Malaysian police detained an eight-member gang of small-sized robbers dubbed the "midget gang," who allegedly confessed to committing 14 break-ins over the past three months, a news report said today. All the gang members, aged between 14 and 23 years, were diminutive, The Star newspaper said without saying whether they were dwarfs or just small. Some of them who were less than 150cm tall would be picked to squeeze through small openings into the houses they robbed in central Malaysia, The Star said.
Gang members confessed to their crimes when they were detained, according to the report.
"Sargent, get the needle nose pliers."
The arrests came about after residents in a housing area alerted police after noticing the group loitering suspiciously in a field near their homes, Ampang district police chief Amer Awal was quoted as saying.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/15/2007 10:10 ||
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Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's government vowed to silence dissent on Wednesday, defying international outrage over an assault which left the opposition leader with a suspected fractured skull. Images of battered Mugabe critic Morgan Tsvangirai going to court after his arrest on Sunday have brought condemnation from several countries including the United States.
Washington said on Wednesday it was looking at what additional sanctions it might impose on Zimbabwe. Mugabe, Zimbabwe's sole ruler since independence from Britain in 1980, showed no sign of softening his approach. Political tensions have increased in recent weeks because of plans by Mugabe, now 83, to further extend his rule. His government accused Tsvangirai, the head of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and his supporters of inciting violence to overthrow the administration and warned their campaign would end in "grief".
"Those who incite violence, or actually cause and participate in unleashing it, are set to pay a very heavy price, regardless of who they are," Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said in the statement.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2007 00:00 ||
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Six cases were lodged on Tuesday against Hafiz Ibrahim, a former BNP lawmaker (Bhola 2) and brother of Giasuddin Al Mamun, on various charges including murder, rape, arson, extortion, toll collection, money laundering and other criminal activities The cases were filed with Daulatkhan and Borhanuddin police stations. One case was lodged by anti-corruption task force while the other five cases were lodged by different individuals.
Manager of Rupali Bank Borhanuddin branch, Sarwar Khan, lodged a money laundering case against Hafiz on behalf of the task force with Borhanuddin Police Station. Hafiz used to be a director of Rupali Bank. Two separate cases of extortion, arson and looting were filed against Hafiz with the same police station by Abu Taher and Mozammel Huq Bhuiyan -- both local Awami League (AL) leaders. M Zakir Hussein lodged a murder case with Daulatkhan Police Station accusing Hafiz for the killing of his (Zakir's) father local AL leader M Shahjahan. Rahima Begum, wife of local AL leader Nurul Islam, lodged a looting, arson and extortion case against Hafiz with the same police station. A rape case was lodged by Anjoli Rani with Daulatkhan Police Station.
Around 100 local BNP leaders and associates of Hafiz were also accused in the criminal cases.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2007 00:00 ||
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LONDON - Britains parliament is expected to approve a new nuclear arsenal on Wednesday but Prime Minister Tony Blair may have to rely on opposition votes to push his plans through. Blair is convinced Britain needs to renew its nuclear deterrent, despite deep-rooted opposition within his Labour Party which could see scores of Labour lawmakers voting against him.
The government argues Britain must keep atomic weapons because potential threats from Iran, North Korea or nuclear terrorists mean abandoning them now could be a costly mistake -- even if there is no current threat. Blair dismissed opponents arguments that Britain is undermining hopes for international nuclear disarmament by buying a new generation of nuclear missiles. There is absolutely no evidence whatever that if Britain now renounced its independent nuclear deterrent that would improve the prospects of getting multilateral disarmament ... I think the reverse is the case, he told parliament.
Britains nuclear arsenal is the smallest among the five U.N. Security Council permanent members who are legally recognised as nuclear states under the non-proliferation treaty. It consists of four British-built Vanguard-class submarines that carry 16 US-supplied Trident long-range missiles, armed with British-built nuclear warheads. The submarines are due to go out of service in about 2024.
The government wants to spend up to 20 billion pounds ($39 billion) on three or four nuclear-armed submarines to replace them, saying it must act quickly to have a replacement ready in time.
Blair has a majority of 67 in the 646-seat lower house. The revolt over Trident could be the biggest since nearly 140 Labour legislators voted against going war in Iraq. Jon Trickett, a Labour legislator who has put forward an amendment calling for further debate on Tridents replacement, said he expected many more than 34 Labour members of parliament to rebel against the government. A revolt on that scale could leave Blair dependent on the opposition Conservative Party to push through his plans. The Conservatives back renewing Britains nuclear arsenal.
Idiots Critics say the money could be better spent beefing up Britains conventional forces or on improving public services.
Because all the money spent on the NHS has worked so well, you should throw more at it.
A deep hostility to nuclear weapons runs through the Labour Party, which espoused unilateral nuclear disarmament until the late 1980s. Nigel Griffiths, deputy leader of the lower house of parliament and a member of Blairs government, and Jim Devine, a ministerial aide, have resigned in protest at replacing Trident.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/15/2007 00:00 ||
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Okay, I'll bite - the Brits [afaik] like our TRIDENT MISSLES but don't wanna buy TRIDENT SUBS???
The Brits want 3-4 brand spankin' new, Brit-built boomers which will be ready by 2020-2024 in order to be decommissioned circa 2050???
#2
The British under Labour have painted themselves into a corner with their "Buy European" programs for military hardware : their interoperability with US forces decreases each year now, because of the lack of features inherent in US systems. The Brits have legislation on the books that makes it nearly impossible to buy any American built systems nowadays; and they want to have all new major ship production done within the EU. Also, the latest series of British avionics is NOT compatible with US series but is compatible with the European standard. The only reason the Brits are still in the F-35 program is that they have research and development funding through some of the British companies, and co-production agreements with the US building firms.
#4
Shieldwolf, the regulations requiring procurement from EU rather than US sources were imposed by Brussels. The British Parliament's function is no longer to run the country, but to rubber-stamp EU diktats, providing a veneer of democracy. The EU's number one defense goal is to achieve "interdependence" among member states; right now, this translates into driving a wedge between Britain and the US. Much as I can't stand Labour, this wasn't their fault. Even the staunchest Atlanticist government couldn't stop this freight train.
#6
No, exJAG, a stout Atlanticist government would have the option that all British governments have, and which one of them will soon have to use if Britain is to remain even nominally free: tell the EU to go to straight to Hell and do as they damned well please. And if the EU doesn't like it, tell them to come and do something about it.
Posted by: Mac ||
03/15/2007 10:27 Comments ||
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#7
Oh, if you're talking about extricating Britain from the EU altogether, Mac, I agree. Realistically, however, I just don't see that on the horizon. Do you?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/15/2007 14:28 Comments ||
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#9
No, exJAG, I don't see that coming but I don't think it would be necessary either. Submission to the diktats from Brussels isn't and cannot be required in cases that would affect national survival. The EUnuchs would not like Britain buying American but trying to do something about it legally could be tied up in the courts for decades, assuming the British wished to do so. There's no way they get expelled over this and the day something like this happens (and I believe it will), it's a giant step toward the dissolution of the EU.
Posted by: Mac ||
03/15/2007 17:52 Comments ||
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#10
"The government argues Britain must keep atomic weapons because potential threats from Iran, North Korea or nuclear terrorists mean abandoning them now could be a costly mistake -- even if there is no current threat."
How nice to see that someone in Britain still has a pulse an IQ above room temperature.
Via Frontpagemag.com
Mexican President Felipe Calderon yesterday said he doesn't know whether relatives, who he said work as vegetable pickers in the United States, are there legally.
"I do have family in the United States, and what I can tell you is that these are people who work and respect that country," he said at a press conference with President Bush here yesterday. "They pay their taxes to the government. These are people who work in the fields with vegetables. They probably handle that which you eat, the lettuce." "I have not seen them in a long time and do not know their migratory status," he said.
Mr. Calderon had mentioned his family as American vegetable pickers during his presidential campaign last year. "How many of you have family in the United States?" he asked at a campaign rally in April, as reported then by USA Today. Nearly every hand in the crowd of thousands went up. "I have a cousin and brother-in-law there, too."
With one of every 10 living persons born in Mexico now in the United States, Mr. Calderon's disclosure was not surprising. Speaking through an interpreter, Mr. Calderon said half of the 4 million people from his home state of Michoacan now live in the United States. More at link.
Posted by: ed ||
03/15/2007 07:58 ||
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I wish I had 1/10 of the money that his relatives have most likely racked up in free medical care, free public services and "under the table" employment.
Cuban President Fidel Castro spoke on the telephone with Venezuelan Statesman Hugo Chavez and Haiti's Rene Preval, to whom he ratified the island s support for his people, Granma newspaper reported Wednesday. The Cuban Revolution s leader also praised Chavez for having visited in a brief time several regional countries, "overcoming risks and fatigue," while he termed brilliant the speeches by the South America head of State.
When Chavez asked him about his health, Fidel Castro responded "well, I am very good," and emphasized he was informed on everything related to his Latin American and Caribbean tour. The conversation took place while Chavez met with Preval and Cuba s Council of State Vice President Esteban Lazo, also visiting Haiti, and other top officials from the three governments. Talking with Fidel Castro on the presence of the island s physicians in Haiti, the Cuban statesman assured Chavez that it could count on that force. About this issue, the Venezuelan head of State said he could carry out a program similar to the "Frente Miranda," with the aim of building houses, with water and electricity.
Preval told the Cuban president he was happy with the visit of Hugo Chavez, and compared his mass welcome to a Revolution. Fidel Castro, who termed the day as a day of brotherhood, said that Haitians are hard-working and true fighters for the people.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2007 00:00 ||
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Venezuelan Statesman Hugo Chavez
Yeah. Right.
This word you are using, I do not think it means what you think it means.
Although, to be fair, if a man who owns a yacht is a yachtsman...
Posted by: Baba Tutu ||
03/15/2007 13:13 Comments ||
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To paraphrase Fred: Ohfergaiassake
The European Parliament has heard complaints that the Declaration of Berlin, planned to celebrate the European Union's 50th birthday, is being written in secret. The parliament had a debate, but nothing to debate. The leader of the Liberal Group, Graham Watson, called it a "ghost declaration" and said it was "bizarre" to talk about the declaration without even a draft in front of them. The Green's Daniel Cohn-Bendit said: "If we don't speak publicly about such documents the people will not follow us."
But there is a reason for the secrecy. The Germans are determined that the declaration of Berlin will be short, easy for everyone to understand and will slip down as easily as the free sausages and beer that will be on offer at the party in 10 days' time. As one diplomat deeply involved put it, Eurobabble is banned.
Hokay. If you say so.
Everyone knows that a camel is a horse designed by committee, so you can see their point. But the price of not running the text through 27 committees and countless drafts is that no-one really knows what is going on.
The Germans insist that it is not simply a closely-guarded secret: it actually has not been written.
It is not just members of the European Parliament who are being kept in the dark. Neither Tony Blair nor his 26 counterparts throughout Europe have seen it either. Of course, there has been consultation. After all, it would be a bit embarrassing if just one of the leaders of the EU's 27 countries took their first look at the text during the ceremony and then threw down their pen and walked away in disgust.
So what are known glamorously as "focal points" - senior diplomats mostly from the prime minister or president's office - are being kept in touch. They will have made it clear what each country expects and what it cannot stomach. The Germans insist that it is not simply a closely-guarded secret: it actually has not been written. They say that two men in a Berlin backroom are staring at their computers and scratching their heads right now. They may conclude bland is beautiful. This is not one of those crunch negotiations where someone has to be offended, or to lose out. Mentioning the achievements of the EU is relatively easy.
*Splutter*
Peace in our time, democracy for all the right people and stability of the gravy train will be in there. So will reuniting Europe after the collapse of the Iron Curtain. So too the Eurozone and the passport-free zone, even though some countries including Britain are not members. The UK has stressed it will not take offence at the mere mention of these subjects.
But it is obvious where the difficulty will lie. Although there is no text, there is a one-page structure with several different headings. Under the last one, "the future", there is a blank.
Heh.
If part of the future is defined as taking more countries into the EU, France will not like it. If there is too much stress on a "social" Europe others, including Britain, will have problems. The big one is the constitution. The Germans are determined to breathe new life into this document by the summer. But they insist that they will not try to sneak anything into the declaration.
"Look! Over there! It's David Hasselhoff!"
However the German Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, seemed to suggest something bolder when he spoke to the European Parliament. He said that it should mention getting a new "institutional settlement" in place by 2009. That is EU code for the rule changes in the constitution. He added: "We very much hope the Berlin Declaration will contain a joint commitment - a commitment to work to get the preconditions we need in place."
The Germans have set themselves a tricky goal.
Eurobabble is not written by highly literate, intelligent people because they set out to baffle. Not often anyway. The written conclusions to so many a meeting are dull and complex because they are balanced with a lawyer's skill and diplomat's nuance because an idea or a word has been inserted in one place to meet once concern, offset by another phrase later to satisfy the opposing lobby. The Germans may find clarity is not everything it's cracked up to be.
Assuming they are practicng clarity, which is manifestly not the case here.
Airbus unions have said that workers in France, Germany and Spain would strike tomorrow to protest the aircraft makers plans to cut 10,000 jobs and spin off or close six European plants.
The European Metalworkers Federation said its member unions at all of Airbus French and German plants would stop work, while in Spain 9,000 workers at Airbus three factories and other sites owned by its parent company EADS would walk off the job for an hour. It said there would be a mass demonstration in front of EADS headquarters in Paris and some 20,000 people were expected to join a large protest in the German port city of Hamburg, with smaller demonstrations outside Spanish production sites. Trade unions in supplier companies based in Belgium and the Netherlands would support Airbus workers by traveling to the protests in neighboring countries, it said.
There are no plans for workers to demonstrate in Brussels. Socialist lawmakers at the European Parliament called on Airbus employees to stay firm in the face of restructuring plans, saying they would ask EADS unions to talk to them in Brussels on March 28 and 29 and had not ruled out meeting Airbus co-Chief Executive Louis Gallois at a later date. Management errors lie behind Airbus difficulties, said Martin Schulz, the leader of the Parliaments pan-European Socialist group. It is all the more shocking to see today that its the workers who pay the price and not the shareholders.
Gallois last week urged politicians not to interfere in how the company managed its business.
Good luck with that.
Ahead of Frances April 22-May 6 two-round presidential election, most candidates have pushed for state intervention to help rescue the company from its troubles, largely caused by a weaker US dollar and a $6.5 billion profit shortfall due to the A380 super-jumbos two-year delay.
Besides the job cuts of which 4,300 would be made in France Airbus plans to sell or close three plants and find industrial partners to take over and upgrade three more facilities producing fuselage and wing parts. Two of the six affected sites are in France, three in Germany and one in Britain.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/15/2007 00:00 ||
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Me like. While Europe was an irreplaceable trading partner, I was torn between a desire to see their idiotic policies and pretensions leading to their predictable consequences, and a reluctance to see the world economy take a hit. Now, with China surging, east Asia booming, and even Japan rousing from its slumber .... I'm quite OK with Europe achieving the economic success it has chosen as its destiny ...
#2
When the world's largest Airbus widebody operator and A380F launch customer (FedEx) drops you trouble is just around the corner. They pay their bills on time but when you don't deliver others (Boeing) will.
The A319/320/321 is still a money maker but not enough to cover the losses from labor problems, A380, and A400M.Which inturn dries up seed money for the A350WXB.
#4
I never could understand the logic of striking your employer when he's teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. They do it though. Of course, management often weakens its own credibility by giving themselves big bonus checks while/for laying off rank and file workers.
#5
Glenmore,
That's what killed one of my father's fomer employers. In the summer of 1982, American Shipbuilding in Cleveland got struck by the yard workers who were asking for a 1 year contract, 25% pay increase and a 4 day work week. The yard was desperately trying to get some USN business to stay open, and the Navy said no way without a 3 year contract. The workers went out, the yard closed - and the screaming about the scummy management began, led by Ohio Senator Howard Metzenbaum (and be thankful ol' Howie isn't alive and in the Senate today, he was the one who taught Dennis Kucinich everything he knows). The funny part is to this day, the union still holds its monthly meeting, insisting that the yard will someday 'have' to reopen. (The dryodcks were cobnverted to marina space years ago and the what buildings weren't torn down are now office and storage space.)
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/15/2007 9:08 Comments ||
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#7
My first jobs when I got out were in the steel mills of Youngstown and Cleveland - Republic Steel and Youngstown Sheet and Tube.
You'd file a grievance if the boss looked at you funny. The works rules were so restrictive that you saw things like electricians (only) replacing any burned out light bulbs and machinists or millwrights changing the ribbons in a typewriter. My first year at the Tube I got 6 weeks paid vacation. A paid day off for voting, a paid day off for giving blood, etc., etc., etc.
#8
its troubles, largely caused by a weaker US dollar and a $6.5 billion profit shortfall due to the A380 super-jumbos two-year delayRube Goldberg organizational structure.
#9
Meanwhile, recent reports indicate Boeing is looking at ways to ramp up 787 production from 7 to 10 planes a month. That works out to about a 50% increase in production rates( not exact, but real close) the amount of additional tooling and labor to achieve that is not negligible and leaves no room for failues or anything but scheduled downtime (equip. maintenance). and this is the -8 version; orders for the -9 have been increasing in the past few weeks and there is no major tooling even built yet for it. go ahead and strike you morons.
anybets who wins the USAF tanker contract? I expect the lefties to put pressure on the military to buy Northrop-Grumman; AKA Airbust 'to keep our production options open and not held hostage to only one airframe maker.'
Asked if she believed homosexuality was immoral, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton declined to answer the question in a television interview this morning and said it was for others to conclude.
General Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a recent interview that he personally believed homosexuality was immoral and that this view was a factor in his opposition to gays serving openly in the military.
Mrs. Clinton, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, supports allowing gays to serve, which would amount to a change in her husbands dont ask dont tell policy. She has also been aggressively courting gay voters and groups in recent weeks. Some gay groups have been critical of Mrs. Clintons refusal to support gay marriage, however, though she does support civil unions.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2007 00:00 ||
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#2
Good thing they didn't ask her if it should be mandatory.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2007 6:36 Comments ||
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#3
She's right on the civil union issue. Why not allow these people the same legal partnership rights. Marriage is between a man and a women but if homosexuals enter into a life long commitment out of love, they should have the same basic rights afforded to others.
That being said, Pace has honor. I honestly pray that Hillary will find some. Even a little. But at this point it may be very unlikely.
#4
She's right on the civil union issue. Why not allow these people the same legal partnership rights.
Nope she isn't. I have an interest in stable hetersosexaul unions because on average these produce more children and on avearge a higher proportion of them turn productive members of the society than child from unstable couples.
That is why I accpet to pay taxes in order funding the legal apparatus around marriage, and reduced taxes for married couples or reduced heirloom taxes between them: they could produce the fireman who wil save my life in twenty years from here.
Now tell me why I should accept to pay a cent for funding marriage between homosexuals. If they want to live together, have a PRIVATE ceremony and a banquet that is their problem. But making such unuiojns official and extending to thelm the benefits given to heterosexual marriage means taxes for the others.
. . . let's say that Hillary managed to get to the left of George Bush on this issue. Barely.
Posted by: Mike ||
03/15/2007 7:29 Comments ||
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#6
I don't understand your argument JFM. Allowing or not allowing gay unions will not affect population growth as these people will not, in most cases, procreate anyways. As to the taxes, married people pay relatively more taxes than single people (at least in the USA), so if gay unions follow the same rules as married people they will pay even more taxes as they won't get deductions that come from dependents.
If you come to die and transmit your property to your life-partner taxes will be lower if you are merried than if you aren't at least here in France. Ditto for income taxes. Also someone has to pay for upkeeping of marriage records, divorce judges and similar.
So marriage has a cost for other people (taxes) and benefits (on average more children and more of them who turn productive citizens instead of criminals or burdens to society than for childldren from non-formal unions).
Now about gay marriages I see the costs for the tax payers but I fail to see the additional children (that future fireman who will save your life) whose existence could justify the tax payer financing the record keeping and the tax cuts awarded to the married gay partners.
#11
She's right, it's for "others to conclude." Only a stupid liberal journalist (but I repeat myself, twice) would look to Hillary or Bill for moral advice.
#12
Yeah, she is ducking the issue. She knows that gay agendists seek federal sanction for overriding State prohibitions on "gay marriages." That issue is too hot to handle. Hillary will peddle herself as a Centrist. Worked for Slick Willy.
Look like the Navy thought they lost a boat there for awhile.
NORFOLK (NNS) -- During the early evening of March 13, units of the USS Enterprise Carrier Strike Group (CSG) received a series of indications that USS San Juan (SSN 751), a Los Angeles class submarine conducting pre-deployment training with the Enterprise CSG, was in distress.
Fortunately, the submarine established communications in the early morning hours of March 14, and indicated that there were no problems; hence, units were able to stand down from the search and rescue that was already well underway.
Losses of communications, followed by the reported sighting of a red flare, are distress indicators. These indicators, combined with establishing communications with only two of the three submarines operating with the Enterprise CSG, was sufficient information to activate missing submarine procedures.
Ships and aircraft from the Enterprise Strike group immediately commenced a search of the area where San Juan had been operating.
The International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office (ISMERLO) in Norfolk, Va., was alerted to assist with the search and rescue effort. ISMERLO, an international organization, serves to facilitate the rapid call out of international rescue systems in the event of a submarine accident. The immediate response from various international entities was superb. In addition, San Juan family members were notified of the situation at hand.
Although this was a false alarm, the primary concern was the safety of our submariners and the support of family members. Procedures demonstrated that the submarine escape and rescue program is able to quickly respond to an event such as this when every second counts.
The Submarine Force is concerned about how this event initiated from what would appear to be false indicators. The Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic will conduct a thorough review of the matter to determine any lessons learned. Any comments from our sub alumni?
#1
Not a submariner, but the ones I've talked to on this think that someone in the chain misunderstood a message or may have misunderstood an exercise message as the real thing. If that's the case, hopefully the USN won't be too hard on them. On the upside, all the plans and contingencies laid down for just such an event seem to have worked very, very well, and that's something for the USN to be proud of.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/15/2007 10:50 Comments ||
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#2
Mike, it sounds more likely that the commands and the subs "required comm call-in list" didn't jibe. The sub missed a required comm link or the commands list had an erroneous call-in. Extremely rare but sometimes happens.
As far as the red flare, who knows what happened there.
Posted by: Almost Anonymous5839 ||
03/15/2007 11:57 Comments ||
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#3
As far as the red flare, who knows what happened there.
There is a LOT more to this story than we are being told, or will ever know.
When it comes to red combos and Submarines, things do not just happen. Red combos are used for one reason and one reason only onboard Submarines, it means we are in dire trouble. Several pieces (huge pieces) to this picture are missing, and likely will not be known to the public at large. (For those who have not served on Subs, red combos do not get loaded into the countermeasures launcher by accident. Ever.)
SULAIMANIYA - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani was greeted by a large cheering crowd as he returned to Iraq on Wednesday after two weeks in a Jordanian hospital where he was recovering from exhaustion. An official from Talabanis political party said the Kurdish president was travelling to his party headquarters in the northern city of Sulaimaniya from the local airport.
Talabani, a former Kurdish rebel leader in his early 70s, was flown to Jordan for medical tests on Feb. 25 for fatigue and blood pressure and had been recuperating in hospital since.
It was not clear when he would return to work but an official from his party told Reuters he was in good health and would spend several days to rest in Sulaimaniya before returning to his office in Baghdad.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/15/2007 00:00 ||
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And I thought his condition was stable. I guess there may be hope for all those in stable condition.
It's not known whether she wanted to make a statement by her action or was it just an expression of her religious sentiment, but a Muslim woman surprised everyone when she took Sauna bath wearing a full hijab and then jumping into a swimming pool in the same robe. Subsequently, she changed out of her wet hijab into a dry one and left the David Lloyd Leisure Centre in Oxford, alone.
She was allowed to swelter in a sauna because the Centre's worried staff did not want to offend her. But, after the incident, Centre manager Liam MacGilp briefed all pool and sauna attendants on the company's policy not allowing attending sauna baths or swimming pools in outdoor garments, reported The Sun. According to the paper, the Centre staff did not know if they should enforce a dress code that asks customers to wear suitable clothes.
People in the sauna - all wearing normal swimming cossies - were amazed as the woman joined them in the steam room in her robes. A surprised Muslim spokesman Taj Hargey asked: "How can you swim properly if you wear a hijab?"
Members of the David Lloyd Leisure Centre said they were baffled by the women's actions. Club member Ian Caldwell (46) was sitting in the sauna when the fully-dressed woman walked in. He said: "I pointed out that it was a sauna and asked her if it was appropriate. All the other women in there were all in bathing costumes. When I saw her in the pool later, she was still wearing the Islamic outfit. The pool attendant said she was allowed to wear this due to her religious customs. It was just political correctness gone completely barmy. To be serious, this is a question of hygiene, not religious rights."
Reacting to the incident, Taj, the chairman of the Muslim Educational Centre in Oxford, said: "Wearing a veil is nothing to do with Islam, it is a cultural tradition. People should have appropriate swimwear when they come to a leisure centre. It is basic common sense."
The incident demonstrated a problem among some Muslim women in Britain, he said and added: "They think this is their way of making a statement, but this is the worst possible statement.
They are shooting themselves in the foot."
#1
At my local gender-segregated sauna I see men there wearing hoodies and long thick pants all the time. They stay a few minutes then leave. Wearing insulated clothing there guarantees you will warm up [then cool off] extremely slowly. Thick clothing actually keeps you cooler in a sauna [for a while] than no clothing at all.
However, swimwear is a safety issue at a public pool.
#5
This is schtoopid. The alleged point of hijab is to keep women from distracting righteous men from their worship of Allan with their evil lust-inducing femaleness. In an all female environment this is politics and a cultural nose tweaking. "Go ahead, offend me. I dare you."
Posted by: Baba Tutu ||
03/15/2007 13:24 Comments ||
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#6
I would have been out the sauna door like a shot. A burkha in a sauna would have shouted "boomer" to me.
#7
Those clever muslims. Taking a bath and doing the laundry at the same time. I hear they also save a fortune on toilet paper.
Posted by: ed ||
03/15/2007 13:29 Comments ||
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#8
This was a gender-integrated sauna, as best I could tell from the article. My local one doesn't seem to have a dress code even for segregated ones, other than you must wear at least a swimsuit. Hadn't thought of the suicide-bomber aspect, good point. Maybe everyone should have run out of the facility screaming in terror & then called the local emergency number.
Too bad some woman in the sauna didn't insist this clown prove she's female right then and there and not just another Lion of Islam™ running from the police a man using a sack to get his jollies.
And no, a "woman's" voice would not have been enough proof.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/15/2007 14:29 Comments ||
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The Vatican on Wednesday condemned as "erroneous or dangerous" some of the writings of a well-known champion of liberation theology but took no immediate disciplinary action against the priest involved. It was the first such move under the nearly two-year papacy of Pope Benedict XVI, who as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger led the Vatican's crackdown on theologians judged to be perilously straying from church doctrine.
The Vatican began building its case in 2004 against the writings of the Rev. Jon Sobrino, a Spanish Jesuit, calling the procedure "urgent" because of the wide diffusion of his works in Latin America. The judgment by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith "deals specifically with the works, not with the person," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told reporters. He said it was the congregation's "duty to explain what was found erroneous in the writings, and thus to alert the faithful." I'd just burn him at the stake, myself. "Liberation theology" is a stench and an abominatioin.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2007 00:00 ||
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Link ||
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#1
I had to look it up. This link being WikiWaki, I'd suggest checking some other sources.
#2
Liberation theology = Marxism hiding behind a Bible. Period.
For those "Christians" who think they can lie down with dogs (communists) and get up without fleas, let alone get up at all (given the hostility of the left to religion generally and Christianity in particular), best of luck.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
03/15/2007 5:53 Comments ||
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#3
The NYTimes headline was "Dissident Priest in El Salvador Is Rebuked by the Vatican"
The most dangerous thing coming out of prison these days may be something most convicts dont even know they have: hepatitis C.
Nobody knows how many inmates have the disease; by some estimates, around 40 percent of the 2.2 million in jail and prison are infected, compared with just 2 percent of the general population.
Eventually, when they are released, medical experts predict they will be a crushing burden on the health care system, perhaps killing as many people as AIDS in years to come. At the same time, they will be carriers, spreading the disease.
Hepatitis C can be treated, but many prisons do not test for it. Among the reasons: Budgets are tight, and treatment is expensive. So prison officials close their eyes to the gathering emergency and pass it along to the outside world...
...Hepatitis C is already the most common disease of its sort in the United States a chronic, life-threatening, blood-borne infection. It is most commonly linked to infected needles used for drugs, though prison tattoos and body piercing with non-sterile equipment are also risky...
TEHERAN - Irans hardline judiciary has allowed the reformist economic daily Asia to resume publication, the third banned moderate title allowed back within a week, media reported on Wednesday. The papers director Iraj Jamshidi said that the paper -- banned in January last year for publishing a photograph of German Chancellor Angela Merkel with bare arms -- would be back after the Iranian New Year holidays in March.
Well. Hubba. Hubba.
The lifting of the ban comes in the same week that the flagship moderate daily Shargh was allowed to reappear after a half-year ban and the centrist Ham Mihan received approval after a seven year ban.
The succession of permissions for the moderate dailies to republish appears to indicate a growing flexibility from the judiciary towards the press, which has stepped up criticism of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in recent months.
Irans press flourished in the early years of the rule of reformist president Mohammad Khatami although it was then hit by a string of closures. The stringent regulation has continued under Ahmadinejad, although, even without Shargh, the press still has a diverse range of titles including the unashamedly reformist Etemad Melli and Ayandeh-No.
Closures have also hit conservative titles over the past year, with the ultra-conservative Siasat Ruz and the government newspaper Iran both serving temporary suspensions for insulting Irans ethnic and religious minorities.
They banned the government newspaper?
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/15/2007 00:00 ||
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To the U.S. Marines serving at Camp Pendleton, there is much to learn from the Spartans, those heroic warriors of ancient Greece whom one might have called "the few, the proud" centuries before the Marine Corps adopted the motto.
In the hit new film "300," Marines see parallels between the current war in Iraq and the film's story, which tells of hopelessly outnumbered Spartans fighting heroically to the death against mighty Persian invaders at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC.
There was periodic cheering Monday night at the Regal multiplex in downtown Oceanside, a few blocks from the main gate of Camp Pendleton, where young Marines attended showings of "300" on three screens. Some Marines nodded in recognition at lines in the movie that were familiar from their training such as when King Leonidas instructs his son that the more troops sweat in training, the less they will bleed in combat.
"When the Spartan officer says that Spartans are all about protecting the guy to the left and right rather than being worried about themselves, that struck a chord," said Pfc. James Lyons, 20. "That's what they tell us all the time."
It probably comes as no surprise that Marines would like the film. "I barked and cheered my way through '300' with two fellow Marine infantry officers who have shed blood and tears in the back alleys of Iraq," said Ilario G. Pantano, whose book "Warlord: No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy" details his experiences in Iraq and his criminal case on charges of murdering two Iraqis. He was exonerated and is now a sheriff's deputy in New Hanover County, N.C.
How frequently did "300" remind the young Marines in the movie audience of the Marine Corps? "Every second," said Pfc. Zach Marino, 23. The Spartans and the battle at Thermopylae are an official part of Marine Corps mythology and self-image.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/15/2007 00:00 ||
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[9 views]
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#1
I love all the services, but my feelings towards the Marines are about as close as I get to being religious.
#2
Pressfield's "Gates of Fire" (a Shaara type novel about Thyrmoplyae) is mandatory reading for Marines from the Commandant's reading list - I highly recommend it if you enjoyed any of the 'killer angels or gods & generals' styled books. I wonder if "300" got some of it's inspiration from that Pressfield book. When I was going through the Marine Corps Martial Arts Instructor course we talked a lot about the spartans and their culture. I'm looking forward to this movie. Doesn't surprise me in the least that the lads were hooping and hollering in the theater. I remember watching "gladiator" w/a room full of fellow jarheads and that elicited much of the same response.
#5
"Our Country won't go on forever, if we stay soft as we are now. There won't be any AMERICA because some foreign soldiery will invade us and take our women and breed a hardier race!"
#2
"We need the most talented people; we need the language skills. We need patriotic Americans who exist across the board in our population," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "We don't need moral judgment from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs."
But we DO need moral judgements from YOU, Nance? And Harry, and Johnny, and Teddy, et al, ad nauseum.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/15/2007 6:03 Comments ||
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Moral judgements from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs is precisely what we do need. His personal opinion is that homosexuality is immoral. His professional opinion is that cowardice, sloppiness, and laziness are, too.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2007 6:35 Comments ||
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#4
FormerSpook, over at In From the Cold, has an excellent entry up right now on this topic.
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.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's government vowed to silence dissent on Wednesday, defying international outrage over an assault which left the opposition leader with a suspected fractured skull. Images of battered Mugabe critic Morgan Tsvangirai going to court after his arrest on Sunday have brought condemnation from several countries including the United States.
LONDON - Britains parliament is expected to approve a new nuclear arsenal on Wednesday but Prime Minister Tony Blair may have to rely on opposition votes to push his plans through. Blair is convinced Britain needs to renew its nuclear deterrent, despite deep-rooted opposition within his Labour Party which could see scores of Labour lawmakers voting against him.
Cuban President Fidel Castro spoke on the telephone with Venezuelan Statesman Hugo Chavez and Haiti's Rene Preval, to whom he ratified the island s support for his people, Granma newspaper reported Wednesday. The Cuban Revolution s leader also praised Chavez for having visited in a brief time several regional countries, "overcoming risks and fatigue," while he termed brilliant the speeches by the South America head of State.
Airbus unions have said that workers in France, Germany and Spain would strike tomorrow to protest the aircraft makers plans to cut 10,000 jobs and spin off or close six European plants. 
Asked if she believed homosexuality was immoral, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton declined to answer the question in a television interview this morning and said it was for others to conclude.
The Vatican on Wednesday condemned as "erroneous or dangerous" some of the writings of a well-known champion of liberation theology but took no immediate disciplinary action against the priest involved. It was the first such move under the nearly two-year papacy of Pope Benedict XVI, who as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger led the Vatican's crackdown on theologians judged to be perilously straying from church doctrine.
TEHERAN - Irans hardline judiciary has allowed the reformist economic daily Asia to resume publication, the third banned moderate title allowed back within a week, media reported on Wednesday. The papers director Iraj Jamshidi said that the paper -- banned in January last year for publishing a photograph of German Chancellor Angela Merkel with bare arms -- would be back after the Iranian New Year holidays in March.
To the U.S. Marines serving at Camp Pendleton, there is much to learn from the Spartans, those heroic warriors of ancient Greece whom one might have called "the few, the proud" centuries before the Marine Corps adopted the motto.
