"The Swiss have approved a ban on the construction of minarets, according to incomplete results of voting on Sunday.
The gfs.bern polling institute said an estimated 58 per cent of voters had backed the initiative. A majority of cantons were also in support of a minaret ban.
On one hand, it's an unambiguous message from ordinary folks to their political elite (and to muslims). They see Islamist aggression not far beyond their borders and they will not allow it to metastasize within their own nation.
On the other, it was a public vote on what is acceptable religious symbolism, which is dangerous and gives me the willies."
I would add to that analysis that it seems pointless. If you assume that the goal behind the motion was to stop the spread of Muslim influence it will almost certainly fail. The Minarets are not what they should be worrying about but a massive influx of immigrants combined with a plummeting birthrate of the current population.
If you wonder why people have a hard time trusting the 'main stream media' and think it has a political bias (though I would be surprised if you did) here is a painfully obvious example. This is how the NY Times reported on what used to be a secret government site;
"The site, known to detainees as the black jail, consists of individual windowless concrete cells, each illuminated by a single light bulb glowing 24 hours a day. In interviews, former detainees said that their only human contact was at twice-daily interrogation sessions. ... Without commenting specifically on the site at Bagram, which is still considered classified, Mr. Whitman said that the Pentagon’s policy required that all detainees in American custody in Afghanistan be treated humanely and according to United States and international law."
"The documents appear to have been acquired illegally and contain all manner of private information and statements that were never intended for the public eye, so they won’t be posted here."
"A week after calling Barack Obama "Carteresque," Chris "Tingles Up My Leg" Matthews said the former object of his affection is "Too much Chamberlain and not enough Churchill."
I'm honestly not sure which is worse -- being compared to Jimmy Carter or World War II appeaser Neville Chamberlain.
Regardless, I guess Matthews really has lost that lovin' feeling.
The Scientists at the center of the 'ClimateGate'/'ClimaQuiddick' controversy of the leaked/hacked emails suggesting a Global Warming fraud have agree to turn over all their raw data. Well, they can not turn over the the data they destroyed. They have also said it could take months to turn over the data because of privacy agreements or until some sort of payment is offered. Unfortunately, this seems a hollow gesture.
"In a statement welcomed by climate change sceptics, the university said it would make all the data accessible as soon as possible, once its Climatic Research Unit (CRU) had negotiated its release from a range of non-publication agreements. ... Professor Trevor Davies, the university's Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Research Enterprise and Engagement, said yesterday: "CRU's full data will be published in the interests of research transparency when we have the necessary agreements. It is worth reiterating that our conclusions correlate well to those of other scientists based on the separate data sets held by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
"We are grateful for the necessary support of the Met Office in requesting the permissions for releasing the information but understand that responses may take several months and that some countries may refuse permission due to the economic value of the data.""
"They are saying they dumped the raw data, after it had been adjusted, massaged, ... Considering the real importance of the data, and the money these folks have been granted over the years, it might have been worth the investment to rent a self storage space, or build a shed, or something.
Considering the importance of the data in showing that their theories about Man induced warming, this could be one way of "hiding the decline." Just wait till the government hearings start, and they have to explain why they dumped the data, and are raked over the coals.
Riehl World View: The very foundation of science is that it be reproducible. These unprofessional hacks have made re-production of their work to validate their conclusions impossible.
TigerHawk: So, basically we are being asked to restructure the entire economy of the planet on the say-so of a few "scientists" whose work cannot be verified or even reconstructed. Is there any intellectually honest person who thinks that is a good idea?"
A Train derailment in Russian has left 26 dead and 100 injured. Authorities are blaming the derailment on a terrorist attack. Specifically a planted explosive devise. If confirmed, and current evidence points to the notion that it will, it would be a troubling revelation. Railroad tracks are especially vulnerable if only for the size. It would be next to impossible to guard every length of track across the the country and it apparently does not take much of a disruption to do some serious damage. It is not clear how such an attack can be averted even if you know it is coming. The only real answer would seem to be cracking the terrorist cells and attacking the support points in the network.
"A powerful homemade bomb sent a high-speed Moscow-to-St. Petersburg train careening off its tracks, according to Russian officials, killing at least 26 people in what officials consider an act of terrorism.
The head of Russia's Federal Security Service, Alexander Bortnikov, said that experts found pieces of an explosive device that detonated around 9:30 Friday night as the train raced over it, gouging a 5ft crater and strewing smoking wreckage over a rural stretch of track.
What ever happened to doctors who would just, you know, help you medically? When did they start becoming environmental councilors? I can understand a doctor telling you to exercise more, but that should have everything to do with promoting a healthier lifestyle and nothing to do with the environment. Politics should not be injected into medicine. Consider this another reason to appose government run healthcare.
"The Climate and Health Council, a collaboration of worldwide health organisations including the Royal College of Nursing, the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal Society of Medicine, believes there is a direct link between climate change and better health.
Their controversial plan would see GPs and nurses give out advice to their patients on how to lower their carbon footprint.
The Council believes that climate change “threatens to radically undermine the health of all peoples”.
It believes health professionals are ideally placed to promote change because “we have ethical responsibility…..as well as the capacity to influence people and our political representatives to take the necessary action”."
Maurice Clemmons, a man being sought for questioning in connection to the execution style ambush killing of four Lakewood police officers, was pardoned by then Governor Huckabee. It is important to note that he has not been called a suspect yet, but if he turns out to be anything more than a accidental witness this could be bad news for Huckabee. It is already obviously bad news to the four fallen officers and their families who have lost a love one.
"Maurice Clemmons, the 37-year-old Tacoma man being sought for questioning in the killing of four Lakewood police officers this morning, has a long criminal record punctuated by violence, erratic behavior and concerns about his mental health.
Nine years ago, then-Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee granted clemency to Clemmons, commuting his lengthy prison sentence over the protests of prosecutors."
Obama has refused to sign the international convention banning land mines. This is the same policy of his predecessor, a policy I am strongly in favor of. The first thing to note is that just because we have refused to ban them does not commit us to using them. It is a fairly simple notion, but one that should be mentioned. The reverse is obviously not true. Should we ban them and decide we need them, we would be in violation of the treaty. That assumes we had kept any around which would be doubtful. Many of our mines are 'smart mines'. Smart mines can be programed to disarm themselves and have fail safes which render them useless after a set period of time. That means we do not have to worry about a civilian stepping on one a century after the conflict has ended. Mines are area denial weapons and serve to either channel and enemy or guard a vulnerable flank. Without mines we would be stuck committing extra manpower to guard those areas or just hoping the enemy does not find our weak spot. Neither option is very palatable. Why should we handicap our forces while others are not doing the same? We should not, and Obama is right about this. Regardless of if we will ever need them again, the 'tool' should be kept in our 'kit' just in case.
"The Obama administration has decided not to sign an international convention banning land mines.
State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said Tuesday that the administration recently completed a review and decided not to change the Bush-era policy.
"We decided that our land mine policy remains in effect," he said.
More than 150 countries have agreed to the Mine Ban Treaty's provisions to end the production, use, stockpiling and trade in mines. Besides the United States, holdouts include: China, India, Pakistan, Myanmar and Russia."
Does this mean that it is time to fuel up the jets, impose some serious economic sanctions, or just roll over and let Iran go nuclear? It would seem there are no other real options. I would opt for options one and two at the same time. Hope serious sanctions change the mind of the Iranian leadership but not wait to long if it appears it has not risking they will get the bomb while we wait. This outcome was not unforeseeable. It was seen as more than likely to many if not most. That has a duel meaning. First, it is not really Obama's fault that it failed as few thought it would work but many were hopeful it would to avoid the need for military action. Second, it should mean that Obama has already fully developed a plan b. Time to see what plan b is.
The censure from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), with rare backing from Russia and China, provoked anger in Iran where members of parliament demanded the withdrawal of co-operation with UN inspectors."
Obama's 'gay lover'? This is an interesting way to get your fifteen minutes of fame if you can get some paper to print it, which this guy has. When did Obama's sexual orientation get called in to question? There is apparently a book waiting in the wings for this one as well. I am just hoping that I do not come across any 'photoshop proof' of this claim.
Four cops preparing for their upcoming shift at a coffee shot were brutally murdered 'execution style' in a targeted attack against police officers. The officers, three men and one woman, were all from the Lakewood Police Department.
"Four uniformed police officers were shot and killed in Pierce County Sunday morning in a coffee shop as they worked on their laptop computers, authorities said.
Investigators believe the officers were targeted, and it was not a robbery. A suspect remained at large.
"This was more of an execution. ... As cold-hearted as it is, that's exactly what happened," said Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer. He didn't immediately identify the officers, saying officials were waiting to inform their families, but said all four officers were from the Lakewood Police Department."
I agree with the assessment. It is similar the AIG situation in which the Democrats wanted to make a special tax to remove contractual bonuses which passed in the House. I opined in both posts that we should be frightened at such blatant disregard for contract law. No new contracts can or should be made, but any currently in in effect should be honored. It is interesting how the Democrats seem to be lining up on the opposite side of the issue now. A cynical person might point out that the politicians seem to switch sides based on who it would effect, but I am hopeful that they have just learned they were wrong initially and are now on the right side for good.
"The Holder Justice Department has concluded that the Obama administration can lawfully pay Acorn for services provided under contracts signed before Congress banned the government from providing money to the group. Here is the Office of Legal Counsel memo reaching this conclusion. ... OLC opts for this interpretation because it avoids a construction which might require the government to breach its contractual obligations to ACORN. In my opinion, this stated DOJ objective is a worthy one, whatever we think of ACORN, and I don't assume that it's just a pretext by OLC for favoring ACORN. However, it seems to me that OLC avoids the result it disfavors only by ignoring the plain meaning of the statute Congress enacted, which is unworthy of DOJ."
The original CRU data was destroyed. This is not a new story, but one that has taken on new importance. Science is all about verification. The results should be repeatable and the conclusions the same. Without the original data, there is no ability to verify data or repeat tests. That means you are basically stuff taking someone's word for it. That is not science, and is bad enough when the researchers reputations are not in question. Now that these researchers reputations are in doubt from the leaked/hacked emails there is a serious problem, one with no obvious solutions.
"The Times of London is reporting in its Sunday edition that the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia has destroyed the original data used to construct the historical climate record that purports to show a temperature increase. That is, the hope that independent scientists could assess the "adjustments" made to the raw data is now dashed, for the raw data no longer exists. This fact has actually been known for months, but the mainstream media ignored it -- no doubt intentionally -- until the email scandal broke last week."
"As White House officials fended off new questions about how a fame-seeking couple finessed their way into the president’s glittering state dinner last week, the aspiring reality-TV stars themselves began trying to sell their story for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Television industry executives said on Saturday that Michaele and Tareq Salahi had postponed plans for an interview Monday on CNN’s “Larry King Live” and were seeking top-dollar bids for their first television interview."
'ClimateGate' or 'ClimaQuiddick'? I have been referring to the leaked/hacked emails suggesting a Global Warming fraud among top scientists as ClimateGate. Attaching a 'gate' on the end of a word/phase is a way to indicate a political scandal deriving from Watergate. It also suggests some sort of a media frenzy around the controversy. This would be expected from most political scandals; most but not all. Enter 'quiddick'. Attaching a 'quiddick' on the end of a word/phrase is a way to indicate a media whitewash of a political scandal deriving from Chappaquiddick. It seems ClimaQuiddick is the more appropriate or accurate name given the lack of media coverage and fact it was the Canadian media who were first to report that John Holdren (Obama Science Czar) may be directly involved in the scandal. Perhaps 'gate' should be used anyways in some hope that the media will pick up what by all accounts appears a significant story.
Some have noted, and I agree that it’s a misnomer to call this “ClimateGate.” In addition to the fact that simply adding “Gate” to a scandal is so late twentieth century, calling it a “Gate” would imply that it’s something that the media will go into a frenzy over, because it’s a scandal about something politically incorrect (e.g., Nixon). No, a better name for it (again, not original with me — I think it showed up in comments at one of the PJM pieces) is “Climaquiddick.” In other words, expect the media to try to whitewash and minimize it.
The Obama administration appears to be on the verge (if not already) pulled into the 'ClimateGate' scandal through his Science Car John Holdren. Please note that the source of this is Canadian media. Why are there almost no American media outlets doing this research?
"Obama Science Czar John Holdren is directly involved in CRU’s unfolding Climategate scandal. In fact, according to files released by a CEU hacker or whistleblower, Holdren is involved in what Canada Free Press (CFP) columnist Canadian climatologist Dr. Tim Ball terms “a truculent and nasty manner that provides a brief demonstration of his lack of understanding, commitment on faith and willingness to ridicule and bully people”."
"Tech savvy teachers are asking students to use their phones to record foreign language assignments, take photographs for projects and do mini-Internet searches if they have a Web browser.
That's a stark contrast to the emphasis that has been placed on prohibiting their use, often out of fear students will cheat or take inappropriate pictures then passed on to friends."
Here is the couple that breached White House security which the Secret Service still does not know how, meeting with Obama. They say Obama was never in any danger, and I hope they were right, but if they are within arms length I am not sure that is really true. Save for the notion that the couple never intended to do any harm to Obama, but as I said before, if a harmless couple can sneak in so can a more nefarious one.
International Criminal Court (ICC) appears to be getting close to claiming jurisdiction over American troops fighting in Afghanistan. They do not go as far as to claim they do, but are conducting "preliminary examination" into it. I hope Obama will be as steadfast as his predecessor opposing the jurisdiction of the ICC. The constitution is the foundation of our laws, the People, Congress, Courts and Executive can all play some part in modifying those laws. Non-American-citizens and foreign governments should have no control over the American justice system.
"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed "great regret" in August that the U.S. is not a signatory to the International Criminal Court (ICC). This has fueled speculation that the Obama administration may reverse another Bush policy and sign up for what could lead to the trial of Americans for war crimes in The Hague.
The ICC's chief prosecutor, though, has no intention of waiting for Washington to submit to the court's authority. Luis Moreno Ocampo says he already has jurisdiction—at least with respect to Afghanistan.
Because Kabul in 2003 ratified the Rome Statute—the ICC's founding treaty—all soldiers on Afghan territory, even those from nontreaty countries, fall under the ICC's oversight, Mr. Ocampo told me. And the chief prosecutor says he is already conducting a "preliminary examination" into whether NATO troops, including American soldiers, fighting the Taliban may have to be put in the dock."
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the four other terrorists that will be transferred to NY to stand trail may argue a mental disorder which would make them unfit to stand trail.
"When five defendants are brought before a New York federal judge to face charges for the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the first question may be whether some of them are competent to stand trial at all.
Military lawyers for Ramzi Binalshibh, an accused organizer of the 9/11 plot, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, the conspiracy's alleged paymaster, say their clients have mental disorders that make them unfit for trial, likely caused or exacerbated by years of harsh confinement in Central Intelligence Agency custody."
The Secret Service is considering charges against the couple that breached White House security. the part of the article that really peaked my interest is the reason they have not charged the couple with anything yet; they do not know what the couple did. Translation, they have no idea how the couple breached the security so have no idea if they actually did anything wrong. Further translation, they have not altered their security so the same breach may still be possible.
"The Secret Service says it's looking at possible criminal charges against a Virginia couple who crashed a White House dinner.
Secret Service spokesman Jim Mackin says the agency is moving closer to beginning a criminal investigation. He says that's one reason the Secret Service hasn't yet explained what happened when Michaele and Tareq Salahi arrived at the security checkpoint Tuesday for the dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan.
Mackin says there's less the Secret Service can say as the probe moves closer to a criminal investigation. He says the agency isn't leaving any options off the table at this point."
"The scandal breaks as fears grow worldwide that corruption of climate science is not confined to just Britain’s CRU climate research centre.
In New Zealand’s case, the figures published on NIWA’s [the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric research] website suggest a strong warming trend in New Zealand over the past century:
...
But analysis of the raw climate data from the same temperature stations has just turned up a very different result:
Gone is the relentless rising temperature trend, and instead there appears to have been a much smaller growth in warming, consistent with the warming up of the planet after the end of the Little Ice Age in 1850.
You will notice that not all the messages are about the attack as some are automated. You will also see that as the day goes on a higher percentage does relate to the attacks. The only thing I ask you is to respect the people who sent these messages by not contacting them if you do not already know them. These messages are apparently real as is likely the numbers as well. That is why I ask you not to contact them.
"From 3AM on Wednesday November 25, 2009, until 3AM the following day (US east coast time), WikiLeaks released half a million US national text pager intercepts. The intercepts cover a 24 hour period surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington.
The messages were broadcasted "live" to the global community — sychronized to the time of day they were sent. The first message was from 3AM September 11, 2001, five hours before the first attack, and the last, 24 hours later. ... An index of messages released is available here.
All pager messages released can be downloaded here as a single compressed text file.
Obama was pretty funny, even throwing in a 'saved or created' joke. He looked a little nervous approaching the turkey, but given the actions of some turkeys in the past it was not unjustified.
"When one considers that public sector employment has ranged since the 1950s at between 15 percent and 19 percent of the population, the makeup of the current cabinet—over 90 percent of its prior experience was in the public sector—is remarkable."
At the age of 95, Margaret Bergmann Lambert has had her high jump record restored in Germany that she set in 1936. By the age of 22 she had equaled the German record and had been on the German team for two years. She was removed from the team and record books because she was Jewish. Lambert escaped to America in 1937 playing on the American team until World War Two broke out and she retired. I just want to know what took so long and if there are any others out their still waiting for their records to be restored.
"Germany has restored the 1936 high jump record to a 95-year-old Queens woman who was kicked off the Nazi Olympic team because she was Jewish.
Margaret Bergmann Lambert was banned from the Berlin Olympics despite matching the high-jump record of 5 feet 3 inches to qualify and having spent two years on the team, starting in 1934.
"I was a person nonexisting because I was a Jew," Lambert told the Daily News on Monday night from her home in Jamaica. ... Adding to the insult was the athlete who the Nazis selected to replace her: a jumper named Dora Ratjen - who was later revealed to be a man whose real name was Horst Ratjen.
Ratjen was kicked off the team in 1938 when a doctor took a look at his genitals."
Party crashers managed to sneak into the White House dinner and get their picture taken with some high ranking Obama officials. 'They were not armed' does not really matter. That is, unless you assume that there were no knifes at the tables for dinner. It also assumes incorrectly that people are not capable of doing serious damage with their hands, and quickly at that. Obama appears to never have been in any danger, nor was anyone else, but if pranksters can manipulate their way into these events so can more nefarious people.
The days of being frustrated by your remote control running out of batteries may be coming to an end. Your controller may soon be powered by the very action of you pressing the buttons. It combines circuits that use less energy with a power generating function from the vibrations of the user pushing the button.
"The remote control was realized by combining (1) a vibration-based power generation device developed by Soundpower, (2) NEC Electronics' microcomputer supporting RF remote controls that use radio waves with a frequency band ranging from several tens of MHz to several GHz to transmit and receive data and (3) a power supply control technology that drives electronic circuits with a small amount of electricity.
Specifically, electricity is generated by utilizing the weak vibration caused by pressing a button on the remote control. The electronic circuits of the remote control are driven by the electricity to turn on and off a TV set, adjust the sound volume and switch channels."
A new feature in Gmail allows you to send attachments while you are using Gmail offline. Well, not actually send an attachment since you are off line, but attach it to be sent as soon as you find your next internet connection. It is a simple improvement, but a great one.
"One of the most requested features for Offline Gmail has been the ability to include attachments in messages composed while offline. Starting today, attachments work just the way you would expect them to whether you are online or offline (with the exception that when you're offline you won't be able to include inline images). Just add the attachment and send your message.
If you have Offline Gmail enabled, you'll notice that all your mail now goes through the outbox, regardless of whether you're online or offline. This allows Gmail to capture all attachments, even if you suddenly get disconnected from network. If you're online, your mail will quickly be sent along to its destination."
Speaking of simple but great improvements, Google Reader now has Favicon support.
"One of the more popular suggestions was adding favicon support for subscriptions, so today we're introducing just that (thanks to 20%-er Shreyas Desai).
We realize that not everyone wants their subscription list to turn into a multi-colored extravaganza, so we've made it into a setting that you can access from your subscriptions menu."
I remember Susan Roesgen being 'let go' for doing the same thing (start here, then see this, this, and then this) accept the person she was interviewing was old enough to vote. Jackie Seal is 17. Do not expect anything to happen to O’Donnell save some accolades.
"It wasn’t the only false statement. Jackie forced O’Donnell to explain her statement that Palin backed the bailouts rather than take O’Donnell’s word for it. The only thing O’Donnell could offer was a wan statement of generic support for John McCain from Palin, not an explicit “hey, let’s give away a trillion dollars to Wall Street” policy statement. O’Donnell not only looked for someone she could bully, but then did so dishonestly, rather than report objectively or even argue honestly."
The successful test firing of the Advanced Tactical Laser both on a stationary and moving target has been surpassed with a successful strike on an unmanned aerial drone. Five drones actually at various though unspecified heights/ranges.
"Boeing has just announced it successfully tracked and shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle with a laser weapon. Actually, it shot down five UAVs at various ranges with the trailer-mounted Mobile Active Targeting Resource for Integrated eXperiments (MATRIX).
Developed at the request of the Air Force Research Laboratory, MATRIX integrates with standard test-range radar, focusing a single energy beam on moving aerial vehicles and blasting them out of the sky. It's the future of aerial seek and destroy, defending against always-orbiting unmanned craft."
With James O'Keefe, Hannah Giles, and Andrew Breitbart putting the squeeze to ACORN (Baltimore, Washington DC, New York, San Bernardino California, San Diego California, Philadelphia, Los Angeles take one, Los Angeles take two), calling out Holder to investigate 'or else', and the other investigations already under way, ACORN has either made a huge error or has intentionally tried to destroy evidence. The key word here is tried because someone saw what ACORN had done, collected the bags of discarded documents, and they ended up in Breitbart's hands. He is referring to this as the "Evidentiary Phase". Basically, if no one else is going to do the job of investigating ACORN, he will. He is off to a good start.
Audio embedded below.
"
Listen to the entire interview with the private investigator who filled his Suburban with the documents in the following audio. It is explosive radio that hopefully shows the proper authorities that ACORN is making a mockery of this country’s laws and judicial process.
Part I
Part II
We are a nation of laws. The Attorney General of California and the attorney general of the United States have made a solemn oath to uphold these laws. Attorney General Holder and Attorney General Brown are arguably the two most powerful law enforcement officers in the country.
We are willing to facilitate copies being sent of all the documents recovered from the public dumpster outside the ACORN office and forward these to Attorneys General Brown and Holder. There are reasons ACORN dumped these documents before the scheduled visit by Brown’s office.
We all know that pictures can be misleading, but Obama appears to be bowing to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. I have not been able to find a video of the exchange yet, and the picture is not conclusive enough for a final answer. For now I will have to label it a 'maybe bowed'. If you find a video comment with the link.
Obama is said to announce an additional 34,000 troops will be deployed to Afghanistan on December 1st. We have heard predictions before which have been wrong. Looks like they have come up with a new option. If Obama has stopped 'dithering' it should ease Karzai's concerns, at least somewhat. My main question is if Obama has already made the decision, why is he waiting until after Thanksgiving to make the announcement?
"President Barack Obama met Monday evening with his national security team to finalize a plan to dispatch some 34,000 additional U.S. troops over the next year to what he's called "a war of necessity" in Afghanistan, U.S. officials told McClatchy.
Obama is expected to announce his long-awaited decision on Dec. 1, followed by meetings on Capitol Hill aimed at winning congressional support amid opposition by some Democrats who are worried about the strain on the U.S. Treasury and whether Afghanistan has become a quagmire, the officials said."
"The economy grew at a 2.8 percent pace last quarter, as the recovery got off to a slower start than first thought.
The Commerce Department's new reading on gross domestic product wasn't as energetic as the 3.5 percent growth rate for the July-September period estimated just a month ago."
" Twas just weeks before Christmas and what do you know Senate Democrats are once again praying for Snowe. They won 60 votes to start the debate But they're back to square one and the just have to wait. Wait for Blue Dogs like Nelson and Lincoln Who say a public option would mean the economy sinkin'. Wait for Joe Lieberman who says it won't pass And hope Mary Landrieu can change her mind fast.
The Republican votes right now total zero But a trigger could make one woman a hero. The moderate who hails from the land way up north Could save Harry Reid's Christmas with a deal she brought forth. Urging government plans for when private ones fail To think: both sides happy, can both sides prevail? At this point no compromise looms within sight That means after Thanksgiving it's on with the fight. Enjoy your turkey and know we'll be here To help make this tough topic just a little more clear."
"Her name was Hanah, posed as a showgirl With yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there She would merengue and do the cha-cha And while she tried to be madame, Jimmie had the pocket cam In an office dive, they worked from 9 till 5 They were young and they had each other Who could film this live?
At ACORNa, ACORN gone bananas They didn't quite make it to Atlanta At ACORNa, ACORN banana Tax evasion, illicit passion were always the fashion At ACORNa....they plotted crime
(ACORNa, ACORNa banana)
Its name was RICO, it was a statute It was a mother of a law, convicts take it on the jaw And when it's finished, ACORN is over But Rico goes a bit too far, Holder's frightened of the law And when indictments fly and pols get blackened eye There's blood on the tracks But only Dylan knows why!
At ACORNa, ACORN gone bananas They didn't quite make it to Atlanta At ACORNa, ACORNa banana Tax evasion, illicit passion were always the fashion At ACORNa....she gets no love
At ACORNa, ACORN gone bananas They didn't quite make it to Atlanta At ACORNa, ACORNa banana Tax evasion, illicit passion were always the fashion
Her name is Hanah, she was a showgirl But that was 30 months ago, when they started up the show It's dead as disco, but not for Hanah Still in the dress she used to wear, faded feathers in her hair She sits there so refined, and thinks the media blind She and Jimmie outed ACORN But not in Olbermann's mind!
At ACORNa, ACORN gone bananas They didn't quite make it to Atlanta At ACORNa, ACORNa banana Tax evasion, illicit passion were always the fashion At ACORNa....she gets no love
ACORNa...don't fall in love ACORNacabana ACORNacabana"
We have been down this road before to no avail. There are new rumors that Gilad Shalit, the captured Israeli soldier, will be released in a prisoner exchange. It is better then an exchange for a video of Gilad Shalit (video). Still, I think these exchanges are a bad idea because they only encourage more kidnapping. This belief has been reinforced by Hamas' offer of $1.4 million for an Israeli soldier. I do hope Gilad Shalit is finally returned home, but I fear this way will lead to attempts to force others to take his place.
"Israel and the Palestinians are close to reaching agreement on a prisoner swap that could mean freedom for an Israeli soldier held for more than three years in exchange for the release of nearly a thousand Palestinian militants.
Gilad Schalit, the young Israeli corporal captured by Hamas in a cross-border raid in June 2006, could be freed as early as Friday, when Palestinians observe Eid al-Adha — a traditional period for amnesties."
The wife of Pilot Chesley Sullenberger let slip that all the hosannas her hubby got for safely landing a US Airways plane in the Hudson River gave their sex life a big boost.
"He doesn't know I'm gonna say this, but I had joked the other day that ... the hero sex really helps a 20-year-old marriage," Lorrie Sullenberger told NBC's Matt Lauer.
The new 'Black Box' for guns could provide valuable information to commanders and soldiers. A display can be set up to show a solider how many bullets they have left in the clip without needing to keep count in their head or remove the clip for an actual count. The data could be aggregated to let command know where supplies are needed most. It would also provide valuable data on both user habits and gun performance. That user data could then be used to design better suited firearms for what and how soldiers actually use them and detect any design flaws much faster. The data could also have legal uses among law enforcement to provided detailed information as to who, where, and when shots were fired.
"The new gadget could possibly record details such as where shots were fired and the intended target, and even indirectly finger the identity of the weapon user by using GPS and the weapon's identification number. That would allow individual soldiers to know how many shots they had fired without checking their magazines or ammo if hooked up to a Land Warrior system, and commanders could see if their troops are in danger of running low on ammo. Manufacturers could also know when a weapon might require maintenance, or if a particular gun had troubles such as jamming.
A black box device might also tip off higher-ups regarding the details of when and where weapons were fired, which could prove useful in follow-up investigations involving accidents or possible misbehavior. It could also inform after-action reports to help determine how to better improve soldier performance."
""It’s like finding out that Adolf Hitler is your father," said Matthew Roberts, a Los Angeles disc jockey. ... But Roberts pressed her for more details until she finally revealed the shocking secret, that his dad was one of the most infamous serial killers the world has ever known.
"I didn’t want to believe it," Roberts said. "I was frightened and angry. I’m a peaceful person -- trapped in the face of a monster."
Terry told Roberts he was born after Manson raped her in a drug-fueled orgy in 1967. She gave the baby up for adoption. ... After five years, Roberts’ eventually wrote to Manson, who replied with letters and postcards -- eerily signed with an ugly swastika -- the wartime Nazi symbol Manson has tattooed onto his menacing forehead. ... "My hero is Gandhi," Roberts said. "I’m an extremely non-violent, peaceful person and a vegetarian. I don’t even kill bugs. I’ve had long hair all my life. I could make it go away, but I can’t let the world and their fears change me.""
Nidal Hasan, the presumed gunman who killed 13 people in cold blood at Fort Hood, is thought to be permanently paralyzed from the chest down with no sensation from his nipples down.
"Maj. Nidal M. Hasan, the alleged Fort Hood gunman recuperating from the gunshot wounds that ended the murderous rampage, is expected to be permanently paralyzed from the chest down, his lawyer said.
Hasan, the Army psychiatrist charged with killing 13 people in the Nov. 5 massacre, "has no sensation from the nipple area down," Hasan's civilian attorney, John P. Galligan, told the Washington Post.
Galligan said Hasan has been told the paralysis is permanent."