JACKSONVILLE, Fla. The Navy should discharge former astronaut Lisa Nowak, who lost her NASA job over a bizarre airport attack on a romantic rival, according to a Navy panel that reviewed her case. The panel of three admirals made the recommendation Thursday after a daylong hearing at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville.
The recommendation now goes to the Naval Personnel Command. A final decision will be made by the Secretary of the Navy. In the meantime, Nowak will continue working on the staff of the chief of Naval Air Training in Corpus Christi, Tex.
She flew on the space shuttle in 2006, but was dismissed from the astronaut corps after her arrest in 2007. There was no listed number for Nowak in Corpus Christi and Nowak's commanding officer in Texas didn't immediately return a call Friday.
The panel recommended downgrading Nowak from captain to commander and giving her a discharge of "other than honorable." If the recommendation is accepted, the change in Nowak's rank means she will receive a pension at the rank of commander rather than captain. Additionally, only veterans who are discharged honorably can get benefits under the GI bill, said Stephen Strickland, a public affairs specialist at the Navy Region Southeast in Jacksonville. Nowak was sentenced to a year on probation in November after pleading guilty to third-degree felony burglary and misdemeanor battery. So no jail time and she still pulls a pension? What a country...
#1
and a post-retirement career hawking adult diapers on infomercials.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/20/2010 14:05 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Less than honorable discharge and going through the rest of her life as the 'Diaper Doll'? I'm okay with that.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/20/2010 15:02 Comments ||
Top||
#3
I dunno, Steve. These days I don't think employers are allowed to even ask about a criminal record, let alone what kind of discharge you got.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
08/20/2010 21:59 Comments ||
Top||
#4
errrr when I see her mugshot in my mind, and you reference "discharge"....I can't mentally steer it to "career history"... my problem I guess. Brain bleach, anyone?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/20/2010 22:05 Comments ||
Top||
The receptacle has an eBay asking price of $1 million, though Kohl says he's willing to see what the literary giant's home throne will fetch. Well, even though it's probably not an Al Gore "wimpy flush" toilet, I think a million's a little steep...
Michael Jackson's parents are set to divorce after 60 years of marriage, after the King of Pop's mother Katherine tired of her husband Joe's cruel behaviour.
The pair became estranged five years ago, but the family matriarch reportedly decided to file for divorce after Joe, 81, suggested she was to blame for their son's shock death last year.
Mr Jackson, who was accused of abusing Michael as a child, said in June: 'I begged her to go over and stay with him, but she insisted he needed his privacy.'
Posted by: Fred ||
08/20/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
Do take these eight and half minutes to watch this. For those of you my age (you don't have to admit it), enjoy the full band marching, with it's turns and moves, done in the "old style" of marching bands, before we discovered, you can all take 8 steps to the 10 yards in a straight line.
In Boot Camp we marched carrying an old bolt removed M-1 Carbine,(Called a "Piece" as it was no longer a rifle Could not fire, and was just a "Piece" of a rifle, not the whole thing) that looks like the same rifle with Bayonette and Strap.
I did that in Boot,(Oblique is a bitch to keep in straight line) Minus the Band, Music was recorded.(Us Lowly Peons didn't rate a band)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/20/2010 1:53 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Disappointing. Upon reading the headline, I was hoping for a Lillian Muller lookalike.
#3
We marched with M-1 rifles (but no bayonet) when I was a cadet at the Air Force Academy in 1964. They didn't have the bolt removed - we used the same rifles on the firing range (we also had to have them totally cleaned and in inspection order within 24 hours, too). The biggest problem was Saturday parade, which could take two hours or more. The standing rule was, one person would catch any fainting buddies, another would catch his rifle. While we did do some common maneuvers such as left/right oblique, etc., we didn't do anything fancy. I did do some of the more fancy moves when I was in the USAF Southern Command Honor Guard in 1967-68. I still enjoy the sight of a well-trained precision drill team.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/20/2010 13:08 Comments ||
Top||
#4
M-14 for me. It's still my favorite infantry gun, aka the M-1A (semi-only, civ model).
Archbishop Desmond Tutu and a group of senior figures known as the Elders, including former South African president Nelson Mandela, former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan and former US president Jimmy Carter on Thursday urged the world community to respond more quickly to the severe flooding in Pakistan. Wonder if they passed the hat up at the Lair of the Elders?
The Elders expressed concern that only half of the UN's 460-million-dollar emergency appeal target had been reached. "I urge people all around the world to hold the people of Pakistan in their hearts and in the heart of the human family at this time," Tutu said in a statement. He then returned to the Eldermobile and told Kato to step on it... Is it just me, but there seems to be little press coverage of this. When Bush was in office, we were always there. (Not that I think we need to give any more to the Pakis than we already have) Or -- is The One just not doing anything for The Press to cover? So this disaster has become another "We look the other way, 'cause he ain't doin' anything?"
Posted by: Fred ||
08/20/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[10 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
sorry, I sent my Pakistan Aid money to Fred for his legal defense fund.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/20/2010 9:00 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I reserve my charity for those whose brothers aren't actively trying to kill me and mine.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/20/2010 12:12 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Actually (and typically), the US & UK are way out in front responding with money and resources (helicopters, etc.). The Rest of the World is severely lagging.
The United Nations estimates that 4.6 million flood survivors are still without shelter while six million are in need of food assistance, a spokesman said on Thursday. Are the Paks diverting money from the ISI yet to cope with this disaster? No? Let me know when it happens ...
"Roughly 4.6 million people are still without shelter," Maurizio Giuliano, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Islamabad, told AFP. The rough estimate includes hundreds of thousands of people who are still on the move, he said. "In this context we have decided to increase the number of targeted beneficiaries for tents and plastic sheeting from the initial figure of two million to at least six million," he said.
Almost one million people have already received these items and the UN called on donors to keep up the pace of funding to reach the target. "We are confident that the international community will not stand by and watch as millions of flood victims live in open air, while they already struggle to survive in the face of food shortages, lack of clean water and the spread of diseases," Giuliano said.
UN said that funding situation is gradually getting better but immediate humanitarian needs of at least six million are still unmet. Detailing progress on relief efforts, OCHA head Manuel Bessler said, "After a month we are still in the rescue and relief phase. Humanitarian organisations fear various challenges. The scale of the disaster is gigantic and no organisation or the government has the capacity to meet the challenge alone".
World Food Programme spokesman Marcus Prior said that one-month ration has been provided to more than 950,000 people. "Around six million people are in need of food assistance. We will go location to location and provide food to worst affected", Prior said.
FAO: The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has allocated $5.7 million to save livestock that has survived the floods. FAO official in Pakistan David Doolan stressed that his organisation's immediate priority was to feed surviving livestock, which is the mainstay of rural economy. Deepak Bajracharia of UNICEF said, "We have been able to reach only 10 to 15 percent of the affected people. Approximately 3.5 million children face threat of diarrhoea".
Posted by: Fred ||
08/20/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I'm generating CO2 & warming the globe so they won't be cold without shelter.
As the Indus River remained in exceptionally high-flood situation, Jaffarabad, Sajawal and more villages in Shikarpur district were indundated on Thursday due to breaches in protective embankments and canals.
After a wide breach in Tori embankment along the Indus River and breaches at three points in Begari Canal, over 80,000 cusecs of water entered Jaffarabad district, inundating the area into 10 to 12 feet of water. On Thursday, hundreds of thousands of people were stranded in Rojhan Jamali, Sohbatpur and Usta Muhammad.
The latest flood has also inundated Sohbatpur after submerging Hairdin, Manjhipur, Mew Khan and Daulatpur.
Floodwater also surrounds Usta Muhammad on three sides, while the outskirts of the town have already come under water. The 132KV grid station of Sohbatpur is also inundated.
According to Balochistan Chief Secretary Mir Ahmed Bukhsh Lehri, the flash floods have washed away 2,584 villages in Balochistan.
He said that millions of the flood-affected people immediately needed clean drinking water, cooked food, medicines, tents, anti-snake venom and pots for cooking food.
Balochistan Minister Rahila Durrani said that over 200,000 flood survivors had reached Quetta and they had been facing a severe shortage of cooked food and drinking water.
Dr Uwais, who works at the medical camp set up on Jan Muhammad Road Quetta, said that many of the flood victims were suffering from cholera, gastroenteritis and skin diseases. He appealed to philanthropists to provide medicines at medical camps set up for the flood victims. In Sohbatpur, three girls died of cholera, while 11 children died of gastroenteritis in Dera Murad Jamali, Sibi, Pashin and Awaran.
Gangs of thieves have been looting evacuated houses and shops of flood victims the affected areas.
Two more breaches that appeared in Khirthar Canal and Saifullah Magsi Canal inundated Garhi Kheru tehsil located in Jacobabad.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/20/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[9 views]
Top|| File under:
Does ANYBODY like Pakistan? (Almost wrote Palestine, another source of global heartburn)
Gather up all the children from the displaced people, take them to one place, give them food, shelter & milk, and teach them some manners - straight from the Book (NOT the Koran). When they're 40, they'll wipe out the rest.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/20/2010 22:22 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Old Patriot, that sounds an awful lot like Ann Coulter:
And just to think we are debating - DEBATING weather we should allow a mosque to be dedicated exactly 10 years after 9/11 - to celebrate the murder of 3,000 people (and yes - to CELEBRATE - why else would they choose that date?)
A Saudi judge has asked several hospitals in the country whether they could damage a man's spinal cord as punishment after he was convicted of attacking another man with a cleaver and paralyzing him, local newspapers reported on Thursday. Why not just crucify him?
The reports said Abdul-Aziz al-Mutairi, 22, was left paralyzed after a fight more than two years ago and asked a judge to impose an equivalent punishment on his attacker under Islamic law. I'd guess getting severely damaged in a fight is one of the hazards of living in a violent society.
The newspaper Okaz said the judge in northwestern Tabuk province, identified as Saoud bin Suleiman al-Youssef, asked at least two hospitals for a medical opinion on whether surgeons could render the attacker's spinal cord nonfunctional. The attacker, who was not identified in the reports, has spent seven months in jail. "First, do no harm" is a western concept. Proper Muslims have no problem with doing harm unless they can be taken to a Soddy court for it.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/20/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[9 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
What part of "barbaric legal system" was unclear?
#2
Oddly, it's not much different than a justice system Heinlein devised in one of his novels, called "balancing" - an eye for an eye kind of thing. On the other hand it also referred to "the night they killed all the lawyers" so it wasn't all bad.
[The Nation (Nairobi)] At least 20,000 failed Zimbabwean asylum seekers in the United Kingdom could be deported before the end of the year as a result of the relative economic and political stability in the southern African country following the formation of a unity government.
Britain, Zimbabwe's former colonial master this week sent a fact finding mission from its Border Agency to Harare to assess claims that the country is still unsafe for the failed asylum seekers to return.
The UK is one of the many Western countries with a huge population of immigrants from Zimbabwe who escaped the economic and political turmoil that began intensifying in 2000.
Others are New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the United States.
Biggest population
The biggest population of Zimbabwean immigrants estimated at over three million is suspected to be living in neighbouring South Africa.
Thousands were granted asylum in the UK on the strength that they were supporters of the then opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and were facing persecution by supporters of President Mugabe's Zanu PF party.
Last year, President Robert Mugabe's fiercest rival joined a unity government following inconclusive elections the previous year.
An official at the British embassy in Harare Mr Andrew Jones told the privately owned NewsDay newspaper that findings of the fact finding mission would be used by the UK Asylum Tribunal in October. "The aim of the mission is to ensure that the UK Border Agency has the most up to date information.''
Posted by: Fred ||
08/20/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
They may begin proceedings within a year, but actual deportation will take as long as carrying out a death sentence in the US. A large amount of their legal system is geared to prevent deportation.
#2
FAILED ASYLUM
SEEKERS IN UK CAN
NOW WORK →
From:
Barbara Nyagomo
To:
Members of 1 Million
Zimbabwean Voices
When:
July 29 at 4:25pm
Message:
This week's supreme
court ruling said
failed asylum seekers
who made a second
fresh claim for
refugee status should
be allowed to work if
they had waited more
than 12 months for a
new Home Office
decision.
The ruling is in line
with an EU directive
that lays down
minimum standards
for the reception of
asylum seekers across
Europe to ensure a
dignified standard of
living. The supreme
court rejected the
home secretary's
argument that this
group of asylum
seekers should lose
this protection
because their initial
application had been
rejected.
Refugee welfare
groups have been
fighting for more
than 10 years to lift
the ban on asylum
seekers being allowed
to work in Britain
while their
applications are
decided. This is the
first time the courts
have backed the
principle.
http://
www.guardian.co.uk/
uk/2010/jul/29/
restrictions-sought-
asylum-seekers-jobs?
CMP=twt_gu
#3
...to ensure a decent standard of living in the EU, what a joke. 'Deport' these guys with SAS burgunds full of 'essentials'.
Then they can have a smoke-break.
Britain's Prince Chuck, the intellectual heir to James I, has told British families to take shorter showers to help protect the environment. "A bit of B.O. now and then is natural, right?" He got this from Sheryl Crow, right?
The instruction came at the end of a list of 20 lifestyle changes recommended by the Prince of Wales for his new green campaign, Start. If they make him king doesn't that mean he has to shut the hell up? Seems a point in favor of Good Queen Liz stepping aside for him.
In separate advice endorsed by the Prince, he was more detailed -- urging people to give up baths in favour of 'short, refreshing' five minute showers. Are they allowed to use soap?
His campaign website reads: 'Snub the tub. If everybody in a four-person family replaced one bath a week with a five-minute shower, you could save between £5 and £15 per year off your energy bill.' £5 and £15? The price of a light meal?
However, the 61-year-old Prince might need to tackle his own family's washing habits before telling the rest of the country how to behave. His father the Duke of Edinburgh, 89, takes baths. He slipped in one in 2005 and badly bruised his left eye after catching it with his thumb. Personally I've always considered bathing a plus...
And Sarah Ferguson, Charles's former sister-in-law and the mother of his nieces, has spoken of taking ice-cold baths on a daily basis to tackle her 'dark' moods. I can remember the good olde days when I needed the occasional cold shower, too.
As for the Prince of Wales himself, Clarence House last night remained tight-lipped on whether he takes short showers.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/20/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[9 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
At least he's not knifing prostitutes to death, yet.
#9
Chuck makes James I seem like and intellectual giant. After all he did leave us a rather servicable translation of the Bible. I'd say Imam Chuck is more of a George IV. And I expect the papers to again rejoice upon his death.
#11
Lex, I'd be interested to know where you got that figure. The Royal Family actually get 62p per individual per year from taxation. About the cost of a small loaf of bread. That's a pretty good deal, given the tourist attraction they are for the UK. Not to mention the entertainment value...
#12
It is traditional for an englishman to bathe weekly, whether he needs it or not.
Old recycled joke.
That's straight out of Lil Abner, He would bathe once a week whether he needed it or not.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/20/2010 19:56 Comments ||
Top||
#13
It is traditional for an englishman to bathe weekly, whether he needs it or not.
Old recycled joke.
That's straight out of Lil Abner, He would bathe once a week whether he needed it or not.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/20/2010 19:56 Comments ||
Top||
#14
Hmmm, now why did that double post?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/20/2010 19:57 Comments ||
Top||
#15
So is England, famous for lots of rain, running out of water? How does using a lot of water hurt the environment in a water rich environment?
Environmentalists overuse the water issue. In Southern California we often have water alerts. Don't water your lawn, use less water, blah, blah, but nobody really stops the constant building of new developments. Which means new water users.
The way I understand it, unless your water comes from an underground aquifer (as in Arizona) the water is in an endless cycle. It doesn't go away when we use it. We use it and it finds its way through the pipes back into the ocean where it can evaporate into clouds which will dump it out as rain and snow that will fill the system all over again the next year. All this talk of saving water simply helps the building industry and the politicians that want us packed together for whatever reason.
If folks were serious about saving water they would (a) stop the building as they did in the Tahoe area (b) apply market pricing to the water.
#16
In the article his issue is power usage, to warm the water. Perhaps some nuclear plants could provide the power they need. Oh, but environmentalists hate nuclear power despite it being the cleanest power available because it doesn't require everyone to change their lives and live in squalor which is actually the point.
#17
This environmental talk, and the Sheryl Crow bit, got me thinking about toilet paper. Environmentalists hate the stuff. Is there anyway a decent soft product could be made out of bamboo? Seems that stuff grows pretty quick and they can make wood out of it.
The North Korean national football team is preparing for its first international friendly since the World Cup in South Africa, where it suffered a humiliating 0-7 defeat at the hands of Portugal.
The friendly match against India in Delhi on Sept. 14 is expected to show whether team manager Kim Jong-hun has been given a second chance or was really sent to a labor camp, as rumor said.
My bet is that he's in the labor camp now. They'll bring him out, feed him some bark, let him 'coach' by standing on the sideline, and hustle him back to the labor camp when the match is over. It's not like soccer coaches do anything during a match.
Some media reports said the coach and players were subjected to a marathon self-criticism session after series of defeats in the tournament and the coach sentenced to hard labor, but others said Kim and the team have resumed training.
FIFA has asked the North Korean regime to clarify whether the reports are true.
Ask 'em about the Cheonan while you're at it ...
The Times of India said the Indian national team had been in contact with the North Korean soccer association for more than a month. "North Korea have told our agent that they will play in India, but we are still waiting for them to officially write to us," All India Football Federation general secretary, Alberto Colaco told the paper Sunday.
The Indian team is currently training in Portugal in preparation for the Asian Cup in Doha, Qatar in January next year. After a friendly with Thailand in Bangkok on Sept. 4, it is to play against the North on Sept. 14, Namibia on Sept. 18, and Turkmenistan on Sept. 22 and 25.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/20/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
This is what Rambo would have looked like on a $500 budget. That zooming crotch/snake shot at :55 seconds is Golden Globe worthy and super suspect. This montage alone should earn him a Steven Segal type movie deal worth at least 4 films in the next 3 years. I would definitely bootleg each and every one of them for a movie night revival.
His name is Nedad Kličić. Weaponized menace or colossal homosexual? You be the judge.
#1
Dude's buff, got a face made for radio, and apparently too dumb to keep snakes (notoriously not fast) from crawling on him in non-sniper situations. Also, can't requisition a shirt from QM? Can't wait to hear him speak
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/20/2010 21:14 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Moves like a colossal homosexual, or, a three legged Yak, take your pick.
[Asharq al-Aswat] A leading figure in the Iraqi National Alliance [INA] has confirmed that "Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the supreme Shiite religious authority in Iraq, did in fact receive a message from US President Barack Obama dealing with the current situation in Iraq," pointing out that "a leading figure in the State of Law Coalition [SLC] is the one who delivered the message to Al-Sistani."
The leader who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity said that "Al-Sistani has received a message from President Obama in which he asked the authority to intervene to solve the crisis of forming the Iraqi Government," pointing out that "a person with close ties to the US Embassy and a friend to US Ambassador in Baghdad David Hill was the one who delivered the message."
Asked about the name of the person who conveyed the message, the source said that "the US Embassy has several friends who have relations with the religious authority," but then he disclosed the name saying that "he is Sheikh Khalid al-Atiyah, the leading figure in the SLC who is close to Nuri al-Maliki, the coalition's leader and the head of the government whose term has expired. He was the one who delivered the message with the blessing of Al-Maliki himself." He pointed out that "Al-Maliki's coalition was enthusiastic to convey the message out of belief that the authority will intervene in their interest."
The source said that "those who got acquainted with the contents of the message found that it was a normal message that includes a request from President Obama to Al-Sistani to solve the crisis of forming the Iraqi Government," pointing out that the message includes phrases such as (we count on your influential role to assist the Iraqis and solve their crises; we knew you in previous occasions where your intervention to solve the crises was having positive results; and we hope of your intervention to solve the crisis of forming the government in a way that is satisfactory to all the Iraqi parties to advance the peace process since there are bad repercussions in case the situation continues the same)."
The INA leader said that "the US President has started his message with the phrase of (peace be upon you) to be close to the atmospheres of the Shiite authority, and that Al-Sistani received the message with two copies, one in English and the other in Arabic, and that Muhammad Rida, son of Al-Sistani, was received Sheikh Atiyah and received the message from him, and that Muhammad Rida was aware in advance of the arrival of Atiyah and the issue of the message."
On the refusal of Hamid al-Khaffaf, the official spokesman for Al-Sistani, to comment on the subject of the message when he said: "We do not have a comment on the issue of the message," the INA leader said: "Certainly Al-Khaffaf or anyone else from the authority's house should refrain from commenting on this subject because it constitutes a big embarrassment for the religious authority, because this means that there are relations between the authority and the US Administration, and this is something that does not please the Shiites, particularly the followers of Al-Sistani." He added that "this message has really constituted an embarrassment for Al-Sistani and would delay his intervention in solving the crisis of forming the government since several Shiite and Sunni sides have demanded the authority's intervention in this issue, but no reactions has been made by him, and [now] if he intervenes, the Shiites would say that he implemented the US President's demands, and if he does not intervene, the Iraqis would say that Al-Sistani has abandoned Iraq to drown in the problems." He added that "the majority of the people of Al-Najaf know about the issue of the message, and in spite of the tight secrecy prevailing in the authority's house, there are leaks that come out from time to time, and the issue of the message is one of these leaks that has not been denied by anyone."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/20/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Was this response foreseeable or is this a really big blunder by our "oh-so-competent" POTUS and Secretary of State?
#2
The natural capitol of Shiitland and the Shiits is Iran. Sistani is serf of Iran. The only thing that wouldn't be a blunder is probably sending Iran back to Kingdom Come.
#3
Peace be upon you. Dear Lord, what a fuckup. Imagine someone trying to transparently use our cultural phrases to impress us...starting a letter with "What's up, G?" or other similar horror.
#4
The only secrets Pres. Obama can keep are ones about his personal history. Anything related to public policy, foreign relations, etc. gets leaked, spilled, floated, released, etc.
Posted by: American Delight ||
08/20/2010 6:19 Comments ||
Top||
#5
I'm sure Zero will be crushed and confused that al-Sis didn't jump right on his helpful suggestion. It seems no one is smart enough to accept his advice!
He'll just have to take another vacation to "recharge his batteries."
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/20/2010 6:35 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Incompetence R Us.
I can't decide whether I'd like to see Zero go on vacation for the next two years or stay in Washington and continue the charade of leadership and democratic incompetence. The longer Pelosi, Reid, Obama, and others keep weighing in on issues the weirder things get and their true nature is revealed. Twin horns of a dilemma. Gored either way.
#8
I'm kind of tired of everyone treating Sistani as a de facto head of state. He explicitly rejects that role, and we ought to, as well. He's not the goddamn King of Thailand, to be choosing who'll be Iraq's head of government like this.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/20/2010 12:15 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Bring in the grownups. Let Barry hold teachable moments in the Rose Garden, and keep him away from anything to do with interstate relations.
#10
The advocates and apologists for Obama's "Smart Power Diplomacy" (often known as 'Smart Diplomacy') have a great deal to answer for and I wish they would start talking instead of changing the subject.
A growing number of New York construction workers are vowing not to work on the mosque planned near Ground Zero.
"It's a very touchy thing because they want to do this on sacred ground," said Dave Kaiser, 38, a blaster who is working to rebuild the World Trade Center site. "I wouldn't work there, especially after I found out about what the imam said about U.S. policy being responsible for 9/11," Kaiser said.
The grass-roots movement is gaining momentum on the Internet. One construction worker created the "Hard Hat Pledge" on his blog and asked others to vow not to work on the project if it stays on Park Place."Thousands of people are signing up from all over the country," said creator Andy Sullivan, a construction worker from Brooklyn. "People who sell glass, steel, lumber, insurance. They are all refusing to do work if they build there. Hopefully, this will be a tool to get them to move it," he said. "I got a problem with this ostentatious building looming over Ground Zero."
Louis Coletti, president of the Building Trades Employers' Association, said unions have not yet taken a "formal position" on Park51, but he understands why members would be hesitant to work there. "It's a very difficult dilemma for the contractors and the organized labor force because we are experiencing such high levels of unemployment," he said. "Yet at the same time, this is a very sacred sight to the union guys. There were construction workers killed on 9/11 and many more who got horribly sick cleaning up Ground Zero," Coletti said. "It's very emotional."
L.V. Spina, a Manhattan construction worker who created anti-mosque stickers that some workers are slapping on their hardhats, said he would "rather pick cans and bottles out of trash cans" than build the Islamic center near Ground Zero. "But if they moved it somewhere else, we would put up a prime building for these people," he said. "Hell, you could do it next to my house in Rockaway Beach, I would be fine with it. But I'm not fine with it where blood has been spilled."
There are some construction workers choosing not to set themselves against the project. "Hundreds of guys here are wearing stickers as a sign of protest, but I'm on the fence about it," said Frank Langan, 50, a site superintendent from Queens working at Ground Zero. "It's a tough debate," he said. "I sympathize with workers' position, but at the same time, you can't single out all Muslims because of a small number of terrorists."
#2
"you can't single out all Muslims because of a small number of terrorists"
Maybe not, Frank baby - but you can single out these assholes.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/20/2010 19:36 Comments ||
Top||
#3
I work with Ironworkers, Carpenters, etc. They are not sensitive to "cross-cultural bridge building". It would be nice to see this finger in our eye fail, even better if they couldn't get an American to build it.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/20/2010 19:44 Comments ||
Top||
#4
I wonder how well their fire inspection will go.
An Arizona man who faced criminal charges under the nation's Stolen Valor Act pleaded guilty to lesser crimes Thursday afternoon, just one day after a federal appeals panel ruled that lying about military awards is protected free speech.
Kurt A. Bishop, 42, of Queen Creek, was indicted in April on 34 counts related to fraudulent claims that he was decorated in the Army with a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Ranger Tab and numerous other honors. The charges included eight violations of the Stolen Valor Act
On Wednesday, in a controversial California case, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the First Amendment protects a person who concocts a phony military record unless the deceit harms someone or is for pecuniary gain.
Which, as I suggested before, is the case about 99% of the time, even if it's just for a free drink at the local watering hole. If you aren't trying to impress someone and thereby get something, why bother with the concocted story in the first place?
On Thursday, at the U.S. District Court in Phoenix, Bishop pleaded guilty to two counts of falsified documentation - one a felony and the other a misdemeanor, according to defense attorney Jon Paladini. The Stolen Valor charges and 23 counts of wire fraud were dismissed, Paladini said, and prosecutors agreed to recommend no jail time at sentencing.
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.
Michael Jackson's parents are set to divorce after 60 years of marriage, after the King of Pop's mother Katherine tired of her husband Joe's cruel behaviour.
As the Indus River remained in exceptionally high-flood situation, Jaffarabad, Sajawal and more villages in Shikarpur district were indundated on Thursday due to breaches in protective embankments and canals.
A Saudi judge has asked several hospitals in the country whether they could damage a man's spinal cord as punishment after he was convicted of attacking another man with a cleaver and paralyzing him, local newspapers reported on Thursday.
[The Nation (Nairobi)] At least 20,000 failed Zimbabwean asylum seekers in the United Kingdom could be deported before the end of the year as a result of the relative economic and political stability in the southern African country following the formation of a unity government.
