Filed as non-WoT because we don't have any details. As information becomesd available we may modify this post or put up another one.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Two U.S. Navy fighter jets plunged into the Persian Gulf Monday, after what initial reports suggest was a mid-air collision, a defense official said.
All three pilots ejected safely from the planes and were headed back to the USS Harry Truman, the aircraft carrier they were operating from, according to the official. No other details or the crash were released. One of the F-18 jets that crashed held two pilots, the other held just one.
#4
Both are about equally disconnected from reality and don't know it, both are living in a hell of their own making, and neither can raise their kids.
#5
This young woman has problems now. She doesn't need more complications from this phoney balony. This big hot air machine needs an oversized plug in his pie hole. Sadly, both these people are nothing but attention whores.
#6
This coming from the same POS that had Al Sharpton and Hajee Ali on to discuse Imus- Dog Bounty Hunter racisim. I completely lost repect for this self hating white man at that point.
#7
What Britney needs is not Dr. Phil, she needs R. Lee Ermey. It'll make her or bury her. If the latter, it'll at least free up the "news" to actually do something other than train wreaks.
#10
The pop star patient left Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A. after an hourlong chat with Phil McGraw, who sources said was summoned to the hospital by Spears' desperate relatives.
"Parentin be Hard" by: Mama Spearz
Chapta 59: We all meat Doctir Fill
#11
first thing Bimbette has said or done that makes any sense - perhaps the smarmy bahstid actually did help her to a breakthru. Of course I don't think she actually threw him out, he probably just lost traction with the floor because of his greasy demeanor.
LOS ANGELES - Television's "Dr. Phil" McGraw has pulled the plug on plans for a one-hour show that was to examine Britney Spears' latest public meltdown.
In a statement posted Monday on his Web site, McGraw said the 26-year-old pop star's situation was "too intense" for him to go forward with the show. He didn't say whether he planned to reschedule.
Spears was hospitalized Thursday night after a child custody dispute with ex-husband Kevin Federline resulted in an hours-long standoff with police. On Friday, a court commissioner gave sole physical and legal custody of 1-year-old Jayden James and 2-year-old Sean Preston to Federline.
McGraw said he met with Spears for an hour Saturday before she left the hospital.
No ratings for you!
Coming up next: Oprah drops by the psyche ward just to say "hi".
Both the president of Kenya and the leader of the country's main opposition party are willing to meet with the African Union to find a solution to their political stalemate -- one that stemmed from a disputed election and led to the deaths of hundreds in a week-long ethnic cleansing spree, a senior U.S. official told CNN.
Ghanaian President John Kufuor, who chairs the African Union, is expected to arrive in Kenya in the next several days to mediate between the two leaders, the official said. The official said the United States sees a power sharing arrangement in the country as "an option" but said Kenyans would have to decide what shape such an an arrangement takes. Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki had said Saturday he was ready to consider a government of national unity. Opposition leader Raila Odinga indicated he was willing to negotiate. He has not, however, backed down from his demands that Kibaki -- who was hastily sworn-in in the aftermath of the vote -- resign as president and hold fresh elections.
The official appeared to pour cold water on the calls for new elections, telling CNN the three-to-six months timeline that Odinga is proposing is "impractical."
The official did not directly respond to whether the United States applied strong pressure on both sides, saying only that "both sides value our relationship and see the U.S. as a neutral player." America is also pushing to get the ban on live broadcasts lifted, the official said. The country plunged into a news blackout after the government suspended all broadcasts as violence engulfed the capital following the re-election of incumbent president Kibaki in the controversial election on December 27.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/07/2008 00:00 ||
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Zimbabwe's electoral agency said it has concluded the delimitation of constituency boundaries for the March elections and ruled out postponment of the polls, state media reports said Sunday. George Chiweshe, chairman of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, said the commission said the agency would soon present a preliminary report on the exercise to President Robert Mugabe, the Sunday Mail reported. "What is left, however, is to polish up the preliminary report, which we will soon present to the president," Chiweshe was quoted as saying.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/07/2008 00:00 ||
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The Zimbabwean government has awarded a 600 percent salary increase to judges and prosecutors who have been on strike since October. The state-run Sunday Mail newspaper reports judges and prosecutors will earn a monthly salary that at the official exchange rate would be between $10 and $15,000. Because of the Zimbabwe's hyperinflation, currently more than 7,000 percent, the pay increase will be far less than that amount in practical terms.
The judicial officers began their work stoppage in October to protest low pay. The strike has greatly affected the judicial system. Other civil servants, including teachers also joined the strike.
The Sunday Mail quotes a justice ministry official as saying the government has decided to pay the judicial officers and civil servants half of their salaries mid-month and the rest by the end of the month. Zimbabwe has struggled with severe inflation for months as the country suffers shortages of food, fuel and other basic goods.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/07/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
A jusge's monthly pay and a dime will get you a coffee.
Good for the UK, anyway! :-)
[Ducking before the $hit hits the fan!]
Living standards in Britain are set to rise above those in America for the first time since the 19th century, according to a report by the respected Oxford Economics consultancy.
The calculations suggest that, measured by gross domestic product per capita, Britain can now hold its head up high in the economic stakes after more than a century of playing second fiddle to the Americans.
It says that GDP per head in Britain will be £23,500 this year, compared with £23,250 in America, reflecting not only the strength of the pound against the dollar but also the UK economys record run of growth and rising incomes going back to the early 1990s.
In those days, according to Oxford Economics, Britains GDP per capita was 34% below that in America, 33% less than in Germany and 26% lower than in France. Now, not only have average incomes crept above those in America but they are more than 8% above France (£21,700) and Germany (£21,665).
The past 15 years have seen a dramatic change in the UKs economic performance and its position in the world economy, said Adrian Cooper, managing director of Oxford Economics. No longer are we the sick man of Europe. Indeed, our calculations suggest that UK living standards are now a match for those of the US.
Although many people will be surprised by the figures, Americans have long complained that average incomes have been stagnant in their country. One often-quoted statistical comparison suggests that in real terms the median male full-time salary in America is no higher now than it was in the 1970s.
Oxford Economics says that while the comparisons are affected by sterlings high value against the dollar, they also reflect longer-term factors. The UK has been catching up steadily with living standards in the US since 2001 � so, it is a well established trend rather than simply the result of currency fluctuations, its report says.
It concedes, however, that a significant fall in the pound against other currencies would push Britain back down the ladder. It has assumed an exchange rate of just over $2 for the purpose of the calculation but in recent days the pound has slipped below that level.
The Oxford analysts also point out that Americans benefit from lower prices than those in Britain. With an adjustment made for this purchasing power parity, the average American has more spending power than his UK counterpart and pays lower taxes. (In the run-up to Christmas many Britons travelled to New York and other American cities to take advantage of the strength of sterling against the dollar and those lower prices.)
However, the British typically have significantly longer holidays than Americans as well as access to free healthcare.
The figures may be of small comfort to Britons worried about house prices and facing a severe squeeze on their incomes this year as a result of record petrol prices and rising energy bills.
Citigroup, which was the most accurate forecaster of Britains economy last year, predicts the slowest rise in consumer spending this year since 1992.
After the credit-fuelled boom in domestic demand and asset prices, the UK economy now faces a hangover, with slowing credit growth, falling property prices and tightening lending standards, said Michael Saunders, its UK economist.
Last week oil prices hit $100 a barrel, presaging a rise in petrol and diesel prices on the fore-courts. Npower, Britains fourth biggest energy supplier, announced that energy prices would go up sharply, raising the prospect of the average household bill rising above £1,000 for the first time.
America overtook Britain economically in the final years of the 19th century, during the so-called second industrial revolution, which brought mass manufacture and sharply rising prosperity to the United States.
#1
I smell rats here. I think they are measuring gross income, based on GDP. However, if you look at net income, after taxes, I suspect there is hanky panky going on.
For example, counting *theoretical* government benefits as "income". That is, *theoretically*, all Englishmen have dental care, so that counts in their income.
#2
The calculations suggest that, measured by gross domestic product per capita,
That's very deceptive. What's the tax burden and disposable income after that 'per capita'?
The following are facts about persons defined as "poor" by the Census Bureau, taken from various government reports:
â Forty-six percent of all poor households own their own homes. The average home owned by persons classified as poor by the Census Bureau is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and porch or patio.
â Seventy-six percent of poor households have air conditioning. By contrast, 30 years ago, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.
â Only 6 percent of poor households are overcrowded. More than two-thirds have more than two rooms per person.
â The average poor American has more living space than the average individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens and other European cities. (These comparisons are to the average citizens in foreign countries, not to those classified as poor.)
â Nearly three-quarters of poor households own a car; 30 percent own two or more cars.
â Ninety-seven percent of poor households have a color television. Over half own two or more color televisions.
â Seventy-eight percent have a VCR or DVD player; 62 percent have cable or satellite TV reception.
â Seventy-three percent own a microwave oven, more than half have a stereo, and a third have an automatic dishwasher.
Overall, the typical American defined as poor by the government has a car, air conditioning, a refrigerator, a stove, a clothes washer and dryer, and a microwave. He has two color televisions, cable or satellite TV reception, a VCR or DVD player, and a stereo. He is able to obtain medical care. His home is in good repair and is not overcrowded. By his own report, his family isn't hungry, and he had sufficient funds in the past year to meet his family's essential needs. While this individual's life is not opulent, it is equally far from the popular images of dire poverty conveyed by the press, activists and politicians.
Even better news is that remaining poverty can readily be reduced, especially among children. Child poverty in the U.S. is caused largely by low levels of parental work and by the absence of fathers from the home. While work and two-parent families are the surest ladders out of poverty, the welfare system continues to reward idleness while failing to provide support to keep families in tact. The Specter of Poverty in America, Tuesday, September 21, 2004, By Robert Rector
#3
I suspect they account for the dollar weakening. But if you account in house sizing, cars, electronic equipments and Britsih, err, food, yuck, I fear Britain is still far behind.
#4
Oh, really. Maybe the Brits finances look better right now due to falling dollar vs. Euro, but don't tell me a society where Muzz have open call for prayers bleating five times daily in seven major cities and are now demanding same in Oxford, of all places, is a healthy and prosperous society. They are in extreme danger of losing their entire nation from internal rot. I just heard that Brits are sucking up property in Manhattan in record proportion due to exchange advantage and it is responsible for escalating values there while realty nationwide is falling. Are the wealthy already setting up safe havens so that they can bail out on their less well off compatriots after they have allowed this rot to occur ?
#8
Did they account for the 12-20m "undocumented" aliens in the US, and if so, how? Did they account for our subsidy for their defen(c)(s)e, and if so, how? I suspect our defense budget allocated to UK purposes likely approaches or exceeds the cost of their health care system - do they get credit for that, or do we?
Finally, given that whole taxation without representation thing, should the US taxpayer (i.e. ME) have a vote in British elections?
#9
I think there's a good chance the British salaries have (barely) outstripped US ones, but British standards of living definitely have not. Consider, for instance, that Brits can pay for the roundtrip air ticket to NYC by buying day-to-day sundries at K Mart - such is the difference between prices in the UK and NYC (one of the more expensive places to buy such things). There's also the fact that you pay twice as much in the UK for meals that have portions that are half as large as the NYC portions. I suspect it's basically a thicket of EU protectionism, domestic regulation and tariffs that causes salaries and living costs to be so high. Since Brits aren't actually more productive than Americans, this will definitely put a crimp on their attractiveness as an investment destination for new plants and offices.
Leftist rebels had promised to hand over a 3-year-old along with the child's mother and a third hostage, raising hopes that a rescue effort spearheaded by Venezuela's president would succeed.
But the result of a DNA test on Friday was downright soap opera material: It revealed that the boy, Emmanuel, had spent the last two years not in a jungle rebel camp, but in a Bogotá foster home.
The result was a setback for those involved in the now-tabled rescue operation, as well as a major embarrassment for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.
The story of Emmanuel has transfixed Colombia since a Colombian journalist first reported in 2006 that the child had been born to one of the rebels' most prominent hostages, the former vice presidential candidate Clara Rojas, as the product of a relationship with one of her captors, reportedly a rank-and-file guerrilla named Rigo.
The story drew in President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, who has been negotiating with the FARC to release the child, his mother and another hostage. But what Chávez called "Operation Emmanuel" fell through last week when the rebels said operations by the U.S.-backed Colombian military were preventing them from handing over the hostages.
On Friday, the chief federal prosecutor, Mario Iguarán, said DNA tests performed on Rojas's family members and the child in the Bogotá foster home proved that the boy known as Juan David Gómez is actually Rojas's son.
The boy had been handed over at the age of 11 months by José Gómez, a peasant farmer who said he was the child's great-uncle, to child welfare workers in San José de Guaviare, a town in a FARC-dominated zone of eastern Colombia. The baby had a broken arm and was sick from malnutrition and leishmaniasis, an infection common in the jungle.
The baby was rushed to Bogotá for an operation to heal his arm, then sent to a foster home in the capital, one of six million orphaned minors placed under the state's care. He lived there for two years in obscurity.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/07/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
This will have absolutely no effect on the reputation of the FARC as saviors of Columbia.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is putting the brakes on his drive for revolutionary change in Venezuela, shifting away from radical socialist reforms in favor of a pragmatic focus on everyday problems from soaring crime to trash-strewn streets.
One month after voters rejected reforms that would have greatly expanded his power and enshrined socialist principles in the constitution, Chavez is toning down his revolutionary rhetoric to focus on lingering day-to-day problems affecting Venezuelans of all political leanings. "I'm forced to reduce the speed of the march," Chavez said Sunday, telling new members of his Cabinet to "accept reality" and "put their feet on the ground. This will be the year of the three R's: Revision, rectification and relaunching."
A close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, Chavez spent much of 2007 promoting his idyllic vision of a new Venezuela transformed through "21st-century socialism," and he began by nationalizing the country's electricity, telecommunications, natural gas and oil industries.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/07/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Sounds like he was sent a picture of himself thru a telephoto gunsite, that'll make a sudden change in most wanna-be dictators.(Who want to live)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/07/2008 0:39 Comments ||
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Doubtful.
More likely he's finally listening to his advisors, both domestic and from outside Venezuela.
Hundreds of international election observers descended on Georgia from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Council of Europe and the European Parliament. The OSCE coordinator, U.S. Congressman Alcee Hastings says he has never seen so many monitors in the hundreds of elections he has observed.
On the other hand, if they say the elections were fair, and Alcee Hastings is one of the people saying that, can we believe them?
Speaking on behalf of the observer mission, Congressman Hastings said the Georgian presidential vote was, in essence, consistent with most OSCE and Council of Europe standards for democratic elections. "Democracy took a triumphant step because of the demonstrative competitiveness of this campaign," said Alcee Hastings. "I perceive this election as a viable expression of free choice of the Georgian people, but the future holds immense challenges."
Congressman Hastings and other monitors noted allegations of intimidation against public sector employees, diversion of state resources and media coverage in favor of the incumbent, vote buying, and other violations.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/07/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Alcee Hastings? ALCEE HASTINGS? Who the hell let that impeached embarrassment out of the country on a pollwatching commission?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
01/07/2008 7:49 Comments ||
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#2
If his father was a Muslim, he is a Muslim. A muslim cannot become anything else, or else he is an apostate. Apostates must die, under Sharia.
Could lead to some interesting confrontations if Obama becomes president, especially when he visits Muslim countries, like Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, or the United Kingdom.
#7
"If his father was a Muslim, he is a Muslim. A muslim cannot become anything else, or else he is an apostate. Apostates must die, under Sharia."
IIUC, the story is that his father was an apostate. So its his father that must die, but I thought he was already dead, or something. Whatever.
Barack himself is a member of United Church of Christ church in Chicago. Hitchens is raising something about the afrocentric rhetoric that particular congregation uses - I expect the GOP will raise that, but dont expect the Dems to do so.
OTOH if Barack himself WAS a practicing muslim, the issue would be his honesty thus far.
#8
"If his father was a Muslim, he is a Muslim. A muslim cannot become anything else, or else he is an apostate. Apostates must die, under Sharia."
IIUC, the story is that his father was an apostate. So its his father that must die, but I thought he was already dead, or something. Whatever.
Barack himself is a member of United Church of Christ church in Chicago. Hitchens is raising something about the afrocentric rhetoric that particular congregation uses - I expect the GOP will raise that, but dont expect the Dems to do so.
OTOH if Barack himself WAS a practicing muslim, the issue would be his honesty thus far.
#9
"If his father was a Muslim, he is a Muslim. A muslim cannot become anything else, or else he is an apostate. Apostates must die, under Sharia."
IIUC, the story is that his father was an apostate. So its his father that must die, but I thought he was already dead, or something. Whatever.
Barack himself is a member of United Church of Christ church in Chicago. Hitchens is raising something about the afrocentric rhetoric that particular congregation uses - I expect the GOP will raise that, but dont expect the Dems to do so.
OTOH if Barack himself WAS a practicing muslim at some point in the past, and hasnt told us, the issue would be his honesty thus far.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/07/2008 15:17 Comments ||
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#11
First to third grade, when taken by his stepfather? By Muslim law that makes him a Muslim, yes, but not by American practice. If he's been baptised since -- a more apposite question -- then by Christian law he is Christian, and by American practice as well... and an apostate, condemned to death by Muslim law. The other question is whether the honourable Senator Obama has sought out a mosque either at university or as an adult, since mosques or at least prayer groups have been there readily available to him. If not, I'd label him as a Christian and a by-formality-only Muslim apostate, not responsible as a child for actions required of him by his guardians.
There are plenty of other reasons to be uncomfortable with the idea of Mr. Obama as president of the United States. This one is trivial, excepting only the belief of Muslims that he is either an apostate or a Fifth Columnist.
Facing a double-digit defeat in New Hampshire, a sudden collapse in national polls and an expected fund-raising drought, Senator Hillary Clinton is preparing for a tough decision: Does she get out of the race? And when?!
"She can't take multiple double-digit losses in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada," laments one top campaign insider to the DRUDGE REPORT. "If she gets too badly embarrassed, it will really harm her. She doesn't want the Clinton brand to be damaged with back-to-back-to-back defeats." . . .
Key players in Clinton's inner circle are said to be split. James Carville is urging her to fight it out through at least February and Super Tuesday, where she has a shot at thwarting Barack Obama in a big state. But others close to the former first lady now see no possible road to victory, sources claim. . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
01/07/2008 10:31 ||
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#1
"If she gets too badly embarrassed, it will really harm her. She doesn't want the Clinton brand to be damaged with back-to-back-to-back defeats." . . .
- How bad is the Clinton brand hurt by getting out of the race now after having sucked up millions and millions from the donor base?
#2
Maybe she is facing her own YEEEEAAAAARRRRGGGG!!! moment. Howard Dean to a white courtesy telephone....
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/07/2008 11:10 Comments ||
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#3
How can someone who has no shame be embarrased? If she does pull out look for her and Bill to try to be Kingmakers at the Convention. Personally, I don't think she will withdraw just yet. She wants it too badly.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/07/2008 11:30 Comments ||
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#4
I doubt she will bail. However, if she loses the primary I can see her trying her hardest to move into a Veep slot.
#5
I don't think she will withdraw just yet. She wants it too badly.
You are probably right. But I can't help wondering if this whole Hillary ride has been nothing more than a "bimbo indulgence". Not that Hillary is much of a bimbo, but somehow in the weird, sick world of Clintons that's kinda what she is.
This likely came from one of the competing campaigns, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if it came from Team Edwards. He has little to keep him going than wild hope of a Deus ex machina intervention that knocks everyone else out of the race. A flashing siren on Drudge won't be enough.
Posted by: Mike ||
01/07/2008 11:58 Comments ||
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#7
It probably did come from another campaign, but this certainly has a ring of truth to it. Clinton can't take questions and she has run this entire race on entitlement. Like I said above, bimbo indulgence. It wouldn't suprise me at all if she whimped out and huffed off the stage.
That is certainly a possiblity. From what I've been reading and hearing on the radio, the minions are out in full force today putting forth that proposition. You knew it was coming when Edwards assited Obama against Hillary in a "we" tag-team attack. Then I knew it was coming when I saw Edwards campaign manager on TV (I think Fox) not giving the advantage of that attack to Edwards, but actually pumping Obama first and then Edwards as if they were just noble gentlemen working together to provide change to the deserving American public. Yeah right. Only one reason a campaign manger does that! They are going for the VP slot.
#11
As for what do I think about it (since you asked) Go for it!!! Two inexperienced air-heads are better than one.
Obama has a serious problem in that he can't have anyone with more experience running as his VP. Edwards is clearly the most popular empty suit to make Obama look presidential.
It'll be interesting seeing them reconcile to their boy being #2 banana to the the guy they criticie as the "closet Moslem inauthentic half-negro drug dealer" who uses "right wing rhetoric."
Posted by: Mike ||
01/07/2008 12:54 Comments ||
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#13
Edwards only makes sense on the Dem ticket to bring in huge mountains of cash from the trial lawyers. That was his role on the Kerry ticket, and it would be his role on a 2008 ticket as well.
I have said for *years* that Hillary would never, ever be the nominee. There are folks who actually like Bill, and he never broke 50% of the popular vote. No one likes Hillary, though they have their reasons to support her. What support she has is a mile wide and an inch thick. But the deal killer for her candidacy has always been her ability to get Republicans to the polls. No one on the Dem side can match that, save perhaps Ted Kennedy, and the Dems can't win when Republicans unite and vote.
#14
Drudge has a link to an ABC video of Hildebeast getting "teary" when asked by someone in N.H. "how she does it". I got about halfway through before I just couldn't take it anymore and had to click on the stop button. Muskie in a pantsuit just about sums it up.
#15
Dennis Miller just said Hillary will play the bi-sexual card soon. lol!
Hillary crying? Well, we know that is a staged event. I realize now it was just wishful thinking when I said it was a possibility that she might not stay in.
#16
Once asked why she stood by Bill, she replied "there are some things worse than infidelity". I wonder if she'll tar and feather him in good ole' Arkansas fashion now?
#18
I think she is in real trouble. As she shows weakness the press is going to go into frenzy mode on her. There is a love-hate relationship between the Clintons and the press. It will soon morph into all hate, all the time. I think that many of them are going to be secretly thrilled at ripping her apart. Couldn't happen to a nicer gal.
#19
From Charles austin:
"Is Hillary feeling bad for herself because the goal she has spent the last twenty years working towards is suddenly and unexpectedly slippping away, or for us because we are going to be deprived of her leadership and subjected to that of some lesser mortal? The former is quite understandable, although I worry about giving power to anybody who wants it so badly. The latter smacks of hubris or perhaps a Frederick the Great syndrome. Either way, it is one thing to be sympathetic to her undoubtedly very real suffering, but entirely another to grant her whatever she wishes just to alleviate it.
As has been noted so often before, politics aint beanbag, but Ill admit that the thought of John Edwards winning would make me cry too. Anyway, whatever happened to the idea that one had to run for and lose a presidential contest at least once to be really qualified for the post?"
And from Alex Massie comparing Hillary to Honoria Glossip:
"Hillary too often gives the impression of sharing Honorias horrifying determination to mould a fellow. To wit, one can easily imagine Hillary addressing a chap, thus:
I think she said I shall be able to make something of you, Bertie. It is true yours has been a wasted life up to the present, but you are still young, and there is a lot of good in you...It simply wants bringing out.
The trouble there is there are a lot of us who don't want to be molded.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/07/2008 19:36 Comments ||
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#20
Drudge has a link to an ABC video of Hildebeast getting "teary" when asked by someone in N.H. "how she does it". I got about halfway through before I just couldn't take it anymore and had to click on the stop button. Muskie in a pantsuit just about sums it up.
I heard the same thing on NPR and immediately thought: Planted question, staged 'event', complete with voice over commentary by the stunned NPR reporter with words to the effect: "This is exactly the kind of thing that would show that Hillary is human and more likeable to the general public." That and a tear-jerking speech by HRC saying that 'some people think this a game; this is the future of the united states we're talking about (sniff).' (again or words to that effect.)
#21
I really, really love that quote, Deacon Blues. And much as I couldn't possibly vote for the honourable Senator Clinton because the trailing daughters are so appalled by her, one can't help feeling the teensiest bit sympathetic to a living, breathing Wodehouse character. Especially poor Miss Glossop, who never would understand why none of the appropriate candidates married her.
en. Barack Obama has opened up a 13 percentage point lead over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the battle for votes in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll conducted in the state from Friday through this afternoon. The results were just released.
On the Republican side, Sen. John McCain is 4 percentage points ahead of Mitt Romney.
The surveys of 776 New Hampshire residents who are "likely" to vote in the Republican primary and 778 New Hampshire residents who are "likely" to vote in the Democratic primary were all completed after the news from Thursday's Iowa caucuses had been reported.
Democrats.
Obama: 41%; up from 32% in the last USA TODAY/Gallup poll in mid-December.
Clinton: 28%; down from 32%.
John Edwards: 19%; up from 18%.
Gov. Bill Richardson: 6%; down from 8%.
No one else above 3%.
Republicans.
McCain: 34%; up from 27% in mid-December.
Romney: 30%; down from 34%.
Mike Huckabee: 13%; up from 9%.
Rep. Ron Paul: 8%; down from 9%.
Rudy Giuliani: 8%; down from 11%.
No one else above 3%.
Each figure has a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/07/2008 00:00 ||
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Posted by: ed ||
01/07/2008 14:21 Comments ||
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"Ding Dong, the Wicked Witch is Dead" ??
It makes me wonder, though, if Obama just may prove to be a stronger general election candidate due to his lack of baggage (the positive thing about his total lack of experience).
An emboldened John McCain declared ``I will win,'' and Republican rival Mitt Romney scrambled to prevent a second big race to slip away in the frenzied final hours before the New Hampshire primary.
Said Romney on Sunday: ``I'm planning on winning in New Hampshire.'' But he added, ``It may not happen,'' reflecting new polls.
Mike Huckabee, who took first place in the Iowa caucuses but trails in the nation's first primary, downplayed his own prospects but said: ``We're going to do better than expected.''
Wide open and intense, the race for the Republican nomination has gotten ever tighter. A pair of fresh polls showed McCain, the Arizona senator, slightly ahead of Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, two days before New Hampshire votes. New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, staking his hopes on later states, is trying to hold off Huckabee for third.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/07/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Why is this feeling like the old debate about women and nice guys?
You know the one where the gals' defense mechanisms go off line cause the bad boy/predator knows what to say and do to get what he wants, but is edgy, exciting, dangerous. Meanwhile, the nice guy who doesn't play those mind games and is mister reliable and dependable gets the 'friend' zone treatment. And we know how that plays out with the victim whining after they're played and exploited when they choose Mr. Exciting[tm].
Barack Obama's campaign fought back against rival Hillary Rodham Clinton Sunday in an under-the-radar dispute over who would best protect abortion rights. Obama's campaign made automated phone calls to New Hampshire voters accusing Clinton of ``last-minute smears.''
The recorded message came in response to a Clinton mailing that said Obama failed to stand up for the right to choose abortion. The mailing said that while serving in the state Senate in Illinois, Obama voted ``present'' seven times on abortion legislation instead of taking a yes or no position.
In the Obama campaign call, Wendy Frosh, chair of the board of Planned Parenthood in Northern New England, said Obama ``has a 100 percent pro-choice record and has always been a champion for women's rights.''
``Hillary Clinton's last-minute smears won't protect the right to choose, but as president Barack Obama will,'' she says in the message.
Obama advisers acknowledged they were behind the calls, but did not immediately respond to questions about how many were made or to whom.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/07/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Rap is sooooo 2002
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/07/2008 8:16 Comments ||
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#2
So they're arguing over who best will defend the "right" to kill the unborn? Niiiice.
Nearly one in three people in the Arab world is illiterate, including nearly half of all women in the region, the Tunis-based Arab League Educational Cultural and Scientific Organisation said Monday. Three-quarters of the 100 million people unable to read or write in the 21 Arab countries are aged between 15 and 45 years old, the Arab League group, known by its acronym ALECSO, said in a statement.
It's those great madrassa schools.
Equally alarming, some 46.5 percent of women in the region are illiterate, the organisation reported, urging governments to put the fight against illiteracy at the top of their agendas.
While describing access to primary school education as "indispensable," it also urged Arab countries to focus on adult education to avoid "serious incidents in the evolution of (Arab) societies".
Oh, the possibilities ...
ALECSO has previously sounded the alarm on illiteracy in the region, noting it had failed to meet a 1990 United Nations goal to halve adult illiteracy over the subsequent decade. In July, Arab states adopted an action plan spearheaded by the group to promote education, notably through collaboration with key international organisations.
While illiteracy affects the entire Arab world, the more highly populated countries -- such as Egypt, Sudan, Algeria and Morocco -- are particularly vulnerable.
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.
Both the president of Kenya and the leader of the country's main opposition party are willing to meet with the African Union to find a solution to their political stalemate -- one that stemmed from a disputed election and led to the deaths of hundreds in a week-long ethnic cleansing spree, a senior U.S. official told CNN.
The Zimbabwean government has awarded a 600 percent salary increase to judges and prosecutors who have been on strike since October. The state-run Sunday Mail newspaper reports judges and prosecutors will earn a monthly salary that at the official exchange rate would be between $10 and $15,000. Because of the Zimbabwe's hyperinflation, currently more than 7,000 percent, the pay increase will be far less than that amount in practical terms.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is putting the brakes on his drive for revolutionary change in Venezuela, shifting away from radical socialist reforms in favor of a pragmatic focus on everyday problems from soaring crime to trash-strewn streets. 
Facing a double-digit defeat in New Hampshire, a sudden collapse in national polls and an expected fund-raising drought, Senator Hillary Clinton is preparing for a tough decision: Does she get out of the race? And when?!
An emboldened John McCain declared ``I will win,'' and Republican rival Mitt Romney scrambled to prevent a second big race to slip away in the frenzied final hours before the New Hampshire primary. 
Barack Obama's campaign fought back against rival Hillary Rodham Clinton Sunday in an under-the-radar dispute over who would best protect abortion rights. Obama's campaign made automated phone calls to New Hampshire voters accusing Clinton of ``last-minute smears.'' 
