An Ol’ Broad’s Ramblings
Morning Coffee 03/30/08 - Afternoon Edition
Muqtada Sadr orders followers to end fighting
Radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr ordered his followers today to end six days of fighting, which has killed more than 300 people and threaten to reverse recent security gains across Iraq.
In a statement issued by Sadr’s headquarters in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, the cleric disavowed any armed members who attack government institutions and party offices.
“Based on the responsibility imposed by Islamic law and to save precious Iraqi blood . . . we have decided the following: to end the armed manifestation in Basra and all over the governorates,” Sadr said.
In return, the cleric demanded that the government stop what he described as random raids and release all prisoners who have not been proved guilty of offenses.
First off, if he was so worried about Iraqi blood being spilled, why did he start this in the first place. Second, demanding that prisoners be released who, evidently, haven’t even been tried yet, is not such a good idea. My thought….they are just addicted to violence.
Obama says Clinton should keep running
Sen. Barack Obama refused yesterday to go along with other Democrats who are calling for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to step away from the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
“My attitude is Senator Clinton can run as long as she wants,” Mr. Obama said.
I agree! Besides, like I said yesterday, it’s just way too much fun watching the battle! 
More than 1,000 Tiger fans show their support at pre-game rally in Houston
To the strains of songs such as “Walking in Memphis” and “Eye of the Tiger,” more than 1,000 University of Memphis fans crowded into a pregame pep rally today to hear confident predictions of a win over Texas in this afternoon’s South regional final of the NCAA men’s basketball tourney.
“I guarantee you the team doesn’t care where we’re playing. They don’t care how many (Texas) fans there are,” said U of M athletic director R.C. Johnson. “We’re going to go out there and get ‘em.”
There are already too many in Houston! 
Anyway, I wish them luck!
Bibi: Concessions will strengthen Hamas
There is no appropriate substitute for Israeli control in the West Bank which do not put Israel in danger, Opposition Leader Binyamin Netanyahu said Sunday.
After meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Netanyahu said “No one, not even Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] can do our work in the West Bank. If the IDF leaves - Hamas and Iran will go in.”
Netanyahu added that the Likud party will not agree to any agreement with the Palestinians which will include the division of Jerusalem.
Agreed! Tell me again why they voted him out of office? Israel needs a strong guy like this, instead of the wimp they’ve got right now as P.M.
Cities pay huge salaries despite fiscal crises
A city nurse earned $350,000. A fire department battalion chief pulled in more than twice as much as the mayor. And a municipal park ranger took home $188,000 in overtime on top of his $71,000 salary.
Such generous payouts were criticized for hastening the fiscal downfall of the city of Vallejo, which narrowly averted bankruptcy this month. But the nurse, firefighter and ranger aren’t from Vallejo - they’re among hundreds of top earners working for the cities of San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland.
Dayyum! Talk about feeding off the public trough! These are the types who insists that YOU don’t pay enough in taxes. Pfft! Their salaries depend on the people who pay them, and I’d say they’ve taken FULL advantage.
US embassy sacks 90 Turkish workers
The American Embassy in Ankara has fired 90 Turkish workers.
The embassy sacked 30 workers on Thursday and 60 on Friday.
That’s it? That’s all they say about it? With those two sentence, it makes it sound like the U.S. Embassy has no reason to fire the workers. There’s got to be more behind the story besides that!
Three Children Found Dead at Hotel
ABC 2 News has just learned that the bodies of three children, who appear to have been murdered, have been found at the Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor Hotel.
Shortly after 1 p.m. hotel security received a call from a man staying at the hotel claiming he was going to hurt himself.
Hotel security, along with Baltimore City Police, went up to the room. That’s when they found the three children.
Police and investigators are still trying to gather information. Right now, they say they are not sure who this man is, if he and his family are from Baltimore, or how the children died.
The father was taken to a nearby hospital for minor self-inflicted cuts.
Speculation could run rampant with so little information. The way it looks to me, the man, father or not, did harm to 3 children. I this is the case, I honestly hope the man rots in what hell he ends up in.
Dith Pran, ‘Killing Fields’ photographer, dies at 65
Dith Pran, a photojournalist for The New York Times whose gruesome ordeal in the killing fields of Cambodia was re-created in a 1984 movie that gave him an eminence he tenaciously used to press for his people’s rights, died in New Brunswick, New Jersey on Sunday. He was 65 and lived in Woodbridge, New Jersey
Rest in peace sir. You’ve earned it!
New law stiffens drunken-driving penalties
Repeat drunken drivers could face harsher penalties under a new law in Wisconsin, but advocates worry it won’t address the state’s standing as the “drinking Mecca of the nation.”
People convicted of operating a vehicle while under the influence seven, eight or nine times could face a fine of up to $25,000 and 10 years in prison, under the law signed March 18. Ten or more convictions could increase the prison sentence to 12½ years.
“That’s somebody who’s chronically violating our laws and is a danger on our roads,” said state Rep. Tony Staskunas, D-West Allis, who co-sponsored the bill.
Well, it’s about flippin’ time! Wisconsin is always full of news about a drunk driver getting busted for the 7th or 10th time!
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