RANGER, Ga. - Legendary test pilot Scott Crossfield, the first man to fly at twice the speed of sound, was found dead Thursday in the wreckage of a single-engine plane in the mountains of northern Georgia, his son-in-law said. Searchers discovered the wreckage of a small plane about 50 miles northwest of Atlanta, but the Civil Air Patrol didn't immediately identify the body inside. Ed Fleming, Crossfield's son-in-law, told The Associated Press from Crossfield's home in Herndon, Va., that family had been told it was Crossfield.
Crossfield's Cessna was last spotted in the same area on Wednesday while on flight from Alabama to Virginia. There were thunderstorms in the area when officials lost radar and radio contact with the plane at 11:15 a.m., said Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
Crossfield, 84, had been one of a group of civilian pilots assembled by the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics, the forerunner of NASA, in the early 1950s. Air Force Capt. Chuck Yeager had already broken the speed of sound in his history-making flight in 1947. But Crossfield set the Mach 2 record - twice the speed of sound - in 1953, when he reached 1,300 mph in NACA's Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket.
In 1960, Crossfield reached Mach 2.97 in an X-15 rocket plane launched from a B-52 bomber. The plane reached an altitude of 81,000 feet. At the time, Crossfield was working as a pilot and design consultant for North American Aviation, which made the X-15. He later worked as an executive for Eastern Airlines and Hawker Siddley Aviation.
More recently, Crossfield had a key role in preparations for the attempt to re-enact the Wright brothers' flight on the 100th anniversary of their feat near Kitty Hawk, N.C. He trained four pilots for the Dec. 17, 2003, flight attempt in a replica of the brothers' flyer, but poor weather prevented the take-off.
Among his many honors, Crossfield was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1983. On Wednesday, his plane had left Prattville, Ala., around 9 a.m. en route to Manassas, Va., not far from his home.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/20/2006 14:07 ||
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#1
Another foto goes on the wall at the Happy Bottom Riding Club. God bless ya Scott.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
04/20/2006 14:28 Comments ||
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#2
Hopefully, God has a nice new X-15 waiting for him and a big patch of sky to play in.
Posted by: Mike ||
04/20/2006 14:33 Comments ||
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#3
On June 17, 1960, Scott Crossfield was sitting in the cockpit of the No.3 X-15 when an engine malfunction resulted in an explosion which all but destroyed the aircraft. Though he had been subjected to a force of 50 g's, Crossfield was unhurt and he later related the following story: "When the reporters asked me how I felt, I said 'I'm fine; just spoiled the crease in my pants.' Next day, one of the headlines read: 'X-15 Explodes; Pilot Wets Pants.'"
I've seen the video. Amazing. He said it was like sitting inside the sun.
#4
I've seen that too, tu. Amazing is putting it mildly. I suppose after surviving something like that, every day is a gift. And living to 84 and still flying: well done Mr. Crossfield.
#7
...Mr. Crossfield, Pete Everest, Marion Carl, Mel Apt, Glenn Edwards, and all the others are having a drink with Pancho somewhere right now...and I'd give anything to hear the stories.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/20/2006 20:34 Comments ||
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NEW YORK In an interview in the The New York Times Magazine that will appear this coming Sunday, Madeleine Albright reveals, among other things, that even at 68, she works out three times a week "and I can leg-press up to 400 pounds." This follows a discussion of how she does not expect to re-marry, partly because, as she says, "I'm intimidating, don't you think?" I hate to be the one to break it to you, Maddie, but that's not the reason.
Another highlight of the Q & A is her commentary on the fact that her father, Josef Korbel, a Czech diplomat who became dean of the school of international relations at the University of Denver, happened to train two future secretaries of state. The other was Condoleezza Rice. "What I like about her," Albright says, "is that she continues to give credit to the fact that my father had a big influence on her." The cobblers children goe shoeless?
When Korbel died in 1977, Rice sent a pot of flowers in the shape of a piano, and Albright's mother referred to her as "your father's favorite student." Puts you in your place, hon.
Nowadays Albright is not a fan of certain aspects of Rice's work. She declares that the Iraq invasion "may end up being one of the worst disasters in American foreign policy." Somebody didn't do her homework.
#15
Bush had nothing to do with what happened in France, Spain, Nepal and Venezuela. Otherwise, things seem better most everywhere else. Somalia even has a government of some sort now.
#16
Bush will leave you a clear-eyed vision of the states who'll try to destroy us. The Donks, and RR (troll) would sell your country and soul for a few year's power (before the true dhimmitude begins. I call them as they are: traitors
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/20/2006 21:53 Comments ||
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Posted in honor of the placenta eating whackjob's blessed event.
It's a measure of what we have come to expect from celebrities to consider that if Henry Fonda were alive and having children today, it would seem as likely for him to name his daughter, say, Hanoi, as simply to call her Jane. I dunno. Traitorous Commie Bitch Fonda kinda sings.
It seems almost unimaginable for any 21st-century movie star to send his children out among the Hollywood elite equipped with ordinary names like Michael, Eric, Joel and Peter, as Kirk Douglas once did.
This point was driven home again last week, when Gwyneth Paltrow and her husband, Chris Martin, the frontman of the band Coldplay, named their newborn son Moses. Moses? That's a lot of pressure...Who's your Messiah now, ya little bastard!!!
It was an unlikely enough name for a baby boy born in 2006, but perhaps less startling than the much discussed (and mocked) handle his sister, Apple, born two years ago, will carry through life. Hopefully Gwyneth has already made the financial arrangements for her lifelong therapy. And this possibly payback to her parents for naming her Gwyneth...
Not that a name like Apple Martin stands out among celebrity children anymore. The director Peter Farrelly plucked that very name for his daughter before Apple Martin came along. Even that name seems drab compared with Hollywood baby names like Pilot Inspektor, cooked up by Jason Lee, the star of "My Name Is Earl," Oh, yeah. Big, biiiiiig star...
or Banjo, the inspiration of the "Six Feet Under" star Rachel Griffiths, or Moxie CrimeFighter, a name chosen last year by the comedian and magician Penn Jillette for his daughter. Wait til she meets her future sister Pepsi Gangbanger. And I'll sue his ass off if he takes that one...
Skeptics scoff at the mad rush by stars to come up with exotic baby names as another means for the attention-hungry to grab headlines. But psychologists and others who have worked with high-profile performers say that the naming of children can function as a window into a psyche. Perhaps subconsciously, they say, stars seize the opportunity of parenthood to express their obsessions, ambitions and inner quirks in a way that is, for a change, unscripted and not stage-managed by publicists. Ah, yes. The "all about me" thing. Well, I am just so shocked...
Mr. Jillette, for example, managed to satisfy a number of interests and objectives when he and his wife, Emily, gave their daughter her highly individual name. "You're likely to be the only one in any normal-size group with that name," Mr. Jillette said by e-mail, adding, " 'Moxie' is a name that was created by an American for the first national soft drink and then went on to mean 'chutzpah,' and that's nice." Besides, Moxie CrimeFighter fits right into the creative world.
"Everyone I know with an unusual name loves it," he wrote. "It's only the losers named Dave that think having an unusual name is bad, and who cares what they think. They're named Dave." Remember that Penn when Moxie tries to run you down in her Mercedes when she's about 13 and on another coke binge...
Not all performers present their decisions in such terms.
"Apples are so sweet, and they're wholesome, and it's biblical," Ms. Paltrow said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2004. "And I just thought it sounded so lovely and clean." ("Moses" meanwhile is a song that Mr. Martin wrote for Ms. Paltrow in 2003.) Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww...
But while middle-class parents increasingly trade in standard names like Karen and Joseph for fancier ones like Madison and Caleb, movie stars seem compelled to push the baby naming further. The names may be merely distinctive (say, Maddox, Angelina Jolie's Cambodian-born adopted son) or bizarre, like Makena'lei Gordon, Helen Hunt's daughter, inspired by a place name in Hawaii. Celebrities may not so subtly be saying that for them ordinary rules need not apply. "Subtly", my ass...
If celebrities are the new American aristocracy, the exotic baby name can sometimes function as the equivalent of a royal title, a way for a privileged caste to bestow the power of its legacy on future generations. God, I can't wait for computer generated animation to put these folks out of business.
"There's a sense of 'I'm special, I'm different, and therefore my child is special and different,' " said Jenn Berman, a clinical psychologist in Beverly Hills, who has worked with actors. "It's unconscious, but they think, 'We're a creative family, you have the potential to be creative, so here, I bestow you with the name 'Joaquin,' " Dr. Berman said. Or his brother, "River". Who died of a heroin overdose outside Johnny Depp's Viper Room. So I guess a whacky name isn't always your expressway to the big time.
As artists, actors often consider it their duty to shake up assumptions, defy conventions and push the frontiers of the possible. To settle for a tedious name for the child would almost be a form of spiritual surrender, said Stuart Fischoff, a psychologist, who has also worked with Hollywood clients. And screw sentencing the kid to a life of merciless taunting. This is about ME, dammit!
"They're expressing their creativity, and they're also expressing their fear," Dr. Fischoff said. "It would be very embarrassing for people to think of them as normal." Don't worry. We don't.
#5
I've always thought Zippo would be a good infants name. How often do you hear it now days? Got a kind of a retro sound to it. Bridges the gendor gap, it could be used for either sex. I bet some Hollywoodistanian has already picked up on it though.
#6
I've always thought Zippo would be a good infants name.
Too close to "Zeppo".
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
04/20/2006 7:27 Comments ||
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#7
"Everyone I know with an unusual name loves it," he wrote. "It's only the losers named Dave that think having an unusual name is bad, and who cares what they think. They're named Dave."
"Moxie CrimeFighter"? I don't think that's bad, not at all. What better way to brand her for life as the child of a frivolous, self-indulgent asshole? She'll be grateful to you in later years, I'm sure.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/20/2006 8:03 Comments ||
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#12
Actually, if I were Penn Jillette's daughter, I'd be more pissed about the genes he passed on to me than with any name he could pull out of his fat ass.
#13
I remember in the SF bay area in the 60s a guy tried to legally change his name to Jefferson F*ck Poland, but the judge denied his request. Then they argued about a change to Jefferson F. Poland.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/20/2006 10:28 Comments ||
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#14
"After being charged 20 pounds for a 10 pounds overdraft, 30 year old Michael Howard of Leeds changed his name by deed poll to "Yorkshire Bank Plc are Fascist Bastards". The Bank has now asked him to close his account, and Mr Bastards has asked them to repay the 69p balance by cheque, made out in his new name."
Guardian
#15
I could see giving a kid an exotic name based on one's ethnic heritage - for instance my boy has an out of the ordinary Irish first name based on my wife and my background. I knew some older southern baptist black folks w/very biblical names - Moses being one. However I don't think Paltrow is jewish and is obviously not black. As for the rest - what a bunch of clowns. One more reason to be put off by hollywood narcissism. BTW - I heard that lron hubbard lover spawned yesterday - anybody know what Suri means? Some sort of indian curry dish perhaps?
#16
Hey, I know a girl named Apple. But she's Chinese, and Chinese people often pick wacky English names. I know people named Rainbow, Dolphin, Dragon, Elf, and so on. My own Chinese name means "Radium". But hey, these are people picking their own names, not trying to make cheap headlines by saddling an infant with an unfortunate name.
#17
"Moses" is archaic and uncommon, but not as flat-out wierd as the rest of 'em in the article. I was friends in junior high school with a kid named Moses. Besides the Moses, history also gives us Moses Cleveland (founder of the Mistake on the Lake) and Moses Mamiedies (sp?) (Medieval Jewish scholar and ethicist), and the Coldplay song is probably the best thing they've ever recorded.
Posted by: Mike ||
04/20/2006 11:44 Comments ||
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#18
"Apples are so sweet, and they're wholesome, and it's biblical," Ms. Paltrow said
How are apples Biblical? Genesis says the fruit of the tree, not the apple.
Now if she'd have said Moses is Biblical, I'd say of course. But no, Moses is from a song. Sheesh.
#19
Maimonedes, Mike. Nicknamed Rambam (for Rabbi Moses ben Maimonedes). He was also a physician -- personal physician to the Muslim ruler in Cairo, and an overly thriving practice amongst the commoners besides. A busy man. ;-)
Posted by: Mike ||
04/20/2006 14:34 Comments ||
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#21
Broadhead6, supposedly it means "princess" in Hebrew or "red rose" in Persian. Don't speak the languages, so I really couldn't say if that is real or they are just pulling that outta their asses. I wish they would have picked "Xenu".
I'm surprised they didn't mention one of the absolute worst names ever by some celebrity dork: Audioscience. WTF???
#22
Regarding Apple as a name. I'm wondering if Colplay was selling a lot of songs on iTunes the month the Baby was born. I'm also wondering if the kid becomes a musician if Apple records will sue.
#23
To be honest I always thought most of the 'star' names were created as intentional pseudonames so the kids could have some privacy if desired. It seemed to make sense but this article has made me reconsider now. I'm still pulling for Pen to have done this, he sounds pretty darn smart on his radio show.
#24
"Why stars name babies Moxie, Moses and Apple"
They're narcissitic, clueless idiots.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/20/2006 17:54 Comments ||
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#25
The stupid weird name phenom also infests happens at the opposite end of the socio-economic ladder. Unfortunately at that end it's nearly a stone cold education ender. Not many Shaka'rilla or De'Von'Tays make it thru the 11th grade. Dammit.
#26
Don't get me started, 6. In South Alabama in the early 60s Trailer was a popular name for a boy. I know a guy named Early (he was a week early).
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
04/20/2006 18:28 Comments ||
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#27
Ok! Nobody mentioned it so....
This was covered in that famous song...
A Boy Named Sue
My daddy left home when I was three
And he didn't leave much to ma and me
Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid
But the meanest thing that he ever did
Was before he left, he went and named me "Sue."
Well, he must o' thought that is quite a joke
And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk,
It seems I had to fight my whole life through.
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue."
Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame.
But I made a vow to the moon and stars
That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
And kill that man who gave me that awful name.
Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.
At an old saloon on a street of mud,
There at a table, dealing stud,
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "Sue."
Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
He was big and bent and gray and old,
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
And I said: "My name is 'Sue!' How do you do!
Now your gonna die!!"
Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
And he went down, but to my surprise,
He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear.
But I busted a chair right across his teeth
And we crashed through the wall and into the street
Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.
I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
But I really can't remember when,
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.
And he said: "Son, this world is rough
And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along.
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
And it's the name that helped to make you strong."
He said: "Now you just fought one hell of a fight
And I know you hate me, and you got the right
To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do.
But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
Cause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you "Sue.'"
I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
And I came away with a different point of view.
And I think about him, now and then,
Every time I try and every time I win,
And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him
Bill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!
#28
Yep, when Chinese choose English names they make some weird choices. I had one guy who worked for me pick the name of a bridge, because he "liked the sound of it."
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/20/2006 19:13 Comments ||
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#30
How old do you have to be to legally change your name? I can tell you I'd be Apple/Dweezle/Moon Unit only as long as I legally had to, until then I'd go by my middle name.
My ex brother-in-law was named York. He went by his middle name instead.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/20/2006 22:25 Comments ||
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#37
I knew of a Sweet family that contained two girls, Truly and Nicely.
Posted by: Mike ||
04/20/2006 22:35 Comments ||
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#38
Yeah, DB, I was always kinda dubious about it. Nobody could be that friggin stupid I thought. But then I read about Moxie Crimefighter and figured...maybe.
#39
In the NICU we had some papers on the counter that had info regarding syphilis and gonorrhea. One of the mother's coming in to see her twin baby girls saw the papers and liked the "names".
She named them syphilis (she pronounced it: saw fy las) and gonorrhea (she pronounced it: gone rye a), I am not kidding you, even when we told her what the words meant she still named them this, saying she loved the names. These girls are probably about 16 years old now.
True I kid you not.
Posted by: Jan ||
04/20/2006 23:43 Comments ||
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#40
hey any guesses on what brad and anjelina will name their baby?
Posted by: Jan ||
04/20/2006 23:49 Comments ||
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British Prime Minister Tony Blair launched a strongly-worded attack on Wednesday on Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, calling his regime a "disgrace" that had brought the country to its knees. "What the regime is doing in Zimbabwe is a disgrace," Blair told Parliament in his weekly question-and-answer session when asked why Western governments appeared powerless to prevent "human tragedy" in the Southern African country.
"There are people suffering there in a country that is potentially wealthy," the prime minister said. "We have had ourselves as a nation actually give humanitarian assistance to people and food-aid assistance in circumstances where, if the country were properly run, the people could be looked after there and looked after properly."
Blair agreed that more needed to be done for Zimbabwe, where inflation was running at 913% and female life expectancy was now the lowest in the world at 34, according to a recent World Health Organisation assessment.
He said London was right to continue to exert diplomatic pressure on Harare, but he also acknowledged that finding a lasting, effective solution was more difficult. "The only issue is what we can do about it, and what we are doing from this country is our very best to try and get the right diplomatic pressure on the Zimbabwean regime to change, but there is, I am afraid, a limit to what we can do," he added. "But my belief in this is that while Zimbabwe remains as it is it casts a shadow over that whole part of Southern Africa and it is a tragedy for the people concerned."
Zimbabwe's relations with Britain have been strained over the past seven years after Mugabe launched sweeping land reforms that saw the government seizing properties from white commercial farmers, mostly of British descent. The long-serving president has often accused Blair of harbouring plans to "re-colonise" Zimbabwe -- which as Rhodesia was a British colony until 1980 -- by using the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) as a front.
JAIL bosses are rebuilding toilets so Muslim inmates donÂ’t have to use them while facing Mecca. Thousands of pounds of taxpayers money are being spent to ensure lags are not offended.
The Islamic religion prohibits Muslims from facing or turning their backs on the Kiblah — the direction of prayer — when they visit the lav. Muslim lags claimed they have had to sit sideways on prison WCs.
But after pressure from faith leaders the Home Office has agreed to turn the existing toilets 90 degrees at HMP Brixton in London. The Home Office refused to reveal the cost of the new facilities — part of an “on-going refurbishment”.
One Muslim former inmate said: “The least the Prison Service can do is make sure people can practise their religion correctly in prison.”
But a Brixton jail officer said: “If they didn’t get locked up for committing crime they would not have this problem. Yet we have to sort out their loos. If we weren’t paying for it as taxpayers I’d laugh my socks off.”
Around a quarter of prisoners at the Category B jail are Muslims. Labour MP Khalid Mahmood said: “As far as I understand this rule only applies in a place of worship.”
Tory MP Ann Widdecombe said: “Some common sense needs to be applied.”
Posted by: john ||
04/20/2006 11:25 ||
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#1
Here's an idea. Give 'em a bucket. They can point it anyway they want.
Or, better yet, tell 'em to go fuck themselves.
#4
Sorry guys, but you break the law, you get the punishment. Can't pee toward mecca? Can't break the law. Break one - break the other. Now sit sideways and shut up. It's your insanity - nothing about the plumbing demands facing 90 degrees from mecca.
ASUNCION, Paraguay -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned Wednesday his government would blow up its own oilfields if the United States ever were to attack -- the latest in a series of warnings against Washington.
U.S. officials have repeatedly denied any military plans against Chavez but also have called him a threat to stability in the region. Speaking with other South American leaders, Chavez said his conflict with the United States is rooted in Washington's thirst for oil. If the United States were to attack, Chavez said: "We'll do like the Iraqis. We won't have any other alternative -- blow up our own oilfields but they aren't going to take that oil.'' Balance at the link along with a swell boating photo of Hugo and Fidel.
NB: Besoeker, please follow the rules in posting: get the topic selected (not just SAST), set whether it's WoT or not, and use the proper formatting tags. Hilite is for your comments, not to emphasize something in the article. The mods don't have the time to re-edit every piece. Thx. AoS.
President Hugo Chavez, who accuses Washington of planning to invade Venezuela, said on Tuesday recent deployment of US warships in the Caribbean Sea threatened his country and its ally Cuba. Four US warships, including an aircraft carrier, and 6,500 sailors, are in a two-month deployment in the Caribbean Sea dubbed “Partnership of the Americas” by the US Navy.
“They are doing maneuvers right here,” Chavez told a student meeting in the country’s west. “This is a threat, not just against us, against Venezuela, against Cuba.”
Chavez has repeatedly accused the United States of trying to oust him. US officials say the self-styled socialist revolutionary and friend of Cuban President Fidel Castro threatens regional stability. Chavez, who has created a civilian reserve to resist the assault he says Washington is planning, has threatened to repel US forces with arrows coated with poison. The United States, a leading buyer of oil from Venezuela, the worldÂ’s No. 5 exporter, has dismissed his invasion talk as a ridiculous invention aimed at stirring up his supporters. At least one warship has come as close to Venezuela as the Dutch island of Aruba, about 15 miles (24 km) off its coast.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/20/2006 01:55 ||
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#1
A freeking legend in his own mind old Hugo is. It's just his usual frothing.
Hey Hugo, your coast is on our Lake so "bite me." At least your hero Castro has a grasp of that fact of life.
Posted by: SPoD ||
04/20/2006 2:09 Comments ||
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#3
very emotional, these latinos... the make great poets
Posted by: bk ||
04/20/2006 10:17 Comments ||
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#4
theY make great poets
Posted by: bk ||
04/20/2006 10:17 Comments ||
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#5
At least one warship has come as close to Venezuela as the Dutch island of Aruba, about 15 miles (24 km) off its coast.
Wait till they dock in Trinidad.
It is just 9 miles from Venezuela. When they sail into Port of Spain harbor, the battle group will be a few miles from Venezuelan waters, within sight of the coast.
Hugo can stand on the shore with a pair of binoculars and take a real good look at the F-18s on the flight deck.
Posted by: john ||
04/20/2006 11:00 Comments ||
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#6
Look up the latin phrase "mare nostrum", bitch.
#8
So now, when nothing happens, Hugo can screech about how he scared the big, bad gringos away.
I'd run the air wing in for a flyby over Caracas. Just to show him how easy it would really be if we wanted it to happen...
#12
A little trivia bit I was told by a swab who had been aboard the Enterprise, was that no matter where in the world they went, some dumbass would always shoot at them. Granted, they might be 20 miles offshore and they would be lobbing mortar rounds at them, but it's the principle of the thing.
If there was any tangible threat, however, he noted that our ship Captains tend to be a testy lot, and not ones to turn the other cheek.
This would sometimes result in things like an idiot with a hunting rifle experiencing the awe and mystery of having a large tree near him suddenly disintigrate under .50 cal fire, which teaches a valuable lesson, as it were.
We can only hope that Hugo will decide to show us how macho he really is. Maybe if we start broadcasting loud messages from ship implying that he is a "girly man".
From East Asia Intel, subscription.
ABU DHABI — China has approved a $5-billion energy deal with Kuwait that could result in strategic ties between the two nations. Beijing has approved a Kuwaiti plan to construct a $5-billion oil refinery in the Guangdong Province in southern China. The Kuwait-based daily Al Rai Al Aam reported on April 11 that the refinery, built in Guangzhou, would have a 300,000-barrel per day capacity.
The decision by China's National Development and Reform Commission creates a joint venture between the Chinese oil company PetroChina and the state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp., Al Rai Al Aam reported.
In December 2005, China and Kuwait signed a memorandum of understanding to construct the refinery and a petrochemical plant in Guangzhou. Industry sources said the agreement could pave the way for strategic relations between the Gulf Cooperation Council state and China, which has been seeking new energy markets. And the Chicoms are a huge energy market.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/20/2006 13:14 ||
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#1
And China will be there to protect them with Iran attacks.
THE English syllabus taught in Australian schools was being dumbed down by "rubbish" post modern texts, Prime Minister John Howard said today.
Mr Howard said he questioned some of the decisions made by state education authorities about literacy promoted to students. "I feel very, very strongly about the criticism that many people are making that we are dumbing down the English syllabus," Mr Howard said on ABC radio in Brisbane. "I think there's evidence of that in different parts of the country ... when the, what I might call the traditional texts, are treated no differently from pop cultural commentary, as appears to be the case in some syllabus."
Mr Howard said authorities seemed too willing to succumb to political correctness at the expense of quality traditional literature. "I share the views of many people about the so-called post modernism ... I just wish that independent education authority didn't succumb on occasions to the political correctness that it appears to succumb to," he said.
"We all understand that it's necessary to be able to be literate and coherent in the English language, we understand that it's necessary to be numerate and we also understand that there's high-quality literature and there's rubbish.
"We need a curriculum that encourages an understanding of the high-quality literature and not the rubbish."
When asked about the West Australian Government's "outcome-based" education program, Mr Howard replied: "That is gobbledegook – what does that mean?" The WA Education Department has said learning outcomes "aim to ensure that all students in WA have the knowledge, understandings, skills and values necessary to participate and prosper in a changing world and new millennium".
#1
"aim to ensure that all students ... have the knowledge, understandings, skills and values necessary to participate and prosper in a changing world and new millennium".
Odd, that seemed to be objective of education for at least a century. Changing world is a feature present since industrial revolution. New millennium? Who cares? Inconsequential.
Yes, Howard is right, "outcome-based" education program is gobbledygook. In fact, gobbledygook is nowadays what passes in schools for education.
#2
SHAKESPEARE, etal versuz tweeny IPOD TEXTING - time for the Marines and Rapid Deployment boyz to save another one. Iff Spacewar.com's article about Russia's declining confidence in its own nuke arsenal bodes true, tell the Marines and Airborne to add Russian babes to their long list. SO MANY INVASIONS TO BE DONE, NOT ENOUGH BARBECUES OR BARTYLE & JAMES!?
#4
Joe, I'm having trouble decrypting that message. Did it say 'Send more meds now' or did it say 'I've found the clue to the Knights Templar's treasure'
MADRID: A judge in the southern Spanish resort of Marbella has ordered police to bring in Rifaat Assad, uncle of Syrian President Bashar Assad, for questioning as part of investigations into corruption at the town hall, El Mundo newspaper reported on Thursday. The daily said Rifaat Assad, who has a home in Marbella, was "in charge of a syndicate of luxury property owners at nearby Puerto Banus which could have received preferential treatment from the town hall."
In recent weeks, a swathe of officials have been arrested on corruption-related charges following the discovery of a massive corruption network centered on the town hall planning department. El Mundo reported that Assad had failed to appear for a Wednesday morning hearing to answer a complaint against him brought by an alleged arms dealer, Syrian-Argentine national Monzer al-Kassar, who has lived in Marbella for 10 years. Last week, Assad failed to answer a previous summons on the grounds that he was away on holiday.
Judge Francisco Javier de Urquia told police to haul in Assad "given that there have been several unfruitful summonses" already, El Mundo said, quoting documents it had obtained on the investigation.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/20/2006 20:31 ||
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An Ottawa man is in serious condition and was airlifted to the burn unit at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto after accidentally setting himself on fire yesterday morning while trying to cut open a gas tank with a chainsaw.
The Ottawa Fire Department said 62-year-old Stanley Hill had been doing some cleanup work on a rural property at 4679 Ridge Rd., off Walkley Road, about 10 a.m. when, they believe, a spark from the saw caused a small explosion and a flash of fire to spread up his body and head.
Mr. Hill put out the fire. He drove himself about 100 meters across the road to a farmhouse where a startled female resident called 911. Paramedics treated him for second- and third-degree burns to his face, head, chest, back, arms and legs. Mr. Hill was able to tell paramedics what had happened.
Posted by: john ||
04/20/2006 09:50 ||
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#1
I guess he had a burning desire to open that tank. HeyOooooooo!!!
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said on Thursday he was seriously thinking about another White House bid in 2008 and will decide before the year is out. United Nations???
"I will make that decision toward the end of the year, but I'm thinking about it hard," Kerry said in response to a question at the Latin Economic Forum at the United Nations.
"If you can get help me find 60,000 votes in Ohio ...," he joked, referring to the close race in that state on which his 2004 loss to President Bush hinged.
Kerry, a U.S. senator from Massachusetts, has criticized Bush on a range of issues, particularly the war in Iraq. Kyoto, Shortages of Top Ramen, etc.
On Thursday, he focused on Latin America, saying Bush lost interest in the region after the September 11 attacks.
"Relations between the United States and Latin America today are at their lowest point since the end of the Cold War," Kerry said. Embrace Chavez! Love the Che T-Shirts!
Other Democrats seen as potentially seeking the nomination include U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner and Kerry's former running mate, John Edwards AKA "Silky Pony".
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/20/2006 20:09 ||
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#1
Sure man, go for it. Waste lots more of Mommy's money. Besides, I miss Tahrayza and her big Red Rudolph nose.
#6
Lets hope he runs. It will be a big win for the Rep party.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
04/20/2006 21:39 Comments ||
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#7
I figure every one of Terayyyyza's dollars wasted on his losing bid is less she can contribute to the anti-American Tides Foundation. Run Jean-Pierre, run!
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/20/2006 21:51 Comments ||
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#8
Kerry 'thinking hard'
WARNING! WARNING! COGNITIVE OVERLOAD! MELTDOWN IN TWO MINUTES! WARNING! PLEASE EVACUATE TO A SAFE DISTANCE! SEVERE COGNITIVE OVERLOAD! WARNING!
#9
Iff Hillary wants to be BillC. > means she will likely NOT run for POTUS unless she's guaranteed eight years of MSM-verified national bliss and "I am Woman" anti-Repub Repub, anti-Conservative Conservative, etc. achievement. Iff **** hits the fan vv IRAN-NK-TAIWAN, etc, wid high risk of new 9-11's = disguised decapitation strikes against Dubya-GOP-NPE + regional? limited nuke war, then at best she will either stay a Senator, or the more likely to run as VPOTUS wid pro-Socialist, pro-OWG, "win-to-fail" "Americans-for-Anti-Americanism-for-Americans" Dem Prezzies GORE-KERRY-DEAN, where US-based UNO-OWG Peacekeeping forces = invading/occupyng enemy army is not just a PC surreal concept. Armed foreign occupation forces to offset MSM-verified alleged US Civil War and "keep the [American] peace" is as good and positive for Clintonian DemocraticCapitalist = Socialist-Commie, Federalist=Centralist/
Centrist Amerika as its own American Holocaust, you betcha. *ITS SO GOOD ITS AS IFF AMERICA WAS NEVER GENOCIDED/HOLOCAUSTED BEFORE, like good ice cream or parfait.
Somehow, it's gotta be Bush's fault(tm)! I'm sure minorities, women and gays are hardest hit too!
ATLANTA - In what appears to be an amazing success for American medicine, preliminary government figures released Wednesday showed that the annual number of deaths in the U.S. dropped by nearly 50,000 in 2004 — the biggest decline in nearly 70 years. The 2 percent decrease, reported by the National Center for Health Statistics, came as a shock to many, because the U.S. is aging, growing in population and getting fatter. In fact, some experts said they suspect the numbers may not hold up when a final report is released later this year. So much for all those upcoming lawsuits against McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's! Super size me, baby!
Nevertheless, center officials said the statistics, based on a review of about 90 percent of death records reported in all 50 states in 2004, were consistent across the country and were deemed solid enough to report. The center said drops in the death rates for heart disease, cancer and stroke accounted for most of the decline. Again, puts a nail in the coffin for those ambulance chasers. However, with the current state of the courts, who knows?
"We were surprised by the sharpness of the decrease. It's kind of historical," said statistician Arialdi Minino, lead author of the report. Leave it to a statistician to say "kind of historical."
The government also said that U.S. life expectancy has inched up again to 77.9 years, a record high but still behind that of about two dozen other countries. Well, of course, what else would the UN have to do except scold those fat, lazy 'mericans?
The preliminary number of U.S. deaths recorded for 2004 was 2,398,343. That represents a decline of 49,945 from the 2,448,288 recorded in 2003. U.S. deaths ordinarily rise slightly each year. The last decline in annual deaths occurred in 1997, a modest drop of 445 deaths from 1996, Minino said. As Taranto says, "below 100%?"
The number of deaths has not dropped this steeply since 1938, when there were about 69,000 fewer than in 1937. A drop in 1944 came close — about 48,000 fewer deaths than the previous year. Health officials could not immediately say why the number of deaths fell so sharply in either of those years. Couldn't be because WWII was coming to a close then, eh? Man, I need to apply for a grant to study these issues!
"These are preliminary data," said Paul Terry, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Atlanta's Emory University. "But if it holds up, it's obviously very good news." "Very good news indeed," he added while ordering an XL Papa John's pizza.
To see such a giant drop after years of annual increases was a little hard to swallow for some. Of course, there will always be doubters, even of good news. I guess the National Association of Funeral Home Directors will be expressing their outrage too!
"We will not make much of this until the final data come out," said Elizabeth Ward, director of surveillance research for the American Cancer Society. She sees less grant money coming their way, I assume!
Overall, age-adjusted death rates fell to a record low of 801 deaths per 100,000 population in 2004, down from almost 833 deaths per 100,000 in 2003. Heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death, accounting for 27 percent of the nation's deaths in 2004. Cancer was second, at about 23 percent, and strokes were third, at 6 percent.
The good news: The age-adjusted death rate for all three killers dropped. The heart disease rate declined more than 6 percent, the cancer rate about 3 percent, and the stroke rate about 6.5 percent. Bye, bye, McDonald's lawsuits!
Improvements in medical care, particularly in medications aimed at preventing heart disease, at least partly explain the improvements in the heart disease death rate, said Ken Thorpe, an Emory professor of health policy. But, but, I thought we had 40 million people who didn't have insurance? How can this be?
Also, the flu season for 2004 was milder than 2003, which helped explain the more than 7 percent drop in the influenza death rate, Minino noted. The death rates for 11 of the 13 other leading causes of death also declined, with only Alzheimer's disease (the No. 7 killer) and high blood pressure and kidney disease related to high blood pressure (No. 13) inching up.
Even officials at the National Center for Health Statistics were "really kind of concerned" when they first saw their own numbers, said Bob Anderson, the agency's chief of mortality statistics. But the fact that decreases in the death rate were found nationwide gives them confidence that the findings are legitimate, and not the result of something like changes in data collection. Only a scientist who spends his entire life indoors in a lab can see these data as "concerning."
The government also reported that a baby born in 2004 could expect to live to nearly 78 — an increase of almost half a year from 2003. Women now have a life expectancy of 80.4, up from 80.1. Male life expectancy is 75.2, up from 74.8. Wait! Stop the presses! I always thought women were hardest hit!
The life expectancy for whites — 78.3 — was up only slightly from the previous year. The increase for blacks was larger, with a rise from 72.7 to 73.3. There it is. Blacks (minorities) are still hardest hit. Whew, I was beginning to worry about this author.
The government also reported that the infant mortality rate has dropped to 6.76 deaths per 1,000 births, down from 6.85 the year before. But a huge racial disparity persists. The rate for whites was 5.65 per 1,000 births, for blacks, 13.65. This is a serious question. I wonder if this counts abortions as "mortality"? If so, that could explain the disperity, but then I'd be a racist for saying so.
Abortions aren't counted.
Japan, Monaco and San Marino had the highest life expectancy, 82 years, in 2004, according to World Health Organization statistics. Australia, Iceland, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland have a life expectancy of 81. Canada, France, Israel, Norway, Spain and Britain are among the other countries with life expectancies above 78. Egads! Canada has longer average lifespan? Uh oh, look for socialized healthcare near you soon. And, I note that no one in the Middle East is mentioned (except Israel). Anyone got a clue meter for that?
Posted by: BA ||
04/20/2006 11:51 ||
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#1
No surprise, really, and the decline will continue. The boomers are not going to go quietly into the night. It's their g*ddamned planet, dontcha know.
#4
I'd say improving diets are a major factor. As the parent of teenager, I regularly go to McDonalds and other fast food places. I don't eat the stuff and haven't for many years, but I've been struck by how they have been getting away from the fat, salt and sugar (although not so much as the other two).
Edited for brevity--much more at link.
It contains some of the most contaminated land in the world, yet it has become a haven for wildlife - a nature reserve in all but name. The exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power station is teeming with life. As humans were evacuated from the area 20 years ago, animals moved in. Existing populations multiplied and species not seen for decades, such as the lynx and eagle owl, began to return. There are even tantalising footprints of a bear, an animal that has not trodden this part of Ukraine for centuries.
"Animals don't seem to sense radiation and will occupy an area regardless of the radiation condition," says radioecologist Sergey Gaschak. "A lot of birds are nesting inside the sarcophagus," he adds, referring to the steel and concrete shield erected over the reactor that exploded in 1986. "Starlings, pigeons, swallows, redstart - I saw nests, and I found eggs."
There may be plutonium in the zone, but there is no herbicide or pesticide, no industry, no traffic, and marshlands are no longer being drained. There is nothing to disturb the wild boar - said to have multiplied eightfold between 1986 and 1988 - except its similarly resurgent predator, the wolf. Don't tell Greenpeace, or they'll start backing nuclear power--using old Soviet blueprints and practices!
Posted by: Dar ||
04/20/2006 18:29 ||
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mmm... eight legged wild glow in the dark boar....
mmm....
Outer space is haram for the Profit's (peanut butter upon ham) followers. You'd best stay home and go to the mosque and beg forgiveness.
KUALA LUMPUR: How do Muslim astronauts pray in space? MalaysiaÂ’s National Space Agency is holding a conference to consider such questions as the country prepares to send its first citizen into orbit. A nationwide competition in the majority-Muslim country has narrowed the field to four astronaut candidates, three of whom are Muslims. Two will eventually be trained and sent into space by Russia, and MalaysiaÂ’s space agency - Angkasa - said it had been scratching its head over how Muslim rituals could be carried out properly.
Not really a good sign when your space agency (and when did Malaysia get a space agency?) has to include Kaaba coordinates into their contingency planning.
Performing ablutions for Muslim prayers with water rationing in space and preparing food according to Islamic standards will be among the issues discussed, said Angkasa Director General Mazlan Othman. “So far, Angkasa has not discussed these matters with Russia because the candidates have not been decided and the needs of Malaysian astronauts have not been determined,” Mazlan was quoted as saying by the state-run Bernama news agency. “We have to make preparations to discuss with Russia when the time comes,” she added.
The astronaut will also visit the International Space Station, which circles the earth 16 times in 24 hours, so another thorny question will be: How to pray five times a day as required by Islam, she said. Working out the direction of Mecca while hovering above the earth will also prove challenging. The two-day Islam and Life in Space seminar will begin next Tuesday, bringing together 150 scientists, astronauts, religious scholars and academics.
...and Allan knows best.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/20/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Let's terraform Mars and Venus. They'll never follow us there cuz their prayer mats would have to be mounted on gimbals and they'd slide or fall off most of the time. Can you imagine some poor imam trying to figure out the phases of Phobos and Deimos so he could kick off Ramadan? The poor bastid would go nuts!
#2
The poor bastid would go nuts!
And how, pray tell, would anyone tell the difference?
On a more serious note, IIRC when we sent a saudi Daemon spawn...er prince up on the shuttle a few years ago, this problem appearantly came up then. I forget how it was resolved then.
I suppose I would like to know what the answer will be, if only out of academic curiosity. I s'pose that on the surface of the moon, mars or other planetary bodies, the kow-towing will begin at local earthrise. I have no idea as for deep space habitats.
In some sci-fi I read a while back, the muslim colonists on another planet in another star system oriented on the direction that the Earth's Sun (a dim yellow star) rose in the local night sky.
In my humble opinion, the best solution is to relegate the current form of Islam to the dustbin of history. The next best (survivable for us) solution is a system of earthbound reservations. To leave the wire would reqquire public conversion to a saner religion, and public renunciation of islam.
Islam in its current form is not something I would like to inflict on the rest of the universe.
Posted by: N guard ||
04/20/2006 0:50 Comments ||
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#3
Islam in ints current form is about 1400 years old. The brief period when science and art flourished (times of Ibn Sina and Ibn Rushd) was occuring despite Islam, not because of it.
The conclusion is obvious. How to do it is another matter, but done it must be.
#4
You mean the COLUMBIA shuttle - when Reagan was challenging the USSR CHALLENGER blew up after leaving the launch pad; after the USSR imploded and Hyperpower America became global numero uno, COLUMBIA [surname for America] blew up on the approach home. Either leaving or coming home, looks like someone wanted Americans to know we lose.
#6
Either ALL faiths promising rewards in an afterlife for obeying divine commands in the here-and-now are "backwards", or none of them is. The severity of the commands and prohibitions in question is not a true qualitative difference.
Once you've elevated religious faith to a virtue, you can easily point-and-laugh at the "backwardness" of every other faith at will. But those of us who reject all religious faiths, see the whole lot of you as laughing at your own selves.
"Heehee, look at the stupid people painting themselves with purple dots, when we prefer green stripes instead."
#9
The severity of the commands and prohibitions in question is not a true qualitative difference.
Bullshit.
Faith #1 requires acts of charity and good will.
Faith #2 requires acts of violence.
Which is better?
If you still say "neither", then all you've done is demonstrated that you're a moral cretin.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
04/20/2006 7:24 Comments ||
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#10
Either ALL faiths ... are backwards or none of them is.
Not exactly the issue here. It is a question of how adaptive the customs of that faith are in the modern world. A faith that requires all non-believers to be converted or killed will experience friction in a pluralistic world.
We are laughing here because customs, like basing a calendar on local moonrise, that may have worked well for a single tribe living in the desert tend to fail in a different and more complex environment. Often in amusing ways.
#13
First of all, a non-moslem would have to take them there. They sure ain't gonna make it there themselves. Then you gotta ask if they pray to God or to a rock.
#16
Goodness gracious - these are just the beginnings of the thorny briar patch they're about to enter. Just think of the ponderous mess they face if they wade into Einstein, and let's not even mention Freud - umkay?!?
#18
"Either ALL faiths promising rewards in an afterlife for obeying divine commands in the here-and-now are "backwards", or none of them is. "
WRONG Aris. Thats a false dichotomy fallacy. And a pretty poor straw man setup as well - since its easily demonstrably false, making you a liar - that is, you knew it not to be true and you present it as true anyway.
"The severity of the commands and prohibitions in question is not a true qualitative difference."
Apparently you have ZERO grasp of ethics - and no knowledge at all of deontological imperatives that are at the core of most religious ethical systems.
Let's see the first and most obvious case that even a cretinous philistine like you would know.
The Golden Rule:
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you",
or alternately rephrased...
"Do not do something to others that you would not want done to yourself".
The Golden Rule appears in most religions including: African Traditional1, Baha'i, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Native American Paganism, Shintoism, Sikhism, Taoism, Wicca and Zoroastrianism.
It is notably absent in ancient Nordic culture, Satanism and the Muslim faith. They simply have no place for the ethic of reciprocity in that thier religious are based mainly on submission to powers.
So whether or not the Golden Rule is applciable is moot: the question here is are there important differences in faith systems - and thus your premise is false and you are a liar?
Lets get specific:
Buddhism:
* Udana-Varga 5:18: "Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful"
Christianity:
* Matthew 7:12: "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them"
Confucianism:
* Analects 15:23: "Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you"
Hinduism:
* Mahabharata 5:1517: "Do naught to others which if done to thee would cause thee pain"
Islam:
* 2:191 Kill disbelievers wherever you find them.
* 5:45 Non-Muslims are wrong doers.
* 5:51 Take not the Jews and the Christians for friends (I could go on ad nausem - the Quran is a wonderful source of curelty and hate from one book to the nect, consistently)
* 58:22 Thou wilt not find folk who believe in Allah and the Last Day loving those who oppose Allah and His messenger, even though they be their fathers or their sons or their brethren or their clan. (In other words On the last day good Muslims will not love any other non-muslims - they will hate them if they are good Muslims).
Judaism:
* Talmud, Shabbat 31a.: "That which is hateful unto thee do not to your neighbour. This is the whole of the Torah. The rest is commentary
Sikhism:
* Granth Sahih: "Treat others as thou wouldst be treated thyself"
Zoroastrianism:
* Shayast-na-Shayast 13:29: "Whatever is disagreeable to yourself do not do unto others"
OK Aris, sesame street time: One of these things is not like the others...
(even someone as deliberatley ignorant as you are can see the difference, and thus that your premise was a lie)
#19
sending a religious guy into space with issues like these has already been dealt with. IIUC at least one Orthodox Jew has already been on the shuttle, and rabbis have already dealt with issue ranging from food to the timing and direction of prayer. I would suggest the imams look to the rabbis to see how such issues can be resolved.
#20
'Israel's first space traveller faces other difficulties: How does a Jew observe the Sabbath in space?
While in space Colonel Ramon intends to observe the Sabbath
More precisely, if he or she is in a low-lying orbit where the sun rises and sets every 90 minutes, what constitutes the Biblical "seventh day of rest?"
Colonel Ramon is not particularly religious on the ground, but believes it is important to mark the Sabbath in space.
"My mother is a Holocaust survivor who was in Auschwitz and my father fought for the independence of Israel not so long ago," says the 48-year-old veteran fighter pilot from the Israel Air Force.
"I was born in Israel and I'm kind of the proof for my parents and their generation that whatever we've been fighting for in the last century is becoming true.
"I feel I'm representing the whole Jewish people," adds Colonel Ramon, who will be Columbia's payload specialist on its 16-day mission designed to study how the human body adapts to the zero gravity of space.
So how will Colonel Ramon celebrate the Sabbath?
"Basically, we've decided that he'll follow Cape Canaveral time," says Rabbi Zvi Konikov, a Florida-based orthodox rabbi to whom Colonel Ramon posed the question.
Kosher meals
Rabbi Konikov's ruling is based on a principle in Jewish law that if one lives in a remote place, he or she should celebrate the Sabbath according to the times of the nearest big city with a sizeable Jewish community.
For example, Jews in Alaska celebrate the day according to Seattle time.
The most notable features of the Jewish Sabbath include the lighting of candles and the recitation of a blessing over wine - called Kiddush - which inaugurate the Day of Rest.
Strictly religious Jews also refrain from all forms of creative labour, such as using electricity and writing.
Since most prohibitions are not practical aboard a manned spacecraft - especially lighting a fire which could be downright dangerous - Colonel Ramon has chosen the Kiddush blessing as his way of celebrating the Sabbath.
"I was surprised and overwhelmed by the effort Nasa made to accommodate my request," says Colonel Ramon, who has also managed to get kosher meals provided during the mission.
"I'm impressed by Colonel Ramon," says Rabbi Zonikov, who will be attending the launch as a guest of the astronaut.
"Here is a successful, colourful scientist and Air Force pilot and what's on his mind - the Sabbath! That's incredible. In addition to fulfilling his mission for Nasa, it's clear Ilan also wants to represent Israel and the Jewish people with pride." '
#24
Just as an exercise: What will the clerics tell Angkasa? Since there are issues of national pride involved, I'm certain they'll come up with some enabling fatwas.
I'll bet the issue of the direction of Mecca came up a thousand years ago: what happens when you start prayers on board ship and the ship changes course? I'd guess that they thought it more disrespectful to wiggle your butt around than to stay put, and will decide that Muslim guests on a spacestation must point in the direction Mecca was found when their imam started the prayers. And somebody will point out that they need to be strapped down to pray or they'll bounce off the walls. (Prayer mat without velco straps = flying carpet.)
A day will be a working day. Since I don't think prayers are scheduled for dawn, they can just set alarm clocks. (Maybe special ones with a chant instead of a bell?)
And the dates of Ramadan will be defined by some arbitrary location on Earth: their launch site or (better) Mecca. Of course day and night are a trifle arbitrary, but just so long as they change their (already arbitrary :-)) schedule they should be OK.
And for ablutions, they could use a sponge. Or skip it (Item 294). I can't find the reference that suggested that dry-wiping was OK in some circumstances.
Posted by: James ||
04/20/2006 11:47 Comments ||
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#25
I'll bet the issue of the direction of Mecca came up a thousand years ago: what happens when you start prayers on board ship and the ship changes course?
But how do you calculate the direction to Mekka, even on Earth? Compass direction? Or course to shortest distance? Al-Aska Paul would know. Bet he solves the problem with a great circle.
#30
warning: when the first muslim wants to know how to fly the shuttle but doesn't care how to take off or land.......
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/20/2006 13:43 Comments ||
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#31
There must be something in the porKoran that explains this. The other question is where will all the child space suits come from for the arabs 6 year old pedo wives.
Ok, let's come up with something practical. Since Haram, or Allah, or whatever you call him is actually the pagan moon-god, why not just pray in the direction of the moon when in space? Mecca is supposed to be pointing there anyway. Eliminate the middle-man....seewhumsayin?
#39
"Working out the direction of Mecca while hovering above the earth will also prove challenging."
WTF? What's the problem here, this isn't exactly a problem that requires a PhD in celestial navigation or orbital mechanics, for cryin' out loud: just go over to one of the viewports and open your damn eyes. Look for the Arabian Peninsula. Mecca is on the left-hand edge of the peninsula, about halfway down. Then pray.
And if that's too fuckin' complicated, ask one of the NON-muslim astronauts which direction Mecca is, and they'll tell you.
Damned stupid idiots...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/20/2006 15:56 Comments ||
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#40
There are a few mntions of "Do well by your brothers" but nothing that is explicit as any of the bassages cited above.
Seems when Muhammed was channeling Allah, Allah was pretty pissed off at the world and was promising to burn/boil/inflame all kinds of people and things, and was looking forward to having a lot of people for him (Allah) to torture in hell.
(Which begs the question: Why does Allah need to torture people in Hell? Is he running the place? If so then that tells me who he REALLY is LOL)
All-in-all its a very angry book, laden with cruelty and vengance from God himself in most cases, in nearly every sura.
#42
OK, my flock. Final word on Muslims praying in space. When orbiting the earth in a relatively low orbit, like the Shuttle, ISS, and Russian and Chicom models, you will have pretty much 3 principal directions: N-S, E-W, and a deflection angle we call The Dip.
First thing you do is to set up the five times that you must pray to Allan. That is related to sunrise and sunset and between times.
The second thing that you must do is to relegate all of your spaceship and scientific duties to your fellow crew members because you are going to be BUSY praying to Mecca, and will not have much time to do anything else. Your day will be about 1.5 hours long, so you will have to pray to Mecca every 18 minutes or so. Get the littany down pat and speed up the syllables! Using your handy Mecca-o-meter, keep track of the direction of Mecca and the dip from the tangent of the orbit. Line up and bow to Mecca along the dip angle indicated by the Mecca-o-meter. When you get done, then start lining up for the next one, because it is coming up in 10-12 minutes or so. This will require some precise planning, and you will reluctantly have to obtain assistance from your Infidel fellow space travellers. However, you have a special dispensation for this. Continuing.....
If you are in high earth orbit or geosynchronous orbit, the duration of the day slows down or stops. In that case, use the rotation of the earth as one day, and point in the general direction of the earth and pray 5 times a day.
If you are on the moon, or other planets, the same system applies. If there is any confusion, then drop me a line and I will issue a fatwa on your particular case, based upon my voluminous calculations and tables.
Now in the future, if you are travelling through the space-time continuum, or a worm hole to an alternate universe, then it gets quite complicated, and will require a loya jurga to sort out your problem. Drums or the mathematical equivalent will also be required. Very involved, very time consuming, and I may also add, very expensive. Peace be with you, my flock.
#43
Don't worry, AP. they'll bring some Filipinos with them to do all their work for them. Just like down here.
That'll give them plenty of time to hit the floor about 60 or 70 times a day...
I just had a long chat with Hal Koster. Our worst fears are not only well founded but grossly understated. It's a complete and thorough cluster @#$%. (Sorry, my words not his). I haven't been this pissed about anything in a very long time.
Andi, Kelleher's responses to our questions were blatant lies. Despite what Kelleher says, Hilton has done nothing to support the dinners... never met a bus, never contributed a cent, never negotiated for changes to bring the restaurant into ADA compliance, never advertised the restaurant or the dinners within their own hotel, never provided logistical support... in a word, they've done absolutely zip. In fact, Kelleher hides out in his office and has had no contact with Fran's owners.
Hilton Corporate hasn't returned phone calls or e-mails. Hal has never spoken with a rep from Hilton about a future. This O'Boyle guy who is supposedly in charge of Hilton's leases has been MIA for years. Not only unprofessional in my opinion but grossly negligent. Fran's has been profitable every year in spite of the fact that Hilton won't even live up to their responsibilities for facilities management. They've had some plumbing issues... Hal and Marty now call their own plumber.
Hilton wanted Fran's to re-upholster the booths and change the carpet, Hal and Marty asked for ADA compliance in return. When negotiations ceased, Hilton doubled their rent last month (doubled!). And then issued an eviction notice two weeks later.
Hal and Marty have retained lawyers and, as mentioned before, have the support of several influential organizations and people...
This is complete bullshit. Hilton has every right to make their business decisions. But our wounded vets are being kicked to the curb. When media show up now to document the process, Hilton's security team denies them access to the loading dock, the service elevator and the inhuman conditions our troops in wheelchairs have to endure to get to the frikkin restaurant.
It's not about the few thousand bucks it would cost to make this thing work... hell, I'll kick that in. This is about a bunch of numbskulls with no understanding of civil service, patriotism or, for that matter, good business sense. And I'm no hotel management major.
CBS and CNN are doing pieces tomorrow. As much as I despise MSM, I welcome this. H & C (Hannity & Colmes) are doing a live hit Friday night. What's Alan gonna say? It's a right wing conspiracy? How can anyone argue in opposition to ADA especially when it's vets?
This, quite frankly, reeks. I'll be on my best behavior Saturday at the conference but this sucks. Pushing the throttles up...unarmed and unafraid. Feel free to quote me.
Sitting astride a chromed-out Honda Valkyrie on Wednesday, Steve Morgan said the way to silence a small Kansas-based church that protests military funerals was in the palm of his gripped right hand: a throttle that roars a 1520cc liquid cooled engine.
Morgan is a member of the Patriot Guard Riders, a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who have begun appearing wherever those demonstrators do. The riders shield mourning military families and drown out the Kansas clan that protests the funerals nationwide and contends that America and its military are morally corrupt and "pro-gay."
To say that this is one fringe group attacking another would not be accurate. The protesters, members of Topeka's Westboro Baptist Church, are known to hop from funeral to funeral, but they never number more than a handful. The Guard Riders movement, however, is one of the more successful grass-roots groups to emerge during the Iraq war.
Organized on the Internet last November, the Patriot Guard Riders initially had about 175 members who pledged to support or attend events, said Kurt Mayer, their national spokesman.
By Wednesday afternoon, Mayer said, 25,653 had joined the cause. Go Riders! Read more at link
#2
At the March 11 funeral of Sgt. Gordon Misner II in here in Colorado Springs, the riders used large American flags mounted on their bikes to shield the mourners from these A**holes. They placed the flags between Phelps' small band of rabble and the funeral home so the family would not have to see this scum. Don't remember hearing or reading about the bikers gunning their engines.
Colorado (D)Rep. Mike Merrifield, has introduced a bill trying to balance the free-speech rights of protesters and the rights of families to mourn peacefully and privately. His bill would create a 300-foot buffer zone between the funeral and protesters. Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor that carries a $750 fine and six months in jail.
Five states have already enacted similar laws, including Indiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Another 27 states, including Colorado, are considering it.
#3
On Wednesday there was no need to conceal the Kansas group behind a wall of burly bikers. The protesters picked up and left after being photographed by media--long before most mourners arrived to remember the popular high school athlete from Lansing.
Run along, cowards. The media has helped you play your sick little game.
"I'm the only patriot standing here," said Shirley Phelps-Roper of the Topeka-based church. She then headed 30 miles up the road and picketed a veterans hospital.
Somebody should turn this bitch into a hood ornament.
Frustrated with nearly five years of declining stock values and increased executive compensation, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, one of the top institutional shareholders of the New York Times is crying foul and demanding major corporate and management changes. "Over the past several years, the New York Times Co. has consistently underperformed its peers. Its market value has declined 52% since its peak in June 2002," the company said in a statement put out by its managing director, Hassan Elmasry. "Despite significant underperformance, management's total compensation is substantial and has increased considerably over this period."
The asset management company also called for an end to the NYT's long-standing practice of splitting shares into two categories. The dual share policy allows "A" shareholders to elect four of the company's 13 seats on its board of directors. Those owning "B" shares elect the other nine. The Sulzberger family, descendants of the founder of the Times, Adolf Ochs, own 88 percent of the "B" shares. "It is time for the company's board to combine the Class A and Class B common stock into a single class of common stock that would provide equal rights, voting power and representation for all shareholders," the MSIM statement said. "This will ensure that the company's owners are able to hold the board and management accountable for the company's performance."
Don't expect to see this story reported the next time you see a story about "soaring CEO salaries." The existence of divided shares in NYT Co. is the reason why it remains America's most biased news organization.
#1
"It is time for the company's board to combine the Class A and Class B common stock into a single class of common stock that would provide equal rights, voting power and representation for all shareholders," the MSIM statement said.
My preferred headline: Investment bank to NYT: "Power to the People, end Share Apartheid!"
#2
I'd love to see Rupert Murdoch launch a hostile takeover, just to make the Angry Left squirm.
Posted by: Mike ||
04/20/2006 11:52 Comments ||
Top||
#3
It comes axross to me as an angry child whining "You're not listening to me (Whine, whine) I'm gonna make you do it my way (Whine whine) I want the same thing the grownups have (Whine whine) YOU GOTTA GIMME (Whine whine)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/20/2006 22:34 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Let the NYT crater. It will be an example of what happens when agenda drives a so-called news organization. Management compensation increases are sucking the assets out of the NYT. Soon it will be just a crab shell without any meat.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/20/2006 22:40 Comments ||
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#5
In related news - sharp decline in the parrot population in NYC. Also, people eating healtier - fewer dining on fish & chips.
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.
NEW YORK In an interview in the The New York Times Magazine that will appear this coming Sunday, Madeleine Albright reveals, among other things, that even at 68, she works out three times a week "and I can leg-press up to 400 pounds." This follows a discussion of how she does not expect to re-marry, partly because, as she says, "I'm intimidating, don't you think?"
British Prime Minister Tony Blair launched a strongly-worded attack on Wednesday on Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, calling his regime a "disgrace" that had brought the country to its knees. "What the regime is doing in Zimbabwe is a disgrace," Blair told Parliament in his weekly question-and-answer session when asked why Western governments appeared powerless to prevent "human tragedy" in the Southern African country.
JAIL bosses are rebuilding toilets so Muslim inmates donÂ’t have to use them while facing Mecca. Thousands of pounds of taxpayers money are being spent to ensure lags are not offended.
THE English syllabus taught in Australian schools was being dumbed down by "rubbish" post modern texts, Prime Minister John Howard said today.
MADRID: A judge in the southern Spanish resort of Marbella has ordered police to bring in Rifaat Assad, uncle of Syrian President Bashar Assad, for questioning as part of investigations into corruption at the town hall, El Mundo newspaper reported on Thursday. The daily said Rifaat Assad, who has a home in Marbella, was "in charge of a syndicate of luxury property owners at nearby Puerto Banus which could have received preferential treatment from the town hall."
An Ottawa man is in serious condition and was airlifted to the burn unit at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto after accidentally setting himself on fire yesterday morning while trying to cut open a gas tank with a chainsaw.
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said on Thursday he was seriously thinking about another White House bid in 2008 and will decide before the year is out.
KUALA LUMPUR: How do Muslim astronauts pray in space? MalaysiaÂ’s National Space Agency is holding a conference to consider such questions as the country prepares to send its first citizen into orbit. A nationwide competition in the majority-Muslim country has narrowed the field to four astronaut candidates, three of whom are Muslims. Two will eventually be trained and sent into space by Russia, and MalaysiaÂ’s space agency - Angkasa - said it had been scratching its head over how Muslim rituals could be carried out properly.
Frustrated with nearly five years of declining stock values and increased executive compensation, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, one of the top institutional shareholders of the New York Times is crying foul and demanding major corporate and management changes. "Over the past several years, the New York Times Co. has consistently underperformed its peers. Its market value has declined 52% since its peak in June 2002," the company said in a statement put out by its managing director, Hassan Elmasry. "Despite significant underperformance, management's total compensation is substantial and has increased considerably over this period."
