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Nigeria hard boyz threaten total war
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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Man Coughs Up Nail 35 Years After Accident
In 1970, a bizarre gardening accident embedded a small nail deep inside Guy "Bud" Hart's body. More than 35 years later, the nail made an unexpected return, much to Hart's surprise.

The Placerville man was stunned earlier this month when a coughing fit expelled the inch-long sliver of metal, completing its decades-long trek inside the 84-year-old's body. "I didn't think something like that could happen," Hart said.

The story of Hart and his unexpected passenger began in Minnesota back in 1970. While mowing grass one day, Hart felt a slight pain in his throat and saw a small trickle of blood. "It was like a bee sting," Hart said. "But I didn't think much of it."

Hart wasn't overly alarmed, but just hours later, the discomfort began. "The next day, when I coughed, it was like I had a hot knife in there, cutting me," Hart said. His family rushing him to the hospital with a 105-degree temperature. There, doctors found the culprit, a small nail that had dropped down inside Hart's body cavity and nestled inside his ribcage.

Doses of penicillin helped Hart heal, but since removing the metal would require major surgery and doctors suspected the nail would seal itself off in Hart's body, the foreign object was forgotten for years. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," Hart said.

Years later, the nail turned up again on a doctor's x-ray, but again, the unobtrusive item was left alone. Then, three weeks ago, an internal camera captured an image of the nail during a routine doctor's office visit. But it wasn't in Hart's ribcage area as he'd always thought -- the object was actually in Hart's lung. As Hart and his doctors made plans to remove the nail once and for all, natural physiology took over.

Hart was in the bathroom, brushing his teeth last week when the 35-year partnership finally came to an end. "I'd been having this tickle in my throat," Hart said. "Pretty soon, I started coughing. And it plopped right out."

Since the pair were separated, Hart's been feeling fine and doctors have no reason to think the nail had any lasting impact on his health. Hart keeps the nail in a small plastic bag but doesn't have any long-term plans about what to do with the strange artifact. "Sell it to the Smithsonian Institute?" Hart laughed. "No, I never gave it much thought."
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 02/18/2006 06:50 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Millions upon millions of tiny erector pilli work feverishly for 3 decades and all he can say is "Pretty soon, I started coughing. And it plopped right out."???

Frickin' ingrate. Go ahead, jerk, eat Thai tonight and feel the burn, baby!
Posted by: .com || 02/18/2006 20:46 Comments || Top||

#2  lol PD!
Posted by: Frank G || 02/18/2006 21:12 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Time not right for US-Egypt trade pact: Rice
WASHINGTON - The time is not right for the United States and Egypt to begin negotiations on a free- trade agreement, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an interview on Friday with Arab media. “I do believe a free-trade agreement will benefit Egyptians and will benefit the economic reform in Egypt -- I think that it is an important element. But we are at this particular point just not in a position to pursue it very actively although we will continue to talk about it,” Rice said.

Rice, who travels to Egypt on Tuesday, acknowledged some opening of Egypt’s political system, but said Washington was disappointed with a decision to delay this year’s local elections. “It is important that we have the right atmosphere for free-trade agreements because they have to of course go through Congress, they have to be approved. But it is not a matter of punishment, it’s just a matter of the timing being not quite right,” Rice said.
We'll let you know.
US Trade Representative Rob Portman said this week it was still possible the two countries would begin talks. But talks with Malaysia were more likely to start next, he said.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/18/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  He, he, he.
Posted by: gromgoru || 02/18/2006 10:23 Comments || Top||

#2  The time is not right for the United States and Egypt to begin negotiations on a free- trade agreement, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an interview on Friday with Arab media.

Damn straight. Somerhing needs to be done about the Egyptian media, for starters.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 02/18/2006 15:25 Comments || Top||


Wreck of sunken ferry located in the Red Sea
A team of experts has located the ferry that sank this month in the Red Sea, killing about 1,000 people, a Transportation Ministry spokesman said on Friday. Mohammed Amin said the team, which includes experts from France and Britain, found the Al-Salaam Boccaccio 98 on Thursday about 56 miles from the Egyptian port of Safaga at a depth of about 800 meters (2,625 feet). The team will use a robot in an attempt to recover the data recorder, equivalent to the black box on an airplane, that could explain what caused the tragedy, Amin said.
Posted by: Fred || 02/18/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Subsaharan
So. Africa Starts To Follow Zimbabwe's Lead
The era when Britons were free to acquire farms and homes in South Africa was drawing to a close yesterday when an official panel recommended a "moratorium" on foreigners buying or selling any land. This freeze would apply to every category of land, ranging from housing and farms to private game parks and industrial sites. It could be followed by new laws banning foreigners from buying freehold property and restricting them to 99-year leases...
Posted by: Anonymoose || 02/18/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  hmmmmmmm no selling? Is that like KELO for SA officials? How about a cutoff from the commonwealth, EU, WorldBank and UN? F*cking thieves have made the bigtime
Posted by: Frank G || 02/18/2006 0:17 Comments || Top||

#2  SA will be going the way of Zim-Bob. A real tragedy, when it had everything going for it.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 02/18/2006 1:12 Comments || Top||

#3  Mandela and his pals are Communists. What did you expect for it to turn out different once?
Posted by: Sock Puppet O' Doom || 02/18/2006 1:51 Comments || Top||

#4 
Each year SA slides into the shitter kofi will beg for mo flushing money.

It's a fact, especially in Africa, that it's infinitely easier to destroy a nation than build one.
Posted by: RD || 02/18/2006 2:54 Comments || Top||

#5  When I first saw the headline, I thought of Saudi Arabia, and wondered Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Since when were the Soodis agriculturalists? Now I understand.
Posted by: BA || 02/18/2006 14:16 Comments || Top||

#6  Headline clarified ;-)
Posted by: lotp || 02/18/2006 14:22 Comments || Top||

#7  Saudi ranches were big just a few years back BA.
Posted by: 6 || 02/18/2006 17:53 Comments || Top||

#8  Ironic, since Mugabe now wants the Whites to come back.

Al
Posted by: Frozen Al || 02/18/2006 19:23 Comments || Top||

#9  he wants the whites to come back, fix the farms, then die
Posted by: Frank G || 02/18/2006 20:02 Comments || Top||

#10  We should start a ferry service from Cape Town to the US and bring every white man, woman, and child outta there that wish to come to America. Those kaffir bastards will recreat ZIM at their earliest opportunity.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/18/2006 20:02 Comments || Top||

#11  Think the descendants of Cecil Rhodes should return to eradicate every single piece of ZANU-PF slime in Zimbabwe and then turn Rhodesia back into the breadbasket of Africa.
Posted by: Ebbemble Cleque3924 || 02/18/2006 22:12 Comments || Top||

#12  the peripheral countries have harvested the benefit of ZimBobland's folly - the white farmers moved and are doing the same productive agriculture elsewhere - Bobland will die a slow lingering death until someone kills the reigning elite
Posted by: Frank G || 02/18/2006 22:24 Comments || Top||

#13  This is nothing new. RB members old enough to remember the beginning of African decolonization in the 50's and 60's should remember the famous answer given by an African "Freedom Fighter" about what "Uhuru" meant to him: "It means we kill the white man and take his farm and live in his house." Nothing changes. Africa has been descending through the various circles of Hell since the end of WWII.
Posted by: RWV || 02/18/2006 22:28 Comments || Top||


Hunger kills six Congo soldiers
Six Congolese soldiers have died of hunger in an army training camp that ran out of food in the east of the country, UN and government officials say.
Tell me again why they're better off now than when they were a colony...
No pygmies about?
The camp, located in Kamina in southeastern Katanga province, houses ex-militiamen and former rebel fighters now being retrained to serve in a unified army. Defence Ministry spokesman Delion Kimbu said at least a thousand soldiers arrived at the training camp this week to find insufficient food rations there. "Many soldiers had walked large distances to reach Kamina, they were fatigued and hungry," Kimbu said, adding that the dead soldiers had once belonged to traditional Mayi-Mayi militia units once active in the region during a 1998-2002 war that drew in the armies of half a dozen African nations.
Posted by: Fred || 02/18/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Were their funerals held in the mess hall?
Posted by: Whutch Threth6418 || 02/18/2006 11:43 Comments || Top||

#2  Tell me again why they're better off now than when they were a colony..

They were a colony of Belgians. That says all.
Posted by: JFM || 02/18/2006 17:20 Comments || Top||

#3  Bad WT, bad. You should be ashamered of yourself. To your room with 'ya and no stopping for juche.
Posted by: 6 || 02/18/2006 17:56 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
China 'blackmailed' Japanese diplomat
Japan has revealed that one of its diplomats, who committed suicide in Shanghai, had been set up with a woman by Chinese intelligence agents in a blackmail scam to obtain classified information.

Describing the scandal, Taro Aso, the Japanese foreign minister, said: "They approached him, offering to arrange a sexy woman for him."

"Then he was blackmailed to give away secret codes for classified information. It is clear from a suicide note he left."

Aso said the Japanese consular official killed himself in May 2004 after having an affair with an unidentified woman. The Foreign Ministry said there was no sign the official leaked information.

The Kyodo news agency reported that Aso planned to take action against China over the incident, but did not elaborate.

The Foreign Ministry had previously said that the official's death was a result of an unspecified diplomatic incident with a Chinese intelligence official.
"They approached him, offering to arrange a sexy woman for him"

Aso said the diplomat was asked to provide numbers needed to decipher secret codes, but that he chose to kill himself instead because he could not sell out his country.
wish we had a few diplomats like that

The government has since ordered changes to codes securing classified information and communication systems at Japanese embassies and consulates around the world.

The incident prompted Japan last month to accuse China of violating the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations that guarantees the inviolability of diplomats.

Beijing responded by issuing a protest over Tokyo's suggestion that the actions of a Chinese spy might have forced the consular official to commit suicide.

The foreign ministry also urged embassy and consulate workers worldwide to be on their guard, and ordered all staff in China to use extra caution against potential spy activities.

"Most diplomats aren't so good looking (and) they should be trained to be cautious when they're approached by women," Aso was quoted as saying.
ouch
Amid media speculation about intelligence operations featuring "honey traps" targeting Japanese diplomats in China, Jonichiro Koizumi, the Japanese prime minister, last month warned diplomats of "seductions or attempts to steal secrets."
Posted by: lotp || 02/18/2006 17:20 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This thread's useless without pics...
Posted by: Raj || 02/18/2006 17:44 Comments || Top||

#2  The old honey trap. The Commies played this one dozens of times. This is the first I've heard of the Chinese trying it.
Posted by: buwaya || 02/18/2006 21:57 Comments || Top||

#3  you haven't googled FBI and Chinese Spy?
Posted by: Frank G || 02/18/2006 22:18 Comments || Top||


Yet another reason I don't eat Chinese food
Hat tip: The Corner. (really)
The menu at Beijing's latest venue for its growing army of gourmets is eye-watering rather than mouth-watering. China's cuisine is renowned for being "in your face" - from the skinned dogs displayed at food markets to the kebabbed scorpions sold on street stalls - and there is no polite way of describing Guo-li-zhuang: a dish combining the male organs of an ox and a snake

Situated in an elegantly restored house beside Beijing's West Lake, it is China's first speciality penis restaurant. Here, businessmen and government officials can sample the organs of yaks, donkeys, oxen and even seals. In fact, they have to, since they form part of every dish - except for those containing testicles. "This is my third visit," said one customer, Liu Qiang. "Of course, there are other restaurants that serve the bian of individual animals. But this is the first that brings them all together." Guolizhuang's owner, who set it up in November, is proud to combine his own surname (Guo), his wife's (Li) and his son's nickname (Zhuang) into its title.

A booking comes with a trained waitress and a nutritionist in attendance, to explain the menu and to boast its medicinal virtues. In China, you are what you eat, and The Daily Telegraph's nutritionist, Zhu Yan, said the clients were mainly men eager to improve their yang, or virility. Women could benefit, too, she added, although she told the Telegraph's female photographer: "I wouldn't recommend the testicles. The testosterone might interfere in fertility. But many women say bian is good for the skin."

Some dishes appear unexceptional, such as the simple goat penis, sliced, dipped in flour, fried, and served skewered with soy sauce. But Guolizhuang also has its showpieces, such as the elegantly named "Head crowned with a Jade Bracelet" (provided by horses from the western Muslim region of Xin-jiang), for £20 a portion, or "Dragon in the Flame of Desire" (yak, steamed whole, fried and flambéed) for £35.

For beginners, Miss Zhu recommended the hotpot, which offers a sampling of what the restaurant has to offer - six types of penis, and four of testicle, boiled in chicken stock by the waitress, Liu Yunyang, 22.

The Russian dog was first. It was julienned, and rather gamey. The ox was, of all six, the most recognisable for what it was, even though it had been diced. In texture seemed identical to gristle. The deer and the Mongolian goat were surprisingly similar: a little stringy, they had the appearance and feel of overcooked squid tentacles. The Xinjiang horse and the donkey, on the other hand, were quite different. Though both came sliced lengthwise, and looked like bacon, the horse was light and fatty, while the donkey had a firm colour and taste. The testicles were slightly crumbly, and tasted better with lashings of the sesame, soy and chilli dips thoughtfully provided.

One speciality, Canadian seal penis, costs a hefty £220, and requires ordering in advance. Miss Liu confessed that Guo-li-zhuang was an unusual place to work, partly because of her training - she has to recite tales proving the vigour of the animals in question as they are being eaten - and partly because of the interaction with the clientele. "I did find it embarrassing at first," she said. "And sometimes the customers take advantage of me by asking rude questions."

As for the supposed health benefits, Mr Liu, the most regular customer, was uncertain but hopeful. "I can't say I've noticed any difference yet," he said. "But it's a long-term thing."
As long as they don't serve Jackal. (And no comments on how small of a dish that would make.)
Posted by: Jackal || 02/18/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  mmmm pg 1? *urp*
Posted by: Frank G || 02/18/2006 0:18 Comments || Top||

#2  my mistake.....eyes were watered up
Posted by: Frank G || 02/18/2006 0:18 Comments || Top||

#3 
Mmmmmm Penis, it's what's for dinner!

Oh! Wait...are those balls? Al Fredo, why of course!

Posted by: Nuck Fozzle2168 || 02/18/2006 2:08 Comments || Top||

#4 
#1 dish, Quarter Penis pounder with secret sauce.

But many women say bian is good for the skin."

hey! they stole my best foreplay line.

Why does seal penis cost so much?

you have to ask?
Posted by: RD || 02/18/2006 2:46 Comments || Top||

#5  Chinese people eat anything that runs, swims, or flies. ANYthing.

I've gotten off pretty easy, though - hmm...the worst thing I've eaten was raw crab. Ugh. Drunken shrimp was actually pretty cool. Live shrimp dumped into an alcohol sauce. You pick up a nice lively one, bite off its head, and remove the shell and legs inside your mouth, chew, then spit the remains out besides your plate.

I actually think the spitting is worse than eating goat's penis. Gives you some sympathy for the 18th century European visitors to the American frontier.
Posted by: gromky || 02/18/2006 3:10 Comments || Top||

#6  "Of course, there are other restaurants that serve the bian of individual animals. But this is the first that brings them all together."

Mmmm. Recombination stew. Don't miss your chance to be Patient Zero in the next nouveaux virus pandemic! Yum.
Posted by: Rory B. Bellows || 02/18/2006 5:24 Comments || Top||

#7  Just hope they don't take Rantburg's theme to heart: "Raw meat for the mind"
Posted by: BA || 02/18/2006 14:22 Comments || Top||

#8  Meat's meat, and a man's gotta eat.
Posted by: BH || 02/18/2006 15:58 Comments || Top||

#9  six types of penis, and four of testicle

is this another Barney Frank joke?
Posted by: Frank G || 02/18/2006 16:36 Comments || Top||

#10  It wasn't the dog, cat, rat meat, or scorpion nuts that made me swear off Chinese food. It was the MSG that gave me hot flashes.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 02/18/2006 17:14 Comments || Top||

#11  and animal penises don't? LOL



Posted by: too true || 02/18/2006 17:17 Comments || Top||

#12  too true---LMAO! After hunting and butchering caribou, we used to watch the ravens try to deal with them. Cheap entertainment in the Arctic. LOL!
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 02/18/2006 17:21 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Previous Experience May Bar Man from Congress
Associated Press

DALLAS — A Dallas Democrat seeking election to the Texas House of Representatives has acknowledged that he once worked as a prostitute.

Tom Malin, a salesman and actor, said he no longer works as a prostitute but conceded that his previous life could cost him the nomination in the March 7 Democratic primary.
Posted by: Jaiting Angomoter1547 || 02/18/2006 12:39 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Overqualified? My Ass!"
Posted by: Anonymoose || 02/18/2006 13:40 Comments || Top||

#2  Sounds like he covers some of the major base elements. Now if only he had some bogus medals and a lucky hat.
Posted by: davemac || 02/18/2006 14:30 Comments || Top||

#3  Why should it cost him? It doesn't seem to prevent any of the others from being elected.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 02/18/2006 14:40 Comments || Top||

#4  I'm sure Barney Frank will vouch for him.
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 02/18/2006 15:04 Comments || Top||

#5  Why? I think most of congrss are prostitutes.
Posted by: SR-71 || 02/18/2006 16:57 Comments || Top||

#6  I suppose people will think he's too good for Congress.
Posted by: Jackal || 02/18/2006 20:14 Comments || Top||

#7  Well, I've always preferred professionals over gifted amateurs, myself. Fewer "misunderstandings".
Posted by: .com || 02/18/2006 20:39 Comments || Top||

#8  "leave the money on the dresser"
Posted by: Frank G || 02/18/2006 21:11 Comments || Top||


International-UN-NGOs
Ramos Horta says he doesn’t want top UN job
SYDNEY - Jose Ramos Horta, the former Nobel Peace Prize winner and East Timor foreign minister, has ruled himself out as a candidate to succeed U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Australian media reported on Saturday. “I am not a candidate. I didn’t lobby,” Australian Associated Press quoted Ramos Horta as saying.

Ramos Horta, who won the Nobel prize with East Timor Roman Catholic Bishop Carlos Belo in 1996, has long experience with the United Nations, which mandated an Australian-led peace enforcement mission into the former Indonesian territory in 1999. Australia sent troops to restore order in September 1999 after Timorese voted for independence from Jakarta. The mission was replaced several months later by a U.N.-led administration.

Annan’s second five-year term ends on Dec. 31 and U.N tradition calls for a rotation of the post to a certain region. Many countries recognise it is Asia’s turn.

Ramos Horta did not completely rule out becoming a candidate to take over from Annan. “In politics one should not say never. That’s all I can say,” he said on the sidelines of a meeting between Indonesian and East Timor leaders in Bali.

South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, one of the few declared candidates to succeed Annan, said this week he would seek the post. Ban, 61, has been foreign minister since January 2004 and has also served as ambassador to the United Nations. Among other likely candidates are former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski and Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/18/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Dhimmi Carter (another Nobel Peace Prize winner) is available for the job. And he's been campaigning for it too!
Posted by: DMFD || 02/18/2006 9:56 Comments || Top||

#2  No comment yet from the Mendiola for SecGen HQ.
Posted by: Seafarious || 02/18/2006 9:57 Comments || Top||

#3  How about Yasser? He's a Nobel prize. Moreover, being dead, he's unlikely to either steal or make idiotic pronouncements.
Posted by: gromgoru || 02/18/2006 10:27 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Red Cross estimates 200 dead, 1,500 missing in Philippine landslide
Fox News is saying at least 1800 dead, an entire village...
A rain-soaked mountainside disintegrated in an unstoppable wall of mud Friday, burying hundreds of houses and an elementary school in the eastern Philippines. Red Cross officials estimated 200 people were dead and 1,500 others missing. "It sounded like the mountain exploded, and the whole thing crumbled," survivor Dario Libatan told Manila radio DZMM. "I could not see any house standing anymore."

The farming village of Guinsaugon on Leyte island, 670 kilometers (420 miles) southeast of Manila, was virtually wiped out, with only a few jumbles of corrugated steel sheeting left to show that the community of some 2,500 people ever existed. Two other villages also were affected, and about 3,000 evacuees were at a municipal hall. "We did not find injured people," said Ricky Estela, a crewman on a helicopter that flew a politician to the scene. "Most of them are dead and beneath the mud."

The mud was so deep, up to 10 meters (30 feet) in some places, and unstable that rescue workers had difficulty approaching the school. Education officials said 200 students, six teachers and the principal were believed to have been there. Sen. Richard Gordon, head of the Philippine Red Cross, issued the casualty estimates and made an international appeal for aid. The provincial governor asked for people to dig by hand, saying the mud was too soft for heavy equipment.
Update: Up to 3,000 feared dead in Philippines landslide
Posted by: Fred || 02/18/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Unfortunately, I think it's none missing, thousands dead. :-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 02/18/2006 1:15 Comments || Top||

#2  This is a tragedy. It was also inevitable. Spain's hundreds of years of dysfunctional rule (albeit probably no worse than native rule, pre-Spain) did not leave the Philippines equipped for self-rule. Incidents like this have their roots in America's abandonment of the Filipino people to their avaricious and incompetent (but eloquent) native elites in 1946, at which point the Philippines was perhaps the richest country in Southeast Asia, thanks to roughly fifty years of American rule.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 02/18/2006 15:42 Comments || Top||

#3  so it was our fault? Jeebus!
Posted by: Frank G || 02/18/2006 16:31 Comments || Top||

#4  We didn't save them from themselves. A vicious form of imperialism, that.
Posted by: too true || 02/18/2006 16:36 Comments || Top||


Home Front Economy
Feinstein, Boxer: forbid all new oil drilling in federal waters
California lawmakers are asking for a permanent ban on drilling in federal waters off the state's coast as the Bush administration and Congress make a major push this year to expand offshore oil and gas development.

California's two Democratic senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, and Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, introduced a bill Thursday that would block all new drilling in federal waters, which begin 3 miles off the state's coast. A federal moratorium now bars drilling off California and a dozen other states, but it must be approved by Congress each year.

"This bill will finally provide the permanent protection against our independence from the Muslim oil world future drilling that Californians have demanded for a generation," Boxer said.

The new measure is a response to an aggressive move by the administration and federal lawmakers to increase domestic supplies of energy -- especially natural gas -- by opening up coastal areas that have been off-limits to development.
Damn that aggressive administration! Why can't they roll over like they're supposed to? Don't they realize we're the progressive party and Mama Gaia likes us best?

The Interior Department announced a five-year plan last week that would open up new areas of the eastern Gulf of Mexico off Florida and study the potential for oil and gas drilling in Alaska's Bristol Bay and off the Virginia coast.

Pro-drilling lawmakers have introduced a series of bills this year that would increase offshore production. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., has proposed a measure to open an area 100 miles off the Florida coast known as "area 181." The Minerals Management Service has estimated the area contains at least 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, enough to heat 5 million homes for 15 years, according to the American Gas Association.

But Domenici faces opposition from Florida lawmakers. Florida's two senators, Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Mel Martinez, have introduced their own bill that would allow drilling in a portion of the 181 area. But it would also create new buffer zones to keep oil rigs at least 150 miles off the state's coast.

The Florida lawmakers' bill would also extend the federal moratorium on offshore drilling that protects California and other states until 2020.

The oil and gas industry has been trying to convince states to drop out of the federal moratorium. House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, and other lawmakers have introduced legislation to give states a 50 percent share of oil and gas royalties if they allow drilling in federal waters off their coasts.

"You have a White House and committee chairmen in the House and Senate who think they are running out of time to get these coastal areas opened to drilling," said Richard Charter, co-chairman of the National Outer Continental Shelf Coalition, which opposes new drilling.
No, they think we're in deep kimchee with our dependence on foreign oil
But Charter noted that similar efforts to open new offshore areas to development were blocked by Congress last year.
and we're paying for it with the attitude of Iran and its ilk

"Every time the oil industry has tried to gain drilling access in sensitive coastal waters, the backlash in Congress has been huge and bipartisan," he said.

The measure by California lawmakers also seeks to undo a key provision of the energy bill passed by Congress and signed by the president last July, which allowed a seismic inventory of oil and gas resources in the Outer Continental Shelf. The bill would prohibit the inventory from being conducted off California's coast.

Environmentalists say the powerful seismic air guns used to assess oil and gas deposits beneath the ocean's floor have been shown to harm whales and other marine species. But supporters argue the seismic tests are not harmful and are needed to determine the full extent of U.S. energy supplies.

Posted by: lotp || 02/18/2006 11:17 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Airguns may bother the whales, but it's not like the survey boats are sneaking up on the poor things while they are sleeping and then making a big noise and waking them up. The boats move slowly back and forth over a pretty small area over days or weeks of time. The ocean's a big place and the whales wander most of it - if the noise bothers them, they can take a vacation trip for a little while.

California has had natural oil seeps on and offshore for millions of years. The Indians hundreds of years ago collected the tar balls to waterproof their baskets. Today's oil drilling and production practices put far less oil into the sea than the occupants of a typical marina (unless you count the oil coming from the power boats as the fault of the oil drilling and production companies because they, you know, produced it in the first place.) In fact, by depleting offshore oil reservoirs and reducing their pressure, the amount of oil NATURALLY seeping into the coastal seas is probably being reduced. I recall some years ago a large natural seep near Santa Barbara was capped by an oil company and the seeping oil collected - think it measured in barrels per day, which is huge by modern spill standards (other than tanker wrecks). Reported spills are typically small fractions of a gallon - what you get when a hard rain washes off the driveway where you park your old truck.
Posted by: Glenmore || 02/18/2006 11:48 Comments || Top||

#2  I's better not hear any speeches from either Blockhead Boxer or Schweinhund Feinstein about "ending dependence on foreign oil" ever again.
Posted by: Mike || 02/18/2006 12:03 Comments || Top||

#3  Saudis concur.
Posted by: gromgoru || 02/18/2006 12:08 Comments || Top||

#4  Isla Vista, just north of Santa Barbera is the spot,Coal Tar Beach as its known, they call it "natural seepage" and the stuff is all over the beach, you HAVE to wash your feet with mineral oil after you leave as they eventually get pretty caked with oil, very sticky gooey oil.Its a very popular beach though as it is on the UCSB campus. There are lots of oil rigs out on the horizon and some of the locals say that the rigs leak the oil.
The rigs are pretty much of an eye sore and the feilds of oil lie out in front of ,amoung other things Ronald Regans old ranch, that is to say, where they want to put more of these rigs right in the sunset views of some of the highest priced real estate in America. I'm sure they'll fight it tooth and nail. Californians are the most massive consumers of all here in the US or at least a close 2nd or 3rd. They need to take account of their own needs and use their own resources, they already try to use everyone elses water out here in the West, mabey they should cough up some of their oil, help the rest of us out a bit.
Posted by: bk || 02/18/2006 12:15 Comments || Top||

#5 
Seems to me, we get to pick one environmental fight. I suggest that we support nuke power. It is the only independent energy source with electrical distribution already in place.
Posted by: Master of Obvious || 02/18/2006 13:37 Comments || Top||

#6  While I'm all for opening up these fields, I gotta say this isn't a Repub vs Democrat thing. Gov. Bush pushed a few years ago to keep rigs from drilling offshore of the Redneck Riviera in Florida (supposedly called his brother who put the kibosh on it later). However, blocking rigs from going in beyond the line of sight (for tourism purposes) is ridiculous. What's the distance of the horizon...something like 12 miles, so anything past that should be o.k.'d in my mind (you can't see them).
Posted by: BA || 02/18/2006 14:38 Comments || Top||

#7  I thought Call-e-fornication had strict rules against pollution?

Rep. Lower Her Knee Capps?

For those who forbid sourcing new energy, make them walk. It'll free up the congestion on the freeways.
Posted by: Captain America || 02/18/2006 15:04 Comments || Top||

#8  California lawmakers are asking for a permanent ban on drilling in federal waters off the state's coast as the Bush administration and Congress make a major push this year to expand offshore oil and gas development.

Remember this the next time anyone hears about either of our two IDIOT Senators bitching about the price of energy that citizens have to pay.

I suggest that we support nuke power.

Forget it. The typical Californian wants all of the benefits and none of the drawbacks of anything in question, and that mentality isn't solely confined to the issue of energy. A bunch of spoiled assholes, as far as I'm concerned.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 02/18/2006 15:21 Comments || Top||

#9  So tell the Californicators the nuke plants will be in Mexico. They get cheap labor from there, so why not cheap power?
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 02/18/2006 17:19 Comments || Top||

#10  Gov. Bush pushed a few years ago to keep rigs from drilling offshore of the Redneck Riviera in Florida

We need our beaches to protect our maid, dancing mouse and fast-food economy.
Posted by: 6 || 02/18/2006 20:02 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
'Red Light' District Declares Open House
There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but occasionally there's a cheap feast for the eyes.

Several topless bars, peep shows and sex show clubs in Amsterdam's famed "Red Light" prostitution district have declared an open house on Feb. 18, hoping to shore up their reputation with local politicians who are calling for a crackdown.

"You can come in, have a free drink, look around," said Bob de Maan, spokesman for the "Banana Bar," which is known for its live sex shows.

"People think that this is something dirty, but now -- it's an open house. They can see for themselves."

Prostitution in Amsterdam boomed during the city's 17th century Golden Age, when prostitutes catered to sailors on shore leave.

With its lingerie-clad women and red neon lights, the area in the city center became a major tourist draw in the 20th century. The Dutch government legalized prostitution in 2000 with an eye to making it easier to tax and regulate.

But problems have continued as the area acts as a magnet for pimps, drug addicts, petty criminals and human traffickers. A recent study found that despite health rules, about 7 percent of Dutch prostitutes have HIV, the virus that causes AIDs.

The open house came in response to proposals by the head of Amsterdam's largest political party meant to discourage women from marketing themselves in windows.

Several of the best-known institutions are opening their doors, in an idea supported by the Prostitution Information Center, the Sex Museum, and the Salvation Army which helps the district's many downtrodden.
Having become very familiar with the area, as part of scientific investigation and all, I would recommend visiting the "Street of the Gigantic Black Women", adjacent to the big church. I'm talking 6'4" and maybe 350 pounds average. Holy Macanarsels. Otherwise, it is a really mixed bag, with a lot of eastern and northern European and Asiatic women. Eat most of your meals at the Argentinian steak houses, as their beef is far superior from anything you can get in the US. The coffee houses are also known for having good coffee, though not up to Austrian standards of excellence.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 02/18/2006 09:32 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Fred - you forgot the warning about the cookies in the coffee bars.
Posted by: 3dc || 02/18/2006 9:55 Comments || Top||

#2  I applaud the effort to emphasize the service industries. There won't be any manufacturing left if the EU regs are ever actually enforced, so they'll need something to augment the hard-currency kickbacks and Blue Light Specials on technology to our various enemies. Which reminds me, how's that arms embargo to China thingy going?

I'll take Ruth's Chris, Moose. If there's better, it's not enough so to justify the trip, lol. And those layovers in Japan where I snarf up Kobe beef? Heh. Awesome stuff...
Posted by: .com || 02/18/2006 10:12 Comments || Top||

#3  I highly recommend that big Chinese restaurant on the corner, for when you need a break after "drinking coffee" and "window shopping"....
Posted by: Scooter McGruder || 02/18/2006 11:29 Comments || Top||

#4  As much as a like Chinese food, I have terrible luck with Chinese restaurants outside of the US. Come to think of it, I actually found the *one* bad Chinese restaurant in all of San Francisco--no mean feat. I think it was run by Puerto Ricans.

One of the better oriental restaurants was a Japanese Benihana-style steakhouse run by a Korean with four very eligible daughters in Alabama. If you were a single male between the ages of 17-35, you were guaranteed a superb dining experience.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 02/18/2006 13:45 Comments || Top||

#5  lol, moose! I always chuckle when I look back in the back of one of the Chinese restaurants I frequent and see Mexicans cooking in the back (although, it is run and owned by Chinese, who stay up front). The price you pay for globalization I guess.

Now, about the place in AL...in Birmingham or somewheres else?
Posted by: BA || 02/18/2006 14:30 Comments || Top||

#6  Is the buffet all you can eat?
Posted by: Danking70 || 02/18/2006 15:02 Comments || Top||

#7  I went to a Chinese Restuarant in either Bangor or Donnaghadee Northern Ireland twenty years ago. I went there because it was the weirdest place I ever saw a Chinese restaurant. Nothing special about the quality, though.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 02/18/2006 17:19 Comments || Top||

#8  It was in Anniston, near Ft. McClellan.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 02/18/2006 18:24 Comments || Top||

#9  Believe it or not Chinese food is very popular in India. Although the Indians (from India) I knew in Singapore didn't like the generally excellent chinese food there.

They eventually tracked down a real Indian Chinese restuarant and took me there. The food looked like Chinese food, but everything was curry flavoured.
Posted by: phil_b || 02/18/2006 18:36 Comments || Top||

#10  "Come one, come all!"
Posted by: Thomort Fliling6570 || 02/18/2006 20:09 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Sat 2006-02-18
  Nigeria hard boyz threaten total war
Fri 2006-02-17
  Pak cleric rushdies cartoonist
Thu 2006-02-16
  Outbreaks along Tumen River between Nork guards and armed N Korean groups
Wed 2006-02-15
  Yemen offers reward for Al Qaeda jailbreakers
Tue 2006-02-14
  Cartoon protesters go berserk in Peshawar
Mon 2006-02-13
  Gore Bashes US In Saudi Arabia
Sun 2006-02-12
  IAEA cameras taken off Iran N-sites
Sat 2006-02-11
  Danish ambassador quits Syria
Fri 2006-02-10
  Nasrallah: Bush and Rice should 'shut up'
Thu 2006-02-09
  Taliban offer 100kg gold for killing cartoonist
Wed 2006-02-08
  Syrian Ex-VP and Muslim Brotherhood Put Past Behind Them
Tue 2006-02-07
  Captain Hook found guilty in London
Mon 2006-02-06
  Cartoon riots: Leb interior minister quits
Sun 2006-02-05
  Iran Resumes Uranium Enrichment
Sat 2006-02-04
  Syria protesters set Danish embassy ablaze


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