A 10-year-old boy here has been suspended from school for having something most students carry in their supply boxes: a pencil sharpener. The problem was his sharpener had broken, but he decided to use it anyway.
A teacher at Hilton Head Island International Baccalaureate Elementary School noticed the boy had what appeared to be a small razor blade during class on Tuesday, according to a Beaufort County sheriff's report. It was obvious that the blade was the metal insert commonly found in a child's small, plastic pencil sharpener, the deputy noted. Which says that the teacher has no common sense, is stupid, and has no business in a classroom.
The boy -- a fourth-grader described as a well-behaved and good student -- cried during the meeting with his mom, the deputy and the school's assistant principal. He had no criminal intent in having the blade at school, the sheriff's report stated, but was suspended for at least two days and could face further disciplinary action. Has the whole world gone mad? Or is it just "educators"?
District spokesman Randy Wall said school administrators are stuck in the precarious position between the district's zero tolerance policy against having weapons at school and common sense. But nobody has said how the blade from a broken sharpener could be used as a weapon.
"We're always going to do something to make sure the child understands the seriousness of having something that could potentially harm another student, but we're going to be reasonable," he said. I am telling you...no wonder the Public Education System is broken. It is run by idiots.
#1
" Has the whole world gone mad? or is it just 'educators?'"
see this article to confirm the second part of the question:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/378561_coldlunch11.html
#2
District spokesman Randy Wall said school administrators are stuck in the precarious position between the district's zero tolerance policy against having weapons at school and common sense.
I'll bet we can guess which one's gonna come out on the short end here.
#7
How about a zero tolerance policy for school administrators and boards that have minimal intelligence. Here's the test - if your job can be done by a flow chart diagram composed of 'Yes' and 'No' requiring no use of critical analysis, you are replaced by the receptionist.
#8
Wow! When I think back to all those sharp objects we used in shop class, art class, and the school cafeteria, I'm just amazed that I lived to tell about it!
#12
How about saying "Jimmy--that's not safe anymore. Please deposit your broken sharpener in the teacher's trash. And here's one you can use instead . . . "
Sheesh.
You know, cingold just got defending a boy of same age who took a small boyscout knife to school to show it off (not as a weapon). They almost threw him in the slammer for good, and he was just a nice kid with a cool pocket knife. Some guy at the DA's office went ape on the kid, and even the principal, who did NOT think it was a big deal (and remember we're in the Columbine HS state), could dissuade him. cingold realized the guy was probably trying to make his career at the expense of this poor kid, and stepped in to try and stop it.
The kid is from a good family, is okay, and now knows not to bring the pocket knife to school, thanks to cingold . . . one of those blood sucking rich (not) trial lawyers.
But guess we can all do without lawyers cuz' the conservative talk show parrots say we can, right? Same goes for jury trials and verdicts. Forget the right to jury. One of those nasty constitutional principles we can do without. Bad for business so much of the time, don't ya know.
Stupidity all around.
P.S. cingold spent hours on the case and did not charge the family a dime. The kid was really grateful for the help and was scared out of his wits when they put him in jail with toughened juvenile criminal thugs.
Direct link to footage: LINK
Sweden's national television broadcaster announced on Thursday the release of previously unpublished film footage of US Republican Party presidential candidate John McCain leaving North Vietnam following his release from a prisoner of war camp. The footage has been in the archives of Sveriges Television (SVT) for the last 35 years, but has just been released on a DVD accompanying a book about the Vietnam War written by Swedish author Erik Eriksson, reports the Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper.
The footage shows McCain and other former POWs exiting a bus and standing on the tarmac at Hanoi's airport. McCain's name is heard being called out by a voice with a strong Vietnamese accent, after which a slightly limping McCain is greeted by a high ranking US military officer on his way to an airplane after more than five years of captivity as a prisoner of war.
Eriksson covered the conflict in Vietnam from 1968 through 1979 for both Swedish and American news outlets. Altogether he spent 12 months in the country, a period in his life he revisits in his new book, Jag såg kärleken och döden ('I Saw Love and Death'). Included with the book is a 30 minute DVD containing the previously unreleased footage of McCain.
"In February 1973 photographer Björn Henriksson and I were sent to Hanoi by SVT. We were filming when the first American prisoners of war, pilots, were released," Eriksson told DN.
He explained that he soon returned to Stockholm to edit the film, but left a camera behind with a North Vietnamese photographer who had access to the airport and asked him to film all the prisoner releases and then send the film back to Sweden. Several hundred prisoner releases were filmed.
"But there wasn't anyone that we recognized, not even McCain. Of course he was the son of a well known admiral, but he was one of many, a young pilot. But the cameraman stayed with McCain and took close ups. And everything ended up in a box in the archives," explained Eriksson.
During the summer as he was working on his book, Eriksson went back into the archives to find footage for the accompanying DVD and discovered the sequence with McCain. "As far as we know, these are the only images that exist from when McCain was released in Hanoi," said Eriksson. "In American descriptions of the event, it is often said that he returned to the US on crutches. But he certainly didn't leave North Vietnam on crutches." Swedes don't understand. Our American warriors in the Hanoi Hilton never quit - never gave up. They stood tall for the United States of America.
It's been a shaky 24 hours along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," with major earthquakes in Japan and Indonesia prompting tsunami warnings and an earlier quake causing landslides in Chile.
The earthquake Thursday in northeastern Indonesia had a preliminary magnitude of 6.6 and struck 55 miles beneath the Molucca Sea, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The earthquake that hit Thursday morning in northern Japan registered a magnitude of 7, Japan's Meteorological Agency said. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. The agency said the quake hit off the eastern coast Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island, at a depth of about 12 miles.
And in Chile's northernmost province of Tarapaca, a magnitude-5.8 earthquake Wednesday caused landslides.
Algerian men flock to mosques during Ramadan to perform the extended taraweeh prayers, a nightly prayer in which a section of the Quran is recited until the entire book is completed by the end of the holy month.
This year, however, there has been a remarkable increase in the number of women attending mosques to perform taraweeh, turning the mosque into a somewhat unlikely matchmaking center. This Ramadan mosques have become a favored venue for men seeking wives and mothers seeking future daughter-in-laws.
"It's true I come here for prayer in the first place, but this doesn't stop me from taking a quick look at women for the purpose of marriage," Amin told AlArabiya.net after hesitating for a while. "They are dressed decently and come with male guardians, and this encourages me to look. Any one of them could be my future wife."
But men are not the only ones doing the choosing. Some mothers look for brides for their sons among the faithful, like Miriam F. who said she noticed that women who come to the mosque for taraweeh are dressed decently, yet elegantly, and she was thinking of choosing a wife for her son from among them.
Sisters do the same. Khair al-Din Mazgheesh, a civil servant, told AlArabiya.net that his uncle got married this way when his sister saw a girl in the mosque and introduced her to her brother: "He is now father to a 6 year old boy," she said.
When asked about how appropriate it is from the Islamic point to look at women in the mosque, Sheikh Youssef told AlArabiya.net that looking is allowed as long as it is for the purpose of marriage and not for sensual reasons. "I remind the people of the prophet's saying that actions are measured by the intentions behind them."
There are more than 15 million worshippers who attend the more than 15,000 mosques in Algeria, according to statistics published by the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/11/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
The article is more dubious (rightly) than the headline:
But while Mr Mugabe was prepared to see Mr Tsvangirai become prime minister, he was not prepared to surrender power, and it remains unclear whether he has agreed to do so. The 84-year-old dictator is a master tactician who has repeatedly outwitted his younger opponent.
The two men were also unable to agree which party should control the security forces, ...
Posted by: James ||
09/11/2008 22:20 Comments ||
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Saudi Arabia walked out on OPEC yesterday, saying it would not honor the cartel's production cut. It was tired of rants from Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and the well-dressed oil minister from Iran.
As the world's largest crude exporter, the kingdom in the desert took its ball and went home.
As the Saudis left the building, the message was shockingly clear. Saudi Arabia will meet the markets demand, a senior OPEC delegate told the New York Times. We will see what the market requires and we will not leave a customer without oil."
Wonder what's in it for them (besides more money)?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/11/2008 19:45 Comments ||
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#3
Maybe the nuclear breath of Iran is breathing down their neck and they feel better knowing that the west is so dependent on them that it will save their ass.
#4
Hugo: "but I get to ride on a Russian Bomber"!!11!!!!
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/11/2008 21:01 Comments ||
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#5
"Wonder what's in it for them (besides more money)?"
Several possibilities:
a. Squeeze us hard enough and we get serious about alternative oil sources and alternative energy, thus hurting their market.
b. Squeeze us hard enough and we do to the governments of Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Iran what we've already done to the governments of Iraq and Afghanistan -- only this time it's ONLY about oil.
Unlike Iran and Venezuela, Saudi Arabia can see that provoking the sleeping giant could re-make the map. Another 9/11 type incident or a temporary closure of the Persian Gulf could turn us quite nasty, and we have the power to be very nasty indeed.
Imagine another 3,000 innocents dead in the U.S., the northeast short on home heating oil, and gasoline rationing: the U.S. could get very nasty indeed.
#6
The Saudis are smart enough to realize that they don't really want to pi$$ of crude oil consumers, or the consumers will really accelerate alternative fuels. The Saudis want stability in the market. Other members of OPEC, like Iran and Venezuela, are cash flow driven morons.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/11/2008 21:33 Comments ||
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#7
I am surprised by the Saudi position. I guess they think Iran is unstable and unpredictable also. Or they realize Hugo and Dinnerjacket are idiots as do we.
#9
The Saudis are smart enough to realize that they don't really want to pi$$ of crude oil consumers, or the consumers will really accelerate alternative fuels. The Saudis want stability in the market. Other members of OPEC, like Iran and Venezuela, are cash flow driven morons.
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE THE PEOPLE HERE AT HOME [USA] SEEM SERIOUS ABOUT SYN-FUELS [OR MORE ACCURATELY, THEY SEEM SERIOUS ABOUT USING ANYTHING THAT WILL REPLACE FOREIGN PETROL-BASED FUELS]!
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
09/11/2008 22:37 Comments ||
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The threat of global warming is so great that campaigners were justified in causing more than £35,000 worth of damage to a coal-fired power station, a jury decided yesterday. In a verdict that will have shocked ministers and energy companies the jury at Maidstone Crown Court cleared six Greenpeace activists of criminal damage....During the eight-day trial, the world's leading climate scientist, Professor James Hansen of Nasa, who had flown from American to give evidence, appealed to the Prime Minister personally to "take a leadership role" in cancelling the plan and scrapping the idea of a coal-fired future for Britain....
The acquittal was the second time in a decade that the "lawful excuse" defence has been successfully used by Greenpeace activists. In 1999, 28 Greenpeace campaigners... were cleared of criminal damage after trashing an experimental field of GM crops in Norfolk. In each case the damage was not disputed the point at issue was the motive.
[The US doesn't have the "lawful excuse" defense but we do have gullible juries]
#4
tipover...Hansen's credibility is shrinking. Only the ecozealots worship him anymore. He has been caught fudging data, lying about techniques and algorithms, and abusing his position for political and personal gain.
#6
Anymouse, I would prefer he be fired but I figure a resignation might give cover to his supervisors (probably politicians) for their management incompetence and cowardice for not firing him sooner.
#11
Questions
1 does Britain have any nuke powr plants?
2 What is Britian going to do without Electrical power?
3 Do environmentalist morons plan to run Megawatt Generators by turning giant cranks?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/11/2008 19:05 Comments ||
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#12
From Al Guardian:
British Energy, which is 35% owned by the government, operates one coal-fired and eight ageing nuclear power stations, including Hinkley Point, Torness and Dungeness. Together, they produce one sixth of Britain's electricity.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/11/2008 21:40 Comments ||
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Anti-government protesters have stormed public buildings in eastern Bolivia amid a deepening row between President Evo Morales and his opponents. The biggest protest was in Santa Cruz, where demonstrators raided several offices and clashed with riot police. Bolivia's energy-rich eastern provinces oppose Mr Morales's attempts to redirect gas revenues to poorer areas.
Troops have meanwhile been deployed to guard gas pipelines to guarantee exports to Brazil and Argentina.
Since last week, anti-government demonstrators have been blocking roads and occupying buildings in eastern regions, which are home to Bolivia's important natural gas reserves. But Tuesday saw an escalation of their action and some of the worst violence in the country for several months.
Hundreds of people raided the state-run telecommunications company, the tax agency, the local state TV network and the land reform institute in the city of Santa Cruz. Clashes broke out between the protesters and riot police, who were forced to take cover. Trouble also flared in the provinces of Beni, Pando, and Tarija as opposition activists raided public buildings.
"Fascist, violent and racist people attacked institutions...that belong to all Bolivians," said Interior Minister Alfredo Rada. In the Chaco area, protesters stormed a station controlling a natural gas pipeline and tried unsuccessfully to cut exports to Brazil, officials quoted by Reuters news agency said.
Bolivia has the second largest natural gas reserves in South America but they are situated in the east of the country, where Mr Morales faces his fiercest opponents. Brazil, and to a lesser extent Argentina, are Bolivia's major gas customers and any interruption to supply would have a serious effect on both economies as well as damaging Bolivia's reputation as a reliable supplier, says the BBC's Daniel Schweimler in Buenos Aires. On Monday, the government announced that soldiers were being sent to guard natural gas fields and pipelines.
"The government will not allow the interruption of natural gas exports," said Energy Secretary Carlos Villegas. Shortly afterwards Mr Villegas was moved to the development planning ministry while Saul Avalos took over at the energy ministry. The changes were part of a cabinet reshuffle seen as an attempt by President Morales to tackle the growing opposition to his plans to radically reform the way Bolivia is governed. The president wants to give more power to the country's indigenous and poor communities, by carrying out land reform and redistributing gas revenues.
Mr Morales's attempts to change the constitution are fiercely opposed by opposition governors who run five of Bolivia's nine regions. They and their supporters want greater autonomy as well as more control over revenues of natural gas in their areas.
Mr Morales is seeking approval in Congress to hold a referendum on 7 December on his proposed constitutional changes.
#1
That picture is an example of Bolivian revolution? Viva la revolution! or something like that. Maybe one of those ladies can help me with my Spanish.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
09/11/2008 5:16 Comments ||
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#2
Well Santa Cruz is known for its beautiful women but this photo is actually from the Autonomia Rally's Santa Cruz has been having over the past year or so.
Bolivian President Evo Morales on Wednesday requested U.S. ambassador to Bolivia Philip Goldberg to leave the country immediately, accusing him of "heading the division" inside Bolivia by encouraging, together with the opposition, the protests against his government. According to reports reaching here from La Paz, administrative capital of Bolivia, Bolivian President Morales declared Goldberg as "persona non grata" at a ceremony in the Government Palace. He told Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca to notify him to leave the country immediately.
"Without fear of anybody, without fear of the empire (U.S) today in front of the Bolivian people I declare Mr. (Philip) Goldberg, U.S. ambassador persona non grata," Morales said when he launched the program "Mi primer empleo (my first job)". Morales instructed Choquehuanca to inform Goldberg, according to the legal and diplomatic frames, about the decision made by the Bolivian government.
"We don't want separatist or divisive people or people conspiring against national unity. We do not want people who attempt to sabotage democracy," Morales said. Morales said that before being accredited as ambassador to Bolivia, Goldberg was chief of the U.S. mission in Pristina, Kosovo, and there he consolidated the region's separation, leaving thousands of people dead.
According to the Bolivian government, hours before the civic leader of the southeastern province of Santa Cruz Branco Marinkovic returned from his trip to Miami, U.S. groups of autonomists and criminals staged plundering, beatings and all sorts of other terrorist activities in the center of the city Santa Cruz, capital of the Santa Cruz province. They also occupied state facilities and practically destroyed them.
Before the midday of Tuesday, the unionists started a march around the center of the city and later stormed the National Taxes building, stole equipment and destroyed everything they could lay hands on. The violence spread to the building of the National Institute of Agrarian Reform (INRA) and later to the facilities of the National Company of Telecommunications (Entel), where they plundered and destroyed the facilities.
Morales said that the decision to expel Goldberg is a tribute to the historical struggle of the Bolivian people against the neo-liberal model and against all kinds of foreign interference.
"I want to tell you, brothers and sisters, the Bolivian people that it is the obligation of the national government and of the Bolivian people to defend our national unity," Morales said. Morales said only organized people can defend and recover democracy from the separatists. He called on the social movements and the people to defend Bolivia's unity.
During the past few weeks, violent acts have increased in opposition-controlled provinces of Santa Cruz, Tarija, Beni and Pando. The opposition rightists demand full restitution of the Direct Tax on Hydrocarbons (IDH), which Morales reduced 30 percent to found the so-called Rent of Dignity, which is aimed at helping people over 60 years old who do not have a pension. The opposition is also against holding a referendum to approve the new Political Constitution, which was already approved by parliament in December 2007.
#1
Getting sent home serves no purpose to the American government. This is a black eye on us. Involved or not in the opposition, Goldberg should have been politically good enough to distance his name from and seperatist movement. Now "we" are the enemy that unites Bolivia.
Beside, with Goldberg gone, how is that hottie in the picture going to get a US visa??
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
09/11/2008 1:38 Comments ||
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#2
I am volunteering to jet down there and hold direct, and Frank, relations with that young lady.
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/11/2008 5:35 Comments ||
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#3
49 Pan: Beside, with Goldberg gone, how is that hottie in the picture going to get a US visa??
Which Hottie Pan?
The brunette with the sash & medal looks plenty game!
>:) YOW!
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
09/11/2008 6:30 Comments ||
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#4
No thanks red Dog, I'm not into trannies! But the other three, now thats worth a little visa fraud!
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
09/11/2008 7:04 Comments ||
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#7
"According to the Bolivian government, hours before the civic leader of the southeastern province of Santa Cruz Branco Marinkovic returned from his trip to Miami, U.S. groups of autonomists and criminals staged plundering, beatings and all sorts of other terrorist activities in the center of the city Santa Cruz, capital of the Santa Cruz province"
So I am here in Santa Cruz right now. Dont remember seeing any US citizens doing plundering. Just the president changing the truth to better him.
#12
Getting sent home serves no purpose to the American government. This is a black eye on us.
Not really. Goldberg was going to get PNG'd for any excuse Morales could find.
Involved or not in the opposition, Goldberg should have been politically good enough to distance his name from and seperatist movement.
Again, he would likely have been PNG'd for jaywalking. Morales needs a scapegoat; the US ambassador would have been PNG'd whether his name was Goldberg or Sanchez.
Now "we" are the enemy that unites Bolivia.
*Snort* Hardly.
Do a search on 'Bolivian riots'. It's the second biggest sport there next to futbol.
#13
49 Pan: I was posting some links regarding this last night at the bb page; apparently the trigger in this wasn't anything to do with the United States but some statements made by Brazil's President Lula. I don't know the details because the link was to a poorly done google news translation of the page.
Here's the thread on the recent news there at Discarded Lies: [link].
CARACAS (AFP) -- Two Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers were in Venezuela on Wednesday for "training flights," Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said, adding he would be piloting one of the aircraft.
"I hope that stings, 'pitiyanquis'," he said, using a derogatory term for Venezuelan opponents who have perceived US sympathies.
"What's more, I'm going to take the controls of one of these monsters," boasted the president, a former paratrooper and left-wing politician who has avowed antagonism towards the United States. "It's been a while since these planes have been around these parts, and Russia decided a couple of years ago to revive its strategic aviation program," Chavez said during the inauguration of a medical center.
Chavez also said plans for joint Russian-Venezuelan naval exercises in the region in November were currently being worked out, and said his closeness to the Kremlin would result in a cooperation that would "strengthen the country."
His announcement confirmed an Interfax report in Russia citing the Russian defense ministry saying the bombers would be in Venezuela for training flights over "neutral waters."
Russia said Monday it was dispatching a nuclear cruiser and other warships and planes to the Caribbean for the joint exercises with Venezuela -- the first such maneuvers in the US vicinity since the Cold War. A spokesman for the Russian navy said Monday that the November maneuvers would take place under an agreement sealed when the leaders of the two countries met in Moscow in July.
Among the Russian ships to take part in the exercises would be the heavy nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser Peter the Great, a vessel with massive firepower whose cruise missiles can deliver nuclear or conventional warheads.
Foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said Monday that the exercises were "not in any way connected to the current situation in the Caucasus," and were "not aimed at any third country."
Analysts said the Russian navy presence in Venezuela was more symbolic than military, though it did nothing assuage fears that Cold War-type tensions were building.
Thomas Gomart of the Paris-based French Institute of International Relations noted that, up to now, Russia had contented itself with selling arms, notably fighter-bombers, to Caracas. But the announcement of the Caribbean maneuvres seemed to be both an overt challenge to US power and a gesture of support to Chavez's radical policies, he said.
The Tupolev Tu-160 bombers were tracked by NATO jets on their flight to Venezuela, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported, citing the defense ministry.
The planes -- huge supersonic combat aircraft similar to the US B1 bombers, capable of flying long missions with a heavy payload -- are capable of carrying nuclear or conventional bombs and/or cruise and guided missiles. According to a specialist military website, Globalsecurity.org, there are 14 of the bombers in the Russian air force, after a 2003 crash destroyed one of them.
Sources in the Venezuelan defense ministry told AFP the Russian bombers were currently at El Libertador air base in the northern town of Palo Negro, in Aragua state.
Posted by: john frum ||
09/11/2008 00:00 ||
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#2
RUSSIA is reportedly interested in "TEMPORARILY BASING" ASW AIRCRAFT in the area, and allegedly one or a few surface warships includ at least one NUKE MISSLE-ARMED VESSEL???
#3
Two Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers were in Venezuela on Wednesday for "training flights," Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said, adding he would be piloting one of the aircraft.
"I hope that stings, 'pitiyanquis'," he said, using a derogatory term for Venezuelan opponents who have perceived US sympathies.
"What's more, I'm going to take the controls of one of these monsters," boasted the president...
Hugo, monsters don't scare Americans. Not even our women. This is what our American women do to monsters. Our babes will just "kill-it and grill-it", chump!!
#10
Along with all this crap comes the news from the FAA that direct flights from Venezula to the US cannot be guaranteed safe since Venezula will not allow our security measures to be enacted on those flights.
Seems to me that if the FAA knows this they should be able to deny entry into US airspace. More testicular atrophy from the second most useless governmental agency(TSA owns the top spot, IMHO).
#12
per this link, FAA clearance is needed to enter controlled airspace. that clearance is granted by the respective air traffic control center. that doesn't prevent an unauthorized entry, but upon landing there will be 'dire consequences.'
http://www.gaservingamerica.org/how_work/work_airspace.htm
#13
From TSA Website: September 8, 2008
Contact: TSA Public Affairs
571-227-2829
WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration (TSA) today announced that the agency has been unable to assess security measures at international airports in Venezuela that serve as the last point of departure for nonstop flights to the United States. Venezuela has refused multiple requests to allow for such assessments, which are required by U.S. law, and the agency is taking action to warn travelers of this security deficiency.
Air carriers issuing tickets for travel between the United States and Venezuela are directed to notify ticket purchasers in writing of the situation. TSA also directed that this advisory be displayed prominently at all U.S. airports and published in the Federal Register, pursuant to Title 49 U.S.C., Section 114. The order is effective immediately.
Under Title 49 of the U.S. Code, Section 44907, the Department of Homeland Security is required to assess security at foreign airports with direct service to the United States to determine compliance with standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
There is a critical need for TSA officials to visit Venezuela's airports to determine both the full compliance with ICAO standards and the ability to maintain the standards. The agency will continue to work with the authorities in Venezuela to schedule visits in a timely manner.
For more information about TSA, please visit our Web site at www.tsa.gov.
Airport security may be a minor issue, compared to getting to the airport or leaving for town. Here is an excerpt of a US Dept of State advisory on their website:
SAFETY AND SECURITY: Violent crime in Venezuela is pervasive, both in the capital, Caracas, and in the interior. The country has one of the highest per-capita murder rates in the world. Armed robberies take place in broad daylight throughout the city, including areas generally presumed safe and frequented by tourists. A common technique is to choke the victim into unconsciousness and then rob them of all they are carrying. Well-armed criminal gangs operate with impunity, often setting up fake police checkpoints. Kidnapping is a particularly serious problem, with more than 1,000 reported during the past year alone. Investigation of all crime is haphazard and ineffective. In the case of high-profile killings, the authorities quickly round up suspects, but rarely produce evidence linking these individuals to the crime. Only a very small percentage of criminals are tried and convicted.
Travel to and from Maiquetía Airport, the international airport serving Caracas, can be dangerous and corruption at the airport itself is rampant. Travelers at the airport have been victims of personal property theft, as well as mugging and express kidnapping in which individuals are taken to make purchases or to withdraw as much money as possible from ATMs, often at gunpoint. The Embassy has received multiple, credible reports that individuals with what appear to be official uniforms or other credentials are involved in facilitating or perpetrating these crimes. For this reason, American citizen travelers should be wary of all strangers, even those in official uniform or carrying official identification. There are also known drug trafficking groups working from the airport. Travelers should not accept packages from anyone and should keep their luggage with them at all times.
Because of the frequency of robberies at gunpoint, travelers are encouraged to arrive during daylight hours. If not, travelers should use extra care both within and outside the airport. The Embassy strongly advises that all arriving passengers make advance plans for transportation from the airport to their place of lodging. If possible, travelers should arrange to be picked up at the airport by someone who is known to them. The Embassy has received frequent reports of armed robberies in taxicabs going to and from the airport at Maiquetía. There is no foolproof method of knowing whether a taxi driver at the airport is reliable. The fact that a taxi driver presents a credential or drives an automobile with official taxi license plates marked libre is no longer an indication of reliability. Incidents of taxi drivers in Caracas overcharging, robbing, and injuring passengers are common. Travelers should take care to use radio-dispatched taxis or those from reputable hotels. Travelers should call a 24-hour radio-dispatched taxi service from a public phone lobby or ask hotel, restaurant, or airline representatives to contact a licensed cab company for them.
Sounds like a chapter from "World's Most Dangerous Places." Heh.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/11/2008 21:53 Comments ||
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Russian news agencies Wednesday quoted a top military officer as warning that Russia could target U.S. missile defenses in Europe with ballistic missiles.
Head of strategic missile forces General Nikolai Solovtsov said that Russia could make use of some "counter measures" if the United States goes ahead with plans to place missile defense components in Poland or the Czech Republic, as this could pose a strategic threat to Russia.
The comments were made just one day before Russia's foreign minister visits Poland. "I can't exclude that if such decisions are taken by our military-political leadership, the missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic and other such objects could be chosen as designated targets for some of our inter-continental ballistic missiles," General Nikolai Solovtsov said.
Poland and the United States reached a deal last month on building the site for 10 U.S. missile interceptors by 2012. While the 10 missile interceptors planned for Poland could not themselves undermine Russia's arsenal, Moscow was troubled by a lack of transparency in the project, Solovtsov said.
Moscow sees the plans for new U.S. missile defense facilities in central Europe as part of an effort to encircle Russia.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/11/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I don't think the good general quite understands what anti missile defenses do.
Posted by: ed ||
09/11/2008 2:02 Comments ||
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#2
I'm with you, ed. Sounds like the vodka talking. Seems to be a lot of that going around in Russian circles, lately. Anyone el;se have a better explanation?
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
09/11/2008 5:09 Comments ||
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#3
The statement itself kind of reinforces the argument for the need of a missile defense network, doesn't it?
#4
He's trying to scare Eastern European countries from helping because Missile Defense will stop Russian arms sales and eventually become good enough to stop Russian missile threats.
#7
CNN + MSNBC/CNBC > RUSSIA is reportedly NOT READY to formally integrate or merge SOUTH OSSETIA WID NORTH OSSETIA. nor to allow any UNIFIED OSSETIA to declare local autonomy or independence from Russia.
I'm interpreting this as RUSS, vee its COVERT FEAR of its pres anti-US Ally FUTURE NUCLEAR IRAN/ISLAMISM, PREFERS TO KEEP OSSETIAN MUSLIMS SEPARATE AND LOCALLY MILPOL WEAK, AT LEAST FOR A TIME.
RUSSIA = IMO PREFERS NOT TO HELP ITS ALLY FUTURE NUCLEAR IRAN, ETC. ANY MORE THAN ABSOLUT NECESSARY VV THE US-ALLIES.
#8
As for the above Artic, RUSSIA is threatening to attack not only US GMD MissBases in Poland + Czech but support MissFacs in NATO PROPER - IOW, RUSS IS OVERTLY SUBTLY THREATENING TO ATTACK NATO = WESTERN EUROPE/EU.
That being said, COVERTLY DENIABLY IT IS MY BELIEF RUSS IS INDIR BULLYING NATO + EU TO MODERNIZE AND MILITARIZE AMAP ASAP IN ORDER TO CYA COVER RUSS BACK IN CASE CENTRAL ASIA = LARGE PARTS OF ASIA FALLS TO RADICAL ISLAM [Nukular].
PUT ANOTHER WAY, RUSS IS BULLYING NATO-EU TO ENSURE THE LATTER'S MILPOL + GEOGRAPHICAL? EXPANSION + PRESENCE IN ASIA, on the worse-case scenario where it may have to throw Russ Manifest Destiny to the Four Winds, and formally join NATO-EU to save itself.
#9
The RUSSO-GEORGIAN CONFLICT, perhaps moreso than the anti-Insurgent/Militant efforts in Afghanistan + Pakistan, FORMALLY SIGNALS THE US-ALLIES IS NOW IN A WAR AGZ RADICAL ISLAM FOR THE DE FACTO CONTROL AND DOMINATION OF ASIA, includ Pan-Mainland Local-Regional Enclaves + NORASIA + WESTPAC/SOPAC [e.g. Philippines].
* NEWS > VARIOUS > ANALYSTS: MUSLIM UNREST/STRIFES IN PHILIPPINES CAN SPREAD TO NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES.
As a reminder, Pre- and post-911 [old] > it makes no difference to anti-US Lefties, Globalists, etal. IFF THE US UNILATER VOLUNTEERS TO ACCEPT LEFTISM-SOCIALISM, ETC. OR IS MILPOL FORCED TO DO SO BY THE UNO = WORLD COMMUNITY.
CAN THE FUTURE OWG USSA = OWG GLOBAL SSR/USR SAVE ASIA + WORLD ON A VOLUNTEER ARMY + A NON/SEMI-MILITARIZED-SOCI NATION-SOCIETY???
On the anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history, Gov. Sarah Palin took a hard-line approach on national security and said that war with Russia may be necessary if that nation invades another country.
Charles Gibson asks Gov. Sarah Palin if she's prepared to be vice president.
In her first of three interviews with ABC News's Charles Gibson and the only interview since being picked by Sen. John McCain as his Republican vice presidential nominee, Palin categorized the Russian invasion of Georgia as "unacceptable" and warned of the threats from Islamic terrorists and a nuclear Iran.
The Governor advocated the accession of Georgia and Ukraine into NATO.
When asked by Gibson if under the NATO treaty, the U.S. would have to go to war if Russia again invaded Georgia, Palin responded: "Perhaps so. I mean, that is the agreement when you are a NATO ally, is if another country is attacked, you're going to be expected to be called upon and help.
"And we've got to keep an eye on Russia. For Russia to have exerted such pressure in terms of invading a smaller democratic country, unprovoked, is unacceptable," she told ABC News' Charles Gibson in an exclusive interview.
Watch Charles Gibson's exclusive interviews with Gov. Sarah Palin beginning tonight on "World News" and "Nightline." Charles Gibson will do three interviews with Palin today and tomorrow. More Friday on "Good Morning America " at 7 a.m. ET," "World News" and on "20/20," which will broadcast a one-hour special edition at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT.
Palin advocated the accession of Georgia and Ukraine into NATO, meaning that if attacked again in the future, the United States would be bound to go to war.
"I mean, that is the agreement when you are a NATO ally, is if another country is attacked, you're going to be expected to be called upon and help," she said.
Palin, who obtained her first passport this year and who has served just two years as Alaska's governor, told Gibson that she was up to the challenge of being Sen. John McCain's vice president.
"I answered [McCain]'yes' because I have the confidence in that readiness and knowing that you can't blink, you have to be wired in a way of being so committed to the mission, the mission that we're on, reform of this country and victory in the war, you can't blink.
Palin sat down with Gibson on a day that was filled with wrenching memories and solemn ceremonies for the nearly 3,000 people who died in the 9/11 attacks.
It was also the day that Palin, the mother of five, attended a deployment ceremony for her oldest son, Track, an Army infantryman whose Stryker unit is being shipped off to Iraq later this month.
Palin defended a previous statement in which she reportedly characterized the war in Iraq as "task from God".
Gibson quoted her as saying: "Our national leaders are sending U.S. soldiers on a task that is from God."
But Palin said she was referencing a famous quote by Abraham Lincoln.
"I would never presume to know God's will or to speak God's words. But what Abraham Lincoln had said, and that's a repeat in my comments, was let us not pray that God is on our side in a war or any other time, but let us pray that we are on God's side."
When asked if she believed she was "sending [her] son on a task that is from God," Palin said: "I don't know if the task is from God, Charlie. What I know is that my son has made a decision. I am so proud of his independent and strong decision he has made, what he decided to do and serving for the right reasons and serving something greater than himself and not choosing a real easy path where he could be more comfortable and certainly safer."
#1
I'm sure that headline will get a lot of play in the liberal press. Here's what she actually said:
GIBSON: And you think it would be worth it to the United States, Georgia is worth it to the United States to go to war if Russia were to invade.
PALIN: What I think is that smaller democratic countries that are invaded by a larger power is something for us to be vigilant against. We have got to be cognizant of what the consequences are if a larger power is able to take over smaller democratic countries.
And we have got to be vigilant. We have got to show the support, in this case, for Georgia. The support that we can show is economic sanctions perhaps against Russia, if this is what it leads to.
It doesn't have to lead to war and it doesn't have to lead, as I said, to a Cold War, but economic sanctions, diplomatic pressure, again, counting on our allies to help us do that in this mission of keeping our eye on Russia and Putin and some of his desire to control and to control much more than smaller democratic countries.
#2
Again, e.g. USDODBUZZ > Former USAF SecAF had argued that the US could've and should've given more substantive MILPOL AID to GEORGIA AGZ RUSSIA, INCLUD BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE FORMAL DEPLOYMENT OF US SPECOPS + MARINES, etc. TO PRECLUDE IFF NOT MIL STOP RUSS MILOPS!?
IOW, BLOG > DIRECT US- OR US-LED UNSC MIL ASSISTANCE + FORCE INTERVENTION???
LA Times. This is most of it.
The television ad shows John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, in scenic desert landscapes as he talks about the dangers of global warming. "We have an obligation to future generations to take action and fix it," he says. Striving to appeal to loony leftists moderate voters, McCain has frequently highlighted his bipartisan proposal to clamp down on greenhouse gas emissions.
But by naming Sarah Palin as his running mate, McCain has aligned himself with a Republican whose record as governor of Alaska has drawn scorn from environmentalists, most notably for her denial that humans are causing climate change. So that means he's completely changed his spots, swayed by the magnetic appeal of the beauty queen.
That, combined with McCain's call for opening new stretches of coastline to oil drilling, risks undercutting his standing on the environment.
Global warming has been one of the main issues McCain has used to put distance between himself and his party's tarnished brand. In pursuit of that goal, he and Palin also have cast themselves in recent days as reformers who would shake up Washington.
In a time of war and economic troubles, the environment ranks low on the list of voter priorities. But it carries symbolic value and offers McCain a way to suggest that he would break with the unpopular Bush administration. Given the scant contrasts between McCain and President Bush on Iraq and the economy, anything that helps the Arizona senator distinguish himself could prove crucial.
"The environment is important to many of the groups of people that McCain has to make some progress with -- especially to many independents," said pollster Andrew Kohut, president of the nonpartisan Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
Doug Holtz-Eakin, a senior McCain policy advisor, said that neither Palin's presence on the ticket nor McCain's shift on oil drilling would harm his standing as a champion of the environment. Environmentalists who criticize McCain "don't represent the entire spectrum" of opinion, he said, and others recognize that coal, nuclear power, gas and oil must be part of any "thoughtful approach" to global warming.
The major environmental groups, however, favor Illinois Sen. Barack Obama over McCain. The League of Conservation Voters gives the Democratic presidential nominee a lifetime score of 86% on environmental votes. McCain's score is 24%. That's because The One thinks you should pay more for luxury goods - like gas.
Nonetheless, environmentalists have cheered McCain for backing a cap on carbon emissions that contribute to global warming, a position not shared by many in his party. They have also applauded him for opposing oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a longtime goal of Bush and other Republicans, including Palin.
"To his credit, we've always said that John McCain was better on the environment than George Bush, but that's an incredibly low bar because Bush was the most anti-environment president we've ever seen," said Gene Karpinski, president of the League of Conservation Voters. Yet he couldn't manage to find any more oil in this country...
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/11/2008 15:04 ||
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#1
Sorry, Mods, I swore I clicked "Local".
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/11/2008 15:10 Comments ||
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...most notably for her denial that humans are causing climate change.
Stupid, brain-dead, scientific-illiterate journalist. As one of hundreds, if not thousands of individuals in atmospheric science who are at a minimum, skeptical of a dominant anthropogenic mode to climate change...I am incensed by these idiots.
#3
A few simple control tests cover these issues. First, if it's a classic MSM outlet, assume all assertions are reversed - insert or delete "not" whenever applicable. Second, any reference to "climate" and or "global warming/cooling/change" should be changed to "weather".
Basically, it makes it one big argument about the weather - if the democrats think that's a winner, more power to them. Elections are self-correcting mechanisms, and weather is a constant topic subject to adjustment, only rarely by humans. Complaining about it is one thing, doing something is another, and having any effect is yet a third.
#6
She tarnishes his environmental luster and puts a beautiful shine on the energy side of things.
I hope man made global warming comes up in the VP debates and she can ask Biden how he can explain that fact that Mars got warm at the same time. Let everyone watching get that tid-bit of data as she rams it down Biden's throat because coincidence doesn't really cut it when we're talking about screwing our economy beyond all recognition to solve a problem that may not even be caused by that.
#10
You don't have to be a PhD. in Physics or Weather to realize that less than 1/3 of 1% of the "greenhouse gasses" produced each year are human made and have negligible impact on the climate.
The Obama camp has been working the "lipstick meme" for days.
Yesterday afternoon I spent two hours in the parking lot of a restaurant in the Boston suburbs collecting lipsticks from angry voters who want to send a message to Sen. Obama. I was expecting maybe 50 people to stop by. Instead, about 200 angry, horn-honking, fired up listeners mostly women helped me fill an entire bulk mail bin with lipsticks.
They aren't nit-picking over exactly what was on Sen. Obama's mind when he made the crack about lipstick.
They heard it, and they got the message.
Usually when a talk radio host does a station event, the attendees are overwhelmingly male, as is our listenership. But 75% or more of the folks who came by yesterday were women. And they aren't nit-picking over exactly what was on Sen. Obama's mind when he made the crack about lipstick. They heard it, and they got the message.
One woman, who identified herself as a Hillary supporter, drove in from Rhode Island. Another a mother in her late 40s drove 42 miles each way to bring me one lipstick.
I know there are conservatives who think this controversy is a campaign fiction being cleverly exploited by the McCain campaign. But as I wrote in the Boston Herald today, I think they're wrong. The Obama campaign has been working the "lipstick" meme for days. Sen. Obama should have left it to his surrogates, but instead gave into a moment of unbecoming snarkiness towards Gov. Palin.
The crowd knew it, and the women I'm hearing from I've gotten several hundred emails from them in 24 hours heard it, too.
#2
That's why Barak thought he could get away with it.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
09/11/2008 12:36 Comments ||
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#3
I guess Obama forgot one cardinal rule: NEVER piss women off.
Stick a fork in him, he's done.
Posted by: Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields ||
09/11/2008 13:10 Comments ||
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#4
I imagine that the major cosmetics companies are offering enormous sums to the Republicans just for Sarah Palin to say what her brand and color of lipstick are. It could be worth literally hundreds of millions of dollars to them.
#6
I'd discussed Obama's alleged "lipstick" gaffe. among other, wid a couple of local femme restaurant patrons here on Guam - although they don't care nor mind about the gaffe, ITS OKAY WID THEM FOR A WOMAN TO BE VPOTUS GIVEN THE CURR US ECON + GENER INTERNATIONAL SITUATION [believe both will get worse], BUT NOT TO BE POTUS PER SE.
IOW, SARAH = HILLARY, etc > SARAH PALIN still has to prove her mettle to US FEMME VOTERS whom still prefer Men to be the TOP LEADER(S) IN TIMES OF WAR OR OTHER FEMME/VOTER-PERCEIVED SERIOUS NATIONAL CRISES-PROBS.
Biden told the heavy-hitter donors in backyards of Barbara Goodman Manilow and Steve Koch that he doesn't care about the passing controversies like whether Palin sold her predecessor's plane or not or whether or when she supported or opposed the "Bridge to Nowhere" in Alaska.
"What I care about is: What in God's name is she going to do along with John McCain about the thousands of people who don't have health care?" Biden asked. He'll ask her about "The superhighway of terror between Pakistan and Afghanistan where my helicopter was forced down...John McCain wants to know where Bin Ladin and the gates of Hell are? I can tell him where. That's where Al Quaida is. That's where Bin Ladin is. It's not in the country of Iraq."
In February, Joe Biden was one of several U.S. senators rescued by Dempsey and other members of the Phoenix-based 158th Infantry Battalion when the helicopter carrying the senators made a emergency landing in the mountains of Afghanistan in a snowstorm.
Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, announced Saturday that he had picked Joe Biden of Delaware as his running mate.
"When I heard, I said to myself, 'That is crazy,'" said Dempsey, the National Guard recruiter here in Yuma. "He could be the next vice president, and there I was, helping scoop him up on a cold, dark, snowy night in Afghanistan."
The snowstorm happened as the helicopter carrying the senators was flying over some dangerous ridges, Dempsey said, and the pilot decided to land.
Biden, along with U.S. Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, were traveling with Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez, Combined Joint Task Force commander, when the Blackhawk helicopter made an emergency landing on top of a mountain about 14 miles from Bagram Air Base. A second Blackhawk helicopter, which was carrying staffers, was also forced to land.
#1
Speaking of embellishing; Biden is quoted over at Drudge that Hillary would have been a better VP pick than himself. That has to be leaving some marks somewhere in Obamaville.....
Beldar is the expert on all-things-Palin. He was fisking the advice in Slate.com's by Dahlia Lithwick to Slow Joe on the debate. Good stuff. But this last part is, ummmm, devastating. Agreed?
[cut to the last paragraph]
...
"I'm pretty sure, though, that that's expecting the impossible of Joe Biden. A senator of smaller ego (say, Chris Dodd) might have managed that; Hillary might have, if that were the message discipline of the day programmed into her by her team. But asking Joe Biden to (a) accept Sarah Palin as a genuine equal and also (b) mostly shut the hell up is like asking a dog to stop licking its genitals: Even if he could understand why you wanted him to do that, and even if he wanted to please you, he just couldn't sustain the effort to resist. Eventually he'd give in -- doing it is in his nature, and besides, it just feels so good.".
Talk about putting lipstick on mammals...
The Pentagon said it plans to push back the decision to award a $40 billion contract to build new aerial refueling tankers until the next administration -- a move that is a significant shift from its earlier decision to move at lightning speed to pick a new winner by the end of the year.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said he and other Pentagon officials realized the award could not be made by the end of the year as he had previously wanted. "Over the past seven years the process has become enormously complex and emotional -- in no small part because of mistakes and missteps along the way by the Department of Defense," Gates said in his opening statement this morning before the House Armed Services Committee. "It is my judgment that in the time remaining to us, we can no longer complete a competition that would be viewed as fair and objective in this highly charged environment."
He said having a "cooling-off period will allow the next administration to review objectively the military requirements and craft a new acquisition strategy for the KC-X."
Most likely he figures, and rightly so I think, that the current contract specifications have become so tainted any award would be fought in court. Expect a cooling off period, a new set of specs, and a new Air Force team writing them.
Former Spook has some interesting insights on this; he's been following the story for quite a while and is the first blog I turn to for all things Air Force.
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
09/11/2008 6:49 Comments ||
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#2
Old Spook's being a bit tough on Gates for kicking the can. Gates is removing the tanker issue from the election, not a bureaucratic decision, but a pretty savvy political one.
Posted by: Minister of funny walks ||
09/11/2008 10:59 Comments ||
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#4
WA state's Congresscritters are all saying this is good for Boeing. It gives them time to analyze the 'nes and revised' specs. Seems to me that if the USAF really needed the tankers they would have resubmitted the same specs, so that leads me to belive this is just window dressing before they pick Airbust.
Boeing didn't do itself any good when they didn't set up a second team to do a 777-sized bird.
And 787 tankers are way down the list, don't even think about them, as told to me by more than one Boeing insider.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm has agreed to help vice presidential candidate Joe Biden prepare for his Oct. 2 debate with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Biden told a group of supporters at a fund-raiser Tuesday night in Chicago that Granholm will spend four days with him as a stand-in for Palin to prepare for the debate. If she manages to get five words in the entire time, it will be a victory against His Verbosity....
The two women have more than just being governors in common. They're close to each other in age. Granholm is 49 and Palin is 44. And both competed in beauty pageants in their youth. Granholm went to a Hollywood acting school and appeared once on ''The Dating Game'' TV show. She later decided to go to college at the University of California-Berkeley.
Liz Boyd, spokeswoman for the governor confirmed that "The governor has been asked to help and is pleased to accept." The debate will be held at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
Posted by: Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields ||
09/11/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
With any luck, Granholm will do for Biden what she has done for Michigan.
And what's up with Michigan having a Canadian governor? Anybody I ask about this just looks down at their shoes and mumbles something about "we do not discuss it with outsiders".
The United States on Wednesday announced the sale of two dozen Harpoon II anti-ship missiles to India. The deal, worth over $170 million, was made public as Defence Minister A.K. Antony began a high-level visit to the U.S. This would be the first sale of American missiles to India.
The Pentagon has notified Congress of a possible sale to India of the Harpoon Block II missiles, which would arm squadrons of the maritime-role version of Jaguar warplanes of the Indian Air Force.
The Pentagon's Defence Security Cooperation Agency said India had sought 20 AGM-84L Harpoon missiles, which are fired from fixed-wing aircraft, and four ATM-84L Harpoon Block II Exercise missiles, containers, training devices, spare and repair parts.
If the Harpoon deal goes through, it would be the fourth major U.S. arms sales to India over the last three years. Washington has already sold to India ANTPQ37 weapon-locating radars, six Hercules C-130J transport aircraft and eight maritime P-8 reconnaissance aircraft. India has also asked for supply/technical support, support equipment, personnel training and training equipment, technical data and publications, U.S. government and contractor engineering and logistics support services, the DSCA said.
"This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the U.S. by helping to improve the security of an important partner and to strengthen the U.S.-India strategic relationship, which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace and economic progress in South Asia," the Pentagon said.
"India intends to use the Harpoon missiles to modernise its Air Force's Anti-Surface Warfare mission capabilities and improve its naval operational flexibility. The missiles will assist the Indian Navy to develop and enhance standardisation and operational ability with the United States. India will have no difficulty absorbing these missiles into its armed forces," the Pentagon added.
The Department of Defence said the proposed sale and support would not affect the basic military balance in the region.
The prime contractor will be the Boeing Company of St Louis, Missouri, and there are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.
The Pentagon said: "Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional U.S. government or contractor representatives to India permanently.
"There may be U.S. government or contractor personnel in the country on a temporary basis in conjunction with program technical and management oversight and support requirements."
U.S. defence majors such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon and others are also bidding for other lucrative Indian contracts, including an estimated $10 billion sale of 126 fighter jets, $3 billion sale of 246 light helicopters. Also companies such as General Electric and Westinghouse would be bidding for sale of nuclear reactors to India.
Posted by: john frum ||
09/11/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
When do the P-8s get delivered? The first production ones for the USN aren't even done yet.
I think the author meant the venerable P-3 instead.
#3
Nope, P-8. India is getting a few right after they go IOC wiht the Navy.
737-800 based, better engines, more composites, better cruise and low altitude performance than stock 7373 due to raked wingtips and better flaps and slats.
Carries 4 pods 2 Harpoon each or 1 Tomahawk.
IN addition to sonar and elint gear and droppable torpedoes and sonobouys. MAD gear allegedly removed for pricing, but will be added back in before it goes to full IOC, like the Growler stuff on the FA/-18 E/F models.
#4
I hear you can pick up some neat Russian radar equipment from Syria cheap. Like new. hardly used.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
09/11/2008 4:54 Comments ||
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#5
Thanks, OS. The wording sounded like the hardware was already in hand. The P-8 is a pretty amazing airplane; the demonstator has been at NAS Whidbey several times and always has a crowd. Its a pretty bird.
JEDDAH: Outstanding memorizers of the holy Quran from centers in Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia and South America were honored during a ceremony organized by the Holy Quran Memorization International (HQMI) at Lailaty Hall here.
Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal distributed gifts to memorizers and supervisors of the Quran study centers run by the organization in the five continents. The melodious Quran recitation by children from different countries added color to the event.
Abdullah Basfar, secretary-general of HQMI, said an international conference on the Holy Qur'an would be held in Makkah next year.
He said Crown Prince Sultan has donated SR25 million to HQMI in the form of an endowment. As many as 3,090 students have graduated from HQMIs Quran study centers in different parts of the world this year, he added.
We have conducted nearly 200 local Quran recitation competitions and 71 training courses for teachers, sent 4,478 imams to different countries to lead Taraweeh prayers, and distributed 280,000 Quran copies and cassettes, Basfar said.
Ahmed Mohammad Ali, president of the Islamic Development Bank and a member of HQMIs board of directors, said the organization runs 69 Quran learning institutes in 60 countries with more than 5,000 students. It also sponsors 952 Quran study classes.
The organization has set out a strategic plan for the next 10 years, Basfar said, adding that the plan would be a good reference for Quran memorization centers in different parts of the world. He said HQMI had given scholarships to 237 students for higher studies.
Basfar said as many as 20,683 students have so far graduated from the Quran study centers and institutes run by the organization in different countries.
A scientific forum titled Toward developing an international reference for Quran teaching was held as part of HQMIs annual event with the participation of scholars from different parts of the Islamic world.
HQMI, which is an affiliate of the Makkah-based Muslim World League, is the first such organization formed to take care of the Quran and promote its message. The organization also has a ladies wing in order to conduct various activities among women.
#1
Ah yes, seems the moderators here are allowing pro-Islamic propaganda for the Religion of Terror.
Posted by: Grins Oppressor of the Pixies4430 ||
09/11/2008 9:25 Comments ||
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#2
Hey. Moderators. Is this how you plan to remember 9/11 all day today? By posting propaganda crap brought to you by the same people who brought us 9/11????????????????
#4
This is not propaganda. It is more like anti-propaganda and has its place in Rantburg. JFM
WTF!
3000 people were killed in America this date 7 years ago. 4000 of our troops have been killed fighting these cockroaches. And Rantburg is celebrating this carnage by posting numerous pro-Islamic propaganda.
#8
Never underestimate the power of one false prophet. If a billion people follow this mohammed, a billion people are wrong. The people with the ignorance to follow it now deserve what they will get.
#9
And Rantburg is celebrating this carnage by posting numerous pro-Islamic propaganda.
Hearing of people mehcanically memorizing a book (sometimes without even understanding a word: many
of those memorizers don't speak arabic) is to me and to every regular Rantburger something who makes hate still more the opression in Inslamic countries.
Not even in Stalin's Russia, in Mao's China or in Kim Jong Il's North Kora was such madneds and personality cult.
Anyone who has done intel or engaged in combat at a large-unit level knows that if you don't understand your enemy (as well as 'yourself'), you will lose.
That means you have to wade through a lot of propogand, action reports, interviews, and other information you will find distasteful and revolting.
If you can't understand that, I suggest going to LGF, or the Freepers, or any orther site where you can engage and entertain yourself in the security of your self-imposed comfort zone.
#11
I think it is particularly appropriate that we note what is going on in Saudi Arabia today. As far as I'm concerned, Saudi Arabia has never been appropriately punished for its contributions to 9/11 and the WOT.
#14
The entire Middle East needs to be picked up and shaken like a carpet. In a just world, we would have started with Saudi Arabia. Iraq was a convenient corner to grab ahold of.
#15
holy Quran from centers in Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia and South America and http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=249709&D=2008-09-11&SO=&HC=5 need to read with the understanding that the Saudis are pushing this into traditional non islamic countries, and spending billions to get their message out there.
When a proposed islamic school is planned in your neighbourhood I want to to know what they are teaching.
The root of islamic terrorism is the Qur'an.
To not understand this means you will be coninually have your freedoms pushed to the limit.
I get pissed off ever time I have to take my shoes off at the airport fully due to the religion of peace. Understanding this is vital.
Instead of asking the hard questions about what is going on in Sydney or Melbourne muslim ghettos we get told that we are racist rednecks.
These people are pushing the UN to make it illegal to even question if their idology is legitimate.
Never stop understanding what they are trying to achieve.
Grins Oppressor of the Pixies4430 you need to get your head out of your arse.
I know what is in the Quran. I have read the piece of trash from front to back. I am aware of the more militant verses:
Fight strenuously against the unbelievers. . . .
Fight those who believe not in Allah. . . .
Verily, Allah loves those who fight in his cause. . . .
The sword is the key to heaven. . . .
A drop of blood shed in the cause of Allah. . . .
A night spent in arms is of more avail than two months of fasting. . .
Whosoever falls in battle, his sins are forgiven. . . .
Allah loveth not the transgressors; kill them wheresoever you find them. . .
Take not a Jew or a Christian for your friend or protector. . . .
It hath not been granted unto any prophet that he should possess captives; until he hath made a great slaughter of the infidels in the earth. .
Make war on unbelievers until Allahs religion reigns supreme.
And I did not find those verses at Rantburg. I am aware of, by name many of the Saracens (Fatimids) of the Middle Ages, the various Islams (salafi, sunni, shia) of today, and what they did to the home, the Christian home of Clement, of Origen, of Tertullian, of Augustine, destroying the entire Christian populations of those civilizations and that now there is no longer a cross over the church of Saint John in Damascus. The cross there having been replaced with the scimitar.
On this day (today) when we are commemorating the lost lives of many thousands of Americans that these Mohammedans took from us in Manhattan, the Pentagon, Pennsylvania, the battle fields of Iraq, and Afghanistan, I don't care to hear of the "Outstanding memorizers of the Quran". ESPECIALLY on this day when we have 364 other days of the year to post such trash as the distribution of 280,000 Qurans, that even if one is handled improperly will result in jihad around the world.
I will not stoop to your level of penchant for the personal insult, either. That alone says enough about you.
Posted by: Grins Oppressor of the Pixies4430 ||
09/11/2008 20:45 Comments ||
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#17
On this day (today) when we are commemorating the lost lives of many thousands of Americans that these Mohammedans took from us in Manhattan, the Pentagon, Pennsylvania, the battle fields of Iraq, and Afghanistan, I don't care to hear of the "Outstanding memorizers of the Quran"...
I've already told you why it and articles of that type are posted. Even on 9-11. If you're too stupid or too angry to understand why, then that's your problem.
Thank G-d you're not in charge. You'd get me and my Marines killed just as easily due to your anger and stupidity and blindness as any it's-our-fault-leftist would.
I already suggested to you if you don't like it here, go elsewhere.
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. An aircraft-mounted laser designed to shoot down missiles has been fired for the first time in a ground test aboard the jet, prime contractor Boeing Co. said.
The test of the high-energy chemical laser was conducted Sunday by the contractors and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, the company said.
"The program remains on track to reach the missile shoot-down demonstration planned for 2009," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems.
The laser is in the back half of a Boeing 747-400F jumbo jet. Subsequent tests will increase duration and power before the beam is sent through a fire control system to a turret mounted in the nose of the aircraft.
Ground firings will be followed by flight tests of the system, which is intended to be capable of destroying all classes of ballistic missiles in the boost phase of flight.
The laser was designed and built by Northrop Grumman Corp. Lockheed Martin Corp. developed the beam control-fire control system, and Boeing provided the battle management system.
Boeing conducted a ground test of a laser mounted aboard a C-130H aircraft at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. The Advanced Tactical Laser aircraft is intended for use against ground targets.
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.
Algerian men flock to mosques during Ramadan to perform the extended taraweeh prayers, a nightly prayer in which a section of the Quran is recited until the entire book is completed by the end of the holy month. 
Anti-government protesters have stormed public buildings in eastern Bolivia amid a deepening row between President Evo Morales and his opponents. The biggest protest was in Santa Cruz, where demonstrators raided several offices and clashed with riot police. Bolivia's energy-rich eastern provinces oppose Mr Morales's attempts to redirect gas revenues to poorer areas.
"I want to tell you, brothers and sisters, the Bolivian people that it is the obligation of the national government and of the Bolivian people to defend our national unity," Morales said. Morales said only organized people can defend and recover democracy from the separatists. He called on the social movements and the people to defend Bolivia's unity.
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. An aircraft-mounted laser designed to shoot down missiles has been fired for the first time in a ground test aboard the jet, prime contractor Boeing Co. said.
