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Attack on luxury Afghan hotel kills guard, militant: ISAF
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Hunt for Madeleine McCann switches to Canary Islands
The hunt for missing Madeleine McCann switched to the Canary Islands last night as police began scouring a disused pet crematorium, according to reports. The dramatic development in the town of Telde, Gran Canaria, followed a former worker at the site being charged with the attempted abduction of a ten-year-old girl.

Police swooped on Marcos Cabrera, 37, after the victim described fighting off a man as he attempted to drag her into a van as she was walking down the street. He had apparently tried to lure her with five euros and she was later able to pick him out of a police identity parade.

According to reports, Cabrera used to work at the pet crematorium, which has been closed for four years - but is thought to have been used in the last two months. It is still fully functioning and the suspect was taken to the site in handcuffs to face questioning yesterday.

He has been charged with attempted abduction, possession of a firearm and the theft of a vehicle.

Today, forensic teams began the painstaking task of searching the incinerator for any traces of children's remains. They will also focus on Cabrera's home while detectives attempt to establish his movements over the last few months - and find out if he has any links to paedophile rings.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 01/14/2008 08:51 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:


Man's hand 'severed with sword'
Irish police are investigating an incident in Dublin in which a man's hand was severed.
Oooh! Oooh! I seen this at the movies!
The incident happened after a row broke out in the Deputy Mayor pub in Meakstown, Finglas, on Sunday evening.
This bad guy, see? He had the death sentence on 12 systems!
It is believed a sword was used in the attack.
It wuz a light saber!
The victim, a 27-year-old man, has undergone surgery at Saint James's Hospital in the city.
Looked like it was about 47 to me...
A man was arrested shortly after the incident and is being questioned by police.
No, he wasn't! They got away! Those weren't the 'droids they were looking for!
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 01/14/2008 07:05 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The incident happened after a row broke out in the Deputy Mayor pub in Meakstown, Finglas, on Sunday evening

You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious. :)
Posted by: Procopius2k || 01/14/2008 8:51 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Idiot of the Day
BERLIN - A German man in the northeastern town of Gross Godems was being treated for serious burns Monday after accidentally setting his apartment ablaze when he mixed up a bottle of gasoline with alcohol, police said.The 56-year-old apparently grabbed the wrong bottle and took a swig from the gasoline flask, then spat it out when he realized his mistake.
The gas hit a lit cigarette, sparking the fire, police said.
The man's name was not released
Reminds me a bit of the time back in October I mistook a bolltle of lamp oilfor water. It was dark, I didn't have my glasses on, I was in a tent. Stuff tastes awful.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 01/14/2008 18:34 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:


Atlantic sailor calls his local pub for help
A British sailor seriously injured during a transatlantic voyage was rescued after he called his local pub for help.

Alan: "Hello, is this the Bull's Head? May I speake to Roger, please?"
Pub: "Yes, may I ask who's calling?"
A: "Tell him that it is Alan across the sea."
Pub: "Hold on, please."
Roger, the Pub owner: "Alan, how are ya doin' on yer voyage, mate? The lads have been talking about ya every evening. We are having a hard time making ends meet since ya went on holiday, heh."
A: "Well, Roger, the voyage has been lovely, but I fell down and I can't get up. And I am in a bit of a jam on deck."
R: "So where are ya, Alan?"
A: "600 nautical miles NE of Bermuda."
R: "Well, Alan, if ya don't mind me asking, why did ya call us? Especially on darts night, begging yer pardon."
A: "You were the only number on my sat phone speed dial, Roger."
R: "Right-o, Alan. I've never had to handle a distress call at sea from the pub. First time, ya know, but we'll make a go of it. We'll call the authorities and get you rescued.....and a free pint on me when ya get back."
A: "Thanks, Roger, you're a life saver, you know."


Alan Thompson, 61, was left in agony after falling on deck and breaking his pelvis on Saturday while sailing 600 nautical miles north-east of Bermuda.
Another tale from the famed and feared Bermuda Triangle™.
Roger Pocock, 62, the landlord of The Bull's Head in Fishbourne, Sussex, said: "We received a call from him saying he was in trouble. I don't know why he didn't put out an SOS."
Evidently Mr. Thomson had a good working relationship with his pub. He had not established a relationship with the Coast Guard yet.
Mr Pocock phoned Falmouth Coastguard, which liaised with its American counterparts. US coastguards later helped Mr Thompson off Padolu, his 37ft vessel.

"He was upset at the fact he was going to have to leave it," said a Falmouth Coastguard spokesman. "We put it to him - 'You have to come off, we can't get you treated on board'. In the end he agreed it was the best course of action."
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/14/2008 13:49 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Excellent inline commentary there, AP.
Posted by: Mike || 01/14/2008 14:57 Comments || Top||

#2  Excellent inline commentary there, AP.
Posted by: Mike || 01/14/2008 14:57 Comments || Top||

#3  He must have known U. S. ships are dry.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 01/14/2008 15:00 Comments || Top||

#4  Brilliant.
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/14/2008 15:25 Comments || Top||

#5  Well, when you know you can't drive anymore, whether at the bar or on a boat, the person who will always be there to get you a ride is the bar keep.

What a smart sailor.
Posted by: www || 01/14/2008 20:01 Comments || Top||


Britney Spears may convert to Islam: reports
Posted by: BrerRabbit || 01/14/2008 07:11 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Spears...is said to be talking about plans to fake her own death and move to Pakistan with her new lover
You go, girl!
Posted by: Spot || 01/14/2008 8:36 Comments || Top||

#2  Spears...is said to be talking about plans to fake her own death and move to Pakistan with her new lover

Love is blind; it's also pretty stupid...
Posted by: Raj || 01/14/2008 8:37 Comments || Top||

#3  Just when you think you've bottomed out...along comes "Islam".
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/14/2008 9:00 Comments || Top||

#4  Ah yes. Islam, the portal to the sub-basement of Hell.
Posted by: Gleart Prince of the Huns4687 || 01/14/2008 9:21 Comments || Top||

#5  Now she is just like Princess Di.
Posted by: Excalibur || 01/14/2008 9:27 Comments || Top||

#6  something tells me she won't have too fake her death if she moves too pakiland
Posted by: sinse || 01/14/2008 11:39 Comments || Top||

#7  In this instance it doesn't matter. She continues what she's doing or converts to Islam, either way it's self-destruction.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 01/14/2008 11:49 Comments || Top||

#8  Might as well try to spin her self-destructive spiral as "martyrdom" to mask its true roots in selfishness, indulgence, and complete absence of self-discipline.

Give little sister about 5 years to catch up.
Posted by: Dar || 01/14/2008 13:44 Comments || Top||

#9  You probably thought Dodi was the man. Nope:

DIANA, Princess of Wales, was planning to marry her lover, Hasnat Khan, but her own mother branded her a “whore” for dating a Muslim, her former butler Paul Burrell told her inquest.

He said Diana had stopped speaking to her mother two months before she died and told how he had listened in to her conversation with Frances Shand-Kydd when she had made “disgraceful” comments about her daughter.

Mr Burrell, giving evidence at the inquest into the deaths of Diana and Dodi Al Fayed, said: “I sat and listened with the Princess. One on one side and another on the other.

“She called the Princess a whore and she said that she was messing around with effing Muslim men, and she was disgracefu and said some nasty things.”

Mr Burrell also said he approached his local Catholic priest to ask about arranging a “private wedding” between a Christian and a Muslim, the High Court hearing was told.


Mum 'branded Di whore'

Mohamed Fayed claims Dodi bought Diana an engagement ring and they planned to live in his Paris villa. But Mr Turner added: “The ring was never to her taste and she said, ‘The place is awful’.”

Diana: My Dodi affair is finished
Posted by: KBK || 01/14/2008 15:34 Comments || Top||

#10  Burka might help.

Brit nips out. Note the food stains on the tshirt.
Posted by: KBK || 01/14/2008 15:38 Comments || Top||

#11  Now if she could only convince Dr Phil to go along with her as her own personal imam.
Posted by: Woozle Crenter9033 || 01/14/2008 17:40 Comments || Top||

#12  Mr Burrell was dressed in an ice-blue shirt and tie, his face tanned from the sun in Florida, where he has bought a luxury home on the back of two tell-all books about his former employer.
Posted by: KBK || 01/14/2008 19:28 Comments || Top||

#13  Give up Britney, or you are dead to me.

YJCMTSU.

Steyn:
Ah, but what dad hasn't said that to his son at one time or another? Still, the burqa's good news for the producers of next year's Grammies...

I sort of feel we need Dinesh D'Souza in Enemy At Home mode to explain all the ramifications of this one. Either that or Rob Long to pitch a new sitcom in which Britney, Paris, Lindsay and Jamie Lynn all marry the same bigshot sheikh.
Posted by: KBK || 01/14/2008 20:48 Comments || Top||

#14  FARK.com > Britney reportedly is considering suicide iff she's ever forced into psychiatric care.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/14/2008 22:38 Comments || Top||


NPR: Researchers Grow a Beating Heart
About a five minute audio at the link.

Scientists use a detergent often found in shampoo to strip away the muscle cells of an actual heart, leaving the structural lattice behind. They then repopulate the lattice with muscle cells, hit it with a pacemaker, and voila!

Of course, it still needs work, but there are a bunch of guys in Guantanamo Bay who could use a functional heart, so why not use them to skip straight to Phase II trials with this? This way also avoids the problems involved when researchers start getting attached to the lab rats.
Posted by: gorb || 01/14/2008 03:45 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Bill Cosby, call your office!
Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2008 7:20 Comments || Top||

#2  That would be a form of dish soap I'm guessing. It dissolves proteins. The application of simple soap for tissue is a brilliant idea.

After all who would have ever thought about using bread mold to cure diseases.
Posted by: Icerigger || 01/14/2008 7:49 Comments || Top||

#3  University of Minnesota scientists announce important research that one day could help people awaiting organ transplants
U of M

University of Minnesota scientists announced today research that could lead to the day when damaged organs may be repaired or replaced by a patient's own cells. The discovery could eventually help the thousands of Americans who die every year awaiting organ transplants. The scientists have created beating hearts by flushing original cells out of animal hearts and replacing them with fresh healthy cells.


Noting that Minnesotans have the best record in the nation for heart care.
Posted by: Icerigger || 01/14/2008 7:52 Comments || Top||

#4  So I'm trying to picture how you'd use this to heal the heart of a living person. I know detox programs are popular but ...
Posted by: lotp || 01/14/2008 7:55 Comments || Top||

#5  Gimme,gimme,gimme!
Posted by: Hillary Clinton || 01/14/2008 10:51 Comments || Top||

#6  Love the Cos' reference, Fred.
Posted by: USN,Ret. || 01/14/2008 14:30 Comments || Top||

#7  Hillary researchers grow a beating heart.

Seriously I am surprised nobody did it along with

Researchers grow a pair>/del> beating heart.
Posted by: JFM || 01/14/2008 15:31 Comments || Top||

#8  Where can I get me one? I'm not in Kansas anymore.....
Posted by: Tin Woodsman || 01/14/2008 18:05 Comments || Top||


Hollywood has greenest Golden Globes ever
Maybe they could sell some carbon credits to Europe.
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/14/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...and I'll bet they absolutely hated it.
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/14/2008 0:30 Comments || Top||

#2  But wait a minute--how can they be "greenest" if they're Golden Globes? Wouldn't they have to be "Green Globes" then? Doesn't the very name "golden Globes" suggest that they're, you know, kinda golden-colored?
Posted by: Mike || 01/14/2008 6:38 Comments || Top||

#3  How about letting the UN in on the idea of "no travel" conferences?
Posted by: Spot || 01/14/2008 8:38 Comments || Top||

#4  And for the first time in history this awards show gets the attention it deserves.

That UN idea is brilliant, btw, Spot.
Posted by: Excalibur || 01/14/2008 9:32 Comments || Top||

#5  But wait a minute--how can they be "greenest" if they're Golden Globes? Wouldn't they have to be "Green Globes" then? Doesn't the very name "golden Globes" suggest that they're, you know, kinda golden-colored?

It's that fake gold that turns your finger green.
Posted by: Angie Schultz || 01/14/2008 11:01 Comments || Top||

#6  I kinda liked it.

No hot air or greenhouse gas emissions.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 01/14/2008 11:50 Comments || Top||

#7  Here's hoping for an equally green Oscars Awards night!
Posted by: Kelly || 01/14/2008 13:29 Comments || Top||

#8  If the Oscars get screwed up, they'll be hanging writers from lamp posts on Hollywood Blvd...
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/14/2008 16:14 Comments || Top||

#9  tu3031: you say that like it would be a bad thing.
Posted by: Mike || 01/14/2008 18:33 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Breaking : Swiss aim to save national sausage
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 01/14/2008 12:46 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Let me guess: Some foreigner is offended by pork.
Posted by: Excalibur || 01/14/2008 16:27 Comments || Top||

#2  Excal -

My thought exactly. Then I read the article. Strange. The key ingredient to the Swiss "national sausage" is imported Brazilian cow intestines. Hey, who knew? The EU has banned imported Brazilian cow intestines for fear of mad cow disease.
Posted by: Mark Z || 01/14/2008 19:20 Comments || Top||


Dozens of People Killed by Snow Storms in Afghanistan
Dozens of people have been killed or are missing after parts of Afghanistan were hit by heavy snowfall and icy conditions.
Brutal Afghan Winter™ strikes again.
Officials in the western province of Herat say at least 43 people have died in Ghorian district over the last two days. The heavy snow has caused avalanches, trapping many people, including local shepherds and their livestock. The bad weather also has blocked roads, preventing the delivery of much-needed food and supplies to parts of the country. Afghanistan already is facing a severe food shortage due to high grain prices and rebel attacks on United Nations food convoys.
Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2008 06:11 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They have just got to get that poppy problem under control.
Posted by: gorb || 01/14/2008 7:26 Comments || Top||

#2  Damn Al Gore to Hell!
Posted by: Excalibur || 01/14/2008 9:28 Comments || Top||


Britain
Arkanasas Twins separated at birth met and married
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/14/2008 10:47 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Muslim PC laughs off Secret Santa gift of bacon... but bosses force friend who gave it to quit
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 01/14/2008 08:46 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A while ago we were asked to be PC for one of the Burgers in Briton. To not use the phrase "Paki". But every week we see these PC death of culture stories coming from that sinking island. Pity.

They never had good food and now thier culture is on it's final death throws.
Posted by: Icerigger || 01/14/2008 13:14 Comments || Top||


Million Africans mass in Libya for trip to UK.
Up to a million migrants have gathered in Libya, from where they will attempt to sail across the Mediterranean for Europe and, ultimately, the United Kingdom.

New estimates reveal that there are two million migrants massed in the North African country and that half of them plan to sail to the European mainland and travel on to Britain in the hope of building a new life.

According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), most have travelled from sub-Saharan states such as Ghana and Sierra Leone, attracted by Libya's reputation as a centre for people smugglers. Most are expected to wait until the spring, when the seas are calmer, before making the crossing on unseaworthy and crowded vessels.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/14/2008 00:45 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They will take them all. Briton is done.
Posted by: Icerigger || 01/14/2008 7:53 Comments || Top||

#2  Ohhh-Kay... a million starving people in small boats crossing the Mediterranean. Yep, that's a plan, all right.
Posted by: Spot || 01/14/2008 8:43 Comments || Top||

#3  First thought : has anyone here read "The camp of the Saints", by Jean Raspail? Eery.

Second thought : They will take them all. Briton is done.
Because the USA don't have what might be called "a tiny problem" with masses of third world or latin america migrants? It's not just Europe, but the whole western (and dare I say it, white european) world that is being deeply changed for good (and not for the best) by mass immigration.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 01/14/2008 8:50 Comments || Top||

#4  ...believed to make their way to France or the UK, with the latter their preferred destination.

If you are going to move you might as well move to another muslim country.
Posted by: Excalibur || 01/14/2008 9:30 Comments || Top||

#5  Atiko, a 23-year-old Ghanaian who still dreams of making it to England, is scraping a living from begging. He said that scrimping for food was preferable to stealing.

"Begging is better for me. That will be better for me to do to survive," he said. "In my country, they used to speak English and I can say that I am not good enough in English, so I would like to be in Britain to polish my English," he added.


Have no fear! It is a moral and educational journey.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/14/2008 11:31 Comments || Top||

#6  Napoleon couldn't do it. Hitler couldn't do it. These folks might be the first since William the Conqueror, and we all know what happened to the Saxons.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/14/2008 11:51 Comments || Top||

#7  NOTE - Apparently, few iff any desire to stay in the Muslim Paradise-Utopia that is KhaddafyLand, or elsewhere in Norde D'Affrique???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/14/2008 20:21 Comments || Top||

#8  REDDIT > BRITAIN/EUROPE TAKES AFRICA'S FISH, NOW TAKE MASSIVE BOATLOADS OF EMIGRANTS.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/14/2008 20:22 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Bobby Jindal set to take oath as Louisiana governor
Headed for the White House in 2016 if Repubs win this fall, or 2012 if they don't.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/14/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This is doubly good news:

1- Jindal starts being governor.

2- Blanco stops being governor.
Posted by: Matt || 01/14/2008 14:21 Comments || Top||

#2  really ugggly comments section at the link.
Posted by: Snans Barnsmell9468 || 01/14/2008 15:08 Comments || Top||

#3  Wow. That comment section sure has some high-grade hate goin' on.

I admit I was expecting it to be from American Democrats, but I guess that stuff is in American forums, not Indian ones.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 01/14/2008 16:36 Comments || Top||

#4  The Indians have been taught we are not friends for a long time. While nominally a non aligned state, they were more or less a Soviet client for most of the cold war. That's a large part of why we're stuck with the Paks. It will take a long time before that distaste for us and the Brits wears down to where we can be true allies, if the Brits are still worth being allies by then. Bush has taken the first steps, but he's far from finished the job. No one could in such a short time.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 01/14/2008 17:14 Comments || Top||

#5  The Marxists and the Socialists still have a stranglehold on the Indian education system. They still control the textbooks. It is their agenda that dominates the Indian media.
Posted by: john frum || 01/14/2008 17:31 Comments || Top||


Iraq
...between life and death...
I came across the following post at patdollard.com, recounting where Iraqis pointed out booby-trapped houses to our marines. In the comments section, I found the following story. No link to an official news source but, quite frankly, given what transpired, I would think that the MSM will swallow broken glass before publishing this:

dad3-7

i have talked to hundreds of parents all over the U.S. one dad told me of his sons MARINE unit was on patrol when they came upon a little girl sitting and crying in the street. she was holding a doll the MARINE gave her the day b4.. she was sitting so the patrol couldnft go around her, the son of the guy i was talking to got out of his hummer and approached the little girl and asked her what was wrong.. she pointed to 3Œ away fm where she was sitting, the was planted an IED.. she saved those MARINES fm death and injury.. this dad was crying while he told me of his sons ordeal.. that little girl placed her life ahead of the MARINESc.SEMPER FI mr lying murka


Honey, if you want a green card when you grow up, just breathe the word, because you deserve it more than 15 million current "residents" of these United States.
Posted by: Ptah || 01/14/2008 17:05 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This one's for you Ptah.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 01/14/2008 18:07 Comments || Top||

#2  Another "American born in the wrong place"
Posted by: Mike || 01/14/2008 18:30 Comments || Top||

#3  Thanks, procopius!
Posted by: Ptah || 01/14/2008 22:45 Comments || Top||


New Baghdad embassy's fire-fighting system is defective
The boneheads there just don't seem to learn! Apparently there are problems with deadline pressures and shady construction/oversight practices, and a probe has been started.

There's never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it again.

Perhaps what needs to happen is to separate the team who estimates time/costs to do the project from those who actually do the project. There will be more pressure to do the estimation properly, and less pressure to try to sweep problems under the rug in the interests of maintaining a broken schedule.

Continued on Page 49
Posted by: gorb || 01/14/2008 04:40 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This was in Saturday's WaPo, so eith McClatchy or WaPo are into heavy plagiarism.

Perspective story: first 5,000' long bridge for Dallas Area Rapid Transit built in 1991 does not have hydrants every 800'. It IS a concrete structure.

Second 5,000' long bridge built in 1999 has hydrants every 800', fed by a dry standpipe system from the ground, but since the bridge crosses a floodplain, access to feed the standpipes from the ground is problematic.

I'll ride over either bridge - and have - but the only difference between the two structures is a new Fire Marshall came in between the first and second bridges.

You'll notice no one describes what any of these life-threatening embassy problems are? Too complex for the fifth estate to explain to us flyover folks?
Posted by: Bobby || 01/14/2008 6:20 Comments || Top||

#2  "Violations" to the Fire Code does not necessarily mean the system won't operate. There is much redundancy in the requirements and they could be a simple as the siren is not loud enough to hear everywhere. Maybe the reason the violations aren't delineated is because they're not really important.
Posted by: BrerRabbit || 01/14/2008 6:49 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
MA tries to outlaw lead ammunition
House Bill 783 and Senate Bill 558 introduced by State Representative Jay Kaufman (D-15th Middlesex) and State Senator Steven Tolman (D-2nd Suffolk & Middlesex) would create a more restrictive policy regarding the use of "toxic chemicals" in the Commonwealth.

Hidden within the proposal from environmental and anti-gun extremists is what amounts to a ban on all common rifle and handgun ammunition.

"The Safer Alternatives Proposals" will create a program to replace ten "chemicals" with what proponents claim are safer alternatives. On the top of the list of targeted substances is lead, the common element used to make virtually all bullets.

As proposed, this legislation could virtually shut down all shooting ranges as well as ban the sale and use of lead ammunition for self-defense, hunting and target practice in Massachusetts.

Non-lead alternatives exist for ammunition but are significantly more expensive and, in many instances, have sub-standard performance characteristics. Shooting ranges already fall under federal EPA regulations concerning environmental impact and recent science and EPA guidelines show that lead ammunition on shooting ranges can be managed without detrimentally affecting the environment.

Predictably, this legislation does not account for the serious impacts on shooting ranges and the sportsmen and gun owners who use them.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 01/14/2008 19:48 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Predictably, this legislation does not account for the serious impacts on shooting ranges and the sportsmen and gun owners who use them.

I think that is one of the reasons for this legislation, to have this particular effect. Another end run about the Second Amendment. Sorry, no bodyguards for yuuuuu. Of course, read the fine print.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/14/2008 21:17 Comments || Top||



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