Last week, it was revealed that Verizon Wireless is mailing a notice advising wireless subscribers that if they fail to Opt Out within 30 days, Verizon will begin SELLING their Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) to third parties and affiliates.
CPNI information includes all the calls you place or receive on your cell phone (along with date, time and call duration). Verizon intends to allow targeted ads created by their affiliates sent to your phone...
#3
I just called Verizon and talked to a rep. It's true. Sigh. Sold out by our own. Can we make a company a Senator? I hear Caligula made a horse a Senator, so I don't see why we can't make Verizon a Senator as well.
Verizon is benefitting from this at two levels:
1) $$$ for each name they sell, and each time they sell it
2) $$$ for phone calls that go over their limit
All they lose is credibility (and like countless other callers, I'm sure they let them know in no uncertain terms, either).
I would think that there would be a lawsuit in here somewhere. I've had a few calls on my cellphone. Next time some company calls me I'm going to run my car into a phone pole and claim whiplash. If some idiot can sue McDonald's for $100M for spilling hot coffee in her lap, I figure this is worth $1B at least.
#4
go to the link - there are emails for FCC commissioners and a sample email to use - I did - I looked at my Verizon website profile and there's no clear opt-out links...f*ckers
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/10/2007 18:25 Comments ||
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#5
here is the automated 800 number to call to OPT OUT: 1-800-333-9956
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/10/2007 18:44 Comments ||
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#6
Why did he wait so long? He almost murdered his wife in a rage, in the early sixties. When he was arrested he felt sorry for himself, and convinced the woman not to press charges. Later she regretted not sending him to jail.
In the seventies, he directed a movie with Rip Torn and other Hollywood creeps. He told the thespians to "express real emotions." Torn took him at his word and smashed a bottle over the hack's fool head, causing him to bleed profusely.
#8
Had my 43rd HAWK B-Batt 1st LAAM Bn reunion last month at the privately funded National Museum of the Marine Corps. (Best museum I've been to by a 2X Smithsonian yardstick!) The Tun Tavern replica inside was well attended with Semper Fi's for all. :)
#13
Happy birthday to all Marines and mine that guards the corner in Heaven closest to where the best steaks and bourbon are served.
I found this at Blackfive -- had never read it myself, tho most of you probably have, but I'm in a sharing mood today.
THE Marine Corps Version of Genesis
In the beginning was the word, and the word was God.
In the beginning was God, and all else was darkness and void, and without form. So God created the heavens and the Earth. He created the sun, and the moon, and the stars, so that light might pierce the darkness. The Earth, God divided between the land and the sea, and these he filled with many assorted creatures.
And the dark, salty, slimy creatures that inhabited the murky depths of the oceans, God called sailors. And He dressed them accordingly. They had little trousers that looked like bells at the bottom. And their shirts had cute little flaps on them to hide the hickeys on their necks. He also gave them long sideburns and shabby looking beards. God nicknamed them em "squids" and banished them to a lifetime at sea, so that normal folks would not have to
associate with them. To further identify these unloved creatures, He called them "petty" and "commodore" instead of titles worthy of red-blooded men.
And the flaky creatures of the land, God called soldiers. And with a twinkle in His eye, and a sense of humor that only He could have, God made their trousers too short and their covers too large. He also made their pockets oversized, so that they may warm their hands. And to adorn their uniforms, God gave them badges in quantities that only a dime store owner could appreciate. And He gave them emblems and crests... and all sorts of shiny things that glittered...and devices that dangled. (When you are God you tend to get carried away.)
On the 6th day, He thought about creating some air creatures for which he designed a Greyhound bus driver's uniform, especially for Air Force flyboys. But He discarded the idea during the first week, and it was not until years later that some apostles resurrected this theme and established what we now know as the "Wild-Blue-Yonder Wonders."
And on the 7th day, as you know, God rested.
But on the 8th day, at 0730, God looked down upon the earth and was not happy. No, God was not happy! So He thought about His labors, and in His divine wisdom God created a divine creature. And this He called Marine. And
these Marines, who God had created in His own image, were to be of the air, and of the land, and of the sea. And these He gave many wonderful uniforms. Some were green; some were blue with red trim. And in the early days, some were even a beautiful tan. He gave them practical fighting uniforms, so that they could wage war against the forces of Satan and evil. He gave them service uniforms for their daily work and training. And He gave them evening and dress uniforms... sharp and stylish, handsome things... so that they might promenade with their ladies on Saturday night and impress the hell out of everybody! He even gave them swords, so that people who were not impressed could be dealt with accordingly.
And at the end of the 8th day, God looked down upon the earth and saw that it was good. But was God happy? No! God was still not happy! Because in the course of His labors, He had forgotten one thing: He did not have a Marine uniform for himself. He thought about it, and thought about it, and finally God satisfied Himself in knowing that, well... not everybody can be a Marine!
Posted by: winemkr | November 10, 2007 at 09:44 AM
Happy Birthday, Marines, and may there be many more.
Posted by: Mike ||
11/10/2007 17:10 Comments ||
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#15
Yet another ever so profound and touching post run afoul of Fred's bad word filter, darn it! To summarize: thanks for that, Sherry, and my gratitude to our Marines!
Spain's King Juan Carlos told Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez to "shut up" as the Ibero-American summit drew to a close in Santiago, Chile.
The outburst came after Mr Chavez called former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar a "fascist".
Mr Chavez then interrupted Spanish PM Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's calls for him to be more diplomatic, prompting the king's outburst.
Latin American, Portuguese, Spanish and Andorran leaders were meeting in Chile.
'Democratically elected'
Mr Chavez called Mr Aznar, a close ally of US President George W Bush, a fascist, adding "fascists are not human. A snake is more human."
Mr Zapatero said: "Former President Aznar was democratically elected by the Spanish people and was a legitimate representative of the Spanish people."
Mr Chavez repeatedly tried to interrupt, despite his microphone being turned off. The king leaned forward and said: "Why don't you shut up?"
According to reports, the king used a familiar term normally used only for close acquaintances - or children.
Later, Mr Chavez responded to the king's rebuke. According to the Associated Press news agency, he said: "I do not offend by telling the truth. The Venezuelan government reserves the right to respond to any aggression, anywhere, in any space and in any manner."
The theme of this year's 22-nation summit was "social cohesion".
Four police officers were shot and wounded during student protests on Friday in the Venezuelan city of Merida in an escalation of violent demonstrations against President Hugo Chavez's plan to scrap term limits. Antonio Rivero, head of Venezuela's Civil Protection agency, told Reuters by telephone that the officers were shot while trying to break up clashes between opposing student groups in the Andean city.
Recent demonstrations against Chavez's reform campaign have heightened fears of violence in the coming weeks as the OPEC nation prepares for a December 2 referendum on a raft of constitutional proposals sought by the leftist leader.
"Up to now, four have been reported to me ... The number could have increased, but I am still waiting for information," Rivero said without giving details of the condition of the wounded officers. Rivero said the clashes involved students "of either side," apparently referring to Chavez supporters and anti-Chavez demonstrators.
One official from the area, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a gunman on a motorcycle had opened fire on a line of police officers.
On Wednesday, hooded Chavez supporters shot at least two anti-Chavez students at a university in a clash that erupted after thousands marched through the capital calling for the vote to be postponed, witnesses and hospital officials said.
Excerpt from this article he wrote - go read the whole thing. THIS is what we're up against, not just a bunch of sexually repressed jihadis with an 8th century mindset.
While President Hugo Chavez has been molding Venezuela into his personal socialist vision, other transformations -- less visible but equally profound -- have taken hold in the country.
Venezuela has become a major hub for international crime syndicates. What attracts them is not the local market; what they really love are the excellent conditions Venezuela offers to anyone in charge of managing a global criminal network.
A nation at the crossroads of South America, the Caribbean, North America and Europe, Venezuela's location is ideal. Borders? Long, scantly populated and porous. Financial system? Large and with easy-to-evade governmental controls. Telecommunications, ports and airports? The best that oil money can buy. U.S. influence? Nil. Corrupt politicians, cops, judges and military officers? Absolutely: Transparency International ranked Venezuela a shameful 162 out of 179 counties on its corruption perception index. Chavez's demonstrated interest in confronting criminal networks during his eight years in power? Not much.
While this situation has so far been rather invisible to the rest of the world, it is patently clear to those in charge of fighting transnational crime. Anti-trafficking officials in Europe, the United States, Asia and other Latin American countries are paying unprecedented attention to Venezuela. These officials are not particularly interested in Venezuelan politics or in Chavez's policies. All they care about is that the tentacles of these global criminal networks are spreading from Venezuela into their countries with enormous power and at great speed.
Mexican naval officers fought a ferocious gun battle with suspected drug hitmen outside a shopping center in the northern port city of Tampico on Friday, witnesses and Mexican media said.
Officers fought around a dozen armed men after being shot at from two SUVs during a routine patrol of the city center on Mexico's Gulf coast on Friday, witnesses told Reuters. The suspects fled on foot and the army closed off part of the city to find them, Reforma newspaper said.
"I saw about 200 bullet casings on the street, a grenade (unexploded) and blood stains," local journalist Lorenzo Martinez told Reuters.
Mexican authorities declined to comment on the gun battle in Tampico, in the state of Tamaulipas. Mexican cities in Tamaulipas bordering Texas are dominated by the powerful Gulf drug cartel and its armed wing, the Zetas. Mexican President Felipe Calderon has sent thousands of troops to Mexico's border cities this year to try to stop the drug violence.
Last month, authorities seized more than 11 tons of cocaine in Tampico, one of Mexico's biggest ever drug busts.
Around 2,350 people have been killed in Mexico this year in drug violence, most of it between rival drug gangs.
#1
Inquiring minds might wonder why the Mexican Navy is patroling a shopping mall, but astute observers will realise that, given the Mexican Army's involvement in the drug trade, this is simply one more Go Navy, Beat Army story.
SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez challenged Latin American leaders at a summit on Friday to lower regional oil prices, telling big producers to sell oil cheaply to their neighbors.
Addressing leaders by name, Chavez, a stalwart opponent of the United States, proposed the creation of a region-wide oil alliance that would help sustain booming economic growth by sharing energy resources. Venezuela is Latin America's second-biggest oil producer after Mexico. "I propose to you that we unite, that we join together in mechanisms of cooperation with countries that don't have oil and who cannot afford to pay $100 per barrel," said Chavez, who has used Venezuela's oil wealth to spread his influence in the region. Oil prices reached record highs of more than $98 per barrel this week.
Leaders -- most of them leftist -- from Latin America, Portugal, Spain and Andorra are in Santiago for a three-day Ibero-American summit where energy has been high on the unofficial agenda.
Many Latin American economies have expanded rapidly in recent years and energy supplies have been stretched by booming consumer demand and factory output in countries such as Chile and Argentina.
Chavez and leftist allies in Bolivia and Ecuador have seized tightened state control over their energy industries and Bolivia, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, recently forced Argentina and Brazil to pay more for its natural gas.
#2
That's right, Raj. It's that time of year. Time for Joe Kennedy to don the jumpsuit and be filmed delivering oil "from our friends in Venezuela" to the last poor old white lady in Dorchester...
American military chiefs have been left dumbstruck by an undetected Chinese submarine popping up at the heart of a recent Pacific exercise and close to the vast U.S.S. Kitty Hawk - a 1,000ft supercarrier with 4,500 personnel on board. By the time it surfaced the 160ft Song Class diesel-electric attack submarine is understood to have sailed within viable range for launching torpedoes or missiles at the carrier.
According to senior Nato officials the incident caused consternation in the U.S. Navy. The Americans had no idea China's fast-growing submarine fleet had reached such a level of sophistication, or that it posed such a threat. One Nato figure said the effect was "as big a shock as the Russians launching Sputnik" - a reference to the Soviet Union's first orbiting satellite in 1957 which marked the start of the space age.
The incident, which took place in the ocean between southern Japan and Taiwan, is a major embarrassment for the Pentagon. The lone Chinese vessel slipped past at least a dozen other American warships which were supposed to protect the carrier from hostile aircraft or submarines. And the rest of the costly defensive screen, which usually includes at least two U.S. submarines, was also apparently unable to detect it.
According to the Nato source, the encounter has forced a serious re-think of American and Nato naval strategy as commanders reconsider the level of threat from potentially hostile Chinese submarines. It also led to tense diplomatic exchanges, with shaken American diplomats demanding to know why the submarine was "shadowing" the U.S. fleet while Beijing pleaded ignorance and dismissed the affair as coincidence.
Analysts believe Beijing was sending a message to America and the West demonstrating its rapidly-growing military capability to threaten foreign powers which try to interfere in its "backyard". The People's Liberation Army Navy's submarine fleet includes at least two nuclear-missile launching vessels. Its 13 Song Class submarines are extremely quiet and difficult to detect when running on electric motors.
Commodore Stephen Saunders, editor of Jane's Fighting Ships, and a former Royal Navy anti-submarine specialist, said the U.S. had paid relatively little attention to this form of warfare since the end of the Cold War. He said: "It was certainly a wake-up call for the Americans. It would tie in with what we see the Chinese trying to do, which appears to be to deter the Americans from interfering or operating in their backyard, particularly in relation to Taiwan."
In January China carried a successful missile test, shooting down a satellite in orbit for the first time.
#3
HAHAHAHA, those Americans sooo stupid! Or is there more to this (old) story? Maybe the Chinese boat was undetected. Or maybe not. And if they were detected, is it an advantage to keep that secret, even at the cost of looking stupid?
I'm sure everyone is always following everyone else all around the ocean. We are not (officially) at war with China and there is probably some obscure maritime law against unprovoked attacks on foreign ships. So what to do when someone gets a little close? Drop an annoying active sonobuoy to let them know the game is over? Or maybe a hand grenade to scare the crap out of them?
Or continue playing the game. Your guys get some real-world practice and you get to see how your opponent operates - and how well. And they are none the wiser.
#4
SteveS may be on to something there. A google search shows the Kitty Hawk Strike Force CVN63 commanding officer Capt. Ed McNamee was relieved in a scheduled(?) change of command only this May 29th...and is moving on up:
"McNamee next reports to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations office in Washington D.C. as head of the Air Warfare Division"
he also received his third Legion of Merit medal for his two years in command..
sounds like we may not have been so surprised....
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/10/2007 14:16 Comments ||
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#5
SteveS may be on to something there. A google search shows the Kitty Hawk Strike Force CVN63 commanding officer Capt. Ed McNamee was relieved in a scheduled(?) change of command only this May 29th...and is moving on up:
"McNamee next reports to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations office in Washington D.C. as head of the Air Warfare Division"
he also received his third Legion of Merit medal for his two years in command..
sounds like we may not have been so surprised....
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/10/2007 14:16 Comments ||
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#6
oops - reposted without the google search link cuz it sent me to Mufflerman, sorry mods
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/10/2007 14:18 Comments ||
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#7
Hopefully so, Frank G. Or he may have been promoted out of harm's way. To do otherwise might have looked like he had failed in his mission... best to keep the ChiComs guessing.
#8
I notice the Daily Mail seems averse to giving us a date on the incident.
Recent? It took me about two minutes to find out it was October 2006.
I wonder why that is?
#9
Steve has a plausible theory there. It's not likely that a commander would be advanced if he screwed up this badly. However if he paved the way to track the ChiCom subs then that would be a VERY big feather in their cap indeed.
#10
A submarine doesn't surface in the middle of someone else's exercise unless it has to. That sub was FORCED to the surface, probably by incessant "pinging" from sonar to MAKE it surface.
A sub breaking the surface within eyesight of our escort ships means the captain of the sub was humiliated somehow.
There are other ways for a sub to play the "I got within your defense picket" game such as taking a picture through the periscope and sending that to the US mission's military liason once the boat gets back to China.
#11
Just to play Devil's advocate: Obviously they promoted him to make the Chinese think that their sub had been detected even though it really wasn't . . . . :-)
#12
Crosspatch makes a point I was wondering about - why did they surface? Mechanical problems? The aforementioned hand grenade? Defection Red October style? Lead poisoning from cheap made-in-china manufactured goods? Inquiring minds...
#13
Don't suspect the best. I have been hearing for a while that the Kitty Hawk is close being regarded as the Jonah of the fleet. Its command staff are far more frequently relieved than is typical, and its nickname is "Shitty Hawk".
I also suspect that, to make matters worse, nobody wants to be the "last crew" of the Kitty Hawk before its scheduled retirement in 2008, for fear of that one last disaster that could take it to the bottom with all hands.
That level of superstition can be dangerous in and of itself.
#14
It got the nickname 'Shitty Kitty' by the fleet because it's a lousy carrier to operate with.
As far as command staff being relieved, it's no worse than the rest of the Navy.
Given who was in charge at the time this occurred, I'd go with letting the Chinese sub 'play'; the escorts under orders not to engage in ASW (possible, depending on what the exercise was).
It is one of the poorest countries in Europe, which still endures acute electricity shortages and almost daily blackouts, even in the capital.
Still, Albania is undaunted. In a proposal that has alarmed neighbouring Greece but elicited interest from Italy, the country is proposing to host nuclear plants that would supply electricity across the Adriatic by way of an underwater cable.
The news emerged at an Italo-Albanian business conference in Tirana, where the prime minister, Sali Berisha, said he aimed to turn Albania into a regional energy superpower - a glorified socket on the Adriatic capable of supplying cheap electricity to Balkan neighbours and Italy.
Brilliant -- give one of the poorest countries in the whole region, one with a history of fascism, communism and tyranny, one with a substantial seething population, access to nuclear technology. Just brilliant.
He said the government was consulting contractors such as Westinghouse. Zana Gonxholi, an economic adviser to the Albanian government, said a Franco-Swiss consortium had prepared a plan for a nuclear plant at Drac on the north coast.
An Albanian civil nuclear programme could not only help the country fill its own gaping power shortfalls, but get around popular resistance in Italy to nuclear generation. A referendum there in 1987 led to a five-year moratorium on nuclear power, and no government has since dared reopen the issue. But the idea has prompted alarm in neighbouring Greece.
The daily La Stampa yesterday reported that talks had been held with the Italian grid operator, Terna, on linking the Italian and Albanian electricity networks. Pier Ferdinando Casini, a leading candidate to take over from Silvio Berlusconi as leader of the Italian right, said the chance "must not be allowed to slip".
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/10/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Got to add Albania is 70% muslim (the only European country with islamic majority) and a member of Organization of Islamic Conferencde (OIC).
Posted by: Matt K. ||
11/10/2007 0:30 Comments ||
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#2
A Cappo only makes 15% more than a soldier in the Swedish Mafia.
/nur die nur die knee gnicky nur;
nur nur nur nur nur dee BANGITY BANGITY BANGITY
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
11/10/2007 9:02 Comments ||
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#3
Opppps, a fine intro, no?
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
11/10/2007 9:04 Comments ||
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#4
:-) nur die nur nur
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/10/2007 12:17 Comments ||
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"We didn't do it, and it will never happen again" - wasn't that the story this week? Beautiful.....heh heh
For the second time in as many days, Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign has had to deal with accusations of planting questions during public appearances, FOX News has learned.
In a telephone interview Saturday, Geoffrey Mitchell, 32, said he was approached by Clinton campaign worker Chris Hayler to ask a question about how she was standing up to President Bush on the question on funding the Iraq war and a troop withdrawal timeline.
The encounter happened before an event hosted by Iowa State Sen. Gene Frais on a farm outside Fort Madison, Iowa.
Clinton's Iowa campaign confirmed to Fox News that one of its staff discussed questions with Mitchell before her April 2 event, but denied attempting to plant a pro-Clinton question.
Mo Elliethee, spokesman for Clinton's campaign in Iowa, told Fox that Hayler and Mitchell "had a previous relationship" and that a discussion about Clinton arose out of a normal conversation between two people who knew each other well.
"They had a previous relationship and were talking before the event and the topic of the senator's position on Iraq came up and Geoffrey said he had some questions," Elliethee said. "Chris suggested Geoffrey ask a question."
Mitchell, however, said that he and Hayler did not know each other personally before the event.
"I had no previous relationship with him," said Mitchell. "I knew his name and by name only as some who worked for Sen. Evan Bayh. But we didn't know each other and I had never met him before this event."
Mitchell told Fox the Clinton campaign wanted to contrast Clinton to Sen. Barack Obama who had recently said the president would probably prevail in the Iraq funding battle with Congress.
Mithell said he refused to ask the question.
"I told Chris I had other issues I wanted to raise with Sen. Clinton," Mitchell said.
Asked what those were, Mitchell said, "I wanted to ask her why she voted for the Iraq war and why she didn't consider that a mistake."
Mitchell told FOX News, for that Hayler, the Clinton campaign worker, was unhappy and moved on to others.
"I know he tried to have others ask that question," Mitchell said.
Asked if the Clinton campaign denied Mitchell's unequivocal assertion that Hayler tried to plant a question about Clinton trying to stand up to Bush on Iraq war funding, Elliethee declined.
"I'm not going to comment on what he said," said Elleithee said, referring to Mitchell. "I'm going to discuss what our interpretation is. They had a previous relationship, the subject came up and there's nothing more to it tha that. It's not newsworthy. It's innocent. It's not yesterday."
That was a reference to Clinton's campaign admitting, first to FOX News, that it planted a question on global warming at a Newton, Iowa, event on Tuesday.
Click here to read a report on the Iowa incident.
Ultimately, Clinton took no questions from the crowd at the Fort Madison event that Mitchell attended. Elliethee said the campaign ran out of time to take questions.
Mitchell told Fox News he is an Obama supporter but cannot participate in the Iowa caucus.
Mitchell is a minister in Hamilton and said he was reluctant to come forward because of the scrutiny he and his congregation might receive.
"But I thought this was important to get out and I want people to know what happened."
When contacted by FOX News and read Clinton's interpretation of events, Mitchell said: "I stand by my story. Completely."
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/10/2007 19:18 ||
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A brutal dispatch from the John Mellencamp concert in Des Moines tonight:
Mellencamp, standing alone on stage with his guitar, then launched into Tough It Out and Be the Best You Can followed by Jesus Can You Give Me a Ride Back Home? and another song about youth and love. The crowd erupted as he started Small Town and sang the lyrics as though Wells Fargo Arena were one of those sing-along piano bars.
It's at this point Mellencamp gestures and John Edwards walks on stage. After a few cheers boos overtake the hall. "I've been in your small towns," Edwards said as Mellencamp stepped aside to give Edwards a place behind the microphone. "...You didn't come here to listen to me," Edwards continues as he winds down with a "thank you," waves and walks to the darkened edge of the stage.
The crowd is mostly booing at this point. "I came for a concert," one man behind me yelled. "Refund. Refund," another chanted a few rows back. One person in the crowd made this observation: "Are they booing Edwards specifically or booing because they don't like politics?" Mellencamp tells the crowd he's "had a lot of fun with that guy," and begins playing his guitar and singing Small Town again. The crowd slowly begins to sing along again. Edwards stood on the darkened edge of the stage until the song was over, then exited. Mellencamp didn't say anything at the song's end, and there was a swell of chatter among the audience members.
To be fair, this is the reason pols tend to avoid interrupting rock concerts and baseball games, and if you think this is bad, imagine Hillary's reception. Still.
#3
That's the danger of 'assuming' the nature of an unsalted crowd. That's why the pols have people to arrange and set up photo ops. That's what happens when you live and breath in those worlds and step out into the real one. The echo chamber disappears. Normal reaction is to 'get control' over the situation to stop embarrassing repeats instead of opening up the lines of communications and see what the attitude is really like out there, not what your pollster hacks and strap hangers tell you.
#4
Lawrence, KS 2004. For those who are not familiar with the area, people there buy new Kerry/Edwards bumper stickers every year and is a very politically savvy college town - home of the Bob Dole Center for Politcs, University of Kansas. On their train campaign tour a rather large crowd of supporters waited at the train station for them to stop and give a few words. The train went right on by without even slowing down. Realizing the mistake, Edwards took a train back to Lawrence the next day and nobody showed up - everyone was pissed, even some Bush supporters, by the obvious lack of respect. All I could do was laugh and point at my blue friends and say "I told ya so." KU has a large percentage of students from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois.
Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign admitted late Friday that a staffer spoke to potential questioners at a recent event, but denied that the New York Democrat had any knowledge about what she would be asked by the audience. The latest version of "Don't ask, don't tell" I guess. Now remind me, who started this policy?
Grinnell Colleges Scarlet and Black newspaper reported a students account of being pulled aside before a campaign stop in Newton, Iowa and asked to pose a specific question. They were canned, Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff claimed in an interview with the newspaper. One of the senior staffers told me what [to ask]. Maybe, maybe not.
Gallo-Chasanoff said she was told that the campaign wanted the question, about what Clinton would do for the environment, to be asked by a college student. She said Clinton was prompted to call on her as well as another student seen in conversation with staffers prior to the event. So far so good, everything is deniable.
The Clinton campaign did not dispute talking to the student, but dismissed suggestions the senator was following a script that would ensure she only received friendly questions. Key word here: Only.
On this occasion a member of our staff did discuss a possible question about Senator Clinton's energy plan at a forum, campaign spokesman Mo Elleithee said in a statement. However, Senator Clinton did not know which questioners she was calling on during the event. This is not standard policy and will not be repeated again. We didn't do it and it will never happen again.
Several of Clinton's rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination contacted news organizations, including CNN, to bring attention to the college newspaper's story. No need to call in Rove yet, they are eating their own just fine without any outside assistance.
#4
Osama Obama, that would assure only about a 20 percent donk vote. We could clean up the Supreme Court and fix SS and balance the budget, and inprove the military as needed. Oh, yeah, other stuff too, but no welfare, no food stamps, no art grants, no union contracts, no lawsuits, no teachers union, no illegals, no, no, just say no.
Moscow (PTI): Underscoring Russia's "special and unique" place in India's foreign relations, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has hoped that bilateral cooperation in the fields of defence and energy security will continue to grow in future.
"India and Russia have enjoyed close ties of friendship and partnership over the last sixty years. Russia occupies a special and unique place in India's foreign relations. Our time-tested relationship is based on deep mutual trust and understanding," Singh, who will leave for Moscow on Sunday on a two-day visit, said in an interview to government agency RIA Novosti.
Expressing optimism on the future of bilateral strategic partnership between the two nations, he said "Indo-Russian relations will grow to great heights. The evolution of our relations will be based on the solid foundation of the last sixty years. I see a continuing convergence and similarity of our world views on major international issues.
The prime minister dubbed Russia as India's "most important partner" in defence cooperation.
"Russia is the only country with which we have a formal mechanism of an Inter-Governmental Commission for military-technical cooperation, which meets annually under the chairmanship of the two defence ministers," Singh underscored.
"Defence cooperation is an integral element of our strategic partnership. Joint research, development and production of defence equipment will continue to play an important role in strengthening India's strategic partnership with Russia," Singh said noting that many defence contracts between the two nations are at various stages of implementation.
He cited last month's signing of inter-governmental agreement for cooperation in the production and development of fifth generation multi-functional fighter aircraft (FGFA).
"I am sure that bilateral collaboration in the field of military technical cooperation will continue to grow in the future," the PM said.
He proposed India, with its rapidly increasing energy demands, could become a major guarantor of energy demand for Russia, with its immense proven reserves of oil and gas.
"With India growing at over 8-9 per cent per annum, our energy requirements are increasing rapidly. President Putin has defined energy security as not just security of supply but also security of demand. India can be a major guarantor for energy demand," Singh said.
He noted that Indian and Russian oil and gas companies are engaged in discussions to expand their cooperation beyond the Sakhalin-1 project. At the same time, Russian oil and gas companies are active in India.
The Prime Minister named enhancement of power generation capacity as an extremely important objective for India. According to him, India needs energy from all sources, including renewable and nuclear energy.
"We have plans to produce 20,000 MW of nuclear power by 2020. International civil nuclear energy cooperation will enable us to augment our nuclear energy production," Singh stated.
He expressed gratitude for Russia's ongoing partnership in the construction of nuclear power units at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu.
Sources said the two countries could sign a fresh deal for the construction of four more reactors at Kudankulam to enhance its projected capacity from 2 MW to 6 MW on Monday.
Responding to a question about his vision of Indo-Russian strategic partnership after 15 years, Singh said: "I am very optimistic about the future of our strategic partnership with Russia."
Singh pointed that Indo-Russian "geo-political interests have always had much in common" and Moscow and New Delhi have intensive contacts at all levels.
He expressed gratitude to Russian President Vladimir Putin for strong personal commitment to Indo-Russian relations and for institutionalising the mechanism of annual summit- level exchanges during his first visit to India in 2000.
"We have a shared destiny, and a common neighbourhood where we seek to build an atmosphere of peace, stability and cooperation. India and Russia will continue to work together to shape an equitable international order which reflects contemporary realities," he said.
Singh is scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks with President Putin in the Kremlin on Monday.
"India and Russia present a unique example of two large states with a strong interest in a peaceful, secure and prosperous world order and high stakes in the orderly functioning of the international system," Singh pointed out.
He said that their shared world view, which envisages a strong role for the United Nations, could help foster closer political relations and cooperation in multilateral forums.
"I also see much more collaboration to exploit our mutual strengths and complementarities.
"The rapid growth of our economies will create new opportunities for mutual cooperation, particularly in the area of energy security. Apart from this, the traditional pillars of our strategic partnership can be expected to see a further deepening," he said.
Investments in states including Pakistan, Russia, Nigeria and Ecuador may be facing increased risk during 2008, according to a report, RiskMap-2008, issued this week by UK-based organisation Control Risks.
Control Risks is an independent, specialist risk consultancy with 18 offices in five continents. In its report, Control Risks rates 57 percent of emerging markets at medium political risk or above, indicating significant threats to foreign investment.
It has identified a trend in these countries towards economic nationalism the promotion of national interests in economic policy. The vast majority of countries worldwide are classified as emerging markets where, increasingly, national political agendas will impact the operational effectiveness of foreign investors, the report said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/10/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Obvious to us but how many biz executives will fall from this....
Pakistan is a moderate Islamic state and we want peace in the world, Governor Lt Gen (r) Khalid Maqbool said on Friday.
Then his lips fell off and his tongue turned to ash.
Speaking to a 37-member delegation of diplomats from 28 African and Asian countries at the Governors House, he said Pakistan had 60 years diplomatic experience and that Pakistani diplomats were enriching their experiences through interaction with ambassadors of other countries.
The governor urged closer cooperation among Asian and African countries and asked the diplomats to make efforts in this regard. The governor briefed the delegation on the initiatives Pakistan had taken to promote harmony at international level. He said the incumbent government had taken various steps of far reaching consequences including promoting cordial relations with the Indian government.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/10/2007 00:00 ||
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The most notorious player in global cybercrime has suddenly vanished from the web, sparking fears that the Russian-based group is set to re-emerge as an even greater threat from a new base in China.
Security experts believe that the Russian Business Network (RBN), a shadowy organisation based in St Petersburg and run by a figure known only as Flyman, has played a role in most of the online crime committed in the UK in recent years. Dubbed the mother of cybercrime, RBN has been linked by security firms to child pornography, corporate blackmail, spam attacks and online identity theft.
It is feared that the group is building a massive new online platform in China, allowing gangs to launch a fresh wave of online crime. The UK has been a focus for this group and its criminal clients, and things are set to get worse, David Perry, an analyst for Trend Micro, the security group, said.
Any move to China would put the Chinese authorities under enormous pressure to take action against RBN.
Security experts say that RBN provides bulletproof websites to criminals. Often resembling legitimate websites, these can be used to plant malicious software in the computers of members of the public that visit them. Infected computers can be used to steal their owners passwords, secretly send electronic junk mail or launch cyber attacks on government networks.
One alleged phishing gang, known as the Rock Group, which used the companys hosting service, is estimated to have made $150 million (£71.5 million) last year by tricking people into providing bank account details. The RBN is also said to have developed dozens of fake anti-spyware and anti-virus programmes to dupe people into giving it access to their computers in the mistaken belief that they were protecting themselves from online threats. The RBNs activities are so notorious that VeriSign, one of the worlds biggest internet security companies, has dubbed it the baddest of the bad. Even the Bank of India was targeted, in August, when rogue software designed to steal passwords from customers computers was discovered. The banks website was shut down while experts debugged it.
Cybercrime has been estimated by the US Treasury to be more valuable than the illegal drugs trade worth more than $100 billion a year.
The RBN has also been linked to the Russian authorities and is thought by some analysts to have played a role in the recent assault on Estonian cyberspace. A report from Symantec, the online security firm, alleges that the RBN has links with the criminal underground and government in Russia.
However, in recent days huge numbers of RBN-hosted sites have disappeared from the web, leading analysts to speculate that the group is revamping its business model. RBN is reorganising, said Raimund Genes, the chief technology officer of Trend Micro, a security group that has traced attacks by the RBN on corporate and government sites across Europe and US back to servers based in Panama.
One reason is thought to be the recent threats by Russian authorities to impose tougher penalties on internet criminals. Another was that large legitimate internet service providers which the RBN relies on to provide it with internet access have dropped it as a customer as its activities became more and more notorious. Some analysts suggested that it is aiming to become a more disparate group, with servers in Panama, Turkey, Malaysia, Singapore, China, the US and Canada.
Analysts have reported unusual bulk registries of thousands of internet web addresses in China, which they say fit the past practices of the RBN. China would provide the RBN with an even broader base to support criminal activities.
RTWT - these guys are a serious threat to our banking, power and other systems, especially if they have established an alliance with Chinese intelligence & military leaders.
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.
Mexican naval officers fought a ferocious gun battle with suspected drug hitmen outside a shopping center in the northern port city of Tampico on Friday, witnesses and Mexican media said.
SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez challenged Latin American leaders at a summit on Friday to lower regional oil prices, telling big producers to sell oil cheaply to their neighbors.
It's at this point Mellencamp gestures and John Edwards walks on stage. After a few cheers boos overtake the hall. "I've been in your small towns," Edwards said as Mellencamp stepped aside to give Edwards a place behind the microphone. "...You didn't come here to listen to me," Edwards continues as he winds down with a "thank you," waves and walks to the darkened edge of the stage.
Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign admitted late Friday that a staffer spoke to potential questioners at a recent event, but denied that the New York Democrat had any knowledge about what she would be asked by the audience.
Investments in states including Pakistan, Russia, Nigeria and Ecuador may be facing increased risk during 2008, according to a report, RiskMap-2008, issued this week by UK-based organisation Control Risks.
Pakistan is a moderate Islamic state and we want peace in the world, Governor Lt Gen (r) Khalid Maqbool said on Friday.
