Hmmmmmmmmmm...Rahm, have Kerry check out how they do this while he's over there.
Will do, Mr. Presi...Sir, it's genius! Pure genius!!
I didn't just spend four years smoking weed at Harvard, Rahm.
[Tolo News] Nearly, 1,000 polling centres will be closed in 25 provinces of Afghanistan because of a surge in insecurity, said head of the Afghan Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Wednesday
Head of the IEC, Fazel Ahmad Manawi, also said that a number of other polling centres are likely to be shut.
The number of polling centres in upcoming Afghan parliamentary election will be 5,835 that will have 18,762 polling areas, IEC said.
"Regretfully, besides postponement of the election, the situation has brought a condition that makes us to close some of our polling centres, but the commission will continue its efforts to compensate the closure," said head of IEC.
An increase in insecurity in the southern Ghazni province has caused most of the polling centres to be shut in this province.
Officials in IEC urged security organisations to secure the process of voting during the election.
"Most of the polling centres are closed in Ghazni province," he said.
Earlier, the IEC had sent a list of 6,835 polling centres to security officials to make security preparations.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Hmmmmmmmmmm...Rahm, have Kerry check out how they do this while he's over there. Will do, Mr. Presi...Sir, it's genius! Pure genius!! I didn't just spend four years smoking weed at Harvard, Rahm.
But then there is that handshake deal between the new Black Panthers and the DOJ and the er, eh "arrangement" we had with the ACORN folks.
[Tolo News] Officials in the Ministry of Interior said president Karzai has ordered to establish 10,000 local police forces
The plan was drafted by the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Defence and the National Directorate of Security.
The Ministry of Interior says their working conditions will not be different from the National Police, and will be sent to the provinces and villages based to the needs.
After the local police plan is approved, these police forces will be hired from the local communities and will be trained by the government, Gen.
Munir Muhammad Mangal, the Deputy Security of the Ministry of Interior, told reporters.
"This police will be trained by the Ministry of Interior and will work under the ministry. Therefore it is different from the militia police," he added.
Local police force supplies will be provided by the Ministry of Interior and their uniforms will be different from the Afghan National Police (ANP), he said.
Their salaries are also expected to be lower than the ANP.
The establishment of local police forces by the Afghan government has increased concerns among many Afghans, who fear it will fall in the hands of local Afghan warlords, which will even draw the country towards a new crisis.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2010 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai sought President Dmitry Medvedev's help for his nation on Wednesday, two decades after Moscow ended a disastrous conflict there that cost the lives of about 15,000 Soviet troops.
Russia, which analysts say is seeking to increase its influence in Afghanistan and the surrounding region, hosted Karzai and Pakistain's President Asif Ali (Ten Percent) Zardari for talks on security and drugs.
"Let me once again thank you for your concern for Afghanistan," Karzai told Medvedev as they sat down for talks at the Russian president's summer residence near the Black Sea. "Afghanistan will need the support of friends and from great countries like Russia," Karzai said.
Medvedev held separate talks with Zardari and Tajikistan's President Imomali Rakhmon as well as a four-way meeting with the visiting leaders.
Zardari urged the nations "to stand together and make the region come together and fight against this war of ideology ... We should support the Afghani people." He also invited Medvedev to Pakistain.
Russia traditionally has had far warmer ties with India than with Pakistain, but the Kremlin has been broadening its contacts across Asia and the Middle East as it seeks more clout. A similar four-way meeting was held last year in Tajikistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2010 00:00 ||
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[Kyodo: Korea] Years of deforestation in North Korea have helped the South Korean military detect new locations of the North"s long-range artillery tubes that were initially covered by trees near their tense border, a military source told Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday. ""As North Korean mountains near the border have been denuded by floods or logging or dinner, long-range artillery tubes have been discovered by a military satellite or a spy plane,"" the source was quoted as saying.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2010 00:00 ||
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A North Korean TV station recently aired rare footage of the communist regime's new main battle tank (MBT), Yonhap News Agency said Tuesday.
Quoting defense ministry officials in Seoul, Yonhap said the tank, named "Pokpung-ho," or "Flaming Wreckage" "Storm Tiger" was believed to have been developed in the 1990s based on the former Soviet Union's T-72 tanks, and underwent performance trials in 2002. The T72 is known in the trade as "targets." Does the Pokpung-ho have the 'jack in the box' turret?
An intelligence official said that no photographs of the North Korean tank previously existed in public circulation, but the North's official Korean Central TV Station broadcast the footage of the tank, according to Yonhap. "We are analyzing the footage of the Pokpung-ho," the official said on condition of anonymity. He did not say exactly when the North aired the footage.
The tank is believed to be equipped with either a 125mm or 115mm main gun, similar to that of the T-90 main battle tank of the Russian Army, according to the ministry officials. If Dear Leader offered his on-the-spot field guidance in the design, I'm sure these things are invincible...
The number of deployed tanks is unknown, but only one North Korean tank unit is believed to possess the advanced tanks, the officials said. Pokpung-ho showed a higher performance in terms of firepower and maneuverability than the reclusive state's previous MBT, "Chonma-ho," or "Smoking Wreckage" they said.
We have a picture of one, and figure for every one on the field there are four in the shop waiting for parts. We know the Nork's penchant for exaggeration. Let's see, considering the lower three-sigma limit on the gaussian of their typical exaggeration, factoring in political maneuverings and hysteria at home, carry the one, take the RMS, that suggests it is probably more like:
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2010 8:45 Comments ||
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#7
Found this:
Pokpung-ho
Weight 44 (±3) tonnes
Crew 4
Armor Cast Turret and Spaced Armor or Cast Turret and ERA
Primary
armament 125 mm 2A46 smoothbore gun (43 [±3] rounds) with possible ATGM capability (4 missiles)
Secondary
armament 14.5 mm KPVT heavy anti-aircraft machine gun (300 rounds), 7.62 mm PKT coaxial machine gun (1,500 rounds), possible equipment of short-range SAM or hull-mounted MANPADS (2 missiles)
Engine Likely V-46-6, but may be modified with indigenous, Russian or Ukrainian technology
1,100 (±150) hp
Power/weight 22.72 hp/ton (±7.22)
Suspension torsion-bar
Operational
range 370 km
Speed 50 km/h on road
30 km/h cross country
3 m/s underwater (safe speed: although it is possible for the P'okp'ung-ho to exceed this speed, it is considered dangerous to do so)
Cost/1.5 million USD"
Here: http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=53467&start=0
(press the second "spoiler" button.)
[Al Arabiya Latest] Muslim French preacher Dominique Pinot lashed out at Islamic organizations in Europe and at Europeans who monopolize the interpretation of Islam under the pretext of defending its teachings in the West.
Dominique Abdullah Pinot, as he calls himself since his conversion to Islam in the 1970s, likened Islamic organizations in Europe to "stores" that operate for the profit of their owners.
"They just aim at serving the personal interests of their members," he told Al Arabiya's Wuguh Islameya (Islamic faces), to be aired Wednesday at 5:30 pm KSA.
Pinot argued that several Muslim associations act as if they monopolize Islam and are the only ones who can boost its image in the West.
"Members of these associations would go to Muslim countries and present them with projects that allegedly promote a peaceful image of Islam in Europe."
These projects, he argued, are usually illusory ones whose aim is not to defend Islam in the West, but rather to collect as much money as possible from Arab and Muslim countries.
"Islam does not need to be defended. It is a religion that spread all over the world because of the way Muslims have been known for their tolerance and patience over the centuries."
The problem with European societies, he added, is that they do not differentiate between Islam as a religion and a civilization that have always been respected by the West on one hand and the behavior of individuals who do not represent the teachings of this religion on the other hand.
Muslims in France
When asked about Muslims in France, Pinot said that although they make up a considerable portion of the French population, they are still not integrated into the French society.
"They do not fully understand the French society and France is not religiously tolerant."
As for the controversy around the face veil, Pinot pointed out that this is not an issue than concerns all Muslims since very few Muslim women in France, not more than dozens, wear the face veil.
"The problem of niqab acquired political dimensions because of the reactions of Muslims towards it."
Pinot was born in 1954 in Avignon in the south of France and spent his childhood in the U.S. and the U.K. In the 1970s, he travelled to Syria where he met several Muslim scholars and converted to Islam.
It took Pinot more than three decades to translate the Quran into French. He also translated several books on Islamic jurisprudence from Arabic. His books are widely-read amongst French speaking Muslims in different parts of the world.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
"Islam does not need to be defended. It is a religion that spread all over the world because of the way Muslims have been known for their tolerance and patience over the centuries."
Its a 2 hour TGV train ride to Tours, jacka$$. Tell it to the Franks buried there.
#2
"Islam does not need to be defended. It is a religion that spread all over the world because of the way Muslims have been known for their tolerance and patience over the centuries."
Its a 2 hour TGV train ride to Tours, jacka$$. Tell it to the Franks buried there.
#3
"Islam does not need to be defended. It is a religion that spread all over the world because of the way Muslims have been known for their tolerance and patience over the centuries."
Excuse me, the dude that says this, needs a shrink.
Posted by: Dave UK ||
08/19/2010 18:36 Comments ||
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Of course the WH hasn't had anything to say yet. Who needs death panels when we have a government that moves at a snail's pace?
The bill failed to get a two-thirds vote last month because GOP opponents said it would be used as a slush fund by NY politicians. Ya' think?
Fer gawd's sake, Dems. Get the $$ straight to where it's needed, and don't put it at risk of being boodle for some NY politicians who just watched it on CNN and waited until the dust settled from the whole affair before venturing out to see what all the fuss was about.
Why do they insist on putting it where it won't do muslims any good? I heard that it's a "community center with a prayer room", not a mosque. A very, very expensive community center with a prayer room. Even then, who wants a community center in a business district? Muslims know business. And this isn't business. So what is it?
This project is touted by them as something they are doing to "improve relations", but it is having the reverse effect. Why won't they back off?
Most muslims don't want it. Even the bad guys say it isn't helping their cause.
Supposedly the mosque is only half funded.
The developers won't reveal who might fund the mosque.
#3
The cordoba mosque is a fitna mosque. All muslims know it. To go against the building of a mosque, any mosque, anywhere is death sentence. By the rules of islam, the "moderate muslim", one who professes an understanding of the incredible lack of empathy, may not speak out.
They may be uncomfortable with the idea of a mosque at gz, understanding why it's thoughtless, why it's devoid of any understanding or peace or taquiyayayayayaya.
They don't scream it, but all muslims cannot oppose the building of any mosque. Stoneing ensues
The developers of an Islamic cultural center that would include a mosque near Ground Zero have rejected Gov. David Paterson's offer to help them find a different site. "I reject your offer to negotiate!"
"This ain't Paleostine, bub."
Paterson said today the group is apparently committed to building in the proposed site. "I think they would like to stay where they are, and I certainly respect that and I certainly respect them," Paterson said. The rest of the country doesn't, but can't do anything about it because their politicians don't respect or represent them.
But, Paterson said the dialogue would have been useful as the project has ignited nationwide debate over freedom of religion and anger over the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "Having said that, how much more foresighted would it have been if the Imam who is the developer of the project had been willing to hear what we are actually talking about?" They don't care what you're talking about. They are Muslims. They consider us to be vermin.
The planned $100 million center would be built two blocks from the World Trade Center site, where nearly 2,800 people died when Islamic extremists flew jets into the twin towers. The project is headed by Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf, a Muslim cleric who has worked to improve relations between Islam and the West. And he's doing one hell of a bang-up job, as we can see...
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2010 00:00 ||
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One of the partners happens to be the cousin of the Deputy head of the Arab League. That mosque is intented to be used like the Khomenei Monument in Teheran: a celebration for aggression and surrender. Jimmy Carter is a saint in the "islamic republic."
Posted by: Thusolet Prince of the French2994 ||
08/19/2010 17:47 Comments ||
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#2
Very shameful stuff indeed.The Islamification of America is taking place.
Posted by: Dave UK ||
08/19/2010 18:30 Comments ||
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[Dawn] The Taliban will not be allowed to take advantage of the country's flood crisis, Interior Minister Rehman Malik told the BBC.
Malik said he was aware of the danger that the Taliban could use this calamity to increase their foothold in the flood-hit areas by taking on charitable roles and winning the victims' support.
Malik said this would not be permitted.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2010 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] James Jeffrey, the new U.S. ambassador to Iraq, arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday and presented his diplomatic credentials to the conflict-torn nation's head of state, the US embassy said in a statement.
Jeffrey, a veteran diplomat with extensive experience of the Middle East, met President Jalal Talabani and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari at ceremonies in Baghdad, it said.
"It is a great honor for me to return to Iraq," Jeffrey was quoted as saying. "I look forward to renewing old friendships, strengthening our ties with Iraqi leaders and deepening our civilian engagement for the long term throughout this historic land."
On August 5, the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Jeffrey's appointment to replace Christopher Hill, in a diplomatic move that coincides with President Barack Obama's pledge to end combat operations in Iraq by the end of the month.
Jeffrey's career includes a previous stint in Baghdad, unlike Hill, who was best known for his incompetence high-profile post as the Bush administration's point man on North Korea's nuclear program.
Jeffrey had most recently served as ambassador to Turkey, a NATO ally that has seen its usually warm ties with Washington frayed over Ankara's tensions with Israel and opposition to US-backed sanctions on Iran.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2010 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Former Iraqi premier Iyad Allawi said late Tuesday his Sunni-backed Iraqiya alliance would intensify talks with an anti-American Shiite movement to try to break a political stalemate.
Iraq has been in a political deadlock since a March 7 election which produced no outright winner, raising tensions ahead of an end to U.S. combat operations this month and fuelling concerns of a return to widespread violence.
Allawi and members of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's political group made the announcement after Iraqiya broke off negotiations with incumbent Nuri al-Maliki's Shiite-led State of Law alliance on Monday.
"In the next few days and thereafter, we are going to intensify our discussions to reach an important, mutual stance on what needs to be done to form the next government," Allawi told reporters at a news conference.
In one of the bloodiest attacks this year, at least 57 recruits and soldiers were killed and 123 wounded earlier on Tuesday when a suicide bomber blew himself up at an army recruitment centre in Baghdad.
Allawi's Iraqiya won two seats more than Maliki's State of Law, but neither party won the majority needed to govern and no agreement has emerged from coalition talks.
The Sadrists, who won around 40 seats, will be looking to play a larger role in the next government.
The anti-American movement has called for a series of oil contracts -- seen as key investment deals -- signed by Iraq with major oil firms like BP and Shell to be re-written.
While Iraqis had hoped the election would result in greater stability and prosperity seven years after the U.S.-led invasion which ousted Saddam Hussein, persistent attacks have raised doubts over the ability of the war-torn nation to rebuild.
The political uncertainty and ongoing violence could deter foreign investment, desperately needed in a country ravaged by decades of war, sanctions and neglect.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2010 00:00 ||
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Those fingers in my hair
That sly come hither stare
that strips my conscience bare
it's witchcraft....
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- An elderly woman shot dead by unknown assailants on Tuesday evening in Gaza City had been accused by locals of witchcraft and practicing voodoo, officials said. Yeah, it ain't crazy enough over there. Let's toss witchcraft and voodoo into the equation...
Jabriyeh Abu Kanas, 62, was shot in the chest as she sat with her husband in their garden on Al-Abeed Street, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights said. According to witnesses, an unknown assailant opened fire from a parked car in front of Abu Kanas' house. Ha! Guess she didn't see that coming!
She was a witch, dummy, not a psychic...
Medical sources told Ma'an that relatives brought Abu Kanas to the Ash-Shifa hospital and was pronounced dead upon arrival. Gaza emergency medicine director Muawiya Hassanein said the woman's body was taken to the coroner's office for autopsy and that police had opened an investigation into the apparent murder. Find any serpents in there, doc?
The rights group condemned the murder and said it was the result of the ongoing "security chaos" in Gaza. The accusations launched against Abu Kanas were never proved, the group explained. Yeah, I'm sure the local holy man would've loved a shot at proving that one...
[Al Arabiya Latest] The Palestinian who broke into the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv and tried to take hostages was a former member of Israel's Shin Bet domestic security agency, his lawyer said on Wednesday.
Avital Horev said his client, Nadim Injaz, was wanted by the Palestinian Authority.
Injaz, who is believed to come from the West Bank city of Ramallah, was shot in the leg and lightly wounded late on Tuesday after breaking into the Turkish mission and attempting to take a hostage in a bungled attempt to seek asylum.
"I saw my client in hospital during the night," Horev told public radio.
"During the 1990s and the early part of this decade, he stopped Palestinian attacks, saving many lives of both soldiers and Israeli citizens, but the Shin Bet, from whom he asked for protection, refused to recognize its responsibility towards him," the lawyer said.
Injaz climbed to the first storey of the building and forced his way into the embassy, armed with a knife, a jerry can and a toy gun, the Turkish foreign ministry said in Ankara.
During the fracas, Injaz was wounded and eventually turned over to the Israeli authorities. No-one from the embassy was hurt.
But the Shin Bet denied having anything to do with him.
"Nadim Injaz never worked for us and his case is being dealt with by the police," a spokesman for the security agency told AFP.
According to his lawyer, Injaz's life would be at risk if he was sent back to the Palestinian territories.
"The Palestinian Authority has signed a death warrant against Nadim Injaz," said Horev, adding his client had been released from an Israeli jail only three weeks ago after serving time for theft and staying in Israel illegally.
But Palestinian security officials contacted by AFP denied knowing anyone of that name from Ramallah.
Injaz is believed to be the same person who was arrested in 2006 after he entering the compound of the British embassy in Tel Aviv, and threatening to commit suicide if he were not granted asylum.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2010 00:00 ||
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[Straits Times] THAI authorities have used their emergency powers to block domestic access to the WikiLeaks whistleblower website on security grounds, a government official said on Wednesday.
The order came from the government unit set up to oversee the response to political unrest that rocked the nation's capital earlier this year, a spokeswoman for the Information and Communication Technology Ministry said. 'Access to this website has been temporarily suspended under the 2005 emergency decree,' she said.
Thailand has removed tens of thousands of web pages from the Internet in recent years, mainly for insulting the monarchy, a serious crime punishable by up to 15 years in jail. A special cyber crime agency has also been set up to stamp out online criticism of the royal family.
Emergency rule, enshrined in Thai law since 2005, was imposed across many parts of Thailand during two months of anti-government protests in Bangkok from mid-March that left 91 people dead, ending with a bloody army crackdown.
Authorities have used the decree, which remains in place in seven out of Thailand's 76 provinces including Bangkok, to arrest hundreds of suspects and silence anti-government media.
Wikileaks has been the focus of international attention in recent weeks after it released thousands of military documents on the conflict in Afghanistan. These included claims of meetings between Pakistani spies and the Taleban and that civilian deaths caused by international forces were covered up.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2010 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that any talks with arch-foe the United States would occur only if Washington drops "sanctions and threats" against Tehran.
"The respected president (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) and others have said that we are ready for negotiations. It is right. But not with America," Khamenei told a gathering of senior Iranian officials, including Ahmadinejad, in a speech broadcast on state television.
"The reason is that America does not enter the field honestly as a normal negotiator. They should drop the face of a superpower, they should drop threats, they should drop sanctions and they should not set a goal for negotiations. Then we are ready."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
A "between the lines" translation:
Obama is such a weak-kneed woman that the Iranians are pretty sure they can just tell Hillary to go stuff herself and get a twofer.
To these people, polite interaction is weakness, and kindness is seen as cowardice; they are projecting Iranian responses onto us, thanks to the feckless Obama.
Now, perhaps after we do a standoff, conventiional weapons strike on their new nuclear infrastructure, so that it resembles nothing so much as a smoking hole in the ground, when we ask politely a second time, they may well have learned about their own weakness and cowardice, and readily agree that talking is better than getting one's ass blown off.
See? Make the climate warmer and everyone is happy.
Posted by: B Dubya ||
08/19/2010 13:12 Comments ||
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#2
B. Dubya. Couldn't agree more.
Peace through superior firepower.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
08/19/2010 23:35 Comments ||
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Staten Island's monument to World Trade Center victims has been vandalized for a third time in four years. "Ewwww! Troll bogeys!"
The "Postcards" memorial contains 274 plaques that honor Staten Islanders who perished in the 1993 and 2001 terrorist attacks on the trade center. It was attacked by some sort of mindless malevolence that wore a human costume...
Officials say five granite plaques were torn off recently, leaving gaping spaces in the soaring sculpture. The damage was detected this week. No arrests have been made. Evil prefers the night, though it'll settle for the day if it thinks it can get away with it...
Borough President James Molinaro says the names of the victims whose plaques were removed will not be released. Molinaro says the missing plaques will be replaced in time for this year's 9/11 service at the site.
Update at 0030 ET: this article says that the missing plaques were removed for maintenance, not due to vandalism.
Julie Wood, a spokesperson for the city Economic Development Corp. (EDC), said the agency removed the plaques to fix cracks and other damage ahead of this year's 9/11 anniversary.
"There was no new vandalism incident at all," said Ms. Wood.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
"nevermind"
/Emily Litella
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/19/2010 13:32 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Of course the WH hasn't had anything to say yet.
The developers of an Islamic cultural center that would include a mosque near Ground Zero have rejected Gov. David Paterson's offer to help them find a different site.
Staten Island's monument to World Trade Center victims has been vandalized for a third time in four years.
