WHEELING, W.Va. - Call it a case of pignapping. Police found a missing potbellied pig early Wednesday in the back seat of a car that had been reported stolen in eastern Ohio. The car's owner, who wasn't identified, had told the Belmont County (Ohio) sheriff's office that the pet pig was in the vehicle when it was stolen Tuesday afternoon from a restaurant parking lot in St. Clairsville, Ohio, according to a Wheeling police report. Wheeling officers began following the car after they saw a man stagger to it at an intersection. They stopped the car after it allegedly swerved several times and hit curbs. William N. Ward, 50, of St. Clairsville, was jailed on charges of receiving stolen property, driving under the influence and driving on a license revoked for a prior DUI. Police contacted animal control officers to take the pig. What a country! If someone stole Elsbeth he would face Dire Revenge!
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
04/27/2006 21:19 ||
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Well, that issue of celebrity airport rage(tm) needed to be adressed...
Air rage Dane expelled
By Lester HainesPublished Wednesday 26th April 2006 14:09 GMTNew year, new job? Click here for thousands of tech vacancies.Danish supermodel May Andersen was unceremoniously expelled from the US yesterday after allegedly "slapping and wrestling" a flight attendant on a plane from the Netherlands to Miami last week.
The unlucky Andersen also fell foul of US immigration authorities, AP reports, with officials deciding she was "inadmissable" under the visa waiver scheme.
The battling clotheshorse spent two nights in chokey on charges of "battery, resisting arrest, and disorderly intoxication" - thereby outdoing even Naomi Campbell who recently managed just a feeble second degree assault rap after allegedly battering her housekeeper with a jewel-encrusted PDA.
Sadly, we have no evidence of Andersen attempting to attack the pilot with a Victoria's Secret-branded BlackBerry, and therefore no real excuse for running this story at all.
We would, however, like to suggest that Ms Andersen has got off extremely lightly in this matter. Indeed, were she not a famous-ish model she might now be showing off the latest Guantanamo Bay Spring 2006 fashion range for the benefit of incarcerated terror suspects.
As for Campell, she's due back in a New York court in June facing a possible one year's jail. Since she is really famous, let's see if the judge decides to order officers to drag her kicking and screaming on the first flight back to London, or fines her 50 bucks and asks for her autograph.
A Namibian human rights group on Wednesday accused bodyguards and local police of resorting to "heavy-handed tactics" to keep the paparazzi away from movie stars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Jolie, who is eight months pregnant and is expected to give birth in Namibia, arrived with Pitt in the southern African country in early April. She has been welcomed by the government which has asked the press to respect the couple's privacy during their stay near the west coast town of Swakopmund.
"Or else"
But the National Society of Human Rights (NSHR) said in a statement that "both the three-member private security personnel of Jolie and Pitt and Namibia police members have conducted unwarranted door-to-door searches of the homes of local residents for paparazzi and other media workers." "We condemn the heavy-handed and brutal tactics selectively directed against local and certain foreign journalists," the NSHR said in a statement, issued in Windhoek.
Local newspaper journalist Donna Collins told AFP that she saw police carry out the searches of homes late last week near the Langstrand beach resort on Namibia's west coast where the Hollywood couple are staying. The "house-to-house searches and hunting down journalists as if they are criminals is unacceptable," Collins said. She said that she had been "chased away" by security guards and nearly had her camera ripped from her neck when she was on a nearby beach.
Namibian police denied that local residents and the press had been harassed.
"No cameras were seized and no reporters have been brutalised," police spokesman Hieronymus Goraseb told AFP.
And who'd argue with anyone named Hieronymus?
The Namibian government Monday vowed to protect Jolie and Pitt's privacy after the glamorous couple released a statement asking the press to leave them alone. Namibia over the weekend ordered three French paparazzi and a South African photographer to leave the country for trying to snap Jolie.
Why dodge paparazzi in L.A. or Europe when you can rent a country's police force to keep them away?
Posted by: Steve ||
04/27/2006 11:18 ||
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I think Ms. Jolie just wants to be able to say this line,"I am she . . . she, who must be obeyed!"
Posted by: bruce ||
04/27/2006 18:42 Comments ||
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The young blonde woman on board flight BA55 from Cape Town had gone unnoticed by her fellow passengers until the aircraft drew up to Heathrow's Terminal 4 shortly before 7am on Tuesday. But when four armed police officers greeted her at the gangway, indifference rapidly turned to curiosity.
Who was this stony-faced girl in skin-tight jeans being whisked through the arrivals lounge pursued by a dozen paparazzi? A film star? An off-duty supermodel? Or, as one British MP speculated, a terrorism suspect?
The subject of such extraordinary security measures was Chelsy Davy, a 20-year-old undergraduate at Cape Town University and alumna of Cheltenham Ladies' College.
Then there is the small matter of her being the Zimbabwe-born girlfriend for the past two years of Henry Charles Albert David Mountbatten-Windsor, better known as Prince Harry. It is an alliance which places the House of Windsor in discomfiting proximity to the strange worlds of Robert Mugabe's ruinous rule of Zimbabwe and the hunting of the big game of the savannah.
"Chelsy is not something the Royal Family has had to deal with before," a former royal adviser said. "She's more [footballer's wife] than Princess Grace. But nonetheless she is being accepted ... into the royal circle."
But while the populist press has made approving noises about Kate Middleton, the girlfriend of Prince William, Chelsy has not quite attracted universal approval. Coverage of the relationship between Harry and Chelsy has been dominated by tales of drink-fuelled partying, exotic holidays and the inter-mingling of two privileged upbringings. The pair first met while Chelsy was at school in England.
She was one of a group of exuberant teenagers invited to Club H - the basement at Highgrove converted for Harry and William to entertain friends. But the romance did not flourish until 2004 when Harry travelled to Lesotho to work with Aids orphans and met Chelsy in Cape Town.
Descriptions of Chelsy from friends and enemies range from a bright, good-natured young woman to an arriviste socialite (said to have once exclaimed "I really, really want to be famous") who set out to bag a prince.
Michelle Schultz, whose daughters went to the same exclusive Bulawayo school as Chelsy, told one reporter: "My girls didn't like Chelsy. She's a typical spoiled rich kid who runs with a fast crowd. At school, she thought herself better than anyone else."
During interviews last year to mark his 21st birthday, Harry said: "I get to see how upset she gets and I know the real her. Unfortunately, I can't turn round to the press and say, 'listen, she's not like that, she's like this'. I would love to tell everyone how amazing she is. But you know, that is my private life and once I start talking about that, then I've left myself open."
Chelsy's father Charles Davy, a South African-born businessman, owns Zimbabwe's most successful big-game hunting operation. His wealth has brought persistent questions about its origins. While the number of white farmers in Zimbabwe has dwindled due to requisitions of Mugabe's government, Davy has stayed in business.
This, according to opposition politicians, is because of his business connections with the regime, in particular his business partner of six years, Webster Shamu, now a senior minister in Mugabe's cabinet.
Chelsy looks set to move to London once her studies are finished. Whether she will enjoy a royal address is still anyone's guess.
Sure she's not the prettiest apple on the tree, but doesn't that make it all the more beautiful that obviously she and Charles are soul mates?
The outer wrapping was not so important as the inner person in that case.
True love triumphed over adversity, age, mistakenly choosing the wrong people, disapproving family and not-that-attractive looks. After all she is about as attractive for a woman as Charles is for a man. They are equals.
Camilla gives hope to all us women and let's face it most of us are closer to Camilla than Chelsy.
#6
Camilla is the kind of woman who for decades cuckolded the man she married when she couldn't have the man of her dreams -- with the man of her dreams who'd married another girl because he couldn't have her. It's got nothing to do with physical beauty, and everything to do with the selfishness and lack of character of both C. and Prince Charles that make for ugliness of the soul. They are indeed equals, physically, intellectually and selfishly. That they had the gall to make a life together after having together destroyed the life of the flawed woman that stood between them frames it all quite nicely. The only benefit I see is that so long as they are together they won't destroy anyone else.
I should hope that my soul is nothing like either of theirs, regardless how we may compare in outward appearance.
As for young Miss Davy, Royal Princes are supposed to have inappropriate girlfriends. Prince Harry is after all only the spare heir, like Prince Andrew of the previous generation -- commanded by the Queen to divorce that red-headed wife of his, they now live in what appears to me to be unwedded bliss, rearing their children together in the same house. Unless I'm wrong... I'm afraid don't pay Tourist Attractions much attention.
Might take a lot of "hotter" to beat that lass. Her dad runs a game reserve, guns, Castle beer, camping, Rovers, fresh meat, what a pleasant bonus. Put me in coach, I know the play.
TASHKENT - Uzbekistan, its eyes set on Asia as its relations sour with the West, agreed on Wednesday to open up its oil and gas sector to India and invited one of the worlds biggest energy consumers to invest in new fields.
Speaking after talks with visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Uzbek President Islam Karimov said his Central Asian state, increasingly criticised in the West over human rights, was ready for a closer energy dialogue with Delhi. Uzbekistans vast oil and gas reserves are attractive to India which needs resources to ensure its energy security, Karimov said, standing beside Singh in the capital Tashkent.
During the visit, Uzbekistan and India signed three framework agreements specifying Indias role in Uzbekistans energy and minerals sector. Karimov said he was ready to offer India new exploration sites under a production-sharing agreement, but gave no details.
Apart from India, Uzbekistan has also invited resource-poor South Korea to develop energy and mining projects. It has also strengthened ties with Moscow, which has defended Karimov on Andizhan, and signed deals with Russias Gazprom to jointly tap gas fields worth $1.5 billion.
We are also very happy that we have agreed to cooperate in the fields of oil and natural gas exploration and production, Indias Singh told reporters. We see Uzbekistan as an important element in any effort to optimally utilise the energy resources of Central Asia.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/27/2006 00:00 ||
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Ah yes, but how are you going to get the oil/gas from Uzbekistan to India? Any pipeline has to cross the territory of either Pakistan or China.
Any production is sold to China. India gets crude from a Chinese owned field from say, Sudan.
This is arrangement with Sakhalin field in Siberia which India funded some of the development. Oil goes to China or Japan and is traded for closer sources (the Persian gulf).
Posted by: john ||
04/27/2006 15:50 Comments ||
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So long as China chooses to honour the contract, of course.
China's economic watchdog is moving to slow economic growth after recording a rise in fixed assets investment of almost 30 percent in the first quarter.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has urgedlocal governments to tighten controls on land use and lending to prevent investment rising too rapidly.
National Bureau of Statistics figures show investment in roads, factory equipment and other fixed assets grew 27.7 percent, an increase of 4.9 percentage points year on year.
The government has launching the "socialist new countryside" campaign to boost rural development, which was left behind in the reform and opening-up drive of the past two decades.
However, more than half of China's provinces recorded alarming growth rates or more than 35 percent in investment, and 16 manufacturing industries reported more than 40 percent. Full Story
Top British transplant surgeons have accused China of harvesting the organs of thousands of executed prisoners every year to sell for transplants. In a statement, the British Transplantation Society condemned the practice as unacceptable and a breach of human rights.
The move comes less than a week after Chinese officials publicly denied the practice took place. In March, China said it would ban the sale of human organs from July.
"We don't do that, and we won't let it happen again."
The British Transplantation Society says an accumulating weight of evidence suggests the organs of thousands of executed prisoners in China are being removed for transplants without consent. Professor Stephen Wigmore, who chairs the society's ethics committee, told the BBC that the speed of matching donors and patients, sometimes as little as a week, implied prisoners were being selected before execution.
"Hokay, you, you, and you, come with us."
"Honorable guard, sir, what is going on?"
"You're gonna get a blood test. And then we'll see."
Chinese officials deny the allegations.
Of course they do.
Just last week a Chinese health official said publicly that organs from executed prisoners were sometimes used, but only with prior permission and in a very few cases.
Permission always being given, and 'few' relative to a country with 1.2 billion people.
But widespread allegations have persisted for several years - including from international human rights groups. Professor Wigmore said: "The weight of evidence has accumulated to a point over the last few months where it's really incontrovertible in our opinion.
"We feel that it's the right time to take a stance against this practice."
The emergence of transplant tourism has made the sale of health organs even more lucrative. Patients increasingly come from Western countries, including the UK, as well as Japan and South Korea. Professor Wigmore described this as quite widespread and growing. He and his colleagues, he said, had all seen cases of British patients who had considered going to China for transplants. He really hoped, he added, that people would think very hard about whether they should.
Gain an organ, lose your conscience.
The Chinese authorities recently announced steps to tighten regulations. From July, selling organs will be illegal and all donors must give written permission.
"Here. Sign this."
"What is it?"
[thumpity-thumpity-thump] "Sign."
"owwwwww." [whimper] "There, I signed it. Now what?"
"This." [click] [bang]
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/27/2006 00:23 ||
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Fact is, that transplant teams [Drs, Nurses, Tecs, etc] at tranasplant centers and Universities here in the states, are doing the after-care/ follow up for US patients who fly over to China or Japan for transplanted Chinese prisoner organs. And the insurance cos are paying for it. [aftercare]
How does the saying go, I found my moral moral compass but then life just got complicated again. »:-)
I think Livers are ranging $30,000 low to $100,000 high depending how many chop chop middle men are involved.
Onions anyone?
I know a cab driver whos first kidney transplant from his mother in India failed after 18 years + -, so he flew back and bought another one on the "open market" for $10,000 installed, about 6 years ago.
#3
Old news. This has been going on for well over a decade. Much like Russia, the Mandarins will walk over their grandmothers for an extra dime. Sort of a double whammy, really. First they use the prisoners to assemble manufactured goods in violation of export laws, then they chop them up for parts. I wonder if they even bother to screen for AIDS and Hep C.
DOZENS of relatives and friends of the 35 victims killed 10 years ago at Port Arthur in Tasmania will gather today for the national memorial service to be held at the historic convict site.
Prime Minister John Howard will speak at the commemoration ceremony, which will start at 12.30pm.
The Governor-General, Major General Michael Jeffery, will also attend.
Many of the families attending the service have not returned or visited Port Arthur since the mass tragedy a decade ago.
On Sunday, April 28, 1996, crazed Hobart gunman Martin Bryant went berserk at Port Arthur, shooting, killing and wounding dozens of visitors.
In the wake of the tragedy - Australia's worst mass murder - tough new laws restricting gun ownership were introduced nationwide.
But the eyes of the nation today will be on the commemoration service at Port Arthur, with its theme of Looking Forward, Looking Back.
Keith Moulton, the father and grandfather of Nanette Mikac and her two daughters Alannah, 6, and Madeline, 3, killed at Port Arthur, expects it to be a day of mixed emotions for everyone affected by the shootings.
"For many people it will bring back sad memories," Mr Moulton said.
Mr Moulton, who is part of the 10th anniversary organising committee, will be attending the service with eight other family members. But he also knows of families, both local and from interstate, who cannot face visiting or returning to the scene of the massacre.
"It will always be a special day for me; it's a day when you remember what happened, think of where you are in your life, where the kids would have been, and have a little cry.
"Then you get up and walk back into the sunlight."
Despite his resilience, Mr Moulton said he still expected to "have a tear or two" at the memorial service.
"But I'm not looking for 'closure'; the day I forget my girls there's something wrong with me," Mr Moulton said.
At today's ceremony, a large candle for each of the victims will be lit and carried into the special memorial garden at Port Arthur by families and emergency service workers affected by the 1996 tragedy.
Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon will read a poem written by Tasmanian poet, Margaret Scott, about the special memorial garden.
The Prime Minister will be the only dignitary to make a speech at the hour-long service, which will include a minute's silence at 1.30pm, the time the mass slaughter started in 1996.
The Port Arthur service will also be broadcast live within Hobart's St David's Cathedral, followed by a meditation service at 2pm conducted by the former Anglican Bishop of Tasmania, Phillip Newell.
From 8am today, candles will be lit in St David's Cathedral for each victim.
Related links:
In-depth: The Port Arthur massacre
Graphic: The chain of events
THE Federal Government is seriously considering making fluency in English a requirement for becoming an Australian.
Parliamentary secretary Andrew Robb last night said he was examining prospects for a compulsory citizenship test for migrants.
And Mr Robb wants Islamic religious leaders to give their sermons in English and train home-grown imams.
Mr Robb, a fast-rising MP with junior responsibilities in immigration and multiculturalism, said studies had shown knowledge of English was the strongest determinant in getting a good job.
"People have raised that because a functional level of English is fundamental to quick and effective integration, it should be a formal requirement for citizenship," he told the Sydney Institute.
Another requirement could be a "general understanding" of Australian values, customs, systems, laws and history".
Mr Robb said smoother integration would be in both a migrant's and the community's interests.
"For this reason, I am prepared to have a serious look, over the next couple of months, at the merits of introducing a compulsory citizenship test," he said.
"As a nation we have a proud history of moulding a dynamic, stable and strong community from a diversity of cultures and long-standing Australian values.
"The twin challenges of global terrorism and the ageing population requires us to surpass this effort and become even more skilled at integrating an increasingly diverse population."
Early last century language tests were used to keep out migrants who were not Anglo-Celtic, and stories have spread of unwanted applicants being tested in Latin if they spoke English.
Last night Mr Robb said that if new citizens were to integrate quickly and effectively, and realise their ambitions, it was essential "that they learn the national language of English".
They also had to "learn something about our history and heritage and make a commitment to" common values.
Mr Robb said many young Muslim Australians he had talked to felt disconnected from their own community, as well as from mainstream Australia.
He said leaders of Australia's 300,000 Muslims - 120,000 of whom were born here - had to make their religion relevant to youth.
"It means recognising, for example, that many young Australian Muslims only speak English," he said.
"So, religious leaders will have to deliver much or all of their sermons in English. This means training home-grown imams in Australia."
Mr Robb said terror attacks overseas had unfairly stigmatised Australian Muslims and, "we've got to deal with it and manage it".
"To this end, much can be gained by seeking to put ourselves in one another's shoes," he said.
"This means, for Muslim Australians, putting themselves in the shoes of the rest of the Australian community, most of whom are filled with anxiety and uncertainty about how to deal with the reality of random terrorist acts, ostensibly in the name of Islam."
Mr Robb urged Muslims to take the lead and assume "primary responsibility" for these integration efforts.
#2
Yesssssss.....finally a democracy steps up to say "goodbye" to supermarket signs in 20 languages and the attendant drag on businesses, etc... PC causes.
(CNSNews.com) - Ding-dong, there's a Democrat at your door: The Democratic National Committee says volunteers will go door-to-door in all 50 states on Saturday -- "to share the Democratic Party's bold vision for America and begin a series of conversations with the American people about the upcoming elections."
Oh, boy, do I have a conversation for them!
"Neighbor-to-Neighbor Organizing Day" is part of the DNC's effort to gear up for the 2006 elections. The nationwide event is intended to build strong Election Day teams for 2006 and beyond -- a "lasting Democratic Party infrastructure."
"Politics is at its best when we work together to create and strengthen our community," said DNC Chairman Howard Dean who will join door-knocking teams in Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday. "Our National Organizing Day will bring together neighbors and communities as we mobilize for the fall elections to make sure that Democrats are elected up and down the ticket, throughout America." He said Democrats who knock on doors will tell their neighbors "what Democrats stand for, our vision for change, and the clear choice voters will face in November."
As part of the effort, Democrats plan to distribute "door hangers," which come in both English and Spanish/English versions and can be downloaded from the Internet. The door hanger promises "a bold new direction for a secure America."
Why does hanging a Democrat from my doorknob come to mind
It outlines six points of the "Democratic vision," including honest leadership, real security, energy independence, economic security/educational excellence, healthcare that works, and retirement security.
You lost me at "honest"
The party says this will be the first national effort to reach out "door to door and neighbor to neighbor, all across America."
Posted by: Steve ||
04/27/2006 10:29 ||
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It outlines six points of the "Democratic vision," including honest leadership, real security, energy independence, economic security/educational excellence, healthcare that works, and retirement security.
And yet all they deliver is treason.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
04/27/2006 10:56 Comments ||
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#5
So where are the Republicans doing the same kind of outreach? Either the GOP is way behind the curve here, or the media refuses to report on their efforts.
#7
No, Sea. The Donks just have to do that much work to get people to vote for them. I'm beginning to think that 2006 (if "framed correctly") can be another win for the Repubs. if they would just fight back and quote the moonbats verbatem. Thank God I'm going campin' this weekend.
Posted by: BA ||
04/27/2006 11:30 Comments ||
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#8
Ding-dong, there's a Democrat at your door
BANG! BANG! Now there isn't. Neat, huh?
Posted by: Dave D. ||
04/27/2006 12:00 Comments ||
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#9
Close the curtains!
Get down on the floor!
A commie lib-lab's a knockin on our door.
#10
I just realized this is a free shot at your local dimmocrat. After all, if you punch one, you don't think they will sue, do you ? Wouldn't a coupla million law suits absolutely destroy the dimmocrats chances for popularity ?
So, get ready to sucker punch some dimmi. If you don't punch well, call me at Rent-a-punch and I'll be sure a bag splitter will be available.
#11
I'll see if they will do some yard work for me - you know, picking up dog poop, stuff like that. If they say 'no', I'll say, "well so much for my vote".
They oppose drilling off the coasts (while China sets up to drill those reserves from Cuban waters!), oppose opening up ANWR, are suing to stop construction of refineries and new piplines in the US, have killed nuclear power, and are opposing drilling and exploratory leases on federal lands.
Someone ought to follow them around pointing that out.
A congresswoman's son and three Democratic campaign workers were sentenced Wednesday to four to six months in jail for slashing tires outside a Bush-Cheney campaign office on Election Day 2004.
It's... ummm... lemme check my watch... 2006.
The men pleaded no contest in January to misdemeanor property damage. A fifth worker was found not guilty. "This case had to be a public example of what can happen when you interfere with voters' rights," said Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Michael Brennan, who rejected prosecutors' recommendation of probation for the four men.
I'd call a year and a half to get a no contest plea on a misdemeanor charge an indictment of the justice system. But what the hell do I know? When I was a tad, they'd have been hauled in front of the Justice of the Peace the same day by Officer Friendly if he didn't just give them each a swat on the shinbone with the nightstick, tell them not to do it again, and have them pay to have the tires fixed.
The state Republican Party had rented more than 100 vehicles to give rides to voters and poll monitors on Nov. 2, 2004. The cars were parked outside a GOP campaign office when the tires were punctured. The vandalism left the drivers scrambling for new vehicles. Among those sentenced Wednesday were Sowande A. Omokunde, the son of U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wisconsin, and Michael Pratt, the son of former acting Milwaukee Mayor Marvin Pratt. "I love my son very much. I'm very proud of him," Moore said. "He's accepted responsibility."
I don't think I'd be proud of my son for slashing tires. In fact, I think I'd give him a swat with the nightstick.
Omokunde was sentenced to four months in jail; Pratt and Lewis Caldwell of Milwaukee were sentenced to six months; and Lavelle Mohammad of Milwaukee was sentenced to five months. All were granted work-release privileges.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2006 00:00 ||
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It seems a little much for the offense.
Maybe it's survivors guilt.
I chain sawed many a jello bob billboard.
And yes, I enjoyed 'em all. A fine Lamar advertising 20x100 BB falling makes a good screech.
If there ever was a political honeymoon for Gov. Jon Corzine, it appears to be over. In his first four months in office, the Democrat has proposed an increase in the sales tax and broken a promise to give homeowners dramatic relief from the highest property taxes in the nation. Corzine's approval ratings have sunk, and fellow Democrats in the Legislature are hesitant to back his budget plan.
"He did a great job as senator. You would just figure it would carry over as governor," said disappointed Democrat Neil Harry Lori, a plumber from Montclair who liked Corzine's liberal record in the Senate, especially his 2002 vote against authorizing President Bush to invade Iraq.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2006 00:00 ||
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Wow, a Democrat breaking promises on taxes and vacuuming voter's wallets. Who'd a thunk it?
#6
People are really starting leave the state in droves. The property tax and car insurance are disgusting. It will never get fixed and it will only get worse as more people leave and the levies increase to cover the loss. My salary is worth around 25% more in NC by my reckoning - not to mention I can buy the exact same house in NC for 1/3 what it is here.
I just need to convince the Mrs. and we're gone.
#8
Mike, I'm right behind you. Somwhere up in the mountains near Bryson City, I think.
But I'm open minded. Anywhere where buying a pack of smokes doesn't require a trip to the ATM and my car insurance is less than my car payment would be fine.
#9
Come on over, Guys and Gals. Bryson City is only about 2 hours away. I have friends there. we could all get together and have a grillin'. Land here goes for about 3 grand an acre and most people think that's a bit high.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
04/27/2006 19:07 Comments ||
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#10
[chorus]
When I die, bury me low
Where I can hear the petroleum flow.
A sweeter sound, I never did know
The rolling mills of New Jersey.
[chorus]
Down in Trenton, there is a bar
Where the bums come from near and from far
They come by truck, they come by car
The lousy bums of New Jersey
[chorus]
Down in Hoboken, there will be
Trash as far as the eye can see.
Enough for you, enough for me.
The garbage cans of New Jersey.
[chorus]
When first I started to roam,
I travelled far away from Bayonne.
I then sat down, and wrote this poem.
I wrote an ode to New Jersey.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/27/2006 23:03 Comments ||
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#11
I'm happy to hear that Parabellum - Bryson City just got added to my look at list. I'm sure they'll have a Schooley's type dive there, where I can be a regular.
- Deacon my 1/2 acre is assessed around 150k in my part of NJ, so I'm think I'll do alright down that way, I can live with being a damn Yankee.
Amid a swarm of television cameras, U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney arrived at the state Capitol on Monday to file for re-election. McKinney smiled broadly but didn't comment on her recent scuffle with a U.S. Capitol Police officer. "Hello, so good to see you," the Democratic congresswoman said as she made her way around the House chamber.
I'm assuming she's going to win, since she represents a district where the average IQ seems to hang somewhere around the lower end of "dull normal"...
Cynthia is a demonstration of the errors in the other article posted today about how being born poor, dumb and stupid is an insurmountable barrier to succeeding in life ...
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2006 00:00 ||
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Any of the multitude of comments that come to mind could be construed as racist. Ergo, I'll pass and return to watching "Planet of the Apes" on cable TV...
Posted by: Charles ||
04/27/2006 5:20 Comments ||
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#4
Not EVERYONE's an idiot from her district. I am from her district and have voted against her every chance I've gotten. So have alot of others. We ousted her not too long ago. Unfortunately, the lady who beat her decided she wanted to be a senator, left...and the lunacy returned. Here's hoping two's a charm.
#7
Has anyone considered asking Denise Majette(?) if she's willing to run again? She beat McKinney once.
She ran for (and won) a higher office.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
04/27/2006 10:54 Comments ||
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#8
same syndrome as Bay Area Syndrome. I have voted against Boxer and Feinstein every possible chance, yet they continue to win.....embarrassing
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/27/2006 11:04 Comments ||
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#9
Actually, her district is not ALL moonbattery. The northern part of it (DeKalb County) is very upper middle class (mostly white and Asian) and can't STAND her. Unfortunately, that's a small portion of her entire district (the central and southern parts of the County are very "urban" let's say). Needless to say, she never shows her face up north, and does nothing for that part of the district (Dunwoody area). Of course, that portion of the County was just enough to get Majette on the ticket several years ago, as they switched parties to vote in the Donk's primary (knowing that in the election total, the Donk will win, so why not Majette instead of McKinney).
Posted by: BA ||
04/27/2006 11:20 Comments ||
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#10
Also, RC, she failed in winning her (Majette) run for a Senate seat in D.C. for Georgia. I don't know where Majette ended up, but it wasn't in the Senate (those 2 seats are solidly Repubs).
Posted by: BA ||
04/27/2006 11:22 Comments ||
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#11
Uh, what's the difference between "dumb" and "stupid", except in the literal "can not speak" sense of "dumb"? Just curious. Am I dumb, stupid, stoopid, or do I just have "issues"? Or all of the above?
Dumb in this context means lacking in intelligence.
Stupid, on the other hand, to me means you know something is wrong and you repeatedly do it anyway. Deliberate ignorance also falls into that category.
KARACHI - Relatives of a 14-year-old Pakistani girl kidnapped her and shot her four times in an attempted honour killing, a senior police officer said on Wednesday. Nur Jehan was shot in the stomach, leg, knee and arm outside Karachi and left for dead by her cousins, who accused her of having sex with a young man.
Lying in a government hospital ward protected by armed policemen, she told Reuters how she had been driven to Gadap, a low-income neighbourhood, to be executed. She said she crawled out of the ditch onto a road to scream for help from a passer-by. They will try to kill me again, said the waif-like girl.
She also feared for the lives of her parents and siblings, who were also kidnapped by her attackers.
Nur Jehan was declared a kari, or black woman, by her cousins who accused her of having sexual relations with a young man in Mirgoldop, a village in the south western province of Baluchistan where her father was a farmer. Investigating police officer Raees Ahmed Ghani said her cousins killed the man with whom she was accused of having sex.
And pray tell, officer, when will you pinch the cousins?
Fearing for his daughters life, Nur Jehans father moved the family to Karachi after she was declared a kari.
Finally, a decent dad in Pak-land.
But on April 19, Nur Jehan was kidnapped and shot. I fear for my father who didnt want to kill me when the relatives declared me a kari, she said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Shooting a 14 year old girl in the leg, knee, and arm sounds more like the hand- and foot-chopping they do in Soddiland. The gut shot might or might not kill right away, depending on which organs are torn apart.
I can only conclude that they wanted her to live. And suffer mightily.
#3
But, of course, remember that all-cultures-are-equal(tm)... and who are we to judge theses exotic customs anyway?
Anyway, it has been said that the first victims of islam are muslim; while I'm very ambivalent about this double status (for example, in my view, muslim wimmen are also enforcers of the statu-quo and perpetuaters of the ummah sick system through the upbringing of the kiddies, especially the boys), I have no doubt it's true, and the way the Pious Moderate Muslims(tm) treat 50% of their population is as twisted and degradign as the way they treat their minorities.
This is interesting. Reading between the lines. It looks like several things are happening. Energy intensive industries are moving to places where there are no CO2 emission limits. Governments are cheating. Energy consumption is shiting toward sources that aren't measured under Kyoto. More generally it throws economic growth figures into doubt. Increased economic activity may just be more work to achieve the same outcome(output) as a result of Kyoto.
Carbon credits for December 2006 delivery fell below 14 euros ($17.40) on the European Climate Exchange -- less than half a high of 31 euros last week. Prices recovered to 16.70 euros by the market close.
"From a market perspective it's terrible news," said James Emanuel, Head of Carbon Trading at brokers CO2e.com.
"If there's a (net carbon credit) surplus there's no incentive to reduce emissions and the (carbon) price collapses. It won't go to zero, it would effectively go down to the administrative cost of the scheme... it could be 1 euro, who knows?" Go RTWT
#2
I think you mean "shifting toward sources" not "shiting". But this just reinforces what I have always believed that Kyoto is nothing more than a Ponzi scheme to transfer wealth. What the Schemers didn't count on was the US not joining and energy intensive industries moving to 3rd world countries. Bugwits.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
04/27/2006 19:15 Comments ||
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#3
European Climate Exchange---Whatta joke! Typical bureaucratic scheme. Thought it through, but the smart people will always find the weakness of the Kyoto Car-bohn Credits scheme. It went through the signatories because it felt good. Not because of good science. Let it die a quick death and maybe the world can get on to business that makes sense.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/27/2006 19:28 Comments ||
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#4
Enron's Ken Lay was one of the most enthusiastic proponents of Kyoto. He stood to make his fortune fifteen times over with global energy credit trading...
#5
"Energy intensive industries are moving to places where there are no CO2 emission limits. Governments are cheating. Energy consumption is shifting toward sources that aren't measured under Kyoto."
Well, duh!
Particularly the "governments are cheating" part.
In other news, water is still wet.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/27/2006 20:45 Comments ||
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UMM EL FAHM, Israel -- Riham Agabaria has a left hook that will knock your socks off. Or your head scarf.
Sparring in her hometown in northern Israel, the shy 15-year-old lets loose a strike that brushes back the traditional Muslim headdress of her opponent -- younger sister Fatma, who is forced to flee to the restroom to rearrange her hijab.
"I recommend every girl try boxing," said Riham, panting from behind a light-blue head scarf after a two-hour workout. "It gives you confidence and teaches you how to protect yourself."
With their unusual hobby, Riham and her 13-year-old sister have blazed a trail for other religious Muslim girls in Israel, and have sparked a debate within their own traditional society.
Influenced by their more liberal Jewish neighbors, Israeli Arab women have been encouraged to push the boundaries further than their peers elsewhere in the Middle East. Still, for young religious girls expected to keep to a traditional secondary role, the Agabaria sisters have managed to ruffle more than a few feathers by venturing into the strictly masculine domain of boxing.
Experts say there is nothing in Islam that directly bars women from sporting activities such as boxing, but many in this traditional hilltop town of 40,000 were skeptical when Toufiq Agabaria started training his daughters and, more troublingly, allowing them to fight boys. A local religious leader even issued a decree against the swinging sisters.
Toufiq Agabaria, a former Israeli boxing champion, sees nothing wrong with it.
"Sports is one thing and religion is another," he said. "As long as it (boxing) is not opposed to the tradition of Islam, I think it is positive."
Agabaria's daughters hold national age-group championships for girls in the Israel Boxing Association -- though they're somewhat dubious titles, because there aren't many challengers.
Israel's 1.4 million Arab citizens make up roughly one-fifth of the population. They are often on the sideline of mainstream society, particularly women who are restricted by the traditional confines of the family.
Recently, a Muslim woman from Haifa won the Israeli equivalent of the TV reality show America's Next Top Model, which included her posing in skimpy dress. Following the victory, she was ostracized by some family and friends and derided by her community as a bad influence on girls.
Toufiq Agabaria said boxing does nothing to diminish the faith or the dignity of his daughters. On the contrary, he said, the Quran is full of tales of women in battle, including one involving the prophet Muhammad's wife.
Ibrahim Sarsoor, an authority on Islam in Israel, agreed the scriptures encourage physical education, though with certain restrictions.
"Islam does not differentiate between man and woman," he said. "But if it is men with women, that crosses the line, that is unacceptable."
Toufiq Agabaria's daughters are covered from head to toe when they fight and only come into direct physical contact with boys under the watchful eye of their father.
"I won't let my daughters walk around with a boy, but inside the ring I see them up close," he said.
Their mother, Kiram, said she also supports her daughters' pastime.
"Until now nobody has hit them," she said. "They are very strong. We trust them."
The Agabaria sisters' main challenge is finding someone to fight. The women's ranks are sparse, and the reputation of the sisters has scared off many potential foes.
Riham recently defended her national title. After no girl was willing to fight her, Riham battled a boy -- and beat him. Fatma, a four-time Israeli champ, has never lost a match.
"I hope they will continue to be a good example for other Arab woman boxers in Israel," said William Shihada, head of the Israel Boxing Association, whose 2,000 members include 25 women.
"But I am afraid that they will not. In our society, in our religion, it is not easy," he said.
Several cousins and uncles have urged the girls to throw in the towel, saying boxing is unseemly for a Muslim girl and warning that no man will want to marry a woman boxer.
"Because I love the sport so much, no one can persuade me to stop," said Fatma, donning red gloves to match her pink hijab.
The girls followed in the boxing footsteps of their older brothers, Mohammed and Ammer, also trained by their father.
Thanks to the support of the mayor of Umm el Fahm, the girls have thrived. Many in town, who refused to give their names, said they backed the girls and saw their story as proof of the diversity in modern Arab society in Israel. Others condemned them.
The Agabarias say their goal is to compete internationally, representing Israel like their brother Ammer, a seven-time national champion who has traveled as far as China and Korea for competitions. Their role model is Laila Ali, Muhammad Ali's daughter, whose image is plastered on a wall of their modest house.
Shihada said he hopes the girls can keep going until women's boxing becomes an Olympic sport. But they are likely to be married before then, and that could bring an end to their careers.
"There is a limit to everything," said Toufiq Agabaria. "When they get married, it will be the husband's decision."
When David Mears and his wife Dorothy put their house up for sale at the end of last year, it wasn't just the four-plus acres of beautiful woodlot land that made the property appealing. Nor were the five bedrooms or extra cabinet space in their roomy kitchen the most significant features.
The main attraction was the fact that the couple hadn't paid their heating bill for more than 25 years.
That's because they hadn't received one since 1980.
...
#2
How do they cool it? I could used this heat banking idea and heat water year round with it. However in the summer when temps are 110 F or higher is whem my bills are high. How do you turn this into cold air?
Posted by: SPoD ||
04/27/2006 19:34 Comments ||
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#3
It's New Jersey. The AC usage would be low and they only claimed zero heating (fuel oil) bills.
Posted by: ed ||
04/27/2006 19:39 Comments ||
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#4
SpoD, I had a smilar idea that would both heat and cool your house if you live in a location where most heat is radiant heating from the sun as I do.
Build a house with a roof space filled with water. It would act as a huge heat sink as well as a very effective insulator from both the sun's radiant heat and heat lose through the roof. It would keep your house cool on hot summer days and warm on cold winter nights.
It's one of those so obvious things, I wonder why no one has done it.
#6
It's one of those so obvious things, I wonder why no one has done it.
Water's heavy -- about 10lbs per gallon. What kind of structure would it take to hold up enough water to matter?
Any leaks will cause structural damage, AND will lose your thermal mass.
I'm also not sure the heat exchange would work the way you'd want. Heat rises; the winter exchange would work against you, AFAICT. You might get the desired effect in the summer.
Cheaper, safer -- and probably easier -- to simply dig a pond and tie into its thermal mass through a heat pump.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
04/27/2006 21:08 Comments ||
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#7
In past such houses work, but they don't work well. That is, in summer they are warmer than comfortable; and in winter, cooler than comfortable. The reason for this is too much emphasis on a single system.
As example of a more complex method, in central Arizona, in summertime, AC is terribly expensive. Swamp cooler is amazing, though, what with 5% or less humidity, all at the cost of running a small motor. However, halfway through summer, the humidity jumps, so you have to go to AC.
Well, someone had an idea to redirect their cooler air through their roof crawlspace. With the high humidity, it would only lower the temperature there from 140 to 100 degrees. However, this took so much strain off of the AC for the living area below that his electrical bill took a nosedive.
This got him on the idea of "partial" air conditioning. That is, using one system just to reduce the temperature from roaring hot down to just uncomfortably warm. It uses much less energy working on the "low" setting, enough so it might eventually be run by solar panels. Then the regular air conditioner uses utility power to drop the temperature the rest of the way.
In a way, it was using his home system like the gears on a car. This meant his house could be toasty in winter and chilly in summer, but on a budget.
#8
I realize you would have to change the house to make it structurally stronger. In Oz houses bult using steel structures are starting to become popular.
Making the area under the water waterproof is not a significant problem. We solved making the tops of buildings waterproof 5,000 years ago.
I didn't mention that areas where there is high levels of radiant heat have large diurnal ranges and (radiation works both ways) and consquently cold nights are the problem, i.e. a lot of the problem would be solved by collecting heat during the day and released at night (heat sink effect).
Finally, this is just the passive solar hot water systems many Australins have already taken to the next stage.
Myanmar's junta fears US invasion
By an Asia Times Online Special Correspondent
BANGKOK - Myanmar's armed forces, commonly known as the Tatmadaw, are increasingly reorienting themselves to defend against a possible US-led foreign invasion, as revealed in a top-secret internal document leaked exclusively to Asia Times Online.
This official Ministry of Defense document represents the first concrete evidence that Myanmar is reacting militarily to recent US official statements referring to the hardline regime as an "outpost of tyranny".
The minutes of an October 2005 meeting in which battalion commanders were briefed about a high-level meeting at the War Office in Yangon delineates three ways in which the United States might invade Myanmar - through agitating its citizens, in an alliance with insurgents and ceasefire groups or through a multinational coalition-led invasion. The Burmese-language document, which is more than 40 pages in length, is stamped "Top Secret".
The document further identifies Thailand, a staunch strategic ally of the United States, as Myanmar's "nearest enemy" and takes particular umbrage at the US-Thai joint Cobra Gold military exercises held annually in Thailand. In the past, the highly public joint military exercises have focused on counter-narcotics operations to help stem the flow of drugs from Myanmar into Thailand.
The document also indicates that the Tatmadaw has been closely studying US military strategy and operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and is preparing an "Operation Other No War" plan (as the document's English-language translation calls it) to defend against a possible US invasion through a war of attrition. Exact details of the defensive contingency plan are not included in the document, however.
Quelling the masses
Since the bloody crackdown on democracy demonstrations in 1988, Myanmar's army has expanded dramatically, Billions of dollars have been spent to modernize its armaments and adopt more outward power-projection capabilities. Over the subsequent decade and a half, the armed forces' defense orientation was primarily focused inward to suppress urban-based dissidents and quash the many ethnic insurgencies operating along Myanmar's borders.
The army's core fighting units, which back in 1987 consisted of 104 infantry and 150 light-infantry battalions, has expanded over the subsequent 15 years to 200 infantry battalions and more than 300 light-infantry battalions. Light-infantry divisions, the army's shock troops, also increased from eight to 10.
Beginning in 1994, the War Office also established Operation Control Commands (OCCs), which have gradually expanded in scope over the years. There are currently as many as 22 OCCs based throughout the country, each comprising 10 infantry battalions that are deployed wherever needed.
The doubling of combat units has allowed the army to establish a permanent presence throughout much of the country, to secure more than a dozen still-tenuous ceasefire deals and to hem in the remaining insurgencies along the border with Thailand. Myanmar now boasts one of the largest standing armies in all of Asia.
Nonetheless, the regime remains ever vigilant about urban unrest, and ceasefire agreements with groups, such as the Kachin Independence Army, often appear shaky. Ultimately, though, the military junta, known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), will be able to quell domestic opposition to its heavy-handed rule only by instituting political reforms and sharing, if not relinquishing, political power.
Shifting threat perceptions
Although the domestic security imperative remains, there has been a clear shift in Myanmar's defense orientation since 2000, after a tit-for-tat border dispute in which the two historic foes shelled border towns and Thai fighters allegedly violated Myanmar's airspace. With the junta now fretting about possible US armed intervention, those strategic recalibrations take on new significance.
Myanmar's War Office reacted to its armed exchange with Thailand by implementing a series of administrative reforms, and shifting its procurement priorities to acquire modern fighter jets, including 12 MiG-29s from Russia, as well as other artillery and air defense systems. The junta is currently in talks with Moscow to obtain more undisclosed military hardware, which some strategic analysts believe includes missile technology. The Tatmadaw has also initiated a significant modernization of its navy. Notably, neither the air force nor the navy serves significant counter-insurgency functions.
The War Office also subordinated its regional commands under four bureaus of special operation. These BSOs are responsible for joint forces integration among the Tatmadaw's three service branches, and have conducted several high-profile combined operations along the Thailand-Myanmar border - some speculate in reaction to the annual US-Thai joint military operations.
BSOs, which exercise operational oversight over all military operations in their designated areas, report directly to the War Office and are under the command of General Thura Shwe Mann, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Yangon division remains under the direct command of the Ministry of Defense through the Yangon regional commander.
The Directorate of Artillery and Armor was also divided into separate directorates in 2001, and the Office of Chief of Air Defense created. A dramatic expansion of forces under these directorates followed. Most of the equipment for these units was procured from China.
Armored divisions were expanded in number from one to 10, five equipped with tanks and five with armored vehicles. In mid-2003 the army is believed to have acquired 50 Type 72 tanks from Ukraine. According to Jane's Defense Weekly, the respected global defense and military technology publication, Ukraine also signed a deal to build and equip a factory in Myanmar to produce 1,000 armored personnel carriers (APCs) in 2004.
Units are also armed with T-69 II tanks and Type 63 light tanks. Although APCs and tanks might serve some function in suppressing urban dissent or a renewed outbreak of insurgency, they are not useful in counter-insurgency jungle warfare, and represent further evidence of the regime's broader strategic reorientation.
Since 2000, the Directorate of Artillery has overseen the expansion of Artillery Command Controls (ACCs) from one or two to 10 or more. The army's stated intention is to establish an ACC in each of the 12 regional commands. An ACC is reportedly composed of 10 batteries, each armed with three guns. Armaments include heavy mortars, recoilless rifles, mountain guns and multiple rocket launchers.
The army continues to deploy and equip air-defense battalions throughout the country. Regarded as the first line of defense against a foreign invasion, these units reportedly rely on a variety of radar to suppress jamming, shoulder-launched artillery, and short-, medium- and long-range artillery and missiles. Procurement has included at least 100 Igla-1E low-altitude surface-to-air missiles from Bulgaria and air-defense equipment from Sweden and Ukraine.
Bunkered down, looking outward
These recent acquisitions, significantly, are also externally oriented. A high-ranking officer of the Karen National Liberation Army, an armed insurgent group, based in the Thai border town of Mae Sot claims that the SPDC has recently deployed artillery outposts along the entire border with Thailand. Between Mae Sot and Mae Samlep alone there are 10 or more such outposts, he contends. Such artillery is relatively useless against mobile, hit-and-run guerrilla forces operating in the jungle-covered area, and are clearly intended to provide a defensive perimeter against foreign attack from Thailand or the US, or both in cooperation.
Many also view the regime's recent establishment of the new bunker-fortified, inland capital in Pyinmana as partly motivated by the junta's fears of a possible US invasion. The leaked Defense Department document confirms that analysis in stark detail.
That said, the Tatmadaw's defense policies, which some strategic analysts contend are costing the impoverished country more than US$1 billion per year, seem self-defeating. While spending billions of dollars to procure more advanced weaponry, the military lacks the wherewithal to operate and maintain this equipment.
Soldiers rarely are able to practice with the foreign technology, raising hard questions about their capabilities in the event of a conflict. Purchases have also drained resources away from developing and motivating personnel, and the army continues to rely on forced recruitment; soldiers are poorly paid, and desertion is rife.
Although it still seems unlikely that the US, bogged down in Iraq, hard-focused on Iran and fretting about North Korea's nuclear program, will ever invade Myanmar, the junta's recent procurements would serve little if any deterrent value against America's military might if it did invade. One Western military official familiar with Myanmar's defensive capacities, requesting anonymity, stated that if the US were so inclined, it could take control over Myanmar's urban areas, transportation and communications infrastructure in a matter of days.
Western advocates of engaging rather than isolating the junta have argued that the present US economic sanctions make the ruling generals more xenophobic and paranoid. Ironically, perhaps, pre-1988 economic engagement with the junta flowed predominantly to the military and its senior officers' personal interests, and it continues to do so with the countries that have retained commercial relations with the regime. Analysts have estimated that about 50% of the central government's budget has been spent on defense since 1988.
Since seizing power in a military putsch in 1962, the Tatmadaw has frequently attempted to drum up nationalist sentiment and domestic fear by invoking the threat of foreign invasion. So it is still unclear whether SPDC leader General Than Shwe and other senior officers are really gripped with paranoia over a US invasion, or whether they are resorting to well-worn fear tactics to rouse nationalism among a dispirited army and beleaguered population.
In reality, the biggest security threat to Myanmar is still the Tatmadaw itself and its spendthrift ways. If the US were ever to strike preemptively and invade the increasingly isolated country, it might find a different reception from the one it received in Iraq. This time US forces just might be welcomed with rose petals and hugs in Myanmar.
#3
Methinks Myanmar wants in on US trade goodies, ala USA and Pakistan, Philippines, India, unified Vietnam, etc, espec to counter arch-rival Thailand. For the longest time, Burma was a neglected foster child of America - Thailand got the econ trade and US B-52's, etal. based at Utapao, Burma got the refugees. What we're seeing is Burma's warning that either the US-West give it its due, or they switch to Russia-China and the SCO - as wid anti-Everybody/China Commie Vietnam, the USA should get there before its too late. While we're there, should add in Bangladesh for good measure.
From East Asia Intel, subscription.
PSA International, the port operator owned by the Singapore governments investment trust Temasek, has come to the rescue of Li Ka Shings empire, which, according to Hong Kong sources, is hemorrhaging from losses in telecommunications. PSA has purchased 20 percent of Lis Hutchison Whampoa Hong Kong-based operations. Hutchison Whampoa is the worlds second-largest port management company with operations at both ends of the Panama Canal and in the Bahamas as well as its Hong Kong and China operations. Links to Temasek Holdings HERE and HERE.
The $4.39-billion cash deal comes two months after PSA dropped out of bidding for Britain's Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation. P&O went to Dubai Ports World, setting up a controversy over its operations in the U.S. due to its Arab base. Dubai settled the dispute by peeling off the American P&O assets to another independent entity.
PSA is the world's second-largest container port operator. It dominates Singapore traffic, said to be the busiest in the world, but also has significant operations in Belgium, Rotterdam and the Netherlands through a subsidiary called Hesse-Noord Natie. The stake the largest purchase in PSAs history does not give PSA control of Hutchison Whampoa. But it will give it a new presence in the fast-growing Chinese ports. As long as the ChiComs go along.
PSAs owner, Temasek, is generally seen as an arm of the Singapore government. That perception is reinforced by the fact that Ho Ching, appointed executive director of Temasek in 2002, is the second wife of Lee Hsien Loong, who became Singapore Prime Minister in 2004. Ho has been aggressively pursuing a policy of internationalization out of Temaseks former primary function as a promoter of Singapore industry and services, with especially massive investments in Mainland China ventures.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/27/2006 14:48 ||
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Malaysian scientists and religious scholars are trying to determine how Muslims should behave in space, as the predominantly Islamic country prepares to dispatch its first astronaut next year.
More than 150 delegates attended a seminar to consider how to pray in space given the difficulties of locating Mecca and holding the prayer position in zero gravity; as well as other questions such as halal food and washing.
"It's as important as sending the astronaut," said Mustafa Din bin Subari, deputy director of Angkasa, Malaysia's space agency. "We want to stress that being a Muslim does not restrict you from doing anything."
The application of a religion founded in the 7th century Arabian desert to space travel in the 21st century is complex. The International Space Station (ISS) moves at almost 17,000 mph, so the relative position of Mecca is constantly shifting. With 16 orbits a day, and the timing of five daily prayers determined in relation to sunrise and sunset, devout Muslim astronauts could find themselves intoning their chants 80 times in 24 hours.
"This is not possible," said Mohamad Sa'ari Mohamad Isa, of the National Technical University College of Malaysia at the meeting in Bangi, near Kuala Lumpur. The electronics lecturer has helped to develop a computer programme called Muslims in Space to determine when prayers should be made.
The Malaysian government is planning to send one of its citizens on a Russian-led mission to the ISS in October 2007. Three of the final four candidates for the trip are Muslim men, the other a Hindu woman, who were selected from 30,000 applicants. The only known Muslim to travel into space before is a Saudi prince, on Nasa's space shuttle in 1985.
Delegates to the conference, which ended on Tuesday, were also reminded that scientific progress used to be most advanced in the Islamic world, which gave the West algebra, the zero and Arabic numerals. It was a failure of individuals and leaders, rather than the religion, according to Syed Kamarulzaman Syed Kabeer, vice-president of the Islamic Astronomers' Association of Malaysia, that led to Islamic peoples giving up their lead.
#4
Muslims are supposed to pray five times a day. Now for a spacehip a revolution around teh earth is a day, so a Muslim should pray five times per revolution for the entire duration of the mission (several earth days usually) and do this ins space suit and zero gravity conditions. Just try to hit the florr with your forehead in zero gravity.
So at the end we have a guy who can do little work because he spends his time praying (the time of an astronaut costs thousands of dollars per second) and he is in such state of exhaustion as to be a hazrd for the mission.
Now, how about quite simply not allowing Muslims in space?
#5
That's a good step one, JFM. Now we have to deal with the unreliability of the earth's magnetic field and the probability that compasses are incorrect.
#7
Something wonderful is going to happen, Mohammad
Posted by: kelly ||
04/27/2006 10:27 Comments ||
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#8
good thing we finally have an answer, after all, so many muslim astronauts were previously confused
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/27/2006 11:02 Comments ||
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#9
Yeah, they will pray, but wait until they have to go to the bathroom and perform the woudou stuff with the stones... and did I mention the ablutions before praying?
Gromgoru, ed, BH : lol! Still, that's cruel, you should be ashamed of mocking theses brave muslimonauts daring into kafr space.
#17
The real questions is, will they ever admit that the Koran says nothing of space travel, and is therefore somewhat outdated? Or that The Allmighty Allan did not see this one coming?
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/27/2006 16:45 Comments ||
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#18
Going to Space means seeing that there's no muddy pool for the Sun to sink into, iow the muslim astronauts prove for themselves their holely book lies.
#19
"It's as important as sending the astronaut," said Mustafa Din bin Subari, deputy director of Angkasa, Malaysia's space agency. "We want to stress that being a Muslim does not restrict you from doing anything."
Sorry but it restricts you from doing this space adventure without denying the science and focusing on how your astronaut waggles his ass at Mecca 5 times a day. It proves you are incapable of joining a space program. That science is beyond the ken of your religion.
Space -- and their only focus is how the muslim can be "pious".
Sad sad sad. The operative word in muslim contibution to science is "used to". Much like the blaming the loss on "leaders" rather than the fundamentals of the religion. The "leaders" are the mullahs, the religion.
Sure, shoot Mohammad into space, just don't expect him to be anything but religious baggage.
Ten states fired a new legal salvo at the federal government Thursday in a long-running court battle over global warming and pollution from power plants. Wait for it...
The states, joined by environmental groups, sued the
Environmental Protection Agency over its decision not to regulate carbon dioxide pollution as a contributor to global warming.
New York, California, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin filed the lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. YES! All the liberal claptrap states jumped on board! I'm surprised.... really.
The states, led by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, want the government to require tighter money making pollution controls on the newest generation of power plants.
"We feel it's incumbent on EPA to regulate carbon emissions from those power plants now in order to help us get our arms around global warming," said Spitzer spokesman Marc Violette. Never mind that the earth has been cooling since '98
Also joining the lawsuit are the cities of Washington and New York, as well as Environmental Defense, Natural Resources Defense Council, and
Sierra Club. Usual suspects on enviromental lawsuits
New York and other states have fought with the Bush administration for years over carbon dioxide emissions. and lost
In July 2005, a three-judge panel in the same court upheld the EPA's decision not to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from cars and trucks under the Clean Air Act. The agency argues the law does not authorize them to regulate emissions to reduce global warming, and maintains there is not enough scientific data to support such a move. Amen! Sanity in the courts! I'm buying a lotto ticket!
The lawsuit was filed largely in response to the 2005 ruling, in the hopes that the courts will rule specifically whether the Clean Air Act can be used to fight global warming.
"We think this is the case that will sink us decide that question," said Natural Resources Defense Council lawyer David Doniger.
An EPA spokesman did not immediately return a call for comment. Coward
Environmentalists say 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States come from power plants. Carbon dioxide is believed to be the greatest single contributor to global warming. Which is complete crap, as it is a very poor greenhouse gas. Try methane for a better gas.
A growing number of scientific studies bolster the theory that increased levels of carbon dioxide, methane and other gases are accumulating in the atmosphere, where they trap heat and raise the earth's average temperature. Considering all those "Studies" are paid for by government grants and the people doing the study would be unemployed without them, it really isn't surprising that they have these findings. Click here for the real scientific rundown.
Actors could escape the smoking ban due to come into force in England next year if lighting up is crucial to their performance, the Department of Health revealed. Theatres, film and television crews could be exempted from the ban on smoking in enclosed public places because of worries about actors' ability to portray smokers. "The government is considering providing a specific exemption from smoke-free legislation to ensure that smoking can take place on stage during live theatrical performances, or during film and television recording, where smoking is integral to the plot or storyline," a Department of Health spokesman said. "We will be consulting with the theatre industry on what they consider integral to the plot."
The hypocrisy here is breathtaking. Remember how smoking bans are For Your Own Good®? Actors are just as prone to lung cancer as any other person in Blighty. This law is not about health, it's about control.
Theatre companies have voiced fears that historical well-known smokers, such as Britain's cigar-loving World War II leader Winston Churchill, would be tough to portray if actors were not allowed to light up on stage. Public health minister Caroline Flint is writing to industry leaders about the ban with a view to exempting actors.
Let me make sure I got this right: The Minister for Public Health is encouraging some chosen few citizens to smoke. Gah.
By Alister Bull WASHINGTON (Reuters) - America may still think of itself as the land of opportunity, but the chances of living a rags-to-riches life are a lot lower than elsewhere in the world, according to a new study published on Wednesday. The likelihood that a child born into a poor family will make it into the top five percent is just one percent, according to "Understanding Mobility in America," a study by economist Tom Hertz from American University. By contrast, a child born rich had a 22 percent chance of being rich as an adult, he said.
The problem here is that the authors are expecting equality of results, not of opportunity. You can file this one under the same category as Mom the Bitch, the alar danger from apple pie, and the corporate greed of baseball. And you could rephrase that last sentence as stating that the dull child of rich parents has a 78 percent chance of not being a rich adult.
"In other words, the chances of getting rich are about 20 times higher if you are born rich than if you are born in a low-income family," he told an audience at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think-tank sponsoring the work.
What an amazing surprise. Who'd have ever guessed that?
He also found the United States had one of the lowest levels of inter-generational mobility in the wealthy world, on a par with Britain but way behind most of Europe. "Consider a rich and poor family in the United States and a similar pair of families in Denmark, and ask how much of the difference in the parents' incomes would be transmitted, on average, to their grandchildren," Hertz said. "In the United States this would be 22 percent; in Denmark it would be two percent," he said.
I think that's an apples and oranges argument, comparing a free enterprise society against a welfare state. The Eurokiddies' incomes would be subsidized when dropping, taxed away when growing, confiscated when growing dramatically.
The research was based on a panel of over 4,000 children, whose parents' income were observed in 1968, and whose income as adults was reviewed again in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1999. The survey did not include immigrants, who were not captured in the original data pool. Millions of immigrants work in the U.S, many illegally, earnings much higher salaries than they could get back home. Several other experts invited to review his work endorsed the general findings, although they were reticent about accompanying policy recommendations.
I'm guessing the policy recommendations had to do with bringing the U.S. approach into line with Europe's...
"This debunks the myth of America as the land of opportunity, but it doesn't tell us what to do to fix it," said Bhashkar Mazumder, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland who has researched this field.
I don't think it does, if only because of the wealth of empirical evidence to the contrary. We have a competitive society. Rich kids start out with advantages that's one of the reasons grown ups work so hard, to give those advantages to their kids. But a child from a poor family has the opportunity to educate himself or herself, to learn a skill, and to move from one income stratum to the next. Sometimes plans don't work and people don't achieve what they want. They might not work hard enough at it, they might work hard on the wrong aspect of it, the market might drop, or they might get trampled by the competition. Opportunities for success are also opportunities for failure, and you're mostly on your own in both, whether rich or poor.
I'm not nearly as concerned (or as covetous) about the upper five percent as I am pleased that it's possible to go from the bottom 10 percent to around the comfortable middle of the upper 50 percent. You can do that simply by hard work and keeping your nose clean. My ambition another factor in building that social movement matrix doesn't extend to rarified corporate levels. I don't want to spend my entire life going to meetings and watching sales figures. Nor do I want to be an international financier, a politician, or an habitual Gulf Stream traveler. At the same time, I don't have any tatoos on my neck, I don't take drugs, I dress for the job, show up on time, and I try to be personable at work, so I'm what's known in the business world as "employable." I'm not part of a cultural stratum that dismisses those qualities.
When I was a child my family was not only poor, but at times very poor tar paper shack poor. I can remember literal rags and my parents' embarrassment at sometimes living on charity. The one thing they hammered into me was to get an education. There were times as a teenager and as a young adult that I was too lazy or too self-absorbed to give that goal the attention it deserved. It wasn't until I did that I started moving up in the world. That wasn't a matter of social organization, but a matter of social culture — as a young fellow beer and babes had at least equal importance to education and work.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
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#1
Very true Fred. I was very poor as a child and decided early on that physical labor sucked. I got an education and now am solidly middle class and have a great and prosperous life. A lot of people stay in the same strata that they were born in. But in America, the opportunity to move up is always there. Get an education. Get a job. Be productive and you will do well. Otherwise, no one is gonna help you be lazy.
#2
"Consider a rich and poor family in the United States and a similar pair of families in Denmark, and ask how much of the difference in the parents' incomes would be transmitted, on average, to their grandchildren,"
I'll call this for what it is, Bullshit.
You make a study of inter-generational economic outcomes and 'prove' that in Denmark the opportunity for a poor kid to get rich are greater becuase less money is passed down through the generations.
It does no such thing. All it does is identify a factor at work in determining the outcome. Without knowing the other factors at work and their relative importance. It's impossible to draw any conclusions from this piece of data.
More poor Danes get rich cos more of them buy lottery tickets. It's impossible to refute this statement from the evidence presented.
#3
Article: The research was based on a panel of over 4,000 children, whose parents' income were observed in 1968, and whose income as adults was reviewed again in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1999.
This is the crucial part. The thing with many social science studies is that they're more socialist than scientific. Is the sample representative of the population at large? Or is it not? The most accurate way to track these things with be with the help of IRS data, with the names blanked out.
#5
phil_b: Good call Zhang. Maybe the sample was offspring of Berkley faculty.
Well - I have many questions. Did they control for race? Are they comparing welfare recipients in the Bronx with the Rockefellers? Or are they comparing the working poor with the Rockefellers?
#6
These types of articles have been seen and debunked on the Net since forever. All America needs to know is that a low-income to middle-class American is a rich man, a milionaire, or better by the standards of many nations, espec in the Third World, and are still better off than those in dev or major non-American nations, includ those where national personal income levels are allegedly roughly par. At last check, 18 of the world's top 25 Billionaires have American citizenship andor permanent residences in America - ditto for the majority of world's top 25 millionaires.
#8
The one thing they hammered into me was to get an education.
There's more to it than that. You can have 4 advanced degrees in 4 different fields, but what matters is what comes after. In America, it's easier to actually do something with that education and it's easier to succeed if you've got the right stuff, with a little bit of luck thrown in. This is not by accident. The underlying conditions are such that this is possible in the US, and less so in other places.
Compare to Europe. Education is basically free. You can study what you want, for however long you want. But the difference is that even if you have the advanced degrees and all the right stuff, your chances of success are less than that of your counterpart in the US, whatever the field. (Anyone who discovers the reason why this is so, will achieve a greater level of wisdom. It's not difficult actually. It has to do with government, i.e. less of it, and non-socialist economics.)
I've found that degrees from prestigious universities such as Harvard, Princeton, et al, do not impress in Europe. And it's not because they're American. It is because having the right connections is still the most prevalent way of landing a job in Europe. It doesn't matter that you're smarter than Einstein. If you don't know anybody, you're out of luck, or at least, it's that much harder for you. (That's a bit of an exaggeration. If you're a European smarter than Einstein, than you get snapped up by American firms and universities to do research. But the slightly-less-smarter-than-Einsteins who don't happen to know any bigshots, are out of luck.) To be fair, obviously connections also matter in the US, but it's not to the same extent.
You don't have to look very far to see yet another big difference between the US and Europe. The French government took the necessary measures to relax the labour market rigidities that are the cause of so much pain in France and all over Europe. And what happened? Supposedly intelligent, well educated students rioted in the streets and basically guaranteed that they will remain underemployed for decades to come.
One last thing. Can you picture a place in this world that allows you to go to law school, pass with flying colours, graduate top of the class, but won't allow you to actually practice law? ...or medecine? ...nursing? Such a place exists...in Europe. Gives whole new meaning to the term closed shop. Can you imagine graduating top of the class in the US and unable to practice law? That's one of those underlying conditions that allow people to succeed in the US.
God, you can write a book on this topic.
Posted by: rafael ||
04/27/2006 2:45 Comments ||
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#9
So is he saying that rich, smart, Europeans immigrate to the US, leaving room for other Europeans to move up?
I'm not sure if that was snarkiness on your part, but that's exactly what is happening. Smart, industrious, inventive Europeans naturally gravitate to the place where their talents can be put to good use, and where they have a reasonable chance of being well rewarded for their efforts.
The rich stay behind though, because there's more serfs to be had in Europe than in the US. But that's the uglier side of my theory, and we don't wanna go there.
Posted by: rafael ||
04/27/2006 2:52 Comments ||
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#10
Any controls in this "study" for marrying into money?
How about IQ testing on the kids in 1968? Was that factored in?
How about regional differences? Gender differences? Overall performance of the economies involved? Movement across national borders? Short-term economic trends at the sampling times?
Did anyone do a meta-analysis of the statistical significance, or of long term benefit to society, of any small percentage of people making it to the top 5% vs an even greater number making it from poor to middle or upper middle class?
What percentage in the society during that time period stayed stagnant or declined in their economic status?
This "study" is another object example of how social science with an agenda is almost never real science.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
04/27/2006 6:24 Comments ||
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#11
Can you picture a place in this world that allows you to go to law school, pass with flying colours, graduate top of the class, but won't allow you to actually practice law? ...or medecine? ...nursing? Such a place exists...in Europe. Gives whole new meaning to the term closed shop. Can you imagine graduating top of the class in the US and unable to practice law?
It's the same reason why people with great personal wealth (Barbara Streisand, Ted Kennedy, Warren Buffet) often favor steeply progressive income taxes and punitive estate taxes: "I got mine, and I don't want you new-money peasants spoiling the exclusivity at the country club!"
Posted by: Mike ||
04/27/2006 6:42 Comments ||
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#12
The likelihood that a child born into a poor family will make it into the top five percent is just one percent
Note the "top five percent". No mention of the odds of making it into the top FIFTY percent, or even of just improving your lot in general. It's always been the case that it's very difficult to make it to the upper 1/20th of wealth from humble beginnings; the question is whether you can improve your condition.
And, frankly, I wonder what the odds of a poor kid in Denmark getting into the top five percent. Or France, or Germany, or...
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
04/27/2006 7:16 Comments ||
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#13
I suggest an experiment. We could have two big countries, say as big as continents, so rich in resources they can export food to the rest of the world, both made up of many different ethnic groups. Then one could be run under the American system. The other would be run under a system dedicated to equality, taking from each according to his ability and giving to each according to his needs. Let's start the experiment in 1900 and see how it turns out 100 years later.
#14
I am a banker and live in Rednecklandistan. One day I was visiting with one of my customers about our lives as he was making a deposit. He is an immigrant from India and owns a convenience store in town. He was shocked when I mentioned that I had a BS in agriculture and asked how I landed a job in banking. My only response was that I was arrogant enough to ask for the job and willing to learn. He was an engineer and come to the US for more opportunity. "Yes" he said, "that IS how it works here."
#17
lol, OA6414! Soooo true. You all have already bashed this to death, but here's my comments on this "study":
(1) like someone else mentioned...was this sample normalized for population, race, gender, IQ, etc.?
(2) note that it's comparing our top 5% to Europe's top 5%. That's comparing really rich, industrious workers (U.S.) to probably just the "ruling class" in Europe (politicos).
(3) What is the top 5% of the US (I imagine it's millionaires on up) vs. top 5% of Denmark (much lower, I'd imagine, but just guessing)?
(4) How much (in total $ or Euros) was passed down from generation to generation? I imagine the US total is a LOT higher than the Euro version because of taxes, etc.
(5) I'm assuming this was normalized for this but who knows? What is the rate of inflation for the 2 countries over these last 30+ years? From here on (longer term effects, as well as the Islamization of Europe) will flip these results, even if they were true. If inflation is 6-8%/year in Europe vs. 3% or so in U.S., it's gonna get harder to become "rich" in Europe (especially as socialism calls for more Euros in the future).
(6) Just what is exactly the definition of "poor"? Is it the poverty level? If so, I'd still argue (like Joe did) that it's easier to live in the US (even at the poverty level) than it is in Europe (at the poverty level).
Just a few questions of this so-called "study."
Posted by: BA ||
04/27/2006 11:14 Comments ||
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#18
I'm just fascinated that they removed immigrants and their children from this study. I'm not buying the "they weren't in the original study" reason either. Why?
Lots of immigrants, legal or illegal, come here poor or relatively so. Forget about how they are compared to "back home", they generally aren't raking in the cash compared to many of the native born Americans at first. Their kids make it up a rung or two, and their grandchildren go a little further in this country. That isn't the case in much of the world, and the authors know it.
Can't have something like that disproving their pet theories, can we?
#19
I think I espoused these rules to grow up and make a decent (and maybe good) living in the U.S.:
1) Finish High School
2) Dont have kids in High School
3) Dont get involved with drugs, gangs and criminal activity.
4) Go to College or some Technical training school (Stay away from Liberal arts degrees)
Note: there are so many ways and avenues to attend and fund college they cannot be stated in this space. Suffice to say that if you have the ambition to attend post-High School education there is a way to pay for it. Additionally, the less well off you are the MORE FREE money (grants, scholarships, etc.) you are apt to find for education.
5) Invest your money or in other words pay yourself first (IRA, Savings, etc)
6) Buy a house and reap some tax benefits (IT IS LEGAL).
Caveat: you can break all these rules and still turn your life around and many will cheer for your success.
#20
"On average, 47 percent of poor families remain poor. But within this, 32 percent of whites stay poor while the figure for blacks is 63 percent."
As Fred points out, you can cherry pick the particular quantiles to make it sound like we live in a hopeless society. But even this guy's data say that 53% of the poor become not poor, 68% among whites, and 37% among blacks. (If he examined blacks who grew up in 2-parent families, I wonder what the figures would be?)
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.
WHEELING, W.Va. - Call it a case of pignapping. Police found a missing potbellied pig early Wednesday in the back seat of a car that had been reported stolen in eastern Ohio. The car's owner, who wasn't identified, had told the Belmont County (Ohio) sheriff's office that the pet pig was in the vehicle when it was stolen Tuesday afternoon from a restaurant parking lot in St. Clairsville, Ohio, according to a Wheeling police report. Wheeling officers began following the car after they saw a man stagger to it at an intersection. They stopped the car after it allegedly swerved several times and hit curbs. William N. Ward, 50, of St. Clairsville, was jailed on charges of receiving stolen property, driving under the influence and driving on a license revoked for a prior DUI. Police contacted animal control officers to take the pig.
TASHKENT - Uzbekistan, its eyes set on Asia as its relations sour with the West, agreed on Wednesday to open up its oil and gas sector to India and invited one of the worlds biggest energy consumers to invest in new fields.
A congresswoman's son and three Democratic campaign workers were sentenced Wednesday to four to six months in jail for slashing tires outside a Bush-Cheney campaign office on Election Day 2004.
If there ever was a political honeymoon for Gov. Jon Corzine, it appears to be over. In his first four months in office, the Democrat has proposed an increase in the sales tax and broken a promise to give homeowners dramatic relief from the highest property taxes in the nation. Corzine's approval ratings have sunk, and fellow Democrats in the Legislature are hesitant to back his budget plan.
Amid a swarm of television cameras, U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney arrived at the state Capitol on Monday to file for re-election. McKinney smiled broadly but didn't comment on her recent scuffle with a U.S. Capitol Police officer. "Hello, so good to see you," the Democratic congresswoman said as she made her way around the House chamber.
KARACHI - Relatives of a 14-year-old Pakistani girl kidnapped her and shot her four times in an attempted honour killing, a senior police officer said on Wednesday. Nur Jehan was shot in the stomach, leg, knee and arm outside Karachi and left for dead by her cousins, who accused her of having sex with a young man.
Ten states fired a new legal salvo at the federal government Thursday in a long-running court battle over global warming and pollution from power plants.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - America may still think of itself as the land of opportunity, but the chances of living a rags-to-riches life are a lot lower than elsewhere in the world, according to a new study published on Wednesday. The likelihood that a child born into a poor family will make it into the top five percent is just one percent, according to "Understanding Mobility in America," a study by economist Tom Hertz from American University. By contrast, a child born rich had a 22 percent chance of being rich as an adult, he said. 
