An Ol’ Broad’s Ramblings
Archive for General News
Morning Coffee 07/05/08
Bush Welcomes New American Citizens
Bush’s address Friday at the annual Independence Day naturalization ceremony at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello was immediately interrupted by a handful of antiwar demonstrators, one of whom repeatedly shouted, “Impeach Bush!” Bush, apparently unfazed, offered a holiday-appropriate response.
“To my fellow citizens-to-be, we believe in free speech in the United States of America,” Bush said to hearty applause.
What should have been a proud day for these folks is marred by the juvenile antics of the self centered. Their disruption had nothing to do with Bush, or the ceremony, and everything to do with themselves.
Barack Obama now wears his patriotism on his lapel
He seldom goes out in public now without a flag pin stuck in his lapel. He devoted an entire speech to patriotism this week in Independence, Mo. Visually reinforcing the message, he stood in front of a quartet of large American flags.
None of this is an accident. Polling shows that on the threshold test any serious presidential candidate must pass, Obama has ground to cover.
It seems to me the ONLY reason he is wearing a pin now is for the photo ops. I can’t understand why he felt the need to make a speech about his patriotism. Gee, you’d think folks were doubting his, or some such thing. 
Hamas freezes negotiations for Schalit
“It does not make any sense that we should open negotiations while Israel does not honor the truce,” Abu Marzuk said. “The issue will be postponed until the Egyptians invest the efforts together with the Israelis - in order to honor the truce agreement - open the crossings and prevent Muhammad Dahlan and Fatah from sabotaging the truce deal.”
Abu Marzuk did not specify what Israeli truce violations he was referring to.
Since it’s NOT Israel that is firing rockets, yeah, I’d say he’d have a hard time pinpointing any violations.
“Compromise, hell! . . . If freedom is right and tyranny is wrong, why should those who believe in freedom treat it as if it were a roll of bologna to be bartered a slice at a time?” Helms wrote in a 1959 editorial.
Idol? Hmmm… At any rate, great comment!
Imams, preachers urged to help fight extremism
“Some of our young people have taken to branding people, including religious leaders as heretics,” the minister said. “Their negative propaganda and undue criticism of religious leaders should be countered effectively. We should also protect our young people from the reach of the proponents of deviant ideologies before they are influenced by them.” The minister underlined the role of the society in countering extremism.
“The first responsibility lies with the family and then the imams at mosques,” he said. “It is the duty of the imams and preachers to revive the role of mosques in protecting the youth from deviant ideologies. The mosques should take up the task of neutralizing the extremist ideologies. Extremism is, undoubtedly, far removed from the teachings of Islam,” he said.
Now see, I thought it was the imams that encouraged the terrorism, even in Saudi Arabia.
FDA reports more cases of salmonella illnesses
There have been 943 reported cases nationwide, with at least 130 hospitalizations since mid-April after the first salmonella illnesses appeared, the Food and Drug Administration said Saturday. That compares with a total of 922 people about two days ago and 869 reported earlier in the past week.
On Tuesday, the government said it would test numerous other kinds of fresh produce while insisting that tomatoes remained the leading culprit. Investigators have kept quiet about exactly what other vegetables are getting tracked but said they are looking at items commonly served with fresh tomatoes.
Since I haven’t had any fresh produce lately, I’m fairly sure that’s not what is ailing me. I’m really surprised they haven’t found the source yet. They’re usually pretty good at tracking these things down in record time.
Man beaten after trying to stop abuse of puppy
Victor Esparza-Hernandez, 44, of Centralia was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for investigation of second-degree assault.
Brown said the puppy is all right and was returned to its owner, a friend of the arrested man.
What kind of sick SOB beats a puppy? And then attacks someone who is trying to protect the puppy? The little critters owner might want to choose his friends a lot more carefully in the future.
Iran defiant on right to nuclear power
World leaders, such as those from the West, the U.N. Security Council and Israel, have been suspicious that Iran is using its nuclear program to develop weaponry. Iran has consistently disputed that and said it plans to use nuclear power for energy.
Elham said “Iran’s stand on the issue has not changed” and that Iran “will not withdraw from legitimate rights of its people,” IRNA reported.
“Tehran’s stand is based on the legitimate rights of the Iranian nation as well as the international regulations. The Iranian nation will continue with the path determined by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei,” Elham said.
Perhaps if Iran wasn’t being run by murderous lunatics, I’d say they had a right to nuclear energy too. However, with the constant threats to Israel and the West? Not a real good idea.
Bush Faces Daunting Challenges at Final G-8 Summit
Atop the agenda is reaching a deal that would set targets for reducing the pollution that causes global warming. But few expect major headway or concessions from Bush. He insists on holding China and India, fast-growing economies and among the world’s biggest polluters, to the same emission-reduction standards as older, developed economies.
Even though the phony consensus was wrong, they continue to push the ‘global warming’ agenda. Yeah, clean up your pollution, but for the love of pete, lose the arrogance! We do NOT control the climate!
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Morning Coffee 07/03/08
Wisconsin has 10 confirmed salmonella cases thought linked to tomatoes
I find this a very unusual and uncharacteristic investigation,” Paul Biedrzycki, director of disease control and environmental health for the Milwaukee Health Department, said Wednesday. “(The government) usually nails it in three to four weeks at the latest.”
The nationwide outbreak, now encompassing 36 states, began April 10. Illnesses have been reported as recently as June 20.
I find it kind of odd they haven’t been able to trace all this back to a particular source. I guess it’s a good thing I’m not all that fond of tomatoes.
French students murdered in ‘frenzied attack’
Britain’s Press Association reported that the students had been tied up and tortured, suffering up to 250 injuries — facts the police could not confirm.
“The extent of the injuries are horrific,” Duthie told a news conference. “Everyone working on this case, including myself, have been deeply shocked by what we’ve seen. I have never seen injuries like this throughout my career.”
I can’t imagine that it could be just one person involved. This is just sick! Prayers with the families.
U.S. Loses 62,000 Jobs, Jobless Rate Holds at 5.5%
Payrolls fell by 62,000, close to economists’ median forecast, after a 62,000 drop in May that was greater than initially reported, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The jobless rate remained at 5.5 percent after jumping in May by the most in two decades.
Job losses, along with record gasoline prices and tumbling home values, make it more likely consumer spending will falter once the lift from federal tax rebates fades. A weakening labor market may also prompt Federal Reserve policy makers to put off their first interest-rate increase since 2006.
It seriously sucks to lose a job. But it can also be an opportunity to learn something new. I keep hearing that 6% is considered “full employment”, so staying at 5.5% could be considered a good thing in the big picture, if you aren’t one of those who is losing your job.
TVA wants big power boost from reactors
TVA wants to increase the power output of each of the three nuclear reactors at its Browns Ferry plant by 15 percent, a move that could raise questions about safety.
Getting 15 percent more electricity is a big increase compared with most other such undertakings at nuclear plants around the country. Some plants have been damaged by increased vibrations, but no radioactive materials escaped, officials have said.
Well, here’s a novel concept…..start building a few new reactors! Criminy! What does it take to get through to people? If they are worried about vibrations with increased output, you’d think the idea had occurred to the head honchos.
McCain shakes up staff for campaign stability
Republican presidential candidate John McCain tweaked his campaign Wednesday by elevating aide Steve Schmidt to oversee day-to-day operations, in a move to give his presidential bid the stability and direction that many in his party feared were lacking.
He might want to try shaking up the voters. Let’s face it, he’s not real big in the personality department. And just what the hell was he doing campaigning in Mexico? He’s got some serious baggage when it comes to his stand on dealing with the invasion from the south, he might want to spend more time doing some serious soul searching and open his freakin’ ears.
Former state science director sues over intelligent design e-mail
The theory of intelligent design holds that the origin of the universe and humans is best explained by an unknown “intelligent cause” rather than through evolutionary processes such as natural selection and random mutation. Critics – and at least one federal judge – contend that intelligent design is nothing more than creationism and has no business being taught in science classes.
Well, something, or Someone, must have gotten the whole process started. This irrational fear of teaching such an idea just boggles the mind. Although, I don’t think she should have been fired over an email, that what I gather, was expressing an opinion.
‘Attacker a murderer, not a terrorist’
According to Kukush, Dwayat’s family was “hurting and aching” over their son’s action and condemns the killing of innocents. He insisted that Dwayat had not been sent by any organization. “Minutes before the attack he was eating with a group of coworkers and did not show any signs that anything was about to happen. But then he went amok.”
No, I’d say he was a terrorist. Did he plow into a bus full of Muslims?
Don’t Execute Bin Laden, Say Activists at Supreme Court
Members of various activist groups from around the country, under the umbrella of the Abolitionist Action Committee (AAC), gathered at the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to protest capital punishment as well as Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain’s support for the death penalty.
Some activists said the death penalty should not be imposed against terrorist Osama bin Laden or, in retrospect, against dictator Adolf Hitler.
Are they freakin’ kidding?????
Focus on Uncle Intensifies After Body of 12-Year-Old Missing Vermont Girl Found
As state police announced the grim news Wednesday evening, they said Jacques will face federal kidnapping charges.
Jacques, 42, has been in custody since Sunday on charges of aggravated sexual assault against a different underage girl. He has pleaded not guilty.
This piece of garbage was one of Vermont’s success stories. (insert extreme sarcasm here, with a great deal of disgust)
Iraqi Kurdish leaders unhappy with UN report on future of Kirkuk
Iraqi Kurdish leaders voiced dissatisfaction and concern over a new report by an U.N. official who has called for a phased solution to the Kirkuk issue where Kurds, Turkmen and Arabs are to run the province through a power sharing arrangement.
The Iraqi leaders met in Salahaddin near Erbil to discuss a report prepared by Steffan de Mistura who has offered a solution to the Kirkuk dispute as the United Nations has taken an initiative to delay a referendum demanded by the Kurds for the future of Kirkuk.
I can’t say as I blame the Kurds for their dissatisfaction.
Police: Teacher stalked boy, 14
Deputies say 39-year-old Jennifer R. Davis, a teacher at the kindergarten to fifth-grade Lewis Vincent Elementary School in Denham Springs, reportedly posed as juvenile girl and engaged in MySpace.com communications with the 14-year-old boy during the past several months.
(…)
Jason Ard, sheriff’s office chief of operations, said Davis’ alleged stalking involved a prior relationship between the boy and a 14-year-old girl.
Ard said detectives have not found evidence of any improper relationship between any adult and a child in the case.
I am constantly astounded by the emotional immaturity of some of the so called educators these days.
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Morning Coffee 07/02/08
Bulldozer driver shot dead after going on rampage in capital
Three people were killed and 57 were wounded - one seriously, one moderately and the rest lightly - on Wednesday afternoon when a bulldozer driver went on a rampage in downtown Jerusalem.
(…)
A car was dragged several meters by the bulldozer before being crushed under the vehicle. The parents of a baby being treated in Sha’arei Tzedek Hospital have yet to be tracked down, and it is believed that the baby was thrown out of the car by one of his parents before the vehicle was crushed.
Life means nothing to these pigs. Nothing.
Zimbabwe opposition leader rejects unity government
“The resolution does not recognise the illegitimacy of the June 27 election and the fact that most African leaders refused to recognise Mugabe as head of state,” he said.
“The resolution endorses the concept of a government of national unity without acknowledging that the MDC, as the winner of the last credible election, on March 29 should be recognised as legitimate government of Zimbabwe.”
Smart guy. Even if he was able to take an office of any sort, there is no guarantee of his safety.
Tennessee felons want voting rights back
Tennessee is on track this year to double the number of felons who saw their voting rights restored, a sign some experts and ex-offenders say demonstrates an eagerness to vote in November’s historic presidential election.
And, if a pending voting rights lawsuit succeeds, the number of people banned from voting after serving their sentences could shrink even further. The suit challenges the constitutionality of Tennessee’s felon voting rights law, which bars ex-offenders from voting if they owe child support or court-ordered restitution.
If they aren’t responsible enough to take care of their own children, what makes them think they are grown up enough to vote? I would say it all depends on what the offense was whether or not they should be able to regain the privilege of voting.
Obama Got Discount on Home Loan
“The real question is: Were congressmen getting unique treatment that others weren’t getting?” associate law professor Adam J. Levitin, a credit specialist at Georgetown University Law Center, said about the Countrywide loans. “Do they do business like that for people who are not congressmen? If they don’t, that’s a problem.”
I beginning to think that there should be a major audit of every single person sitting in that building. I find the idea of those sucking on the public teat getting preferential treatment over those who pay their salaries more than just annoying.
Housing Plan Deal Promising, Bush Says
President Bush expressed confidence yesterday he will reach a deal with Congress on a housing-rescue plan but prodded lawmakers to show “less politics.”
Asking Congress to show “less politics” is like asking them to stop breathing. Ain’t gonna happen.
The president’s comments came as many homeowners are saddled with mortgage payments they can no longer afford and facing foreclosure. The Senate is considering a $300 billion plan to back cheaper loans for people who risk losing their home, but that measure has stalled for now.
It’s called reality. And the gubmint has got to stop hiding from it.
Healthy San Francisco still working out kinks
When the Healthy San Francisco program began at two Chinatown clinics July 2, 2007, public health officials said they would swing open the doors to all of the city’s 73,000 uninsured residents on Jan. 1, 2008. They anticipated that people would enroll gradually at a pace of about 600 a week, and full coverage would be attained by the end of this year.
But Healthy San Francisco remains open only to individuals earning up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level, or roughly $31,000 a year, while the city awaits the outcome of a case regarding the legality of making employers contribute to the plan. The city lost the first round of the case, which now is before the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
Glen Beck is right. The People’s Socialist Society of San Francisco should secede. The sooner, the better!
EU plans cross-border healthcare
The European Commission has unveiled a healthcare package designed to make it easier for patients to get medical treatment elsewhere in the EU.
Under the proposals, patients would not have to get their doctor’s approval for non-hospital care abroad.
You mean to tell me that if I lived over there, went on vacation, and got sick, I’d have to get my doctor’s permission to see another doctor? I don’t bloody well think so! They are taxing their citizens into oblivion and wonder why we are fighting so hard to prevent turning into them?
Iran says may consider opening US interest section, direct flights
Iran may consider suggestion of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on opening US interest section in Tehran, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said.
Iranian interest section is operating in Washington and Iran had put forward a proposal to resume direct flights between Tehran and New York for facilitating visit to Iran of the Iranian nationals living in the United States.
Y’know, at this point in time, I’m real curious why any Iranian nationals are even in this country. Giving direct flight access? Hmmm…. Condi is losing a lot of credibility with me.
Female U.S. Casualties More Common in Iraq War
More American servicewomen have been killed serving in Iraq than were killed serving in either Operation Desert Storm or in the Vietnam War, according to a Cybercast News Service database.
So far, 97 American women, including seven single mothers, have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The average age of these female casualties is 27.
Call me old fashioned, and scoff if you will, but I do not believe, for one minute, that women should be in a combat zone!
Energy Experts Puzzled Over Record Oil Prices
As crude soared to another record, the head of the International Energy Agency declared the world is in the grip of “oil shock,” and the president of OPEC acknowledged he could not say if prices would flatten out or continue to soar.
There’s a lot of finger pointing going on, but in the long run, it doesn’t matter because we’ll all be majorly screwed over by the time Congress gets around to doing anything!
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Morning Coffee 07/01/08
Shelby County Sheriff’s units make TV debut
Memphis Police recently bowed out of “The First 48″ cable-TV crime show after several council members complained it put the city in a bad light.
(…)
Steve Shular, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said Luttrell doesn’t view such shows as putting a negative spin on Shelby County or Memphis.
“This was done (filmed) a year ago before the controversy on ‘The First 48.’ We view this as highlighting the good work of our Street Crimes and Narcotics Units,” Shular said. “Crime publicizes itself. The worst thing we can do is not report that we are aggressively pursuing those who are responsible.”
The Memphis council folks whine because “reality TV” shows….gasp…..the reality? They had 164 homicides last year, and 65 already this year. “Bad light”? Pfft. I think the spokeman is right, showing the police doing their jobs, and getting the bad guys is lot more important.
Obama Hits a Bump, Denounces Attack on McCain
Senator Obama hit a bump in the road in his new drive to attract voters who harbor doubts about his patriotism yesterday when he was forced to denounce remarks one of his prominent supporters made minimizing the value of Senator McCain’s military service.
The flap arose over comments a former four-star general, Wesley Clark, made on a talk show Sunday arguing that Mr. McCain’s experience as a Navy pilot, including more than six years in a North Vietnamese prison, did little to prepare him for the presidency. “I don’t think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president,” General Clark said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
He sure does have to do a lot of backpeddling and “denouncing”, doesn’t he. So, does Weasel Clark think B. Hussein has qualifications that should put him in the White House? I sure would like to know what they are, cuz I’ve yet to discover any.
Mugabe rejects calls for his ouster
With familiar defiance after elections widely denounced as a sham, President Robert Mugabe dismissed international demands for his ouster Tuesday, saying through a spokesman that the United States and other countries could “go hang a thousand times.” George Charamba, the presidential spokesman, was speaking to reporters at a meeting of the leaders of the 53-nation African Union in this Red Sea resort.
Facing pressure from the United States for expanded sanctions against Mugabe, African leaders held a second day of closed-door meetings Tuesday to seek consensus on a negotiated settlement of the crisis.
Mugabe wants African Union to endorse his re-election in a vote last Friday that three African monitoring groups labeled inadequate or not credible. But his adversaries - and some of his allies - are pressing him to accept a settlement that would mean sharing power with his rival, Morgan Tsvangirai.
What? Did they expect he’d just hang his head, shuffle his feet and say “Well, ok. I’ll go home. Didn’t wanna be no ol’ dictator anyways.” Pfft! That ’sharing power’ business never seems to work out too well for the other guy anyway.
UT war center stays alive temporarily
Dr. Vejas Liulevicius, head of the Center for the Study of War & Society in the History Department at the University of Tennessee, said Interim Chancellor Jan Simek and Tom Burman, head of the UT History Department, were able to find funds to pay for the center’s program coordinator for 2008-09.
The center compiles oral histories from combat veterans. Its collection includes tens of thousands of oral interviews, personal papers, letters, diaries, hundreds of volumes of books and artifacts from World War II up through the current conflict in Iraq.
And the honchos at UT don’t think all this history is worth a little funding to keep it alive? I’m afraid I have to disagree with them 100%. REAL history lived by REAL people is more valid than any newspaper or history book.
Olmert: Nothing will stop Israel’s struggle to bring security to the South
Speaking at a ceremony marking the opening of a new Intel factory in Kiryat Gat, Olmert said he would “continue negotiations to bring peace and create a new horizon of hope, and of development and prosperity all across Israel.”
Dang! He sounds just like a politician. His mouth writing checks his ass can’t cash.
McCain visiting Colombia and Mexico this week
He said Calderon is “one of the best Mexican presidents of modern times” and praised his fight against the country’s drug cartels.
Calderon has deployed more than 20,000 troops and federal police to battle the gangs and agreed to accept a three-year U.S. aid package of more than $1.6 billion that was approved by Congress last week.
Does this guy ever read the papers, watch the news? Calderon is a disaster for Americans, so why is McFeingold wasting our taxpayer money, visiting a bozo who encourages his citizens to break OUR laws? Aid package? $1.6 BILLION? 
World Trade Center Owner Scraps Rebuilding Schedule
Two years ago, in the last year of Pataki’s administration, the agency said it had expedited development at the site by renegotiating a 99-year lease with Silverstein and shifting responsibility for who would build what.
It set clear deadlines and penalties, including $300,000-a-day payments to Silverstein if the agency didn’t deliver land on time. The agency has paid Silverstein over $14 million in penalties after missing those deadlines.
What an utter crock of crapola! The thing should have been at least half done by now, and the memorial should have finished long ago.
Poland in new blow to EU treaty
Poland’s President Lech Kaczynski says he will not sign the EU’s reform treaty at present, following its defeat in an Irish referendum last month.
He said it would be “pointless” to sign the Lisbon Treaty, even though Poland’s parliament has ratified it. All 27 EU members must ratify the document.
Other than Ireland, just how many of these countries have asked the people if they even want to lose their national identity?
Michelle Obama Praises Husband’s Commitment to Homosexuals
The wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama told a crowd of homosexual activists last week that her husband wants to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and reverse the rule on homosexuals in the military. Michelle Obama also drew parallels with homosexual advocacy groups and the civil rights movement, referring to events “from Selma to Stonewall.”
HUGE difference there deary! You don’t CHOOSE your skin color. Comparing the two is ignorant at best.
Judges Cite Need for Reliable Evidence To Hold Detainees
Parhat, a member of the Muslim Uighur movement that is seeking a separate homeland in western China, left his country in May 2001 to avoid persecution, then lived in a camp in Afghanistan. After a U.S. airstrike, he and other Uighurs fled to Pakistan, where they eventually were handed over to U.S. authorities.
Parhat’s tribunal determined that he had not engaged in hostilities against the United States or its allies. But it concluded that he was an enemy combatant because he lived at the Afghan camp, which was allegedly run by the leader of a group tied to al-Qaeda and the Taliban, according to the appellate opinion.
I wouldn’t think he was sitting around, chatting, drinking tea and eating cookies. But hey, that’s just me.
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Morning Coffee 06/30/08 - Aggrevation Edition
U.N.: U.S. aid ship arrives in N. Korea
A U.S. ship carrying thousands of tons of food arrived in North Korea after the impoverished nation agreed to open up to greatly expanded international aid, the U.N. food agency said Monday.
The World Food Program said the freighter arrived Sunday carrying 37,000 tons of wheat, the first installment of 500,000 tons in assistance promised by Washington.
Foreign welfare, that, of course, is paid for by the American taxpayer. I have this image in my head: I go out, buy all the latest “toys”, and expect YOU to feed my children. What is wrong with this picture?
Zahar: Hamas can exploit Kuntar deal
Hamas on Monday said it was emboldened by Israel’s decision to trade Hizbullah terrorist Samir Kuntar for Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.
Gaza strongman Mahmoud Zahar, speaking to the independent Al-Quds radio station, said Hamas would take advantage of this decision “to release people Israel accused of having blood on their hands like Samir Kuntar. We have to take advantage of this to release our prisoners.”
This was a really stupid idea! If you appease one bunch of murderous thugs, the other murderous thugs are going to expect the same. There will be more death because of this, and Israel’s sons and daughters will pay the price.
U.S. forces to hand over hard-won Anbar Province
This is a city literally rising from the ashes. While reminders of two major US assaults here in April and November 2004 are inescapable, signs of rebirth are plenty. Men in jumpsuits busily work on construction sites, sewers are being installed, and a hospital is nearly completed.
I guess this is one of those “failures” Runnin’ Reed and the Moon Queen are always talking about, right?
Auction Ends for Australian Man’s Life, Disappointed With Final Price
A man who auctioned his life — his house, his car, his job, even his friends — on eBay said Monday he is disappointed with the selling price: almost $384,000.
Ian Usher, a British immigrant to Australia, put everything he owned as well as introductions to his friends on the online auction site after a painful breakup with his wife prompted him to want a fresh start.
Bidding closed Sunday and reached nearly $384,000 — an amount Usher said his house in the western city of Perth was worth on its own.
The lesson here? Nobody thinks our “lives” are worth as much as we do.
River cresting below flood stage at St. Louis
The National Weather Service says the swollen Mississippi River is about to crest at just under nine feet below flood stage at St. Louis.
The river’s high water has closed only the President Casino and a handful of other businesses along the city’s riverfront.
Upriver from St. Louis, the river is slowly receding in hard-hit towns like Winfield and Foley, Mo., but it will be some time before residents can assess the damage.
Finally, some positive news. It will take time, but perseverance will pull them through.
Court Rules Against Canadian’s Torture Suit
A federal appellate court has ruled that a Canadian man who claims American officials sent him to Syria to be tortured cannot sue this country.
The man, Maher Arar, a native of Syria, was on an American terror watch list because Canadian law enforcement officials had told their American counterparts that they believed Mr. Arar had ties to Al Qaeda, according to a report by a Canadian commission that investigated Mr. Arar’s case.
American immigration officials detained Mr. Arar at John F. Kennedy International Airport in 2002. Mr. Arar was then forcibly transported to Syria where he says that he was held in a small cell and beaten repeatedly. Syria released him in 2003. The Canadian commission subsequently found that Mr. Arar poses no security threat. Canada has paid him close to $11 million in compensation.
I think the court was right. If the man has issues, it’s between him, Canada and Syria. Has he filed a suit against Syria?
Ford trial in Nashville delayed again
Jury selection in former state senator John Ford’s federal court trial in Nashville was delayed again today — for at least a day — as Ford’s defense attorney was hospitalized over the weekend with an inflamed finger.
Asst. Federal Public Defender Isaiah Gant was admitted to the hospital and underwent surgery on Sunday after his finger ailment did not respond to antibiotics, attorneys assembled this morning for the start of jury selection said.
Y’know, when I first read that headline, without even reading any of the content of the story, my immediate thought was “What is it this time? Does he have a hangnail?” Guess I was pretty close, eh?
‘Iran Preparing Graves for Its Enemies’
The Mehr news agency quoted Gen. Mir-Faisal Bagherzadeh as saying the graves would be dug in Iran’s border provinces, to provide for the burial of enemies in line with the Geneva Conventions.
“The burial of slain soldiers will be carried out decently and in little time,” said Bagherzadeh, a senior officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) who heads a propaganda body called the Sacred Defense Foundation.
“We do not wish the families of enemy soldiers to experience what Americans had to go through in the aftermath of the Vietnam War,” he added, apparently referring to the ordeal faced by families of MIAs during and after that conflict.
How very nice of them. Perhaps they’d like to prepare a few million sites for the Iranians who will perish as well? And while their at it, let those who have already died at their hands know where their loved ones are buried? I hear there are a few folks who have never been heard from again after the Iranians honchos got through with them.
Kenya urges AU to suspend Mugabe
Kenyan PM Raila Odinga has urged the African Union to suspend Robert Mugabe from the bloc until he allows free and fair elections in Zimbabwe.
The call came as the Zimbabwe opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said the country faced a constitutional crisis.
The Zimbabwe crisis has overshadowed the African Union summit in Egypt.
Correspondents say the AU’s response to the Zimbabwe crisis will be a major test of the bloc’s effectiveness.
Is the AU any more effective than the EU, or the UN at protecting the innocent and promoting freedoms? I doubt it, considering the recent atrocities they’ve witnessed, and done nothing.
UK statesmen call for world free of nuclear weapons
Four former British foreign and defence secretaries Monday put aside their party differences to issue an appeal to the world’s nuclear powers to reduce their arsenals in the hope of dissuading other countries from pursuing nuclear ambitions.
The word “naive” comes to mind.
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Morning Coffee 06/29/08
McCain veers from record to woo Hispanics
Sen. John McCain told a Hispanic group Saturday that passing an immigration bill to legalize illegal immigrants is “my top priority, yesterday, today and tomorrow,” but mischaracterized his own voting record on the issue and continued to distance himself from provisions in his own bill.
Ok, so who is McFeingold lying to? Cuz if I’m not mistaken, he said he was against amnesty…that he got the message. I’m wondering whose message he is referring to, the one that had nonstop phone calls and letters to Congress AGAINST amnesty, or the one from Mexico? Methinks McFeingold just seriously lost this election. However, I am hoping he will remove he head from his hinder, and start seriously paying attention to the MAJORITY of the American voters.
‘God gap’ challenges Democrats
When it comes to the religion vote, Democrats have been walloped in the last two presidential campaigns. But the Obama campaign, with advisers like Casey, hope to narrow the “God gap” in 2008 by talking about both family values and social justice issues like poverty.
They face a big challenge.
Challenge is an understatement. These are the same people who think the Constitution is like some poem written by some coke head….open for interpretation, and changed at will from the original intent. Seems they also think the Bible can manipulated to their way of thinking.
Labour mired in sleaze claims as Scots leader quits and MPs are accused of homes tax-dodge
Labour sleaze came back to haunt Gordon Brown today as the Prime Minister suffered a triple blow to his hopes of political survival.
The Government faced the nightmare prospect of another by-election humiliation as it
was rocked by three damaging new setbacks:
• The resignation of Scottish Labour Party leader Wendy Alexander, sister of Mr Brown’s Cabinet ally Douglas Alexander, for failing to declare donations to her leadership campaign.
• The resignation of Glasgow East Labour MP David Marshall – triggering the potentially embarrassing by-election – amid allegations that he wrongly used his Commons expenses to pay members of his family.
• Claims by a Labour politician that more than 100 MPs are using their Commons second-home allowance to dodge capital gains tax.
Gotta say one thing for the Brits….at least they have the decency to resign when they’re caught in a scandal. Wish I could say the same for some of the slime balls we have in D.C.
Fla. vandals tag 60 cars with anti-Obama messages
The cars were parked across from city hall late Saturday night. Investigators say the culprits tagged notes such as “Obama smokes crack” and a racial epithet. They even left business cards on each vehicle.
Mike Lowe, a videographer working for The Associated Press, first told police about the damage. He saw three cars with anti-Obama messages, while the others were just heavily painted.
The business cards disparage both Obama and Sen. John McCain but have messages of support for Sen. Hillary Clinton.
This kind of crap is just plain ignorant. Those responsible should not only see some jail time, but pay serious restitution. Such destructive actions demeans us all.
Israeli Cabinet Approves Hezbollah Prisoner Deal
The Israeli Cabinet overwhelmingly agreed Sunday to a deal with Hezbollah to swap a notorious Lebanese prisoner for the bodies of two captured soldiers, the prime minister’s spokesman said.
(…)
Kantar is serving multiple life terms in the infiltration attack on a northern Israeli town. Witnesses said Kantar — then 16 — shot Danny Haran in front of his 4-year-old daughter, then smashed her skull against a rock with his rifle butt, killing her, too.
I don’t mean to be disrespectful of the families, but do you really want a piece of garbage like this to be free to murder another little girl? If the young men are dead, they are dead, and nothing can bring them back. Preventing future slaughter of innocence, IMHO, is a whole lot more important.
Pakistan claims control of warlord’s former stronghold
Pakistani authorities declared today that they had re-established control in a district that a local warlord had used as a staging ground for forays into the largest city in Pakistan’s volatile northwest.
Commanders said paramilitary troops encountered no resistance as they fanned out in the Bara district of the Khyber tribal agency, the former stronghold of a local militant commander called Manghal Bagh.
Bagh’s supporters, however, said his fighters had left voluntarily and could return whenever they wished.
I wouldn’t call it a victory if the bad guys had already pulled out. Keeping them out will be another battle to be fought.
Report: U.S. Escalating Covert Operations Against Iran
Late last year, Congressional leaders agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran, The New Yorker magazine reported.
An article published online Sunday by the magazine cites current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources and said the operations were described in a highly classified Presidential Finding signed by Bush and are designed to destabilize the country’s religious leadership.
Is it too much to ask for “covert” operations to remain covert? I mean seriously! Whoever is yapping to the lefty publications needs to be duct taped! They might as well go on over and have a chat with the subject of “covert” operations. Go ahead, tell ‘em what the gubmint has in mind. Weasels!
There have been the scandals involving the school nutrition center, with a revelation that 240 tons of food were wasted, sparking an audit that found more than $4 million in wasteful spending and violations of state and federal bidding laws. It has led to further investigations that may end in indictments.
Other problems on the operations side, including issues with transportation contracts, have also drawn investigative scrutiny. Disciplinary issues including fights, shootings and embarrassing student behavior have become staples of TV news broadcasts, some of them attracting national attention.
On the academic side, there are many statistics school administrators believe validate their work — the vastly improved graduation rates, the studies showing test scores improving faster than any system in Tennessee — but the raw, bottom-line numbers show the enormous challenge faced by the new superintendent.
According to Partners in Public Education’s 2006-07 community report card to parents, 103 city schools are not achieving state benchmarks and 17 schools have not achieved them at all for six straight years. Memphis received a D+ on its three-year average TCAP Academic Achievement Grades for grades 3-8.
If Cash has some ideas, he better hurry up and get to work! When your schools are the focus of national attention, and not in a positive way, I’d say there are some serious problems! The lack of discipline in the district has made it evident that the inmates are running to zoo!
Iraqi Kurdish leaders unhappy with UN report on future of Kirkuk
Iraqi Kurdish leaders voiced dissatisfaction and concern over a new report by an U.N. official who has called for a phased solution to the Kirkuk issue where Kurds, Turkmen and Arabs are to run the province through a power sharing arrangement.
I’m not real sure why the Useless Numnuts should have a say in the matter. I read the article and am no more enlightened than before I read it. Seems to me the Kurds have done a pretty good job of cleaning up the mess left by Saddam and his thugs. Why shouldn’t they continue in that role?
‘Who backed Israel-bashing conference?’
Representatives of Germany’s foreign and economics ministries are fumbling the hot potato of who, exactly, backed a conference in Berlin last week that became a mouthpiece for anti-Semitic Iranian propaganda and a call for Israel’s destruction.
Iran’s former deputy minister of foreign Affairs, Dr. Muhammad Javad Ardashir Larijani, told the Third Transatlantic Conference - whose stated purpose was to address “common solutions” in the Middle East - that “the Zionist project” should be “cancelled” and “has failed miserably and has only caused terrible damage to the region.”
Representatives from Syria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia also attended the conference and voiced brazen anti-Israeli statements.
“Zionist project”? Is the good Dr referring to Israel? A sovereign nation? It turns out the German taxpayer funded this little “conference”, much to the embarrassment of the German government. Now, what did they think was going to be going on at a conference attended by the leaders of extremely anti-Israeli countries?
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Morning Coffee 06/28/08 - Short Cup
Mexico planting tree ‘wall of life’ to protest border fence
The first of 400,000 trees are being planted to form a “green wall” in protest of the fence the U.S. is building along the border with Mexico.
The treeline eventually will stretch for 318 miles along the border between the Mexican state of Coahuila and Texas.
Coahuila Gov. Humberto Moreira Valdes says “our wall is of life, and it competes with shame and hate.”
What an utter crock of crapola! If they were so into life, why are they coming here? Why don’t they create a life for themselves in the own country? Just one more, “If you want to protect your nation, you are a racist!” Hey, Mexico……
Since when do you get to have say on what we do with our borders? The “shame and hate” comes from those millions you can’t keep home!
Prominent Mississippi trial lawyer Dickie Scruggs expressed plenty of regret Friday, but it didn’t stop a federal judge from imposing maximum prison time under the plea agreement - five years.
(…)
In March, Scruggs and Backstrom pleaded guilty to scheming to pay a judge $40,000 for a favorable ruling in a dispute over $26 million in legal fees from a mass settlement of Hurricane Katrina litigation. Circuit Judge Henry Lackey reported the bribery attempt by now-disbarred New Albany lawyer Timothy Balducci to federal authorities and worked undercover. Balducci was aiding Scruggs’ defense.
Even with the $250,000 fine slapped on, I don’t think it’s enough. Although, he will be paying for his own “room and board”, so that is a little better.
Cooper may have political immunity in breach
The question is whether Rep. Jim Cooper broke the law when he logged on to a Web site of a trade group he is accusing of wrongdoing.
And the answer is that he could have, but he may be protected from legal action because he is a member of Congress.
Members of Congress aren’t accountable for their actions? Just because someone gave him the password, doesn’t make it ok. If someone gives you the key to my back door, it doesn’t mean I’m ok with you coming in and snooping around my house!
Political Maneuvers Delay Bill After Bill in Senate
The Senate went home yesterday for the Fourth of July holiday to face voters, having failed repeatedly to address critical economic issues from skyrocketing gas prices to climate change to the nation’s housing crisis.
Leaders in both parties have vowed to tackle those problems. Yet the Senate has been unable to move forward even when there is broad agreement about what to do.
How ’bout WE clean House! Any incumbent up for re-election is OUT! I don’t give a flip which party the supposedly represent! NONE of them are worth a damn! They’re all so busy, posturing for the cameras, they forget what WE hired them to do. Time to FIRE the lot of them!
US, root cause of all regional problems: Iran
Iranian envoy said on Saturday that the root cause of all regional problems is the discriminatory policy of the Western governments, particularly the US.
Addressing a group of Russian political experts, Iran’s Ambassador to Russia, Gholamreza Ansari regretted that Israel enjoys the right of stockpiling nuclear weapons as a result of the US double-standard policies.
Uh, I’d say the biggest problem Iran has is that their head Nazi wants to destroy Israel, and any other western country. Y’all quit blowing people up, there wouldn’t be a problem.
Pakistan Launches Offensive Against Taliban Stronghold
Pakistani forces bombarded suspected militant hideouts with mortar shells Saturday as the government launched a major offensive against Taliban fighters threatening the main city in the country’s volatile northwest, officials said.
The offensive in the Khyber tribal region marked the first major military action Pakistan’s newly elected government has taken against the militants operating in the tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan.
Seems the Taliban is still making “friends”.
Mugabe ‘preparing to be sworn in’
Robert Mugabe is expected to be sworn in as Zimbabwe’s president on Sunday, after his victory in an election boycotted by the opposition candidate.
Government sources say Mr Mugabe won by a huge margin in the vote, which has been widely condemned as a sham.
What happened to those who didn’t vote for him?
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Morning Coffee 06/27/08
After Supreme Court Ruling, N.Y. Gun Laws Eyed
The immediate effect of yesterday’s decision, legal experts say, will be to unleash numerous gun cases before the federal courts, as challenges are brought to establish what, if any, gun rights belong to nonviolent felons, illegal immigrants, and those convicted of misdemeanor domestic abuse.
Gun ownership is widespread in this country, with about 300 million firearms in the hands of some 57 million Americans, according to a 2004 Harvard University survey.
Excuse me, but I take issue with an ILLEGAL “immigrant” having fire arms. No, I don’t think he/she has a Constitutional right to anything! The others? I’d say look at each case individually. Besides, if they didn’t care about the law before, why would they care whether or not they could legally possess? Side note: I got a HUGE chuckle out of D.C.’s mayor yesterday. He said something to the effect that now there will be even more guns in “his” city. I guess since there’s been a ban on guns, D.C. has been the model city. *snicker* And a question for those anti 2nd Amendment yahoos: If there are 57,000,000 people in possession of 300,000,000 firearms, legally, why aren’t those 57,000,000 out there shooting up their neighborhoods?
Herenton says prosecutors, business, media out to oust him
Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton charged Thursday that a powerful alliance of federal prosecutors, business interests and the news media is engaged in an all-out campaign to drive him from office
Citing recent investigations of one of his appointees and into his business dealings, the city’s first elected African-American mayor cited what he called a dual system of justice manipulated by racially and politically motivated enemies.
“It is abundantly clear to me that there is a very serious effort that is ongoing to remove Willie Herenton as mayor by any means necessary,” said a calm but forceful Herenton during a free-wheeling, hourlong question-and-answer segment with reporters. “You can’t beat Willie Herenton in an election, so let’s use the justice system and ink in the paper.”
The man’s arrogance and ego knows no bounds. He SAID he was going to retire. He wanted to be the school superintendent again, even though, as I understand it, the schools went down hill with him at the helm. He didn’t get the job, no one wanted him. Now, he says he didn’t really mean it when he said he was retiring. Having watched him on the news, I often question the man’s ability to lead.
Obama Donates $4,600 to Clinton Campaign
Barack Obama announced Thursday that he will help pay off Hillary Rodham Clinton’s more than $20 million debt, personally writing a check in a gesture meant to win over her top financial backers.
Yep, that’s gonna put a dent in her debt alright!
Voters led to polls in Zimbabwe 1-candidate runoff
Marshals led voters to polling stations and bands of government supporters harassed people in the street Friday as Zimbabwe held an internationally discredited, one-candidate presidential runoff marked by intimidation.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who withdrew from the runoff citing a campaign of state-sponsored violence, said the results of the election would “reflect only the fear of the people of Zimbabwe.”
If the Useless Numnuts really wanted to do something, they should start by rounding up Mugabe’s thugs, the Mugabe himself. Without his storm troopers, he would be powerless. THEN have an election. A REAL one!
Gaza truce broken yet again as 2 mortar shells hit w. Negev
Thursday’s attack prompted Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to issue an uncharacteristically sharp demand for an immediate military response and Deputy Premier Haim Ramon urged the cabinet to convene once more to discuss the truce agreement.
Reality check! It takes TWO sides sticking to the agreement to have a truce. This is NOT a truce, so they might as well stop calling it that. Hamas agreed to the truce. Yet, it’s not Hamas firing the rockets. Ya think maybe Hamas is pulling some strings with the other terrorists?
Tenn. lawmaker to stay tough on child rapists
A Tennessee legislator who sponsored a measure authorizing the death penalty for child rapists said Thursday he will likely ask for “extremely long prison sentences” now that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled capital punishment unconstitutional for child rapists.
Efforts to make child rapists eligible for the death penalty failed in the Tennessee legislature last year, largely over cost concerns.
Cost concerns? I’d say a bullet is a WHOLE lot cheaper than room and board for 25 years!
State offering reward in death of black bear
The state is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of the killer of a black bear.
State wildlife officials say the bear was killed either late Monday or early Tuesday in West Carroll Parish.
Bear hunting is illegal in Louisiana — and the black bear is considered a threatened species. The state estimates that fewer than 500 black bears exist in Louisiana.
The bear was found dead in an area where sightings have been common in recent years.
Now there’s something ya don’t often see. Usually, rewards are offered in the murder of people.
“It’s really not anything we didn’t know,” said Trevor Putnam, vice president of Coal Creek Armory in West Knoxville. “The right to self-defense existed before the Constitution. All this does is reaffirm what we knew 200 years ago. It goes beyond anything written on paper. It goes back to the beginning of time.”
Yep. It reaffirms what we been telling you anti gun fanatics for years. We DO have a right to defend ourselves from the trash of society!
Pakistan Taleban ‘execute spies’
The pair were alleged to have helped an American missile strike that killed 14 people in a border village last month.
Correspondents say that the brazen nature of the killings - one man was decapitated and another shot - show the Taleban’s growing power.
They were kidnapped, their heads covered. How do the the cheering crowds know they were spies? These people are pigs! Hmm….now there’s a thought. How many pigs can be rounded up and sent to their little village to be let lose?
Mars lander finds salty environment in taste test
The Phoenix lander’s first taste test of soil near Mars’ north pole reveals a briny environment similar to what can be found in backyards on Earth, scientists said Thursday.
The finding raises hope that the Martian arctic plains could have conditions favorable for primitive life. Phoenix landed a month ago to study the habitability of Mars’ northern latitudes.
“There’s nothing about it that would preclude life. In fact, it seems very friendly,” mission scientist Samuel Kounaves of Tufts University said of the soil. “There’s nothing about it that’s toxic.”
Primitive life? Oh goody. I can think of a few people who should be on that first manned shot to Mars.
Democrats Offering ‘Sham’ Energy Legislation, Republicans Say
As oil prices set yet another record, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insists that Democrats are doing something to reduce prices at the pump, “here and now.” Republicans scoff at the notion. They say Democrats are offering nothing but sham legislation, blame and excuses.
On Thursday, Pelosi outlined what Democrats have been doing lately:
“First, we put oil speculators on notice,” Pelosi said in a news release. The House on Thursday passed a Democrat-sponsored bill directing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to use its emergency power to curb speculation in energy markets. The vote was 402-19. The bill now goes to the Senate.
Well the Moon Queen has spoken! Y’know, if the “speculators” KNEW that the U.S. was opening up all the areas that actually have oil, then they wouldn’t be speculating that the U.S. was going to do NOTHING, and perhaps the price would start inching down? Just a thought. Oh, and I was wondering….has anyone done a poll the Moon Queen’s approval ratings? I’d venture a guess that they were lower than a well digger’s ass.
Public schools condemned for wrong emphasis
A large majority of Americans think schools are placing too much emphasis on the wrong subjects, and more than half think they’re doing just a fair job in preparing children for the work force or giving them the practical skills they need to survive as adults, according to an Associated Press poll released Friday.
You’d think with all the money that is continuously thrown at the public schools, kids would be prepared for REAL life. How can the richest country in the world produce some of the dumbest kids?
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Morning Coffee 06/26/08
Gaza truce strained by rocket fire
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a makeshift rocket into southern Israel on Thursday, further straining a week-old truce as Israel kept border crossings into the Hamas-ruled territory closed.
Both sides traded blame for violations of the ceasefire Egypt brokered in hopes of furthering U.S.-backed peace talks that have shown little sign of progress.
Hey, Pallies! Here’s a clue! When the rockets are coming from YOUR side, YOU are to blame.
Carl Bailey, chief executive officer of Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital in Florence, said the measure prevents a scheduled 10 percent cut to Medicare and TRICARE reimbursements for physicians and other health-care professionals.
“The benefit is that this will make the profession better to be in and probably attract more to it,” he said. “It’s a tremendous advantage for us to know that physicians are appropriately paid for the services they provide.”
Yes, physicians should be paid for the services they provide. However, I wonder if saying that guaranteed payment from the government is really a good reason to go into the profession.
Aussies told to leave Zimbabwe
“We strongly advise you not to travel to Zimbabwe at this time due to the high level of election-related violence in many areas, the high level of criminal activity, the absence of the rule of law, and deteriorating economic conditions which could lead to civil unrest at any time,” the advice says.
Honestly, I can’t imagine anyone would want to visit Zimbabwe right now. I’m sure there’s some beautiful scenery, but the idea of it being marred by blood and body parts isn’t all that appealing.
Louisiana vows to nullify child-rape ruling
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said he will seek to enact laws that would invalidate Wednesday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down the death penalty for raping a child.
“One thing is clear,” said Mr. Jindal, a Republican. “The five members of the court who issued the opinion do not share the same standards of decency as the people of Louisiana.”
Bless his heart….I just love this guy! He’s right, you know. The left does NOT share the same standards of decency as the majority of the whole country, not just Louisiana. A side note: I could get excited if Jindal was on the McFeingold ticket, but alas, Louisiana needs him right now. He’s the best thing that’s happened to them in YEARS!
Judge Rejects Bid to Let Police Check Immigration Status
A Superior Court judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit seeking to end a longstanding police policy that prohibits officers from initiating contact with people for the sole purpose of learning their immigration status.
The policy has come under scrutiny in recent months after the killing of a high school football star, Jamiel Shaw Jr., who the police say was murdered by an illegal immigrant who is a member of a gang. The victim’s parents are seeking to have the policy overturned, and a city councilman has been seeking a similar change to the directive, known as Special Order 40.
I wonder which pro-ILLEGAL bunch bought and put him in their pocket? These people are breaking the law. They should be punished, removed from the country, and prevented, by all means necessary of returning without permission.
Bush Offers Carrots in Exchange for North Korea Nukes Declaration
Pledging “action for action,” President Bush on Thursday said North Korea has demonstrated a commitment to dismantling its nuclear weapons program and will be rewarded by being removed from the U.S. list of state sponsors and having trade sanctions lifted.
And of course, the little Chia Dictator would never lie, would he. “Trust, but verify.”
Racial slurs lead to arrest of La Vergne man
Though a noose has been hanging on the porch of Mark Winkler’s Smotherman Drive home for nearly two weeks, his actions toward a neighborhood handyman sent Julia Pinkston over the edge.
On Friday afternoon, Pinkston said Winkler waved around a gun and tried to sic his large white dog on Tim Taylor, who helps maintain rental properties for her in-laws, Brenda and Tommy Pinkston.
For nearly a year, she said, Winkler has called Taylor a racial slur as Taylor works in the yard or walks down the street.
“Mr. Taylor was walking through the neighborhood and Winkler started calling him the n-word, trying to get the dog on him. They (argued) back and forth. (Winkler) had his dog in one hand and his gun in the other and was waving it around. That was the last straw for me,” Julia Pinkston said. “Mr. Taylor hasn’t even been working since all this happened. He’s scared.”
Obviously, the headline is misleading. If all he did was spout his stupidity, I don’t think he would have been arrested. The Tennessean might want to have a chat with whoever comes up with their headlines, because way too many mislead about the actual content of their articles. I have a question for Pinkston: Did it ever occur to you to ask the man to stop harassing your employee? Why did you wait until the poor man was threatened with bodily harm to DO something?
UN inspector: Syria probe ‘inconclusive’
Syria’s vice president said Wednesday his country allowed UN nuclear inspectors to visit a site in the remote eastern desert destroyed by IAF jets last year to prove that US allegations of a covert Syrian nuclear program were false.
Farouk al-Sharaa said however that the International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors would not be allowed to probe beyond the Al Kibar site, despite a UN request to visit three other suspect locations.
Gee, a Numnut inspector? And they would never lie, would they. Of course they weren’t allowed anywhere else, for obvious reasons. The inspector might have to actually REPORT what he saw, and we wouldn’t want that, now would we. (insert sarcasm in appropriate places)
Amnesty International Tours Gitmo Cell as Proof of US Torture
Amnesty International USA brought a life-sized replica of a Guantanamo Bay prison cell to Washington on Wednesday. But amenities provided to prisoners — bedding, toiletries, a copy of the Koran and three meals a day — were nowhere mentioned.
Reality has nothing to do with these morons. Why let the truth get in the way of their “cause”? If they did, what would they do with their spare time? Get a job? Gracious sakes!
Enemies have reached the end of way: President
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad here Thursday said the enemies well know that their efforts have no effect on the Iranian nation’s will and that they have reached the end of the way.
President Ahmadinejad made the remark during an official ceremony to inaugurate Kermanshah Petrochemical Complex.
“We should make use of all domestic potentials to develop the country,” he said.
He cited progress of the Iranians as among main reasons behind enemies’ opposition to the nation, adding, the US decision to invade the region was in fact a kind of suicide but it accepted the risk with the aim of preventing progress of the Iranian nation.
The only ones preventing Mr. ‘Booboo from guiding his nation into the 21st century is Mr. ‘Booboo, and his cronies. Seems to me they’ve taken a whole lot of steps backwards: hanging children, suppressing women, etc. Oh, but then there’s that nuke thing isn’t there. They only direction they’re moving with that was is someone’s destruction. Hate to tell him this, but it WON’T be Israel that is destroyed!
Memphis police officer fired over beating of transgendered suspect
Woman’s lawyer wants sensitivity training for department
A Memphis Police officer caught on videotape beating a transgendered suspect was fired Wednesday after an administrative hearing.
The beating happened Feb.12 after officer Bridges McRae, 28, arrested Duanna Johnson on charges of prostitution. Another officer, James McSwain, was a new employee still on probation and was fired shortly after the beating.
Now, I’m not going to defend the guy, but I want to know, is the “woman” going to be charged with assault? From what I’ve seen of the video, he/she was doing a lot of kicking and slapping. Not sure if there should be charges, just wondering. Oh, and as for that headline? He can call himself anything he wants, but he’s NOT a woman!
Wells wants to negotiate a settlement with the city rather than file a lawsuit.
“If we file a lawsuit, then the only thing we can get is money,” Wells said. “We want officers to have sensitivity training and for the city to create a hate-crime law.”
“Sensitivity training” doesn’t change a person’s heart. And I call a large stinking pile of 
on that “hate crime law”! That opens a large can of worms they fail to see. All those preachers won’t be able to spout their vitriol from the pulpit. Also, it is about sucking money from the city, aka taxpayers!
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Morning Coffee 06/25/08
‘Barak Has Spit in the Face of the Israeli Public’
Senior members of the Labor and Kadima parties reached a last-minute agreement early Wednesday morning to scuttle a Knesset vote to dissolve the parliament and hold early elections.
The agreement, which came at the conclusion of a marathon negotiation between secretary-general of the Labor Party Eitan Cabel and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Tzachi Hanegbi (Kadima), calls for the Kadima Party to begin a process to hold primaries to replace party chief Ehud Olmert by September 25. In return, Labor agreed to oppose the no-confidence motion scheduled for Wednesday afternoon and any other bill to disband the Knesset in the immediate future.
The Labor-Kadima agreement does not specify when Olmert will actually step down from office, under the assumption that the primaries will produce another paty leader.
Personal opinion: That guy has done quite a bit of damage to Irsael. He’s shown a weakness that I have never associated with the Israelis, Democrats, yeah, but Israelis?
Tsvangirai calls for peacekeepers
Violence-wracked Zimbabwe needs United Nations peacekeepers to help prepare the way for new elections, the country’s opposition leader said in a call from his haven at the Dutch Embassy.
“We need a force to protect the people,” Morgan Tsvangirai wrote in an opinion piece published Wednesday in London’s The Guardian newspaper.
And what are the Useless Numnuts gonna do? Rape? Extort? Just business as usual.
McCain and Obama Call for Mugabe’s Ouster
The Democratic and Republican presumptive presidential nominees are calling for the end of President Mugabe’s 28 years of rule in Zimbabwe if he moves forward, as expected, with a runoff election after driving his opposition out of the contest amid a wave of state-sponsored violence.
They are just now noticing? Where have they been? Oh yeah….too busy sucking up to the folks to notice people being slaughtered.
Iran issues warning over nuclear program
Iran’s parliament speaker has threatened that the West may face “a done deal” if it provokes Iran, a hint that Tehran could build nuclear weapons if attacked.
The speaker, Ali Larijani, who was once Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, says the West should take seriously a recent warning by Mohamed ElBaradei, the U.N. nuclear watchdog chief. ElBaradei said in an interview last week that a military strike on Iran could turn the Mideast into a “ball of fire” and push Iran to develop a weapon.
Iran’s lapdog is being quoted by his masters. Isn’t that interesting. Matthew 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
State bars public, media from meetings on buyouts
State officials barred reporters and the public from town hall meetings with state employees about Tennessee’s voluntary buyout plan.
State Finance Commissioner Dave Goetz told radio station WPLN-FM that he was protecting the privacy of state workers by closing the meetings. Goetz is Gov. Phil Bredesen’s chief cabinet officer.
Open government seems to be a no-no. I question the wisdom of not allowing the public to know how their money is being spent. After all, it IS the “people” who will be footing the bill of Bredesen’s buyout plans. If they are “state workers”, then their “privacy” is a matter of public record. At least, it SHOULD be.
EPA Urged to Reduce US Ethanol Mandate
Cattlemen and other food industry representatives joined Texas Gov. Rick Perry in Washington Tuesday, all of them pressing the Bush administration to revise current food-to-fuel mandates.
With a world food crisis going on, anyone who is still supporting the absurd mandating of food based fuel is, IMHO, just as those pulling the trigger in a drive by that hits a 2 year old. Too extreme? Too bad! Consequences of stupidity!
Hamas says it will not police truce with Israel
The militant group Hamas said it remains committed to a cease-fire with Israel, but will not act as Israel’s “police force” in confronting militants who breach the truce.
In other words, Hamas is giving free reign to anyone who wants to wreak havoc on the Israelis. Just tells me they admit they don’t have any control. They should be “policing” themselves, the Palestinians, and all groups who murder in the name of their god.
Charges Against Ford & Lee To Be Dropped
After almost a year of reports about the investigation, the indictments, the upcoming trial, now prosecutors admit they could not prove their case against Joseph Lee and Edmund Ford, Sr.
From the beginning, both claimed their innocence. The feds accused Lee, former president of MLGW, of giving Ford preferential treatment on his utility bills in exchange for his influence as a city councilman. Ford had accumulated thousands of dollars in unpaid MLGW bills.
This was the first story I heard about the goings on in my new home state. After all I heard and read about it, I find it hard to believe the feds dropped the charges.
A federal jury on Tuesday night convicted former Milwaukee Ald. Michael McGee of extortion and bribery in repeated shakedowns of inner-city store owners, using his power to demand cash and other goods.
Excuse me while I pick my chin up off the floor. I honestly thought there would be an acquittal. Why? Well, not because he wasn’t guilty, but because, well, it’s Milwaukee. Sad commentary on a city, isn’t it.
Sixth person confirmed dead in Henderson factory shootings
The CEO of a company that operates a Western Kentucky plastics plant where an employee opened fire after an argument says a sixth person has died.
Atlantis Plastics CEO Bud Philbrook says the killings are just a “total shock.”
Philbrook says the employee began arguing with a supervisor around midnight, then shot the supervisor before opening fire in a break room. Police say the shooter ended the rampage by killing himself.
This is how people resolve their differences? What ever happened to a poke in the nose? Prayers with the families.
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