We here at AboveTopSecret.com, our owners, staff, and membership find ourselves in the unfortunate position of apparently being one of the largest (if not the largest) repositories of online postings by someone who has been classified as a "monster" (among other things) due to his (accused) actions of two days ago. Online research that began on Reddit, and continued here on ATS has resulted in an overwhelming amount of anecdotal evidence to support the notion that the "erad3" member account here is Jared Loughner. Indeed, the content found in more than 4,000 Google search returns (including some pages in the mainstream press) have drawn the same conclusion.
This is a rather unique situation, to say the least. I and our staff have been considering if we should provide a public statement, and if we do, what should we say? Especially since we're already being contacted by the media for comment and more information.
The postings of "erad3" reveal someone who clearly has many questions for which answers have been elusive if not outright impossible to obtain. And despite the best efforts by many of our members, it seemed there were no answers to be found here for which he was satisfied.
As is often typical, recent analysis in the media is rampant with all manner of conclusions, second-guesses, exaggerations, distortions, and missing information. The opinion of the staff and owners of AboveTopSecret.com is that it serves the public interest to provide an easy method to access every post made here by erad3 (normally, visitors must be logged-in to view such information). Given the large amount of vitriol and invective aimed at those who have been mistakenly accused of inspiring Loughner, I am glad that ATS has done this so that we can see for ourselves what was going on inside his head instead of relying on secondhand reports from the typical sorts of character assassins masquerading as the media.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain ||
01/11/2011 17:22 ||
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Those at the DHS should have a cattle prod stuck up their anuses and pointed at this article. Then say "see nothing to do with American Renaissance!"
"If you guys stopped watching pron every working day and relying on the Southern Poverty Law Centre for your analyses, you might learn something"
Honestly, what has DHS ever accomplished? Can anyone think of one reason why they shouldn't be abolished, root and branch, immediately??
Accused swindler R. Allen Stanford cannot be tried until he undergoes detoxification from addictions to medications he's received in jail, a federal judge said on Thursday, delaying indefinitely a trial that had been scheduled to begin Jan. 24.
U.S. District Judge David Hittner made the ruling after a day of testimony in which three psychiatrists, including one hired by the government, testified that Stanford takes heavy doses of anti-anxiety and anti-depressant drugs that render him incompetent to stand trial on charges of running a $7 billion Ponzi scheme. YJCMTSU
A "Trespassers Will Be Shot" sign stood in the front lawn of a residence here where Hidalgo County Sheriff's deputies worked late Monday night to investigate an alleged gun battle.
Sheriff Lupe Trevino confirmed investigators were now trying to link reports of several shots fired in the neighborhood at around 9:20 p.m. Monday to an unidentified shooting victim dropped off at Mission Regional Medical Center soon after.
A resident at a home on the Farmosa Avenue cul-de-sac in Palmview told deputies he used his own assault rifle to defend himself after noticing several armed and masked men approaching his house on his video surveillance cameras, Trevino said. Signs in the house suggested the resident injured at least one suspect in what the sheriff called an "extensive firefight."
Not long after that alleged incident, an unidentified Hispanic male was dropped off at the Mission hospital with two gunshot wounds to his abdomen, the sheriff said. Investigators are now working to find any connections between the shooting victim and the Palmview resident's story, along with a third emergency call in Mission.
There, Trevino said deputies responded to a call of someone following a green Hummer linked to the shooting site until it stopped at a mobile home in Mission near the corner of North Inspiration Road and Mile 6 Road. After searching the home, investigators found ski masks and other "crime paraphernalia" before they spotted a man hiding beneath the mobile home.
A woman there told police her son had been using the Hummer, though Trevino explained the hiding man was not her son.
"Our job now is to link what happened (on Farmosa Avenue) to the shooting victim, the man we apprehended and the ski masks and paraphernalia," the sheriff said.
He added a broken door, bullet holes throughout the hallway and bathroom and "clear signs" of at least one injury indicated an exchange of gunfire inside the home.
Investigators will try to collect surveillance footage from Mission Regional and stores nearby to see if they can identify the vehicle and driver who reportedly left the shooting victim at the hospital.
Neither the Palmview resident nor a few other individuals interviewed by authorities at the scene reported any injuries.
#4
Brazon home invasion. The banditos knew security cameras were there. Put on masks and hit it anyway. I am sure tge Hummer's owner has already crossed the Rio.
I'll bet the MOSSAD hasn't even thought of this one...
According to the criminal complaint, Lester had made some modifications to a sex toy. He put gun powder, BB shot and buck shot from shotgun shells into one with black and red wires that connected to a trigger with a battery port.
There was no battery inside the device.
The complaint went on to say that Lester planned on giving it to one of three women. In each of those cases, the relationship had ended badly.
Matter of fact, a relationship can't end much worse.
Local idiot pulls 3 yr. bid for lasing Statie chopper
A 52-year-old Medford man was sentenced today to three years in prison for shining a laser at a State Police helicopter that was escorting an LNG tanker through Boston Harbor, federal prosecutors said.
Gerard Sasso is the first person in the state -- and the second in the nation -- to be convicted for lasering an aircraft. He was convicted of charges of willfully interfering with an aircraft operator with reckless disregard for human life, and of making false statements, the US attorney's office said in a statement.
Sasso was convicted of shining a powerful green laser on the helicopter on Dec. 8, 2007. Prosecutors said the pilots were able to determine the light was likely coming from Sasso's apartment.
Police went to Sasso's apartment, where he initially denied having the lasers but later confessed, prosecutors said. The green laser was recovered, along with 10 other lasers, from the apartment.
#1
ION TOPIX > {Telegraph.UK] LASER CANNONS TO DEFEND SHIPS FROM PIRATES.
* PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > US F-35 WILL BE NO MATCH FOR THE CHINESE J-20: RETIRED USAF LTG.
ARTIC = China is investing heavily in Technology-led Military capabilities which will dominate Asia in the future, US REGRESSING BACK-TO-THE-FUTURE TOWARDS YEAR 1939 = PRE-WW2 WHERE US NATIONAL, GLOBAL SECURITY IS DEPENDENT ON A RELATIVELY SMALL NUMBER OF LESS-THAN-PAR
= MODERN/COMPETITIVE MILITARY ASSETS, i.e. INFERIOR-TO-THE-J20? F-22's + VULNERABLE? B-2 BOMBERS???
IIUC also, its PRE-WW2 + "IMPERIAL JAPAN" = RISING CHINA will never Never NEVER N-E-V-E-R NNNNNNEEEEVVVVVEEEEEEERRRRR, D *** YOU, EVAR! ATTACK PEARL HARBOR???
#2
Nah, China would never attack Pearl Harbor. Unless they decided it was in their long-term interests and they thought they could get away with it. Hey, wait! Isn't that what Japan thought once upon a time?
The Arizona sheriff investigating the Tucson shooting that left U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords critically wounded had harsh words today for those engaging in political rhetoric, calling conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh "irresponsible" for continuing the vitriol. This jackass needs to be fired period..
#2
He's been in the news earlier with his political thoughts.
TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik tells KGUN9 News that SB 1070, Arizona's crackdown on illegal immigration, is a "racist law," and says he has no intention of complying with it. In doing so, Dupnik becomes the first major local law enforcement official to officially rebel against the bill since Governor Jan Brewer signed it into law on Friday.
#4
Today's ed in Arizona Republic: Dupnik needs to recall that he is elected to be a lawman. With each additional comment, the Democratic sheriff of Pima County is revealing his agenda as partisan, and, as such, every bit as recklessly antagonistic as the talk-show hosts and politicians he chooses to decry.
#5
From tipper's link (#1) - This was not an act of politics. This was an act of a mentally disturbed young man hell bent on getting his 15 minutes of infamy. The Pima County Sheriffs Department was aware of his violent nature and they failed to act appropriately. This tragedy leads right back to Sherriff Dupnik and all the spin in the world is not going to change that fact.
Kinda reminds me of the Fort Hood massacre, but without the allu ackbar.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/11/2011 13:02 Comments ||
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Dupnik has said his department was aware of the madman making death threats against multiple people.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
01/11/2011 16:14 Comments ||
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the only person I blame for Loughner's actions are *gasp* Loughner.
Dupnik is a fool just as Rush said. The whole "devil made him do it" mantra is teenager logic. (so obviously it meshes well w/the lefty thought pattern)
Climate change may be unstoppable for the next millennium.
Rising carbon-dioxide levels in the atmosphere will affect the climate for at least another 1,000 years, based on a simulation by researchers at Canada's University of Victoria and University of Calgary. That will cause the West Antarctic ice sheet to collapse by the year 3000 and raise sea levels by 4 meters (13 feet), it showed. I thought the Goracle had it rising by more than that, by 2035. Or was that 2350? Who is right? I am sooo confused!
The study, published online in Nature Geoscience, is the first full climate model to make predictions so far into the future, the Calgary university said in a Jan. 9 statement. Researchers studied the length of time needed to reverse climate-change trends if the world stopped using fossil fuels and putting CO2 in the atmosphere as of 2010 and 2100. Abstract of the paper, from the link provided in the article:
Following a hypothesized complete cessation of carbon dioxide emissions, global climate models simulate approximately constant global mean temperatures for centuries. Long-term simulations with the Canadian Earth System Model suggest that, on these timescales, regional changes in temperature and precipitation are nevertheless significant, and that Southern Ocean warming at intermediate depths could affect the stability of Antarctic ice.
It's $18 to buy the full paper.
"Ongoing regional changes in temperature and precipitation are significant following a complete cessation of carbon-dioxide emissions in 2100, despite almost constant global mean temperatures," researchers said.
The effects' duration may be related to inertia in world oceans, with parts of the southern Atlantic Ocean beginning to warm only now as a result of CO2 emissions in the previous century, according to the researchers. It takes time to heat up the oceans? Who knew?
"The simulation showed that warming will continue, rather than stop or reverse, on the 1,000-year time scale," [they] said in the statement. How about cooling from the lack of sunspots? How long does that lag?
Parts of North Africa would experience desertification as land dries out by up to 30 percent, according to the researchers. Ocean warming off Antarctica of up to 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit) is likely to trigger "widespread collapse" of the West Antarctic ice sheet, the study shows. The abstract said "warming at intermediate depths could affect", but the reporter says "likely to". Same thing, right?
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/11/2011 15:33 ||
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The study, published online in Nature Geoscience, is the first full climate model to make predictions so far into the future
Wow. This guy putting the prediction out of reach by putting it 1000 years into the future makes the "scientists" who were hiding the data look like amateurs. My hat is off to this guy.
Ermengol II succeeds Ermengol I as Count of Urgell.
Albert II, Count of Namur succeeds Albert I.
Bagrat III dispossesses Sumbat III of Klarjeti, who dies thereafter.
German king Henry II enfeoffes(*) Adalbero, Duke of Carinthia with the Carinthian duchy, including the rule over the March of Verona.
(*) That's a real word.
Byrhtferth of Ramsey writes his Manual.
Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen), a famous Iraqi scientist working in Egypt, feigns madness in fear of angering Al-Hakim, the sixth Fatimid caliph, and is kept under house arrest until 1021, when Al-Hakim croaks.
In other words, what happened a thousand years ago, and likely what happens a thousand years hence, will be as near and dear to all of us as a less entertaining knock off of "The Beastmaster".
[Al Jazeera] Tunisia's president has called recent protests over high unemployment and the cost of living "terrorist acts" and vowed to deal with those involved.
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali also said in a live TV address on Monday that 300,000 extra jobs would be created in the country.
"The events were violent, sometimes bloody, and caused the death of civilians and maimed several members of the security forces," he said.
"The events were the work of masked gangs that attacked at night government buildings and even civilians inside their homes in a terrorist act that cannot be overlooked."
The comments came as Catherine Ashton, EU foreign policy chief, said that she was "concerned" about the events and called for restraint and the immediate release from detention of those nabbed after peacefully protesting.
How sweet. It should take her a while to recover from that perfumed eruption.
The Tunisian government earlier said that it will listen to protesters, after weeks of unrest over high unemployment and the cost of living left dozens of people dead and raised the tensions.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/11/2011 00:00 ||
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Ghana's decision not to contribute troops in support of a possible military intervention in La Cote d'Ivoire has in no doubt complicated matters for ECOWAS, which has served notice on the beleaguered Ivorian leader Laurent Gbagbo that, should ongoing diplomatic efforts fail to get him to step down; the sub-regional grouping will have no option but to force him out.
Ghana's new position which runs contrary to the Abuja Communiqué on the political stalemate in La Cote d'Ivoire was made known by President John Evans Atta Mills in a media encounter in Accra last Friday.
Ghana is one of three countries, along with Nigeria and Senegal that would normally be expected to play a leading role in any military intervention by ECOWAS.
President Mills also thinks military force will not solve the post election deadlock in that country. "As a person, I don't think that this military operation is going to bring peace to Cote d'Ivoire," he stated.
According to him, the country's military is overstretched as it is engaged in many peacekeeping assignments around the world and that he was not about to risk Ghana's internal peace to get rid of Mr. Gbagbo.
He said: "As Commander in Chief, I consulted with my Military High Command and they advised that they could not release troops to join any ECOWAS contingent to take military action in Cote d'Ivoire." But the President's comments appear not to go down well with many.
Alassane Ouattara who is largely recognized by ECOWAS and the international community as having won the election is currently holed up in the grounds of Abidjan's Golf Hotel with his government-in-waiting. But President Mills said Ghana was monitoring the situation very carefully and "will continue to pursue initiatives which will ensure there is peace in Cote d'Ivoire."
The President's position, however, fueled earlier speculations, especially in the international media that Ghana was covertly supporting incumbent President Gbagbo.
A former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, however disagrees with President Mills.
To him the President's position is a betrayal of the sub-regional body. "He is now seen to be breaking ranks with ECOWAS. We must take the moral high ground," he said in a reaction to the President's comments in an interview with the electronic media last Friday.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/11/2011 00:00 ||
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As for now Ivory Coast is the only non-islamic neighbour of Ghana - other two, Togo and Burkina Faso are members of Organization of Islamic Conference.
Christian Ghana http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Ghana with muslim Ouattara in power in her western neighbour will be totally surrouded and next in line for islamization.
It's clear that islamic Ivory Coast is not in Ghana's best interest...
#2
A pertinent point, vendaval. Somewhat off-topic, I think you'll find this article from Pajamas Media interesting. (Muslims Leaving Islam In Droves). It was written a few years ago, but still useful, I think.
#3
Many thanks, Trailing Wife - quite encouraging numbers.
Looks like loosing in numerical field islam is trying to win politically and militarily. At least in western Africa - what is left for them is a coastal strip with three countries: Ghana, Ivory Coast and Liberia...
Ivory Coast's Alassane Ouattara is willing to work as president in a unity government with Laurent Gbagbo's camp if the strongman drops his claim to power, the country's UN envoy has told the BBC.
Youssoufou Bamba, Ivory Coast's ambassador to the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society, urged Gbagbo to recognise Ouattara as the "legitimate president" following November's disputed elections, in an interview with the British broadcaster released Monday.
"And from there, Mr. Gbagbo is not alone. He has followers, he has competent people in his party. Those people, we are prepared to work with them. In the framework of a wide composite cabinet."
Ouattara is internationally recognised as the winner of November 28 presidential polls in the west African nation, but incumbent Gbagbo also claims to have won the vote and is refusing to give up power.
Bamba said Ouattara could work with Gbagbo but rejected comparisons with the situation in Kenya and Zimbabwe, which have power-sharing governments.
"Yes he could work with him [Gbagbo]. Because he is an Ivorian citizen," he was cited as saying.
"What I am saying should be clear. The win by Mr. Ouattara could not be put into question anymore. That, if Mr. Gbagbo accepts that, we could negotiate. Otherwise, I could not understand how it could be otherwise."
If Gbagbo gave up his claim to power, that would be "the starting point" for negotiations, said the envoy, speaking from UN headquarters in New York.
"I think from there, everything is open. It?s on the table," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/11/2011 00:00 ||
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Prison bosses have refused to name inmates on the run from a notorious jail in case they go into hiding.
Ministry of Justice officials also insisted that identifying the seven convicts would breach their right to privacy, even though some of them escaped more than five years ago.
Between 1995-96 and 2008-9, 261 inmates absconded from Hollesley Bay open prison, near Woodbridge, Suffolk - where disgraced Tory peer Lord Archer was once held - and seven are still at large.
But the MoJ said it would not release their names, descriptions or pictures because it would breach the Freedom of Information Act and the principles of the Data Protection Act - in particular the right to privacy.
Officials even refused to reveal the total number of absconders in 2009-10 and 2010-11 because it wants to 'publish the information in its own time'.
The department's response from Sharanjit Nagra, of the National Offender Management Service, states: 'I am afraid the details of the absconders you request ... are exempt under section 40 of the Freedom Of Information Act, disclosure of personal data to a third party.'
#1
Britain deserves what it gets, I suppose. Britain's bureaucracies are so self protecting. They won't release the number of "absconders" because it will cast the department of whateveritis in a bad light.
(KUNA) -- Sky-high figures for bankers' bonuses seem to come "from a parallel universe" to many people, UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said Monday.
He stressed that those running state-owned banks such as Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) should be sensitive to taxpayers' concerns when awarding extra payouts.
His comments echo those of Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday, when he said RBS should be a "back marker" when it came to bonus settlements.
Clegg told the BBC Radio "I totally accept that the sky-high numbers that are bandied about in the City of London seem to come from a parallel universe to many people.
"But I think the key issue of principle is this - for those people running state-owned banks, they have to be sensitive to British taxpayers, who are the shareholders of these state-owned banks, so we are entitled to say that should be reflected in the sensitivity with which bonuses are awarded.
"The people who run these banks should show extra sensitivity and transparency in the way in which they reward themselves."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/11/2011 00:00 ||
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[El Universal] After decades of misfortune, oil exporting countries have learnt that if they are to expand production capacity, they need both to save a part of their revenues and to diversify exports, which requires investments in machinery, equipment, and tools.
According to data issued by the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV), after a period of recovery, following a lockout in 2002, investment has tumbled in the last three years, for an accumulated 15-percent decrease between 2007 and 2010.
In 2009, investment fell 4.8 percent and the only positive sign was an increase in public sector's investment in the second half of the year thanks to the purchase of plants and equipment to deal with electricity shortage.
Declining investment endangers future growth and the possibility that the economy creates enough jobs in the formal sector of the economy.
In an environment of controls and frequent seizures of companies, a decline in private investment can be expected, but in the case of Venezuela, the fall began some decades ago.
Between 1950 and 1980, Venezuela steadily increased its production capacity and even exceeded its actual needs, but the collapse of the rent-seeking model set a ceiling on the economy.
Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... between 2004 and 2008, Latin America received USD 91.56 billion in foreign direct investment -an unprecedented amount, but Venezuela only received USD 5.84 billion.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/11/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Given his track record I find it hard to beleive anyone outside of Russia, Ecuador, China or Iran would put any money where Gordo can get at it.
Ten people were arrested on Tuesday after a nationalist group called for Russians to gather in Manezh Square in downtown Moscow.
The previously unknown December 11 Movement, named in honor of last year's mass rioting by nationalists and football hooligans fans over the death of a Spartak supporter, had called for a "Russia for Russians" rally in the square today.
Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika said in an interview with Rossiiskaya Gazeta that race hate charges were brought against 21 people who took part in the December 11 unrest.
Israel isn't the only friend who spies on us. Give this joker the second bunk in Jonathan Pollard's cell.
The U.S. government announced Monday that a former NASA employee has been charged with illegally shipping infrared military technology to South Korea.
The Department of Justice issued a statement saying that U.S. citizen Chun Kue-sang was charged with one count of exporting U.S. defense items and one count of knowingly filing a false U.S. individual income tax return. Chun was not accused of taking technology or related materials from the NASA research center.
Count one alleges that Chun exported Infra Red Focal Plane Array detectors and Infra red camera engines from the United States to South Korea from March 2000 to November 2005. These items were designated as defense articles on the U.S. Munitions List.
Count two charges Chun with failing to declare the income and paying taxes on more than $80,000 of taxable income he allegedly earned from illegal activities during 2005.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/11/2011 00:00 ||
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as we are currently on a war footing isn't the penalty for this death
#2
as we are currently on a war footing isn't the penalty for this death
But 746, even spying for Russia only gets a girl a government-paid airplane ticket home. South Korea is an ally, which should mean a few years imprisonment for the man... unless the ally were Israel, in which case it means life in solitary confinement. (That's the meaning of Dr. Steve's Jonathan Pollard reference, at the top of the article.)
Police in Japan were questioning a man for abandoning a corpse after his father's mummified remains were found in a wardrobe in the apartment they shared, local media reported.
The 55-year-old man reportedly admitted to police that he put the body of this father, Mitsuo Sonoda, into the wardrobe, The Mainichi Daily News reported.
"More than five years ago, during the winter, I came home and found my father in his bed. He wasn't moving. I left him there for a week, but he started to smell, so I put him in the wardrobe," he was quoted as telling Sherlocks.
The son continued to pocket pension payments made to his father, who he shared the Kyoto apartment with for 10 years.
Police said the remains of the senior citizen - who would have been 92 years old - were found after his son's ex-wife visited the apartment January 4 and told police she "could find no sign" of her former father-in-law.
The responding officer noticed a strange smell coming from the wardrobe and found the mummified remains inside.
Japan is battling to establish the whereabouts of hundreds of senior citizens who authorities believe could be dead, despite their families still claiming pension payouts.
Expect more of these stories as more cases are discovered.
In August, the number of pension recipients older than 85 whose whereabouts could not be immediately confirmed was estimated at around 800, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/11/2011 00:00 ||
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Coming up next, "Weekend at Mitsuo's", followed by local news...
#3
..."More cases" is right - it's been found (and kept very very quiet by the Japanese) that some of the longest-lived citizens they've been so proud of actually died years ago, and the kids have been cashing the checks.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
01/11/2011 9:24 Comments ||
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Japan is caught in a weird social condition right now.
To start with, like the US they have a baby boom bubble approaching retirement age, which means an enormous pension bubble has been promised but cannot be delivered.
Likewise, many of their younger people were unable to emulate that combination of prosperity and economic security, even with a good education and willingness to work. Their economy had just changed.
This has meant hundreds of thousands of them (as in the US), are dependent on the prosperity and security of the former generation, not just the boomers, but the elderly generation before them.
But in Japan, agoraphobia has become a lifestyle for many. So much so that many adults, still living with their parents, spend all day in their room in the home, venturing out only at night, to open all night convenience stores.
When their parents die, they are caught out. Many are reliant on their parents pension to survive; others, whose parents had savings enough for a substantial inheritance, still cannot abide the change in the way they live, that would come from reporting their death.
But it is soon to come crashing down around all of them. The boomers will lose their pensions, because they cannot be paid, the otaku, or house dwellers will have to reemerge with the boomers into grinding poverty. Staggeringly high levels of unemployment.
Ay Pee summarized, because they don't like to share:
The mayor predicts about 6500 houses and businesses will end up under water, as the Brisbane River heads toward peak flood on Thursday, impacting almost 15,000 people.
The Wivenhoe dam, built after the 1974 floods to protect Brisbane, was full, so controlled releases of water will have to continue, adding to local problems. bad idea building cities on rivers.... rivers rise in the rain. Better on the beach. I always wondered why Brisbane wasn't just founded on the gold coast instead. My heart breaks for my countrymen
Temporary shelter is available for those driven from their homes by the water. An evacuation centre has been set up at the RNA Showgrounds at Bowen Hills and is now open for flood-affected residents. Pets will not be accepted, so those with animals are advised to find their own shelter before Thursday. In my country it's either droughts or floods, we never get moderate weather. TIME TO TAKE BACK THE $500 Million earmarked for ISLAMIC SCHOOLS IN INDONESIA hey, and give it back to our own taxpayers who are now in need.
#5
I predict the death toll to rise much higher, unfortunately with over 50 people still missing this is highly likely.
Remember, DO NOT CROSS FLOOD WATERS, the risk is not worth it. Remember to call 000 in a life threatening situation. Help is there if you really need it.
#7
Thank you for keeping us informed on this, anon1 and Oztralian. (But note for future reference that we summarize AP articles, rather than copy/pasting.) Our Australian cousins will be in our thoughts and prayers until the floods subside.
#10
Thank you for your kind words, Trailing Wife, it means a lot to Australians that people overseas care about our countrymen too.
This is our Hurricane Katrina
75% of the state of Queensland has been declared a disaster zone by the Government.
One man clambered to the roof of his house for safety. He saw a house float by with people on the roof yelling for help and nobody could help them. No-one knows what happened to them. 60 people are sheltering in a school with no power in that town and the waters are rising.
#15
I understand y'all who want to help. Can't tell ya not to, but if you do be smart adults and not part of the problem. There are many ways to help without pulling a sean pennhead: food, coffee for responders, shelter for refugees, donate blood...just be careful about who you send money to if you decide to do so.
#20
Flood vulnerable cities need to set up flood channels. The upper Mississippi and Red Rivers have a couple. They even let you grow crops on channel land, during dry seasons. Hunting is allowed to, in some areas.
#21
Thanks Swamp Blondie, that is really wonderfully kind.
Beavis, thank you for your lovely thoughts - Darwin is OK , it is far away from the floods in the Northern Territory. Their big threat is being whacked by a cyclone (god forbid) like Tracey in 1974.
Barack Obama has declared that France is Americas greatest ally, undermining Britains Special Relationship with the U.S.
The President risked offending British troops in Afghanistan by saying that French president Nicolas Sarkozy is a stronger friend than David Cameron.
The remarks, during a White House appearance with Mr Sarkozy, will reinforce the widely-held view in British diplomatic circles that Mr Obama has less interest in the Special Relationship than any other recent American leader.
#3
I have no doubt France, who seems to be receiving many memos from those who are responsible for man made disasters, is engaged and we are all working together.
#4
...undermining Britains Special Relationship with the U.S.
How can you undermine something that you've already killed and buried?
Posted by: Alan Cramer ||
01/11/2011 10:40 Comments ||
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#5
By dismissing the brave British soldiers fighting their asses off.
It may be an unspoken situation, but a statement like this potentially gives a reason for Britain to withdraw - which would be unfortunate for everyone involved especially the British. Obama's term will pass someday. Remember we are all in this together.
#7
swksvolFF, unfortunately we're NOT all in this together. The Obamanation and his clique are against anything remotely like this.
Granted the Lefts control of the Potus is transitory their influence will continue.
Posted by: Alan Cramer ||
01/11/2011 11:25 Comments ||
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#8
The question is why he would even say something like this when it is so totally unnecessary. He could have said that France is a great ally without pissing off the Brits even more than he already has and left it at that. The French would have been happy with that. You get the feeling that Obummer is deliberately attempting to screw things up for us as badly as he possibly can. I personally get the feeling he'd be happier with the Chicoms and the Russians than he is with the British and the French.
To all the Brits out there: Sorry. We'll try to correct it in 2012.
Look, Britain withdrawing may have been in the works for a while, which may explain the additional US troops headed to Afghan, and if France is about to visually and heavily involved then I understand why prez would want to build this up. Statements like this, which have already been picked up and blown out of proportion will sound ungrateful for the blood and treasure and effort the British people have dedicated.
I don't know if anyone here watches US football, but a few years back the coach of the KC Chiefs Herm Edwards had a talk after a loss to a rival and said (paraphrase) "Its football, we are going to lose games, get used to it." Well KC fans are die-hards and not used to losing and quit going to the games in protest.
So I guess when I say we, I mean the proponants of law, of civilisation, of reason and creativity, those who do not want another dark age of superstition and slavery which I believe the majority of British people know, love, crave, miss, and want for their children.
So I guess what I am saying to not just my British brethern but eveyone who believes in those principles: thank you.
Really, a hostile internal alien entity which shares the belief than freedom and democracy are anathema, has an effective veto over domestic and foreign policy in France. And that is an "ally"?
Portugal insisted it doesn't need a bailout and criticized its European partners on Tuesday for not doing enough to shield the euro from a debt crisis that has already forced Greece and Ireland to seek outside help. APee, rest at link. Short summery:
We don't need no stinkin' help, our party is continuing so please invest in a sinking ship, stop saying we are in trouble when we are, damn Germans are stingy, when we come crying for a bailout after all the money is gone you better pay up!
#2
It's nice to see China and now Japan come to Portugal's aid. Not that they have an ulterior motive like keeping their currency devalued, although that will happen and keep all the other PIIGS in servitude while they reap the benefits of their altruism.
The Arizona Legislature is expected to pass legislation Tuesday that will bar protesters at funerals from getting within 300 feet of services, a spokesman for the state House said. It's a good start. Phred and is minions will probably just buy bigger bullhorns. I would have written the legislation to make sure protests do not interfere with direct funeral-related activities like the procession and ceremony.
"...to avoid the appearance of impropriety." according to this tweet.
Standard practice. The Arizona federal judges will recuse themselves. A federal judge will be brought in from another state. It closes down one potential avenue of appeal for the defendant.
#3
Of course, in the unlikely event that he actually beats the Federal raps, he is still up for the state charges of four counts of murder and many of attempted murder.
Just for the record, if I lived in Tucson, I would be happy to volunteer for jury duty, although it is unlikely I would survive the voir dire with my attitude.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
01/11/2011 18:27 Comments ||
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#4
He killed a nine year old girl and some other regular folks. Drive him down to the state court in Tombstone and put him away.
Let the Feds fart around with their stupid crap after he is properly jugged. Is there only justice for important federal type people?
#5
Let the Feds fart around with their stupid crap after he is properly jugged. Is there only justice for important federal type people, the Ruling Elite?
FIFY - no charge.
And no ding on the Congresswoman herself - but Congress and the Robed Princes of the Land (judges) do act like a Ruling Class.
#6
CF, I have already written my congress critter urging him not to support the various panicked bills that have been introduced to "protect" members of Congress. One would prevent anyone from saying anything that could be construed as a threat against a member of congress (Like for example, saying I'm not going to vote for him). The other law would establish a 1000 foot weapons-free zone around members of congress. I'm sure that would have deterred Loughner - surely he would have said "I'm planning on gunning down a bunch of people today. That could bring me the death penalty. But wait! I can't bring my gun within 1000 feet of Ms Giffords! Darn, guess I'll have to do something else."
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
01/11/2011 19:41 Comments ||
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The family of Jared Loughner barricaded themselves inside their Tucson home Monday and refused to allow FBI agents inside to continue an investigation into a deadly Saturday shooting, the Arizona Republic reported.
FBI agents attempted to gain access to the house at 12:25 p.m. Mountain time only to discover the family had erected a plywood barricade blocking access to the front porch. The family refused access to the agents, who banged on the barricade, yelling, "This is the FBI. Let us in," according to the newspaper.
It is unclear why the family would try to block access to the house, which law enforcement officials searched over the weekend.
Also unclear why the FBI went back.
I saw in another version of the story that a newscritter had snuck into the gardem earlier in the day.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/11/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Surprise!!! The loony shooter had a loony family!
#4
It was against the press, who wouldn't stop banging on their doors, peering through windows, calling on the phone, etc.
Meanwhile his mother could not even get out of bed, and his father was sobbing uncontrollably. They even asked a neighbor to pick up and deliver their mail for them, and he ended up crying with them in their miserable state, though he didn't know them very well.
#5
the real story isnt the media created headline then.
I would submit that A SENSATIONALIST MEDIA might have smidg of blame leveled at them in this nightmare.
The scene where a congresswoman was shot Saturday was captured on surveillance video, according to law enforcement officials. The video shows federal judge John Roll chatting with an aide to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D. Ariz.) moments before the violence erupts, according to officials.
After the shooting, investigators searched a safe connected to the shooting suspect, Jared Lee Loughner, and found a letter apparently sent to him by Ms. Giffords's office thanking him for previously attending a similar "Congress on your corner" event in 2007.
That's interesting, and suggests that in his twisted brain, he had a long-standing grudge.
Much remains unknown about what motivated Mr. Loughner, who is in custody. But the initial evidence, including the constituent letter, has led law enforcement officials to think that the suspect had been thinking about the congresswoman for years, according to people familiar with the case.
Investigators also found paper on which the suspect apparently wrote the word "assassination" and "I planned ahead." The meaning or significance of that writing isn't clear.
The suspect has been uncooperative with investigators, according to law enforcement officials.
No surprise, and of course he's been lawyered up already.
Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert Mueller said the charges would include the attack on Ms. Giffords and Judge Roll and other victims, with later additional charges likely. Investigators seized computers during a search of the suspect's home, and Mr. Mueller said those were being examined.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/11/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Blow hard Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, who was all over the news today flapping his jaws again, just got his contact form filled out with me telling him to shut the *&%@ up and do his job. Told him the nut case was well known to the community as a very potentially dangerous individual and if he had done his job he would not be flapping his fat mouth trying to point fingers at everyone else on national tv to CYA! After three days I am tired of that old geezer!
#3
In a town hall meeting in Abu Dhabi on Monday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton decried the man who shot Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords as an "extremist"
Quote
"We have extremists in my country. A wonderful, incredibly brave young woman Congress member, Congresswoman Gifford[s], was just shot by an extremist in our country," Clinton said ... "We have the same kinds of problems. So rather than standing off from each other, we should work to try to prevent the extremists anywhere from being able to commit violence."
AP, so a summary: Rep. Giffords is improving, thank goodness. She remains in critical condition but can raise her left hand, give a thumbs up, and otherwise respond to commands. The trauma surgeon and neurosurgeon are hopeful.
She had a hemicraniotomy to deal with brain swelling. Essentially, that is removing a large part of the skull and setting it to one side (scalp and other tissues remain attached). The bullet traveled the length of the left side of her brain, entering the back of the skull and exiting the front, so that's the part of the skull they removed. Edema and swelling remain issues for the next several days.
It is not clear what residual disability she'll have when all this is over.
The other shooting victims who made it to the hospital are improving.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/11/2011 00:00 ||
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She was shot by a psychotic. Can't blame this one on us.
That doesn't mean Thomas Jefferson wouldn't stand the rest of them up against a wall given what I have seen in the last few years.
Lets keep our eye on the ball.
There are MANY in both houses that are guilty of outright treason and subversion.
"When the government fears the people you have liberty, when the people fear the government you have tyranny.
NEW DELHI The Indian military Monday cleared for production a fighter jet that will be the first plane flown by its national air force that was designed and built at home. The air force is expected to start flying the first squadron next year after years of production delays and cost overruns. State-owned Hindustan Aeronautics LTD is building the planes with components from many international manufacturers, an analyst said.
Defense Minister A.K. Antony announced the production clearance for the first 20 Light Combat Aircraft and put the total requirement for Indias air force and navy at around 200.
Indias Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik said the aircraft taking wing is a dream coming true.
The fighter jet will be armed with missiles for air-to-ground and air-to-air combat. The navys version will be able to take off from sea carriers for air-to-sea combat.
The planes are powered by General Electric 404-F engines. Key components such as radar, weaponry and avionics come from Israel, Russia and some European countries, said Rahul Bedi, a New Delhi-based analyst for the independent Janes Information Group.
The first 20 aircraft will cost India nearly 20 billion rupees ($444.40 million), Bedi said.
India started the ambitious project in 1982 and originally planned to test its own engine in 1996. In the meantime, it began testing a prototype of the airframe using an engine made by US-based General Electric Aircraft Engines. Bureaucracy, technical shortcomings and US trade sanctions imposed after Indias 1998 nuclear tests forced delays. The sanctions were subsequently lifted.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/11/2011 00:00 ||
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Yokay, I'll bite, DARE ANOTHER PLAAF PILOT WEIRDLY + MYSTERIOUSLY EARN HIS ACE STATUS ON THE SAME DAY???
Iff I'm appear to be overly harsh or critical of India in this matter, ITS BECUZ INDIA = INDJUH SHOULD NOT BE HAVING THE KINDS OF SERIOUS PROBLEMS, DEFECTS + MALFUNCTIONS, ITS NOTORIOUS = FAMOUS? FOR GIVEN HOW MANY INDIANS STUDY ENGINEERING, DESIGN, + PHYSICAL, MECHANICAL SCIENCES, .... @Etc.
#3
The Indian military Monday cleared for production a fighter jet that will be the first plane flown by its national air force that was designed and built at home.
The HT-2 was a fairly simple piston-engine trainer but the HF-24 was a supersonic fighter design. The design team was led by none other than Kurt Tank of Focke-Wulf fame, who moved to India in the 50s and worked for HAL until 1967. Performance was disappointing, mostly because the imported engines it was supposed to use were never fully developed. It flew well enough though and saw action in the 1971 Indo-Pak war.
There have been many other Indian designed and built aircraft in military service over the years.
[Dawn] Pope Benedict XVI on Monday called on Pakistain to scrap a blasphemy law after the murder of the governor of Punjab, saying the legislation was a pretext for "acts of injustice and violence".
"I once more encourage the leaders of that country to take the necessary steps to abrogate that law," he said.
"The tragic murder of the governor of Punjab shows the urgent need to make progress in this direction."
The pope, who was speaking at a traditional New Year's meeting with foreign ambassadors to the Vatican, said the anti-blasphemy legislation was an example of "norms prejudicing the right to religious freedom."
More than 50,000 people rallied in Pakistain's southern city of Bloody Karachi on Sunday against the controversial reform of the blasphemy law that was behind the shooting of Punjab governor Salman Taseer last week.
Taseer had called for reform of the blasphemy law that was recently used to sentence a Christian woman to death. But his outspoken liberal stance offended the country's increasingly powerful conservative religious base.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/11/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Umm, does anyone think that they'll even notice this? Talk about whistling past the grave yard.
Posted by: Alan Cramer ||
01/11/2011 9:17 Comments ||
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#2
Gee thaks, that guarantees there'll be NO elimination of the Blasphemy law.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/11/2011 11:01 Comments ||
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#3
The Pope is obliged to speak out now & then on such matters. I hope he is aware he is attacking one of the Secret Pillars of Islam®. Next thing you know, some mullah / imam / ayallatollah will declare JIHAD on him and all of Christendom.
[Straits Times] COMMUNIST Laos is set to open a stock market on Tuesday, hoping it will attract capital to its largest enterprises and thus boost the economy of one of the world's poorest nations.
The Lao Securities Exchange, headquartered in the capital of Vientiane, will debut with shares offered by just two state-owned enterprises - Electricite du Laos Generation Company (EDL), the country's major energy enterprise, and the Banque Pour Le Commerce Exterieur Lao, official Lao media said on Monday. Foreign participation will be limited.
South Korea's Korea Exchange is investing US$9.8 million (S$12.8 million), or 49 per cent of the venture, most of it for technology systems and training, according to the Seoul-based stock market operator. The Bank of Laos, the country's central bank, is investing $10.2 million, or 51 per cent.
Neighbouring Thailand also offered assistance.
'There's a twofold reason. The exchange will allow an alternate source of capital other than banks and allow public participation in the growth of the economy,' said Lorraine Tan, director of equities research at Standard & Poor's in Singapore. 'A broad capital market will certainly help economic development.'
But she said that it would take some time for foreign equity to flow in. 'You just can't do that by opening up a stock market,' Ms Tan said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/11/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
'There's a twofold reason.
NO
A threefold reason. it's home owned and therefore easily Manipulable.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/11/2011 22:11 Comments ||
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A fight over a website name may have been settled in federal court Monday. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) claims that blogger Debbie Schlussel was violating their trademark by registering cairmichigan.com with links to anti-Islamic websites.
Www.cairmichigan.com now hosts the Council on American-Israel Relations, an organization run by Schlussel.
Question for the OED: Is this the first time that the initial "w" from "www" been capitalized at the beginning of a sentence? If so, please be sure to save Rantburg its place of glory in English etymological history. Thanks. ;-)
A few days ago, Schlussel was using a different name, the Council on American-Islamic Relations Michigan. So, the real Council on American-Islamic Relations took her to court.
"CAIR Debbie Schlussel is allowed to say all of the disgusting and repulsive things that she has said for years. She's just not allowed to say that she's us while she's speaking," said CAIR Michigan spokesman Gadeir Abbas.
A federal judge said Schlussel has undone most of the confusion, therefore he did not order her to take it down.
"She simply changed the color, and she made it clear that what she's talking about is the Council on American-Israeli Relations, which cannot be confused with CAIR, the folks that brought this lawsuit," Schlussel's attorney said.
Whether Schlussel is allowed to use the acronym CAIR must be answered in federal court.
"The CAIR trademark is very weak, and we're going to seek to invalidate it. There's trademark misuse, and really this is just a thinly veiled lawsuit to try to muzzle another critic," said Kochanowski.
"Debbie Schlussel is engaged in childish antics and is dancing around and creating a moving target for us, and that slows things down, but it's not going to stop us," according to a huffy Abbas.
#1
"Debbie Schlussel is engaged in childish antics and is dancing around and creating a moving target for us, and that slows things down, but it's not going to stop us," according to a huffy Abbas.
Denunciaton of 'violent hate speech' in 3, 2, 1....
oh, wait...
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
01/11/2011 14:30 Comments ||
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#3
Read this on Wattsupwiththat. pretty cool stuff. my live-in physics nerd went ape on it and we had to show mama how a Feynman diagram worked.
Posted by: abu do you love ||
01/11/2011 22:14 Comments ||
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#4
"Scotty! Steer for that Squall!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/11/2011 22:49 Comments ||
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#5
Horatio:
O day and night, but this is wondrous strange! Hamlet:
And therefore as a stranger give it welcome.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy
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.
Local idiot pulls 3 yr. bid for lasing Statie chopper
Climate change may be unstoppable for the next millennium. 
Portugal insisted it doesn't need a bailout and criticized its European partners on Tuesday for not doing enough to shield the euro from a debt crisis that has already forced Greece and Ireland to seek outside help.
The Arizona Legislature is expected to pass legislation Tuesday that will bar protesters at funerals from getting within 300 feet of services, a spokesman for the state House said.
NEW DELHI The Indian military Monday cleared for production a fighter jet that will be the first plane flown by its national air force that was designed and built at home. The air force is expected to start flying the first squadron next year after years of production delays and cost overruns. State-owned Hindustan Aeronautics LTD is building the planes with components from many international manufacturers, an analyst said.
[Dawn] Pope Benedict XVI on Monday called on Pakistain to scrap a blasphemy law after the murder of the governor of Punjab, saying the legislation was a pretext for "acts of injustice and violence".
A fight over a website name may have been settled in federal court Monday. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) claims that blogger Debbie Schlussel was violating their trademark by registering 
