarray in the scandal-plagued Ohio GOP, remains unapologetic about his characterization of the president. "I said it. I meant it. I stand by it," he said in a phone interview. "In this district, we need more straight-talking, straight-shooting politicians."
#3
He's merely following the John Kerry recipe for political success at the expense of personal integrity. If he plays it right, he, too, can spend the next 20-40 years in the US Congress and / or Senate, feeding at the public trough and not showing up for anything except fund-raisers. It's a proven method for the insanely ambitious.
I'll bet poor Hillary is terminally jealous of his "service". If only she had a few years in uniform, Mein Gott! She could Rule the Universe!
#8
Paul Hackett -- an Ohio Democrat, a Marine Reservist and an Iraq war veteran -- has attracted GOP ire by criticizing the president.
This is not true. He's ticked people off by simultaneously using President Bush in his ads and calling him the afore-mentioned epithet. He apparently thinks Ohio Republicans are too stupid to look past his ads.
Former Ohio senator John Glenn, another former Marine, sent a message to online supporters of Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) asking them to pitch in financially.
They sent one to me, so I sent what I could to his opponent. My bus home tonight drops me off at the polling station, so I'm also going to help out by voting for his opponent.
Hackett, hoping to capitalize on the widespread disarray in the scandal-plagued Ohio GOP
NB: The "scandal" mostly effects RINOs from Cleveland and Columbus. This district is in and around Cincinnati.
Hackett's only chances come from this being a special election.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/02/2005 14:29 Comments ||
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#9
If he plays it right, he, too, can spend the next 20-40 years in the US Congress and / or Senate
Even if he wins this election -- special election, with small turnout, so it all depends on the "ground game" of each party -- it's highly unlikely he'd be able to hold the seat for a second term. This district covers all or part of seven counties, and only one of the counties has a sizable Democrat constituency.
And, curiously enough, that county happens to be #2 to Detroit in rate of population loss.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/02/2005 14:32 Comments ||
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#10
Oh, and a prediction:
Should Hackett lose, he will join Max Cleland in the Democrat's parade of "Veterans Attacked by Republicans". We'll hear his name trotted out every time someone mentions supporting the troops: "If Republicans support the troops so much, why wouldn't they vote for one? Huh?! Huh?!"
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/02/2005 14:40 Comments ||
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#11
Calling the Commander in Chief a '*&^%$#" in time of war is conduct unbecoming an officer. He should be brought up on charges of stupidity. That he is a lawyer fortifies indications of this lack of intelligence.
#12
Being a lawyer and doing stuff in civilian affairs really doesn't give him much weight in claiming to be a "war" veteran. He served in time of war in a rear echelon post. The war veterans were the marines that cleaned out Fallujah. Quite thoughouly too.
#13
Careful, murray. A local radio host pointed that out and his station ended up being flooded by calls. From California, Montana, Arizona, Oregon...
(They're a superstation, and once had the most powerful AM transmitter in the world, but, c'mon!)
SP0D -- I'm sure he didn't say that when he was in uniform.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/02/2005 15:08 Comments ||
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#14
From his website:
Last year, Paul heard the call to service again. As his Marine Corps brothers fought a half world away, Paul could not sit in the comfort of his home and let others do the work he was prepared to do. After a serious discussion with his wife and children, Paul re-upped and joined his marines for a seven month tour with the 1st Marine Division and served as a Civil Affairs officer in Ramadi, took part in the Fallujah campaign and subsequent reconstruction. When Paul returned only a few weeks ago, he learned of Rob Portman's decision to vacate his congressional seat. Paul Hackett is continuing his service to his country by running for the United State Congress.
Sounds like a man with a plan. Wonder if he's got a lucky hat?
Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
IIRC they issued a formal letter of reprimand [career ender] to an active duty officer during the Clinton Administration for this and sent out a warning notice to all. It got incorporated into an episode of 'JAG' as well.
#18
Polls close at 7:30 EDT. I'll keep an eye on the local sites and let you know ASAP.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/02/2005 15:54 Comments ||
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#19
Straight talking, straight-shooting politicians, who are too ashamed to mention their party affiliation in their ads? Who open their ads with George W Bush talking about duty to country? Who talks about how he believes in helping the people of Iraq in his ad, but who had previously stated that we should never have gone. (Some help that would have been.)
#22
Elarson, I heard the ad on Rush: No mention of being a Democrat and agrees with the President. I guess a Democrat can't run as a Democrat. But then honesty isn't their strong trait is it.
#26
Just saw a Hackett commercial on some TV I had recorded. What a joke! Starts with Bush, talks about how he "agreed" with Bush, then talks about his opponent's "corruption". One of the "headlines" on the screen reads "Schmidt Among Lawmakers That Attended Bengals Game". Ooooohhhhh!!!
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/02/2005 18:25 Comments ||
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#35
Where did those numbers come from? I can't find anything anywhere except placeholders showing zero votes.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/02/2005 20:10 Comments ||
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#36
Ah. Skip that. Clermont County has started to show results. Since they still say no precincts reporting, these are probably absentees, too.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/02/2005 20:11 Comments ||
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#37
Given all the hankey pankey that's been going on iwth vote counts, I wouldn't be surprised if they're playing "I won't show mine till you show yours."
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/02/2005 20:18 Comments ||
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#41
305 precincts of 753 reporting
PAUL HACKETT 23,957 51%
JEAN SCHMIDT 22,846 49%
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/02/2005 21:07 Comments ||
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#42
Still too close to call, but with over half of Clermont's precincts in, Schmidt has a lead -- in that county alone -- of over 1700 votes.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/02/2005 21:20 Comments ||
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#43
Hamilton county burbs must be coming in -- 580/753 precincts, Schmidt leads by almost 3,000.
Cincinnati Enquirer site not responding, at least for me. Possibly slammed.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/02/2005 21:25 Comments ||
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#44
Total: Schmidt: 35215 (50%)
Hackett: 35258 (50%)
81% of total precincts
Hamilton County (Containing the city of Cincinnati):
Schmidt: 23581 (51%)
Hackett: 22393 (49%)
92% of total precincts
Posted by: Mike ||
08/02/2005 23:49 Comments ||
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#61
She won't be there long, less than 1 term. She's a RINO who only won with 30% of the primary vote because there were 3 conservatives. Put her one-on-one with a Club For Growth candidate and she's toast.
Yes, it's good that someone supported by Kos loses (to keep up the perfect record). But a marginal win in a district Bush won handily last year is nothing to cheer about.
WASHINGTON - Former President Bill Clinton has hired a new spokesman, a veteran of the Howard Dean 2004 presidential campaign and New York City's 2012 Olympics bid.
Both of which turned out so well.
Jay Carson was also a former press secretary for Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and has worked for the Democratic National Committee. So
he's made a career out of flacking for failing democrats. He's certainly qualified to work for Bill.
Clinton's office announced Carson's hiring Tuesday. Carson replaces Jim Kennedy, who announced he is leaving to become a spokesman for Sony Pictures Entertainment.
"I'm outta here!"
Kennedy has worked since 2002 as the chief spokesman for the former president. He also worked in the Clinton White House from 1998 to early 2001.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/02/2005 11:27 ||
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#1
Wozzamatter? He couldn't get a spokewoman?
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/02/2005 12:38 Comments ||
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 - One of the most puzzling aspects of the C.I.A. leak case has had to do with the name of the exposed officer. Why did the syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak identify her as Valerie Plame in exposing her link to the C.I.A. in July 2003 when she had been known for years both at the agency and in her personal life by her married name, Valerie Wilson? Mr. Novak offered a possible explanation for the disconnect on Monday, suggesting in his column that he could have obtained Ms. Wilson's maiden name from the directory Who's Who in America, which used that name in identifying her as the wife of Joseph C. Wilson IV, a former ambassador.
Mr. Novak did not explicitly cite the directory as his source. Nor was this his first public reference to the Who's Who listing. In a column in October 2003, three months after he had first disclosed Ms. Wilson's name and her role, Mr. Novak cited the published listing as evidence that Ms. Wilson's identity was "no secret." But in drawing renewed attention to the published listing, Mr. Novak seemed to suggest more directly than ever before that the scrutiny that has focused on which of his sources provided him the name might have been misplaced, and that he might well have figured it out by himself. Any request that he withhold Ms. Wilson's name from his column of July 14, 2003, would have been "meaningless" once he had been told she was married to Mr. Wilson, Mr. Novak wrote on Monday, because she was openly listed in the directory. But Mr. Novak also wrote that he would never have used Ms. Wilson's name had anyone from the C.I.A. told him that doing so would endanger her or anyone else.
The special counsel in the leak case has been trying to determine whether government officials violated federal laws about the handling of classified information when someone leaked Ms. Wilson's identity and C.I.A. role to reporters. The fact that Mr. Novak identified her as Valerie Plame had seemed to some observers to narrow the field of possible suspects in the leak case, because she had not used that name since her marriage in 1998. A State Department memorandum drafted in 2003 and taken on board Air Force One the week before Mr. Novak's column ran identifies Ms. Wilson by her married name rather than Ms. Plame. The prosecutor has taken an interest in the memorandum - which outlines Ms. Wilson's role in suggesting her husband for a fact-finding trip to Niger - and has shown it to numerous witnesses in the case in an apparent effort to determine whether it was a source for Mr. Novak or the officials who leaked the information to him.
If not for Who's Who, it is not clear how Mr. Novak would have decided to identify Ms. Wilson as Ms. Plame rather than the name she commonly used. In the Who's Who directory for 2003, personal information about Mr. Wilson includes his origins in Bridgeport, Conn., and the names of his previous wife and his four children. His current wife is listed as Valerie Elise Plame, and the date of their marriage April 3, 1998. There is no mention of her employer.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/02/2005 08:32 ||
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Edited for new information.
Democrats gathered [in Columbus, Ohio] last week and heard an uncomfortable message from DLC founder Al From. Employing statistics from the national census and the 2004 presidential election, From hit his audience, including some 300 elected Democratic officials, with this grim picture of why he believes Democrats need a new act: For every two Americans who say they're liberals, three are conservatives. Democrats lost 97 of the 100 fastest-growing counties in the country last year. Small cities and most suburbs buried the Democratic ticket. Ditto married couples with children. The Democratic vote among the Hispanic population fell 40 percent from 2000. And it collapsed among voters earning more than $40,000 a year. Noting that Sen. John Kerry got a bigger vote among Democrats in losing than Bill Clinton did in winning, From declared that "the Democratic base is not big enough to win. The country is more conservative."
How can Democrats win? With a tougher, pro-military stance on security, From said, and a platform that makes sense to both "the working class (labor) and the learning class (information workers and academia). Globalization of work is going to be a big issue over the next 10 years." And to capitalize on dissatisfaction with Washington -- and Bush -- Democrats, From said, must be the party of reform. "Democrats must change," he said.
But change could put party unity to a severe test. That was apparent here in the angry reaction of several black participants to the heavy emphasis cultivating the Hispanic vote. For decades Democrats have built their national campaigns around an electoral base that included a heavy black vote. But Hispanics, now the nation's largest minority, are seen increasingly by both parties as a key to electoral success. As From discovered, some blacks see the Hispanic rise as a zero-sum game -- the more Democrats court the Latino vote, the less they're likely to court African-Americans. Mary Flowers, an African-American state representative from Illinois, delivered an impassioned speech warning Democrats they risk losing black voters to Republicans busy courting the black church vote.
Some liberals and a few black leaders, notably the Rev. Jesse Jackson, have long been critical of the DLC because of its closeness to corporate America -- the source of much of its money -- and its message that beating up on business is no way to create jobs. For example, Democratic National chairman Howard Dean, a darling of the party's vocal liberals, was a conspicuous absentee.
Al From continued, "We must change our convictions, however we are having trouble getting consensus on which convictions will attract the most voters. Whatever convictions we adopt - they must be different than the convictions we have now. Tommorrow morning, we need to all wake up with a new set of convictions."
#3
The Dems call themselves "liberal", where somehow universal, Individual- and Society-specific laissez faire & libertarianism = Regulation or Regulatory Centralism/Governmentism. Worse, they don't want to ascribe themselves as either Regulators andor Socialists andor Orientalists/Asianists, etc. despite supp these agendas. "Realism" & "Secular Moralism" & Universal Intellectualism = national/universal dependence on Propaganda & Info Control. As illustrated by Hollywood's on-going penchant for "Reality Shows" and Leftpert movie films, etc. the Dems and Lefties celebrate the "realism" andor "hardness" of life and mortal mankind to QUIETLY/SUBTLELY and PC argue that ORDINARY BEINGS, HOWEVER WELL-MEANING, LIKABLE, OR SKILLED, CANNOT BE TRUSTED, ERGO WASHINGTON DC AND AMERICA NEEDS REGULATION AND MORE REGULATION, CONTROL AND SUPER-CONTROL, SOCIALISM, CENTRALISM AND BUREAUCRACY, FOR RELIABLE AND EFFECTIVE NATIONAL-SOCIAL ORDER AND IMPROVEMENT,and of course the usual "OOOPS, GOP/US-led ergo only GOP/US-blamed". Iff you wanna know the real threat to America from 9-11, listen to LeftRadio, and how AMERICA [ALLEGEDLY] CAN NEVER RETURN TO THE DAYS OF LIMITED GOVERNMENT OR DE-REGULATION, and or how AMERICA CAN PROTECT ITS BORDERS AND CITIES FROM NEW TERROR BY SPENDING MORE ON INTERNATIONAL AID, DEVELOPMENT, AND ENVIRO PROGRAMS, aka the USA unilateraly modernizing the world, and paying for same, sub-aka America and American taxpayers putting out the money without asking questions on how said monies are spent. ITS "SAFETY" AND "SECURITY", ETC. NOT SOCIALISM OR COMMUNISM - THE DEMOLEFT BELIEVES IT AND SOCIALISM WILL WIN BECAUSE THEY'LL PC BETRAY AND LIE TO EVERYBODY ANYWAYS!? THE ONLY THING THE LEFTIES HAVE ARE [DESIRES FOR] US CASUALTIES, POLICY FAILURES/DEFECTS, AND ANTI-US NUKE WAR(S) -WITHOUT PC AND MEDIA-MOVIE PROPAGANDA, THE LEFTIES ARE DUMBFOUNDED TO SAY ANYTHING!
#5
The Dems will fall back on denial and tactics, like their traditional ballot stuffing in Washington, Wisconsin, and E.Saint Louis. To have a real long term stategy the Dems have to split, those to whom the kinder gentler form of Marxism is still and will remain a religion, and those who want to participate in the American politicial process. The longer the party delays this division, the longer their removal from power will be. However, bet on them to keep to the "we can fool all the people some of the time" strategy for the near future. Wake up day will be when the Reps have 2/3rds of both Houses and the White House, and not a day sooner.
#6
Joseph - try using the enter key to break your treatise into paragraphs. It'll be easier to read, and therefore, comprehend.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/02/2005 9:04 Comments ||
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#7
The Democrats should actually stick with their convictions. Changing convictions is foolish and shows you'll do anythign to win. If your party has two sets of convications that means you should split (as the Republicans did when they told Buchanon he was not welcome).
#8
The problem with the Democrat's convictions is that they suck and have been proven not to work. Socialism and handouts don't breed national safty and productiveness. If the Dems really want to get through to the American people, they really need to lay off the nanny state idea. Privatized national health insurance, bulk group policies that non-insured can afford, getting people off welfare with green projects and jobs, etc.
All that would appeal to the just left of center Americans that voted for Bush last time. Until they change the communist and socialist plug, they will loose. And I don't think the current leadership (ie Dean) will get it, even if the Republicans hold 90% of the house and senate. They will just spin more conspiracy theories and blame Rove. The Dems need to eject the solidly left leadership and look elswhere for their inspiration. Fred would be a good start.
(They are drafting you Fred!)
#10
Some liberals and a few black leaders, notably the Rev. Jesse Jackson, have long been critical of the DLC because of its closeness to corporate America -- the source of much of its money -- and its message that beating up on business is no way to create jobs.
As opposed to Jesse Jackson's PUSH, whose source of money is corporate America. Of course, his MO is to extort money from corporations by threatening spurious lawsuits and boycotts, not by beating up on them.
#11
"The president and his right-wing Supreme Court think it is 'okay' to have the government take your house if they feel like putting a hotel where your house is," Dean said, not mentioning that until he nominated John Roberts to the Supreme Court this week, Bush had not appointed anyone to the high court. Howard Dean is such a nutball I can't really tell WHAT the Democrats are for or against. With Hillary talking more like a Republican and Howlin' Howie seemingly calling for a more conservative Supreme Court but opposing any conservative nominee my head hurts trying to sort it all out.The Democrats are fracturing before our very eyes. It's sad that a once-great party has descinded to such lows.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/02/2005 12:03 Comments ||
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#12
once great party - pswhaw. You have good posts, Deacon but other than civil rights - great with what? Other than the legacy of great marketing - selling ice to eskimos - I can't see one legacy they are left with except piles of dead skulls in southeast Asia, the decline of independent thought in our Universities, the rise of welfare mothers and children, the scamming of union funds into the pockets of union bosses and corrupt politicians, the undoing of the "melting pot" that made our country the steel of the world and the rise of political correctness with it's self-righteous shaming and blaming and screeching "burn the witch" at the the slightest variation from their texts. They like to pretend they are responsible for "women's liberation" but the birth control pill is responsible for that.
color me unimpressed with the "once great party that never was"
Posted by: Scott R ||
08/02/2005 13:20 Comments ||
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#16
2b, I've given your comment some thought and I have come to the conclusion you are right. Civil Rights is about it. In the 19th Century they were the party of States Rights, which I think is still very much an issue, but they took it to extremes to include the States Rights to legalize slavery. After the Civil War the Democrats enacted all the Jim Crow laws that kept Blacks in virtual slavery while the Radical Republicans tried their best to completely destroy the South which is the reason the South remained the "Solid South" for nearly 100 years after the War. When I became of voting age I was a Democrat because the Southern Democrats, not to be confused with the Dixiecrats, seemed to me to be the strongest on defense and Civil Rights. This was during the late '60s and believe it or not there were a lot of us Southerners who were tired of the "Good Ole Boy" system and were all for equal rights for everyone. It was during the Carter administration that I became disilusioned with the Democratic Party as a whole and the direction it was taking. I believe the extreme liberalization of the Democratic Party is why Republican Governers were elected in States that had not had a Republican Governer since Reconstruction. The South has always been conservative and the Republicans picked up on this and ran candidates who were more conservative than the Democrats. There is still a strong Democratic presence in the South but it consists mostly, in my opinion, of people who were old time Democrats and will never change, the "Acedemic Elite" and their student followers, and what I call the "Gimmie" group, the people who recieve "entitlements". Just my thoughts. I still think the Democratic Party was once great if only for a brief period.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/02/2005 13:24 Comments ||
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#17
interesting post, Deacon. I voted for Perot (blush) because I was tired of GW1's good ol' boy network and couldn't bring myself to vote for the lying Clinton - and well, there was no one else. I naively thought I could make a statement. But who knows, in the long run, maybe I did - as did you.
#18
"as did you" not to imply that you voted for Perot - but that you are clearly a person who tried to vote for what you best believed would move the country forward at the time. I believe in the end - it's people like you that move the country forward with your belief that we can do better.
#19
Deacon makes the argument that even civil rights aren't a legacy of the Donks. I'd agree. In addition to his candid history...I'd say look at the 50s/60s...the Demos were against the Civil Rights Acts back then, and they were passed with the push from the Repubs. Basically, they have nothing, except wanting your money.
Posted by: BA ||
08/02/2005 14:00 Comments ||
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#20
What do you think will become of the liberals if they recieve(and from the looks of the 2008 candidates, it's coming) a complete trouncing in the next election? Will they kill themselves, move to canada, or just shut the hell up and live in hatred and loathing?
#21
Thanks, 2b, I hope I clarified my position a little. I actually met Ross Perot in 1984 and I was impressed with his ideas at the time. I didn't vote for him because I didn't believe he could win although I wish I had. I couldn't stomach Clinton so I voted for Bush. That is the only time so far when I felt I had no real choice. My feelings during the mid '60s to mid 70's and even now is that Democrats like Byrd and a lot of Southern Democrats opposed equal rights. The influence of the liberal Democrats on the college campuses in the South did make a big difference in the Civil Rights Movement. However they went way to far in pushing a more socialist agenda and pushed the more conservative Democrats into the Republican ranks. I did not start college until 1972, well after High School and a lot of the teachers I had, even at Auburn University, were way too far to the left. They didn't have the even small real-life experience that I and the veterans that were there had but still wanted to tout their moral superiority over us. we just laughed at them. Title IX was enacted at that time and most of us felt it was high time for women's equality. As an example, at that time freshman women were required to live in a campus dormatory regardless of age if they were single. Men were not. after Title IX they were not. The University would have had to require single men to live on campus and would have had to buils a lot more dormatories. I think the split in the Democratic party between conservative and liberal Democrats probably intensified during this period. This is just my opinion from my limited experience of politics during this time. By limited I mean I didn't pay much attention to politics outside the South.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/02/2005 14:35 Comments ||
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#22
What do you think will become of the liberals if they recieve(and from the looks of the 2008 candidates, it's coming) a complete trouncing in the next election? Will they kill themselves, move to canada, or just shut the hell up and live in hatred and loathing?
I suspect we'll see a resurgence in the tactics that mdae the Weathermen, Black Panthers, and SLA go down in history. It's not like the left would have to go very far to find information -- their friends in ALF, ELF, Black Block, and ISM have all the information they need.
Heck, remember the mobs attacking Bush-Cheney campaign headquarters last year?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/02/2005 14:45 Comments ||
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#23
Very true, DB! And, I won't even tell you when I attended Auburn, except to say I was born when you started college. Anyhoo, that's the main difference between Southern Demos and other Demos...the Southern Demos are much more conservative (especially in social issues...abortion, gay "rights", etc.). Look at Zell Miller....to call him a Democrat in light of national political parties is hilarious, so he went and campaigned for Bush. And many who research history will see the Civil Rights Act was basically passed by Repubs (not to say there weren't some bigoted Southern Repubs before that, but Southern Dems don't tend to fall for the socialist tendencies of the national party). Winning 97 of the 100 fastest growing counties in the union speaks volumes of where the national Demo. party is headed (in addition to their urban cores losing population).
Posted by: BA ||
08/02/2005 14:49 Comments ||
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#24
And, oh yeah, DB, by the time I got there, Auburn's "Liberal Arts" programs were full of moonbats. Surprised me greatly to see these professors in small, college town in nowhere Alabama, in addition to all your "rights" groups. Heck, the president of the AU GLBT group lived 2 doors up from me in a dorm. I became very suspicious when he was living there in his senior year, whereas everyone else was freshmen/sophmores and wanted to get out to apartment/house life! Thank God for the Engineering Dept, or else AU would be taken over by moonbats for sure.
Posted by: BA ||
08/02/2005 14:52 Comments ||
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#25
My own suspicion is that the Dems will go the way of the British Liberal party, and be replaced by a new Centrist party. Future elections will be between the centrists and the GOP. Until then, I can't see the Dems winning any national elections.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
08/02/2005 14:52 Comments ||
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#26
Frozen Al, that is more or less what I'm thinking as well, except I see the far left fleeing the Dems for the Greens. The remaining centrist Dems (call them Dinos) could draw the Rinos out of the Republicans giving them a chance.
TORONTO (Reuters) - An Air France Airbus burst into flames after apparently skidding off the runway at Toronto's Pearson International Airport on Tuesday, aviation officials said.
A ticket agent in Montreal with Air France said the plane was its AF358 flight from Paris to Toronto, an Airbus A340 . "That's all we know," the agent said.
Witnesses told Canadian television stations that the plane, which could carry 252 passengers, had apparently skidded off the runway after landing in rainy conditions.
It was too early to say what might have caused the plane to miss the end of the runway.
Live TV pictures showed huge clouds of black smoke and orange flames coming from the fuselage of the plane, which was off the end of a runway lying close to a main traffic artery.
Air France's Web site showed that flight 358 left Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris was due to arrive at Pearson's terminal 3 on Tuesday afternoon. The airline's A340s are generally configured for 252 passenger seats.
A spokeswoman for Aeroports de Montreal said no flights were landing at Pearson airport in Toronto following the accident.
Posted by: True German Ally ||
08/02/2005 17:17 ||
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#7
From Big Ed's link: Several passengers have been taken to hospital, and while casualty counts arenât known, itâs apparent there have been some survivors. An unknown number were picked up on the Highway, fleeing the scene.
The airplane came in too high for the landing, bumped down hard, a tire burst, it slid off the runway, then came the fire, according to the article. It doesn't sound like a terror attack.
#13
I remember thinking, there's no way they're letting anyone land in this weather. EXTREMELY heavy rain, strong gusts of wind, lightning, poor visibility, all in the immediate vicinity. I was roughly 500 metres from the start of that runway outside a shopping mall, waiting for the rain to stop.
This is definitely weather related (barring any mechanical failure). Someone should be fired for letting this plane land in such conditions.
Posted by: Rafael ||
08/02/2005 17:54 Comments ||
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#14
There are really enough other airports in the area, right? And you would come in with enough fuel to get there.
But information policy of Air France is non existant. airfrance.com is down, airfrance.fr has "no incidents".
#15
Just prior to the accident, the weather was bad, with rain, lightning, poor visibility and so forth, but it was not that severe to prevent landings. Just at that moment, at around 16:10 the weather turned severe with an extremely heavy downpour of rain. I haven't seen rain like this in years around here.
It may be the plane was already committed to land, and was unlucky enough to just catch this severe weather.
Posted by: Rafael ||
08/02/2005 18:06 Comments ||
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#16
There aren't really any big commercial airports nearby. The closest one is about one hour flight time away (Ottawa, Montreal, New York, Detroit). There's also Buffalo just across the border but it may not have a long enough runway.
There's no question that they had enough fuel to wait this out, especially given that 30 minutes later the weather was fine (looking out the window now, I see blue skies).
A case of really bad luck, I think. Maybe even a lightning strike.
/reporting from the scene for Rantburg
Posted by: Rafael ||
08/02/2005 18:12 Comments ||
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#17
The plane is usually configured for 252. but there were 309 passengers and crew according to this. Makes one really look forward to flying the A400, usually configured for 800, with Air France.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/02/2005 18:18 Comments ||
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#18
Confirmed: Passengers obviously got out before flames got too bad... Good everyone is safe...
So...
I think I know know where the confusion came from...
#19
By the way, that runway isn't very long as runways go at international airports, 9500ft, with a deep ravine at the end, which is where the plane ended up. Pearson airport will take some flak for this. I'm guessing that ravine will get filled in after this.
Posted by: Rafael ||
08/02/2005 18:25 Comments ||
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#20
Awesome job, Rafael.
Posted by: Matt ||
08/02/2005 18:42 Comments ||
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#21
Fox news show lightning bursts within 15 mins around the landing interval at the airport. It looked like a shotgun blast of bolts.
My money is on lightning hiting the plane.
#25
I don't know about runway length, but the Buffalo International Airport is very small, definitely 3rd tier. A pleasure to fly in and out of, if you don't have to make connections anywhere else (except that you probably will, just to get there).
#26
This may have nothing to do w/anything,but the EU issued a Directive that passengers on airliners that don't reach their original destination get a substantial reimbursement from the Airline. Strong incentive not to divert.
Posted by: Stephen ||
08/02/2005 22:14 Comments ||
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#27
If the Airbus landed between 4pm - 4:15pm, then he pretty much flew over my head, though I didn't see the plane (or anything). From where I was he would have been about 20 seconds from touchdown, maybe even less. I can't imagine anything landing in that weather.
Amazingly, another witness reported seeing other "heavies" landing on the same runway just before this one. The pilot then, would have had the information that other planes are attempting to land, before him. Based on this, he may have concluded it was ok to land (obviously the final decision rests with him). But I'm still not willing to take the air traffic controllers off the hook for this one. Someone screwed up.
Thanks, Matt.
Posted by: Rafael ||
08/02/2005 22:42 Comments ||
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- EFL -
A renegade band of Mexican military deserters, offering $50,000 bounties for the assassination of U.S. law-enforcement officers, has expanded its base of operations into the United States to protect loads of cocaine and marijuana being brought into America by Mexican smugglers, authorities said.
The deserters, known as the "Zetas," trained in the United States as an elite force of anti-drug commandos, but have since signed on as mercenaries for Mexican narcotics traffickers and have recruited an army of followers, many of whom are believed to be operating in Texas, Arizona, California and Florida....
... The number of assaults on U.S. Border Patrol agents along the 260 miles of U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona known as the Tucson sector has increased dramatically this year, including a May 30 shooting near Nogales, Ariz., in which two agents were seriously wounded during an ambush a mile north of the border.
Their assailants were dressed in black commando-type clothing, used high-powered weapons and hand-held radios to point out the agents' location, and withdrew from the area using military-style cover and concealment tactics to escape back into Mexico.
Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada in Nogales said his investigators found commando clothing, food, water and other "sophisticated equipment" at the ambush site.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
08/02/2005 13:03 ||
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#4
I was referring to the assassination in Nogales. I'm in Tucson. Less than an hour's drive and I can be in a third-world country with an incompetent and corrupt government.
Though I guess anyone in Maryland or northern Virginia could say the same thing.
As for these guys, another punitary expedition a la Pershing might do the trick.
Set up sniper teams and shoot them dead, no questions asked. All this pussyfooting with Mexico needs to stop and it needs to be treated as the largely hostile nation that it is.
Washington, D.C.-Senator Norm Coleman today submitted a statement into the Congressional Record denouncing a final report issued by the United Nations' Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG) suggesting that the U.N. assume global governance of the Internet. Since its inception and creation in the United States, the U.S. has assumed the historic role of overseeing the Internet's growth and has overseen its development. The U.N. taskforce report suggests that in addition to terminating the U.S.'s leadership role, the authority and functions of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a non-profit organization overseen by the U.S. Department of Commerce, should be transferred as well. Senator Coleman strongly opposes these measures.
"My probe of the U.N. as Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations revealed management that was at best, incompetent, and at worst corrupt," said Coleman. "The first priority for the United Nations must be fundamental reform of its management and operations rather than any expansion of its authority and responsibilities. The Internet has flourished under U.S. supervision, oversight, and private sector involvement. This growth did not happen because of increased government involvement, but rather, from the opening on the Internet to commerce and private sector innovation. Subjecting the Internet and its security to the politicized control of the UN bureaucracy would be a giant and foolhardy step backwards."Can I get an "Amen!" brothers?
"Recently, I introduced UN reform legislation with the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations, Senator Dick Lugar (R-IN), known as the Coleman-Lugar UN Reform Bill, to help put an end to a culture of corruption that was exposed by the Oil for Food scandal, peacekeeping sexual abuse scandals, and other instances of organizational failures at U.N.," Coleman said. "Putting the U.N. in charge of one of the world's most important technological wonders and economic engines is out of the question. This proposal would leave the United States with no more say over the future of the Internet than Cuba or China-countries that have little or no commitment to the free flow of information."
The WGIG taskforce report will be discussed at the next World Summit on the Information Society Tunisia in November.
"In light of this report, I also plan to consult with experts and stakeholders regarding Internet governance, and will assess whether legislation is needed as a remedy," Coleman continued. "The U.S. is willing to work with other countries that have an interest in the management of their own country code domains but UN control is out of the question. We will continue a dialogue with the rest of the world on these issues as we go forward."
"Putting the U.N. in charge of one of the world's most important technological wonders and economic engines is out of the question. This proposal would leave the United States with no more say over the future of the Internet than Cuba or China-countries that have little or no commitment to the free flow of information."
I think this is one of those "Bottom Line" moments so rare in the Senate...
I think the good Senator is telling Kofi to F-Off!
While a girl dressed in a chicken costume and nine of her animal-rights activist friends protested outside a Logan restaurant Monday, hundreds of other people clucked their way indoors for a taste of drumsticks, thighs and wings.
Benjamin Goldsmith, a campaign coordinator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has been organizing a series of protests outside KFC restaurants because of the way the company kills its chickens.
Monday's campaign in Logan, however, may have backfired, as the store on 400 North saw one of its busiest days in recent memory. At one point around noon, more than 30 people stood in line to order chicken. Warning: Beverage Alert
"I think there's a place in this world for all of God's creations ... right next to the mashed potatoes," said Rusty Smith, a KFC customer who sat on a patch of grass outside the restaurant with a group of co-workers, watching the protest. Smith said his group chose to sit outside the restaurant because "there's so many people in there, it was a little crowded."
Jacqueline Newbold, a supervisor at KFC, said an uncommon rush of customers for about two hours required the store to call extra employees into work.
Posted by: john ||
08/02/2005 16:18 Comments ||
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#4
Are you so sure it is chicken being served?
PETA or no PETA...
This didn't happen at that KFC, but who knows?
Someone is running away from something....
#5
Marcos Carillo, one of the protesters who came to Logan from Tremonton, said he thought the community's response to the protest was a result of ignorance. "People don't understand," he said. "I've found people in Utah are not as open-minded (as other places)."
They always seem so amazed that people don't seem to grasp the concept that chickens have "rights".
Which ones are the ignorant ones here again?
Shoot, my mouse already does this. It ain't supposed to, but it does.
The left and right buttons on my mouse---which is one of the few that will work on my ancient computer--wrap around to the side of the mouse, so I'm always clicking on them when I don't mean to. Certain mouse positions and click combinations lead to unintentional selecting, cutting, pasting, window activation, and for all I know nuclear weapons launch. Hours of wholesome fun! I predict the same for this.
#10
The left and right buttons on my mouse---which is one of the few that will work on my ancient computer-
What cable plugin does the mouse use?
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
08/02/2005 17:43 Comments ||
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#11
Totally OFF TOPIC alert!!! (but I thought the heading appropriate)
My wife's cell phone died and can't be fixed.
She went to Verizon to have one of our older phones turned on to replace it temporarily.
THE STORE TOLD HER THAT IT WOULD BE ILLEGAL!!!!
ALL "NEW" PHONES HAVE TO HAVE A BUILT IN GPS!!!!
Has anyone else heard about this??
The "rationale" is that they can track you if you call 911, but, the phone store guy admitted that the GPS would be sending all the time.
The first academic study into the sweaty pursuit of air guitar playing is to use the work of French philosophers to explain why men and women do it differently. Doctoral research has begun under the supervision of Britain's first professor of pop music, who is also overseeing a PhD into the art of "moshing", the vigorous head-shaking dance popular among concert crowds. For the next three years, Amanda Griffiths, 32, a dance teacher from north Wales, will attempt to explain, in 60,000 words, why the attractions of an invisible guitar are generally overlooked by women, and how the girls who get involved do it differently.
To do so, she will use the complex arguments of French post-structuralist theorists such as Michel Foucault and Marxists such as Roland Barthes. Miss Griffiths, who is funding her research at a cost of about £10,000, said: "The time seems right for a cultural study of phenomenon, because there is a very hardcore air guitar scene that has been bubbling away for years. But as a feminist I am interested in why there are so few women at events."
Her work, one of the subtitles of which is "air guitar: celebrating the fakeness of the inauthentic", has come to the attention of the organisers of the World Air Guitar Championships, and she has been invited to address a training camp for competition entrants in Finland this month. Britain created the first world record for an air guitar ensemble when more than 4,000 people flailed along to Sweet Child o' Mine by the heavy metal band Guns 'n' Roses at the Guildford Festival in Surrey last month. But Miss Griffiths's interest grew after she entered a regional air guitar competition on the eve of her 30th birthday two years ago. Her unusual PhD was suggested by Prof Sheila Whiteley, chair of pop music at the University of Salford, whom she met on Radio 4's Woman's Hour, who has also overseen PhD studies into "post-anarcho punk" and heavy metal music. The mind boggles.
#3
Reminds me of a friend in college (professional student-type, 6-year plan, etc) who was taking a course in Deviant Sexual Behavior, one in Psychopharmacology, and was trying to work a course from the Recording Industry Management dept. into his schedule to complete the Sex, Drugs, and Rock-and-roll trifecta.
#4
"why the attractions of an invisible guitar are generally overlooked by women," Because they're invisible?
I thought this was funny when I saw it, but now I wonder if someone really is writing a thesis on Derrida and eels . . .
Posted by: James ||
08/02/2005 14:52 Comments ||
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#5
There are easier ways to get PhD's.
Hans Blix was given a honorary doctorate after a "Russia with Love" report covering up the true radiation effects of the Chernobyl accident.
Also, Mohammed el Baradei received a PhD from Egypt after covering up terrorist activities.
I apologize for not having the links to back up the claims. I did some research a long time ago and now I can't find the links.
SPACE CENTER, Houston (AP) - Discovery's astronauts are preparing for a high-stakes task that's never before been attempted: sending a spacewalker beneath the craft to repair filler sticking out from ship's thermal tile belly.
NASA says the protruding material could cause dangerous overheating during re-entry and lead to another Columbia-type disaster.
The agency will put astronaut Stephen Robinson on the space station's 58-foot robotic arm Wednesday as part of an unrehearsed maneuver. The arm will be operated by astronauts inside the station, who will bend and wrap Robinson around so he can reach the shuttle's belly. A possible Earth-side spin-off of this technology is a new ride at Six Flags.
Once there, he'll tug out the ceramic-fabric filler with his gloved hands. If that doesn't work, he'll cut away the material, which is sticking out about an inch from two spots near Discovery's nose. And if that doesn't work, Duck Tape™
"I am pretty comfortable with using tools very carefully," Robinson said early Tuesday during a crew press conference from aboard the space station. "But no doubt about it, this is going to be a very delicate task. But as I say, a simple one."
Robinson said the makeshift saw will only be used if other methods to remove the gap fillers - one about the thickness of an index card and the other, the size of three index cards bonded together - are unsuccessful.
"There won't be any yanking going on at all," though there has been a lot of wanking at NASA headquarters Robinson said. "It will be a gentle pull with my hand. If that doesn't work, I have some forceps. I will give it a slightly more than gentle pull. If that doesn't work, I saw it off with a hacksaw."
Deputy shuttle program manager Wayne Hale says if none of the proposed methods work, there will likely be some head scratching for a day. Followed by prayer However, he says the agency will find another method and try the repair again Thursday or Friday.
Engineers simply don't know enough about potential problems that could be caused by the protruding gap fillers, some of which protect tiles from hitting one another during launch.
But after a careful review of information sent from the ground, Thomas said he believes the repairs are justified given "every indication is that the removal of the material should be pretty straightforward and pretty easy."
"The bottom line is there is large uncertainty because nobody has a very good handle on the aerodynamics at those altitudes and at those speeds," Hale said. "Given that large degree of uncertainty, life could be normal during entry or some bad things could happen."
Robinson and his spacewalking partner, Soichi Noguchi, will still install a tool platform onto the space station. But once the installation is complete, the spacewalk will alter from the way it was carefully choreographed before last week's launch.
"It's going to be like watching grass grow," Or judges getting confirmed by the Senate he stressed.
Discovery will remain docked at the station until Saturday. The shuttle is set return to Earth early Monday. All the snark was whistling in the graveyard. I pray that everything comes out all right. I want these people back safely with their families. Then shut down NASA and RIF everyone there.
#2
They say they want to build a system to overcome the shuttle's weaknesses, but they want to use the weakest part of the shuttle program to build the new one: segmented solid rocket boosters.
(Rand Simberg has pointed this out too.)
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
08/02/2005 1:32 Comments ||
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#3
Rand has a point but the redesign also stacks instead of configuring side-by-side which should eliminate the falling debris problems that have plagued the shuttle lately. I think the shuttles main weakness though was compromised design from the beginning and this should solve that.
When the manned component becomes more expensive than buyin tickets on Virgin Space it can be shut down and the unmanned component will still have value.
#7
We're long overdue for the commercialization of LEO deliveries. NASA could likely support 3-4 competing commercial ventures for less than the cost of building the next-gen LEO delivery ship in house.
#8
What's the cost of delivering a pound of supplies or humans to the station today? What is the cost of putting a pound of satellite into geo-sync orbit?
If you can answer those questions, then the issue isn't one of 'what the next shuttle or booster' should be, but rather who can do it cheaper and more reliable. Only need to keep lift capability for military cargo for security reasons.
NASA's shaggin' wagon. Yeah...
--
On a serious note, how much time and money was spent to [try to] solve the problem of foam falling off during launch?
#13
A better question, how much time and money was spent building the ISS with no real purpose in mind beyond a works program for our international friends.
The Air Force had better ideas with space planes that were dumped when NASA took over. Some of those programs should be relooked at considering new technology.
#14
The biggest problem is that the scientists and engineers at NASA are so utterly focused on "raw science", that they miss the big picture. For example, they sent two Mars rovers that were a success, so for a follow-up, they want to send a much bigger version of the same contraption. If they were left to do Mars research, they would still be sending modified rovers to Mars for 100 years. To do much the same basic research. They would be shocked if someone was to propose sending a totally different vehicle *not* with the purpose of re-discovery, but with the idea of scouting a location for a human landing. They cannot understand that if people go to Mars they have to be practical, and use Martian resources if at all possible. NASA would have them go in self-contained pods on a hundred short missions instead of actually thinking of building a permanent habitation out of Martian rock and dirt. If I was in charge of our space program, for every pure science mission, there would be another that in some way encouraged free enterprise space use. First, by modifying the ISS to become a space-produced goods manufacturing plant. It would get a heck of a lot more support if it not only paid for itself, but made a profit; which it could do with little or no restriction on its science missions. How quickly would we be on the Moon if corporations were paid to bring back H3? Give Exxon $500B, and we will get shiploads of H3 in five years, and save $3 Trillion in oil money. That sounds like a darn good investment.
#15
He-3 isn't any easier to get fusion reactions from than normal tritium-deuterium reactions, it just tends to be the least polluting in the sense that its by-products are the shortest lived for half life and radiation emissions. (Hence the 1 trillion bucks assumes we ever get a workable fusion reaction going). If we ever get it to work you can bet we'll just use a tritium based reaction system unless we find a cheaper solution.
The Zimbabwe dollar tumbled to an all-time low yesterday as it became apparent that President Robert Mugabe had failed to get the billion dollars he sought from China to relieve the country's shortages of fuel, food and power. One US dollar purchased 45,000 Zimbabwe dollars yesterday on the illegal black market. The official exchange rate is US$1 to Z$17,000, but neither banks nor corporations use it.
Mr Mugabe returned from Beijing over the weekend with pledges from the Chinese government of $6m (£3.4m) for food, a passenger aircraft and 100 computers, according to the state media. He will now have to go back to South Africa for financial assistance. South African officials have made it clear they will demand substantial political and economic reforms in return.
So much for the China junket. At least Bob got fed.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/02/2005 00:21 ||
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Link ||
[1 views]
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#1
On Friday, according to one source in Zimabwe, the rate was US $1 = Z$ 36,000. A Z$ 9K increase in 3 days.
China also reportedly is going to build a hydroelectric plant in addition to giving Bob all the other goodies.
#4
That would be Bob's escape plane when the defecated matter hits the air circulation device. (Just trying to calm those easily offended people who were complaining about the foul language on this site yesterday.)
Posted by: Steve ||
08/02/2005 9:36 Comments ||
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#5
Steve, you get today's Roget Award for Creative Synonyms! :)
Anybody know what return the Chinese expect to get on this investment?
#9
lol, Dread! I'm actually awaiting the e-mail from Queen Mugabe, who wants to give me $10 million if i'd just give her my bank acct #. Although, I do need to follow up on if she means U.S. dollars or ZimBOBwean "dollars."
Posted by: BA ||
08/02/2005 14:03 Comments ||
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#10
$20.00 Zimbabwe - Worth less than an S&H Green stamp from the 1960s
If the ZimBob Bux inflate too much then there still is a use...
Natural resources: Deposits of more than 40 minerals including ferrochrome, gold, silver, platinum, copper, asbestos; 19 million hectares of forest (2000).
About 60% of the country is covered by an Archaen Granite Greenstone terrain well known for its rich endowment of gold and base metals. Cutting across the entire Archaen is the famous Great Dyke hosting one of the worldâs largest reserves of chrome and platinoids. Covering the edges of the Archaen terrain are younger sedimentary rocks hosting huge reserves of coal.
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.
MUSCAT â Oman yesterday expressed its profound sorrow over the death of King Fahd bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia and declared three days of mourning. All government offices will remain closed during this period and private establishments for one day. A statement issued by the Diwan of Royal Court said His Majesty 
Patients in the King Faisal Hospital were surprised when their dinner was delayed, Okaz daily reported. The food was delayed because the hospital chefs and cleaners were engaged in a fight over tips. 
Apple introduces "Mighty Mouse", a clickable, squeezeable, scrolling multi-button mouse.
The first academic study into the sweaty pursuit of air guitar playing is to use the work of French philosophers to explain why men and women do it differently. Doctoral research has begun under the supervision of Britain's first professor of pop music, who is also overseeing a PhD into the art of "moshing", the vigorous head-shaking dance popular among concert crowds. For the next three years, Amanda Griffiths, 32, a dance teacher from north Wales, will attempt to explain, in 60,000 words, why the attractions of an invisible guitar are generally overlooked by women, and how the girls who get involved do it differently.
