By Valerie Richardson
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
August 1, 2005
DENVER -- A plan to redesign seven Denver Public Library branches with a Spanish-language focus has created a row over the library's role in light of the city's growing Spanish-speaking population.
At a series of public meetings last week, library officials said the "Language and Learning" branches would feature an increased Spanish-language book and periodical collection, a bilingual staff and classes for Spanish speakers on subjects such as English acquisition, high school equivalency and computers.
Head librarian Rick Ashton said the Language and Learning concept, which is being reviewed by the Library Commission and a 50-member advisory board, was required to address the needs of Denver's growing Spanish-speaking population.
Hispanics make up 34.8 percent of Denver's population, up from 23 percent in 1990, and about 20 percent speak Spanish at home. Children from Hispanic families account for 54.1 percent of the enrollment in Denver public schools.
Although some patrons have praised the library's vision, the Language and Learning idea has met with resistance from those who say that the proposal is another step toward placing Spanish on an equal footing with English as the national language.
"The library is a purveyor primarily of written information, and it should be provided largely, say 95 percent, in the native language of our country, which is English," said Fred Elbel, president of Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform.
Increasing the Spanish-language collection will discourage newcomers from learning English, critics say, and give preferential treatment to Spanish speakers at the expense of immigrants from Russia, Vietnam and other countries. "I'm totally against it. I think anyone entering the United States should learn English," Denver resident Dick Traeyhouse said after a recent forum. "To pick one language is wrong."
Critics also contend that the libraries will offer yet another incentive for illegal aliens to choose Denver as their home. Immigrants need not prove their legal status to receive a library card, say critics and library employees.
Library official Beth Elder countered that the library has long acted as a "gateway" for immigrants, helping them adjust to life in their new country. "Libraries have always welcomed immigrants and always been a resource for immigrants to improve their lives," she said. "Libraries have always had a role in helping them become members of the community."
Denver's library plan places it at the forefront of major cities moving to cater to Spanish-speaking patrons, said Ana Elba Pavon, president of Reforma, an affiliate of the American Library Association that seeks to promote the inclusion of Spanish materials at U.S. libraries.
"They are on the cutting edge with this," said Miss Pavon, who heads children's services at the Mission branch of the San Francisco Public Library. "They're restructuring their system so they can provide better service to the Spanish-speaking community. ... They have a lot of pretty revolutionary things going on with this."
Library officials declined to give estimates as to what percentage of the collection would be in Spanish, but they stressed that the branches still would carry materials in English and other languages. The library currently allocates 6.8 percent of its budget for Spanish-language books and magazines, library Commissioner Wesley Brown said.
The Library Commission and advisory board are slated next month to give final comments, but critics contend that the plan is already in place.
Posted by: Jan ||
08/03/2005 18:00 ||
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#1
You'll note that their libraries would never *dream* of offering free English-language and American culture classes from basic to advanced. First of all, few hispanics are schooled to understand how a library works, unlike in English language schools where children have it explained to them. A library would be a natural for teaching English. It could expose them to all sorts of fine literature, non-fiction and fiction. Right there is a huge assortment for all skill levels, and full of people who are both bilingual and speak native English. Think of how fast Spanish speakers would learn English if they could spend 3 hours a night six nights a week in intensive learning?
#2
How fast? Six months for basic proficiency, four months for language adepts. Beyond that they could start working on GED-type skills, so that they'd be employable in English-intensive jobs like McDonalds, not just cleaning and gardening.
#3
The Denver Public School's have had a bilingual program for many years. Instead of teaching English they teach the kids in Spanish, setting them up to fail, not being able to get higher end jobs. Even the kids that have been born and raised here, many of them still don't understand or speak English. Nor do they seem interested in learning, which is very sad.
In the Denver Public Libraries they have found explicit books in the Spanish language.
'Novelas' in Denver public libraries - Spanish language porn
"Novela" is the name sometimes given to Spanish language pornographic comic books. These novellas have been brought into Denver Public Libraries, presumably at taxpayer expense, to replace English language books. These Novellas are pornographic and reflect serious violence against women.
Posted by: Jan ||
08/03/2005 22:42 Comments ||
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#4
jan...we used to call it "monolingual" education, since the "bi" part of it just wasn't happening.
Followers of the Summum faith say Moses made two trips down from the mountain. On one journey, the prophet returned with the Ten Commandments, "lower laws" that were easily understood and widely distributed.
I. THE PRINCIPLE OF PSYCHOKINESIS
II. THE PRINCIPLE OF CORRESPONDENCE
III. THE PRINCIPLE OF VIBRATION
IV. THE PRINCIPLE OF OPPOSITION
V. THE PRINCIPLE OF RHYTHM
VI. THE PRINCIPLE OF CAUSE AND EFFECT
VII. THE PRINCIPLE OF GENDER
File under mumbo jumbo...
The higher law obtained from the other trip, though, was passed down only to a select few who were able to appreciate it, according to the Salt Lake City-based religion.
Yassss... Secret knowledge, available only to the elect...
But now, Summum is fighting a legal battle to share that higher law - the Seven Aphorisms, or principles that underlie creation and nature - with everyone in a public forum. The church has filed suit against Pleasant Grove over its refusal to allow it to erect its own monument in a city park that has held a Ten Commandments monolith since 1971.
Considered buying some property with your own money and erecting it?... Didn't think so...
In the lawsuit, Summum alleges the denial of its request to put up the Seven Aphorisms in the park at 100 North and 100 East counters previous rulings. In two of them, handed down in 1997 and 2002, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver agreed that Salt Lake County and Ogden City had created a forum for free expression by allowing the erection of a Ten Commandments monument on government property. The same standard applies to Pleasant Grove, Summum contends in its suit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court. "The rights of plaintiff Summum are violated when the defendants give preference and endorsement to one particular set of religious beliefs by allowing the Ten Commandments monument to remain in a public park or in a forum within the public park supported by taxpayers and disallow a similar display of the religious tenets of Summum," the suit says.
#6
Good manners are what keep you alive when dealing with strangers
Unfortunately, many motorists that otherwise know what good manners are seem to lose it entirely once their cars start moving. Failure to keep to the right when driving slow, cutting people off, forcing their way in, and failing to stop and let pass others that are being held up on a two-lane road are but samples of movement-induced motorist brain malfunction.
#7
One can only be appalled at the reduction in good manners occasioned by the passing of a statute outlawing dueling the US in the very early 1800's. I could be persuaded to support a repeal of said law, providing that the weapons allowed were "sporting". Being 6'8" I am much enamored of 16# sledgehammers in 6' of water....
#8
confusedshush says, "good manners are not reflected by how others correctly follow the rules, but how you, as an individual, handle the fact that the car in front of you did not follow the rules". Now we are talking manners, civility, chivalry and taking the high road.
Right on the heels of the sub explosion yesterday, the usual antics of the Russian Navy continue...
The flagship of Russiaâs Baltic Fleet, the Neukrotimy patrol ship has been hit by a demonstration bomb and partially sunk in the Neva River in the center of St. Petersburg, the Kommersant daily reported on Monday. The incident happened just one day before Sundayâs Navy Day parade that was held in the city.
The Neukrotimy (âIndomitableâ) arrived in St. Petersburg for celebrations to mark Russian Navy Day on July 26. On July 30, it suddenly submerged below its waterline, collecting water in its engine compartment, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.
Divers found a rupture in a weld joint and plastered it, after which the ship was moved to a dock for repairs, the agency said.
Kommersant, however, gave details of the incident which forced the flagship to be removed from the parade. The daily said that the sailors planned to make a show of destroying a dummy sea mine during Sundayâs parade. The dummy, which still had about 30 kilograms of TNT in it, was supposed to create a huge splash that would spray the spectators on the embankment. However, the current brought the bomb up to the shipâs hull together with the anchor and it exploded causing the Neukrotimy to partially submerge. Oooops
The Military Prosecutorâs Office has opened a criminal case under the article âcareless handling of potentially dangerous itemsâ. They said that the role and degree of responsibility of the military officials in charge of the preparation and conducting of training measures near the ship would be ascertained during the investigation.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
08/03/2005 09:23 ||
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#1
Neukrotimy is a "Krivak II" class ASW frigate of 3,000 tons displacement, according to hazegray.org. That's a relatively small ship to be serving as a fleet flagship, but it's still something more respectable than a "patrol ship."
Posted by: Mike ||
08/03/2005 9:45 Comments ||
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#2
Could happen to anyone. Back in 1943, FDR was on a battleship to the Tehran conference and the Navy put on an exercise which included a simulated torpedo launch. The USS Porter came up along the Iowa and made its drill. Suddenly, there was a "whooooosh splash!" and an armed torpedo was headed straight at the Iowa. Fortunately, the Iowa was able to evade.
From then on, whenever the Porter joined a new task group, it was greeted with "Don't shoot -- we're Republicans."
#8
Jackal -- in the Pacific in WWII, a US sub accidentally torpedoed itself. The only survivor was a lookout on the conning tower, who saw the torpedo curve back around.
Yeah, it can happen to anybody.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/03/2005 11:25 Comments ||
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#9
Fortunately, the Iowa was able to evade.
No link, roumors has it the Iowa may have made 38 kts. during this incident.
#13
More info on the top speed of the Iowashere. Looks like 35kts is the practical maximum, but even 32.5kts is smokin' fast for anything that big.
I've seen another article somewhere--can't find the link--which said that the Wisconsin threw up a rooster tail on her full speed trial in the 1980s, like a 45,000-ton speedboat.
Posted by: Mike ||
08/03/2005 12:23 Comments ||
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When the ship got up to 26 knots, a rooster tail would start to appear. Vibration was reported, but only aft of frame 166 (where the aft transverse armored bulkhead is). Chief's quarters were pretty bouncy and the Nixie room was like standing on a jackhammer. I set my notebook down on a table to record some data and you can barely make out my handwriting.
Walking forward, the vibration almost totally disappears as soon as you cross the threshold at frame 166. By the time you get up near the anchor windlass room, you can feel a slight torque to the bow. An almost imperceptible twisting that can only be felt by people with excellent sense of balance. . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
08/03/2005 12:36 Comments ||
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#15
Yeah a speedboat that has 16" guns and can throw volkswagon sized shells over a hundred miles inland and can pretty much shake off 90% of all missles used today without a problem unless you happen to be on deck. I dont see why we cant modernize them to cut the massive crews down to a reasonable size pack on some more missles for longer penetration and use them as a direct assault platform. The majority of the planets major cities are in range of those big guns and her speed as a dash to theater weapon would be usefull.
#16
Much of the problem from the battleships stems from sustainability and range. The tomahawks used in DS I were only a stopgap measure. Their 16in. guns we're able to lay down 2 rounds a minute of fire (until the first 5 minutes were up approximately at which point you got 2 rounds a minute for the entire SHIP at best). In terms of ordinance weight on time to target it was easier to see an aircraft deliver the firepower necessary and more accurately (the guns were never very accurate to begin with). Top it all off with range, 30km-40km isn't very far inland.
To tell you the truth I dont see any modernized battleships coming out until railguns come out.
#17
Lawerence, the Tang was sunk by it's own torpedo but the Captain and several others survived. The Captain was on the bridge conducting a night surface attack and that's why he survived. He and several others were blown off the boat. I have the book detailing the Tang's exploits. a few men in the sub got out thrugh the forward escape hatch after the boat sank. I believe it was in relatively shallow water in the Sea of Japan. No one aft of the foeward torpedo room survived. The torpedo hit the stern on the port side and caused a fire that everyone between the foreward and aft torpedo rooms. That torpedo happened to be Tang's last one on that voyage. A real tragedy.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/03/2005 15:40 Comments ||
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#18
Having been an engineering officer onboard one of the Iowa class (hey, I chose my name for a reason!), I can tell you that the hulls and machinery were getting very long in the tooth. You get tired of patching fuel oil pipes that someone put his foot through or having firemains rupture every time the guns shoot.
I loved those ships, but their day has passed. Sob.
#19
What DN said. Hulls only have a finite lifetime, both in years and miles. Typically, BBs were designed for 20 years of peacetime service, with the ability to go another 10-20 after a big refit/rebuilding (all our WWI era ships were rebuilt in the 1930s, while the North Carolinas and South Dakotas simply scrapped around 1960). Wartime service is much less, of course. These ships are 60 years old. Granted, a lot of that was in mothballs, but even sitting still has some aging on the hulls and internal structure.
And we can't build new ones. I don't think anyone in the world has the ability to make 12.5" STS armor plate any more, or the 16" barrels. We would have to build all new factories. Then we'd have to train people to work them.
Then train people to actually use the guns. We've been without them so long there isn't much institutional knowledge any more. In fact, when the New Jersey was recommissioned for Viet Nam, finding gunners was so difficult the Navy considered making offers to ex-Royal Navy men (I don't think it ever happened, though).
I thought battleships are neat, but let them rest in peace. I wonder if they could strip the Wisconsin enough to tow it to Milwaukee?
#20
That's right, Dreadnaught, and don't forget the facacta powder system on the 16 inch guns that nearly took out IOWA. If we had a BB blow itself up, we'd never hear the end of it from the screaming lefties...
and this time they'd finally have point besides the ones on their heads!
Posted by: Ernest Brown ||
08/03/2005 20:22 Comments ||
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Chinese are embracing Christianity in a social revolution that is spreading through town and countryside to the point where Christians already may outnumber members of the Communist Party of China.
Visits to villages in backward rural provinces or to urban churches in Beijing, where even on weekdays the young and middle-aged gather to proclaim their faith, confirm the ease with which conversions can be won.
"City people have real problems, and mental pain, that they can't resolve on their own. So it's easy for us to convert these people to Christianity," said Xun Jinzhen, who preaches to customers at a beauty salon in Beijing.
"In the countryside, people are richer than before, but they still have problems with their health and in family relationships. Then it's also very easy to bring them to Christianity."
State-sanctioned Protestant and Catholic churches in China count up to 35 million followers, making Christianity the third most practiced religion in the country after Buddhism and Taoism. Islam ranks fourth.
Even more significant is a steadily growing network of underground or "house" churches, which are said to have up to 100 million members.
That compares with an official total of 70 million members of the Communist Party, many of whom have lost faith as the party has moved away from strict ideological principles toward increasing acceptance of free markets... This has got to quietly scare the hell out of their leaders. The Taiping Rebellion in China had (distorted) Christian overtones, and may have been the second bloodiest war in human history after WWII.
#1
It's finally good to hear some Good News among all the Christian persecution that's going on. I have also read reports of other Christian missionaries are in full swing after the Tsunami and the floods in Bombay. I am not saying that I favor disasters but then again it's not really up to me, is it?
One constant that I find in all these articles is that the people (Christians) who the locals considered a threat, are the only ones sticking around to help after a disaster, whether it is environmental, natural, or emotional.
#2
It's finally good to hear some Good News among all the Christian persecution that's going on. I have also read reports of other Christian missionaries are in full swing after the Tsunami and the floods in Bombay. I am not saying that I favor disasters but then again it's not really up to me, is it?
One constant that I find in all these articles is that the people (Christians) who the locals considered a threat, are the only ones sticking around to help after a disaster, whether it is environmental, natural, or emotional. Here is an example of deliberate misinformation against Christianity.
#7
it's all right - it's a good article. It's just sometimes I get tired of all of the evil in this world and that picture pretty much sums it up.
Sometimes I have to wonder where the hatred, selfishness and cruelty comes from. At least if the Chinese convert, perhaps that's a billion more people that will at least attempt to embrace goodness over the lure of darkness. That's got to be a good thing.
#8
To throw in my $.02...do any of you know of a good site that has verifiable numbers of converts to Christianity by country? I've heard this for years about China (especially out in the rural/village areas), but have also heard it's also exploding in S. Korea, and many African nations. A buddy of mine just got back from Kenya (on mission) and they had a worship service there where 600+ villagers converted to Christianity! I'm betting in border states to "jihadistan" nations are seeing more and more converts. The only downside is that we may see a LOT more clashes between the jihadis/muslim gov'ts and the Christians (e.g. Sudan is my main example in this arena, but you see smaller conflicts in these border areas like SE Asia in Indonesia, etc.).
Posted by: BA ||
08/03/2005 21:23 Comments ||
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#9
BA,
"The only downside is that we may see a LOT more clashes between the jihadis/muslim gov'ts and the Christians"
But this time....
MSM duplicity exposed...........check
True nature of Islam exposed....check
Alt. media avail................check
U.S. awake from hibernation.....check
British awake from hibernation..check
IDF free to eliminate threats...check
#10
The only downside is that we may see a LOT more clashes between the jihadis/muslim gov'ts and the Christians
This would change the general world-wide trend in what way, exactly?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/03/2005 22:15 Comments ||
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#11
The Koreans have been Christian for a long time. It got lost in the North for the most part, following the Communist take-over, but I think in the South the upwards of 90% belong to the religion... mostly Protestant, I do believe. There is at least one Korean Protestant Church within easy driving distance of my house, and several more in the city.
#12
The question is are these Christians as we know it. The Taiping Rebellion was fought between Christians and the government in China and if I recall it was a somewhat different version of Christianity.
At that point Christianity had grown so big as to be a threat to the Emporers, if my memory is correct. Looks like the tide is rising again.
#13
rjschwarz: The question is are these Christians as we know it. The Taiping Rebellion was fought between Christians and the government in China and if I recall it was a somewhat different version of Christianity.
In the past, a variety of religious sects have amassed armies either against or in behalf of the government. The Yellow Turbans helped bring about an end to the Han Dynasty. The Taipings attempted to topple the Qing Dynasty. The Boxers attempted to prop up the Qing Dynasty against the demands of various foreign powers for treaty ports and the like. But none of these movements had any real degree of intellectual coherence or staying power - the conflicts they brought about were pretty much raw power grabs by their leaders. I doubt that Christianity in its current form will spawn anything like the large-scale massacres that characterized the followers of the preceding sects - against their opponents when they were winning and against them when they were losing.
(Pay article. Additional info from the print edition.) ...potentially deadly schistosomiasis, also known as "snail fever", which infects snails and people, has long been a priority for China. In 1949, some 12 million people were infected... Current infections are on the upswing, from 700k in 2000 to 850k today. ...an even deadlier parasitic disease, hydatidosis, caused by a parasitic worm, is spreading across the Tibetan Plateau and western Sichuan Province...at least 600k Chinese are currently infected, and an additional 60 million people are at risk. Humans usually contract the disease by contact with the eggs of the parasite expelled in canine feces. If not treated, it results in likely death... Culling infected dog populations is not feasible in Tibet, where the large Buddhist population strongly resists the practice...
#1
Scientific American also believes in global warming. Part of the hysteria over the dam has to do with environuts going on and on about how this is going to have major negative environmental impact. I don't think much about their views. As a military target, it's wonderful - a single hydro dam that will supply power to huge numbers of people. What will tens of millions of Chinese do when the lights are turned out during a Taiwan conflict? (The Canucks have a big hydro installation to our north, and it supplies a great deal of power to the New England area. Hydro installations are wonderful for the cheap power they provide, but as power installations go, they are extremely vulnerable because so much capacity is centralized in a single dam).
#4
For some reason, BH, we seem to care primarily about diseases that effect people.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/03/2005 13:50 Comments ||
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#5
just a little natural selection going on
Posted by: bk ||
08/03/2005 15:02 Comments ||
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#6
Not only are Hydro-electric dams centralized targets the power grid of any industrial nation is a target rich environment. One doesn't have to take out the dam itself simply the distribution network. In the long run the Three Gorges Dam may be an environmental disaster but not in the way people think. Failure of the dam would of course result in one of the worst floods caused by man in history. But I was thinking more along the lines of reduced soil fertiltiy down stream due to flood control. As to any increase in parasitic infections there is always the law of unintended consequences.
#7
This should have been foreseen -- Egypt has a similar problem with a parasitic snail that lives in the Nile. The spring flood used to wash most of the snail population out to sea each year, but once the Aswan dam was built...
EFL: Oh, well. Goodbye, Aruba...
ONJUNG-RI, North Korea â From his perch on a huge illuminated billboard, the founder of this communist state, Kim Il Sung, smiles down benevolently as, a few yards away, North Korean waitresses serve beer and snacks to a crowd of cheerfully tipsy South Korean tourists. Enjoy yourselves, capitalist swine! Dear Leader demands it!
Behind a booth at the outdoor cafe, a decidedly sober-looking North Korean manager with a Kim Il Sung button on the lapel of her tweed jacket methodically counts a fat wad of U.S. dollars.
Through ventures such as this at Onjung-ri, the main tourist center of the Mt. Kumgang enclave on North Korea's southeastern coast, the regime is trying to meld Kim Il Sung's anti-capitalist ideology with its desperate need for money. Oh, I got a feeling Kimmie's not very anti capitalist at all as long as he gets his.
"They hate the United States, but they love U.S. dollars," said Oh Mi Seon, a South Korean executive who works at one of the resort's hotels. No shit. That's not a very exclusive club.
Since it opened in 1998, the Mt. Kumgang tourist operation has provided the regime of Kim Jong Il, the founder's son, with at least $490 million, becoming one of North Korea's largest legal sources of hard currency, say Western diplomats who have analyzed the country's finances. Despite the long-simmering tensions over North Korea's nuclear weapons program, the tourist business is better than ever. Last year 260,000 tourists, mostly South Koreans, visited Mt. Kumgang, more than triple the previous year, and the number is expected to grow 40% this year, according to Hyundai Asan, the South Korean company that operates the resort. Hyundai Asan hopes to open two new tourist enclaves in the North this year. Last month Kim met with the company's chairwoman in Pyongyang, North Korea's capital, to sign off on a deal to bring tourists to Kaesong, a historic city just north of the demilitarized zone, and to Mt. Paektu, a famous peak on the China-North Korea border. Pilot tours are expected to take place this month. "Everything is happening right now. There is a very positive atmosphere for dialogue and for new tour opportunities," Jang Whan Bin, a director of Hyundai Asan, said last month. From the look of things at Mt. Kumgang, the North Korean government is eager to do business as long as it has a tight rein on the purse strings. Like I said...
The cafe, for example â a Korean version of a beer garden â has a spontaneous and casual look to it, but it is in fact owned by an agency called the People's General Service Bureau. Two years ago, most of the facilities in the enclave were South Korean-owned and most of the employees Chinese or Philippine. Today North Koreans are running and staffing five restaurants with attractive women well trained to smile politely at the South Korean tourists. "We're very glad to see and serve our own people here," said Kim Eun Ok, a 20-year-old North Korean waitress serving coffee in the chandeliered lobby of Mt. Kumgang Hotel. Smile, honey. And do what the nice man says... Even the portable toilets along the hiking trails come with a hefty price tag: Tourists are advised that they should pay $1 if they urinate, $2 if they defecate, although â despite the North Korean regime's reputation as "big brother" â nobody seems to inspect. ("It's up to your conscience to pay what you owe," said tour guide Cho Ara.) Support The People's Urination and Defecation Tax!
Hyundai Asan officials say North Koreans have become far more comfortable with tourists in recent years. When the tours started in the late 1990s, there was hardly any contact between North and South Koreans, and the tourists were given a long list of rules. No jeans were permitted, no Bibles, no T-shirts with slogans in English. Sounds like fun. What do you do? Sit around, drink yourself blind, get another 20 dollar "smile" from a waitress? Call my travel agent.
Today the enclave is abuzz with construction activity. The highlights include an 18-hole golf course and a beach hotel. Maybe Kimmie will be there to give on the spot field guidance to your short game? I hear the guy's amazing...
Although tourists now travel in buses across the DMZ, plans are underway to permit South Koreans to drive their own cars. The boom marks a stunning turnaround for the Mt. Kumgang project, which nearly closed two years ago amid the international turmoil over North Korea's nuclear weapons program and a political scandal in South Korea. In 2003, Hyundai Asan Chairman Chung Mong Hun leaped to his death from the company's high-rise headquarters in Seoul just days after he was questioned by prosecutors over alleged bribes paid to North Korea. Hmmmmm? Guess he might've been guilty, maybe?
Hyundai officials are aware that if the six-party talks underway in Beijing over the North's nuclear program end in failure, there could be pressure from the Bush administration and from South Korean conservatives to stem the flow of tourist dollars across the border. For their part, the North Koreans appear to view the success of Mt. Kumgang as a gesture of defiance against the U.S. Bite me, Yankee Dogs!!!
In June, when Hyundai Asan celebrated the visit of the millionth tourist to the enclave, North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency declared it a "a victory of the patriotic forces for reunification over the traitorous forces for division" â a reference to the U.S. This is the kind of talk that makes Hyundai Asan nervous. "We want to separate ourselves from political and military issues," director Jang said. "We see what we are doing as a pure economic development project. But it is difficult." Let me know when they put in the casinos and the strip joints...
#2
Lots of well-fed Sorks driving up the Nork coast in bright new cars spending cash has got to be a recipe for trouble in the lil kimie's troll kingdom.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Amazing Kim Jong Il! Let's hear it for him!
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's Dear Leader Kim Jong-il never forgets a phone number, a cadre's career or a line of computer code. According to an article posted Tuesday on a Web site run by North Korea, Kim wakes up early every day for intensive memory training where he sits down and commits to his keen mind items such as the phone numbers of workers in his Stalinist state. All twelve of them...
"I remember all computer codes and telephones that workers are using now," Kim was quoted as saying on the Web Site "Uri-Min-jok-kiri" (www.uriminzokkiri.dprkorea.com), or "Among our People."
Kim surprised a group of North Korean officials attending a meeting in 2002 by recalling all their phone numbers "with lightning speed," the site said. I also know where you live.
On a day Kim visited a cemetery, he looked around at the tombs and he remembered the achievements, characteristics, tastes and bereaved family members for hundreds of the dead by a quick glance at the names on tombstones, it said. "All the attendants were surprised at his incredible memory," the site says. Ah, yes. I remember. He farted near a photo of The Great Leader. Of course, the punishment was death.
North Korean propaganda is ripe with the amazing achievements of its Dear Leader. The highly controlled state also closely monitors its citizens to make sure they do not speak out against Kim or challenge his rule. We love you, man. Please don't kill us.
Kim pilots jet fighters, pens operas, produces movies and accomplished a feat unmatched in the annals of professional golf by shooting 11 holes-in-one on the first round he ever played. Just 11? Well he was wearing those Herman Munster shoes...
The Web Site said Kim told all workers they should develop their ability to memorize. "The memory of a person gets better when a person uses their brain often," he was quoted as saying. On the spot field guidance for the mind. From the Dear Leader himself...
#3
But he still hasn't figured out how to feed em has he. Half dictator and half god as the Nork press reminds us. 100% evil by any measure. I suppose even the most intelligent, talented and articulate person who ever lived gets slightly distracted every now and then for a couple years. Farmin B hard fer sure in Norkland. Can you spare some Scotts grass seed?
Hordes of German troops couldn't take him, but time finally did.
Ernest Alva (Smoky) Smith, Canada's last winner of the Victoria Cross, has died at his home in Vancouver. He was 91. Born in New Westminster, B.C., on May 3, 1914, Smith was a joyful man with an impish smile who savoured a good cigar, a well-aged scotch and the attentions of ladies the world over. Far from a natural-born diplomat, however, it was his fierce fighting ability that vaulted Smith, nicknamed Smoky in school because of his running ability, into the company of royalty, presidents and prime ministers.
Last fall, Italians and Canadians gathered beneath the walls of an 800-year-old castle in Cesena, Italy, to honour Smith for unleashing a few minutes of fury that saved untold lives and changed his own forever.
In a warm ceremony filled with tales, tears and tributes, officials unveiled a plaque commemorating that night of Oct. 21-22, 1944. His actions that rainy night, when he singlehandedly fought off German tanks and dozens of troops on a road beside the Savio River, were hailed as an inspiration to all his countrymen for time immemorial.
To Smith, it was simple: kill or be killed. He was scared but he couldn't let his fear gain the best of him or he would die. "If you're not afraid, there's something wrong with you," he said. "You've got to do it. Don't worry about it. "Do it."
Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson, who developed a rapport with Smith over four Remembrance Days and many other ceremonies, said his feats that night resonated far beyond the moment into the hearts of generations of Canadians. "Someone once said that courage is rightly esteemed as the first of human qualities because it is the quality that guarantees all the others," she said. "It is the underlying, rock-like base on which we can live truly human lives. (It is) something he did not only in one battle, not only in the campaign of Italy but for all of us. "We are more human because one of our members is capable of such a thing."
Although his comrades called him "a soldier's soldier," Smith's relationship with the army was stormy. He built a reputation as an independent-minded man suspicious of authorities. They made him a corporal nine times and busted him back to private nine times. That was his rank when he was awarded his VC, the only Canadian private to win the medal in the Second World War Irreverant, sharp-witted and something of a trouble-maker, Smoky Smith and his deeds that night are the stuff of legend.
Already wounded once in Sicily, he had returned to cross the Savio River with his Seaforth Highlanders, the spearhead of an attack aimed at establishing a bridgehead in the push to liberate Cesena and ultimately break through the Germans' Gothic Line. But the rains were so heavy the river rose two metres in five hours. The banks were too soft for tanks or anti-tank guns to cross in support of the rifle companies. As the right forward company consolidated its objective, the Germans counter-attacked with three Panther tanks, two self-propelled guns and about 30 infantry. "The situation appeared hopeless," said Smith's citation announcing he had received the Commonwealth's highest military honour almost 61 years ago.
Then 30, Smith led his three-man anti-tank group across an open field under heavy fire. Leaving an anti-tank weapon with one of his men, he led Pte. Jimmy Tennant across the road for another. "We got hit with grenades," Smith recalled. "We got grenades thrown all over us. I don't know how I didn't get hit. He (Tennant) got hit in the shoulder and arm. "So I said: 'Get in that ditch and stay there. Don't move.' So we stayed right there and I never got a mark."
Smith had a tommy gun - a close-range submachine-gun - a Bren gun machine-gun and a PIAT, or Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank gun. He also had hundreds of rounds of machine-gun ammunition strung around his neck and hanging off his body. "We had tried to get a German bazooka, which we figured was twice the weapon we had," he said. "But they wouldn't let us have it. You know why? "It wasn't British."
The pair were no sooner into a ditch when a Panther came toward them, firing all the way. Smith waited until the 45-tonne vehicle was less than 10 metres away before he jumped out from his cover, laid down and fired back. He scored a direct hit, disabling the tank. "I hit it in the side or the track," said Smith. "A tank is pretty hard to hit. Sometimes the round would just bounce off it. "I could see it face-on."
Immediately, 10 German Panzergrenadier troops jumped off and charged him. "I killed four of them with my tommy gun. That scared them off. "They were up close - about 10 feet or so." Another tank opened fire. More enemy began closing on Smith's position. Smith grabbed more magazines and "steadfastly held his position," said the citation. "It was just a bunch of rocks," Smith said. "You're not fighting on the prairies, you know. You try and keep out of sight. "You find yourself a hunk of ground you can hang on to. That's the way you win wars, I think."
He fired another round at an approaching tank. It turned away. As each German neared him, Smith fired at them. The rest eventually turned and withdrew "in disorder," the citation said. "Even Germans don't like to be shot," Smith said. From a distance, a tank continued firing. Smith helped a badly bleeding Tennant up and the two of them made their way back across the road to a church, where Smith left his buddy in the care of some medics. Dead Germans lay strewn all over the road.
"I don't take prisoners. Period," Smith said 60 years later. "I'm not paid to take prisoners. I'm paid to kill them. "That's all there is to it."
Smith heard he'd won the Victoria Cross about seven weeks after the fight. His reputation as a party animal preceded him. Military police were sent to take him to the ceremony with King George VI in London.
"They picked me up in Naples or somewhere and they put me in jail," Smith recalled with his trademark grin. "'Don't let him loose in this town. Don't let him loose. He's a dangerous fellow.' "I liked to party. I'd have a big goddamn party and they'd say: 'Where is he now? Oh, he's drunk downtown."'
After the war, Smith worked a couple of years before he rejoined the army to go and fight in the Korean War. "After I got in the army, they wouldn't let me go. They said: 'You got a VC, you're not allowed to fight any more.' "I said: 'Why didn't you tell me before I rejoined?"'
He was promoted sergeant, then retired with full pension at 50. He became a newspaper photographer before starting his own travel business with wife, Esther. "I worked for Smoky Smith," he said. "He's the only boss I know who's good to me." He retired at 82. In recent years, he was pretty much confined to a wheelchair. He had a bad cough. His beloved cigars and scotch took their toll.
Jimmy Tennant survived the war. Smith helped him find a job with the Workers Compensation Board when they returned to Canada. Tennant had lost a chunk of bone in his arm so it was shorter than the other by about five centimetres. Tennant lived a long and happy life, not far from Smith in Vancouver. The two remained friends until Tennant died of lung cancer years ago. After that night in 1944, Smith's life was never the same again. Strange women kissed him. Countless men wanted their pictures taken with him. Children smothered him with affection. He met kings and queens and prime ministers and presidents. As much as he loved the attention, he never forgot the joys the simple things in life could provide.
Master Cpl. Bud Dickson, Smith's aide de camp on overseas trips for 10 years, remembered getting dressed six years ago in the Mediterranean town of Catania when a knock came on his hotel room door. Dickson opened the door and there stood Smith. "Come here, Bud, I've got something to show you," Smith said. Dickson finished dressing and went to Smith's room. The door was ajar and Dickson walked in, calling Smith's name. "Out here," came the reply. And there sat Smith on the balcony overlooking the Mediterranean, two of his beloved scotches on the table in front of him. Dickson sat, still a bit confused. The sun was just cresting the horizon to the east. "What's going on, Smoky?" he asked. "Nothin'," said the then-85-year-old veteran. "I just wanted you to come over and watch the sunrise."
So Dickson, then a 33-year-old army signaller, and Smoky Smith, who had probably seen more war than all present-day Canadian soldiers put together, sat back, sipped their scotches and watched a spectacular sunrise. They barely spoke a word. About 10 minutes passed. By now, the sun was big blazing orange ball. To this day, Dickson says he will never forget the words Smith spoke.
"Try to do this as often as you can," said Smith, who used to kill enemy troops with a half-metre-long, Indian-style warclub bristling with nails. "You never know when your last sunrise is going to be."
The war, Smith said last year, didn't darken his soul and weigh on his heart the way it did some veterans. "Once it's over, it's over," he said. "It was a good life." A military funeral is being planned.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/03/2005 13:46 ||
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"Smith, who used to kill enemy troops with a half-metre-long, Indian-style warclub bristling with nails
WTF ? The whole rest of the article talks about Tommy guns and PIATs ( you know, ** NORMAL ** WWII-era weaponry)
Either that is a fact, in which case shame on the writer for not giving us more of THAT story, or that is some fictive weirdness thrown in for lordknowswhutreason during the "editing process" (with the state of the MSM these days, that's plausible)
Posted by: Carl in N.H. ||
08/03/2005 14:51 Comments ||
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#3
Maybe the warclub has something to do with these parties he was having, and it ended up on the editing room floor. ;)
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
08/03/2005 15:03 Comments ||
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Hope all of you already ate lunch after reading that line...
Legendary in her own mind White House reporter Helen Thomas is mad at me, big time, as Vice President Cheney once said in a different context about a different reporter.
My sin? I made the mistake of assuming that, when I called her last week to ask about her recent Hearst Newspapers column on Cheney, I wasnât calling to pass the time of day but actually intended to write a story about it. Calling him âthe most powerful vice president in recent times, perhaps in U.S. history,â she said that Cheney âcertainly could campaign on the theme that he has had experience in running the White House."
Um, kinda like Al Gore did? No hypocrisy here...
Figuring that, having covered every president since Andrew JacksonAbe Lincoln John F. Kennedy, she knew I was going to quote her, since I assume people are on the record unless they state otherwise, which she didnât, I asked her if she was promoting a Cheney candidacy in 2008.
Emphasis mine - that's the whole 'he said - she said' argument in a nutshell. I guess it depends on how often they've ever chatted w/ each other; if it was less often, I'll side with him.
I then wrote what I thought was an innocuous item in our âUnder the Domeâ column Thursday in which I quoted her response: âThe day I say Dick Cheney is going to run for president, Iâll kill myself. All we need is one more liar.â She says I shouldnât have quoted her âbecause we all say stuff we donât want printed.â
Little surprise here - I can imagine much, much worse things being said in private by the likes of Krugman, MoDo, and the other usual suspects...
Little did I know, being a creature of the typewriter/telegraph era of journalism, that cybergossip (Um, try internet reporter - Ed.) Matt Drudge would pounce on the item and transmit it to the farthest regions of the Internet universe, along with an unflattering photograph of Ms. Thomas. You have a flattering one?
That was all Drudge acolytes needed to unleash a flood of e-mails condemning her â and me, as her unwitting accomplice.
Unwitting? Color me skeptical...
The general tone of the e-mails, and a number of phone calls as well, can be captured in one from Rob Clark of Sarasota, Fla., who wrote, âPlease tell Helen Thomas that she can borrow one of my guns if she wants to shoot herself.â
This is called 'Open Mouth, Insert Foot"...
Of course, there were also such gems as this one from an anonymous foul-mouthed Drudgoid who described me with a scatalogical term combining an adjective for a common sexual practice with a noun for a bodily orifice.
The old Kos "Take one letter from untold thousands to portray the opposition as nutjobs" meme? Couldn't see that coming. That trick's almost as old as Helen Thomas!
âNo wonder the fourth estate is in such sorry state, you f- - - - - - sleezeball,â he wrote. Iâd have taken his comment seriously if heâd had the guts to sign his name, but itâs easy to be a coward on the Internet. I just hope this slack-jawed degenerate reads this so he learns how to spell âsleazeball,â which he can easily see in the mirror.
'Slack-jawed degenerate'? So much for taking the high road.
Anyway, having unintentionally caused Ms. Thomas considerable pain, I wish to rise to her defense. Thomas is a great journalist, the stand-in model for the Old Man of the Mountain in Franconia, NH first lady of the White House press corps, who has blazed a trail for women journalists and has been doing for decades what White House reporters are supposed to do but too often donât, which is to ask tough questions of presidents.
I'd be breathless after such verbal fellatio / cunninlingus. Anyone want Helen's sloppy seconds?
Naturally, that doesnât sit well with a lot of people, who apparently would prefer to see their politicians treated like gods and who have a visceral hatred of the press.
You mean like JFK, Carter and Clinton, or like Gingrich, DeLay and Santorum?
But the larger lesson here, and one that Iâm surprised Ms. Thomas, who has been a Washington reporter since Charlemagne1943 and retired as UPIâs White House correspondent in 2000, failed to understand, is that âoff the recordâ is a virtually meaningless term, which is why this column bears the name it does. Itâs bad enough that I public officials hide behind it to try and weasel out of a huge mistake discredit their critics, as the CIA leak imbroglio demonstrates, but even worse when reporters do it.
"Thus I piously wash my hands of L'affaire Thomas".
#1
I wonder if he realizes the foul-mouthed fellow was a Helen "Ozzy Impersonator" Thomas supporter?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/03/2005 14:35 Comments ||
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Raj, good Fisk, but you missed one.
.... and has been doing for decades what White House reporters are supposed to do but too often donât, which is to ask tough questions of Republican presidents.
A few days after the 2004 election, America Coming Together, the giant pro-Democratic voter turnout group that had raised about $200 million from George Soros, Peter Lewis, and a variety of Hollywood moguls, released a list of its accomplishments. Obviously, ACT, as big as it was, had not put John Kerry over the top, but the group had "held conversations at 4.6 million doorsteps about the truth about the Iraq war, about the state of our healthcare system, about the economy." It had registered half-a-million new voters. In the last days of the campaign it had made 23 million phone calls, sent out 16 million pieces of mail, and delivered 11 million fliers. And on top of it all, it had "launched the largest get-out-the-vote effort the Democratic Party has ever seen," turning out "unprecedented levels of voters in the battleground states."
It all sounded very, very impressive. And then ACT listed its accomplishments at the polls, and the results seemed far less impressive. . . . Soros and all his colleagues had spent $200 million to elect a Democratic secretary of state in Missouri.
The question that hung in the air at the time was whether, after such a defeat, the big donors would continue to support ACT â to get ready for the next big campaign â and help it grow into an even larger turnout machine. And now we have the answer: No.
On Tuesday ACT, which had already downsized dramatically in the months since the election, pink-slipped most of its remaining staff and shut down all its state offices. The money had dried up, the donors were on to other things, and the "largest get-out-the-vote effort the Democratic Party has ever seen" was over.
"Lord Vader Soros, the fleet has moved out of lightspeed and we're preparing for the 2006 elec--. . . ack!"
"You have failed me for the last time. . . ."
Throughout its life â it started when Ellen Malcolm of EMILY's List, Steve Rosenthal of the AFL-CIO, former Clinton operative Harold Ickes, and others held a downcast post-election dinner in November 2002 at a restaurant in Washington's Dupont Circle neighborhood â America Coming Together operated on the assumption that big, big money would bring victory to the Democratic party. . . . In July 2003, they traveled to Southampton, to the estate of the Godfather George Soros, where Soros's political consultants made a pitch for spending large amounts of money on Democratic-voter turnout. Soros, his friend and giving partner Peter Lewis, and several others present agreed that it was a good idea, and the money began to flow. . . . When rich Democrats across the country saw that Soros and Lewis had joined up with America Coming Together, they decided to hop on board, too.
"Someday - and that day may never come - I'll call upon you to do a service for me. But until that day, accept this as gift . . ."
. . . In all, America Coming Together, along with its sister organization, the Media Fund, raised and spent about $200 million. And as Election Day approached, the organization gave off an air of confidence born of the belief that it was simply too big to fail.
In a way, it didn't fail. In 2004, America Coming Together helped create a record Democratic turnout â a performance that would have been a fabulous success had not the other guys turned out even more. In the end, though, the problem for ACT was not that it failed to turn out voters. The problem was, despite its claims to be reaching more people than ever before, it really did not reach a lot of new people. America Coming Together was not, in fact, America coming together; it might more accurately have been named Traditional Democratic Party Constituencies Coordinating Like Never Before. . . .
Despite all the hype and all the press releases, the effort really wasnât about converting new voters to the Democratic party. Rather, it was about squeezing just a little more juice out of a lemon that had been nearly squeezed dry in the past. Steve Rosenthalâs well-regarded successes in previous elections had not involved attracting large numbers of new people to the cause. They involved getting union voters to turn out in ever-greater percentages, even as the percentage of union households in the electorate shrank. The problem was, you could do that for only so long. At some point, every union member or union household member of voting age could turn out and it still wouldnât be enough to elect a Democratic candidate. For that, you had to expand your appeal, and that was something ACT failed to do. Malcolm, Rosenthal, and Ickes discovered that you could call it America Coming Together, but saying so didn't make it true.
"What is it?"
"It's a message. America Coming Together sleeps with the fishes."
Posted by: Mike ||
08/03/2005 10:17 ||
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Big changes going on in the Demo party. First AFL-CIO, then Soros dropping ACT, Clinton getting a new spokesperson, all in a weeks time.
No wonder there has been a strange quiet on the big issues of the day, because their talking heads don't have a set of appproved talking points to work off of. It will be interesting to see if the quiet lasts only while the party regroups and figures out what their new tac will be - or - if the loss of Soros billions means an end to the spectacularly juvenile poltical tactics of moveon.org.
Since Missouri voted for the winning candidate in every election from 1900 through 2004 (except 1956), they are an important battleground state for the 2008 elections, y'see, and because the secretary of state of Missouri is responsible for "providing and preserving information for the public", this Democrat is in a perfect position to influence the state poll results next election.
How's that for justifying the $200 million cost ?
Posted by: Carl in N.H. ||
08/03/2005 18:43 Comments ||
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Carl's comments can be confirmed by Senator private citizen Ashcroft, who lost by a very narrow margin in 2000 with lots of shenanigans.
#6
How many africans could the libs have fed with $200 million? When you think of the double standard, that has become standard it makes you sick to your stomach. What will these idiots do in 2008, try to get convicted felons the right to vote? Go around rousting bums out from under bridges to register, go to every university and try to warp young minds? They have a lot of work ahead of them. Just think what would happen if the GOP did a get the vote out thing.
(CNSNews.com) - A report by a voting rights group regarding allegations of voter fraud, intimidation and suppression during the 2004 presidential election has found that "paid Democrat operatives were far more involved in voter intimidation and suppression activities than were their Republican counterparts during the 2004 presidential election." The report by the American Center for Voting Rights Legislative Fund found that thousands "were disenfranchised by illegal votes cast and a coordinated effort by members of certain 'nonpartisan' organizations to rig the election system through voter registration fraud in more than a dozen states."
For example, the report noted, paid Democrat operatives were charged with slashing tires on Republican get-out-the-vote vans in Milwaukee, and an Ohio court order stopped Democrat operatives from calling voters and telling them the incorrect date for election and polling place information. The report also found that a law enforcement task force found "clear evidence of fraud in the Nov. 2 election in Milwaukee" that included hundreds of felons, voters that voted twice, and even thousands more ballots that were cast than actual voters recorded as having voted in the city. The task force also found multiple indictments and convictions of ACORN workers for voter registration fraud in several states.
Five cities - Philadelphia, Pa.; Milwaukee, Wisc.; Seattle, Wash.; St. Louis or East St. Louis, Mo.; and Cleveland, Ohio - were identified as "election fraud 'hot spots' which require additional immediate attention prior to the 2006 elections." These cities were identified based on the report's findings and the cities' documented history of fraud and intimidation. The group sent a letter to Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean and Republican Party Chairman Ken Mehlman urging them to formally adopt zero-tolerance policies against fraud and intimidation. The group also asked both leaders to identify issues of concern in each election fraud "hot spot" by October 1.
"Until political parties and candidates are willing to adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards election fraud, the American public will have little confidence in other reforms," Brian Lunde, ACVR Legislative Fund board member, said in a statement. "There is no room for politics when it comes to the right to vote." "It should be easy to vote but tough to cheat," said Mark F. "Thor" Hearne, ACVR Legislative Fund Counsel in a statement. ACV suggested states adopt their "common-sense recommendations," which include requiring photo IDs at the polls, accurate statewide voter registration databases and a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to vote fraud and intimidation.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/03/2005 08:46 ||
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Ohio court order stopped Democrat operatives from calling voters and telling them the incorrect date for election and polling place information
Ya know, I keep hearing Democrats accusing Republicans of doing this.
Philadelphia, Pa.; Milwaukee, Wisc.; Seattle, Wash.; St. Louis or East St. Louis, Mo.; and Cleveland, Ohio
No shocks there. But East St. Louis is in Illinois.
The group also asked both leaders to identify issues of concern in each election fraud "hot spot" by October 1.
Hey, guys, I don't want to spoil your fun, but all the "hot spots" are Democrat strongholds.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/03/2005 9:09 Comments ||
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Its everywhere -
Sheriff Investigates Possible Ballot Signature Fraud
POSTED: 9:10 am MDT July 27, 2005
UPDATED: 9:22 am MDT July 27, 2005
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Some signatures may have been forged supporting a minimum wage ballot measure scheduled to go before the public in October.
A worker for ACORN, one of the activist groups supporting the measure, confessed to forging signatures, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office.
ACORN says it hired at least 50 people to collect 33,000, and each worker was paid according to the number collected.
Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. David Knowles said the investigation is in its early stages and more people will be interviewed in the case. No charges have been filed yet, he said.
Several thousand signatures have already been identified as fake. Was brought to the attention of the Sheriff when a County Commissioner notice his name on the ballot initiative and knew he hadn't signed it. IIRC ACORN has a track record of this behavior.
For those of you who don't live in Chicago or C(r)ook County, Mayor Daley is indeed losing his touch. He's had a slew of assistants arrested or forced to resign over the past 6 months. Of course, His Excellency is shocked, shocked that his peons are corrupt.
BTW: today's headline for the Chicago Tribune: City gets Hall Monitor. A federal judge has put a monitor into city hall to assess the city's hiring practices.
A Republican former state lawmaker claimed a seat in Congress on Tuesday by narrowly defeating an Iraq war veteran who drew national attention to the race with his military service and a series of harsh attacks on President Bush.
Name calling of the Prez backfires when you are military.... Very bad form...
With all precincts reporting, Jean Schmidt had 52 percent, or 57,974 votes, compared with Democrat Paul Hackett's 48 percent, or 54,401 votes. Schmidt's margin of victory amounted to about 3,500 votes out of more than 112,000 cast.
Wait a minute, Aren't they challenging this? What about Dick Tracy, and Homer Simpson? Didn't they vote? How about all the minority Dems who were too stupid to vote without help?
Schmidt, 53, will replace Republican Rob Portman, who stepped down this year after being named U.S. trade representative by Bush. Portman held the seat for 12 years, consistently winning with more than 70 percent of the vote in the Cincinnati-area district.
Parties out of power always do better in special elections...
Democrats had viewed the race as a bellwether for 2006, saying even a strong showing by Hackett in such a heavily GOP district would be a good sign for them in the midterm elections.
Close only counts in horseshoes? Haven't you ever heard that?
"We began this race way back in late March, and no one had thought we'd be the focus of the national media or be the so-called first test of the Republican Party and the Bush mandate. Well, ladies and gentleman, we passed that test," Schmidt said.
And the fact that a primary opponent DeWine, Jr was handicapped by his father's double-dealing association with the "Gang of 14" helped you too, Madame Representative. Congratulations - Good show!
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/03/2005 7:26 Comments ||
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For all that the man is an ass, and I am very pleased didn't win, he did step out of a very lucrative career when he didn't have to. (There are no poor people in the suburb of Indian Hill. We're talking solidly upper middle to lower upper class. Horses have the right of way.) He could easily have gone into politics without the military component. And it sounds like, unlike Senator John F. Kerry, he did right while he was out there, front line or no. I saw a snatch of his post-results speech, and he spoke of giving the voters a real choice -- and in this reliably Republican part of Ohio, he's the best choice the Democrats have offered in a while.
#5
Trailing Wife I would agree with his noble service that is because I believe ALL service is noble. It takes clerks, cooks, guards, supply people, drivers, shooters, and unfortunately lawyers to run a war. I have no qualms about his service but I do have issues with his stealth and blatantly dishonest campaign. Never during his radio or TV ads does he mention that he is a Democrat and a liberal. In the TV ad he claims to AGREE with the President, but is on record for saying the opposite. I contend that if this were not short campaign (and the voters had got the full story) the race would not have even been close. It also is a prequel to what we will see when Sir Hillary runs for President, she will claim to be a moderate hawkish instead of the neoliberal that we have all come to love. Congratulations to Representative Jean Schmidt.
#6
Democrats had viewed the race as a bellwether for 2006, saying even a strong showing by Hackett in such a heavily GOP district would be a good sign for them in the midterm elections.
Again with the "bellweather" talk. He basically ran ads suggesting he was GWB's best bud in the world. That's a far cry from his previous statements.
#7
Hackett lost because he was two-faced. He ran ads touting his military service as if he were a combat vet and a buddy of Bush. He's neither - he's a REMF officer, and no closer to the CinC than any other Marine.
And he also harshly criticized Bush, calling him an SOB in order to play to the MoveOn crowd that dominated demcrat politics.
Sorry Hackett, can't have it both ways. A two faced man is unstable in all his ways - so the voters essssentially called you on it - and didnt trust you.
"However, Buzz reader Melissa writes in with some interesting data from the last two congressional cycles:
2002-184,100. R-136,523 D-47,618
2004-310,000 R-227,102 D-89,598
2005-111,000 R-57,974 D-54,401,
Comparing 2002 to 2005, the Republicans stayed home, the Democrats, if reports are true, invested millions to get 6,783 more votes. Relative to 2004, they lost 35,197 or 40% of the voters they had only 9 months ago. The backslapping that is occurring is far from reality."
Seems the Dems are stretching the numbers again about this "success"
#14
Actually, I agree that this election was a bellweather for the Democrats: they are going to lose again next time... and the time after that, and the time after... ;-)
Like the last presidential election, when Kerry lost while getting more votes than Clinton needed to win. Hackett was the best they could do, and it just wasn't good enough. The message of the Democratic Party has passed its "sell by" date.
SHAH ALAM, Aug 2 (Bernama) -- The Selangor [a Malaysian state] government Tuesday asked followers of the nine active deviant sects in the state to turn over a new leaf in two months or face legal action.
Chairman of the State Islamic Affairs, Youth and People Friendly Committee Datuk Abdul Rahman Palil said a majority of these followers were active in the Sepang, Gombak and Klang districts. These nine sects were among the 23 that had been gazetted as deviant by the Fatwa Council, he told a press conference.
Abdul Rahman advised the followers to come to the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (JAIS) and attend counselling sessions, saying that they would not be prosecuted and their identities would be kept confidential. Since 1975, a total of 61 sects were investigated and 23 were ruled by the Fatwa Council as deviant...
Abdul Rahman also said that JAIS had set up a special enforcement unit to act against deviant sects in the state. Similar units would be established in each district and they would work with the police, Immigration Department, people's volunteer corps (Rela), penghulus, village development and security committees, and mosque committees, he added.
Abdul Rahman also said that JAIS would act against about 30 people from the state who were followers of the Ayah Pin deviant sect based in Terengganu.
#4
Traditionally, the Minangkabau who settled in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia at the end of the 17th Century choose from amongst themselves a "penghulu" or headman. Several of these "penghulus", notably that of Sungai Ujong, Jelebu, Johol and Rembau became powerful enough to exalt themselves above other "penghulus". By the early part of the 18th Century, the leaders of these four districts started calling themselves "Undang".
This is an interesting concept. Essentially they are using hot water from passive solar to generate electricity and then methane. I'm sceptical they can use it to capture CO2 from the air as they claim, but I can see how it could work as an adjunct to a coal power plant. These are just the bullet points from the start of the article. Towards the end they lay out their business plan for progressive introduction. Assuming the technology works, this could make a real difference, unlike the usual alternative energy snakeoil.Coming into production in September, thermal solar panels from International Automated Systems will produce electricity at 3-5 cents per kilowatt-hour .
Bladeless turbine has wide range of waste-heat-harnessing applications.
Methanol production technique will utilize CO2, drawing it out of the environment and recycling it.
New U.S. energy bill opens a financing method that will enable this technology to quickly become a foundational component of the energy-generation infrastructure.
#1
This is a bit confusing on the surface, and only makes sense with some additional research. First of all, while they might make methanol about the same price as gasoline, it has about half the energy, so, for example, you can only drive half as far on a tank. (Same engine power, though). However, ethanol has more energy than methanol, and is made of renewable biomass, so why not use it? Because it is very expensive to make, even though it is heavily subsidized by the government. So this company is essentially trying to sell the Kyoto accord. Even though our methanol is twice the price of gasoline, it would recycle lots of carbon that might otherwise pollute or just be expensively buried underground.
#2
I thought it was interesting for 2 reasons. One was passive solar is cost effective to heat water. Extending that to electricity generation is an obvious step. Combining it with carbon capture adds value, and carbon capture is the only way to reduce CO2 levels (given Kyoto is a complete bust). Potentially this is a moreorless zero cost way of controlling CO2 levels.
#3
Most plant tissue is created from CO2. To get CO2, they open pores in their leaves. But this also lets out water. So, the more CO2 in the air, the less they need to open their pores, and the less water they need. So in water poor countries, build sealed greenhouses that have extra CO2 pumped into them. They get really productive crops, use far less water, and the CO2 is tied up in plant matter that can be decomposed into ethanol.
VICTORIA, Texas - Relatives of seven illegal aliens people who died in the nation's deadliest illegal alien immigrant smuggling attempt have sued the maker of a trailer, a trucking company and the driver. The lawsuits, with allegations ranging from product liability to wrongful death and negligence, seek millions of dollars in damages.
Product liability? Why, cuz they didn't think to put a door knob on the inside of the trailer?
U.S. District Judge John Rainey will hold pretrial hearings beginning Sept. 6.
The smuggling scheme ended in horror in May 2003 when the closed trailer, bound for Houston from South Texas, was abandoned at a truck stop near Victoria. Seventeen illegal aliens people died inside the trailer of dehydration, overheating and suffocation. Two illegal aliens died later.
Horrible way to die, yes. Shouldn't have broken the law sneaking in
The suits name Great Dane Trailers of Savannah, Ga., Salem Truck Leasing and driver Tyrone Williams.
Great Dane having the deepest pockets
None had responded in court as of Tuesday, the Victoria Advocate reported in its Wednesday editions. A call placed late Tuesday to Great Dane Trailers was not answered. The leasing company could not immediately be reached for comment. The relatives in the lawsuits listed six of the illegal aliens victims as being from Mexico and one from Honduras.
Now there's a shocker....
A jury in March convicted Williams on 38 charges of transporting illegal aliens immigrants.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/03/2005 14:05 ||
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#1
How could Great Dane have been so negligent as to not provide proper ventillation in their trailers for the illicit transportation of illegal aliens? The inhuman bastards!
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/03/2005 14:37 Comments ||
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#2
This is why summary judgement was invented.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/03/2005 14:43 Comments ||
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#3
You're right Mrs. D., unfortunately here it's far more likely to go against Great Dane, Salem Truck Leasing, & T. Williams than against the families of the dead.
Product liability? Why, cuz they didn't think to put a door knob on the inside of the trailer?
Yes. One very common products liability test considers whether, in hindsight, the product could have been made in such a way as to prevent the accident / dangerous circumstance without either unduly increasing the price of the product or severely impacting the utility of the product. Other tests are less heinous but no more likely to produce a positive outcome for anyone involved here (and there are numerous liability theories beyond simply products liability that are probably applicable to this case).
Any lawyer in Victoria would be insane not to take this case and they'd be foolish to take it on anything other than a straight contingency fee basis. Lots of money is going to change hands here but don't blame the lawyers or the courts, blame the politicians who wrote the laws.
#4
Great Dane has nothing to worry about beyond their counsel trying to generate too much in the way of billable hours over this, something that can be easily killed in the crib. Salem Truck Leasing probably has nothing to fear. Although I don't think it is so, I sure hope that company has no relation to William A. Salem (real reefer units his were) or his pappy slick trucking company operator Albert Salem.
#5
What the suit syas in part is that Great Dane should be liable because there were no warning sighns on the trailer that said people should not be transported in them. Great Dane replied that this is a refrigerated trailer than can only be opened while the trailer is at a standstill and DOT regulations prohibit people from riding in these types of trailers, therefore no warning sign was needed. I think, unless there is an extremely liberal judge, that Great Dane will be dismissed from this suit.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/03/2005 18:54 Comments ||
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EFL
SPACE CENTER, Houston Aug 3, 2005 â A spacewalking astronaut gently pulled two potentially dangerous strip of protruding fabric from Discovery's belly with his gloved hand Wednesday, successfully completing an unprecedented emergency repair job.
"That's one small pull for man..."
Astronaut Stephen Robinson said both pieces came out easily. He did not have to use a makeshift hacksaw put together in orbit that he brought along just in case.
In order to cut the fabric flush, they took the blade and wrapped one end with, you guessed it, Duct Tape!
"That came out very easily, probably even less force," Robinson said of the second piece. "I don't see any more gap filler. ⊠I'm doing my own inspection here. It is a very nice orbital belly."
Once under Discovery's belly, Robinson expected to spend about an hour removing or trimming the fillers from two locations near the shuttle's nose. It took mere seconds for him to pull each strip. NASA thought the first gap filler was the trickier of the two. They believed it remained glued to a shim that was bonded to a thermal tile. Good job, guys.
#3
If you want to work in space with bare hands, go ahead.
Since he did a visual inspection of the shuttle, I'm pretty confident everything up there is OK. On the ground, of course, NASA's a total mess and needs to be shut down.
#4
NASA has managed to transform itself from a can-do agency into a can't-do-anything agency. It's major successes in recent years ala the recent Deep Impact mission (the only way short of actually landing on these objects and doing on site analysis is to hit them hard and do spectropsity (sp) on the out gassing) were really done by places like JPL. The shuttle is at best a compromised design. The core of the launch stack does provide a heavy lift vehicle and the use of the External Tank and SRBs for such a vehicle date back to studies for the Shuttle C starting in the late 70s IIRC. Four or five segment SRB derived launchers with a H2/O2 or JP-4/O2 upper stage have also been studied.
Of course these are all paper studies. But the big question is just what do we expect to accomplish with any such program. That people will go back to the Moon and move father out into the Solar System is I think pretty much a given. And if the US and possibly Western Europe through the ESA have a presence on the Lunar surface then it is going to hard to squeeze them out. If the Chinese are the ones to go back to the Moon just how long before it is claimed lock stock and barrel.
SHEIKHUPURA: A candidate for nazim slot died of heart attack during a corner meeting on Monday night. Muhammad Sharif, a Nazim candidate at Union Council 15-1 Muridke was delivering a speech during election campaign when he suffered a heart attack. His supporters rushed him to a hospital where the doctors pronounced him dead.
"He's dead, Jim!"
Posted by: Fred ||
08/03/2005 00:09 ||
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KARACHI: The Singh [sic] government has nullified a fatwa (edict) issued by a Hyderabad mufti declaring inter-sect marriages "haram" and calling those who resort to such marriages as infidels.
"They're legal as long as the parties are closely enough related..."
Sources in the Sindh Home Department said Mufti Mohammad Abdul Hafeez Qadri of Madrassa Ahsanul Barkat, Hyderabad, had issued a controversial fatwa declaring that marriages between Sunnis, Deobandis and Shias were "haram". The fatwa declares that "marriage between Sunni and Deobandi or Shia is invalid due to the latter's anti-Quran and Hadith beliefs and those not taking into account such beliefs would be infidels."
"Which means they must be killed. So there."
The sources said the home department had sought opinion on the fatwa from the provincial government's legal experts, who viewed that the fatwa was liable to forfeiture under Section 99-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) because it contained material intended to promote hatred and animosity between various sects of the Muslims of the country and to jeopardise brotherly relations and harmony existing among them.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/03/2005 00:02 ||
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LAHORE: A Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) official succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday at General Hospital. He was brought in two days ago after six villagers attacked him and another PHA official in Burki police precinct.
"It's a Parks and Horticulture man!"
"Kill him!"
A PHA team consisting of Zahid Ali Khan and Ramzan raided Pangali village and challaned six villagers, including Ijaz, Arif and Yousaf, for damaging the PHA's property.
"Parks and Horticulture Police! Stick 'em up!"
The villagers attacked and tortured Khan and Ramzan with iron roads and clubs. They were taken to the hospital where Khan died on Tuesday. Ramzan is stated to be in critical condition.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/03/2005 00:00 ||
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LAHORE: Over 100 women were burnt by their family, husbands or in-laws in Pakistan over the first seven months of 2005, Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid (LHRLA) said in a report on Tuesday. According to LHRLAâs data, there were 107 cases reported, two from Balochistan, five from the NWFP and 50 each from Punjab and Sindh. The city with the highest number of reported incidents was Karachi, with 41 cases, while 26 cases were reported in Lahore.
Out of the 107 victims, 70 were married, two were single, while the marital status of the rest was unknown. In 18 instances, the victims were burnt alive, 56 women suffered critical burns and survived, while 29 later died of their injuries in hospital. In 62 cases, the women were allegedly burnt while cooking food, while in 13 incidents, burn injuries were caused by stoves or gas cylinders allegedly exploding. In 28 cases, reports only mentioned that the womenâs clothing caught fire, while four women were injured in acid attacks. However, the LHRLA said that contrary to initial reports, there was evidence that suggested that these women were deliberately attacked by their families. The report said that in many instances, the aggrieved parties reached out-of-court settlements, as traditional customs barred women from appearing in court. It said that any compensation received in such settlements almost always went to the victimsâ families; the victims themselves never received anything.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/03/2005 00:00 ||
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While mothers continue to bring children weak with hunger to feeding centers, market stalls are filled with food — but at prices well out of the reach of many in this desperately poor nation. "It is the government's job to deal with the hungry, we the traders are here for business," said Ibrahim Baye, who sells millet, a staple in Niger, at a Maradi market.
The well-stocked markets are deceptive. The food shortage is real. Last year locusts, in the worst invasion in 15 years, ravaged 7,000 square miles of Niger farmland. That and a subsequent drought cut cereal production by 15 percent last year, according to the United Nations. Hunger was a problem in Niger even before the locusts and drought. Today, more than a third of the nearly 12 million people in Niger face severe food shortages. Children are most at risk. On Tuesday, Baye shooed away beggars dressed in rags and staring at the heaped food on display. A friend sitting with him who gave only one name, Louali, said the grains on display had been stockpiled "and traders wait until the lean season to sell at double its price." Prices have dramatically increased. A bag of 220 pounds of millet went from $23 to $44. Few can afford that in the second-poorest nation in the world, where 64 percent of the people survive on less than $1 a day.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/03/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Locusts are high protein and fried taste like peanuts. Why hasn't anybody inform the starving people of that?
Over the years locust-prone communities have developed recipes to turn the tables on their voracious invaders. "You find large quantities of them for sale in local markets," said Keith Cressman, FAO's locust information officer. "They are very nutritious, because they are high in protein."
Tinjiya (Tswana recipe): Remove the wings and hind legs of the locusts and boil in a little water until soft. Add salt, if desired, and a little fat and fry until brown. Serve with cooked, dried mealies (corn).
Sikonyane (Swazi recipe): Prepare embers and roast the whole locust on the embers. Remove head, wings, and legs. Only the breast part is eaten.
The South Sotho people use locusts especially as food for travelers. The heads and last joint of the hind legs are broken off and the rest of the locusts are laid on the coals to roast. The roasted locusts are ground on a grinding stone to a fine powder. This powder can be kept for long periods of time and is taken along on a journey.
Dried locusts are also prepared for the winter months. The legs, when dried, are especially relished for their pleasant taste.
Cambodian locusts: Take several dozen locust adults, preferably females, slit the abdomen lengthwise, and stuff a peanut inside. Then lightly grill the locusts in a wok or hot frying pan, adding a little oil and salt to taste. Be careful not to overcook or burn them.
Barbecued (grilled): Prepare embers or charcoal. Place about one dozen locusts on a skewer, stabbing each through the center of the abdomen. If you only want to eat the abdomen, then you may want to take off the legs or wings either before or after cooking. Several skewers of locusts may be required for each person. Place the skewers above the hot embers and grill. Turn the locusts continually, to avoid burning them, until they become golden brown.
#6
There was an article last year about the American locust bloom in the east. Turns out some folks are SERIOUSLY allergic to locusts and eating can have major adverse impact
#7
Our "locusts", at least here in Cincinnati, are actually cicadas. They come out of the ground to breed once every [prime number: 5, 7, 13, 17] years to breed. Exact timing is dependent upon which species of cicada it is.
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.
(CNSNews.com) - A report by a voting rights group regarding allegations of voter fraud, intimidation and suppression during the 2004 presidential election has found that "paid Democrat operatives were far more involved in voter intimidation and suppression activities than were their Republican counterparts during the 2004 presidential election." The report by the American Center for Voting Rights Legislative Fund found that thousands "were disenfranchised by illegal votes cast and a coordinated effort by members of certain 'nonpartisan' organizations to rig the election system through voter registration fraud in more than a dozen states."
VICTORIA, Texas - Relatives of seven 
KARACHI: The Singh [sic] government has nullified a fatwa (edict) issued by a Hyderabad mufti declaring inter-sect marriages "haram" and calling those who resort to such marriages as infidels. 
LAHORE: A Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) official succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday at General Hospital. He was brought in two days ago after six villagers attacked him and another PHA official in Burki police precinct. .jpg "Locusts on a stick")
