Posted by: Scott B ||
08/10/2005 23:39 Comments ||
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#6
RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication.
It's a XML programming format for distributing and gathering content from sources across the Web.
Once it's in place on the server. The category's that RB mods have created for example:
Afghanistan/South Asia
Africa: North
Arabia
Britain
Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Down Under
Europe
Great White North
Home Front: WoT
International-UN-NGOs
Iraq-Jordan
Israel-Palestine
Southeast Asia
Syria-Lebanon-Iran
can be updated with the latest content. Also, the great thing about RSS is that each individual can pick their favorite categories. For example, my interest maybe in only "HomeFront:WoT" and "Israel-Palestine." So I would want to know the latest that RB has posted for these two categories, in real time.
The other benefit is that for the above mentioned categories, multiple URL's can be setup for each category. For example, if the "Iraq-Jordan" category is setup with -world news Iraq or Jordan- URL's from CNN, AP, Reuters, or WaPo, the "Iraq-Jordan" category is constantly updated, in real time. Yea, I know is sounds like blog outsourcing but, it has some benefits.
FORT SMITH, Ark. -- Viewers of an Arkansas cable access show helped Fort Smith police crack a case late Thursday night after they watched a robbery on live TV.
Gary Spirito, host of the Shopping Mania Auction Show, thought it was a prank.
When a man came in and demanded Spirito's car keys, Spirito informed his audience that this was no joke.
"There's a guy robbing us, somebody call the police, he came in with a gun. Somebody call police, there's a guy in here trying to rob us," Spirito said.
That's when Spirito addressed the alleged robber directly.
"Then I looked up at him and said, 'We're doing a live show here and there's probably hundreds of people out there right now calling the police to come down on this building, just so you know,'" he said.
Mary Schell watches the Shopping Mania Auction Show every night, but still thought Spirito's call for help was a joke.
"We thought he was kidding at first," Schell said. "Then I waited a minute after, and then I was like, 'No, he can't be joking. He can't be. Just call.'"
Spirito said the suspects escaped with nothing, but thanks to the 911 calls made by viewers, Fort Smith police caught two male suspects early Friday morning.
Fort Smith police said 23-year-old Eddie Crisp and 22-year-old Timothy Suggs are accused of robbing Keith Cox, owner of the Legacy Motor Co., at 11 p.m. Thursday. About an hour later, police said the suspects robbed Spirito.
The men face two counts of aggravated robbery and probation violations, according to police.
NEW YORK, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- The New York City Medical Examiner's office has confirmed the sudden death in May of a 28-year-old British earl was caused by a simple heart attack.
"He's still dead, Jim"
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 28, the 11th Earl of Shaftesbury, died May 15 in a friend's apartment in Greenwich Village, the New York Post said.
28 is awfully young for a "simple" heart attack. Was his "friend" that talented?
His death followed the discovery of the dismembered body of his 66-year-old father in the French Alps on April 6.
We covered the late Earl's murder in depth.
The 10th earl went missing on the French Riviera Nov. 6, and his third wife, Jamila M'Barek and her brother, Mohammed M'Barek, are under investigation in France.
Jamila, the sultry "entertainer" lured Earl to her place one last time, with her brother lurking in the back room.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/10/2005 16:05 ||
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#1
The truely sad part is that there are still alive men who were POWs under the Japanese during WWII and did serve as slaves to Japanese companies engaged in war production.
#5
King County prosecutors filed a challenge to Garrett's registration last week after questions were raised about his legal status. Under state law, candidates for public office must be legally registered voters.
The hearing was presided over by Dean Logan, director of the county elections office. Logan said he will issue a written ruling within a few days on Garrett's status as a voter. If Garrett's registration is revoked, county officials would move to have his name deleted from the ballot.
Notes: King County is the Washington State County which allowed felons (as in this case), illegals, the dead, and imaginary friends vote.
Dean Logan is the one who oversaw the last election for king county. Personally I wonder if he is able to count his own fingers twice and get the same result....
MADRID (Reuters) - Unusually high concentrations of jellyfish have appeared along Spain's Mediterranean coast this summer, to the discomfort of thousands of tourists, officials said on Wednesday.
The Red Cross said its lifeguards had treated almost 11,000 people for stings on beaches so far this season in the northeastern region of Catalonia alone, twice the number from the same period last year, when the jellyfish count had already begun to rise.
Almunecar on the south coast had to cancel an annual swimming race across the bay last Sunday because of the number of jellyfish in the water shouting "allahu akbar", a town hall spokesman said.
Factors such as the US's rejection of Kyoto, drought, heat and over-fishing all contribute to a rising jellyfish count, said Xavier Pastor, vice president of the international environmental group Oceana. It is also suspected that the Korans flushed down toilets at Guantanamo later floated to the Mediterranean and were read by the jellyfish.
Warmer than usual coastal waters encourage the creatures to venture closer to shore, in search of lower salt concentrations and nutrients in urban waste water and agricultural run-off.
At the same time the Mediterranean's population of larger fish and turtles -- which feed on jellyfish -- has declined.
"This year's crisis is not only affecting the Mediterranean," Pastor said. "In the Azores we recently found high concentrations of Portuguese Man-of-War, which is much more dangerous." The related Spanish Man-of-War has been extinct since March 14, 2004. It's unknown whether a Belgian Man-of-War ever existed.
#5
take advantage! The sting can produce swelling and temporary paralysis... swim without shorts, and you'll come out with a wooden leg, if ya know what I mean, and no, not a pirate :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/10/2005 12:13 Comments ||
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Okay. It's August. The news is supposed to be slow in August. But isn't that headline going overboard with the idea?
Instead of cutting out of town, runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks is cutting lawns.
"Maudette! Come quick! The Runaway Bride® is cutting the Wilsons' grass!"
"Yes, Herb."
Wearing an orange community service vest and a baseball cap with the slogan "Life is good," Wilbanks did part of her court-ordered community service Tuesday for lying to police after she ran off days before her wedding.
Wow! That's amazing! She's actually doing it in public?
"I'm doing well. ... I'm getting there," a sweating Wilbanks told a throng of reporters and photographers after her mower died out in the tall, wet grass.
"I need to get back to work. I don't want to get into trouble." But her mower kept sputtering out, prompting her to repeatedly yank on the pull cord to get it started again. After the eighth time, she let out a huge sigh.
"[Sigh!] I'd run away if I wasn't wearing this vest!"
In all, Wilbanks was ordered to do 120 hours of service, and she has already completed 24 by scrubbing toilets in probation offices, picking up trash and washing public vehicles...
"Maudette! She washes cars, too!"
"Yes, Herb. Should I start the Studebaker?"
Wilbanks pleaded no contest in June to telling police her phony story. She also was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay $2,550 in restitution to the sheriff's office that helped with the search. The nearby city of Duluth, where Wilbanks had lived with her fiance, spent nearly $43,000 to search for her; Wilbanks has repaid $13,249. snip part deux. Keep cutting those lawns, crook. I hope word gets out that you're cleaning the probation office toilets too, so somebody can get in there and dump a mean one right on the floor.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
08/10/2005 00:00 ||
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#2
The nearby city of Duluth, where Wilbanks had lived with her fiance, spent nearly $43,000 to search for her; Wilbanks has repaid $13,249.
She already paid it - it's called taxes. If the gov't is going to start billing us when we make them do their f*cking jobs, than what are we paying taxes for?
#5
This being the South, I noted that it was often mentioned that both she and her fiance had come from "prominent families" in the area. To me, this means that she was being forced into a marriage with this guy, who most agree looks rather 'oafen', and had zero choice in the matter. Marry that guy or else is a heck of a choice. Even if she was dead set against it, they would probably only give her the other option of never marrying anyone. Going from a "belle of the ball" debutante at the head of her social circle, to "chattal", overnight, would have to suck.
#6
I don't know, anonymoose. I live right next to Duluth, and, in fact, many in this area are NOT Southerners. Even so, many Southern women these days fight against that stereotype. Finally, it was HER decision...she could've chosen to NOT marry. I think the point is being lost here, though. Must be a VERY slow news day if this is being posted at Fox News!
Posted by: BA ||
08/10/2005 10:59 Comments ||
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#7
with that rack, she should be washing cars a la Coolhand Luke
Posted by: Kim Jong Il ||
08/10/2005 11:31 Comments ||
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#8
oops - that were me
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/10/2005 11:32 Comments ||
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#9
So, Frank, um, you wanna help Chuck with the spanking thingy? She exhibits at least some signs of a masochistic personality...
#10
Marry that guy or else is a heck of a choice. Even if she was dead set against it, they would probably only give her the other option of never marrying anyone.
You been reading too many Southern Gothic novels, Moose. Marry him "or else", what? They'll cut off her charge accounts? She won't get Grandma's silver? They'll send five of her cousins 'round to gang rape her? It ain't the NWFP, you know.
Posted by: The Low Countries ||
08/10/2005 11:48 Comments ||
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She wasted a lot of other taxpayers' money because she couldn't do the honorable thing. Don't forget that.
Actually, if you want to get technical, the person who called the police on her is the one who wasted the taxpayers' money. What she did was to leave home without telling anybody. It's a selfish thing to do, but do you really want them to pass a law saying you MUST inform somebody of your whereabouts at all times? No thanks, comrade.
She did a stupid thing. People do them all the time. People fall asleep with a cigarette and set apartment complexes on fire, but we don't hand them the fire department's bill. The gov't takes money out of our pockets to provide certain services, and I expect them to provide them. And it is not your prerogative as a taxpayer to cherry-pick the cases which you consider to be worthy. Either provide the service and accept the occasional false alarm, or don't provide the service at all. But I'm sick of seeing this women pilloried on a national level because she happens to be an moron.
#13
What she did was to leave home without telling anybody.
No, she lied to the cops, BH: She called her fiance, John Mason, from Albuquerque, N.M., early in the morning of her planned wedding day, claiming to have been abducted and sexually assaulted. She soon recanted her story, saying she fled because of personal issues.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/10/2005 15:19 Comments ||
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#14
She called her fiance
No, she didn't - at least, not in her own state. She did give the NM police a fraudulent report, and they chose not to charge her.
#15
BH, with the insinuation that the "crime" started in Georgia (the abduction, at least....), her fiance did the normal thing and made a police report.
The difference is, he was acting on good faith, and she knowingly lied. She couldn't possibly be that damn dumb to think that someone who cared about her wouldn't make a police report in that situation. I know I would if someone I loved said they had been raped, kidnapped, and dragged across the country.
Also, you forget that for a while the authorities believed he killed her and were treating him as a suspect. Most normal people don't go off on a run and not come back unless there's some foul play. She didn't just wake up one day and get her happy ass on a bus. She deliberately made it look like something bad happened to her.
He filed that report, assuming that the woman he loved was telling the truth, in Georgia. New Mexico could have chosen to charge her but didn't. That doesn't mean they couldn't have....maybe they were just sick of her crap by then and wanted her out of there.
If she had just been honest and said she didn't want to go through with it, guess what? NOTHING would have happened. She's over 18 and can do what she wants to. Even if her fiance wanted to make a report, there would have been nothing anyone could do absent evidence of a crime.
I still think that dumb broad got off easy....and that she's guilty as hell.
Via Drudge:
Without an anonymous phone call by a tearful woman to a local radio station, the world may have heard too late about the Russian submarine stranded in the Pacific to save its seven crew, the journalist who took the call claimed. Guzel Latypova, a journalist in the port city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, says the mysterious caller shattered an official silence and in doing so pressured the authorities to look abroad for help in mounting the rescue. The telephone rang at Radio 3, where Latypova is news director, about 24 hours after the AS-28 mini-sub became trapped 190 meters under the Pacific.
"A woman called in tears. She was saying that a mini-sub had got stuck with seven men aboard in the Bay of Berezovaya," Latypova, 32, recounted to AFP. The mystery caller said she had got the news from "someone" in the military. "She saved these lads. A monument should be raised to her. If she had not called it would have remained a secret, I'm sure." Latypova, who also works for the Kamchatka Peninsula region's STS television and the Russian news agency Interfax, was not sure at first what to make of the sensational tip-off. "That day there was hardly any news. I called my colleague at Ria Novosti news agency, Oksana Guseva, and we tried to verify the report through our own sources." Guseva managed to get through to Rear Admiral Viktor Gavrikov, commander in chief of the armed forces for the northeast of Russia. "Immediately his voice changed. He said 'no comment' and put the phone down. That convinced us it was serious," Latypova said. Five minutes later, she had broadcast over the radio, and soon afterward the report was spreading across Russia through news agencies and television stations.
It was only thanks to the media that the wife of the submarine's commander, 25-year-old Vyacheslav Miloshevsky, then discovered the news. "She heard on the local television at 7:00 p.m. No one gave her any official warning," Latypova said. When the worried family tried to find out from the navy what the chances were of seeing their loved one again, a military psychologist arrived. "This is Russia -- pray!" he told Miloshevsky's wife Yelena, according to Latypova, who went to offer the family support. "That's the sort of psychological help they got."
Media pressure may have played a role in President Vladimir Putin's decision to dispatch Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov to the scene, and -- crucially -- in the military's painful acknowledgement of the need for foreign help. As soon as a high-tech British naval robot cut the cables and nets trapping the submarine, the seven men inside were saved.
This was not the first scoop for Latypova's Radio 3, which has bucked the Russian trend of extreme loyalty to the authorities and caution about running any embarrassing news. "This is not a region here, but the edge of Russia, and that changes everything. It's the peninsula of freedom," Latypova quipped. "Don't forget that the inhabitants here are the descendants of adventurers."
Barkeep, let's have a round in honor of all the peninsulas of freedom!
A HONG Kong official said one of the territory's tiny islands could make a killing with a novel theme park based on its unsavoury reputation as a suicide spot, a media report said.
Oooh! Mom! Take me there!
The morbid suggestion to create a ghost-town attraction where guests were dared to spend the night in "haunted flats" came at a meeting of local leaders on little Cheung Chau island.
Councillor Lam Kit-sing said the island should capitalise on the grisly reputation of one of its holiday homes, where 20 people have taken their lives in the past eight years. Another five people attempted suicide there.
"Oh, my Gawd! If those people don't turn down that stereo I'm gonna kill myself!"
"I'll get the pills!"
Lam believes the macabre park could be an added attraction for the millions of people expected in the city when Hong Kong Disneyland opens in September. "A dirty spot yesterday will be an attraction tomorrow," he was quoted as saying in the South China Morning Post. "This is innovative and has a selling point." The proposal received little support from fellow councillors, the paper said.
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World ||
08/10/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
does greed or the lack of good taste know no bounds
#4
Until last year, a Chinaman could buy cattle and release them in lion's dens in public zoos. Wacky people.
Posted by: Vlad the Muslim Impaler ||
08/10/2005 3:50 Comments ||
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#5
OG is on to something. Maybe have an Islamic week or month for the park. Ya know, in support of the hajj or something. For those who can't make it to the TRUE Majik Kingdom.
Posted by: BA ||
08/10/2005 9:46 Comments ||
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EFL
SEOUL â Karaoke is part of everyday life for many Koreans, most of whom love to sing. So popular is karaoke that even in communist North Korea â known as the "Hermit Kingdom" â singing rooms are proliferating, according to recent reports by North Korean sources. Mainly in the former restaurants that have all closed due to lack of product.
Just means more space for the dance floor ...
In addition to the obligatory 'Let's safeguard socialism,' the available songs include harmless Korean traditional folk tunes enjoyed both in South and North Korea before the country was divided. "People know South Korean songs because of the Korean cultural trend sweeping throughout Asia and they love to sing them in private, but they are not available in singing rooms," said Lee Nam-Shik from Shineuiju, across from the Chinese city of Dandong. "Besides, they may get into trouble if caught singing South Korean songs, although the 'Dear Leader' seems to like them." No indication if anything from Team America is available.
Of course, there are special cases where South Korean songs are allowed publicly. "Those people are trained to give a good impression to South Korean tourists, to demonstrate that they enjoy full freedom in the North," Lee, who now lievs in China said. "If you think that's the case for ordinary North Koreans, you are grossly mistaken." But George Galloway says they are better-off than in the hellhole to the south.
"The average wage for North Korean workers is about 2,500 Won. Workers can use up a month's earnings in less than an hour's singing," said Lee. "I did not realize how funny it was singing songs like 'Let's Safeguard Socialism,' and 'Bless the Workers' in a karaoke place â and paying for it â until I saw singing rooms here in China." Funny? Obviously gallows humor.
#3
Kimmie > I am reminded of a scene from a movie about George Washington and his attack on Trenton and Princeton, where one of George's Generals from New England criticizes artillerist Henry Knox for being obese, ala "In an Army that hasn't eaten in many months, ITS A SIN TO BE FAT"!
TWO people died when their car overturned on an ice-covered road yesterday as a blast of freezing air pushed up from Antarctica, producing snow that dusted Parliament House, teased Hobart and blanketed large tracts of Victoria in what might be the lowest-lying snowfalls recorded.
The weather bureau called it a "cold outbreak" - an unusual event where a mass of air travels at speed behind a cold front, too quickly for the sun and warmer sea temperatures to heat it.
"There's only one way this can happen and that's one of these cold outbreaks from the deep south," senior forecaster Stuart Williams said.
"I would have to say it is the most widespread snowfall I have seen in my 21 years at the bureau, and there's a good possibility that it is the first time it has snowed in many of these localities."
Two people died near Beechworth, in northeastern Victoria, when their car skidded and flipped on to its roof. "There was a lot of snow and ice on the road," an ambulance spokeswoman said.
Elsewhere in Victoria, the Mornington Peninsula, Ballarat, Gippsland, the La Trobe Valley and suburban Melbourne received falls that forced the closure of several roads and schools.
In the ACT, the Brindabella Ranges received up to 30cm of snow, and the central and southern tablelands of NSW also received falls.
But snow forecast for Melbourne's CBD failed to materialise, and the temperature climbed to 10.4C in the city. It had been predicted that yesterday would be the coldest day of winter. The temperature was well above Melbourne's coldest recorded day, in 1872, when the thermometer dipped to 6.7C.
The last time it snowed in Melbourne's suburbs was in June 1986, while the last major Melbourne snowfall was in 1951.
At Mirboo North primary school in West Gippsland, about 120 students who travelled to school by bus faced the prospect of spending the night at school as parents tried to make their way along snow-blanketed roads to collect their children.
But the school's vice-principal Garry Adams said by late yesterday afternoon, all the children had either returned home or made arrangements to be picked up by friends or relatives.
It was the first time most of the Mirboo North schoolchildren had seen snow. "They were so excited when they first got to school," Mr Adams said.
"All the faces were at the window, and looking at it with astonishment in their eyes."
Canberra received snowshowers, but the snow failed to settle on the ground.
Snow fell at sea level in Hobart, and snow and ice forced the closure of at least two roads in Tasmania. Police said a school bus slid off the road near Strahan, in the northwest, but no injuries were reported.
Temperatures are expected to be cold again today in Victoria, but a repeat of yesterday's snowfalls is not forecast.
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World ||
08/10/2005 19:23 ||
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#1
Except for the people injured or killed - cool.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/10/2005 20:10 Comments ||
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#2
Global warming. Backwards downunder.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/10/2005 20:23 Comments ||
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#3
this normally only occurs when AlGore is in town to do a pro-Kyoto speech
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/10/2005 20:39 Comments ||
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#4
If Al Gore remains in the area and this continues, sea levels will go down and Indonesian Muslim fanatics will attempt to attack Australia via the resulting land bridge. Luckily, the northward stampede of kangaroos will probably hold them back long enough for Al to leave the country. With a little more luck, warming will then eliminate the land bridge, drowning the fanatics in the process. Kangaroos that make it to Indonesia will be okay -- they're not halal anyway.
#6
Actually darrell, after yesterday's report of multiple marsupials being beheaded in Aussie land, we're wondering if the jihadis are already practicing down there.
Posted by: BA ||
08/10/2005 21:09 Comments ||
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#7
Just curious. I've never seen any references to ice age glacial activity down under. I would guess not a whole lot, but really have no idea.
Casey is no ordinary crocodile. Her favourite dishes are Danish potatoes - preferably with lashings of gravy - and mud cake.
She also likes fried fish and well-cooked steak. The one thing Casey can't abide is raw meat. The 3m saltie even has her own plate.
The 12-year-old croc has become the unofficial mascot at the fishing lodge on the Adelaide River's Goat Island, 75km from Darwin. Lodge owner Kai Hansen said: "She's getting really fussy and only wants things we have made in the kitchen." She has lived at the island since 1994 after being brought there by previous owners Tony and Dixie Kaissis.
Casey climbs up the river bank of the island every night to get to the food left out on her plate. But despite putting meals out for the croc most nights, Mr Hansen said she was not a pet. "She is a wild animal and we treat her accordingly," he said. "No one is allowed to get close to her and I leave the food out while she is at a distance." In September she disappears for a week to mate, and leaves again in December to lay eggs. But at other times of the year Mr Hansen said her appearance on the steps of the lodge was part of life on the island.
"She comes up every night without fail," he said. "I call her Casey the Cute Croc because I love her." Despite his familiarity with the croc, Mr Hansen said he wasn't about to touch her or drop food in her mouth.
"I will leave that to Steve Irwin," he said.
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World ||
08/10/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
In Wilmington, NC, there is an old alligator who has taken up residence by the battleship North Carolina, and is regularly feed tidbits from the patrons of a nearby snack bar. Having tried to eat food at that snack bar, I can understand why the alligator is overweight.
#2
Waaaaaay back in the early '80s I was working in Mobile, Alabama and after work most (OK, EVERY) evening we went to a small bar that had a deck on one of the bayouus there. There was a rather large alligator that we named Izod and fed marshmallows off the deck. One evening when we went in the owner told us we couldn't feed Izod any more marshmallows because Izod had chased him across the parking lot earlier that day. It seems the owner had on a brand new pair of very white tennis shoes and Izod must have thought they were marshmallows. It can be dangerous to feed meat-eating wild animals.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/10/2005 10:36 Comments ||
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Photos at the link
A California man dubbed a "Satanist" on an online message board has posted photos of himself dancing on President Ronald Reagan's grave, raising the ire of the former chief executive's admirers. Posted on Ruthlessreviews.com (warning: vulgar site), the photos show a thin, white man likely in his 20s wearing an AC/DC T-shirt and having hopped over the fence that protects Reagan's grave. The poster, who goes by "The Freak Kingdom" and claims he's from San Diego, writes with one photo: "Judging from my expression and body language, combined with what little I do remember, this appears to be about the time security guards noticed I had jumped the fence and started jigging over Reagan's rotting corpse (the original plan called for the Electric Slide, and then humping the ground, and then whatever else I could get away with, but security was stricter than we had anticipated)." I hope "strict security" means they beat this asswipe to within an inch of his life.
Continues the post: "We had to tear a-- out of there and lose security in the parking lot, but we appear to have gotten away scot-free." Damn.
The post is signed "Monte."
Most responding to the post were congratulatory, with one poster exclaiming, "That is spectacular." Several e-mails have crisscrossed the Internet about the incident, with one person claiming to have contacted authorities: "I forwarded the pictures to the Reagan Library, the FBI and the National Archives. They have turned the case over to their lawyers and have been in the process of determining if there is any legal action they can take against this individual. I tracked down a website where this guy has posted more pictures of presidential grave desecration and even has orchestrated a national contest to see how many of these website members can desecrate the most presidential graves around the country." I hope this works. That scumbag needs to spend a few hours answering "questions" in a Secret Service back office.
"Monte" appears to be pursuing that goal, also posting on a different site a photo of himself purportedly urinating on President Richard Nixon's grave at the presidential library in Yorba Linda, Calif.
Talk-radio host Chris Dickson was enraged by the Reagan incident. "I was at the Reagan Presidential Library in February of this year," he told WND. "'Dutch' was my commander in chief. I have personal interest in getting this individual and trying to protect the desecration of presidential graves against First Amendment rights."
A spokeswoman at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., refused to talk about the incident, saying â after putting WND on hold for a time â that she had "no comment." Wimp. You're fired.
#1
What a sicko, and with a flag wrapped around him as well.
Damn piece of slime.
It's upsetting to see our youth not show proper respect and behave so asinine.
Posted by: Jan ||
08/10/2005 0:22 Comments ||
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#2
I'm upset in the way that I get upset when I see somebody doing something so utterly stoopid and tasteless that I want to look away. This is just Beavis and Butthead on a political trip, complete with the AC/DC tee shirt.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2005 0:42 Comments ||
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#3
Another Lefty Alternatist andor Anarchist who supps despotic, Govt-led Universal Regulation, Centralism, and Socialsm, etc. as long as it doesn't apply to him. All Americans should give thanks to God for Nixon, Reagan, and Bush 1, and even for the Democrat POTUSes of yore, however imperfect, for these would not recognize, and do not compare to, the "Treason = Patriotism"," Nazism > Hitlerists-for-Stalin" Commie DemLeft and Clintons of today!
#4
actually, I think they are smart to say, "no comment". The worst thing they can do is to dignify the little brat with an official comment. We all know what happens when you feed trolls. More publicity will only mean more copycats.
#5
Oh, c'mon. We all know it'll take years for the urine smell to dissipate from Carter's grave, and Clinton's will have its own, unique source of pollution.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/10/2005 7:19 Comments ||
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#6
This guy is such a loser, if he were to "disappear" forever tomorrow, I doubt his family and acquaitances would know or care. Waste of a good AC/DC shirt
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/10/2005 9:02 Comments ||
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#7
Someday "Monte" will be in the wrong place at the wrong time...and it won't be pretty.
#9
Once again, this raises the "willingness to be civil to the uncivil" question. At what point does society say 'enough' to *ssholes like this and physically punish them? Nonsensical tolerance results in kooks and freaks abusing ordinary people minding their own business. It is not vigilantism to attack those who attack you and that which you love, though that is what proponents of nonsensical tolerance would train you to think. "Let the law punish them", is a meaningless statement to such malefactors. They are either unable to appreciate, or indifferent to their offense and its potential punishment. They do not understand the legal punishment, so let them be physically punished. The state is unable to mete out such punishment, so it must be done by the populace as a whole. Just as the United States is geographically too large to expect a policeman within easy distance at all times, and thus every person must behave at times as a policeman in enforcing the law; so, too, people must be willing to physically punish lawbreakers at the scene of their crime. Just as a puppy would receive a swat for defacating on the floor, an ordinary citizen should automatically give a swat to someone who would defacate on our flag, or our society, or its or their loved and cherished possessions. In real terms, what would be your response if you read "Man caught urinating on grave of President Nixon, beaten by security guards and thrown off premises"? Would it strike you as either unjust or a violation of his rights, or as a fair and equitable punishment, and one likely to deter such behavior in the future? Cruel and unusual punishment is a relative thing.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/10/2005 11:31 Comments ||
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#11
It's good for his well being that he only signed, "Monte". If he gave his real name, some of the regular citizenry might get to him before any of the authorities, (owing to all the internet resources available) and then there would really be a mess -- literally and figuratively...
#12
Well, if you do a Google Search on "Freak Kingdom" and "San Diego" You get the fact that the creatin posts to alot of blogs. Also there is one curious hit with "Man seeking Woman in the United States" as the title. Don't go there unless you are curious about exhibitions of localized anatomy... {Warning XXX}.
He has "issues".... big time... But there are plenty of lefty "babes" who'd go for the stunt... It could have been done to show off to some woman he is trying to impress...
No, Ron's been shitting on his old man for decades, long before the great man passed on.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
08/10/2005 13:43 Comments ||
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Ronnie Jr?
1966-The only reason that the Reagans didn't move into the historic governor's mansion in Sacramento, was that Nancy was worried about then 7-year-old Ronnie walking to school in downtown Sacramento traffic...
More than one-third of western Canadians surveyed this summer thought it was time to consider separation from Canada, a poll suggests. In the survey, 35.6 per cent of respondents from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia agreed with the statement: Western Canadians should begin to explore the idea of forming their own country. Albertans, at 42 per cent, were most apt to consider independence, followed by Saskatchewan at 31.9 per cent. Residents of B.C. and Manitoba were the least likely to consider separation, at 30.8 and 27.5 per cent respectively.
The survey was commissioned by the Western Standard, a right-leaning bimonthly news and opinion magazine based in Calgary, to assess how well the federal government has been managing the issue of western alienation - something that Prime Minister Martin promised to reduce as part of his 2004 election campaign. The research was conducted by pollster Faron Ellis, a political science professor at Lethbridge Community College, who surveyed 1,448 adult western Canadians between June 29 and July 5. The results are considered accurate within plus or minus 2.6 percentage point, 19 times out of 20.
Ellis noted that surprisingly, separatist sentiment appeared to run highest among young people - 37 per cent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 were open to the notion of breaking away from Canada. Support was lowest - 33.7 per cent - among the baby boom generation aged between 45 and 64. In the poll's supplementary questions, 64 per cent of respondents said Martin had done a "poor job" at ending western alienation.
#2
British Columbia was 30%? I was under the impression that BC was essentially Ontario West. That's... interesting.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/10/2005 9:47 Comments ||
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#3
Another 42% favor submission under shari'a law.
Posted by: Ward C the Moron ||
08/10/2005 11:07 Comments ||
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#4
BC too close to Seattle
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/10/2005 11:33 Comments ||
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#5
you step out of Vancouver/Victoria and BAM, you're in serious redneck territory...Loggers mostly, very tough people. It'll never happen though... so why worry.
Posted by: bk ||
08/10/2005 11:59 Comments ||
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#6
you step out of Seattle/Tacoma and BAM you're in serious republican territory. Businessmen mostly, very tough people. Trying to run a business in Washington State isnt an easy thing especially with all the Taxes that the Dems come up with all the time.
Posted by: bk ||
08/10/2005 12:02 Comments ||
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Proof that everything they say about the neocons and the Zionists is true. Loonbat Alert Meter just pegged out. Juan Cole, call your office.
Caterpillar Inc. today hosted President George W. Bush at the company's manufacturing facility in Montgomery, Illinois, where he signed HR3, the Transportation Equity Act, into law. The measure sets funding levels over the 2004-2009 time frame for critical infrastructure projects. "We are honored President Bush is signing this important legislation at our Montgomery location and that House Speaker Denny Hastert is with us today after working so hard to get this bill passed in Congress," said Jerry Palmer, Caterpillar vice president with responsibility for the Wheel Loaders and Excavators Division. "The wheel loaders and excavators made in Montgomery can be seen all around the country, working to build the roads, highways and bridges that are such a vital part of the American economy." Caterpillar's Montgomery operation is one the company's largest U.S. manufacturing facilities, and it is located in House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert's 14th Congressional District.
Via Drudge Report
CNN has reviewed and agreed to run a controversial ad produced by a pro-abortion group that falsely accuses Supreme Court nominee John Roberts of filing legal papers supporting a convicted clinic bomber! The news network has agreed to a $125,000 ad buy from NARAL, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned, for a commercial which depicts a bombed out 1998 Birmingham, AL abortion clinic. The Birmingham clinic was bombed seven years after Roberts signed the legal briefing.
The linking of Roberts to "violent fringe groups" is the sharpest attack against the nominee thus far.
However, the non-partisan University of Pennsylvaniaâs Annenberg Factcheck.org reviewed the NARAL ad and found it to be âfalse.â Factcheck.org found "in words and images, the ad conveys the idea that Roberts took a legal position excusing bombing of abortion clinics, which is false."
The Republican National Committee is preparing to send a letter to television stations asking them to pull the spot, according to sources. The RNCâs letter claims: "NARAL's ad is a deliberate misrepresentation of the facts that has no purpose but to mislead the American people." So, if he doesn't have any skeletons in his closet, make some up. I swear, the left is so pathetic nowdays. CNN and NARAL should be sued out of exsistance for libel, slander, outright fraud, etc.
RNC is doing this wrong. Let the ads run -- 1st amendment, yadda-yadda. Buy air time immediately after each one and set the record straight, and ask viewers to think why NARAL has to lie about this.
#2
From what I understand, Roberts filed papers on behalf of Operation Rescue (anti-abortion group), who do have questionable tactics/teachings. I, as a Christian, wholeheartedly disagree w/ abortion, but I completely disagree with killing in the name of stopping abortions (two wrongs don't make a right). However, as in most stories, timing is everything and he represented this group 7 years prior to this bombing? And, even if he signed it afterwards, he represented the group, not the individual who took their teachings to heart and bombed the place. Much like the imams who preach hatred (akin to Operation Rescue), you still have to hold the suicide bomber HIMSELF responsible for taking that preaching and putting it into practice. No worse than any other defense attorney (Johnnie Cochran anyone) representing his client (except that at the time, no one linked to O.R. had done any violence, as I recall).
Posted by: BA ||
08/10/2005 10:55 Comments ||
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#3
Bottomline is that when you work for a lawfirm, sometimes you have to defend unscruplous people. Simply, filing a brief is hardly supporting murder.
If this is the Left's litmus test, then half the congressman and sentator's shouldn't be in office.
These people know that there is no wind, yet getting angry at the windmill for not turning.
Roberts' filing pertained to jurisdiction only, meaning that his papers supported state and local laws over federal. It had nothing to do with the antics of Operation Rescue some 7 years later.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/10/2005 11:37 Comments ||
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#5
Touch'e, Cap'n. That was the point I was trying to make...#1, it was 7 years prior to the bombing, #2, it was for the group, not the individual, and #3 the MSM is hiding some details and the Demos are using this for ammo. I did not realize it was over jurisdiction only. Even if not, the timing's completely off.
Posted by: BA ||
08/10/2005 14:44 Comments ||
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#6
FactCheck.org has debunked it before it has even aired.
DENVER (AP) - An soon to be former Air Force Reserve colonel could face criminal charges for allegedly vandalizing cars at Denver International Airport bearing pro-Bush bumper stickers. Lt. Col. Alexis Fecteau, director of operations for reserve forces at the National Security Space Institute in Colorado Springs, is believed responsible for defacing at least 10 parked vehicles between December and June, police spokesman Sonny Jackson said Tuesday. A bait car left by a police detective was also defaced and the detective tracked down Fecteau, who turned himself in Friday. He was released on bond. A message left for a man of the same name in Colorado Springs wasn't immediately returned.
Jackson said Fecteau is suspected of blacking out the Bush bumper stickers and then spray painting an expletive and the president's name on the vehicles. Fecteau supervises 11 full-time and 30 part-time reservists at the institute, which is part of the Space Warfare Center at Schriever Air Force Base, said base spokesman Staff Sgt. Donald Branum.
This will go over real well with his boss
The bait vehicle was equipped with a camera that captured an image of the suspect and his car. Then a detective was able to find footage from a camera monitoring cars leaving the parking lot and traced Fecteau using the car's license plate, Jackson said. Police have referred the case to prosecutors, who are considering filing criminal charges, he said.
888. ART. 88. CONTEMPT TOWARD OFFICIALS
Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Transportation, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
909. ART. 109. PROPERTY OTHER THAN MILITARY PROPERTY OF UNITED STATES - WASTE, SPOILAGE, OR DESTRUCTION
Any person subject to this chapter who willfully or recklessly wastes, spoils, or otherwise willfully and wrongfully destroys or damages any property other than military property of the United States shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
917. ART. 117. PROVOKING SPEECHES OR GESTURES
Any person subject to this chapter who uses provoking or reproachful words or gestures towards any other person subject to this chapter shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
933. ART. 133. CONDUCT UNBECOMING AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN
Any commissioned officer, cadet, or midshipman who is convicted of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
934. ART. 134. GENERAL ARTICLE
Though not specifically mentioned in this chapter, all disorders and neglects to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces, all conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces, and crimes and offenses not capital, of which persons subject to this chapter may be guilty, shall be taken cognizance of by a general, special or summary court-martial, according to the nature and degree of the offense, and shall be punished at the discretion of that court.
That should finish his career
Posted by: Steve ||
08/10/2005 09:26 ||
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Lt. Col. Alexis Fecteau, director of operations for reserve forces at the National Security Space Institute in Colorado Springs, is believed responsible for defacing at least 10 parked vehicles between December and June, police spokesman Sonny Jackson said Tuesday.
His name wouldn't have French origins, would it? Naw, couldn't be!
Posted by: BA ||
08/10/2005 9:50 Comments ||
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#2
And don't forget that any security clearances should be pulled immediately as his personnel files should be flagged pending investigation into these charges.
#4
I don't care what his name is, he should be put in front of a firing squad and shot. This crap is out of control and there is no excuse for someone from the armed forces, ESPECIALLY A COLONEL, in doing this behavior. I hated Clinton during my time in, but I would not even think about stooping to the level that this guy did. Do your time, buck up, get out and then bitch.
Asshat...
#5
Nothing personal, JFM. We all have our moonbats! I agree w/ mmurray!
Posted by: BA ||
08/10/2005 10:46 Comments ||
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#6
which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
It ever reminds me the scennes on the first "Bounty" movie (with Clark Gable and Charles Laughton):
-Captain Bligh reading from a book: "Article 46: any sailor or officer disobeying an order will be punished as a court martial can direct". (Turning to Master Of Arms). "Two dozens, I believe"
-Master Of Arms: "Two dozens, Sir"
#7
The story and consequences should be the same if the cars being defaced had pro Kerry or Democrat stickers. He swore an oath to support and defend the Constition which includes free speech even if he does not agree with that speech.
#9
In zabasearch there are two of these names in Colorado Springs. One born in December 1962, and one in October 1917. Since it is reasonable to assume that the 87-year-old would not be active in the military, one must assume that the 43-year-old is our man... Note: He also shows up on the Google search... Hmmm...
#10
The story and consequences should be the same if the cars being defaced had pro Kerry or Democrat stickers.
I think you have forgotten that Georges W Bush is also the President and the Commander in Chief ie a superior so painting derogatory comments on him is also a breach of army discipline and should entail the additional penalties for it.
#11
This just proves the axiom that 5% of any large population is fruit loops.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/10/2005 11:40 Comments ||
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#12
"Space Warfare Center", and a Colonel in his late forties, eh? Anyone want to lay money against this guy being transferred as far out of everybody else's presence as they could without cashiering him, and pissed as hell about it?
JFM: hear, hear. Why make fun of his name being sort-of-French-sounding when you can make fun of how it looks like it was derived from some variant on "fecal"?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/10/2005 13:18 Comments ||
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#13
The Space Warfare Center? I hope the stress of keeping us safe from the Klingons didn't make the Lt. Col. snap.
But that'd be my story and I'd be sticking to it...
#14
Ah, I shouldn't make fun. Looks like the Fecteau family is an Air Force family of long standing. At least, I'm finding a lot of Air Force officers of that name.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/10/2005 13:32 Comments ||
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#15
transferred as far out of everybody else's presence as they could without cashiering him
#17
"Looks like the Fecteau family is an Air Force family of long standing. At least, I'm finding a lot of Air Force officers of that name." Oddly enough, I knew one of them at Sondrestrom, Greeland in 1982--- one Lt. Al Fecteau, from Maine, I believe. His nickname was "Preppy", and he was the base PAO, for what that's worth, but he would be too old now to be this doofus.
#18
It just happens that I knew Fecteau personally, though he was an O-3 at the time. He was a bit of an odd duck but very smart, or at least was until recently.
I think he could only do this if he is seriously mentally ill. He needs treatment rather than a firing squad, but his career is well and truly over in any case.
#19
Beware of Guard LtCols. Remember the yaho n texas that turned in the false docs was an Army Guard LtCol. I am sure we will find out some more about this person before he starts his whir; wind tour of TV shows, Move On rallies, and culmanting in the announcement that he is not afraid to tell the world about his life partner(s). So sad.
#20
He was AF Reserve, but on full-time active duty, meaning he falls fully under the UCMJ.
Damn deskbound zoomies (unlike the PJ's and guys at the pointy end of the stick).
He beter be glad he's USAF. If he were a Marine, the local gunnys would have rounded up a squad and seen to it he had a "fall in the shower" a few dozen times.
But the UCMJ will end his career - the only question is
A) rank reduction
B) time in the stockade
C) dishonorable discharge
D) loss of all pay and benefits (including retirement)
or
E) All of the above.
If they stick all the parts of the UCMJ they can on this guy, the answer will be "E". It all depends on how much of a hard-on the commanders have for presecuting him, and how hard they tell the JAG to ride this pony.
The other problem is that the place he was working requires some serious security clearance/access activity, polygraph and SSBI type stuff.
This is one of the more serious cases of BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome) I have ever seen.
Is this weird?
In a rare move, the Army relieved a four-star general [Gen. Kevin Byrnes] of his command amid allegations that he had an extramarital affair with a civilian, Army officials said Tuesday.
Byrnes, who several military sources said had a previously unblemished record, was set to retire in November after 36 years of service.
Byrnes' defense attorney, Lt. Col. David Robertson, said the allegation against Byrnes involves an affair with a private citizen. Byrnes has been separated from his wife since May 2004; their divorce was finalized on Monday, the same day he was relieved of command.
"The allegation against him does not involve a relationship with anyone within the military or even the federal government," Robertson said..."It does not involve anyone on active duty or a civilian in the Department of Defense."
So he's been separated, he's fixing to retire, he's a four-star general with an unblemished record, and his girlie isn't in the military or the DoD. Maybe it's not a girlie. This article from the Chicago Tribune mentions other offenses for which generals have been relieved. Still, this seems excessive, especially if they aren't allowing him to resign his command for "health reasons". Does it strike anyone else as really strange?
Posted by: The Low Countries ||
08/10/2005 12:01 ||
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Not necessarily. Adultery is still a crime in most states and therefore truly forbidden to a senior officer.
I once knew a lieutenant colonel who was court martialled when he had 19+ yrs of service for having (against the regs of the time) collected a lot of frequent flyer miles due to official travel and used them for personal vacations. The rules at the time required them to be turned into the government to pay for other official travel .... this was before the feds negotiated low rates across the board for govt tickets.
Anyway, the guy was in a position to basically decide how often, when and where he would go TDY. He abused it by scheduling a lot of trips with a lot of extra legs to build up the points. They busted him hard not too long before he was due to retire.
Posted by: leader of the pack ||
08/10/2005 15:52 Comments ||
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#2
Nope. Wonder if the civilian was someone's wife. Cause that is adultry. And since Kelly Flynn played to the 'they're picking on me game' [even though dozen of male officers had face similar charges in the prior year], the services have been hammering a number of generals for having loose zippers. Its just the hetro version of 'don't ask, don't tell'. If it is known, then you get treated like those drummed out of the service before you. Now unless they court martial the General, because he has completed the time necessary, he'll get his retirement.
#3
I'm having a hard time finding this egregious enough to warrant the punishment - the other potential actions put forward make more sense, IMHO. No personal gain. No abuse of power. Legally (I presume) separated. The only point is the marital status of the other person. Harsh stuff, IMHO, after 36 years. Must've flaunted it in some manner.
#4
Or it could be that the 'other' man/woman is a registered/unregistered foreign agent.
Not enough to bag him for espionage...?
Posted by: DanNY ||
08/10/2005 16:25 Comments ||
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#5
That was me that posted that, by the way. I changed my name, but I see it didn't take. Damn preview button doesn't work for me when posting an article.
I'm having a hard time finding this egregious enough to warrant the punishment...
That was my point. Kelly Flynn was sleeping with the husband of an enlisted woman, so I can see how her case would have an impact on the service. I was just wondering if there was more going on here than meets the eye.
#6
Odd way to introduce a change in policy. Got to be more to the story. It's slowly leaking out. Beats spending a no-news-August on Aruba and Roberts.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/10/2005 16:30 Comments ||
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#7
Lol, Dan - mebbe it was one of those FBI-irresistible Chinese agents! The tricks they know can turn a man's mind to Jello! Could've been pure jealousy, too, cuz she turned the Fibbie down...
US federal officials are trolling hacker conferences to scout talent and talk up the glories of a career on the front lines of the information wars.
"If you want to work on cutting-edge problems, if you want to be part of the truly great issues of our time ... we invite you to work with us," Assistant Secretary of Defence Linton Wells told hackers at a recent conference in Las Vegas.
Mr Wells and other "feds" didn't exactly blend in at Defcon, an annual gathering of computer-security experts and teenage troublemakers that celebrates the cutting edge of security research.
The buttoned-down world of Washington seems a continent away at Defcon, which was named as a spoof on the Pentagon's code for military readiness derived from "defence condition." Graffiti covers the bathroom walls, DJs spin by the pool until dawn and hackers who "out" undercover government employees win free T-shirts.
At a "Meet the Feds" panel designed to bridge the cultural divide, a young man waved a pages-long manifesto and demanded, "I would like to know why the federal government, especially some of the law enforcement agencies, are destroying this country."
Despite appearances, hackers and the government have long enjoyed a symbiotic relationship.
Federal research dollars funded development of the internet and many other cutting-edge technologies, and many hackers first learn the ins and outs of computer security through military service before moving on to private-sector jobs.
College students in computer-security programs can have their tuition picked up by the government if they agree to work there when they graduate.
The Pentagon is rumoured to employ hackers to attack foreign networks. A Pentagon spokesman was not available for comment.
Feds have been a key part of the Defcon audience since its inception in 1992, though they are required to stay at off-site hotels to avoid some of the wilder goings-on.
Along with recruiting, the conference gives federal officials a chance to develop sources and keep up with new research.
"I'm learning while I'm here but I'm also getting the names of people I can maybe call on later so we have a better understanding as cases go along," said Don Blumenthal, who oversees the internet lab for investigators at the Federal Trade Commission.
Tensions between feds and hackers ran high in 2001 when the FBI arrested Russian programmer Dmitri Skylarov at the conference for writing a program that could break copy protection on electronic books.
The relationship between the two sides has turned less adversarial in recent years, according to long-time attendees, and government employees now account for nearly half of the audience. Some Defcon staffers even hold down day jobs with the National Security Agency and other government shops.
"You can't be deceived by the uniforms," said technology commentator Richard Thieme. "I talked at the Pentagon, and one-third of the people in the audience I already knew from Defcon."
That's not to say that Defcon has gone straight. The ability to break into computer systems is prized above all, and conference attendees whose computers fell prey to their colleagues' attacks are displayed on a "wall of sheep".
Some hackers spent the weekend in their hotel rooms cooking up a new way to take control of the Cisco Systems routers that underpin much of the internet.
Many defend this "black hat" approach, arguing that attacks that cause damage in the short term raise awareness of online threats and thus improve the security picture as a whole.
Mr Lynn and other agents made clear that they are not interested in working with those who break into computer systems without permission.
"We're looking for people who haven't crossed that line yet," said Jim Christy, director of the Pentagon's Cyber Crime Institute. "You've got to get folks with the right morals."
The FTC's Blumenthal said that while he was impressed with the honesty of the people he had met, he would double-check the information he receives from them as he does with other sources.
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World ||
08/10/2005 19:35 ||
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Want to send someone over the moon? All it takes is $100 million.
A U.S. company said on Wednesday it wants to send two tourists on a trip around the moon at a cost of $100 million per ticket.
Space Adventures Ltd, which has already sent two civilians on separate trips into space, says it has researched and identified more than a thousand prospective customers with the necessary wealth for a moon shot as early as 2008.
Posted by: DanNY ||
08/10/2005 15:36 ||
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Energia can build a moon capable rocket with two person payload for 200 million dollars.
Bull.
Unless the trip is one way only.
Posted by: john ||
08/10/2005 16:07 Comments ||
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#2
John, the old Soviet Union did send two-person capsules on an around-the-moon trajectory and back in the 60's.
They were equipped with instrumented dummies and dummy life support.
The capsule was a modified version of a Soyuz (i.e. no orbital module); the reentry forces were pretty high, so you'd want someone in reasonably good physical shape, and space was tight, so you'd probably want two really good friends for your customers... but they launched those missions from a single modified Proton. I don't know what Protons sell for these days, but the overhead cost of launching one is supposedly pretty cheap.
I suspect the Russians *could* have done a manned moon surface mission way back when with multiple Proton launches, but they got too fixated on their super-booster based mission, and when they finally figured out they couldn't get the N-1 to work Apollo had already gotten there, and they figured it would be less embarrassing to not go and pretend they never wanted to.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
08/10/2005 18:46 Comments ||
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PHOENIX -- A federal appeals court refused Tuesday to block part of an Arizona law that denies some public benefits to illegal immigrants, saying the plaintiffs had no right to sue. Something which needs to be said many, many more times to many, many more people.
The voter-approved law appeared on Arizona's November election ballot. And Yours Truly helped in the campaign.
The portion at issue bars illegal immigrants from getting certain public benefits and makes it a crime for public employees to fail to report illegal undocumented immigrants who seek the benefits. And absolutely nothing about restricting benefits to those here legally, regardless of what MALDEF says.
A separate provision, unaffected by the court challenge, though opposed by the Democratic National Committee requires people to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Though not actually to vote.
If the election judges do their jobs on election day and only let properly registered voters in line, it wouldn't be a problem, but the judges in Seattle and Milwaukee were kinda fuzzy on this point last time ...
The plaintiffs had asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court, known for its loopy rulings to rule that U.S. District Judge David Bury had abused his discretion when he refused to grant a preliminary injunction to stop the law from going into effect until after a trial is held to determine its constitutionality. The appeals court panel denied their request (!), saying the plaintiffs had not demonstrated they were hurt by the law.
Since for illegal aliens benefits are supposed to be zero in the first place.
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund had argued that the law was unconstitutional on the grounds that it usurps the federal government's power over immigration and naturalization. Does the Constitution mandate that Arizona spend money on hospitalization for illegals? Does it prohibit citizens (who happen to work for the State) from reporting criminals to federal law enforcement? No. It's scum like you that make Me start to dislike even legal immigrants, which isn't fair to them.
Supporters argued it was necessary because Arizona, the busiest illegal entry point on the country's southern border, spends millions of dollars annually to provide food stamps, welfare and other social services to illegal immigrants.
#2
Don't get too excited. The 9th Circuit vacated the lower court's ruling in Arizona's favor because the folks who brought the suit can't yet show actual harm or an imminent threat of prosecution. As soon as benefits are denied or a public employee is charged this issue will go right back through the courts and I've got a case of beer that says that the 9th Circuit will spike the Arizona law the first time they actually hold on the merits of the issue.
#4
But the extra time taxpayers have to work to fund these non-taxpayer non-citizens due to the increase in financial success punishmentswon't be classed as harm.
You need to mug ANY judge who decides that taxpayers are there to be milked and take 50% of his/her wallet and claim you haven't harmed him/her.
#5
Once again, note that one hundred years ago, Senators were not directly elected by the people. Its is long past time that the federal judiciary be directly accountable to the people as well. Since Congress has obviously politicized the process anyway, since Congress refuses to perform its function to remove justices for bad behavior [as in creating new law or levying taxes (see the Kansas City Missouri School system case)], the power of consent should revert back to the people. King George III was independent. We don't need to call this a republic or a democracy if we tolerate a new defacto aristocracy. Far fewer cases will even appear before the bench if the power goes back to the real people, not the neo-marxist claim of in the name of the 'people'. Lets move the fight from the Senate to the country. Why should the Senators have all the fun.
#6
The reality of life in southern Arizona is shaded gray not black or white: what to do concerning a undocumented mother of three, residing in the U.S. for years, whose children are all born on U.S. soil... ???
As hard it is seems the 'black%white' view in me says to strip the kids of their citizenship and send them (and their mother) back. Citizenship should not be granted if either parent is illegal.
That is the 'hardcase' in me talking :)
Of course the law, as it now is, gives the kids citizenship. So legally we cannot deport them. However we should still deport and/or deny benefits to the mother.
We simply cannot give residence or benefits simply because an illegal had a baby in the united states otherwise we will invite (in fact are inviting) a flood of women to come here to have a baby in order to be able to 'stay' and/or get on welfare. And of course to deny the fathers would be 'sex discrimination' so we would have to give benefits to them as well.
Yes - its a hard line and a hard case. But we have to draw the line somewhere.
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas is stamping out plea bargains for people suspected of a dozen different violent crimes. Thomas says under his new policy, those charged with a serious violent crime must either plead guilty as charged, or go to trial. Thomas says the change, which takes effect next month, targets the "worst of the worst" criminals. Judges have already been notified. He says the move will lead to more trials but he believes it will be a "manageable increase." Already home to Sheriff Joe Arpaio, notorious for his "tent city" jails, chain gangs, and trail mix and bologna menus. When asked what people should do if a burglar breaks into their home, a previous prosecutor replied, "You shoot the S.O.B."
Greed often scores over all else, including religion. The past few days India's capital city of New Delhi has been witness to a peculiar sight - cowboys (many on motorcycles) with lassos spanning the city to round up cattle. The Indian version of the Pamplona bull run or the American cattle roundup has begun following the announcement of a cash award of US$50 per cow caught, announced by the Delhi high court to rid the city of the traffic menace.
Posted by: john ||
08/10/2005 00:00 ||
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WaPo. Registration required, but EFL anyway.
PALANI, India -- At sundown, Pusanidevi Manjhi recalled, nine village men stormed into her house shouting, "Witch, witch!" and dragged her out by her hair as her six small children watched helplessly.
"This woman is a witch!" the men announced to the villagers, said Manjhi, 36. She said they tied her ankles together and locked her in a dark room.
"They beat me with bamboo sticks and metal rods and tried to pull my nails out. 'You are a witch, admit it,' they screamed at me again and again," Manjhi said, tearfully recalling her four days of captivity in June.
"They accused me of casting an evil spell that turned them into newts on their paddy crop that was destroyed in a fire. I begged them and told them I was not a witch," she said, showing wounds on her legs, thighs, hips and shoulders one recent morning in this village in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand.
After a police investigation, the men who attacked Manjhi were arrested. An official said that the attack was spurred by a powerful landowner who owned rice paddies in the village and used local superstition to mask his attempts to maintain control. The evil capitalist strikes again.
Threats and charges of witchcraft occur in a number of Indian states that have large tribal populations with traditional beliefs about witches. Indian newspapers periodically publish reports about women who, after being accused of being witches, have been built into bridges beaten, had their heads shaved or had strings of shoes hung around their necks. Some have been killed.
"Sometimes it is used to punish women who question social norms," said Pooja Singhal Purwar, an official at the Jharkhand social welfare department. Oppression by Da Man.
Purwar said she sees an average of five women a month being denounced as witches and tortured in rural Jharkhand.
The nine men were charged under a Jharkhand state law that forbids accusing people of being witches. One of them was Gahan Lal, the man whose paddy had caught fire. Lal later confessed to torturing Manjhi.
"Gahan Lal was a powerful landlord. There were fights all the time in the village over land and wages," said Jayant Tirkey, the police officer investigating the case. "When his paddy caught fire, he blamed [Manjhi] for casting an evil spell. But that is merely an excuse. His real motive is to instill fear among the poor."
Tirkey said he thinks that village witch doctors are to blame for superstitious practices, but added that witch doctors are not arrested and tried because they are not directly involved in the violence. Guess we can call them the Moderates.
"I never name a witch. I only give villagers some clues to find her," I think that was called "plausible deniability." said Leena Oraon, who is known as a witch doctor in Aragate village and who says she compares their weights to ducks studies rice grains to ascertain the presence of a witch in the village. "Today's doctors cannot cure ailments that are caused by a witch's curse. That is why people come to me." Either that, or because they are a bunch of ignoramuses.
"People go scot-free because witnesses are hard to come by. Villagers often approve of the torture meted out to these women," said Girija Shankar Jaiswal, a lawyer who heads the organization. "They think suicide bombing witch-hunting is a heroic act and that it will clean the society of evil."
Only two Indian states, Jharkhand and Bihar, have outlawed witch-hunting. Last year, one of India's northeastern states, Tripura, conducted a discussion in the legislative assembly about the need to ban the practice of witch-hunting. After a day-long debate, the assembly unanimously decided that killing of people for practicing witchcraft should be prevented.
However, members failed to reach a consensus on whether witchcraft was a science or superstition. You want My answer?
Are Jharkhand and Bihar predominantly Hindu, or perhaps a certain other religion?
Niger's president played down the food crisis ravaging his desert nation, insisting Tuesday that people in the impoverished West African country "look well-fed."
"All my friends are fat and happy. How about yours?"
In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp., President Mamadou Tandja acknowledged that a devastating locust invasion last year and poor rains have produced food shortages. But he said that was not unusual for his country â or for the entire Sahel region, a semi-desert scrubland that straddles the southern edge of the Sahara desert. "We are experiencing like all the countries in the Sahel a food crisis due to the poor harvest and the locust attacks of 2004," Tandja told the BBC.
"The common folk are used to going without a few meals now and then."
"The people of Niger look well-fed, as you can see," he added. TV networks have for weeks broadcast images of severely malnourished, skeletal children in Niger, many too weak to brush flies from their faces. Scores have died.
Is it just me, or did he just spout an entire mouthful of utter nonsense?
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2005 00:00 ||
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Does this mean the west and their money can go home now?
Posted by: ed ||
08/10/2005 2:58 Comments ||
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Now look western man, what's a little bit of Malthusian-inspired starvation? We can handle it.
Posted by: Ward C the Moron ||
08/10/2005 8:48 Comments ||
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Hey, all I know is I'm eating.
I could use another Mercedes though, so keep that aid money rolling in...
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.
More than one-third of western Canadians surveyed this summer thought it was time to consider separation from Canada, a poll suggests. In the survey, 35.6 per cent of respondents from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia agreed with the statement: Western Canadians should begin to explore the idea of forming their own country. Albertans, at 42 per cent, were most apt to consider independence, followed by Saskatchewan at 31.9 per cent. Residents of B.C. and Manitoba were the least likely to consider separation, at 30.8 and 27.5 per cent respectively.
Niger's president played down the food crisis ravaging his desert nation, insisting Tuesday that people in the impoverished West African country "look well-fed."
