On July 15, Human Rights Watch issued a report on the condition of Foreign workers in Saudi Arabia. The revelation that "Guest Workers" are systematically abused in Saudi Arabia should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with that region's history. What a shame that it took Sarah Whitson, executive director of HRW's Middle East and North Africa Division, to finally speak the unpalatable truth. "We found men and women in conditions resembling slavery," said Whitson in the press conference announcing their findings. The report described "the pervasive abuses foreign workers endure...the abysmal and exploitative labor conditions many workers face, and the utter failure of the justice system to provide redress." The real question is this -- why did the Islamic world not uncover these human rights abuses, so close to the holy city of Mecca?
Posted by: ed ||
07/29/2004 12:10:16 AM ||
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#1
"resembling slavery"
Resemble my ass. There is slavery - all over the Magic Kingdom. In very very few places are expats actually given the protection on the books called Labor Law. If you do not work for a Gov't agency, and Aramco is an example, then you are quite literally at the utter mercy of your employer. And the treatment runs the entire range, from good to abysmal.
In '92 I saw it first-hand, as I didn't live in a compound - I was out in the regular shit of Al Khobar, very close to Thoqbah. The poor Indian guy who served as security (he did everything you can imagine under that ruse) for my apartment bldg came to SA for a promise of a job that paid 1500SR / month (approx $390USD). He paid the bodyshop that sold him into slavery for 2 years $1000USD + 1-way airfare to get the "job".
When he arrived, he was offered 700SR (approx $182USD) - take it or leave it. There, without a ticket, he had to take it. Then he was stuffed with about 15 other guys into a 2 bdrm "apartment" and charged for "meals" out of that 700SR - about which he didn't give details on how much they cost, but had a lot to say about how little and how lousy it was for the price. And he worked 16 hrs / day. Multiply him by 5 - for the others who worked in that bldg. Multiply by about 5 million who don't work for a Gov't entity.
If expats like me hadn't paid him to "guard" and wash our vehicles at the bldg, he and his family would've starved. I was gone before his contract was up, so I don't know what became of him. Consider that, in addition to everything, he had to save money for that 1-way ticket home, too - assuming the asshole Saudi he worked for ever released him and gave him back his passport.
I'll not repeat the whole incident where we expats in the bldg found that there was a Filipino nurse locked in the rooftop apartment, held hostage there by the bldg owner. After we found out - and railed at the bldg Mgr that we'd call the police if she wasn't released, she disappeared. Released? Who knows - the asshole Saudi owned several such apt bldgs - and lived in Riyadh.
All of the Human Rights orgs together aren't worth warm spit. They only go where they're allowed, see what they're allowed, know what they're told. They pick on the countries who do the best job regards human rights, not the ones who don't even acknowledge the term. Besides, they'd have a hard time that they're definitely not accustomed to: no 4-5 Star hotels, no wymyn, lousy food, and no booze. Better to holler at the US or the UK, as NY and London are soooo much nicer than Riyadh.
The Islamic World is an utterly and universally dysfunctional collection of despots, thugs, and insane mullahs. The quality of life ranges much wider than most of us will ever see - from incredibly awful to amazingly opulent. The "leaders" of these Islamic shitholes will never do any more than apply a little window dressing or create a farcical showplace for such HR fools to "inspect" and report on. Joke. Total joke.
#4
.com, Good story. There are many stories available like that or worse. Where Filipino women are routinely raped by their employer and/or his/her family members -- or outright prosituted to his friends and family. But what are the women to do? Run to the Philippine Government (Arroyo) who are more interested in having their workers in the ME?
#8
Thx, all. As CF points out - there are, literally, millions more - many much much worse. The Treat Williams movie Escape: Human Cargo (based on the book Flight from Dhahran) is a true story. Worth a look for how even a powerful businessman is helpless if isolated there. The best, however, was a 1980 documentary run on PBS called "The Death of a Princess" - second item on this page. Note it was suppressed because of our State Dept - via Warren Christopher.
Usually you only keep virulent strains of pathogens in Level-4 confinement... SA is the world's primary repository of the Dark Ages of Man.
From Al Muhajiroun
.... it is strange that Muslims have forgotten their brothers who are being oppressed around the world and instead focus all their attention on supporting the kuffar in a sport based on nationalism. .... And to further rub salt into the wound the kuffar's rejoice in their auspicious kufr (disbelief) ceremony of European Cup Football; a sport in which men are worshipped as gods, and depicted as icons of greatness. Footballers such as Beckham, Henry etc are seen as role models and heroes. Muslims forget that these people are disbelievers in Allah and the Messenger (saw). ... Football players are nothing but people of zina (unlawful sexual acts), alcoholism, nakedness, corruption and kufr. In the past entertainers were seen as entertainers alone even amongst the kuffar, but today they are gods of the pitch.
It is forbidden in the Deen (divine religion) of Islam to befriend one's own family if they are disbelievers in Allah, then how can we befriend those kuffar who are not even blood related. .... The Euro Cup is an event where the evils of nationalism are illuminated, people rally behind a particular nation waving the flags of jahiliyyah (ignorance/evil) even though it is an act condemned by Allah (swt) and His Messenger (saw). Muslims have forgotten that the England flag bearing the St George's cross, is the same flag which the crusaders used as a banner when they launched their savage war against the Muslims in the past. Muslims have forgotten that the England flag represents Christianity. To parade the England flag signifies ones allegiance to the kuffar (disbelievers) and their kufr (disbelief), and Allah (swt) has ordained for the believers not to side with the kuffar, and in the event one allies with the kuffar then Allah (swt) declares that person belonging to the party of the Kuffar. ....
O Believers in Allah and the Day of Resurrection, the kuffar murder and torture our people around the world and amidst this they find time to celebrate their religion of football.
O Believers in Allah and the Last Day, remember you have a responsibility to the Muslims around the world, do not befriend, support or ally with the kuffar in any form or manner.
O Believers in Allah and the Final Abode, Allah (swt) has ordained for you to hate, distance and reject the Kuffar and Love, Support and ally with the Believers. ....
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
07/29/2004 7:27:12 AM ||
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#1
You're gonna get your f*ckin 'eads kicked in!
Posted by: Howard UK ||
07/29/2004 7:35 Comments ||
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#2
How in the hell could wipeing these peoiple out be considered genocide? It's self defense. All football (soccer) loving people should be made aware of this. Moose Limbs will be about as welcome in the EU as piss in a beerstine.
#3
Supporting Derby County, (Derby is infected with a sizeable Al-Muhajiroun element), I challenge them to promote this message outside the stadium for the first home game of the new season. (and thereafter if any still remain alive..). By the way, our stadium was conveniently moved out of the Muslim quarter a couple of years ago - can't imagine why?
Posted by: Howard UK ||
07/29/2004 8:13 Comments ||
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#4
Now if they just came out and said Beckham's latest tattoo is wank, I'd have to agree with 'em.
#9
How many more years of praying to their moongod to 'shake the earth' and blahblahblah, that NEVER comes to pass, will it take before they realize their religion is a hoax?
#19
Are you a track official - i.e. within arm's reach - where that becomes an issue? Or are you referring to the 'blurring' effect? Lol! I have some really fun Czech gymnastics clips, but I won't upload and post links - it'd cost me a fortune in bandwidth! Really excellent quality, heh.
#21
I know, you're right. I'll desist. Maybe I can make it a whole week without starting a firestorm, lol!
Oh, almost forgot - have you ever check out this site? Everything's in German, so I miss quite a bit, but what I do get is terrific and hysterical - though some is a little anti-American / anti-Bush in places. Truly a gifted artist!
#25
TGA - I insist you produce evidence! Must maintain Rantburg standards, 'n'all. We can't have people slurring the beautiful game without evidence. What could they find offensive?
#29
I went to see Man Utd-Bayern Munich on Sunday in Chicago. The match itself was crap (pre-season exhibitions usually are) but my friends and I met a couple of outstanding Iranian lads afterward for 80 million pints in the pub.
One guy was from the US, his cousin from Sweden, and they both drank and handled their beer like experts. An Irish guy asked the one guy if he knew how to fly a 747. Everyone laughed.
If the nutjobs would get over themselves, this would be a great world. Since they can't or won't, kill 'em and make the world safe for going to soccer (or going to work or school or on vacation).
#31
TGA - She was the most-photographed fan at the 2000 WC, methinks... Here's another of her and she's featured in this image contrasting Brazil and Turkey.
BEIJING (Reuters) - China may attack Taiwan if the island's President Chen Shui-bian pushes ahead with a plan for a new constitution by 2008, the China Daily on Friday quoted a top Taiwan affairs official as saying. The remarks by Vice Minister of the Taiwan Affairs Office Wang Zaixi were the latest tough words by Beijing toward the democratically ruled island, which it regards as a breakaway province that must be reclaimed by force if necessary.
Beijing sees Chen's goal of adopting a new constitution in 2008 as a drive toward a formal declaration of independence, and has been preparing for a possible military showdown with Taiwan. "New tensions and even a serious crisis in the cross-Straits situation may arise if Chen obstinately pursues his timetable," the China Daily quoted Wang as saying in an interview. "We cannot completely rule out the possibility though it is not at all what we hoped for," Wang said of military conflict. Both sides have held war games this month amid simmering political tensions.
Like a latter-day Laurel and Hardy (if Stan Laurel was a humourless monomaniacal Leninist zealot, and Ollie was even fatter, bereft of any comic ability and a blatant propagandist for murderous thugs) the team of Bob Brown and Michael Moore have hit the boards (reinforced, I hope) to set the politically pure rolling in the aisles with their line in bolshevik banter, soviet slapstick, accessable ascerbity and commie comedy capers.
This pairing sums up the desperation of the left- a millionaire film-maker with a cynical (but accurate) judgement of what strings to pull to siphon the hard to access perpetually outraged dollar from it's normally tight-fisted grip, and a shameless self-rightous sef-promoter who cynically manipulates the votes of the green gullible to push his own hard-line crypto-Trotskyite agenda, and keep himself in a position of executive power without the necessity of large-scale electoral support; hang on, they're like two peas in a pod- horribly deformed, poisonous and dangerously mutated peas, certainly, but no wonder there's such massive mutual admiration.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: tipper ||
07/29/2004 11:41:21 AM ||
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Seeing Michael Moore in the presidentâs box, made me hopeful -for the very first time - that this election just might not be as close as predicted. When youâre relying on Michael Moore and Al Sharpton for support, youâre base isnât as strong as youâd like to think.
Posted by: B ||
07/29/2004 11:56 Comments ||
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#2
Ooops..âyourâ base
Posted by: B ||
07/29/2004 11:57 Comments ||
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#3
you are base it okay by me
Posted by: God whats wrong with craps ||
07/29/2004 11:59 Comments ||
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ATHENS, Greece - Nearly 50,000 telephones at Olympic sites and parts of Athens went dead for more than 10 hours Thursday, officials said. The outage follows a July 12 electricity blackout across southern Greece that raised concern over the stability of public utility networks ahead of the Aug. 13-29 Games. The phones went down during attempts to upgrade the system, officials said.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
07/29/2004 4:41:53 PM ||
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SUBWAY Unveils New European Advertising Strategy — Attack U.S. Symbols, Insult Americans
SUBWAY restaurants in Germany now feature tray-liners and posters promoting the film "Super Size Me." They portray an obese Statue of Liberty holding a package of fries and a hamburger and begin with the bold headline "Why Are Americans So Fat?"
It won't be because I eat at Subway anymore...
"SUBWAY has defined a new low in corporate behavior with this campaign," said Ken Boehm, Chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center. He continued, "Inflaming cultural tensions to increase market share is immoral and dangerous. Americans deserve to know about SUBWAY'S campaign to insult us abroad and to attack our national symbols. We agree with House Majority Leader Tom DeLay when he says, 'This is every bad stereotype about corporate America come true.'"
The translation of the tray-liner is as follows:
HEAD: "Why are the Americans so fat?"
Michael Moore quote: "The only time I have been scared for my life has been going through a McDonald's drive-thru."
The New York Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock asked in Michael-Moore-style this profound question and lived on fast food in a self-experiment for 30 days of only products of the largest fast-food chain in the world. Astonishingly [the results]: 25 pounds more around the ribs, alarming liver count and blood count, which would alarm any doctor.
In his top-Satire, which won the prize for best direction in Sundance 2004 for an outstanding film, Spurlock questions the responsibility of affiliated groups and consumers, the large amount of money that the "fast-food-culture" has made and the alternative — to make the heavy-weighted Americans again a healthier population. An ironic blow to the stomach - loaded with a lot of fat and facts about a questionable mega-industry.
Super Size Me - A true fat film by Morgan SpurlockâŠNow in theaters!
Don't care what you eat? Then do not allow yourself to miss this exciting and important Film about the dangers of poor nourishment — it will open your eyes!
#5
No time to find a more appropriate link, but a customer service email address is:
asksubway(AT)subway.com
Posted by: Carl in N.H. ||
07/29/2004 16:11 Comments ||
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Let them know what you think.
It's the power of the people. The only real power we have left.
http://www.subway.com/subwayroot/Applications/CustServ/frmAskUs.aspx
#9
Well, I for one would be boycotting Subway over this, except that "Thundercloud Subs" gets all my deli sandwich business, anyway. Still, boycott away, fellas--- it certainly got Slim-Fasts' attention...
Because our government subsidizes sugar, corn syrup, sugar beets, and honey!
The farmers produce it for big profit, the stuff gets sold because it's cheap, and it is added to virtually every processed food in the US.
Cut out the socialism, let the market set the price, and Americans would trim down in no time. I went to a low-carb, low-sugar diet and dropped 20 lbs in two weeks!
It's a commie plot to make Americans fat, I tells ya
#13
JDB: Because our government subsidizes sugar, corn syrup, sugar beets, and honey! The farmers produce it for big profit, the stuff gets sold because it's cheap, and it is added to virtually every processed food in the US. Cut out the socialism, let the market set the price, and Americans would trim down in no time.
Actually, sugar is cheaper in the rest of the world. The Federal government subsidizes sugar production, and imposes stiff tariffs on sugar imports above some amount.
The real reason sugar gets added to everything is because it makes things taste better. And the reason obesity is becoming more of a problem is because people are eating too much. Food is, as a proportion of earned income, getting cheaper all the time. And people are choosing to consume more of it in accordance with age-old patterns of human consumption - price relative to income goes down, demand goes up.
#14
At first I thought this was scrappleface. I get my sanswich intake fro Jersey Mike's.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
07/29/2004 17:07 Comments ||
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go the link on the scanned image and watch the trailer. link
looks pretty damn funny. we have become a bunch of fat asses. no point getting pissed at europe for making fun of us. i have a great time making fun of them.
#16
And the reason obesity is becoming more of a problem is because people are eating too much.
ITYM "excercising too little".
As for Subway -- I used to like them. From now on, they can go pound sand. Hell, I feel like going out and beating up Jared for this.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
07/29/2004 17:39 Comments ||
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IIRC one of the reasons Americans are 'fat' is due to the government rewriting the height weight tables in the late 90's, moving such people as Micheal Jordan in his prime to the overweight catagory. Go find a chart circa 80's and compare it to the latest government standards of proper height and weight.
Posted by: Don ||
07/29/2004 17:46 Comments ||
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RC: ITYM "excercising too little".
In the past, few people really exercised. The fitness trend is actually a pretty recent thing, dating back to the 1970's, at the earliest. Before the fitness craze, people weren't obese - they just weren't eating as much.
#21
Ima not understand, why my baby girl 4 inches taller than senior male in family? And why my food bill so high yet so low? Why the beef? Ima only eat smart portions of chicken mcnuggets
Posted by: Kim So Low ||
07/29/2004 19:35 Comments ||
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#22
ROTFL! ..now those are some super-sized sit-upons!
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
07/29/2004 19:36 Comments ||
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#23
lol ima not see imperialist americans pictures before post
Posted by: Kim So Low ||
07/29/2004 19:36 Comments ||
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#24
Why are Europeans so stupid?
It's because they are about 25 years behind on the mass-media learning curve. They haven't learned yet to question the nefarious appeals of advertisers and media lords; dazzle and the appearance of authority are still as good as truth there, especially when they confirm smugly ignorant prejudices.
The latter, ironically, are often as not generated by Hollywood (which is in AMERICA) for that very purpose.
BTW, isn't it utterly bizarre that Lumpy Riefenstahl, the Ham-ass terrorist himself, is cited as an authority on this and the Euros apparently don't even blink?
We were at roughly the same stage of ad/media gullibility when Walter Cronkite was the "most trusted man in America," a notion that seems laughable today.
Advertising whorehouses agencies even tried invoking Euro bigot arrogance in the American market itself back in the 80s. Remember Kelloggs' ad for its revoltingly named "Muslix" processed cereal product? It featured a pompous actor masqerading as an arrogant and condescending German lecturing the audience on the alleged benefits of this nominally Germanoid product. The actor concludes by sneering "Americans!" in the stereotyped manner of a panzer commander who hasn't yet met a 90mm gun.
The ad was a huge flop, and this was 20 years ago.
Incidentally, I am 55 years of age, 6'2" tall and weigh 187 pounds.
#25
The actor concludes by sneering "Americans!" in the stereotyped manner of a panzer commander who hasn't yet met a 90mm gun.
Ha ha! Great line!
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
07/29/2004 19:49 Comments ||
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#26
AC / RM - Take a look at this little ad put out by a group that debunks the faux Science peddled by all sorts of orgs. Pretty funny - much more at the site.
#29
Genetics can certainly be cruel: Listen up, everyone, thou shalt deposit every extra calorie in fat cells here. All of them go here, I said! No, boobs, you can't have any!
#32
Raj: If I ever considered their shit worth eating, I'd join the rest of you in this boycott thaang, but it's thus pointless.
I'm not sure what Subway's edge is in Europe. Euro-style sandwiches involve 1 thin slice of cold cut per sandwich. So do Subway's subs. From a Euro's perspective, what's the big deal? Just so they say they had an American-style cold cut sandwich?
#35
Michael Moore quote: âThe only time I have been scared for my life has been going through a McDonaldâs drive-thru.â
Yeah, I'd be afraid, too, if I weighed that much and was going through McDonald's. Heart attacks kill, don't ya know.
Posted by: The Doctor ||
07/29/2004 22:53 Comments ||
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I ventured into the wilderness of Wal-Mart today looking for a new coffee maker and I must say that if Wally-shoppers represented the general run of the populace in this country, we would be in real trouble.
The place was an absolute freak show, I have never seen a sorrier looking mob this side of Berkeley. From the surly old fat guy (a Wally employee) who growled at me outside the door to the obese slattern who blocked the appliance aisle, it was obvious that the fitness craze has not quite become a universal obsession.
Tattered bermuda shorts and t-shirts with various patterns of nameless stains seem to be the standard uniform for this crowd.
I got some furtively suspicious looks, possibly because certain elements automatically associate neatly trimmed hair and pressed shirts with parole officers and other oppressive types.
I couldn't check out because there were 8 or 10 mountainous shopping carts ahead of me at each regular stand, and the fast checkout seemed to be blocked by a grubby pie-wagon who was engaging the clerk in some sort of dispute about a WIC card.
I finally put down my 9.95 drip coffee maker and made my way out the door, buying one down the road for a whole dollar more and a great deal less aggravation.
#39
I am aware, of course, that lefty elitists also hate Wally-world. They no doubt hate jock-itch as well, but that doesn't necessarily make it a good thing.
#40
Potbelly's subs are good, too. Hell the local Dominick's (a.k.a. Safeway) makes a better sammach than Subway.
The real question on my mind is: why do socialists in the US and abroad worry about 'fat'? Do they get a lot of fat jokes at international conferences or something? Cowboy it up a little!
#42
I live in the ex-urbs (if you want to be fancy, the countryside otherwise LOL)in NY. The small city nearby was wracked by race riots in the 60s - and even more, by the combination of non-competitive industries and NY State anti-business policies. It's slowly coming back, as Latino and other immigrants move in and as professionals fleeing NYC after 9/11 have begun to buy homes in the area. New restaurants etc. don't make a huge number of jobs, but it's a start.
The Wal-Mart in the area is a godsend to many lower income families, including whites from the countryside whose modest homes are suddenly worth a lot more, and owe higher taxes, as fancier new homes go up nearby. The merchandise tends to be lower end and the demographic isn't fancy ... but it's actually a lot more diverse than the stereotype.
Last time I was there, I parked near several luxury sport sedans (BMW 325ci, Acura TSL), a bunch of expensive SUVs and ...
2 Hummer 2s. Interesting.
Lowes just opened up nearby, and the Home Depot has been there for years. Net result: a range of household items within a mile of each other.
I've been seeing more and more immigrant families buying fix-up supplies and inexpensive lawn furniture etc. in the last few months at all 3 stores. Good trend.
Posted by: ed ||
07/30/2004 9:59 Comments ||
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#44
When Burgergate is deconstructed, it looks a lot more like Godzilla movie poster than 9/11. Check out the comparisons at http://warcheerleaders.tripod.com
Posted by: WCW ||
08/09/2004 7:40 Comments ||
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French hospitals could not cope with a repeat of the heatwave which killed almost 15,000 people last summer, a prominent doctor said on Thursday. Patrick Pelloux, an emergency doctor who led attacks on the government over its handling of the 2003 heatwave, said there were not enough hospital beds or staff available. A "heatwave alert plan" unveiled by the government in May would not be enough to cope, he said. "The only thing that has incontestably changed compared to last year are prevention measures for a heatwave and the alert system," Pelloux, head of the AMUHF association of emergency doctors, told reporters. "But the problem is: Who to alert? As we are understaffed and as there have been too many closures of beds, we would not be able to cope if there was a massive influx (of patients)."
"Therefore, we require that these patients stay home and die."
The death toll during last year's heatwave far exceeded those of neighboring countries hit by similar temperatures. Most victims were elderly and suffered dehydration as temperatures passed 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). An official report blamed the heat-related deaths on poor organization, a lack of communication and key staff being away on holiday. The government's plan, to be active from June 1 to October 1 each year, includes a new weather and health alert service, a database of people at risk from heat-related illness and a response plan for hospitals and voluntary aid workers.
Health Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said in May a special committee had been set up to ensure emergency units received an extra $600 million set aside over five years. But Pelloux said funding was still insufficient. "If there is no real willingness to make the public hospitals more dynamic in all sectors, we will again see disasters and important bottlenecks in emergency services," Pelloux said. Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin's conservative government is trying to reform France's expensive health care system, long hailed as one of the world's best. Under the heatwave plan, a "heat risk" map updated at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. will be sent to the media, along with advice and recommendations from the Health Ministry. Douste-Blazy has also said he aims to increase overtime to ensure experienced staff are always available.
What? They would work more than 35 hours a week? Mon dieu!
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/29/2004 2:25:51 PM ||
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#1
Can you imagine if 15k Americans died in one summer (for any reason)? The press would crucify Bush (and rightly so). The Democrats would win and outright majority in both houses without breaking a sweat. But in France they re-elect them with a strong majority! Oh please can we have a healthcare system like that?
#3
I bet that bastard Kofi has been dipping his mitts into the "Oil for Air Conditioners" fund again.
Posted by: Dar ||
07/29/2004 14:44 Comments ||
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#4
Oh please can we have a healthcare system like that?
The Kerry/Edwards ticket promises that very thing for Americans...universal mediocre healthcare...it must be good, it's "free" isn't it?
An official report blamed the heat-related deaths on poor organization, a lack of communication and key staff being away on holiday.
Perhaps many of you don't realize this nasty factoid, but Jacques Chirac was vacationing in Quebec, courtesy of Cdn. "workies", the whole time the healthcare crisis occured in France last summer. "No worries," said Jacques to Jean, "I'll just turn off my cell phone. We can still go fishing with no interruption. My it's nice and cool here in Quebec."
Posted by: rex ||
07/29/2004 15:02 Comments ||
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Sarge, don't forget that given his close relationship with the Almighty (which the Left hates also), they'd blame Bush for letting it get so hot in the first place!
#8
Global warming was Bush's fault last sumer, why not this?
Posted by: Mr. Davis ||
07/29/2004 16:23 Comments ||
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#9
I should NOT have used the word" factoid" in my #4 post, perhaps implying I was not being serious and stating "fact," #7. It is a fact that Jacques Chirac enjoyed an un-interrupted vacation in Quebec with Comrade Chretien, all the while that 10,000 French citizens were dropping like flies in Paris not only because of the heat but because of the excessive demands placed on France's socialized medical system and lack of proper communication[ie. leadership] to deal with the crisis. Keep in mind that the official French report blamed among other things "key staff being away on holiday." I don't doubt that Chirac was one of the key officials the report alluded to.
Posted by: rex ||
07/29/2004 16:34 Comments ||
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#10
Well, at least we know how the French are planning to solve their pension problem.
#11
#10-A little too close to the truth-this cost saving measure is being implemented all over by the "international community"-don't do anything but talk until people are dead-Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur...then moan about how nothing was done.
#12
The difference between America and France is so obvious. A major heat wave hit Chicago a few years back. The ward bosses were out in droves knocking on doors, distributing fans, and promising to make sure any increase in the old folk's electric bill would be worked out. Them's votes. No matter how much you may dislike machine politics, at least well run ones do make sure its not just the dead that vote.
Posted by: Don ||
07/29/2004 17:54 Comments ||
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#14
Dreadnought-Me, too. Humor combined with cutting truth-what will the French ever do with that combination?
A nation that abandons its elders for weeks at a time so they get a vacation at the breezy sea or the cool mountains while Grandma slowly bakes to death is a nation which should have no word for "love".
#15
A nation that abandons its elders for weeks at a time so they get a vacation at the breezy sea or the cool mountains while Grandma slowly bakes to death is a nation which should have no word for "love".
It doesn't. 'Amour' means 'sex partner on the side'.
Vandals painted swastikas and satanic symbols on 32 tombstones at a Jewish cemetery in eastern France, officials said Wednesday.
That's because you don't have to worry about dead guys getting up and beating the crap out of your candy ass...
The damage was discovered Wednesday morning by someone visiting a family grave site at the cemetery in the Alsatian town of Saverne, officials said. Despite a series of government measures, anti-Semitic attacks have increased in recent years in France, frequently coinciding with rising tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. A recent report by the French Interior Ministry found 510 anti-Jewish acts or threats in the first six months of the year, compared with 593 for all of 2003. Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin said two suspects confessed to scrawling Nazi graffiti in May on a memorial in northeast France to honor Jewish soldiers who died in the Battle of Verdun in World War I.
Roll out the guilletine, cut their heads off, and it won't happen again. At least nobody'll confess, anyway...
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/29/2004 12:00:00 AM ||
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#1
Well you sniveling POS de Vallepin was it NAZIs or Moose Limbs. I am guessing the latter. But we will never know because your worthless ass will never say.
#3
Now why would any Jew want to leave that environment? After all, it's not like the last time the French bigots expressed their freedom of hate speech towards Jews it led to genocide or anything. I mean, let's not over react here.
Filmmaker proclaims: 'They will not get away with it this time'
It's not known if he'll call his next movie "Florida 9/11," but filmmaker Michael Moore is vowing to be an election monitor in the Sunshine State this November. "I am coming to Florida," the director of "Fahrenheit 9/11" promised Florida's delegation to the Democratic National Convention in Boston. "Together we will guarantee to every Floridian that their vote will be counted this year. I will have my cameras. We will put a huge spotlight on them. They will not get away with it this time."
The director claims the 2000 vote count was tainted despite numerous recounts in Democrat-supervised counties which gave Bush a 537-vote victory, providing him with the needed electoral votes to win the presidency over Al Gore, who won the national popular vote. "Too many people fought for too many years to guarantee that every American citizen would have the right to vote and that their votes would be counted," Moore said. "Too many people died for that right, and we are not going to dishonor those who gave their lives in civil rights struggles by allowing these people to steal a second election."
Continued on Page 49
Some "Taxes" are invisible, hidden in the higher prices of things we buy. One such "tax" is huge, costing the average American family of four at least $2,884 every year in the higher price tags of everything from hamburger to health care. This government-imposed burden is higher in America than in any other industrialized nation on Earth. Call it the "Lawsuit Tax," the huge cost that lawsuits and the threat of lawsuits adds to everything. One member of Congress has done more to increase this secret tax on Americans than has any other lawmaker. John Edwards is a Democratic U.S. Senator from North Carolina, elected to his first and only term in 1998 with massive financial backing from his fellow trial lawyers. Edwards was picked by 2004 Democratic candidate Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts to be his vice presidential running mate. If Kerry and Edwards are elected on November 2, this invisible "Lawsuit Tax" on American consumers will likely skyrocket as the trial lawyers who now own the Democratic Party and its candidates take control of the entire Executive Branch of the U.S. Government.
...After moving to Raleigh in 1981, Edwards became a plaintiff's personal injury lawyer, eventually specializing in cerebral palsy patient lawsuits that blamed their mothers' doctors for causing this medical condition by waiting too long before performing caesarian sections to give birth to his clients. In one famous case Edwards swayed a jury and won a multimillion-dollar judgment by dramatically playing the part of the unborn child struggling in the womb. Because of the courtroom success of Edwards and trial lawyers who have imitated him, doctors who used to perform caesarian sections in six percent of births now deliver 26 percent of babies by C-section. The procedure adds enormously to the expense of delivering a baby, as well as to prolonged healing, pain and injury to mothers. And as ABC "20/20" anchorman John Stossel reported, the old rate of cerebral palsy among children has not declined in the slightest. This suggests that Edwards built his entire career and $70 million fortune on a wrong assertion, perhaps even a lie. The failure to do caesarian births apparently never was a cause of cerebral palsy; had it been, its incidence would have declined measurably as caesarian births jumped more than fourfold.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: rex ||
07/29/2004 4:16:10 PM ||
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#1
This suggests that Edwards built his entire career and $70 million fortune on a wrong assertion, perhaps even a lie.
How does this scum sleep at night?! Seriously. Edwards is corruption. UK TV (Channel 4 News) tonight was repeating the lie that Edwards came from a 'poor' millworking family. What a sleazeball.
#2
Let's not forget all the suits he helped bring against Big Tobacco, helping to put thousands of tobacco farmers in his home state out of work.
Whatta guy.
#3
Bulldog, I believe that John Edwards is truly more dangerous to America than Kerry. Edwards is the Prince of Darkness waiting in the wings to move into the WH in 2008. This guy is slick and he has that innocent all American boyish look, that would entise a bird out of a tree into a birdcage in 2 winks.
For further information on Edwards and his backers-trial lawyers-check out Manhattan Institute's website devoted to the US litigation system: www.PointofLaw.com
John Edwards' name appears every couple of entries. Did you know for example that 76% of US obstreticians have been sued at one time or another? Would that be viewed as a "normal" statistic in any other nation except in America, where the Trial Lawyers Association has such strong influence??? Edwards himself used junk science to win the cerebral palsy case, pure and simple.
This guy is a pathetic joke in terms of his marketing as serving the "little guy." I read an article a couple of days ago that did research on Edwards, discovering in the course of investigation that he never donated one pro bono hour of time to help poor people since he went into private practice. I rest my case.
Posted by: rex ||
07/29/2004 19:50 Comments ||
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#4
Thanks for the link, rex. I agree Edwards is slick, boyishly charming, a real smooth talker. A nd a complete fraud. His professional life is tremendously parasitic, greedy, predatory, amoral and self-serving. I do hope the Republicans use this to great advantage in the next few months. If played to kill, exploiting Edwards' ugly truths could surely devastate the Dem ticket. Run ads featuring medical professionals who've been devastated by Edwards' deceitful lawsuits, for instance. No need to worry about making the campaign personal - for most of the American left it's been personal since 2000.
#5
I wonder what Patrick Henry would say about the current crop of weeds that populate his former field.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
07/29/2004 20:38 Comments ||
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#6
I do hope the Republicans use this to great advantage in the next few months. If played to kill, exploiting Edwards' ugly truths could surely devastate the Dem ticket
I hope so, too, BullDog. But unfortunately the Republicans don't seem to have that go for the jugular, killer instinct that the 'Rats have perfected to an art. Most of the current batch of republican politicians[exemplified by GOP Senator Majority Leader, Bill Frist, himself an MD] act like the stereo-type of the party...ie. nice morally upstanding middle class gentlemen in checked golf pants and Polo shirts. I think the Pubies need to spend a think tank weekend with Arnold the Governator and get some of his no-holds barred "girlie men" attack words and mano a mano confidence before doing a press conference. Currently, following GWB's and Frist's lead, the Pubie's are much too gentlemanly ie. hopeless against the 'Rats.
Posted by: rex ||
07/29/2004 20:39 Comments ||
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#7
I wonder if any attack on Edwards would work anyway. After all, he got his millions by convincing people that anything bad that happens to someone is the fault of a large corporation with lots of money.
How many people are susceptible to "evil large corporations are out to screw us, so let's screw them right back?"
After John, Jr. spoke last night, I went to see what MSNBC was saying about it. Lo and behold, Zellie was on there. Brokejaw thought he'd kick some ass, so he floated a question to Zell as to the "attacks on Max Cleland's patriotism" from the Pubs. Zell esplained to da man the following: Zell said he has known Max for 30 years and Max is a good friend of his. Zell offered 2 reasons for the Cleland loss to Chambliss. First, Max faced a 'competent, eloquent, well-financed opponent', and second, Max "voted with Kennedy and Kerry, not what a good Georgian Senator votes for. Silence for about 5 seconds. Then Brokejaw signed off. No follow-up, no other questions. It was a true "Emily Latella" moment. Zell, like all Marines, "Kicked Ass and Took Names".
#2
Zell Miller is one Democrat I love to hear speak. What a smart eloquent statesman, with common sense and social grace to boot. I hope GWB offers Zell a high profile cabinet post after the next election - State Dept?? or perhaps, Homeland Security or Transportation?? GWB needs to usher Ridge and Mineta back to civilian ranks, and with Colin Powell retiring...Zell would be perfect for State. So many choices!
P.S. Dough Boy Matthews gives me the creeps. Brokejaw should stick to writing more WWII books and less yapping and showing his left wing mitigated ignorance.
Posted by: rex ||
07/29/2004 19:07 Comments ||
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#3
Zell is the man!
I can't wait until he speaks at the GOP Con!
The gentleman really needs to change parties;
Ralph Hall of Texas just went GOP and he's 80!
#4
Zell Miller I know will be big time. Unfortunately, I'm going to be on pins and needles until the president's acceptance speech is a rip-roaring success, but Ralph Hall admitted that he defected to better serve the interests of his district, declaring that he didn't see the GOP majority going away any time soon ...
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
07/29/2004 20:57 Comments ||
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#5
Yup, I watched this last night and Zell got on 'em pretty good. Zell straightened Brokaw out real fast when the latter tried to assert that Max Cleland's election loss was done in by dirty tricks. Zell pointed out that any man who voted with Ted Kennedy 90% of the time wasn't going to be elected Senator from Georgia. Heh.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/30/2004 0:21 Comments ||
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#6
HA, HA! Zell got his ass kicked by Matthews tonight. I hope you guys were watching.
#8
What Zell had to say, and said so well, only seems unhinged to the unhinged. You don't like what he said? Find a mirror, quick, and you'll see your ass nailed to the wall. Where it belongs - right next to the extinct Nazi and Commie and Maoist. Save a spot for the Islamists, K?
Hear that? That's Derek & Cloon sucking air. They have nothing else to retort with because they have no substance, no purpose, no point in existing if everyone fails to toe their PC line and buy into their fantasy. Lol! Jack-off somehwere else if that's the best you can do, children.
As for Mathews, he suffers from that pussified America delusion that you can say and do anything you want - without repercussions. Wrong. And if we still had dueling, dead wrong. There are still a few people left from Zell's generation who have not tucked their tails between their legs and learned to be a pliant pet just to gain the approval of the most mind-fucked simpleton social engineers ever to hit our shores. Fuck 'em, Zell. Say it again, bro. Take 10 steps, turn...
#9
LOL. I love how you neocons canât take criticism when your party does the exact thing you criticized others for.
.com, you get your shorts in a wad; turn red and start throwing curses, anonymously of course.
.com, youâre a poster child applauding a turncoat who only spoke up as he was walking out the door. I'd bet you vilified Jeffords too. Oneil was crucified for it. $10 says Zell has a book out in 60 days.
I've no problem that ol' Zell was a turncoat. The fact he turned into a ranting, threatoning maniac the second he went GOP cant be lost though. Too funny and atypical.
Some things he said were true. For instance (paraphrasing here) he hated people who called our troops occupiers and he was one marine who wont take it.
One problem. Bush called our troops occupation forces once or twice. So Zell's a bit confused in that he is supporting the person that marine cant stand. And LORD help that Matthews ask him to back up his claims.
#10
LOL, indeed, Cloon! Finally received your DUmmy Talking Points, eh? Hmmm, much later than the others. You must be pretty far down the DhimmiFoodChain. Take care, sonny, when the meltdown becomes apparent to McAuliffe & Co they'll leave the blind little tools like you still holding your cute little signs and drooling down your bibs.
BTW - I'm no neo, as if you have a clue what a neocon really is. I'm a very happy former DhimmiCrat, little one, like Zell. I got out - you should give it a try - it's amazing what you can do with your brain when you stop gumming it up with fuckwit socialist twaddle.
Looking at his comments with that paid shreiker Crissie Madthews, I was actually even more proud of him - it's about time people started putting your little Howdy Doody propaganda outlets in their place: on the floor, cowering, and saying "Yes, Sir." to their betters. I would've preferred Zell take a taxi over there and turn Crissie over his knee, but he had other fuckwit Howdy Doodies on his schedule.
I only wish you were capable of enjoying it as much as the thinking world. You can, just toss off the Dhimmicrat yoke - and begin to think for yourself - for a change. Sad little tool.
#11
Oh, .com? Here's the Matthews/Miller transcript.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5892840/
If you're man enough, scroll down and read the Zell portion. It's quite funny. He wont answer yes or no, says he wishes he was in Matthews face (vs live feed) but wont agree to come over. Your hero Zell had his 15 minutes of fame and flamed out like a cheap firework. LOL.
Brief clip:
MATTHEWS: Iâm just asking you, Senator, do you mean to sayâI know thereâs rhetoric in campaigns. I just want to know, do you mean to say that you really believe that John Kerry and Ted Kennedy do not believe in defending the country?
MILLER: Well, look at their votes.
MATTHEWS: Iâm just asking you to bottom-line it for me.
MILLER: Wait a minute. I said I didnât question their patriotism.
MATTHEWS: No. Do you believe that they donât believe in defending the country?
MILLER: I question their judgment.
What?
MATTHEWS: Do you believe they want to defend the country?
MILLER: Look, I applaud what John Kerry did as far as volunteering to go to Vietnam. I applaud what he did when he volunteered for combat. I admire that, and I respect that. And I acknowledge that. I have said that many, many times.
Read on it gets better. Bring on Zell!! MORE ZELL!!!
#12
No, .com, you're a neocon. You just wont admit it. Real repubs dont wave their arms and start cursing when questioned. They're smart people with a different political view who discuss things.
You're a right winger who likes screaming, calling playground names and spouting unresearched party lines and that's apparent. I've been debating folks like you for years. You're a stereotypical knuckle dragger and no sport.
#13
Lol! Ah, such a presumptuous, proper, poofta and ponce, lol!
I heard every word of the speech and the interview - downloaded them, in fact. Your silly posts make no salient points - just the usual result of pure inductive reasoning: vacuous self-gratification. Sticky and, as I said, pointless.
The speech and the interview resonated for millions of people - you did notice those people in Herald Square applauding Miller when he bitch-slapped your Howdy Doody? Did you filter that out? Lol! Apparently your ears are as gummed up with Dhimmidonk excreta as are the neural pathways of your BioCPU, lol!
Just remember the "Yes, Sir." and you'll be able to maintain some semblance of perspective. Meltdown this way comes, Dhimmi. Better buy some paper towels! Lol!
I have this little offering...
But it's too late, your're 'round the bend already.
This is an old thread, and your repostes are threadbare. I agree we're finished, poofie. Hie thee back to the DUmmy Cave. Buh Bye!
#14
Zell Miller was the one doing the ass-whooping, not Matthews. Get that much right.
Posted by: Jeff Hamlin ||
09/03/2004 0:03 Comments ||
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#15
Amen, Jeff. In your honor, and in honor of Zell taking that cheesedick to the woodshed, I offer one of my favorite images, lol! Use wisely, but use often, my friend!
I find it interesting that the further that people like you get into a corner the bigger the words get and then *BOOM* pics start appearing because you cant articulate.
All smoke no fire. Like I said typical. zzzzz
Going to work. Have a good day.
ps, Jeff. When did threatening someone, then refusing to come over and do it, and not answering a simple yes/no question become an ass-whoopin? You have your RW goggles on.
Hell, even the real neocons that I debate elsewhere (as opposed to ol' .com wanabee here) admit Zell could've done better.
Anyone can get on a podeum and make charges and accusations. The real speaker will back it up when asked too. Zell wouldnt do that.
Matthews, O'Reilly, etc are rapid fire interviewers. Miller knew what he was getting into and theye were fair questions.
#17
Cloon, Zell hasn't left the Dimocrat Party, much as you would like him to.
And President Bush probably shouldn't have used the word "occupation" about Iraq, but that's over now that Iraq has sovereignity.
Just because the President used that word a few times doesn't make the Left's overuse of the word, particularly in regard to the Israeli- "Palestinian" situation, acceptable.
Sen. Miller made a very valid point--calling the presence of our troops in a foreign place an "occupation" is a code word that gives our enemies a carte blanche to mount a "resistance."
It's a code word and Zell was acknowledging this when we talk about ourselves and our troops.
The bad guys can call us "occupiers" but we need to recognize ourselves as "liberators" as we've done in every war we were in before Vietnam.
Lastly, the Sen. busted Crass Matthews for being the overbearing boor that he is.
Like Kerry and the Dimocrats, he'd been asking for this comeuppance for a long, long, long time.
Zell was clearly on a roll and not in the mood to be messed with!
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/03/2004 10:46 Comments ||
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#19
oops because it was....I thought it was re: convention speech....:-(
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/03/2004 10:47 Comments ||
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#20
GJ,
Except for the silly name calling, not bad.
You're holding a double standard. The president can say it but no one else can. I'm sorry but it's not flying with stuff Kerry said 30 years ago and it's not flying now.
Watch your words. The definition of sovereignity is "Supremacy of authority or rule as exercised by a sovereign or sovereign state"
If Iraq is sovereign, we may as well just pull out. Not going to happen. We have the cash and security. We wont do anything we dont want to over there and they sure as hell arent going to tell us to. We will help them there but they arent by a long shot. There would be civil war the second we pulled out.
I see alot of the troops in Iraq but only occasionally are they called Occupation Forces. It's rare that I hear it.
If we are ther against the will of the majority we are occupiers though. We'll never know. There are much bigger issues. Occupiers vs liberators depends on which end of the AC130 you're on.
How can Miller threatening Matthews and refusing to answer yes/no questions on what he said be defined as giving a comeuppance? Did he think Matthews would not ask a tough question on a program called "Hardball"? I've seen Matthews twist Dems into a pretzel also.
He should have gone on O'Reilly like Bono and just had a good ol' backslappin'. I think that's what you're looking for.
In a leaked excerpt of the nomination acceptance speech John Forbes Kerry will deliver tonight at the Democrat convention, the presidential candidate will tell undecided voters: "I'm one of you."
Political strategists agree the message should resonate with the independent and undecided Americans who Democrats and Republicans alike view as their most valued constituency.
"If you don't know for whom you should vote, or how you stand on the important issues of our day," Mr. Kerry will say, "you have a brother in John Kerry. I'm one of you."
The Democrat National Committee has already produced thousands of red, white and blue placards that delegates will wave during the speech which read: "Undecided for Kerry."
#1
Ev'ry Democrat loves John Forbes Kerry,
Ever important and solemn is he,
In Vietnam he once did fight,
He's haughty and French-like, isn't that right?
They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning,
No-one you see, changes views so quickly,
And we know Flipper lives in a mansion his wife owns,
Did not earn on his own, wealth he married!
(Apologies to Ivan Torsk and to the world's dolphins.)
Posted by: Mike ||
07/29/2004 16:40 Comments ||
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#2
Hey yawl catch my act the other night! Yoa! Had that sucker swimming like Spitz!
Hey know the best way to find Japaneese take out?
Yeah! Follow the dolphins!
#3
Yep, the other day when my chauffer was driving my wife and I from our other mansion to our new Gulf Stream III out at the private airport - I thought - "I'm a regular guy, just like John Kerry". :-)
Posted by: A Jackson ||
07/29/2004 20:20 Comments ||
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Subtitle of article is:"The party doesn't get it: Most voters hate what those people stand for."
LA Times-If user name and pw are needed: sparklebottom for both
Written by a die-hard Democrat voter who sees that the Democrats have less in common with mainstream America than "the square root of minus one"[to borrow a phrase from EE Cummings]
...In the few days I have been here, I have attended lavish soirees thrown by regional telecom giants, consumed the free lunch proffered by other regional telecom giants and gotten word of '60s heroes feted by weapons manufacturers. But the picture came together for me only at an afternoon get-together sponsored by a film industry lobby called the Creative Coalition.My first hint that there was something different and decidedly nondemocratic about this party was when, immediately upon arrival, I was ushered into a corner where none of this sumptuosity was available and told to stay there and not to mingle with everyone else because I was with the press and was hence a suspicious and second-class character. (As it turned out, the solution to this insulting situation was simple: I removed my press credentials.)Once I was back among the partygoers, the reason for my sequestering became clear: There were celebrities here. Indeed, the entire party was a transplanted bit of Southern California, complete with the social hierarchy that, it seems, must be imposed whenever celebrities appear anywhere...Before long, I learned to identify the celebrities because they were the ones who were always illuminated by portable spotlights and were constantly talking into cameras...
The Democrats are today a party that has trouble rallying its historical working-class constituency, losing more and more of its base every four years to some novel culture-war issue invented by the wily Republicans: blasphemous art, Ten Commandments monuments in courthouses, the dire threat of gay marriage. Behind their success stands a stereotype, a vision of liberals as an elite, a collection of snobs alternately permissive and moralistic, an upper class that believes it is more sophisticated and tasteful than average people. Continued on Page 49
Posted by: rex ||
07/29/2004 2:55:04 PM ||
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#1
T. Frank is a hardcore lefty who doesn't like the connotation of limousine liberals. But the ones who ride limousines find it so fun I doubt they'll pay him any heed.
I don't know that he is, but Orrin Judd makes a persuasive case for why he might want to throw that in to his acceptance tonight. Follow the link and see why.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/29/2004 2:28:57 PM ||
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#8
Yes, I believe he will resign his Senate seat. It'll happen right after that part in his acceptance speech where he tells us what he ACTUALLY stands for.
#12
Raj, I don't know what I'd pick as the best moment of his governorship. I'm torn between him jumping in the Charles River after giving a speech or passing out at Framingham State due to the old "flu like symptoms" while actually giving the commencement speech.
#13
The best moment of his governorship (for me) is when he laid me off from the Mass. Dept. of Revenge Revenue. Dukakis' 'Revenue Initiative' (AKA audit everyone in sight) got me on 4 years prior.
When are we hooking up for amber colored liquids, btw?
#14
Kerry won't resign his Senate seate because it gives him a fall-back position when he loses in November. Besides, if he resigned now the Governor would probably appoint a Republican. He's hedging his bets. I said it a long time ago.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
07/29/2004 17:21 Comments ||
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#15
With the number of votes he's missed this year? If he resigned from the Senate he wouldn't gain any additional time and he would open up the late night comedian comparisons to his non-performance. Not a bright move.
#16
For the record, I don't think Ketchup Kerry is going to resign either because he strikes me as being too risk-averse to consider it--but the reasons why it would be good for him to do so are, I think, pretty persuasive.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/29/2004 19:03 Comments ||
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#17
Deacon - The Dem hacks in Mass are trying to derail Romney's potential appointment of a vacant Senate seat. The bad news - they have a vetoproof margin to work with.
August will mark the anniversary of the needless death of tens of thousands of innocents, of callous disregard for the widespread suffering of the weak on the part of imperious governments. No, the anniversary has nothing to do with Iraq: It will have been one year since a heat wave swept Europe, killing more than 25,000 of the elderly and unprotected (15,000 in glorious France alone). The death toll wrought by nonchalant neglect in Europe last August remains considerably higher than the total number of fatalities in Iraq since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom—friendly, enemy and civilian combined.
The American Left never blinked as the real "old Europe" perished in the multitudes. There wasn't a whisper of criticism of those "more humane" European governments whose apparatchiks refused to interrupt their summer vacations to respond to the mass dying among Europe's pensioners. Those admirable European health-care systems failed horrendously—yet they remain, of course, the models to which we should aspire (no matter that every European I know prefers private care, if they can afford it). Had the Bush administration allowed over 25,000 elderly Americans to die while our president cut brush at his ranch, howls of outrage would have shaken the heavens. The Left would have reminded us all of the virtues of Euro-socialism and the evils of a marketplace society. No matter that, with far higher temperatures routine in the U.S., such a massacre-by-neglect has never happened here and never will. Reality has no weight for the ideologues who cannot live without the conviction that only the United States is ever guilty.
The silence of the Left in the face of uncomfortable truths is a hallowed tradition, of course, dating back to the earliest crimes of the Soviet Union. When the reality confronting the Left contradicts the theory, the theory must be preserved at any cost. And there's no sign of improvement, not a glimmer of the least scrap of conscience or integrity on the Left. It's all about revenge against a democratic system that gives a blue-collar worker a vote equal to that of a university professor's ballot, about hatred for the free market for providing better lives for the great majority while Marxism drowned in the bile of its victims. There's no one the new American Left so despises as the working man or woman who continues to believe in the United States.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: tipper ||
07/29/2004 11:46:45 AM ||
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#1
Iâm book-marking this one. Iâve been reading the internet for yearsâ¦and Iâve read many an excellent piece. This isâ¦.the VERY best â¦.that I have EVER read. It says EVERYTHING and MORE than I could ever hope to say.
Jeezeâ¦Iâm almost tempted to send it to my family members and cement my alienation from them foreverâ¦..
Ahâ¦but maybe notâ¦.they may be misguidedâ¦but I still love them.
Posted by: B ||
07/29/2004 12:48 Comments ||
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#3
I donât know what OWNZ means, but I just ordered every book heâs ever authored on Amazon. I suppose my time might be better spent writing my resume to get a job, than reading Ralph..but itâs worth it (especially since I got one of his books for .01â¦but not to worry the rest cost me more) How else can I say âthanks!â???
I Luv ya, Ralph! Yoo dah man!!!
Posted by: B ||
07/29/2004 13:09 Comments ||
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#4
He's quite a few really awesome articles and is suggested reading by Stephen DenBeste.
#5
Hell, where was Europe's Left? Has a single politician been held accountable? Seems as if they're all happy to go to there deaths as long as "their guy" is in power.
Chirac: "I hear it's very cool 2 meters under"
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
07/29/2004 13:35 Comments ||
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#6
I like this guy!
Anyone remember the movie 'Logans Run'. Kind of campy and corney but didn't that feature the killing of the elderly in favor of the productive youth? Seems like France is practicing it.
The Kerry campaign event at the Kennedy Space Center's Visitor Center (outside the Space Center itself) was planned as a private event with all attendees hand picked by the Kerry campaign. According to NASA sources Sen. Bill Nelson suggested on the spur of the moment that Kerry and his entourage ought to go onto the Space Center itself and look at the inside of space shuttle orbiter. NASA tends to take a Senator's requests seriously and they did their best to oblige. Originally Kerry's visit was to be confined to the KSC visitor's center. This new request was not part of the original planned visit. In order to visit the inside of a shuttle orbiter in the Orbiter Processing Facility, you need to wear a bunny suit. Everyone does.
NASA sources reveal that NASA KSC gave the Kerry campaign people about 30 CDs, which were to be distributed to local media by the Kerry people. The photos in question were on these CDs. Local reporters were seen with with these CDs later in the afternoon. As such, assuming that the reporters got the CDs from the Kerry campaign, the Kerry people distributed the photographs themselves! There was no "leak". Kerry's staff asked the NASA Public Affairs Office (PAO) for photos - and NASA provided them. Since the photos were made with government resources, they were eventually posted on the KSC website - after the Kerry campign had copies. Also, given that they were produced by the government these images can be obtained via FOIA request. Alas, the Kerry people see conspiracies everywhere and immediately pointed a finger at NASA suggesting that the photos had been "leaked" - for what purpose they don't say - but clearly they imply some sinister intent on NASA's part.
Snicker
Hand me a tissue, please...
You don't suppose Mary Beth Cahill will retract anything she's said, do you?
Posted by: Steve ||
07/29/2004 12:10:00 PM ||
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#1
Jeez, I was down there last week. For some reason, we couldn't get this tour. Oh, well, like Edward's said, there really are two Americas.
#3
Kerry's team has made real mistakes all through this campaign. A few weeks ago Kerry shows up in St Louis and his handlers refuse to allow an interview with KMOX radio (50,000 watt clear channel news giant) explaining to the KMOX reporter that they are only talking to TV and the print media. What kind of advance team would show up in town and not know the major news radio station in town? The answer: a team run by northeast liberals who couldn't point to Missouri on a map.
Posted by: Formerly Dan ||
07/29/2004 14:28 Comments ||
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#4
with all attendees hand picked by the Kerry campaign.
#5
The probability that I will vote for Kerry is equivalent to the probability the North American continent will strike Antartica by the end of the year. I did, however, find the Kerry 'bunny suit' pictures to be very cute. He was laughing. It appeared he was having a good time. Nothing really political about it for me.
He needs to horsewhip his staff, they've made a mountain out of a molehill and have continued to provide evidence that the whole bunch of 'em are humorless, crabby lackeys. He's going to lose the election based on the babbling of those morose syco....uh...on the other hand...uh...nevermind...
(oh...man...Dragon Fly...I'm still laughing...good pic!)
"When Army Green Beret Jim Rassman is talking about how John Kerry saved his life," he said, "I'm using some of that footage. It shows the swift boat and various shots of the swift boat, and some firing like you see in the water. Bullets in the water." Entering controversy, director Moll explains how the bullets in the water were not from the actual event. "It's just illustrative."
Why do you think Kerry hired someone from DreamWorks? "It's the Special Effects, Stupid!"
Moll mixes in the homemade Kerry film with stirring strings and a french horn soundtrack.
A "French Horn" soundtrack, you really can't make this stuff up.
Moll is said to manipulate the speed of some of the film. One moving scene shows Kerry in slow motion, in full gear, walking with his gun through the paddies.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/29/2004 11:39:36 AM ||
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#1
I hope there's a scene in it where he screams, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" in slow motion while shit blows up behind him. That'd be original.
BTW, who's going to play him in it?
#3
I hope there's a scene in it where he screams, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" in slow motion while shit blows up behind him.
He has to jump off a little trampoline first, though, for the FULL effect.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
07/29/2004 13:53 Comments ||
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#4
Will he be the one striding through the jungle, t-shirt torn and tattered from his battles (showing his broad, muscular, bare chest for all the ladies), a machine gun in each hand blasting away and yelling like a Dean-ster?
#5
Will we see the action scenes where he earns his three purple hearts (the hangnail, the blister, and the paper cut injuries). I heard he got a bunion, too, but he was out of theater then unfortunately.
Posted by: Dar ||
07/29/2004 14:39 Comments ||
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#7
I am curious as to how a dude that traveled through the Nam with an M-16 in one hand and a Super 8 in the other failed to capture a single war crime on film. The crimes were happening every day and dramatically affected him emotionally. Why, instead, did he waste all his film on his narcissistic fantasies of heroism? It's as if his swift boat crew were passing the time in an incredibly involved roll-playing game where Kerry called JFK.
If the crimes were so horrific that he had to betray all his fellow soldiers, why not collect some evidence?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
07/29/2004 17:19 Comments ||
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#8
Somewhere I saw some of these clips, mebbe after a beer or three. Anyway, the brave Lt was charging right-to-left about 20 feet away. As I recall, he was NOT wearing a flight jacket. I guess we will see tonight!
KERRY WAR COMRADES PREPARE BATTLE -- AGAINST KERRY
Capped by Kerry's primetime speech to accept the Democratic Party's nomination, Thursday's program will include appearances and remarks by Kerry's Swift Boat crewmates, the Kerry-Edwards campaign announced in a press release this morning.
But a group of veterans will soon try to convince a nation how what is presented on the convention stage tonight -- may not be the full story: "Only 2 of John Kerry's 23 fellow Swift boat commanders from Coastal Division 11 support his candidacy today."
A new bombshell book written by the man who took over John Kerry's Swift Boat charges: Two of John Kerry's three Purple Heart decorations (#1 and #3) resulted from self-inflicted wounds, not suffered under enemy fire. The startling Purple Heart accusations, outlined in detail for the first time, are found in UNFIT FOR COMMAND, Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry.
And that's just the beginning. The book, previewed by the DRUDGE REPORT, will be unleashed next month by REGNERY. The book hit #2 on the AMAZON sales chart on the eve of the Kerry acceptance speech in Boston.
Swift Boat Veterans began to fume after Kerry's campaign used a photograph of John Kerry and 19 other Coastal Division 11 Swift boat officers [taken at Ton Sun Nuht Air Base on January 22, 1969] in a pro-Kerry advertisement. William Shumadine, a member of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth pictured in the photograph, explains in UNFIT: "John Kerry's use of a photograph with his nineteen comrades, with knowledge that eleven of them comdemn him and six who cannot or do not want to be involved, is a complete misreprentation to the public and a total fraud."
[A major campaign is being planned, beginning next week, over 200 anti-Kerry vets involved, with news conferences in battleground states.]
Developing...
Now where's my popcorn popper?
Posted by: Steve ||
07/29/2004 11:35:19 AM ||
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Extremely EFL: In an unprecedented display of support from the out-to-pasture PC military establishment, twelve thankfully retired generals and admirals endorsed John Kerry for president of the United States on Wednesday. These distinguished flag officers join the ranks of tens of thousands of veterans -- including over 500 veteran delegates in Boston -- who want a stronger, more secure America and their fellow veteran John Kerry to be the next Commander-in-Chief.
No mention of the Swift Boat Veterans Against Kerry, wonder why?
Kerry arrives in Boston for the convention Wednesday morning where he will be met by 13 crewmates and fellow veterans from Vietnam.
The number 13 seems somehow fitting.
At the 2004 convention, veterans are playing a historic, unprecedented role with over 500 delegates who are veterans in attendance. On Monday, the first ever Veterans Caucus was held. Led by notable veterans like Wesley Clark, former Senator Max Cleland and former Senator Bob Kerrey, over 2,000 veterans and members of military families attended. Veterans have also held grassroots 'Basic Training' sessions to learn how they can help organize veterans in their own communities and help elect John Kerry.
#4
It's a traditional thing.
BTW I should have been president or at least assistant commander in chief under slow Bob Taft. Instead my ass just faded away, and damn faster than I thought. Did you know I'm dead? I'll never forget my last vist to West Point, The Corpse, The Corpse, The Corpse. Most folks didn't realize I was talking about the number of USMC I managed to kill.
#5
Hey everyone is entitled to their opinion. This is just a counter to the book that just came out about Kerry and his movie production in Vietnam. I donât know most of these except for General McPeak. He is every bit of a elitist as Kerry. I know nothing about his early service but his last couples of assignments were given to him by seniority alone and not necessarily by merit. Yes his was the Air Force Chief of Staff but that is because the man before him got fired and they needed a replacement. One was needed quickly because of the run-up to Desert Storm. McPeak was planning his retirement as PACAF commander and was passed over by Bush I. Of course love from the troops was never a measure of the Commander or Patton would be relegated to a very small place in history.
#8
MD: Where's Zinni? I thought be'd be a Kerry booster for sure. Must be holding out for a cabinet post.
I think Zinni's a Republican. A paleo-conservative Republican who happened to be opposed to the war in Iraq. He's grousing about Iraq, but I doubt he would ever endorse Kerry, any more than Pat Buchanan would.
#9
Thanks Zhang. I sure had gotten the opposite impression.
Posted by: Mr. Davis ||
07/29/2004 11:48 Comments ||
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#10
MD: Thanks Zhang. I sure had gotten the opposite impression.
I think he sees the campaign in Iraq as unnecessary and perhaps harmful from a strategic standpoint, not an "America is the root of all evil" standpoint. He's not sure the situation in Iraq will resolve to our advantage or to the Army's advantage, given the complexities involving relations with friendly Arab governments, their hostile publics and a host of unknown unknowns*. I see where he's coming from, but disagree anyway.
* Will terror recruitment pick up? Will Muslim governments collectively agree to defy the US about anti-American terror sponsorship or tolerance? Will Muslim governments turn towards Iran, China or Russia as their primary protectors? In invading Iraq, GWB has effectively decided, whether he's thought about it or not, that developments in all of these areas will resolve in America's favor or that success in Iraq will make them irrelevant.
#11
ZF: In invading Iraq, GWB has effectively decided, whether he's thought about it or not, that developments in all of these areas will resolve in America's favor or that success in Iraq will make them irrelevant.
Another possibility is that he's decided that the War on Terror will be a long fight, and he's hunkering down for a succession of wars with other enemies of the US. Perhaps the world will discover that once GWB sets his mind on something, he is implacable, within the limits of political possibility.
#12
An oldie but goodie: Swift Boat Veterans for Truth An unprecedented meeting of Vietnam war Swift Boat veterans was held Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, May 4th, to oppose Sen. John F. Kerry's candidacy for the presidency on the grounds that he was "unfit" to be Commander-In-Chief.
... More than 200 Swift Boat officers and men signed the letter to Kerry, including all of Kerry's commanding officers, in response to a query sent out by Admiral Hoffman, former Lt. Cdr. John O'Neill (also of Kerry's Coastal Division 11), and others.
How does Kerry rebut charges when his entire chain of command is opposed to him. I don't think anything like this has ever happened. Too bad the media ignores it.
Posted by: ed ||
07/29/2004 12:06 Comments ||
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#13
ZF: The way I look at things now is that it is 1937/38 all over again. Rather than let Hitler take the Sudetenland (sp?) and annex Austria, we are cutting him off at the knees. Not a perfect analogy by a long shot, but the point is that we are taking the fight to the Jihadis before they become more powerful ie have lots of wmd's.
This is clearly an alternative strategy to the one we would historically take. Is it correct? While I believe it is...who knows. The rush to judgement is foolish on all sides. Regardless, I think it is best to put the strategy in play and see it through to a point where results, one way or the other, are clear.
Posted by: remote man ||
07/29/2004 12:21 Comments ||
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#14
Steve-
If Mike McPeak told me the sun came up in the east and the sky would be blue, I would get at least three people to confirm it for me. He did more damage to the USAF in the short time he ran it than the every other enemy we've ever had combined.
Oh please Zhang Feiâ¦this whole âBush canât readâ meme is so lame. Yeahâ¦like they all sat around the Oval Office as well as the Pentagon and it never even occurred to anyoneâ¦especially not Bush, since he canât read (cue the hysterical laughter), â¦this divine wisdom that the war might not end with the entire world holding hands and singing Kumbaya.
You know, Iâm always amazed how that âBush canât readâ joke gets laughter and applause every time single time itâs told. And itâs told so often. And I just have to ask myself about the people who are laughing at it. Itâs a slam on Bush that is completely, 100% devoid of any element that might be mistaken for witâ¦especially since Bush can read.
When people laugh at not-witty jokes it says something about their own wit. When you think that Bush never considered some of the glaringly obvious outcomes that you suggest⦠it says the same thing to me - whatever that may be - that Iâm hearing every time I hear your compatriots roll with laughter, at that just-not-witty âBush canât readâ joke.
Duhâ¦huh..huhâ¦he said, Bush canât read.
Cue the laughter, Bevisâ¦.er I mean Zhang Fei.
Posted by: B ||
07/29/2004 12:31 Comments ||
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#16
B: Oh please Zhang Feiâ¦this whole âBush canât readâ meme is so lame.
I think you reading too much into that statement - this has nothing to do with his intellectual acuity, and everything to do with avoiding analysis paralysis. Everyone has thousands of reasons for not acting, especially in a venture like Iraq. Sometimes, you just have to tune out the worst case possibilities - hence the part about not thinking about them. Getting too paranoid about what can go wrong (Clinton's major failing in fighting terror or confronting North Korea) is a recipe for getting nothing done. That's all I was saying.
#17
You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you canât fool all of the people all of the time.
I suspect you are fooling yourself more than you are fooling rantburgers.
Posted by: B ||
07/29/2004 13:12 Comments ||
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#18
How does Kerry rebut charges when his entire chain of command is opposed to him.
Simple, Kerry and his media lapdogs simply label the Swiftboat Veterans For Truth as a RNC front and fail to mention that a good number of them are Democrats.
That is what very little coverage the mass media allowed about it. It was never mentioned on ABC/NBC/CBS/CNN/BBC except to tell everyone that it was a RNC front. (However if a minor Kerry supporter farts it headline news...).
#20
Mr. Davis -- Zinni is on record as saying that he will probably vote for President Bush despite his opposition to the Iraq War.
Posted by: Tibor ||
07/29/2004 18:00 Comments ||
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#21
Quite frankly, Iâm impressed by this. I donât know how many of thousands of retired flags there are in this country, but that they managed to get a grand total of 12 to speak on behalf of Kerry speaks volumes.
Posted by: B ||
07/29/2004 18:36 Comments ||
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#22
80%+ in the mil usually vote repub. Though I can't espouse a particular political affiliation in uniform, if any of my Marines ask me who I'm voting for - I'm up front about it. If they ask me why, I'm up front about that as well. I'm just not allowed to urge them to vote for a particular party though *I can* urge them just to vote. Me and a couple of other officers have decided that no self-respecting patriotic heterosexual white male could ever vote dem and look himself in the mirror.
#23
Frankly B, I don't recall ever seeing you around these parts before while Zhang has been posting well thought out bits for at least a year. I suspect you are fooling yourself more than you are fooling rantburgers.
#24
Jarhead, heard any buzz about Gen. Tommy Franks's book that comes out next week?
He says it's going to put both some GOPers and Dimocrats in their places...
I can't wait!
Hit pre-order on Amazon.
#33
tu: Stanfield Turner. Head of the CIA under the late, great Jimmah Carter. You make the good or bad call.
This guy presumably told Carter to ask the Shah to leave rather than fight the mullahs during the Iranian Revolution. Ayatollah Khomeini thanked Carter by taking American Embassy personnel hostage. Now this is what I call intelligence failure.
#34
Zhang...my apologies if I confused you with some other "z" sounding troll. I haven't been in here for awhile so maybe I'm thinking Zenster or someone else who always pretends to be a Bush supporter while getting in the digs.
Posted by: rex ||
07/29/2004 02:44 ||
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"And then, for good measure, she addresses the applauding crowd and says, "Merci." Why? Are they French? Or is she just off on some Francophile digression? Who knows? Whatever the explanation, she comes across as ever-so-slightly nutty."
Great article by Sullivan. And to think: President-wannabe Mr. Kerry would be housebound if this lady refused to give him the keys to her SUVs.
#3
Talk about out of touch. Demâs motto. Letâs revive the issues of the 1960âs so we can feel young and hip again!! That are still fixating on abortion, feminism, and race shows what a bunch of dinoâs they are. Heellloooo! This is the 21st Centuryâ¦The 20th is over. But why am I surprised. Ms. Heinzâs previous attempts to be âat oneâ with minority immigrants by invoking her Irish roots show what an out of touch geezer she is.
Next sheâll be digging up old hatchets re: the horse v/s automobile and saying her John can finally lay that horribly divisive issue to rest by passing Kyoto
Posted by: B ||
07/29/2004 11:34 Comments ||
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#4
so we can feel young and hip again!!
If this doesn't nail it, I don't know what does. Nicely put, B.
Posted by: rex ||
07/29/2004 01:42 ||
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This WashPost/ABC poll is really strange. The issue related positives for Bush are out of sink with the 49-48 preference.
One of the big problems with polls these days is getting a sample, especially because a growing number of people don't pick up their land line and mostly use cell phones.
#2
I don't like poll this far out and I know the Post like to lean a bit right. However, I have been watching CSPAN and I can't help but see an implosion of the party happening before our eyes. How can any rational American listen to Sharton or Dean and swallow the sad story of America? Additionally, I haven't heard ONE reason to vote for Kerry. I heard about cloning, race baiting, medical coverage, the 2000 election, One-America (Obama), and Two-Americas (Edwards) but i haven't heard how Kerry plans for "Making America Great Again." Ahem, America is GREAT right now!
#4
I'm with you mhw, it's not's just the land line issue...... it's that who picks up a land line? I don't think telephones polling is random anymore, it's getting a skewed population. Skewed how I don't have a clue. But I wish someone one point me to some info on this.
The larger question is how can a valid random sample be found now without a huge sample of the population?
#5
I'm with you mhw, it's not's just the land line issue...... it's that who picks up a land line? I don't think telephones polling is random anymore, it's getting a skewed population. Skewed how I don't have a clue. But I wish someone one point me to some info on this.
The larger question is how can a valid random sample be found now without a huge sample of the population?
and frankly many of the more expensive polling companies are about as honest and transparent with their methodolgy as the Paleo Authority Finance Board
fortunately for the expensive polling companies, the suits at ABC and the washington post probably know next to nothing about statistics
#9
Does anyone in here base their opinions on what the polls say???
Iâm guessing that rantburg doesnât attract the type of people who look to the fashion pages before they decide what to wear in the morning.
Some of us donât need others to tell us how we think.
Posted by: B ||
07/29/2004 13:44 Comments ||
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#10
Does anyone in here base their opinions on what the polls say???...Some of us donât need others to tell us how we think.
RantBurger's don't need polls to help them vote, but unfortunately there is that 10% undecided voting bloc "out there" who will decide who sits in the Oval Office come November. It's these undecided poorly informed folks who may use polls, like the sheeple they are, to cast their votes. So it's nice to see that Kerry has not been gaining on GWB, especially because of the convention publicity, as he has been doing, albeit not by much,in the past couple of months.
Posted by: rex ||
07/29/2004 13:52 Comments ||
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#11
Rexâ¦well said!
Posted by: B ||
07/29/2004 14:00 Comments ||
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#12
Cyber Sarge,the Wash.Post is a bit to right of NYTimes I'll agree,but it does not lean right.Cynical speculation on poll is that it is designed to show how well Demo Convention worked in creating "bounce" for Kerry.
What has been unique about this election is how close the candidates have been throughout-neither party able to get a double-digit lead.My theory is the elecorate is split into 4 quarters.Each side has 1/4 of voters,who will vote for their candidate no matter what.Each side has 1/4 of voters,who kinda,sorta like their candidate,or kinda,sorta don't want to vote for other guy.The winner will be the candidate who gets his more of his kinda,sorta voters to actually go vote.Or,another way of putting it,the loser will be the candidate who can't get his kinda,sorta voters bothered enough to vote.
Posted by: Stephen ||
07/29/2004 15:07 Comments ||
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via BBC Edwards uses charisma to sell Kerry
By Justin Webb - Thursday, 29 July, 2004, 08:57 GMT 09:57 UK We have heard quite a bit of the speech that John Edwards gave in Boston before.
I was slightly disappointed myself. I don't know whether the American people will be or not. Maybe not enough people have heard enough about him. The assumption at this convention is that they are starting from scratch, but a lot of this speech is the same speech that he has been giving on the stump for some time. Certainly during the primary campaign, he spoke often of two Americas, one for the haves and one for the have-nots, and he also often spoke of his own humble beginnings.
All of that is about making sure that there is not a single person in America who does not know that story and who has not had a chance to empathise with John Edwards. That is what he is so good at. That is what made him such a brilliant trial lawyer. Never mind, if people have heard it before or not. They were going to start again here and make sure that everyone has heard it. ...more...
Posted by: .com ||
07/29/2004 6:18:12 AM ||
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I was almost persuaded about the first three minutes of his sppech until it fell predictably into the leftish cliches about the Two AmericasTM and all that crap. Expect more of the same from Senator Swiftboat tonight.
EFL; there's more, and you should read it all. (But you should do that every day.)
. . . Hugh [Hewitt] has been talking a lot this week about the Michael Moore factor at the convention, and whether his . . . peculiar remarks taint the party. Probably not. It won't get reported in the dino media. If Pat Buchanan had said the Democrats woke up at 11 AM every day and tried to figure out how to screw white people today, I think that would get press. Moore says the Republicans wake at six and figure out how to screw minorities, and it's ha ha colorful commentary from the merry prankster, and besides, Ann Coulter said some awful things, and besides, Pat Buchanan was a politician who actually got votes in the GOP primaries.
The last point is true, and relevant; it was made by a Democrat guest on Hewitt's show. But it shows how things have changed. What makes a greater impact — getting some old flinty cranks in Vermont to pull the lever for you, or putting out a movie in every multiplex that practically accuses Bush of supplying box cutters to the 9/11 hijackers? Moore is a new-media politician, and just because he doesn't stand for office doesn't mean he's not as much of a political operative as the people who prowl the hustings and grimace their way through a New England flap-jack photo-op. And spare me the Ann Coulter parallels. The day Ann Coulter shows up in the presidential box with a former POTUS, like Moore showed up with Jimmy Carter, we can talk.
. . . If Moore introduced Kerry and gave a typical speech — "The Republicans have hate for breakfast!" — how many delegates would later lament that their party had become something they no longer recognized? Don't know. Just asking. But I do know that the 96 convention had a different attitude towards the nominees than I sense from the 04 DNC convention. Bush 41 never really fired up the troops. But in 96 people liked Dole. They knew in their bones he was going to crater, and they knew that the Dole on the stump was a dull version of the real thing. Bob Dole was smart, peppery, funny as hell (really) and lacking in that ponderous self-importance that settles into a Senator's heart. He was really a good guy. And he was going to lose. Ah well.
I don't sense the same affection for Kerry. I also don't think it matters. Right now I have a browser window open to Fark, and a T-shirt ad shows Bush's face with the logo "American Psycho." What else do you need to know? As Teddy Kennedy said in his convention speech: "The only thing we have to fear is four more years of George Bush." It's really quite simple, isn't it? We live in a manufactured climate of fear ginned up by war-crazed neocon overlords. There is no threat. The only thing we have to fear is Bush, who sits as we speak in the Oval Office sucking the marrow from Whoopi's shin-bones.
If so, I wonder why anyone agreed to the stringent security policies that characterize this year's conventions. Why the bomb-sniffing dogs? Why the snipers? Why the metal detectors, the invasive inspection of bags? Is it all an elaborate defense against Bush crashing the party and setting off a bomb belt, shouting God is Great, y'all!
No, they're fearful of something else.
Damned if I know what, though. Damned if I know.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/29/2004 6:15:26 AM ||
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I listened to some 'man on the street' interviews from the gaggle that saw F911 in Crawford Texas. Not one of the 'supporters' that I heard, had a Texas accent. Not that everyone in Texas talks a distinctive way but I would have thought that at least would talk like they were from central Texas and not from New York. Some sounded like they came from Southern California but no twang in their venacular.
Landlords of Deharki in Rahim Yar Khan, chopped off the ears and nose of a 15-year-old boy on Wednesday night because he had petitioned President Musharraf to rescue his family from bonded labour. Dilbar's family was released from slavery two months ago after he wrote repeated letters to the president, urging him to rescue his family from the Mehr Sardars, under whom they had been working as slaves for the last 60 years.
Six men attacked Dilbar's home on Wednesday night. They tortured him and his seven family members and started shooting in order to keep the neighbours away. Seven people including Dilbar's maternal grandfather, Muhammad Murad, Manzooran Bibi, Miran Bibi, Allah Wasaya, and Allah Bachaya sustained minor injuries. However, Dilbar and his maternal uncle, Muhammad Nawaz, have been hospitalised in Shaikh Zaid Hospital Rahim Yar Khan in critical condition. "We have registered a case against six attackers, including Raja Khan Mehr, Mehboob Khan Mehr, and Nawab Khan Mehr," said Bhawalpur DIG Sarraz Hussain Sindhu. "The attackers have escaped to Sindh but we are contacting the Sindh Police to ensure their arrest."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/29/2004 9:19:07 PM ||
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I am absolutely speechless...and that's not an easy to do.
Ugandan troops killed more than 100 Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in an attack in southern Sudan, but the leader of the shadowy cult-like group apparently escaped, an army spokesman said Thursday. Ugandan officials said Sudanese authorities had approved Wednesday's raid east of Juba on the suspected headquarters of self-proclaimed mystic and LRA leader Joseph Kony. "Over 100 rebels were killed in yesterday's attack. But Kony's body has not been found," said Lt. Col. Otema Awany, the army's chief intelligence officer for northern Uganda. "The problem is that our troops were trying to capture him alive. They fired at him, and he was running, but right now it is not clear whether any bullets struck him."
It would be nice if he crawled off wounded and was set upon by a pack of hyenas, but I think a body to show everyone he's really dead would be better.
As Fred would say, pray for sepsis.
An army spokesman had said Wednesday that Kony may have been killed in the raid.
Another report says thay grabbed one of his wives, several kids and all his personnel stuff. Just missed him this time, the fact Sudan is letting Ugandan troops chase him this far into Sudan is a good sign.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/29/2004 8:28:33 AM ||
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The capital city of Russia's Primorskiy Krai ("Maritime Territory") lived up to its wild reputation during the recent mayoral elections.
The winner of the 18 July second round, Vladimir Nikolaev, is a convicted felon who served 3 1/2 years in prison for beating up one Primorskii Krai legislator and threatening to murder another. Numerous local and national media reports have described Nikolaev as a mid-level gangster, known in the criminal world as "Winnie the Pooh." Funny. Oh, wait. He's a brutal thug. Never mind. [Snip, but read it all]
Why is the situation in Vladivostok still so clearly out of control despite the attention the city has received from the federal authorities -- including Putin himself? Could it be that the federal center's ability to project its power and influence is more limited than most observers imagine? Spot on, plus she makes the point that the less urban provinces are even worse than this. My point: Russia is much, much more fragile now than it was even during the early Yeltsin years. Its infrastructure has had an extra decade to decay, the regional governors (to quote Peter Cushing) now have direct control over their territories (despite Putin's federal overseers), the general populace is more disillusioned than ever, nationalists are freaking over developments in the "Near Abroad" (more trouble in Transdneister and Georgia, U.S. bases popping up everywhere, etc.), and Chechnya has surpassed Afghanistan in both temporal duration and its devastating effect on Russian morale.
Most disturbing of all (to me) is that the entire Russian state now seems to hinge on the life of one man. Yeltsin's antics could be frightening, but at least you knew that advisors lurking in the proverbial shadows would take over had the guy keeled over and died (which, minus the death, is basically what happened). Not so with Putin. After the near-invisible Mikhail Kasyanov, the Prime Minister's office has all but shut down. So who's next in line if a car bomber gets lucky or Vasha's chopper crashes? My prediction would be a messy and televised power struggle, ending with a spastic attempt at reasserting strong federal (probably military) rule, prompting remote or majority non-Slavic regions to leave Moscow's orbit entirely, especially those whose geography favored Chinese patronage. Cool idea for a Clancy novel ... shitty thing to wake up to on the news.
One other thing, could one of the mods please paste the whole article onto Page 71? RFE/RL changes this link daily around noon Central Time. Thanks. And yes ... the article is longer than my comments. Sorry.
Posted by: Another Dan ||
07/29/2004 2:12:09 AM ||
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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.
