Police continue investigation into quadruple homicide
BY JASON WOMACK
AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Police are investigating a multiple homicide of a mother and her three children at the Windcrest Estacado Apartments in East Lubbock about 7:42 a.m. Monday. That's the time of the initial report, the killings occurred at least several hours earlier.
The crime was reported by a man who had come to pick up the children to take them to school.
The victims are Tammy Cooper, 45; her twin sons, Kadiele and Kasheim Allen, 9; and her daughter, Mahogany Jasmine Allen, 11.
Police spokesman Lt. Victor Quintano said that the injuries were "violent in nature."
He added that the crime scene was bloody and he couldn't comment on the nature of the injuries. The bodies were in the kitchen, living room and bedroom.
People at the scene said the family is new to the neighborhood and had moved there in the last six months.
Charles Thomas, a 32-year-old neighbor who lives next door with his wife and three children, said, "We didn't hear nothing."
Lubbock Police Chief Claude Jones described the crime scene as "violent" and "brutal." He added that the injuries appeared to result from blunt force trauma.
He declined to comment further on the injuries, pending an autopsy tomorrow.
Jones said that the police will center their investigation on the family and move outward to friends who may have contacted the family in the last 48 hours.
"We think the perpetrator or perpetrators are known to the family," he said of the murders that he believes occurred within the 24 hours preceding the early morning discovery.
"We don't believe a stranger is involved," he said.
This is the worst murder in the city's history. A "family member" is suspected and every lawman in this part of this country is out looking for him.
Pitching again through so much pain it put his start in doubt, Curt Schilling helped Boston move halfway to snaring its most elusive prize: a first World Series championship since 1918. Backed by another big hit from surprising Mark Bellhorn and unfazed by a defense that still had trouble getting a grip, the Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-2 Sunday night to take a commanding 2-0 lead.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/25/2004 1:28:30 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11129 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
He certainly made up for the kerry-league defense behind him.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
10/25/2004 8:34 Comments ||
Top||
#2
As a long suffering member of the Red Sox nation, I'm still waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under us.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/25/2004 8:56 Comments ||
Top||
#3
More importantly, Al Leiter isn't in the broadcast booth. Hoooooray!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Joe Morgan ||
10/25/2004 10:19 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Word from Benny Avni (NY SUN) is that the UN and diplomats around the world are Red Sox fans out of Kerryism or a desire to see "Yanqis" humbled ... John Danforth is a Cardinals fan, but I'm pessimistic ...
It's one one massive storm after the other coupled with earthquakes. What's next?
Typhoon Nock-ten battered Taiwan on Monday as the storm's eye whirled just off the island's eastern coast, drenching mountainous regions with rain that could trigger deadly mudslides. Forecasters predicted the fast-moving storm would spend most of Monday working its way up Taiwan's eastern coast to the capital, Taipei, before spinning northeast toward Japan's southern islands. Flights were canceled between Taipei and Hong Kong, one of the world's busiest routes. Taiwan's two largest carriers, China Airlines and EVA Airways, said flights to Tokyo and Southeast Asia were also called off. Officials shut down financial markets, schools and government offices in most major cities. High winds tore away shop signs in some cities, where branches, twisted umbrellas and other debris littered the streets. Sheets of rain fell at a 45-degree angle in Taipei, where normally congested streets were eerily empty during morning rush hour.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/25/2004 1:25:44 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11127 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Yo, AP - if a typhoon switches to a cat o' nine tails, I wanna know about it. Meanwhile, wind and rain are fairly fucking standard.
#2
45 degree rain is nothing. It is straight horizontal on Kodiak and in the Bering Sea during winter storms. I agree, .com, this AP guy is something else.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/25/2004 9:01 Comments ||
Top||
A rare East Med subtropical storm today humiliated a large part of the ME. Eyes were rolled and chest pounding reverberted through the region. No trees down. Camels find island of safety. Syrian army trainees see island of safety, learn to swim. All is well.
A devil-worshipping non-commissioned officer in the Royal Navy has become the first registered Satanist in the British Armed Forces. Chris Cranmer, a naval technician serving on the Type 22 frigate Cumberland, has been officially recognised as a Satanist by the ship's captain. That allows him to perform Satanic rituals aboard and permits him to have a funeral carried out by the Church of Satan should he be killed in action. Ldg Hand Cranmer is now lobbying the Ministry of Defence to make Satanism a registered religion in the Armed Forces so that Satanists can join up without "fear of marginalisation and the necessity to put up with Christian dogma".
Mr Cranmer, who has been aboard the Cumberland's tour of duty in the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf since April, said that being registered as a Satanist gave him "the freedom of religion I wanted despite its controversial nature".
Satanists are encouraged to perform rituals in worship of the Devil, to fulfil their sexual desires and to change situations or events in accordance with their will. Ritual trappings can include a black robe, an altar, the symbol of Baphomet (Satan), candles, a bell, a sword, a gong and a model phallus. Mr Cranmer, 24, is single and from Edinburgh. He has been in the Navy for four years and was promoted leading hand - the naval equivalent of corporal - in July last year. He told The Telegraph that he realised he was a Satanist nine years ago when he "stumbled across The Satanic Bible. I then read more and came to realise I'd always been a Satanist, just simply never knew." He added that he had been "warmly congratulated" by his friends and family for becoming the Armed Forces' first Satanist but did not feel that the war in Iraq was "the Devil's work".
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: tipper ||
10/25/2004 6:46:31 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11136 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
If you'll pardon the expression, what the hell were they thinking? This is quite simply looniness of the highest order, and unbecoming the Royal Navy.
Posted by: V is for Victory ||
10/25/2004 8:04 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I have to wonder what this means for discipline having a man aboard with beliefs which puts himself first and foremost and who believes that personal vengence should be practiced. In most situations his self interest would coincide with the interests of his ship mates since he must cooperate and work with them to survive a battle situation. But what about taking bribes or spying for an enemy for cash? What if he forms a grudge against a shipmate? His value system in each case would see nothing wrong with getting rich at the expense of others or in "punishing" the crew mate in some fashion.
Its a bad idea to allow this guy to serve when his morals are directly and deliberately contradictory to the moral system of his miltary branch and a majority of his shipmates. For the sake of his crewmates, I hope he is never in a situation where he sees that his best interests lie in a different direction from the interests of his country.
#6
As Winnie was wont to say "Don't talk to me about naval tradition. It's nothing but rum, sodomy and the lash."
A Satanist should be in quite at home amongst them.
#7
Have none of you considered that the White House's "office of faith based giving" is completely and legally obliged to provide funding to the Church of Satan just like any other religious organization? Welcome to the logical extension of blurring all boundaries between church and state. Anyone who blindly supports the republican party deserves this in spades.
Concerns were today expressed about an apparent outbreak of the superbug MRSA which was detected at a nursing home in Bangor. The superbug was detected at Carnlea Care Home on the Crawfordsburn Road earlier this week. Local councillor Diana Peacocke branded the outbreak as a "worrying development" and said: "It is my belief that the staff are confident that none of the residents actually contracted MRSA as a direct result of the assistance and care provided at the home. "The residents affected had either recently arrived from hospital or had been receiving treatment." No-one was available for comment at the nursing home earlier today.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/25/2004 12:57:04 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11129 views]
Top|| File under:
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
10/25/2004 8:01 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Peshawar, eh? How's this?
I met an old man at a funeral one day
His back it was stooped and his hair it was gray
I'm close on a hundred he said with a groan
Chances are, you'll be wasting your time
to go home
Tra la la
Tra la lee
For it's six miles from Bangor to Donaghadee
And it is, too, on the old road.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/25/2004 8:56 Comments ||
Top||
EFL - No word if it'll be broadcast in Arabic, heh heh, I could just see the turban heads explode
Gays across France celebrated the launch of the country's first television channel for homosexuals on Monday, anticipating a pink mixture of fashion, travel, talk, cult movies, music and soap operas. The launch of "Pink TV" comes as gays in France are already making headlines with a controversial push to legalize same-sex marriages and calls to enhance the fiscal rights of gay couples. "The gay wave," Le Parisien daily said in big letters on its front page on top of a rainbow flag.
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/25/2004 2:56:33 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11131 views]
Top|| File under:
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/25/2004 9:03:59 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11127 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
French is perfect for the EU. English is completely unsuitable for them. In English, words have precise meanings. Unlike French, English is the language of doers, not liars.
Posted by: ed ||
10/25/2004 9:56 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Ah, yes, French. Definitely French. And they can use the Marseillaise for an anthem. How fitting. [Excuse me, but I have to go wipe off some of this dripping disdain now.]
Posted by: Tom ||
10/25/2004 10:38 Comments ||
Top||
#6
I'm back now. Ireland is in the EU -- does this mean that St. Patrick's Day will now be celebrated in French? And how do you say "leprechaun" in French?
Posted by: Tom ||
10/25/2004 10:42 Comments ||
Top||
#7
And how do you say "leprechaun" in French?
"Chirac"
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
10/25/2004 10:56 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Not sure about "leprechaun", but I'd say "pot o' gold" is spelled Oil-For-Food after translation...
#9
If you think about it, this is actually not a bad idea. In a few years no one but the French and a handful of Belgians would understand the EU laws. The rest of us could just ignore them and get on with our lives unfettered by all that asinine Brussels bureaucracy.
#11
A last gasp at French greatness. With all the Arabic 1st language/French 2nd language darlings in the UN now, he'll have plenty of characters backing him on this.
#12
Well, I feel like a numbskull. A kneejerk reaction-I sometimes confuse the EU and the UN. Not an entirely unreasonable mistake to make-but still, sorry, folks.
#13
Even though the Swiss cantons speak German, French, Italian, and another Latin variation, the national government decreed that English would be the second language taught in its schools as it was the international language of technology, medicine, commerce, science, aviation, etc.
Posted by: Don ||
10/25/2004 12:56 Comments ||
Top||
#14
The French tried to conquer Europe. The Germans tried to conquer Europe and failed. I can see why the Europeans wouldn't want either language to dominate.
England on the other hand had the position of preventing anyone from conquering Europe. English is the natural language for Europe.
But damn it, those pesky yanks speak English don't they.
#15
We should start a campaign to have French moved to the "Dead Languages" department in US universities and colleges.... if for no other reason than to watch the Frankish gnashing of teeth and wails of anguish. I mean it's just a corruption of Latin anyway....
Early results from the weekend's general election showed that five years of UN rule had only deepened ethnic divisions as Kosovo's voters signalled their despair with the Balkan province's administrators. Barely more than half of Kosovo's 1.4 million voters went to the ballot box. While the province's majority ethnic Albanians were struck by apathy, its 130,000-strong Serb minority was seized by anger and completely boycotted the poll. Only a handful of Serbs voted, following calls from Vojislav Kostunica, the Serbian Prime Minister, and the Serbian Orthodox Church to stay away. Mr Kostunica described the election as a "failure". The level of absenteeism prompted Soren Jessen-Petersen, the UN governor in Kosovo, to protest that some Serbs had been intimidated into observing the boycott and had "had their democratic right to vote hijacked". In one success however, the 20,000 Nato soldiers who maintain the peace in Kosovo were not called into action on election day, as the province remained calm.
A victory for the moderate Albanian LDK party of current President Ibrahim Rugova was indicated by early results but it has once again fallen short of an outright majority and will have to form a coalition. Once formed, the local government will have a slim portfolio of responsibilities, while all meaningful power remains with the UN. The provisional result equates to a maintenance of the political status quo by default, as both Kosovo's bitterly opposed ethnic Albanians and Serbs signalled their dissatisfaction with foreign rule. With unemployment running at more than 60 per cent, the province's 1.8 million Albanians are mired in Kosovo's stagnant economy and long for the independence they claim will allow stability for foreign investment.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Bulldog ||
10/25/2004 7:52:18 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11128 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Compare this legitimate apathy to the Afghan enthusiasm for their first exercise in democracy. Compare also to the work the Iraqis have been doing at all levels to get ready for their own elections in January. Who exactly is the colonial oppressor?
#4
The military intervention to remove Serb troops from Kosovo was done entirely by the NATO countries without UN authorization or participation. After the Serb troops were expelled and the Kosovar Albanians were allowed to return to their homes, then NATO asked the UN to administer Kosovo. That is why the UN is now in this position in Kosovo and why people are now blaming the UN for the problems there.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
10/25/2004 22:58 Comments ||
Top||
#5
The UN is blameless, eh? I'd ask the rest of the RB'ers to provide evidence by, say 11 PST, why Mike S shouldn't be teabagged. Spelling and Kofi-sucking will be graded
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/25/2004 23:10 Comments ||
Top||
The Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center will begin a campaign in January to flush out the last surviving Nazi war criminals in Germany, the head of the center's Jerusalem office said yesterday. Efraim Zuroff said the campaign will finally begin after several delays on January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. The campaign is part of the group's "Operation Last Chance," a drive which has been under way across eastern Europe to catch World War II criminals who took part in the Holocaust.
The center is racing against time as both the perpetrators and survivors of war crimes grow old and die. Zuroff told Reuters last year there was a "window of opportunity" of three to five more years to catch Nazi criminals. The center planned to offer 10,000 euros ($12,630) for information leading to prosecution of Nazi war criminals, Zuroff said. He said it was difficult to estimate how many suspected war criminals were still at large, but he believed that it could number in the thousands. "It's difficult to estimate but there's no question in my mind that at least several dozen people could be prosecuted," Zuroff said."The key is the testimony of fellow perpetrators and that is very difficult to achieve."
Britain this year awarded an honorary knighthood to Simon Wiesenthal, who is in his nineties, for "a lifetime of service to humanity" pursuing Holocaust perpetrators. He spent the best part of five decades tracking down more than 1,000 Nazi war criminals responsible for the mass murder of Jews and played a role in the capture of Adolf Eichmann.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/25/2004 2:12:31 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11129 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Well, they can't be runnin' very fast after 60 years...
#4
I wish them all the luck, of course, but I'd advise them to turn their considerable skills into hunting down Islamic thugs that are currently in their prime. They are a far more pressing threat to Jewish lives than some Nazi graybeard on a respirator.
Swiss research suggests that El Niño - a climatic phenomenon which causes changes to the weather in many parts of the globe — also affects Europe. Researchers at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich say that El Niño can lead to cold winters in Europe and an increase in thickness of the ozone layer over the Artic. Every three to seven years, El Niño causes a change in climate, resulting in torrential rains and flooding in Chile, drought and forest fire in Indonesia and hurricanes in California.
In an article published in the scientific journal, "Nature", scientists at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich say they have found evidence that El Niño also affects Europe - a subject which has been controversial in the past. The research team, headed by climatology professor Stefan Brönnimann, looked at the years 1940 to 1942 in particular. "The three winters were unique. Two of them were the coldest in the last century," said Brönnimann.
In Switzerland, temperatures hit a record low at the Jungfraujoch mountain in the Bernese Oberland, while the thickest ozone layer of the last century was measured above Arosa. This coincided with a particularly strong and long-lasting El Niño which affected the weather in South America and Asia. To find out if there were any connections, the researchers gathered metrological data from this time for Europe, the Soviet Union and North America. The data showed that the North Pacific Ocean and Europe were very cold, but there were higher temperatures in Alaska, including the warmest for the whole 20th century in 1941-1942. The ozone layer was also at its thickest over the Artic and Europe.
Comparing these results to other meteorological data, the climatologists discovered a pattern. The strongest results came from 1969-1970, 1997 and 1998 — all known El Niño years. "The cause of all these phenomena is El Niño," said Brönnimann. One of the most important factors in causing an El Niño is the prevailing trade winds that blow from east to west across the equatorial pacific. They take the ocean's warm surface water towards Southeast Asia, where clouds form and fall as the Monsoon rains. In strong El Niño events, the trades slow down or reverse their direction and the rains fall in South America, while Southeast Asia suffers drought.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/25/2004 12:59:44 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11130 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
El Niño can lead to cold winters in Europe and an increase in thickness of the ozone layer over the Artic.
#3
There is no time to lose! The world must implement the Santiago Treaty. Billions of dollars must be transferred from the El Niño rich to the El Niño deprived. Do it for the children. And the oxone layer.
Posted by: ed ||
10/25/2004 8:39 Comments ||
Top||
#4
LOL, ed! And as far as the ozone layer goes:
I'm lost in the ozone again
I'm lost in the ozone again
One drink of wine
Two drinks of gin
And I'm lost in the ozone again
---Commander Cody
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/25/2004 11:13 Comments ||
Top||
#5
El Niño causes ... hurricanes in California.
It does??? I lived there 15 years and don't remember any. I can remember getting 6 inches in one hour, but there wasn't much wind.
#6
Unfeeling, Unthinking bastards! You morons don't understand that the Nino and Niha are Mine! All Mine! I own them! Bwwwwwwwwwwwwwwhaaaaaaaaaaha ha! I am famous! World famous! Death to baby fish! Long live the upwelling! Give me Grants or get me more graduate students!
Posted by: Dr Jimmy OBrien ||
10/25/2004 14:04 Comments ||
Top||
#8
I can remember getting 6 inches in one hour, but there wasn't much wind.
All we ever get are the remnants, which usually translates into rotten weather for the warmer months. Has a tendency to ruin an otherwise uneventful summer, really. (and I've lived here for 40+ years, unfortunately)
#9
Actually it's not hurricanes, It's actually more like monsoon rains. I have been here 52 years. We rarely get "real" weather anywhere here in California.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/25/2004 8:35:03 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11131 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Opening paragraph:
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry thanked Poland in a newspaper interview published Monday for its military involvement in Iraq and promised Polish businesses a chance for lucrative reconstruction contracts there should he win the Nov. 2 election.
What a pandering idiot. How long did it take him to say this after he blew them off a few weeks ago at the debate? Now he's trying to kiss their collective ass by offering them contracts? Just when I think there's nothing he can't do that won't surprise me anymore, he comes up with something new. He's incorrigible. Just like the rest of his family, running mate, and party.
Forget the opinion polls, pundits and focus groups. If you really want to know who's going to win the presidential election, keep an eye on these far more reliable, time-tested indicators in the coming week.
-- Halloween masks: Sales figures for rubber masks of the candidates have foretold the winner of every election since 1980, according to costume sellers. In other words, the bigger freak usually wins. BuyCostumes.com, which has been keeping tabs on this year's showdown, reports that boneheaded President Bush is outselling big-headed Sen. John Kerry 53 to 47 percent, although Kerry has been steadily closing the gap.
-- Political markets: When in doubt, follow the money. A direct barometer of the candidates' prospects can be found on the Iowa Electronic Markets, where traders buy and sell political futures. The market has correctly predicted the winner in every election since 1988. Investors are currently slightly bullish on Bush, giving him about a 54 percent chance of winning.
-- The kids' vote: Since 1956, the Weekly Reader has polled students in grades 1 through 12 on their presidential preference. As the results have proven, you can't fool children. They have correctly chosen the winner in each of the last 12 elections. The winner of this year's poll will be announced this week.
-- The Washington Redskins: In the last 18 elections, when the Redskins have won their final home game prior to the election, the incumbent has held the White House. This year the Redskins face the Green Bay Packers on Oct. 31. Kerry knows how much is riding on the game. At a campaign stop in Wisconsin, he said, "You're looking at the biggest cheesehead in America."
Seeking to put a cheerful face on their efforts to rip each other to shreds, both Bush and Kerry have employed a potent weapon: mockery. Bush frequently uses derisive humor to paint his opponent as a flip- flopping liberal who can't be trusted. Prior to the debates, for example, Bush said it was tough to prepare because Kerry keeps changing his positions. "I think he could spend 90 minutes debating himself," he quipped. Later, trying to turn the tables after he was widely ridiculed for scowling during the first debate, Bush said Kerry's flip-flops were to blame. "You hear all that, and you can understand why somebody would make a face."
In another dig, Bush said Kerry has little to show for his 20-year Senate record, other than the distinction, bestowed on him by a magazine, as the nation's most liberal senator. "When the competition includes Ted Kennedy, that's really saying something," Bush said. "You might even say it was hard work," he added.
Kerry, meanwhile, jabs his opponent for general ineptitude. Discussing the debate negotiations with Regis Philbin, Kerry said, "The big hang-up was George Bush wanted to get life lines, you know, so he could call somebody."
During an appearance on the "Late Show With David Letterman," Kerry offered his own Top 10 list of Bush tax proposals. Item 1: "George W. Bush gets a deduction for mortgaging our entire future." His best line, though, came earlier this year after reporters told him that Bush had taken a tumble off his bike. "Did the training wheels fall off?" Kerry asked.
Americans may be divided over the candidates, but the late-night comedians have a clear favorite. During the first eight months of the year, they spent more than twice as much time poking fun at Bush as Kerry, according to the Center for Media and Public Affairs. Out of the 1,127 jokes that Jay Leno, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien and Jon Stewart told about the candidates, 778 derided Bush and 349 knocked Kerry.
The majority of Bush jokes centered on his intelligence and, to a lesser extent, on his personality and honesty. Kerry was frequently ridiculed for his personality, appearance and lack of consistency. So who makes for a better punch line? You be the judge:
"You see the pictures in the paper of John Kerry windsurfing? ... Even his hobby depends on which way the wind blows."
-- Jay Leno.
"During the debate, Bush was asked by a lady to name three mistakes he's made. Bush responded, 'This debate, the last debate and the next debate.' "
-- Bill Maher.
"John Kerry says the 'W' in George W. Bush stands for 'Wrong.' But he still can't explain what John Kerry stands for."
-- David Letterman.
"Bush bragged that more Iraqis say their country is on the right track than Americans say our country is on the right track. Boy, there's a campaign slogan for you -- 'America: More F---ed Up Than Fallujah!' "
-- Bill Maher.
"Pundits are saying that Kerry's message is garbled. You know you're doing badly when you're running against Bush, and you're the one who is garbled."
-- David Letterman.
"John Kerry said if President Bush is re-elected, he might bring back a military draft. When asked, Bush said, 'Trust me, even if I bring back the draft, there are plenty of ways to get around it.' "
-- Conan O'Brien
Sen. John Kerry has scaled back his television ads in Colorado this week and scrapped a planned campaign stop in Denver. The Democratic presidential candidate will refocus his time and ad dollars on more hotly contested swing states such as Ohio and Florida, although campaign officials insist that they will continue to fight for Colorado.The candidates have run closely this year in Colorado, a state Bush won easily in 2000. The state has been among the final dozen battlegrounds on both campaigns' target lists this month. Several polls recently showed Bush opening a small lead, although a Reuters/Zogby poll had Kerry slightly ahead on Sunday. Kerry visited Pueblo on Saturday. He had planned to hit Denver on Tuesday or Wednesday, but his campaign canceled the trip on Friday.
Officials decided to reduce television ads this weekend, thinking their early ads had given the senator a lift - and that Colorado's airwaves, cluttered with political pitches, offered less opportunity than less-inundated markets in other states. The campaign will continue to bring surrogates into Colorado to stump for Kerry, to advertise on Spanish-language radio and to push an aggressive get-out-the-vote effort. The Democratic National Committee will continue to run ads in Colorado on Kerry's behalf at "saturation levels," a spokesman said. Steve Haro, Kerry's Colorado spokesman, said it's "just not the case" that the senator is giving up here.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/25/2004 3:59:06 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11130 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
maybe the change was because the highest circulation Denver paper endorsed Bush this am
#2
I know with the people here in Colorado, the more they see of John, the more they don't like him.
He lost most of Colorado support after the third debate.
Chief Justice William Rehnquist has undergone throat surgery after a diagnosis of thyroid cancer, but is expected to be released from the hospital this week, according the Supreme Court. Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said the 80-year old chief justice was admitted to the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Maryland, on Friday, and underwent a tracheotomy Saturday. Arberg said he is expected to be released from the hospital this week, and to be back on the bench when court arguments resume next week.
Half the news media had him dead and buried, worried about Bush picking another judge.
Rehnquist has served as chief justice since 1986 after he was nominated by President Ronald Reagan. He joined the high court in 1972 when he was nominated by President Richard Nixon. His previous health problems have included back and knee problems, according to The Associated Press.
The news is likely to shake up the campaign trail because the next president could help tip the balance on the nation's highest court, which now stands in a loose 5-4 conservative majority. All but one of the nine U.S. Supreme Court justices is over 65, and many court watchers expect at least one, perhaps as many as four, retirements in the next four years.
Another reason to vote for Bush, this news will help energise his conservative base who stayed home last time.
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, 74, and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 71, have both undergone surgery for cancer. The nine current members of the court have been together a decade, the longest uninterrupted span in nearly two centuries.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/25/2004 12:37:15 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11128 views]
Top|| File under:
From USA Today interview 11/24/2003:
In the interview, Kerry cautioned his rivals not to count him out just yet.
"I was about 30 yards away from Billy Buckner when that ball wiggled away," he says, a reference to the infamous error by the Red Sox first basemen when the team was on the verge of winning the World Series in 1986. "I had cracked a bottle of champagne, was jumping up and down — prematurely. Nobody should celebrate prematurely. This race is really open."
"That ball was seared, seared into my memory!"
Game 6 of the 1986 World Series was held in New York City, on the evening of October 25, 1986.
To Red Sox fans, this just happened yesterday and we remember where we were. Except, it seems, for Johnny.
According to the Boston Globe, John Kerry was at a banquet in Boston on the evening of October 25, 1986. More than 250 people -- including Gov. Dukakis, US Sen. John Kerry and an array of state Cabinet members -- attended the banquet at the World Trade Center in South Boston honoring Gov. Toney Anaya and Alex Rodriguez." A UPI report places Senator Kerry at Game 7 of the 1986 series.
Maybe that's where he met the UN Security council?
Posted by: Steve ||
10/25/2004 12:07:05 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11129 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
This guy has witnessed more history than Forrest Gump.
#4
Actually, he is correct. The head waiter at the banquet was a guy named Billy Buckner. He was in the back of the room near the TV set that was tuned to the game. When the ballplayer Billy Buckner missed the grounder, he shouted as load as he could "You f**king worthless piece of sh*t" and that is when Kerry looked up from popping his champagne!
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
10/25/2004 13:29 Comments ||
Top||
#5
I was in a Tijuana motel with a girlfriend. I certainly had more fun than Kerry at that dinner. She made me forget the pain of the moment...
#6
I don't remember the 86 games but I lived in Boston for the 75 world series and I can say it is seared, seared, into my memory. I almost missed my birthday because of that damn series. My parents would have dumped me off with a babysitter in heartbeat if there was any delays or anything.
#7
Wow, I figured the game must have been played in Cambodia.
Posted by: A Jackson ||
10/25/2004 14:56 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Yes, It remember it well... it was a Christmas Eve night game back in Boston, er, New York - and a helluvalot colder... My lucky hat was shaped like a baseball cap that day - and I had to imagine it had ear flaps to keep me warm, though I was sweating like a dog flying through the air between Swift Boats under fire and hitting mines left and right. I ran Buckner down with an M-15, or was it my M-17? Anyway, I shot that sucker and he got one off before he passed on - a rice grenade which nearly severed my arm. If not for my Felix the Cat Lucky hat, which transformed itself into a time machine and took me far far into the future, where I saw myself running for President of an electorate who would believe anything I said and a conspiratorial MSM who would only report what my advisors wanted them to. What a grand vision, it was...
"Wake up, Senator! You have another speech to give. No - leave the lucky hat in your briefcase..."
#10
But you require chemical assistance (or so I am led to believe, heh)... This zoomer can do it naturellement, sans aide... Don't be too jealous, K? ;-)
"Skeery has revealed that he was aboard the Leonov for its 2010 Space Odyssey and was present when chlorophyll was detected by a probe on the Jupiter moon Europa. He personally flew a probe to the oddly-named moon's surface, interviewed the entity detected, and has reported back that 'Jacques', the EUropa entity, warned him that continued failure to coordinate American policy with the UN and EU would lead to catatrophic consequences. HAL concurred, according to the intrepid Senator - Astronaut, though this account can't be confirmed because Odyssey's antenna was manually pointed away from Earth. Additionally, there has been no comment, as yet, from Roy Scheider or the Monolith."
#18
heh heh - Mucky - hero for a day for that one!
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/25/2004 20:11 Comments ||
Top||
#19
If it gets back to Boston, everybody's waiting to see if this asshole and his entourage show up to muscle their way into Fenway for the sixth or seventh game. That'll screw a couple of hundred people outta their seats.
And, if I'm Buckner, I come back to Boston just to shove a bat up his ass just for bringing that ugly memory up.
Breaking news on Fox; also saw it at NRO.
Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist is being treated for thyroid cancer, FOX News confirmed Monday. The Supreme Court said Rehnquist, 80, would return to the bench by Nov. 1. Whatever your feelings about his judicial philosophy, you can only wish him a speedy recovery. It probably does not need to be pointed out that if Chief Justice Rhenquistâs heath forces him to leave the court, whoever wins on November 2 will name the replacement.
Posted by: Mike ||
10/25/2004 12:21:11 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11127 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
The DU-niks think this is a "convenient distraction" from the "missing explosives scandal" and/or "Bush losing the election." (To be fair, some of them are decent enough to wish the Chief well, but I expect the moonbattery to dominate the thread 'ere too long.)
Posted by: Mike ||
10/25/2004 12:26 Comments ||
Top||
XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX MON OCT 25, 2004 09:55:21 ET XXXXX
EDWARDS WIFE: NO RIOTS IF WE WIN
The wife of Dem vice presidential hopeful John Edwards said on Sunday there will be no riots around the election -- if Kerry/Edwards wins! C-SPAN cameras captured spouse Elizabeth Edwards making the startling comments to a supporter during a Kerry Campaign Town Hall Meeting in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Supporter: Kerry's going to take PA.
Liz Edwards: I know that.
Supporter: I'm just worried there's going to be riots afterwards.
Liz Edwards: Uh.....well...not if we win.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/25/2004 10:18:10 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11129 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
The implication being that Edwards' wife expects riots if Kerry loses.
#6
Wow. Now it's Edwards's wife who is making the goofy statements. I think the Dems have successfully destroyed any hopes of using the "vast Rightwing Conspiracy" excuse for their losing. All these yahoos have to do is keep talking. They're destroying themselves.
#7
She's a mighty large target, too, if we're talking center-mass...
Can anyone picture the endless SNAFUs if Tahrayzah and Lizzie "take office"? What a phreakin' field day for the comedians and pseudo-reportage of the MSM...
#8
I will get so much pleasure out of seeing this dimwits go down for the count. I want to see them crying, foaming at the mouth and acting like the classless idiots they are. I want to see Blather crying in his beer, Al Katy Couric with a big frown on her face telling us that W is in for another 4. I want to see the whole crowd lamenting.
Posted by: Bill Nelson ||
10/25/2004 11:30 Comments ||
Top||
#9
me to Bill. I want to hear the whole DU whine about having to moving to Canada to escape W. Music to my ears.
#11
I am thinking about some union goon, or weasley ACLU ambulance-chaser in Florida and Ohio, doing some "planned anger" violence. I am thinking about a regular citizen with his concealed weapons permit defending his family and property which had "offended" the union gorilla or the lawyer snake by the existence of a Bush yard sign... And, I am thinking of a scene from a certain well known Clint Eastwood movie, where "Dirty Harry" ends a famous soliloquy with, "Well, do ya feel lucky punk, well, do ya?"
Terry McAuliffe:
How can you ask some ACLU or AFL-CIO thug to be the last one to die for Teresa Heinz Kerry's right to hire decorators for the White House at government expense...
#12
"What a phreakin' field day for the comedians and pseudo-reportage of the MSM..."
If Kerry wins, the MSM are going to be between a rock and a hard place: do they try to salvage some shred of credibility by reporting fairly on what will surely be an endless series of spectacularly disastrous Kerry fuckups? Or will they spike their credibility into the ground by covering his ass?
Either way, it'd be a wild four years.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
10/25/2004 11:52 Comments ||
Top||
#13
Um, I predict MSM schizophrenia - not that it's not present in spades now, heh. Make that double-heh.
If the Dems win - no Democratic riots
If the Republicans win - Democratic riots
If the Dems lose - no Republican riots
If the Republicans lose - no Republican riots
Note that there will only be riots if the Dems lose.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
10/25/2004 13:33 Comments ||
Top||
#15
I read this as a THREAT: If we dont win we will riot!
What are our rules of engagement for the inevitable post-Kerry-defeat riots? Exactly what should be the threshold before I/we slap down the insurrection with extreme predjudice? Or should we just let them get it out of their systems and only apply deadly force if we or others are directly threatened?
#18
Spiffo, I would suggest non-lethal means (paintballs would be good, maybe buckshot or something that stings) unless you believe yourself or your family to be in imminent danger.
However, I strongly advise that no misbehaviour be allowed to go unpunished, if only by publicizing photos of the miscreants in action (local news media or the internet). These people are like toddlers: let them get away with the little things, and they'll move on to bigger ones, and soon your house will be burning to the ground. Sort of the Guiliani Broken Window theory writ large. I plan to make sure all the cameras are fully charged, with extra memory cards that I hope not to need, although this part of the world is pretty strongly Bush territory.
#19
Spiffo, you obviously have the right to defend yourself, your family, and other innocent people whose lives are in danger should you fail to act.
You cannot use lethal force in defense of property, but a mob attack on your home or workplace presents a danger to life, prima facie. You don't have to wait for them to actually attack a person, at which point it would be too late.
An exception to the "protection of property" exclusion would involve attempts to disrupt vote counting or court proceedings. These should instantly be met by lethal force if disruption or distortion of the process would result without that level of force. If the Constitutional process if not worth defending, nothing is, not even your own life.
#20
You cannot use lethal force in defense of property
Ya'll ain't spent much time down here in Texas, have you, Pilgrim? Perfectly legal to shoot stealing varmits, no bag limit.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/25/2004 16:55 Comments ||
Top||
#21
What are our rules of engagement for the inevitable post-Kerry-defeat riots? Exactly what should be the threshold before I/we slap down the insurrection with extreme predjudice?
Spiffo, according to the Kerry Doctrine, you will only be allowed to defend yourself after you've been killed.
#22
A.K.A. The "Law Enforcement" approach. The Fibbies will guarantee that within 6 months they'll know who killed you, how they did it, and what their favorite beverage is. That information will then be added to the Profile Database which will never be used due to PC considerations.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/25/2004 17:43 Comments ||
Top||
#26
We have some embattled folks who can answer this:
How does it work in MassLalaLand?
For instance, in Bahstahn, is it ever justified to whack a criminal? Inside your home (or business) or out?
Does he hafta like ravage all your wymyns and kill 'em and then piss on the Pope's picture, first?
Do you hafta get shot 3 or 4 times first before you can shoot back?
I'm pretty sure in The People's Democrapic Depublic of Berkeley you're required to shoot yourself so that the perp won't need therapy, at public expense, but I could be wrong.
Just wondering. This ROE stuff needs clarification in all of the various political climates / locales for those lurking so they'll be well informed and prepared.
BTW, in Texas, you don't have to hose down the front walk to remove the blood smears clearly showing you dragged his ass back into the house to finish him off - before you call 911, but it makes things easier for the policemyns. And they are your only friends (other than Mssrs Smith & Wesson, of course) when bad shit happens, so it's considered good form to help out and cut down their paperwork like that.
#27
That is not the case, Steve.
I am not a lawyer, but I have lived in Texas for 30 years, I have served as a peace officer here and I have twice held elective office in this state. Texas juries tend to be fairly liberal (excuse the expression) in their interpretation of the facts, tending to err on the side of self-defense, but you absolutely cannot shoot someone to keep him from stealing, say, your car or knocking the windows out of your office. Otoh, if you are in your car or office at the time, there is an assumed threat to life, unless the miscreant is clearly retreating from the scene.
Further, and contrary to legend and liberal dogma, a criminal does not have to be armed to present an imminent threat. Mobs are lethal with their bare hands and feet, and wrestling around with a burglar could easily lead to the burglar acquiring and using a lethal weapon (a lamp or kitchen knife, for example).
Further, the criminal does not have to be inside your house in Texas to justify lethal force, if an imminent threat is being directed from outside (shooting or throwing a molotov cocktail for example).
You also have the right to effect a citizen's arrest, but only for a felony in Texas. If a felon presents an imminent threat while resisting such an arrest, lethal force is justified, but you had better have it right when you see the Grand Jury.
#28
And do not ever touch anyone under 18. The penalties for injury to a minor make the charges a burglar might be facing seem inconsequential.
AC, my entire take on Texas came directly from Plano Police Detectives who had a very long talk with me after I was burglarized. The gang working my area used a garage-door scanner - it had 1024 codes and opened (they said) about 90%. If the door into the house from the garage was unlocked, and that was quite common, then the gang was in biz. If locked - they'd leave in fear of an alarm.
The key thing this group had going for them was that the leader was a 30 yr old pro - and all of his gang were 16 and under - and they went into the houses - he stayed in the van circling the area and picking up loot (inside the garage). The cops were desperate to catch these guys and spent about 12 hours working my house to make sure they had any and all possible prints. I got a call about 4 months later from one of them - they said they had to go under the table, but finally got 'em. They did it by illegally accessing the Juvi records for prints and backtracking. One of them was the younger brother of the leader.
#31
Tomorrow is Range Day with #2 Son (home on leave from Iraq) and his GF. Time to blow off a shitpile of ammo and play with some rental guns to see if there's anything I'd like to purchase.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
10/25/2004 21:13 Comments ||
Top||
#32
I remember that, Ptah. This was my take at the time:
Hmmmph.
Letâs see how the respective sides stack up.
The Loyalists, those who support the Constitutionally selected government will include:
1. The entire US military, active and reserve, including all veterans except those who were court-martialed for chemical-abuse offenses.
2. The entire law enforcement profession, possibly excepting those who owe their jobs to rampant Political Correctness, or who are susceptible to blackmail.
3. The overwhelming majority of law-abiding gun owners.
Now, what forces can the Insurgents muster?
1. A few ALF activists with experience in free-lance arson.
2. Left-over 60s radicals whose efforts to revive their bomb-making skills may be hampered by advanced age and intervening bouts of heavy chemical ingestion.
3. A few grad students with Hezbollah or Hamas cannon fodder training.
4. A swarm of black-clad Mumia-cong whose combat experience is limited to vandalizing McDonaldâs and beating up old ladies who object to their flag-burning.
5. Paroled gang members, as long as the supply of easy hippy chicks and free hooch holds up.
6. Major propaganda resources courtesy of Fifth Column celebrities like Al Qatie Couric and the Ham-ass terrorist himself, Michael Moore.
Will Lloyds give odds on the outcome?
I don't think anything has changed in 10 months, except for the addition of union goons to the rebel ranks and some displays of LLL ruthlessness that even we did not expect (attacks on children, shooting up GOP offices, etc.)
#33
Hey AC, you wanna move north?
"(1) No person in the state shall be placed in legal jeopardy of any kind whatsoever for protecting by any reasonable means necessary, himself or herself, his or her family, or his or her real or personal property, or for coming to the aid of another who is in imminent danger of or the victim of assault, robbery, kidnapping, arson, burglary, rape, murder, or any other violent crime as defined in RCW 9.94A.030."
See also RCW 9A.16.050 for forgivable use of deadly force.
Of course, it doesn't always work this way in the courts, but we're working on it.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/25/2004 02:38 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11130 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"ALTHOUGH George Bush has reopened a slight lead over John Kerry, the outcome of next week's US presidential election is far from certain. What would Kerry's election as president mean? A dangerous time for the West."
RTWT, as they say.
This article is a rather gentle treatment of a subject that has been bothering me a lot lately: what will happen if Kerry wins?
Foreign leaders have very likely sized Kerry up already: a "Jimmy Carter Lite" whose almost religious belief in the magical powers of toothless, non-confrontational diplomacy will make him an easy mark.
And if Kerry wins, they will also size up the American people: irresolute, easily distracted, fooled and frightened, and having no stomach for a long, hard fight. They will conclude that notwithstanding George Bush's devotion to the cause of the WoT, the American people are tired, are faltering, and have once again talked themselves into failing-- just as they did in Vietnam, and again in Mogadishu.
Foreign leaders will act on these judgements, and we will NOT like what they do: I expect Israel/Iran, NKor/SKor, and China/Taiwan all to blow up very soon after the votes are counted.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
10/25/2004 8:55 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Excellent summation, Dave. I only hope some of the idiots who have fallen for the demonization of Bush will read this article - and realize they've been sold a load of tripe. Beyond that, well...
I am almost morbidly curious now, rather disconnected in fact, to see how this insanity plays out at the ballot box. I think, and have long thought, that only (ha - only!) about 1/3 of Americans are idiots, 1/3 are "lazy thinkers" and easily led and fooled, and 1/3 are aware of the world and the consequences.
I am truly curious to see what America is made of, today. Are we dupes? Lazy? Fearful? Just who are we, now?
#3
i wish the same for the idiots who have fallen for the demonization of Kerry. Nothing much is gonna change after Kerry's elected, with regard to the strategy in the war on terror.. just my two cents
#5
Lyot must be thinking that sKerry hasn't changed much in the Senate for 20 years. The president has to be quick and decisive at times, and flipper is not up to it. Dave D. sums it up best as "Carter Lite".
Posted by: Tom ||
10/25/2004 9:17 Comments ||
Top||
#6
"I am almost morbidly curious now, rather disconnected in fact, to see how this insanity plays out at the ballot box."
Pretty much the same here; whatever will be, will be. And if Kerry wins, we'll just have to deal with it. If life hands you lemons, they say, then make lemonade-- and I've no doubt we will have occasion to make a lot of the stuff.
The best case for a Kerry presidency would be four years of aimless muddle: nothing accomplished, but no disasters. The worst case is... I don't even want to think about it, it's too horrible.
I left out two things from my earlier comment.
One, is what Kerry himself-- and all future American presidents-- will learn from his victory: that the American people no longer have the stomach for a long fight, and that in the event of any future 9/11 style attacks, any president will have, at most, six months to a year in which to complete any response. Any endeavor taking longer than that (such as the kind of nation-building we've been working on in Afghanistan and Iraq) will have unacceptable domestic political consequences.
And the other is what the people of our armed forces will conclude about a Kerry victory, which is that they've been betrayed by a citizenry which has no respect for them or appreciation for what they've achieved or the sacrifices they've made. I cannot think of ANYTHING that would insult our troops more than a Kerry victory, and I shudder to think what will happen to recruitment and retention rates in our armed forces if he wins.
The bottom line of both these factors would be to drastically increase the probability that a future 9/11 style attack would trigger a nuclear response that would annihilate much of the Arab world.
And while some would consider this a "feature", rather than a "bug", I'm not one of them, at least not yet: I don't want my grandchildren asking me, twenty years from now, why the hell we incinerated five hundred million people without first making a genuine effort at reforming their society.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
10/25/2004 9:56 Comments ||
Top||
#7
"i wish the same for the idiots who have fallen for the demonization of Kerry."
I don't see how exposing Kerry's abysimal record and past treasons can be viewed as "demonizing"! Is reveling the truth of an individuals character(or lack thereof) wrong?
If Kerry is viewed in a bad light, he has only himself to blame.
-AR
Posted by: Analog Roam ||
10/25/2004 10:11 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Heavy stuff, Dave - and I have to agree, there are very disturbing consequences - which can be roughly estimated. I would like, every much, to see an authoritative analysis which pulls no punches and does not paint the future with rosy bullshit, covering everything that can be reasonably estimated.
Are you quoting or abstracting from such an analysis - or doing your own extrapolation? Just for the record, I see your points as highly likely consequences - good logical common sense assertions. I presume, with your son involved, you have hardcore inside info regards how the armed forces might see and react to this possibility...
I've said before that I believe it would set us back about a decade, and make us vulnerable to being hit hard as a direct result. I'd love to be wrong.
Since this is, without a doubt, a possibility with HUGE ramifications...
Does anybody have a worthy link covering a broad set of issues from a solid source? Surely this has been war-gamed and dissected somewhere in detail.
#9
I'll glady "demonize" Kerry -- he's never found enemy propaganda he wouldn't repeat. He's a liar, a thug, and a wanna-be dictator. His campaign has been marked by the complete avoidance of even the servile press and openly threatening those even the least bit critical of him.
He's led his party to an unprecedented (in my lifetime, at least) level of thuggery, deceit, and fraud. His apparent plan to declare victory regardless of the actual vote count, to hand the election's outcome to the courts, is a direct assault on our most basic institutions and on the very concepts that form our nation and society.
No doubt some leftist will whine that this applies to Bush, not Kerry. Well, pull your head out of the warm, smelly place you've been keeping it and take a long, hard look at Kerry's campaign. Compare his handling of the SwiftVets and "Stolen Honor" to Bush's handling of Moore -- which candidate has more respect for free speech?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
10/25/2004 10:28 Comments ||
Top||
#10
"Are you quoting or abstracting from such an analysis - or doing your own extrapolation? Just for the record, I see your points as highly likely consequences - good logical common sense assertions."
This is something I've been doing on my own; though I've seen some "What-if-Kerry-wins?" articles here and there, none of them have gone into much depth and it has seemed to me that there will be MAJOR consequences of a Kerry victory. So I've been noodling on it.
"I presume, with your son involved, you have hardcore inside info regards how the armed forces might see and react to this possibility..."
Some is from him, but most of my certainty on this comes from my own experience in the Army back in the early 70's-- I remember the reaction among the Vietnam veterans I served with when Kerry gave his horseshit "testimony" before the Senate. The only part of that reaction which even comes close to being printable is the epithet, "buddyfucker".
Posted by: Dave D. ||
10/25/2004 10:39 Comments ||
Top||
#11
Dave - Thanks, bro - as I said, your projections strike me as highly likely and that does, indeed, worry me. I've wondered, in my customary unorganized fashion, about this topic and the various areas of impact, but haven't kept notes, damnit. I did, once upon a time, rashly post something completely ad-lib / extemporaneous of my worries along this line to a comment by AC - intemperately, rudely, and stupidly, in fact, but that was way back when. Sigh.
If anyone hits upon more, plz post links. This is some serious shit - I do not currently share bad's (and others') hyper-confidence, though I certainly want it to be true!
And "buddyfucker" fits the Traitor to a T. Thx, Dave!
Here are some excerpts from the notes I've been keeping:
HOW WILL JOHN KERRY APPROACH THE WAR AGAINST ISLAMIST TERRORISM?
Abandonment of the policy of pre-emption.
Return to appeasement and compromise as the core elements of our foreign policy.
Return to pre-9/11 concepts of terrorism as a law-enforcement problem rather than a military problem.
Will not initiate military action unless there is overwhelming public support for it.
Expect much greater deference to the UN and other international institutions like the ICC.
Expect superficial, ineffectual, cosmetically appealing expediencies to be preferred over decisive and effective, but painful, action.
Expect much ass-kissing: of the French, of the Arabs, and of the Russians and Chinese.
Expect much domestic ass-kissing of Muslims as a "poor, helpless oppressed minority."
Expect a near-complete abandonment of support for Israel.
Expect a major push to internationalize the rebuilding of Iraq and Afghanistan, with poor results and at great cost to us.
Expect a major shift in focus in the Middle East: from "getting the job done" to "bringing the boys home."
Kerry's base is the hard-core left, and he is unlikely to do anything that will risk alienating them.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
10/25/2004 11:04 Comments ||
Top||
#13
Aw shit. Your collection of observations / predictions rings true... and you have some I missed. Add to it the effect of his "economic proposals" and that looking straight into the camera BS in debate #3 guaranteeing every American a magical healthcare system that will cost them nothing - no new taxes. And there's more on the domestic side which eludes me cuz your list distracts and depresses me!
#14
Hell, I haven't even begun to think about the domestic-policy side of the whole thing.
The only possible upside to a John Kerry presidency is that he very likely will fuck things up so spectacularly that he will be the last Democrat elected president for for a long, long time. The Dims spent twelve years in the presidential wilderness after Jimmy Carter. After Kerry, it will be at least a half-century.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
10/25/2004 11:23 Comments ||
Top||
#15
re: #8- .com, IMHO, the best link that covers the issues raised here on a macro level is here: http://www.commentarymagazine.com/Archive/digitalarchive.aspx?panes=1&aid=11802019_1
no doubt, this link has been posted here before. but so far, it is one of the best efforts put forth in laying out the case, and consequences, of the WoT that I have seen.
Posted by: manhattanite for bush ||
10/25/2004 12:06 Comments ||
Top||
#16
Cool - thx! I'll open now and see how much (whoa -a very scary thought!) I haven't thought of and taken to its logical conclusion. I may be back to harangue you, if you're trolling, heh. ;-)
And I was just reminded by FoxNews of a HUGE consideration: Chief Justice Rehnquist has thyroid cancer (not life-threatening, they say)... At least 1, prolly 2, Supremes will be appointed by the next Prez - and all of those Phreakin' Phederal Judges. Some of whom seem utterly determined to rewrite pretty much any law or constitutional tenet that strikes their phancy...
#17
Remember, guys, the odds are high that both Houses of Congress will remain in Republican hands, which should ameliorate much of a Kerry presidency's initiatives (think of Clinton's health care failure). The real risk is what Kerry does outside our borders, and the reaction of our servicepeople to his venom. And the response of our current real allies and enemies.
I don't see much in the way of new taxes. I do see some spectacular explosions or inexplicable disease clusters. And I agree that Kerry is much more likely than Bush to overreact to such stimulus, in order to prove his manhood. The world may very well end up praying that Bush wins the 2008 election.
#18
manhattanite for bush - Kick-ass Norman Podhoretz article - I'm still reading - it's extensive and detailed, as you know!!! THANX! I dunno if it gets to the meat we were discussing, but regardless of that - it has been a fantastic source for the event timeline of Islamic terrorism, thus far.
It's a PDF and you can bet I'll snarf up a copy, happily this one offers the "Save" option (the diskette icon).
Here's the hot link (should open in a new window) for others if they wanna check it out. I recommend that everyone have a copy of this thing, in fact - timelines are everything when fighting against memes and bullshit Demogogue Party Talking Points.
#19
sKerry lost his votefraud battle in Ohio, and things are beginning to look up for the rest of the US. There are still some pockets of utter stupidity, but more than 2/3 of the US - geographically - appears sane. The level of thuggery and outright fraud will HAVE to be dealt with this time - Bush and Ashcroft did nothing last election, and the dumbships came back this time with ten times the try. People need to HANG for this crap. If we, the American People don't hold the entire government's feet to the fire on this, we can consider forming a new government in the sane areas in a few years, for our own protection. Let the damned cities starve if they want us to continue supporting them.
The biggest problem with the dummycritters is that they don't realize all the WARRIORS are on the other side. And yes, I will gladly take up arms against having a traitorous bastard in the White House. There is no way that piece of scum should have ever been nominated, and the Demoncrats have shown their hand in doing so. This was a blatant act of snobbishness - a "we know he's a traitorous scumbag, but we're going to show you we can control any election, any time, and we're going to win, so shove it" moment. It's time to pull the plug on the modern Democratic party, let the few sane democrats form a new party with a new name, and hang the rest. It's either that, or the US will be a banana republic in five years.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/25/2004 13:14 Comments ||
Top||
#20
I am almost morbidly curious now, rather disconnected in fact, to see how this insanity plays out at the ballot box.
#21
The Democrats have learned nothing from their winter of discontent. As bitter as they were over the perceived wrongs in Florida where the Republicans finally stood up and refused to let them steal the election. (Nixon set a bad precedent in 1960.) It is nothing to what the Republican reaction would be to a Kerry win in November. There have been enough instances of documented attempts at massive vote fraud to thoroughly discredit any Kerry "victory". The Democrats haven't thought through the consequences of their actions. Republicans will not forgive, forget, and fall in line behind "President" Kerry. A Kerry "victory" will rend the fabric of the Republic and lead to civil disobedience on a scale beyond the most fevered dreams of liberal activists. As pointed out above, there will be a general falling away from the military. I ended my military career under Carter and know just how miserable and dangerous a pansy like Kerry will make life for our soldiers, Marines, and airmen. No father wants his son or daughter at risk executing the whims of a person like Kerry and no warrior wants to risk his life in a blue helmet. At home, I don't know how people would react to the freak show that a Kerry "presidency" would bring to Washington, but it wouldn't be pretty. All the Dems want is to be back at the Treasury trough so they, like pirates, can divvy up the booty.
#22
Amen, Old Patriot. The Dhimmicrats are arrogant. They don't seek to persuade, they tell everyone how it is going to be. Like the new left in the 60's, they speak in terms of morality (ie "the evil drug companies," "the Benedict Arnold CEO's," "the evil rich," etc.
I hope it is only civil disobedience. If it goes that way, I hope that Pubs refuse to confirm a single judge at any level. Obstruct in every way possible. The Dhims have sowed the wind, let them reap the whirlwind.
#23
My 2 cents worth on a Kerry presidency: The stock market will perform poorly for a few more years. Clinton benefitted from the end of the cold war and a massive restructuring of businesses (things which he had nothing to do with). Kerry doesn't have those kinds of things going on. Worse, he seeks to damage one of our most creative technology sectors: pharmaceuticals. This sector could have been a boom sector with the imminent wave of baby boomer retirees. I'm still betting (with big bucks) that drug companies are a great long term play because I'm an optimist. The irony is that a poorly performing stock market will impoverish retirees far more than any govt program will help them, but they seem to be lopsidedly in favor of Kerry.
Posted by: V is for Victory ||
10/25/2004 18:42 Comments ||
Top||
#24
Oh, and did I mention the dividend tax? Kerry wants to raise it. All those "wealthy" retirees who live off of dividends. Bad people. Must be punished.
Posted by: V is for Victory ||
10/25/2004 18:47 Comments ||
Top||
India's quest for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has for the first time been endorsed by China... A 16-member UN reform panel is expected to submit its recommendations to Annan by December concerning the expansion of the Security Council, adding nine more members, five of which will be new permanent members. The veto issue has not been resolved... Nations that want a vote (and a veto) include Japan, Germany, Nigeria, India and Brazil--all of whom are strongly opposed by someone. The bottom line is that a voting/veto country must have three things: a powerful economy, a powerful military, and a willingness to use both for national and international ends.
#3
Definitely need more countries: Mexico, Indonesia, Pakistan, Australia, South Africa, Turkey, soon to be Iran. Any other countries to gum up the works are welcome.
Posted by: ed ||
10/25/2004 20:25 Comments ||
Top||
Foreign countries that own prime city real estate worth more than $200 million have found an easy way to avoid property tax in New York City - just refuse to pay.
When the city sends a bill, deadbeat nations often just ignore it. When a city tax assessor knocks, they often will not open the consulate door.
In fact, at least seven countries currently have balances due of $106 million in property tax, according to city computer records obtained by the Daily News.
For New York City, those debts present a challenge. By law, the city cannot foreclose or even enforce a lien on a foreign nation's property, even when it is rented or used for commercial purposes - uses that make it partly subject to property tax.
7 WHO ARE SHAMED
Foreign missions are exempt from New York City property tax - but only to the extent that each property is actually used for diplomatic purposes. The city believes this money represents nondiplomatic property taxes.
1 Hungary $49.7 million
2 Phillipines $24.1 million
3 India $22.2 million
4 Guinea $5.4 million
5 Mongolia $2.8 million
6 Nepal $836,000
7 Nigeria $689,000
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/25/2004 1:53:05 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11126 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Well, for starters, deduct the owed amounts from their Foreign Aid, with a nice penalty at, say, the prime rate dating back to when the due date on the taxes passed. Then, for any outstanding amounts beyond that, stop paying any taxes of any kind in those countries and No aid of any other kind, whatsoever, until the debts are paid.
Let's declare something completely new in International Relations: a level playing field.
#6
I have access to a bank account that would pay the Nigerian taxes. If that government will just send me ten percent of the total for fees and paperwork, I'll get right on it.
#7
Just what does Hungary own is NY? All of 5th Avenue?
Posted by: ed ||
10/25/2004 10:02 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Open up the sewers in front of the building. Start permanent "roadwork" blocking all access to the building (especially blocking parking access). Cut electrical and phone wires by "accident". Open up the walkway in front of the building, forcing pedestrians to walk on unstable wooden planks in the middle of gaping holes of stinking mud. Send safety inspectors, ready to declare the building unsafe due to fire and sanitation risks.
If they're serious about getting the money, there ought to be ways to send friendly reminders of why the money is needed.
Posted by: Dr Jimmy OBrien ||
10/25/2004 14:08 Comments ||
Top||
#12
The other option is to simply deduct it from the US payments to the UN with an IOU indicating the remaining can be collected from said cheapskates.
From Compass Direct
A Jordanian judge heard opposing testimony from Christian widow Siham Qandah last week, calling her to the witness stand on October 21 over the disputed use of her children's trust funds by their Muslim guardian. Qandah's statements before Judge Mahmud Zghul of the Al-Abdali Sharia Court in Amman flatly contradicted court testimony given 10 days earlier by guardian Abdullah al-Muhtadi.
As Qandah's estranged brother who converted to Islam as a teenager, al-Muhtadi has been trying to gain custody of her two minor children through Jordan's Islamic court system. Al-Muhtadi had testified in court to Judge Zghul on October 10 that his massive withdrawals of more than $17,000 from the children's orphan trust funds had all been spent "legitimately." Most of the money was used for paying his lawyers' fees in the long-fought custody case, he declared. He also claimed to have given Qandah 750 Jordanian dinars ($1,100) in cash to buy a refrigerator for her daughter Rawan, now 16, and son Fadi, who turns 15 next week.
"I told the judge that I had never received any money from the guardian for a refrigerator," Siham told Compass yesterday. "And he has not been giving me the children's monthly benefits, either. In fact, he has never even visited our family for the past 10 years, to see if we needed anything. My son Fadi is almost 15, and he was only five years old the last time he saw his guardian."
After repeatedly failing to appear in court, al-Muhtadi answered an official court subpoena to testify before Judge Zghul on October 10. When he was again summoned for the October 21 hearing, the court waited until 1:30 that afternoon for him to appear. When the guardian failed to come, Judge Zghul heard Qandah's testimony and then set November 9 for a final hearing on the case. Qandah said the judge spoke with her privately after last week's hearing. The judge reportedly told her that the children's guardian should understand that he was "accountable to Allah," if he was not telling the truth to the court.
"I told the judge that I don't care about the trust fund," Qandah said. "The guardian can take all that money. I don't want it or anything else, just my children." Qandah said that her daughter Rawan, who is the official plaintiff in the pending case to cancel al-Muhtadi's guardianship, will be required to attend the November 9 hearing, when final arguments and testimony on the case will be heard.
In August, Jordan's Supreme Islamic Court upheld an appeal filed by Qandah's lawyer, protesting against the lower court's refusal to disqualify al-Muhtadi as a fit guardian for the children for alleged mishandling of their trust funds. Judge Zghul was instructed by the supreme court to investigate the guardian's actual use of these large sums of money, which he had withdrawn after obtaining written authorization from various Islamic court judges, including the chief justice.
Qandah and al-Muhtadi have been embroiled in a judicial wrangle since 1998, when he filed suit to take custody of the children away from his Christian sister and raise them as Muslims. After Qandah's Christian husband died 10 years ago while serving as a soldier in the U.N. Peacekeeping Forces in Kosovo, an Islamic court produced a "conversion" certificate claiming he had secretly converted to Islam three years earlier. So even though the children were baptized Christians, Islamic law automatically made them Muslims, and their financial affairs could no longer be handled by their Christian mother.
Qandah asked her Muslim brother to become their legal guardian, but to her dismay, he soon began to appropriate the children's monthly orphans' benefits. Later he dipped into their trust funds allocated by the United Nations for them to inherit at age 18, through the Widows and Orphans Fund of the Jordanian army. [Kofi Annan is surely to blame for this!]
After Qandah's brother learned that she had enrolled both children in a Christian school and was taking them to church regularly in Husn, their hometown in northern Jordan, al-Muhtadi opened a case in the Islamic courts to take them into his home to raise as Muslims. The Supreme Islamic Court ruled in his favor in February 2002. Despite court orders to hand over her children or face prison, Qandah has gone into hiding with her children several times over the past 30 months, while appealing for legal or diplomatic intervention to reverse the decision. Her children are blacklisted by court order from leaving the country.
Jordan's royal family, including King Abdullah II and Queen Rania, have actively monitored the case, pledging that Qandah will neither go to jail nor lose her children. But they have stopped short of direct interference in the judicial process.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
10/25/2004 10:47:53 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11129 views]
Top|| File under:
A federal appeals court decided Wednesday that marine mammals have no standing to sue to stop the U.S. Navy from using sonar.
"Yer honor, as my next witness, I call Monstro..."
In upholding a lower court decision, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said the world's cetaceans — whales, porpoises and dolphins — have no standing under the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act or the National Environmental Policy Act. If lawmakers "intended to take the extraordinary step of authorizing animals as well as people and legal entities to sue, they could, and should, have said so plainly," said Judge William A. Fletcher, writing for the panel...
That's the way courts, even the 9th Court of Appeals, sez "Are you outta yer mind?"
"Obviously, I'm very disappointed, particularly on behalf of the cetaceans," Sinkin said. "This decision is a missed opportunity for truly protecting endangered species and an opportunity for extending human stewardship on the planet." Still no comment from his client a Mr. WhEEEE-KK-Kkzzkk-t-Bzzzz-(pop)
The head of Burma's military government, Senior General Than Shwe, has met India's prime minister during a rare trip out of his country. The two sides have signed three agreements on security, cultural exchanges and hydro-electric power. It is the first visit by a Burmese head of state to India in nearly 25 years. The visit has been condemned by Burmese pro-democracy groups in India, who say it encourages military dictatorship and repressive rule in Burma. General Than is leading a delegation of eight cabinet ministers for six days of talks. Earlier on Monday he was given a ceremonial welcome at the colonial-era presidential palace in Delhi, where he was greeted by Indian President Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. General Than's rare journey out of Burma is going ahead despite his prime minister, Khin Nyunt, being ousted last week. India, which once openly supported Aung San Suu Kyi, has been quietly wooing the Burmese military leadership in recent years. Analysts say India is keen to engage Burma to offset China's influence in the region.
China has been making major investments in Burma, including a port that could be used as a naval base similar to the one being built in Pakistan.
Delhi has pushed trade and investment initiatives with Burma since the 1990s as part of its "Look East" policy. Delhi also wants Burma's help in combating rebels operating in the north-east of India.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/25/2004 10:04:25 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11126 views]
Top|| File under:
#2
Additional from Times of India: NEW DELHI: Myanmar said Monday it will not allow its territory to be used for anti-India activities as New Delhi rolled out a red carpet to welcome Yangon's army leader, General Than Shwe. "On the question of insurgent groups, the general conveyed his assurance that Myanmar would not allow its territory for any hostile elements against India," Indian foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told a news conference. The general also said Myanmar would "not hesitate" to take action against such elements, he added.
New Delhi wants Yangon's backing in crushing anti-Indian rebels allegedly hiding out in Myanmar and other neighbouring nations. The rebels have been blamed for a recent wave of bombings in India's northeast that left more than 80 dead and nearly 220 injured. After the meeting, officials from both sides signed three agreements including one on cooperation in "non-traditional security issues" comprising "terrorism, drug-trafficking, organised crime, international economic crime and cyber crime". Sarna said the agreement envisaged exchange of information and personnel. It was also decided to set up a joint consultative group to monitor cooperation in the field, he added.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/25/2004 15:59 Comments ||
Top||
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.
Early results from the weekend's general election showed that five years of UN rule had only deepened ethnic divisions as Kosovo's voters signalled their despair with the Balkan province's administrators. Barely more than half of Kosovo's 1.4 million voters went to the ballot box. While the province's majority ethnic Albanians were struck by apathy, its 130,000-strong Serb minority was seized by anger and completely boycotted the poll. Only a handful of Serbs voted, following calls from Vojislav Kostunica, the Serbian Prime Minister, and the Serbian Orthodox Church to stay away. Mr Kostunica described the election as a "failure". The level of absenteeism prompted Soren Jessen-Petersen, the UN governor in Kosovo, to protest that some Serbs had been intimidated into observing the boycott and had "had their democratic right to vote hijacked". In one success however, the 20,000 Nato soldiers who maintain the peace in Kosovo were not called into action on election day, as the province remained calm.
In Switzerland, temperatures hit a record low at the Jungfraujoch mountain in the Bernese Oberland, while the thickest ozone layer of the last century was measured above Arosa. This coincided with a particularly strong and long-lasting El Niño which affected the weather in South America and Asia. To find out if there were any connections, the researchers gathered metrological data from this time for Europe, the Soviet Union and North America. The data showed that the North Pacific Ocean and Europe were very cold, but there were higher temperatures in Alaska, including the warmest for the whole 20th century in 1941-1942. The ozone layer was also at its thickest over the Artic and Europe.
