[Emirates 24/7] Security at crowded malls and supermarkets during peak business hours have always been a cause of major concern to authorities. Surveillance cameras and other hi-tech gadgets make no difference to determined thiefs on the prowl. And now adding to their woes are cross-dressers.
Imagine men dressed in burkhas robbing you off your valuables! Security officers are on their feet now, says a source at a hypermarket. Due to cultural sensitivity, even if victims raise an alarm, the suspects cannot be bodily searched, says another security personnel of a supermarket chain in Dubai.
Emirates 24|7 spoke to security officers at various malls. All of them confirm there has been an increase in the number of thefts as well as customer complaints.
Men dressed in abayas, with their face covered, cannot be identified even if they move around suspiciously. Gold chains, mobile phones and wallets are their preferred items, say security officers.
A security supervisor at a supermarket in Sharjah says such thefts happen mostly during peak business hours when the place is crowded. "Shop-lifters can be easily caught via electronic theft detectors, but what do you do with cross-dressers who steal customers mobile phones and wallets. Ignorant people are busy shopping and would not suspect 'Arabic' women rubbing shoulders with them."
This has led to many shopping centres recruiting women security officers, he says.
An officer at a supermarket in Sharjah says such people operate in gangs. Usually it's a network of atleast four. Unfortunately, many such cases go unreported, as people think they misplaced their personal belongings in a crowded mall.
According to a Lulu supermarket employee, their management has received several complaints from customers about pick-pockets and chain-snatchers inside the premises of late. "Our security officers closely monitor security cameras and, in fact, have spotted women in abayas moving about suspiciously. They show the clipping to customers who have been victims of theft, but unfortunately, none of them have so far identified any thief because only their eyes are visible."
Interestingly, there have been cases when empty wallets are discovered from the premises and in trolleys.
Security officers say the number of incidents are increasing because people hesitate from going to the police. Only if a case is filed with a cop shoppe can any action be taken, says a policeman.
Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... a police front man said although no women have been been jugged in connection with armed robberies in the emirate, a number of men have been caught dressed in abayas and robbing residents.
In one incident in Abu Shagara in March, a Pak man, who had covered his face, was easily identified by police on his way from the flat he had robbed: he was wearing men's sandals with an abaya.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/19/2010 00:00 ||
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#3
I can imagine that Rosie O'Donnell's manicurist would have nightmares, but I can't understand how gorb managed to get a still image from one of them.
manicurist: "You're soaking in it." Rosie: "RAWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"
[Al Jazeera] The man assigned to recover money for victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme has won his biggest settlement yet - an agreement by the estate of longtime Madoff friend Jeffry Picower to give back $7.2bn in profits from the epic fraud.
The settlement significantly boosts the recovery pot to close to $10bn, capping a weeks-long flurry of settlements and lawsuits around the December 11 second anniversary of Madoff's arrest.
Madoff had confessed to orchestrating what is considered the biggest financial fraud in history.
His ally, Picower, died of a heart attack in Florida in October 2009 at the age of 67 - five months after the court-appointed trustee, Irving Picard, claimed Picower's rates of return were implausibly high from his investments and control of some Madoff accounts since the late 1970s.
"This is the largest forfeiture recovery in US history," Preet Bharara, Manhattan US attorney, said at a presser with Picard, the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service to announce the settlement by Picower's wife, Barbara.
Bharara said she had "agreed to forfeit $7.2bn ..., a figure that represents every last dollar of the Picowers' profit from Bernie Madoff's fraud".
Picard said that as soon as practicable after the settlement is approved by a US Bankruptcy Court judge in New York, he would ask the court to begin an initial distribution of funds to customers. The approval is expected next month.
Settlement reached
The family of the accountant and lawyer turned billionaire philanthropist said that Picower at the time of his death had been working toward reaching a settlement.
His wills over the years directed most of his wealth to charity, the family lawyer, William Zabel, said.
Madoff, 72, is serving a 150-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in March 2009 to orchestrating the massive scheme.
US prosecutors estimated the international investment fraud took in about $65bn over at least two decades.
The trustee has put the amount investors lost at about $20bn and this month ramped up his global search for money, adding to lawsuits he has filed over the last two years against individuals, Madoff family members, funds and banks.
One defendant was Mark Madoff, the eldest son of Bernard Madoff, who did away with himself on the anniversary of his father's arrest.
Mark Madoff and his brother Andrew ran the brokerage at the firm. They denied prior knowledge of the fraud.
Picard sued several major banks in recent weeks to bring the total sought for the victims to about $50bn.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/19/2010 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] The government of Cote d'Ivoire President Laurent Gbagbo has told the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society and French peacekeeping missions to leave the country, escalating tensions after last month's disputed presidential polls.
"The government demands the departure of the UNOCI [United Nations Operation in Cote d'Ivoire] and LICORNE [The French military's 'Operation Unicorn'] forces in Ivory Coast and is opposed to any renewal of their mandate," said spokesperson Jacqueline Oble, reading a statement on state television on Saturday.
"UNOCI has interfered seriously in the internal affairs of Ivory Coast," she added.
The UN mission has told Al Jizz that they are still awaiting receipt of a formal letter regarding this request.
Earlier on Saturday, masked men in military uniforms opened fire on a UN base, after following guards back from a patrol, according to a UN statement. There were no casualties after the attack, in which six gunnies in a civilian vehicle shot at the patrol as it entered the UN compound.
The men continued firing along the wall of the compound, and UN guards returned fire, according to the statement.
The UN has 10,000 soldiers and police in the country following the 2002-03 civil war, and former colonial power La Belle France's LICORNE force supports the UN mission in the country.
Cote d'Ivoire was thrown into crisis after its November 28 presidential runoff, with both candidates claiming victory. Alassane Ouattara has been recognised by the international community as the winner and has formed a parallel government holed up in an Abidjan hotel.
Speaking to Al Jizz, Patrick Achi, front man for Ouattara, said that Gbagbo had no right to ask the UN to leave, as he is no longer President.
"The population is the hostage of someone who lost the election," Achi added.
He asserted that the international community must now step in and turn their words of support into action, as Gbagbo remains in control of the army and the media.
The current UN mandate, however, is limited to protecting civilians, and does not allow peacekeepers to interfere with local politics.
Sylvain Touati, Research Fellow for the Africa Program at the French Institute for International Relations, told Al Jizz that the UN can choose to ignore the request from Gbagbo, as it no longer recognises him as head of state.
He added that the UN may be forced to intervene if hostilities escalate, as an armed conflict between the two sides could lead to much bloodshed.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/19/2010 00:00 ||
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The head of the RAFs fighter and bomber force has said that drastic cuts in the Governments defence review worry the hell out of me and would leave the Air Force only slightly above Belgium in squadron numbers.
#4
It would help the British if they'd just come out and admit that they aren't a world power anymore. Give up the UN seat, give up the pretense, put away any thought of projecting power outside the country, and settle into near-complete irrelevance as a regional power. The Brits would no longer need a Navy, especially not aircraft carriers, they could have a Coast Guard instead. The army wouldn't need the SAS, the Paras, etc., just keep the hats for the Coldstream Guards.
I don't want to insult our Brit friends, but let's face it, Brit pols and leaders don't want to pay the price. So let's let them off the hook.
But they do have to give up the UN seat. Maybe give it to India.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/19/2010 15:39 Comments ||
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#5
Actually, Steve, it's ridiculous that the European Union has two permanent seats on the UN Security council. Both the UK and France should turn one of their seats over to the EU, and give the other to India or Japan.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
12/19/2010 17:24 Comments ||
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#6
The UK should give its seat to the Commonwealth.
#7
IIRC TOPIX > A NEW POWER ON THE HIGH SEAS: CHINA BUILDS ITS FIRST AIRCRAFT CARRIER AS BRITAIN PREPARES TO SCRAP HERS?
and
WAFF > CHINA ADMITS ITS BUILDING AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER.
ARTIC = CPLAN Conventional = oil-fired CV may be ready for launch by 2014; NUCLEAR-POWERED? LARGER-SIZED = SUPERCARRIER? CV planned for launch in 2020. CHINA ADMITS THAT ITS CV + OTHER NABVAL CONTRUX PROGRAMS ARE MEANT TO RAISE IT TO A "MID-LEVEL" NAVAL = MARITIME POWER CAPABLE OF "SUFFICIENTLY" PROJECTING + DEFENDING ITS INTERESTS OVERSEAS.
Assange anger at 'smear campaign' after leaked police files published in The Guardian
LAWYERS for Julian Assange have expressed anger about an alleged smear campaign against the WikiLeaks founder after incriminating police files were published in the newspaper that has used him as its source for hundreds of leaked US embassy cables.
In a move that surprised many of Assange's closest supporters, The Guardian newspaper yesterday published previously unseen police documents which accused Assange in graphic detail of sexually assaulting two Swedish women. One witness is said to have stated: "Not only had it been the world's worst screw, it had also been violent."
Bjorn Hurtig, Assange's Swedish lawyer, said he would lodge a formal complaint to the authorities and ask them to investigate how such sensitive police material leaked into the public domain.
"It is with great concern that I hear about this because it puts Julian and his defence in a bad position," he told a colleague.
"I do not like the idea that Julian may be forced into a trial in the media. And I feel especially concerned that he will be presented with the evidence in his own language for the first time when reading the newspaper.
"I do not know who has given these documents to the media, but the purpose can only be one thing - trying to make Julian look bad."
Another friend told police that during the evening Miss A told her she had had "the worst sex ever" with Assange: "Not only had it been the world's worst screw, it had also been violent."
#6
"It is with great concern that I hear about this because it puts Julian and his plans for the holidays with a few fangirls defence in a bad position"
Anjem Choudary will be holding an anti-Christmas protest on Britains busiest shopping street. On Christmas Eve, Choudary and company plan to go to Londons Oxford Street to convert a million lost souls.
He and his disciples intend a protest against the promiscuity and materialism of Christmas on a day when more than a million shoppers are expected in the worlds most famous shopping district.
Last night Choudary said: Christmas is the complete anathema to Islam. Drunkenness, promiscuity and materialism are just a few of the issues we want to tackle. For us these are the Evils of Christmas. Thats why we are going to hold our latest roadshow in Oxford Street and Regent Street in the heartland of Londons best-known shopping district. Abortion, unwanted children, domestic violence and even blasphemy. It all happens at Christmas.
We will be setting out stalls and marquees. We hope to have a presence of at least 200 Muslims. Hopefully around a million people will pass through this area. We will speak to as many of them as possible about the issues concerned.
He added: We will be distributing material about Islam. We hope, at a time when the country is in recession and the Government is frittering away money on foreign policy, people will see that Islam offers an alternative to the consumerism of this time of year. Islam does away with the need for drugs and alcohol and all the other evils that are synonymous with Christmas.
#1
be funny if his mosque burned down during the rally.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
12/19/2010 1:13 Comments ||
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#2
How do you know he has a mosque, maybe he wants to take over 10 Downing Street and pray there one day while implementing the Shari'ah over our noses?
Posted by: Muslim ||
12/19/2010 4:09 Comments ||
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#3
Drunkenness, promiscuity and materialism are just a few of the issues we want to tackle. For us these are the Evils of Christmas
You know, he does have a point. And it doesn't sound like he plans to use bombs to attack it.
#6
The Fred Phelps of Britain. Probably beats working for a living though. Right, Anjem?
Still, a tire iron in the face would be a nice Christmas present for everybody.
#7
How many Muslims do you need before they reach critical mass and start exploding?
Three.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/19/2010 10:55 Comments ||
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#8
Mind your own goddam business, Choudary.
"Abortion, unwanted children"
I thought the former took care of the latter?
Idiot.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/19/2010 11:45 Comments ||
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#9
Check out the latest from Anjem's blog:
www.anjemchoudary.com
THE "EVILS" OF CHRISTMAS
Every year at this time we see the same ritual, the decorations are dragged out and draped over anything that stands still, Christmas trees are chopped down then erected in millions of front rooms, father Christmas, Christmas dinner, sleeping through the Queens speech, wheres the evil in that you might say?
Its all about Father Christmas or its a celebration of the birth of Jesus many say, the reality is that Christmas is more about office parties, house parties, raves, night clubs, alcohol, drugs and all the things that these lead to like illicit sex, violence, rape, domestic violence, crime, vandalism and so on. The fact is that Christmas is the time when men and women become the most base, immoral creatures who dont care for anything or anyone, their sole purpose becomes enjoyment in whatever depraved form that might take.
Is this what life is about, to be undignified, base, depraved, without any guiding morality? If Jesus were alive today would he join you? Of course you know very well that he would not, he is someone who called for goodness and condemned evil. In this life it seems that there is no good and bad, that it is just someones opinion. In fact there is good and bad and these are defined by God and it was up to prophets like Jesus and many others to inform mankind of this. Dont believe that man decides what is moral and what is immoral, when it is left to man the bar is slowly lifted, what is deemed to be acceptable is stretched further and further away from what is good. So in the past marriage was the only way for men and women to have relationship with one another, now anything goes (anyone, anyhow and with anything).
From the time of Adam (as) until the time of the prophet Muhammad (saw) prophets have received instructions from God for mankind, they received a complete and comprehensive manual on how to live your life. Governments particularly are not warm towards revelation and throughout time up until today have attacked those who carry the truth, so the prophets sacrificed their lives in order to pass this message, they struggled and strived in order to guide us to the truth. Dont be the one that throws that back in their faces, or the arrogant that thinks he knows what is good and bad.
Dont be the fool that thinks what harm can alcohol, drugs or parties cause. Look around you, what causes the teenage pregnancies or the abortions, homelessness, broken families, debt, domestic violence, poverty, violence etc. etc. these are all the side effects of evils in society. In Islam these problems are eradicated. There are growing numbers who used to celebrate Christmas and indeed every other festival, but at some point in their lives discovered something that completely changed their lives, they became worshippers instead of partiers, they became caring instead of couldnt care less, loyal rather than sleep around, they became Muslims, submitters to God rather than submitters to their own desires.
Posted by: Muslim ||
12/19/2010 14:05 Comments ||
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#10
Muslim, the thing is people should be free to make their own choices. Your type of "religion" denies people that right and gives the right of punishment for those bad choices to other people. There is therefore abuse of that power in that people take into their own hands the authority of God and use that authority for their own, not God's, ends.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/19/2010 18:17 Comments ||
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#11
Oh, please. The REAL drunken debauchery doesn't happen until a week later on New Years' Eve.
Or to make it more obvious for you, Anjem, it's the day before you get your first welfare check for 2011.
#12
Looks like the Rantburgundians have another chew-toy to play with. Go gentle on Muslim, the last few haven't lasted more than a round or two.
And I agree with tu3031 - the Fred Phelps of Britain.
#13
since Anjem, Hamza, and other Islamic ticks are generally on the public dole, I'd invite England to take an economic laxative and purge this shit back to their native shitholes where they can be judgmental on their fellow unproductive lumpen proles. Muslim doesn't interest me. He's unable to recognize the "evils" of Islamic society: the acid thrown in faces, honor-killings, arranged marriages, women forced to wear bags and have escorts. A sick society run by boys too insecure to be men with confidence and honor. Pathetic
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/19/2010 20:32 Comments ||
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#14
it's the day before you get your first welfare check for 2011.
Although Frank delivers a rhetorical knee to the metaphorical Islamic groin, Swamp Blondie wins the thread.
[El Universal] Institutional foundations for "socialism of the "21st Century" have been laid. Only three years after the people's refusal to constitutional reform, most of it reappears as laws thanks to the representatives of ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) at the National Assembly (AN).
Following the passage of the Organic Law for People's Power and the Communes Organic Law, the Organic Law for Public and People's Planning; the Organic Law on Citizen's Initiated Audits of State Institutions and the Organic Law of the Communal Economic System remain to be endorsed for the model heralded by President Hugo Chavez to come true.
"This is an attempt at squeezing in a parallel State, a communal State," said Isabel Pereira, the director of the Dissemination Center of Economic Knowledge for Freedom (Cedice).
She is certain that it is a "communist, unconstitutional package" in the economic field will mean final displacement of private entrepreneurship by the national government.
"It is a heart attack for the private entrepreneurship; they will ruin and nationalize more private companies."
The Organic Law for People's Power operates like an umbrella for the four other laws. It defines the communal State and the economic features of such a system.
"Communal economy enables organized communities to establish means for production, distribution, exchange and consumption of goods and services, as well as knowledge, developed in the form of communal social ownership in order to meet collective needs and make social reinvestment of the overage."
More from the Guardian, which of course doesn't see a problem.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/19/2010 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] Russian police have jugged over 2100 people at a rallies in the Moscow region in line with the country's policy to clamp down on the recent outbreaks of ethnic violence. In the rallies, hundreds of demonstrators, including young nationalists, erupted into the streets in northern Moscow on Saturday.
The main event, organized by ethnic Russian nationalists, was authorized by officials, but turned violent after the crowd scattered, Rooters reported.
"The rally was sanctioned, but soon the young people got bored, split into groups, and started marching with flaming torches toward the metro. This was illegal of course, and the police made arrests," Moscow police front man Viktor Biryukov said.
Russian media outlets have reported that some people of migrant origin were also among those jugged.
Ethnic violence in Russia hit a new peak last week when 7,000 soccer fans and nationalists, who were chanting racist slogans, rallied near Red Square and attacked passers-by who appeared to be ethnic minorities, injuring more than 30 people.
The violence was condemned by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who promised to put an end to all forms of extremism.
On Wednesday, police jugged about 1000 youths at central Moscow's Kievsky train station, where a big rally was reportedly being scheduled through the internet.
Radical racist far-right groups have mushroomed in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/19/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Putin made a bad mistake in creating his nationalist youth organization. 10 minutes later they turned into brown shirts and were out of control, spinning off even more radical groups with no government control at all.
ht to Doubleplusundead. Appears to be complete vacant cities...sat and other photo proof at link.... think they'll default soon?
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/19/2010 19:34 ||
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#1
Counting cars isn't an accurate measure of occupancy in China. Chinese car ownership still isn't anywhere near our levels and most Chinese outside of the major Eastern cities still don't own one. Can you count bicycles with those pictures? Or maybe look for transit buses depending on what day/time these pictures were taken.
Most Chinese ride the bus if they are outside of the major cities. Most of these places appear to be in the interior of China so better not use car counts to judge occupancy.
#2
CP - ok, fair enough. See buses? queues at bus stops? herds of bicycles? how about pedestrians? just saying...
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/19/2010 20:10 Comments ||
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#3
Ordos may be empty but it's not unowned. The majority of the houses have been sold. When people say that nothing lives there, others say "money lives there" It is essentially their retirement bolthole, which because China doesn't have a land tax is an excellent way of preserving wealth. I still have my doubts, so we will see if I'm right or wrong.
[Chosun Ilbo] Foreign pornography is spreading in North Korean market, Radio Free Asia in the U.S. reported Friday. The thought of domestic North Korean porn is somehow unsettling... ... it would be a little thin ...
Quoting a North Korean source, the radio station said the regime is trying to clamp down by distributing players that will only play North Korean-made DVDs and replacing parts of foreign players to stop them from being compatible, but an increasing number of people are looking for foreign videos.
The bestsellers in the market are pornography from Japan, a resident in Hyesan, Ryanggang Province, said. And many of the customers are teenagers.
A source in North Pyongan Province said, "It's easy to buy a smuggled Chinese video player, and it's possible to reproduce DVDs at home with Chinese-made burners. Foreign porn has spread so widely that any home with a player usually has one or two porn DVDs."
Parents in the North are concerned because there is no video ratings system in the North nor proper sex education for children, RFA added.
"It's difficult for North Korean residents to watch foreign TV programs, but not a few enjoy foreign porn as well as South Korean soap operas on DVDs," a North Korean defector said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/19/2010 00:00 ||
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#4
Just what they need, a population explosion.
(Sarc)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/19/2010 10:52 Comments ||
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#5
Have : Dogging It Meets Flash Crowd : Combo ! Must Read : Text : It'll be : Geared : Mid-level High School & Univeristies ! Stairwell : Sojourn : Real Hoot : Read ! Yowzer ! Staying Young : Forever ! Tahiti Legend ! TOO !!
Nearly 130 years after the death of Henry McCarty, alias William Bonney, but better known as Billy the Kid, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson will take some of the final hours of his administration to decide whether to pardon the baby-faced gunslinger.
Richardson will review evidence that in 1881, one of his predecessors promised to pardon Bonney for killing a sheriff in return for his testimony in a murder case. The record suggests that New Mexico territorial Gov. Lew Wallace later reneged on that promise.
Richardson has promised a decision by Dec. 31, his final day in office.
Richardson, who is in North Korea for talks aimed at defusing recent tensions after that country's recent artillery barrage on a South Korean island, has also solicited comment from citizens to help him make a decision, according to spokeswoman Alarie Ray-Garcia.
"This is something the governor was saying he would consider pretty much since he's been in office," she said.
He has made no commitment about whether he will grant the pardon.
Richardson is preparing to turn over the reins of state government to Republican Susana Martinez, along with a roughly $300-million budget deficit and near-record unemployment.
#1
last gasp for Richardson, a noted publicity whore
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/19/2010 10:34 Comments ||
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#2
Richardson is preparing to turn over the reins of state government to Republican Susana Martinez, along with a roughly $300-million budget deficit and near-record unemployment.
Sounds like she'll have more important things to worry about then North Korea and Billy the Kid's pardon.
Thanks, Bill. Enjoy the talk show circuit...
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/19/2010 11:51 Comments ||
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#4
they've gotta be looking a that dopey fat f*ck and thinking: "that would be a months worth of soup"
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/19/2010 11:55 Comments ||
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#5
Lew Wallace, Civil War General and novelist, served as governor of the territory of New Mexico between 1878-1881.
He had a few things to say about running the place in letters to his wife:
All calculations based on our experiences elsewhere fail in New Mexico.
And he predicted this fate for his replacement:
`Of course, he will do just as I did, have the same ideas, make the same attempts, and with the same heartiness of effort, soon cool in zeal, then finally say, `All right, let her drift.
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The Iraqi cabinet forwarded to parliament the 2011 draft state budget, which hit nearly 78 trillion Iraqi dinars (roughly $67 billion), according to a lawmaker from al-Iraqiya bloc on Saturday.
The draft state budget was forwarded to parliament in accordance with the law. The revenues resulting from export of crude oil within the budget were calculated on the basis of 73 dollars per barrel and a rate of export of 2.25 million barrels per day (bpd), including 150,000 bpd in crude oil exports from the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, Abdulkareem al-Samarraie told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
The Iraqi Kurdistan Region has to be committed to revenues coming from the crude oil exports to the Iraq Reconstruction Fund after deducting the 5% rate in Kuwait War compensations or any other matter adopted by the Security Council and has to be repaid to the United Nations, he added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/19/2010 00:00 ||
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I spent 2 days trying to get home by air from Heathrow. I had 3 flights booked, rebooked, cancelled and was driven about 40km each way in heavy snow to spend the 1st night in a hotel. I was one of the lucky few who actually got a bed to sleep in. By the end of the 2nd day I gave in and travelled into central London to take the train home. That journey took almost 7 hours, about 2 hours longer than usual, because of frozen tracks, brakes, doors ....even toilets! Again I was lucky that was an option for me. A friend from Europe had to take 2 trains, a ferry and then another train. It was bad!
#5
That's NOT a lot of snow, or cold, by most American's or Canadian's reckoning. Man up, fer crissakes.
Posted by: no mo uro
Remember a lot of those place aren't equipped to deal with snow either. In the southern US, you see a couple of flakes of snow and everything shuts down since there are no snowplows, no extra insulation on buildings, etc.
But, where I grew up that is considered a "light" snow. In fact, anything under a foot is a business-as-usual snow.
#14
Since most MSM-NET = GW Perts are predicting POWERFUL SOLAR STORMS to still occur post-2012, IMO the UK including Ireland are more at risk from RISING SEA LEVELS = TIDAL + WAVE FORCES/ACTIONS.
Most likely also STORMY since the ABOVE PERTS are also forecasting STRONGER, BIGGER + MORE POWERFUL OCEANIC STORMS TO OCCUR AS THE SUN GETS HOTTER.
A controversial class about Islam was on, then it was off, and now it's back on with a change of location. The instructor has become known for his criticism of Islamic doctrine, yet Barry Sommer still wants to teach a class about it.
A Lane County facility, Harris Hall, can be reserved free of charge by anyone. "From a legal standpoint, government buildings are to be given to the general public. And when I discovered that, I was quite pleased," Sommer said. This will help Sommer open up a forum on Islam after Lane Community College dropped the class over a difference in philosophy.
Sommer insists he can be objective and says he'll demonstrate that during a series of sessions in January. "For me to be able to do this outside of LCC and still present the same information to the people who wanted to come to the class is very heartening to me," Sommer said.
Meanwhile, the American Center for Law and Justice is investigating why LCC abandoned Sommer's program. In caving to a Muslim civil rights organization, the ACLJ says LCC violated Sommer's rights in two ways. "Obviously it's important that there's a contractual violation, but also it's never appropriate for a state agency to pulp the first amendment rights that we have," said CeCe Heil, ACLJ Senior Counsel.
Pooh. Freedom to say what one wants is one thing. One is not entitled to be paid to do so, nor are organizations, whether public or private, required to provide a platform if that does not match the stated purpose of the organization. Mr. Sommer found a good solution.
WND version of the story here.
Inside Higher Ed story (from before the new facility was found) here.
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.
[Al Jazeera] The man assigned to recover money for victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme has won his biggest settlement yet - an agreement by the estate of longtime Madoff friend Jeffry Picower to give back $7.2bn in profits from the epic fraud.
Anjem Choudary will be holding an anti-Christmas protest on Britains busiest shopping street. On Christmas Eve, Choudary and company plan to go to Londons Oxford Street to convert a million lost souls. 
Foreign pornography is spreading in North Korean market, Radio Free Asia in the U.S. reported Friday. 
