It's another one of these things.
ZAGREB, Croatia --Ever feel like a caged animal? Visitors to Zagreb's zoo can find out what it is really like to be in a cage. The zoo has set aside two partially furnished cages for humans labeled "Homo Sapiens." Visitors will be able to enter and leave at will. And we can. Which seperates us from the animals, shithead.
But the project, launched Friday by the head of the zoo, Mladen Anic, goes beyond offering a behind-the-bars experience to warn about human devastation of nature. Evil, bad human! No cookie for you!
"We wanted people to get a perception of how the animal perceives the cage," Anic told The Associated Press. "But we also wanted to inform people about all the ecological problems for which humans are directly responsible." One cage is for "good man," and is furnished with things made of natural materials -- bamboo chairs, and water and fruit displayed on a wooden table. Sounds kinda...gay.
The other, for "evil man," has materials that harm nature -- plastic chairs, and garbage in the corner, with a note above the mirror reading: "The most dangerous beast on the planet." It's right over there next to the cigarette smoking monkeys...
The "good" cage contains brochures on how to protect the environment; the "bad" one shows how it is being ruined. "I hope this will make people think about the fate of ourselves and our planet," Anic said. And then he got in his SUV and drove away.
Posted by: Farmin B. Hard ||
09/19/2005 12:55 ||
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The U.S. National Hurricane Center and all major weather models project that Tropical Storm Rita, which is currently battering the central Bahamas, will enter the Gulf of Mexico and threaten the U.S. oil and natural gas facilities later this week.
Just when prices were beginning to drop
At 8 a.m. EDT, the center of Rita, which was moving westward at nearly 9 miles per hour, was about 235 miles southeast of Nassau and about 460 miles east-southeast of Key West, Florida. The storm, which could become a hurricane during the next 24 hours, was currently packing maximum sustained winds near 60 mph.
Florida is taking no chances: Officials ordered residents evacuated from the lower Florida Keys on Monday as Tropical Storm Rita headed toward the island chain, threatening to grow into a hurricane with a potential 8-foot storm surge. The evacuation covered 40,000 people living from below Marathon to Key West. Visitors were ordered to clear out of the entire length of the low-lying Keys, which are connected by just one highway.
Seven major weather models, including the NHC's, show the storm, which is taking aim at the Florida Keys, will enter the Gulf of Mexico and make landfall between central Texas and the Florida Panhandle late this week.
Computer models here. Forecast track here. Our local forcasters predict she'll come through Texas as Cat 2 - 3. Swell, we need the rain, just not measured in feet.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/19/2005 10:16 ||
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#2
Key West streets were quiet Monday morning. Kelly Friend and two workers boarded up her store and painted a message: "Hey bartender 1 Rita on the rocks to go! Not that we're afraid of the hurricane, but we want to protect our investment," Friend said. "Plus it gives us an excuse to take a day off and drink."
ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS ARE CONTINUING TO BECOME MORE CONDUCIVE FOR
STRENGTHENING...AND ALL FORECAST GUIDANCE SUGGESTS RITA SHOULD
INTENSIFY SOME MORE...BEFORE AND AFTER IT REACHES THE GULF OF
MEXICO. THE NEW OFFICIAL INTENSITY FORECAST IS ADJUSTED UPWARD AND
IS A BLEND BETWEEN THE SHIPS AND GFDL GUIDANCE THROUGH DAY 3...AND
SHOWS RITA REACHING CATEGORY TWO STATUS BEFORE REACHING THE GULF OF
MEXICO. THERE IS A SLIGHT POSSIBILITY IT COULD STRENGTHEN FASTER
THAN FORECAST. ALL INDICATIONS ARE THAT RITA WILL BECOME A MAJOR
HURRICANE OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO... WHERE A LARGE UPPER LEVEL
ANTICYCLONE IS FORECAST BY THE MODELS TO DOMINATE AND PROVIDE A
WEAK SHEAR ENVIRONMENT.
I asked my resident hurricane expert to read the track... response: Currently a 2, marginally a 3 ...consensus showing it currently headed towards Galveston...but that could change.
#5
AT 2 PM EDT...1800Z...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM RITA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 23.1 NORTH... LONGITUDE 75.9 WEST OR ABOUT 30 MILES
SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF GEORGETOWN ON GREAT EXUMA IN THE CENTRAL BAHAMAS. THIS POSITION IS ABOUT 165 MILES... 265 KM... SOUTHEAST OF NASSAU AND ABOUT 380 MILES EAST-SOUTHEAST OF KEY WEST FLORIDA.
RITA IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 14 MPH... 23 KM/HR..AND THIS MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS.
ON THIS TRACK...THE CENTER OF RITA WILL PASS OVER OR NEAR ANDROS ISLAND IN THE BAHAMAS TONIGHT...AND APPROACH THE FLORIDA KEYS TUESDAY MORNING.
DATA FROM THE STEPPED FREQUENCY MICROWAVE RADIOMETER ONBOARD A NOAA HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT INDICATE THAT MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 70 MPH...115 KM/HR...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. SOME STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS... AND RITA COULD BECOME A HURRICANE LATER TODAY OR TONIGHT.
TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 145 MILES 230 KM FROM THE CENTER. THE ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 993 MB...29.32 INCHES.
STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 6 TO 9 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS...ALONG WITH LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES...ARE POSSIBLE IN THE FLORIDA KEYS IN AREAS OF ONSHORE FLOW. COASTAL STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 3 TO 5 FEET IS POSSIBLE ALONG THE EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN FLORIDA COAST...AND IN THE NORTHWESTERN BAHAMAS.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/19/2005 15:03 Comments ||
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A study by a group of eminent American academics suggests that star performers on the stock market may be even worse and could best be described as âfunctioning psychopathsâ. In a study of investorsâ behaviour, the team from three US universities suggest that people with brain damage can make better financial decisions than the rest of us.
Market traders may feel slighted, but this study comes from the growing field of neuroeconomics, which investigates the mental processes that drive financial decision-making. The experts found that emotions can make investors play it too safe. They claim the emotionally impaired are more willing to gamble for high stakes.
The US team found that people with certain brain injuries which suppress their emotions could make the best stock market traders. They took a selection of 41 people of normal IQ, 15 of whom had suffered lesions on the areas of the brain that affect emotions, and made them play a simple investment game. Those with brain damage significantly outperformed those without, the researchers from Stanford Graduate School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Iowa found. The key was the fear that stopped those with ânormalâ brains from taking even the most sensible of risks.
Antoine Bechara, an associate Professor of Neurology at Iowa, suggested that successful investors in the stock market might plausibly be called âfunctional psychopathsâ. These are individuals either much better at controlling their emotions or, perhaps, not experiencing them with the same intensity as others. Baba Shiv, of Stanford, added chillingly: âMany CEOs (chief executive officers) and many top lawyers might also share this trait. âBeing less emotional can help you in certain situations.â
The study is relevant, the authors say, to the âequity premium puzzleâ that has bemused financial experts. This is the tendency of large numbers of investors to prefer to invest in bonds rather than equities, even though the latter have historically always provided a much higher rate of return. When stock markets decline, investors shift to bonds, even though over the long term this is not the best thing to do.
Emotions lead people to avoid risks even when the potential benefits far outweigh the losses, a phenomenon known as myopic loss aversion that scholars have concluded can explain, for example, why people invest in bonds over historically higher-performing stocks.
The study does not mean that it is a good thing to have lesions in emotional regions of the brain. Oh, darn. There goes that plan... Such patients generally make worse decisions than those with intact brains. In this experiment, risk-taking was the most advantageous behaviour, so the participants who were less fearful made the better choices.
#7
I think it is questionable whether the game used in the study has any validity in the market, where issues of risk taking are far more complex than their game.
Also, since what they are saying is that you need to take the emotion out of the investment strategy, I wonder if people on anti-depressants do better than their peers.
#8
Real anti-depressants (seratonin re-uptake inhibitors,et al) enable those who need them to feel and think, which is what depression prevents. So I would think that depressives are screwed either way.
#9
I once read that the group to score highest on the psychotic axis of the MMM after bona fide psychotics was corporate CEOs. It's obvious that they didn't have any politicians in their sample.
Talk Like a Pirate Day only comes once a year (on September 19th), this year it falls on a Monday. On talk like a pirate day, everyone talks as if they were a pirate. For instance, instead of saying something like this:
The commitee has decided to reallocate your time to the filing group. We look forward to the exciting new synergies between these departments.
You would say this:
Aye matey, those scalawags in their fine breeches want ye' to move o'er with the scurvy dogs yonder. If ye' don't come back with some fine booty, we be keelhaulin' you next morn!
Arrrrrrr!
Posted by: Steve ||
09/19/2005 09:48 ||
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#1
Arrrr, avast matey! I'll shiver me timber on your booty!
A UNITED Nations report has labelled Scotland the most violent country in the developed world, with people three times more likely to be assaulted than in America.
Quagmire!
England and Wales recorded the second highest number of violent assaults while Northern Ireland recorded the fewest.
WTF? Northern Ireland?
The study, based on telephone interviews with victims of crime in 21 countries, found that more than 2,000 Scots were attacked every week, almost ten times the official police figures. They include non-sexual crimes of violence and serious assaults. Violent crime has doubled in Scotland over the past 20 years and levels, per head of population, are now comparable with cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg and Tbilisi.
The attacks have been fuelled by a âbooze and bladesâ culture in the west of Scotland which has claimed more than 160 lives over the past five years. Since January there have been 13 murders, 145 attempted murders and 1,100 serious assaults involving knives in the west of Scotland. The problem is made worse by sectarian violence, with hospitals reporting higher admissions following Old Firm matches.
Drunken Scottish soccer hooligans, rampaging through the streets, swinging their claymores, looping off heads. Ah, brings a tear to me eye
David Ritchie, an accident and emergency consultant at Glasgowâs Victoria Infirmary, said that the figures were a national disgrace. âI am embarrassed as a Scot that we are seeing this level of violence. Politicians must do something about this problem. This is a serious public health issue. Violence is a cancer in this part of the world,â he said. Detective Chief Superintendent John Carnochan, head of the Strathclyde Policeâs violence reduction unit, said the problem was chronic and restricting access to drink and limiting the sale of knives would at least reduce the problem.
Cut off their scotch if you really want to see violence
The study, by the UNâs crime research institute, found that 3 per cent of Scots had been victims of assault compared with 1.2 per cent in America and just 0.1 per cent in Japan, 0.2 per cent in Italy and 0.8 per cent in Austria. In England and Wales the figure was 2.8 per cent.
Scotland was eighth for total crime, 13th for property crime, 12th for robbery and 14th for sexual assault. New Zealand had the most property crimes and sexual assaults, while Poland had the most robberies.
Chief Constable Peter Wilson, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, questioned the figures. âIt must be near impossible to compare assault figures from one country to the next based on phone calls,â he said. âWe have been doing extensive research into violent crime in Scotland for some years now and this has shown that in the vast majority of cases, victims of violent crime are known to each other. We do accept, however, that, despite your chances of being a victim of assault being low in Scotland, a problem does exist.â
Posted by: Steve ||
09/19/2005 14:24 ||
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#9
Ban knives and they will start using pipes. Ban pipes and they will use bricks. Ban bricks and they they will use rocks and then everyone there will be without sewage and houses.
#11
The last time I wore my kilt someone asked me if those were my legs or was I riding a chicken.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
09/19/2005 20:39 Comments ||
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#12
"Yar...we're with the Glasgow Defenestration Corps"
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/19/2005 21:09 Comments ||
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#13
Speaking of Scottish dirks and kilts:
A Scotsman clad in kilt left the bar one evening fair
And one could tell by how he walked he'd drunk more than his share
He staggered on until he could no longer keep his feet
Then stumbled off into the grass to sleep beside the street.
Ring ding diddle diddle i de o
Ring di diddle i o
He stumbled off into the grass to sleep beside the street.
Later on two young and lovely girls just happened by,
And one says to the other with a twinkle in her eye
You see yon sleeping Scotsman who is young and handsome built
I wonder if it's true what they don't wear beneath their kilt.
Ring ding diddle diddle i de o
Ring di diddle i o
I wonder if it's true what they don't wear beneath their kilt.
They crept up to the sleeping Scotsman quiet as could be
Then lifted up his kilt about an inch so they could see
And there behold for them to view beneath his Scottish skirt
Was nothing but what God had graced him with upon his birth
Ring ding diddle diddle i de o
Ring di diddle i o
There was nothing there but what God gave upon his birth
They marveled for a moment then one said we'd best be gone
But let's leave a present for our friend before we move along
They took a blue silk ribbon and they tied it in a bow
Around the bonnie spar that the Scot's lifted kilt did show
Ring ding diddle diddle i de o
Ring di diddle i o
Around the bonnie spar that the Scot's lifted kilt did show
The Scotsman woke to nature's call and stumbled toward a tree
Behind a bush he lifts his kilt and gawks at what he sees
Then in a startled voice he says to what's before his eyes
He said, "Lad I don't know where you've been but I see you won first prize"
Ring ding diddle diddle i de o
Ring di diddle i o
He said, "Lad I don't know where you've been but I see you won first prize"
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/19/2005 21:25 Comments ||
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#14
Me bullshit detector's a wee bit engaged, lads. New Zealand has more sexual assaults than South Africa, one-third of whose adult female population has been raped? I think not. This study sounds like another example of "fake, but accurate." Make that inaccurate, too.
LONDON - Britainâs Prince Charles praised the âunremitting braveryâ of the fighter pilots who fought in the 1940 Battle of Britain on Sunday as he unveiled a memorial in London. Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, joined Defence Minister John Reid and 70 of the few remaining pilots to unveil the memorial on Londonâs Victoria Embankment.
The monument depicts scenes from the Battle in the air and the support in London and carries Winston Churchillâs phrase âNever in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so fewâ.
The heir-to-the-throne said he hoped the monument would inspire future generations. âWe shall never forget that if the few had failed in their mighty struggle, the consequences for this nation would have been quite unthinkable,â the Prince said. âThe unremitting bravery of those pilots is etched deep into the consciousness of this country and will ensure their special place in history.â
The monument is made up of two bronze friezes, set in a 25 metre-long granite structure. A bronze plaque carries the names and ranks of the airmen who took part in the battle and a small description of the events.
Defence secretary Reid said the monument was a âfitting tributeâ to the pilotsâ âselfless commitment and determination against the oddsâ. âI salute all those who took part in this memorable victory and also all those who have worked so hard to raise funds to erect this wonderful tribute in the heart of London,â he said in a statement. Reid was also joined by the Australian Secretary of Defence Robert Hall, Czech Defence Minister Jaroslova Pribylova and ambassadors from other nations that flew alongside the British pilots.
Almost 3,000 British, European and Commonwealth airmen took part in the Battle of Britain between July 10, 1940, and October 31st 1940. Despite being greatly out-numbered, they defeated the German Luftwaffe and caused the Germans to postpone and eventually cancel their invasion plans.
Never have so many owed so much to so few.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/19/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Nice sculpture. Looks stylistically like a Thomas Hart Benton painting about the blitz in bronze.
THIS summer will mark fifty years since the Royal Air Force held off the Luftwaffe in what Britain remembers as its "finest hour." When they honor the airmen who won the Battle of Britain, Englishmen might well take note of a few Americans who fought even when the US would not.
In the summer of 1940, World War II had been under way for nearly a year. Hitler's Germany was triumphant. With Pearl Harbor more than one year away, the US was still neutral. It was a time, Winston Churchill later observed, when "the British people held the fort alone till those who hitherto had been half blind were half ready."
The RAF was alone, but some Americans did not remain neutral. The worst days of the Battle of Britain--from July 10 to September 15--saw a handful of US pilots fighting side by side with England's. They had found unusual ways to join RAF's Fighter Command, where all fought and some died.
At least twelve US pilots were active, perhaps many more. They destroyed at least fifteen German planes. Some names are known: Fiske of 601 Squadron; Donahue of 64 Squadron; Haviland of 151 Squadron; Leckrone of 616 Squadron; Mamedoff, Keough, and Tobin of 609 Squadron. In other cases, all that remains in war records are nicknames: "Tex" or "Uncle Sam."
They were an American vanguard. In RAF service, these Yanks predated even the famous, all-American Eagle Squadrons, the first of which was not formed until September 19. Even though they saw action in the desperate battles of July, August, and early September, they are now mostly forgotten because their presence was never acknowledged.
This was no accident; one of the US Neutrality Acts proscribed any US participation in the forces of a belligerent nation. The United States, being neutral, was determined to keep US citizens out of the war. Violators faced stiff criminal penalties of up to $20,000 in fines, ten years in prison, and loss of citizenship. For those joining the RAF, anonymity seemed the best protection."
http://www.afa.org/magazine/1990/0190eagles.asp
Hmm...undoubtedly part of Roosvelt's illegal war. /sarcasm off.
#5
Article: When they honor the airmen who won the Battle of Britain, Englishmen might well take note of a few Americans who fought even when the US would not.
More of that old time religion. The reason the British fought was not because they were on some kind of crusade - they fought because they were attacked. The Dominions of Canada, Australia and New Zealand fought to fulfill their obligation to the British empire, of which they were part. Instead of invading Germany while the Huns were off attacking Poland, the Brits stood by with the French as the Poles were overrun.
Former CEO of the Russian oil company Yukos, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, said on Monday that wardens at the remand center where he is being held pushed an inmate suffering from a contagious disease into his cell and into the cell of his co-defendant and former partner Platon Lebedev.
âAfter the hearings were held on the 14th â the hearings may or may not be the reason for the incident â literally on the next day the same contagious sick man was pushed into three cells of the 10 cells on our floor,â the RIA-Novosti news agency quoted Khodorkovsky as saying.
A little more obvious than putting poison in his soup
Khodorkovsky said that he and the former head of Yukosâ holding company Menatep, Platon Lebedev, were in two of the three cells. âOn Friday, strict quarantine was announced in these cells and it was not cancelled when I was taken from there to court,â Khodorkovsky added. Mikhail Khodorkovsky did not specify the disease that caused the quarantine to be announced.
Flu? Measles? Smallpox? Ebola?
RIA-Novosti added that due to the quarantine measures imposed Khodorkovsky could not meet his lawyers over the weekend.
"Just wouldn't be safe"
Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were jailed for nine years earlier this summer on fraud and tax evasion charges. Their lawyers are currently appealing the sentence.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/19/2005 12:27 ||
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Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday that it was impossible for Russia to resume its Cold War rivalry with the United States. "We are not adversaries. We are partners in many areas of international activities," he said in an interview broadcast by the U.S. broadcaster Fox News.
But Putin reiterated his opposition to a U.S.-European push to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council for consideration of sanctions over its nuclear program. He also said the United States should pull its troops out of Iraq within two years. But we are not adversaries. And Putin is an honorable man.
On the sensitive subject of Iran, where Russia is building an atomic power plant despite U.S. concerns that Iran may be trying to build nuclear weapons, Putin rejected calls to have the International Atomic Energy Agency seek sanctions against the Tehran regime. "Today, the Iranian side is working sufficiently in cooperation with the IAEA and (IAEA chief Mohamed) ElBaradei has told us so. So, let's proceed from today's realities," Putin said. Well, if El Baradi says it's OK, it's OK.
But we are not adversaries. And Putin is an honorable man.
Putin, whose government fiercely opposed the war to oust Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, said the U.S.-led coalition's military presence in Iraq is fueling the insurgency and urged that a deadline be fixed for the withdrawal of foreign troops. "In our opinion, the fact of their presence there pushes the armed opposition to perpetrate acts of violence," Putin said. But we are not adversaries. And Putin is an honorable man.
The Russian president acknowledged that fledgling Iraqi security forces need time before they can take over from U.S.-led forces but said a timetable for a pullout is essential to "make everybody move in the right direction." "I believe it should be within just over a year, or within two years, something like that. It will all depend on the situation in that country," he said.
Putin also used the Fox interview to warn against trying to lecture Russia on democracy. "I am convinced that democracy cannot be exported from one country to another, like Germany or Japan or Afghanistan. Just as you cannot export revolution much as we tried, you cannot export ideology. We're not prepared to listen to teaching or tutoring. That is inadmissible," he said. But we are not adversaries. And Putin is an honorable man.
Putin is often criticized in the West for rolling back democratic freedoms by imposing state control of national broadcasters and scrapping elections for regional governors. He repeated his pledge not to change the Russian constitution to allow him to run for a third consecutive term in the 2008 election. And Putin is an honorable man.
#1
What are these assholes in russia, iran, europe, britain, and the rest of the world going to have to bitch about after we do pull out of Iraq? What will it be then? Israel? Kyoto? Guatanamo? I guess what I am saying is they are always going to bitch and cry like a bunch of little sissy girls (no offense to the sissy girls out there). The only way I can see to deal with the rest of the world is Pax Americana.
Do you know me, Imperialist War Mongering Human Scum?
Pyongyang, September 16 (KCNA) -- The North East Asia Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has introduced IC credit card. We're coming for you, capitalist dogs! The clock is ticking!
In order to modernize its settlement business, the bank has issued credit cards for the first time in the country with the help of the Information Technology Center No. 626. Hello. I am Baaboo. How may I help you today?
The IC card ensures the safety of the data registered in it. And it is impossible to counterfeit it so as to prevent money from being lost. And you can personalize your logo. Sea of Fire, Kimmie offers field guidance, missiles flying into the US capitol...
Six kinds of currencies can be deposited in a card at a time. With this card, one can exchange money instantly without going to a money exchange booth. A card can be shared by several persons (family members, relatives, friends, etc.). The bank enjoys popularity among depositors. I wonder if Bank of America has opened merger talks yet?
#3
Impossible to counterfeit- the North Korean government is one of the worlds biggest counterfeiting gangs. And they will be making the cards. Yeah, right, no potential for funny business there.
The ruling Communist Party of China is carrying out internal party reform to head off the prospect of the one-party state being ditched. Worried about the threat posed by democracy, the government of the world's fastest growing economy is pressing ahead with much-needed internal reforms while playing down calls for an expansion of voting in the electoral system.
The western province of Sichuan is about to lead the country in a bold experiment in internal Communist Party democracy that, if successful, could be adopted nationwide. All of Sichuan's township level Communist Party committees are being "required in principle" to hold democratic elections for Party chiefs in December.
In the People's Republic of China there are six levels of government, with village and township being the lowest. Instead of being appointed by a secretive committee, prospective candidates for the position of Party secretary will for the first time need the ballot-box approval of their Party peers.
The move has been welcomed as a crucial injection of responsiveness and accountability into local Party leaderships. The heavy-handedness of local officials has been partly to blame for increases in rural instability that in recent years have seen pitched battles between police and farmers.
Although it is not clear exactly how candidates will be chosen for the December elections, it is expected that it will be more than a mere formality. Trials conducted in other provinces have seen candidates present manifestos and make campaign speeches, though it is rarely as competitive as in the West.
For reformers, it complements the recent news that President Hu Jintao is looking to revive the memory of Hu Yaobang, a reformist leader whose death sparked the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Paying tribute to him was previously seen as taboo as it might spark calls for a re-examination of the massacre.
Wang Yi, a law professor and political commentator, said: "There are two opinions about Hu Jintao. One is that he is a conservative. The other is that he is an opportunist. I believe in the latter and that in the coming year we will continue to see him make positive moves on issues like internal Party reform."
There is speculation, however, that the move to promote internal Party reform is smoke and mirrors designed to placate pro-democracy reformers.
Since the 1980s, the country's 800,000 villages have been regularly electing their own village committee leaders and there have been increasingly vocal demands from within China for this system to be expanded to the townships. Some regions of China, looking for creative ways to improve local governance, have already experimented with the idea. In Boyun township, in Sichuan Province, 16,000 locals were able to cast votes to elect a mayor, who was usually chosen by the Party-controlled township congress.
In part because of this, after the last round of township mayoral elections in 2003, the Central Party Committee in Beijing, which oversees Party affairs, issued a directive reminding provinces that such elections were unconstitutional.
"The problem was that direct elections of the mayor at township level were challenging the legitimacy of the township Party secretary. If the mayor is elected by all the voters, he commands a stronger power base," said a source at the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MOCA).
Though conducted without approval from Beijing, such experiments have long been a feature of the Chinese political system, as lower-level bureaucrats try to find creative ways of boosting economic growth or improving social stability in the hope of being noticed by higher officials.
At village level too, MOCA, which oversees the elections, has recorded hundreds of cases of friction between village Party officials and the elected village committee representatives over who calls the shots.
However, Beijing's decision to allow Sichuan Province to hold intra-Party elections raises the question as to whether China is designing its own one-party system of democracy.
#1
Democracy is viral. It is just so efficient compared to any other decision making process, that it worms its way into more and more systems. The relatively few systems where it doesn't belong, such as the military, have to be very clear about the chain of command and have top to bottom discipline unheard of in the civilian world.
Ironically, the Chinese government fears democracy because they associate it with anarchy, when in fact it is even more ordered than Confusianism, although it appears chaotic on the surface. If done carefully it would not threaten their power, it would guarantee it. China would remain China. Much to their surprise, the Chinese people would vote like the Chinese government currently votes.
The "one-party" state vs. the "two- or more-party" state argument is far less important. The Chinese already have several de facto parties within the communist party apparatus, but all are what could be called "the loyal opposition". Factions based as much as anything else on personalities and animosities.
All told, China under full democracy would be much like China today. It would still have to be authoritarian, it would still have innumerable problems, but its solutions would be far better. Solutions with greater harmony, as they might say.
Last but not least, the central government would be enormously strengthened by democracy. Right now, it is quite popular with the people, but they feel disconnected from it by unresponsive local and regional government. Many of the protests are trying to communicate one message to the central government: "The local government is not obeying you. We want them to obey you."
"Down with America" is the title of a recent song by the popular and ungrateful Belgian musician Raymond van het Groenewoud. Written in Dutch and published by EMI , "Weg met Amerika" ("Down with America") will be available in record shops as of next week, and was played on Belgian state radio last Thursday and Friday. Here is a quote from the lyrics of the song:
Hamburgers and coke, yes you already knew
But do you also know the cause of the general decay?
Short-sighted thinking, loud talking
Sticking to one-liners forever
Down with America! Down with the jerks from America
Down with America! [...]
Down with American colonialism
Down with that ugly, biting English
All the Anglo-Saxon pretence, arrogance
Yes, a hot pick up their ass
And that is that [...]
I am from the Belgian, the European panel
And I ask you: âClear my channel! Clear my channel!â
Megalomaniac unicellular idiots
Kiss my ass, yes, kiss my balls
For freedom, see, is slavery
(My lips fell off I just now see)
Well anyway up with tyranny!
Incitement to hatred against people based on (i.a.) nationality is a crime in Belgium. In practice however, this law is only enforced when Arab, muslim or African minorities are criticized. Hate speech against the Americans or the British remains unsanctioned, as was recently shown when the leftist newspaper De Morgen published an article that complained about the British, "with their unique mixture of wantonness and arrogance, their pathetic addiction to drink, their bad taste, and actually just their ugliness and thickheaded presence".
In January 2003, the Flemish commercial radio station Q-Music was sanctioned by the Flemish Council for Disputes in Radio and Television, after a complaint from the Center for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism (CEOOR). In their radio show, presenters Erwin Deckers and Sven Ornelis had described Venus and Serena Williams as 'monkeys'. The CEOOR decided that their way of reporting was "a gross insult to all our non-white citizens. The vulgar language [...] contributes to the banalization of racist speech. Hence, the program incited to hate based on race".
More and more, it seems that racist or semi-racist expressions are punished when they originate from popular culture or from right-wing politicians and are directed against muslims, Arabs or Africans, but that similar expressions remain unpunished when they come from 'progressive' artists and leftist intellectuals and are directed against the Americans, the British or the Dutch. In my opinion, the CEOOR and its policies are leading us to a less tolerant society, with more social irritation, distrust and friction. When the state tries to control the thoughts and minds of the people, it will only lose their respect.
Don't wanna be an American idiot.
Don't want a nation under the new media.
And can you hear the sound of hysteria?
The subliminal mindfuck America.
Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
Well that's enough to argue.
Well maybe I'm the faggot America.
I'm not a part of a redneck agenda.
Now everybody do the propaganda.
And sing along in the age of paranoia.
...
Don't wanna be an American idiot.
One nation controlled by the media.
Information nation of hysteria.
It's going out to idiot America.
...
--Green Day "American Idiot"
Posted by: Rafael ||
09/19/2005 1:04 Comments ||
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#2
Well, they both seem to have a penchant for homosexual imagery in their lyrics...
#4
Europe, Louisiana 'bout the same. When you want money or go get bailed out of something deep dark and stinky, the sceam is for Washington to be there yesterday. Having to push people to do the right thing any other time and Washington is just a bunch of Nazis. So what's new?
#6
Oh, yes, Belgium... *frowning thoughtfully, trying to remember anything at all about the place*...They do chocolates there, and Battenburg lace doilies... and the biggest tourist attraction in the place was a statue of a little boy pissing into a fountain. Seems suitable, somehow.
Oh, and the Germans keep invading, but only because it's a short-cut to France.
#11
"...The Most Gratuitous Use of the Word "Belgium" in a Serious Screenplay. It's very prestigious."
"The most gratuitous use of which word?" asked Arthur, with a determined attempt to keep his brain in neutral.
"Belgium," said the girl, "I hardly like to say it."
"Belgium?" exclaimed Arthur.
"Are we talking," said Arthur, "about the very flat country, with all the EEC and the fog?"
"What?" said the girl.
"Belgium," said Arthur.
"Raaaaaarrrchchchchch!" screeched the pterodactyl.
"Grrruuuuuurrrghhhh," agreed the seven-toed sloth.
"They must be thinking of Ostend Hoverport," muttered Arthur. He turned back to the girl.
"Have you ever been to Belgium in fact?" he asked brightly and she nearly hit him.
"I think," she said, restraining herself, "that you should restrict that sort of remark to something artistic."
Posted by: Douglas Adams ||
09/20/2005 0:03 Comments ||
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WASHINGTON - The Jefferson Parish president's emotional retelling of a mother's desperate calls from a New Orleans nursing home included details that conflict with the timeline of the tragedy. That's putting it mildly. Must have been written by NBC's P/R department.
The story, of a colleague's mother begging her son for rescue as flood waters rose after Hurricane Katrina, came to prominence on Sunday, Sept. 4, when Aaron Broussard, president of Jefferson Parish in New Orleans, was interviewed by Tim Russert on NBC's Meet the Press. (MSNBC is a Microsoft-NBC joint venture.)
New details and interviews with the son whose mother died in the flood show that the tragedy unfolded from Saturday through Monday, Aug. 29 â not Monday through Friday, Sept. 2 as recounted by Broussard. The owners of the nursing home were indicted Tuesday for the deaths of more than 30 residents, which officials say occurred on Aug. 29.
In the course of the interview, in which Broussard was expressing frustration with the slow-footed response by the federal government to the hurricane, he related the personal story of a man whose mother had died in the flooding caused by Katrina. Broussard, who did not identify the man by name at the time, broke down in tears as he related the story. As the Meet the Press transcript shows, Russert paused the interview to allow Broussard to compose himself.
BROUSSARD: ... The guy who runs this building I'm in, emergency management, he's responsible for everything. His mother was trapped in St. Bernard nursing home and every day she called him and said, "Are you coming, son? Is somebody coming?" And he said, "Yeah, Mama, somebody's coming to get you. Somebody's coming to get you on Tuesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Wednesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Thursday. Somebody's coming to get you on Friday." And she drowned Friday night. She drowned Friday night.
RUSSERT: Mr. President...
BROUSSARD: Nobody's coming to get us. Nobody's coming to get us. The secretary has promised. Everybody's promised. They've had press conferences. I'm sick of the press conferences. For God sakes, shut up and send us somebody.
RUSSERT: Just take a pause, Mr. President. While you gather yourself in your very emotional times, I understand, let me go to Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi.
Since the broadcast of the interview, which elevated Broussard to national prominence, a number of bloggers have questioned the validity of Broussard's story.
Subsequent reporting identified the man whom Broussard was referring to in the Meet the Press interview as Thomas Rodrigue, the Jefferson Parish emergency services director. Contacted on Friday by MSNBC.com, Rodrigue acknowledged that his 92-year-old mother and more than 30 other people died in the St. Rita nursing home. They had not been evacuated and the flood waters overtook the residence.
The chronology of the phone calls described by Broussard came under particular scrutiny by bloggers. Those rascals. Always checking up on the media.
Rodrigue said he didn't see or hear Broussard's comments on Meet the Press. When told of the sequence of phone calls that Broussard described on Meet the Press, Rodrigue said "No, no, that's not true."
"I can't tell you what he said that day, why he was confused, I'm assuming he was under a tremendous amount of pressure," Rodrigue told MSNBC.
"I contacted the nursing home two days before the storm [on Aug. 27th] and again on the 28th of August," Rodrigue said. "At the same time I talked to the nursing home I also talked to the emergency manager for St. Bernard Parish," Rodrigue said, "to encourage that nursing home to evacuate like they were supposed to and they didn't until it was too late."
Broussard must have been confused "because I was calling, not my mother calling me, I was calling her," Rodrigue said. Hope his job's civil service. Further, Rodrigue says he never made any calls after Monday, the day he figures his mother died, based on conversations he's had with another person who had a family member perish inside St. Rita's. Officials believe that the residents of St. Rita's died on Monday, Aug. 29, not on Friday, Sept. 2, as Broussard had suggested.
Broussard could not be reached for comment Friday, but Jackie Bauer, a spokeswoman for Broussard who was present during the Meet the Press interview, said "it was a misunderstanding."
Late on Friday, Bauer told MSNBC.com: "I was there when he (Broussard) was doing that, when he was saying that, I think he was meaning that he was calling, he was calling and trying to talk to Tommy and telling him ââ¬Ëdon't worry,' trying to console Tommy, 'don't worry, we'll get her out, don't worry we'll get her out.'"
When asked how Broussard could have gotten the details of his mother's story so wrong, Rodrigue said, Broussard "was emotional, absolutely and he was from the time that he found out that, you know, that my mother had died and I was here doing what I'm required to do for the citizens for Jefferson Parish."
Rodrigue said he hasn't spoken with Broussard since the Meet the Press broadcast. "He's been busy, I've been busy," Rodrigue said. "I haven't really had a chance to sit down and talk to him."
The husband and wife owners of St. Rita's nursing home in the New Orleans suburb of Chalmette have been charged with homicide in the case.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/19/2005 19:08 ||
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#1
But the seriousness of the charges or claims....and does somebody have proof that it didn't happen.. and uhh, well if nobody has proof, well then it happened. And they were all old people in that nursing home. Yeah, that's it Bush is targeting old folks with hurricanes...
#3
I saw that interview live on teevee, and thought it had a bit of an odor to it. The levees breached late Monday/early Tuesday, and I found myself skeptical that the waters continued to rise for the next four days. I also thought that the phone connections couldn't possibly that good thru that week from hell. I also thought it would be wise to keep my skepticism to myself, being a known member of the VRWC and all...
#4
Just think, this asstard, Mayor Nugget, Gov Blankout, Sen Scamdrieu - the lot of 'em - will have their hands in the money to rebuild. I've lost all sympathy for NO - and I'm very very sorry I sent as much money as I did to the ARC, especially since hearing that there were no restrictions on how the cash cards they handed out could be used.
Only the money I gave to the SalvArmy is likely to be used as intended. If they offered the option, now, I'd say my donation was only for use in Miss and Ala.
NEW YORK, Sept 19 (Bernama) -- Stressing his success in proposing a major overhaul of the management of the United Nations system, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said the new president of the United Nations General Assembly may invite Thailand and leaders of 10 to 15 other countries for talks on ways to reform the world body, according to a TNA report Monday.
The news agency quoted Thaksin as saying that he had held discussions with the new president of UN General Assembly, and the latter invited him and leaders of 10-15 countries who shared similar ideas with him on the reform of the UN, raised by him in a speech given to UN members last week.
The meeting on UN reform may be held in mid-2006, said Thaksin, adding that he would act as representative in conferring with Asian government leaders first on ways to completely overhaul the UN.
The UN must realize what its responsibilities are, he said. It was established during the cold war era and the disputes between two different political ideologies have ceased. The world is now confronting new challenges, such as international terrorism, acute disease, hunger in several parts of the world and unfair trade practices.
"These are challenging issues confronting the UN in the modern era," Thaksin said. "The UN must have innovative administration and management in coping with these issues."
#1
Just offer the UN a move to Phuket or Pattaya and the staff will jump on the matter immediately, faster than they can say "Adios Caracas!". Just put in a couple 5 star hotels and resturants and the limos will be quad-parked in minutes.
#1
There seems to be 6 to 8 people currently hospitalized in Jakarta with suspected H5N1 bird flu after 4 people have died in the last 2 months. The children are a particular concern because they are the primary vector for early spread of H2H transmission. Also note that dengue is at record levels throughout SE Asia and can have similar symptoms and may well be masking a much larger number of flu cases. This is how the pandemic will start.
#2
For those of you not familiar with dengue, I have actually seen a case. Good heavens. A list of about a dozen really odd and unpleasant symptoms for about three weeks, the first time you get the mosquito-borne disease. However, if you catch it a second time, unpredictably, it might turn into a hemorrhagic form, like ebola, and just as deadly.
It is endemic to Mexico, too, and physicians in the southern parts of southwest States have been advised for several years to be on the lookout for any outbreaks. Lucky them, there is now West Nile virus and two or three types of encephalitis to add to their list as immigrating nasties.
Winding down our flood coverage, here's a clickable flooding map. Just follow the directions on the site, pumping seems to be working faster than thought.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/19/2005 14:14 ||
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I just got this in an email from a friend of mine, I liked it very much, so I translated it then posted it, I think anyone who has been to Iraq will like it very much:
When you are driving your car in Baghdad, you will treat all other drivers as your enemies, and you will be treated likewise. Except for the US forces and their tanks of course, but still you will be treated as an enemy.
You must not use any turning signal, whether it is a flasher, or hand signal, because that will reveal your intentions to the enemies, if the situation gets desperate, give a signal for a left turn, then turn right, and whatever happens let it be.
Pedestrians are obstacles in your way, don't care about them and don't even look at them. But.. You must not hit, or roll over any one of them, unless you are ready financially to face the consequences.
Use the following principle when driving in Baghdad: "If your car is old, then anyone who wants to keep his car better step out of the way, but if your car is new, then stay away from the old cars because they are ruthless enemies, and their drivers are looking for a way to get some financial support"
When you enter a "turn-around" you must not look to your left at the cars coming from the other direction, because if you look at them, this means that you are paying attention to them, and thus you must give them some space to move, and thus loosing one your new rights after the war
When you are in a traffic jam, you will follow this rule "The first one to hit his car from forward....Gets to pass". But do not use this rule with busses, in fear for your fenders, and the bus driver won't even notice that you have hit him. And of course don't use it with the US army vehicles, in fear for your life...
When driving slowly, don't leave any space between your car and the car in front of you, because leaving such space will mean that another car might squeeze in this place, and that will cost you your dignity, according to the current standards.
When driving fast, you must stick to the car in front of you, so that the driver ahead will notice you then one of those three things will happen:
1. if the driver is very polite, or a coward, he will give you the lane to go past him, and then you have made a victory and you behold the right to look down at him while you pass him.
2. if the driver is not very polite, he will give you the lane to go past him, but you might hear some words containing animal names, and some other words also, you should have anticipated that, and your answers must be prepared.
3. if the driver is not polite at all, which is what most drivers are, he will not give you the lane, and he will start slowing down, forcing you to slow down too, and then there might start a small war in fire arms, so you must pass him from the right or you will lose that battle.
#3
Hell, this is the rules for the road in Massachusetts, except for the part about the tanks. (I see a lot of other people here have driven in the lovely Peoples Commonwealth as well)
Posted by: Steve ||
09/19/2005 8:37 Comments ||
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#4
When you are driving your car in Baghdad, you will treat all other drivers as your enemies, and you will be treated likewise. Except for the US forces and their tanks of course, but still you will be treated as an enemy.
This is a good analogy between the difference in the American Christian-esque mindset v/s the Muslim mindset. Love your neighbor and do unto others - v/s leaving such space will mean that another car might squeeze in this place, and that will cost you your dignity, according to the current standards.
#7
Ahh, here you are RG, I knew I read that name somewhere else. I'm really glad someone liked the joke..
This is a good analogy between the difference in the American Christian-esque mindset v/s the Muslim mindset. Love your neighbor and do unto others - v/s leaving such space will mean that another car might squeeze in this place, and that will cost you your dignity, according to the current standards.
Let me get this straight.. Instead of LAUGHING you are, what, I don't understand what you are trying to prove here..
#8
I flew into Logan on a business trip. My coworker highly recommended taping the rental agreement on the window so all knew I was not to underestimated.
#9
I spent almost 2 years working in Boston. One of those years was spent trying to get out of a round-a-bout.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
09/19/2005 12:01 Comments ||
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#10
God, what a much of wimps! It's easy to drive up here. You just get in your car, aim it where you want to go, accept no deviations from the route, and when you crash into your destination, you're there.
Didn't realize there were so many people that have driven up here!!
The primary rules of Boston traffic (based on more than 30 years experience) are similar, but shorter.
1) He who makes eye-contact cedes the right of way
2) Directionals are optional and used only for dis-information purposes.
3) Red lights are discretionary
4) Oldest car wins
5) Break-down lanes are those with the highest average speed
#14
Have any of you ever driven in downtown Oakland, CA? Baghdad's traffic sounds like no BFG. Oakland's a war zone. I Don't know about any "Christian vs. Muslim" mindset thing but I PRAY evertime I have to go down there!
#15
Lol... Are you guys really sure you wanna compare traffic in the US with any ME locales? I'll admit that on the highways around Sammy Dago there seems to be a "rule" that you can't change just one lane at a time, 2 or more is req'd...
But picture cresting a hill on a freeway at 130 kmh to find a forklift in your lane less than 100m ahead trundling along about about 5kmh. Or, same situation, you crest a hill to find a guy backing up on the freeway, using both of the 2 right-hand lanes, cuz he missed his exit? At night. His lights off.
Or that stop signs merely mean honk, not stop. Streetlights and lane marks being "guidelines" and the hood ornament is an aiming reticule - 2 lanes commonly reduced to one - and some guy in a car that's never been inspected, count on it.
Or some guy who wants to turn right comes up to an intersection with a red light to find someone stopped in the right lane - but the left lane's clear so he goes over there and turns right across everyone and trying to merge into the crossing traffic. And the opposite (picture this) when a guy wants to make a U-turn - and he doesn't want to wait for the light - turning INTO the crossing traffic.
Or people who don't just double-park - they triple-park - almost completely blocking streets. Sometimes they're considerate - they leave the car running... they explain that's so you can move it if you need to get by. Your problem.
Everyday. Third-World Physics is what we used to call it. 2 solid objects can, indeed, occupy the same space simultaneously. They drag these "proofs" to the side of the street and leave them there... sometimes forever, I guess, since I can recall one wreck which was on a street near my apartment for the entire year I was in Saudi on my first tour.
#16
Once drove a rental car from New Hampshire to Logan. When I reached the rental agency parking lot, I had to pry my fingers off the steering wheel. No tanks though.
#19
PJ O'Rourke had a great piece about driving in Saudi Arabia; nothing but straight ahead paved highway and STILL Saudis managed to roll over in Chevy Caprices!
When I'm in Boston, it's gas and the horn, gas and the horn.
In a move to dilute Islamic opposition to contraceptives, Pakistan announced on Sunday it would pay stipends to Muslim clerics who promoted its family planning programme, state media reported. The government would pay Rs 1,200 a month to Muslim scholars and prayer leaders promoting family planning, the Associated Press of Pakistan quoted Population Welfare Minister Shahbaz Hussain as saying. Clerics would also be asked to sign up for a training programme on birth control, Hussain told reporters in Lahore. âThe objective of the programme is to tackle population issues with the help of religious scholars in the country like some other Muslim countries (do),â Hussain said.
Pakistan, with 150 million people, has the sixth largest population in the world after China, India, the US, Indonesia and Brazil. President Pervez Musharraf launched Pakistanâs first-ever population policy in 2002, targeting annual growth of 1.9 percent. The rate dropped to 1.95 percent in 2003 after reaching 2.06 percent in 2001. Muslim clerics mostly oppose contraception as un-Islamic, but there is no radical opposition to it in Pakistan, where couples generally have several children.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/19/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
The way to reduce large families to one or two children each is purely economic. Every country has an economic plateau that when crossed, two children become the norm. However, government actions can lower that number further. Easy access to birth control, women's rights, affordable housing and residence density, financial and legal responsibilities and other techniques put pressure on parents to not have children.
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.
Talk Like a Pirate Day only comes once a year (on September 19th), this year it falls on a Monday. On talk like a pirate day, everyone talks as if they were a pirate. For instance, instead of saying something like this:
The ruling Communist Party of China is carrying out internal party reform to head off the prospect of the one-party state being ditched. Worried about the threat posed by democracy, the government of the world's fastest growing economy is pressing ahead with much-needed internal reforms while playing down calls for an expansion of voting in the electoral system. 
"Down with America" is the title of a recent song by the popular 
In a move to dilute Islamic opposition to contraceptives, Pakistan announced on Sunday it would pay stipends to Muslim clerics who promoted its family planning programme, state media reported. The government would pay Rs 1,200 a month to Muslim scholars and prayer leaders promoting family planning, the Associated Press of Pakistan quoted Population Welfare Minister Shahbaz Hussain as saying. Clerics would also be asked to sign up for a training programme on birth control, Hussain told reporters in Lahore. âThe objective of the programme is to tackle population issues with the help of religious scholars in the country like some other Muslim countries (do),â Hussain said.
