I love these feel-good stories ...
HOUSTON -- A jewelry store owner shot and killed three robbery suspects Thursday afternoon, police said. Snip
The robbers died at the scene. Has a nice ring to it.
"He was well-equipped to take care of the problem," said Fil Waters with the Houston Police Department. That he was, and it wasn't all the hardware either. Snip
Police said that a fourth possible suspect was wearing a construction worker uniform. He was described as being in his 20s with a short buzz-cut and a thin face. Investigators said he left the scene in a brown or gold car, possibly a Nissan Sentra. ....and is still running unless I miss my guess.
No customers were inside the store. The owner's wife was not injured.
An investigation is under way. We wish Mr. Castillo a speedy recovery and thank him for the enormous sum he has saved the taxpayers.
#1
Being this was Texas, Mr. Castillo has a good chance of remaining free; in much of the country (& world) he would be looking at hard prison time. After all, 'armed robbery is not a capital offense and he is not jury, judge & executioner.'
#2
...that's because in "much of the country" it's not his 'property', but rather he is simply viewed as a steward of the state's property in good socialist terminology. Texans still hold that its his property. Quaint 17th-18th Century concept upon which the modern West was built.
#4
In that a rough guess for the cost of incarcerating a violent criminal is $30k/yr, not including trial, which can run upwards of $100k for each, the total savings to the taxpayer, assuming that each of the three got 20 years for just the armed robbery, not including the homicide, would be:
Spacecraft Saw ULF Radio Emissions over Haiti before January Quake
A French satellite observed a dramatic increase in ultra low frequency radio waves over Haiti in the month before the M7.0 earthquake earlier this year.
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] The epidemic that hit northern Uganda causing panic across the border has been identified as plague.
The epidemic, which is spread from rodents to humans by fleas, killed 35 people in Kitgum, Uganda. Kitgum borders Turkana district where health officials were on the alert after the epidemic was reported in Uganda.
The Director for Public Health and Sanitation, Dr Shahnaaz Sharif, told the Nation Ugandan health authorities had identified the disease. He said experts had been sent to contain the disease. "Kenya is safe and there is no cause for alarm," Dr Sharif said, adding that the disease was not highly contagious.
The World Health Organisation says plague kills between 30 and 60 per cent of those infected, if left untreated.
Its symptoms could easily be confused for another infections such as common flu. The diseases manifests itself in many forms, though the bubonic plague is the most common.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Dr. Sharif said we are not to worry and be happy. This sort of thing has happened before and did spread. I favor the idea of a plant host and seasonal bloom connection;
[Al Jazeera] The wife of Bob Muggsy Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president, has filed a suit against a newspaper demanding $15m for publishing leaked US cables on her alleged involvement in illicit diamond trading.
"Just because some flunky at the embassy wrote it doesn't mean it's true. It's not like they're journalists."
Last week The Standard newspaper, quoting a 2008 cable sent by the US ambassador to Harare, reported that Grace Mugabe had profited from illegal diamonds mining. The cable to Washington that was leaked by whistleblower website WikiLeaks said Zimbabwe's first lady gained millions of dollars from diamond mining in the Marange district of eastern Zimbabwe.
State-owned Herald newspaper on Wednesday said Grace Mugabe filed the defamation suit against The Standard demanding damages over the article.
The allegations cover a period before the formation of a unity government between Mugabe, and Morgan Tsvangirai, the prime minister, in February 2009.
In the high court papers filed on Thursday, Grace Mugabe said the story was false and malicious and that readers of the paper would believe it.
"This is an imputation of criminality and association with violations of human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... . Whatever it [The Standard] prints is regarded as gospel truth by those people in Zimbabwe and abroad.
In the summons Grace Mugabe said the allegation has tarnished her credibility as "a person of such high standing" in the minds of all "right thinking" people.
George Chikumbirike, Mugabe's lawyer, said the article wrongly portrayed Grace Mugabe as corrupt in that "she used her position as the First Lady to access diamonds clandestinely, enriching herself in circumstances in which the country was facing serious foreign currency shortages".
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
It would be news if Mrs. Muggsy *wasn't* raking in her share of the boodle.
#2
"Grace Mugabe said the story was false and malicious and that readers of the paper would believe it."
Now why oh why would they?
Posted by: European Conservative ||
12/17/2010 2:28 Comments ||
Top||
#3
De Beers controls all diamond outlets. They don't care who or where they buy from, or whose blood was spilled to get the diamonds. Same thing with emeralds, especially from Colombia. Grace's racket is just one of thousands. So if anyone is in a position to buy jewelry, this is a very good reason to buy synthetic.
Antwerp, New York City, Tel Aviv (I think that's where the Jewish diamond cutters cluster in Israel). There are also cutters in India and Pakistan, I believe, although they mostly serve the local jewelry industry.
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] At least four demonstrators were rubbed out in Abidjan on Thursday as troops loyal to one Cotre d'Ivoire's two self-declared presidents mobilised to thwart an attempt to storm state television headquarters.
Soldiers deployed by Laurent Gbagbo's regime set up a cordon of armoured cars around the broadcaster's Abidjan offices, as La Belle France and the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society called for restraint and warned of the dangers of a return to violence.
Young supporters of Gbagbo's rival Alassane Ouattara massed in several poor city districts, throwing up street barricades and hurling stones at police and armed with assault rifles and backed by more armoured vehicles.
Gunfire rang out and an AFP photographer saw three bodies with bullet wounds in the northern district of Adjame following a clash, while an AFP news hound saw a fourth body amid more violence in Koumassi in the south of the city.
Witnesses said the dead had been killed by police fire. Police fired teargas as they violently dispersed marchers in the Abobo area, and at least three more protesters were left lying motionless in the street, but news hounds were unable to confirm the extent of their injuries.
Both Mr Ouattara and Mr Gbagbo claim to have won last month's election, and both have declared themselves president, triggering fears of new chaos in a country already divided since 2002 into northern and southern armed camps.
Mr Ouattara was recognised by the international community but is running out of time to assert his rule, with the incumbent Gbagbo hanging on to the military, the ministries and the cocoa ports that are the key levers of state power.
"The situation is taking a worrying turn with unfolding events that could lead to widespread violence," United Nations Secretary General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon warned on Wednesday, according to his front man in New York.
On the eve of the march, witnesses and a health official in the political capital Yamoussoukro said several pro-Ouattara demonstrators had been shot and maimed when security forces broke up a protest there.
On Thursday, residents told AFP by telephone that the streets were deserted and businesses closed amid fears of more violence.
After two weeks of stalemate and hardline rhetoric from both sides, Ouattara and his would-be prime minister, former rebel leader Guillaume Soro, called on their supporters to march on and seize RTI television on Thursday.
If this succeeds, Soro hopes to push on Friday to take control of the well-defended government headquarters complex in the central Plateau district of Abidjan, eject Gbagbo's ministers and hold a cabinet meeting of his own.
The army and Gbagbo's hardline youth supporters -- the "Young Patriots" movement led by Youth Minister Charles Ble Goude, who is personally under UN sanctions for leading mob violence in 2004 -- have vowed to resist.
Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor alleged that some in Ivory Coast were plotting attacks and warned that he would prosecute those responsible if deadly violence breaks out.
"If they start to kill people then it's a crime and we will pursue them," ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said.
"The reality is that some people in Ivory Coast are planning attacks and we know that. And I want to tell them clearly, if you do that... you will be prosecuted," he told the La Belle France 24 news channel.
Ouattara's shadow government is holed up in a luxury hotel on an Abidjan golf course, protected by UN peacekeepers and former rebel fighters from Soro's northern "New Forces".
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
[Iran Press TV] A senior army official in Ivory Coast has accused the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society of backing post-election violence and festivities in the West African country.
I am only modestly surprised that the US wasn't blamed. Or the Joooz ...
Military front man Lieutenant Colonel Hilaire Babri-Gouhourou said UN special envoy Choi Young-jin had given his support to two marches planned by supporters of former Premier Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan.
"General Philippe Mangou, chief of army staff and head of all defense and security forces, holds Mr. Choi responsible for the unpredictable consequences that could result from these planned actions," the officer said in a statement on Tuesday.
On Sunday, the camp of incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo also accused Western diplomats of trying to turn the country's military against him.
President Gbagbo, who is under pressure to step down, accused the US-led western countries of meddling in Ivory Coast's internal affairs.
"For several days, civil and military members of certain Western chancelleries in Abidjan have discreetly approached senior officers in our national army," AFP quoted newly-named Interior Minister Emile Guirieoulou as saying.
Tensions are running high in Ivory Coast following a disputed presidential election last month.
Ouattara, who has been recognized as the winner by the UN, is asking the public to help him seize control of key government offices.
His rival Gbagbo, however, has also declared himself president, keeping the command of the army and ministries.
In the central town of Tiebissou, pro-Gbagbo security forces fired tear gas to disperse Ouattara's supporters. Ouattara himself is now holed up in a hotel in the capital where he is protected by UN forces.
His party has urged citizens to march on state broadcaster RTI on Thursday and the cabinet on Friday.
The ongoing political crisis is mounting in Ivory Coast as both men claiming presidency have so far failed to resolve the bitter standoff over who should hold the post.
The country's 10-year President Gbagbo has expressed readiness to sit down and talk.
Ouattara, however, said he would not negotiate unless Gbagbo stepped down from office and respected the will of the Ivorian nation and the international community.
The disputed presidential election has raised the risk of a long power struggle in the country. The world's top cocoa-producing nation is still reeling from the 2002-2003 civil war, which split the West African country in two.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
The civil war began with the death of Felix Houphouet-Boigny, president for life. H-B hadn't chosen a successor, and there's some evidence he was developing dementia for at least a year before he died. He'd kept a lid on all the tribal conflicts, but after 40+ years of one-man rule, and no clear system to set up a govt after his passing, everything fell apart.
[Emirates 24/7] A Saudi father went to hospital with his eight-year-old daughter for medical tests on the girl ahead of her marriage but the management succeeded in persuading him to cancel the plan, a local newspaper reported on Thursday.
Receptionists and nurses at the hospital in the central town of Rass were shocked when the unnamed father requested marriage tests for his daughter, prompting them to inform the management, Kabar said.
"Members of the management talked to the man and tried to convince him that what he was doing is a serious social violation," the paper said.
"In the end, the man was convinced. He assured the management that he would not let his daughter marry at this age and would allow her to continue her education."
She can dress herself and tie her own shoelaces. What more education can she possibly need?
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Would that be medical tests to determine if the eight year old was a virgin or just for sexually transmitted diseases?
Disgusting.
Posted by: Black Charlie Chinemble5313 ||
12/17/2010 0:33 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Would that be medical tests to determine if the eight year old was a virgin or just for sexually transmitted diseases?
Probably to see if she'd started menstruating yet, Black Charlie Chinemble5313.
#7
TW, I've never heard of a medical test to determine if someone is post-menarchal. This is something people in the middle-east go to the hospital to have tests done in order to marry kids off? Even more ridiculous.
Posted by: Black Charlie Chinemble5313 ||
12/17/2010 9:40 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Euro Conservative
There are several ahadith (traditions) that say that Aisha (Abu Bekr's daughter) was 6 or 7 when Mohammut married her and 9 when the marriage was consummated. These are from revered sources and were considered reliable and basically unchallenged for a thousand years. Starting about 1900 or so, some Moslems began feeling a bit defensive on this and started challenging the reliability of these traditions.
After the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, per wikipedia
"Early laws of the Islamic Republic
The new regime undid the Shah's old Family Protection Law, lowering the marriage age for girls back to nine and allowed husbands to divorce wives with the Triple talaq, without court permission"
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
12/17/2010 11:38 Comments ||
Top||
#9
So the doctors told her father to come back in six months or so
Posted by: European Conservative ||
12/17/2010 22:20 Comments ||
Top||
#10
"In the end, the man was convinced. He assured the management that he would not let his daughter marry at this age and would allow her to continue her education."
It's money vs. daughter. Better check back on the family every now and then.
[El Universal] In January 2010, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez announced devaluation of the official exchange rate in order to "strengthen Venezuelan economy, curb imports that are not strictly necessary and also, at the same time, stimulate the export policy."
China already contracted for the oil Venezuela can't get out of the ground, at undevaluated prices. They are not going to be pleased.
However, The infamous However... eleven months later, non-oil exports remain down, dependence on imported products has increased and investment banks and economic research firms take for granted a new devaluation of the bolivar in early 2011.
In a report dated December 14, British investment firm Barclays Capital anticipated devaluation. Based on its estimates, current foreign exchange of VEB 2.6 per US dollar will go to VEB 3 per USD; the exchange rate of VEB 4.3 will heighten to VEB 5.
Foreign currency bought through the Transaction System for Foreign Currency Denominated Securities (Sitme) operated by the Central Bank will also be adjusted from VEB 5.3 to VEB 6.5 per US dollar.
After taking into account the price of the US dollar in each sector of the economy, Barclays determined that the average exchange rate will amount to VEB 5.15 per US dollar, which would result in 22.6 percent devaluation.
At the same time, economic research firms Ecoanalítica and Econométrica also noted in their latest reports that the implementation of a new exchange rate regime is imminent.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
China already contracted for the oil Venezuela can't get out of the ground, at undevaluated prices. They are not going to be pleased.
China doesn't sign contracts for the delivery of oil from Venezuela. They sign contracts for the ownership of oilfields, and they bring in outside labor from China to extract it. Very little of what they spend in Venezuela actually gets into the local economy; their drill sites are reportedly rather self-sufficient or supplied from outside. Only the government benefits.
And when the ME blows up, they'll have a lot of those fields locked up under contract. _We're_ the ones stuck with what Venezuela can produce on its own, because American companies don't have rights down there. We can invest, but when push comes to shove our ownership in what we paid for vanishes.
basically his seized/nationalized steel and cement industries can't produce enough to build the needed housing. Off 50% from last year. Whatta surprise?
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/17/2010 15:30 Comments ||
Top||
(KUNA) -- The Japanese government approved Thursday tax reform plans for the next fiscal year that will lower the corporate tax by five percentage points and introduce incentives for small businesses to boost country's sluggish growth. The tax reform plans, approved by the Cabinet of Prime Minister Naoto Kan, also include the introduction of an environment tax to fight global warming.
Based on the guidelines that were proposed by the Tax Commission, a government panel headed by Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, the government will compile the budget for fiscal 2011starting next April 1 later this month. However, The infamous However... the new tax legislation still requires parliamentary approval.
Japan's corporate tax rate currently stands at 40 percent, much higher than international standards of 25-30 percent, such as 28 percent in the UK.
Kan said earlier this week this will create more jobs and attract greater investment in Japan.
The five-point cut will result in a JPY 1.5 trillion (USD 18 billion) loss in tax revenue, according to the panel's estimate.
To make up for reduced revenue from the corporate tax cut, the government will raise taxes on wealthy households and fuel, but it has yet to secure enough funding sources to implement the corporate tax cut.
"It is hard to say we've secured adequate budgetary resources," Vice Finance Minister Fumihiko Igarashi told a news conference.
Kan has repeatedly promised to keep a cap on new bond issuance of JPY 44.3 trillion (USD 536 billion) and a spending target of JPY 71 trillion (USD 843 billion) in the next fiscal year.
The tax panel also proposed to introduce the environment tax in October next year, in a bid to curb use of high-carbon fuels to meet the government policy of reducing emissions by 30 percent from 1990 levels by 2030.
The levies on fuels, including crude oil, natural gas and coal, will be raised as part of its environmental tax.
The levy for petroleum will increase by 37 percent to JPY 2,800 (USD 33) per kiloliter in three stages through April 2015.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Ergo, the US now has the highest corporate tax rate. Nice work taxnutz.
China overtakes the U.S. in the number of warships, a British weekly said, quoting a report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. The Economist on Tuesday said the IISS "reckons China now has more warships than America, which long possessed the biggest fleet. As it can be hard to distinguish a warship from other boats, the IISS uses its own definition of what counts and what does not."
According to the IISS, Russia had the largest fleet from 1971 to 1996, the U.S. from 1997 to 2006, and now China since 2008.
"This striking trend is yet another manifestation of the rise of China," the weekly added.
The Economist predicted the gap will widen further and added that there is a limit to the U.S. ability to increase the number of its warships, considering that production cost has soared due to the state-of-the-art technology needed.
There are legitimate concerns about US Navy procurement policies for sure. But the real issue is and always has been, what do we need to be safe? More, more, more isn't always the answer.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/17/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
True, but less, less, less isn't a great default policy decision either.
#2
It's like the CIA counting tubes rather than capability in adjudging a military. Hugo can amass a large number of tanks and planes, but could he actually use them against anyone but his own people. The question is 'projection'. What size fleets can a country put beyond its territorial waters and sustain them.
#3
I'm still a big advocate of quantity, as well as quality.
We have about maxed out quality, much like the Germans did in WWII, their boffins even proposing a "tungsten cannon" as the best possible quality artillery weapon, though it would use all the known tungsten in the world right then just to make one gun.
Instead, the US chose to make many of its warships "cheap and cheerful", cranking them out in such volumes that Japan's high quality navy was overwhelmed by sheer numbers of US ships. Though are ships were not bad, it was numbers that won the day.
#4
If you check and if I recall correctly, even on December 7th, 1941, the US Navy had more tonnage and ships both sliding down the construction ramps and in production than the Japanese. A look at the Japanese carriers showed a lot of 'one of's rather than standardized models. Japanese industry was never geared for the long war while American war capacity had been prepped for since the '20s by the Navy and War Departments in a series of pre-war plans and programs.
China is planning to build an aircraft carrier according to documents seen by the Asahi Shimbun. The Japanese daily on Thursday quoted the Institute for Ocean Development Strategy, a think tank under China's State Oceanic Administration, as saying in a recent report that Beijing "conceived the idea and worked out a plan in 2009 to build an aircraft carrier."
This shows that China "is determined to become a maritime power," the report said. "The task is essential in achieving the great revival of the Chinese nation."
The plan has been an open secret, but there has been no official confirmation so far. Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie in March last year said China is the only one among the world's big powers that does not have an aircraft carrier, adding this state of affairs "cannot continue forever."
China is believed to be building two 50,000-60,000-ton aircraft carriers at Changxingdao Shipyard, the world's biggest, in Shanghai and is expected to launch one in 2014.
It is also reportedly working on remodeling the 58,500-ton Varyag, an aircraft carrier the former Soviet Union had stopped building, at Dalian Port to launch it in 2012. The country is expected to get a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier by 2020.
Photo at the link shows that the Varvag is looking a lot better than she ever looked when the Russians had her.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/17/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"Target" painted big across the flight deck, and they know it.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/17/2010 11:57 Comments ||
Top||
#2
If it's not built in Newport News, it aint shit.
#3
Why would China need a carrier? They have historically had no interests in power projection. (1) Pride, the reason a lot of undeveloped nations do unexplainable things (2) Need to defend sea lanes if the US pulls back or confront the US at sea and decided a big target was the best way to do so (3) Keep builders working or hide graft.
#4
There has not been a carrier battle since WWII, and the US Navy won those. The only navy that has around the clock experience running carriers in all weather and sea conditions for 70+ years is the US Navy. The second largest carrier fleet in the world is property of the US Marine Corps. None of this bodes well for the Chinese experiment - especially since they will only have 1 carrier for many years. Ask the French how well that works out.
#5
Also, a US carrier almost never travels alone, especially in a hostile environment. It takes years of experience to work out all the coordination, tactics, command and control, and on and on. The US has it - and has had it for 70+ years. It will take China decades to develop all that. If they ever get a chance.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
12/17/2010 22:02 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Yet China's best allies are a Congress that has repeatedly shown the one place they know how to seriously cut government is in Defense. Carrier task forces are truly expensive. They'll take the USN down to size faster than Beijing.
PM confirms finding by AFP
Mark Dodd, December 18, 2010 12:00AM
WIKILEAKS whistleblower Julian Assange had not broken any Australian laws, Julia Gillard said in a humiliating backflip from her earlier comments which revealed outrageous political harassment of an individual citizenyesterday.
In an earlier statement, the Australian Federal Police said it had completed an evaluation of available material following the release of thousands of sensitive diplomatic cables and had found no breaches of Australian law. good
The Prime Minister stressed that she was not suggesting the media had broken the law by publishing material from the cables. The "criminal act" she believed the affair was based on was the original theft of the classified material from the US military.
Ms Gillard backed rapidly away from a comment she made on radio a fortnight ago that: "I absolutely condemn the placement of this information on the WikiLeaks website. It's a grossly irresponsible thing to do." But she said she still considered their publication grossly irresponsible. My people are enraged by the government interference in civic life and the meddling in the independence of the judicial process. She will support Assange or she will be out.
Australian citizen Queensland-born Mr Assange, 39, who is fighting a bid by Swedish authorities to extradite him from Britain to face sex charges, was freed on bail yesterday by the High Court in London.
Yesterday, lawyer Geoffrey Robertson QC, Another Australian who I am quite proud of right now who is representing Mr Assange, questioned why Swedish state prosecutors publicly accused his client of rape before any charges were laid. well obviously because it was a politically motivated holding charge designed to pin Assange down, hamper his work and keep him in custody till the US can ram through laws to convict him then extradite him from Sweden. That is Government interference in the judicial process, wiping away hundreds of years of the independence of courts/policing. Goodbye freedom and the right of the individual to be free from state persecution. Assange is now our Aung San Suu Kyi.
Mr Robertson told ABC radio the Australian government should call in the Swedish ambassador to seek an explanation. or just expel them
Ambassador Sven-Olof Petersson said in Canberra yesterday the issue had become too politicised. that's rich coming from him
He said the Swedish government upheld the independence of its judiciary what a joke. nobody believes that of sweden now. and would not intervene in the Assange case. 'I'm really surprised that a highly respected judge (Robertson) should think the (Swedish) government should intervene with the Swedish judiciary."
Mr Assange is staying with a friend at a country manor in Suffolk before his next court appearance on February 7 to contest the extradition request. Good luck Julian. For those who are interested they can check out the full page ads my countrymen have paid for in the New York Times. I'm not kidding: if you touch Assange ANZUS is dead and we will take our chances with the Chicoms and the Indos.
#11
Since the US Constitution does not permit ex post facto laws, Assange will have to be charged with existing laws.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
12/17/2010 21:20 Comments ||
Top||
#12
I'm not kidding: if you touch Assange ANZUS is dead and we will take our chances with the Chicoms and the Indos.
If prosecution of the agent of enemy powers pisses off Australians so much, well, no loss.
(I betcha your sentiment is rare, though.)
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
12/17/2010 21:27 Comments ||
Top||
#13
What's he really released.
Some embarrassing cables, not much more.
No earth shattering revelations that I've seen.
He's an irritant, not the grim reaper.
#14
So this "anon1" (coward) just lurves him a fellow who suborns treason, sells the information he gathered for profit, commits rape, and stalks underage girls?
Charming. Luckily we know that such amorality is rare.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
12/17/2010 21:28 Comments ||
Top||
#15
One of the cables mention an Algerian journalist (with full name) who told the US embassy about how election were rigged in Algeria.
Those people who rigged it are in power today. Now guess what will happen to the journalist?
That's Algeria, not Australia.
And that's just one case we know of.
BLOOD on his hands.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
12/17/2010 22:13 Comments ||
Top||
#16
Do not forget the names of the Nigerians and the Afghans.
#17
A new law would be fine because this arrogant cod would continue to spew event after it was passed. Even so, just prosecute him under the espionage law. It's not the conviction that is important, it is the suffering. It will take a long, long time to sort it out. Discovery could take years.
#20
I'm not kidding: if you touch Assange ANZUS is dead and we will take our chances with the Chicoms and the Indos.
Unless this is meant for Snark of the Day, it is *bleep*ing hilarious. How long do you think Assange would last in the PRC as an enemy of the state? Assuming he did not get a bullet behind the ear on day one, he would be festering in jail for life next to the winner of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize,
#21
anon1, my dear, have you made your contribution to Fred yet? If not, you have just hijacked Rantburg, using it as your own personal blog.
Your opinions are yours, and opinions are a major part of Rantburg. But the verbiage you espouse, against your fellow Rantburgers, shouldn't come free.
Ante up or grow up --- we will listen to you, when we have some respect for you.
And since you have published your opinion piece, then it is open to analysis by your fellow Rantburgers, not just on content, but in the readability, the awareness of proper grammar usage and punctuation rules. Do we now longer capitalize the first letter of a country? Like Sweden? And sentences no longer begin with a capital letter? Very interrupting and irritating when reading your words.
You see, if you write an opinion piece, your stance is much stronger when you adhere to the writing practices that opinion writers use. Observing the rules of discourse, shows some thought, some judgement and some researching of facts that have gone into your opinion piece.
Losing your audience well, is just not good writing. I read so far, and between the distraction of the writing ability, I quit.
Just for information, for your next opinion piece in Rantburg, consider that you have an audience of an online community with an above average educational/work experience background than you will find in most online community.
This is known as Rantburg University and you are writing to the audience of Rantburg U.
You posted your opinion, actually screamed it. So, its open to discussion, not only on content, but the skills your use to bring authority to your opinions.
Maybe a mentor is needed, to get your writing skills up to standards that Rantburgers might be more willing to give you time in reading and discussing your thoughts.
There are formulas that tells lots about a persons writing skills. When writing an opinion piece, its extremely important that you first, write to your audience.
1. Your comments were written at a 9th grade reading level (that early high school for us). Not bad, considering the reading level of Rantburgers probably averages out at a high college level. For your information, the Gettysburg address came in at about 12th grade reading level. It was written on the back of a napkin, in a short period of time. (Google it its a big part of our American history)
2. Sentence complexity? You bombed, bottomed out. On a scale of 1-100, you got a 25....
3. Vocabulary complexity? Not so good in that arena either. Again, a scale of 1-100, you got a 25.
4. Convey your expertise of your subject..... My people... You own people? That gives me no confidence that you are an authority on the subject, so why should I even listen to you?
Follow some rules of the road when expressing your opinion you will gain more respect and your thoughts will be taken more seriously. Now, well my opinion of your posting? It's mine and I chose not to share it other than it was extremely difficult reading your posting.
Oh, and go hit that contribution button for Fred. You will be a better person just knowing you did so.
Tightwads are an increasingly rare breed. Its as if nobody actually saves, like, monies anymores.
Royal Bank of Scotland was once a proud and prudent Scottish institution. It turned into a financial fool, A MOTLEY FOOL?
apparently throwing money at almost anyone who came through its doors offering a dire private-equity deal or a third- rate property scheme. Like a strip club, money being tossed around, but no naked people
With seemingly boundless bravado, it led the disastrous 71 billion ($94 billion) consortium bid for ABN Amro in 2007, just a year before the financial crisis.
In short, RBS turned from careful to catastrophic, requiring a government rescue that has left British taxpayers owning 84% of the bank. Yet in the words of the U.K.'s financial regulator, "we did not identify any instances of fraud or dishonest activity by RBS senior individuals or a failure of governance on the part of the board." Oh boy.
That's 'cause it was neither fraud nor dishonesty, merely following-the-crowd, sheeplike stupidity. They should have to give back their bonusses before being summarily let go.
Bankers used to have a reputation as skinflints. Now they have a reputation as gamblers. I don't think they moved up in the world.
Posted by: Fire and Ice ||
12/17/2010 00:21 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Robert A Heinlein
People who go broke in a big way never miss any meals. It is the poor jerk who is shy a half slug who must tighten his belt.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/17/2010 12:01 Comments ||
Top||
WikiLeaks boss Julian Assange was tonight freed from prison after a High Court judge rejected an appeal urging the authorities to keep him in custody. The whistleblower walked free after the decision at the Royal Courts of Justice to allow his release on conditional bail pending moves to extradite him to Sweden.
'Freedom tastes good,' he told a MailOnline reporter outside The Frontline Club in Paddington. 'I've spent a week in a black hole. I've got a hundred years of anger over what's happened.'
Earlier, outside court, he said: 'I hope to continue my work and to continue to protest my innocence and to reveal the evidence of these allegations.'
It is believed his supporters raised the £240,000 to meet bail.
Mr Justice Ouseley's ruling is the latest dramatic development after Assange bail on Tuesday only to have it overturned when British prosecutors lodged an appeal.
He will now swap his cell at HM Wandsworth Prison for Ellingham Hall, a ten-bedroom stately home surrounded by 600 acres of land and trees in Norfolk just in time for Christmas. The elegant ten-bedroom retreat in 600 secluded acres of Norfolk countryside is owned by free speech supporter Vaughan Smith, 47.
The former captain in the Grenadier Guards is a video journalist and the founder of the war reporters' Frontline Club in London.
Assange had been hiding at the club in recent months while the international hunt for him intensified.
Explaining his decision to offer up his home to Assange today, Cpt Smith said: 'He needs an appropriate address, he needs a safe place. We all need to stand up and say where we are on this and that's what I have done.'
Assange has to stay at the house, which is now his registered bail address. He will also have to wear an electronic tag, report to police every day and observe a curfew.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/17/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Anon1 is recovering from getting her huge Julian Assange tatoo, she'll be back as soon as the flesh heals.
Posted by: Fire and Ice ||
12/17/2010 0:13 Comments ||
Top||
#5
The dish is not cold enough to be served yet.
The European Arrest Warrant is actually a real bitch. He has very very little chance to escape extradition to Sweden.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
12/17/2010 2:32 Comments ||
Top||
#6
I did think it humorous that Mr. Assange demanded that his bail address be kept secret ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/17/2010 9:24 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Maybe he can dress up in a burqa and fly to Lybia.
FORT MEADE, Md. An Army doctor who disobeyed orders to deploy to Afghanistan because he questioned President Barack Obama's eligibility to be commander in chief was sentenced by a jury Thursday to six months in a military prison and will be dismissed from the Army.
The military jury spent nearly five hours deliberating punishment for Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin on Thursday after three days of court martial proceedings at Fort Meade, outside Baltimore, Md.
Lakin was convicted of disobeying orders he had pleaded guilty to that count and missing a flight that would have gotten him to his eventual deployment. An army commander, Maj. Gen. Karl Horst, still has to approve the sentence returned by the jury and has the option to reduce it. Lakin could then appeal.
Lakin said Wednesday that despite his questions about Obama's eligibility for office, he was wrong not to follow Army orders. He acknowledged that the Army was the wrong place to raise his concerns about Obama, asked to keep his job and said he was now willing to deploy.
"I don't want it to end this way," Lakin told the jury Wednesday under questioning from his lawyer. "I want to continue to serve."
Military prosecutors disagreed. On Thursday morning, a military prosecutor asked the jury to sentence Lakin to at least two years in a military prison and to dismiss him from the service. It was a sentence he "invited and he earned," military prosecutor Capt. Philip J. O'Beirne told the jury.
Indeed he did, and the courts martial got both the verdict and the punishment right.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/17/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Well, he has his conviction. (all two meanings of conviction)
Posted by: Fire and Ice ||
12/17/2010 0:11 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Looks like he found an easy way out of the Army given they won't let go of anyone these days.
#4
Unless the state licensing board decides to sanction him. Pro'ly won't but I live in hope ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/17/2010 9:25 Comments ||
Top||
#5
"I don't want it to end this way," Lakin told the jury Wednesday under questioning from his lawyer. "I want to continue to serve."
It doesn't sound like he wants to be freed to become a rich civilian doctor, but rather his intellectual intelligence is limited to those areas necessary to succeed in the medical profession... perhaps a bit of an idiot savant.
#6
if his education and training was done on the Army's dime, he will likely have to pay back as well...
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/17/2010 10:23 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Something to think about possibly. The urology clinic at Martin Army Hospital has only ONE, that is ONE staff urologist and his schedule is filled into February.
My personal view is that history will exonerate this officer.
#8
My personal view is that history will exonerate this officer.
Indeed. No Doctor was able to save the lives of more killed under the command of Obama than were killed in Afghanistan than in the entire e terms of Bush. And the spin by MSM orchistrated by Obama's party is doom and gloom for Afghanistan. Obama, America's first un-documented President has far more of our troops blood on his hands than there should be and that will continue until the scheduled cut and run action begins this summer.
#9
My personal view is that history will exonerate this officer.
I despise Obama and his obfuscation of his background much more than this Doc. Obama has made the truth (whatever it may be) about his background unnecessarily unclear. Honest men don't have to hide something.
This Doctor, although disobeying orders, did what he felt was lawful and in line with his principles. Obama is the lying murderer here.
Posted by: Fire and Ice ||
12/17/2010 13:33 Comments ||
Top||
#10
The truely distressing aspect of this Courts Martial is the fact that had LTC Lakin privately stated his objection to the war, he would have no doubt simply been re-assigned with reprimand, or discharged. No great lengths were initiated to correct the traitorous rants, 'failure to repair' or 'conduct unbecoming' of Major Malik Nadal Hasan at Walter Reed, he was simply re-assigned, albeit with tragic results.
IT was LTC Lakin's invocation of an "unlawful order" and the status of emporer Gaius doomed him to the cross.
The cost is now clearly established not only for future presidential eligability doubters, but at the same time those who would defy the legalization of sodomy in uniform. In totalitarian regimes, examples must be set for the peasants lest they grow accustomed to too much disobedience. Our betters are not to be befooled.
#11
Deathers - those who demand orders issued by an individual who refuses his eligibilty to be issuing those orders, orders that has resulted in the largest number of Death Certificates in a conflict that the One intends to unconditionally surrender in the coming months.
[Dawn] A number of political and religious parties and groups announced on Wednesday that a campaign to protect the blasphemy law would be launched and gave a call for countrywide protest demonstrations on Dec 24 and a shutter-down strike on Dec 31. They also resolved to hold a public meeting in Bloody Karachi on Jan 9.
The decision was announced by JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman Known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ... at a news conference on the conclusion of the daylong Tahaffuz-i-Nabuwat Conference which was attended by top leadership of Jamaat-i-Islami, PML-Q and Jamaatud Dawa and representatives of Wafaqul Madaris and many other smaller religious organisations and groups.
Maulana Fazl said that all religious parties were united on the issue. He vowed to resist any move by the government to make changes in the existing blasphemy law.
The issue came to the light when PPP's MNA Sherry Rehman submitted a private member bill to the National Assembly Secretariat last month, seeking some changes in the blasphemy law with an aim to avoid the misuse of the law.
The JUI-F chief, who presided over the conference, said all the mosques in the country would organise protest demonstrations on Dec 24 after Friday prayers. He said a big public meeting and protest demonstration would be held in Bloody Karachi on Jan 9, which would be attended by all central leaders of religious parties.
He said an action plan would also be unveiled at the meeting.
He announced that former MNA Dr Abul Khair Mohammad Zubair had been made chairman of Tehrik-i-Namoos-i-Risalat committee with an aim to organise the movement at grassroots level.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman made an appeal to traders' organisations and associations of small and big markets to extend their support to the movement and make the shutter-down strike a success. He said that their protest would be so forceful that no one would dare to think about changing the blasphemy law.
Earlier, during the conference, PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain declared that his party would oppose every move to change the blasphemy law in the Parliament.
JI chief Munawar Hassan said it was wrong to say that the blasphemy law had affected only minorities in the country.
Qazi Hussain Ahmed suggested that the present movement should at the later stage be converted into a movement for the enforcement of Islamic system in the country.
The participants appealed to the media to play an effective role in making the movement a success for the cause of Islam and to show its love for the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).
PML-N's MNA from Islamabad Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry also attended the conference in which some of the speakers, including Maulana Attaul Momin Shah Bukhari of Majlis Ahrarul Islam lashed out at former prime minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Müslim League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... for keeping a silence on the issue.
Dr Tariq Fazal gave an explanation that Senator Raja Zafarul Haq had been assigned the task to represent the party in the conference but he had to go to his native town after receiving news about the death of a relative.
The conference was also attended by Hafiz Saeed of Jamaatud Dawa, Maulana Abdul Majeed Ludhianvi of Majlis Tahaffuz-i-Khatam Nabuwat, Qari Hanif Jalandhary and Dr Abdul Razzaq Sikandar of Wafaqul Madaris, Hafiz Aakif Saeed of Tanzim Islami, Maulana Abdul Aziz of Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith and Allama Sajid Naqvi.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F is learnt to have sought the ministry of religious affairs, in addition to those it had before quitting the ruling coalition, to rejoin the government.
Although efforts made by the ruling Pakistain People's Party to win back support of the JUI-F apparently remained futile, the party's chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman Known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ... , showed some flexibility in burying the differences with the PPP provided the demands of his
party are met.
Sources in the Presidency told Dawn on Wednesday that during his meeting with Labour Minister Khurshid Ahmed Shah, the JUI-I chief had sought the ministry of religious affairs, along with the ministry of science and technology which the party had lost after the prime minister sacked its minister Azam Khan Swati.
Two other ministries JUI-F had before leaving the government were those of housing and tourism.
The labour minister, who was asked by President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari ... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who showed remarkably little curiosity about who actually done her in ... to meet the JUI-F chief and extend him an olive branch, later called on the president and informed him about the demand.
"The JUI-F chief told Mr Shah that his party wants back the ministry of science and technology, in addition to the ministry of religious affairs. Also, the government should tender a public apology for sacking its minister," an official in the Presidency said.
But a senior leader of the JUI-F and former housing minister Rehmatullah Kakar denied that the party had made any such demand for rejoining the government. Rather, he claimed, Khurshid Shah gave a "lucrative offer" to the JUI-F for withdrawing its decision.
He declined to disclose the offer and said it would be reviewed by the party at a meeting in a couple of days.
Some PPP leaders want the government not to give up so easily and continue to exert pressure on the JUI-F. Otherwise, they feared, the party's demands would continue to swell.
Maulana Fazl praised the labour minister for his visit to the JUI-F chief's residence and termed it a good tradition. But he did not take any decision and said "we would wait for the party's decision".
President Zardari has tasked some of his close aides, including Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Law Minister Babar Awan and Khurshid Shah, with holding talks with the JUI-F chief.
The law minister called upon Maulana Fazlur Rehman to resolve the issue through talks. "Although Maulana sahib has quit the government, he is still in our hearts," Mr Awan said at a presser.
The presidency sources said President Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani were not on the a same wavelength over the matter.
While the former is trying to control the damage by appeasing an a disgruntled coalition partner, the latter has been in touch with some opposition parties, including the Pakistain Mohammedan League-Q and its forward bloc, to retain majority in parliament.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
The United Nations is considering whether to set up an inter-governmental working group to harmonise global efforts by policy makers to regulate the internet.
Establishment of such a group has the backing of several countries, spearheaded by Brazil.
The Brazilian delegate stressed, however, that this should not be seen as a call for an "takeover" of the internet. No Certainly Not! We just want to be able to select what you get to see and hear. That's not control thats.... um.... editing. The more benign word is 'oversight'. It's for the children ...
India, South Africa, China and Saudi Arabia appeared to favour a new possible over-arching inter-government body.
Debate on the creation of a new inter-governmental body stemmed from a UN Economic and Social Council resolution 2010/2 of 19 July. Ok now... deep breath...
The resolution invited the UN Secretary-General "to convene open and inclusive consultations involving all Member States and all other stakeholders with a view to assisting the process towards enhanced cooperation in order to enable Governments on an equal footing to carry out their roles and responsibilities in respect of international public policy issues pertaining to the Internet but not of the day-to-day technical and operational matters that do not impact upon those issues." Whew!
And that, folks, is all in one, single, sentence. A sure sign it's full of crap.
#2
Somebody point this out to Anonymous. Maybe if we're lucky, they'll get into a catfight with the UN. Sounds like the very definition of a Kissingerian conflict.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
12/17/2010 15:25 Comments ||
Top||
#1
Prosecutors had said in a court document that Melendez, 30, declared I dont like Muslims and used an insulting term for Muslims or Arabs while attacking a man who was wearing a traditional Muslim prayer cap and trying to get off a subway train in lower Manhattan.
So he just saw they guy and proceeded to beat him up after uttering the two unimaginative requisite anti-muslim comments. Check.
Crespo and Melendez are friends, and Crespo dates Melendez sister; Melendez own longtime girlfriend is from a Muslim family, Keith said.
Ooh. Didn't count on that one, did you. Better just ignore it since it doesn't help with denial.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations said it had heard from Muslims outraged by the attack and the result of the grand jury proceedings.
I'll bet they have. Happens when folks don't wait for all the facts before they pass judgment. Must be hard living with a religion that advocates using violence when people aren't violent to you. Kinda unfair and inhuman. Oh well. Allan says otherwise.
#2
Falls directly under the golden rule, "Treat othere as you wish to be treated.
If you're a murderous religious nut who preaches DEATH TO ALL NON MUSLIMS you have NO right to complain about attacks against YOU, Including deadly ones.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/17/2010 12:08 Comments ||
Top||
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.
The epidemic that hit northern Uganda causing panic across the border has been identified as plague.
[Iran Press TV] A senior army official in Ivory Coast has accused the 
[Emirates 24/7] A Saudi father went to hospital with his eight-year-old daughter for medical tests on the girl ahead of her marriage but the management succeeded in persuading him to cancel the plan, a local newspaper reported on Thursday.
Tightwads are an increasingly rare breed. Its as if nobody actually saves, like, monies anymores.
