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Gunmen kidnap director of Basra Int'l Airport
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Tomorrow's Idiots Today
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Talk about a wrong turn. Three teens suspected of burglarizing vehicles were arrested after they attempted to elude a police car by turning into a police station.
An area resident reported the break-ins about 3 a.m. Monday and gave police a description of the teens and their car.

Officers spotted the car—and it appeared the driver noticed the officers, police spokesman Joel DeSpain said. He turned right, apparently in an attempt to avoid the squad car.

"They turned right into the East District Station, " DeSpain said. "Then we arrested them. "

Two 16-year-old boys and a 15-year-old girl were tentatively charged with entry into a locked vehicle, property damage and theft.

Police recovered two iPods, credit cards, car stereos and two baseball bats from them, DeSpain said.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 10/10/2007 09:28 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


McCanns: Request for tourists' DNA after possible evidence of kidnapping uncovered
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 10/10/2007 06:54 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:


Today's Idiot
Man sentenced in "pride" killing of ostrich
Bringing 'honor killing' to a whole new level.
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. man was sentenced to five months in jail after he and a friend, acting on wounded pride, gunned down an ostrich that had kicked them as their female companions laughed, a newspaper reported on Saturday. "This whole thing is about male pride," prosecutor Steve Wagstaffe said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The bird kicked his butt, couldn't take that.
The powerful flightless bird, named Gaylord, kicked Timothy McKevitt, 19, and Jonathon Porter, 21, last October when they trespassed on an ostrich ranch south of San Francisco after a night of drinking, the paper cited attorneys as saying. As the startled bird attacked, the women began to laugh, prosecutors said. McKevitt was kicked in the ribs and knocked over, while Porter suffered scrapes and bruises.
It was the wimmins fault!
The two men returned with a rifle and shotgun seeking revenge, the Chronicle said. They fired at least seven shots at Gaylord, according to a police report.

McKevitt, free on bail, was ordered to turn himself in on November 3. Porter was sentenced in March to seven months in jail after pleading no contest in the ostrich killing, the paper reported.
Posted by: Free Radical || 10/10/2007 04:47 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Killing a bird for that is a pretty stoopid reason to go to jail for; still, I hope this will help them cool their heels and get a grip on how civilized behavior works (assuming they don't get victimized doing time, which would be really too bad), because I have the feeling that in the right conditions, they could have as easily done this to a man or group of men after a similar buttkicking. I hope they'll benefit from that lesson.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 10/10/2007 7:29 Comments || Top||

#2  Is ostrich, like revenge, a dish best served cold?
Posted by: Spot || 10/10/2007 8:17 Comments || Top||

#3  "Ostriches are so powerful that a single
kick at a predator, such as a lion, could be
fatal." Source:
Posted by: Free Radical || 10/10/2007 11:15 Comments || Top||

#5  Ostriches have been around for a long, long time. Over that period they have developed highly functional defense mechanisms. When your eggs weigh six pounds each and a single one can make an omelet for ten, you have to defend them a lot. A 14 month-old bird weighs in at over 200 pounds with some 50% of that being very high protein meat. When you're that popular in the food chain, you'd better know how to stay alive. Imagine the same sort of disembowling kicks that a kangaroo uses, only even more powerful. Flightless does not equate to defenseless.
Posted by: Zenster || 10/10/2007 13:54 Comments || Top||

#6  Ostriches are mean. At the San Diego Wild Animal park, if you go on the photo caravan to feed the rinos and such you go through the ostrichs and they will try to smash your hands with their beak if given a chance.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 10/10/2007 14:05 Comments || Top||

#7  You all are missing the entire point. How in the *liberal* world did these drunk fools get a hold of a rifle in the Democratic Republic of San Francisco? Isn't that a gun-free zone?
(/sarcasm)
Posted by: BA || 10/10/2007 15:39 Comments || Top||

#8  Or better yet, just call it a *PRIDE* killing and in San Francisco, they'll throw ya a festival!
Posted by: BA || 10/10/2007 15:40 Comments || Top||

#9  at this very point in time, i happen to be on leave in a area where this type of incident is rather more common, I spend the last three hours wandering around, being severly lost in a large forrested area.

Walking down one of the, this time of year very dark forrest paths i almost got killed whan a cabriolet (convertible ?)(posting from pda, spellcheck very slow) apeared from nowhere and allmost ran me down, the drivers seemed to have a bit of trouble bringing the car to a full stop (and i admit that the hurling of beerbottles in my (somewhat) general direction by the people in the backseat might have been a little distracting)but nevertheless acomplished their objective

the driver got out, shotgun in hand, yelled something at me in a local tongue (gobbledegook is an apt description, it could offcourse also be that i was so preocupied by getting out of the way and looking for cover in the pitcblack, so i did not realy pay that much attention to what the idiot with the firearm was trying to express) the man fired one shot into the air, did a bit more shouting, got back into the car and out of there like a bat out of hell.

I am safely back at the cabin now opening a very nice bottle of wine, i think i like it here.

Posted by: drive by lurker || 10/10/2007 17:54 Comments || Top||

#10  I'm glad you got through that exciting incident safely, drive by lurker. Have fun!
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/10/2007 18:02 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Vodka-drip feed saves tourist
Alcohol helps soothe the Pain.
DOCTORS used a case of vodka to help save an Italian tourist being treated for poisoning in a Queensland hospital.

And hospital authorities later proved very understanding about the booze bill.

The 24-year-old man was brought to Mackay Base Hospital, in north Queensland, two months ago after he had ingested a large amount of the poisonous substance ethylene glycol, found in antifreeze, which can cause renal failure and is often fatal.

In details just released by the hospital, Dr Pascal Gelperowicz, who led the man's treatment with Dr Todd Fraser, said the man was unconscious on arrival and his treatment was started immediately with pharmaceutical-grade alcohol, which works as an antidote to the poison.

But the hospital's alcohol supplies were soon exhausted.

"We quickly used all the available vials of 100 per cent alcohol and decided the next best way to get alcohol into the man's system was by feeding him spirits through a naso-gastric tube," Dr Gelperowicz said.

Dr Fraser said while the treatment was unconventional, it was very successful, with the patient having now made a full recovery.

"The patient was drip-fed about three standard drinks an hour for three days in the intensive care unit," he said.

"The hospital's administrators were also very understanding when we explained our reasons for buying a case of vodka."

It's believed the man was poisoned when attempting self-harm.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 10/10/2007 07:30 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Nurse! Another Cosmopolitan on the rapid infuser, stat!"

In all seriousness, I have nothing but admiration for Dr. Gelperowicz' creativity in the service of preserving life.
Posted by: Mike || 10/10/2007 8:59 Comments || Top||

#2  But is a tourist who comes to your country to drink antifreeze a life worth saving?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 10/10/2007 9:43 Comments || Top||

#3  I'd save some of that vodka. This guy will probably be back...
Posted by: tu3031 || 10/10/2007 9:50 Comments || Top||

#4  This is the first I've heard of using alcohol as an antidote to ethylene glycol. The latter is the nemesis of veterinarians, especially, as radiator fluid has a slightly sweet flavor and dogs often lick it up to their detriment.

I even once suggested to a vet that they try the active ingredient in milk thistle herb, called silymarin, because while it is extraordinarily effective in protecting and healing the liver, it also provides some protection to the kidneys.

Silymarin, btw, is the specific for death cap mushroom poisoning. Its poison is so potent that even after it has destroyed your liver, enough may remain in your blood to destroy a replacement liver. Silymarin is the one thing that might save your life.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 10/10/2007 13:14 Comments || Top||

#5  Ethyl alcohol is also an antidote for methyl alcohol poisoning. The tricky part is knowing what the unconscious patient actually took so that a specific remedy can be given.
Posted by: Daffy Hupavish2995 || 10/10/2007 13:56 Comments || Top||

#6  Roger. Drink all Austrian wine with a vodka chaser. Got it!
Posted by: Zenster || 10/10/2007 15:02 Comments || Top||

#7  This sounds like a plot from "House."
Posted by: McZoid || 10/10/2007 21:53 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Did rosie o'donell bath in the Danube? Or was it michael moore?
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 10/10/2007 11:41 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Check the river height records- that will tell us for sure.
Posted by: Grunter || 10/10/2007 11:51 Comments || Top||

#2  That's just crazy talk.

Michael Moore doesn't bathe.
Posted by: Chris W. || 10/10/2007 13:31 Comments || Top||

#3  I dodn't know rosie was Romanian. And they say Rantburg isn't informative!
Posted by: mcsegeek1 || 10/10/2007 15:48 Comments || Top||

#4  Ring around the Danube?...
Posted by: mojo || 10/10/2007 17:49 Comments || Top||

#5  Bizarre article.
Danube river does not even remotely come close to Ukraine: Map
Posted by: twobyfour || 10/10/2007 18:21 Comments || Top||

#6  Correction, it does--the northern arm of the Danube delta is tracing the border with Ukraine.

I like my crow flambeaux. ;-)
Posted by: twobyfour || 10/10/2007 18:29 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
S Africa: 'Don't come back to SA'
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 10/10/2007 09:13 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I voted for the ANC, but I feel abandoned.
Duh.
Posted by: Spot || 10/10/2007 13:16 Comments || Top||

#2  Can't possibly be the same SA that Oprah Winfrey visited last year and made her Zulu roots discovery.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/10/2007 21:15 Comments || Top||


S/Africa: Life is hard but we manage, say poor whites in township
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 10/10/2007 09:12 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


SA gold mining turns into Wild-West shootouts with pirates
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 10/10/2007 09:11 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Anarchy
Posted by: 3dc || 10/10/2007 12:23 Comments || Top||


Britain
Don't drink the Zam Zam
Much of the water smuggled into the UK illegally and labelled as if it has come from the holy spring, which is visited by millions of Muslims every year as part of the Hajj pilgrimage, contains high levels of arsenic and nitrates that can be fatal if regularly consumed over time
British muslims are being warned that criminal gangs are operating a multi-million pound illegal racket selling them fake holy water wrongly labelled as having come from Mecca.

The black market trade in fake 'Zam Zam' water - named after the 14ft-deep well in the holy city in Saudi Arabia from where the genuine substance flows - is becoming a serious concern for health officials. They have found that much of the water smuggled into the UK illegally and labelled as if it has come from the holy spring, which is visited by millions of Muslims every year as part of the Hajj pilgrimage, contains high levels of arsenic and nitrates that can be fatal if regularly consumed over time.

Dr Yunes Teinaz, an environmental health expert who advises the London Central Mosque said he was aware of examples of vans transporting vast quantities of the fake water to mosques where their imams ordered their followers to buy the substance
The scale of the racket is alarming Muslim leaders who have called on their followers to boycott all forms of the product on sale in Britain. In one recent case, Dr Yunes Teinaz, an environmental health expert who advises the London Central Mosque, found an Islamic bookshop that was selling an estimated 20,000 litres of Zam Zam water a week. 'This water is contaminated and unsafe for the consumer,' Teinaz said. 'And people are making millions of pounds selling this stuff.'

With the water selling for £3 for a small can, it is a huge moneyspinner for the gangs involved. Teinaz said it was unclear exactly where the water was coming from, but that it cannot be genuine Zam Zam water. It is illegal for Zam Zam water to be commercially exported from Saudi Arabia. The bottling of the genuine substance and its distribution is monitored strictly by the Saudi government.

Surveys reveal some of the imported water contains almost three times as much nitrate and twice as much arsenic as the World Health Organisation believes is safe. Studies show children under six months and elderly people are particularly vulnerable to excessive nitrate while regular consumption of arsenic in water is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths a year in south east Asia. Diluted arsenic has been associated with disorders of the nervous system, loss of sensation in the limbs and hearing impairment.

Teinaz said he also believed some unscrupulous operators in Britain were mixing normal tap water with salt and marketing it as Zam Zam water. He said he was aware of examples of vans transporting vast quantities of the fake water to mosques where their imams ordered their followers to buy the substance.

Some of the water is smuggled into Britain in crates of vegetables and furniture, according to customs officials.
And now, for the fairy tale:
Zam Zam water is sacred within Islam and its provenance is recorded in Islamic texts. According to the Koran, the Prophet Ibrahim, his wife Hagar and their baby son, Ishmael, found water hard to come by after settling in what is now Saudi Arabia. When Hagar thought Ishmael was dying, she searched for water with no success. After offering prayers to Allah, a gush of water appeared under the feet of Ishmael and it has continued to flow from the spot ever since. Today Muslims from all over the world visit the well, believing it to be divinely blessed.

'Zam Zam water is extremely important for more than a billion Muslims,' Teinaz said. 'Muslims believe it not only has healing powers but it is important to them spiritually as well. Whenever people see it they will buy it.'

Real Zam Zam water was tested in 1971 and found to be fit for drinking. Tests showed it had a greater quantity of calcium and magnesium salts than normal water, which may explain why it can help refresh pilgrims. It also contains fluorides that can help combat germs.

The Food Standards Agency has warned Muslims not to buy the water. A number of London councils, have seized fake bottles. Earlier this month trading standards officers seized bottles from a shop in Notting Hill, west London, and similar seizures have been carried out in Gloucester, Barnsley and Leicester.
Posted by: Seafarious || 10/10/2007 12:11 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Perfect storm: sham ZamZam meets fudamentalist Islam meets the UK NHS.
Posted by: lotp || 10/10/2007 12:28 Comments || Top||

#2  Indeed. Would you like some of this popcorn? It's fresh and hot!
Posted by: Seafarious || 10/10/2007 12:32 Comments || Top||

#3  Hmmm. Better stick with the Zam Zam Cola instead.
Posted by: Iblis || 10/10/2007 12:44 Comments || Top||

#4  Each year, after the haji, french sanitary authorites confiscate "zam zam water" brought by pilgrims (not sure if this is systematical or only from those "unfortunate" enough to be controlled)... because said water in not suitable for drinking, often due to feces contamination. So, I guess this profiteering racket of selling fake zam zam to the gullible is alive and well in France too (and the halal meat market is also ripe with fraud). Who said you can't be both pious and an entrepreneur?
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 10/10/2007 12:45 Comments || Top||

#5  regular consumption of arsenic in water is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths a year in south east Asia. Diluted arsenic has been associated with disorders of the nervous system, loss of sensation in the limbs and hearing impairment.

Add that to serious genetic problems caused by inbreeding, and we see Darwinian selection at work. One assumes the poor Saudis don't add this problem to the others they've imposed on themselves, as they can get the real thing whenever they want.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/10/2007 12:55 Comments || Top||

#6  because said water in not suitable for drinking, often due to feces contamination.

Polluted Mecca water? Excessive amounts of E. holi, no doubt.
Posted by: SteveS || 10/10/2007 13:00 Comments || Top||

#7  They have found that much of the water smuggled into the UK illegally and labelled as if it has come from the holy spring, which is visited by millions of Muslims every year as part of the Hajj pilgrimage, contains high levels of arsenic and nitrates that can be fatal if regularly consumed over time.

I foresee this market self-correcting at some point in the future.
Posted by: Zenster || 10/10/2007 15:11 Comments || Top||

#8  According to the Koran, the Prophet Ibrahim, his wife Hagar and their baby son, Ishmael, found water hard to come by after settling in what is now Saudi Arabia. When Hagar thought Ishmael was dying, she searched for water with no success.

Ah yes, the "prophet" Abraham and his story. Completely turned upside-down on its head, some 2,000+ years later by big Mo and his KO-ran. This single event actually explains the whole conflict between the muzzies and the Judeo-Christian sects from day one. The Jews and Christians say that God's "chosen" lineage came from Sarai (Abraham's TRUE wife) and Isaac. The muzzies change the story 2,000 years later to be Hagar (Sarai's maid, and thus, basically a surrogate mother to Abraham's other child, Ishmael). The Torah and Old Testament of the Bible both explain that the first is the true lineage of God's chosen, and thus, the whole split is a clash between stepbrothers (Isaac vs. Ishmael, who is described as a "beast of man" who would "continuously war against" his step-brothers' descendents). Sound familiar anyone?

Oh, and you can darn-tootin' bet that I'd NEVER drink water from a well only 14' deep, especially from Soodi.
Posted by: BA || 10/10/2007 15:48 Comments || Top||

#9  Maybe they can bottle that Rosie Water in the Danube and sell that has Holy!
Posted by: Jack is Back! || 10/10/2007 17:04 Comments || Top||

#10  ...because said water in not suitable for drinking, often due to feces contamination.

So buy mine instead. All I do is piss in it...
Posted by: tu3031 || 10/10/2007 19:26 Comments || Top||

#11  Apparently fudging on inspection, maintenance, andor quality testing sheets is not limited only to immoral decadent infidel Judeo-Xtian Westerners.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/10/2007 19:48 Comments || Top||

#12  "can be fatal if regularly consumed over time"

So its just like the Qu'ran and Islam.


Posted by: OldSpook || 10/10/2007 19:59 Comments || Top||

#13  That's a fine bit of snark, 'Spook.
Posted by: Zenster || 10/10/2007 21:08 Comments || Top||

#14  There was only ever one true Zam Zam Water... and that was served up by Bruno, at the Zam Zam Room in SF. Rot gut gin, turned to a fantastic martini...all the while sending the leather clad Ashbury types down the road. "Tables are closed!"
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 10/10/2007 21:31 Comments || Top||

#15  So what gave it away? Was it the "Made in China" sticker?
Posted by: DMFD || 10/10/2007 21:33 Comments || Top||

#16  does it taste like months-old footbath water? It's probably real Zam-Zam™
Posted by: Frank G || 10/10/2007 21:46 Comments || Top||


"The Best Mosque in Britain"
There are no nasty judges, booing crowds, tearful auditions or backstabbing. But the competition is just as tough. Eight mosques are vying to become Britain's Model Mosque 2007 in a televised competition which marries halal principles with the knock-out rules of reality TV. The series, shown tonight on the Islam Channel, is not a beauty pageant, as aesthetics are not important. Instead, mosques are assessed on their interfaith work, women's facilities, youth services and their transparency on finances, policies and management.

Judges used these criteria to whittle the candidates down from 500 mosques to eight. The finalists hail from Bradford, Birmingham, Cricklewood, Croydon, Glasgow, Haringey, Leyton and Manchester.
If any of our UK commentariat has an opinion or info about these, mosques or areas, please fill us in.
The show started as a personal quest for Model Mosque producer Abrar Hussain, 29. "I wasn't too keen on my local mosque and my friend's one sounded better, it was doing stuff that mine wasn't and I was a bit jealous. There is so much disparity between mosque standards and the show is a way for mosques to see the positive work that is already being done. It's not about being horrible and embarrassing bad mosques. There's no nastiness. Nobody wants to be Simon Cowell."

Each week a presenter grills two mosque representatives in the studio and viewers text in to keep in their favourite. The mosque with the most votes moves to the next stage. There will be a live final next month in front of the 25,000-strong Muslim crowd attending the Global Peace and Unity event at London's Excel Centre, and it will be broadcast to a potential audience of billions.

Judges include Respect councillor Salma Yaqoob and Sir Iqbal Sacranie, from the Muslim Council of Britain. The winning mosque scoops a £35,000 consultancy prize, which will support funding and training proposals.

Organisers are also keen to use the programme as a way of dispelling fears non-Muslims have about mosques. They dispatched questionnaires to 1,000 mosques and received 450 responses.

Mr Hussain described the 14-month selection process as rigorous. "We did internet research, looked at press coverage, spoke to regular worshippers, prayed there ourselves - like mystery shopping. We did our homework. We did not find any evidence of this radicalisation that's supposed to be everywhere. The big surprise is how many good mosques are out there. I was also surprised to see how willing people were to help out."

He and the channel's chief executive, Mohammed Ali, are wary of the show being interpreted in a non-religious way. Mr Ali said: "It's not the X-Factor because there is no singing and dancing and it's not mosque idol because worshipping idols is forbidden."
Technically, it prolly *is* forbidden, but it is also da'wa, and deceipt to the infidel, so it's halal. For now.
But they both appreciate that the popularity of reality TV is helping to attract a youthful audience. Mr Ali said it was crucial for the older generation to involve younger people in daily mosque activity.

Many younger Muslims, particularly women, have complained that mosques are run by small cliques of men from distinct clans or families rather than by the wider community. "The transition of power between the two generations is very important. We don't want to see conflict. There has to be a smooth handover, like Gordon Brown and Tony Blair."
Posted by: Seafarious || 10/10/2007 12:10 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Judges used these criteria to whittle the candidates down from 500 mosques to eight.

May I suggest closing the other 492 mosques for not meeting the cut.
Posted by: JohnQC || 10/10/2007 15:34 Comments || Top||

#2  Finsbury.
C'mon, boys. Ya know ya wanna...
Posted by: tu3031 || 10/10/2007 15:43 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Venezuelans to pay price of Hugo's moral crusade
Posted by: Seafarious || 10/10/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1 
Posted by: Victor Emmanuel Unomoting3635 || 10/10/2007 1:04 Comments || Top||

#2  "If I drink my bottle of whisky, it's because I worked for it. I made the sacrifice and, therefore, I can drink whatever I want,"

This sort of view is anathema to socialists. The State decides what is best, and citizens should respectfully follow.
Posted by: gromky || 10/10/2007 2:46 Comments || Top||

#3  From the comments :

7. Michaela / 5:18am 10 Oct 2007 I can see thousands of Venezuelans setting sail for Florida on rafts of empy whisky bottles.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 10/10/2007 6:34 Comments || Top||

#4  It's not about morals, it's about control; as in, "Hugo tells you what to do and you do it."
Posted by: Mike || 10/10/2007 9:14 Comments || Top||

#5  "The president has a long list of other "New Man" recommendations: don't cover foods with too much hot sauce (Okay, I don't get that one), exercise regularly, eat low-cholesterol foods, respect speed limits (good advice chavez). He also wants parents to stop buying Barbie dolls - and breast surgery - for their daughters.

"Now some say, 'When my daughter turns 15 years old, we're going to give her phoney breasts'. What a horrible thing. It's the latest degeneration," Mr Chavez told one packed auditorium. (Yeah, how many people do this? That would be screwed up to buy your 15 yr old girl some new boobies)
-heck, this guy's crazier than two monkeys locked up in a barrel of rum (no pun intended) but I agree in theory w/what he's saying. It's making people do what he wants by gunpoint that I take issue with. Also, Che Guevara was a big tobacco lover if I recall, and Castro is often seen w/a stogie -- not exactly ideal "new man" role models. However, and more importantly if I could just figure out a way to do some black marketeering of hard liquor down there I'd really be making some dineros.

BTW-- I think Hugo & Qadaffy are in a real competition to see who can put the biggest amount of meaningless medals on their respective uniforms.
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 10/10/2007 9:32 Comments || Top||

#6  Think not of it as "meaningless medals", think of it as improvised brigandine armour; might come handy if someone tries to run a spear through them or hack them with a broadsword. It could happen, I guess.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 10/10/2007 9:43 Comments || Top||

#7  Hugo is going about this the wrong way. You can't change adults. He should start socialist schools that teach the education and values he wants. Make sure they are heavily funded where the folks get a subsidy if junior goes there, a bonus if he gets an A or excels at anything athletic. Forget about the rest of the country. You need committed Hitler Youth. In the long run it's cheaper and better.

Posted by: Penguin || 10/10/2007 10:20 Comments || Top||

#8  Now he is treading ground that will get him killed. getting between a man and his food or his booze, well, them's fighting issues.
Posted by: OldSpook || 10/10/2007 11:18 Comments || Top||

#9  He could creat a union like NEA to make sure the children's schools were modeled on the USA system.
Posted by: Heriberto Ulusomble6667 || 10/10/2007 11:22 Comments || Top||

#10  This is less about morals and not even so much about control.

I think this is really about money. The govt of Venezuala is close to the red line cash flow wise. This is embarrassing given the price of crude.
Posted by: mhw || 10/10/2007 12:16 Comments || Top||

#11  (Yeah, how many people do this? That would be screwed up to buy your 15 yr old girl some new boobies)

According to a girlfriend of mine, who is married to a Mexican and herself collects plastic surgeries, the moneyed classes south of our border are mad for self-improvement. Breast enhancement for 15-year old girls is well within the norm nowadays.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/10/2007 12:18 Comments || Top||

#12  Gotta keep up with the Brazilian wimminz.

Also, the South Americans make a big deal over the quince, a girl's 15th birthday. Kinda like My Super Sweet Sixteen. Apparently the gift of choice right now for the quinceañeras is a new bra size.
Posted by: Seafarious || 10/10/2007 12:31 Comments || Top||

#13  TW - that's messed up. I would think it would be unwise to mess w/mother nature until a woman was at least around 19/20.

I think mhw is pretty close on something. Seems to me Venezula's "free health care" ain't so free if their populace doesn't take care of itself wrt proper diet, exercise, tobacco cessation, alcohol consumption, etc. One reason Hildabeast's one payer scam would kill our health care system -- no accountability.
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 10/10/2007 13:43 Comments || Top||

#14  I remember seeing a magazine article about "teen plastic surgery" a dozen years ago, and IIRC there were four or five little "human interest" sidebars: all girls, from either Cal or NYC, and only one of 'em actually had a medical (non-cosmetic) need for the procedure. It's not all that new, and definitely not a Mexican-only thing.
Posted by: Mike || 10/10/2007 15:13 Comments || Top||

#15  I am surprised that Chavez can take the moral high ground on anything. I would think that Hillary and her coterie of leftists would love Chavez. Last night during the Republican debate, when McCain mentioned Chavez he put the emphasis on the last syllable so that it came out sounding like ChavASS. Got agree with that.
Posted by: JohnQC || 10/10/2007 15:19 Comments || Top||

#16  The president often cites the life of Cuba's iconic hero Ernesto "Che" Guevara as an ideal example - and complains that many Venezuelans' values are not up to par.

Che Guevara as a 'moral" example???

OK, History 101, Hugo. Che Guevara was a ruthless, immoral gangster who butchered thousands of his fellow Cubans during Castro's bid for power. As Castro's henchman, he was free to dispose of Castro's opponents and noncommunists by any means neccessary. And he did. Guevara mass executed innocent Cubans by firing squad on the "bloodsoaked wall". He was a sociopathic thug, who preferred to shoot his victims personally, while they were on their knees and blindfolded. He actually enjoyed it.

But then, I fully expect you to go down the same path you pathetic piece of shit, so I guess claiming "moral" underpinnings is a necessary step.
Posted by: mcsegeek1 || 10/10/2007 16:04 Comments || Top||

#17  Moonshine. Stills are easy to make, and Venezuela has lots of backwoods.
Posted by: mojo || 10/10/2007 16:35 Comments || Top||

#18  In South America, becoming a beauty queen is a serious goal for many young women. It's comparable to being a rock star. Hence the breast surgery at a young age.
Posted by: mom || 10/10/2007 17:55 Comments || Top||



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Wed 2007-10-10
  Gunmen kidnap director of Basra Int'l Airport
Tue 2007-10-09
  Al Qaeda deputy killed in Algeria: report
Mon 2007-10-08
  Tehran University student protest -- 'Death to the dictator'
Sun 2007-10-07
  Support network in Pakistan accused of helping Taliban, others sneak across border to attack U.S
Sat 2007-10-06
  Paleo arrestfest as Hamas, Fatah detain each other's cadres
Fri 2007-10-05
  Korean leaders agree to end war
Thu 2007-10-04
  US-led team to oversee N. Korea nuclear disablement
Wed 2007-10-03
  3 die in explosion at Hamas HQ
Tue 2007-10-02
  Bhutto may allow US military strike
Mon 2007-10-01
  Hamas renews call for cease-fire with Israel
Sun 2007-09-30
  Indian troops corner rebels in Kashmir mosque
Sat 2007-09-29
  Court Lets Perv Run for President
Fri 2007-09-28
  AQI #3 Abu Usama al Tunisi bites the dust
Thu 2007-09-27
  Over 100 Taliban killed in Afghanistan
Wed 2007-09-26
  NWFP govt calls for army's help


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