in a paper published last week in the Astrophysical Journal, scientists detail the discovery of a new unidentified object in the middle of nowhere. I don't know about you, but when a research paper conclusion says "We suggest that the transient may be one of a new class" I get a chill of oooh-aaahness down my spine. Especially when after a hundred days of observation, it disappeared from the sky with no explanation. Get your tinfoil hats out, because it gets even weirder.
The object also appeared out of nowhere. It just wasn't there before. In fact, they don't even know where it is exactly located because it didn't behave like anything they know. Apparently, it can't be closer than 130 light-years but it can be as far as 11 billion light-years away. It's not in any known galaxy either. And they have ruled out a supernova too. It's something that they have never encountered before. In other words: they don't have a single clue about where or what the heck this thing is.
,,,
#3
It's something that they have never encountered before. In other words: they don't have a single clue about where or what the heck this thing is
But never fear, they'll find some way to fit it in to an existing theory.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
09/15/2008 22:14
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#4
swamp gas
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/15/2008 22:28
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#5
KAMALEN?
HADRON?
REDDIT SCIENCE > SUPERCONDUCTIVITY CAN RESULT IN MAGETISM. IOW, HADRON > iff the HADRON doesn't destroy Earth via BLACK HOLE on one end [Black/Worm-Holes appearing o'er GUAM-WESTPAC], it will destroy Earth by ATTRACTING SPACE ROCKS, etc???
GERALDO > SCIENTISTS TO STILL GET NOBEL-SCIEN PRIZES FOR BEING WRONG TWO OUT OF THREE, [or more] - FILM AT ELEVEN!
Folks from Sophos have discovered that the website of BusinessWeek, the world famous weekly magazine, has been attacked by hackers in an attempt to infect its readership with malware.
Hundreds of webpages in a section of BusinessWeek's website which offers information about where MBA students might find future employers have been affected. According to Sophos, hackers used an SQL injection attack - where a vulnerability is exploited in order to insert malicious code into the site's underlying database - to pepper pages with code that tries to download malware from a Russian web server.
At the time of writing, the code injected into BusinessWeek's website points to a Russian website that is currently down and not delivering further malicious code. However, it could be revived at any time, infecting hundreds of MBA students looking for high-earning jobs. Sophos informed BusinessWeek of the infection last week, although at the time of writing the hackers' scripts are still present and active on their site.
DEVIL worshippers in Russia butchered four teenagers in a Satanic ritual - stabbing them 666 times each and eating them. The teens - a youth and three girls aged 16 or 17- had their gentitals mutilated and were cooked on a bonfire before being eaten, The Sun newspaper reported today.
Police found body parts dumped in a pit beside an upside-down cross, a symbol of Satanic worship, in a rural area of Russia, the newspaper said. Eight people have been arrested over the slayings.
Police believed the teenagers, who were all friends, were lured to a cottage and encouraged to get drunk before they were slain.
The discovery in Yaroslavl, 480km from Moscow, has sent a shudder across Russia - where Satanists are feared to have committed a string of mutilations and killings. olice began tracing the gang after finding out all the victims had made phone calls to alleged leader Nikolai Ogolobyak. The rest of the cult were described by former teachers as being of low intelligence and moody.
Militants battled security forces in Ingushetia, killing four security officers as rising violence threatens to further destabilize the troubled southern Russian region, officials said Monday. Sunday's gunbattle also killed two militants and left eight officers wounded, the Ingush Interior Ministry said.
The Interfax news agency, meanwhile, reported that that the deputy chief of regional Federal Security Service was killed in the operation.
Criminal group and armed gangs opposed to the Ingush government regularly attack authorities in Ingushetia. Critics attribute the violence to anger fueled by abductions, beatings, unlawful arrests and killings by government forces and allied paramilitaries.
Ingushetia borders Chechnya to the west, and violence from Chechnya spills into Ingushetia and other neighboring provinces in Russia's volatile North Caucasus. Chechnya has seen two separatist wars in 14 years though major battles ended years ago.
Left-wing feminists have a hard time dealing with strong, successful conservative women in politics such as Margaret Thatcher. Sarah Palin seems to have truly unhinged more than a few, eliciting a stream of vicious, often misogynist invective.
On Salon.com last week, Cintra Wilson branded her a "Christian Stepford Wife" and a "Republican blow-up doll." Wendy Doniger, religion professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School, added on the Washington Post blog, "Her greatest hypocrisy is in her pretense that she is a woman."
You'd think that, whether or not they agree with her politics, feminists would at least applaud Mrs. Palin as a living example of one of their core principles: a woman's right to have a career and a family. Yet some feminists unabashedly suggest that her decision to seek the vice presidency makes her a bad and selfish mother. Others argue that she is bad for working mothers because she's just too good at having it all.
In the Boston Globe on Friday, columnist Ellen Goodman frets that Mrs. Palin is a "supermom" whose supporters "think a woman can have it all as long as she can do it all . . . by herself." In fact, Sarah Palin is doing it with the help of her husband Todd, who is currently on leave from his job as an oil worker. But Ms. Goodman's problem is that "she doesn't need anything from anyone outside the family. She isn't lobbying for, say, maternity leave, equal pay, or universal pre-K."
This also galls Katherine Marsh, writing in the latest issue of The New Republic. Mrs. Palin admits to having "an incredible support system -- a husband with flexible jobs rather than a competing career . . . and a host of nearby grandparents, aunts, and uncles." Yet, Ms. Marsh charges, she does not endorse government policies to help less-advantaged working mothers -- for instance, by promoting day-care centers.
Mrs. Palin's marriage actually makes her a terrific role model. One of the best choices a woman can make if she wants a career and a family is to pick a partner who will be able to take on equal or primary responsibility for child-rearing. Our culture still harbors a lingering perception that such men are less than manly -- and who better to smash that stereotype than "First Dude" Todd Palin?
Nevertheless, when Sarah Palin offered a tribute to her husband in her Republican National Convention speech, New York Times columnist Judith Warner read this as a message that she is "subordinate to a great man." Perhaps the message was a brilliant reversal of the old saw that behind every man is a great woman: Here, the great woman is out in front and the great man provides the support. Isn't that real feminism?
Not to Ms. Marsh, who insists that feminism must demand support for women from the government. In this worldview, advocating more federal subsidies for institutional day care is pro-woman; advocating tax breaks or regulatory reform that would help home-based care providers -- preferred by most working parents -- is not. Trying to legislate away the gender gap in earnings (which no self-respecting economist today blames primarily on discrimination) is feminist. Expanding opportunities for part-time and flexible jobs is "the Republican Party line."
I disagree with Sarah Palin on a number of issues, including abortion rights. But when the feminist establishment treats not only pro-life feminism but small-government, individualist feminism as heresy, it writes off multitudes of women.
Of course, being a feminist role model is not part of the vice president's job description, and there are legitimate questions about Mrs. Palin's qualifications. And yet, like millions of American women -- and men -- I find her can-do feminism infinitely more liberated than the what-can-the-government-do-for-me brand espoused by the sisterhood.
#1
These are the same pseudo feminists who've decried or remain silent as the Armed Forces of the United States has promoted real 'liberation' of their sisters in the heart of one of the most misogynistic regions of the world. They sold their souls to the anti-American left a long time ago.
#2
The Feminists have effectively made a complete joke of themselves for years, this is just the cherry on the sundae. They are in a complete state of panic that a feminist can be a conservative, and decent looking one at that.
With Sarah Palin helping John McCain make inroads among female voters, Democrat Barack Obama today announced a new group of women who are business leaders, astronauts, athletes, and elected officials.
The Obama campaign said the women give advice, speak on his behalf, and "where appropriate" push back on false attacks.
Change has never been easy, its always been hard-fought with bumps and bruises along the way, but these women leaders have had the tenacity to charge on. I am honored to have the support of such remarkable women who have broken down barriers and paved the way for change for my daughters and generations of women. In accepting their support I also accept the great responsibility to carry the torch by advancing womens rights and bringing the change women need, Obama said in a statement. For every Sally Ride, Tory Burch, or Billie Jean King, there are hundreds of young women out there whose dreams seem a little more possible. As president, I will work to safeguard and support those dreams for my daughters and future generations of Americans through policies that further opportunity for all.
#1
The Obama campaign is rolling out Joe Biden today to accuse Republicans of going into the gutter. They're getting sucked right into the partisan wars that Republicans are so adept at.
I highly recommend you drop the Freudian projection, dearie, it's getting old. You and yours have been very deep and ugly just as anything you try to tag the Trunks with. The American public is finally waking up to that FACT, which is why the Palin hatchet job is getting the opposite effect that your usual character assassins in the media thought would play.
Obama has a golden opportunity with the U.S. financial system falling apart at the seams.
Except your agent of change is deep in the mess. "The establishment media that sought every opportunity to tie the failure of Enron and its executives to George W. Bush has generally failed to note that Barack Obama is neck deep in money from issuers of subprime loans, even as he crusades against predatory mortgage lenders." You can google to find this stuff can't you?
Sen. John McCain's record of working with Democrats easily outstrips Sen. Barack Obama's efforts with Republicans, according to an analysis by The Washington Times of their legislative records.
Whether looking at bills they have led on or bills they have signed onto, Mr. McCain has reached across the aisle far more frequently and with more members than Mr. Obama since the latter came to the Senate in 2005.
In fact, by several measures, Mr. McCain has been more likely to team up with Democrats than with members of his own party. Democrats made up 55 percent of his political partners over the last two Congresses, including on the tough issues of campaign finance and global warming. For Mr. Obama, Republicans were only 13 percent of his co-sponsors during his time in the Senate, and he had his biggest bipartisan successes on noncontroversial measures, such as issuing a postage stamp in honor of civil rights icon Rosa Parks.
With calls for change in Washington dominating the campaign, both Mr. Obama, the Democrats' presidential nominee, and Mr. McCain, his Republican opponent, have claimed the mantle of bipartisanship.
But since 2005, Mr. McCain has led as chief sponsor of 82 bills, on which he had 120 Democratic co-sponsors out of 220 total, for an average of 55 percent. He worked with Democrats on 50 of his bills, and of those, 37 times Democrats outnumber Republicans as co-sponsors.
#2
Dear God I want to see the bloodletting when Sarahcuddah gets turned loose inside the Beltway. I feel certain that will be bipartisan too. (insert very very evil grin here)
#4
I think that in the old days, a politician of this ilk was called a 'statesman,' in that he put country before party. Other than McCain and Lieberman, name one. I cannot.
It's that time of year again...
At least 23 Indonesians were crushed to death Monday while trying to collect $4.25 in cash handouts from a rich family at a charity event marking the Islamic holy month, officials said. Eight others were critically injured in the stampede.
Several thousand people started gathering outside the house in Pasuruan, a town about 500 miles (800 kilometers) east of the capital of Jakarta, in the morning to collect their tithe, said local police chief Harry Sitompul.
Television footage showed the victims mostly women screaming as they were pushed into the fence outside the home. At least 23 died and eight others were hospitalized, Sitompul said, some after being trampled and others from lack of oxygen.
Under a system known as Zakat, the wealthy are required to give away a portion of their money to the poor, but distribution is often chaotic and sometimes deadly. Many donors choose to hand out gifts directly, worried that corrupt government officials will try to pocket some of the cash. Geez, 4.25? Could ya spare it?
"It's tragic and embarrassing," said Social Affairs Minister Bachtiar Chamzah. "It goes to show that we have to find a better way ... we have to fix this." Maybe next time he could just throw all the money up in the air?
The man behind Monday's charity event, reportedly a car dealer, was placed under police protection afterward to prevent reprisal attacks from relatives of victims, said Mayor Aminurohman, who like many Indonesians goes by a single name. No good deed...
The same man held a similar event last year that drew thousands of people and resulted in one death, with dozens injured, he said. Ah, don't worry. It won't happen this year...
"There was no coordination with police during the handout," the mayor said. "It's a shame he did not learn from his past mistakes and ask for help." Did you pocket your 4.25 like any good hack. Mr. Mayor?
If there was any doubt about the terrible threat that global warming poses to humanity, then it can now be dismissed - as this shocking photograph proves that climate change is turning icebergs into giant . . . . eeewww, ick, it's too icky to describe. Click through and see it for yourself (moderately NSFW).
Posted by: Mike ||
09/15/2008
17:05 ||
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#1
The Chicken Little alarmist/charlatans have been trying to change the term "Global Warming" to "Climate Change". The former has become harder to sell because of evidence of cooling and the later lacks a sense of urgency.
Well, they are trying something with umph, "Climate Crisis".
Head secretary to Hamas' political leader in exile, Khaled Mashaal, was killed four days ago in the Syrian city of Homs, according to recent reports. Hisham el-Badni, a resident of Damascus, was reportedly dragged from his car and shot in the light of day.
The incident was first made public by the Reform Party of Syria, an opposition group whose members operate mostly outside of the country's boundaries, usually in the United States. Neither Hamas nor officials in Syria have commented on the report.
The Qatari paper Al-Arab reported on Friday that Syria had issued an official warning aimed at leaders of the Palestinian factions operating within its borders, including Mashaal and Islamic Jihad Secretary-General Abdullah Ramadan Shallah, urging them to act with caution. Palestinian sources told the paper the Syrian government had warned the two leaders that they may be targeted by Israel, even on Syrian territory. They were asked to limit their appearances in the media in order to prevent Israel from locating them.
BOOSTED by the selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate, Republican John McCain has experienced a surge of support among women in heavily Democratic New York state - where he has closed the gap with Barack Obama, new private polls show. The internal Republican and Democratic polls, details of which were provided to The Post, have stunned members of both parties - and produced deep worries among Democrats.
One great concern for Democrats is that the data show a continuous movement toward the McCain-Palin ticket by women, a majority of whom traditionally favor Democrats.
The movement by women toward McCain is being credited to Democratic attacks on Alaska Gov. Palin, last week's "lipstick on a pig" crack by Obama and to the continuing unhappiness by female Democrats over Obama's failure to pick Hillary Rodham Clinton as his running mate.
"If it winds up being tight in New York, that means McCain wins the election nationally," said a prominent Democrat familiar with some of the polling data.
A prominent Republican familiar with the results said, "It really is something, because we just assumed Obama would carry such a heavily Democratic state like New York with no difficulty."
The private polls have consistently shown the Obama-Biden ticket still leading but with less than 50 percent of the vote in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans by over 2.3 million voters.
The polls found McCain closing the gap with Obama during the past 10 days - in the wake of Palin's sensational GOP convention speech, Obama's crack that "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig," and amid a swirling controversy over Palin's credentials to be vice president.
The polling data track the findings of a little-noticed Marist College poll of likely New Jersey voters late last week that found Obama barely ahead of McCain, 48 percent to 45 percent. New Jersey generally votes Democratic, though its enrollment is not as heavily Democratic as New York state's.
The findings of the private polls will be tested by a series of public polls to be released over the next two weeks - starting with a Siena College survey of likely voters due out today. A Siena poll in August had Obama leading McCain 47 percent to 39 percent. McCain is expected to make a significant move over the 40 percent mark when the new numbers are released today.
The private polling also points to a closer battle for control of the state Senate. Because of the way many Senate district lines have been drawn, Republicans, fighting to hold their narrow majority, are expected to benefit most from a close New York presidential race, insiders agree.
McCain's surge in New York polling comes at a time when his national operatives have rebuffed requests from New York campaign chairman Ed Cox, a Manhattan lawyer and son-in-law to former President Richard Nixon, to spend some serious campaign money in the state. "Ed was told, 'You have no money for a campaign here, so why should we spend any?' " a nationally known Republican operative told The Post.
"The McCain people think of Ed as a nice guy, but there's no money for an organization in New York, so they ask, 'Why go in?' " the GOP operative continued.
The Republican operative, meanwhile, sounded downright gleeful about the political fallout from US Rep. Charles Rangel's failure to pay income taxes from the rental of his luxurious villa in the Dominican Republic. "Rangel has turned into a big liability for the Democrats, and his troubles are playing into the 'anti- politician' mood around the country," he said.
Wonder if that, along with Spitzer, the Ohio AG, etc. can be turned into the same tsunami the Pubs faced in the 2006 election ...
#2
Bush lost NY to Kerry by 25 points in 2004. However, if the Dinkins Effect is any indicator, Obama might be in trouble:
In the 1989 race for Mayor of New York, a poll conducted just over a week before the election showed black candidate David Dinkins holding an 18-point lead over white candidate Rudy Giuliani. Four days before the election, a new poll showed that lead to have shrunk, but still standing at 14 points. On the day of the election, Dinkins prevailed by only two points.
In 1993, just before Dinkins lost to Giuliani in the race for NYC mayor (by 8 points):
Oct. 26: Dinkins is leading Giuliani by 46 percent to 40 percent, still a statistical tie, according to a New York Times/WCBS-TV News poll.
#5
No longer. In Zogby polls they are nearly tied at electoral votes but if you check state by state you will see that a lot of those listed as Democrat or too close were polled in 08/08 a,nd have not been updated. Factor Mac Cain's august surge and the Palin effect and Mac Cain should have a comfortable lead.
#6
Obama, going down in flames. I can wait to hear the shrieking, wailing and let's not forget the gnashing of teeth when McCain is announced as the Da Prez™.
NEW YORK - Oil prices closed below $100 a barrel for the first time in six months Monday, tumbling more than $5 as the demise of Lehman Brothers and the sale of Merrill Lynch fed worries about the U.S. economy and sparked another dramatic sell-off. Crude prices have now given up virtually all their gains for the year, extending a steep, two-month slide from record levels above $147 a barrel.
Oil's pullback prices tumbled as much as $7 in a special trading session Sunday also came as early signs suggested that Hurricane Ike delivered less damage than feared to the Gulf Coast energy oil and gas infrastructure.
Light, sweet crude for October delivery fell $5.47 to settle at $95.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange oil's first settlement under $100 since March 4.
The latest sell-off in oil began Sunday and accelerated Monday as traders digested a day of dramatic upheaval on Wall Street: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., a 158-year-old investment bank, filed for bankruptcy after failing to find a buyer and Merrill Lynch & Co. agreed to be bought out by Bank of America Corp. Lehman, Merrill and other big institutional investors were major participants in the commodities boom of the past year, helping push the price of oil, precious metals and grains to historic highs until a slowing global economy helped bring a halt to the rally. Oh. Well screw them then.
Investors were also awaiting damage assessments to Gulf energy infrastructure after Ike's passage. U.S. officials said Sunday that Ike destroyed at least 10 oil and gas platforms and damaged pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico. But that represents only a small portion of the 3,800 production platforms in the Gulf and pales in comparison to the catastrophic damage to energy infrastructure doled out by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita three years ago."Fears of widespread refinery damage have been allayed considerably and a number of facilities are coming back up in a timely fashion," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Ill. Still, power outages along the Gulf Coast were slowing efforts to restart some refineries. Meanwhile, virtually all oil production in the Gulf and about 92 percent of natural gas output remained shut-in as of Sunday, according to the U.S. Minerals Management Service.
The shutdown of Gulf refineries sent wholesale gasoline prices spiking last week and pushed pump prices back above $4 a gallon in South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and other states. Gasoline shortages were reported in Maryland, Virginia and North Caroline. On Monday, a gallon of regular rose half a penny overnight to a new national average of $3.842 up 16.7 cents from Friday, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express.
Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service in Wall, N.J., said supply shortages caused by Ike and Hurricane Gustav three weeks ago should last at least another two weeks. "That means we're looking at close to $4 a gallon for the rest of September," Kloza said. "People are going to observe more of this disconnect where retail prices move higher even though crude oil is trading below $100 a barrel." 3.57 here at my place, up from 3.35 Thursday.
Also adding to the selling pressure Monday was a slightly stronger dollar. A rising greenback encourages investors to unload commodities bought as a hedge against inflation or weakness in the U.S. currency.
Oil fell despite reports that militants have launched another attack Nigeria's oil infrastructure in a third day of violence.
After all the nice things Sarah said about Russia, who would have expected Pravda to be so ungrateful?
sarc off/
The candidate for the Vice Presidency of the United States of America, whose experience in small town politics, mothersŽday dos and the local hockey club is her claim to fame, threatened to open the gates of Hell by attacking Russia in the event of another invasion of Georgia in a televised interview on ABC (shown today). One question for this self-opinionated upstart: Do you know what a nuclear holocaust is?
Sarah Palin, Mrs. Nobody know-it-all shreiking cow from Alaska, the joke of American politics, plied with a couple of vodkas before letting rip in front of incredulous audiences while McCain coos in the background, cuts a ridiculous figure as she strives to be taken seriously.
How can anyone whose husband is a member of the Alaska Independence Party and who is running for the Vice Presidency of the Union be taken seriously? How indeed can the Republican Party be taken seriously for not vetting this female, or have they not yet discovered the skeletons in her closet? We have.
So Sarah Palin, Mrs. Hockey Mom housewife-cum-small-town gossip merchant and cheap little guttersnipe, suppose you shut up and allowed real politicians and diplomats to do their work? Threatening Russia with a war is perhaps the most irresponsible thing anyone could do at this moment in time. Have you any idea what a nuclear holocaust is? Have you any notion of the power of Russias armed forces? Did you know that Russia has enough missiles to destroy any target anywhere on Earth in seconds?
And have you not forgotten, you pith-headed little bimbo from the back of beyond, that small detail about the slaughter of Russian citizens by Georgians, which started the whole debacle? So next time suppose you keep your mouth shut and while youre at it, make sure the members of your family keep their legs shut too. Your country has enough failed mothers as it
#4
OK - they know nothing of American politics, but I'm surprised that the tone veers so close to the editing standards of the KCNA. I thought Russia had a literary history and culture and all that.
#5
OK - they know nothing of American politics, but I'm surprised that the tone veers so close to the editing standards of the KCNA. I thought Russia had a literary history and culture and all that.
#7
They write Pravda for people at the educational level of the average Russian. That way average Russians can easily read it even after drinking their daily ration of vodka. It also has the effect of making it sound eerily like DU, Daily Kos or the National Enquirer.
Yeah, Pravda's in good company with the likes of Pam Anderson, Lindsay Lohan and Rosie O'Donnell.
#12
Is this what commie propaganda has deteriorated to? Man, back in the day, they had better style than this fourth rate crap. F+, the plus added for spelling his own name correctly.
Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie, formerly known as Swamp Blondie ||
09/15/2008 20:25
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A powdered drug which eases the symptoms of incurable genetic diseases could be on sale within two years, researchers say. They hope it could treat 2,400 conditions, including some types of cystic fibrosis and Duchenne muscular dystrophy, as well as the blood clotting disease haemophilia.
Many inherited diseases are caused by mutations in genes which stop cells from making vital proteins.
The new drug - known only as PTC124 - makes cells less sensitive to these mutations. Given early enough, PTC124 could even halt the progress of some genetic illnesses - many of which are incurable.
The drug comes as a vanilla-flavoured powder to make it easier for patients to take. This would be dissolved in water, milk or juice and taken with meals.
Researcher Dr Stuart Peltz said that there were many serious inherited diseases for which there is currently no effective treatment. 'We hope to be able to bring this to market not only quickly for cystic fibrosis but over time to many different patients with many different diseases for which there is no treatment,' he added.
In cystic fibrosis, a mutation stops the body producing a protein called CTFR. Its absence causes the body's fluids to become abnormally thick and sticky, causing breathing and digestive problems.
In tests on patients, PTC124 boosted production of the protein and improved breathing, the British Society for Human Genetics conference will hear today. It is thought that PTC124 could help 10 per cent of the 8,000 cystic fibrosis sufferers in Britain.
This was a phase II clinical trial, published in Lancet, and appears to be legitimate.
More trials are due to start soon. Tests on youngsters with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which affects 100 babies a year in the UK, have also been promising. In mice, the drug repaired muscle mass lost to the degenerative disease and it is hoped that PTC124 could help 13 per cent of human sufferers.
In all, the drug has the potential to treat 2,400 diseases - proving effective for between five and 70 per cent of those suffering from each condition.
Dr Peltz, of PTC Therapeutics, said: 'The difference between this and other drugs is it doesn't [just] treat the symptoms, it treats the underlying cause. The drug allows the body to make the lost protein.'
It is hoped the drug, which would have to be taken every day for life, could be on the market by 2010. PTC124 researcher Dr Lee Sweeney, of the University of Pennsylvania, said: 'This new class of treatment has the potential to help a large number of patients with different genetic diseases that have the same type of mutation.'
Dr Marita Pohlschmidt of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign said: 'PTC124 has previously shown encouraging results in clinical trials for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. However, as the drug applies to boys with a specific mutation, only 10-15 per cent of the 2,000 boys living with the condition in the UK might be treated.'
Between five and 15 per cent of inherited diseases are caused by 'nonsense mutations' - subtle, but potentially devastating, spelling mistakes in DNA.
Cells in the body contain machinery that 'reads' lines of DNA and uses the information to create proteins. However, a nonsense mutation sends out a rogue 'stop' signal before a cell has finished making a protein. The resulting half-finished protein is useless.
The drug PTC124 works by over-riding the nonsense mutation's stop signal - and letting the cell complete its job.
Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie, formerly known as Swamp Blondie ||
09/15/2008 20:27
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#3
Don't worry, it will be so insanely expensive nobody will be able to afford it anyway. And no insurance company will want to start a kid on medicine he will have to take his whole life. So color me skeptical, but I don't see this being any more available than the new generation of cancer drugs that actually cure cancer, but at a breath-taking cost.
Manuchehr Mottaki who arrived in Moscow on Friday morning for a day long visit made the comment in a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. "Our relations would continue to further expand and strengthen," he said.
The Iranian top diplomat considered continuous meetings between the two countries' top officials and leaders in Tehran, Moscow, and the other countries as a good base for bilateral cooperation in the future.
The Russian foreign minister referred to business why are checks for Bushehr bouncing and commercial cooperation between Russia and Iran why isn't the work getting done as important fields of bilateral cooperation.
The meeting between the two foreign ministers was held behind closed doors in the absence of media representatives.
When it comes to containing Russia, the invisible hand of the markets may be the West's most potent weapon.
Tightening access to international credit and mounting stock losses are hurting Russian billionaires as well as state- owned corporations, prompting calls by businessmen to heed Western complaints over Kremlin policy in Georgia. The head of the country's biggest business association, the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, met President Dmitry Medvedev, urging him to take ``anti-crisis'' measures.
``The stock market is plunging, capital is fleeing, there is a severe shortage of liquidity in the banking system, prices for many core exports are falling and inflationary pressures are strengthening,'' the business group's Alexander Shokhin said today in a live televised Kremlin meeting. Current policies ``may turn out to be inadequate,'' he said.
After rejecting Western appeals not to recognize breakaway Georgian regions, Medvedev last week signaled compromise for the first time. He agreed to implement a European Union-brokered cease-fire and pull troops back into the disputed territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Mevedev told the gathering of Russian billionaires that the government doesn't want ``either confrontation or isolation.''
#2
THis article is just more MSM-Net evidence that RUSSIA DOUBTS ITS LT ABILITY TO RESIST NEW NATIONAL DESTABILIZ + BREAKUP VEE RADICAL ISLAM, and that by the RUSSO-GEORGIAN CONFLICT > RUSS is actually "hedging" agz a perceived WORST-CASE SCENARIO, i.e. Islamist defeat of Russia + Islamist Asian Takeover. GEORGIA = RUSS WAS PDENIABLY BULLYING THE US-NATO/EU IN ORDER TO ENTICE SAME TO SET UP A MIL PRESENCE AROUND ITS BORDERS, IN ORDER TO CYA RUSS ARSE AGZ ANY FUTURE ISLAMIST-INDUCED BREAKUP OF RUSSIA, ESPEC AGZ ITS OWN CURRENT ANTI-US ALLY FUTURE NUCLEAR IRAN.
RUSSO-GEORGIAN CONFLICT > IMO IS NOT "RUSSIA VERSUS US-NATO/EU" BUT MORE SSSSSSSSHHHHHHHH
"RUSSIA WANTS THE US-NATO/EU IN ASIA"!
E.g. Think 19th Century FRANCO-GERMAN WARS [Bismarckian], RUSSIA = FRANCE, ISLAMISM = "YOUNG TURK" IMPERIAL GERMANY, + RUSSIA = FRANCE DESIRES TO SET UP A "MAGINOT LINE" IN ASIA TO PRELUDE ITS OWN PERCEIVED FUTURE-STRATEGIC DEFEAT.
LONDON -- Richard Wright, a founding member of the rock group Pink Floyd, died Monday. He was 65.
Pink Floyd's spokesman Doug Wright, who is not related to the artist, said Wright died after a battle with cancer at his home in Britain. He says the band member's family did not want to give more details about his death.
Wright met Pink Floyd members Roger Waters and Nick Mason in college and joined their early band, Sigma 6. Along with the late Syd Barrett, the four formed Pink Floyd in 1965. The group's jazz-infused rock and drug-laced multimedia "happenings" made them darlings of the London psychedelic scene, and their 1967 album, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn," was a hit.
In the early days of Pink Floyd, Wright, along with Barrett, was seen as the group's dominant musical force. The London-born musician and son of a biochemist wrote songs and sang.
The band released a series of commercially and critically successful albums including 1973's "Dark Side of the Moon," which has sold more than 40 million copies. Wright wrote "The Great Gig In The Sky" and "Us And Them" for that album, and later worked on the group's epic compositions such as "Atom Heart Mother," "Echoes" and "Shine On You Crazy Diamond."
But tensions grew between Waters, Wright and fellow band member David Gilmour. The tensions came to a head during the making of "The Wall" when Waters insisted Wright be fired. As a result, Wright was relegated to the status of session musician on the tour of "The Wall," and did not perform on Pink Floyd's 1983 album "The Final Cut."
Wright formed a new band Zee with Dave Harris, from the band Fashion, and released one album, "Identity," with Atlantic Records.
Waters left Pink Floyd in 1985 and Wright began recording with Mason and Gilmour again, releasing the albums "The Division Bell" and "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" as Pink Floyd. Wright also released the solo albums "Wet Dream" (1978) and "Broken China" (1996).
In July 2005, Wright, Waters, Mason and Gilmour reunited to perform at the "Live 8" charity concert in London -- the first time in 25 years they had been onstage together.
Wright also worked on Gilmour's solo projects, most recently playing on the 2006 album "On An Island" and the accompanying world tour.
#1
Sad to read this. From what I've gathered, his appetite for coke caused problems during the "Wall" period, but I always felt his keyboards were key to the Floyd "sound" and his immense musical contributions were overshadowed by the larger-than-life personalities of Waters and Gilmore. Rest in peace, Rick.
#2
Indeed - RIP. The keyboard work on Shine On You Crazy Diamond still ranks as some of my all time favorite.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
09/15/2008 16:37
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#3
I've been a fan of pre-Animals Pink Floyd since, well, long before they released Animals. Loved his work on Ummagumma, Obscured By Clouds, Meddle, Dark Side, and Wish You Were Here.
Posted by: Mike ||
09/15/2008 17:05
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The editor of The Atlantic Monthly said Monday he is sending a letter of apology to John McCain after a woman the magazine hired to photograph the Republican presidential nominee posted manipulated pictures from the photo shoot on her Web site.
Photographer Jill Greenberg, who is vehemently anti-Republican and expressed glee that the photos would stir up conservative ire, took pictures of McCain for the cover of The Atlantic's October issue.
During the shoot, she took several other backlit pictures, which she then doctored and posted to her site. In one photo, she added blood oozing from McCain's shark-toothed mouth and labeled it with the caption "I am a bloodthirsty warmongerer." In another, a caption over McCain's head says, "I will have my girl kill Roe v. Wade," an obvious reference to his running mate Sarah Palin's anti-abortion positions.
Editor James Bennet said Greenberg behaved improperly and will not be paid for the session. He said the magazine is also considering a lawsuit.
"She has violated the terms of our agreement with her, of our contract with her so we're taking steps. So we're looking into what steps we can see to do something about that," Bennet told FOX News, adding that he is "already drafting a letter of apology" to McCain. "I mean this photographer went in there under our auspices to take a cover shot for us ... but while she was there she behaved in an incredibly underhanded and unprofessional way," he said. . . . We get into a lot of bashing of the MSM 'round these parts due to bias and unprofessionalism. It's good to see The Atlantic standing up for proper journalistic standards. If you're gonna bash 'em when they're wrong, you gotta be willing to give 'em props when they get it right.
Greenberg said that the cover shot for The Atlantic article was manipulated to leave McCain's eyes red and skin looking bad. But Bennet said the magazine stands by the picture that made the front cover. He said the artwork went through editors' hands before going to print, and it is accompanied by "a terrific story" that is a comprehensive look at McCain's foreign policy.
"I think the cover shot is very respectful of John McCain. I think it's a good picture. People have to judge it for themselves," Bennet said, adding that he rejects Greenberg's characterizations of the shot. Click through to see it. Apparently the Photoshop boys did a good job cleaning it up. He looks tough, determined, certain of himself.
"One of the nice things about this situation is people can look at the cover shot and make their own determination about whether or not it is fair to John McCain. I believe very strongly that it is," Bennet said.
Posted by: Mike ||
09/15/2008
14:36 ||
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#1
yes, it is nice to see them at least admitting that they hired a photographer who has embarrased them. However,it seems to me that they are only sorry they got caught.
Think about the Atlantic editors who do understand shadows and lighting looking at the proofs provided by this woman and picking this photo as the best available.
Had it not been McCain but their beloved Obama, I feel certain that they would have looked at the many proofs provided and not finding a suitable photo would have demanded a professional one and if she could not provide it - requested one from the McCain campaign.
The only reason they are backtracking now is because Greenberg bragged about it on her blog and posted those juvenile morphs and thus exposed what is now painfully obvious: that the Atlantic editors knowingly ran with the most unflattering portrait of McCain that they could reasonable get away with.
It is what it is. The Atlantic's Shocked!! Shocked!! is just meaningless damage control.
#3
This is not necessary, but it's a step in the right direction.
These journalists, especially the few who still have integrity, need to get a handle on their industry ASAP. They are already losing readership to the intertubes, and if they think their printable journalists draw alot of heat, wait until they are forced to pay some internet hack to write the online-only Atlantic Monthly.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
09/15/2008 16:24
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#4
They just saved themselves: I was going to call this afternoon and cancel the subscription I've had since 1984.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/15/2008 16:59
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#5
Good thing they are PROFESSIONALS with standards and editorial oversight and all of that journalism stuff.
#6
This is one of those Capt. Renault moments. (We're shocked, shocked, etc...)
I think the cover shot is very respectful of John McCain.
I think it looks like hell, but that seems to be typical of the photographer's work. You'll see that she was previously in a kerfuffle over her series of crying children called "End Times". Allegedly she got them to cry by offering candy and taking it away.
"The pieces were titled to reflect Greenberg's frustration with both the Bush administration and Christian Fundamentalism in the United States."
I must say that children crying over candy is an excellent metaphor for the mindset of Greenberg and her ilk.
#7
Betty and Angie are right. The photo is subtly shot to make McCain look old, mean and not quite healthy. This is an intentional hit job and the Atlantic is sorry only that it got called on it.
#8
According to Glen Reynolds at Instapundit , " James Bennet, -- who I know somewhat and think is an honest guy -- says they don't vet photographers for their politics, and they shouldn't. But this kind of pettiness and unprofessionalism is absolutely beyond the pale. Sadly, it's marked much of the media this election cycle."
It's really possible he had no idea this would happen and was embarresed by it. He has stated Greenberg would not be paid for this assignment. I don't know the guy but I'll take his word for it at the moment.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
09/15/2008 21:39
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#9
. . . she got them to cry by offering candy and taking it away
"She's not telling the truth when she told ABC neither she nor her husband pressured me to fire Trooper Wooten," said Walt Monegan, the Alaskan official whose dismissal by Sarah Palin is the focus of a state investigation known as "Troopergate". "And she's not telling the truth to the media about her reasons for firing me."
#1
Ok, first off this guy has an axe to grind. She fired him, now he's trying to do her dirty in return.
Secondly, this is on ABC. They've already done one hatchet job on Gov. Palin. This smells like strike two.
Thirdly, there was no fuss about this when it happened. If this person thinks he has something let him file a wrongful termination suit, just like anyone else would.
#4
Perhaps but just watch ABC and the rest of the MSM give it the 24/7 coverage.
Remember Abu Graib(sp?) was, in essence, only a few guards being stupid (and poor oversight - not to mention it was already being investigated) but that didn't stop the MSM from giving it daily coverage for 18 months (while not even mentioning the _real_ torture chambers of the enemy).
And given the way ABC twisted the Palin interview I wouldn't put it past them. They are desperate and don't seem to care (or most likely too self-abosrbed to see) that their credibility is going down the toilet.
Lindsay Lohan isn't happy with Republican vice presidential candidate John McCain's choice of running mate, Sarah Palin.
"I really cannot bite my tongue anymore when it comes to Sarah Palin," the actress, 22, wrote on her MySpace blog Sunday. "I couldn't be more supportive of a woman in office, but let's face it, it comes down to the person, and their beliefs, male or female," Lohan said.
"I would have liked to have remained impartial, however I am afraid that the 'lipstick on a pig' comments will overshadow the issues and the fact that I believe Barack Obama is the best choice, in this election, for president," she added.
Although Lohan said she feels "it's necessary for me to clarify that I am not against Sarah Palin as a mother or woman", the star believes that Palin -- the Incumbent Governor of Alaska -- isn't ready to run the country.
She said, "I find it quite interesting that a woman who now is running to be second in command of the United States, only 4 years ago had aspirations to be a television anchor, which is probably all she is qualified to be.
"Oh, and... Hint Hint Pali Pal - Don't pose for anymore tabloid covers, you're not a celebrity, you're running for office to represent our, your, my COUNTRY!"
Lohan -- who is rumored to be in a relationship with DJ Samantha Ronson -- also referenced Palin's views on homosexuality. "Is it a sin to be gay?" Lohan asked. "Should it be a sin to be straight? Or to use birth control? Or to have sex before marriage? Or even to have a child out of wedlock?
"Is our country so divided that the Republicans best hope is a narrow minded, media obsessed homophobe?"
In conclusion, Lohan cited an Associated Press story reporting that Palin's church advocates a conference about prayer curing homosexuality. Wrote Lohan: "Palin's Desire to "save and convert the gays" - really??"
Ronson also chimed in. "Vote for obama!" Ronson wrote. "Mainly because if she gets elected my green card probably won't get renewed!!!"
#4
"Oh, and... Hint Hint Pali Pal - Don't pose for anymore tabloid covers, you're not a celebrity, you're running for office to represent our, your, my COUNTRY!"
Oh she's not a celeb, and your opinion means what?
Frankly, her popularity rating is probably higher than your's Ms. Lowbrain. Which means she is more of a celeb than you are.
Damn moonbats. Someone schedule the exterminator to hit the Left Coast please?
Kat @ "Castle Aarruugghh" Which candidate would you have a beer with at the family reunion?
. . . You didn't even know you had a cousin Sarah until Uncle John introduces her. Okay, yeah, he did mention something one time about a second cousin, three times removed who lived in an igloo with a bunch of kids, sewed moccasins out of moose hide from a moose she tracked ten miles through a blizzard while simultaneously running the entire state of Alaska, but you never thought you were actually going to meet her.
Wow! She is smokin' hot. Except she's got that husband who won the Iron Dog something or other four times. You're not sure exactly what that entails, but anything with the word "iron" in it makes you try to keep acting like you're not looking at her while you chug your Miller Gold. . . .
Uncle John's beaming like a new daddy handing out cigars. He just knew everybody was going to like Cousin Sarah. Professor Cool, community organizer guy comes over and starts in, "Now, hold on. Just hold on a second. I'm the community organizer and she's not doing it right. I mean, sure, she's shot a moose and run a state, but I know how to organize a community and this is not how you organize a community. First, we need a meeting..."
Nobody's listening. Uncle Joe tries to get in on the show, too. He saunters over to where Cousin Sarah is standing, holding a baby on her hip, a bowl of baked beans in one hand and the instructions for erecting the big tent out on the lawn in the other. "Hey, little lady. That looks too hard. Let me help you." Then he takes the bowl of baked beans, sits it on the table and acts like he just successfully negotiated a treaty between Russia and Georgia. . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
09/15/2008
12:44 ||
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#1
Interesting that MacCain was at the NASCAR race yesterday, did a brief statement on the radio during the pre-race show and then again just before firing engines; The crowd sounded like they loved him. Willing to bet you couldn't get The One anywhere near a dirty ol' race track: "Why they have guns and everything there, probably even pocket sized Bibles."
. . . "You want to know the honest truth? I think she's like a bad actor from a B-list sex movie," said Paula Vanbuskirk, an Obama-supporting independent, whose contempt for the Alaska governor and self-styled "hockey mom" was shared by almost everyone questioned by the Financial Times.
If it was Mr McCain's intention to ignite a fresh "culture war" between middle America and east coast liberals by nominating Ms Palin, the evidence in Manchester suggested he has succeeded in spectacular fashion.
"I just do not trust the American people," said Eleanor Shavell, 58, a computer programmer, who, along with several others, joked she would move to Canada if Mr Obama loses. "I cannot believe that 80 per cent of this country thinks we're headed in the wrong direction yet 50 per cent are supporting McCain and Palin. I guess it's like at school, there's always got to be a bottom 50 per cent." . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
09/15/2008
12:05 ||
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#1
Anyone feel insulted by these folks comments?
A lot of liberal pundits comment on how unhappy the "public" is with the direction things are going. They think that everyone one wants to go to the left. Guess what folks; about half of them want things to go to the right.
#2
If you're a Democrat, you're in favor of coddling criminals, aborting the innocent, and wouldn't know a moral position if it came up and bit you in the rear. I WANT the Dems to start some crap after McCain gets elected, particularly the blacks who are threating widespread rioting in American cities. Lots of their dead bodies in the street might start to get them a clue about what is and isn't acceptable in America. They've been coercing the country with that threat ever since 1968. It's time to call their bluff.
#3
Outlets like NBC and the NY Times don't help in moderating the "super white trash" talk like this. Even in a Debroah Solomon interview in Sunday's Time with some EEE figure named Kennedy (never heard of her and could care less of her accomplishments), this "radical chic arugula eating Westsider" opined that she thought Palin was scary due to her banning books and talking about us being on God's mission in Iraq. I mean you cannot as a legitimate news source allow this kind of libel to go unanswered regardless of your editorial policy.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/15/2008 12:34
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#4
Once again reminded of the '72 quote from some journalist in New York: I can't believe Nixon won. I don't know anyone who voted for him!
Or something along those lines.
Leftocrats really do live on a different planet, and thus far NASA has failed in its mission to return them there...
That pretty much sums it up folks on the fundamental difference between left and right. Message - that's why we left Europe and its bankrupt hierarchical ruling caste/elite mentality and philosophies.
#10
Speaking for Non-moonbat black people, I don't want Obama elected, and I dont think there will be riots outside of inner cities if he is not elected. Mussolini thinks bodies in the street would be a eye-opener? I merely call to the FBI crime statistics to point out that bodies are already in the streets, and I can see no awakening of the masses. I love this website for it content and commentary, however I think the sometimes general "racial stereotypes" are a bit ignorant.
Posted by: Raider Ray ||
09/15/2008 13:23
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#11
I was born on the West coast and raised and currently reside on the East coast. Judging by my education (at a snooty boarding school and then an almost-as-snooty-but-far-more-liberal liberal arts college) and my peers, I should be one of these liberal elitists.
However, the truth is that I can't stand them. I don't hate them, in fact several of them are my siblings and good friends. I just can't stand their dismissive and holier-than-thou attitude about politics. They are Liberal Fascists in the truest sense of the term.
As demonstrated by one of their leading "thinkers" Janeane Garofolo, on Bill Maher's show the other night, they truly believe that liberals and "Democrats are just more decent than Republicans," and conservatives. If Ms. Garofolo had her way, and I'm paraphrasing here "we would be better off if we just threw them all [Republicans] in jail." How charming.
#12
I suspect that if there is any violence, its far more likely to come on or from the campuses [and their immediate neighborhoods] that breed and nurture the moonbat environments. The kids in the inner city already understand violence and what it really does. The kids on campus talk a lot, but are unlikely to have been up close and personal with it to understand the full consequences [other than those attending on their GI Bill money].
#14
Raider Ray, I think your point is well taken here although I admit it is easy to fall into stereotypes at times. As I once heard someone put it, "it's not stereotypically speaking, it's statistically speaking." Nontheless, we should make an effort to avoid them as they rarely serve to further the discussion in any meaningful way.
Whether or not African-Americans will riot if Obama fails to win the election remains to be seen. I think the likelihood is rather remote and I'm hopeful if not confident that it won't happen as long as the election remains a fair one. And I have no reason to believe it wouldn't.
That said, I live in Washington DC and I'm not going to take any chances. Illegal or not, come the election, you can bet I will have a firearm stored in my home for self-defense purposes should things get ugly. Better safe than sorry.
#15
Raider Ray, I agree with you on the racial stereotypes by some posters here. It is not acceptable IMO.
I believe that Obama would be a disaster for the black inner city community. Democratic policies have been counter-productive for that community for the past 40+ years. These policies have done much to destroy the family unit in these communities. Our country can and must do better. Those in the affected communities can and must do better.
#16
Raider Ray, I can see where you're coming from, but, I gotta say that 92% of Blacks voting for Obama and his commie-left progrissivism makes it hard not to stereotype. Not to mention the sycophancy of the MSM.
I can legitamately call myself one of the least racisist people in the world but it seems actions and words ain't enough if it doesn't support the looney left's hate America machine.
Hell, 3 of my 4 grandkids are probably blacker than Barry since they're 50% Black and I doubt that Barry's father was pure (lots of Arab there I bet). But because I love the USA I get labeled as a racist.
#17
The Left has this enduring fantasy that one day "poor people going rise up, and take what's theirs" (really, "what's everybody else's") in some sort of spontaneous Marxist revolution. Never happens, never will happen.
If Obama loses, there'll be a lot of disappointed wanabee revolutionaries wondering why the riot didn't happen. I'm sure that people who are heavily invested in him will be disappointed, but they won't go down the streets hurling Molotovs and screaming "OFF THE PIGS!" on Wednesday morning.
Sooner or later, we'll elect a "person of color" to national office. (I like the idea of Vice President Jindal taking the oath on 1/20/13 m'self.) Whoever it is will win because he or she is on the ticket that gets more electoral votes. It'll be a good thing when it happens, but not all that much a surprising one.
Posted by: Mike ||
09/15/2008 14:17
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#18
Rioting was only suggested by one or two columnists and it says a lot more about those columnists than anything else.
#19
Remember, we're just the "flyover people". We don't really count. We're all in the way of progress and don't know enough to know what's good for us.
Here's a shining example of leftist journalism, although you have to know a very little about the Lord of the Rings to really appreciate it.
#20
My gut feeling is that by the time the election is over, a lot fewer people will be so heavily invested in Obama, and they will simply be ridiculed if they try anything violent.
For example, I just posted a link, ":Co-workers: Obama Inflated His Resume" .
To me, Obama looks more and more like the Democrats very own Jayson Blair.
#23
They hate Sarah with white hot fury but feel neutral to slightly frowny about Al Qaeda (although if Al Q would drop the 'death to homosexual' line they might move to above neutral.
#24
I dont think there will be riots outside of inner cities if he is not elected.
Note that outside of inner cities. I fear he's right. And I wouldn't be surprised if there's riots either way, sort of like when the local football team wins the you-name-it bowl and the fans go on a drunken rampage. But especially if he loses. But it's only their own homes they'll burn. Just like every other riot.
#25
and I dont think there will be riots outside of inner cities if he is not elected
Obama has close ties with his cousin, the Islamist Odinga, and campaigned heavily for him and his "Orange Party". Odinga has first-hand ties to Al Qaeda and other nefarious characters.
After the election riots broke out, in which over 300 died. Odinga used this violence to Mau Mau his way back into government. It's not the manipulated rioters who are the main problem, it's the people behind them.
Let's hope we don't see a repeat in the US after the elections, should Obama fail,
People worry that Obama picked up his political skill from the Chicago Machine, I'm more worried he may have picked them up from Odinga.
#26
Hey wait a minute! We don't need any more liberals up here. Around these parts, they are know as fiberals or libranos.
We just tossed out a couple of AWOLs. Thought they could con us into thinking they were dodging the draft, little sh*its.
So keep the Shavell twit. At 58 she'll just be a drain on the pension and medical system, which despite what Michael Moore may have told her, is barely on life support.
Cause it's witchcraft
Cuckoo witchcraft...
KINSHASA (Reuters) - Eleven people were killed in a stadium riot in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after a soccer player tried to use witchcraft to win a local match, U.N.-backed Radio Okapi reported on Monday. Hey! They can't do that!
Nyuki club was losing to local rivals Socozaki on Sunday when Nyuki's goalkeeper advanced up the pitch and tried to use "fetishist" spells to turn the tide of the match, Okapi said, without giving more details. Let's see that again on replay, Biff.
Right you are, Hank...right there! That's a "fetishist spell", clear as day. Did ya see it?
When a police commander tried to break up an ensuing brawl between rival players, members of the crowd pelted him with rocks, the radio added. Police fired teargas in response, causing a stampede to the exits in which 11 people were killed and several injured, Okapi said. I know soccer's boring, but there's gotta be other ways to liven it up...
As elsewhere in Africa, many Congolese hold traditional animist beliefs and use spells, fetishes and charms to practise witchcraft, often combined with other religions like Christianity or Islam. Sounds like a volatile mix...
Sunday's riot happened in Butembo, in North Kivu province, where fighting between the army and rebels has raged on despite the official end of a 1998-2003 war that has killed an estimated 5.4 million people through violence, hunger and disease. I wonder if that started over war witchcraft?
#3
Anyone who watched yesterday's game between the Chargers and the Broncos might be tempted to believe that Mike Shanahan was a witch doctor...or something.
#4
It'd be interesting to know just what kind of spell a witch doctor would use to hex a football match.
Politicians in West Africa have been prosecuted for killing children to make magic meant to bring the politicians victory in elections. Then there were militiamen in Liberia's disaster who believed in a magic formula to make them immune to bullets.
(CHARLOTTE, N.C.) - Joe Biden came up with an interesting metaphor tonight.
When telling the story of how his granddaughters had a slumber party with Barack Obama's daughters during the week of the Democratic National Convention, Biden equated it to what he says Americans want. "I believe that's a metaphor, a metaphor for what the country is looking for. They're looking for a sleepover with people they like!" Oh, what the hell, let's keep it going, shall we Joe?
"The role of government in our economy is like ... beer! Yes, an Obama-Biden administration will help you see the world through beer-colored goggles ... and you can think of Social security and Medicaid as ... what do they call those things? ... Condominiums! Yeah, that's it. ..."
Posted by: Mike ||
09/15/2008
11:14 ||
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Results of a program using Aspens Canary Initiative to sell carbon offset credits to Democratic National Convention attendees are a little underwhelming.
The program, set up by the DNC Host Committee through the Denver Convention and Visitors Bureau and rolled out about a week before the convention started, raised a total of $18.34 worth of Canary Tags, offsetting 0.9 tons of carbon emissions.
Posted by: Mike ||
09/15/2008
11:01 ||
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#2
True to a Democratic party standard - do as I say, not as I do. Crafted and launched by Al Gore. The DNC also set down rules for the convention's caterers, that they had to use local foods(including loco weed, also?) and have 2 or 3 healthful colors. Anyone know how that turned out?
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
09/15/2008 11:36
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#3
How about a carbon offset gumball machine? Maybe you could get, say, $0.10 worth of gum and $0.15 worth of offsets for a quarter. Or perhaps the dreaded crane.
#4
REDDIT artics proclaim NITROGEN to be the new threat for the future world-conquering OWG USSA = weak anti-sovereign OWG USR Amerika.
Also from REDDIT, EARLY DINOSAURIA FOUGHT WID CRUSTORANS for comination of early Earth, i.e. ANCIENT GODZILLA FOUGHT CROC-ZILLAS + PROB GECKO/GEICO-ZILLAS FOR CONTROL OF THE SITE OF FUTURE TOKYO!?
Joe Biden will deliver a high-profile first attack in a sustained anti-McCain offensive in a speech called "Bush 44" Monday in the key battleground state of Michigan. "Saints preserve us! They've unleashed Joe Biden!"
"Those monsters!"
"Flee for your wretched lives!"
While the lines of attack have long been drawn, Biden will assert -- as the title indicates -- that a McCain presidency would amount to a third Bush term and will focus, in a verboserambling detailed, slightly unfocused comprehensive and SCREAMING IN UNCONTROLLED RAGE aggressive way, on John McCain's domestic policies and harsh campaign tactics, a campaign aide told Politico. "Is he going to say 'Stand up, Chuck'?"
"Up-chuck is right."
Biden will deliver the speech in St. Clair Shores, Mich., in Macomb County, the area whose voters inspired Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg to coin the term "Reagan Democrats." The RealClearPolitics polling average shows Barack Obama with a 2-point lead in Michigan, which Democrats won by slim margins in the last two elections.
The speech is touted as matching the aggressive new strategy "The Angry Left gets good and angry. This time . . . it's PERSONAL!"
the Obama campaign has promised to unleash in the remaining days of the campaign to counter the recent poll gains of McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
09/15/2008
10:48 ||
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...the Obama campaign has promised to unleash in the remaining days of the campaign to counter the recent poll gains of McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Yeah, good strategy. Keep attacking. I mean, you aren't in free fall in the polls or anything. Gotta be a winning strategy. Especially letting Mr. Hairplugs/Gaffe machine going out on his own without handlers. You'll win lots and lots of votes that way. Really. Keep Bambi looking mad and flustered while flip-flopping too. Voters love it.
#3
Thanks, Joe. The campaign is in need of a little levity, at your expense, of course.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
09/15/2008 11:52
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#4
Basically, he is to paint a dark, dark picture of America and blame Bush and his fellow HitlerChimp, McCain. With an enabling media, he will succeed. It now depends on how well McCain and his team can come back on Biden as they have on Obama. Obama is really a "girly-man" for not doing this himself.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/15/2008 12:37
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#5
Actually, JiB it is the traditional roll of the veep candidate to sling the mud at the opponents presidential candidate so that his boss can appear more presidential.
Posted by: Scott R ||
09/15/2008 14:08
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#6
He will position the Obama camp as divisive and distinctly non-partisan and allow the McCain camp to point to the times they crossed the aisle (even if conservatives are still pissed that he did so). This will further underline the McCain/Palin=change slogan.
Americans are really fed up with the divisiveness. This tactics is stupid.
There is so much wrong with what Markov is saying here that I'll let you guys have fun with it...
The following is an exclusive Press TV interview with Russian State Duma Deputy Sergey Markov.
Press TV: The Russian president says Moscow is against military action and new sanctions against Iran. Will Russia veto any possible US attempt against Iran at the UN Security Council?
Markov: Yes. First of all, I think it is the general Russian strategy that the United Nations should not impose sanctions against Iran but to give Iran a sense of security and the major threat to the security of Iran is coming from the United States.
The United States warns of sanctions and other forms of pressure and threatens the country. We believe that this threat has not decreased Iran's willingness to get nuclear power but, on the contrary, has increased its willingness because Iran is afraid of a possible attack against it. This is one reason.
The second reason has come after this war in South Ossetia. We understood that US policies are too provocative and rely too much on force and violence. We think it is a big mistake by the United States. That's why we don't support such policies.
Press TV: Let us discuss the recent conflict between Russia and its smaller neighbor Georgia. Russia says the Georgian attack on South Ossetia was like the September 11 attacks on the United States. Does this mean Russia will continue the campaign until Mr. Saakashvili is gone? I especially love the twisting of facts to support a nice-sounding number for their little '9/11'
Markov: When Russia compares the "eight-eight-eight" attack with 9-11, the comparison is that the aggressor comes and kills thousands of citizens and that is why we get support from our partners. We give support to that state.
The United States gives support not to Russia but to aggressors. This is of major importance. Are you the representative of an Iranian TV or American propaganda when you talk about the relationship between Russia and other countries?
It is not a conflict between Russia and Georgia. It is a conflict between Russia and the United States. The United States, in fact, attacked Russia with Georgian hands. Mikheil Saakashvili, who is a war criminal, was used by crazy radicals from Washington, usually neocons headed by Vice-President Dick Cheney. Please do not follow US propaganda.
Press TV: We follow no propaganda, of course, Mr. Markov. Regarding the economic cooperation between Moscow and the West, will Moscow manage to keep its economic growth on track if it reduces its economic and energy ties with Europe?
Markov: Yes, of course. Russia will totally continue its economic policy, which leads to economic growth and also to the strengthening of relations between Russia and the European Union. But there is some difference in the economic policy which Russia is going to change and that is to spend more money for the development of high technology, including military technology. Russia needs its own aviation industry. Aviation for both the military and civilians.
#4
As per MILPOL DIALECTICISM + PROTECTION OF PAN-ISLAMIST NUCLEARIZATION [Govts-States + Groups]> it should be clear or obvious to the US-Allies, etc. that Radical Islam intends to carve out + destabilize ASIA, i.e. "WHERE THE US-NATO IS NOT", AMAP ASAP, even iff it means inducing GREAT POWER CONFRONTATIONISM INCLUD MUTUALLY DESTRUCTIVE REGIONAL-GLOBAL NUCLEAR WAR [ala "RADICAL/MAD MULLAHS"].
Rep. Charles Rangel, the powerful head of the congressional committee that writes the country's tax laws, blamed his own ignorance - and not being able to speak Spanish - for failing to report $75,000 in rental income from his Caribbean holiday home.
"We do make errors even though we consider ourselves experts," Rangel, a 19-term Democratic representative from Harlem, said today at a Capitol Hill press conference to discuss his dream getaway at the Punta Cana Yacht Club in the Dominican Republic. "I sincerely regret and take personal responsibility for these errors," said Rangel, who now has three matters before the House Ethics Committee.
The public apology was the first time Rangel took responsibility for the gaffe. Earlier, he blamed his wife and his accountant, and said it all didn't matter because he hasn't stayed at the villa on a regular basis. Today, he said he never spent more than four days in a row there.
The dapper Dem estimated he owed $10,700 in back taxes for 2004, 2005, and 2006 on rent he collected from the beachfront property that goes for $1,100 a night. His team of lawyers and accountants is working on 2007 and may go back to filings from the past 20 years, he said.
He will likely owe interest on the back taxes as well as penalties in the 25 percent range on the unpaid amount, tax attorneys say.
But, Rangel defied calls by House Republicans for him to step down as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. "I really don't believe that making mistakes means you have to give up your career," he said, although he admitted that as chairman he should be held to a higher standard.
He blamed the managers at the resort for not sending him annual financial statements, and when they did so, for sending them in Spanish. "Well, there always been a question in my wife's mind," Rangel said of his wife, Alma, who he said handles the finances. "I belittled the importance of the fact that I wasn't getting reports."
He added that he reached out to officials at the resort for more information to no avail. "Every time I thought I was getting somewhere, they'd start speaking Spanish," he said of his Dominican business partners.
Each year, the resort would credit rental income from the villa to pay off his mortgage on the property. Rangel said he incorrectly thought that he'd have no IRS liabilities because the resort was already paying Dominican Republic taxes. So, that money, Rangel said, was never reported as income on his annual tax filings - a relatively simple matter of filling out a line on his 1040 form.
Those excuses, especially the Spanish difficulties, didn't pass the smell test with tax lawyers. "This is tax preparation 101. You don't get to ignore stuff because it's in Spanish," said Bryan Skarlatos, a tax attorney with Kostelanetz & Fink, which is not connected to the case. "It's hard to say if this was purely an oversight. He was aware it was generating rental income and aware of the tax benefits related to the property by limiting the number of days he spent there," Skarlatos added.
Rangel insisted he never spent more than nine days a year at the villa. If he had stayed more than 14 days in a year, he could lose some tax breaks because the property wouldn't be considered an investment.
Fellow members of Congress also enjoyed the villa, Rangel said. "[They] spent their honeymoon there; Republicans have gone there for holidays," he said, but declined to name them.
Rangel further blamed a distant relationship with accountant for the tax mishap. "Quite frankly, the first time I talked in detail about this with my accountant is through my lawyer," he said.
Rangel had asked the House Ethics Committee to see if his tax fiasco violates congressional rules.
#3
Better shut your trap Charlie. Saying you can't handle your own family finances, having to depend on the little woman, is not reassuring. You are, after all, the head of the most influential finance committee in the entire gov't, Ways and Means in the House. You can't grasp basic finance ? You, like many other Dummos, are ready for retirement, right ?
#4
The US is one of the few countries around the world with an extra-territorial tax system. Maybe he should work on changing that. It is an illogical system to begin with.
Times of India reporting (Via Rooters). The Pentagon on Monday denied reports that Pakistani troops fired on two US military helicopters after they crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan and forced them to turn back. "They did? Lemme check into that!"
"I've checked into that and find it to be a spurious report," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters. "Did not happen. "Sometimes they say crap like that so the rubes at home will think they're heroic or something."
"I've checked all the places that would know about something like that and it doesn't appear to be accurate." "In fact, it's a load of crap. They're still alive, aren't they?"
Earlier in the day, reports quoting Pakistani security officials said that firing by Pakistani troops forced US military helicopters to turn back to Afghanistan after they crossed into Pakistani territory in the early hours of Monday. "Yeah, the Mighty Pak Army blew off a few rounds and the infidels flew away."
The incident took place near Angor Adda, a village in the tribal region of South Waziristan where US commandos in helicopters raided a suspected al-Qaida and Taliban camp earlier this month. "The US choppers came into Pakistan by just 100 to 150 metres at Angor Adda. Even then our troops did not spare them, opened fire on them and they turned away," said one security official. "The Mighty Pak Army's got no mercy for infidels, believe you me!"
Pakistan is a crucial US ally in its war on terrorism, ... that's chock full of beturbanned nutbags waving guns and hollering...
and its support is key to the success of Western forces trying to stabilise Afghanistan. ... since there's no other way into Afghanistan without going through the Soviet Union Russia.
But Washington has become impatient over Islamabad's response to the threat from al-Qaida and Taliban fighters in Pakistan's tribal regions on the border. At least 20 people, including women and children, were killed in the South Waziristan raid earlier this month, sparking outrage in Pakistan and prompting a diplomatic protest. "Damn those infidels! They've killed Mahmoud!"
"Yeah. And Mom's dead, too."
Pakistani army chief General Ashfaq Kayani said in a strongly worded statement last week that Pakistan would not allow foreign troops onto its soil and Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity would be defended at all costs. "To include national annihilation!"
Another security official said on Monday that US armoured vehicles were also seen moving on the Afghan side of the border, while US warplanes were seen overhead. He said Pakistani soldiers sounded a bugle call and fired in the air, forcing the helicopters to return to Afghan territory. "Hark, Murphy! A bugle call!"
"You heard that over the rotors?"
"No. It's on my ipod... Say! Are those guys down there on the Pak side of the border having gun sex?"
"Why, damn me! I believe they are! That's disgusting!"
"Don't look! It'll rot your mind!" Military spokesman Major Murad Khan confirmed that there had been shooting. "Yeah. A bunch of our guys shot off... Their guns, I mean."
But he said the American helicopters had not crossed into Pakistani airspace and Pakistani troops were not responsible for the firing. "But it wudn't the Mighty Pak Army. They wudn't even there. They wuz... ummm... someplace else."
"The US choppers were there at the border, but they did not violate our airspace," Khan said. "We confirm that there was a firing incident at the time when the helicopters were there, but our forces were not involved."
This article starring:
Angor Adda
South Waziristan
Military spokesman Major Murad Khan
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
09/15/2008
08:44 ||
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Military spokesman Major Murad Khan confirmed that there had been shooting. But he said the American helicopters had not crossed into Pakistani airspace and Pakistani troops were not responsible for the firing.
"The US choppers were there at the border, but they did not violate our airspace," Khan said. "We confirm that there was a firing incident at the time when the helicopters were there, but our forces were not involved."
#2
Well, that changed in 5-1/2 hours....Thank you, Rooters!
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
09/15/2008 11:59
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Do not forget that firing up in the air near aircraft, even in a wedding celebration with no bad intent, could be suicidal. I think the Pak troops know that.
JEDDAH: Firecrackers, which are considered part of the Kingdoms Ramadan culture, are, for the first time ever, nowhere to be heard or found during this years holy month.
Looking for firecrackers nowadays is like looking for drugs or weapons, said marketeers, who used to sell firecrackers, the sale of which booms during Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr.
None of the usual sellers could be found in Jeddahs downtown Balad area, where the business thrived. This reporter wandered through the area but was unable to locate a single seller.
Passersby in Balad would normally be approached by sellers offering firecrackers from the trunks of their vehicles or from warehouses close by. This year, the government has been strict in banning the sale of firecrackers, said Ahmad, a Yemeni resident, who used to sell firecrackers.
After selling firecrackers for 10 years, I switched to selling perfumes. The authorities have been very strict, he said.
He added that the authorities have always raided the premises of those who sell firecrackers. However, raids were intensified this year and there have been more undercover officers walking around. After seeing many dealers arrested, we stopped selling, he said.
Some people still sell firecrackers, if caught they will be punished. Ahmad knows a Saudi man in his 30s called Salah, who sells firecrackers for triple the usual price in the Al-Madloum area of the citys old quarters. Prices have gone up this year because of a lack of availability. Some of the most common firecrackers available are known as Bushs Rocket, Sharons Bomb, Bin Ladens Airplane and Saddams Destroyer, said Salah.
#1
Johnny Nothumbs Fireworks is now Johnny Nonose Perfume Emporium.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
09/15/2008 12:53
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*sigh* I remember the good ol' days when you could buy a bag of 1/4 sticks of dynamite in an alley in Tijuana and bring 'em back across the border without worrying about being tossed in prison for most of the rest of your life. Which of course has nothing to do with the article but ....
The demise of European social democracy has come suddenly and perhaps unexpectedly. As Roger Liddle from Policy Network, the New Labour think tank that organized the Hertfordshire conference, has pointed out, as recently as 2000 no fewer than eleven out of the then fifteen European Union member states had social democratic or center-left prime ministers. Today there are only four.
Electoral setbacks for social democrats in Europe cannot be dismissed as the temporary result of fickle and volatile voters who will return to the fold in due course. The truth is that social democrats are now very much on the ideological defensive. This does not mean, however, that the axis of political advantage has tilted inexorably rightward in any dramatic way. On the contrary, what should concern social democrats is the unexpected emergence of what looks like a serious threat from new forces to their left.
In Germany Die Linke, or the Left Party, as it is known in English, has become the third-largest political party in the country after the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats. It is the result of a strategic alliance between the old Communists from East Germany and breakaways from the left wing of the Social Democrats, under the charismatic leadership of Oskar Lafontaine, the former finance minister. Der Linke polled around 15 percent in the spring regional elections and has become a pivotal force in cities like Berlin and Hamburg and regions such as Hesse.
A similar left surge at the expense of social democrats has occurred in Denmark. In the 2007 general election the Left Socialists secured 13 percent of the total Danish vote. The electoral shift to a left beyond social democracy has been even more dramatic in the Netherlands. In the last general election in 2006, the Left Socialists won a sixth of the vote, not far behind the Dutch Labour Party, which lost a quarter of its core support and finished with only just over 20 percent.
Women, immigrants, and gays may have won hard fights for legal rights, but their position is also growing more insecure in Europe from those, mainly Muslim, arrivals but also embattled male manual workers, who are less tolerant about pluralism and divergent moral values and more hostile to difference. The fear and experience of crime and terrorism is also more likely to hit the least advantaged than the better off.
All these changes are hitting social democrats more profoundly than any other political grouping in Europe because they reduce the perceived effectiveness of the kind of progressive policies with which they are normally identified. It hits efforts to maintain or create any sense of social or political unity across internal divisions and it also weakens center-left appeals to internationalist solidarity around shared values. This is why social democrats have to focus their attention on religion and culture and not just on their traditional concerns with work and income equality in order to ensure their contemporary relevance.
#1
The electoral shift to a left beyond social democracy
Women, immigrants, and gays may have won hard fights for legal rights, but their position is also growing more insecure in Europe from those, mainly Muslim, arrivals but also embattled male manual workers, who are less tolerant about pluralism and divergent moral values and more hostile to difference. The fear and experience of crime and terrorism is also more likely to hit the least advantaged than the better off.
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how does it go, you can have 2 out of 3...........
. . . It's time to dump Biden and replace him with Sen. Hillary Clinton. I don't care how it's done. Campaign chief David Axelrod can figure that out. And the sooner the better. Because I'm starting to think that if Team-Obama doesn't do something dramatic fast, it's gonna lose this election. There's a worrisome shift in momentum and in the polls. The Palin phenomenon, while truly unfathomable to Democrats, has energized McCain's campaign and allowed him like Houdini to snatch Obama's "change" theme right out from under him. It's time to snatch it back.
Conventional wisdom says replacing Biden with Clinton can't be done. That it's too late. That it'll make Obama appear indecisive, (which he is)
impulsive (which he is)
and lacking good judgement. (which he is)
Many Democrats believe this would cause irreparable harm to the campaign, ringing Obama's death knell. But this couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, it'd be a freakin' coup for Obama, and would instantly melt Palin's undeserving outsize political ice cap.
To be sure, a Biden-Clinton switch would cause quite a stir in the media. They'd accuse him of all sorts of things, from being politically expedient (which it would be)
and flip-flopping (which it would be)
to being irrational (which he is)
and ill-equipped to be president. (which he is)
The talking heads on CNN, Fox and MSNBC would be locked in a non-stop frenzied orgy of derisive rhetoric. (they already are)
But we also know that it would make about 18-million Hillary voters ecstatic at the same time. So, honestly, who really cares what Joe Scarborough, Keith Olbermann, Wolf Blitzer or Brit Hume thinks? It would be fun to see Olbermann, who spent all spring condemning Hillary's very existence and calling her a racist and Republican, tie himself in knots rationalizing how he now supports Barack-Hillary 100,000%.
These pundits don't constitute an appreciable voting block. What they think and feel would be utterly dwarfed by the euphoria from Clinton's faithful supporters. It's a pretty safe bet that an Obama/Clinton ticket would capture virtually all of these loyal Clintonistas. Don't be so sure. It would also give the campaign the smell of desperation--not that it isn't already smelling a little desperate.
It's also a safe bet that many of those highly coveted 18-49-year-old women who polls show migrated to McPalin this past week would drop the spunky little hockey mom in a heartbeat for Hillary. . . . "And then Obama will ride in on his magical unicorn and give all the voters ice cream! We'll have peace, love, and fluffy bunnies!"
The HuffPo commenters are not nearly so enthusiastic:
McCain picked Palin as a gimmick. So now you think Obama should drop Biden??? THAT is ridiculous! It's not going to happen. Obama would be raked over the coals as indicisive and rightfully so. If I were Hillary, I wouldn't take it at this point. This article is counterproductive. I have supported Obama since Jan 2007 when he announced he was running. I could have accepted Hillary as VP if he picked her first. If he dropped Biden now, that would be the death knell for his campaign. Picking Hillary now would probably be the only thing that he could do to lose my support. IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN !!! GIVE IT A REST !!!
Andy Ostroy is coward for writing such a ridiculous article. Stop promoting division.
Did you not hear about the plane that Hillary loaned Obama and it almost crashed? Have you not paid attention to many of the Clinton opponents who have gone down in plane crashes? Don't you remember the Bobby Kennedy comment? Are you aware of the Clinton's legal troubles that they have been avoiding for years and the only way they can continue to avoid them is running and winning office? Did you know about them being fined for fraud? Did you read her Machiavelli type college thesis? Are you aware of her comment, "I'll do anything to win?" Did you hear about her getting fired for pursuing a strategy against Nixon which she knew was patently false? Don't make me bring up the paper shredding after somebody died? The claim of combat experience, such as "sniper fire", which again was untrue would get anybody kicked out of the military, and you want her to be second to commander in chief?
Posted by: Mike ||
09/15/2008
08:12 ||
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Great that high school kids could make a new web site.
#3
Besides the usual socialists who backed the ONE in the beginning, his 'surge' was as much if not more due to the 'Anyone But Hillary' wing of the party. That's what got him to the position he is today. It's too big of a crowd to throw under the bus. Too many votes to lose than gain for November as the ABH crowd will just sit at home asking 'why the hell did I even try' [because you looked upon politics as a solution for your personal unhappiness and anger rather than seek professional help].
#4
Hillary's too busy planning for 2012. Not gonna happen.
Posted by: Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields ||
09/15/2008 9:36
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#5
Cigar for Swamp Blondie! Obambi goes down in flames and Hillary rises from the ashes as the saviour for 2012. Campaign to begin Wednesday Nov. 5, 2008.
#8
My own thoughts, you don't like them, pull them down
The biggest problem with Obama is he thinks "Black", that means he thinks like a skinny street kid that "Bragging equals fact(And it doesn't)
Think what we've seen on the news, He's gonna this, and he's gonna that, but what has he really done? Nothing but run his mouth.
Problem as I see it, this kind of "Mouth" is so normal in the young blacks they see it as "Cool" and expected, but to White folks it comes of as "Loud mouth Braggart"(Directly translating as "Worthless N****r")
Then he had to team up with Shrillary, probably the single most worthless Female on the planet, at least he (or more likely his advisors) convinced him it was a death sentence to have her as Veep, (Shows smarts, but countered by not having enough smarts to avoid her from the beginning, I do not "know" Joe Biden so cannot comment)
Running total?
Jumped up N****R, worth only ignoring, poisons anyone he touches and not nearly smart enough to realise he's not squat.
Rant over
Jim: don't do this again. Folks at Rantburg aren't racists, don't want to be seen as racists, and don't want moonbats to froth over any perceived racism here. Mitch is absolutely correct in his response.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/15/2008 10:30
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#9
Why don't you twits just admit that ya screwed the pooch, huh?
#10
The VP choice is the most important single decision a Presidential Candidate can make. It says a lot about who they are. Obama decided he was inexperienced and needed experience on the ticket despite Biden having constant gaffs and no charisma. To change VP choices now compounds that mistake and would really make Obama look like indecisive.
Granted there would be big hoopla initially but I have to think HIllary is watching Obama slip with a bit of glee. She may still be the first woman President if Obama loses.
#11
Christ, Jim, could you keep any 'own goal' racial epithets to yourself? It's hard enough getting sensitive and uncertain people up here in the Pennsylvania "T" to vote against the glorious mirror-ball without some goddamned stereotype stomping around like a one-man Klan & tarring us all as racist hillbillies.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
09/15/2008 11:23
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#12
About the time I think the trunks are too stupid to win...the donks steal defeat from the jaws of victory. It's pretty sweet.
#16
If NY slips any more in the polls, O might have to do something.
Hey, he could appoint dual VPs. Joe and Hillary could share responsibilities. Even and odd days. Or Biden could take the day shift, and Clinton the 3:00am shift.
#17
That's how they win in the long run Redneck Jim, you can't even discuss race in this country, not really. And certainly not on fair terms with their own language. So we just retreat and call each other racists and keep doing what we do. They MUST be the victim or you're a racist, you have to watch every word you say or you are a racist, they can say anything, do anything, and WE are still the racist. Always, no matter what.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/15/2008 17:09
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Jim & Bigjim: You don't need to use the N-word (or the F-word, for that matter) to critique Obama. In fact, I can do a much better job of persuading* people not to support him by not sounding like a cross between Daily Kos and Stormfront.org.
*The Kos Kidz are very interested in venting their white-hot rage so they can impress each other: "I hate Bush."
"Well, I hate 'im more!"
"No you don't, you pansy!"
"Who you callin' a pansy? I can out-hate you at twenty paces."
"I see your hate and raise you two loathings and a contempt!"
"You don't got two loathings to rub together, poser!"
"Oh yeah? Well, I hate Bush so much I roto-tilled all the shrubbery in my neighborhood. Top that!"
...and so on.
Posted by: Mike ||
09/15/2008 17:38
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Jim: don't do this again. Folks at Rantburg aren't racists, don't want to be seen as racists, and don't want moonbats to froth over any perceived racism here.
So Although I DID NOT speak "Racist" we "Have to avoid the "Perception"
That sure puts a huge damper on the "Civil Well Reasoned Discourse" supposedly to be found here just hint the poster is racist and hint he'll be banned if he continues.
Read your own headline Sir "Salmon"
You're actively Banning Discourse, if Race is involved.
That's NOT "Moderating" It's Censorship.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/15/2008 19:25
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#21
No, they're banning offensive vulgarity. It's not censorship, it's civility.
#22
Nimble, I used asterisks, annd did not post the "Hated Word"
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/15/2008 19:34
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#23
That's how they win in the long run Redneck Jim, you can't even discuss race in this country, not really. And certainly not on fair terms with their own language.
Thank You BigJim, I was feeling kinda oppressed here in the supposed "Blog of free speech".
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/15/2008 19:42
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#24
Coyly using asterisks in that word is the flimsiest of covers. Knock it off.
#26
The fact is, Ar.is Katsa.ris, that his comments tar everyone else who comments at Rantburg as racist as well.
Posted by: Scott R ||
09/15/2008 21:02
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#27
I feel I must weigh in on the word Redneck Jim used. I'm a 5th generation Alabaman and I know the context Jim was using the word. I don't use that word but in his context it equates to the term "white trash". We allow the term white trash to be flung about with no repercussions. I do realize that for some people the word Jim used is taken to mean all people of African descent and is a very offensive racial slur and that is why I never use the word. I have blood relatives who are black and that's how they refer to black people they consider low-life, good-for-nothings. They do not use the term white trash to refer to white people of low character, however, they do call them honkeys. I hope I live to see the day when there are no African-Americans, Polish-Americans, etc, but we are just Americans. I am realistic enough to realize this most probably will never happen. It saddens me.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
09/15/2008 21:27
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#29
Deacon, from past posts I know that you grew up on the other side of Prattville from me, around the same years, one day I'd like to meet you, I think we'd be friends with very little effort.
(And No I don't give a damn what color you are, your brainpower shows, and that's enough for me)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/15/2008 22:03
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#30
Same here, RJ.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
09/15/2008 22:05
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#31
By the way Deacon, I'm planning to move back to the Millbrook area sometime around October, Mom's not doing well and I need to be nearer.
(Doesn't hurt to be out of the Hurricane area either. I'm tired of high heat, wind and rain.)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/15/2008 22:41
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Sounds like Plugz is getting lonely. A taste:
His plane, a blue chartered 737, now crosses the country with about three-quarters of its seats empty, rows and rows with nary a warm body to be found.
Biden's supporters maintain that he is connecting with voters and garnering positive media interest on a local level. They also say that Biden is a "governing" pick, not a "political" pick, unlike Palin. That is, Biden will actually be able to help Obama govern; he's not just a cynical selection to help his boss win the election.
Either way, as Air Joe flew from Wilmington to Charlotte Sunday, the only reporters onboard were off-air reporters from the five television networks and correspondents from NBC and Politico. There was only one camera crew. The back of the plane, reserved for press, sat totally deserted.
The New York Times? Gone. The Washington Post? Not seen since the first days of September. The otherwise ubiquitous Associated Press? Left even before that.
And when the senator spent two straight down days at his Delaware home this weekend, the press corps dwindled further, with some members bolting the "small wonder" state altogether, leaving Wilmington a media ghost town.
On Saturday, only four reporters were around to cover any Biden action. Not that there was any. LOL. A 737 three quarters empty? How efficient and global warmingish
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/15/2008
08:09 ||
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That plane has what....around 130 seats, depending on the configuration? So he's hauling around an "entourage" of 40 or so?
Maybe he should consider a nice little Bombardier or even an Embraer for longer trips.
But I think he'd really get "bang for the buck" with this little beauty..... ;)
Posted by: Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields ||
09/15/2008 10:30
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Biden's supporters ... also say that Biden is a "governing" pick, not a "political" pick, unlike Palin. That is, Biden will actually be able to help Obama govern; he's not just a cynical selection to help his boss win the election.
I know you 'Burgers get it but, man oh man, the MSM and other Leftists really don't understand that our excitement over Gov. Palin is because of the way she has governed in the past. And that we are hoping she will continue to govern in the future.
#1
Of course if Trunks did something like this, the Donks would have Congressional investigations -
"After the release of the hostages on the same day as Reagan's inauguration on January 20, 1981, some charged that the Reagan campaign made a secret deal with the Iranian government whereby the Iranians would hold the hostages until Reagan was inaugurated, ensuring that Carter would lose the election.[2] Two separate congressional investigations as well as several investigative journalists looked into the charges, both concluding that there was no plan to seek to delay the hostages' release.[2]" - wiki
#2
According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay a key theme of his discussions with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July.
"He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington," Zebari said in an interview
Obama insisted that Congress should be involved in negotiations on the status of US troops - and that it was in the interests of both sides not to have an agreement negotiated by the Bush administration in its "state of weakness and political confusion."
First of all, isn't this against the Logan ACT - if it doesn't border on Treason.
#3
What I find of interest is that the Iraqi FM would make such a statement to an American columnist knowing it would have an effect on the election. So the whole world wants us to elect The One, except Iraq?
#4
I doubt we would have withdrawn before elections anyway, it will be McCain or Obama's job to clean it up.
The economy is my immediate concern, if our economy goes bad, so does our fighting ability. Oil is just 1 factor in our debt. Hunker down for the next 2 years!
#5
Its intermixed - the economy, oil, and WOT. If the democrats will allow us to develop our own sources for Oil (as well as solar, tidal, geothermal, etc...) it would boost the economy (less cost of transportation) and cut off terrorist funding.
#7
First of all, isn't this against the Logan ACT ....
Since the act and its Constitutionality range from very lightly to completely untested I don't think anyone can actually answer that question with any certainty. IIRC a number of years ago some Congress Critters went to Cuba and there were noises about invoking the Logan Act against them upon their return but it never happened. Were there an actual declaration of war Obama would be on very thin ice I think but lacking such he'll probably avoid even questions about his actions.
"Two separate congressional investigations as well as several investigative journalists looked into the charges, both concluding that there was no plan to seek to delay the hostages' release."
No need for Reagan to make a "secret" deal. He just passed the word on to Iran that once he was sworn in as President, we were coming for our people.
Iran (at least then) may be crazy, but they weren't stupid....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/15/2008 16:40
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#9
Yes Barbara, IIRC he referred to the Iranian holding our diplomatic personnel as 'barbarians'. They understood what the use of that terminology meant.
A jury Monday convicted a Muslim cleric and five of his followers of forming a terrorist group in Australia that allegedly considered assassinating the prime minister and attacking major sporting events. Four other men were found innocent of being members of the group and the jury was still deliberating on charges against two more, as verdicts were delivered in Australia's largest terrorist trial.
No attack took place, but prosecutors alleged that the group, based in Australia's second-largest city of Melbourne, intended to undertake "violent jihad," and identified railway stations and sports fields as possible targets. During the long-running trial, prosecutors alleged the group had talked about launching an attack at a football final that attracts close to 100,000 people each year, or the Formula One Grand Prix race held annually in the southern city. They also allegedly discussed killing former Prime Minister John Howard, who ordered Australian troops to join the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
All of the suspects had pleaded not guilty. Defense lawyers painted the suspects as disgruntled men whose bravado led to talk about violent attacks but who had no ability to carry out such acts.
The men found guilty are yet to be sentenced. They face life terms in prison.
#2
3 ropes would cut the rope expenses in half; why waste one perfectly good end? all you need is a tree limb to toss the rope over and let the two muzzies hang there like two cats tied together.....
#2
but if a mouse was to create a culture of hatred that encourages Palestinian children to take an active role in violent activities, it would be perfectly acceptable.
#3
The Islamic death cult outdoes themselves with this one.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
09/15/2008 8:02
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#4
mice were agents of Satan and that Sharia law called for the extermination of all mice
They are pro-extinction - alert PETA! Sic Pamela Anderson on 'em.
#5
I might throw in on this one considering that Isner and the Mouse are the ones who were the big push to make copyright functionally indefinite in time instead of the very limited time the Founding Fathers intended [after suffering for generations under inheritable Royal Patents].
#10
so, next time we bomb out a hovel where the tliturban or A-Q vermin live, we respond that "we had near certain information of the presence of mice in the building so we acted in accordance with sharia"...
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
09/15/2008 23:32
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It was a tough call to decide where to put this. As to posting something witty.......I got nuthin...& it seems...neither do they.
MELBOURNE: Scientists have discovered that going veggie could be bad for your brain-with those on a meat-free diet six times more likely to suffer brain shrinkage.
Vegans and vegetarians are the most likely to be deficient because the best sources of the vitamin are meat, particularly liver, milk and fish. Vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause anaemia and inflammation of the nervous system. Yeast extracts are one of the few vegetarian foods which provide good levels of the vitamin.
The link was discovered by Oxford University scientists who used memory tests, physical checks and brain scans to examine 107 people between the ages of 61 and 87....
Posted by: john frum ||
09/15/2008 8:16
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#3
One theory holds that man began his ascent from the African plains when he added [mobile] protein to his diet. Follow the game for the next meal. Figure out a better mouse meat trap for that next brain kick. Go from competing with other scavengers to getting the full dinner yourself required something more than running faster or being bigger than your next Happy Meal.
#6
One theory holds that man began his ascent from the African plains when he added [mobile] protein to his diet
he fact is that the vegan diet of the gorilla requires to spend a lot of time eating but also huege bellies. And the human brain uses a lot energy (so much that we have a special refrigerating system who is lacking in apes) it is not evident we could have got enough from plants.
Also Neanderthal got eighty per cent of its energy requirements from meat and only twenty from vegetables.
The fact is that whatever ate our simians ancestors (unlike gorillas, chimapnzes ae not strict vegetarians), Homo Sapiens has evolved to an omnivorous regime: he doesn't have the teeth, he doesn't have the intestine and he doesn't have the chemics of a vegetarian.
#11
The vegetarian diet shrinks the brain? Well, it simply isn't enough for good health.
Too much meat clogs the arteries and leads to heart attacks. The idea of having meat at every meal is new; and it's expensive, too.
The paterfamilias got a warning from the doctor, so I am doubling the vegetables and cutting the meat down to prevent gout, high blood pressure, and portliness. Moderation in all things.
I recommend the Mennonite Church cookbook,
"Extending the Table." No fuss, formulas, points; just good basic recipes.
#15
This is a real chicken and egg conundrum. Does vegetarianism shrink the brain or do shrunken gray matter lead to vegetarianism? The cow may have jumped over the moon, but it sure as heck didn't design the Saturn V.
Posted by: ed ||
09/15/2008 18:39
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#16
After all, how much intelligence does it take to sneak up on a blade of grass?
Sounds like something a Kzin would say...(indeed, I think it's from Ringworld.)
Posted by: Jonathan ||
09/15/2008 19:26
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Pooling, TV stations could finally, this afternoon, get a plane in the air, close enough to show the devastation.
Bolivar Peninsula is located north of Galveston Island. It was on the east side of that Eye of Ike as he hit. Sea level, 10 feet. A reported 140 folks stayed on the Peninsula (authorities had told them to write their name and SS number on their arm) They are looking for them. They are having difficulty, cause they can't match the houses to addresses. The houses have moved or disappeared.
And, the Texas coastline has changed. The Gulf of Mexico just got bigger
#1
The Media have been irresponsible. Many folks who would have left saw the media arrive and begin to broadcast and thought, "Hey, if these bozos can stay, so can I." Bad move on everyone's part.
#3
All true, but people in SE Texas have not forgot the mandatory evacuation of Rita (I believe it was Rita) that ended up in 100 mile backups and 14 hour stoppages in the interestates. I think a lot of the people stayed behind because of that experience.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/15/2008 12:15
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#4
Some interesting folks in Bolivar Peninsula...
Of particular concern is a resident who collects exotic animals who is now holed up in a Baptist church with his pet lion. "We're not going in there," Jones said. "We know where he (the lion) is on the food chain."
I wonder where his owner is on the food chain today?
#5
AFAIK, the evacuation for Rita killed more people than the storm itself (?herself) did. It's still a bad idea to live such a short height above sea level in a hurricane zone, unless you're some kind of aquatic or amphibian life form.
#6
The Rita gridlock was because people did not follow instructions - the entire Houston metro area should not have gotten on the roads, just the low-lying areas to the south along the bay and beyond (Galveston). People did somewhat better this time, but still plenty of room for improvement. And Galveston-Bolivar residents who do not evacuate might as well be playing Russian Roullette - as mentioned elsewhere today, stupidity is a capital offense, with no appeal.
If it has to do with the 2008 election, it goes into Home Front: Politix. Not Lurid Crime Tales, appropriate as it might seem. Not SAST, not WoT, but Home Front: Politix. Please help the mods help you. Thanks
Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic Monthy
"Like others at the Atlantic, I was appalled to read about the actions of Jill Greenberg, the freelance photographer who took the cover portrait that illustrates my article about John McCain. Greenberg doctored photographs of McCain she took during her Atlantic-arranged shoot, which took place last month in Las Vegas. She has posted these doctored photographs on her website, which you can go find yourself, if you must. Suffice it to say that her "art" is juvenile, and on occasion repulsive. This is not the issue, of course; the issue is that she betrayed this magazine, and disgraced her profession. Here is a partial account, from the New York Post, of what she did, and of the Atlantic's reaction to what she did:" What this twit in her own, sophomoric way put another nail in the coffin of the Left wing in this country. Actually I thank her. It's individuals like Greenberg who condescendingly look down their noses at conservatives and yell "rule of law" and "abuse of power" yet hypocritically do the same thing when given the opportunity. Yes, Jill. I thank and applaud your lack of self awareness, your lack of wisdom, and lack of self control.
I sure would appreciate it if someone would explain to me how exactly Jill helped convince voters not to vote for McCain ...
"Greenberg also crowed that she had tricked McCain into standing over a strobe light placed on the floor - turning the septuagenarian's face into a horror show of shadows. Yeah. ha, ha, Jill. You are a real professional, aren't you. Jokes on you, Jill.
Asking McCain to 'please come over here' for a final shot, Greenberg pretended to be using a standard modeling light. The resulting photos depict McCain as devilish, with bulging brows and washed-out skin.
'He had no idea he was being lit from below," Greenberg said, adding that none of his entourage picked up on the light switch either. 'I guess they're not very sophisticated,' she said. And Jill you have no idea how much damage this will do...just like the other fools such as the twit from Air-America, ad-nauseum. The Atlantic opted not to use the distorted McCain shot on its cover, selecting instead a more straightforward portrait. 'We stand by the picture we are running on our cover," said Atlantic editor James Bennet. 'We feel it's a respectful portrait. We hope we'll be judged by that picture.' But I would hope she would never get another real job in photography again.
But Bennet was appalled by Greenberg saying she tried to portray McCain in an unflattering way. Then don't hire her again.
'We feel totally blind-sided,' he said. 'Her behavior is outrageous. Incredibly unprofessional.'
Greenberg later decided to use some of the images she was assigned to take to make a political statement.
No, really?
Her Web site now features a series of juvenile Photoshopped pics of McCain in some highly unflattering poses - including one that has a monkey squirting dung onto the Republican candidate's head. Another one reads 'I am a bloodthirsty warmongerer,' with McCain retouched to have needle-sharp shark teeth and a vicious grin, while licking blood-smeared lips." I hope this gets lots and lots of airplay.
"I don't know Greenberg (I count this as a blessing) and I can add nothing to what James Bennet told the Post except to say that Greenberg is quite obviously an indecent person who should not be working in magazine journalism. Every so often, journalists become deranged at the sight of certain candidates, and lose their bearings. Why, this has even happened in the case of John McCain once or twice. What I find truly astonishing is the blithe way in which she has tried to hurt this magazine." Jeff. She does not care. It's all about Bush-hate. It turns otherwise apparently sane people into irrational, self justifying maniacs. Hate does that.
This stuff is now coming out daily. The MSM will be the big loser in this election, worse than Rathergate because it is being demonstrated how the bias permeates the system, not just a few personalities.
Like the Atlantic doesn't know what photog it is hiring. Sure.
#3
This photographer will find her options limited to smaller publications because the big magazines don't want to be surprised. Still she'll be the belle of the ball for the little hate-republican rags and celebs so her income will be alright.
#4
At what point to politicians hire their own photographers and just present the photos. I don't think such a time is very far off after crap like this.
It's like Instapundit said recently, bring your own camera to an interview so you can post the raw footage if they play with the editing. The media is not a friend, don't treat them as one.
#5
Can you imagine the uproar if a "right-wing" nut did something analogous to the image of the Divine Mr. O? Look at how much play the New Yorker Obama cartoon cover got - and that was supposed to be a parody of the vicious smears made by conservatives.
Is this how people belonging to the party of FDR and Truman now treat war heroes? I'd love to know if Greenberg supports hate speech legislation and, if so, I'd love to hear her explain why her "work" doesn't qualify. I really can't say any more about how her behavior makes me feel without risking a visit to the sink trap.
Croatia has recently sold advanced S-300 air defense missile systems to Iran, a newspaper in Zagreb reported this week amid conflicting opinions in Israel over whether Teheran has obtained the advanced anti-aircraft system. According to the Web magazine Necenzurirano, Libyan Naval ships were also docking in the Croatian port city of Kraljevica to transfer the system to Iran.
Israeli defense officials could not confirm the report but said that Croatia is known to have obtained a number of S-300 systems following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The system was reportedly dismantled several years ago although its exact fate was never publicized.
The S-300, a Russian system, is one of the most advanced multi-target anti-aircraft missile systems in the world today and has a reported ability to track up to 100 targets simultaneously while engaging up to 12 at the same time. It has a range of about 200 kilometers and can hit targets at altitudes of 27,000 meters.
Israeli officials have not said whether Iran has obtained S-300 systems but has called on Russia not to sell them to Teheran. A top IAF officer recently said that it was not yet clear whether Iran had the system.
Ronen Bergman's The Secret War with Iran, published Tuesday in the US, repeats the claim made in the Hebrew version of the book, published last year, that the Iranians already have S-300s. "Iran has purchased an enormous number of anti-aircraft missiles from Russia, some of which, according to Mossad sources, are S-300 missiles, considered among the most advanced in the world. These missiles have been deployed around Bushehr and other strategic targets," Bergman writes.
The author continues: "In August 2006, during the war in Lebanon, Israeli satellite photograph decipherers detected changes at several locations in Iran, suggesting strongly that Iran was stepping up its nuclear project. Moreover, many additional anti-aircraft missile batteries were deployed at nuclear sites, and existing ones were replaced with S-300 missiles... By September 2006, no fewer than 26 anti-aircraft missile batteries had been placed around the centrifuge installation at Natanz...."
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/15/2008
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#1
Question -- is this the same system that Syria had when, in Sept, Irasia kinda sneaked in on them?
#2
Another question : considering how friendly Croatia is towards the US (since we helped them drive the Serbs), what are the chances that the S-300 systems that they sold to Iran might have some interesting modifications, say to the targeting software?
#3
Another question : considering how friendly Croatia is towards the US (since we helped them drive the Serbs)
Considering that in the Croatian pantheon the Ustahis are at the top and considering that the Ustachis were allied to the Nazis and shared their goals it is quite logical that they provide weapons to those want to wipe away the Jews.
#6
According to the Web magazine Necenzurirano, Libyan Naval ships were also docking in the Croatian port city of Kraljevica to transfer the system to Iran.
It'd be a shame if something happened to those ships on the way to Iran. Maybe some Somalian pirates will go after them. Yeah. Somalian pirates. That's it. With torpedoes. It could happen.
#2
Lehman files chapter 11. AIG asks for a loan to be paid bank with asset sales (which they have plenty of) leaving Mashington Mutual to be dealt with.
Good news is, with all the panic selling, and funds having to sell millions of shares to cover withdrawals, we're getting near the end of the bear.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
09/15/2008 1:31
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#3
YOU ARE THERE, wid MTV HeadBangers Balls + QUEENSRYCHE > "SILENT LUCIDITY" [Search-And-Destroy-Armor]!
TWO DECADES-PLUS LATER AND THAT CHINESE GUY IN TIANENMEN SQUARE IS STILL STANDING IN FRONT OF MY PLA TANK - The World saw him on CNN from the rear; Myself, MADONNA, + TEXAS-SIZED ASTEROIDS saw him also from the front!
#4
And by the way, the DOW is a horribly constructed index. Its so bad they have to use that 'divisor' thing to make the numbers make sense after any stock splits etc.
Just venting.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
09/15/2008 1:33
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#5
Mike, you're not venting, JOSEPHMENDIOLA is venting!
(It scares me but I kinda like to watch it, though. Is that wrong? ;) )
Posted by: Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields ||
09/15/2008 1:41
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#6
This is a stock deal, not a cash deal (BoA will be increasing stock supply) so this will be bearish. There are some heavy put positions on Citi, they're the next one to watch. Hopefully, their stock will get hammered also, causing more withdrawals and selling.
Provided the fed can get a handle on inflation, we could see an end of the bear in early '09 as commodities stabilize, withdrawals fall off and investors move from their inflation hedges back into equities.
Up big is my forcast for 09.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
09/15/2008 2:06
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#7
(It scares me but I kinda like to watch it, though. Is that wrong? ;) )
Joe or Lehman Brothers Swamp Blondie?
Swamp Blondie Ima real BAD too...
Cause I admit it, I enjoy watching the Big-Business Big-Shots when they are wearing Handcuffs and on the way to Prison!
The only problem as I see is that another 95% of the Corporate Thieves need to be doing HARD TIME also, like NO SUN LIGHT for 20-30 years.
[CLARIFICATION: NOT 95% of all Corporate officers just the thieving ones.]
But they don't even get Indicted let alone tried because of our Legal System..
BTW will someone explain why us little squeaks have to pay every CENT of our loans back to the Bank but these CEO CFO COO CVO CMO Bastards can loose Hundreds of Millions of someone elses Dollars and walk away with a pocket full of CASH, HOMES, JETS, and TROPHY WIVES?
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
09/15/2008 2:39
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#8
The various stock markets in EU countries are tumbling today; down about 4-7% each as of this post.
#9
Up big in '09? Every smart President starts with or is bequeathed a recession to get it out of the way and be able to blame it on the predecessor. This builds the base for growth through the rest of the administration.
And have you looked at the number of mortgages yet to adjust past their teasers? And every day more of them are under water.
And this Lehman deal is part of a significant reorganization of Wall Street as Broker/Dealers are disintermediated out of the system.
And Europe is headed into recession also as they keep rates high to protect the Euro from the resurgent dollar.
And boomers, who have been rushing from bubble to bubble for the last 15 years to build their nest egg, will now begin withdrawing liquidity from the system as the seek to preserve capital, retire and start drawing down those nest eggs.
Finally, the policy of governments is to spread these crises out over time so that they aren't so violent but short as in the 19th century. That means this one is likely to last longer
The sky is not falling, but we'll be lucky to be up in '10.
#10
Let's get the moonbats going, and say this is a Bush/Chaney design to suck the monies from the Obama empowerment fund done just before the election to hammer the trust fund babies poor and middle class from electing their master hero. :)
[It's got to be true, its on the net (well, now it is)]Heh.
#11
Practically speaking, I would seriously recommend that everybody withdraw a couple thousand dollars at the bank today. Just have physical cash in your home for a week or two.
If there is no catastrophe, you're out only a few dollars in interest, tops. After two or three weeks, you just put it back in your account.
#13
Anonymoose ... Are you saying that if someone has liquid funds available in a standard bank checking and/or savings account they will not be available for withdrawal if needed? Is this due to the physical printed cash shortage you referenced yesterday?
#14
NS, I, you and everyone else are aware that mortgages will continue to default in larg amounts until spring of next year some time. That's why it's already priced in.
Secondly, recession and bear markets don't have to coincide and they don't if the recession is long feared and therefore priced in.
The unwinding of failing banks still has to work it's course and we still have to see about inflation, but the other two are long price in. That's the reasing why the housing sector is actually up since this summer.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
09/15/2008 11:01
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#15
they will not be available for withdrawal if needed?
Some believe the bank runs are near. I have been following http://www.survivalblog.com/ for months now. They are not optimistic. Maybe some hyperbole on their part but I'll side with caution.
#16
If one bothered to ask people if they are planning on withdrawing a bunch of cash from their bank, only the paranoid ones would answer yes, so I suspect that's not enough to constitute 'a run'.
With all due respect to the underground shelters and soupcans crowd, you guys come out with this stuff all the time.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
09/15/2008 11:13
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#17
This is what you get when a Congress tries to make all the people happy all the time. Allowing banks and mortgage companies to loan no down/no doc loans at ridiculous rates and short terms (ARMS) to people who can barely spell their name has consequences. As does having the smartest guys in the room (wall street, The Fed, SEC, Fannies and Freddies) forget their primary mission of "due diligence" and let Congress dictate how to handle inner city and depressed economic zones as veritable gold mines is a big reason. Plus outfits like Obama's ACORN have a lot to do with it by coercing banks and FI's into making community grants (bribes, extortion) in order to open up branches in their 'hoods. But of all the reasons there is the primal impulse of greed - by lender and borrower both.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/15/2008 12:29
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#18
The problem is not that you don't have money, or that the banks don't have money. In a bizarre turn, it might mean that you literally cannot get your physical money from the bank to the retailer. No physical cash money at the bank to give you.
It is less an economic problem than an administrative problem.
Now, only about 5% of our money is backed by physical paper money. Both credit cards and cheques (Br. spelling for clarity), are credit instruments.
The US mints are currently printing paper money at 100% capacity. To increase production, temporary US mints will have to be put on military bases, if we can overcome the extreme shortages of the right kind of paper and ink.
Most small businesses and large corporations will immediately need high denomination bills, whose movement will be closely regulated by the government. Only the largest corporations will have credit "interfaith" among each other.
If suddenly, the credit card companies cancel their cards all at once, there will immediately be a huge number of cheque overdrafts, more than the banks can handle in their current condition. So only debit cards and automatic cheque withdrawl from the very few stores that offer it, who have the hardware to offer it, will be available.
Retailers will take common bank cheques for a short time, until they realize that a large percentage are overdrafts by people who have no credit cards. And unless they phone the bank to insure than the cheque is covered, they will have to refuse them. Again, except for the very few businesses who can automatically debit checking accounts electronically when they receive the cheque.
To make matters worse, just today, I read that one unnamed financial services organization is limiting its *debit* card purchases to $5000/day, because their corporate credit is under such strain.
All told, for weeks to months, there will be such incredible deflation that it will seem like nobody has any cash, even if they have hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank.
How many people would you guess have even $100 in cash in their homes? $500?
#21
Mike, you could be right about the market. I thought you were talking about the economy. One of my personal known unknowns is where the market will go.
#22
BTW will someone explain why us little squeaks have to pay every CENT of our loans back to the Bank but these CEO CFO COO CVO CMO Bastards can loose Hundreds of Millions of someone elses Dollars and walk away with a pocket full of CASH, HOMES, JETS, and TROPHY WIVES?
They're pirates, we're not. 4 days to National Talk Like a Pirate Day.
#23
Assuming what you say is true, 'moose (I'm not knowledgable enough to say one way or the other), would PayPal be affected? (Not the credit card part, the regular part.)
I wouldn't think so, since they have my "cash" sitting on their books and could transfer to or from bank accounts without needing physical money.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/15/2008 16:02
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#24
This is a fake panic, We don't use cash for anything but small purchases (Well, $100 and less.) and hve no real cash supply on hand.
My Mom (Who's losing it) had her bank change hands to BBC Centura.
Not wanting her money in "A foreign bank" went down to remove HER money. so she went in and wanted to cash out a CD, of one hundred grand( No I'm not joking) the bank didn't have the cash, (Of course) and she finaly had to settle for ten thousand in cash and a Cashier's check for the rest.
She was highly indignant "Think, a Bank that doesn't have enough cash to cover deposits" (Etc)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/15/2008 18:11
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#25
"Think, a Bank that doesn't have enough cash to cover deposits"
Of course the it doesn't: the money is loaned, how doesn she think the Bank can give her an interest.
#26
JFM, of course the bank loans it out, I mentioned Mom's loosing it, she really expected to walk out with a hundred grand cash Even brought my brother with her to "Talk some sense into the manager, Bro's a huge Biker type guy, friendly and easygoing, but quite fearsome to look at, he's the one wwho tried to explain to Mom that they wee'nt going to give her a hundred grand cash, and if they did , he and she couldn't carry it, they'd have to hire an armored truck (Bit of exaggeration, but it got through)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/15/2008 22:23
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#27
CNN > 'tis the first crisis/problem for the winner of 2008 POTUS Elex???
The Royal Navy may hand over HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship on which he met his death at the Battle of Trafalgar, to a charity or a government department.
Sorta like handing over the USS Constitution ...
They are among options being considered to take over the cost of £1.5 million a year to run the world's only 18th-century "ship of the line" -- one that took a direct part in sea battles. Some 500,000 people a year visit the vessel in dry dock at Portsmouth.
The range of options that the Ministry of Defence is putting out for consultation are leaving the Victory with the Navy, public ownership by another government department or public body, setting up a new charity for the ship or using an existing one.
Baroness Taylor of Bolton, a Defence minister, said that the ship needed "extensive works" to ensure its preservation for generations to come. Vice-Admiral Alan Massey, the Second Sea Lord, said that the Victory was "a vital part of our heritage" and that the MoD was committed to securing her future.
#1
No need to preserve anything that thye might be proud of since they've already surrendered to Sharia law.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
09/15/2008 0:22
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#2
About time for the Lady of the Lake to give the sword Excalibur to some deserving, if bloody minded, SAS Captain, who has little hesitation about purging England of its pestilence.
#3
You know, the British Royal family pays NO taxes and is worth several BILLION dollars - one would think that they should take over this public trust and make it a shining example of their allegiance the British people and their history.
#4
MOD's having difficulty kitting out soldiers in theater. I doubt they are insensitive to the value of the ship. The real question is whether the rest of the UK is.
#5
So true, Shieldwolf. There's a reason it's called the Royal Navy unlike the British Army which isn't Royal. But the Royal Family is now purely hired, and well paid, celebrities for the masses. Perhaps a Cromwell...
#7
Increase the price for people to see it, ever so slightly.
Sell some merchandise that people might want to buy. Nelson caps and foam swords come to mind. I was just at HMS VIctory a couple of months ago and it's wonderful, but the Victory was not very well merchandized, perhaps they think the idea is garish but tourists want to have something to go away with. Memories and all. If you wanted King Henry IIX stuff it was there in spades but not so much the NElson stuff.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
09/15/2008 11:52
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#9
I was at Waterloo several thousand years ago. From the content of the souvenir shops one could come away with the impression that the Frenchies won that one.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2008 12:25
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#10
Was it Lord Nelson who said "The wogs begin at Calais"?
#11
Why not just charge 3-5 euro per person to get on the the boat and see it? If it gets 500,000 visitors a year then surely a small charge to a person will then cover the cost.
Posted by: Charles ||
09/15/2008 17:46
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#12
Nelson would weep to see the British Navy brought so low.
#2
Sometimes, I wonder, if these folks have a bet (contest) going on among themselves, as to who will be the one that makes the most vile announcement that will be the one to bring Sarah down.
#9
Actually the McCain/Palin ticket is coming off as popular with a number of gays (at least in a way no Republicans had before) and Rosie might feel threatened on two fronts because of that (Palin threats traditional Democratic hold on Feminism as well).
#10
Didn't even read it. Can't read it. Won't read it. Nope. Nope. Won't go there. It's just like how I stopped reading the local rag. All it ever did raise my blood pressure. I finally got wise and just stopped.
#12
I think it was a tribe in Washington State. The Pacific NW Indians traditionally practiced Whale Hunting. But some Alaskian tribes might be included as well.
I think its a good idea - if they use the tools of the time (no guns, no cannon, no powerboats, etc...).
Israel's military on Sunday sentenced a soldier to 14 days in jail for stopping a Palestinian woman in labor from passing through a checkpoint, where she eventually gave birth to a stillborn baby. The soldier, a squad commander, had been in charge at the army's Huwwara checkpoint in the occupied West Bank, and prevented the woman and her husband from crossing in their car to the Palestinian city of Nablus on Sept. 4.
In its statement, the military said the woman was in labor on reaching the checkpoint but the couple did not have an entry permit for the vehicle. Army regulations say exceptions should be made in urgent, humanitarian cases. "The incident is one that could have been prevented," a military statement said.
The woman's husband called an ambulance, which arrived about 30 minutes later, and she gave birth to a premature, stillborn baby while still at the checkpoint.
In addition to the 14-day term in military prison, the soldier was relieved of his command duties, the statement said.
Human rights groups have long complained the army rarely prosecutes soldiers who abuse Palestinians and metes out lenient sentences when it does so.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Would the end result been any different? Not wanting to sound callous, but the report sounds like the baby was already dead and medical help would not have changed the outcome.
Still, it does sound like the soldier blew it.
#2
Playing devil's advocate here..... apparently pregnant moslem woman. "Hurry, hurry must let us through immediately. No you can't make sure she's really pregnant, she can't be seen or touched by the infidel."
Not the case in this instance, but it would have to have been one of the things going thru the soldier's mind....
#3
Human rights groups have long complained the army rarely prosecutes soldiers who abuse Palestinians and metes out lenient sentences when it does so.
And what do these same HR groups say when innocent Israelis are blown to bits or run over by a bulldozer?
As a father of two, and a husband of 24+ years I am not without sympathy for the three Palestinians involved. OTOH, when 99% of one people is trying to destroy another people, you can hardly blame the soldier for being suspicious.
On paper _ and it's a paper he has yet to sign or even publicly admit exists _ President Robert Mugabe appears to be acknowledging at last that he cannot rule Zimbabwe alone. Not with a bang, with a whimper?
Mugabe, Zimbabwe's main opposition leader and a leader of a smaller opposition faction were to sign a power-sharing deal Monday that has resulted from weeks of negotiations mediated by South African President Thabo Mbeki.
Mbeki and Morgan Tsvangirai, the main opposition leader, announced a deal late Thursday. They gave no details, saying the agreement would be made public Monday. Members of the opposition first gave the broad outlines Friday, and media controlled by Mugabe confirmed their version Sunday.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Power Sharing 10/90.
Blame Sharing 90/10.
Idiots.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/15/2008 9:55
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The Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) found unnecessary delays made in every stage of approval of power projects, purchase of equipment and wholesale irregularities in meter installations and extension of electric lines based on political influence.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Former adviser to the ex-premier Zafarullah Khan Jamali and now the absconding district Nazim of Naseerabad, Fateh Ali Umrani, broke his two months silence on Saturday and confirmed the killing of two of his women relatives in the name of honour.
He, however, added that he would use his own resources to deal with PPP Minister Sadiq Umrani, who had actually unleashed a campaign against him, as he was not involved in this crime at all.
"Listen, this is against my traditions to use the forum of media to malign or target Sadiq Umrani, as he is doing now against me. I will deal with him in my own style," said a defiant Fateh Umrani while talking to The News by telephone.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
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A 25-year-old pregnant girl was burnt alive by her husband in Shalimar on Sunday. The victim has been identified as Naseem Bibi, who got married to Arshad a year ago and was seven months pregnant.
According to the police, the accused dealt in the packaging of washroom liquid soaps, for which he had hired girls to help with the packaging. The accused allegedly teased the girls, due to which most of them never worked more than three or four days. This caused tensions to develop between the couple. On the day of the incident, the accused exchanged harsh words with his wife, doused her with petrol and burnt her alive.
Talking to Daily Times, Naseem Bibi's parents wished that she had left the house, and returned to their house instead of arguing with Arshad. The victim's mother, while weeping, said that she had planned to bring her daughter back to their house before the child was born.
Brother of the deceased, Ramzan, claimed that a month ago Arshad had thrown Naseem out of his house over a minor domestic dispute. He said that following that incident, the victim's father-in-law had come to their house, asked them to ignore his son's mistake and returned home with her. Ramzan claimed that Arshad's parents had tried their best, and to some extent, forced Naseem to continue with the marriage, adding that if the family had any idea about the mental condition of the accused they would not have allowed her to return.
Shalimar Division Deputy Superintendent police Rana Azeem said that they had arrested the mother-in-law of the deceased, Sharifan Bibi, who had denied any involvement in Naseem's death. He said that she had told police during interrogation that the girl had committed suicide by setting herself on fire. However, Azeem said that according to preliminary investigations, the evidence pointed towards murder. He also said that investigations were still under way and steps would be taken to arrest the other people accused of involvement in the case.
The body of the deceased has been sent to the city morgue for an autopsy.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Again...if anyone can point out a culture or country, other than an islamic one, that condones this sort of barbarism...please post it.
A Pakistani jet fighter was seen flying in the skies of North Waziristan Agency (NWA) on Saturday soon after a US drone flew over the border areas but there was no untoward incident.
Tribal sources said a PAF jet fighter appeared at around 1:30pm in the border towns of NWA, minutes after a drone was seen inside the Pakistani territory and hovered over the area for more than 40 minutes. Neither the CIA-operated Predator nor the Pakistani jet fighter took any offensive action as the two planes didn't encounter each other.
Meanwhile,
A Jirga of the in the NWA threatened US-led forces stationed in Afghanistan with attacks in Kabul, Bagram and Kandahar, if it failed to stop attacks on innocent tribesmen across the border and announced to raise a tribal Lashkar for the purpose.
a representative Jirga of the tribal elders in the NWA threatened the US-led forces stationed in Afghanistan with attacks in Kabul, Bagram and Kandahar, if it failed to stop attacks on innocent tribesmen across the border and announced to raise a tribal Lashkar (force) for the purpose.
The Jirga comprising Malik Nasrullah, Malik Qadar Khan, Malik Mamoor, Malik Muhammad Afzal Khan, Malik Mumtaz and Malik Habibullah welcomed the statement of Pakistan's Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and vowed to defend the country's frontiers against foreign aggression alongside the security forces. "Statement of the Army chief is the voice of eight million tribesmen and that of the 160 million Pakistanis and has served as healing sources for the heirs of those innocent women and children, who were killed in the attacks," they said.
The elders believed that the US attacks in Pakistan were providing reasons to the tribesmen to fight alongside their brethren in Afghanistan against the occupation of their land by foreign forces.
Malik Afzal Khan Darpakhel on the occasion said history of tribesmen is replete with the stories of bravery, valour and courage, which would definitely be repeated at this critical juncture of time, adding, "In Parvez Kayani, we see that leadership and we offer him our all-out support against the aggressors, who deserve a befitting reply for their cowardly acts against innocent population," he said.
He also urged the government to come forward and represent its own people by safeguarding their interests instead of looking towards others for country's safety. "The government should not turn its back to the tribesmen in this hour of need," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2008
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#1
"Command, I keep pushing the 'fire' button on these US made missiles, and they keep not firing. Are you sure they work?"
#8
mojo. I'm sure that as nights get long, sooner or later, a Pakistani pilot is going to fly into a mountain. And just as sure that, according to the Pakistanis, the cause will be anything BUT their pilot's fault.
Posted by: Minister of funny walks ||
09/15/2008 12:44
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#9
Paging Haliburton Mountain Raising division.
Haliburton to the white Phone please.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/15/2008 20:04
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Nicaragua's president says he will not attend a Central American summit which is expected to be attended by US president George W. Bush. The summit, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, will be held on September 24.
The Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said late on Saturday that he would not be present at the summit to show his 'solidarity' with the Bolivian Government. "In these conditions, I can't go to the meeting, out of solidarity with the people of Bolivia and I ask the United States to respect that," Ortega said, according to AFP.
The decision could affect the ongoing diplomatic row between Washington and several Latin American countries including Bolivia and Venezuela.
Bolivian President Evo Morales expelled the US ambassador to La Paz this week after accusing him of conspiring against his government. Washington rejected the accusations and expelled Bolivia's ambassador to the US the following day. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez also ordered the US ambassador to Caracas to leave the country, saying "they (the Americans) are trying to do here what they were doing in Bolivia."
Honduran President Manuel Zelaya also showed support for Bolivia's government by refusing to accept the credentials of a new US ambassador to his country.
Ortega, whose first administration fought US-backed Contra rebels in the 1980s, has often been strident in criticizing Washington.
Posted by: Fred ||
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GW "That's quite alright Danny-boy, I can make my own salsa!"
The security forces on Saturday killed seven militants and injured scores of others during a daylong operation in Koza Bandai area of restive Swat Valley, while the militants killed an activist of the Awami National Party (ANP).
According to ISPR, the security forces pounded the suspected hideouts of the militants in Koza Bandai and Kotlai areas of the Kabal Tehsil with artillery and gunship helicopters. It said the forces killed seven militants and inflicted injuries on scores of others during a daylong operation. During a gunfight with the militants near Koza Bandai, two personnel of the security forces sustained injuries, the ISPR said.
Continuing the siege of Koza Bandai, the security forces shelled the suspected positions of the Taliban militants but no loss of life was reported.
Artillery shelling by security forces in different locations and clashes in Kanju left four persons injured while several houses were damaged in Koza Bandai. A suspected militant, Bakht Afsar, wounded in the same village was taken into custody by police from Saidu Sharif Hospital. The forces targeted the alleged hideouts of the insurgents in Sar Banda area of Matta, but the militants did not suffer casualties.
Meanwhile, a reconciliatory committee of Kanju held talks with the Taliban in Dherai to seek a solution to the multiplying problems of the people of Koza Bandai. The area has been under curfew for last 12 days creating food shortage in the holy month of Ramazan besides causing other problems. The committee succeeded to secure a one-day ceasefire in the area, but the ISPR has shown indifference to the development.
Chief of Taliban militants in Swat Valley, Maulana Fazlullah, also talked to the committee members on phone and made it clear that the militants would not leave Koza Bandai, as it was their native village. He said instead the security forces should leave the valley, which would also ensure durable peace in Swat.
Meanwhile, militants picked up a police constable from Charbagh and shifted him to an unknown location. They had already kidnapped 38 personnel of the security forces who they wanted to be swapped for their 70 fellows arrested by the security forces.
On the other hand, continuing to target the ANP, the militants killed another activist of the party, Abdul Latif, in his home in Pishtonai on Saturday. The ANP activist was a schoolteacher by profession.
Curfew remained in force on the 11th straight day in Kabal, deteriorating food shortage in the area. People continued leaving for safer places on Saturday but curfew and closure of roads hampered their migration. Curfew was relaxed from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm in the valley.
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Former adviser Justice Fazlul Huq's son Dr Afzal Hossain, son-in-law Tariqul Rahman Prince and one of his employees applied to the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday to face the Truth and Accountability Commission (Tac) for making voluntary disclosure about their ill-gotten wealth.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Clashes between rival tribesmen continued in various parts of Kurram Agency on Sunday, leaving one person dead and five injured, a political administration official said. Toori and Mangal tribesmen clashed in Inzari, Tangi, Pewar and Bagh Zani areas, he said. There were reports that Toori tribesmen had vacated their trenches in the restive Pewar village near the Pak-Afghan border and handed them over to the law enforcement agencies. Efforts were underway to convince the Mangal and Kharwoti tribes to vacate their trenches as well in order to bring peace to the violence-hit agency, the official added.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Here, they "go to the matresses".
There, they "vacate the trenches"...
A rival tribe provided false information for the US military in an operation that killed up to 90 Afghan civilians last month, official says. "There was total misinformation fed to the coalition forces," said Humayun Hamidzada, the spokesman for President Hamid karzai.
Afghanistan's Interior Ministry said Friday three suspects were detained for their role in the US bombardment of the village of Azizabad. The three are accused of giving the US military false information, which led to the imprecise August 22 bombing of the village of Azizabad, in Afghanistan's Herat province.
An Afghan government commission, later backed by a preliminary UN report, found that up to 90 civilians, including 60 children, were killed. Villagers of Azizabad say their homes were targeted because of false information provided by a rival tribesman named Nader Tawakil.
The bombing disaster, in which 'not a single Taliban' was killed, has caused a strain on the US-Afghan relationship, Hamidzada said. He specially regretted the 'total denials' on the part of the United States military concerning the tragedy.
The US at first claimed no civilians were killed in the operation, saying they had killed a known militant commander named Mullah Sidiq and 30 militants. Later, a formal military investigation into the incident said that up to 35 militants and seven civilians were killed in the attack.
The US findings were gravely compromised last week after video images from Azizabad showing at least 10 dead children and around 40 villagers surfaced. The U.S plans to investigate the strike again, which the Afghan government has called unnecessary as they already have the facts.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Iranian shit-stirring?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
09/15/2008 11:11
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#2
Not necessarily. There's enough inter-tribal animosity to make it a valid reason.
Relatives who had hoped to pay a visit to family members living in an Algiers suburb were horribly surprised last week when police discovered they had been brutally murdered, according to a newspaper report Saturday.
In a crime of passion attributed to either a fight over a girl he wanted to marry or a dispute over inheritance, the eldest son massacred his mother, his 20-year-old sister and his 22-year-old brother in their family home, reported the Algerian newspaper al-Khabar. The bodies were not found until 2 days after the crime and were highly decomposed due to the heat during the past week.
According to the paper, the murderer drugged his family members and after ensuring they were unconscious, stabbed them to death. He then put the three bodies in a room and poured a chemical on them to cover up the smell of rotting flesh.
The crime was uncovered when the family's absence aroused their relative's suspension. The relatives called the police, who entered the house and found the bodies. Following an investigation the police named the eldest son as the prime suspect and arrested him, upon which he confessed to the crime. Neighbors testified that he had no psychological disorders.
Posted by: Fred ||
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According to the paper, the murderer drugged his family members and after ensuring they were unconscious, stabbed them to death.
Israel's premier expressed outrage Sunday after a mob of Jewish settlers rampaged through a Palestinian village in the Occupied West Bank to avenge the stabbing of a 9-year-old boy in a nearby settlement. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert condemned Saturday's settler attack on the village, during which four Palestinians were shot and wounded.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Mikheil Saakashvili had long planned a strike to seize back the breakaway region of South Ossetia, former Georgian defense minister says.
Irakly Okruashvili, Georgia's leading political exile, said that the United States was partly to blame for the war, having failed to check the ambitions of what he called a man with democratic failings.
Saakashvili's days as Georgia' President were now numbered, he noted in an interview in Paris.
Okruashvili, a close Saakashvili ally who served as defense minister from 2004 to 2006, meanwhile underscored that he and the president worked together on military plans to invade South Ossetia and a second breakaway region on the Black Sea coast, Abkhazia. "Abkhazia was our strategic priority, but we drew up military plans in 2005 for taking both Abkhazia and South Ossetia as well," Okruashvili said.
There was however no immediate reaction from Saakashvili's office to his remarks.
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PRAVDA > PUTIN: RUSSIA PREVENTED A SECOND STRIKE IN THE CAUCASUS. Putin argues that NGO's in RUSSIA are intent on inducing the SEPARATION OF VARIOUS/NUMBER OF INTERNAL REPUBLICS FROM RUSSIA PROPER.
BY ACCUSING THE US ON GEORGIA, PUTIN IS BASICALLY ACCUS THE US = US-NATO OF ATTEMPTING TO DESTABILIZ AND BREAKUP THE NATIONAL INTEGRITY/UNION OF RUSSIA INTO DISPARATE SOVEREIGN ENTITIES???
ALso from PRAVDA > SOCIAL GAP [Econ/Wealth]BTWN MOSCOW [+ other Large Russ Cities] AND REST OF RUSSIA [Towns, Rural]BECOMES IMMENSE.
IICC One is pretty good in Moscow + other large Russ cities iff one makes approxi US$1000 per month = 22,000 Rubles.
#2
"Now, just a few more comments like that one over the next couple of weeks, and we'll let your family go unharmed and you may return to the capital to fulfill your duties to mother Russia.", said the KGB handler to Okruashvili after his recent statement.
A bomb exploded Sunday near an airport built by a U.S. gold mining giant in Indonesia's restive Papua province, police said. No one was injured and there was little damage.
The blast half a mile from the runway at Moses Kilangin airport came days after two mortars were detonated on a road leading to the massive mine operated by Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.
"Whoever did this is trying to create unrest and to get international attention," said police chief Maj. Gen. Bagus Ekodanto, as an elite anti-terrorism unit and bomb squad rushed to the scene.
Papua is home to separatist rebels who have long denounced the mine operated by PT Freeport Indonesia, a subsidiary of the New Orleans-based company. They see it as a symbol of Jakarta's rule over the region.
A little-known group calling itself the West Papua National Army circulated pamphlets early last week demanding its closure, but police have refused to speculate who was behind any of the recent attacks.
The police chief would not say whether Sunday's bomb was related to the explosions on Friday. But other officials noted that all three makeshift bombs were made out of old mortars.
Ekodanto said Sunday's blasts occurred in an empty field and that no one was hurt.
Part of the mortar hit a small electrical depot, creating a loud explosion, said Col. Paulus Waterpau, a senior detective. Residents said they could hear the blast three miles away.
Access to the airport was cut off and witnesses said Freeport's mine in Timika also was under heavy security.
Freeport's mining complex in Timika is one of the world's largest single producers of copper and gold, the company says on its Web site. Open-pit mining at the site began in 1990 and is expected to continue until mid-2015, it says.
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Indonesia "annexed" the former Netherlands colony of Netherlands New Guinea by force in 1960. None of the local tribes wanted Indonesian masters, and have been rebelling ever since. Indonesia has flooded the area with muslim settlers, occasionally at gunpoint, to push out the natives. It wouldn't trouble me one bit if the locals were able to force Indonesia to withdraw and allow the area to unite with Papua New Guinea, as most of the indigenous population wishes.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/15/2008 15:06
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The trial of 19 alleged Darfur rebels accused of taking part in an unprecedented attack on the Sudanese capital in May was adjourned on Sunday after six defendants said they were minors. The judge at the special court in Khartoum ordered that the six - five of whom said they were 17 and one who said he was 16 - be given medical checks to confirm their ages.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Unidentified terrorists killed a man in North Waziristan on Sunday, accusing him of spying on them for the United States. The body of the nearly 70-year old man was found on the Bannu-Miranshah main road near the Esha checkpost with stab wounds to the neck and head. A note found near the body said the victim was a US spy and warned of similar reprisals against others caught doing the same. The political authorities have sent the dead body to Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Islamic law has been officially adopted in Britain, with shariah courts given powers to rule on Muslim civil cases, The Sunday Times reported.
According to the paper, the British government has 'quietly sanctioned' shariah judges to rule on cases ranging from divorce and financial disputes to domestic violence. Rulings issued by a network of five shariah courts are enforceable with the full power of the judicial system, the paper reported. The report said that shariah courts have been set up in London, Birmingham, Bradford and Manchester. Two more courts are being planned for Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Sheikh Faizul Aqtab Siddiqui, whose Muslim Arbitration Tribunal runs the courts, was quoted by the paper as saying he had taken advantage of a clause in the Arbitration Act 1996. Under the act, the shariah courts are classified as arbitration tribunals. The rulings of arbitration tribunals are binding in law, if both parties agree to give them authority to rule on their case. Siddiqui said to the paper, "We realised that under the Arbitration Act we can make rulings which can be enforced by county and high courts...allows disputes to be resolved using alternatives like tribunals."
Politicians and church leaders expressed concerns that this could mark the beginnings of a 'parallel legal system'. Dominic Grieve, the Shadow Home Secretary, said, "If it is true that these tribunals are passing binding decisions in the areas of family and criminal law, I would like to know which courts are enforcing them because I would consider such action unlawful. British law is absolute and must remain so."
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#1
According to the paper, the British government has 'quietly sanctioned' shariah judges to rule on cases ranging from divorce and financial disputes to domestic violence.
C'mon in boys, the water's fine!
Dominic Grieve, the Shadow Home Secretary, said, "If it is true that these tribunals are passing binding decisions in the areas of family and criminal law, I would like to know which courts are enforcing them because I would consider such action unlawful. British law is absolute and must remain so."
#3
GUAM PDN > PHILIPPINES > CAN THE MILF BE TRUSTED? The establishment, recognition of autonom Muslim Courts by Manila [MOA] is criticized by the author as leading to Muslim sovereignty + independent statehood, and a possib long-term breakup of the Philipines???
Iranian MPs critical of remarks about Israelis by a close aide of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad began new moves Sunday to strip him of his position as vice president, the Fars news agency reported. Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie is one of 10 vice presidents and the MPs voted to take up as a priority a bill to merge the tourism and cultural heritage organization which he heads with the Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry, Fars said. Vice presidents, unlike ministers, do not need a parliamentary vote of confidence before their appointment and are immune from impeachment. Mashaie's remark that Iranians are "friends with Israelis" in July sparked fury among conservatives and over 200 MPs urged Ahmadinejad to take action against his ally. But Mashaie, whose daughter is married to the president's son, vowed to remain in the job despite calls for his resignation. Ahmadinejad has also ignored the criticism.
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Taliban in Swat are likely to release 38 kidnapped security personnel in the next 48 hours, sources told Daily Times on Sunday. The security personnel, including police and Frontier Constabulary (FC) officials, had been kidnapped by terrorists who besieged a police post in the Dewlay area of Swat some two months back.
The abducted personnel were scheduled to be released on Sunday afternoon. However, their release was delayed as the Taliban's shura (council) meeting was postponed until Monday morning, sources said. They said the council was likely to order the release of the security personnel today as a 'goodwill gesture' for the government and security forces.
Earlier, a local committee, comprising elders and influential from Kanjoo and other areas of Kabal tehsil of Swat, succeeded in brokering a temporary ceasefire between the security forces and Taliban in Kanjoo. The committee members held separate talks with security officials and Taliban representatives.
Sources said the committee would meet the Taliban again today (Monday) for an extension in the truce. Sources said the security forces asked for the withdrawal of terrorists from the Kooza Bandai area of Kabal tehsil. The Taliban said they would vacate the area on the condition that security forces would not then enter it and establish checkposts.
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President Evo Morales struggled to assert control over a badly fractured Bolivia on Sunday as separatist protesters set fire to a town hall and blockaded highways in opposition-controlled provinces, impeding gasoline and food distribution.
At least 30 people have been killed in the poor Andean nation this week, Interior Minister Alfredo Rada said. All the deaths occurred in Pando province, where Morales declared martial law on Friday, dispatching troops and accusing government foes of killing his supporters.
Troops continued to arrive in Pando and were patrolling the streets of Cobija, the capital.
"There are people who want to continue sowing pain across the region," presidential spokesman Ivan Canelas told reporters on Sunday. He said without providing details that highway blockades continued and that "an armed group" had set fire to the town hall in Filadelfia, a municipality near Cobija.
The La Paz newspaper La Razon quoted the country's highways chief as saying blockades had halted transit on major roadways in the opposition-governed eastern provinces of Tarija, Beni and Santa Cruz. The AP could not immediately confirm the report.
The gravest challenge to Morales in his nearly 3-year-old tenure as Bolivia's first indigenous president stems from his struggle with the four eastern lowland provinces where Bolivia's natural gas riches are concentrated and where his government has essentially lost control.
The provinces are seeking greater autonomy from Morales' leftist government and are insisting he cancel a Dec. 7 referendum on a new constitution that would help him centralize power, run for a second consecutive term and transfer fallow terrain to landless peasants. Morales says the new charter is needed to empower Bolivia's indigenous majority.
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#1
In other words, they object to his robbing them blind, for some reason. How wude of them.
The presence of British forces in Afghanistan is providing oxygen for Al Qaeda, the head of United Nations' Al Qaeda Monitoring Unit has said.
According to the Observer, Richard Barrett, who reports directly to the UN Security Council, said the deployments of foreign troops in the country was acting as the 'glue' with which Al Qaeda network was bonding support in the region.
The Observer said the British government had sent its forces to Helmand province to prevent the region from becoming a safe haven for Al Qaeda. Barrett said the presence of NATO troops and coalition forces in Afghanistan was helping Al Qaeda consolidate its position on the Pak-afghan border by offering the terrorist group a target.
According to the Observer, the same case was in Iraq where military commanders had warned that British forces in Basra had fuelled support for the insurgency.
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#1
PakiTimes Newsflash: Presence of British forces in Normandy provides oxygen for Nazis.
Posted by: ed ||
09/15/2008 0:22
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#2
And existence of Jews provides oxygen for Nazis. At least, according to the United Nations Al Qaeda Sponsoring Unit.
#3
What is it with working for the UN that rots peoples' brains? This POS, Michael Moloch Brown, Kofi Annan - the list is endless. I can see no valid reason for continuing to fund something that is destructive of humanity, either individually or in large masses.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/15/2008 15:19
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#4
Have they figured out what terriorism is over at Turtle Bay yet, or is it still in commitee?
Russian submarines armed with intercontinental ballistic missiles will test fire their rockets in the north Pacific Ocean September 15-20.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2008
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#1
This would be an excellent time for our ABM/SDI weapon systems we have successfully tested to be fully deployed in the Northern Pacific. Okay, Vlad fire away!
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/15/2008 12:20
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Actually Jack - time for Boeing to field test their airborne laser.
(PTI) With the US pushing through a broad array of foreign weapons deals, a leading Democrat has slammed the Bush Administration's arms sale policy arguing that military supplies to Pakistan were doing more to stoke tension with India than combat terrorism, a media report said.
As part of its policy, the administration seeks to re-arm Iraq and Afghanistan, contain North Korea and Iran and solidify ties with onetime Russian allies, The New York Times reported today.
Howard L Berman of California, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, who sponsored a bill passed in May to overhaul the arms export process, was quoted as saying that American military sales, while often well-intended, were sometimes misguided. He cited military sales to Pakistan, which he said he feared were doing more to stoke tension with India than combat terrorism in the region.
Recently, Berman along with Nita Lowey, Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programmes Representatives, moved to suspend the release of nearly USD 230 million in counter-terrorism funds by the Bush Administration for upgrades to Pakistan's ageing F-16 fighter-jet fleet.
They reportedly asked the Bush administration not to shift USD 226.5 million in anti-terrorism aid to the Pakistan military as they feared the plan would impede efforts to stop terrorism and that they needed more time to study it.
Berman was quoted as saying by the Times today that he supported many of the individual weapons sales, like helping Iraq build the capacity to defend itself, but he worried that the sales blitz could have some negative effects. "This could turn into a spiralling arms race that in the end could decrease stability," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2008
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
I actually agree with Berman on this.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
09/15/2008 11:19
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I do too, YS. Unfortunately, you and I don't have much say. Personally, I would tell Pakistan that we're suddenly out of money, and we're going to have to "delay" any further military sales until we can control the Afghanistan/Pakistan border. In the meantime, sell India anything it wants, cash on the barrelhead.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/15/2008 15:36
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There's no F-16 subs in his district? Somebody in AF procurement is headed for Iraq.
Despite reservations in Washington regarding a possible Israeli strike on Iran, the American administration will supply Israel with sophisticated weapons for heavily fortified targets, the U.S. administration announced.
The U.S. Department of Defense announced it would sell the Israel Air Force 1,000 new smart bombs, rumored to significantly enhance the IAF's military capabilities. The deal was approved amid public and secret messages from Washington, with the Americans expressing their reservations about a possible Israeli strike against the Islamic Republic's suspected nuclear sites.
The Pentagon's announcement, which came on Friday, said the U.S. will provide Israel with 1,000 units of Guided Bomb Unit-39 (GBU-39) - a special weapon developed for penetrating fortified facilities located deep underground.
The $77 million shipment, which includes launchers and appurtenances, will allow the IAF to hit many more bunkers than currently possible. Although each bomb weighs 113 kilograms, its penetration capabilities equal those of a one ton bomb, according to professional literature.
Most U.S. Air Force aircraft are able to carry a pack of four of these bombs in place of a single one-ton bomb. The bomb's small size allows a single-strike aircraft to carry more of the munitions than is possible utilizing currently available bomb units, thus increasing firepower, or, alternatively, allowing the aircraft to fly longer distances to deliver a single bomb.
During demonstrations, the GBU-39 - labeled by the manufacturer, Boeing, as a Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) - has successfully penetrated more than 1.8 meters of thick reinforced concrete with a 23-kilogram warhead. The GPS-guided weapon is said to have a 50-percent probability of hitting its intended target within 5-8 meters, which should minimize collateral damage.
The estimated value for the bomb's GPS version, which military experts have called the latest development in the bunker-buster line, is around $70,000 to $90,000 for each individual bomb.
The U.S. has already supplied Israel with earlier versions of bunker busters. In 2005, the Pentagon authorized the sale of GBU-28 to Israel, in a move that commentators construed as a hinted threat aimed at Iran. Haaretz reported earlier this month that the U.S. was hesitant about selling Israel heavier busters.
The Pentagon's announcement also said that the U.S. would help upgrade the Israel Defense Forces' patriot anti-aircraft missiles - which Israel uses as part of its missile-interception array. Israel will also receive 28,000 LAW (Light Anti-Tank Weapon) tube launchers for land forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2008
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The Iraqi parliament lifted the immunity of Sunni MP Mithal Alusi on Sunday for visiting Israel last week to attend an international conference on terrorism.
Parliament voted to ban Alusi from travelling outside Iraq or attending its sessions, and to ask prosecutors to press charges against him for visiting the Jewish state. The action against Alusi, the sole member of his own parliamentary faction, was agreed by acclamation.
The MP's trip to Israel last week was his second since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime. He previously visited Israel in September 2004. During his latest visit, Alusi spoke at the Herzliya Institute for Policy and Strategy near Tel Aviv where, according to Shiite MP Ali al-Adeeb, he urged support for Israel.
Alusi said his visit to Israel was not an official visit. "I did not represent Iraq. It was a personal visit following an invitation," Alusi told parliament.
At the time of his 2004 visit, Alusi was a member of the Iraqi National Congress, the party led by former Pentagon favorite Ahmed Chalabi. But he was expelled from the party for making the visit and set up his own party known as Al Umma, or the Democratic Party of the Iraqi Nation, of which he is the sole representative in the 275-member parliament.
According to Iraqi press reports, in his address to the Herzliya Institute, Alusi called for greater cooperation against Iran. "Iran today is the centre for disaster in the region. The majority of Iraqi people do not support the Tehran regime," he was quoted as saying. "We should cooperate with Israel in gathering intelligence, along with Turkey, Kuwait and the United States, to guarantee an exchange of information in order to confront terrorism together."
Alusi has survived several assassination attempts in recent years. Two sons and a bodyguard were killed in one attempt on his life in February 2005.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2008
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#1
A brave man, and an intelligent one. If he's forced to flee Iraq, I hope we're willing to give him sanctuary here.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/15/2008 15:39
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Nigeria's main rebel group declares an 'oil war' in the nation in response to alleged 'unprovoked attacks' by Nigerian forces on its positions.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) issued an e-mail statement on Sunday, saying it was making good on a previous threat that any attack on its positions will be tantamount to a declaration of an oil war.
It said Nigerian forces attacked its positions in the Rivers State on Saturday. The strikes prompted MEND to deploy heavily armed fighters in hundreds of war boats with the intention of carrying out destructive and deadly attacks on the oil industry in Rivers state.
MEND is the largest rebel group in Nigeria, and has targeted foreign oil companies since 2006. It has bombed pipelines and kidnapped hundreds of foreign oil workers, typically releasing them unharmed, sometimes after receiving a ransom payment.
MEND hopes to secure a greater share of oil wealth for people in the Niger Delta, where more than 70 percent of the population lives on less than a dollar a day.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2008
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#1
where more than 70 percent of the population lives on less than a dollar a day.
and email scams
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/15/2008 6:05
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#2
This "a dollar a day" nonsense is a piece of trash. The cost of living in the Niger Delta is very low, most of the people don't have electricity or running water, food is fairly cheap, and clothing is optional. It's well nigh impossible to live in the US or Europe on a dollar a day, but it's not impossible in many African nations. I know three or four retired military that settled in Costa Rica because their retirement pay would provide them a very NICE living down there, without having to have a second job. This type of BS is a throw-away line to gain sympathy for what would otherwise be a very bloodthirsty and savage group.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/15/2008 15:25
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A top Saudi cleric and judge sought Sunday to tone down a controversial religious edict sanctioning the killing of owners of television stations that air "debauchery," saying they could only be put to death after a judicial process. If the owners of television networks that air "depravation and debauchery" are not deterred by lesser punishments, they would be referred to justice which issues its rulings in keeping with the laws in force in the kingdom, Sheikh Saleh al-Luhaidan told state-run Saudi television.
"They may be killed through a judicial [ruling]," he added. Luhaidan, who heads the Supreme Judicial Council, the highest judicial body in ultra-conservative Muslim Saudi Arabia, sparked controversy by saying on the radio that the owners of television networks broadcasting "immoral" programs may be killed. "It is lawful to kill ... the apostles of depravation ... if their evil cannot be easily removed through simple sanctions," Luhaidan said, according to excerpts of the remarks broadcast on Saudi-owned Al-Arabiyya satellite television on Friday.
Luhaidan acknowledged on Sunday that his remarks had caused an outcry, but put that down to what he said was a wrong interpretation of his views.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2008
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#1
Whew! Thank heavens he cleared THAT up!
Posted by: Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields ||
09/15/2008 1:43
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Yeah. I'm sure the 4 TV workers killed in nothern Iraq a few days ago are very appreciative
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he will remain in office until 2010, a decision likely to stoke tensions with Islamist Hamas rivals who oppose his peace talks with Israel. "I think that the elections for parliament and the presidency should take place together, in January 2010. We will decide, and issue a presidential order accordingly," Abbas told Israel's Haaretz newspaper, in an interview published on Sunday.
Abbas's Fatah faction says Palestinian parliamentary and presidential elections should be held together in 2010. Hamas, which defeated Fatah in parliamentary elections in 2006, says Abbas's term ends on Jan. 9, 2009.
Holding elections in 2010 would give Abbas more time to pursue peace talks with Israel. Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert launched negotiations in November with the aim of reaching a deal by early next year. Abbas said it was too early to say whether he would seek another term.
Any unilateral decree from Abbas will likely prompt a Hamas response. Hamas leaders said they will not recognize Abbas as president after January.
Abbas, who was elected in Jan. 2005, argues that Palestinian election law, approved before Hamas's rise to power, allows for the contests to be held at the same time, in 2010. Palestinian Basic Law says the president's term is four years.
A senior leader from the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad recently warned that if the factions do not reach agreement soon on a target election date, further violence would erupt.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2008
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A new war could begin if Pakistan does not step up its fight against terrorists, Maj Gen Jeffrey J Schloesser of the US Army said in a report published in an American weekly on Sunday.
"If militants escape into Pakistani territory and Islamabad does not step up, a new kind of war could well begin," he said.
"If militants escape into Pakistani territory and Islamabad does not step up, a new kind of war could well begin," he said.
According to the report, Gen Schloesser, who leads 19,000 US soldiers operating on the frontier, estimates that his forces are facing some 7,000-10,000 insurgents in eastern Afghanistan -- a higher number than previously disclosed by any US commander.
He said he planned to keep his troops operating deep inside Taliban territory this winter. He hoped they would be able to take advantage of the mobility to seek out any safe havens and facilitation areas and any places the terrorists can go for 'rest and recreation' in Afghanistan. He said he would give terrorists the options to flee, get killed or captured, or reconcile.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2008
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
Maybe Bush told Petraeus the same thing he told him about Iraq, "Go win this thing."
#2
Raise my taxes. Let's put about 300 predators there and blast everything when it comes across the border.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
09/15/2008 2:13
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Sounds like they aren't willing to let another Cambodia/Vietnam type border war fester anymore. You don't clean up your act, we will clean it up for you and it won't be gentle.
#4
I still don't understand why we can't seal the border tight. I know it's long and rugged but there are only so many navigable roads and paths and they aren't hidden beneath triple canopy jungle. We should have those mostly mapped out by now.
We should declare a free-fire zone in the areas near the border and drop snipers and/or spotters around looking for those crossing to and fro.
We should mine Tora Bora and then advertise that we've abandoned that area and hope they move back in than blast the place.
We should allow a shipment of weapons, or drugs, to get stolen, only put some kind of GPS tracking device so we can follow the shipment and track the paths and roads used.
#5
RJ, we KNOW where the crossings are. Unfortunately, there are between 3000 and 5000 of them, and we don't have the manpower to watch all of them all the time. Also, this is REALLY rugged terrain - some of it Class 2 or Class 3 climbing. There are LOTS of big rocks, plenty of caves, and other difficulties. Closing the border would probably take close to ten divisions. It's NOT an easy thing to do.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/15/2008 15:33
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#6
The MSM-Net is already comparing the new US brouhaha wid PAKISTAN = NIXON's INVASION OF CAMBODIA.
Unfortunantely for the US-Allies, IT IS A "NEW WAR" [just not only agz Pakland] > THE US IS NOW IN A NEW BROAD WAR AGZ RADICAL ISLAM FOR CONTROL AND DOMINATION OF ASIAN MAINLAND PROPER + ANY PERIPHERAL/LITTORAL AREAS.
*WHY, YOU SAY, BECUZ RADICAL ISLAM IS THATS WHY!
*IRNA > STUDY: WESTERN ASIA IS NOT DOING ENOUGH TO FIGHT EXTREME POVERTY; + WAFF.com > RUSSIA TO INVESTIGATE CAUSES OF "MYSTERIOUS" AIR CRASH + SUN.uk > RADICAL MUSLIM LAWYER: WE NEED MORE BABIES ... THEN WE CAN TAKE OVER GREAT BRITAIN. Article - There may be aproxi SIX MILYUHN MUSLIMS IN BRITAIN, NOT 1.5MILYUHN from TEN YEARS AGO as estim by London + 500 PEOPLE IN BRIT BECOME MUSLIM EVERY DAY. Also, although it would be relatively easy for Brit's large numbers of Muslims to declare JIHAD in Brit it may NOT be needed/necessary for Islam/Islamism to do so nor to militarily conquer Great Britain as the local HIGH + ESCALATING BRIT MUSLIM BIRTH RATE will induce a 'peaceful" demographic-based domestic takeover of Brit Govt. + Culture-Society anyways.
KHAR: At least 30 terrorists were killed and several others injured during military action in Bajaur Agency on Sunday.
The security forces pounded terrorist hideouts with heavy artillery and helicopter gunships in the Loyesam, Tangkhata, Rashakai, Bi China and Khazana areas of the agency.
Forces petrol: Meanwhile, security forces patrolled Loijor, Tangi and Charmang, areas previously held by terrorists, for the first time. The ongoing military operation has restored the government's writ in Atman Khel and Khar tehsil areas of the agency.
Markets opened and a large number of people come out to shop on Sunday when the curfew was relaxed in Khar from 7am to 2pm.
The political authorities had also announced a relaxation in the curfew in the Haji Lawang, Yousaf Abad, Qazzafi and Jaar areas from 7am to 2pm.
However, a curfew remained in place for the 11th consecutive day in Sadiq Abad, Tauheed Abad, Shandi Mor and Bilal Abad.
The political authorities announced the imposition of curfew in the agency's second largest bazaar in Inayat Kilay and arrested several suspects fleeing the area with the displaced local population.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2008
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Iran's former president Mohammad Khatami has criticized the government's confrontational foreign policy, saying it plays into enemy hands and harms the country, a newspaper reported on Sunday.
"Aggressive and sharp slogans play into the enemy's hands to hurt the country and the system," Kargozaran newspaper quoted the reformist Khatami as saying in a speech in western Iran. "Fighting the arrogance (the United States) should not mean increasing the costs of running the country."
Khatami was referring to the administration of his successor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has defiantly vowed to press ahead with Iran's nuclear ambitions despite being slapped with three sets of U.N. sanctions.
Since taking office in 2005, Ahmadinejad has also drawn international condemnation for his vitriolic verbal attacks on Israel, which he said was doomed to disappear.
Vice President and close aide Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie also drew criticism Sunday for remarks he made about Israelm as Iranian MPs began new moves to strip him of his position as vice president, according to the Fars news agency.
The reformist former president also hit out at Ahmadinejad's administration for "presenting wrong statistics" about its economic achievements over the past three years. There has been speculation that Khatami, who was president from 1997 to 2005, may seek a third term in office in 2009.
Ahmadinejad, who put social justice on top his agenda when he campaigned for president, has come under fire from reformists and conservatives alike for his expansionist economic policies and rising inflation.
Vice President Mashaie's remark that Iranians are "friends with Israelis" in July sparked fury among conservatives and more than 200 MPs urged Ahmadinejad to take action against his ally and confidant.
Mashaie is one of 10 vice presidents and is immune from impeachment, according to the agency. But Mashaie, whose daughter is married to the president's son, vowed to remain in the job despite mounting calls on him to resign.
Ahmadinejad has also ignored the criticism of his close aide.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2008
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Such political infighting, Virginia, is why any Servant of Allah ISLAMIST HIDDEN IMAM-MAHDI will get the glory for destroying the Infidel armies in the ME, NOT THE MULLAHS!?
#2
ION TOPIX > INDIA: GLOBAL WARMING CREATING
"ENVIRONMENTAL REFUGEES" + RISING SEA LEVELS TO DISPLACE INDONESIAN, SOUTH ASIAN COASTAL VILLAGES.
As said before, many will be a'coming to GUAM-WESTPAC in search of new homes and lives - Milyuhns and Zilyuhns of INDONESIANS, INDIANS, MALAYSIANS, NEW WAVES/GENERATIONS OF FILIPINOS, ETC. whose nassive emigre' inflows will sorely tax iff not overwhelm Guam's infrastructure and statua quo. INDIANS AND MALAYSIANS ARE ALREADY COMING IN, BESIDES THE CHINESE, et, ILLEGALS CRASHING THEIR BOATS ON GUAM'S REEFS.
Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped by Gaza militants in 2006, is "living in paradise," the British newspaper Sunday Times quoted a leader of the Gaza Strip Doghmush clan as saying.
In an interview with the Sunday Times reporter Christine Toomey, who embarked on a journey in search of the captive soldier in the Gaza Strip, clan elder Abu Khatab Doghmush said that the Army of Islam, the militant group affiliated with the clan, is not currently holding Shalit, despite the fact that the group is believed to have taken part in the abduction.
"The only faction that controls his life now is the Qassam Brigades," Abu Khatab told Toomey, referring to the Hamas-affiliated militant group. "But I can tell you that Shalit is living in a paradise. Our religion of Islam demands that we look after prisoners even more than we do our own people," the newspaper quoted him as saying.
Abu Khatab added specific details regarding Shalit's treatment, saying "He's not being kept in a closed room all the time - this would not be healthy. He can go out and take fresh air," rejecting speculations that the Israeli soldier is being held underground, booby trapped with explosives.
"Every year a party is held to celebrate his birthday. Yes, there is a cake and candles, music, everything," Abu Khatab added.
Toomey also spoke with senior Hamas official and former foreign minister Mahmoud Zahar, who is quoted as saying that he doesn't know anything about how Shalit is being treated by his captors, but his conditions are certain to be better than those of the Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
"Nobody from the political or military wing of Hamas knows where Shalit is," Zahar is quoted as saying. "Only the small group who kidnapped him know. They are very secretive."
The reported interviewed the spokesman of the Palestinian group the Popular Resistance Committees, which took part in the planning of the abduction. The spokesman, Abu Mujahed, described how the prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas should transpire, saying "after the Israelis free the first 100 Palestinian prisoners, Shalit would be moved to Egypt. Once he?s in Egypt, the Israelis would have to free 1,000 more of our brothers and sisters before he is released. We were very close to agreeing a deal a year ago, then the Israelis stopped negotiations. We were amazed that they were prepared to go back to zero. It is the Israelis who are putting obstacles in the way of an agreement."
"If we do not see some results soon, we will be forced to close the file," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2008
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#1
after the Israelis free the first 100 Palestinian prisoners, Shalit would be moved to Egypt.
sheesh. I'd like to think they won't be that stupid but in this day and age, you just never know.
Thailand's acting prime minister lifted the state of emergency in Bangkok Sunday as the ruling party met to choose a new candidate for premier, but the nation's political crisis looked set to drag on. Not to worry. It'll be back. It always seems to be.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2008
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However you look at it, Robert Mugabe is getting away with murder. The power-sharing deal he is expected to sign on Monday with his arch-rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, will protect Zimbabwe's president and his cohorts from prosecution for their bloody campaign of killings and terror against opposition supporters and their leaders.
Mugabe will remain president, even though his claim of winning 90% of the valid votes in June's election was met with universal scorn after Tsvangirai pulled out because he did not want people killed going to vote for him.
The last time Zimbabwe's voters had a chance to cast a ballot without a gun to their heads, in the first round of presidential elections in March, Tsvangirai won. And that was with millions of opposition voters in exile and a good deal of other kinds of intimidation by the ruling Zanu-PF party.
Mugabe will sit at the head of a Cabinet half filled with men responsible for robbing Tsvangirai of his electoral victory by murdering, beating and terrorising the supporters of the other half of the Cabinet. When they weren't doing that, they were looting the central bank, stealing land and driving the economy into the ground through incompetence and cynicism, leaving millions on the brink of starvation.
Now Mugabe will sit at the head of a Cabinet half filled with men responsible for robbing Tsvangirai of that victory by murdering, beating and terrorising the supporters -- and sometimes the families -- of the other half of the Cabinet. When they weren't doing that, they were looting the central bank, stealing land and driving the economy into the ground through incompetence and cynicism, leaving millions on the brink of starvation.
So an agreement that persuades the opposition to recognise Mugabe as president and keeps Zanu-PF's killers and looters out of jail might be viewed as a great victory for the old man. Yet the historic deal holds the elements to dismantle Mugabe's 28-year rule and reduce the power of the only leader Zimbabwe has known until a clean election can be held.
Behind the scenes, Movement for Democratic Change leaders are calling the agreement a watershed. Some quietly realise that Monday could mark the end of their struggle to finish Zanu-PF's abusive and sometimes violent political domination - the second liberation struggle, as one put it -- and the beginning of the equally demanding challenge to take control of government.
If they can pull it off -- and, in many ways, whether they succeed or fail lies within the MDC's control, not Zanu-PF's -- then Mugabe's pledge that Tsvangirai would never rule Zimbabwe, and his bloody strategy to try to ensure it did not happen, will ultimately have failed.
It is a complex arrangement, but the nuts and bolts of the agreement are that while Mugabe is president, Tsvangirai has day-to-day control of government as prime minister and head of a council of ministers. That is a considerable asset, even though many of his ministers will be from Zanu-PF. Tsvangirai will run the council of ministers without Mugabe present, but will sit in the Cabinet chaired by the president.
Crucially, the two MDC factions have a majority of one in both bodies, as well as control of Parliament, allowing the party to out-vote Mugabe and set policy. That will allow the MDC to dismantle the apparatus of repression which helped keep Mugabe in power long after his popularity crumbled. The government will be able to abolish legislation banning newspapers, locking up journalists and imposing severe restrictions on freedom of speech.
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09/15/2008
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(PTI) A top Russian general was among the 88 passengers killed after the Boeing-737 crashed today in the Urals city of Perm. Chechnya war veteran, Colonel-General Gennady Troshev, decorated with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union Russia and the Order of Lenin Golden Star was among the victims of the crash.
He was on the Chechen militant hitlist. However, investigators have ruled out indications of a terrorist attack at this stage, RIA Novosti said.
He was on the Chechen militant hitlist. However, investigators have ruled out indications of a terrorist attack at this stage, RIA Novosti said.
A team of investigators has been sent from Moscow to the scene of the disaster. According to Aeroflot airlines there were 83 passengers and 5 crew in the ill-fated plane leased from a Dublin-based company in May 2008.
The Boeing 737-500 built in 1992 was earlier in service with Air China and was said to be in perfect shape.
Twenty one foreign nationals were also on board the crashed airliner. Five people were lucky enough to miss this ill fated flight. They had left for Perm by train, Vesti channel said.
Aeroflot pledged in a statement to pay bereaved families up to USD 80,000 in compensation per victim. Meanwhile, the Governor Perm region has declared a day of mourning tomorrow. President Dmitry Medvedev, who turns 43 today, was immediately informed of the crash by Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2008
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#1
When Khrushchev was deposed by the Soviet military, who used trickery to rig the politburo vote, Brezhnev had to promise them the Moon and the stars for their critical support over the other candidate.
He was amazingly bitter about this. So he spent his entire time in office planning, and when he knew that he was going to die, he arranged the most vicious purge of military leaders since Stalin.
From most radical to least radical, Admirals and Generals were dying like they had the mummy's curse. Their entire naval staff was taken out in a single aircraft crash at sea, something like seven commanding Admirals and their deputies at once.
This was followed with car crashes, heart attacks, suicides, slip and fall accidents, etc., that wiped out about 40 of their top military leaders. By the time Brezhnev died, his chosen successor Andropov, a KGB man, had zero military obligation or control.
And the KGB, and its successor, the FSB, have dominated politics in Russia ever since. This became even more pronounced with the huge RIF of the Soviet military with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
American raids on Taliban and Al Qaeda targets in Pakistan could provoke terror attacks in London, Pakistan's high commissioner to the UK warned on Saturday, according to The Sunday Times. Wajid Shamsul Hasan said the American bombings had killed hundreds of civilians but had failed to eliminate any Al Qaeda leader, the paper reported. "This will infuriate Muslims in this country and make the streets of London less safe," he said. The high commissioner said the community's anger was growing and the "Americans' trigger-happy actions will radicalise young Muslims. They're playing into the hands of the very terrorists we're supposed to be fighting".
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2008
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#1
This pirate should be hanging from a lamp pole.
Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) vowed on Saturday to sign a final peace deal but warned it will not disarm until International Criminal Court arrest warrants for alleged war crimes are "resolved". LRA spokesperson David Nyekorach-Matsanga said rebel chief Joseph Kony was willing to sign the much-delayed peace deal, speaking as military pressure mounts against the northern Ugandan insurgents.
"General Joseph Kony ... instructed me to inform the world and announce that the LRA will sign the FPA [final peace agreement]," Matsanga said in a statement issued in the south Sudanese capital, Juba, where peace talks have been held since 2006. "But the LRA will not disarm or demobilise until the ICC warrants of arrest and some other issues within the agreement are resolved."
These issues will be discussed by a joint committee of LRA and Ugandan government representatives, he said. "This is exactly in line with the agreement that we negotiated," he added.
The rebels are now believed to be based in jungle hideouts in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They have also been accused of attacking villages in the Central African Republic (CAR).
However, Congolese troops last week were reported to be planning to crack down on the fugitives.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2008
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Sudanese armed forces have attacked the only Darfur rebel group to have signed a 2006 peace deal, killing four ex-rebels and threatening to end a two-year alliance, their leader said on Sunday. Minni Minnawi, a leader of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) faction turned presidential advisor after signing the peace deal with Khartoum, said his forces came under attack at their base at Kolge in the east Jebel Marra region.
"We want to respect the peace process but we are fighting in self-defense," Minnawi said, speaking by satellite telephone from the base in the war-ravaged western Sudanese region. "They attacked us with Antonov aircraft, helicopters and tanks," he added, accusing the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) of killing off the peace process. "If the peace agreement is over, it is over from one side - the NCP side," he said.
Four of his troops were killed and 16 wounded, while the ex-rebels captured 20 government vehicles, he said.
Government forces have now returned to Al-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, he added.
Minnawi returned to Darfur three months ago, citing frustration with the poor implementation of the peace agreement.
"This was definitely a deliberate attack on our forces, because our base is very well known," said Mohammad Bashir, who heads Minnawi's office at the presidential palace in Khartoum. "I am extremely surprised that the government has done this, but the government forces have now been chased back to Al-Fasher."
Elsewhere in Darfur, rebel fighters accused government forces on Sunday of burning three villages and destroying a health clinic in north Darfur during heavy clashes involving more than 100 vehicles.
Rebels said fierce fighting erupted on Friday southwest of Al-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state. "The fighting was very heavy, with government soldiers and militia attacking," said Abu Bakr Kadu, a senior commander with the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA)-Unity faction.
"There was fighting late on Saturday, but we are behind them and shooting now," Kadu said, speaking by satellite telephone from near to the battlefield. "There was very bad damage to the villages in the bombing, and in Khazan Tungur village the hospital was destroyed."
Kadu said the center was run by Partner Aid International (PAI), a European aid agency, which opened a health clinic in the village earlier this year.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2008
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Two senior Saudi clerics have issued fatwas calling for the owners of Arab television channels that broadcast shows promoting magic, debauchery and vice to be tried in court and face the death penalty.
The sheikhs, both members of the Higher Council of Clerics, said Sunday they stopped short of directly condemning to death purveyors of these shows but denounced them as unsuitable for the holy month of Ramadan.
The head of the Saudi Supreme Judiciary Council Sheikh Saleh al-Lihedan said in an interview with Saudi TV Sunday that he objected to the content of many satellite channels but that he did not intend to incite people to kill channel owners, claiming that his original religious ruling broadcast on Saudi radio last week had been taken out of context.
Another senior cleric, Sheikh Saleh al-Fozan, weighed in on Sunday in response to the furor ignited by his colleague and condemned horoscope and advice shows as equivalent to sorcery and therefore apostasy worthy of the death penalty.
"Sorcerers who appear on satellite channels who are proven to be sorcerers have committed a great crime ... and the Muslim consensus is that the apostate's punishment is death by the sword," Fozan told the daily al-Madina newspaper "Those who call in to these shows should not be accorded Muslim rites when they die," the prominent cleric added.
Sheikh Saleh al-Lihedan
Many of the hundreds of Arab satellite channels have sprung up in recent years specialize in horoscope programs and advice shows, seen as "sorcery" by some. Turkish soap operas have also become extremely popular this year in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world. They provoked a storm of anger this year among conservatives who fear the spread of secular culture and immoral values.
Lihedan, who holds the highest judicial authority in Saudi Arabia, said in response to a caller's question during a radio show last week that channel owners should be tried in court where a verdict suitable to the offence, including capital punishment, would be handed down.
"I want to advise the owners of these channels that broadcast programs with indecency and vulgarity and warn them of the consequences ... They can be put to death through the judicial process," he told Saudi radio.
He was referring to comedy shows and soap operas airing in Ramadan, a month of fasting when Muslims are supposed to focus on God. Critics say Ramadan has become an orgy of food and television consumption once the fast ends at sunset.
"I told them I don't mind if they make sure this [immorality] doesn't happen, but obviously this is hard for them because it's against their policies," the 79-year-old cleric told Saudi TV Sunday. He said he had rejected offers to host a religious show before or after the programs because he did not want his show sandwiched between such "indecent" programs.
Lihedan added that when he talked about the topic, he started by addressing channel owners and asking them to fear God and stop airing TV shows that confuse people's beliefs and spread ideas that unsuitable for Ramadan.
Sheikh Saleh al-Fozan
Fozan said entertainment channel owners should be "banished" but stopped short of advocating the death penalty for them.
"The position of Muslims and their rulers about these channels is that they should be talked to and if they continue airing depravity and shamelessness they should be banished from this place and others brought in their place."
The government's official advisor on religious affairs, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdelaziz Al al-Sheikh, said in July it was not Islamically permissible to watch the Turkish serials.
In their capacity as judges, clerics of Saudi Arabia's conservative form of Islam often sentence "sorcerers" to death.
The owners of Arab entertainment channels, including MBC, ART, Orbit, Rotana and LBC, are mostly Saudi royals and businessmen closely allied to them.
Concerned about the country's international image, some key members of the Saudi royal family have promoted liberal reforms. The clerics fear plans to limit their extensive influence in what is the world's largest oil exporter.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2008
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#1
Saudi should just ban radio and television, neither are mentioned in the Koran anyway.
#2
Neither are elecric driven loudspeakers and electric fans. Nonbeliever inventions all.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/15/2008 10:33
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#3
Antiboitics, insulin and the internal combustion engine also seem like innovations from the blessed time of the Profit. Ban 'em all.
Nothing spreads an idea faster than official condemnation. I would look for a tidal wave of shamelessness and depravity througout the Magic Kingdom. Clerical credibility crash in 5..4..3..2.... .
Posted by: Baba Tutu ||
09/15/2008 11:47
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#4
Looks like no chance of the Fairness Doctrine being enacted over there...
Iraqi police on Sunday arrested five men suspected of involvement in the brutal abduction and killing on Saturday of a four-member team from the Al-Sharqiya television channel, police said. Two suspects were arrested as they were driving a car which was allegedly used in the crime, said Brigadier General Khalid Abdel-Sattar, spokesman for the police in Nineveh, the province surrounding the northern city of Mosul where the incident occurred.
He said police also found a gun with the two suspects.
Abdel-Sattar said three other suspects were arrested in the city's Al-Thawra neighborhood. "We are interrogating them," he added.
The arrests came just hours after Premier Nuri al-Maliki ordered a probe into the incident. "We offer our condolences to the martyrs' families and Al-Sharqiya channel at this painful time," Maliki said. "We condemn all attacks that target the Iraqi media and violate the rights and the freedom of journalists.
"This crime will not prevent our security forces from enforcing the law and security in Nineveh and in all Iraq's provinces," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2008
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Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh authorities stonewalled efforts to arrest three Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) operatives who are emerging as key suspects in Saturday's serial bombings in New Delhi, highly placed police sources have told The Hindu.
Delhi Police sources said that the three Azamgarh-based men -- whose identities are being withheld by The Hindu to avoid compromising the investigation -- had been identified as core members of an Indian Mujahideen team planning fresh attacks by two top terror commanders held in Uttar Pradesh earlier this month.
Fearing that police action against the three men might fuel tension in communally charged Azamgarh, police sources said, Uttar Pradesh authorities refused to order their arrest or detention for questioning, saying that interrogation reports from Gujarat and Rajasthan did not constitute adequate grounds for such action.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: john frum ||
09/15/2008
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WASHINGTON (AP) House Republicans attacked a Democratic offshore drilling plan Friday for including a 50-mile coastal buffer that they said would leave untouched most of the 18 billion barrels of oil in waters now off-limits to energy companies.
A Democratic drilling proposal expected to be taken up by the House next week would allow energy development access to waters 50 to 100 miles from shore along almost all of the country's coastlines as long as a state agrees to drilling off its shore. Waters off Florida's Gulf coast and a nationwide 50-mile coastal buffer would remain out of bounds to energy companies.
But House Republican Leader John Boehner called the plan a "hoax on the American people," arguing that nearly 90 percent of the oil believed to be in the restricted offshore waters still would not be available. House Republicans have called for lifting the offshore drilling bans everywhere with no protected buffer.
"Keep in mind, we're opening up millions of more acres (to drilling) at a time when the industry claims they don't have the drills to explore the resources they have," said Drew Hammill, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
While drilling between 50 to 100 miles from shore would require state approval, areas beyond 100 miles where drilling also is banned would be opened without such restrictions under the Democrats' plan.
The Interior Department estimates that waters now under drilling bans off the Pacific and Atlantic coasts and in the eastern Gulf of Mexico contain nearly 18 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil with more than half that found off California. House Republicans on Friday cited data from Interior's Minerals Management Service that show that of the 9.75 billion barrels of oil believed to be off California only 5 percent lies beyond 50 miles. None of the 400 million barrels believed to be off Oregon and Washington is outside the protected buffer.
Of the estimated 3.5 billion barrels of oil believed to be recoverable off the Atlantic coast from Virginia to Georgia, 2.8 billion barrels would be available for drilling, but more than half of that would beyond 100 miles of shore where access would be more difficult, according to the Interior Department maps. About 700 million barrels is found within the 50-mile buffer.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/15/2008
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#1
The offshore drilling ban continues under a different name.
#2
You can drill offshore, cuz that's what the polling says we should. However, we've found a workaround that allows us to be on the right side of polling numbers and still not accomplish anything by restricting the drilling to areas where there isn't any oil.
/donk strategist.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
09/15/2008 2:25
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#3
Why solve problems when you can half ass everything?
The ass O' crat party.
Making losers of Americans since 1959.
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/15/2008 7:40
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#6
Well, we know the Chinese are certainly not deterred by the Donks as they begin their drilling off the Keys. Where's all the 'gloom and doom'(tm) being directed at them? [still awaiting another shot to the 'reelection' funds from the Buddhist monastery?]
#7
Keep in mind, we're opening up millions of more acres (to drilling) at a time when the industry claims they don't have the drills to explore the resources they have," said Drew Hammill, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
So, it will be unused. Where's the harm then?
Posted by: Formerly Dan ||
09/15/2008 10:56
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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.
BOOSTED by the selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate, Republican John McCain has experienced a surge of support among women in heavily Democratic New York state - where he has closed the gap with Barack Obama, new private polls show. The internal Republican and Democratic polls, details of which were provided to The Post, have stunned members of both parties - and produced deep worries among Democrats.
Manuchehr Mottaki who arrived in Moscow on Friday morning for a day long visit made the comment in a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. "Our relations would continue to further expand and strengthen," he said.
Lindsay Lohan isn't happy with Republican vice presidential candidate John McCain's choice of running mate, Sarah Palin.
Wow! She is smokin' hot. Except she's got that husband who won the Iron Dog something or other four times. You're not sure exactly what that entails, but anything with the word "iron" in it makes you try to keep acting like you're not looking at her while you chug your Miller Gold. . . .
Financial Times
Victoria McGrane, Politico
ith what Markov is saying here that I'll let you guys have fun with it...
Rep. Charles Rangel, the powerful head of the congressional committee that writes the country's tax laws, blamed his own ignorance - and not being able to speak Spanish - for failing to report $75,000 in rental income from his Caribbean holiday home.
The Pentagon on Monday denied reports that Pakistani troops fired on two US military helicopters after they crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan and forced them to turn back. 
The Royal Navy may hand over HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship on which he met his death at the Battle of Trafalgar, to a charity or a government department.
The Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) found unnecessary delays made in every stage of approval of power projects, purchase of equipment and wholesale irregularities in meter installations and extension of electric lines based on political influence.
A 25-year-old pregnant girl was burnt alive by her husband in Shalimar on Sunday. The victim has been identified as Naseem Bibi, who got married to Arshad a year ago and was seven months pregnant. 
A Pakistani jet fighter was seen flying in the skies of North Waziristan Agency (NWA) on Saturday soon after a US drone flew over the border areas but there was no untoward incident. 
The security forces on Saturday killed seven militants and injured scores of others during a daylong operation in Koza Bandai area of restive Swat Valley, while the militants killed an activist of the Awami National Party (ANP).
Mikheil Saakashvili had long planned a strike to seize back the breakaway region of South Ossetia, former Georgian defense minister says. 
Islamic law has been officially adopted in Britain, with shariah courts given powers to rule on Muslim civil cases, The Sunday Times reported. 
KHAR: At least 30 terrorists were killed and several others injured during military action in Bajaur Agency on Sunday.
Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped by Gaza militants in 2006, is "living in paradise," the British newspaper Sunday Times quoted a leader of the Gaza Strip Doghmush clan as saying. 
Iraqi police on Sunday arrested five men suspected of involvement in the brutal abduction and killing on Saturday of a four-member team from the Al-Sharqiya television channel, police said. Two suspects were arrested as they were driving a car which was allegedly used in the crime, said Brigadier General Khalid Abdel-Sattar, spokesman for the police in Nineveh, the province surrounding the northern city of Mosul where the incident occurred.
WASHINGTON (AP) House Republicans attacked a Democratic offshore drilling plan Friday for including a 50-mile coastal buffer that they said would leave untouched most of the 18 billion barrels of oil in waters now off-limits to energy companies.
