It was close to midnight on Sunday and Jill Pagan -- who practices paganism and calls herself a witch -- was getting settled into bed when she heard a crash. It sounded like something might have fallen. Upon investigation, Pagan discovered that her home's white aluminum door had a large gash in it. And just to the right, a large chunk of concrete was sitting in a flowerpot with a note attached to it by rubber bands. She immediately recognized a handwritten note in an ancient language called Theban, which she said is used almost exclusively by D&D players witches.
Pagan called a Flagler County sheriff's deputy to her family's home, but no report has been filed on the incident, sheriff's office spokeswoman Debra Johnson said Monday. Pagan later translated the message as, "You've been warned. Stop what you're doing,or we'll build a bridge out of you" she said Monday. And it was a way to scare her, her husband and daughter. Pagan thinks the suspect is someone known to the local pagan community ---- perhaps another pagan familiar with Theban script.
Pagans in Volusia and Flagler counties are a loose-knit group with loose marbles various beliefs. Some believe in multiple deities, while some follow the Wicca, Celtic, Norse, Egyptian, Druid, African, and Native American traditions. "Someone knew damn well that I was a witch and that I would recognize Theban for what it was," Pagan said, angry at what she calls a hate crime on her Belvedere Lane home.
Pagan wants to know why someone sent such a violent message. "If you wanted to ask me a question, astrally project yourself inside knock on my door -- don't throw a brick through it," she said. "All my neighbors know and most of them are very cool with it."
Bob Engborg, a retired Daytona Beach police officer who specializes in strange and unusual crimes that involve occult, or hidden beliefs, said Monday he agrees that the note was written in Theban and the suspect most likely is a fellow pagan -- probably someone who dislikes Jill Pagan. "This sounds like an internal thing between other moonbats people of her faith," Engborg said, later adding, "They don't like her and the work she is doing or the way she is doing the work."
#1
As per Lefty Alternatists-for-Stalinism, JUDEOCHRISTIANITY is a de facto "RELIGION", BUT PAGAN MULTI-DEISM IS NOT, ergo the Xmas Tree has to go. And, as reported in AM Radio News, not even a so-called neutralist "GIVING/SEASONAL TREE", whose only crime is having a neutral white star on its crown, isn't good enough for the Lefties, Secularists, Pagans and Atheists. SECULARISM/ATHEISM = GOD = STATE - you know, ANTI-COMMUNISM!?
By Yigal Romm in Copenhagen Updated: 06/Dec/2005 19:09
A group of Danish Muslims refuse to eat traditional âJewishâ cookies because they feel offended by the name.
According to the daily Danish newspaper B.T., Ole Poulsen, head of the public food consumer department said that the Muslim refusal to buy the cookies could have an effect on sales.
"If this will be the case, then we would be obliged to do something about it," he declared.
He added that changing the product name was a possibility, as had in the past been done with the âNegroesâ kissâ cakes, which were rebranded with a more neutral name.
Educating population
Jewish cookies, which are made with cinnamon and hazelnuts and actually have nothing particularly Jewish about them, are very popular in Denmark during the pre-Christmas period.
Denmarkâs chief rabbi, Bent Lexner, said that he did not see any problem in a name change.
âThere is nothing Jewish in it and I wouldnât mind another name, but I think that it would be better to educate Muslims to respect the culture of the majority in Denmark, if they want the majority to respect their culture".
Most of Denmarkâs âJewishâ cookies are not kosher and they are therefore not consumed by a large part of the Jewish population.
They really wouldn't like my Jewish-Rantburg cookies; shaped like an AH-64 Apache and baked in Hellfire.
#1
Or they could just not eat the cookies, perhaps comign up with some other tasty alternative. Instead its "i'm offended so nobody can have the cookies".
#5
I think this whole process would be a lot more simple if the Muslims could just sit down and make a list of things that don't offend them. It should only take a few seconds to write out. Effing wing-nuts. A person with their skin turned inside-out would be less sensitive than these compulsive whiners.
LAWRENCE, Kan. â A college professor whose planned course on creationism and intelligent design was canceled after he derided Christian conservatives said he was beaten by two men along a rural road early Monday. University of Kansas religious studies professor Paul Mirecki said the men referred to the class when they beat him on the head, shoulders and back with their fists and possibly a clue-by-four metal object, the Lawrence Journal-World reported. "I didn't know them," Mirecki said of his assailants, "but I'm sure they knew me." "After all, I am an attention whore."
The professor said he confronted the men after they were tailgating his vehicle along a road south of Lawrence. Good thinking, Perfesser
"I'm mostly shaken up, and I got some bruises and sore spots," he said. "It hurts when I smirk."
Mirecki planned to offer a spring course called "Special Topics in Religion: Intelligent Design, Creationism and other Religious Mythologies." gosh, who would take offense at that?
after the Kansas Board of Education decided to include more criticism of evolution in science standards for elementary and secondary students. Last week, Mirecki asked the university to cancel the class after he created a furor by sending an e-mail to a student organization mocking Christian fundamentalists. Mirecki had referred to religious conservatives as "fundies," and said a course describing intelligent design as mythology would be a "nice slap in their big fat face." Which was duly returned unto him
He has apologized for those comments. My take: It's repugnant that this idiot was attacked for his beliefs, but people, I think, are beginning to see how this works. Christianity is discussed in the most hateful and disrespectful terms possible these days. On tv, in the movies. The dj's on one local radio station are unbelievable in their "They hate us so let's hate them back first" mentality. I'm an atheist, and even I see how bad it's gotten. Funny how they never talk sh*t about the muslims, though. You never see an artist unveiling "Piss Muhammad" or using pig feces in their work. That's because they will kill you for it. The lesson is that moonbats respect power. And I think the lesson is being learned.
#1
Is it just me who thinks this just MIGHT be a case of road rage, rather than persecution for his "beliefs"? Indeed, this professor may have fabricated the entire incident, in an effort to paste the Christian Right as violent and intolerant and raise the profile of his class? This is not unprecendented, for instance the ploy at some other university in which some "diversity" troll planted racist posters and defaced cars, trying to pin it on racist whities.
Coincidentally, there is no other proof that the professor was beaten, and that they mentioned his class, except for his own story.
#2
I thought road rage right away. First off, why's this twerp even get out of his car? To show off his conflict resolution skills they teach you at diversity class? Guess what, perfesser. They resolve conflicts a little differently in the real world.
And that's if this even ever really happened.
#6
I find myself in agreement with BH and mjh: The continuing double standards applied to Islam and Christianity are going to inspire some people to throw up their arms and say, "They think I'm a fascist, I'll be a fascist!" At the same time, it's too common for these "hate crimes" to be faked for us to believe the guy completely. If it happened, I hope those guilty are given a nice long jail sentence -- incitement is no excuse -- if it didn't happen, I hope he gets a nice long jail sentence.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
12/06/2005 13:27 Comments ||
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Hello, Mr. Cause
Nice to see you, Mr. Effect
I think this country is finally beginning to turn a corner now, for the good. Not that I'd ever trample on an atheist's right to not believe, but I respect those of you who are atheists for speaking up and saying that even you recognize how badly Christianity is hated in this country (at least, in the news, Hollyweird, and MSM). I found myself wondering what the logical extension of this would be, say in France, where they are truly under the threat of Islam. Do the gays, atheists, enviro-wackos, liberal profs, feminists, heck, even leftist Christians like those kidnapped in Iraq REALLY think life would be better under another majority-rule religion, specifically Islam? I know it's a topic of discussion, and Christianity has been used for war in the past, but honestly, where else do you have so much freedom now-a-days than in majority-Christian nations (or at least those founded by and/or upon Judeo-Christian beliefs). It's like I always say (especially about the homosexual jihadis), I don't honestly care what you do in private, even though I disagree with your lifestyle, but DON'T push your "religion" on me either! Under Islam, you'd be stoned. In the U.S., you have as many rights as you could fully expect! Don't blame Christians! I think the left is now just beginning to see a backlash against their silly, politically-correct agendas (think of how much press just the "Merry Christmas" issue has gotten this year).
Posted by: BA ||
12/06/2005 13:56 Comments ||
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This fails the smell test.
Ambushed by unknown rednecks, who nevertheless recognize Myricki, in darkness, on a lonely road, and the less-than-militant looking prof stops to confront them?
Two of them attack with a metal bar and he is treated and released?
"two white males between ages 30 and 40, one wearing a red visor and wool gloves, and both wearing jeans. They were last seen in a large pickup truck."
This seems to have been lifted from the Easy Rider script. All that's missing is a shotgun in the window rack and a lazy hound lounging in the bed while the attack proceeds.
Posted by: Paul Mirecki ||
12/06/2005 14:12 Comments ||
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AC: Actually, the description he gave fits a whole lotta people around these parts. Not redneck, but definitely rural. ;)
The reason I think this complaint might be legit is that most of the fake attacks have been property damage where witnesses saw the "victim" do the damage. The Prof was actually beaten about the head and shoulders, so if it was faked he'd have had a friend do the job for him. But why endure actual abuse? Torching your car is just as effective, and you can be creative and paint slurs and swastikas to show just how hateful those 'fundies' really are!
I think, at the least, he truly got his butt kicked. If he is changing the story for political gain, he risks the possibility that the assailants won't be caught - I don't think his ego would allow that.
I still think that the lesson is there for lefties to learn: If the only religions you are respectful toward are the ones prone to violence, then somebody, somewhere is going to be the one to step up and try to squeeze a little respect out of you.
#12
"A psychology professor at Claremont McKenna College who said her car had been vandalized and painted with racist and sexist slurs was herself responsible for the damage, the police in Claremont, Calif., said Wednesday."
Posted by: john ||
12/06/2005 16:21 Comments ||
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I have serious doubts. I have friends that live a few miles from Lawrence, as well as others elsewhere in the state. There's a large Mennonite community in Lawrence, and lots of Mormons, plus just about every other Christian denomination you can name. They're usually VERY tolerant. But one thing about farmers - it's hard work and they have BIG muscles. Any rural folks would have left him in MUCH worse shape, with much more to show for his assault - blooded mouth, broken nose, black eyes, and maybe even a ruptured kidney or two. Secondly, any thinking human being that assaulted someone like that in the last few days would have also taken his car keys and tossed them in the nearest field. The world would have found Prof Mirecki sometime the next day, frozen to death - it's been in the low single digits to teens at night in Kansas for over a week.
The story reeks.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/06/2005 17:52 Comments ||
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OP: I dunno, the Mennonites tend to be located more in the south, around Wichita. Topeka, on the other hand, is about as close to Lawrence as I am here in Kansas City. And Topeka, of course, is best known as the home of Mr. Tolerance himself, Freddy Phelps.
OSLO, Norway (AP) -- When Vegard Sjaastad delivered a pizza near the western Norwegian town of Aalesund, there was something familiar about the customer's credit card. It was his card, and had been stolen the day before. "It was like I met myself in the doorway," the 24-year-old said by telephone Tuesday. "It was my picture on the back of the card."
Sjaastad, who manages a Peppes Pizza restaurant, had his drivers license and his Visa card stolen from his car on Saturday night at his father's house. He canceled the card, and reported the theft. He was training a new driver on Monday, and they delivered the pizzeria's 'Film Package:" a pizza, soft drinks, and the film "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" on DVD. A man with a credit card answered the door, and clearly did not recognize Sjaastad from the picture embossed on all Norwegian Visa cards. "I wasn't going to play hero. I'm pretty calm by nature. I just accepted the card and said 'I hope you enjoy the meal,' as we always say," he told The Associated Press.
With the address from the order form in hand, Sjaastad called the police to give an exact location of the suspects. "I figured they could enjoy the pizza and film, as long as it lasted," he said. Police arrived about 30 minutes later, arrested three people, and recovered suspected stolen goods, at least some of it Sjaastad's. "I expect to get my stuff back tomorrow," he said. "This is just great. What you might dream of."
Posted by: Steve ||
12/06/2005 10:22 ||
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The debate over climate change evolved into a battle of the sexes Monday at the 11th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference in Montreal. The spokesman for a feminist-based environmental group accused men of being the biggest contributors to human-caused "global warming" and lamented that women are bearing the brunt of the negative climate consequences created by men.
Global Warming cause hot flashes? Who knew?
"Women and men are differently affected by climate change and they contribute differently to climate change," said Ulrike Rohr, director of the German-based group called "Genanet-Focal point gender, Environment, Sustainability." Rohr, who is demanding "climate gender justice," left no doubt as to which gender she believes was the chief culprit in emitting greenhouse gasses.
That would us brutes
"To give you an example from Germany, it is mostly men who are going by car. Women are going by public transport mostly," Rohr told Cybercast News Service.
You couldn't blast my wife out of her sports car
Rohr was standing in front of her booth, which featured a banner calling for "creative gender strategies" from "rural households to global scientific bodies." "In most parts of the world, women are contributing less [to greenhouse gasses]," Rohr continued. But it is the women of the world who will feel the most heat from catastrophic global warming, she said.
So when your wife and/or girl friend asks; "Is it hot in here?", remember, it's your fault!
Posted by: Steve ||
12/06/2005 09:18 ||
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Here we try to keep the office temperature at 70 and it's really interesting the number of women who have small electric heaters under their desks because it's cold. I do admit that some men do as well. It's winter, wear more clothes.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/06/2005 9:35 Comments ||
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#2
"To give you an example from Germany, it is mostly men who are going by car. Women are going by public transport mostly," Rohr told Cybercast News Service.
The burkka will interfer with speed shifting the Porsche, so don't sweat it. Easier to get on and off the bus or tram in the outfit. Black absorbs the sunlight better too. The problem will be solved faster than UN conferences. Just sit back and wait. Its coming Ulrike for you soon enough.
Dear God in Heaven, is there no end to liberal stupidity????
Posted by: Dave D. ||
12/06/2005 10:14 Comments ||
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#4
My wife claims that I create more greenhouse gases on beanie-weenie night (that is, the nights I cook dinner) than some African countries do in a year. So, maybe this Rohr chick has a point.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
12/06/2005 10:45 Comments ||
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#5
Dear God in Heaven, is there no end to liberal stupidity????
If only it were an energy source, we'd never run out.
#11
SO are Canadians and aligned now demanding that Dubya, ala KATRINA/FEMA/GUMBO-GATE, unilaterally and unconditionally develop exclusive, Gender-specific, anti-Global Warming devices for females only, at American- and Federal-only costs of course - you know, Universal Anti-Gender Equalism!?
Pop group Abba will never reform, one of the Swedish band's songwriters and former members has said. Bjorn Ulvaeus said the band would not follow other acts by regrouping, as their "creativity" together had gone.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/06/2005 09:01 ||
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Yahoo!!! My father in law will be very disapointed in this news. A double header of good news for me!
Posted by: 49 pan ||
12/06/2005 9:23 Comments ||
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You can know, when to quit, and have the time of your life.
See those folks, on the beach, no more strife.
Friday night someone else's turn,
Going out - get a pizza to go.
Making sure that the cook will not let the thing burn,
Take it home, and rent a new video.
It's now someone else's song line.
Night is young and the pizza's cold.
With a bit of microwave, everything is fine
You just are getting too old
And when you get the chance...
You are ABBA of old, no longer, only seventeen,
In your mind, feel the beat from the tambourine,
You still dance, you still jive, but it's time to get on with your life.
See new folks, watch that scene, digging new Dancing Queens
#9
All those 50 or 60 something 'rockers' trying for that flashback is all too often sad.
Agreed, but I have to cut ABBA some slack as they were a more early '80's abortion phenomenon.
Check out Rush's 30 year anniversary concert in Germany (released on DVD two weeks ago); what a freakin' contrast to this CRAP. They even did some cover tunes - the Who's 'The Seeker' and 'Summertime Blues' and Cream's 'Crossroads', all well done. They've not done any covers to my recollection up to this point.
OK, I know what I'm doing for the next few hours...
ST. PARIS, Ohio - Steven Zorn had put the pen gun to his head and clicked before, thinking it was jammed and would not work. But on the third try, the tiny, silver pistol went off as the 22-year-old budding rap singer was drinking to celebrate an impending record deal. He died later at the hospital. The shooting Nov. 18 at Zorn's home in this rural village of 2,000, about 50 miles northeast of Dayton. Family, friends and law enforcement officials believe it was accidental.
Family and friends said Zorn drove himself to succeed in the music world. He loved hip hop and wrote songs described as being filled with raw emotion. He taught himself to play the keyboard and record tracts using inexpensive software on his home computer. "He could make a song out of anything," said friend Shane Hanes, with Zorn the night of the shooting.
Wonder what kind of song he's going to compose about being dead?
Posted by: Fred ||
12/06/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Sorry, but that's suicide. Just as anyone cleaning a gun that shoots themselves is suicide. If you follow proper gun safety rules, this won't happen to you, so if it does, then obviously you wanted to die.
#2
That's Russian Roulette with the Odds eliminated: one barrel, one loaded cylinder. Even a totally haywire gun (and the penguns are actually reliable) will usually shoot under those odds.
#3
Reminds me that while in the army I heard of a colonel whose wife had shot him in the asscheek while she was cleaning a gun. It is funnier when you think that after leaving hospital part of his job as colonel was to judge and sentence those who had not respected safety rules with guns. Like "Thou shall not point a gun anyone, carry it out of the range or clean it before it has been inspected and certified empty"
#7
I can't believe this story made it to Rantburg. I knew this kid and grew up with his father. Here is the irony; he had been through a hunter safety course. Out of respect to the family I will not make any degrading comments on him or his lifestyle, but the picture might be spot on. Rivrdogs statement pretty much says it all. It's been proven too many times that alcohol, firearms and a game of pretend ends up with real life deadly consequences. I'll use my pen to sign my checks and my guns to protect me and mine, but the business end of both will be pointed at something other than me.
#11
The article I read cites his mother as wanting pen guns banned. Not that I think these things are all that practical or useful, but I love how these matters always turn to "blame the tool, not the idiot wielding it".
Posted by: Dar ||
12/06/2005 13:49 Comments ||
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#12
When I think rap, I think of rap's breeding ground... St. Paris, Ohio.
What did he rap about, milking cows?
#13
Sorry, but that's suicide. Just as anyone cleaning a gun that shoots themselves is suicide.
Not quite, silentbrick. My brother was cleaning my dad's old P-38 he brought back from Germany, and shot himself. He was trying to remove a corroded cartrige from the firing chamber. Vise broke, gun went off, and he spent three months in the hospital. Sometimes you do everything right and bad things still happen. That said, this was just plain stupidity.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/06/2005 18:02 Comments ||
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#14
Sorry, but that's suicide. Just as anyone cleaning a gun that shoots themselves is suicide.
Not quite, silentbrick. My brother was cleaning my dad's old P-38 he brought back from Germany, and shot himself. He was trying to remove a corroded cartrige from the firing chamber. Vise broke, gun went off, and he spent three months in the hospital. Sometimes you do everything right and bad things still happen. That said, this was just plain stupidity.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/06/2005 18:02 Comments ||
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#15
It could have been suicide, and if so that's sad. But that said, suicide or murder would have been better for his future image and record sales.
Many people were feared dead after an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale hit East Africa. The earthquake struck near the town of Kalemie on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 975km (600 miles) southwest of Nairobi.
Tremors were felt across Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania. Hundreds of workers were evacuated from offices in Nairobi. The UN said that deaths and injuries had been reported in Kalemie, which has a population of 200,000. A spokesman said: âThere is quite a lot of damage to these poorly constructed houses. Residents told us that some people had died but we do not have any figures yet.â
Fidel Muteba, a community leader, said: âI have heard of at least one death and many injuries, but we need to check more in the poor neighbourhoods where houses have been damaged.â Andrzej Kijko, head of seismology at South Africaâs Council for Geoscience, said: âA quake of this kind could easily produce significant damage, but I wonder what kind of infrastructure they have in the region. There may not have been much to destroy.â
David Cameron has been elected as the new Conservative leader by a margin of more than two to one over David Davis.
The 39-year-old beat Mr Davis by 134,446 votes to 64,398 in a postal ballot of Tory members across the UK.
The Old Etonian, an MP for only four years, said the Tories must change and be in tune with today's Britain with a "modern compassionate Conservatism".
His defeated rival, Mr Davis, said the leadership contest had been a preamble to a Conservative election victory.
He hailed Mr Cameron as the next Tory prime minister and said the race had made the party look thoughtful and mature.
The result ends a seven-month wait. Outgoing leader Michael Howard said he was quitting after May's election.
The election result was declared at the Royal Academy in London by Sir Michael Spicer, chairman of the 1922 committee of Tory backbenchers.
Party members were sent postal ballots a month ago ahead of a series of televised debates and private hustings.
Mr Davis, 56, began the contest as the bookmakers' favourite but a lacklustre speech at the Conservative annual conference in Blackpool dealt what turned out to be a fatal blow to his challenge.
Smelling opportunity
As he celebrated victory, Mr Cameron said his party now had to change how they looked, felt and behaved, including stopping "grumbling about today's Britain".
He said he was "fed up with the Punch and Judy politics of Westminster" and vowed to support government policies with which he agreed.
The new leader said there was "something in the air" which meant voters were prepared to look at the Conservatives again.
"People in this country are crying out for a Conservative Party that is decent, reasonable, sensible, common sense and in it for the long term of this country and that is the party we are going to build," he said.
Mr Cameron said there was still a "vast mountain to climb" but the Tories could return to government.
He set out core challenges for his leadership: creating a full-bodied economic policy which went beyond just tax; giving freedom to those on the frontline in public services; national and international security; and ensuring social justice by strengthening the voluntary sector.
Labour was not capable of meeting those challenges, he claimed.
"They are yesterday's men with yesterday's measures," added Mr Cameron.
BBC political editor Nick Robinson said Mr Cameron's victory showed Tories were "coming to terms with Tony Blair".
Front bench choices
Attention is now shifting to whom Mr Cameron chooses for his shadow cabinet.
He has already appointed his chief whip - West Derbyshire MP Patrick McLoughlin. He replaces David Maclean, who has decided to return to the back benches.
Supporters of Mr Davis are demanding a "major role" for their contender.
Weekend newspaper reports suggested Mr Cameron was preparing to demote Mr Davis from his current job as shadow home secretary if he won.
But Mr Cameron said Mr Davis would be "a vital part of the team in the future".
William Hague is also expected to be asked to take a shadow cabinet job.
Brown battle
The new leader will face Tony Blair at prime minister's questions on Wednesday.
But most commentators expect Mr Cameron to fight the next election against Gordon Brown. Mr Blair has already said he will step down before the election.
Mr Brown dismissed claims that a young opponent would make him look old.
"I think that's a bit unfair, as the father of a two-year-old I feel pretty young," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Mr Brown said it was policies which counted at the polls.
"I don't see much evidence other than a rebranding of existing policies at the moment," he argued.
Liberal Democrat president Simon Hughes congratulated Mr Cameron on his victory.
But he said the odds of a Tory election win were still pretty small, especially as the party had greeted four leaders in recent years with similar fanfares.
In his victory speech he said, "There is such a thing as society, it's just not the same thing as the state." and "If you trust people and give them more power and control over their own lives then they become stronger and society becomes stronger."
Gay and lesbian couples in Britain began officially registering their plans to tie the knot under a historic new law that came into effect on Monday. Tens of thousands of same-sex couples are expected to sign so-called civil partnerships over the next five years alone, giving them basically the same rights and responsibilities as their married, heterosexual counterparts. The new law, which was passed in November last year, enables gay couples to benefit from a dead partnerâs pension, grant next-of-kin rights in hospitals and exempt them from inheritance tax on a partnerâs home. The Act does not use the term âgay marriageâ but civil partnerships have been designed to be as close to a marriage contract as possible.
Partners will even be able to dissolve the agreement in a form of divorce. To make a civil partnership, a couple must register their intent, wait a compulsory 15 days and then go to a register office or other authorised place. There they sign an official civil partnership document in front of a registrar and two witnesses. The ceremony is much like a civil wedding. Anticipation about the new law coming into force has been building in recent weeks. It even has a showbiz element. Pop star Elton John and his longstanding partner David Furnish intend to be among the first to sign up in December. George Michael has also announced his impending âmarriageâ to his companion Kenny Goss.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/06/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Personally I don't care what they do aa long as they don't try and force anything down my throat
#5
Next: hetero same sex marriages so everyone else can get the financial and governmental benefits previously reserved for those who propagated the species in order to continue the society.
#6
and I thought married people were only producing children because they wanted them and because of their numbers got some "pork".
Can you send your child round on tuesdays to do the dishes?
The answer, of course, is to set the tax system up so no group or individual is priviledged and everyone takes responsibility for their own actions (AMAP).
#7
Next: hetero same sex marriages so everyone else can get the financial and governmental benefits previously reserved for those who propagated the species in order to continue the society.
Financial and governmental benefits to parents are *additional* to the financial and governmental benefits that all married couples share.
In most of the western world it's been a long while since lack of children (or inability to have such) was considered grounds to pronounce a marriage invalid AFAIK.
But let me ask if the complaint you voice is really the point of your objection: would you for example disagree with having these civil partnerships apply to those homosexual couples that *do* agree to either adopt children or have them via other means (artificial insemination, etc, etc)?
DepotGuy> Same-Sex only. I guess some "exclusionary" laws are acceptable after all. Hypocrite bastards!
Don't play dumb. That "civil partnerships" was established for same-sex couples, instead of simply extending "marriage" to such, was not something that the gay rights community desired. The gay rights community would very much prefer if "marriage" was applicable to both gay and straight couples.
The "separate but equal" attitude that this civil partnership law portrays is merely an improvement of the old attitude of "both separate and UNEQUAL".
While questioning whether Florida Gov. Jeb Bush helped a Cuban dissident into the country, Cuban leader Fidel Castro also ribbed Bush for being fat.
After alleging Bush might have helped Luis Posada Carriles enter the United States earlier this year, Castro also suggested the governor do a little exercise.
"Forgive me for using the term 'fat little brother'" the Miami Herald reported Castro said. "It is not a criticism, rather a suggestion that he do some exercises and go on a diet, don't you think? I'm doing this for the gentleman's health."
Governor Bush's office refused to comment on Castro's remarks.
#1
Obesity isn't much of a problem in Cuba eh Fidel? Kinda hard to put a lot of weight on eating rice and beans 3 times a day. Ain't communism wonderful? Think I'll put a couple of nice T-bones on the Weber tonight.
#5
Madonna's "daddy" is, by her description, an overweight, high-cholesterol loving, Rightist Conservative Classic warrior and Servant/Scourge of God whom has no problems destroying enemy armies even when outnumbered. God created Him and ONLY GOD CAN DESTROY HIM!? In the future OWG, she a Democrat daughter longs for the freedoms her Repub Daddy enjoyed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Kazakhstan's Nursultan Nazarbayev on Monday on what he said was a "convincing victory" in Sunday's election. A Kremlin statement said Putin offered his congratulations in a phone conversation with Nazarbayev. The two men expressed their intention of doing everything to develop and strengthen "good neighbourliness, alliance and the strategic partnership", the statement said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/06/2005 00:00 ||
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putin pic shop rooles!
Posted by: Red Dog ||
12/06/2005 13:44 Comments ||
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Thousands of people are being evacuated from their homes in the Pacific island chain of Vanuatu amid fears a major volcano is about to erupt.
Mount Manaro, on the island of Ambae, reportedly began spewing out ash and steam on 27 November and is said to be continually shaking. There are fears that if Manaro did erupt it may also unleash a mud stream from a lake inside its crater.
Vanuatu - a chain of 83 islands - lies just over 2,000km north east of Sydney. Some 2,000 tons of ash a day are reported to be falling round the base of Mount Manaro. Five thousand people living in villages at the base of the mountain have been ordered to move to local schools and halls on the coast, according to the Associated Press.
"There have been several eruptions on the island in the past and this [event] at the moment seems to be typical of some of the larger eruptions that we've had," New Zealand vulcanologist Steve Sherburn told AP.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/06/2005 08:59 ||
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#1
Wow! Iâm sure glad I decided not to hide my millions there after all!
Ambae volcano has been raised to level 2 alert, indicating regular
eruptions are occurring at the summit. Ambae volcano began erupting last
week, after being dormant for about 120 years. 5000 people are being evacuated
from dangerous areas in the east and west of the island.
The Ambae volcano, Manaro, is one of the world's top ten 'most dangerous' volcanoes. This refers its potential for a catastrophic eruption. Still active, the volcano shows little sign of activity or release since it is plugged and filled with crater lakes. One theory has it that given a large eruption, the lakewater will become superheated steam and cause a massive, Krakatoa-like explosion. The resulting landslides down the island's steep slopes could cause tsunamis within the northern archipelago.
References in Fiction
Ambae may have been an inspiration for James Mitchener's "Balai-hai" in the famous novel "Tales of the South Pacific." Much of this novel is set in Luganville, Santo island, which was built by the US military as a rear-echelon base during World War II. Mitchener, a US Navy officer, was actually stationed there for some time during the war and supposedly looked out to the east from Luganville, where he caught the fleeting glimpse of a cloud-topped, volcano-peaked island. This was, of course, Ambae, which on a clear day can be viewed this way from Luganville - in fact quite a romantic sight. However, in Mitchener's novel there are two islands, Balai-hai and Vanicoro, the former being slightly behind and hidden by the latter. Balai-hai was a lush tropical paradise where the French and Tonkinese women took refuge from the rascally American troops stationed on Santo; Vanicoro was a dark, volcanic island of savages. Now, the people of Ambae are a wonderful lot and were hardly cannibals in the 1940s, but judging from Mitchener's fictionalized description, Ambae seems more an inspiration for Vanicoro than for Balai-hai.
Researchers from the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) may have spotted a new mammalian species in the dense central forests of Borneo island, the organisation said. The carnivorous animal, slightly larger than a domestic cat with dark red fur and a long bushy tail, was caught by a camera trap at night twice in 2003, the WWF said in a press release.
Photos of the animals have been shown to locals well acquainted with wildlife in the area and the organisation also consulted several Bornean wildlife experts but none recognized it.
"Most were convinced it was a new species of carnivore," WWF said, adding that researchers were hoping to set cage traps to catch a live specimen.
If confirmed, it would be the first time in more than a century that a new carnivore has been discovered on the island, it added.
The animal, which has very small ears and large hind legs, was spotted in the Kayan Mentarang national park in the mountainous jungles of Kalimantan, where vast tracks of rainforest still remain.
"The discovery of the mammal species in Kayan Mentarang national park indicates the existence of many other undiscovered species. Between 1994 and 2004, at least 361 new species have been described from Borneo," the WWF said.
The group warned however that plans by Indonesia announced in July to create the world's largest palm oil plantation in Kalimantan, along the border with Malaysia's Sarawak and Sabah states, threaten further new discoveries.
The scheme, funded by the China Development Bank, is expected to cover an area of 1.8 million hectares (4.4 million acres) -- about half the size of the Netherlands -- and may have devastating environmental consequences, it said.
Environmental watchdogs have criticized the plan, arguing that the jungle soil in the area was infertile and that the elevation was unsuitable for palm oil.
Indonesia is losing at least 2.8 million hectares of its forests every year to illegal logging alone.
Rapid deforestation has had devastating environmental consequences for both Indonesia and the Southeast Asian region, causing floods and landslides and shrouding nearby countries with haze from illegal fires set to clear land.
#7
The carnivorous animal, slightly larger than a domestic cat with dark red fur and a long bushy tail,
Sounds like an escaped fox, the picture shown does not have a "Bushy Tail"
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/06/2005 14:54 Comments ||
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#9
Looks like a slight mutation of the red panda found in the Asian highlands, all the way south to about Dalat, Vietnam. Less fur, though, but you'd expect that for a creature adapting to more tropical climates. Be interesting to keep track of this.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/06/2005 18:28 Comments ||
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A top Myanmar general on Monday insisted a new round of constitutional talks would move the country toward "disciplined democracy", despite a chorus of international demands to step up reforms. "We are in the process of transition to a disciplined democratic nation," Lieutenant General Thein Sein, the head of the National Convention, said in an opening address to some 1,000 delegates chosen by the ruling junta. "This is the first step in the transition to democracy, and it is the most crucial step. Genuine and disciplined democracy - there is no other way, this is the way."
Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), is boycotting the talks to demand her release from house arrest, which was extended by six months on November 27. The absence of the NLD at the latest round of constitutional talks in this isolated military compound north of Yangon has prompted the United States, the United Nations and the European Union to dismiss the proceedings as a sham.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/06/2005 00:00 ||
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Separating the "news" division from the "entertainment" division would certainly clarify things for investors. The "news" division will probably never recover from the Dan/Mary debacle. 60 Minutes has been sucking for some years and has finally been challenged for its skewed slant and bias.
The "entertainment" division, on the other hand has s plethora of winners - all of them "cop" shows, e.g. CSI: trio. Hell, you could take that division and rename it the Jerry Bruckheimer Division. Damned near all their eggs are in one basket. Guess they'd better cut loose the "news" losers -- and watch that basket.
#9
yes, well, look at the new business model, where they save an entire division ("investigative journos") in favor of publishing Leftist press-releases
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/06/2005 19:02 Comments ||
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#10
CBS? Oh, yeah - they're some sort of cable shopping channel - right?
Cany anyone but me recall when we had "teachers," rather than "educators"? Or was that just something that came to me one night while I was drunk taking medication?
including 10 years as principal of Washington Preparatory High School, which is in the community where the Crips street gang originated, I have experienced the horrific effect of gang culture and violence in our schools and neighborhoods.
It's only taken you this long to notice?
I attended more than 20 funerals of children and adults during my tenure as principal, including two students who died on campus and a mother in the neighborhood â all killed by gangbangers. I am haunted by the tragedy of these lives lost.
Doesn't sound like you ran a real tight ship, though.
Almost more sickening than the slaughter itself is society's tolerance for the commercially lucrative glorification of the "thug life" in movies, clothes and gangsta rap. The devoted educators who work so hard to instill positive values in our children are neutralized by gang violence, drug dealing and disrespect for women that have contaminated our society in the more than 30 years since gangs began intimidating young people who wanted only to learn.
I can agree with that. Our kiddies voluntarily line up each day for a dose of virulent propaganda that denigrates elementary decency. Who's surprised when they take that propaganda to heart?
..I was with this guy until I saw this:
"Today, the corporate sponsors, gangsters and wannabes who romanticize the criminal life in rap are like military recruiters whose slick ads and macho spiels appeal to young men's lust for excitement. They are responsible for the fear, distrust and cultural decline that gangs inflict on our communities and are indirectly responsible for the exodus of families and children from inner-city schools and neighborhoods."
Except that
Military recruiters are selective — they don't take the dregs that populate the gangs.
You've got to have a 3-digit IQ to get in.
The military requires that you have at least a high school diploma.
The military doesn't push drug use, tests for it regularly, and will toss you the first time you piss positive.
It enforces equality of the sexes and of the races, and offenses against either are career terminators.
The military — all services — enforces discipline upon its members, which in most cases results in self-disciplined behavior.
The military applies violence to achieve distinctly defined ends, rather than engaging in violence for the sake of violence.
The military channels young men's lust for excitement into productive channels, whether it be combat arms or any of the support jobs.
Other than that, I'm sure they're much alike, except for the points that didn't pop into my mind immediately while I was writing this.
We need to intervene. Now.
Sounds like you should have intervened a long time ago, Mr. Principal.
Our schools, churches, civic organizations and political leaders must announce loudly, publicly, collaboratively and repeatedly that we will not tolerate the gun-toting, drug-using, women-dehumanizing images and language that rappers and their corporate sponsors promote as the essence of black culture. We must campaign vigorously against the enemies within our communities and those willing to assist our oppressors in their enslavement of our minds.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/06/2005 06:44 ||
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This is just beyond me, not that thatâs hard to do. But equating the excitement of being a drug dealer/gangster with defending your nation is plain wrong and shows this guys contempt for the military. This is really getting to be a problem across America. Fox is reporting that teachers had instructed 3rd graders to send anti war letters to congressmen. When challenged, the teacher said the kids did not have to participate, it was their choice! This is getting out of control.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
12/06/2005 8:50 Comments ||
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As we made our way to the home through one of the narrow alleys in shantytown a middle aged man flagged us down. We walked over to his shack, and after the traditional greetings he politely asked if we could provide medical care for his son. I grabbed our two medics, SPC Hart and SPC Night, and we followed the father into the dim hovel. As we stepped inside we passed through a closet sized kitchen thick with the sickly sweet scent of burned meat before passing into a small room adorned with thick sleeping mats. Inside the room doubled over on the floor, was a little boy whose face was creased with pain. Looking at the crumpled form in front of us I suddenly realized that I hadnât smelled the burnt remains of breakfast⦠the source of the bitter stench was lying right in front of me. The back of the boys leg was a softly glistening ruin, raw muscle stripped of skin.
Without saying a word SPC Hart and SPC Night dropped their medical bags and started sifting through their contents. As they carefully arranged the tools they would need to clean the boys burns, I marveled at their cool detachment. Although these men were barely out of their teens they suddenly seemed far older, as if they were wizened doppelgangers of the soldiers I had worked besides all these long months. It was the first time I caught a glimmer of just how much combat has aged all of us.
As the medics set to work the father tried to soothe the little boy, but the sight of the two medics had him yelping in fright. While the medics were cleaning and dressing the wound my driver, SGT Bard, reached into his pocket and pulled out a stuffed animal. SGT Bard handed the little boy the stuffed tiger, and his crying stopped as quickly as if somebody had turned an invisible valve. A few minutes later the medics finished their work and they gave the boyâs parents extra dressings and antibiotics along with instructions on how to care for their son.
As they started to pack up their gear one of the soldiers providing security outside the house walked in and asked if we could see another sick child. I told him to send in the boy, and a moment later a ten year old boy sheepishly walked in. His right arm was wrapped in dirty white gauze. In the middle of the gauze bloomed an ugly brown splotch⦠the telltale sign of physical corruption. As the medics peeled back the filthy dressings the air filled with the fetid stench of infection. As the dressings finally peeled away they revealed a wretched volcano wreathed in skin stretched taut with pus. I had to fight to keep the wave of nausea rumbling in my stomach at bay, but our medics didnât even flinch. Instead they deftly started treating the infected wound. As they treated the boy I stepped out to get a breath of fresh air, and by time I returned they had filled a small plastic bag with pus filled dressings. I stepped out once again, and when I returned the swollen limb had regained its normal proportions. With the wound clean our medics started putting on fresh dressings and in a few short minutes they were done. Once the terp explained how and when to take the antibiotics we set off to finish the rest of the patrol. There was still a lot of ground to cover.
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.
ST. PARIS, Ohio - Steven Zorn had put the pen gun to his head and clicked before, thinking it was jammed and would not work. But on the third try, the tiny, silver pistol went off as the 22-year-old budding rap singer was drinking to celebrate an impending record deal. He died later at the hospital. The shooting Nov. 18 at Zorn's home in this rural village of 2,000, about 50 miles northeast of Dayton. Family, friends and law enforcement officials believe it was accidental. 
Gay and lesbian couples in Britain began officially registering their plans to tie the knot under a historic new law that came into effect on Monday. Tens of thousands of same-sex couples are expected to sign so-called civil partnerships over the next five years alone, giving them basically the same rights and responsibilities as their married, heterosexual counterparts. The new law, which was passed in November last year, enables gay couples to benefit from a dead partnerâs pension, grant next-of-kin rights in hospitals and exempt them from inheritance tax on a partnerâs home. The Act does not use the term âgay marriageâ but civil partnerships have been designed to be as close to a marriage contract as possible.
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Kazakhstan's Nursultan Nazarbayev on Monday on what he said was a "convincing victory" in Sunday's election. A Kremlin statement said Putin offered his congratulations in a phone conversation with Nazarbayev. The two men expressed their intention of doing everything to develop and strengthen "good neighbourliness, alliance and the strategic partnership", the statement said.
Thousands of people are being evacuated from their homes in the Pacific island chain of Vanuatu amid fears a major volcano is about to erupt. 
A top Myanmar general on Monday insisted a new round of constitutional talks would move the country toward "disciplined democracy", despite a chorus of international demands to step up reforms. "We are in the process of transition to a disciplined democratic nation," Lieutenant General Thein Sein, the head of the National Convention, said in an opening address to some 1,000 delegates chosen by the ruling junta. "This is the first step in the transition to democracy, and it is the most crucial step. Genuine and disciplined democracy - there is no other way, this is the way." 
