More people are dying from starvation and disease in Zimbabwe under President Robert Mugabe than are killed in the war in Iraq or the conflict in Darfur, said an African archbishop.
Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, said about 3,500 people are dying each week in his country from a "unique convergence of malnutrition, poverty and AIDS." He said the world has forgotten about the plight of Zimbabweans although "hunger, illness and desperation stalk our land."
As many people die prematurely in Zimbabwe in one week as in one month in Iraq when the violence is at its worst
As many people die prematurely in Zimbabwe in one week as in one month in Iraq when the violence is at its worst, he said. In October, 3,700 people died in Iraq. The mortality rate in Zimbabwe is also a thousand per week higher than the Darfur region of western Sudan.
Archbishop Ncube said World Health Organization figures reveal that life expectancy in Zimbabwe is the lowest in the world -- 34 years for women and 37 years for men. The U.N. World Food Program estimates that 6.1 million Zimbabweans, about half of the 12 million population, face starvation. Zimbabwe's unemployment rate is 80 percent, and the country has the fastest-declining economy in the world.
Archbishop Ncube, who was in London to raise funds for an AIDS charity, blamed the crisis on the mismanagement of the country under Mugabe over the last seven years.
"Zimbabwe is not a nation at war," Archbishop Ncube said. "It used to be able to feed itself and its neighbors. Zimbabwe used to have one of the highest life-expectancy rates in Africa." He said the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front government, or Zanu-PF, was not investing in medicine to treat AIDS because it was "more interested in importing military aircraft from China than protecting (the) lives of its people."
"We remain in the grip of a dictator. ... We cannot compete for attention in a world fixated by events in Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Sudan and elsewhere. Yet we need the international community to maintain pressure on Zanu-PF now as much as ever before," he said.
Moral of the story, kiddies: forget growing up to be a US president. Become an anti-Western dictator. It's more lucrative and you get better press.
#2
President Robert Mugabe couldnt run a bath without the aid of his goons , how people expect him to manage a country is far beyond my obviously low IQ . Taking agricultural land off educated farmers and redistributing it to people who have no skills was deemed as a successful political/social ruse meant to play on the fear of the white man , but as we all know he's only happy bleeding the country's wealth for his own selfish means .. What I dont understand is why noone has popped him off yet .. Vile man
You are using your, obviously racist, western perspective and assuming that a country should be managed to the benefit of the people. Tosh, pish and piddle man. The only goal here is the personal wealth and power of the chief and his cohort.
#8
Didn't Mugabe say a few years ago that Zimbabwe would be better off with about half as many people? Of course, the fact that the people starving are from the primary opposition tribe is a feature, not a bug.
#9
Mugabe epitomizes all that is wrong with many of Africa's sub-Saharan nations. He believes himself to be nothing less than a great tribal chieftan whereby all wealth, material possessions and even the clan members themselves are his own direct possessions.
In reality he is nothing more than a tribal chieftan overseeing a backward autocracy whose looting mentality knows no bounds. Showing any sensibility to the Zimbabwean people's suffering or his country's economic plight would be seen as a weakness.
For Mugabe's sort there can be only one prescription; A swift dose of hot lead. His innumerable transgressions are crimes against humanity.
#10
Zen, you are right but not inclusive enough. This is a perfect example of tribalism in the 21st century. BUT, it is not limited to SSA. Look at the Islamo world or the Balkans or Russia and you'll see tribalism. There are signs of this devolution most everywhere where each clan or tribe thinks it should have it's own society (see Sharia in UK)
Groupism is going to be the death of civilization unless something turns this around. Mini-states are not sustainable and the more of them there are the more violent will be the re-merger (think leveraged buyouts with guns)
#12
Unfortunately, the West blew it in Zimbabwe in the 1980s when they collectively anointed Mugabe, and then he did the typical post-colonial Africa shuffle : "One man, one vote, one time". What is really revealing is that the Zimbabweans were better off under aparthied in Rhodesia : economy was growing, country was exporting huge surpluses of food, the infant mortality rate was low, life expectancy was higher, and many fewer people were dying per week - even during the active warfare stage.
SAKAKA, 29 November 2006 A debate on the prominence of religious education and materials in the Kingdoms schools was the focus of yesterdays kick-off of Saudi Arabias Sixth National Dialogue, a regular forum that began in 2003 aimed at bringing together Saudis from all walks of life to discuss their respective visions for the present and future of the country.
Some of the participants calling for a reform to the Kingdoms education system argued that
Religious teaching, even in science classes, is playing a hegemonic role, marginalizing the core curriculums required to learn and succeed.
religious teaching, even in science classes, is playing a hegemonic role, marginalizing the core curriculums required to learn and succeed. I'd say that's something of an understatement.
Others defended the prominence of religious teaching in public schools, saying that outsiders are trying to change Saudis. But both sides agreed that the current system requires some reform in order to address the needs of the Kingdom in terms of skilled workers.
Continued on Page 49
#1
Mah Gawd, does that mean the Soody Rabida school system is going to add such SECULAR subjects and readin, writin, and 'rithmatik to it school system? Next thing you know, they'll even allow students to learn about science, computers, and maybe even foreign languages! And maybe, just maybe, even allowin wimmen to learn some of that readin and writin stuff. How are they gonna keep 'em barefoot-n-pregnant after that??????
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/29/2006 21:52 Comments ||
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The extensive air-time given over to conservative clerics by Saudi state media is hampering the government's reformist message, Saudi journalists said yesterday. Religious scholars in Saudi Arabia have wide access to the media where they back conservative policies on gender segregation that have become the subject of fierce debate. "Right now we are very much influenced by the dominant religious discourse," said Abdul Aziz Al Eid, a presenter on state television's Channel One suggesting the powerful religious establishment was blocking reforms. "The state is strong and has the ability to halt any discourse when things have got to the point of influencing the power and prestige of the political decision-makers," he told a seminar here.
Columnist Samar Mugrin said Islamists were out of step with the state's political message, which has promoted reform since King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz ascended the throne last year. Journalist Nabila Mahjoub told the gathering at the United Nations offices in Riyadh: "We need to confront the religious discourse .... When an expert in Islamic law or a cleric appears on television, he is giving his opinion, and there is no one to answer him or correct his mistakes." Mistakes? He's an expert, man! BTW, subtly implying the Kingy Thingy is on your side, against the clerics, is asking to be disappeared... The Sudairi Seven Six are pretty touchy about the throne getting away from them, y'know, and Nayef owns both the regular police as well as the religious police. And he's untouchable, d00d.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Stay in the 12th century, see if we give a rat's ass.
RIYADH, 29 November 2006 Minister of Health Dr. Hamad Al-Manie said here yesterday that the country intends to sue American and European tobacco companies that sell their products in the Kingdom, for the deaths and diseases caused by smoking.
The minister, who inaugurated the 12th Gulf Symposium Against Smoking in Riyadh attended by delegates from the Gulf region and the World Health Organization, said that there have been attempts to settle disputes out of court. I have met with representatives from tobacco companies in the Kingdom at my office before, said Al-Manie. And I informed them of the ministrys plan to file a lawsuit against their companies.
The minister said he was pressing ahead with the lawsuit unless the tobacco companies paid the full amount of compensation. The minister did not divulge how much the Kingdom is asking for in settlement. I will not, and neither will the ministry, forsake the rights of patients, he said. "We're very big on right$ here in the Magik Kingdom, y'know." Continued on Page 49
#2
.com,
when you were in the magic Kingdom, do you remember a cigarette sold there called Bedes(sp)? The smell alone those things gave off made them a health hazard.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
11/29/2006 12:27 Comments ||
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#3
Why not? They saw how it worked out here.
Wait'll the Chinese get the idea. 2 billion people and about 26 don't smoke.
#4
Mike K - No, I don't recall the name - from your description, however, I might have been around them without knowing the name, lol. The Core Area Plaza was a weird place for smoke breaks - sights, sounds, smells, lol, all weird... :-)
#7
Mick-
Those are the ones! The USAF brass looked highly askance at those things...
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
11/29/2006 15:02 Comments ||
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#8
If the Soddies were truly interested in saving people from the evils of smoking,they could simply ban the importation of tobacco and tobacco products. Kill all the smugglers. The real problem would be "solved" overnight. However, they are obviously just interested in extorting money from the west.
The Kremlin mounted a concerted campaign yesterday to point the finger of suspicion at the billionaire businessman Boris Berezovsky over the death of his friend, Alexander Litvinenko, after traces of radioactive polonium-210 were found at the London offices of the exiled Russian oligarch. Senior figures in the Russian establishment lined up to implicate Mr Berezovsky, who employed and funded the former KGB spy.
The billionaire, who has been granted asylum in Britain, last night issued a statement mourning Mr Litvinenkos death and saying that he had complete faith that Scotland Yard would conduct a thorough and professional investigation. Detectives are understood to want to question Mr Berezovsky in further detail about the events of November 1, the day that Mr Litvinenko, fell ill. Mr Berezovsky has declined to explain publicly why Mr Litvinenko, who was recently given British citizenship, visited his headquarters in Mayfair that day. The billionaire has accused President Putins regime of being behind the murder.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2006 00:00 ||
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Traces of radiation have been found at the offices of the billionaire Russian exile Boris Berezovsky and a security firm which employs the former commander of Britain's special forces.
Polonium 210, the rare radioactive element thought to have killed the former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko, has been found at Mr Berezovsky's offices and those of the private security firm Erinys.
Posted by: john ||
11/29/2006 6:28 Comments ||
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Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro said on Tuesday that he was not well enough to attend the opening of several days of events celebrating his 80th birthday. "I'm not in medical condition to be there," Castro said in a statement read by a medium presenter to thousands of supporters from dozens of countries at the start of a gala in Havana's Karl Marx theater that was to mark the opening of the celebrations. His birthday was August 13 but he postponed celebrations after dyingpegging out undergoing emergency surgery that forced him to hand over power temporarily to his brother Raul in late July. Cheeze. Himmler couldn't make it, either, so it's gonna be no fun at all.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2006 12:47 ||
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This story just makes me incredibly sad. And more than a little worried.
Coming soon to a Sanctuary City near you.
MEXICO CITY - Fistfights and shoving matches broke out in the Mexican Congress Tuesday after leftist lawmakers, hoping to block the inauguration of conservative President-elect Felipe Calderon, stormed the podium and tried to seize control of the chamber. Conservatives, surrounded by security guards, pushed back the protesting lawmakers and vowed to keep order until they formally bestow the presidential sash on Calderon in a ceremony in the Chamber of Deputies this Friday.
The fisticuffs underscore the deep well of bitterness that remains after the closest and most hotly contested presidential race in modern Mexican history and highlight the near certainty possibility that Friday's ceremony will be marred by violence.
"We're not going to allow this inauguration to happen," said Roberto Lopez, a PRD spokesman. "Felipe Calderon will not govern a single day in this country."
Members of the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, claim Calderon, a member of the National Action Party, or PAN, stole the July election. "We're not going to allow this inauguration to happen," said Roberto Lopez, a PRD spokesman. "Felipe Calderon will not govern a single day in this country."
Calderon's transition office declined comment. Calls placed to the PAN headquarters weren't returned. But Ruben Aguilar, a spokesman for outgoing President Vicente Fox, said Calderon will take over on Friday no matter what happens in Congress. "There is an institutional mechanism" for it, he said. "After the first second on the first day of December of this year, we will have a president who was elected by the majority of the citizens of this country."
Continued on Page 49
Funny, innit, how anxious the press is to declare a civil war in Iraq, and how reluctant they are to even pay attention to what's happening in Mexico.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
11/29/2006 7:51 Comments ||
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#2
I say each Mexican congressman be issued a Lucha Libre mask and a metal folding chair as they enter Chambers.
Posted by: ed ||
11/29/2006 8:07 Comments ||
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#3
Every time this high chaos is mentioned, someone should also insert a line about how "some individuals want to unite Canada, the US and Mexico under a single government, like the EU."
#4
If there had been proper border and employer enforcement for the last two decades, the boiling point would have been reached far sooner than now. Unfortunately, Mexico has to have one major enema before something along real reform can occur. This is just the beginning of the process. It probably would have been less damaging to do this earlier, but for all the wrong reasons the betrayers in Washington have allowed the ruling class in Mexico to dump their bile over the border for too long. Now the treatment will be more radical and painful.
The bustling Baltic city of Riga is under siege: thousands of soldiers are on the streets, there are checkpoints at every corner and helicopters crowd the skies. For older Latvians, this might have eerie echoes of 1944, when the Soviets began their occupation (but without the mass arrests, mass executions, and the mass deportations.) . Except that in this case, the city is being taken over by an army of NATO delegates and government leaders.
The Baltic capital has never before staged such a massive, high security event. It's a logistical nightmare for this tiny country That's a cue for a grumbling man-on-the street quote. "I can't get to work, there is virtually no public transport and I have had to shut my business for three days. How on earth am I going to make up those lost wages?,"one old man grumbles. See?
Symbolism
But the prestige and the political symbolism for this former Soviet state in hosting the NATO summit is enormous:
"It's great to be back in Riga!,'' the US president beamed as he arrived. "It's a proud day for the people of Latvia and all the Baltic states. Here in the Baltics many can recall the early days of the Cold War. In 1944, the Soviet Red Army marched in. But six decades later the Soviet Union is no more and the Alliance is meeting in the capital of a free Latvia." Now that's a Reaganesque moment.
Large minority
Moscow is reportedly furious at the summit being hosted right on its doorstep. President Putin, as a non-NATO member, was not invited to attend but threatened to gate-crash the VIP gathering. But now that Latvia's a NATO member, that 1944 thing becomes problematic...
It has also ruffled feathers among Riga's large Russian minority. Russians makes up 30 per cent of the population and the Russian-language media here are enraged by this former opponent of the Soviet Union setting up camp here.
Image Now read this :)
But most Latvians see it as a boost to the new EU state's image.
"It will put the country on the world map at last,"says one elderly man. "But I do think the security's completely over the top. It'll show the Russians that now it's NATO that's calling the shots," says one woman crossing the city park. "And if Russia's imperial streak should ever rise up again, then they know they can't just march in again."
#1
And the president is a former US university professor, as I recall -- a lovely and erudite lady. My father will never forgive the native antisemitism that chased him and his mother out of the country in 1934, but I think the country is progressing beautifully.
#2
It will put the country on the Map? Hardly. Once the conference is over Latvia will be forgotten again. I'm not really sure why any country bothers to host any of these conferences.
At least the anarchists and anti-globalist idiots don't seem to have arrived.
#5
Wow-if Riga is only 30% Russian now, that suggest that there has been an exodus of Russians out of Latvia. I know citizenship has been an issue,
I lived in Riga in 1993-1994. A lot has changed since then, but traditional dishes are still available. I suggest piradzini (Latvian bacon and onion crescents) and Solyanka (Russian meat soup), as two such examples. The cheeses and desserts there are also excellent. Balsams is much touted, but it's tarry and intense. If you're looking for alcohol, a good home-made schapps is unbeatable-tart and super-potent.
#6
My apologies, IanFichten. Montreal is a lovely part of the world. Jules, I envy you -- I never got to see Latvia, although it's high on the list of places I'd like to see one day.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Canada's indigenous peoples are feeling a bit snubbed by Parliament's decision to recognize Quebecers as a "nation" within a united Canada and not them too.
Native Indian leaders say the vote in the House of Commons, which has helped reignite debate over the role of French-speaking Quebec within largely English-speaking Canada, ignored the peoples who lived in North America before European settlers arrived.
"If it is good for the Quebecois, and we have no objection to that, then it is good enough for us," Phil Fontaine, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said on Tuesday, a day after lawmakers overwhelmingly approved the measure.
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/29/2006 06:19 ||
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And the worms begin falling out of the can and onto the floor.
#3
My understanding is the Inuits have claim to most of Quebec territory should French speaking Quebecers secede or be kicked out of Canada.
Posted by: ed ||
11/29/2006 8:12 Comments ||
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#4
There are large Mohawk territories in the environs of Montreal (the first bit worth keeping) and the entire north of "Quebec" is Cree territory (home of the James Bay hydroelectric projects and the other bit worth keeping).
Well no, not exactly. But it's a funny headline, anyway.
OTTAWAThe upcoming Liberal convention appears destined to open on a decidedly discordant note as U.S. political brawler Howard Dean takes the platform for the keynote address.
Liberal brass think hearing from the Democrats' top organizer in that party's Nov. 7 electoral triumph south of the border is a brilliantly timed coup. But some are greeting the scheduled appearance of the failed U.S. presidential hopeful, famous for his on-air scream, with resentment.
"I had heard a rumour of it a couple of weeks ago, and I thought, `Oh surely, it can't be true nobody would make that decision,'" says Toronto MP and leadership candidate Ken Dryden. "I'm really surprised. I can't imagine the sense of it." Hey! I resent that! Our Loonies are just as insane as your loonies! I think. At least I'm purdy sure. I mean, they are, right? Nuts, I mean? Nuts is nuts, ain't it?
Dryden said it's a mistake to have someone from another country delivering a speech meant to set the tone for a convention wrapping up a nine-month effort to put the party back in touch with Canadians. "Whatever interesting things Mr. Dean might say, and I'm sure he has lots of interesting things to say, it's just not the place. This is an event that has to do with us."
Bob Richardson, a senior organizer for Michael Ignatieff's campaign, adds that Dean is irrelevant to Canadians. "I'll be vacuuming," he quipped.
But some Liberals see no humour in the situation. They are not amused that their party, which has often accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper of marching in lockstep with the United States, is looking to an American to establish the tone of the national convention in Montreal. "This is an insulting choice," said Ray Heard, a well-known Toronto Liberal. "Howard Dean is a loudmouth and the ultimate loser."
#3
This strikes me as a very reasonable position. They've got plenty of their own loonies, they don't need a foreigner who not only lost his own election, but who is mocked for his looniness at home.
At a recent White House reception for freshman members of Congress, Virginia's newest senator tried to avoid President Bush. Democrat James Webb declined to stand in a presidential receiving line or to have his picture taken with the man he had often criticized on the stump this fall. But it wasn't long before Bush found him.
"How's your boy?" Bush asked, referring to Webb's son, a Marine serving in Iraq.
"I'd like to get them out of Iraq, Mr. President," Webb responded, echoing a campaign theme.
"That's not what I asked you," Bush said. "How's your boy?"
"How's your boy?" Bush asked, referring to Webb's son, a Marine serving in Iraq.
"I'd like to get them out of Iraq, Mr. President," Webb responded, echoing a campaign theme.
"That's not what I asked you," Bush said. "How's your boy?" One is polite and courteous, the other's a pompous ass.
"That's between me and my boy, Mr. President," Webb said coldly, ending the conversation on the State Floor of the East Wing of the White House. guess which is which
Webb was narrowly elected to the U.S. Senate this month with a brash, unpolished style that helped win over independent voters in Virginia and earned him support from national party leaders. Now, his Democratic colleagues in the Senate are getting a close-up view of the former boxer, military officer and Republican who is joining their ranks.
If the exchange with Bush two weeks ago is any indication, Webb won't be a wallflower, especially when it comes to the war in Iraq. And he won't stick to a script drafted by top Democrats.
"I'm not particularly interested in having a picture of me and George W. Bush on my wall," Webb said in an interview yesterday in which he confirmed the exchange between him and Bush. "No offense to the institution of the presidency, and I'm certainly looking forward to working with him and his administration. [But] leaders do some symbolic things to try to convey who they are and what the message is."
In the days after the election, Webb's Democratic colleagues on Capitol Hill went out of their way to make nice with Bush and be seen by his side. House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) sat down for a lunch and photo opportunity with Bush, as did Democratic leaders in the Senate.
Not Webb, who said he tried to avoid a confrontation with Bush at the White House reception but did not shy away from one when the president approached. a social greeting is a confrontation only when one is so anti-social they choose to make it one
The White House declined to discuss the encounter. "As a general matter, we do not comment on private receptions hosted by the president at the White House," said White House spokeswoman Dana M. Perino.
Webb said he has "strong ideas," but he also insisted that -- as a former Marine in Vietnam -- he knows how to work in a place such as the Senate, where being part of a team is important.
He plans to push for a new GI bill for soldiers who have served in the days since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but not as a freshman senator. He has approached the Democratic leadership about getting senior legislators to sponsor the bill when the 110th Congress convenes in January.
A strong backer of gun rights, Webb may find himself at odds with many in his party. He expressed support during the campaign for a bill by his opponent, Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), that would allow concealed weapons in national parks. But an aide said this week that Webb will review Allen's legislation.
"There are going to be times when I've got some strong ideas, but I'm not looking to simply be a renegade," he said. "I think people in the Democratic Party leadership have already begun to understand that I know how to work inside a structure."
His party's leaders hope that he means it.
Top Democratic senators, including incoming Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) and Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), had invested their money and prestige in Webb before he won the party primary in June. His victory was also theirs, but now they have to make sure he's not a liability. you bought him, now see what you got. You may not like it. Heh
"He's not a typical politician. He really has deep convictions," said Schumer, who headed the Senate Democrats' campaign arm. "We saw this in the campaign. We would have disagreements. But when you made a persuasive argument, he would say, 'You're right.' I am truly not worried about it. He understands the need to be part of a team."
One senior Democratic staff member on Capitol Hill, who spoke on condition that he not be identified so he could speak freely about the new senator, said that Webb's lack of political polish was part of his charm as a candidate but could be a problem as a senator.
"I think he's going to be a total pain. He is going to do things his own way. That's a good thing and a bad thing," the staff member said. But he said that Webb's personality may be just what the Senate needs. "You need a little of everything. Some element of that personality is helpful."
Webb has started to put himself out front. On "Meet the Press" last week, he dispensed with the normal banter with host Tim Russert to talk seriously about Iraq and the need for economic justice in the United States.
He announced yesterday that he has hired Paul J. Reagan, a communications director for former governor Mark R. Warner (D) and a former chief of staff for U.S. Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.). It will be Reagan's job to help his boss navigate the intricacies of Washington and Capitol Hill without losing the essence of his personality.
"The relationships he has built over his long career will serve me well," Webb said in a statement yesterday. the ones he hasn't burned...
Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D), who campaigned hard to get Webb elected, said yesterday that the first-time officeholder doesn't have the finesse of most experienced politicians.
"He is not a backslapper," Kaine said. "There are different models that succeed in politics. There's the hail-fellow-well-met model of backslapping. That's not his style."
But Kaine said that Webb's background, including a stint as Ronald Reagan's Navy secretary, will make him an important -- if unpredictable -- voice on the war in Iraq.
"There are no senators who have that everyday anxiety that he has as a dad with a youngster on the front lines. That gives him gravitas and credibility on this issue," Kaine said. "People in the Senate, I'm sure, will agree with him or disagree with him on issue to issue. But they won't doubt that he's coming at it from a real sense of duty."
nice job, Virginny..
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/29/2006 08:36 ||
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No class. None at all.
Posted by: Mike ||
11/29/2006 8:59 Comments ||
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#3
I just thought I'd poke my head in for five minutes and see if OS was around.
Posted by: Phil ||
11/29/2006 9:20 Comments ||
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#4
From what I've read, the Dems won in VA because they managed to increase Dem turnout by a large percentage in two key counties: Fairfax and Arlington. Arlington has a large population and has always been socialist. Lots of govt employees, lib ideologues, and activists live there. Increase the turnout by 20% and you get enough Dem votes to account for the margin of victory. I assume GOP operatives are strategizing as we speak on how to counter this.
#10
I guess Webbs son was one of those people who could not find employment or money for college and had to join the military because he had really bad parents that didn't guide him to the right decision.
#18
I just want to voice my opposition to the redundancy of James Webbs. Ya got yer telescope Webb, and a hairy Florida astronomer who was in the paper the other day, and this clown, and Wikipedia has a whole page where you can go to sort out your James Webbs.
#19
Ed, the problem is that the last time the Dems "reinvented" the Federal Government, while the total number of employees was reduced, almost all the reductions were in the Defense and Intelligence sectors (both of which were savaged). The parts of Government that most of us would like to see go away, the touchy feely overly intrusive we know better than you how you should live your life crowd mushroomed. Webb is an asshole, but he fits right in with the Dem leadership. No class, no intelligence, no redeeming features, just thugs and bottom feeders.
#20
I thought "fields of fire" was a great book and Webb totally thrashes the lib media and the hippy movement for being enemy enablers. I'm reserving judgement to see what he actually does as a legislator.
#23
He plans to push for a new GI bill for soldiers who have served in the days since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, . Why restrict it to only those that served since Sept 11?
#24
I always considered anyone north of I-10 a Yankee...
Jeebus, grunt. You're leavin' out a LOT of Redneck country with that comment(GA, SC and TN alone make up a LOT of the South, not to mention KY, northern Missip, a lot of Texas, Arkansas and OK), and including places like southern FL, which is by NO means "Southern," lol!
Me personally? I now draw the "new" Mason-Dixon line based upon whether or not you can get sweet tea at your average restaurant. While northern VA is "northern", I'd suspect that central and southern VA still serves it as sweet as syrup, lol!
Posted by: BA ||
11/29/2006 15:36 Comments ||
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#25
I now draw the "new" Mason-Dixon line based upon whether or not you can get sweet tea at your average restaurant.
By that standard, the Cleveland suburbs are part of the South. Not that I'm complaining, mind you; my wife likes sweet tea.
Posted by: Mike ||
11/29/2006 17:19 Comments ||
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#26
Don't forget George Allen blew a huge lead by making stupid comments, the last of which was NOT denying his staff released the porno quotes from Webb's books.
Allen shot himself in the foot with the 'machaco' remark, (but the MSM beat it to death), and then in the groin with the porno book thingy.
Poor dimwit was hoping to run for President, too.....
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/29/2006 17:26 Comments ||
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#27
Me personally? I now draw the "new" Mason-Dixon line based upon whether or not you can get sweet tea at your average restaurant.
Me? I figure if you can drive Northbound on your local interstate and reach a Waffle House, you might be in the South. ;)
#30
#8: I always considered anyone north of I-10 a Yankee...
Guess I qualify, by about two miles.
I did emigrate from the North however, came down here to Mobile from Montgomery.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/29/2006 19:50 Comments ||
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#31
lol, Jim!
By that standard, the Cleveland suburbs are part of the South. Not that I'm complaining, mind you; my wife likes sweet tea.
Mike, I guess I'd add it's standard in not only your everyday restaurant, but also your "fancy" restaurants. You really know if you can get it at a Waffle House w/in 2 miles of your home. Other criteria include the above listings (RC, Moon Pies, etc.), as well as them serving grits for breakfast, and/or being able to buy pig feet/ears in your local grocery, lol!
Posted by: BA ||
11/29/2006 21:22 Comments ||
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#32
We've got a Waffle House on the east side of town by the Interstate, and you can get sweet tea at the Tumbleweeds on the north side as well.
Posted by: Mike ||
11/29/2006 21:52 Comments ||
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#33
If I were George Bush, Jim Webb would be the first name on my "do not call, do not invite, do not allow to visit" after that little incident. Some people just can't relax and be polite, even in what is obviously a social occasion, rather than a political venue. Webb needs to get waxed six years from now.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/29/2006 22:30 Comments ||
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#34
Lots of southerners moved to Ohio in the 20th century looking for work. Some were trying to make it to the auto industry in Detroit, but their jalopies would only make it as far as Akron or Cleveland.
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 27 -- Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-Ohio) won reelection Monday by a margin so slim that a recount will be required. one trunk
Unofficial results announced by Franklin County, the last to finish counting absentee and provisional ballots in central Ohio's 15th District, showed Pryce led Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy by 1,055 votes, or 0.4 percent of the vote. An automatic recount is triggered if the difference between the two candidates is less than 0.5 percent.
The race was one of a handful that had remained unresolved across the country since Election Day.
Pryce lost Franklin County, the district's most populous, but she retained her overall lead because of votes she picked up in two other counties.
In North Carolina, election officials said a manual recount of randomly chosen precincts will take place Wednesday and Thursday in the 8th District race between Rep. Robin Hayes (R) and Democrat Larry Kissell. Hayes leads by 329 votes. two trunks
And Florida officials will start an audit Tuesday of electronic voting machines in the 13th District House race between Republican Vern Buchanan and Democrat Christine Jennings. The state certified Buchanan the winner by 369 votes, but Jennings contested, arguing that touch-screen voting machines had malfunctioned. three trunks
If the trunks are gonna steal elections, they should at least have the decency to steal by larger margins! (I was born and raised in the Chicago area, where dead folks have voted for years)
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/29/2006 06:42 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
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#1
Four trunks. Jeanne Schmidt's opponent conceded yesterday. You'll remember Representative Schmidt (R-OH) as the newbie who reprimanded the honourable Mr. Murtha for being a consummate ass.
#2
How about a 5th trunk? If the new Democratic leadership is going to stymie Jane Harman's advancement in the house she might as well switch parties. Pelosi can take her personal vendetta and stick it.
#3
NM 1st District was just settled by 800 and some odd votes in favor the Trunk. Unlike the other states, NM requires the challenger to pay for the recount, which was declined. Not that the Donks didn't try hard to fix it both by shorting predominate Trunk precincts of early voting stations and literally the paper ballots used in voting - 100 to one with 1,700 registered. Sorry, out of ballots, come back later. Right. That was hard to hide. Tried the court route also to extend the process but the law was clear and the party hack judge couldn't get away with further extensions.
#4
#3. Democratic challenger Patricia Madrid, trailing by fewer than 900 votes, on Tuesday conceded the 1st District contest to Republican Heather Wilson. But the NM Dems ain't done yet. They're considering a partial recount in the Democratic stronghold of Bernillo county. Thatt tactic didn't work for Gore. hope it doesn't work in NM either.
President Bush will try to work out a deal on spending with the new Democratic majority on Capitol Hill, but will be prepared to veto bills that exceed his total budget or that slice away at defense needs, said Office of Management and Budget Director Rob Portman.
"With the Democrat leadership, we'll try to be transparent and we'll try to be clear in our concerns upfront, and I hope we can work things out without resorting to a veto. But if necessary we will resort to a veto," Mr. Portman told The Washington Times in an interview about the upcoming budget and the Democratic control of Congress.
Democrats took both houses of Congress in the Nov. 7 elections. Mr. Portman, a former six-term congressman from Ohio, has assumed the role of go-between, making use of his relationships with many of the top lawmakers to find areas of cooperation on annual spending and on thorny issues such as Social Security.
Continued on Page 49
#4
Plus, if Bush is seen to be holding the line against the Tax-and-Spend crowd headed by Pelosi, with assistance from Repubs and Blue Dog Dems, he improves the chance for the Republicans in 2008. He cannot do a lot of initiatives now that the Dems control both Houses but he can play Dr. No with the veto. And that, combined with the latest series of Dem mishaps like Hastings for Intel Comittee, may be what pushs the Republicans over the line for control of the House in 2008.
#5
The convoluted way a budget is passed doesnt lend itself to any Donk monkey business. Any budget has to pass the Senate by 2/3s and that meant they need about nine Republicans to help them out. While they might get four I dont see a mass defection when it counts. I caveat all of this with the hope that we DO NOT have another weakling as a minority leader.
Is that a law, or just a Congressional rule? If it's a law, that's one thing, but if a simple internal rule, then they can change it at a whim. One Congress cannot bind a later one, except through laws passes (or Constitutional amendments).
A Mississippi Democrat in line to become chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee has warned the nation's largest uniform supplier it faces criminal charges if it follows a White House proposal to recheck workers with mismatched Social Security numbers and fire those who cannot resolve the discrepancy in 60 days. That's an interesting position to take, isn't it?
Rep. Bennie Thompson said in a letter to Cintas Corp. it could be charged with "illegal activities in violation of state and federal law" if any of its 32,000 employees are terminated because they gave incorrect Social Security numbers to be hired. "I am deeply troubled by Cintas' recent policy change regarding the Social Security Administration's 'no match' letters," Mr. Thompson said in the Nov. 2 letter. "It is my understanding that hundreds of Cintas' immigrant workers have received these letters. I am extremely concerned about any potentially discriminatory actions targeting this community." Approx 400 letters, out of 32,000 employees. Sounds like Cintas isn't doing too badly - and following the law in following up on phoney SSN's, so what's Bennie's Beef? Continued on Page 49
#1
This needs to get plenty of placement on the Radio, The dems are protecting illegals that take citizens jobs and steal their social security numbers.
#2
Just because they lied on their job application, falsified legal documents, sidestepped the immigration process, and willfully manipulated the social security system isn't any reason to fire them.
They should be stood up against a wall and executed by firing squad.
Bennie Thompson
Donk House member
Sits on the House Homeland Security Committee
Won't take over chairmanship until Jan 20...
Received 96,554 votes in 2006 Miss CD Election.
George Bush
President of the United States of America
Charged with National Security
Serving 2nd term as President...
Received 62,040,606 votes in 2004 National Election.
#4
Over on the Corner, one of the posters pointed to a story about a Georgia (I think) town that cracked down on illegals. One raid and stepped up enforcement resulted in an increase in income for the lowest-paid (legal) workers and a decrease in unemployment among blacks.
So here's my idea for a commercial:
"In [town], the city government decided it was tired of tolerating crime. They cracked down on the criminals and their patrons; they stepped up enforcement and conducted a single raid against lawbreakers. The result? Higher wages for the town's poor, more jobs for those in need.
The crime? Illegal immigration.
Now Democrat Bennie Thompson wants to punish companies for enforcing our immigration laws. He wants to make it illegal for employers to make sure the people they hire are here legally. He wants to make it harder for working Americans to get jobs, and easier for employers to pay substandard wages.
It's time to tell the Democrats NO. No more illegal immigration. No more punishing the law-abiding."
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
11/29/2006 8:00 Comments ||
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#5
I actually know something about this legally. The employer has to give notice (like a letter) to the employee so they can clear up the error. If the employee fails to provide a valid SSN then the employer can terminate them. Using the wrong SSN to gain employment is a FEDERAL crime so is Rep. Bennie Thompson suggesting that we disobey Federal law? I did some data mining for California to help identify some SSNs that were being used illegally.
#6
I am extremely concerned about any potentially discriminatory actions targeting this community."
Clearly, the Document Fraud Community has suffered these discriminatory practices long enough. Why sometimes it takes up to a year to get your hands on authentic looking false documents. And that shit aint cheap. So how is somebody supposed to pay for them if they are *gasp* suspended from their job? And rumor has it that some of these poor folks have shall we say questionable citizenship status. Christallfridays how much injustice can they endure? Its refreshing to see that the new chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee has his priorities in order.
#7
RC: Georgia seems to be getting its house in order on the State level. Sonny Purdue (Governor) recently passed some of the toughest State laws against illegals getting Medicare/Welfare/Food Stamps/etc at the State level w/o proof of citizenship. And, now the Counties are getting in on the act. Cherokee County (NW Atlanta suburbs) recently enacted a County Ordinance to require rental properties (Apartment complexes, Condos, Townhomes, etc.) to verify legal resident status before renting a unit to illegals, or else face stiff fines. BTW, Cherokee County is home to the City of Kennesaw, who has a City Ordinance on the books to REQUIRE all residents within City limits to have guns on their premises. Not that it's actually enforced, or anything (probably a hold-out ordinance from the Reconstruction days), but it's funny that it's still on the books. Needless to say, not much crime there, as all the citizens are armed.
Posted by: BA ||
11/29/2006 14:23 Comments ||
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#8
Actually, the Kennesaw GA law is of fairly recent origin - passed in 1982 as a reaction to the Morton Grove banning of all firearms within city limits.
Orlando, Fla. - Two hulking armored vehicles sit at the back of the exhibit hall here at the 25th biennial Army Science Conference. On the left, a 1942 Sherman tank, familiar today from countless World War II movies, looks like a giant metal tortoise, slow and powerful, but clearly dated. On the right, a Stryker Armored Vehicle, first deployed in 2003, looks sleeker, faster, like a boxy, bulletproof race car.
The two vehicles are set apart by more than appearance. While the Sherman tank was built entirely to order, on Army specifications, the Stryker combines both custom parts and standard, off-the-shelf hardware. Step inside the crew compartment, and bolted to an armored steel wall you'll see a Cisco Systems (nasdaq: CSCO - news - people ) micro hub--the same $400 piece of computer networking hardware used in offices around the world.
"This has a lot of off-the-shelf hardware in it," says Staff Sgt. Jared Sargent, of the Army's Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor in Fort Knox, Ky. The crew of the vehicle has an easier time keeping it running, he says, since the equipment is similar--or identical--to what they're used to installing even at home. They can even log onto the Internet, order replacement parts from CompUSA and have them shipped directly to the front lines. "That's very different from ten or 15 years ago," he says.
It's all part of the Army's new strategy for producing cutting-edge vehicles, equipment and hardware: working with industry instead of dictating to them, using commercially available parts and designing vehicles that can be maintained cheaply and easily.
"It's not the military any more going to industry and saying, 'You will build this,'" says Paul Mehney, a communications officer for the U.S. Army's Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC). "We go to industry and ask them what's already out there that meets our specifications."
Indeed, many of the exhibits at the Army Science Conference feature technology that's familiar to civilian eyes. Swedish telecommunications giant Ericsson (nasdaq: ERICY - news - people ) is showing off a videoconferencing system that would be just as suitable in the boardroom as on the battlefield. Virtual characters in the Institute for Creative Technologies' Cultural & Cognitive Combat Immersive Trainer (see " Virtual Training For GIs") are powered by Epic Games' Unreal engine, the same code that runs popular games like Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell and Rainbow Six: Vegas. And a prototype robot that can sniff out chemical, biological and explosive agents in the field, built by ChemImage, is controlled with a Logitech joystick for Sony's (nyse: SNE - news - people ) PlayStation 2 videogame console.
But there is a limit to how far the Army can go using just commercially available technology. "Everybody likes to believe I can just give all my soldiers a cellphone, and they'll all be able to communicate with each other on the battlefield," says Dr. Thomas H. Killion, chief scientist for the U.S. Army. But cellular technology requires the presence of cell towers, and significant infrastructure to keep it running, making it an unrealistic option. Besides, he says, the realities of war introduce all kinds of technical hurdles that consumers in the U.S. don't have to deal with. "Thankfully, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint don't actively jam one another. But the bad guys will jam us."
And certain military needs also have no commercially available option--like armor and ballistic technologies. "Wal-Mart doesn't sell armor ... and we like it that way," says Killion. These technologies depend on military investment to make progress, he says.
"We the Army recognize that sometimes we need to do it on our own," says Killion. "But where there is an investment that industry has made, we'll use that."
#1
Um DUH! The Military would much rather buy some Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) product than sink money into R&D for technology that already exists.
#2
My wife used to have her own business suppling the Navy ships at Alameda with civilian items not in the supply system. BJ Clinton put a stop to that and she had to close down. The Navy could only order through the supply channel.
Someone must have reinstated the outside purchase. Too late for wife, military all gone from SF Bay Area.
He's baaaack... Though he's a certifiable zoomer, it is fun to see how he infuriates the global climate thingy scamsters.
The earth has a fever that could boost temperatures by 8 degrees Celsius making large parts of the surface uninhabitable and threatening billions of peoples' lives, a controversial climate scientist said on Tuesday.
James Lovelock, who angered climate scientists with his Gaia theory of a living planet and then alienated environmentalists by backing nuclear power, said a traumatized earth might only be able to support less than a tenth of it's 6 billion people. "We are not all doomed. An awful lot of people will die, but I don't see the species dying out," he told a news conference. "A hot earth couldn't support much over 500 million. Almost all of the systems that have been looked at are in positive feedback ... and soon those effects will be larger than any of the effects of carbon dioxide emissions from industry and so on around the world," he added.
#1
You know there is a usenet group which is entirly dedicated to finding ways to destroy the earth. This would fit right in. I used to read it for fun about 10 years ago. Here are some samples:
.... attaching a MASSIVE electromagnet (which is anchored into the core) and has billions of GigaAmps going through it and about the same Voltage as Current then have it pull the world into the sun (which has iron inside it)
Then theres....
... the earth has an EM field, given that some huge percentage of the planet is iron, yes?
Would it be possible to destabilize it in some way, thereby allowing the planet to be ripped apart by it's own magnetic forces?
And of course:
We dont need to destroy the Earth, George W. Bush will do it for us. Bush will destroy all life on our planet, unless we take control and dispose of Bush and his power. IMPEACH BUSH NOW !!!!
#4
Almost all of the systems that have been looked at are in positive feedback
Ah yes, the mythic positive feedbacks. They know that the CO2 greenhouse effect can't produce more than a small fraction of the warming they predict, therefore positive feedbacks will cause it.
Apart from the fact they can't find these feedbacks, if they did exist they would have been triggered by past warm periods and the earth would already be 8C warmer than it is.
#5
We dont need to destroy the Earth, George W. Bush will do it for us. Bush will destroy all life on our planet, unless we take control and dispose of Bush and his power. IMPEACH BUSH NOW !!!!
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
11/29/2006 8:41 Comments ||
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#7
That Lovelock character is in for a big surprise when the first of my orbiting pods bombards the surface with flower-toxins. Then my Barbie army will descend from space to set about repopulating the Earth.
#9
Funny stuff, CF. The electromagnetic destruction of the Earth's core sounds like a typical 6th grade mad scientist scheme. Gotta love the handwaving in "attached to the core".
As for the positive feedback, this is good because positive feedback will increase the Earth's self-esteem and we all know the importance of self-esteem to a healthy lifestyle.
#10
At Nuclearspace.com, we were overjoyed at Lovelock's defection to the pro-nuclear ranks. He may be a zoomer, but he's our zoomer now.
Take that, Nader.
#13
What I don't get is that if you love the planet and think the humans should die why wouldn't you be pro-global warming as it will bring about that end and the great glorious Earth will then repair itself in peace.
Unless, of course, you're a watermelon and your main goal is to screw with the West and America and the environment is just the handy screwdriver to use.
#15
The Ultimate destruction of Earth : "Gaia theory" warfare, where one entire predatory ecosystem replace its target.
Now that's a surprise!
David Gerrold and I corresponded for a couple of years. I met him in person for a consult at the San Francisco WorldCon event after I had redesigned his ecology for him and spent 2 years running a Chtorr Wars-based D&D campaign for some friends. I had also sent him more than 200 pages worth of material detailing the campaign, the ecology, and the world - much of which he neglected in his books.
A friend of mine recently stated that I basically invented his entire ecology for him (including graphs of predator/prey ratios, food webs, details on behavior and ecology of both flora and fauna, and a lot more).
In hindsight, though I received no credit for it, I did a helluva' lot of work involved in the details of some of those books though I received zero credit for it.
I am currently working on a (scifi) novel that deals with giant insects, global warming mysteries, invasive species, emergent species, and the effects on global humanity. I'm calling it "Emergence". In the process of the research for this book (or books) I've contacted numerous scientific authorities in regard to such things as certain herbicides making kudzu grow faster, and have scheduled a consultation with a UC Berkeley entomologist and a tour of the UC Berkeley Insectary.
It's gonna' be fun to write the "Them" or the "The Beginning of the End" for the 21st Century (using real science).
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
More people are dying from starvation and disease in Zimbabwe under President Robert Mugabe than are killed in the war in Iraq or the conflict in Darfur, said an African archbishop.
SAKAKA, 29 November 2006 A debate on the prominence of religious education and materials in the Kingdoms schools was the focus of yesterdays kick-off of Saudi Arabias Sixth National Dialogue, a regular forum that began in 2003 aimed at bringing together Saudis from all walks of life to discuss their respective visions for the present and future of the country. 
The extensive air-time given over to conservative clerics by Saudi state media is hampering the government's reformist message, Saudi journalists said yesterday. Religious scholars in Saudi Arabia have wide access to the media where they back conservative policies on gender segregation that have become the subject of fierce debate. "Right now we are very much influenced by the dominant religious discourse," said Abdul Aziz Al Eid, a presenter on state television's Channel One suggesting the powerful religious establishment was blocking reforms. "The state is strong and has the ability to halt any discourse when things have got to the point of influencing the power and prestige of the political decision-makers," he told a seminar here.
RIYADH, 29 November 2006 Minister of Health Dr. Hamad Al-Manie said here yesterday that the country intends to sue American and European tobacco companies that sell their products in the Kingdom, for the deaths and diseases caused by smoking.
The Kremlin mounted a concerted campaign yesterday to point the finger of suspicion at the billionaire businessman Boris Berezovsky over the death of his friend, Alexander Litvinenko, after traces of radioactive polonium-210 were found at the London offices of the exiled Russian oligarch. Senior figures in the Russian establishment lined up to implicate Mr Berezovsky, who employed and funded the former KGB spy. 
Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro said on Tuesday that he was not well enough to attend the opening of several days of events celebrating his 80th birthday. "I'm not in medical condition to be there," Castro said in a statement read by a 
MEXICO CITY - Fistfights and shoving matches broke out in the Mexican Congress Tuesday after leftist lawmakers, hoping to block the inauguration of conservative President-elect Felipe Calderon, stormed the podium and tried to seize control of the chamber. Conservatives, surrounded by security guards, pushed back the protesting lawmakers and vowed to keep order until they formally bestow the presidential sash on Calderon in a ceremony in the Chamber of Deputies this Friday. 
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Canada's indigenous peoples are feeling a bit snubbed by Parliament's decision to recognize Quebecers as a "nation" within a united Canada and not them too. 
A Mississippi Democrat in line to become chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee has warned the nation's largest uniform supplier it faces criminal charges if it follows a White House proposal to recheck workers with mismatched Social Security numbers and fire those who cannot resolve the discrepancy in 60 days. 
The two vehicles are set apart by more than appearance. While the Sherman tank was built entirely to order, on Army specifications, the Stryker combines both custom parts and standard, off-the-shelf hardware. Step inside the crew compartment, and bolted to an armored steel wall you'll see a Cisco Systems (nasdaq: CSCO - news - people ) micro hub--the same $400 piece of computer networking hardware used in offices around the world.
