Some of the drivers had been stuck in their cars for nearly seven hours without any food or water. So the staff of the Chick-fil-A decided to lend a helping hand.
We cooked several hundred sandwiches and stood out on both sides of 280 and handed out the sandwiches to anyone we could get to as long as we had food to give out.
The staffers braved the falling snow and ice, slipping and sliding, as they offered hot juicy chicken breasts tucked between two buttered buns. And Chick-fil-A refused to take a single penny for their sandwiches.
The meal was a gift no strings attached.
For the frozen drivers, it was manna from heaven.
They were very excited and extremely thankful, she said. People were thankful to get something to put in their stomachs.
Audrey said they were especially surprised that the sandwiches were free. Why not make some extra money during the storm? Its not like anyone could go to another restaurant. Chick-fil-A had a captive crowd of hungry customers. So why did they give away their food?
This company is based on taking care of people and loving people before youre worried about money or profit, Audrey told me. We were just trying to follow the model that weve all worked under for so long and the model that weve come to love. There was really nothing else we could have done but try to help people any way we could.
#1
A little background. Dan Cathy, CEO of Chic-Fil-A sent out a tweet sometime back regarding SCOTUS' ruling striking down DOMA. Cathy supports Christian values and traditional marriage. The LGBT community was livid. They have since been after Chic-Fil-A by shrilly railing against the company and calling for boycotts.
Good for Chic-Fil-A during the bad weather in Atlanta. BTW, back in Nov. 2013, The Urban League of Greater Atlanta gave Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy its Community Empowerment award at its Equal Opportunity Day dinner and gala. Chic-Fil-A has been involved in many other community charitable events over the years.
When a hurricane makes landfall, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency relies on a couple of metrics, ... Then there is what he calls the "Waffle House Index."
[Egypt Independent] South African police said Wednesday they had rubbed out two protestors in a northern village during a seige a day earlier of their station by an angry mob throwing stones and petrol bombs.
"Our members felt that they were in danger and a command to defend themselves was given," police front man Hangwani Mulaudzi said.
"Police fired at the crowd... it was later realised that two people were fatally maimed," said Mulaudzi, adding that live ammunition was used.
Fifteen copperswere maimed during the festivities on Tuesday, he said.
The deaths bring the total number of protestors killed allegedly by police this year to eight.
The violence near Tzaneen was sparked by community anger over a recent killing in the area.
When residents tried to take matters into their own hands and seek out the suspects, police responded, allegedly shooting dead a 15-year old boy in the process.
Residents then turned their anger against the police.
"The situation in the village is still tense, the community is angry and some people have tried to prevent police from entering the area," said Mulaudzi.
Mulaudzi said additional coppers were dispatched after receiving a tip-off about plans to burn down the cop shoppe.
The police watchdog said it was investigating the shooting deaths.
Earlier this month, four people were rubbed out, allegedly by police, during a demonstration over the lack of water supply in a town outside the capital Pretoria.
Another man was shot in a protest days later, outside Johannesburg and four officers have been charged over his death.
South African police are often criticised for heavy handedness during protests, where live ammunition and rubber bullets are often used to quell unrests.
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01/30/2014 00:00 ||
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Russia's Defense Ministry said Tuesday two Tu-95 strategic bombers that can carry nuclear missiles have conducted training flights over the Pacific Ocean and the Okhotsk Sea.
The flights led Japan to scramble Air Self-Defense Force fighter jets, but the Russian planes flew over the high seas and did not violate Japanese airspace, the ministry said. Probably not a big deal but cool video at link of the Russian bombers.
#2
IMO prolly has SSSSHHHHH ... CCCCCCC more to do at this time wid ...
* JAPAN TIMES > JAPAN, RUSSIA HOLD HIGH-LEVEL MEETING ON ISLE DISPUTE.
Ptagmatically, Russia fears the Chinese PLA threat to Sakhalin + -Stans + Russian Far East, etc. in addition to same from labor/expat-led economic migration.
* ION DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS, WORLD MILITARY FORUM > [Vitaly Kashin = Moscow-based CAST Think-Tank] RUSSIAN EXPERT: AT CURRENT TRENDS, CHINA OVER NEXT TEN YEARS [2014-2024/25] WILL HAVE PROCURED OVER 600-PLUS NUCLEAR WARHEADS TO COMPLETELY DESTROY OR OBLITERATE ASIAN RIVAL JAPAN.
More than Great Britain or France, but still less than the US + Mama Russia.
* RELATED TOPIX? > [Dong-A] CHINA WILL NOT ALLOW NORTH KOREA NUCLEAR DEVELOPMENT.
Which IMO means or infers that any LRBMS striking Japan in future will OFFICIALLY be Chinese PLA and only Chinese PLA, as opposed to being UN-OFFICIAL now, i.e. China-ordered, DPRK-launched???
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > 2014: THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA FOR PLAN BUILDUP.
* WORLD NEWS > [Zee News] IFF THE US + JAPAN DON'T DETER CHINA, DOMINOS WILL FALL, all over East Asia + possibly beyond.
VERSUS
* BIGNEWNETWORK > [WSWS.org] JAPAN'S COMMUNIST PARTY SEEKS REGROUPMENT WID BOURGEOIS "LEFT" PARTIES.
1980's Gorbachevism = post-Cold War, post-9-11, [Commie-Socialist] "State Capitalism"???
* TOPIX > YEAR OF THE HORSE WILL BE A FIERY ONE: HK SEERS.
[Aypee] NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Italian gun maker Beretta said Wednesday that Tennessee's support for gun rights was a major factor in its decision to build a manufacturing and research facility in the Nashville suburb of Gallatin. Hat Tip to the Champ for his support to firearms sales and the creation of new manufacturing jobs.
#3
Tennessee has a favorable climate for gun manufacturers--Republicans control the governor's office and the legislature. Has been a concealed carry state for a long while (early to mid-1990s). Barrett has a home here. Taxes are low.
As an aside, a good buddy of mine passed away the other day after a long illness. He was a Marine and a former cop. His wife wanted to have a 21 gun salute in the backyard. It was surprising how many people were armed at the wake--some people with a couple of firearms. We had the salute without a lot of fanfare.
#5
Tennessee and Texas seem to be attracting the firearms industry. Concealed carry, open carry, culture favorable for guns, less intrusive government (TX legislature only meets every other year!), business climate favorable.
#6
It must be very frustrating to be a Democrat in elected office. You are completely dependent on the money generated by industry, and completely oblivious about how it all works.
[An Nahar] Ukraine's parliament on Wednesday launched a debate on whether to grant amnesty for detained protesters as the country's first post-independence president warned of civil war.
A day after scrapping tough anti-protest laws that had ignited the latest political turmoil, deputies met in an extraordinary session to consider granting amnesty to those tossed in the slammer Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! in the anti-government unrest.
The debate came after Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and his entire government resigned on Tuesday after weeks of protests that began when President Viktor Yanukovych pulled out of a key EU deal in favor of closer ties with Moscow in November.
Urging deputies to come to an agreement on the amnesty issue, former president Leonid Kravchuk warned parliament that the country was "on the brink of civil war".
"It is a revolution. It is a dramatic situation in which we must act with the greatest responsibility," Kravchuk, president from 1991 to 1994, said to applause and a standing ovation.
The crisis has reverberated internationally with Russian President Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead... criticizing what he called "foreign interference" in Ukraine and US President Barack Obama Ready to Rule from Day One... voicing support for the protesters during his annual State of Union address on Tuesday.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton was on Wednesday set to hold talks on the crisis in Kiev.
Lawmakers had been unable to vote on the amnesty a day earlier after negotiations became bogged down over the authorities' insistence that protesters should vacate seized buildings and streets in Kiev before anyone was released.
Dozens of activists have been arrested since festivities broke out January 19 that resulted in the fatal shooting of three protesters.
The security forces have insisted they were not to blame for the killings, a claim met with incredulity by activists.
In a sign that negotiations between factions on the amnesty were proving tough, speaker Volodymyr Rybak ordered a break in the session until early afternoon for more talks.
'Keep going! Do not stop!'
Tuesday's concessions were the biggest yet by the authorities to placate protesters who have occupied streets and official buildings in the centre of Kiev for over two months but the opposition made clear it wanted more.
The UDAR (Punch) party leader and world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko said: "Azarov should have resigned two months ago... Now the logical step would be the resignation of Viktor Yanukovych."
Jailed former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who the opposition says is the victim of a political vendetta by Yanukovych, welcomed the concessions but added: "It is not enough. Do not stop!"
Ukrainian media meanwhile quoted ruling Regions Party MPs as saying that changes to the constitution to return to the version set out in 2004 which give the presidency fewer powers may also be debated.
"The negotiations between the authorities and the opposition should calm the situation," said Ukrainian political analyst Taras Berezovets, adding that the authorities had nonetheless still failed to rule out the use of force against protesters.
First Deputy Prime Minister Sergiy Arbuzov, who is also close to Yanukovych, has taken over as premier in a caretaker role until a replacement is named.
Some analysts floated the idea that a pro-opposition tycoon, Petro Poroshenko, might step into the post full time. But opposition leaders have signaled they do not want to be in the government.
The protests erupted in late November as a pro-Europe movement after the government ditched an integration deal with the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... under Russian pressure.
But they swelled into an all-out drive to unseat Yanukovych and became increasingly radical as protesters flooded into Kiev from the anti-government west of the country.
Protesters, some from right-wing radical groups, remain camped out in the sprawling military-style enclosure that has taken over much of the city center and have now erected wooden watchtowers at their barricades.
Merkel says Ukraine must listen to protesters
Obama on Tuesday gave high-level support to the protesters in Ukraine in his State of the Union address declaring people must "have a say" in the country's future.
The White House said that Vice President Joe Foreign Policy Whiz Kid Biden The former Senator-for-Life from Delaware, an example of the kind of top-notch Washington intellect to be found in the World's Greatest Deliberative Body... spoke to Yanukovych by telephone and "strongly encouraged President Yanukovych to continue to work with the opposition to find compromises critical to a peaceful solution".
Attending an EU-Russia summit in Brussels shadowed by tensions over Ukraine, Putin on Tuesday warned his hosts against meddling.
But German Chancellor Angela Merkel ...current chancellor of Germany. She was educated in East Germany when is was still run by commies, but in 1989 got involved with the growing democracy movement when the Berlin Wall fell. Merkel is sometimes referred to by Germans as Mom... on Wednesday did not hide her support for the protesters, saying "they are fighting for the same values that guide the European Union and that is why they must be listened to."
As concern mounted over the effect on the already fragile economy of the turmoil, Standard & Poor's on Tuesday downgraded the country's credit risk rating by one notch to CCC+ from B-, citing political instability.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/30/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Iff VladVedev = Russia do decide to militarily intervene, I'm curious as to how Ukraine's nuclear security guarantor China will react.
In times past China would be expected to at best support peaceful or diplomatic resolutions, + stay out of the brouhaha - THIS TIME, HOWEVER, AS PER THE STILL-ESCALATING CHINA-VS-JAPAN, PHIL ROWS OVER IN EAST ASIA ITS NOT CERTAIN THAT CHINA WILL, OR SHOULD, STAY OUT OF THIS AFFAIR.
Iff "post-US", "Mahanist", future World #1 China hopes to be exactly that, it M-U-S-T be times willing to put its head into the fire and draw lines in the sand by + for the security + interests of its Allies + Partner-States, which as per the Ukraine means China going head-to-head agz Russia, otherwise China will suffer no credibility.
#3
I can't tell you it aint so, because it is so true. Here is a nice little timeline of various headlines that should build a picture or at least fill the color of context.
(Aug 01, 2012) Asia Times: Ukraine turns to Chinese cash
(Jan 08, 2013) Oil Price: China Invests in Ukraine Coal Gasification
(January 16, 2013) PRN: Ukraine, China Intensify Cooperation
Ukraine and China considerably deepened their cooperation throughout the past two years ... In particular, Ukraine - China cooperation involved agricultural sector, energy production, and bilateral trade.
In 2011, trade volume between China and Ukraine grew by nearly 35 percent, exceeding USD 10 billion. In the first six months of 2012, Ukraine increased import from China by almost 23 percent, informs china.mfa.gov.ua. Ore constitutes the major portion of the Ukrainian export to China, while import is prevailed by machines and electric devices.
Additionally, in the coming years China - the world's largest corn consumer - plans to buy approximately 3 million tons of Ukrainian corn annually. To help boost Ukraine's corn production, in July 2012, China provided a USD 3 billion loan for Ukraine's agricultural sector.
(Dec 03, 2013) Interfax: Ukraine, China to develop cooperation in coal gasification - Ukrainian Ambassador to China
(Dec 05, 2013) RT: Ukraine gets $8bn investment from China
(Dec 09, 2013) Oil&Gas: Ukraine to Produce Synthetic Natural Gas with China
(Dec 20, 2013) WCT: Beijing seeks new alliances with nuclear security pact with Ukraine
http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20131220000045&cid=1701
[An Nahar] Canadian Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau on Wednesday tossed all 32 Liberal senators from his opposition party.
"There are no more Liberal Senators," he announced.
The eldest son of late prime minister Pierre Trudeau said the surprise move was to "remove partisanship and patronage from the Senate," which he called a "deeply negative force."
The senators stripped of their Liberal ties will now sit as independents, he said.
This comes after months of deliberations in the media about what to do with a scandal-plagued Senate that has become increasingly irrelevant and an embarrassment to Canadians.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Tory government has long sought to reform Canada's Senate, but faces opposition from several provinces fearing a dilution of their share of Senate seats, and from senators themselves.
He has asked the Supreme Court for its opinion on its proposals to reform or abolish the Senate.
The main opposition New Democratic Party meanwhile wants the upper house simply abolished and its 105 members shown the door.
Trudeau blamed party allegiances within the Senate for its woes, saying Senators' actions too often reflect "not just what's best for their country or their regions, but what's best for their party."
Under the current system, senators from various regions of Canada are appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister and can hold their seats until they turn 75.
Critics say successive federal governments have stacked it with party hacks, organizers and supporters.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/30/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Wow! That's a good start. Can we copy and implement that in the U.S. starting with Reid?
#2
Unfortunately, the Senate in the US is suppose to represent the State's interests (not unions - see Reid). And no, going back to non-elected appointees will not solve the problem as IL has amply demonstrated, they'll just represent the 'machine'. The best I've figured out so far is to give every county or parish an electoral vote in the selection of the state's Senator. That will mean that large metro areas (which were not envisioned by the founders) will not overwhelm the interests of the remainder of the state in protecting its overall interests in the Senate.
[DAWN] For the first time in the history of Swat ...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat... a woman, Tabassum Adnan, attended a jirga held in Madyan area of the district.
Ms Adnan, the chairperson of Khwendo Jirga, told Dawn that her organization thwarted an attempt of giving a girl in swara in the area. Later, the local elders called a jirga on January 5 for reconciliation between both the parties, she added.
"I was invited to the jirga. It was for the first time that a woman participated in a men's jirga," Ms Adnan said. She added that giving a girl in swara was un-Islamic and unlawful custom. Ms Adnan said that her organization would continue its
struggle against social evils and injustices. She said that all segments of society should join hands against illegal customary practice of swara.
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01/30/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] IT is never advisable for governments to get into the business of banning books. And if the literature in question is written to counter the bad boy narrative that is beginning to dominate, as Malala Yousafzai's I am Malala attempts to do, then official obstructions to prevent the launch of such material can only be termed utterly appalling. As reported, the authorities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... have thwarted the launch of Malala's book which was supposed to take place yesterday at the University of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. . The PTI-led KP government apparently got cold feet as ministers and university officials pressured the organisers to cancel the event. The police, too, said they would be unable to provide security. This sets a disturbing precedent, especially when we consider that a seat of higher learning was involved. As one of the organisers observed, "It is against the spirit of freedom of expression and promotion of education". But there is an even graver problem. The KP government's buckling under pressure reflects a sense of fear that is palpable across Pakistain -- the fear of 'offending' the hard boys. The state is ceding more and more ground to the bad boys, allowing them to decide what is and is not okay for public consumption. Such resignation and retreat on part of the state is unacceptable.
Malala has been feted by the world for her courageous stand against extremism and activism for women's education. She has been welcomed in world capitals and august global forums. Should we not hang our heads in shame because she cannot be appreciated in her own country and province? Let us be clear: Malala is someone the people of KP can be proud of, a symbol of the potential of the troubled province's youth. PTI chief Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems... has expressed disappointment at the cancellation of the launch. He would do well to convince the KP government to reschedule the event and facilitate it so that it goes ahead without a hitch.
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School officials at the University of Minnesota are working with black student and facility organizations after they wrote a letter to the school's president about the racial descriptions given in crime alerts.
The organizations wrote that while campus safety is crucial, the profiling can be devastating for black male students.
"[We] unanimously agree that campus safety should be of the UMPD's utmost importance; however, efforts to reduce crime should never be at the expense of our Black men, or any specific group of people likely to be targeted. In addition to causing Black men to feel unsafe and distrusted, racial profiling is proven to inflict negative psychological effects on its victims."
At Wednesday's forum, Ian Taylor Jr., president of the Black Men's Forum, said members of his organization feel threatened when the use of a racial description is given in the crime alerts.
"The repeated black, black, black suspect," Taylor said. "And what that does it really discomforts the mental and physical comfort for students on campus because they feel like suspicions begin to increase." They could report the suspect looked like Obama thirty years ago.
#3
The 'we refuse to clean our own house' complaint. Amazing, back during segregation how this wasn't such a problem as much of the behavior wasn't tolerated among the community. After 50 years of blaming someone else for their own problems, they just want to hide it rather than deal with it directly. However, they'll blame everything else on the Klan, or the Tea Party, or whatever for the actions of a few in the other community and demand action be taken.
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.
...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
Joe 
[An Nahar] Canadian Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau on Wednesday tossed all 32 Liberal senators from his opposition party.
[DAWN] For the first time in the history of 
[DAWN] IT is never advisable for governments to get into the business of banning books. And if the literature in question is written to counter the
