Hire the best defense attorney. A jury acquitted tough-guy actor Robert Blake of murder in the shooting death of his wife four years ago, bringing a stunning end Wednesday to a case that played out like pulp fiction. Jurors also acquitted Blake of one charge that Blake solicited murder, but deadlocked on a second solicitation charge. The jury voted 11-1 in favor of acquittal and the judge dismissed the count. The jury of seven men and five women delivered the verdicts on its ninth day of deliberations, following a trial with a cast a characters that included two Hollywood stuntmen who said Blake tried to get them to bump off his wife.
The 71-year-old star of the 1970s detective drama "Baretta" dropped his head as the verdict was read and then appeared to shake with tears. He almost fell while reaching for a water bottle. He had been charged with murder, two counts of solicitation of murder and a special circumstance of lying in wait. The murder charge and special circumstance enhancement could have carried a sentence of life in prison; prosecutors did not seek the death penalty. The solicitation counts could have carried a maximum penalty of 11 years. Blake was charged with shooting 44-year-old Bonny Lee Bakley to death in their car outside the actor's favorite Italian restaurant on May 4, 2001, less than six months after their marriage.
Prosecutors said Blake believed his wife trapped him by getting pregnant. They said Blake became smitten with the baby, Rosie, when she was born and desperately wanted to keep the child away from Bakley, whom he considered an unfit mother. Bakley had been married several times, had a record for mail fraud and made a living scamming men out of money with nude pictures of herself and promises of sex. "He was tricked by Bonny Lee and he hated her for it," prosecutor Shellie Samuels said in closing arguments. "He got taken by a small-time grifter." The defense called it a weak case that lacked physical evidence and was built largely on the testimony of two witnesses who were once heavy drug users. Blake was acquitted of asking one of those witnesses, Gary McLarty, to murder Bakley. No eyewitnesses, blood or DNA evidence linked Blake to the crime. The murder weapon, found in a trash bin near the car where Bakley was killed, could not be traced to Blake, and witnesses said the minuscule amounts of gunshot residue found on Blake's hands could have come from a different gun he said he carried for protection.
The four-month trial was part of a wave of celebrity court cases in California that have provided endless fodder for the tabloids and cable networks. The Michael Jackson child molestation trial started just as the Blake case was wrapping up. Rock 'n' roll producer Phil Spector will stand trial later this year in Los Angeles for allegedly murdering a B-movie actress.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/16/2005 5:56:50 PM ||
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First of all I preface this with : I am very pleased about the Scott Peterson news.
I am not pleased with , nor am I upset about Barretta getting off. I am not sure how I feel.
I get the feeling Bonny Bakley was an evil person, Apparently the jury thought so too... Blake should consider himself lucky.
Comparisons to OJ are inappropriate as OJ was a bully, Barretta was not. He is just a scared, neurotic little man, who was probably be bullied himself, and who found a genuinely sympathetic jury...
OJ has not a snowballs chance in hell of ever working in entertainment again.
Now, Blake might be able to get a role here & there... People don't hate him the way they do OJ.
#3
Bonnie Lee was a lying scamming grifter - no Lacy Peterson. Prosecution didn't prove their case, even though most everyone believes he had something to do with it, even if he didn't pull the trigger. Only consolation - he's old and will meet a higher authority soon, one who wasn't overwhelmed by "Lil Rascals" and "Baretta" ;-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/16/2005 18:53 Comments ||
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Bonny Lee Bakely was a con artist and fame hag, but that's hardly reason for a death sentence. Blake had the option of not knocking her up, but he did so anyway. Heck, Bonnie Lee didn't even know who to name as the father, Blake or Christian Brando.
Like OJ, there are only 12 people on the planet Blake was able to convince that he's not a murderer.
PLEASE...STEP AWAY FROM THE BLOWUP DOLL!
BERLIN (Reuters) - A blow-up sex doll sparked a bomb alert in a German post office after it started to vibrate inside a package awaiting delivery, police said Wednesday. Vibrate, you say?
"Workers were unsettled when it began vibrating and made strange noises," a spokesman for police in the eastern city of Chemnitz said. "They were worried the package might be a bomb." It was, baby. It's a...sex bomb!
Officers brought the sender to the scene and discovered the source of alarm was an electrical device inside a life-size female sex doll. The man told police he had wanted to return the doll because it kept turning itself on at the wrong moment. Don't we all hate when that happens? Looks like it was a real fun day for this guy...
Order was restored after the sender removed the doll's batteries so the defective product could be returned. You killed her, man!
Judge Alfred Delucchi sentenced Scott Peterson to die by lethal injection for the murders of his wife, Laci Peterson, and unborn son. This morning, Delucchi also denied a motion from Peterson's attorneys for a new trial. The same jury that convicted Peterson of first- and second-degree murder recommended in December that Peterson be put to death. The former Modesto fertilizer salesman entered the Redwood City courtroom wearing a dark suit and shackled at the waist with handcuffs.
Delucchi's denial of the motion for a new trial was expected. Much of the rationale used by Peterson's lawyer, Mark Geragos, in his motion -- two jurors should not have been dismissed, the trial should have been moved from San Mateo County, various evidence should not have been allowed -- already had been ruled on by Delucchi during the trial and deliberations.
We now return you to 24/7 coverage of Michael the Molester's trial
Posted by: Steve ||
03/16/2005 1:06:34 PM ||
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Watching him be put do death in California will be something to watch for in my "retirement years".
Blogging will be comparable to communicating by telegraph machine by the time he finally feels the needle.
#2
Hey, Scott - bet a divorce and child support are looking a lot cheaper now, aren't they?
Worthless loser.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/16/2005 14:46 Comments ||
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What is it with these guys (Hacking, also) who decide to change their life and kill their wife?
I had an uncle in Akron, Ohio who told my aunt that he was going out for a loaf of bread and never went back. He turned up in California, remarried, and lived another 40 happy years.
As I grew up and got to know my aunt (father's sister) I realized what a b*tch she was and why my father did not care to be around her.
There is a story by Allen Steele that deals with this subject.
It is very good . . . can't recall the name, but a serial killer ends up going on the lecture circuit to perform his specialty . . . killing those condemned to death by his own favorite method: Strangulation, from behind, with his bare hands in front of a college-age audience. A very devout man and no threat to anyone but those he is contractually obligated to execute.
We really should bring this back . . . public execution of those condemned to death. Preferably in a horrible and excruciating fashion, like being hung from a rope, to strangle slowly over the course of a day (done properly this could be like a gibbet, taking days to die of dehydration).
But the wussies in CA will never get around to executing him before he dies of natural causes, much less do it in a proper and fitting fashion. His male infant son died a horrible death by slow asphyxiation (once them mother was dead he died of asphyxiation) and so Mr. Peterson should suffer the same.
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
03/16/2005 16:42 Comments ||
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Peterson's such a arrogant narcissistic POS that he'll never make it to the needle. Someone will get him, even in the isolation of death row
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/16/2005 17:01 Comments ||
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I can only hope he gets wasted like Dahmer did by another inmate, because the state will never get around to it.
Posted by: Dar ||
03/16/2005 17:12 Comments ||
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Meanwhile in other news (didn't want to bother with posting another article), Robert "Baretta" Blake was acquitted of his wife's murder.
Posted by: Dar ||
03/16/2005 18:13 Comments ||
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Jame Retief - But the wussies in CA will never get around to executing him before he dies of natural causes, much less do it in a proper and fitting fashion.
I live here in CA , I am aware --- And we have all the lefty coocoo movie people shedding tears for human refuse - Mike Farrell, Would He Harrelson, Ted Danson, etc etc etc
When I want serious, well-thought-out advice, I always go to Britney first. Or at least to one of her breasts...
Pop superstar Britney Spears has offered some unusual advice to the beleaguered Michael Jackson — he should get drunk and fight someone in a bar.
Yeah. That should take care of his financial problems. I'm not the only one who'd pay money to see that...
Britney told US magazine Allure of her sympathy for the megastar singer, currently on trial for charges of child molestation. But the recently-married Britney believes all Jackson needs to help him sort out his life is a moustache and a beer She told the magazine, "If he did those things, I feel sorry for him. I feel like he probably feels alone, and he needs some help. He needs someone to be like, 'OK, let's buck you up, let's give you a moustache, let's rough you up, let's go to a bar, let's get drunk and be a man.' And if he didn't do those things, I feel sorry for him. Either way, he needs to get in a fight."
It would be amusing to watch somebody named Spike kick his butt, but I think Britney's missed the point. Rather than recommending he get in a fight, I'd have recommended he have a few, then get laid. He seems to have problems with the concepts, though, since he's already done both. What I mean, and possibly Britney does as well, is that he should get drunk with the guys and get laid with a girl.
The bizarre comments, and subsequent criticism from the magazine have led Britney to hit back at the glossy publication.
"So I'm not articulate! Piss of if you don't like it! I got lotsa money!"
In an official posting on her website, the Toxic singer takes a swipe at Allure, and pledges to not speak about her private life any longer. "I feel the article focused too much on my personal life and various events from my past...In the future, I will refrain from discussing my private life in interviews. It will be expressed solely through art," she writes.
"Either that, or through my music and videos. I'm not sure which..."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2005 9:45:26 AM ||
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...he should get drunk and fight someone in a bar.
#8
Ya gotta feel sorry for Britney; she can't return to Louisiana, all the plastic bits would melt.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
03/16/2005 11:34 Comments ||
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The last time some one said, "I'm gonna whup your ass" to me in I said, "I'll have you know I've had my ass whupped by people a WHOLE LOT smaller than you!" Defused the situation right then.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/16/2005 12:13 Comments ||
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Britany figures into most of my "end of the world" scenarios...
#12
...he should get drunk and fight someone in a bar.
I worked with a bunch of traveling construction types who considered this the highlight of a successful week - followed by getting the girl, of course. (Un?)fortunately, I never partook of such festivities.
LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) - A man found dead in a pond was the victim of a nearly nine-foot alligator that was captured and killed, the medical examiner's office said Tuesday. Officials did not know what Don Owen, 56, a truck driver from Bartow, was doing at the pond about a dozen miles from his home. He had been missing since Wednesday when he was seen at a convenience store.
The alligator had gone to the store for a six-pack and some Cheetos, and this guy shows up. One thing leads to another, and ...
On Saturday his remains were found by several men fishing in Six Pound Pond. An autopsy determined he had been killed by the eight-foot, nine-inch alligator, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said. Trappers caught the alligator Monday. Owen's forearm was found in its stomach.
"Sam, I'm certain that this alligator is responsible for this heinous crime."
"Brilliant, Dr. Quincy, brilliant!"
Residents said they had fed the alligator, which is illegal and dangerous, said Gary Morse, spokesman for the wildlife commission. Alligators normally flee from humans unless threatened or cornered, but alligators that have been fed by humans begin to look at them as dinner a food source, he noted.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/16/2005 12:21:25 AM ||
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When I was working near Mobile, Alabama in 1983 a bunch of us frequented a bar that had a deck overlooking a swampy area. There were several very large alligators that would come up to the deck and we would feed them marshmallows. The biggest we named Izod. One day when we showed up after work the owner told us we had to stop feeding Izod because as he got out of his car in the parking lot with a brand new pair of very white tennis shoes on Izod spotted him and chased him across the lot. Luckily he made it to the entrance without getting caught. I don't believe any of us has fed a 'gator since nor will we do so in the future.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/16/2005 9:18 Comments ||
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For you gator and art fans, this is pretty well done. NSFW
#10
DB, is there any way to entrain them on Izzies?
Then create a prime time reality show "Meet Your Gator", provided that the meanest one is named Allan. Or it could be "Meat to Your Gator".
I vote option #1.
#11
Sobiesky, they could be trained to associate a color or maybe a specific type of clothing with food. Izod deffinately associated white with food. Wrap up the 'gator's food in a turban, train it for a week or so, turn him loose in Izzieland and see what happens.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/16/2005 18:23 Comments ||
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DUBAI — The forthcoming law banning camel jockeys under the age of 16 from competing in camel races in the UAE has been welcomed in diplomatic, human rights as well as general public circles.
I dunno, watching a 35 kg boy controlling a 1 kiloton camel has its amusing moments.
The law, to be implemented from March 31, 2005, also stipulates that the camel jockeys should not weigh less than 45kg and their age, as in their passports, should not be less than 16 years, Shaikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said in a recent Press statement. Dr Mohammed Al Mur, Head of Human Rights Department at Dubai Police, said that a special committee had been formed for the effective implementation of the law. "The age mentioned in the jockey's passport will be cross-checked through medical tests in laboratories of the Ministry of Interior to ensure that under-aged boys are not passed off as above 16. Applicants for camel jockey job will be subjected to necessary laboratory tests to ensure compliance with age limits," Dr Al Mur, a member of the Executive Law Committee, said.
"We can saw 'em in half and count their rings. The little perishers won't be able to trick us!"
The UAE Labour Law bans all those below the age of 18 from working. However, the same law also allows those between the age of 15 and 18 years to work provided the job offered is not risky or involves hard work. And camel riding is not considered a hard job. It is a heritage sport practised by UAE nationals for ages, he said.
By their standards, it's probably not considered 'risky', either.
Apart from medical tests, parents' permission for their youngsters working as camel jockeys in the UAE is a must. "This will help in avoiding exploitation of youngsters and eliminate any sort of trade," he said with a snicker, adding that the law will effectively eliminate illegal practices noticed in this sports in the past.
So who will score this as a success first, Human Rights Watch or Amnesty Int'l?
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/16/2005 12:11:32 AM ||
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I dunno about this. The smaller the person, the less likely the camel can aim his spit with accuracy. They have mediocre eyesight at best. Being small has an adantage.
#2
1 kilo ton camel? That is one thousand metric tons or 1 million kilos. We have a scoop here: everyone believes the biggest animal in Earth's history is the blue whale with 170 tons.
But you are right: riding a one kiloton camel would be difficult and dangerous for a 35 kg jockey.
#4
Well, camels are called ships of the desert. Just didn't know they weigh the same as one.
Posted by: ed ||
03/16/2005 2:44 Comments ||
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Technically a kilo is one thousand times of something: a kilometer one thousand meters, a kilogram one thousand times. A 20 kiloton bomb means it has explosive of power of 20 thousand tons of TNT. But I sure you knew that. Now imagine that: a crowd of Jihadis headed by Binny and Zarkawi watching a camel race and suddenly Kaboom: one of the kiloton camels explodes. :-)
#6
Camels may be somewhat mean-spirited creatures, but I don't wish them to explode. Some more direct method may be available... granted, it may not have such an entertaining value as camel races.
#7
Awright, awright, awright, I misused 'kiloton'. I was trying to make a word play on kilogram boy and a kiloton camel, and as usual failed miserably. Obviously the camel weighs about a 1/2 ton or so (kilopound?). Henceforth I'll leave clever word plays to the other Steve in the Crossfire Gazetteâ¢.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/16/2005 10:41 Comments ||
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Steve White, I liked it. I thought it was really good. But then again, my Mother thinks I'm weird.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/16/2005 12:23 Comments ||
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Does this mean Willy Shoemaker's coming out of retirement?
#10
Camels aren't all so mean- depends on their treatment. My last job was driving a school bus for an aboriginal school in central Australia. Last house on the run owned an enormous camel, which used to wait at the gate and refuse to budge for me or the bus. I used to send one girl, 8 y.o. to shift it. She would go over the gate, under the camel (plenty of head room) and push on one knee. The camel would groan like the end of the world and shuffle off the road. Girl would walk under it, whacking the legs. He would splay out his feet, so as not to tread on her.
#12
Sadly, no, Shipman. Just heaps of memories. The kids would watch the scrub like hawks for anything edible, we could be chasing goannas at a moments notice, or climbing trees for honey flowers. Great fun.
#13
As I understand it, the camel jockeys are slave boys stolen/bought from foreign countries for the purpose. They generally are completely uneducated, semi-starved to keep them small, and have no idea of their age. And of course, they won't have any paperwork other than a bill of sale, let alone parental permission, proper passports and things. What are the doctors going to do, cut off a leg to count the rings? The usual "let's pretend" from that part of the world.
Chanting "fatherland or death," dozens of President Hugo Chavez's supporters lined up in formation, vowing to defend the country if the United States tries to invade. Led by an army reservist, the volunteers in black caps said their numbers would swell in the coming months. The start of training for "Popular Defense Units" marks a more confrontational stage in U.S.-Venezuelan relations. Chavez is tightening his personal security, accusing Washington of backing a plot to assassinate him. While U.S. officials seek to isolate a leader who has become a symbol of anti-American sentiment in Latin America, Chavez is warning he will cut off oil exports to the United States if it supports any attempt to overthrow him. The socialist leader called last month for creation of civilian groups to help defend Venezuela if necessary; in one poor Caracas neighborhood, about 120 supporters began military-style drills last month even though they have not been issued weapons.
"If an invasion comes, we know what we're going to do," said Manuel Mayan, 36, saluting during training in a parking lot Tuesday night, the first attended by international journalists. Other similar units will begin training soon in at least two nearby neighborhoods, said Sgt. 2nd Class Ricardo Nahmens. Some of the men and women — street cleaners, retired teachers and the unemployed — wore military patches on their sleeves, even though they are civilians and they have yet to obtain formal recognition from the government. They consider themselves part of the army reserve forces. "Reserve! The guarantee of national defense and security!" they chanted, wearing black caps and standing at attention.
State TV shows video of U.S. officials criticizing Chavez, while playing the "Star Wars" theme music for the "evil empire." Many observers say a U.S. invasion is highly unlikely, but Chavez's warnings have struck a chord on the streets of the capital, where graffiti now declares: "If they kill Chavez, he will return as millions." Chavez has said his socialist "revolution" for the poor is by nature "anti-imperialist," claiming that has angered the United States. Chavez, a former army paratroop commander who is up for re-election next year, has said U.S. plans to support the Venezuelan opposition are an "obscene interference."
U.S. diplomats say they are concerned about Venezuelan democracy, freedom of the press, Chavez's stance toward leftist Colombian rebels and moves to buy 10 helicopters and 100,000 Kalashnikov rifles from Russia. Chavez last month accused President Bush of backing a plot to kill him, saying "If anything happens to me, forget about Venezuelan oil, Mr. Bush."
#3
"If an invasion comes, we know what we're going to do..."
Yeah? What? Lol! Salute?
So now Hugo has his little Band of Fools, a Passion Play to distract the, uh, easily distracted, budding buddyships with Castro, the Mad Mullahs, Zimbobby, and His Fertile Imagination. Sounds like he's nailed his act down, man. I wonder if he does show tunes... not that I like show tunes, I don't, but they somehow seem to fit the pattern...
TRINIDAD: Judge orders retrial for Muslim leader
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) - A judge ordered a retrial Wednesday after jurors delivered a split verdict in the murder conspiracy trial of a Muslim leader who led a failed coup in 1990. Jurors said they were divided 6-3 on whether to convict Yasin Abu Bakr of conspiring to murder Salim Rasheed and Zaki Abuaiah after he expelled them from his group in a dispute over leadership. The jurors, who deliberated for about two hours, did not immediately reveal what their votes had been. Justice Mark Mohamed ordered a retrial, saying at least seven jurors needed to agree for the verdict to stand.
Dozens of relatives and supporters of Abu Bakr erupted into cheers outside the Hall of Justice in the capital of Port-of-Spain after they learned of the decision. Abu Bakr, 63, was allowed to remain free on extended bail. No new trial date was set. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Rasheed and Abuaiah told the court in January how they had become disillusioned with Abu Bakr's group before being expelled.
HAITI: Canadian foreign minister visits for talks on U.N. efforts
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - Canada's foreign minister arrived in Haiti on Wednesday for talks on U.N. peacekeeping efforts, two days before international donors meet to speed the flow of aid following the ouster of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Pierre Pettrigrew is to meet with interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue and members of the U.N. force on his two-day visit to Haiti. They will discuss stabilization efforts, including a stalled plan to disarm rival factions blamed for hundreds of killings, Pettigrew's office said.
The U.S.-backed interim government has blamed most of the violence on pro-Aristide street gangs. But armed ex-soldiers who helped overthrow Aristide in a February 2004 revolt still hold sway over much of the countryside and are accused of human rights violations, including the killing of four Haitian policemen.
The Washington-based human rights group Refugees International warned Tuesday that Haitian police were unable to secure the capital and urged the U.N. civilian police to take command of law enforcement.
CUBA: Sugar minister: 'violent' fall in sugar yield expected this year
HAVANA (AP) - A "violent" drop is expected in the yield from the current sugar harvest because of ongoing drought in the island's east, Sugar Minister Gen. Ulises Rosales del Toro said in comments carried Wednesday by state media.
"In the last 50 years, the sugar industry has suffered three large and expensive droughts, but none like this for its prolongation and economic damage," Rosales del Toro was quoted as saying in the Communist Party daily Granma.
The minister gave no numbers, but President Fidel Castro said last week that the 2004-2005 harvest could yield as little as 1.5 million to 1.7 million metric tons. Cuba's 2003-2004 harvest was 2.5 million metric tons. That was down from the 2002-2003 harvest of 3.6 million metric tons.
No sweets for you, Fidel
Rosales del Toro said officials hoped for a better harvest this year, but "the adverse climatic situation not only impeded growth, but caused a violent drop" in expected yield.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/16/2005 4:07:54 PM ||
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The country had been battered and conquered for centuries, until it finally pulled itself together, politically, militarily and economically. Flexing its newly developed muscles, the rising empire threatened its neighbors, motivating a counter-alliance.
If that sounds like China today, it also sounds like Germany yesterday. The parallels are instructive - and depressing.
Starting in the 16th century, Germany was devastated by chronic conflict. Finally strongly unified after 1871, the nation compensated for past humiliations, and then overcompensated. The Germans said they merely wanted to find "a place in the sun," but under Kaiser Wilhelm II, German power grew rapidly and was handled recklessly. As a result, other European powers lined up against the Second Reich, and war was inevitable. It became actual in 1914.
Yet, even though Germany was defeated and the kaiser deposed at the end of World War I, the arc of its power was so great that its expansionism continued, under a completely political system, until it was checked for good in World War II.
Now it seems that China is retracing at least some of Germany's fateful steps: first its decline, then its rise. China slipped into economic and cultural decay in the 15th century. After 1839, it lost a string of wars - to Britain, France, Russia and Japan - that left it with a massive chip on its national shoulder. Reunified under the Communists in 1949, the country since developed a system of guided capitalism that has astonished and rattled the rest of the world.
As part of its rising riches, China has built a state-controlled mediaplex that accentuates the positive about the Beijing government and the negative about everyone else. China Central TV, broadcasting in English as well as in Chinese, includes at least a small tub-thump for China in every story, and often a dig at the United States.
The accidental death of Nicola Calipari, the Italian rescue-agent killed in Iraq by U.S. forces, gave CCTV a chance to bare its anti-American fangs. For days, newscasters dwelt on the killing; a viewer would never know that the Italian government has remained supportive of U.S. policy all through the Calipari crisis.
Other countries, too, are judged to be deficient relative to China. On the front page of the March 3 Shanghai Daily - state-controlled, of course, and distributed for free in hotels - was this headline: "Lonely life, lonely death in alien land." The article told the sad story of a Shanghai-born woman found murdered in her apartment near the campus of the University of Canberra, Australia, where she had been a student. The paper reported that the university "has come under criticism" for failing to alert authorities that "an international student was missing." Meanwhile, the Chinese government is busy setting up agencies to look out for the interests of overseas Chinese, who number in the tens of millions.
There's nothing wrong with the Chinese using some of their newfound wealth to look out for their own. However, ominously, they insist that "looking out for their own" includes solicitude for the Chinese of Taiwan. Beijing regards that island state as a renegade province, while America and Japan regard Taiwan, for the most part, as an independent country.
When great military powers and great national egos are in tension, it doesn't take much to start a war. In Beijing's worldview, Taiwan's continuing "rebel" status is made possible only because of foreign intervention. Hence the March 7 headline in China Daily, yet another government publication: "Lay off Taiwan, U.S. and Japan told." And now a headline from The Associated Press, just on Monday: "China's president tells army to be prepared for war."
Like Germany in the 19th century, China in the 21st century is demanding its place in the sun. Today the world is witnessing a clash of national interests with no easy, peaceful solution. And it's a reminder that sometimes calamities are obvious as they go rushing down the rails, long before they reach their collision point.
#2
Article: On the front page of the March 3 Shanghai Daily - state-controlled, of course, and distributed for free in hotels - was this headline: "Lonely life, lonely death in alien land." The article told the sad story of a Shanghai-born woman found murdered in her apartment near the campus of the University of Canberra, Australia, where she had been a student.
Many Chinese aren't that gullible, which is why tens of thousands of non-students take on debt of up to $50,000 each to make it to the US via people smugglers. The general awareness that this is garbage is also why annually, tens of thousands of Chinese not only go abroad to study, but also stick around in their newly-adopted lands after graduation, despite the fact that life can actually be more materially comfortable back home (cheap domestic help, housing, et al). They just get used to the foreign lifestyle that the Chinese media routinely pans.
#3
Oh, gimme a $#@&* break. Shanghai Daily, South China Morning Post, and all the other Party mouthpieces are regarded with derision by everyone I know. I mean, they're comically bad. Nobody I know reads them. The only reason you'd ever pick one up is because they're delivered to the rooms in 4-star and better hotels (even if you tell them not to). If you insist on using them as a source of information, stick to the weather and sports pages.
Sounds like a reporter hung around the hotel too much instead of going out, and decided to make a story about a newspaper story combined with a bunch of stuff he remembered from college history class.
CCTV-9 (the English channel) is largely ignored as well, due to its appallingly boring programming. For every anti-American news report, there are dozens of 'Bulgarian foreign minister arrives in Beijing' type stories. Again, we see the reporter hanging out in his hotel room watching hours of TV instead of getting out on the street.
Don't believe me? Watch CCTV-9 yourself (click 'Live Broadcast). A great insomnia cure.
The Department of Defense announced today that the remains of a U. S. Air Force pilot, missing in action from the Korean War, has been identified and will soon be returned to his family for burial with full military honors. Air Force Captain Troy "Gordie" Cope of Norfolk, Ark., will be buried in Plano, Texas, on May 31.
On Sept. 16, 1952, Cope and his wingman, both flying F-86 Saber Jets from Kimpo Air Base in South Korea, encountered six MiG-15s of the North Korean Air Force. Cope was flying near the Yalu River, separating North Korea from China, on combat air patrol in an area known as "MiG Alley." In the ensuing aerial dogfight, Cope lost contact with his wingman and was never seen again.
In 1995, an American businessman saw a metal dogtag belonging to Cope in the military museum in Dandong, China. He copied the data and reported it to U.S. authorities, yet inquiries to both the Chinese and North Korean governments yielded no further leads.
Then in 1999, during archival research by analysts of the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO), documents about Cope's shootdown were discovered in Russian archives in Podolsk. These archives held documents that included statements and drawings by the Russian pilots who were flying the MiG-15s for the North Koreans. Also included were detailed reports on the ground search carried out by Russian and Chinese officials in Dandong where the crash site was located.
After DPMO's discussions with the Chinese government in 2003, a team of specialists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command excavated the site in May 2004 and found aircraft debris and human remains which were identified in October. Dandong citizens and officials assisted the team throughout the excavation, and were praised by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs Jerry D. Jennings. "Without the assistance of the people of Dandong, this would not have been possible. The family of Troy Cope and the American people express our appreciation to all those who helped us bring Troy Cope home again," said Jennings.
Of the 88,000 Americans missing from all conflicts, 8,100 are MIA from the Korean War.
SEOUL - South Korea on Wednesday began supplying electricity to an industrial complex inside communist North Korea, officials said, relinking a cross-border power line severed more than five decades ago. The electricity will power South Korean factories operating in the industrial park at Kaesong, just north of the inter-Korean border, the South's power supplier Korea Electric Power Corp said.
The complex is a joint project between the two Koreas. North Korea is supplying the land and manpower in the form of cheap labor; South Korea is supplying the infrastructure, including electric power. "The power supply has a historic significance because the South's electricity has crossed the border for the first time since the division of the peninsula," the power company said in a statement.
The power line was severed in 1948 when the Korean peninsula was split into communist North and capitalist South. As part of engagement efforts, South Korea has been building an industrial complex in Kaesong, 10 kilometers (six miles) north of the heavily fortified inter-Korean border. So far 15 labor-intensive South Korean businesses have been authorized to move into Kaesong as a part of a pilot project, with three factories already churning out products like clothing and kitchen pots and pans.
The South Korean power company says it will supply 15,000 kilowatts of electricity to Kaesong this year and plans to expand this to 100,000 kilowatts by 2007, when more South Korean firms move in.
Time for us to go. Nice knowin' you guys. Have fun.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/16/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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South Korea supplies the electricity and North Korea supplies the slaves......
#2
South Korea on Wednesday began supplying electricity to an industrial complex inside communist North Korea, officials said, relinking a cross-border power line severed more than five decades ago.
#3
I was okay with this until the numbers at the end. 100,000 kW (100 MW) suggests one hell of a big industrial park -- I'd guess about a half million sewing machines with good lighting overhead. Somebody's stretching the truth here.
Posted by: Tom ||
03/16/2005 8:37 Comments ||
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That's crazier than getting between some smuggling tunnels and a D9.
Posted by: Steve from Relto ||
03/16/2005 9:18 Comments ||
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One alternative way to consider this. The South knows the North has nukes. The South knows the North is going to crash soon. It can crash in one of two directions, China or the South. The South is just trying to make sure that it falls toward it so that China does not have an excuse to move into half the country. The south gets nukes the easy way and is able to stand up to China. Not a bad outcome.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
03/16/2005 13:41 Comments ||
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I agree with Mrs. Davis.
The N. Korean people now know theyâve been lied to. They watch videotapes of S. Korean soap operas. The N. Korean regime is going to fall.
The US acts as bad cop and keeps squeezing. The S. Koreans act as good cop and are an attractive alternative for the N. Korean people. Between the US squeezing and the S. Korean seduction, N. Korea is going to change.
Hopefully N. Korea will fall quietly to S. Korea and not violently to China.
If N. Korea and S. Korea do unite, I donât expect the resulting country to be particularly friendly toward the US. At least N. Korea will be gone.
#9
The Kaesong economic zone will become a cash cow for the Pyongyang regime. Additionally, it will become a channel through which 'progressive' forces in the South will be able to funnel advanced technology to their friends in the North.
The combination of the two (money and technology going North) will effectively defeat any attempts at sanctions as envisaged by the US and Japan.
Yep, as far as Kim Jong-il is concerned, it just doesn't get any better than this!
Posted by: Michael Sheehan ||
03/16/2005 22:27 Comments ||
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Days ahead of talks in Washington, the European Union head office pressured its members Wednesday to renege on their air service agreements with the United States and let the Commission negotiate on behalf of all 25 states.
The European Commission said it sent legal warnings to 11 members that have independent "open skies" accords with Washington. That brought the nations against which the EU head office has started proceedings to 20 overall, including all the major markets.
EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot will hold talks with U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta starting Monday to try to open the U.S. domestic market more for European carriers and foster more competition.
Renege on agreements. What next, treaties?
Posted by: Tom ||
03/16/2005 4:17:17 PM ||
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coercive unelected thugocracy - you get what you deserve
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/16/2005 17:42 Comments ||
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You want to renege on treaties, just because you call yourself the EU? Ya wanna be the one big block and nullify all previous agreements? Two can also play at that game. Mineta better not sell us down the river. Better watch that boy.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/16/2005 23:09 Comments ||
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EFL. So vote early and often. And an esteemed list it is...
Charles de Gaulle was the only political leader to feature on a shortlist of ten personalities from whom television viewers are to select the greatest ever French man or woman in history. The wartime hero's rivals for the billing were two scientists, two comedians, a singer, an underwater explorer and a campaigning monk. Sounds about right.
But there was no place for other celebrated leaders such as Napoleon, Charlemagne, Louis XIV or Francois Mitterrand, all of whom featured too low down in the top 100 to qualify. President Jacques Chirac came in at 42. Too bad, Jake. Maybe you beat out Charlemagne?
The 10 names were unveiled in a live broadcast from the upper house of parliament, the Senate, on state-owned France 2 Television. Over the next two weeks the station will broadcast half-hour documentaries in which famous modern-day figures will act as advocates to plead their cause. The public can vote via the Internet, telephone or text-messages, and the winner will be announced at a second live broadcast from the Senate whose date has to be set. Apart from de Gaulle, the candidates are: Marie Curie and Louis Pasteur, comics Coluche and Bourvil; writers Victor Hugo and Moliere; singer Edith Piaf; underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau; and -- the only living contender -- 92 year-old Abbe Pierre, who has spent half a century working for the homeless. No Jerry Lewis? Guess it's gonna be Coluche then. Or Bourvil. Tough choice. Maybe I'll wait. By the way, who are Bourvil and Coluche?
In the longer roster of 100 personalities drawn up by a polling institute, Napoleon won 16th position; Charlemagne came in at 22; Mitterrand at 24; Joan of Arc at 31 and Louis XIV at 50. Revolutionary leader Robespierre was in 72nd place. Well Jake, at least you beat out Louis XIV and Robespierre.
In the acting world, Fernandel (the late Fernand Contandin) was 13th, followed by Louis de Funes and Jean Gabin on 17 and 18 and Jean-Paul Belmondo on 38. Catherine Deneuve was 97th and Gerard Depardieu 99th. Gerard, you got screwed, you French sex symbol you!
No Marcel Marceau? I'm boycotting the elections!
Posted by: tu3031 ||
03/16/2005 11:45:51 AM ||
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Some idiot are ranting because the elction will nominate the "top ten" (in English) gratest French.
Posted by: Jacques Chiraq ||
03/16/2005 16:26 Comments ||
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#14
Seriously, Pasteur deserves to be in the top 10. Maybe even #1. Other than that...?
Lafayette (I'll be he gets zero votes in France).
Jules Verne.
Alexandre Dumas.
Cyrano de Bergerac.
Lavoisier.
Charles Martel perhaps? Or do Franks count?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
03/16/2005 16:45 Comments ||
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#17
Mrs. Davis, That is my cat's name! It's she, though. She told me that her name is Rene Descartes in a dream.
Which would be kinda keeping with tradition--The Discourse on Method came to RD in a dream and the key to it was obtained in a dream within dream.
#18
Jackal, she moved there for love. At least, that's what the romantic in me would like to believe.
But in all fairness, there was more scientific study being done in France back then. That was probably a big factor, too.
#23
Uh, weren't the Franks basically Germans, so that would rule out Charlemange and his pretty little capital in Aachen...wait...they're all capitulators.
Never mind.
Posted by: Armchair in Sin ||
03/16/2005 19:59 Comments ||
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EFL The European Union's energy policy chief threatened on Wednesday to take 10 members, including Germany, to court if they fail to sufficiently open their gas and electricity markets within two months. Under EU law, all 25 members should have opened their natural gas and electricity markets by last July 1 for business customers. Only five countries had adopted the necessary laws by the deadline. Apart from Germany -- Europe's largest economy and biggest energy market -- Piebalgs targeted his complaints at Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia, Sweden, Greece, Spain and Luxembourg. They all love the EU, they just don't follow its rules.
Posted by: Tom ||
03/16/2005 8:52:12 AM ||
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Hey, Europe - isn't it fun having your masters in Brussels tell your sovereign legislatures what laws they have to pass, and when?
Naughty legislatures! To the woodshed with you! :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/16/2005 14:51 Comments ||
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Nice seeing everyone of you in favour of statist protectionism, when the EU urges for free market instead.
I mean, something like: "The EU directive to open the energy market was approved by EU governments in 2003 to allow companies to freely choose their energy suppliers. The deregulation is due to be widened to include household consumers by July 2007."
I understand why the idea of *free competition* and "deregulation" should horrify all of you.
Hey, Europe - isn't it fun having your masters in Brussels tell your sovereign legislatures what laws they have to pass, and when
In this case it's ofcourse Brussels telling our "sovereign legislatures" what laws they *can't* pass.
Posted by: Tom ||
03/16/2005 15:11 Comments ||
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Tom the Troll, are you in favour of free competition or aren't you? The free movement of goods, services, capital, people are four fundamental freedoms that lie at the core of the whole EU concept.
That's why communists and fascists and all people craving a monopoly of power hate the EU. Our "sovereign legislatures"? The industrial monopolies of each nation you mean.
Barbara, do you respect the result of referendums where the people decided in favour of EU membership, or don't you?
#8
I'm all in favor of free competition. The question is "why isn't Greece"? The EU chose free gas and electric markets two years ago and Greece does not seem to be implementing the policy according to the implementation schedule. Forty percent of the EU countries are being threatened with lawsuit by the EU. I'd say that's a significant problem for the EU. Why is Greece not in compliance? Rethinking EU participation, or just trying to have rights without responsibilities?
Posted by: Tom ||
03/16/2005 16:07 Comments ||
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#9
The question is "why isn't Greece"?
Was *that* the question? I had thought the thread had been a criticism of the EU instead, but am glad that you atleast are directing the criticism where it should indeed be directed.
I'm sure each national monopoly still loves enjoying its monopolical practices. And the more monopolical it had been, the more it's unwilling to let go.
40 percent of the EU countries are being threatened with lawsuit by the EU. I'd say that's a significant problem for the EU.
40 percent of the EU countries are being threatened with lawsuits on the issue of "dragging their feet" by the EU. These member states are reluctant and slow to apply what has already been mutually agreed.
I'm afraid you won't get much of an EU crisis out of this issue, no matter how you desire it. 20 states (meaning 80%) were slow in applying the rules, vs only 5 states that applied them in time. 10 applied them after the deadline had passed, 10 still remain. Eventually all of them will apply them.
Rethinking EU participation, or just trying to have rights without responsibilities?
The latter, obviously. Delaying their responsibilities as much as possible.
#10
I'm as much against the EUSSR as anyone, but tearing down trade barriers is the one good thing its done (mostly by its predecessors, I guess) and is something I support everywhere for everyone. After all, the WTO has ruled against the US before, and Congress fusses and complains, but complies with the rulings. And remember how Pat Buchanon went to the White House nowhere on that issue. If you sign the treaty, you should keep it, or abrogate it.
About 200 intellectuals, activists and artists from Latin America and elsewhere issued a letter Monday urging the top United Nations human rights watchdog to side with Cuba in an expected battle over the communist country's rights record.
A U.S.-backed resolution to condemn the island's record is usually presented at every spring meeting in Geneva of the U.N. Human Rights Commission, which this year was to open Monday and run through April 22.
No resolution targeting the island has emerged this year, but Cuba expects such a proposal will be presented and considered in mid-April. Last year's resolution passed narrowly, adopted by 22 votes to 21, with 10 abstentions.
"We urge the governments of the commission's member countries to not permit [the resolution] to be used to legitimize the anti-Cuban aggression of the administration of [President] Bush," the letter said.
Washington maintains a four-decades-old trade embargo against the island, and trade and travel restrictions have been steadily tightened in recent years.
Nobel Peace Prize laureates including Adolfo Perez Esquivel of Argentina and Rigoberta Menchu of Guatemala signed the letter, as did South Africa's Nadine Gordimer and Portugal's Jose Saramago, both recipients of the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Among American signatories were actor Danny Glover, author Alice Walker and historian and activist Howard Zinn. Other international figures included filmmaker Walter Salles of Brazil, the music group Manu Chau and France's former first lady, Danielle Mitterrand.
The letter said the U.S. government has no moral authority to criticize Cuba's human rights record after its own scandals over treatment of terror suspects at prisons in Iraq and the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay.
Some who signed the letter had criticized Cuba when the government sentenced 75 political opponents to long prison terms in 2003.
EFL: An attempt to mobilize Canadians against the annual East Coast seal hunt was met with locked doors, catcalls and scattered indifference Tuesday in several cities across the country. Representatives from an assortment of protest groups - about 400 people in all - assembled outside federal offices in Halifax, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver. They called for an end to what they say is the world's largest slaughter of marine mammals. The hunt starts later this month in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
You remember, this is where Canadians club cute baby seals to death, it used to be in all the papers
In Halifax, about 30 people unfurled banners, chanted and waved signs outside the empty constituency office of federal Fisheries Minister Geoff Regan. Letters of protest were slid under locked doors and a signed banner was left crumpled on the carpet after a security guard said the office was closed for March break. snicker
In Toronto, about 150 placard-waving people turned out for a "family friendly" protest in the city's downtown shopping district. A slightly smaller group on Parliament Hill was jeered by a young Inuit woman from Nunavik. She waded into the crowd to tell them the seal hunt is a way of life for her people.
"This is part of our culture," Jessie Mike told the protesters. "When we sell the skins, people get food to be able to survive. We're here to make you aware of our culture."
Don't you know, Jessie? They only respect your culture when it fits their agenda.
In Vancouver, about 50 protesters marched in a circle outside a Fisheries Department office during the lunch hour. Some chanted, "Shame on Canada", "Bush lied, seals died" and "Stop the seal hunt." Several people were moved to tears as they crowded around a small TV set showing pictures of seals being slaughtered. "It's a brutal, cruel hunt," said Glynis Sherwood, a volunteer with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society from Friday Harbour, Wash.
Tuesday's protests were small and sedate when compared with the raucous heyday of the anti-sealing movement in the 1970s and early '80s. In 1977, the movement reached its peak when sex symbol Brigitte Bardot commanded world attention by cuddling up to young seals on the barren ice floes.
That was back when she was worth cuddling with.
A few years later, activists were arrested for spraying red dye on more than 200 seals.
By the mid-1980s, the sealskin market collapsed when the European Commission banned products derived from the young harp seals known as whitecoats. Canada responded to the international pressure by banning the commercial hunt for whitecoats in 1987. Despite so many setbacks, the industry roared back to life in the mid-1990s as demand grew for seal fur in Europe's fashion houses.
Ah hah, the Canadians are killing baby seals to cloth their Euro masters!
Bardot, now in her 70s and walking with a cane, says she is still opposed to the hunt. Earlier this week, she told a Toronto newspaper that Prime Minister Paul Martin and his fisheries minister were "jerks" for allowing more than 300,000 seals to be killed this season. Instead of Bardot, the anti-sealing protesters are now relying on the faded star power of Richard Dean Anderson - the former star of the TV shows MacGyver and Stargate. Earlier this month, he sailed into Canadian waters aboard the protest ship Farley Mowat, which later sprang a leak and limped into a Newfoundland port.
What, he didn't whip out a roll of duct tape and fix it?
Those opposed to the commercial hunt, which has been around for more than 250 years, are in the process of rebuilding public support for their cause, a longtime environmentalist admitted Tuesday.
"We don't care if one person shows up or a thousand people show up, as long as we have participation," Paul Watson, president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, said during the protest in Halifax.
"We can always fix the tv coverage during post production"
Protests were also held Tuesday outside several Canadian embassies. In Mexico City, for example, about 30 people carried signs calling for a boycott of Canadian goods. Other placards featured photos of seals underneath the words, Please Don't Kill Me. Barry Crozier, spokesman for the Nova Scotia Humane Society, said "the number doesn't indicate the interest or the sincerity of the people."
#8
I'd like to be close to Bardot but she's too close to something else. 90.
Baby, take your teeth out...
Posted by: Frank Zappa ||
03/16/2005 13:07 Comments ||
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A few years later, activists were arrested for spraying red dye on more than 200 seals.
I bet the Orca's really appreciated it. Bright red 'eat me' signs....
Several people were moved to tears as they crowded around a small TV set showing pictures of seals being slaughtered.
I wonder how old the video was... 30? 40 years? Isn't it a common LLL tactic to show old retirees in Florida 30/40-year old video of a 'brutal' hunt in order to get money 'to protect the cute poor seals...'.
Now, I'm not in favor of gratuitous infliction of suffering on animals (Islamozoids and certain other psychopathic monsters excepted), but it seems to me getting eaten by an orca or polar bear would qualify as "brutal, cruel". Red in tooth and claw, and all that.
... aboard the protest ship Farley Mowat, which later sprang a leak and limped into a Newfoundland port.
Is this for real? It could pass for understated ironic satire.
Q Mr. President, you faced a lot of skepticism in the run-up to the Iraq war, and a lot of criticism for miscalculating some of the challenges of postwar Iraq. Now that the Iraq elections seem to be triggering signs of democratization throughout the broader Middle East, do you feel any sense of vindication?
THE PRESIDENT: First of all, I fully understand that as long as I'm the President I will face criticism. It's like part of the job. Frankly, you wouldn't be doing your job if you didn't occasionally lay out the gentle criticism. I welcome constructive ideas as to how we might do our job better. So that doesn't bother me. And, therefore, since it doesn't bother me and I expect it, I don't then seek vindication.
...
The other thing, it turns out, in this job you've got a lot on your plate on a regular basis, you don't have much time to sit around and wander, lonely, in the Oval Office, kind of asking different portraits, how do you think my standing will be? (Laughter.) I've got a lot to do. And I like to make decisions, and I make a lot of them.
Rush played this today and then played an interview Clinton gave Dan RaTHer where BJ Clinton talked about how he would wander around the Oval office staring at the Jefferson Memorial, wishing Jefferson were there to help him with those hard decisions. All the contrast between the two guys you could want in 30 seconds.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
03/16/2005 4:25:25 PM ||
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...don't have much time to sit around and wander, lonely, in the Oval Office, kind of asking different portraits, how do you think my standing will be? (Laughter.)
Yeah, WHAT A CONTRAST...
Question is, did Hillary forget a crystal ball, red velvet tablecloth, and photo of Eleanor Roosevelt in a desk drawer somewhere? C'mon Mr President, please tell us!
President Bush on Wednesday tapped Defense Deputy Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, who has been a lightning rod for criticism of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and other defense policies, to take over as head of the World Bank.
Bush told a news conference that Wolfowitz, now Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's top deputy, was "a compassionate, decent man who will do a fine job at the World Bank. That's why I put him up."
The administration began notifying other countries that Wolfowitz was the U.S. candidate to replace World Bank President James Wolfensohn, who is stepping down as head of the 184-nation development bank on June 1 at the end of his second five-year term.
The United States is the World Bank's largest member nation. The bank traditionally has had an American president. Its sister institution, the International Monetary Fund, traditionally has been headed by a European.
Bush, during the news conference, noted that he had called Premier Silvio Berlusconi to talk about Iraq and other issues earlier in the day and also said that he had discussed Wolfowitz, "my nominee," with the Italian leader.
"He is a man of good experience," Bush said. "He helped manage a large organization .... a skilled diplomat, worked at the State Department."
Wolfowitz, 61, was sworn into his post at the Defense Department in March 2001, marking his third tour of duty at the Pentagon.
He was regarded as more academic and ideological than his boss, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Wolfowitz was among the most forceful of those in the Bush administration in arguing that Iraq's Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, and he had predicted that Americans would be welcomed as liberators rather than occupiers once they toppled Saddam's government.
Wolfowitz, a veteran of six administrations, has earned a reputation for being a foreign policy hawk - the view that the United States should use its superpower status to push for reforms in other nations. A conservative scholar, Wolfowitz, before taking over the Defense Department post, had served as dean and professor of international relations at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of The Johns Hopkins University.
Administration supporters of Wolfowitz said Wednesday he is suited for the World Bank post and pointed to his management experiences at the Pentagon and his diplomatic experience at the State Department. He had served as assistant secretary of State for east Asia during the Philippine transition to democracy. He also serves as U.S. ambassador to Indonesia.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
03/16/2005 11:26:39 AM ||
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That distant, distinct thump you just heard was the simultaneous and synchronized detonation of every Leo-Strauss-neocon-Jewish-conspiracy freakazoid's skull upon hearing of the news. Next will come the frantic scribbling as they redraw their little flowcharts to tie in the world banking conspiracy.
Oh, well. At least it wasn't Perle. Some of the skull fragments would probably have achieved escape velocity, and the orbital rubbish would be playing havoc with satellite reception for weeks.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
03/16/2005 11:56 Comments ||
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#3
It's not as ideal a pick as John Bolton for the U.N., but it does send a message.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/85b52f5a-8ac1-11d9-9059-00000e2511c8.html
Posted by: Tom ||
03/16/2005 12:13 Comments ||
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#4
When I see something like this my reaction is that Bush must really enjoy his job. He and Cheney have got to be doubled over with laughter right now.
Posted by: Matt ||
03/16/2005 13:14 Comments ||
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#5
More seriously, I have to wonder if this doesn't reflect administration plans to push hard on the Millennium Challenge project on a broad front. It seems like Wolfowitz's sort of starry-eyed idealistic bag.
Wonder if this is a sign that they're starting to wind down the expansion phase of the WoT, and are looking towards some sort of inoculation of Africa?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
03/16/2005 16:13 Comments ||
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Joe Biden described Wolfowitz, currently deputy secretary of defense, as a man with an "active and fertile mind" who believes in the work of multilateral institutions. Asked for his reaction to the selection, Biden responded with one word: "Solid."
"I know him to be an extraordinarily intelligent, creative thinker who has the potential to do a good job at the World Bank," said Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, regarded as one of the Senate's most partisan members.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/16/2005 21:24 Comments ||
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#9
That was pretty much my reaction as well Frank but those quotes are as reported in the Weekly Standard: http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/363ubjiw.asp (Sorry but I have no luck at all with links here on Rantburg).
(A) piece in The New Yorker (link) should be a cold slap in the face for Democrats who want their party to get serious about national security issues. The title of the piece refers to a quote from the party's 2004 presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), who believes that the Democrats' perceived weakness on defense issues stems from a "marketing" problem. "We have to brand more effectively. It's marketing," says the senator from Massachusetts.
However, the piece does point out that "national-security Democrats" (a group somewhat sadly described as a "modest-sized faction") disagree with this viewpoint, realistically attributing the perception to far deeper realities. But the depth of the party's problem may best be illustrated by this snippet regarding Sen. Ted Kennedy's (D-MA) views on US foreign policy, specifically Iraq: "When I spoke to Kennedy last month, he said that the [Iraqi] election did not persuade him that the war was justified. He believes that it was fought under false pretenses, and is unconvinced that democracy can be brought by force to a place like Iraq. 'How should democracy be exported?' he asked. 'The First Amendment and food. We know how to grow it, and how to deliver it. The First Amendment is a pretty good starting point.'"
There you have it. When a tyrannical despot has a gun pointed at the heads of his people, as was literally the case with Saddam Hussein, Ted Kennedy's Democrats want to help bring democracy to the victimized by quoting Voltaire and delivering ham and swiss on rye. Good plan, Sen. Kennedy. Yeah, it's a "marketing" problem.
Posted by: Anonymoose ||
03/16/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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The title of the piece refers to a quote from the partyâs 2004 presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), who believes that the Democratsâ perceived weakness on defense issues stems from a "marketing" problem.
Can anyone rummage around and find a pointy little white hat for Sen. Kerry to wear while he sits in the corner?
#3
I fear for the future after GWB leaves in '08, especially knowing that the MSM is going to be shoving one of these clueless retards down our throats.
#4
I was worried for a little while until I figured something out. Even if Clinton or Kerry manage to take back the Presidency, the GOP will still own both houses of Congress. So when Kerry proposes that we join the world court (jesters), Congress can simply say "Non." Or When Hillary wants to socialize health care, Congress can simply refuse to discuss it. There could be some damage in the courts, but the Senate could limit that as well. I would sleep better if Newt was the Leader of the Senate, but I won't lose any sleep over them. And before you ask I am not surrendering the Presidential race just yet. There are a lot of unknowns going into 2008 and Clinton will have to carry part of the south and that seems unlikely.
#5
Actually, I disagree about Newt. As he, himself confessed, he was better at leading the revolution than he was leading the House. And this is not a unique problem among revolutionary types, so he is not in bad company. Patrick Henry had the same problem. But what I look for in the future is for some republican leader who is equal to Bush in "strategery", or as surrounded with genius. Bush plans his strategy from a year or two out, and like Washington, he surrounds himself with amazing minds totally devoted to his plan--not only brilliant, but loyal. As far as congress goes, its republican leaders must fully embrace majority status, to get it through their head that they no longer *have* to deal, make bargains, or haggle with the democrats. Instead, they must focus on internal discipline, keeping their own house in order, and not allowing ambitious extremists from hijacking the platform. Moderate democrats who join them will keep people like McCain and the other RINOs from leveraging their crackpot ideas.
#6
Moose has a great point about congress. The demographics are going to keep going the Republicans way for the next several elections and the next census/reapportionment. While in the long run it will work against them, anti-gerrymandering activity should also work in their favor as extremist Democrats lose their safe seats.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
03/16/2005 13:37 Comments ||
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Democrats threatened Tuesday to slow or stop most Senate business if Republicans unilaterally change the rules to assure confirmation of President Bush's controversial court appointments... "The Democrats have it backwards," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. "They broke with a long-standing tradition of giving judicial nominations that reach the Senate floor an up or down vote, and we simply want to restore that tradition." Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the Judiciary Committee chairman, has declined to express support for a change in the rules but said Reid moved prematurely. "Since there's no imminent move by the majority leader to move to reduce the filibuster number from 60 to 51, it seemed a little untimely for Senator Reid to make his statement," Specter said. "My focus is to proceed to try to get these judges confirmed and try to work it out, without coming to the confrontation on the constitutional or nuclear option." No half measures or compromise will work, any more than compromising with Iran to let them make nuclear weapons.
Posted by: Anonymoose ||
03/16/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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The Democrats are every day in every way coming to resemble a bad Saturday Night Live sketch. It's hard to tell who is more pathetic, Reid or Pelosi. When Barbara Boxer and Hillary Clinton are the best you have, it's time to start thinking about a third party.
#2
... if Republicans unilaterally change the rules to assure confirmation of President Bushâs controversial court appointments...
Shouldn't that read, "If Republicans put to a free and open vote a proposed rule change that would end unprecedented and unconstitutional Democratic obstructionism and allow judicial nominees a floor vote as mandated by the Constitution of the United States?"
#4
"President Bushâs controversial court appointments." Funny how none of the Demospeak ever addresses WHY these nominees are "controversial" that's because the can't state their stupid reasons out loud. If they Said "We can't let him sit on the bench because he is Catholic or conservative" it would fall on deaf ears. I think the Republicans should run with the 'Constitutional Option' TODAY, THIS MORNING. Then listen to the whine from the left for the next two years. People would tire of them and they would lose even more seats.
#5
Sarge, actually they DO address why, they just speak in tongues. They have code phrases that they toss around. All the looney left-progressives know the words but we're just sheep ya know, we can't possibly know better so it's best that we just do as we're told.
The real fears? Most of the appointments are anti-abortion and would probably vote to uphold state/fed laws that restrict abortion -- e.g., parental notification, partial-birth abortion, etc. Many of these appointments also tend to be stricter constructionists who read the Constitution as it's written, rather than as a 'living document'.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/16/2005 10:46 Comments ||
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#6
I suggest a "Buy A Republican Senator A Cane" program...
For the second time in just under a year, a circuit breaker failed on the international space station Wednesday, shutting down one of the gyroscopes needed to keep the orbiting outpost steady and pointed in the right position. The circuit breaker was a new one put in by spacewalking astronauts last summer. In a repeat from one year ago, the latest failure left the space station with only two functioning gyroscopes, the bare minimum needed for control, NASA said. This time, though, the problem could affect NASA's plans to launch Discovery to the station in mid-May after a two-year grounding of the shuttle fleet. The space station must be steady for a shuttle to dock. There is at least one spare circuit breaker on board. But there was no immediate discussion of whether the two crewmen would conduct a spacewalk to install it. They are already scheduled to go out on a spacewalk March 28 to perform routine maintenance work. The station is equipped with four American-made gyroscopes, essentially 4-foot spinning wheels. But one of those gyroscopes broke three years ago; it will be replaced by Discovery's astronauts, who will be making NASA's first post-Columbia shuttle flight. Russian thrusters could also be used to steer the station, but they use precious fuel.
#1
This is one black hole of a government program. They still use the same lame "to study man in a weightless environment" justification. They've been using that excuse since the Mercury Program. If they haven't figured it out yet, hordes of over educated government funded medical people should be fired or blacklisted from any further government research monies. Just what does the station really deliver? Nothing I can tell. On the other hand Hubble has actually delivered knowledge to the science community. Last week NASA said all further maintenance missions to Hubble would end and the Shuttle would focus on maintaining the station. What a piece of bureaucratic self justification.
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) - The U.S. military ended its tsunami relief efforts in Aceh province Wednesday when the medical ship USNS Mercy steamed out of the region, the U.S. Embassy said. The withdrawal of the ship means there are no longer any U.S. service men or women left helping tsunami survivors in Aceh, said embassy spokesman Max Kwak. At its peak, the military had 15,000 U.S. personnel in the province.
Doctors and nurses aboard the ship performed almost 20,000 medical procedures on sick and injured tsunami survivors during its six-week stint moored off the west coast of the region. The Mercy's withdrawal continues the scaling down of foreign forces involved in relief operations in Aceh. The medical ship planned to stop in eastern Indonesia to treat sick patients there, the embassy said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/16/2005 12:18:56 AM ||
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Good Job, people! *Kudos*
Um, Max Kwak? Is it gonna cost me if I make fun of his name? Heh.
An Iranian serial killer who murdered at least 20 children has been executed in front a large crowd of spectators. Mohammad Bijeh, 22, dubbed "the Tehran desert vampire" by Iran's press, was flogged 100 times before being hanged.
A brother of one of his young victims stabbed him as he was being punished. The mother of another victim was asked to put the noose around his neck.
The execution took place in Pakdasht south of Tehran, near where Bijeh's year-long killing spree took place. The killer was hoisted about 10 metres into the air by a crane and slowly throttled to death in front of the baying crowd. Hanging by a crane - a common form of execution in Iran - does not involve a swift death as the condemned prisoner's neck is not broken. The killer collapsed twice during the punishment, although he remained calm and silent throughout.
Spectators, held back by barbed wire and about 100 police officers, chanted "harder, harder" as judicial officials took turns to flog Bijeh's bare back before his hanging. Bijeh was stabbed by the 17-year-old brother of victim Rahim Younessi, AFP reported, as he was being readied to be hanged. Officials then invited the mother Milad Kahani to put the blue nylon rope around his neck. The crimes of Mohammed Bijeh and his accomplice Ali Baghi had drawn massive attention in the Iranian media. They reportedly tricked children to go with them into the desert south of Tehran by saying they were going to hunt animals. They then poisoned or knocked their victims out, sexually abused them and buried them in shallow graves. They were found guilty of the murders of between 19 and 22 people, but local people believe the toll to be higher. Baghi has been given a 15 year prison term.
I hope it's a very painful 15 years, and the kid's families are waiting outside the gate when he gets out.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/16/2005 9:15:13 AM ||
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#1
Send Scott Peterson, David Westerfield, Armando Avila, etc., to these folks. They seem to understand justice.
#3
Hot damn . . . I was just talking about htis kind of thing in the Scott Peterson thread . . . there is justice, unvarnished and untainted by those who would wish murderers were set free.
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
03/16/2005 17:00 Comments ||
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Within the past eight days there have been 21 homicides in Philadelphia, including three in the late-night and early morning hours after the prosecutor made her appeal Monday. Now, CBS 3's Walt Hunter reports that Mayor Street said under certain circumstances he would consider help from the Pennsylvania State Police and even the National Guard.
The deaths brought Philadelphia's 2005 murder total to 76, up from 66 at the same point a year ago, police said.
It's a Quagmire, where is our exit strategy?
Posted by: Steve ||
03/16/2005 9:52:35 AM ||
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#3
Anybody sense a gigantic federal program coming on? My wallet's kind of tingling.
Posted by: Matt ||
03/16/2005 11:40 Comments ||
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#4
In a blue state? I don't think so.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
03/16/2005 11:43 Comments ||
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#5
Hey, it's been a long, cold winter and we're getting a bit edgy here, that's all. Not everybody in Philly has RB, so we can't all take it out on Kimmie, d'Estang, Kofi, and Kojo.
Posted by: Tom ||
03/16/2005 12:02 Comments ||
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#6
I'm surprised it's not worse, what with no hockey, the Eagles choking and the 76er's having no chance of getting by the Celtics. All they've got to look forward to is the Phillies......oh darn.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/16/2005 14:19 Comments ||
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In a sharp and unexpected rebuke to University President Lawrence H. Summers, members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) voted that they lack confidence in his leadership this afternoon. Voting by secret ballot in a Faculty meeting at the Loeb Drama Center, 218 professors voted for the lack of confidence motion, 185 voted against it, and 18 abstained. i.e. 218 reasons why an ivy league education is becoming irrelevant.
The motion, submitted by Professor of Anthropology and of African and African American Studies J. Lorand Matory '82, stated that "the Faculty lacks confidence in the leadership of Lawrence H. Summers." Matory is really saying : Summers strayed off the reservation. I thought he knew what WEbelieved. I guess he didn't.
Professors also passed a milder censure of the president, which expressed regret for his Jan. 14 comments on women in science and certain "aspects of the President's managerial approach." Thay regret what he said? Then let them let their lazy socialist totalitarian asses out of Harvard and get a job teaching at Pyongyang Polytechnic. Managerial Approach? Is that what they {GAG} call it...
Two hundred fifty-three professors voted for that motion, which was submitted by Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology Theda Skocpol. One hundred thirty-seven professors voted against the motion, and 18 abstained. More of the same. I revise my ressons to 253.
Both motions are non-binding—only the Harvard Corporation, the University's top governing body, can force Summers to step down. At the end of the meeting, Summers asked the Faculty for reconciliation. Yeah, the inmates haven't overthrown the asylum...yet...
"Let me just say that I have done my best these last two months to hear what has been said, to think hard about what has been said, and to make the appropriate adjustments, to learn from what has been said and what's been done. And I will continue to do that," Summers said. "My hope would be that this Faculty will now be in a position to move on to address the vital issues that it faces." No Chancellor Summers, they have you in thier sites as a hate object, and they need to feed thier collective ulcers.
Faculty appeared surprised when the results of the vote affirming Matory's motion were read during the meeting. And of seven professors—including Matory—approached by The Crimson after the meeting, all said they were surprised that the lack of confidence motion passed. "Honestly, I did not think that the resolution would achieve more than one-third of the votes," Matory said. BS! You all knw that if you get enough idiots in one room, and all kinds of things can happen.
Sociology Department Chair Mary C. Waters said that the vote indicates that faculty discontent is more widespread than most professors had suspected. "I don't think any of us expected this to pass. I had no idea that so many faculty supported it," she said after the meeting. Leaving the meeting, some professors said that they do not think Summers will step down from his post. Prof Waters really is saying: I though we could just get by attracting the news media and let them carry the ball. We've gone too far, and now, everybody will hate us, and think we are nothing but a bunch of kooks. We are, but we don't want anyone to think so...
"My guess is that President Summers will not resign," said Professor of the History of Science Everett I. Mendelsohn. But Matory said after the meeting that Summers should step down of his own accord. "There is no noble alternative for him but resignation," Matory said. Mallory, full of venom, and newfound power, wants to take the oldest continually operating school of higher education in the country, and run it into the ground.
Weary Professor of German and Comparative Literature Judith L. Ryan said after the meeting that she thinks the votes will allow the Faculty to exercise powers of self-governance. "I think this also gives us a mandate to do more," said Ryan, noting in particular that the Faculty Council—the 18-member governing board of the FAS of which she is a member—will now wield a greater amount of power. {GAG} Professor of Economics Edward L. Glaeser said that Summers is prepared to change his leadership style to accommodate the Faculty. "I have every confidence that the president has heard the Faculty and that he takes this very seriously," Glaeser said. Talk about a coup d'Etat... Boycott Harvard.
Over 550 people filed into the Loeb auditorium this afternoon, sitting in the aisles when all the 556 seats were taken. The line to get in spilled out onto Brattle Street, intermingling with the press on hand and curious onlookers. Shortly after the meeting began at 4:00 p.m., Matory introduced his motion to a completely silent audience. "If we do not speak clearly, the Corporation and public will believe that we are content," he said. But lobotomy bait, you look like fools to everyone outside academia and the DNC....
Then, East Asian Languages and Civilizations Department Chair Philip A. Kuhn introduced a motion to table Matory's motion indefinitely. "The motion just proposed is needlessly divisive," he said. "What we need at this point in not division but cohesion. We need not extremes, but middle ground that will let us go forward." Kuhn said he wished for Faculty members to instead turn out in large numbers for discussion of the curricular review and other issues. Professor Kuhn... Look out for long knives in the night...
Professors debated both motions until approximately 5 p.m., when the Faculty rejected Kuhn's motion to table by a close voice vote. Faculty members debated Matory's motion further before voting on it by secret ballot at 5:12 p.m. Secret ballot, the cover of darkness in this case, but an opportunity to lay open the true state of the academic situation there. What a tragedy.
While the votes were counted, Skocpol presented her motion and the Faculty debated it, focusing on whether Summers' critics were stifling academic freedom and submitting to political correctness. They are. They don't care.
As the meeting approached its close, the result of Matory's motion was announced. Summers was stoic as the FAS docket committee began to read the numbers, but his expression changed to one of surprise and disappointment once the results had been announced. Faculty also seemed startled, as the room erupted into a series of private conversations. Professors then voted on Skocpol's motion. While the votes on Skocpol's motion were counted, professors milled about the room and spoke with each other. We got him, we got him, nyaah, nyaah, nyaah....
At a table on stage, Summers and Dean of the Faculty William C. Kirby briefly conferred but largely remained silent. Though Summers traditionally chairs Faculty meetings, he asked Kirby to lead today's meeting. Kirby also led the Feb. 22 continuation of the Faculty's last full meeting. Harvard, now a satellite campus of Pyongyang U.
Posted by: BigEd ||
03/16/2005 1:38:11 AM ||
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A sad situation all around. When I was in school waaaaay back in the '70s even in Alabama there were some signs that the extreme liberals were making their presence felt. Until just a few months ago I hadn't realized just how far off the edge of the earth Acedemia has fallen. I didn't enter college until after my military service and there were a lot of us Vets there. It really ammused us to see how a lot of the young students were so easily swayed by the socialist leanings and outright lies of some of the "Professors". What made us angry, though, was the contempt these people held for those of us who didn't accept their bullshit as gospel. These self appointed "holier than thou" weinerheads had never ventured out past the halls of academia to actually experience the causes they were fervently espousing when we had ventured to the Halls of Montezuma, so to speak.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/16/2005 9:11 Comments ||
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#2
Just one more reason a degree from this school is nothing special.
#6
The faculty has gone a step too far this time and attracted attention the Corporation will not appreciate. I would imagine the letters of support are flooding into Summers office from those who count in the real world. It will be interesting to see the response.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
03/16/2005 11:31 Comments ||
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#7
Just my thought, Mrs. D.
Posted by: too true ||
03/16/2005 12:34 Comments ||
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#8
I like the original story when a Woman Professor had to flee the discussion because it offended her so much. Excuse my non-PC comment: "But isn't that just like a woman to run away." I bet she is a pushover in class, she obviously doesn't have any kind of debating or thinking skill.
#9
The main mistake the Harvard faculty is making here is assuming that anyone outside of their little tiny world really gives a shit about this situation.
#10
Trailing Daughter #1 is 14. In four more years she starts college. Between the LLL nonsense and the rabid antisemitism pretending merely to be anti-Zionism, I'm starting to wonder if there will be any place I can safely send her (especially as she is really enjoying learning to use the Bo staff and nunchucks. And of course she is opinionated, and not terribly patient with fools,or those who think they are entitled to attack her physically).
#11
This will help you find the Right College. It is a pretty good survey of the state of everything you're worried about. And by and large, you're right to be worried. The choices are between the awful, the bad and the USMA. Somehow I can't imagine any of the trailers being defenceless.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
03/16/2005 17:55 Comments ||
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#12
You might also want to check out this website and the book that inspired it. The author has turned the initial success of the book into a second, very lucrative, I'm sure, career. But he was able to do so bbecasue the initial book is so very good. Those are the two best books that you don't usually hear about.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
03/16/2005 18:01 Comments ||
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#13
TW - Michelle Malkin posts about a college you'd probably feel safe with:
Reader Richard Davis just heard on the radio (Michael Smerconish, WPHT Philadelphia) an interview with Widener University President Dr. James Harris.
According to Davis, Harris said Widener will begin giving four-year full scholarships to children whose military parent was killed in either Iraq or Afganistan.
The program, called "Widener Cares," will give away four scholarships each year.
Might be the type of administration and faculty you'd feel more comfortable with.
Earlier this month, Eritrea ordered all veterans to report for two weeks of refresher training. Eritrea thinks Ethiopia is up to something, and perhaps the UN also thinks so. Some Eritreans believe that Ethiopia has massed 100,000 troops near Badme-- which is a huge increase over the 35,000 troops Eritrea said Ethiopia deployed in late 2004. Last month the European Union noted increasing military activity on the Eritrean-Ethiopian border. On March 11 Eritrea asked the UN Security Council to "press" Ethiopia to accept the border settlement. On March 11 the UN asked Ethiopia to redeploy its troops away from the border area. The UN noted that there had been a steady increase in Ethiopian forces along the border, which is not helping the cause of peace. Meanwhile, on March 13, Ethiopia and Kenya signed a military cooperation agreement. Ethiopia and Kenya have been cooperating on a number of common security concerns -- most of them dealing with Somalia. However, Eritrea could read this agreement as Ethiopia "securing its southern border" -- in anticipation of further escalation at Badme. With tensions running high, it's easy for Eritrea and Ethiopia to misread the other. As part of the deal that ended the 1998-2000 border war, Ethiopia agreed to live by the independent border commission's "binding decision." In 2002 Ethiopia rejected the decision of the independent commission which gave the town of Badme to Eritrea.
Posted by: ed ||
03/16/2005 8:26:06 AM ||
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This nonsense is why my Eritrean friends live over here.
Sudan's army and proxy militias are slaughtering large numbers of elephants in unstable parts of central Africa to fill growing demand for ivory in Asia, mainly in China, according to a report released on Monday. Between 6,000 and 12,000 elephants a year are being poached for their tusks in southern Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Central African Republic, Kenya and possibly Chad for export to Asia, the report said. Esmond Martin, a respected elephant researcher who led the month-long investigation, told reporters here that the Sudanese army and pro-government militias had virtually invaded Garamba National Park in the eastern DRC where he said "the killing of elephants is out of control."
"The poachers are mainly members of the Sudanese army who possess the necessary firearms and ammunition," he said. "They also have access to government transport to move tusks to Khartoum and Omdurman."
Merchants in the Sudanese capital and the market town of Omdurman are the chief suppliers of ivory trophies of which about 75 percent are sold to Chinese nations, according to Martin. While large numbers of buyers also hail from South Korea and the Gulf Arab states, the report said Chinese contractors working in Sudan's oil, construction and mining sectors are the largest consumers. It said the demand for trophies in China, the world's most populous nation, has been fanned by its growing economy and the skyrocketing purchasing power of its population. This, in turn, has driven up the cost of illegal ivory from about US$15 to US$43 a kilo in 1997 to between US$44 and US$148 dollars per kilo, depending on the quality and weight of the tusks, the report said. "The unregulated ivory trade in Khartoum and Omdurman, both for local markets and as an entry port to Egypt, has had devastating effects on elephants, especially in central Africa," he said.
Terrorism is bad for children, elephants, and other living things.
Posted by: seafarious ||
03/16/2005 12:58:15 AM ||
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...Sigh...somehow, this is going to be our fault.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/16/2005 7:28 Comments ||
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I suppose they kill the elephant, saw off the tusks, and let the rest of the carcass rot--just like we used to do to the bison in the late 1800s, minus hides and tongues only? Such a sick waste of an animal for essentially a token part.
Posted by: Dar ||
03/16/2005 7:39 Comments ||
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#6
just like we used to do to the bison in the late 1800s, minus hides and tongues only?
And the Natives did for centuries before that. Go look up the details on the various "buffalo jump" kill sites; keep in mind that the various official (government) sites are as PC as Ward Churchill.
As for the Sudan -- any bets this gets more outrage than Darfur?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
03/16/2005 8:01 Comments ||
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Surprise meter sure is getting a work-out today ...
MADRID — A Moroccan organisation has painted a very pessimistic picture of the current economic and political situation in the country, stating that the people had resigned themselves into a state of flux since they do not see any strong political leadership to pull the country out of the mess.
In a report titled "The Arab World is Screwed Hard" "For the Sake of the New Emerging Morocco," the organisation, comprising senior university professors and businessmen, condemned the current political leadership and offered to come up with solutions to the critical political and economic situation in the country, which it said was without structure now. The report criticised the Moroccan political system for failing to create a national political movement, which had led to the people showing little interest in politics. It also held the political parties responsible for the deteriorating political life in the country, which had resulted in a "general feeling of frustration, surrender and extremism."Â
Kinda hard to take an interest in politics when you have a King who's willing to lop heads.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/16/2005 12:05:03 AM ||
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That king has backed us a fair amount in the WOT, esp. wrt Algeria.
Posted by: too true ||
03/16/2005 10:03 Comments ||
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That is if you discard the tips who point toward possible involvement of the Moroccan secret services in the 11/3 bombings. Morocco has been wanting to take Ceuta and Melilla for decades. And they are also claiming the Canary Islands. Now instead of a tough Aznar they have a first class moonbat claiming for an "alliance of civilizations" and bending over to please the Arab world.
#4
The Moroccans are less fanatical than the Wahhabis, Deobandis, Mad Mullahs, etc. They can be, because their king is directly descended from Mohammed himself.
#5
TW, Howz dat possible? The Profit (wyxz) had no offspring, being a sterile satyr.
OTOH, anyone can claim anything, provided that one can get away with it.
Pak lawyers getting thumped by Pak police. Oh, whom shall I root for?
At least 17 people were injured when the Rawalpindi Police baton charged a procession of lawyers of the Rawalpindi District Bar Association on Tuesday. More than 200 lawyers took part in the demonstration outside the district courts against the demolition of lawyers' chambers in Gujar Khan. The lawyers carried placards inscribed with slogans against the chambers' demolition on the directives of Rawalpindi District and Sessions Judge Chaudhry Asad Raza. The demonstrators were heading towards Kachehri Chowk when policemen already present there stopped them. The lawyers and the policemen argued with each other and ended up in a brawl. The policemen baton-charged and tear-gassed the demonstrators to disperse them.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Oh please, can get get some of that action here?
Four men convicted in a notorious gang-rape case that has ignited legal controversy in Pakistan have been released from prison until they appear before the Supreme Court, a prison official said on Tuesday. The gang rape of Mukhtar Mai on the orders of a village council nearly three years ago provoked an outcry in Pakistan and drew international attention to the plight of women in the country after she went public about her ordeal.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2005 00:00:00 ||
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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.
A jury acquitted tough-guy actor Robert Blake of murder in the shooting death of his wife four years ago, bringing a stunning end Wednesday to a case that played out like pulp fiction. Jurors also acquitted Blake of one charge that Blake solicited murder, but deadlocked on a second solicitation charge. The jury voted 11-1 in favor of acquittal and the judge dismissed the count. The jury of seven men and five women delivered the verdicts on its ninth day of deliberations, following a trial with a cast a characters that included two Hollywood stuntmen who said Blake tried to get them to bump off his wife.
Pop superstar 
Chanting "fatherland or death," dozens of President Hugo Chavez's supporters lined up in formation, vowing to defend the country if the United States tries to invade. Led by an army reservist, the volunteers in black caps said their numbers would swell in the coming months. The start of training for "Popular Defense Units" marks a more confrontational stage in U.S.-Venezuelan relations. Chavez is tightening his personal security, accusing Washington of backing a plot to assassinate him. While U.S. officials seek to isolate a leader who has become a symbol of anti-American sentiment in Latin America, Chavez is warning he will cut off oil exports to the United States if it supports any attempt to overthrow him. The socialist leader called last month for creation of civilian groups to help defend Venezuela if necessary; in one poor Caracas neighborhood, about 120 supporters began military-style drills last month even though they have not been issued weapons. 
The European Union's energy policy chief threatened on Wednesday to take 10 members, including Germany, to court if they fail to sufficiently open their gas and electricity markets within two months. Under EU law, all 25 members should have opened their natural gas and electricity markets by last July 1 for business customers. Only five countries had adopted the necessary laws by the deadline. Apart from Germany -- Europe's largest economy and biggest energy market -- Piebalgs targeted his complaints at Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia, Sweden, Greece, Spain and Luxembourg.
(A) piece in The New Yorker (link) should be a cold slap in the face for Democrats who want their party to get serious about national security issues. The title of the piece refers to a quote from the party's 2004 presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), who believes that the Democrats' perceived weakness on defense issues stems from a "marketing" problem. "We have to brand more effectively. It's marketing," says the senator from Massachusetts. 
Democrats threatened Tuesday to slow or stop most Senate business if Republicans unilaterally change the rules to assure confirmation of President Bush's controversial court appointments... "The Democrats have it backwards," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. "They broke with a long-standing tradition of giving judicial nominations that reach the Senate floor an up or down vote, and we simply want to restore that tradition." Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the Judiciary Committee chairman, has declined to express support for a change in the rules but said Reid moved prematurely. "Since there's no imminent move by the majority leader to move to reduce the filibuster number from 60 to 51, it seemed a little untimely for Senator Reid to make his statement," Specter said. "My focus is to proceed to try to get these judges confirmed and try to work it out, without coming to the confrontation on the constitutional or nuclear option."
In a sharp and unexpected rebuke to University President Lawrence H. Summers, members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) voted that they lack confidence in his leadership this afternoon. Voting by secret ballot in a Faculty meeting at the Loeb Drama Center, 218 professors voted for the lack of confidence motion, 185 voted against it, and 18 abstained.
At least 17 people were injured when the Rawalpindi Police baton charged a procession of lawyers of the Rawalpindi District Bar Association on Tuesday. More than 200 lawyers took part in the demonstration outside the district courts against the demolition of lawyers' chambers in Gujar Khan. The lawyers carried placards inscribed with slogans against the chambers' demolition on the directives of Rawalpindi District and Sessions Judge Chaudhry Asad Raza. The demonstrators were heading towards Kachehri Chowk when policemen already present there stopped them. The lawyers and the policemen argued with each other and ended up in a brawl. The policemen baton-charged and tear-gassed the demonstrators to disperse them.
Four men convicted in a notorious gang-rape case that has ignited legal controversy in Pakistan have been released from prison until they appear before the Supreme Court, a prison official said on Tuesday. The gang rape of Mukhtar Mai on the orders of a village council nearly three years ago provoked an outcry in Pakistan and drew international attention to the plight of women in the country after she went public about her ordeal.
