The woman who dialed 911 to report a possible break-in at the home of black Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. said Wednesday that she was pained to be wrongly labeled a racist based on words she never said and that she hoped the recently released recording of the call would put the controversy to rest. Oops! The paper used the race word! Clearly, that makes them racist, too.
With a trembling voice, name deleted to protect privacy, which apparently never occurred to the press
40, said she was out walking to lunch in Mr. Gates' Cambridge neighborhood near Harvard University when an elderly woman without a cell phone stopped her because she was concerned there was a possible burglary in progress.
Mrs. Whalen was vilified as a racist on blogs after a police report said she described the possible burglars as "two black males with backpacks." What do they call women who hate men? Isn't she sexually profiling?
Tapes of the call released earlier this week revealed that Mrs. Whalen did not mention race. When pressed by a dispatcher on whether the men were white, black or Hispanic, she said one of them might have been Hispanic. Might have been Hispanic? Sounds like an abundance of caution. But also racist!
"Now that the tapes are out, I hope people can see that I tried to be careful and honest with my words," Mrs. Whalen said. "It never occurred to me that the way I reported what I saw be analyzed by an entire nation." Welcome to Obamacare, Sweetheart.
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/30/2009 05:55 ||
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#1
The concept of "neighborhood watch" programs and 911 emergency calling are both racist. They tend to sterotype predominately male, hooded citizens who are simply hanging around or innocently gathering to discuss school homework, sports, events at work, or trade bling. If the Police did not act stupidly, they would not need racist citizens to rat on the innocent.
What would that statement get you in terms of profiling? Sexism? Racist? Cacomorphobic?
(a .40 slug to the assailant's forehead from me, but I digress...)
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
07/30/2009 8:47 Comments ||
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#4
Being arrested is so civilized & refined, as opposed to bring shot to death by a citizen, which is a common.fate of suspected burglars in Texas.Burglars & stupid people & Skippy should appreciate the difference. Police protect all people, including homeowners, burglars, drunks,imbeciles, morons & Harvard professors.
#7
I've been checking up on this gates chap. He is truly a bright but black on white race monger. He hales from a rural area. An area peopled with mixed races of both white and black. Being part Irish and having dated a white woman I would have thought he would be more of a balanced individual. The locals provide this information with ease. The reaction he gave to the officer is truly gates. O and gates both are mixed so it is my opinion they must prove their black race purity. The African knows who he is but O and gates are forever compromised. Like Hitler having a Jewish mother. They can never adapt they will never change. The race war to them is never over like Romulus and Remus an eternal conflict as well as internal. They are truly bipolar when placed next to Dr. King.
#9
The few blacks in America who are not of mixed race ancestry are immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa. In other words, African-American = part-white. There are very few pure breds of any race in the United States of America, whether black, white or purple.
But was he willing to make an honest horse out of her and propose marriage? This is one area Arabia is ahead of the West.
A Conway woman who had video surveillance of a man having sexual intercourse with one of her horses said she found the suspect behind her barn Monday night and pointed a shotgun at his head until police arrived and arrested him. Check out the pic, the lady is armed with an H&R Pardner single-shot. Barely $100 at your local cheap gun emporium and very strong medicine for pests and varmints of all kinds.
Rodell Vereen, 50, of Longs, is charged with buggery and trespassing after Barbara Kenley, who leases Lazy B Stables on Coates Road in the Wampee section of Horry County, told officers she had video of the suspect having sex with a horse then wanted to catch him at her barn. "Buggery" is an actual crime in SC?! Good for them.
``That stable was my getaway, my stress relief,'' said Kenley, who has leased the stable for 20 years. ``Everybody has a place they like to go to get away. Now it is totally destroyed. It is the only thing I have in life.'' Sounds like it was Rodell's stress relief too.
A family member said Wednesday that Vereen was diagnosed with a ``mental disease'' more than 10 years ago. I don't think the APA recognizes "pervert" as a clinical illness anymore.
``He's supposed to be on medication but I don't believe he's been taking it,'' said Beulah Vereen, also a neighbor. ``He's not a violent man, I know.'' Beulah is not a horse though.
It is the second time Rodell Vereen, who works for a landscaping company, has been charged with having sex with a horse at Lazy B Stables. Vereen pleaded guilty to buggery on July 21, 2008, and was sentenced to three years' probation, ordered to undergo mental health counseling, and told not to go near Lazy B Stables after he was caught having sex with a horse on Thanksgiving Day of 2007, according to the 15th Judicial Circuit. You just knew that a horse-molester would have a name like "Rodell." I wonder if he's any good with a banjo.
Ayup. City boys with the same proclivities go after the neighbors' dogs.
Vereen has also been registered as a sex offender since pleading to the buggery charge last year, according to the State Law Enforcement Division. He also was charged Wednesday with probation violation. I can imagine explaining this to fellow inmates:
"Whatcha' in for, boy?"
"Buggering a horse."
We needn't dwell on likely consequences of such a confession.
Please, let us not.
``I have a false sense of security right now,'' Kenley said. ``When they arrested him before, I thought that was the end of it. Now all of my insecurities are back. I can't go out there at certain times because I am afraid.''
Vereen will have a probation hearing at 9 a.m. Monday at J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Conway, according to Richard Laskill, a senior agent for the S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. A judge probably will determine whether Vereen will serve the remainder of his three-year suspended sentence for the 2007 buggery charge. I think it's a safe bet unless the system is even more buggered that I think.
``Hopefully he won't get out,'' Kenley said. ``My goal is to get him away from me and my property.''
Kenley, who lives four miles away from the stable, said she can't afford a security system for the stables. She said she spent several hundred dollars on the video surveillance system that was used to help identify Vereen.
``In 20 years I've never had a problem like this,'' Kenley said. ``I never knew people did such a thing.''
Kenley said Vereen was having sex with a 21-year-old horse named Sugar. Kenley said the horse is being treated for infections related to the incidents. At least Sugar is legal age.
Infections? He gave Sugar STDs? For shame! Everyone knows you always use a condom.
Kenley told officers she had video of Vereen ``having relations'' with one of her horses on July 19, according to a police report. ``I had given police surveillance video before and they weren't able to identify him,'' Kenley said. ``And I wanted to catch him firsthand. It was just a matter of time before I caught him.''
On Monday night, Kenley said she went to check on the horses and saw an unknown vehicle parked near her property. Kenley found Vereen behind a barn where the horses are kept and pointed a shotgun at him. Kenley called police on her cell phone and waited for officers to arrive.
``He was very subdued,'' Kenley said. ``He was like ... cold. He may have been in shock.'' An old lady sticking a shotgun in your face can have that effect even on more or less normal people.
It can have a withering effec, especially when one was totally focussed on the activity at hand.
Kenley said she asked Vereen what he was doing at the barn and that he said he was looking for a bathroom. He should have said he was looking for the right direction to Mecca.
It's not reasonable to expect the brain to work well under conditions of minimal blood flow.
``I told him he was full of crap,'' Kenley said. ``He apologized and said he didn't mean to hurt me.''
Vereen admitted to officers that he did have ``relations'' with a horse on July 19, the report shows. Officers reported that they viewed a video showing the suspect having intercourse with a horse. I think I'll pass when it gets to YouTube.
Bail for Vereen is set at $30,000. He was being held Wednesday at J. Reuben Long Detention Center. You can buy a damn good horse for 30 grand.
[Al Arabiya Latest] A Sudanese court on Wednesday adjourned the case of a woman journalist facing 40 lashes for violating public decorum and wearing pants in public, which Sudanese police called "indecent."
The judge deferred the case to Tuesday after Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein, who works for the left-wing Al-Sahafa newspaper and for the media department of the United Nations Mission in Sudan, waived the immunity given to U.N. workers.
"The court gave Lubna the choice either to accept immunity from the U.N. or to waive that and go on with the trial," her lawyer Nabil Adeeb told AFP.
But Hussein refused to take the easy route and insisted on continuing with the case. "I wish to resign from the U.N., I wish this court case to continue," Hussein told a packed court room after which the judge adjourned the case to August 4.
Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein was arrested in Khartoum earlier this month after being caught wearing pants at a public event.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
The women whipped earlier this month included some from animist and Christian south Sudan where the Muslim north's Sharia or Islamic law does not apply.
While Al Arabiya hints at it, Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein is Christian. This while the Brit Bobbies put on hijabs in deference to muslim colonists. Rising civilizational (used loosely) confidence vs decaying civilizational timidity.
Posted by: ed ||
07/30/2009 16:43 Comments ||
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Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya says disgruntled military officers could rebel "at any moment" against the government installed in a coup.
Zelaya says he has information that some soldiers and officers are "repudiating the way in which the military leadership is directing the armed forces."
He warns young officers could rebel "at any moment" and force military chief Gen. Romeo Vasquez to restore the deposed president to power.
But Zelaya also says he holds out hope that international mediation efforts will produce an agreement to return him to office peacefully.
Zelaya spoke to reporters late Wednesday in Ocotal, the Nicaraguan town near the Honduran border where he has ensconced his government-in-exile.
Two GOP lawmakers returned from a weekend trip to Honduras with a heightened understanding of the presidential crisis there and a proposal for its resolution.
Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.) told The Hill that a presidential candidate from ousted President Manuel Zelaya's own Liberal Party gave the visiting congressmen the proposal, which Bilbray is going to ask the Obama administration to accept. Under the offer, interim President Roberto Micheletti would voluntarily step down and leadership of the country would go to constitutional succession. However, if Zelaya returned to face charges and was then acquitted, he could return to office.
"The majority of folks think Zelaya should come back to the country, but to stand trial," Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) said.
Mack told The Hill that he found Hondurans to be in "disbelief" at the Obama administration's reaction to the ouster of Zelaya.
"Whether or not [Hondurans] agree on how he was removed all of them agree that he broke the constitution, broke the law," Mack said. "A large majority believe he should not return to Honduras and to power."
Bilbray said the U.S. can't put itself in a position of supporting a president over a country's constitution and the rule of law. "That's a scary place for us to find ourselves, especially considering our history," he said.
"For the [Obama] administration to propose the return of the old president and to put him back into power would really be a slap in the face to constitutional rule," Bilbray said, adding that he believed the administration "jumped the gun" on its assessment of the Honduras crisis. "I think [Hondurans] were absolutely shocked at the American response."
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
The American response and the administration's response are two different things.
The U.S. Treasury sold $39 billion in five-year debt Wednesday in an auction that drew poor demand, raising worries over the cost of financing the government's burgeoning budget deficit. It was the second lackluster showing in as many days, convincing analysts that the stellar results of debt auctions just a few weeks ago were a fluke and that Thursday's $28 billion seven-year offering could suffer a similar fate.
Under the weight of the ballooning deficit, the government has raised auction volumes and analysts now wonder whether the strain on the market is showing.
"Obviously everyone is inferring that tomorrow's won't be good either," said James Combias, head of government bond trading at Mizuho Securities USA in New York. "Maybe you will see more interest tomorrow but I think the increase in the auctions and the size of them may be starting to have an effect. These are very large auctions."
Demand for the five-year notes was below average, measured by the bid-to-cover ratio of 1.92, the lowest in almost a year. This followed a poor two-year auction on Tuesday.
In a further sign of a weak sale, yields at the auction were well above expectations, known as a "tail." The tail indicates that dealers drove an unexpectedly hard bargain to raise yields, and lower prices, to buy the bonds. Ultimately, this could raise interest rates throughout the economy at a faster rate than might be appropriate given the lingering effects of the worst recession in decades.
A key proxy for foreign interest, the indirect bidder category, was slightly above the average of auctions over the past year at 36.6 percent but far below the most recent sale.
"It was just a horrendous result," said William O'Donnell, head of U.S. Treasury strategy at RBS Securities in Greenwich, Connecticut. "It was the weakest bid-to-cover since September 2008, and by my numbers it was the biggest tail since February 1993. It was just a very, very weak result."
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Under the weight of the ballooning deficit, the government has raised auction volumes and analysts now wonder whether the strain on the market is showing.
If the US can't borrow enough to finance the deficit, then Congress will be forced to act by cutting spending, beginning with the $787 billion "Stimulus"
And with the overarching idea that republicans must be left out of all legislation in this congress, the democratic left will own the cuts.
It will also moot cap and trade, and health care, as well as any number of "reforms" on liberal democrats' agendas.
All of which has the "potential to translate into an electoral bloodbath for democrats in 2010.
#2
Under the weight of the ballooning deficit, the government has raised auction volumes and analysts now wonder whether the strain on the market is showing.
Nonsense! Just raise the interest earned to record levels and you'll have all kinds of takers and plenty of new cash to squander. If that fails to work, then nationalize all the 401k accounts and dump that money into gummit bonds. It's the rich people (old white men) who are to blame. They're just holding out for better returns.
#4
If you are an investor who anticipates high inflation, you avoid bonds & such - they'll devalue even more than cash - and put money in stocks & commodities. If you anticipate deflation bonds are a little better than cash. If, like me, you expect both at the same time - inflation-driven increases in interest rates and decreasing corporate earnings, it's just a WAG which way to go.
#6
If you expect both at the same time - inflation-driven increases in interest rates and decreasing corporate earnings
Invest in aspirin and rot gut booze. Oh, and pitchforks.
Posted by: ed ||
07/30/2009 9:18 Comments ||
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#7
If the US can't borrow enough to finance the deficit, then Congress will be forced to act by cutting spending, beginning with the $787 billion "Stimulus"
Oh they will cut. But not their bribe money. Defense and security will take the major hits. Then taxes will be raised.
High taxes+weak economy+high risk of being hit again+government bloat=loss for dhimocrats for the next 4 years.
#8
darth, Dems 'investment' in ACORN should maintain their electability regardless of what they do. And (as shown in Washington State a few years ago & others since) 'it doesn't matter who votes, it matters who counts the votes.'
#9
Don't be silly, the US government has no intention of cutting a significant amount of spending. Obama will leverage in a more pliable Fed chairman who will assist the government in monetizing the debt (or at least the deficits) as the Fed & Treasury swap newly-printed currency for newly-printed bonds.
#10
Lesse, the Fed is payin' crap interest and equities are back. Whoodathunk desire for treasuries would go down under such conditions.
The only question I'd like answered is how much is spending going to be cut and how much money is going to be printed to cover our debt.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
07/30/2009 15:09 Comments ||
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#11
The Fed Ponzi scheme with the Treasury is monitizing the debt right under everyone's noses, and not a squeak from anyone. Devaluing fiat money is the next bold step in destroying public confidence worldwide in credit markets. And specificallly in the US, is essentially theft in that they are simply stealing the real value of what we have saved in personal wealth through monitization. They print more paper and the buying power I had in my IRA/401/457 erodes just as if they simply stole the exact percentage by which they inflate the overall money supply. This and the 30 year de-industrialization of America represents the greatest transfer of wealth in the history of mankind, and not a real peep from our leaders.....but we are still checking to make sure Michael Jackson is really dead and what beer Zero will have at the picnic table tonight....
[Iran Press TV Latest] Moldova's ruling Communists are likely to lose their majority in the June 29 parliamentary elections, according to exit polls.
Voters went to the polls in an early election after the Communist-majority parliament elected on April 5 could not agree on a successor to replace outgoing President Vladimir Voronin. In Moldova, the parliament elects the head of state, which must be chosen by 61 out of the 101-member body.
Projections based on exit polls give the Communists 41.7 percent of the votes and 45 seats in the 101-member parliament. The party had won 60 seats in the April vote, leaving them short of the numbers needed to select the president.
Should the ballot-count follow the exit-polls predictions, then, in order to maintain power, the party would now have to enter into a coalition government.
The European Union-oriented opposition is seeking a parliamentary majority that would allow it to put an end to the Voronin-era and to choose a non-Communist as the new president.
Outgoing President Voronin said the new vote ought to help rescue the former Soviet state from its serious political crisis. Voronin, leader of Moldova's Communist Party, has been president since 2001. He is forbidden from seeking a third four-year term.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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Former CBS News anchor Dan Rather called on President Barack Obama to form a White House commission to help save the press Tuesday night in an impassioned speech at the Aspen Institute.
"I personally encourage the president to establish a White House commission on public media," the legendary newsman said. Dan, please. That's so last century! You need a "media czar".
Such a commission on media reform, Rather said, ought to make me chairman recommendations on saving journalism jobs and creating new business models to keep news organizations alive.
At stake, he argued, is the very survival of American democracy.
"A truly free and independent press is the red beating heart of democracy and freedom," Rather said in an interview yesterday afternoon. "This is not something just for journalists to be concerned about, and the loss of jobs and the loss of newspapers, and the diminution of the American press' traditional role of being the watchdog on power. This is something every citizen should be concerned about." Couldn't agree more, but why do I think that these words mean something different to Danny Boy than they do to the rest of us?
Rather, who has been a working reporter for more than six decades and currently hosts "Dan Rather Reports" on HDNet, pointed out that there are precedents for such national commissions, which have been used to help other at-risk industries. "Hey, after helping you get elected, Barry, can you spare a dime? After all, ain't that the Chicago Way?
Corporate and political influence on newsrooms, along with the conflation of news and entertainment, has created what Rather called "the dumbing down and sleazing up of what we see on the news." Nah, not that he had anything to do with this, nope, no how...
It has also thinned the amount of investigative and international journalism. The latter loss of correspondents covering America's two foreign wars, Rather opined, is both a critical detriment to the nation and a disservice to our troops.
Tears welled in the lifelong reporter's eyes as he discussed the dwindling number of war correspondents. "I feel particularly strong about coverage of the wars," he said, noting that covering the war in Afghanistan is his top priority on his HDNet program. "No apologies, both as a journalist and as a citizen I just can't stand to leave those guys out there, fighting, dying, bleeding, getting torn up and say, 'Look, it's page 14 news.' Or 'Sorry, not on tonight's newscast.' It's an example of the problem, that and not having the watchdogs."
The free press, as established by the First Amendment to the Constitution, ought to operate as a public trust, not solely as a money-making endeavor, Rather argued, and it's time the government make an effort to ensure the survival of the free press. If not the government, he suggested, then an organization like the Carnegie Foundation should take it on. Without action, he predicted, America will lose its independent media. I dunno....Fox News seems to be doing ok.
"If we do nothing more than stand back and hope that innovation alone will solve this crisis," he said, "then our best-trained journalists will lose their jobs." C'mon, Dan, I'm sure these talents, like Ted Rall, can quickly find new employment. Repeat after me...you want fries wid dat?
#1
"A truly free and independent press is the red beating heart of democracy and freedom,"
Yes, which is why we must hasten the extinction of the establishment media as we know and loathe them today. The media-industrial complex is not the "free press" of the Founding Fathers, it is an un-elected, unaccountable shadow government pursuing its own interest and agenda.
Contrary to Dan's blatherings, media and journalism as such are thriving. It is the establishment media power structure, of which he is a made member, that is in the process of collapse and disintegration.
#2
You're a sleaze, Danny Boy. You're a big part of the reason network news is seen as crap. And slanted crap at that.
Don't talk like there's no shit sticking to you.
#3
When you peel away the messenger, I have to say I agree with the message. I despise D Rather ever since he called the 82nd Airborne Div Jumping Junkies. He is part of the problem, his newscasts are not news, they are editorials. Our media is in an awful state laden with corporate cool aid and visceral hate mongers. Every newscast or clip is an editorial based on the parent corporations political or business agenda. They have gone into the gutter with what I call agenda news, Fox included. Rather is also correct that a government unchecked by a free press and free speech is doomed to fail. But what I see here is a press that has aided in putting the president in power. They have been part of the raping of the American democratic system. They are no longer trying to keep our political system in check; they are influencing it and running it in coordination with the government. When Clinton was shameless about his decision making being based on news polls it opened the door for the media to control our nation. When the next president shut out the press and put them in their place the response was visceral. It did not matter one bit what Bush said, they attacked him. They put hate mongers on TV and attacked from every angle. The market needed balance and FOX was born, no better or worse just the other side of the opinion. Zero and his thugs saw this clearly. Zero is a talking head that was made for TV, made for the media, and more importantly, embraced by the media. He cant even get a thought out without his teleprompter.
The only way I see to fix it is to let it go down the course it is on. I believe in the free market. People will not buy garbage for long. They have spoken with the news papers going down the toilette. If the news industry wants to save itself they need to stop being a politically motivated propaganda machine, become an advocate for America and the American way, and stick to just the facts.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/30/2009 11:49 Comments ||
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#4
If Dan Blather has his way only thing dogs like CBS and the New York Times will be watching will be "enemies of the state" as determined by Big Brother Barack.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/30/2009 13:19 Comments ||
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#6
Public trust, eh? That would imply some sort of responsibility, and Rather's only responsibility is to tell the world's story from his viewpoint. It's vitally important that the world understands him, as he is correct and the rest of us should be fortunate to have someone like him in his position, where he can use his influence to let us know about his great ideas.
#9
"A truly free and independent press is the red beating heart of democracy and freedom" Rather said
The correct quote is "Chairman Mao is our sun's red heart."
Posted by: regular joe ||
07/30/2009 15:25 Comments ||
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#3 When you peel away the messenger, I have to say I agree with the message. I despise D Rather ever since he called the 82nd Airborne Div Jumping Junkies. 49 Pan
What more could one expect from a leg former.....well, you know.
The House deleted spending for the F-22 for fiscal year 2010 today. The same spending bill includes money for the "alternative" F-35 engine that the Administration also opposes.
FORT WORTH, Texas Lockheed Martin briefed U.S. Defense Department cost estimators July 29 as they reassess projections for the F-35 amid concerns that continued disagreement between higher independent and lower program office development cost figures could spell trouble for the Joint Strike Fighter.
Officials from the Pentagons Office of Program Analysis & Evaluation, Cost Analysis Improvement Group and Joint Estimating Team (JET) were to be briefed on progress with the development program July 29 at Lockheeds plant here, F-35 Program General Manager Dan Crowley said at the July 28 rollout of the first U.S. Navy F-35C variant.
The previous JET report estimated development would cost an additional $5 billion and take two more years to complete than estimated by the Joint Program Office (JPO) in 2008. The team cited engineering destaffing, manufacturing span times, software development and flight-test productivity as drivers of expected cost and schedule growth.
Because of delays in flying test aircraft, JSF Program Executive Officer Brig. Gen. David Heinz does not expect the updated assessment to change the JET estimate by much. But Crowley hopes to convince the independent estimators that destaffing, manufacturing and software is on track to deliver the JPOs lower projections.
The JET has been tasked with updating its assessment in September, Heinz says. Without significant flight-testing, I do not expect a major revision.
While it has been budgeting F-35 development at the lower cost estimated by the JPO, for fiscal 2010 the Pentagon opted for the JETs higher estimate and added $480 million to the budget to cover projected cost growth in flight-test.
This raises the specter of a major cost jump for the development program, and potential cuts to aircraft procurement numbers, if the Pentagon abandons the JPO estimate and embraces the JET projections.
Crowley continues to hope the Pentagon and Congress will give the JSF program another year or two to prove its projected improvements in flight-test productivity over legacy fighter development efforts.
With 99 percent of drawings released for all three variants, engineering destaffing is following a profile close to predictions, he says, with the numbers working on the program expected to be cut from 4,000 to around 2,000 by years end.
Flight-test aircraft are between two and four months behind schedule, but we are seeing rapid reductions in span times as it begins assembling the first low-rate initial production aircraft, he says.
While the JET assessment expected growth in the amount of software needed and doubted the industry team could meet its software productivity targets, Crowley says software content is stable and productivity is beating estimates.
With only around 100 of a planned 5,000 development sorties expected to be accumulated by years end, flight-testing remains the biggest cost and schedule challenge. Its still difficult to estimate, Heinz says.
Crowley says the team will not have enough data to support its flight-test productivity projections until it has completed 10 percent of planned sorties, expected late in 2010. Its too early to prove them wrong, he says.
The number of illegal immigrants living in Arizona has plunged by one-third in the past two years amid a dismal job market and stiffer enforcement of immigration laws, according to researchers who released a new report.
Arizona saw the largest decline of any state, according to researchers at the Center for Immigration Studies, whose report shows that the nation's undocumented population fell nearly 14 percent from the summer of 2007 to the first quarter of this year, following years of steady growth.
The report comes as the Obama administration is gearing up to push for major immigration reforms, including a possible legalization program for millions of illegal immigrants in the U.S.
The loss of illegal immigrants has had ramifications for the Arizona economy, with some saying the exodus means less of a drain on taxpayer services and others saying the loss has hurt businesses and tax revenue.
Last week, Chandler-based Bashas' Supermarkets closed three Food City stores in predominantly Latino neighborhoods in Phoenix and Glendale, which some analysts said reflected the beating many businesses have taken as a result of an exodus of Latino immigrants and their families.
The report by the Center for Immigration Studies estimates that the nation's illegal-immigrant population fell from a peak of 12.5 million in the summer of 2007 to 10.8 million in the first quarter of 2009, a drop of 13.7 percent. The center is a research organization in Washington, D.C., that favors less immigration to the United States.
The size of the decline suggests that not only are fewer illegal immigrants coming to the United States but also that a significant number are returning home, said Steven Camarota, a researcher at the center and one of the report's authors.
"It's a significant break" following years of rapid growth in the nation's undocumented population, he said. "We have never seen this large and sustained decline in the illegal population in this way before."
The center's report was based on an analysis of less-educated Hispanic immigrants taken from the Census Bureau's monthly Current Population Survey.
A report last week by the Pew Hispanic Center, which analyzed government population surveys from the U.S. and Mexico as well as Border Patrol apprehensions, found that immigrants, both legal and illegal, are not leaving the country.
Randy Capps, a senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, said there is no question the illegal immigrant population has stabilized. But he believes Camarota's report may have inflated the size of the drop because it focused on a narrower segment of the population: less-educated Hispanic immigrants. He said any net decline has more to do with the annual return of illegal immigrants to Mexico in the fall and winter months offset by fewer immigrants coming to the U.S. because of a lack of jobs and stepped-up deportations.
After reaching a high of 530,000 in 2007, Arizona's undocumented population now numbers about 350,000, a drop of about 180,000 people, Camarota said. The exodus is good news for Arizona taxpayers, Camarota said, because illegal immigrants tend to work in low-wage jobs and therefore contribute less in taxes than the public services they use.
But immigrant advocates say the loss of so many people has been a big blow to the state's economy, where empty storefronts, vacant homes and empty apartments dot many immigrant neighborhoods.
"When you lose people, you lose not only workers but people who are consumers, and these people were great consumers," said Elias Bermudez, chief executive and founder of the Phoenix-based Immigrants Without Borders.
Bermudez says the center's estimate that 180,000 illegal immigrants have left is too low. "I may even go higher than that, as many as 250,000 people," Bermudez said. "I get two or three calls a day from people who say they are leaving."
Capps said he believes the "pause" in illegal immigration to the U.S. should make immigration reform less contentious. "It makes the conversation a little easier," he said.
Camarota, however, said the declining population could play both ways. On one hand, it could give a boost to a legalization program because the population is no longer growing and therefore is more manageable, Camarota said.
On the other, it could debunk arguments that illegal immigrants don't leave. "Some could say (the illegal-immigrant population) is still a big problem, but we are getting it under control," Camarota said, "while others would say, 'Why have an amnesty (program) when there is an alternative and people will go home?' "
#1
This is a drop from about 8% of the AZ population of illegals to about 5%. The "Hispanic and Latino" (of any race) in AZ is, or at least was, about 25% of the AZ population.
#2
Perhaps if we dropped our economy below Mexico's we could get them all to go home. Then. Mexico could deal with the problem of economic illegals from the US.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
07/30/2009 11:43 Comments ||
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#3
ACORN will need billions of US taxpayer dollars to make up these lost Democratic votes.
#7
OldSpook: Don't kid yourself, e-verify is easy to dodge.
To start with, there is no rule preventing someone from working 3 jobs "at the same time". Second, e-verify inspections are announced, so suddenly the employees all look different for a day. But their paperwork is good.
Third are employees who are allowed to "take work home with them." They are extra productive at home, doing the work of several people, for which they are rewarded.
Fourth is that the "cash economy" has really taken off. You can get any kind of work you want for cash, not just unskilled, but skilled labor as well. Brickwork, computer and automotive repair, fine craftsman stuff, welding, machine shop, and any kind of handyman.
And, of course, prostitution. But even this has twists and turns. One legal girl I know who has illegal family members, is constantly hit up with marriage citizenship offers from legals.
"I'll marry your illegal sister if you'll be my real wife."
She also gets a lot of genuine marriage proposals, just on the assumption that she is illegal.
[Iran Press TV Latest] A court in the United States rejects a Californian's not guilty plea to publishing online threats against the life of President Barack Obama.
On Tuesday, US District Court found Walter Bagdasarian of making 'serious' threats remanding him on bail until an upcoming trial where he could be sentenced to up to ten years in prison, San Diego Union Tribune reported.
The 47-year-old did not manage to rationalize his alleged intoxication while committing the misdemeanor and failed in playing the 'freedom of speech' card.
Last year, during the 44th president's presidential campaign Bagdasarian warned online of the doomsday scenarios which would take place upon Obama's victory. He later issued graver threats to the effect that Obama had to be gunned down using a 50-caliber rifle.
The Secret Service later found six guns - three pistols and three rifles in the man's residence.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
found six guns - three pistols and three rifles in the man's residence
Lucknow: Officials conducting raids to recover spurious liquor in Uttar Pradesh had to leave the exercise midway when some women involved in the illegal business reportedly stripped off in front of them, officials said on Thursday
Acting on a tip-off that several illicit liquor manufacturing units were running in Devidas village of Muzaffarnagar district, a 25-member team of the excise department went there to conduct raids on Wednesday evening. However, a group of women began stripping before them.
"It was a major embarrassment for all of us ... At that time we had no other option but stop the raids and move away," Excise Inspector Alok Sharma told reporters in Muzaffarnagar, about 350 km from here.
Since the officials thought the women could falsely implicate them on charges of molestation, they decided not to conduct the raids and left the spot. They informed the police about the incident.
"Police have assured us that they will provide women cops for carrying out raids in the area," said Sharma.
Posted by: john frum ||
07/30/2009 16:41 ||
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#1
Naked wimmen and cheap hootch. Well, that's a party.
Posted by: ed ||
07/30/2009 17:34 Comments ||
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[Geo News] On the orders of regional police officer Faisalabad, the SHO Behar Hussain who registered case against Punjab Revenue Minister Haji Ishaq , has been transferred from district Gojra on Wednesday, Geo news reported.
According to police sources, RPO Faisalabad Ahmed Raza Tahir passed transfer orders following his meeting with top leadership of PPP while the SHO Gojra police station Behar Hussain has been immediately evicted from Gojra district.
SHO Gojra police station has been forced to report to IG office, sources said.
It is pertinent to mention that SHO Behar Hussain registered case against Punjab Revenue Minister Haji Ishaq for his abuse and torture on police officials.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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SULAIMANIYA / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi President Jalal Talabani revealed on Wednesday that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will visit the Kurdistan region soon to discuss problems and differences with the Kurdish leadership.
Maliki will visit the Kurdistan region in the next few days. Well sit together to tackle the pending issues between Baghdad and the region here. These problems will be solved soon in accordance with the constitution, Talabani said in a joint press conference with the Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barazani after a meeting in the resort of Ducan in Sulaimaniya.
For his part, Barazani, who was today (July 29) re-elected for another term in office after garnering 69.57 percent of the votes in the Kurdistan presidential elections, said his meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates earlier on Wednesday dealt with the outstanding issues.
I believe that these problems must be settled in accordance with the Iraqi constitution, to which we are committed, and to which Baghdad must show full commitment too so as to reach radical solutions to these problems, said Barazani.
The bones of contention between the Iraqi central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) include security, peshmerga forces, disputed areas, foreign policy, oil & gas, power sharing and constitutional reforms.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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More than 200 Jewish extremists have reportedly entered al-Aqsa Mosque, positioning themselves inside the holy site, allegedly to perform religious rituals.
According to a statement released by the Al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage, the incursion was "significant". The foundation has called on Muslims, Arabs and all Palestinians to take action in support of the mosque.
The attack comes amidst Tisha B'Av, also known as "The Ninth of Av" -- a Jewish fasting day in commemoration of the destruction of the two Temples. The occasion falls on the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av, which usually coincides with late July or mid-August.
The First Temple was built by King Solomon and was considered the most sacred site in ancient Judaism. It was destroyed when the Babylonians pillaged Jerusalem (al-Quds) in 586 BCE.
According to Jewish accounts, the construction of the Second Temple was completed in 516 BCE on the site of the First Temple but was destroyed during the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE.
The destruction of the two Temples allegedly took place on the same day -- the ninth of Av -- but about 656 years apart.
The storming of al-Aqsa Mosque -- a holy site in the eyes of many Muslims -- has drawn anti-Israeli condemnation.
Former Palestinian minister for al-Quds affairs, Hatem Abdel Qader, has warned that the Israeli government is "playing with fire" by allowing far-right Jewish groups to put the mosque in harm's way.
Abdel Qader resigned from his post last month after he censured the acting Palestinian Authority for neglecting al-Quds. He says the Salam Fayyad government refuses to uphold its commitments to the city, which is undergoing a difficult period.
According to Abdel Qader, the Palestinian Finance Ministry "contributes nothing to the effort to keep the residents on their land."
Six months after Israel ended its bruising offensive against Gaza Strip militants, the people of this rocket-scarred border town are enjoying their calmest stretch in recent memory. Hamas still thinks that the rockets are legitimate, though. That's fine, I guess. As long as they continue not to use them. Good to see they actually can learn if pressed hard enough.
AP story. Musta hurt them a lot to write this. Click on the link to read the rest.
[Al Arabiya Latest] A Palestinian woman was tortured and killed by her father for talking on her cell phone, according to two human rights organizations. Yeah, for talking on her cell phone. Well, Mo didn't have no cell phone, right, Pops...
Fadia al-Najar, 27, was at her home in Gaza's Jabalya refugee camp talking to someone on her cell phone when her father, Jawdat al-Najar, grew suspicious that she might be having an "illegitimate relation," according to two human rights organizations based in the Palestinian Territories.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) and Al Mezan said in statements on their websites, citing police sources that the woman's father confessed last Friday that he had killed his daughter the night before. The police found the body of the divorced mother of five in the house and took her to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, according to Al Mezan.
Medical sources told the organizations that Fadia's body showed evidence of torture and that her skull was fractured after being hit with an iron chain.
According to the human rights center, Fadia is the ninth victim of an honor crime in the West Bank and Gaza this year. The other victims included five women, two men and one child. Perpetrators of honor killings typically serve between six months and three years in prison, according to PCHR.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Fred - I think you just libeled cave men. Got a picture of pond scum?
#2
Try the green algae discovered off the west coast of Alaska. No redeamable qualities or usefulness, but widespread and quite pervasive. It also fouled up any shipping or fishing in the area (also quite useful to describe Greenpeace).
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/30/2009 23:03 Comments ||
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Iran has arrested three people, including a Jewish woman, in the northwestern province of Ardabil for promoting "Satan worship", the Fars news agency reported on Wednesday. "Two men and a Jewish woman, who were promoting the cult of Satan worship among the youth of Parsabad town, have been arrested," the news agency quoted the judiciary provincial office as saying. More than 100 items, including goats' heads and jewellery in the form of human skulls, have been seized from the trio, the report. In May, Iran arrested 104 "Satan-worshippers" in a raid on a concert in the southern city of Shiraz where people were drinking alcohol and "sucking blood", the Jam-e Jam newspaper reported. Over the past two years, police and security officials have warned against the emergence of "Satanist" cults accused of corrupting the young, amid a tough crackdown on "un-Islamic" attire and behaviour.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Since when is it against the law to worship Nancy Pelosi?
[Iran Press TV Latest] A Turkish lawyer has claimed that his Iranian client has transferred an $18.5-billion treasure from Iran to Turkey through courier services. Senol Ozel told Turkey's independent "Kanal D" channel that his client, "Esmael Safarian-Nasab," is a respected Iranian businessman and has transferred the money to Turkey through legal means.
The container-load of US dollars and gold bullion was delivered to Ankara Customs Office on October 7, 2008, Ozel said. He noted that the container contained $7.5 billion and 20 metric tons of gold.
In a recent speech, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had boasted of the huge fund transfer as an indictor of his government's success in attracting foreign investment despite the economic downturn in the world. Erdogan had not revealed anything about the origin of the wealth.
Ozel says Turkish government's move to adopt new regulations to facilitate foreign investment in the country had encouraged his client to take his wealth to Turkey.
According to Kanal D, the Turkish government had adopted a new regulation dubbed as the "Suitcase Law" to alleviate the harsh effects of the economic crisis on the country. The new law allowed anybody to take any amount of foreign currencies into the country from anywhere without being scrutinized.
Now the problem is that Safarian-Nasab wants his money back from Turkey, which could create a big hole in the Turkish Central Bank's balance-sheet. Ozel said his client will arrive in Turkey in the near future to discuss the issue with the Turkish Central Bank.
There is no word yet from Iranian authorities as to the source of the funds and the circumstances surrounding its export to Turkey.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Give it back in those T bonds confiscated at the Italian border.
Posted by: ed ||
07/30/2009 8:56 Comments ||
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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.
[Al Arabiya Latest] A Sudanese court on Wednesday adjourned the case of a woman journalist facing 40 lashes for violating public decorum and wearing pants in public, which Sudanese police called "indecent."
The U.S. Treasury sold $39 billion in five-year debt Wednesday in an auction that drew poor demand, raising worries over the cost of financing the government's burgeoning budget deficit. It was the second lackluster showing in as many days, convincing analysts that the stellar results of debt auctions just a few weeks ago were a fluke and that Thursday's $28 billion seven-year offering could suffer a similar fate.
[Iran Press TV Latest] Moldova's ruling Communists are likely to lose their majority in the June 29 parliamentary elections, according to exit polls. 
Former CBS News anchor Dan Rather called on President Barack Obama to form a White House commission to help save the press Tuesday night in an impassioned speech at the Aspen Institute.
[Al Arabiya Latest] A Palestinian woman was tortured and killed by her father for talking on her cell phone, according to two human rights organizations.
Iran has arrested three people, including a Jewish woman, in the northwestern province of Ardabil for promoting "Satan worship", the Fars news agency reported on Wednesday. "Two men and a Jewish woman, who were promoting the cult of Satan worship among the youth of Parsabad town, have been arrested," the news agency quoted the judiciary provincial office as saying. More than 100 items, including goats' heads and jewellery in the form of human skulls, have been seized from the trio, the report. In May, Iran arrested 104 "Satan-worshippers" in a raid on a concert in the southern city of Shiraz where people were drinking alcohol and "sucking blood", the Jam-e Jam newspaper reported. Over the past two years, police and security officials have warned against the emergence of "Satanist" cults accused of corrupting the young, amid a tough crackdown on "un-Islamic" attire and behaviour.
