Miss Nevada USA was stripped of her title Thursday after racy photos of her appeared on the Internet, pageant officials said.
Some of the photos show Katie Rees, 22, kissing other young women, exposing one of her honkers breasts and mooning pulling down her pants to show her thong underwear at a party in Tampa, Fla. Katie Rees has been relieved of her duties as Miss Nevada USA 2007, said Paula M. Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organization, which owns the Miss USA pageant and others.
Rees dismissal comes two days after Miss USA Tara Conner was allowed to keep her tiara when she admitted underage drinking at New York bars and agreed to go into rehab and undergo drug testing.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Why does everyone have to use rehab as an all purpose crutch/excuse? Why can't they just acknowledge that four drinks (plus or minus a few) is good for you?
#3
One thing is certain, those pageants aren't based solely on looks / beauty. I see far prettier and sexier femalians of the right approx age 50x per day here in Sin City. I'm sure Frank G can attest to the fact that he could find far "better" at the UTC any afternoon, too, lol. Loved that place, lol.
#7
Clearly I have been reading too much Rantburg. i must return to rehab....
Posted by: john ||
12/22/2006 9:14 Comments ||
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#8
I see far prettier and sexier femalians of the right approx age 50x per day here in Sin City.
Yes, com. However, how many of those could pass the XX and XY chromosome tests?
One of the problems issues of ever advancing modern medicine and technology.
#9
Perhaps I haven't seen all the girls in Vegas (too busy dodging the guys handing out escort business cards when I go there) but I think these ladies are very attractive.
On Wednesday, "The View" co-host Rosie O'Donnell expressed her dismay over Donald Trump's news conference with Miss USA Tara Conner, saying it had annoyed her "on a multitude of levels." The real-estate mogul countered on "Access Hollywood," saying he would sue O'Donnell and have someone seduce her girlfriend. The following are excerpts from their tit-for-tat comments:
O'Donnell on Trump:
"This young girl, Tara Conner, how old is she? 20? 21. She went out and she was partying. She's from Kentucky. She went to New York and she was hanging out at all the parties, doing what Paris and Lindsay do you know, dancing, whatever.
"And so he held a press conference on whether or not she was going to retain her crown.
"And then she started to cry, going 'I just want to thank Donald for giving me a second chance.'
"And there he is, hair looping, going 'Everyone deserves a second chance. I'm going to give her a second chance.'
#2
Condi vs Russia/Iran/North Korea, Britney vs. K-Fed, Osama + Whitney > boy, CUPID just isn't having a good year. Hillary and Obama, not Hillary vs Obama, will have to save Cupid for Cupid???
#5
basically Trump called her a carpet-munching fugly loser sow....
see, I did it in five words. Condense, Donald!
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/22/2006 7:47 Comments ||
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#6
Donald is a hypocrit-he ought to look in the mirror and apply his own rules: he is a fat, slovenly, sex-addicted, pucker-faced, rat's-nest-haired loser himself, whose idiotic show The Apprentice is about delighting in the public downfall of other Americans. He wants to prop up a beautiful young woman who is somehow simultaneously a role model for American girls and a drug-taker.
Rosie is a big-mouthed, mean-spirited person, politically poisonous person. They deserve each other.
#7
Well said Frank. My 12 year old son watches the news with me, as does my ten year old, and asked why the news was spending so much time on two very wierd looking adults calling each other names over a girl in a bikini.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
12/22/2006 9:12 Comments ||
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#8
Mrs. Trump, call your my lawyer!
Posted by: john ||
12/22/2006 9:17 Comments ||
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#9
Ha, ha. Pray for MAD.
Posted by: ed ||
12/22/2006 9:29 Comments ||
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#10
And I reiterate, every passing day, I am sooooo grateful for the day job...
#11
When Trump said he was friends with Baba Wawa it all came to me. This whole thing is a publicity stunt where everybody wins.
It (a) grabbed a lot of attention for a beautfy pagent nobody follows anymore so Trump wins (b) Got attention for the contestant to help her stand out (like Vannessa Williams) from the multitude of other beauty winners so the babe wins (c) Got attention off of Rosie and her Asian-American joke (and that other chicks Rumsfield Nazi Joke) so Rosie and the View win.
And the scandal is not one to really get people to HATE anyone, just laughingly mock them and talk, about the show, the scandal, the pageant. When everyone wins something stinks.
#12
Trump never declared Section 11 bankruptcy, but he did seek protection from creditors when his Trump Plaza wasn't raking in sufficient funds to support his bimbo mistress. Ergo: he WAS insolvent at one time; ANY creditor could have successfully petitioned for a bankruptcy declaration.
How to win at gambling: play poker with shmucks who don't know the game. I WILL see you coming.
How to lose at gambling: put your money in slot machines that are programed to keep 92% of all money they take in. FIX!!!
A Libyan court sentenced five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor to death on Tuesday for deliberately infecting hundreds of children with the virus that causes Aids, provoking a chorus of Western condemnation.
The ruling in a deeply politicised case could set back oil producer Libya's hopes of better ties with the West, which meant a deal to save the six from execution was still likely, analysts said. The children's relatives broke down in tears and hailed the ruling, which ended a seven-month retrial, as a welcome act of defiance of the West. "Justice has been done. We are happy," said Subhy Abdullah, whose daughter Mona, 7, died from Aids contracted at the hospital in the town of Benghazi where the medics worked.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
"Justice has been done. We are happy," said Subhy Abdullah,
Suby is just so happy to blame infidels rather than face the blatant truth of an "inshallah" approach to medicine before the infidels even showed up.
#3
HIV rate in this part of the world is astronomical.
There is no way this trial was fair and I am certain that Libya does not have a handle on HIV diagnosis.
#6
I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict that Quaddafi issues stylishly dressed Presidential pardon at the last minute. Lots of international news coverage and color photos of His Stylishness. All part of trying to make nice with the West.
#7
Ka-daffy is really between a rock and a hard place this time.
Let's see, who do I placate, the murderous hordes of tribesmen, or the Western capital backers I need so badly?
Gunmen believed to be separatist rebels opened fire on a military vehicle in Senegal's southern Casamance region, killing two soldiers and wounding 14 others, the army in the West African country said on Thursday.
The attack happened on Wednesday near the village of Boutolate, some 40km from the regional capital, Ziguinchor, when the soldiers were heading out on a de-mining mission, army spokesperson Colonel Antoine Wardini said. "An armed group opened fire towards the vehicle, killing two soldiers. The vehicle left the main road and hit trees. Fourteen other soldiers were injured," he said.
The Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) took up arms against the government in the former French colony in 1982, accusing it of neglecting the region, sandwiched between Gambia and Guinea-Bissau and cut off from the rest of Senegal.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2006 00:00 ||
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#5
Statements about big lips and people of African ancestry? I know where that's coming from. My comment stands.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/22/2006 12:22 Comments ||
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It was the second time this week that immigrants who had been allowed to remain in Britain despite committing a string of offences were found guilty of a brutal killing.
On Tuesday, a court heard how two Somali men involved in the shooting of Pc Sharon Beshenivksy had been spared deportation because their homeland was judged too dangerous for them.
At the Old Bailey yesterday, Diamond Babamuboni, 17, his brother Timy, 15, and Jude Odigie, 16, all from Nigeria, were convicted of the manslaughter of Zainab Kalokoh, 31, a married mother of two children from war-ravaged Sierra Leone.
A fourth, who cannot be named, was found guilty of her murder at the party in Peckam, south London, in August last year. The Babamuboni brothers whose mother had been refused leave to remain in the country were in Britain illegally. Odigie had also been told he could not stay.
Yet despite this, they carried on a life of crime with apparent impunity other than occasional court appearances. They were meant to attend courses run by local youth offender teams but shunned any interventions.
jeebus, requesting criminals to behave????
Last night, a Home Office spokesman said: "Foreign nationals must obey the laws of this country in the same way as everybody else and those who have committed criminal offences here are therefore subject to the same legal processes as anyone else in the UK, and can expect prosecution and, where appropriate, a custodial sentence and deportation.
Oh that'll teach 'em Mr. Home Office spokesman.
The killers: Diamond Babamuboni, Timy Babamuboni and Jude Odigie
#7
"It was the second time this week that immigrants who had been allowed to remain in Britain despite committing a string of offences were found guilty of a brutal killing.
On Tuesday, a court heard how two Somali men involved in the shooting of Pc Sharon Beshenivksy had been spared deportation because their homeland was judged too dangerous for them."
This is pure insanity. As I said, we are witnessing British society crumble before our eyes. Pur them on a cargo plane. they have a choice. Deplane walking or deplane flying.
#10
Mick - The Sinktrap Badge of Honor is not to be taken so lightly. Kinda like I useta tell my web team: If'n ya ain't fucking up, then ya ain't trying. We don't need no mealy-mouthin' IBM pansies on this team, Grid Willing.
Or words to that effect, anyway, lol. :-)
---
a5089 - Well, I've thought about trapping you cuz your graphics are so frickin' tame (read:more fleshyosityness, plz)... Lol.
#14
"I would call it snarky, but not rascist. FWIW."
It doesn't matter whether you think it was racist or not. It doesn't matter whether the person who posted it thinks it's racist or not. It doesn't matter whether I think it's racist or not.
He was told by one of the mods to knock it off, and warned that if he did it again he would be banned. "Don't do that." Real simple. Nothing complex or esoteric or mysterious about it. "Please respect the wishes of the owner of this site" is not exactly one of the deeper concepts of astrophysics, right?
So what does he do? He flips off the warning, and adds that banning him would be "futile" because he'll just come back in under another IP.
You gotta wonder WTF some people are using for brains: if there's one thing in this world that common sense oughtta tell you is ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEED to get you banned, it's sticking your tongue out and challenging us to ban you.
Duh. So now he's banned.
Life is tough. It's even tougher when you don't listen.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
12/22/2006 15:23 Comments ||
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#15
Dave D, why would you quote my comment in your response about Mick being banned? My comment was about Mick's initial comment, not his follow-up and yet your response was to me about Mick's second comment.
And, no, this is NOT a challenge to ban me, it is simply saying I do not think I should have been quoted on this. You should have quoted Mick's comments, not mine. FWIW.
#16
Looks like I made a good choice; this guy's WAY too short to go on this ride.
Brett, I quoted you because you (among others) raised the issue of whether the original comment was racist or not; and my reply was, paraphrasing, that the real issue is not whether it was racist or not, but rather that he was warned to stop; and rather than heed the warning, he chose to be an asshole instead.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
12/22/2006 16:05 Comments ||
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This is not complicated. It's just common courtesy. Fred and the Army of Steve and the other mods were nice enough to invite the rest of us to come play in their bandwidth. It's their site and their bandwidth, and they get to make the rules, including rules about what is and is not acceptable commentary. If you can't play nice, they have every right to kick you out. If you don't like their rules, you might try to politely ask them to change, but keep in mind that if you disagree, they win because it's their site, not yours. What's hard about that?
Posted by: Mike ||
12/22/2006 16:29 Comments ||
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#23
#28: "Congratulations. You've successfully demonstrated that you have no class are a horse's ass."
There - fixed that for ya', Mike.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/22/2006 16:45 Comments ||
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#24
Notes to myself:
1. Be nice to Barbara Skolaut.
2. Never, ever get on Barbara Skolaut's bad side.
3. Do not, under any circumstance, incur the wrath of Barbara Skolaut.
Posted by: Mike ||
12/22/2006 16:47 Comments ||
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#25
"Uh huh. However not many people are Network Engineers with as extensive a background in IP networking, that I have."
doesn't this sh!t, loosley translated sound a lot like our friend Cindy "LOOK AT ME," attention whore Sh!tpan? Bet this guy can't get it up and his real nyme should be 'Circle Jerk Pivot Man.'
I for one, genuflect before this pretentious asshole (not).
I doubt he has any trouble getting it up; but the way the antisocial geek is acting, it's a pretty safe bet he's never gotten it in.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
12/22/2006 17:04 Comments ||
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#29
I'm not sure, but I think some of the older Rantburgers were involved in inventing IP networking. But of course, that's foreground, not background. ;-)
#31
Probably spending waay too much time on this trolling POS, but for someone with as much experience as he claims to have, going back to his original picture and caption, he thinks pickles only cost 1/10 of a penny. Either he has a really good wholesaler, or he slipped and hung a decimal point where it wasn't needed. But then again, I obviously don't have the extensive experience he has........
Too bad his picture never graced the side of a milk carton.
#33
Well I sure as hell can't do anything to get banned because I'm about as far from a network engineer as you can get (marketing / sales...pictures, the waving of hands, the written word, assertive claims, lots of exclamation points... and of course the reflexive blame on the engineers and production folk for not being able to fulfill aforementioned claims, etc.)
Bottom line: If I ever got banned I wouldn't know how to get back in and that would certainly ruin my day/week/month/year.
#35
DaveD - I've got a trollbat, if you need to borrow it. Nice solid hickory, about two feet long and 2.5" in diameter, with twelve ounces of lead in the end.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/22/2006 18:31 Comments ||
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#36
OP - Here's a vid you may find relevant, given your recent weather...
#38
...he thinks pickles only cost 1/10 of a penny.
All the spamming aside, I think he got that part correct. If $1.10 = a dollar and ten cents, then
.10¢ = ten cents. The notation anyways. Beyond that, he sure did throw a fan belt.
#41
Mick - The Sinktrap Badge of Honor is not to be taken so lightly.
Oh, I don't take it lightly. I figured there was a 50/50 chance of being sinktrapped. No worries. If the mods get peaved at something, just say so. On the other hand, making dire threats of banning are just annoying...and futile.
I didn't think Mick's comments were that bad as all 3 do have unusually large lips. I would call it snarky, but not rascist. FWIW.
Thank You, Brett!
Duh. So now he's banned.
Not really. I would have been back sooner, but I locked myself out of my router, and I had to redo the whole config from scratch! Man those ACL statements are a pain.
#42
Goodness. Someone is flying flag Bravo, I'd say. So, care to call a hudna, or do you want me to run you in circles. I can do this all day.
Posted by: Dick Mundee ||
12/22/2006 15:58 Comments ||
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#43
Then you should know better...
I don't mind being asked to tone it down, I do not, however like being threatened with something when it wasn't necessary.
This was just a little demonstration that it is NOT possible to ban someone that understands the technology. Don't like it? Tough. Please, heap all the scorn you want at me, I love it.
Besides, I'll be back with a new nym, IP address...etc. And you'll never know the difference.
Merry Christmas all you Rantburgers. You're the GREATEST! 8-)
European doctors who speak poor English should be banned from practising in Britain, a coroner said yesterday.
Dr Paul Knapman called for new laws after an inquest heard that a man died as his French private doctor struggled to make himself understood in a 10-minute call to the ambulance service. Dr Knapman, the Westminster coroner, was told that the General Medical Council, the doctors' watchdog, does not have the power to force doctors to take a language test.
The inquest heard that Joao Paulo Lusakumunu Kiese, 38, a lay preacher from Manor Park, east London, visited Dr Bernard Delvigne at his private clinic in Wimpole Street, central London, with breathing problems last March. The GP administered the steroid Kenacor to the father of three. But the Angolan-born Mr Kiese collapsed.
The doctor gave him an injection and dialled 999 for an ambulance but the call took 10 minutes as he struggled to make himself clear. Mr Kiese died before reaching hospital.
Dr Knapman delivered a verdict of misadventure and said the 999 call took "rather longer than would be expected, mostly due to the linguistic difficulties of the doctor being understood".
Dr Knapman said that Dr Delvigne had problems with the nuances of the language, including using the word "sleeping" to describe being unconscious. He said he would write to the Health Secretary, Patricia Hewitt, to ask her to review legislation.
Doctors from Europe have not had to prove reasonable English since 1981, when the then government abolished a language test as part of getting on to the medical register.
Doctors from outside the European Economic Area, such as those from South East Asia, must still take the test.
Anthony Egerton, the GMC's assistant director of registration, told the hearing that the law "proscribes" the GMC from using a language test.
At an earlier hearing, Dr Delvigne, in practise for 41 years, said that he could understand English but had problems with some regional accents. He said the telephone operator had been unnecessarily pedantic. He also asked the court for an interpreter.
When asked why he needed one, he said: "I've studied English since I was 10 but it was Shakespeare, not English like you speak.
"I've now worked for five years in the UK and I can understand if it's spoken slowly. I have difficulty watching TV sometimes. I understand the Oxford accent but not Cockney."
Fire away. I rate the Pun Potential as high, very high, lol.
#5
Why not just make a verbal interview part of the licensing process? If not understood, reject. Or redirect towards the public address system at the Tube station?
In Germany, the cash register clerks at the grocery stores are required to demonstrate facility in both Hochdeutsch (BBC German) and the local dialect, in order to be able to serve all customers... or at least that was so in the 1990s. And that was in the German version of a minimum wage job. When one is in a public service job, one needs to be able to communicate effectively with the generality of the public. If one is unable to do so, there are always other kinds of jobs, or other places. Your desire to work does not trump my right not to be killed by your incompetence in a work-critical skill.
If people are paid to do nothing, that's exactly what they'll do
By Jove, I think he's got it! Mebbe...
As new initiatives from our useless Government go, John Hutton's campaign to tackle economic inactivity and promote social mobility sounds better than most. This week Hutton, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said this country was blighted by at least 100,000 scroungers (my word, not his), who are locked into a culture of "can work, won't work".
He denounced the gimme-gimme-gimme attitude of some benefits claimants, and pointed out: "If we are to break the cycle of benefit dependency, we need to ask whether we should expect more from those who remain on [support] for long periods of time." Hutton concluded that, for those who reject programmes designed to increase their prospects of getting a job, "there should be consequences, including less benefit or no benefit at all".
Hey, John, you're in danger of making good sense. There's only one problem. Your party hasn't just wandered into power. You have been holding the reins for nearly a decade. How come it has taken so long for the penny to drop? More importantly, what are you going to do yes, do to reform the eternal layabout? Words count for nothing, unless you have the stomach to use a stick. Simply dishing out carrots is hopeless.
Continued on Page 49
So long, Wayne...
ASHGABAT (Reuters) - Soldiers and police stepped up their presence on the streets of Turkmenistan's capital on Friday as the Central Asian nation prepared to bury absolute ruler Saparmurat Niyazov, who died with no obvious successor. Problem? He ruled that it was illegal for him to die...
Local people said they had seen bread queues in some parts of Ashgabat, and the acting president, in a sign of nervousness ahead of Sunday's funeral, urged officials running the Soviet-style command economy to ensure people had enough to eat.
Niyazov, who fostered an extravagant personality cult, crushed all dissent and had himself elected president for life, died on Thursday at 66 of a heart attack after two decades at the helm of the gas-rich desert nation of 5 million.
Under a dark cloudy sky, green national flags flew at half-mast as workers in orange uniforms repainted road markings and cleaned the city's broad streets for the funeral.
Security was tighter than usual with groups of plainclothes security officers guarding road crossings and soldiers seen at key sites such as the telegraph office. The town is largely closed to foreign visitors.
In the first sign of a struggle over the succession, security forces led by Defense Minister Agageldy Mamedgeldyev set up a special State Security Council, naming Deputy Prime Minister Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov as acting head of state. This violated the constitution, which requires the parliament chairman to take over. Oh...formalities, formalities...
The unidentified Council members met the cabinet on Friday to discuss "the most important issues of state life." "Brittney: Slut or Pig?", "Trump vs. O'Donnell: Who are we rooting for?"
At the meeting, Berdymukhamedov urged officials to ensure there were sufficient food supplies in the country and "firmly control all aspects of national life," state news agency Turkmen Khabarly reported. That don't sound good...
The country's top representative body will meet on Tuesday to set a date for elections and decide on the succession. Turkmenistan has never held an election judged fair by Western monitors. Looks like a job for...you know who.
Turkmenistan-watchers forecast a turbulent transition period as Russia and the West vie for influence in an ex-Soviet state whose gas reserves are important to Europe.
Restaurants were closed across Ashgabat for seven days of national mourning. But there were no public displays of grief.
"I was first shocked, then dazed, then I stopped caring," said Anna, a 35-year-old woman working at a local market. Sounds like me. Except for the shocked and dazed part...
Some said they were worried that the country, divided for centuries among nomadic tribes, would collapse into tribal rivalry and chaos. "I just hope they don't start thinking about who belongs to which tribe," said Takhir, a scientist in his late 30s.
Niyazov, who ran Turkmenistan as a personal fiefdom, was criticised in the West for flouting freedoms and allowing torture in a country largely closed to foreign visitors. Since gaining independence from Moscow in 1991, Turkmenistan has forged what it calls a neutral foreign policy. If they think Wayne's nuts, everyone will leave us alone...
Russia's Gazprom buys most of the gas from the huge Turkmen gas fields and controls export routes. Gazprom said it was not worried about the gas deals and saw "no reason to change the terms of these contracts whoever becomes Turkmenistan's leader." Just a different name on the check...
Acting president Berdymukhamedov, 49, is seen as a transitional leader. He will hold the position until elections, in about two months, but is banned by the constitution from standing for the presidency in that vote. ...and it sounds like they're real big on the constitution...
Speaking to the nation on television on Thursday night, he showered praise on "Saparmurat Turkmenbashi (Head of the Turkmen) the Great" and pledged to uphold his political legacy. Let the insanity continue! Wayne would've wanted it that way...
A former communist apparatchik, Niyazov fostered a quirky personality cult in which thousands of portraits and statues of him were set up around the country. A gilded statue of him in Ashgabat rotates to keep his face to the sun. What if the sun didn't come out?
"Many foreigners found Niyazov's personality cult amusing," Human Rights Watch said in a statement. "But to people in Turkmenistan living under his regime it was no laughing matter." Admit it, HRW. You thought Wayne was funny too...
#3
I read an article yesterday that said Niyazov had named himself parliament chairman. In which case, setting up some interim process isn't totally unreasonable.
Not that I expect any good outcome form all this.....
Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. upheld the vast majority of a lower court award to Judicial Watch of nearly $900,000 in attorneys fees and costs in a lawsuit related to the Clinton fundraising scandals (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Commerce, Appeal No. 05-5366) The fees were awarded on December 1, 2006, after a nearly decade-long court battle between Judicial Watch and the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The scandal involved a scheme by Clinton administration officials to sell seats on taxpayer-funded trade missions in exchange for campaign contributions to the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign. When Judicial Watch began investigating the scandal, Clinton administration officials deliberately concealed and destroyed records regarding the trade missions to avoid releasing them to Judicial Watch.
In fact, Ms. Nolanda Hill, a business partner and confidante of then-Clinton Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, testified at a dramatic court hearing during the litigation that the Clinton White House instructed Brown "to delay the [Judicial Watch] case by withholding the production of documents prior to the 1996 elections, and to devise a way not to comply with the courts orders."
(Ms. Hill also testified that Brown, who was killed in a plane crash during a trade mission to Bosnia, admitted to her that Hillary Clinton conceived of the scheme to sell trade mission seats. Specifically, the court heard testimony on how Brown allegedly complained about being Hillarys [expletive] tour guide.)
Clinton administration misconduct was so egregious that the Commerce Department took the unprecedented step of asking that a judgment be entered against itself in order to end the lawsuit prematurely and stop further revelations. The court denied the Commerce Departments request, ordered it to conduct a new search for trade mission records and authorized additional discovery into the illegal concealment and destruction of government records.
The lower court also noted that disclosures made as a result of this litigation spurred two Congressional committee investigations and a Federal Election Commission investigation into (the Commerce Departments) alleged sale of foreign mission trade seats. Further, the DOC revised its trade mission participant selection policy to explicitly exclude consideration of past political contributions and activities. In addition, a criminal inquiry was launched by the Justice Department and FBI.
Were pleased the appellate court upheld the award and held the government accountable for its Clinton-era misconduct. Frankly, the Clintons still have a lot to answer for in this scandal, said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. This is a vindication of Judicial Watchs persistence in prosecuting this long battle to let the sun shine in on government corruption.
So, what's the Statute of Limitations have to say about treason and sedition, eh?
The outgoing chairman of the House Government Reform Committee says questions remain about former National Security Adviser Samuel R. Berger's removal of classified documents from the National Archives and pledged yesterday to get the answers.
"I don't care if it's Sandy Berger or Warren Burger or Veggie Burger who walked off with these documents," said Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, Virginia Republican. "It's the lax controls that permitted such a theft; it's the way it was handled internally at the Archives and then by [the Justice Department] that is of grave concern."
Veggie Burger. Rofl.
In October, Mr. Davis led an effort by top House Republicans to investigate and hold hearings on which documents might have been "destroyed, removed or were missing."
Democrats assume control of Congress next month, and the request is expected to be shelved. But Mr. Davis said his staff continues to look into the matter, and a final investigative report is expected next month.
Continued on Page 49
U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson remains in critical condition and is being kept sedated to aid his recovery from brain surgery last week, according to doctors statements released by his office on Thursday.
"Sen. Tim Johnson is recovering as expected from brain surgery and his brain pressures continue to be in the normal range," said Dr. Anthony Caputy of the George Washington University Hospital department of neurosurgery. "Sen. Johnson is sedated to allow his systems to rest and recover from the hemorrhage and we anticipate no further tests or procedures in the near future," said neurosurgeon Vivek Deshmukh. "This is expected to continue through the holidays."
Per request: his prognosis is fair at this point. He's still in the early recovery stage, and while things could go wrong the signs are encouraging, especially the statement about no further tests or procedures. However, while the sedation is standard enough, you want to get him up and moving and get him into rehab. The earlier you start rehab, the better the result. That he's still being sedated suggests that they're still monitoring brain pressure.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2006 00:00 ||
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No stone unturned, I'm sure.
What better day to sneak all the potential UN scandals under the radar then the Friday before Christmas?
NEW YORK -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, reacting to an article in The Washington Times, asked U.N. investigators yesterday to look into claims of fraud, favoritism and intimidation inside the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Ah, Jeezus...leave me alone! I'm outta here in nine days! Go bother the Korean guy!
The DESA division, responsible for promoting accountability and good governance in member states, has used contributions from the Italian government to fund duplicative programs and unnecessary consultants, many of which benefit Italy or its nationals, The Times reported. Sounds like it upholds the ideals of the UN to me...
The story also said the department had made unusual use of contractors and taken relevant information off its Web site after reporters began asking questions. It said DESA staffers have complained about intimidation. Any youse guys been talkin to dem reporters? Youse guys got any kiddos?
"The secretary-general's office has asked [the Office of Internal Oversight Services] to look into allegations raised this morning in the press," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Mr. Annan. He refused to specify which areas Mr. Annan is concerned about. Probably his limo ride to the airport in nine days...
On Monday evening, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations transmitted a letter to the U.N.'s chief internal inspector, Inga-Britt Ahlenius, asking OIOS to look into contracting improprieties and reports that staff had been intimidated in an effort to halt leaks. U.S. officials also have received information that officials within DESA's in-house human resources department have been destroying documents related to contracts issued by the department in recent years. "We have become aware of alleged improprieties relating to the award of consulting contracts by the Division for Public Administration and Development Management," wrote U.S. diplomat Mark Wallace, whose letter was copied to Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown. DPADM is a subdivision within DESA. Does that turd go out the door with Kofi too, I hope?
"We have also received reports alleging that the DPADM has threatened to retaliate against staff members who have brought this matter to light," said the letter, which urged OIOS to conduct a "comprehensive review. We consider this an important and urgent matter," the letter said. So I assume they want it resolved by the end of this century?
A spokesman said Ms. Ahlenius was traveling but expected back in New York next week. Probably out "investigating"...
The Italian government, which has voluntarily contributed some $80 million to DESA over the last four years, has not requested an audit of its funds. The Italian Mission to the United Nations did not respond to calls for comments yesterday. Must've got a nice return on it's 80 mil...
Sources within the United Nations have described an atmosphere of uncertainty and intimidation inside DPADM, which has been responsible for creating several international programs and centers of dubious value."I have no comment beyond what the spokesman said this morning," said Marie Oveissi, the officer in charge of DESA's Technical Cooperation Management Services section. DPADM Director Guido Bertucci did not respond to calls yesterday. I can't say anything. They made us swear to it when we burned the pictures of the saints in our hands...
News of the DPADM use of Italian money prompted anger on Capitol Hill. Retiring Rep. Henry J. Hyde of Illinois, who as chairman of the House International Relations Committee held numerous hearings on the oil-for-food scandal and other U.N. issues, yesterday demanded "transparent investigations that hold violators of the public trust responsible for their misconduct. I am aware of new reports of corruption and cronyism within the United Nations' Department of Economic and Social Affairs," he said. "The U.N. has a history of building scandals on top of its scandals. Mismanagement thrives under poor oversight, which is then often lost under attempted cover-ups." Sounds like Henry's familiar with them...
OIOS has already conducted an investigation into a DESA center in Thessaloniki, Greece, after the Greek government demanded to know how its $5 million contribution was being spent. Athens has since shut the center down, saying that its effectiveness was undercut by a duplicative effort based in Naples. They're on to us! Close up! Close up!
That report will not be released until at least January, OIOS officials said recently, because DESA officials have not yet responded to an early draft. Some have suggested that the department is deliberately delaying the report's release, at least until Mr. Annan is succeeded by Ban Ki-moon. Don't want to ruin his farewell bash with this ugly scandal talk.
"I will leave the interpretation to you, but clearly in any ... investigative process, people have a right to rebut," Mr. Dujarric said yesterday. "That needs to be done within a certain amount of time. The department in question has a right to answer the issues raised. We very much hope it will be completed very soon." Real life "very soon" or UN "very soon"? I think that's comparable to dog years...
The spokesman added: "We of course expect that no documents in any department will be destroyed. There are rules and regulations regarding the destruction of documents which are public." Winky-winky...
Mr. Dujarric also said that staff members who feel intimidated can avail themselves of the U.N. whistle-blower protections, which include the right to file complaints anonymously. U.N. whistle-blower protections. Yeah, right. I'd feel safe...
#1
What, no speech declaring he is "deeply disturbed" by this continuing reporting of malfeasence on his watch ? This a-hole is truly the worst thing that ever happened to the UN. He has single-handedly brought the corrupt hovel to its knees.
Really? That's all? Well somebody there obviously isn't doing their job...
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The price tag on a long-stalled renovation of the landmark United Nations headquarters has soared to $1.9 billion from the 2002 estimate of $1 billion, when the project was first envisioned, according to new figures released on Thursday. Long-stalled? At the UN?
The U.N. General Assembly's budget committee called for the 192-nation body to adopt a draft resolution setting a budget of $1.878 billion for the project, which if approved would finally get off the ground next year. Yeah, sure. Is that all ya need? Sure that's all you need?
The assembly is expected to approve the measure on Friday. ...and then...long weekend!!!
The U.N. headquarters compound is one of New York's most popular tourist destinations. But after 54 years, its roof leaks, it is riddled with asbestos and lacks fire detectors, a sprinkler system and other emergency safety devices. I have no problem with any of this.
The building's current "hazards, risks and deficiencies ... endanger the safety, health and well-being of staff, delegations, visitors and tourists," the draft text states. Yeah. "Visitors and tourists". Make sure that's in there.
The United Nations has been working for six years on a plan to renovate the tower. The latest proposal has been scaled back and stretched out to avoid moving the whole organization into temporary headquarters while the work is carried out. Well, it hasn't fallen down yet. I might be willing to take a chance on waiting another 6 years. Or 60 years. Or 600 years.
The money would be raised through increases in the dues paid by all U.N. member nations on a sliding scale. Governments would have a choice of paying their share all at once or in five yearly installments beginning in 2007, the draft says. That would put the poorest nations' share at a little under $2 million each. The United States, the world's biggest economy which picks up the tab for 22 percent of the regular U.N. budget, would pay over $400 million. 400 mill to renovate the pleasure palace of an inept, incompotent group of thieves. Such a deal!
Much of the increase in project costs since 2002 is due to inflation in construction costs because of delays. Yeah...inflation! That's the ticket!
#2
Trump said a couple years ago that he could do the whole job for $300 million. I'd get him back and see what the job costs today, and make him the general contractor.
Of course, my first thought would be to tow the whole mess into Long Island Sound.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/22/2006 11:36 Comments ||
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#3
No, Steve. New York City's rivers have become a lot cleaner in the last 20 years. We don't need to backslide.
Still, John Bolton was right.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
12/22/2006 12:02 Comments ||
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#4
I bet we could contract to move the whole UN to Paris for a helluva lot less than $300 million.
Then sell the building to a local developer who can make money renting out apartments/offices.
It's a win-win. No foreign terrorists/socialists on our shores and the lucky bidder gets to create jobs.
#8
Price-tag of UN renovation soars to $1.9 billion
hey, 1 billion of the 2006 price is already cut up between the 5 families, wait for the discoveries, change orders, add orders, strikes, inflation, and pol fees.
#9
I always said to place it in the center of the largest mass-grave in Iraq - I'll add to dedicated it to Koffi Annan.
Either that or Tel-Aviv. I think that might give the UN an incentive to prevent Iran from getting the bomb. If nothing else it will give Israel warning - when the UN rats and vermin starts leaving its time to look out for incoming.
#10
At 1 million square feet, that's $1900/s.f. for a renovation. Even gutting the wiring, plumbing and HVAC, commercial renovations are done for 10% of that price.
Posted by: ed ||
12/22/2006 22:05 Comments ||
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#11
This story doesn't mention it, but the UN wants the US to front the entire $1.9 billion at 0% interest. I give high odds that if any leader is stupid enough to do it, the US taxpayer will pay most of the bill.
Posted by: ed ||
12/22/2006 22:22 Comments ||
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#12
Don't give the bastards a f*cking dime.
If they're so anxious to renovate their building, let them use all the money they've scammed and skimmed from various operations.
Koffee and his son should be able to finance it all by themselves, with plenty of illegal swag money left over. :-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/22/2006 22:23 Comments ||
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NEW YORK - A friend of the former procurement official at the United Nations pleaded guilty in a bribery case, saying he let the official rent and later buy an apartment for his family at reduced prices so he could win lucrative U.N. contracts. Sounds like the same deal Kofi and his family got. But...
Nishan Kohli, 30, of Miami, Fla., entered his plea Thursday before U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan in a plea deal that boosted the government's case against Sanjaya Bahel, the U.N. official who is free on $900,000 bail. Kohli admitted that after 2000, he made cash payments and real estate deals with Bahel to benefit himself and the companies he represented, including Telecommunications Consultants India Limited, which is owned by the government of India.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, though Cote explained to Kohli that he could earn leniency by fully cooperating with prosecutors. He remains free on $1 million bail.
In a statement he read in court, Kohli said Bahel provided him with a special cell phone so he could communicate secretly with Bahel, who was the chief of the U.N.'s Commodity Procurement Section from 1998 to 2003. Kohli told the judge that he let Bahel rent a Manhattan apartment below market price and later buy it for far below market value, efforts that "were intended to influence him in return for promises of help."
Outside court, Kohli and his lawyer declined to comment.
Bahel, 55, is scheduled to go to trial May 7 to face charges that he accepted bribes from Kohli to steer more than $50 million in contracts to companies Kohli controlled. A defense lawyer for Bahel, who has pleaded not guilty, has said there was nothing improper about the apartment transactions, especially since they occurred after Bahel had left his procurement position for another job at the U.N.
Prosecutors said in the indictment that Bahel even canceled bids by competing companies and re-bid contracts to make sure Kohli and his business interests had a competitive advantage. Prosecutors said that contracts Kohli secured for his companies included $36 million to provide radio communications systems to U.N. missions in East Timor, the Congo and elsewhere; $8 million to provide information technology support to U.N. missions worldwide; and $5 million to provide laptop computers.
Bahel has been suspended without pay since August from his U.N. job in charge of the postal office there. ...at least until everything blows over.
Six children are on life support at Children's Hospital fighting severe cases of influenza, hospital officials said.
The severity of the cases, many developing in the past two weeks, has raised concerns in Birmingham's pediatric medical community, said Dr. David Kimberlin, who specializes in pediatric infectious diseases at UAB.
"It is not the volume and not even the time of year that is jumping out at us," he said. "It is more that, for a number of otherwise healthy children, they are ending up on life support from the flu. The number of times that is occurring - it seems out of the ordinary, at least for now."
Influenza has hit Birmingham area children hard and early this year, with at least 10 reports of critically ill children, said Raenetta Ellison, influenza surveillance coordinator for the Jefferson County Health Department.
Normally, cases of that number and severity are not reported until late January, February and March, she said.
Alabama elevated its weekly influenza report to the "widespread outbrea" category this week, compared with the "regional outbreak" category last week, said Katina James, an epidemiologist with the Alabama Department of Public Health.
Since influenza is not a reportable disease, there are no numbers available for flu cases, she said. Her office had no other reports of severe cases like those seen in Jefferson County.
"Alabama had influenza activity earlier than most other states this year," Kimberlin said. "Right now, we and Florida and perhaps Georgia are really experiencing the largest outbreak of influenza in the country. We have a lot of children in the hospital with influenza, and that includes some very sick children in ICU."
The level of life support varies among the six patients, all of whom have respiratory failure, Kimberlin said. In some cases, in addition to a ventilator, additional support is needed, such as a heart and lung bypass machine.
While most of the younger flu patients are not that severely ill, emergency rooms and doctor's offices are staying packed with sick children, he said.
"I would like to know more so we can better understand what we are comparing this against," Kimberlin said. Outside of data that would better track the number of pediatric flu cases, "we are left with clinical impression. And this seems to be a particularly bad year, at least for some normal children who are getting the flu," he said.
Kimberlin, who is an associate professor of pediatrics at UAB, mentioned the 2003-04 flu season, when 153 influenza-associated deaths in children younger than 18 were reported by state health departments across the country. At that time, doctors determined that they did not know enough about how many children get sick during a flu season. Although studies and other types of surveys have been established since then, more time is needed to better compare one year with another, he said.
While the Birmingham and Jefferson and Shelby county school systems are not reporting a spike in sick students overall, there have been isolated cases of the flu hitting individual schools or classrooms, said Cindy Warner, spokeswoman for Shelby County schools.
Mt Laurel Elementary School has taken the brunt of that in Shelby County. At least two of its students have been hospitalized, one in critical condition, and the school had 80 students out sick over the past few weeks, Warner said.
Hundreds sick:
Pinson Elementary and Chalkville Elementary in Jefferson County have reported hundreds of children out sick, many with flu-like symptoms, said Nez Calhoun, Jefferson County schools spokeswoman.
Two weeks ago, the schools had 300 and 400 students out sick, many with flu-like symptoms, on a Thursday and Friday, compared with about 30 to 40 students out sick a year ago. School officials sent letters home to parents urging them to keep sick children at home, she said.
Ellison, who monitors the number and severity of flu cases with the help of participating physicians, said she is urging parents to get their children flu shots and practice good hygiene.
For the week of Dec. 10-16, 186 patients with influenza-like illness, mostly children, sought treatment with a physician participating with the Jefferson County influenza surveillance program, she said. There were 50 such patients at the same time last year.
"It's not too late to vaccinate, and please do so," Kimberlin said. "If you do come down with the flu, there are treatments available."
An influenza pandemic of the type that ravaged the globe in 1918 and 1919 would kill about 62 million people today, with 96 percent of the deaths occurring in developing countries.
That is the conclusion of a study published yesterday in the Lancet medical journal, which uses mortality records kept by governments during the time of "Spanish flu" to predict the effect of a similarly virulent outbreak in the contemporary world.
Remember folks, you can't trust Lancet on anything that has anything remotely smacking of politics. Their articles on Iraq are nothing short of disgraceful, and they've done long-term damage to their reputation.
The analysis, the first of its kind, found a nearly 40-fold difference in death rates between central India, the place with the highest recorded mortality, and Denmark, the country with the lowest. The reason for the huge variation is not known, but it may reflect differences in nutrition and crowding.
If a modern Spanish flu killed all its victims in one year, it would more than double global mortality. About 59 million people now die each year. "It is a huge, huge number," said Christopher J.L. Murray, a physician and biostatistician at the Harvard School of Public Health who headed the study. "This really took us by surprise."
One of the World Health Organization's key influenza experts, however, called the main public health implication of the study "no surprise."
So one scientist is easily surprised and another isn't.
#1
...Question: A pandemic THAT bad - or even betwen the two estimates we had here - what would that do to most Moslem nations? I'm guessing the Saudis, Jordanians and Turks might make it through all right, but seems the rest of the Muzzie world might just flame right out.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/22/2006 9:10 Comments ||
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#2
The Lancet in recent years has shown itself to be as reliable in its treatment of numbers and statistics as the AP is in its treatment of photographs.
#3
Traditionally, The Lancet has been a reputable medical journal. They were justly slammed for their Survey of Imaginary Deaths in Iraq for using an inappropriate methodology and essentially pulling the numbers out of their scientific asses.
The Spanish flue epidemic was nearly a century ago. Since then, we have learned a great deal about treating the flu and associated complications and more importantly, how it spreads. Limiting the spread of the disease will be the key.
Sixty million some deaths sounds like a reasonable guestimate. And yes, most of the deaths will be in the developing world for all the usual reasons. I would expect Islamic countries to be hammered due to their natural resistance to evil Western concepts like vaccines and thinking. But hey, it's the Will of Allan, right?
#4
Several problems: first of all, H5N1 is unlike any flu ever seen before, it is a "perfect flu" among flus. It crosses over animal species with far more ease than is normal, it has mysteriously maintained a sky high (50%) mortality rate, it needs only a fraction of the ordinary amount of contamination to infect, it reproduces in body organs other than the sinuses and it has now proven that the "cytokine storm" effect exists.
This latter means that an overreaction of the immune system is just as likely to kill you as the disease itself.
Few effective therapies exist for the massive lung damage and resultant oxygen deprivation; doctors have learned they can tell from an ordinary chest x-ray who will live and who will die.
To make matters worse, the US has 102k ventilators, of which 100k are needed during a normal flu season. Without adequate ventilators, large numbers of people will die who would have survived.
Unlike Spanish flu, which infected about 28% of the US population, no "mild" versions of the avian flu have been found. Either it kills you or it severely damages your lungs.
It is also highly likely that it will severely diminish the numbers of farm and domestic animals. While the US has food alternatives to chicken, beef, pork, mutton, and fish (of which some species are now believed to be dual vectors with birds), most countries in the world do not. This means starvation in some areas and malnutrition in others.
Extraordinarily, the disease has proven capable of infecting both canines and felines, which is extraordinary.
On the plus side, we do have public awareness of hygiene and an excellent communications system; but everybody is going to take some lumps from this thing.
#8
Highly unlikely. This sumbitch is the closest thing to a "Satan bug" imaginable. At the same time it is damned enigmatic.
For example, typically, some farmer wakes up and sees a few of his chickens in distress. By nightfall, the whole flock is dead. That quick-and-deadly attack is why downright sluggish Asian governments, even North Korea, are totally responsive, often for the first time ever.
Conversely, in one case, an entire large family that lived together was wiped out, everybody who was blood related, but two of their spouses didn't catch the disease. This indicates a genetic factor, maybe.
A swine herd was discovered in Vietnam that was actively breeding new strains using single round elimination. That one herd alone was acting like a computer, trying to generate the "best" strain out of hundreds. Now extrapolate that to hundreds of thousands of flocks, herds and other groupings of animals and even fish.
#9
Look on the bright side, guys. After the H5N2 pandemic, there will be many fewer people putting CO2 into the air, a lot less international transportation wasting fuel, much less need to feed farm animals and to till the soil, therefore peak oil will be postponed perhaps indefinitely, and also a big dent will be put in global warming.
#11
iow, Can the virulence and/or harm caused flu be attenuated by a partial immunity recieved from exposure to folks who have survived a flu infection?
The reverse may be true if Dengue is any guide. With Dengue severe cytokine storm reactions only occur in infected people who have previously been infected with a different dengue strain.
Note that high mortality and CS reactions only occured in in the second and subsequent waves of the 1918 pandemic. The first wave was like a normal flu epidemic.
#12
Vaccines, even if only partially effective and modestly distributed, will make a huge difference. Population density and hygiene will also make a big difference in mortality. India was hit far harder than the US in 1919 and would be again today.
The effects of this virus would be so unequally distributed in favor of the 'developed' world that outcries of genocide would be widespread (though false) - even though mortality in the developed world might well exceed ANY historic precedent.
Not to nitpick, but there are way worse than H5N1.
But you are right, H5N1 is a tinderbox waiting to go off. The other wicked nasties, either kill to quick to spread enough, don't jump species as well, or have fatal flaws to make survival outside a host impossible.
For anyone that has studied micro and by extension, pandemics) these are major red flags. Usually an indication of just a matter of time.
This thing has the perfect incubation time to spread far and wide before noticed and the killer strain will come from jumping back and forth between animal and human.
I take warnings of pandemics from this or that with salt, but I do respect H5N1 greatly. I agree, this one's the real deal.
#14
bombay: I am hard pressed to think of pathogens that have anywhere near the potential of influenza.
It is pulmonary, it concentrates in the upper respiratory tract, there are 16 H variants (with only H1, H2 and H3 attacking humans up until now, but no saying if H5 is going to go lethal, or any of the other 12), it is loaded with flexible genes which permit both maximum mutation and competition in nature.
Only a tiny amount of H5 pathogen is needed for infection, it has a large and growing number of known animal vectors, its mortality rate is high and shows no sign of characteristic decline due to selection.
Seriously, I can't think of a natural or artificial pathogen anywhere near as threatening. Only a highly virulent smallpox comes anywhere as close for just sheer numbers of fatalities.
ATLANTA Dec 21, 2006 (AP) The biggest U.S. measles outbreak in a decade 34 people stricken in Indiana and Illinois last year was traced back to a 17-year-old girl who had traveled to Romania without first getting vaccinated, government health officials said Thursday.
The outbreak accounted for more than half of the 66 measles cases in the United States in 2005. Widespread use of the measles vaccine has dramatically reduced the incidence of the disease over the past four decades; in 2004, there were just 37 cases, the smallest number in nearly 90 years of record-keeping.
The girl unknowingly brought the viral disease back to her home state of Indiana, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. Thirty-two other people in Indiana and one from Illinois became infected. Three people were hospitalized, but no one died.
Only two of the 34 people had been vaccinated against measles.
"The outbreak occurred because measles was imported into a population of children whose parents had chosen not to vaccinate their children because of safety concerns, despite evidence that measles-containing vaccine is safe and effective," the CDC said.
Nearly all of the 32 other U.S. cases in 2005 originated abroad, including 16 involving U.S. residents infected while traveling overseas and seven involving foreigners who were infected before visiting the United States.
In the decade before a vaccine became available in 1963, about 450,000 measles cases and about 450 measles deaths were recorded in the U.S. each year. The disease often characterized by a rash that begins on the face and spreads can cause ear infections, diarrhea and pneumonia. It kills about one in 1,000 patients, according to the CDC.
The U.S. vaccination rate against measles is now more than 90 percent.
And our Extra Large Penises haven't fallen off. Well mine hasn't, anyway, lol. I'd post proof, but I wuz just told that would crass 'n stuff.
Forget cards and gentle aerobics - the best way to keep the elderly sharp is to teach them to play video games, new research suggests.
Psychology research at Hamiltons McMaster University shows gamers who spend more than four hours a week playing action video games such as Medal of Honour and Half Life 2 have a surprising array of skills ranging from quick reaction times and good spatial reasoning to a strong awareness of their surroundings and better short-term memory.
With as little as 10 hours of training, non-gamers start to show the same mental strengths, says psychology researcher Jim Karle, a graduate student in the department of psychology, neuroscience and behaviour.
Calling video games beneficial for the brain, Karle suggested they could be used to help reduce cognitive decline in the elderly. Individuals who play action video games on a regular basis - more then four hours a week -appear to be very good at an astonishing variety of skills, said Karle.
Just as an elderly adult may do 15 minutes of weight training to fight osteoporosis, he said, so could he or she play video games to keep the mind sharp.
#8
Its embarrassing to had worked on advanced projects yet couldn't beat my [then]little nephews worth a damn on GRAND PRIX or even TIGER WOODS GOLF, etc, - they are talking PS3's andor XBOX360's while I'm still stuck on PS1 = N64.
WE'RE DOOMED, I TELS YA, DDDOOOOOOMMMMMEEEDDDDD.
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.
Miss Nevada USA was stripped of her title Thursday after racy photos of her appeared on the Internet, pageant officials said.
On Wednesday, "The View" co-host Rosie O'Donnell expressed her dismay over Donald Trump's news conference with Miss USA Tara Conner, saying it had annoyed her "on a multitude of levels." The real-estate mogul countered on "Access Hollywood," saying he would sue O'Donnell and have someone seduce her girlfriend. The following are excerpts from their tit-for-tat comments:
A Libyan court sentenced five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor to death on Tuesday for deliberately infecting hundreds of children with the virus that causes Aids, provoking a chorus of Western condemnation.
Gunmen believed to be separatist rebels opened fire on a military vehicle in Senegal's southern Casamance region, killing two soldiers and wounding 14 others, the army in the West African country said on Thursday.
European doctors who speak poor English should be banned from practising in Britain, a coroner said yesterday.
If people are paid to do nothing, that's exactly what they'll do
U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson remains in critical condition and is being kept sedated to aid his recovery from brain surgery last week, according to doctors statements released by his office on Thursday.
NEW YORK - A friend of the former procurement official at the United Nations pleaded guilty in a bribery case, saying he let the official rent and later buy an apartment for his family at reduced prices so he could win lucrative U.N. contracts. 
Forget cards and gentle aerobics - the best way to keep the elderly sharp is to teach them to play video games, new research suggests.
With as little as 10 hours of training, non-gamers start to show the same mental strengths, says psychology researcher Jim Karle, a graduate student in the department of psychology, neuroscience and behaviour.
