"Nick D" @ Buckeye State Blog (which is definitely on the blue side of the red-blue divide)
Okay, so a recap for those of you who missed it. Today, AG Marc Dann attempted to trade the one chip he has left on the table-his resignation-for the removal of a provision from a bill that would allow the Ohio Inspector General to begin an investigation immediately after the governor signs it. Instead, Dann wants it to take effect 90 days after the governor signs it like normal "non-emergency" Ohio laws do.
However, this was a deal that no one on either side of the aisle was buying, and after that became clear, Dann decided to stay where he is and not resign. To me this shows a couple of things. First, it shows a complete lack of concern for the party or the Governor on whose coattails he rode into office. Secondly, it shows Dann has completely given up hope on his political career and instead might be trying to avoid more serious allegations from coming to light that would have more serious consequences. He must have something juicy to hide that he feels will be exposed by the IG in an investigation. Ya think?
However, to judge from the BSB's comments boxe, Dann still has a few friends left among Ohio Democrats:
Submitted by mvirenicus on Tue, 05/13/2008 - 9:29pm.
Prison should be mandatory for anybody having an affair, hiring some bad people and maybe possibly sorta fudging while answering some questions.
The Great Ohio Democratic Party Witchhunt Of 2008 just gets richer by the minute.
(We're talking about many of the same people who still believe Jim Trafficant was framed, so this should be no surprise.)
FYI. :-)
Albert Einstein described belief in God as "childish superstition" and said Jews were not the chosen people, in a letter to be sold in London this week, an auctioneer said Tuesday. The father of relativity, whose previously known views on religion have been more ambivalent and fuelled much discussion, made the comments in response to a philosopher in 1954.
As a Jew himself, Einstein said he had a great affinity with Jewish people but said they "have no different quality for me than all other people".
"The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish.
"No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this," he wrote in the letter written on January 3, 1954 to the philosopher Eric Gutkind, cited by The Guardian newspaper.
The German-language letter is being sold Thursday by Bloomsbury Auctions in Mayfair after being in a private collection for more than 50 years, said the auction house's managing director Rupert Powell. In it, the renowned scientist, who declined an invitation to become Israel's second president, rejected the idea that the Jews are God's chosen people.
"For me the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions," he said. "And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people."
And he added: "As far as my experience goes, they are no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything 'chosen' about them."
Previously the great scientist's comments on religion -- such as "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind" -- have been the subject of much debate, used notably to back up arguments in favour of faith.
Powell said the letter being sold this week gave a clear reflection of Einstein's real thoughts on the subject. "He's fairly unequivocal as to what he's saying. There's no beating about the bush," he told AFP.
#1
For a scientific genius, he wasn't all that bright.
Posted by: Mike ||
05/14/2008 6:23 Comments ||
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#2
The man was a mathematician, not a theologian. No different than 'brilliant' actors pontificating their usual ignorant spew about politics or history, "I only play a doctor on TV, but....."
#3
I disagree w/him on the assumption that God does not exist but concur w/the sentiment that there are no chosen people. A lot of people on here are religious so this will be a hot button issue. As w/other issues in the same vein it is improbable anyone will change their views no matter what facts or arguments the other side brings. IIRC Carl Sagan or Hawking also have the same opinion as AE - we're all free to disagree but I wouldn't go so far as to lump some of the smartest men of all time in w/Alec Baldwin & Martin Sheen.
#4
By 1954 Einstein was, scientifically, a broken man. His quest for a unification theory had produced nothing worthwhile (in fact at that time not enough was known about the strong force to make the research worth anything). His anti quantum opinions had been shown to be without merit. He had made no significant contribution to physics in decades.
It may be that these factors account for some of his thoughts in the interview.
#5
Not quite without merit. At least the EPR paradox asked the right question.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
05/14/2008 9:36 Comments ||
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#6
I want answers to questions on physics, I'll ask a scientist.
I want answers to questions on God, I'll talk to a theologian.
Einstein shoudl have stuck to physics. He was brilliant there several decades before this interview. He should have left metaphysics and epistemology to philosophers and theologians.
FYI metaphysics is meant in the classical, greek/roman sense, that is:
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science, traditionally, cosmology and ontology. It is concerned with explaining the ultimate nature of being and the world
Not the idiotic addle-minded new-wave old-hippie crap (crystals, auras, etc) that has kidnapped the term these days.
And as above, if I want answers to questions on philosophy, I'll talk to a wall (its just as substantiating as talking to a philosopher).
#8
However Einstein chose to characterize his beliefs, from an objective standpoint, his search for answers seems like just an idiosyncratic variant of the ancient quest for transcendence. There is a strong connection to Platonism, in that his quest for a time-independent description of the world links up directly to Plato's conception of the Real as that invisible order of being which never changes. Plato in turn was in the tradition of Parmenides, who came to his vision of the Real in a mystical vision. Einstein's view was Platonic also in that his physics implied that the invisible foundation of the world was mathematical, in other words the ultimate reality was an Idea. But an Idea implies a thinker.
Einstein was perhaps more consciously a follower of the Jewish philosopher Spinoza, who in turn links back to a long tradition of Jewish medieval theology and philosophy.
It seems that what Einstein might have been objecting to was the idea of a personal God. But Einstein's view seems unbalanced in the sense that he placed all the weight on the reality of the objective world, and not enough on the subjective, the inner reality, where God resides as the ultimate subject.
Posted by: Clomoper Dark Lord of the Sith6587 ||
05/14/2008 10:49 Comments ||
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#9
Eric
I agree that the EPR paradox presentation was a brilliant insight (measurement of one part of an quantum system creates an instantaneous effect in another part of the system).
However, it was an insight of the 1930s. Even more important, the EPR insight did not materially slow down the development of quantum theory.
Einstein's dislike (maybe hatred) of quantum theory may be because he hated the what he would call the 'chance' or the 'subjective' (as the dark lord posits above).
#13
There are two subsets of people who are the Chosen people.
The first set is the Jews.
The second set is all who Choose God.
Being Chosen is one thing. What one does with being chosen is quite another.
-----
Chosen? For What? Are you SURE that's the REAL reason?
----- As a Jew himself, Einstein said he had a great affinity with Jewish people but said they "have no different quality for me than all other people".
Missed the point. We're not talking about "Einstein's chosen people", but "God's Chosen People."
-----
Einstein's scientific output declined in his latter years. He apparently came to disbelieve in God and his own chosenness in his latter years.
A coincidence?
I don't think so.
-----
-----
Is there a God? Oh yes there is. You had a slim chance four weeks ago to have convinced me otherwise, but right now, this moment, it is very much quite too late. Things have happened, I have learned what already exists, and know far too much.
#15
I have a troubling question We have police, firemen, forest rangers, soldiers, sailors, and marines. We have coast guard, customs agents, border patrol, etc. We have a number of other "Police" type agencies, treasury, CIA, FBI. (Name your own favorite acronym) All other countries have these same or similar agencies as well. My question is "Why?" If god exists then a problem arises, "Why do we have to have all those above mentioned agencies to do what is essentially god's work" (As described by the tens of thousands of preachers, ministers, priests, mullahs, popes, imams, etc present in the world and busy telling us what "God's Word" really is?) Another problem is best illustrated by the recent Cyclone, according to all teachings god watches over us. But he does not, (I heard someone say all those folks were evil, a plain clear lie) So there is a huge problem with the teachings that "God" is a helpful, caring being? So I have a dilemma with the teachings. Simply put, "God" is not doing his job. This brings me to the conclusion that there is NO such being, and the reason I think so is that Id rather believe it's all a hoax, than believe that "God" simply does not give a shit about us. I find it much easier to believe that the whole concept is just a made up series of stories, than to believe that this "Good, gracious, caring, helpful, all powerful, judgmental, petty, uncaring, vain, paranoid, vicious, multi millions mass murderer exists at all. Doesn't give a damn, and slaughters millions through tidal waves, hurricanes, typhoons, Volcanic Eruptions, forest fires, monsoons, floods, landslides, ships sinkings, lightning, tornado, house fires, and other events called "Acts of God" Further that allows, and does absolutely nothing to prevent such things as AIDS, ebola, black death, (Bubonic plague) smallpox (we eradicated it, not god) and the events such as the slaughter of multi millions by genocide, war, etc. Anyone who wishes to respond, and can do so without parroting the standard brainwashing phrases such as "God's will is unknown" is welcome to do so. I myself believe the old saying, "Actions speak louder than words" And the actions state that there is no "Guiding Being" (Name your own) or that if there is, he simply doesn't give a shit about us humans.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/14/2008 12:54 Comments ||
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#16
From the Jewish perspective, we are Chosen only in the sense that we were the first to choose the monotheistic God. And, like ptah says, anyone who chooses God become Chosen. We don't claim a monopoly on that, and it's only the ignorant who believe otherwise.
Agreed also with phil_b about Rantburg's atheists. Y'all are a very tolerant and soft-spoken bunch, especially given the religious arguments that occasionally rage through these pages.
Redneck Jim, the Jewish perspective is that God gave us free choice for us to use. If He takes care of everything, preventing evil and requiring good, we become pets, not free men. Your own children you require to become independent and make their own decisions about all the details of their lives, and they leave childhood for adulthood. You still care what happens to them, but you don't interfere, right? Once we left the Garden of Eden, however metaphorically, we became, individually and as a group, responsible for deciding how to live, and dealing with the results.
Were God to simply 'make everyone behave' then that would impose his will on us and obliterate our 'Free Will' - we would be little more then robots. In order to 'Do Good' we have to have the equal capacity to 'Do Evil'. The criminals the alphabet soup police agencies are arresting are, usually 'doing evil' and the police in those agencies are 'doing good'. There are some exceptions and cases where the roles may be reversed (Saddam's Iraq for example). The same person who slaughters millions by genocide also has the capacity to save millions by preventing a genocide. War is also an exercise of free will.
As for shit happens - well shit happens. Sometimes your 'free will' may influence shit happening to you. Choose to live in a quake zone (or not take precautions such as building codes) and you may get a building dropped on your head. Choose to live a certain lifestyle and your chances of getting HIV goes way up.
Have you ever been in Second Life? BORING! It never rains. you never have to eat or shit or watch out for sharks. That is what life would be like if 'God' prevented earthquakes / fires / rain. You don't have to watch out for theves or rapist (because 'God' or the admins would ban them) never have a war or death. You don't even have to walk - you can fly or teleport whereever you want to go.
I, myself would not want real life to echo 'Second Life'. And yes, someday something will kill me -- shit happens.
When I go into a burning house I pray to God to give me the strength to fight my natural instict that fire=bad get away.
When my daughter is difficult I pray to Jesus for the compassion and understand so not to lose my temper.
If I go golf on Sunday I am unafraid to be turned into a pillar of salt.
Since so many people believe in something is why I posted my earlier comment - obviously this letter was not written in Germany - to point out that it is not just the religion but how it is practiced. Compare New Oleans (what a disaster how can the population help?) to Ryadh (the school is burning but we are not supposed to see uncovered women) to Myanmar (sucks to be them glad to be part of the ruling class). Sarcastic Voltaire commented (my quote is hazy): if there is no God, people would still have the need to invent one.
#20
RedneckJim - thats a naive and sophomoric approach, consisting of mainly angry noise (very little reason or rational use). Your argument bases itself on the presumption of atheism, which is pretty much begging the question
as well as setting up a straw man in terms of your "facts".
In a nutshell, you were saying;
1. If God is all good, He would destroy evil.
2. If God is all-powerful, He could destroy evil. (Meaning we are not needed to do so).
3. But evil is not destroyed.
4. Hence, there is no such God.
And here is the pat response:
1. Free will is of moral value. That is, a world with free will is better than one without it.
2. It is a contradiction to say that God makes humans that are only capable of freely willing only the good. Free will entails choice, choice entails things to choose amongst.
3. God wills to bring about the best possible world.
4. Therefore, God thus correctly creates a world with free will, thus alternatives must exist.
5. Then God is not responsible for evil (choices), since it is not a good thing that men can only freely choose only the good.
6. For Natural disasters, its how you choose to react to them that cements the morality of the situation. Nature itself is amoral.
Aside from that, what basis do you have for saying there is evil in the world? Is this not in fact an appeal to YOUR particular feelings, opinions and moral values? have you considered asking yourself why your feelings should be considered authoritative?
Also, given that you posit evil existing, and reject a good and loving God, then what do you propose in place that can survive the scrutiny which you demand?
Furthermore, if you deny that, then are you denying that evil exists at all?
Go read up on "The Problem of Evil" - Christianity has been dealing with that for a couple of centuries and has good answers, as do a lot of Jewish authors, who, as a religion, have been arguing that issue far longer.
#21
And if that isn't enough to make you get a bit loopy...
Consider this argument from modal ontology:
(1) If God exists then he has necessary existence.
(2) Either God has necessary existence, or he doesnt.
(3) If God doesnt have necessary existence, then he necessarily doesnt.
Therefore:
(4) Either God has necessary existence, or he necessarily doesnt.
(5) If God necessarily doesnt have necessary existence, then God necessarily doesnt exist.
Therefore:
(6) Either God has necessary existence, or he necessarily doesnt exist.
(7) It is not the case that God necessarily doesnt exist.
Therefore:
(8) God has necessary existence.
(9) If God has necessary existence, then God exists.
Therefore:
(10) God exists.
The first premise is based on the idea that God is perfect, and that something is better if it has necessary existence than if it has merely contingent existence.
The second premise of the argument is simply the law of the excluded middle.
The third premise, Beckers Postulate, is a widely accepted principle of modal logic. All modal properties are generally accepted to be necessary.
Four follows straightforwardly from the second and third premises.
Five is entailed by premise one.
Six follows from four and five.
Seven is plausible at first glance, but is widely thought to be the greatest point of weakness in the argument.
#22
Jim: just a thought, based initially in probability theory but devolving quickly to philosophy. Once one accepts the idea of eternity and limitlessness as the charater of the universe, then this entire concept is cohesive and complete:
The presumption is that for every single event there are alternative outcomes, and that in a series of parallel universes, all possible outcomes play out. If that is true, and it is consistent with some current scientific thought about the physical universe, then in every case where a bad thing happens to someone, there are all the other alternatives where the bad thing doesn't happen to someone, crafting a reality unique to each soul, and in every case providing a unique ending of existence as we know it in a positive way. So in each life things turn out well for their existence, while our appearance in another's merely represents the alternative outcome points for the infinite outcomes that our lives could have taken.
I hear ya; not to insult your intel but maybe take a look at the Brothers Karamazov if you haven't - some people here may bitch about that but I don't care.
I look at God from a more Deistic stand point. People want to believe fine, if not that's fine w/me to, I'd rather have an authentic aetheist that acts like a decent human being then some of the folks I see talking the talk but not walking the walk.
I believe in God's existence as I think too many coincidences are no longer a coincidence. I believe in my heart that he wants the best for human kind, however I don't believe in probably half the shit written about him in any of the holy books. I don't buy revelation or hocus-pocus miracles ascribed to God or humans prescribing human characteristics & petty emotions on to the super being. I'm sure someone will tell me to the contrary but that's my $.02.
#25
BH6, its been said that "Organised Religion has driven more people AWAY from God than it has drawn to him"
After seeing fanatics dripping with hatred due to Islam, zealous Christian fundamentalist more focused on condemning and damning than the teachings of the forgiving Christian God, and even "looney lefties" in my own Catholic Church who seem to value collectivism and convenience over Christ and Communion, the above rings true.
Sometimes I wonder if its time to hit the reset button. The fact that God hasn't done so yet is evidence to me that He is benevolent. I'd have rebooted this corner of the universe long ago. And all that means is that I have a long ways to go as human myself.
#26
Yall seem to all focus on "Free Will" and ignore things NOT under HUMAN control, such as Volcanoes, Tidal Waves, Tornados, Cyclones, Hurricanes, and other things lumped as "Acts of Nature/God".
Y'all said "Live elsewhere" OK name someplace that does NOT have weather related storms and disasters, no place is Tornado-free, Storm Winds- free, or such.
OK answer me this (Civil ansers please)
Is God all powerful?
Or is God NOT all powerful?
If God IS all powerful, these things are under his direct control.
If God is NOT all powerful, then not only are these things NOT under God's control, but there simply is NOT a "All Powerful GOD.
Pick one, either one.
Is there a God in charge? or are all the books lies?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/14/2008 19:27 Comments ||
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#27
As far as "Free Will goes, say you're trapped under a fallen(Windblown) Tree, the water is rising (Rain,) and you're likely to drown, where's any possible "Free Will" here?
To exercise "Free will" you need to have enough facts to chose, neither the fallen tree, or the rising water are any way Your choice.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/14/2008 19:34 Comments ||
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#28
There is the concept that not only is man fallen from a previous state of grace, but that the planet has also changed from original intent and grace, which if G-d intervened in directly (as in the restoration of a paradisical world wished for by many like you--and especially wished for by victims of natural disasters) it would fundamentally and forever change the very fabric of the universe.
So . . . G-d is not "in control" in the way you say others claim He is, which kind of sucks, because if His Will was DONE on earth as it is in heaven, then that Will would indeed prevent such horrible destructions from occurring.
As it is, for now, we wait in a fallen world, and are at times victims of the inclination of nature.
IMO G-d gets where you're coming from in any case and why it seems all so chaotic and unfair--because it IS chaotic and unfair. But like I said, the time isn't quite ripe for the change that's coming--because it's a permanent change, and irreversible, and the finality also ushers in the finality of the human race.
#29
As far as "Free Will goes, say you're trapped under a fallen(Windblown) Tree, the water is rising (Rain,) and you're likely to drown, where's any possible "Free Will" here?
Oh yes- we get stuck under a fallen tree with rising water every day. Why, I was trapped under an oak and then a pine tree while the floods came.
#30
Redneck Jim, the only disaster I could be subjected to is wild fire. I've been evacuated twice with real scares both times, a third time it wasn't as close thanksfully. I tried to live in the best place, and I think I do ;) I'm hoping that I got enough snow this past winter to keep it from burning.
Oldspook, I have stopped going to church every week, it doesn't feel right. Too many feel they can stand in judgement of others as though they are God.
Posted by: Jan ||
05/14/2008 21:38 Comments ||
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#32
Right now, my impression is that you are pretty angry and negative about the world, so those are the feeling with which you color everything.
Jim, you stated false arguments of the same sort. First, you changed the subject from percieved evil to something different, a natural accident. So a context change indicates that you have acceded to a loss of your original argument. Lets look at this one.
First, How did you get to where the tree is? Did you magically appear there?
No, you CHOSE to walk. Thus you had free will. Had you chosen to not go there, you'd not be under the tree. So your poor choice doesnt deny the existence of free will, nor of God.
Also, you presume that God directly causes these things, thus you presupposed God's existence, and thus a purpose for the event you describe and ascribe to a malicious God - thus antoher change to the argument, you do not deny the exitence, you deny the benevolence - which is a different argument completely, and to which I can also dissect and rebut (its a very old argument that has long ago been answered).
ALso, another flaw is that you temporally and contextually limit the circumstance, thus eliminating by your presuppositons the existence of God by that assumption - i.e. by placing those limits you pre-deny the existence of an omnipotent and benevolent God, thus assuming the conclusion and then using that assumption to prove the conclusion (which is a fallacious, and thus incorrectly formed argument).
Also there are other issues with the argument. Lets first restate your argument a bit more clearly:
1. Moral evil is explained by free choice.
2. But some natural evil does not result from free choice.
3. Natural evil (eathquakes, hurricanes, etc)cannot be explained by free choice of creatures.
4. Hence, God must be responsible for natural evil.
5. But natural evils cause innocent suffering and death.
6. Therefore, God is responsible for innocent suffering and death
7. Thus a benevolent and omnipotent God does not exist.
Problems:
Point 5 is not clearly true - Judaism and Christianity share the common root of the fall of man, that man chose to break wiht God, and this introduces assymetry and evil into the world, basically "breaking" it. This is a basic assumption that the world is broken and the Messiah will come to make it whole again.
6 is also wrong, in that it assumes God is evil for taking innocent life - a categorical mistake. God created the life and is not evil for taking it. The other side of this is that we did not create life, thus we are evil when we unjustifiably take it.
Premise 3 is also refuted (in Judeao-Christianity) by the evil introduced by the disobediance of man to the laws of nature and will of God.
Furthermore,
Some physical evil may be a necessary byproduct of a good process. Rain, hot air, andcool air are all necessary for food and life, but a byproduct of these forces is a tornado.
Some physical evil may be a necessary condition for attaining a greater moral good. God uses suffering to get our attention much as our pain response prevents us from damaging our bodies. Many have come to God, a great good, through suffering.
Some physical suffering may be a necessary condition of a greater moral good. Just as labor pains resolve in the birth of a child, even so is character born of pain.
Some physical evil is a necessary concomitant of a morally good physical world. For instance, it is good to have water to swim and boat in, but a necessary concomitant is that we can also drown in it.
To state it a bit more provacatively, our bodies are equipped to enjoy sex for procreation and pleasure, even though it makes violence and pain of rape possible.
It is good to have food to eat, but this also makes dying of food poisoning possible
I coudl go on, but this shows the argument you being as being insufficient as the "proof" that you assume it to be.
You also might consider that the Judaeo-Christian holy books do reference this sort of thing as well, the book of Isaiah specifically addresses the word of God about this:
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
So you may want to ask yourself: do you claim to know the mind of God in saying that you know his purpose? Or do you deny that there is God and therefore no purpose?
Either way, its a CHOICE you have made, feely so. A choice to beleive nor not. Not a proof, at least not of anything other than that you assume free will exists. And so you again return to the free will argument.
Again - what are you arguing here other than stating that you are angry with an outcome, and you *feel* it to be evil, and you do not understand how it coudl be enything other than what your subjectivity tells you it is? That makes you feel angry and you in your anger blame God or the lack of God for such things.
So do you agree that evil exists? If not then what? And what do you propose as the alternative?
Try answering those things, ask yourself. Have the courtesy to at least consider the questions, rather than reposing the same angry arguments wothput attempting to more deeply understand the problem.
You need more tools than just a hammer in your toolbox.
Ask yourself the fundamental question of teleology: Why did the universe begin in a very simple state (Big Bang) but has since grown ever more complex, to the extent that it is hospitable to human life, even more so than is necessary for survival?
Is there a purpose for existence? Or is it all completely arbitrary and random?
This goes back to Aristotle, then forward to Augustine, Kant, and all the way to Satre and Kierkkegard, and modern day philosophers.
#33
Einstein wasn't an atheist. He believed in the supernatural, but his belief was close to Deism. Throughout his life he made references to "Der Alte".
His point was that a deep knowledge of science, particularly physics, rules out a lot of fairy tales as being contrafactual.
Without seeing the letter it's hard to draw conclusions from the article.
#35
Brought this conversation up with the wife - she said, "Maybe he was having a bad day." - as KBK notes - without reading the rest of the letter maybe he was.
Along those line I would regard myself as a Doubting Thomas. I can only speak for myself and will, if golfing on a Sunday is a crime, engage the article; for example only for myself:
Pure example not true but consider -
I respond to a structure fire, it looks bad; kid inside - I say a little prayer to myself, "God, give me the strength..." while donning equipment and it calms my nerves and focuses my mind. Say I have a Good Part in the rescue and the kid is saved. That little prayer is, in my soul, what got me through that initial shock...was the kid saved by someone who believed in childish superstition? That is, if it gave me meaning and direction, like the concepts of hot and cold are words for feeling, it saved that child's life. Therefore, (the) God (I know) saved that child.
#36
I knew there was a reason I never studied philosophy. ;-)
Silly RD! I'd choose you, were I God. I'd choose Redneck Jim, too, and then he'd be sorry, poor dear. As for the man trapped by tree and water, like others in inescapable situations, he can choose whether to be calm or angry about the situation, whether to give up or fight to the end to escape, or to accept with gratitude the time he has left, how little or much that may turn out to be. There are plenty of people suffering from cancer or a stroke, who are trapped with pain and permanent disability, and the possibility of an earlier death than planned. Functionally it's the same situation as the one he posited, although a good deal less private.
The Secret Service is under fire for racist and sexist e-mails, including one aimed at Chicago's Rev. Jesse Jackson. CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports the e-mails were just released by the Secret Service as part of a long-running civil rights suit filed by African American agents. They contain racist and sexist jokes and pictures.
The one about the Rev. Jackson has now led to a demand for the release of any other insulting references to members of the Jackson family in Secret Service files.
Rev. Jackson's dealings with the Secret Service date back to his two campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 1980s. He actually asked for and was assigned protective details before other candidates back then. The Secret Service e-mail, CBS 2 obtained from a court filing in Washington, was titled "The Righteous Reverend," and jokes about the deaths of Jackson and his wife when a missile strikes their plane. The e-mail ends with, it "certainly wouldn't be a great loss and probably wouldn't be an accident either."
"This e-mail today tells me I have a lot less confidence in the secret Service than I did before it was exposed," said U.S. Rep Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.)
Reacting to this and the other e-mails, a Secret Service spokesman told the New York Times: "We are deeply disappointed by any communication or action on the part of our employees that exhibits racial or other insensitivity."
When CBS 2 reached him by cell phone Tuesday afternoon, the Rev, Jackson said he wants all Secret Service communications which mention him, all the way back to the 1980's. Asked how his father took the comments, Jackson Jr. said, "Well, he wasn't quite as charged as Mrs. Jackson was. My mother wants to know what she has to do with this at all."
Like Jackson in 1983, Sen. Barack Obama also received early Secret Service protection, more than a year ago, when crowds at his events got very large. Rep. Jackson said he didn't question their commitment to protecting the probable Democratic nominee. "But suffice it to say that if supervisors at the Untied States Secret Service are passing around racially explicit e-mails and sexually explicit e-mails, there's a problem at the highest ranks of the Unites States Secret Service that deserves all of our attention," Jackson Jr. said.
He said he would use his position in Congress to investigate, and has also filed Freedom of Information Act requests for Secret Service documents. Referring to the one e-mail's joking about the assassination of his mother and father, Jackson Jr. said, "The Secret Service is charged with investigating threats, not initiating them."
Actually, the most damaging of the e-mails don't mention Jackson, or anyone else. They contain crude racial slurs or stereotypes and pornographic images. And while a Secret Service spokesperson claims "These e-mails are in no way a reflection of the agency or its policies or culture."
Rep. Jackson isn't convinced. "This gives you some sense, some insight, into what may be taking place there," he said. "The Congress of the United States has oversight responsibilities and we're going to be looking very carefully at what's going on there."
A Secret Service spokesperson says the 10 e-mails were discovered in a search of more than 20 million electronic documents over a 16-year period. More damaging, though, is who sent and received them: top brass, including the former Special Agent in Charge of the Presidential Protective Detail, as well as the Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago field office.
#1
Toss in the IRS file for grins [got to be one of the smallest files in history] because they're so afraid of doing to him what they relish to do to the average American with even the slightest questionable filing.
From Probeinternational.org website and email newsletter. They watch 3 Gorges Dam effects, among other things.
In the wake of Chinas massive earthquake, and amidst the desperate recovery effort, Chinese authorities have still more to worry about as damage to existing dams becomes evident.
The Chinese-language China News Service reports that 17 reservoirs have suffered damage because of the earthquake across four counties and districts, including Beipei, Dianjiang, Banan and Nanchuan in Chongqing (not in Sichuan province) and are cracked or leaking water.
Cracks have also been found in the dam structures of two reservoirs in Suishui township of Anxian County (or An county) in Sichuan province, approximately 50 km away from the epicenter of yesterdays earthquake, reports Xinhua.
And the Sichuan provincial government have said that severe cracks have formed on the dam at the Zipingpu Hydropower Station. Located at the junction of Dujiangyan City and Wenchuan County on the upper Minjiang River, the plant was one of the first landmark projects of the Western Development Plan and was brought into service in 2006. The plant and associated buildings have collapsed, some are partly submerged and the whole installation is out of commission.
Fan Xiao, a geologist at the Bureau of Geological Exploration and Exploitation of Mineral Resources in Sichuan province, estimated in a Chinese National Geographic article last year that more than one-third of Chinas reservoirs are poorly constructed and describes them as time bombs waiting to explode in the event of a severe flood or other unexpected occurrence. An official survey by the Ministry of Water Resources in September 2007 corroborated the danger, saying that by the end of 2005, there were 6681 reservoirs in Sichuan, of which 798 are thought to be dangerous and poorly built. Should any of these have been damaged by Monday's earthquake, they would now pose a real and present danger to downstream populations.
No damage to the Three Gorges dam has been reported.
Chinas leading business magazine, Caijing Net, reports that the Ministry of Water Resources has just issued an urgent notice asking all levels of government and technical staff to:
1) Monitor all dams and reservoirs in the disaster-affected area and pay close attention to the dangerous and ill-built dams and reservoirs.
2) Take emergency measures if anything serious happens.
Hey! There's a good idea! Take emergency measures!
3) Empty or lower the water levels of the reservoirs in the affected area.
4) Monitor the weather because rainstorms will aggravate the situation with landslides, collapses and mud-rock flows.
Geologists are also warning that landslides and mud rock flow that generally occur during and after earthquakes, could also block river courses, triggering the flooding of fields and further unpredictable water, rock and mud flows.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/14/2008 13:58 ||
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No damage to the Three Gorges dam has been reported.
Was any noted, though. I wouldn't expect a Communist regime to report everything freely.
Posted by: Grenter Protector of the Geats4975 ||
05/14/2008 15:27 Comments ||
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#2
Nothing to see here, move along and when I say move arong, I mean haur ass.
The signing on 9 May of a ceasefire between the government of Central African Republic and the only rebel group that had yet to join a national peace process has drawn mixed reactions from within the country. The truce with the Armée populaire pour la restauration de la république et la démocratie (APRD), based in northwestern CAR, was signed in the Gabonese capital, Libreville, after a month of discussions with the Bangui government.
As well as a cessation of hostilities, the APRD has undertaken to restrict its fighters to their bases. The accord also paves the way for an amnesty, subject to a bill to be put before the national assembly.
"It is a step towards resolving the conflict," said Professor Mathias Morouba, who chairs both the Central African Human Rights Observatory and the country's Peace and Justice Commission. "People want things to change, they are still in anguish," he said, adding that the deal was just one part of the long-term solution to CAR's problems.
"It's good for the political settlement. But what will happen to those who lost relatives or goods during the rebellion? The government must take these people into account, otherwise we run the risk of creating new rebellions in the future," he said.
Toby Lanzer, the UN's humanitarian coordinator in CAR, described the latest ceasefire, which follows similar deals with two other rebel groups, as "the best sign yet that sustainable peace is possible in CAR's northwest. Tensions should now subside, [humanitarian] operations can expand, and more people can be helped."
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/14/2008 22:30 ||
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A UN official says post-election unrest in Zimbabwe is nearing crisis levels, holding both the ruling and opposition parties responsible.
The United Nations resident representative in Zimbabwe, Agustino Zacarias, said on Tuesday that the violence was escalating towards crisis levels with supporters of the main opposition, Movement for Democratic Change, targeted in most of the attacks. He added, however, that MDC were not totally blameless. "There is an emerging pattern of political violence inflicted mainly but not exclusively on rural supporters of the MDC," Zacarias said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2008 00:00 ||
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Sounds t'me like some of 'em defended themselves.
A former emir of Kuwait Sheikh Saad Abdullah al-Sabah has died after a long illness, the royal court announced on Tuesday in a statement broadcast by state television. He was 78. He will be laid to rest on Wednesday morning, the statement said.
The already ailing Sheikh Saad succeeded to the throne in 2006 after the death of his predecessor, Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah. He was then deposed by parliament after only nine days on health grounds.Born in 1930, Sheikh Saad was the eldest son of the late Sheikh Abdullah al-Salem al-Sabah, the 11th emir of Kuwait, known as the father of independence and the constitution. He has one son, Fahd, and three surviving daughters. Two other daughters have died.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2008 00:00 ||
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As a state, it has been a failure since inception. Now we have about 40 % of it's populace residing in the US as a result. The real danger here is that the drug boyz are now daily causing mayhem directly into US territory and Bush refuses to enforce our sovereignty. We need heavy firepower there supplied by the US Army. It should be flatly stated, to the so-called Mexican gov't and all its citizens that any violation of US territory will result in certain death.
#2
Mexico is sounding like Columbia circa 1990s. Columbia managed, with US help, to mostly clean up the main government and put the cartels out of the capital.
Mexico can survive this, IF they take US help and IF the population pushes back against the cartels. Building a fence would help this effort since most of the funds for the trouble is drug money. Cut that off, and you are 80% of the way to solving the problem. However, if Mexico continues to see the US as a northern enemy and if the US government continues to pander to illegals and Mexico, a failed state on the US southern border is almost a certainty.
Mexico has had a failed state many times in its history. I see little that will prevent another one unless both the US and Mexico act.
#3
I've suggested in past that Mexico is stumbling towards some kind of civil war. Drug money to finance the war is just the obvious problem. What it will finance is the $64 question.
Perhaps the only saving grace is that their population growth has dropped to sustainment level.
Other problems are that their dozen wealthiest families, unlike American billionaires, do not believe that "a rising tide lifts all boats". In fact the opposite. That their wealth only has value and will give them enjoyment if everyone else are starving. This is the "old Europe" disease, and it breeds radical revolutionary leftism. For all the stupid haranguing the Democrats rant about the wealth disparity in the US, in Mexico it is true.
Mexico has a lot of people who have failed the natural selection test and are just waiting to die out. They have not, perhaps cannot, modernize, so are stuck in a way of life that died out hundreds of years ago. The only question is will it happen slowly or quickly. Plus there is still the old fight between Mexicans and Indians.
Mexico is even having multiple religious crises. From Islam, Catholic vs. Protestant, Aztec, and the enormous Santa Muerte cult.
#4
Mexico is Mexico and unlikely to change. If we want to end the power of the drug cartels, we should legalize drugs.
More likely than the US becoming a failed state is that Caliphornia will become a failed state. They are doing their best to get there. And governor villaragosa will advance the cause substantially.
#5
That their wealth only has value and will give them enjoyment if everyone else are starving.
And this differs from Al "I've made well over $100M flying around the world in my private jet and scaring the masses about alleged global warming but you should cut your carbon footprint 90%" Gore and his ilk precisely how? Lefties who've made their money desperately want to slam the door before any of the rabble are able to do likewise.
#6
Illegal Mexican immigrants demanding their "human rights" guaranteed with American citizenship should start by demanding the same opportunities, responsibilities, and accountability from their own government.
#7
The birth of the current constitution and regime of mexico : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristeros
Like the french republic (with which it shares many common features, including its masonoc secularism), its original sin is that it was created against the people, and in a bloodbath.
#8
Their own government will be the US if they are American citizens. And this is a big part of Mexico's problem. Any decent person with ambition wants to get out of Mexico and the US is quite easy to get to. So Mexico is left with the dregs. That didn't work well for Europe and it won't work well for Mexico.
#9
A fence won't stop illicit trade on the railroads, roads, and bridges, but screening 100% with new technology besides troops on the border with UAV's would be a start. NAFTA should not be a legal loophole to give buinesses a free pass when it comes to security.
#10
Mexico needs the US Navy to land a Amphibious Landing Force at Vera Cruz, followed by a punch into Mexico City.
Then throw the Mexican Oligarchy [20 families] into the middle of thje Gulf of Mexico without anything but Bags of Chum.
Then re-Animate General MacArthur... having him run the place for the next 20 years.
Privatize Pemex, the National Petrochemical Corp.
OTOH Reduce the Gigantic International Corps like portions of the Huge Agra Business by using incentives and tax breaks so the small agrarian Mexican society can make a come back.
etc.
#11
AzCat: Actually you are quite correct. Al Gore and his philosophical cronies also have that same old Europe disease, but in an even more extreme version.
They are not satisfied keeping everyone who is not an elite down, in many cases, they wish to eradicate them entirely.
#14
rjschwarz, no doubt you used at least one of the secret forbidden words. This happens to me an awful lot.
Mr. Gore and his attitude are a rarity amongst those with money in the U.S., as compared to the norm in Mexico. That's the difference.
The only way to stop the drug cartels is to significantly reduce demand in the U.S. and Europe. Legalizing marijuana and such just frees up the cartels to concentrate on the remaining illegal ones. (If everyone gives up one dime bag, think how much we can save together! It'll be as good as replacing that single lightbulb with a compact fluorescent!! /end over-excitement, Al Gore style)
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Colombia extradited 14 paramilitary warlords to the United States on Tuesday to stand trial on drug trafficking charges in a surprise move applauded by the Bush administration as evidence that Colombia deserves a trade deal.
But many Colombians worried that a narrow U.S. focus on drug crimes would enable the warlords and their politician allies to escape responsibility for human rights violations including the deaths of at least 10,000 people.
Spirited out of Colombian prisons before dawn were Salvatore Mancuso other top leaders of Colombia's illegal right-wing militias - notorious figures blamed for modern Colombia's worst atrocities. Victims' families fear the extraditions will impede efforts to fully catalog the warlords' crimes, unearth scores of mass graves and bring to justice the politicians and businessmen who allegedly colluded with them.
Perhaps you'd prefer them running free? Sheesh.
U.S. officials vowed Tuesday to cooperate with Colombian prosecutors, and Uribe said any assets seized from the warlords in U.S. court proceedings would go to compensate the victims. "It's a great day," U.S. drug czar John Walters told The Associated Press. The U.S. justice system, he said, is "far less likely for them to be able to attack or intimidate or corrupt."
The Bush administration said the extraditions should prompt U.S. congressional Democrats to reconsider their opposition to the Colombian trade deal, which has stalled over Democrats' accusations that Uribe has failed to crack down on the militias for killing union organizers.
Most of the defendants were taken in handcuffs and bulletproof vests early Tuesday for flights to Florida in an unmarked U.S. government plane. Eventually, they'll be tried in Washington, Miami, Tampa, Fla., New York and Houston. As part of the extradition agreement, none will get life sentences, the Department of Justice said. The leaders include Mancuso, Diego Murillo (also known as "Don Berna") and Rodrigo Tovar, a military officer's son who went by the name Jorge 40. All but one are charged with cocaine trafficking. Other charges include money laundering and conspiracy to provide material support to a designated terrorist group.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/14/2008 00:00 ||
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The Bush administration said the extraditions should prompt U.S. congressional Democrats to reconsider their opposition to the Colombian trade deal
I predict it won't be long before a hasty redefinition makes everyone realize the goalposts weren't where we thought they were.
Turkey's parliament has rejected a no-confidence vote against the prime minister for allegedly encouraging rough treatment of demonstrators on Labour Day. Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party dominates the assembly and there had been little doubt that he would survive the vote on Tuesday. The opposition, which tabled a motion for the vote last week, accuses Erdogan of encouraging police to use excessive force against workers.
Thousands of police fired water cannons and tear gas canisters at protesters trying to get into an Istanbul square on Labour Day on May 1. Dozens were injured, and the EU has called for an investigation.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2008 00:00 ||
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Nearly seven in 10 Americans are worried about maintaining their standard of living, as concern has spiked higher in just the past five months, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Soaring consumer prices are a major challenge, with many people struggling under the weight of the rising costs of fuel, food and health care. Not to mention their bloated mortgages and maxed-out credit cards, all Bush's fault!
The poll shows that the weak economy and rising prices are high among voters' concerns, and contribute to a souring national mood in this presidential election year. More than eight in 10 said the country has veered pretty seriously off-track, and a separate poll released yesterday by ABC showed economic anxiety at its highest level on record since 1981.
Overall, 68 percent of people surveyed in the new Post-ABC poll said they were concerned about their ability to keep up their lifestyles, a jump of 17 percentage points since December. The increase cuts across party and income lines, spreading rapidly among Republicans, people from rural areas and those from middle- and upper-income households.
Nearly six in 10 of those from households with annual incomes of $100,000 or higher said they were worried about hanging onto their living standards, up from a third in December. And 56 percent of Republicans in the new poll expressed concern, up from 32 percent. So the rich are also a bunch of self-indulgent whiners, too?
In the new poll, 20 percent of those surveyed cited the higher gasoline prices as the single most important economic issue, and more, about a third, pointed more generally to rising prices as the primary cause of their apprehension. So why does the lower figure get cited first?
By the way, the next story on the radio this morning, after the one above, was how saving Bear-Stearns reduced the chance of recession from 90% in April to 45% in May. I wanted to post that right above this article, but - surprise, surprise! Even Google can't find it!
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/14/2008 06:54 ||
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#1
Nearly seven in 10 Americans are worried about maintaining their standard of living,
Which COULD read, nearly 3 out of ten managed their debt, saved wisely and planned for the standard ups and downs of our economy.
(direct t.v., plasma screen, new SUV, chose to live 50 miles from work)
When our supposed *Poor People* are no longer overweight or morbidly obese like the poor I've seen around the world I'll buy that our standard of living has gone down.
Heck, and if that is the case, *Dark evil grin* many could view it as a full proof weight loss plan. A silver line as it were.
#6
Nearly six in 10 of those from households with annual incomes of $100,000 or higher said they were worried about hanging onto their living standards, up from a third in December.
Perhaps its not inflation they are worried about but Democrat tax plans. $100,000 was the number Obama used for the types of uber-wealthy he'd clobber.
#7
I hear what you're saying Broadhead6. However, I've heard liberals (my dear sister to be precise) blame much of the obesity problem amongst *poor people* in the US on the fact that cheap food is more likely to be junk food, i.e. highly processed, full of refined sugar, lots of preservatives, and high in fat. In other words, they don't have any choice but to eat foods that make you fat because that's all they can afford. Or so liberal thinking goes.
I'm not saying I agree because they could certainly choose to eat less of it. But I've always wondered why so many *poor people* in this country are so overweight. I imagine it's a combination of things (poorly educated on matters of nutrition, lack of self-discipline, lack of concern for their health, general laziness, etc.)
#8
P2K: reports from Vegas do indicate occupancy rates down, and my commute has noticelby fewer cars in the way; the park and ride lots are fuller and people are complaining that the busses are late. Metro says that is due to more people riding.
#10
Nearly seven in 10 Americans are worried about maintaining their standard of living,
We're slipping a bit. In 1890 I'll wager the number was 98 out of 100. Point being you better worry about maintaining you standard of living and indeed worry about making it better.
Posted by: George Smiley ||
05/14/2008 18:00 Comments ||
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#11
THe US consumer is paying the price for decades = generations of heavy Govt. subsidation and regulation vv WELFARE-NANNY STATE.
WOT > WAR FOR THE WORLD/GLOBALISM > AMERICAN DOMINATES, OR DOES NOT >= ITS NOT ANOUT AMERICA ONLY ANYMORE. This includes USNPE = WASHINGTON DC BUDGET SPENDING + ACCOUNTABILITY - the NATIONAL BUDGET is also a OWG GLOBAL ONE???
#12
Elto, your sister is wrong. The economic argument for eating junk food is a bogus one. Go to the food store and see the cost of frozen or even fresh vegetables, dried beans, and whole grains, then check out the cost of junk food. The veggies and good stuff are cheaper.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
05/14/2008 19:17 Comments ||
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Actually, the argument that I have seen that equates obesity with junk food has more to do with ease of preparation than cost : frozen/canned/fresh food takes some time and preparation; junk food is immediately consumable. So, the lazy factor and the immediate gratification factor both come into play.
#14
With my commute gas is killing me. The last bus that leaves for up the hill from Denver for me leaves before I get out of work. Driving in the mountains I want a little bit more car around me and my car gets 26 miles to the gallon, so I spend about $100.00 a week on gas alone. I don't have the money now to buy yet another car.
Planning on retiring in a few years, I don't want to move.
What I've been doing is staying and sleeping at the hospital once a week to save driving up the hill and back. I'm glad that I have a job that I can do that. Also working a bunch of overtime to help finances.
It sucks but I'm making it work.
Posted by: Jan ||
05/14/2008 22:02 Comments ||
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The bad news for Obama fans: Their guy, at this hour, is on course to lose West Virginia by about 39, maybe 40 percent. She's going to shave at least 100,000 votes off his popular vote margin; she'll be able to argue that she's the popular vote winner if you count Michigan and Florida. So far, he has not won a single county in West Virginia. He's above 40 percent in one county at this hour.
If John Edwards remains at 7 percent, Barack Obama will have run only 20 percent ahead of a guy who dropped out more than three months ago.
Obama received glowing, it's-over-he-is-the-nominee coverage for the past six days, and that amounted to nothing in West Virginia. One has to wonder if the giddy praise and tingling feelings jolting up the legs of the Chris Matthewses, Keith Olbermanns and the cable news "Wright-free zones" of the world amounts to a hill of beans out in Exurban America.
Posted by: Mike ||
05/14/2008 0:18 Comments ||
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Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I'd compare her campaign to the the Bay of Pigs, but that would just lead to all sorts of porcine Hillary jokes and end, no doubt, with mention of cankles and thighs, so I'm not going to say anything. No, sir!
#3
JFK beat Nixon by 100,000 votes. Nixon thought he could count on the large anti Catholic vote, given a close election. Some people think that his unshaved appearance in one of the debates turned the tide against him. Billary could be waiting for Obewan to forget to zip his fly or something like that.
Posted by: ed ||
05/14/2008 8:34 Comments ||
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#6
yeah, they were both nailing a couple girls on the side...
see Steve? It's possible to avoid "...just lead to all sorts of porcine Hillary jokes and end, no doubt, with mention of cankles and thighs" and keep on the high road ;-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/14/2008 8:42 Comments ||
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#7
(Lloyd) Bentsen: Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy: I knew Jack Kennedy; Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.
It is now sufficiently clear that the Indian Navy wants to be able to use the air forces assets of war. In a revelation so far kept under wraps, the Navy has asked Boeing a contender for Indias $10-billion tender for 126 air force fighters if the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet can operate off the INS Vikramaditya, the rechristened Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov currently being refurbished in Russia for the Indian Navy. None of the fighters in the IAFs existing fleet have the capability to operate from the deck of an aircraft carrier.
Boeings campaign manager for the Indian deal Michael E. Rietz has revealed that after detailed simulations conducted at the companys test centres, the Super Hornet on offer to India, can in fact operate off the Gorshkov. The significance of Boeings finding lies in the fact that the Super Hornet which by default is launched using a steam-powered catapult on American super-carriers has never before been known to be able to take off from an angled ski-jump the launch mechanism on Indias sole aircraft carrier INS Virat, as well as the Gorshkov and the under-construction indigenous aircraft carrier.
Rietz told HT at Lemoore, which holds half of the US Navys striking power in the Pacific, In our simulation, we discovered that not only could the Super Hornet take-off from a ski-jump, but could do so with a significant weapons load. Landing the Super Hornet on the Gorshkov would pose no problem since the warship comes equipped with an arrester cable. The 16 MiG-29K fighters that will come with the Gorshkov will land using this trap method.
A typical scenario illustrates the import of the newly identified ability. A Super Hornet flying with the air force from a shore base can fly hundreds of kilometres over the sea, then land on an aircraft carrier, refuel and proceed onward. The reach advantage it would give the aircraft is something the air force has only envisaged with mid-air refuellers so far. Aircraft carriers, by their very nature, can obviously stay out at sea for far longer.
In 2004, the Navy had sent out a request for information to another American firm Northrop Grumman about whether the latters carrier-based airborne early warning and control aircraft, the E-2 Hawkeye, could operate off the Gorshkov. However, plans to procure the aircraft in a ship-based role have since been shelved.
Posted by: john frum ||
05/14/2008 07:08 ||
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#1
not only could the Super Hornet take-off from a ski-jump
That's a scary thought. But the wing loading is only 3% more than the MiG-29. Better insist on the uprated engines anyway.
Posted by: ed ||
05/14/2008 8:47 Comments ||
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#2
A Super Hornet flying with the air force from a shore base can fly hundreds of kilometres over the sea, then land on an aircraft carrier, refuel and proceed onward.
#5
What does India need these for? Are they planning on attacking around the rim of the Indian ocean? Their likely enemies share a land border. Very curious.
My guess is this is a pride project. When I spoke to Indians in Hyderbad back in 98, none of them could explain why they needed a carrier but none of them were willing to even consider giving it up in exchange for an equal values worth of other military toys. When that happens you have a target, not a military asset.
#6
Let's sell them the B2 bomber and a few space satellites while we're at it? What's the point of giving away such a aircraft to a country that is so friendly to Iran, China, and Russia?
#7
Sure, you can land an AF aircraft on the boat, but if you don't beef up the airframe, it tends to 'stretch' a bit. Don't see Boeing building 2 versions of the lawn dart (land and cv)
while @ PAX river did a mini ski jump test with an early dart; the engineer forgot to compute the distance the aircraft would travel while the launch bar was transiting back to the 'stow' position: result, no nose gear ( ripped off just above the axle) 2 FODDED engines, and an air medal for the pilot that brought it home in one place.
#8
I doubt they plan to use the AF aircraft. They probably want to increase the order from 125 to 200 aircraft, with the additional 75 being Navy. They'll operate from naval air stations such as Goa or from the carriers if they really need to.
The Indian Navy MiG pilots are being trained right now in Florida, by the US Navy.
Posted by: john frum ||
05/14/2008 16:09 Comments ||
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#9
I could be wrong, didn't the BRIT ROYAL NAVY jump-test the F18 on one of their carriers awhile back [1990's?], when they were considering replacing their HARRIERS wid STOBAR aircraft including USN types. IIRC, the F18 passed wid flying colors but lost anyway when Brit canceled the HARRIER replacement, due to budget + espec Euro politics???
Pakistan Peoples Party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari was completely exonerated of all charges on Tuesday, when a judge set aside a case in which he had been accused of smuggling artefacts to London. Justice Bin Yamin of the Sindh High Court set aside the case against Zardari and former high commissioner to the UK Wajid Shamsul Hasan by allowing their criminal revision applications and ordering the quashing of the FIR in the Container case. In a detailed judgment, the bench said that the two men appeared to have been falsely implicated in the case and held that the alleged consignment had belonged to one Urs of Bilawal House, and not Zardari. All cases pending against Zardari have now been decided in his favour.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2008 00:00 ||
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ANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Police barred foreign aid workers from reaching cyclone survivors in hard-hit areas Tuesday, while emergency food shipments backed up at the main airport for Myanmar's biggest city.
Relief workers reported some storm survivors were being given spoiled or poor-quality food rather than nutrition-rich biscuits sent by international donors, adding to fears that the ruling military junta in the Southeast Asian country could be misappropriating assistance.
U.N. officials warned that the threat was escalating for the 2 million people facing disease and hunger in low-lying areas battered by the storm unless relief efforts increased dramatically.
Ten days after the tempest, reaching the worst-affected areas was getting more and more difficult.
Checkpoints manned by armed police were set up Tuesday on roads leading to the Irrawaddy River delta and all international aid workers and journalists were turned back by officers who took down their names and passport numbers. Drivers were interrogated. "No foreigners allowed," one policeman said after waving a car back.
Supplies piled up at Yangon's main airport, which does not have equipment to lift cargo off big Boeing 747s. It took 200 Burmese volunteers to unload by hand a plane carrying more than 60 tons of relief supplies, including school tents, said Dubai Cares, a United Arab Emirates aid group.
A report from a Tuesday meeting of the U.N. center overseeing logistics said the airport was a bottleneck in the aid effort. "Discharging operations at Yangon airport are hampered by limitations of handling equipment, fuel availability and worsening weather conditions," it said.
The report said Britain's Department for International Development had offered to send in machinery for unloading jumbo jets and other aircraft.
Myanmar's state television said the number of confirmed deaths from Cyclone Nargis had risen by 2,335, to 34,273, and the number of missing stood at 27,838. The United Nations estimates the actual death toll from the May 3 storm could be between 62,000 and 100,000.
Some victims and aid workers said that in many cases spoiled or poor-quality food was being given to survivors. A longtime foreign resident of Yangon told The Associated Press that angry government officials were complaining that high-energy biscuits rushed in on the World Food Program's first flights were sent to a military warehouse. Those supplies were exchanged for what the officials described as "tasteless and low-quality" biscuits produced by the Industry Ministry to be handed out to cyclone victims, the resident said, speaking on condition of anonymity because identifying himself could jeopardize his safety.
ARE Australia's country director in Myanmar, Brian Agland, reported problems with some rice going to survivors. He said members of his local staff brought back samples of rotting rice that was being distributed in the Irrawaddy delta. "I have a small sample in my pocket, and it's some of the poorest quality rice we've seen," he said. "It's affected by salt water and it's very old."
It was unclear whether the rice, which Agland described as dark gray in color and consisting of very small grains, had come from the government or from mills or warehouses in the delta.
"Certainly, we are concerned that (poor quality rice) is being distributed," Agland said by telephone from Yangon. "The level of nutrition is very low."
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/14/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Ima guessing Myanmar will do an even worse job of distributing AID than Sri Lanka and Indonesia put together.
#3
Well to be honest the aid workers are their own worst enemy, they use these disasters to further their own little ends. They would certainly take advantage of the chaos to make contacts to cause problems for Burma in the future. The depressing calculus says that the Burmese government is doing the right thing, at least as far as their own survival is concerned.
#8
Just because the aid organizations and their sycophant media friends cry doom and gloom does not necessarily make it so. The Burmese generals are taking as much heat as the Bush Administration did during Katrina, whether they deserve(d) it or not.
#10
Burma is a lost cause : it is a satrapy of Red China and will not budge on its restrictions. Because of that, there is no effective way to deal with it - since there is no way the West will engage in a land war in Asia over refusal to distribute aid.
#1
I take solice that:
The only people who will watch this are the same people who believe Reefer Madness rediculous but think this true to an extent.
That since all the other films of this nature the only shots follywood has left are these and W; the others failed miserably even with "star studded casts".
#2
Not Hollywood, Uwe Boll. The story of Boll, is a real life version of "The Producers". German law (to encourage a local film industry), lets investors write off several times their investment in a film that fails to make money. Exploiting the law, Boll buys rights to various video games, hires somewhat-washed up, but well known actors, and then produces cinematic stinkers. 'Postal' is his latest 'masterpiece'.
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.
"Nick D" @ Buckeye State Blog 
The Secret Service is under fire for racist and sexist e-mails, including one aimed at Chicago's Rev. Jesse Jackson. CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports the e-mails were just released by the Secret Service as part of a long-running civil rights suit filed by African American agents. They contain racist and sexist jokes and pictures. 
A UN official says post-election unrest in Zimbabwe is nearing crisis levels, holding both the ruling and opposition parties responsible. 
A former emir of Kuwait Sheikh Saad Abdullah al-Sabah has died after a long illness, the royal court announced on Tuesday in a statement broadcast by state television. He was 78. He will be laid to rest on Wednesday morning, the statement said.
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Colombia extradited 14 paramilitary warlords to the United States on Tuesday to stand trial on drug trafficking charges in a surprise move applauded by the Bush administration as evidence that Colombia deserves a trade deal.
Nearly seven in 10 Americans are worried about maintaining their standard of living, as concern has spiked higher in just the past five months, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Soaring consumer prices are a major challenge, with many people struggling under the weight of the rising costs of fuel, food and health care. 
Pakistan Peoples Party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari was completely exonerated of all charges on Tuesday, when a judge set aside a case in which he had been accused of smuggling artefacts to London. Justice Bin Yamin of the Sindh High Court set aside the case against Zardari and former high commissioner to the UK Wajid Shamsul Hasan by allowing their criminal revision applications and ordering the quashing of the FIR in the Container case. In a detailed judgment, the bench said that the two men appeared to have been falsely implicated in the case and held that the alleged consignment had belonged to one Urs of Bilawal House, and not Zardari. All cases pending against Zardari have now been decided in his favour.
ANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Police barred foreign aid workers from reaching cyclone survivors in hard-hit areas Tuesday, while emergency food shipments backed up at the main airport for Myanmar's biggest city.
