An analysis of century-old bottles of absinthe - the kind once quaffed by the likes of van Gogh and Picasso to enhance their creativity - may end the controversy over what ingredient caused the green liqueur's supposed mind-altering effects .
The culprit seems plain and simple: The century-old absinthe contained about 70 percent alcohol, giving it a 140-proof kick. In comparison, most gins, vodkas and whiskeys are just 80- to 100-proof...
...Lachenmeier and his colleagues analyzed 13 samples of absinthe from old, sealed bottles in France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and the United States dated back to the early 1900s before the ban. After uncorking the bottles, they found relatively small concentrations of thujone in that absinthe, about the same as those in modern varieties.
Laboratory tests found no other compound that could explain absinthe's effects. "All things considered, nothing besides ethanol was found in the absinthes that was able to explain the syndrome of absinthism," Lachenmeier said...
DNA tests carried out by a U.S. laboratory prove that bone fragments exhumed last year belong to two children of Czar Nicholas II, putting to rest questions about what happened to Russia's last royal family, a regional governor said Wednesday.
Bone fragments dug up near the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg are indeed those of Crown Prince Alexei and his sister, Maria, whose remains had been missing since the family was murdered in 1918 as Russia descended into civil war, said Eduard Rossel, governor of the Sverdlovsk region.
"We have now found the entire family," he told reporters in Yekaterinburg, 900 miles east of Moscow...
#3
The US analysis will be reviewed before final decision- in any case, IIRC Moscow recently has legislatively legally declared the RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH as the official = preferred religion in post-USSR Russia, SO THE ROMANOV CONTROVERSIES MAY NOW BE MOOT SAVE FOR HISTOPOL LINKAGE TO QUEEN VICTORIA, + BRITAIN = EUROPEANISM. ALSO, TMK THE RUSS RESULTS FOR SAME ARE BEING DEBATED AS TO EMPIRICAL CONCLUSIVITY.
OTOH, although most Perts agree that Czar Nicholas and Czarina married in love and were dedic to each other + family, there are still claims of children born outside of marriage, espec as per Nicholas while still a bachelor Prince. IN ADDITION, IT APPEARS NO ONE WANTS TO KNOW OR ANSWER, OR HAVE ANSWERED, WID CERTAINTY IFF RASPUTIN AND CZARINA WERE ********INVOLVED OR NOT???
XUAN CANH, Vietnam Truong Thi Nha stands just four and a half feet tall. Her three grown children tower over her, just as many young people in this village outside Hanoi dwarf their parents. The biggest reason the children are so robust: fertilizer.
Ms. Nha, her face weathered beyond its 51 years, said her growth was stunted by a childhood of hunger and malnutrition. Just a few decades ago, crop yields here were far lower and diets much worse.
Then the widespread use of inexpensive chemical fertilizer, coupled with market reforms, helped power an agricultural explosion here that had already occurred in other parts of the world. Yields of rice and corn rose, and diets grew richer.
Continued on Page 49
#1
Environmental groups fear increased use, particularly of nitrogen fertilizer made using fossil fuels. Because plants do not absorb all the nitrogen, much of it leaches into streams and groundwater. That runoff has long been recognized as a major pollution problem, and it is growing.
That pretty much sums up the attitude of the "Green" movement. At all costs. Nevermind how many people are hurt, starved or put in squalor. It is all about Mother Gaia. They would deliberately starve billions as a sacrifice to their god.
#2
Given the NYT's descent towards junk status, they can claim to be turning the paper into manure. Think of how generous they are! Sacrificing their newspaper to ease the fertilizer shortage.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
04/30/2008 11:36 Comments ||
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#3
Using manure presents other problems, like ungodly smells and introducing e-coli and other nasty diseases into the food supply. And the NYT's makes no mention of alternate uses for fertilizer that may account for some of the increased demand, like bombmaking and meth production. Also, the enviro-wackies aren't pleased that an East Dubuque fertilizer plant was converted to a successful modern coal-to-gas operation. Real solutions will put an end to their lucrative bureaucratic jobs.
#11
Ona serious note, GUAM-WESTPAC will face tremendous, potentially CATASTROPHIC REGIONAL-GLOBAL PRESSURES-FORCES in various, seemingly SIMULTANEOUS/PARALLEL DIMENSIONS - US-CHINA, Global Warming = SUN, "Earth Changes" and Regional DIASPORAS, RADICAL ISLAMISM, etc.
* SONGS OF THE THIRD WORLD WAR > AEROSMITH > "T DON'T WANT TO MISS A THING": THE THEME FROM "ARMAGEDDON" starring 000-mile long TEXAS-SIZED ASTEROIDS. "I don't want to close my eyes, I don't want to fall asleep [die] becuz I miss you baby, and I don't want to miss a thing". FUTURE GUAM/ISLAND BABE SEES,MEETS, AND FALLS IN LOVE WID A DEAD MAN WALKING OUT OF THE SEA, ON A WAVY GRAVY HAZY GLOBAL FOGGY DAY.
Police forces in the capital of Somalia's separatist state of Somaliland clashed with hundreds of angry rioters on Sunday, prompting opposition parties to condemn the government for using "excessive force" against civilians. In a joint press communiqué, Somaliland opposition parties Kulmiye and UCID condemned the breakaway region's government for the "ugly and excessive use of force against civilians," adding that the episode showed the residents of Hargeisa that the "current government is more merciless than that of [former Somali President] Siad Barre."
The harsh criticism from the opposition parties was issued a day after Hargeisa police opened gunfire on rioters, who were reportedly burning tires and throwing stones at officers.
Stones and burning tires will generally provoke return gunfire from the coppers in a third-world shithole ...
At least two civilians were confirmed dead and more than 10 police officers wounded, sources told Garowe Online.
Local newspapers reported that the protestors initially began their demonstration in opposition to the Hargeisa city council's decision to add three new districts to the Somaliland capital and rename one district in the southern quarter of the city.
They re-named the district from 'Brian' to 'Debbie', I think ...
But as more protestors joined the demonstration, rioting began and protestors expressed their dissatisfaction with a range of issues, from President Dahir Riyale's controversial one-year term extension to the sky-high prices for food and gas.
The rioters were eventually convinced to return to their homes after Air Transport Minister Ali Waranadde read aloud an official document signed by Interior Minister Abdullahi "Irro" Ismail. According to the Interior Minister's letter, the Hargeisa city council's decision to create three new districts was "illegal," citing that the Interior Ministry was not informed before the decision was taken.
But growing dissatisfaction with the Riyale administration is not limited to the public.
On Monday, Hargeisa-based independent newspaper Jamhuuriya reported that lawmakers in the Somaliland parliament's upper chamber, the House of Guurti, had "threatened each other with pistols."
Yup, they sound like Somalis ...
A group of dissident House of Guurti legislators wanted to introduce a motion rescinding President Riyale's one-year term extension, which was overwhelmingly approved by the House of Guurti earlier this month. But the acting chairman of the Guurti, Sheikh Ahmed Sheikh Nuh, told the dissident lawmakers that the motion will first have to be studied and approved by the House's legal counsel before being debated on the parliament floor.
His comment immediately sparked anger inside the parliament and eventually led to legislators throwing fists at each other.
Outside parliament, legislators continued to exchange heated words regarding President Riyale's term extension, a development that has generated public anger and condemnation from the opposition parties. One dissident legislator, MP Awil Hussein Ahmed, told Jamhuuriya that Second Deputy Speaker Said Jama Ali pulled a gun on him while at a hotel. "The parliament leaders are acting in such a way today that they pull a gun out on anyone who speaks [his mind]," MP Awil told Jamhuuriya.
Somaliland, composed of Somalia's northwestern regions, unilaterally declared independence from the rest of the country in 1991 after a decade of armed struggle against the government of Somali dictator Siad Barre. No country has recognized Somaliland as an independent state, although the separatist republic has its own government, currency, flag and security forces.
And its own riots, battling factions, conniving politicians and scheming generals. Throw in a few pirates and they'll look like Puntland. Throw in some Islamic Courts and it'll be Mogadishu.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#2
But as more protestors joined the demonstration, rioting began and protestors expressed their dissatisfaction with ... the sky-high prices for food and gas.
That's like protesting the weather. What a bunch of maroons.
The checking of votes in the presidential election was put off again Tuesday, further delaying the day when the country would know whether President Robert Mugabe was to remain in power.
The wait for the result of the March 29 election has led to a tense standoff and drawn accusations by the opposition that Mugabe is trying to rig the outcome and intimidate opponents in the hope of swinging a possible runoff with the main opposition rival, Morgan Tsvangirai.
On Tuesday, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission invited presidential candidates and their agents to start verifying results on Thursday. The process, which had been due to start Tuesday, could take another week before a result can be made public. "This exercise will pave the way for the announcement of the result of the presidential election," state radio said in a notice from the commission.
During the vote-checking process, candidates, their proxies and observers will compare official figures from the ward level up with those they have compiled themselves from the nearly 9,000 polling stations. Only after all parties agree with the figures will a final overall result be announced. The process could take up to a week because disputes are likely to arise, said Utoile Silaigwana, the electoral commission's deputy chief elections officer.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
The check is in the mail.
sorry, couldn't resist
#2
"The checking of votes in the presidential election was put off again Tuesday"
Of course. Since nobody in the international community is complaining about the handling of the election so far, they will continue "putting off" a recount until the idea becomes moot.
LONDON - Britain said Tuesday it would send 600 troops to Kosovo on a four-week deployment at the end of May to assist with NATO peacekeeping activities. "The security situation has remained tense and there have been some sporadic incidents of violence," Defence Secretary Des Browne said in a written statement to parliament.
The deployment of a battalion to the newly-independent state would demonstrate "Britain's commitment to the region's security and will provide extra flexibility in maintaining local peace and stability."
The new deployment is in response to a request from NATO for assistance in dealing with violence between Kosovo's ethnic Albanians and its minority Serbian population. Britain currently has 150 troops in Kosovo as part of the NATO peacekeeping force.
Britain is responsible for providing NATO's standby reserve force for the Balkans for the first six months of this year. Browne's statement said that the soldiers from 2nd Battalion, The Rifles, were based in the province of Northern Ireland and had been "trained specifically for this requirement." Britain would remain committed to the so-called NATO/EU Operational Reserve Force for the Balkans "at a lower level of readiness during the second half of 2008," Browne said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/30/2008 00:00 ||
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Standard & Poor's lowers New York Times rating on lower advertising revenue
NEW YORK (AP) -- Credit-ratings agency Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Tuesday cut its long-term rating on newspaper publisher The New York Times Co., as its advertising revenue continues to fall.
S&P cut its corporate credit rating and senior unsecured debt rating to "BBB-" from "BBB." "BBB-" is one notch above "junk bond" status. The ratings were removed from CreditWatch, but the outlook is negative, meaning another downgrade could occur.
"The rating downgrade reflects a worsening pace of decline in advertising revenue at the company's newspaper publications," said S&P credit analyst Emile Courtney in a statement.
Despite weakening ad revenue, The New York Times has a diversified and quickly growing online revenue base. S&P expects online revenue will begin to offset print revenue declines over the next few years. Shares fell 35 cents to $19.96 during midday trading.
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright would be happy to see Barack Obama's presidential campaign derailed because the pastor is fuming that his former congregant has "betrayed" their 20-year relationship,
The Post has learned. "After 20 years of loving Barack like he was a member of his own family, for Jeremiah to see Barack saying over and over that he didn't know about Jeremiah's views during those years, that he wasn't familiar with what Jeremiah had said, that he may have missed church on this day or that and didn't hear what Jeremiah said, this is seen by Jeremiah as nonsense and betrayal," said the source, who has deep roots in Wright's Chicago community and is familiar with his thinking on the matter.
"Jeremiah is trying to defend his congregation and the work of his ministry by saying what he is saying now," the source added. "Jeremiah doesn't care if he derails Obama's candidacy or not . . . He knows what he's doing. Obviously, he's not a dumb man. He knows he's not helping."
#1
The source added, "After 20 years of loving Barack like he is one of their own, after he was embraced by this congregation as a brother in Christ, after his pastor was a father figure to him and gave him credibility in a city he had not grown up in and in a black community that was suspect of someone from Hawaii and Harvard, he thanks him by not allowing him to speak publicly at his announcement last year?
"A lot of people in the church believe they were there for this man when no one else was, and a lot of people don't believe it any more when Obama claims he loves the man who did so much for him," the source added.
This snippet from the 2nd pg is a reasonable rationalization for what might have happened to cause the "crazy uncle" to come down from the attic. The good Rev.might not have been all OK with being sent to pasture in his "whitey gated community" nor satisfied with access to a $10M line of credit on a debt most likely to be forgiven in the future.
It would be equally delicious if the Wright figured out that a book deal about throwing the ingrate Obama under the bus provided a very lucrative pulpit to preach to a much much larger audience.
Oh, he's helping all right - just not Obamalamadingdong.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/30/2008 14:35 Comments ||
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#3
That's it. It's over for BHO. The house of cards is finally collapsing. It took a little longer than I thought. But I can hear Hillary's cackle off in the distance now.
#4
I've seen people in comments boxes alluding to some sort of connection between Wright and the Clintons--as in, Wright is a supporter or a campaign contributor or some such. (He doesn't come up as a donor on an opensecrets.org search.)
Anyone seen anything more substantial?
Posted by: Mike ||
04/30/2008 17:52 Comments ||
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#5
A picture of Wright and Clintoon at a WH function... possibly celebrating "First Black President" day.
#6
Look here, Mike. Short story: organizer of Wright's speech to the National Press Club is a big-time Clinton supporter. Seems a dubious link to me, but there you are.
Senate candidate Al Franken says he will pay about $70,000 in back income taxes in 17 states going back to 2003.
The Minnesota Democrat has been under attack by Republicans for failing to file tax returns in California for several years when the comedian-turned-candidate earned money there.
Franken tells The Associated Press he never intended to avoid paying taxes. He says during the years in question, he paid his entire income tax bill to the city and state where he lived.
Franken says he did this on the advice of his accountant, but that he takes responsibility. Franken says that after he pays off the back taxes, he plans to file for credit on taxes overpaid in the city and state where he lived when he filed.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2008 07:37 ||
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#1
Franken tells The Associated Press he never intended to avoid paying taxes.
Didn't Wesley Snipes say the same thing?
...he plans to file for credit on taxes overpaid in the city and state where he lived when he filed.
#3
Multistate tax stuff can be annoyingly complex, which is why guys like Franken hire accountants to keep it all straight.
I cannot believe that a competent accountant would miss something this obvious. Hell, even TurboTax has multistate functions built into it!
I cannot believe that someone who runs in the circles Al Franken runs in doesn't appreciate that you have to pay tax where you earn the money--unless he's not as smart as he wants us to think he is.
Posted by: Mike ||
04/30/2008 9:40 Comments ||
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#4
Thus ends another promising democrat political career.
#5
Multistate tax stuff can be annoyingly complex, which is why guys like Franken hire accountants to keep it all straight.
Intelligent people make sure to hire an accountant who knows the tax laws of the other states in which they do business, not Cousin Reuben or "Joe, the accounting student I partied with in college." Mr. Franken proves yet again he isn't nearly as clever as he thinks. A pity -- I used to find his characters on Saturday Night Live amusing... but then, he probably didn't write those scripts.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
04/30/2008 12:44 Comments ||
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#7
Thus ends another promising democrat political career.
*Sigh* unfortunately Als politcal career is still very much alive. Your talking about Minnesota politics here. His Ultra-Progressive Democrat opponent in the primary has most of the Mysterian vote locked-up but shares half of the Euphorian vote with Franken. Most importantly, Al still has the Labor Unions fully behind him ironically, even after he got busted for failing to pay Workmans Comp. insurance to his employees. That probably has a lot to do with Als special knee-pads and a little piece of pending legislation called the Employee Free Choice Act. And if he becomes the Democrats nominee for Senator, regardless of who he is, he will automatically get at least 90% of the local Media endorsements. On top of that, the liberal 527s have already designated Minnesota as one of the most vulnerable Senate seats and therefore have already started pouring some of their millions of dollars into their Anti-Norm Coleman ads.
#4
Mr. Dukakis has maintained an adamantly neutral public stance throughout the campaign, hoping instead to sell both candidates and their campaigns on the need for assembling a massive grassroots organizing effort
Well, so you're the one! It's worked out real well so far, Mikey. Get back in the tank.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/30/2008 7:40 Comments ||
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#5
Mike Dukakis is the only politician I've ever seen that made Jimmy Carter look like a viable alternative.
Thats actually quite incorrect. He adopted a number of pro market positions as gov of Mass, and kept them in the prez campaign.
His liberalism, as for many NE upper middle class Dems was more about style, and about social issues than about bread and butter stuff. Id say the same is largely true of Obama as well.
#7
Um, LH, did you actually live in MA at the time this turd was running us into the ground?
I did (still am) and Dukakis was liberal even for this state. A tax and spender of the first water. It was due to him that Taxachusetts was coined not to mention Prop. 2.5.
#9
It was due to him that Taxachusetts was coined not to mention Prop. 2.5
He hired at least 200 DOR auditors in 1988 as part of his 'Revenue Initiative' to audit the hell out of all types of businesses. I was one of them. I'd have a hard time putting that down as a 'pro market position'.
A week before the North Carolina primary, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton picked up the endorsement Tuesday of that state's governor, Michael Easley, a man highly popular among the blue-collar white voters who have been a pillar of her support.
Easley, a Democratic superdelegate who formerly supported John Edwards, made the announcement - a source of some frustration for Senator Barack Obama's campaign - alongside Clinton in Raleigh. "There's been lots of 'Yes we can, yes we should,' " Easley said, referring to an Obama slogan. "Hillary Clinton is ready to deliver." Obama was also in North Carolina, where he connected with another of the state's most popular symbols, playing basketball with the sky-blue-uniformed members of the University of North Carolina team.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I gotta give the Clinton's credit: A compulsive liar, publically exposed for pretending to have been in sniper fire, has obtained the support of an acting governor! It's really shocking in its own way!!
The graphic chosen to illustrate this is perfect, but I also think Alice in Wonderland would also fit.
You would think that politicians would be afraid of the negative advertising that could and should result from their support of a known compulsive liar. You'd think - but you would be wrong.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is running a new television ad across Indiana starting today that highlights her Midwestern roots and casts her as a working-girl ally of the blue-collar Democrats she is counting on in next Tuesdays primary here. Mrs. Clinton narrates the ad, titled Dreams, recalling her hometown in neighboring Illinois and describing her fathers work in the Navy and as a small businessman and her mothers service as a Sunday school teacher. Their dreams, she says, are similar to those of all Americans who embrace hard work and opportunity, and she said she would fight for all of those hopes as president.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Yep. When I think blue collar, I think Hillary Clinton...
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/30/2008 12:01 Comments ||
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#3
I can't watch either but will someone who did let me know if she promises all us blue collar folks a seven figure book deal, a lucrative speaking tour, and some inside tips on the commodities market.
Democrat Barack Obama said Tuesday he was outraged and appalled by the latest comments from his former pastor, who asserted that criticism of his fiery sermons is an attack on the black church and the U.S. government was responsible for the creation of the AIDS virus.
Good setup, adroit move, but maybe not enough at this point.
The presidential candidate is seeking to tamp down the growing fury over Rev. Jeremiah Wright and his incendiary remarks that threaten to undermine his campaign. "I am outraged by the comments that were made and saddened by the spectacle that we saw yesterday," Obama told reporters at a news conference.
After weeks of staying out of the public eye while critics lambasted his sermons, Wright made three public appearances in four days to defend himself. The former pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago has been combative, providing colorful commentary and feeding the story Obama had hoped was dying down. "This is not an attack on Jeremiah Wright," Wright told the Washington media Monday. "It has nothing to do with Senator Obama. It is an attack on the black church launched by people who know nothing about the African-American religious tradition."
Obama told reporters Tuesday that Wright's comments do not accurately portray the perspective of the black church. "The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago," Obama said of the man who married him.
Wright criticized the U.S. government as imperialist and stood by his suggestion that the United States invented the HIV virus as a means of genocide against minorities. "Based on this Tuskegee experiment and based on what has happened to Africans in this country, I believe our government is capable of doing anything," he said.
Obama said he heard that Wright had given "a performance" and when he watched tapes, he realized that it more than just a case of the former pastor defending himself. "What became clear to me was that he was presenting a world view that contradicts what I am and what I stand for," Obama said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Too little, way too late. Change!
Posted by: N guard ||
04/30/2008 3:19 Comments ||
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#2
Which would be ever so slightly credible if these two thieves had not said they would establish distance between each other if Obama's campaign got this far. The only question is whether Democrats are dumb enough to fall for it.
#3
But Reverend Wright has been saying these things the past 20 years-- the church has been selling the tapes. Sudden outrage over the latest statement, televised live, does not ring true...as we would expect from the honourable freshman senator, the Candidate Obama.
#4
AH, TW ... But he's all about (as N Guard puts it) change! So he's going to change! Show the world what it means to change! He can do it! Admit he made a mistake! Go to another church! Stop donating big bucks to the Rev. Wright's church! Change!
Change, baby! Lemme show you how it's done!
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/30/2008 7:54 Comments ||
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#5
Rev. Wright's message and Obama's association with him works well on the local African-American political scene in Chicago.
Nationally (or outside of any inner city), it is a train-wreck.
Obama wants to continue without the scrutiny, so he throws Wright under the bus and the inner city folks are going to give him as 'pass' for this action (hudna).
"Why can't I just eat my waffle?" - It's a sour Waffle indeed.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
04/30/2008 8:01 Comments ||
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#6
You dissed us, Barack. You dissed us!
Now you pay...
Posted by: Big Arugula ||
04/30/2008 8:27 Comments ||
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#7
The only question is whether Democrats are dumb enough to fall for it.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
04/30/2008 9:11 Comments ||
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#9
This was the minimum he had to do. He finally used the word "outrage" and stopped giving us lectures about the black church. And kinda sorta repudiated rev. nutso personally, by saying "this aint the man I met 20 yrs ago"
NOw I think he coulda hit the ball out of the park by going further, and point by point rejecting it in more detail, and I think the black community would have gone with him on that. But he has a tendency toward caution. Hes not going for homers, when he can get on base with a single. Of course that kind of strategy can lose ball games.
That speaks to too little.
Is it too late? I dont know. Probably not vis a vis Hillary. She could still squeak it out, but it easy to see her losing the nomination.
Vis a vis McCain? Probably not either - sure its inconsistent with his prior statement, but I think folks here would be among the first to say McCain has been far from consistent himself on a few issues. Now to me, the willingess to change in the face of facts is a positive on both their parts (as for Hillary too) and that its sometimes blatantly political isnt always bad either.
Now if someone has tapes of Rev Nutso saying this consistently, over the last two decades, that could still be quite damaging. But if its just over the last 4 years, probably not. The real secret Obama doesnt want to talk about is that, given his stellar (and from the experience viewpoint, troubling) rise from state legislator to US Senate to Prez candidate in 4 years, he almost certainly was NOT in church very much at all over that time. Hes basically been in almost fulltime campaign mode the entire period.
#10
Obama's first mistake was not throwing Wright off the planet when the first hint of this came up in the press. Now, it just looks like desperation. Wright has said this crap for far too long and Obama has been with him for too long and Wright will end Obama's chances for a general election win.
#12
A month ago he could no longer disavow him then he could his own grandmother, now he'd set him on fire on national television if he could get the airtime.
Got a feeling Barack's getting sick of waking up in the middle of the night in a flop sweat while grabbing for his cigarettes...
#13
Hillary. She could still squeak it out, but it easy to see her losing the nomination.
NO, mark my words, she intends to be President, that includes small things like stealing the nomination as a matter of fact.
She WILL steal it, or try hard to.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/30/2008 14:08 Comments ||
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#14
Democrat Barrack Obama said Tuesday he was outraged and appalled by the latest comments from his former pastor
Obama even went as far as describing his former Pastors words as destructive. Oddly, he never described Wrights words as being Racist. Oh thats right only the White privileged class can be you know racist. Pardon me...I must have been using the typical white person left-side of my brain.
#15
It is an attack on the black church launched by people who know nothing about the African-American religious tradition.
Well, maybe it's time for a little lesson.
My guess is that Wright's church may be further away from center than most. But then why is it so popular if that is so? I also guess that this "black church" should hold about the same values as the "church" in general. But if this is true, then why should there be a market for white/black/other churches?
Barack Obama made a call for nonviolence in the aftermath of the Sean Bell verdict - infuriating the Rev. Al Sharpton, who accused the presidential candidate of trying to "grandstand in front of white people," sources told The Post. During what a source described as a "heated" phone call yesterday, Sharpton told Obama he was disappointed with the Illinois senator's words on Friday, when Obama said "resorting to violence to express displeasure" was "completely unacceptable and counterproductive."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Not Black Enough, huh, "Reverend"?
Maybe the next time Barry's in town you can take him down to Freddy's Fashion Mart and he can buy you a new suit to make up for it.
Oh, wait. Freddy's ain't there anymore...
#5
Rev Al to Barry:
"Don't f**k with my game boy ! If I want a riot to shut down NYC, I damn shure am gonna have one. I don't need no whiteboy lip oughta yo mouth."
#8
Rev. Al: "You honkies can keep yo' ignorant white asses out of this discussion. If I SAY BO be grandstandin' he BE grandstandin'. It TAKES an uppity nigga to KNOW an uppity nigga. It's a black thang, you whiteboys wouldn't understand."
Posted by: Thaimble Scourge of the Pixies4707 ||
04/30/2008 16:07 Comments ||
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#9
Constitutionally speaking (which is what this country needs to do more of) - is this a federal or state court issue? Were these cops feds? If so I see why Conyers is sticking his ugly face into it. If this was a Queens, NY deal why is the fed courts getting involved. Somebody pls enlighten me as I am ignorant &/or confused.
The government will give Rs 10 million to each senator as development fund regardless of their political affiliations, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani said on Tuesday. All members of the National Assembly and senators will get equal funds for the development of their respective areas, he said at a dinner hosted by him in honour of senators at Prime Ministers House.
Senate Chairman Mohammadmian Soomro, Leader of the House in Senate Mian Raza Rabbani, parliamentary leaders of various political parties in the Senate, and members of the federal cabinet were also present.
Gillani said the Senate, which was created under the Constitution of 1973, was a symbol of the federation as it gave equal representation to all provinces. He said the creation of Senate was meant to protect the rights of provinces, especially the smaller provinces, and remove their sense of deprivation. He said the coalition government was fighting for the rights of people and was committed to restoring of the Constitution.
He said people wanted the rule of law and the strengthening of state institutions, adding that institutions such as the Public Accounts Committee should be strengthened to ensure accountability.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Rs.10,000,000/-(PKR) = $155,159.00(USD)
Whoo Hoo!
Posted by: Oscar Snelet4420 ||
04/30/2008 9:03 Comments ||
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#2
Line those pockets and don't worry. Uncle Sam's got a whole lot more where that came from!
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/30/2008 12:09 Comments ||
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The United Nations will establish a top-level task force to tackle food shortages and escalating prices that threaten to touch off a "cascade of related crises" around the world, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday.
Ban, who will lead the task force, said the group agreed on a series of measures for the medium and long term, with its first priority to meet the $755 million shortfall in funding for the World Food Program.
Even if the shortfall is met, more money probably will be needed, he said.
"Without full funding of these emergency requirements we risk again the specter of widespread hunger, malnutrition and social unrest on an unprecedented scale," he told reporters in the Swiss capital, Bern, where the U.N. agency chiefs have been meeting. Even if the shortfall is met, more money probably will be needed, he said.
Later, in a speech at the U.N.'s European headquarters in Geneva, Ban said high food prices "could touch off a cascade of related crises affecting trade, economic growth, social progress and even political security around the world."
The price increases have been dramatic, he said. "The price of rice in particular has gone from $400 a ton some weeks ago to more than $1,000 today."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
The solution? Mo' money, mo' money, mo' money...
#2
Oh Gawd, If the UN gets involved the only certain thing is The UN Graft will triple, the foodstuffs will be extremely scarce, and starvation is absolutely going to happen.
When Africa is De-Populated can we then call "Racism" or is the simple fact the UN is involved prevent that Charge, until the population is eliminated. (Then of course, charges of "Racism" are not possible, there's NO black race in Africa to claim "Racism" about)
Pessimistic? Damn right I am, is ther ANYTHING the UN has NOT screwed up and bribed to death?
(Semi-Serious Question, I haven't heard ANYTHING good about the UN, Have you?)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/30/2008 0:44 Comments ||
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#3
ION BIGNEWSNETWORK > FIDEL CASTRO PREDICTED FOOD CRISIS OVER A YEAR AGO.; + FREEREPUBLIC > HAWAII LOSES 85% OF AIR CAPABILITY.
OTOH, CUBA/QUBA > WANTS AN AIR HUB.
Hugo needs the OWG Chunnel as per the OWG CARIBBEAN ZONE = EASTERN PAN-AMER ZONE, etc.???
#5
Well gee I can rest now. Food crisis will be avoided now that all the hungry people are guaranteed to starve and we won't have a food shortage then.
#6
Lock them in a cage with their Global Human Warming apparatchiks for a death match. Who ever exits gets next year's funding. Don't forget to get the pay for view money either.
#8
Commodities shortages are from hedging on futures in Chicago. I smell Soros' and other billionaire speculators trying to create a new crisis now the Oil-for-Food a boondoggle.
#9
"(Semi-Serious Question, I haven't heard ANYTHING good about the UN, Have you?)" - Redneck Jim
The one and only thing the Useless Nitwits ever did that was worth a damn was the eradication of smallpox in nature, spearheaded by WHO (part of the UN, IIUC).
But that was before the PC era - it wouldn't be possible now. >:-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/30/2008 14:23 Comments ||
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#10
That ethanol thing is really working out well. How about methanol you idiots?
If some engineer ever figured out how to power cars with t-bone steaks, a government program to subsidize it would follow shortly.
#12
Since the NET is already discussing the utility of NORTHERN AFRICA = SAHARA DESERT as per SOLAR-WIND ENERGY, might as well also discuss proposals for OWG AGRI-ZONES/ENERGY ZONES AS PER THE GREATER OWG AFRICAZONE??? Add to other PRE-9-11 schemes for CULTURAL-ANTHROPOLOGICAL TOURISM.
REDDIT + IIRC SPACEWAR [old]> 28-KM BRIDGE TO BE BUILT BWTN AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST [Lower Arabia= Yemens]. Lest we fergit, NET [old] > NORTH ATLANTIC SURFACE-UNDERWATER TRANS-LOGISTICS SYS from NORAM to Britain to Euro; CENTRAL ATLANTIC SYS from NORAM to CANARY ISLANDS to EUro + Africa. + GIBRALTAR linking SPain to Africa.
The long-sought after memristor--the "missing link" in electronic circuit theory--has been invented by Hewlett Packard Senior Fellow R. Stanley Williams at HP Labs (Palo Alto, Calif.)
Memristors--the fourth passive component type after resistors, capacitors and inductors--were postulated in a seminal 1971 paper in the IEEE Transactions on Circuit Theory by professor Leon Chua at the University of California (Berkeley), but their first realization was just announced today by HP.
According to Williams and Chua, now virtually every electronics textbook will have to be revised to include the memristor and the new paradigm it represents for electronic circuit theory... A LOT more than textbooks will have to be changed. This could eventually involve the redesign of much of the world's electronics.
#3
Does Cyberdyne Systems know about this? Hope not.
As depicted in the films The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Cyberdyne is initially a benign manufacturing corporation in Sunnyvale, California. Its products are unknown, but from the equipment in its factory and its high tech-sounding name, it seems possible that Cyberdyne might have been some sort of smaller, parts producer for larger manufactures of high tech equipment. After a T-800 series Terminator, Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 a cyborg from the future, designed to kill humans is crushed in one of the company's hydraulic presses, the company secretly begins manufacturing technological devices based on reverse engineering the Terminator's remains. Cyberdyne reverse engineers the recovered CPU from the destroyed cyborg and creates a powerful new microprocessor for weapons systems, becoming a major contractor for the US military.
In the Terminator universe's original timeline, an undisclosed series of events leads to Cyberdyne's development of Skynet, a network of supercomputers that employ artificial intelligence in order to replace human beings as commercial and military aircraft pilots, and for the control of other military systems, including nuclear missiles. The system went online on August 4, 1997. On August 29, 1997 ("Judgment Day"), Skynet became self aware. In a panic humans attempted to shut it down, and Skynet retaliated by launching a nuclear attack against Russia, knowing that the Russian counterattack would eliminate its enemies in the U.S, initiating an indeterminately long period of global warfare. The battle pitted humans against machines, which developed ever-increasing capabilities.
In Terminator 2: Judgment Day, in an effort to prevent Judgment Day from occurring, Cyberdyne's headquarters is destroyed by a group of saboteurs the film's main characters: John Connor, future leader of the human resistance, his mother Sarah Connor, and a second T-800 series Terminator that traveled back in time. However, in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, it is revealed that the timeline is only slightly altered: after the destruction of the company's headquarters, Cyberdyne Systems' patents were obtained by the U.S. Government, with another technological corporation Cyber Research Systems. Skynet continues to be developed by the company for the Strategic Air Command-North American Aerospace Defense Command, and ultimately, Judgment Day occurs, just at a later date than it would have originally.
In the original timeline, at some point after Judgment Day, Cyberdyne Systems, under the control of Skynet, creates the T-600, T-800 and T-1000 series of Terminators. In the modified timeline, prior to Judgment Day, humans at Cyber Research Systems create several different series of relatively primitive Terminators to replace U.S. soldiers in field combat. At some point after Judgment Day, Skynet-controlled machines create several more advanced series of Terminators, including the T-800 (although its models would not include the Cyberdyne Systems Model 101, since Cyberdyne Systems was destroyed), the T-850 (which is described in the third film as a T-800 upgrade) and the T-X, also known as the Terminatrix.
The leader of a group of East Timor rebels accused of trying to assassinate President Jose Ramos-Horta surrendered on Tuesday, raising hopes that the troubled young nation can find some rare stability.
Gastao Salsinha and 12 of his men surrendered to Deputy Prime Minister Jose Luis Guterres in a closed-door meeting at the government palace in the capital Dili, witnessed by other officials including Ramos-Horta. As an individual I have no hatred against the one who shot me, I forgive him, but as the head of state he has to face court to explain it, added Ramos-Horta, who has previously singled out one of the fugitive rebels as being his shooter. The 58-year-old Nobel laureate, who was critically wounded during the February attacks on his Dili home, recently returned to Dili after recuperating for two months in Australia.
The people want to know who gave them the support of uniforms, weapons and bullets, added Ramos-Horta, who upset Jakarta by suggesting that elements from neighbouring Indonesia were behind the plot. During the surrender, the rebels handed over guns and other military equipment, including camouflage uniforms and grenades. Salsinha, who took command of the rebels after their leader, Alfredo Reinado, was killed in the Feb. 11 attack, had been negotiating with authorities from a house in Ermera district, 75 km (47 miles) west of the capital.
Salsinha told reporters that he and his men had surrendered to justice not to the government.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/30/2008 00:00 ||
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Worst economy EVAH!!!
Economy limps ahead at a 0.6 percent pace in first quarter, better pace than expected
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The bruised economy limped through the first quarter, growing at just a 0.6 percent pace as housing and credit problems forced people and businesses alike to hunker down.
The country's economic growth during January through March was the same as in the final three months of last year, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. The statistic did not meet what economists consider the definition of a recession, which is a contraction of the economy. This means that although the economy is stuck in a rut, it is still managing to grow, even if slightly.
Many analysts were predicting that the gross domestic product (GDP) would weaken a bit more -- to a pace of just 0.5 percent -- in the first quarter. Earlier this year, some thought the economy would actually lurch into reverse during the opening quarter. Now, they say they believe that will likely happen during the current April-to-June period.
"The economy is weak but not collapsing," said Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Bank of America's Investment Strategies Group. "A recession can't be ruled out, although the stars are not lined up at this point to definitively say one way or the other."
#1
Isn't a 0.6%/quarter rate the same as 2.4% over the year? To me that sounds pretty respectable for a mature economy. Of course my grasp of anything related to money is pretty poor, but even so.
#2
No, when they give these rates, they're annualized. What they're saying is, if we had four quarters exactly like this one, the annual growth rate would be 0.6%.
It's not what we're used to as Americans, though most Euros would take it.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/30/2008 16:49 Comments ||
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#3
The economy grew if you believe the inflation number. But if not, there was contraction, not growth.
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.
XUAN CANH, Vietnam Truong Thi Nha stands just four and a half feet tall. Her three grown children tower over her, just as many young people in this village outside Hanoi dwarf their parents. The biggest reason the children are so robust: fertilizer.
Police forces in the capital of Somalia's separatist state of Somaliland clashed with hundreds of angry rioters on Sunday, prompting opposition parties to condemn the government for using "excessive force" against civilians. In a joint press communiqué, Somaliland opposition parties Kulmiye and UCID condemned the breakaway region's government for the "ugly and excessive use of force against civilians," adding that the episode showed the residents of Hargeisa that the "current government is more merciless than that of [former Somali President] Siad Barre."
The checking of votes in the presidential election was put off again Tuesday, further delaying the day when the country would know whether President Robert Mugabe was to remain in power.
Standard & Poor's lowers New York Times rating on lower advertising revenue 
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright would be happy to see Barack Obama's presidential campaign derailed because the pastor is fuming that his former congregant has "betrayed" their 20-year relationship,
Senate candidate Al Franken says he will pay about $70,000 in back income taxes in 17 states going back to 2003.
A week before the North Carolina primary, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton picked up the endorsement Tuesday of that state's governor, Michael Easley, a man highly popular among the blue-collar white voters who have been a pillar of her support.
Democrat Barack Obama said Tuesday he was outraged and appalled by the latest comments from his former pastor, who asserted that criticism of his fiery sermons is an attack on the black church and the U.S. government was responsible for the creation of the AIDS virus.
"This is not an attack on Jeremiah Wright," Wright told the Washington media Monday. "It has nothing to do with Senator Obama. It is an attack on the black church launched by people who know nothing about the African-American religious tradition."
Barack Obama made a call for nonviolence in the aftermath of the Sean Bell verdict - infuriating the Rev. Al Sharpton, who accused the presidential candidate of trying to "grandstand in front of white people," sources told The Post. During what a source described as a "heated" phone call yesterday, Sharpton told Obama he was disappointed with the Illinois senator's words on Friday, when Obama said "resorting to violence to express displeasure" was "completely unacceptable and counterproductive."
The government will give Rs 10 million to each senator as development fund regardless of their political affiliations, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani said on Tuesday. All members of the National Assembly and senators will get equal funds for the development of their respective areas, he said at a dinner hosted by him in honour of senators at Prime Ministers House.
