An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Morning Coffee 08/24/08
Police balk at colleges’ plea to lower drinking age
“Underage drinkers are far less experienced to make good choices. We should be protecting them,” said Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas.
Well, I can attest to the fact that teens make some REALLY stupid choices. Having been one, a LOOOOOONG time ago, and making some majorly stupid ones m’self. (I SHOULD be dead!) However, unless you can wrapped them up in bubble wrap until some good sense kicks in, whenever that may be, you can NOT totally protect a kid. Ain’t gonna happen. 18 with military idea ONLY maybe? I don’t know.
Rice to try to bridge Israeli-Palestinian gaps
Few analysts believe Rice, who plans talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and negotiators from both sides, can secure a major breakthrough that would set Palestinians on a fast track to statehood.
But many are reluctant to rule out that the two sides could agree to some formal, limited accord that would enable Washington to meet its target of a deal before President George W. Bush leaves office in January.
Few out here in Podunk thinks she can achieve much either. Not that she won’t give it her best shot, but when you have two peoples, one bound and determined to murder the other, it’s kind of hard to get them to agree to a ‘lack of war’. Peace would be a WHOLE lot harder.
Margaret Thatcher ‘suffering from dementia’
The former Conservative prime minister, 82, has kept a low profile in recent years and her doctor advised her to stop making public speeches on health grounds.
But she made a rare return to the limelight when she visited her old Downing Street domain as a guest of Gordon Brown in September last year and attended this year’s Wimbledon tennis tournament.
Ms Thatcher said her mother still had a good memory of her time in office at No 10 “as if her dementia had sharpened her powers of long-term recall”.
My most sincere prayers with Mrs Thatcher and her family. She’s, truly, one of the good guys!
Infidelity thins convention ranks
A newly realized culture of seduction has cast a potential pall over the Democratic convention this week and diminished the role of certain party luminaries and up-and-comers who could have had starring roles at the podium.
Their passions clouded their reputations, at least temporarily, and it happened only two years after Democrats captured control of Congress from a scandal-scarred GOP it blasted for promoting a “culture of corruption” on Capitol Hill.
“Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely”! If you can’t be faithful to your family, how are people suppose you to trust them with THEIR families, their futures, their safety and well being. Don’t care which party you are associated with, the farther you get from your Creator, the farther into the depths you go!
Syrian Request For Russian Missiles a Ploy for US Intervention
Prior to last Thursday’s talks in Russia between President Dmitry Medvedev and Syrian President Bashar Assad, the latter hinted that he would consider a deal with Moscow to place Russian missiles on Syrian soil as a countermeasure to U.S.-made NATO missiles recently installed in Poland. On the first day of the talks, Russian officials were quoted as saying that the sale of a wide array of advanced weaponry, including long-range missiles and MIG-31 fighter jets, was a key item on the agenda.
In Israel, senior defense officials reacted on Saturday by saying that, to the best of their knowledge, Russia has no plans to sell the arms to Syria. According to the sources, Assad requested Russian weapons in an attempt to pressure the White House to become more involved with the ongoing peace talks between Israel and Syria. Israel recently concluded its fourth round of indirect talks with the hostile Arab regime, in the mediating country Turkey.
Uh….placing a safe guard in Poland has what to do with Syria? Gog? Magog?
Sparks flew regularly at deadly house
Bombarded with threats and criticism since seven people died in a fire last weekend in one of his low-rent apartments in Orange Mound, Holland was calling a repairman to prove a point: He takes care of his properties and bears no blame for the blaze, he said.
If you saw pictures of the properties belonging to this guy, “care” would NOT be the first word that would pop into your head! I would also mention, the condition of the properties might say a great deal about those who rented them as well. They would also bear some responsibility. Seven people died in this horrible fire, the youngest just one. They buried them yesterday. I pray no more will have to die before people start looking to themselves rather than relying on some faceless property owner.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Praises Ahmadinejad for ‘Standing Up to’ the West
State TV quotes Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying Ahmadinejad’s government has helped “revive” the values of the 1979 Islamic revolution that transformed Iran into a strict theocracy.
He was also quoted Sunday as saying “some bullying countries … wanted to impose their will on Iran (over the nuclear issue) … but the president stood up to them.”
Ahmadinejad has come under some domestic criticism for his handling of the economy, despite a 2005 campaign promise to distribute Iran’s oil revenue to each family. Iran faces skyrocketing food and fuel prices, unemployment and inflation.
Ahmadinnerjacket has some serious personality flaws, only one of which concerns any nuclear power issues. Perhaps the actual people of Iran are starting to notice the guy is a serious nutjob? Sadly, the “supreme leader” isn’t quite so bright.
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) of Morgan Tsvangirai said it opposes the calling a parliamentary session but will attend the swearing-in on Monday. The meeting is also to elect a new speaker ahead of the official opening of parliament on Tuesday.
The MDC, Mugabe’s Zanu-PF and an MDC splinter group led by Arthur Mutambara have all indicated they will field a candidate for the speaker’s post. Experts say there will have to be “horse-trading” between the parties to get a result.
Do they have metal detectors in this place? Bomb sniffing dogs?
Rights group says 78 Afghans killed; U.S. to investigate
President Hamid Karzai condemned the early-Friday operation in western Afghanistan and said most of the dead were civilians. The U.S. coalition, however, said it believed only five civilians were among those killed and that it would investigate the Afghan claims.
An Afghan human-rights group that visited the site of the operation said Saturday that at least 78 people were killed. The Ministry of Interior has said 76 civilians died, including 50 children younger than 15, though the Ministry of Defense said 25 militants and five civilians were killed.
Large fields of glass! I’m really getting sick of all these people who think they are innocent when they support the bad guys. These are NOT innocent civilians, they are abettors. If you take your children into such situations, YOU are responsible for their deaths!
Georgia: Train Explodes Near Gori
A fuel train has hit a mine and exploded near the stricken Georgian city of Gori, as Russia faced renewed European Union pressure to make a complete withdrawal.
(…)
Georgian prime minister Lado Gurgenidze said: “We should find out first how big the fire is and how soon it will be extinguished, in order to assess the damage.
“But the railway is vital, not just for the Georgian economy but for the economies of neighbouring countries.”
A mine? First, how do they know it was a mine? Second, who planted the mine?
Study finds new earthquake dangers for NYC
An analysis of recent earthquake activity around New York City has found that many small faults that were believed to be inactive could contribute to a major, disastrous earthquake.
The study also finds that a line of seismic activity comes within two miles of the Indian Point nuclear power plant, about 25 miles north of New York City. Another fault line near the plant was already known, so the findings suggest Indian Point is at an intersection of faults.
It’s probably a good idea to never assume anything on this planet is ‘inactive’! And to you loony toons who think man controls the weather and can control faultlines too…….
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