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Leb: 'Army deploys troops along Syrian border'
Today's Headlines
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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Mexican panda home after failed Tokyo love match
A failed romance, how sad.
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican giant panda Shuan Shuan was back in her Mexico City enclosure on Thursday, jet-lagged and chewing glumly on a pile of bamboo leaves after failing to find passion with a suitor in a Tokyo zoo.

Shuan Shuan, 18 and born in Mexico, was flown back from Japan earlier this week, dashing hopes that a far eastern romance might get her pregnant, after attempts to spark chemistry with Beijing-born Ling Ling, 20, fizzled out. "We couldn't get them to mate," said Mexico City zoo director Rafael Tinajero sadly.

The 1-1/2 year mating mission was part of a worldwide breeding program to try to bring pandas back from the brink of extinction. But Shuan Shuan and Ling Ling didn't hit it off. "The thing is, pandas are solitary animals so you can't just put them in together," Tinajero said.

"First, you have to look for signs they'll be receptive to stroking or touching each other. They had contact through bars, so they could smell and touch one another but it wasn't the right moment. Ling Ling was scared of Shuan Shuan."

Shuan Shuan was on heat twice during her sojourn at Tokyo's Ueno zoo but Ling Ling seemed put off by the fact his new lady friend weighed 30 kg (66 lbs) more than him, Tinajero said.

Attempts at artificial insemination also failed.

There are only around 1,000 of the much-loved black and white bears left in the wild in southern China. A handful of zoos in the world have breeding programs but costs can be high as China charges more than most can afford to rent a "stud."

Mexico has three giant pandas, all females, but is struggling to get them pregnant. The task is made harder by the fact females go on heat for just a couple of days each year.

The first panda born in captivity outside China -- the cub of two pandas China gave Mexico in 1975, Shuan Shuan was sleeping off her jetlag on Thursday, lolling about on her bed. "It makes us sad, but what can we do?" said her keeper, Joel Frias, as he prepared her lunch -- a stew of rice, mashed apple, grated carrots, chicken bits and chopped nopal cactus.

Keepers hoped romance would blossom between Shuan Shuan and Ling Ling after the pair seemed to flirt -- urinating, sniffing and eyeing each other -- on past trips Ling Ling made to Mexico to provide sperm for artificial insemination. But having both been raised alone, neither seemed eager to make room for the other in its cage, Tinajero said. "We're just glad she's back," he said. "And she's delighted to be home, in her own country with her own people."
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 10/01/2005 06:39 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Jeez, just let the poor little bastards go extinct.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 10/01/2005 8:01 Comments || Top||

#2  Pandas suffer from poor self-esteem due to their peculiar naming style. Trust me.
Posted by: Major Major || 10/01/2005 8:31 Comments || Top||

#3  ...but Ling Ling seemed put off by the fact his new lady friend weighed 30 kg (66 lbs) more than him, Tinajero said.

Yeah, like that's a news flash...
Posted by: Raj || 10/01/2005 10:03 Comments || Top||

#4  What were these people thinking? Everyone knows they should have flown Ling Ling to Cancun during Spring Break.
Posted by: ed || 10/01/2005 10:24 Comments || Top||

#5  sheech, ifa I wanted a sumo wrestler I woulda called this.
Posted by: Ling Ling || 10/01/2005 13:00 Comments || Top||

#6  maybe she's just "big-boned" with a great personality?
Posted by: Frank G || 10/01/2005 13:06 Comments || Top||

#7  Shuan Shuan, 18 and born in Mexico, was flown back from Japan earlier this week, dashing hopes that a far eastern romance might get her pregnant, after attempts to spark chemistry with Beijing-born Ling Ling, 20, fizzled out.

Well that's a surprise - her illegal immigrant brethren here in the U.S. don't seem to have much trouble producing babies... ;)
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 10/01/2005 14:08 Comments || Top||


Fluid mechanics can answer the important questions of life — like how to pour the perfect beer..
A new beer-tap design incorporates the science of suds to deliver perfect pours round after round

*sighs* I think I am in love...
Posted by: DanNY || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  About bloody time! What's the point of having engineers if they won't concentrate on things that matter? ;-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/01/2005 15:34 Comments || Top||

#2  As a bartender in a college town, I appreciate the inventor's dedication; however, it is a huge no-no to put any part of the tap into or on the beer glass because of contaminants and contagions. I'd love to use these taps, but I don't think they'll fly with the Health Dept. in California (no blue state jokes, please; they won't fly in Arizona either.).

Sorry, Guys. I'm a killjoy.
Posted by: ArmChair in Sin || 10/01/2005 15:58 Comments || Top||

#3  engineer's balance: perfect beer with perfect head.


prove me wrong. I dare ya
Posted by: Frank G || 10/01/2005 16:42 Comments || Top||

#4  Okay. Pour a Guinness with this thing, Frank, I dare you. You'll get neither the perfect beer nor head, but an engineering nightmare all over your sliderule.
Posted by: ArmChair in Sin || 10/01/2005 16:56 Comments || Top||

#5  you pour perfect beers all night, the head comes later :-)
Posted by: Frank G || 10/01/2005 17:11 Comments || Top||

#6  Touche
Posted by: ArmChair in Sin || 10/01/2005 17:25 Comments || Top||


Britain
Muslims Prevail in Battle Over Winne-the-Poos' Piglet
NOVELTY pig calendars and toys have been banned from a council office — in case they offend Muslim staff. Workers in the benefits department at Dudley Council, West Midlands, were told to remove or cover up all pig-related items, including toys, porcelain figures, calendars and even a tissue box featuring Winnie the Pooh and Piglet. Bosses acted after a Muslim complained about pig-shaped stress relievers delivered to the council in the run-up to the Islamic festival of Ramadan. Councillor Mahbubur Rahman, a practising Muslim, backed the ban. He said: “It’s a tolerance of people’s beliefs.”
Posted by: Captain America || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  No, it's empowering the intolerance of others. And it has to stop, soon, or there won't be a Britain any more.
Posted by: Jackal || 10/01/2005 0:42 Comments || Top||

#2  banning winnie the poo and piglet. :(
Posted by: Red Dog || 10/01/2005 1:01 Comments || Top||

#3  Just remember, not every Brit has pigs, but a lot of people have dogs. And while the Prophet (piss be upon him) never told people not to eat dogs, they're just about as unclean as pigs. Maybe more so, because they disturb prayer with their barking.

So long, British hounds.
Posted by: Omolusing Glurong4284 || 10/01/2005 1:26 Comments || Top||

#4  If they ban Piglet, Britain is doomed, doomed I tell ya. I am joking, but I am not.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 10/01/2005 1:57 Comments || Top||

#5  What next Postman Pat and Bob the Builder as it offends people on the dole?
Posted by: Wayne Bin Rooney || 10/01/2005 3:28 Comments || Top||

#6  “It’s a tolerance of people’s beliefs.”

no. it's INtolerance of others' lifestyles. unless, of course, there is a danger of the pig jumping off the table into a muslim's mouth.
Posted by: PlanetDan || 10/01/2005 8:34 Comments || Top||

#7  Just for the sake of a snarky argument, let's imagine a hypothetical Homeric religion - Homer as in The Simpsons, not the greek guy - that worships the Pig as a wonderful and magical animal. Think Hinduism, but with pigs instead of cows. If I wore my sacred pigskin necktie to work, would it be regarded with the same multicultural consideration as a headscarf or yarmulke?
Posted by: SteveS || 10/01/2005 9:59 Comments || Top||

#8  Depends on whether or not you threaten to blow up anyone who disagrees with you - or slaughter them on the streets with a butcher knife.
Posted by: lotp || 10/01/2005 10:13 Comments || Top||

#9  Women's ankle's are offensive to muslims. Time to invest in the fall burkha collection. Better yet Brit women, stay home 24/7 lest ye offend your muslim masters.
Posted by: ed || 10/01/2005 10:19 Comments || Top||

#10  You've never ever heard a jew say this.
Posted by: Penguin || 10/01/2005 10:57 Comments || Top||

#11  “It’s a tolerance of people’s beliefs.”
And if I find Muslims to be offensive, will they be removed or covered up?
Posted by: Winnie-the-Poo || 10/01/2005 11:48 Comments || Top||

#12  I understand Disney World's Magic Kingdom has a new play area based on Winnie the Pooh. I wonder if Piglet's featured there, and whether that will offend anyone.
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 10/01/2005 11:54 Comments || Top||

#13  From Disney World Site: "Visit all your friends from the Hundred-Acre Wood for a "hunny" of an adventure. It's the ride in which you get put in the middle of Pooh's blustery day. You'll bounce along with Tigger. Float through a floody place with Piglet..."
Posted by: Darrell || 10/01/2005 12:02 Comments || Top||

#14  "damn shame that bacon showed up all over your workplace, Achmed. Hey! Are those Pork Rinds? Mmmmmmm"
Posted by: Frank G || 10/01/2005 13:10 Comments || Top||

#15  Time for puppy calendars in the council office cubicles.....
Posted by: Desert Blondie || 10/01/2005 14:31 Comments || Top||

#16  Workers . . . were told to remove or cover up all pig-related items, including patentently offensive attacks on Islam, such as:

toys

porcelain figures

calendars

and even a tissue box

featuring Winnie the Pooh and Piglet."

All such items were replaced with mugs, calendars and wall posters featuring Osama Bin Laden and various Taliban military leaders.

Islamic neighborhoods all over Britain were celebrating another public relations victory over the gullible and weak-willed Brits in the run-up to the Islamic festival of Ramadan.

You know what the problem is over there? The Brits are so (culturally) convinced of their own superiority, and yet so insecure about it at the same time, all any Moslem has to do is say "boo" and they jump, rather, bend over.

BTW: believe it or not, this is probably one of the more significant "Islam is taking over the world" stories we've seen to date. Think about it. When people allow their culture to be controlled by hostile foreign interests and subvert their traditions and religion(s) to it, the end is not far.

Nice answer, Steve S. Would the Moslems be as "tolerant" as they are demanding others be toward them? No.
Posted by: ex-lib || 10/01/2005 19:33 Comments || Top||

#17  Better to cover up or ban or ban all pictures of Al Aqsa Mosque, outlaw Moslem garb, and remove all art associated with Koranic themes from employee's spaces in public offices. Piglet, at least, is actually British. As is Bacon and eggs.
Posted by: imoyaro || 10/01/2005 20:15 Comments || Top||

#18  next animal to be banned, White Doves?
Posted by: Flinelet Sherong3513 || 10/01/2005 21:35 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Columbia runs short of ink
Babelfish ...

During last the 20 years, Colombia occupied the first place of a dishonourable list: to be the Nation in where more dollars were falsified. The last week, the Secret Service of the United States, the organism that, among other functions, is in charge to fight against that crime, revealed that the Colombians had left that doubtful honor, surpassed by Mexico and Israel.

According to a report of the Secret Service (Usss, by its abbreviation in English), the Colombians let handle the 43 percent of the marked one of false dollars and now only they dominate the 15 percent. To happen to continue in ' top 5 ' the news is positive for the country. But most interesting it is than, in agreement with the Secret Service, that encouraging result was possible thanks to the work of a Colombian and has own name: Juliette Kure Parra.

Kure is the greater one of the Police, head of investigation of Crimes against the patrimony económicó of the Dijín.
........ and pop over to the link to see if Detective Juliette Kure Parra moonlights as Buffy the Vampire Slayer... or am I seeing things?
Posted by: classer || 10/01/2005 08:08 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Haiti May Delay Key National Election
Posted by: Fred || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


China-Japan-Koreas
China Marks 56 million dead Years of Communist Rule
Tens of thousands of Chinese marked the 56th anniversary of Communist rule in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on Saturday with the country enjoying the benefits of two decades of rapid economic growth but still facing deep-seated social problems. The crowds in the square enthusiastically waved Chinese flags and posed for pictures as security forces looked on placidly.
Such a wonderful place. Why can't everywhere be Communist?

Security was tight in the capital Beijing at the start of the weeklong holiday. Police bomb squads were out in force, and human rights groups said authorities have been expelling people with grievances from the capital to prevent disruptions, a common move during politically sensitive periods.

On Friday, Premier Wen Jiabao vowed to press forward with rapid economic development but did not mention democratic reforms or any changes to one-party rule, touting the supremacy of the Communist Party. He only alluded to the social problems facing the country.

"China has undergone earthshaking changes and achieved world-stunning successes," Wen said at a reception for more than 1,500 foreign and Chinese guests at the Great Hall of the People in the heart of Beijing.

Increasing numbers of poverty-stricken farmers are protesting against widespread graft, industrial pollution and seizures of land for development. Analysts have warned that widening income disparities between the cities and countryside and rising unemployment could threaten social stability.
Posted by: Jackal || 10/01/2005 20:32 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
Double-trouble. Dutch man legally in "civil union" with 2 women
The Netherlands has legalized polygamy in all but name, granting a civil union to a man and two women. Victor de Bruijn, 46, of Roosendaal "married" both Bianca, 31, and Mirjam, 35, in a ceremony Friday, the Brussels Journal reported. "I love both Bianca and Mirjam, so I am marrying them both," said de Bruijn who previously was married to Bianca.
Getting ready for sharia, I guess.
The couple met Mirjam Geven two and a half years ago through an Internet chatroom, and eight weeks later Mirjam left her husband to live with Victor and Bianca. After Mirjam's divorce the threesome decided to marry, the Journal reported. De Bruijn explained: "A marriage between three persons is not possible in the Netherlands, but a civil union is. We went to the notary in our marriage costume and exchanged rings. We consider this to be just an ordinary marriage."
I don't.
DeBruijn insisted there is no jealousy between the three partners because Mirjam and Bianca are bisexual. "I think that with two heterosexual women it would be more difficult," he said, noting he is "100 percent heterosexual."
"Maybe 200 percent!"
Let's compute the possible permutations...
A fourth person would not be allowed in their marriage, de Bruijn said, emphasizing they want to take their marriage obligations seriously.
You're supposed to put "drink alert" before saying things like that.
Posted by: Blitzen || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This guy's gotta be a masochist.
Posted by: badanov || 10/01/2005 0:53 Comments || Top||

#2  Looks like two tons o' fun:



... on each side.
Posted by: AzCat || 10/01/2005 6:06 Comments || Top||

#3  Next on 'Consenting Adults'...
Posted by: Whetch Fligum1833 || 10/01/2005 8:47 Comments || Top||

#4  ...The guy looks like frickin' Dr. Evil...

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 10/01/2005 10:09 Comments || Top||

#5  The Dutch must be hard up for men.
Posted by: ed || 10/01/2005 10:33 Comments || Top||

#6  Trouble and Strife
Posted by: SwissTex || 10/01/2005 13:43 Comments || Top||


Catholic Church Joins Protest Against Secularism In Spain
The Catholic Church is poised to join a mass protest against planned reforms of the education system in a fresh confrontation with the Socialist government. The Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE) said it will support plans to stage a march in Madrid in November against the reforms, the Spanish daily El Pais reported. The reforms will make religious education classes optional, not compulsory, and non-gradable for students.

Juan Antonio Martinez Camino, CEE spokesman, said: "The Catholic Church does not call protests. But I hope they are called and that the government makes substantial changes to the law and that it eliminates the obstacles to the freedom of education." The reform is a reversal of the 1979 agreement between the Spanish government and the Vatican, which made it mandatory for schools to teach religion, although the classes are optional for students.

Relations between the church and the Socialist government have been worsening in recent months. Cardinals and bishops joined a mass march in July against the government's legalisation of same sex marriages. But the government this week extended an agreement whereby the State finances the Church by income tax returns for another year. In next year's budget, the State will give the Church EUR 144m.
Pakistan?
I'm against religious states on principle and empirically: the Papal States were such a success, and Soddy Arabia's such a beacon for the rest of the world. I realize that Spanish culture includes a strong strain of Catholicism, but I also realize that until it began modernizing it was the poorest country in Europe. That doesn't say that Catholicism shouldn't be taught, only that it shouldn't be a requirement, which is the approach the Spaniards seem to be trying to take with it.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Belgium poised for trial of 'African Pinochet'
The former dictator of Chad – who has been dubbed 'an African Pinochet' - could face trial in Belgium for the atrocities he committed during his eight years in power. HissÚne Habré, who ran Chad from 1982 until 1990, has been charged under Belgium's 'universal competence' law which allows Belgian courts to try cases of human rights abuse – wherever the crimes are alleged to have been committed.
We've run into this before. As a principle of international law it sucks. It implies that Belgium has world-wide jurisdiction. Presumably Luxembourg does, too. And France. And Pakistan. And Nepal. But not the U.S., mind you. That would be hegemony...
On Friday, the Belgian media reported that Belgium has asked Senegal to extradite Habré. Habré fled to Senegal when he was driven from power by current president Idriss Deby and was later charged there for torture and crimes against humanity. Senegalese courts ruled that they could not try the dictator, but they later agreed to hold Habré pending an extradition request from Belgium.
Under U.S. law, Belchium would seem to lack standing, since they weren't a party to the crimes. Chad would, if they're interested.
The case in Belgium was started when around 20 people, victims and human rights activists, laid charges against Habré. Three of them were Chads who have taken up Belgian nationality. They have battled since Habré lost power to bring him to justice. He is accused of ordering his political police, the notorious Documentation and Security Directorate (DSS), to torture and murder 40,000 people. Much of the mass murder was against ethnic groups. Georges-Henri Beauthier, a prosecution lawyer in the case, told the radio and TV station RTBF the extradition warrant was "a victory".
Not a good one, but still a victory. Hopefully it'll be pyrrhic.
"This could be the first time that a dictator, instead of the underlings, is judged in Belgium under the universal competence law", he said. Human Rights Watch, which has described Habré as "the most brutal US-backed dictator you've never heard of", also welcomed the extradition warrant. It was, said the organisation, "a wake-up call to dictators in Africa and elsewhere that if they commit similar atrocities they could be brought to justice one day". The US and French governments backed Habré when he was in power, seeing him as a bulwark against the Libyan leader Moemmar Qaddafi.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Even if one were to accept their jurisdiction, there is the point that they are going after some guy 15 years out of power.

Meanwhile, there are thugs currently murdering their own citizens. How about a warrant against them?
Posted by: Jackal || 10/01/2005 0:44 Comments || Top||

#2  Wonder if the court will be next to a Belgium International Freedom Center which chronicles the record of their country and king in the Congo?

HRW - what no mention of the US backing Stalin, 1941-1945?
Posted by: Pheamp Hupavising8709 || 10/01/2005 10:44 Comments || Top||

#3  Y'know, we've been suggesting places the UN could take up residence?
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 10/01/2005 13:11 Comments || Top||

#4  Brussels is full up, what with NATO, the EU bureaucracy, and Belgium's own Parliament and bureaucracy and all. Ten years ago they told me to expect one car crash per year, because of all the people on the road who think they are too important to obey the rules (It happened, too. On the very last day I owned the bloody car. $10 residual value in the carcass afterward.) And let's not forget that the Royal Family lives on the edge of town, too. Send the U.N. to Paris or Geneva, where they still have room for that sort of people.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/01/2005 20:32 Comments || Top||

#5  Fuck Human Rights Watch. "the most brutal US-backed dictator you've never heard of" my ass. Habré was so much in Reagan's pocket that French troops fought in the 1980's with Chad against the Libyans. BTW, where are the Belgian indictment of the French, since they were right there side by side? Fucking French Felching Belgians.
Posted by: ed || 10/01/2005 21:45 Comments || Top||

#6  After all, Belgium's record in Africa is one of charity, kindness, and the pinnacle of humanity.
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 10/01/2005 22:16 Comments || Top||

#7  Leopold who? Congo where?
Posted by: Frank G || 10/01/2005 22:25 Comments || Top||


Catalonia's Parliament OK's Independence New Charter
MADRID, Spain (AP) - Catalonia's parliament approved a new charter Friday that called the wealthy region in northeastern Spain "a nation," wording that has some worried that the region is heading toward a break with Spain. Catalonia's semiautonomous parliament had gone through weeks of heated debates on changes to the charter, which defines its status within Spain.

"Catalonia is a nation," according to the first article in the 52-page charter, which the regional parliament approved with a 120-15 vote.

Spain's national parliament needs to approve the charter in order for it to become valid, but some constitutional experts warn that it may be unconstitutional. Opposition conservatives argue it represents another step toward the dismemberment of Spain. "Spanish citizens must be consulted before Congress takes irreversible steps," said Angel Acebes, secretary-general of the Popular Party, parliament's main opposition bloc, adding that the charter contained at least 50 points that were unconstitutional.

Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said the government supports approval of the charter.
Since socialists tend not to worry much about what's constitutional when they're the ones in power.
The Mediterranean coastal, whose capital is Barcelona, is Spain's economic engine and takes pride in its distinct cultural identity. Under Spain's constitution, it and the rest of the 17 regions have varying degrees of self-rule. But Catalonia and the Basque region, which already have the most, are always clamoring for more. And their respective languages are a particular source of pride - and friction.
Posted by: Steve White || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Politix
Cheney aide revealed as source of CIA leak
WASHINGTON: An investigation into a White House intelligence leak was nearing its conclusion after a New York Times reporter, jailed in July for refusing to testify, identified U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney's leading aide as her principal source.

Judith Miller was released from a prison in Virginia, where she had spent 12 weeks, and appeared in a federal court in Washington on Friday to give her account of a scandal that has been hanging over the administration for two years.

According to lawyers involved in the case, Ms. Miller identified Lewis ``Scooter'' Libby, the Vice-President's chief of staff, as the government official she had spoken to in July 2003 about a CIA undercover agent, Valerie Plame.

Ms. Plame is the wife of an administration critic, Joseph Wilson, who accused the White House of blowing her cover in retribution for his claims that the U.S. had fabricated allegations of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

Mr. Wilson, a former Ambassador, had said he had been sent to Africa by the CIA to look for evidence of Iraqi uranium purchases and had found none, contrary to claims by the President.

Confidentiality


The scandal threatens the White House directly. Another journalist, Time magazine's Matt Cooper, has named Karl Rove, President's chief political adviser, as his source for revealing Ms. Plame's identity. Mr. Rove and Mr. Libby, two of the most powerful behind-the-scenes figures in the administration, have said they had revealed that Mr. Wilson's wife worked in the CIA and had been instrumental in sending him on the fact-finding mission.

But lawyers for both officials insist they did not break the law as they did not provide her name, and did not know she was undercover. Critics argue that identifying her as Mr. Wilson's wife was tantamount to naming her.

U.S. media reports quoted lawyers involved in the case on Friday as saying a decision on whether to press charges could come as early as next week, in the wake of Ms. Miller's testimony. The case has cast light on the relationship between journalists and their government sources, and the confidentiality of that relationship.

It has also provoked scrutiny of Ms. Miller. On her release, she said she had gone to jail ``to preserve the time-honoured principle'' of protecting journalistic sources, and had agreed to testify only after receiving a telephone call from Mr. Libby, waiving his right to confidentiality.

But Mr. Libby's lawyer, Joseph Tate, said his client had signed such a waiver in late 2003 and he had assured Ms. Miller's lawyer earlier last month that the waiver had not been coerced. Sending her to prison in July, the judge in the case, Thomas Hogan, argued she was not defending press freedom, because the government source she ``alleges she is protecting'' had released her from her promise of confidentiality.

Posted by: Flinelet Sherong3513 || 10/01/2005 17:27 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Bull twead
Posted by: Captain America || 10/01/2005 21:35 Comments || Top||

#2  she's running out the clock on the charges of leaking info to a muslim charity raided the next day....
Posted by: Frank G || 10/01/2005 21:39 Comments || Top||

#3  No journalist would go to jail for a conservative, no matter the issue. This smells fishy, either this guy is some kind of closet moonbat, or he's agreed to take the fall to protect the real source.
Posted by: Silentbrick || 10/01/2005 22:03 Comments || Top||

#4  This is such crap it makes bullshit look pale.
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 10/01/2005 22:08 Comments || Top||


The 'Where Are They Now?' Series - Mike Dukakis
Must be a slow news day...
(CNN) -- Michael Dukakis became the first Greek-American to be nominated for the presidency when he led the 1988 Democratic effort to win the White House following the popular presidency of Republican Ronald Reagan.

Today, Dukakis divides his time between Northeastern University in his native Massachusetts and the University of California, Los Angeles, where he teaches political science and public policy.

"I can bring to a classroom a wealth of information, because I have been there," Dukakis told CNN. I encourage all of my students to nurture their love of public service, but I tell them if they want to run for president to talk to me first."

Indeed, Dukakis has much to teach his students about the realities of political life.
Duke's a wonderful guy, Kitty hits the bottle, blah, blah blah... rest at link.
Posted by: Raj || 10/01/2005 14:16 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The MSM and the LLL just love a loser.
Posted by: DMFD || 10/01/2005 14:23 Comments || Top||

#2  I hope they make his lectures available on DVD; I sometimes suffer from insomnia.
Posted by: Biff Wellington || 10/01/2005 22:30 Comments || Top||


FEC Fines Pelosi for Circumventing Campaign Contribution Limits
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has fined two leadership PACs associated with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in response to a Complaint filed by the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) on October 25, 2002. The FEC also has fined three campaigns that failed to return excessive contributions from Pelosi’s PACs within 60 days, as required by law.

Under conciliation agreements reached with the FEC, Pelosi’s two committees — PAC to the Future and Team Majority — will pay $21,000. Julie Thomas for Congress Campaign Committee (D–IA) and Van Hollen for Congress (D–MD) will each pay $2,500, and Joe Turnham for Congress (D–AL) will pay $2,000. The three campaigns also agreed to disgorge $5,000 each to the U.S. Treasury.

In its Complaint, NLPC alleged that Pelosi violated federal election law by operating two “leadership” political action committees (PACs) in order to circumvent contribution limits. Members of the Democrat and Republican leaderships in the House and Senate may legally have one so-called leadership PAC in addition to their own campaign committee. The purpose of leadership PACs is to make contributions to the campaigns of other Congressional candidates.

NLPC’s Complaint cited a second circumvention of the law, that of the limits on amounts donors may give to PACs. Team Majority, the newer PAC, reported sixteen contributions of $5,000 each from donors who also gave the maximum to Pelosi’s other PAC. Five of the donors gave to both PACs on the same day.

NLPC Chairman Ken Boehm reacted by stating, “We are delighted that the FEC has acted favorably on our Complaint. No member of Congress has ever set up a second leadership PAC to evade contribution limits. Pelosi has been caught violating the clearest and most basic law of all, the limits on contributions. Talk about hypocrisy.”

Within twenty-four hours of NLPC’s Complaint, Pelosi announced she would shut down Team Majority and retrieve contributions already made to candidates. The PAC made thirty-six contributions to candidates in the amount of $5,000, the legal limit. Her surviving PAC, which is called PAC to the Future, distributed $1.7 million to candidates in the 2001-2002 election cycle.

Pelosi has been an outspoken advocate of campaign finance reform and Shays-Meehan, the companion bill to the McCain-Feingold legislation, that became law. In January 2002, she asserted, "One threat to our Constitution, indeed to our participatory democracy, is the role of the special interest money in the political process today."

At an April 2002 kick-off event in San Francisco to the so-called Campaign Finance Victory Tour, Common Cause President Scott Harshbarger proclaimed, "The cynics in Washington said we couldn’t beat the entrenched power of big money, and thanks to courageous, independent people like Nancy Pelosi, we started the job."

Pelosi complained of "extremists in the Republican Party who have repeatedly tried to undermine campaign finance reform" and of "sneaky tactics employed by the Republicans" to weaken Shays-Meehan.

Team Majority did not officially exist until October 16, 2002 but had been raising money since April 2002, and by September 30, 2002 had made donations to five House and one Senate challenger. Leo McCarthy, the treasurer of both PACs and the former Lt. Governor of California, candidly admitted to Roll Call that the "main reason" for setting up the second PAC was to "give twice as much (sic) hard dollars."

The only defense offered by McCarthy was that he claimed the FEC somehow approved the improper arrangement in a phone call. He could not, however, provide the name of the FEC official with whom he allegedly spoke or provide evidence that such a call occurred. Indeed, it is the FEC’s policy that so-called Advisory Opinions be obtained in writing. McCarthy further acknowledged that he obtained no legal counsel despite the fact that Pelosi’s PACs collectively raised over a million dollars.

Pelosi was elected Democratic Whip on November 14, 2002 after Richard Gephardt (D-MO) announced he would step aside. She was propelled to the post in part by her ability to raise money for her colleagues. In addition to the $1.7 million given to Democratic candidates by PAC to the Future, Pelosi also crisscrossed the country taking part in fundraisers that reportedly generated over $6 million...
Posted by: Anonymoose || 10/01/2005 00:05 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Most unfortunate for Bambi-eyes in headlights, Bela-pelosi.

Just when the donks are launching their party of corruption campaign against the Repubs, this news splashes.

If you haven't been to the Harry Ried, "Giveemhellharry.com" web site, it's a hoot. Check out the comments.
Posted by: Captain America || 10/01/2005 0:16 Comments || Top||

#2  Nope. Nothing to see here. Political persecution. Minor slip-ups. They all do it.

Let's talk more about Delay, the Indicted Republian from Texas.
Posted by: The MSM || 10/01/2005 0:47 Comments || Top||

#3  Captain, did ya see muckys comment at reid's site? Our man is on the case!

Didn't we just hear it her spouting about the party of corruption. FOAD.
Stretch Pelosi has a 6 ton come along mounted at the back of her head. no wonder she can't blink.


Posted by: Red Dog || 10/01/2005 0:56 Comments || Top||

#4  So is any crusading AG gonna step up to the plate and harrass Pelosi? Fair is fair, y'know.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 10/01/2005 2:05 Comments || Top||

#5  Ok,so wear is the Grand Jury?Where is the Pelosi article?All I see ar 2 areticles on fuel prices.
Posted by: raptor || 10/01/2005 7:47 Comments || Top||

#6  I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!
Posted by: Captain Renault || 10/01/2005 10:36 Comments || Top||

#7  How come I never heard a peep from the national media that the top Democrat in the House of Representatives has been under investigation for the last 3 years for election law vioations? Gee I'm starting to think there is a code of omerta when it comes to the press and Democrats.
Posted by: ed || 10/01/2005 10:50 Comments || Top||


It's now a felony to be smuggled into Arizona
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  BFD. We don't enforce the existing laws, so let's pass tougher ones that we won't enforce, either.
Posted by: Jackal || 10/01/2005 0:48 Comments || Top||

#2  Maybe it could be similar to the photo traffic ticket sent through the mail. No court time, just a picture of these guys crossing the border to be used for the crime, not needing a lawyer and all that goes with that.
Enforcement would be good.
Posted by: Jan || 10/01/2005 1:14 Comments || Top||

#3  We don't enforce the existing laws, so let's pass tougher ones that we won't enforce, either.

Well, there's nothing like passing laws that give the appearance of doing something about a problem...
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 10/01/2005 2:19 Comments || Top||

#4  Ranting from the "undocumented immigrant advocates" to begin in 5.....4....3....
Posted by: Desert Blondie || 10/01/2005 3:24 Comments || Top||

#5  to quote the Mexican Constitution -

the Federal Executive shall have the exclusive power to compel any foreigner whose remaining he may deem inexpedient to abandon the national territory immediately and without the necessity of previous legal action

...hmmmm, just getting treated as they treat others.
Posted by: Whetch Fligum1833 || 10/01/2005 8:47 Comments || Top||

#6  The important thing here is that it is state law. No need to wait for the feds for something to happen. A small step, maybe but one in a useful direction.
Posted by: SteveS || 10/01/2005 13:10 Comments || Top||

#7  This means illegals in Maricopa County will get the Joe Arpaio treatment pre-trial. That should be enough. Bet those methods spread.
Posted by: Gratle Glineper2029 || 10/01/2005 13:31 Comments || Top||


Minutemen to cover entire four-state southern border
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The Minutemen are truly remarkable. A bona-fide demonstration of regular grass-roots Americans doing what needs to be done - while the "authorities" are either paralyzed or working against them.

Someday, not too distant, a call will go out for volunteers for a more assertive form of grass-roots American action. Rather more like the original Minutemen.
Posted by: .com || 10/01/2005 2:14 Comments || Top||

#2  Someday, not too distant, a call will go out for volunteers for a more assertive form of grass-roots American action. Rather more like the original Minutemen.

This geezer and wheezer will be with right with you there...I can still put a pretty good bluff in.
Posted by: Red Dog || 10/01/2005 13:18 Comments || Top||

#3  The growth of the Minuteman patrols has stirred stiff opposition among Latino activists and many residents in towns and cities along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The California-based Brown Berets, a Mexican-American group that was allied with the revolutionary U.S. Black Panther Party in the 1960s, has vowed to confront the Minuteman volunteers during their October vigil.


Obvious
Posted by: Flirt Angeager7348 || 10/01/2005 14:47 Comments || Top||

#4  “This country has lost control of its borders. And no country can sustain that kind of position.” - Ronald Reagan
Posted by: Darrell || 10/01/2005 18:51 Comments || Top||

#5  Met up with a Border Patrol agent recently. His sector in AZ is one of the busiest for illegal crossings. He said as soon as the Minutemen set up in the area, crossings dropped to a trickle. The Border guys could clearly see the Federales operating on the other side working to divert traffic.

The Mexican authorities have plenty of control when they choose to exercise it.
Posted by: Classical_Liberal || 10/01/2005 22:51 Comments || Top||

#6  the tipping point has been reached along the SW states IMNSHO - Fed control will ineveitably tighten or political heads will roll. Listening, Karl?
Posted by: Frank G || 10/01/2005 22:59 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Peter Jennings leaves estate of over $50 million
Another rich liberal
ABC News anchor Peter Jennings, who died of lung cancer in August, left an estate valued at more than $50 million, most of which was willed to his fourth wife and to two children from a previous marriage.

Jennings, 67, signed the will on April 21, 2005, 16 days after announcing on his World news Tonight program he had been diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. He died on August 7 in New York.

His will, filed for probate this week in New York's Surrogate Court, lists $50 million in personal property and $3.5 million in property in New York.

Besides leaving his widow, producer Kayce Freed, 50 percent of the "net marital estate," she also got their Central Park West apartment.

Jennings has appointed trustees to handle the distribution of funds for his two children, Elizabeth, 25, and Christopher, 23. Both children were from his third marriage to author Kati Marton, which ended in divorce.

He also left assets valued at $1 million to the Peter Jennings Foundation, a charity he founded in 1998 that gives money to fight homelessness, drug addiction, illiteracy and hunger.

Besides stock and real estate, Jennings' assets included ownership of a race horse, Channel's Gate and another horse, named Cabin Fever.
What is it with these newsanchors and their race horses?
Posted by: Spot || 10/01/2005 11:24 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  2% to charity -- is that typical of a rich liberal?
Posted by: Darrell || 10/01/2005 12:12 Comments || Top||

#2  What is it with these newsanchors and their race horses?

An ode to Senator Horseface Kerry!
Posted by: Raj || 10/01/2005 12:14 Comments || Top||

#3  I *heart* limousine liberals.
Posted by: Babs || 10/01/2005 13:09 Comments || Top||

#4  #1 2% to charity -- is that typical of a rich liberal?

You're forgetting Taxes, she'll be lucky to get 5 Mil after the two governments rake off their skim.

VERY good lawyer time.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 10/01/2005 13:15 Comments || Top||

#5  Pretty good for a mere meat puppet.
Posted by: SR-71 || 10/01/2005 16:47 Comments || Top||

#6  no wonder he felt in in his heart for the common man.....he was one of us
Posted by: Frank G || 10/01/2005 17:08 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Police arrests constables for robbery
LAHORE: Shafiqabad police arrested two constables after registering a robbery case against them on Friday. Liaqat Ali told Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Aamir Zulfiqar Khan that he was returning to his hometown a week earlier when constables Shaukat Ali and Muhammad Yaseen, deputed at Shafiqabad police station, held him at gunpoint and snatched two cell-phones and Rs 800 from him. The SSP ordered an inquiry in which the constables were found guilty and the police registered a case against them.
"Hi, there, Officer Friendly!"
"Stick 'em up! Gimme yer dough!"
Posted by: Fred || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Tech
Engineers Create Safer, More Efficient Nuclear Fuel, Model Its Performance
Posted by: DanNY || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:



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Two weeks of WOT
Sat 2005-10-01
  Leb: 'Army deploys troops along Syrian border'
Fri 2005-09-30
  Fatah wins local Paleo elections
Thu 2005-09-29
  Hamas big turbans run for cover
Wed 2005-09-28
  Syria pushing Paleo battalions into Lebanon
Tue 2005-09-27
  Paleo Rocket Fire 'Cause For War'
Mon 2005-09-26
  Aqsa Brigades declare mobilization
Sun 2005-09-25
  Palestinian factions shower Israeli targets with missiles
Sat 2005-09-24
  EU moves to refer Iran to U.N.
Fri 2005-09-23
  Somaliland says Qaeda big arrested in shootout
Thu 2005-09-22
  Banglacops on trail of 7 top JMB leaders
Wed 2005-09-21
  Iran threatens to quit NPT
Tue 2005-09-20
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Mon 2005-09-19
  Afghanistan Holds First Parliamentary Vote in 30 Years
Sun 2005-09-18
  One Dies, 28 Hurt in New Lebanon Bombing
Sat 2005-09-17
  Financial chief of Hizbul Mujahideen killed


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