Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
An Outrage!
Montgomery Blair Sibley, Ms. Palfrey's lawyer in the civil case, said on Saturday that about five lawyers had called to ask if their clients' numbers were on the list. One lawyer asked if he could prevent the release of his client's name or number, he said. The answer, Mr. Sibley said, was no.
"We are not in the business of trying to sell protection," he said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/29/us/29escort.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
$300 for 90 minutes and you have to provide your own protection.
"We are not in the business of trying to sell protection," he said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/29/us/29escort.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
$300 for 90 minutes and you have to provide your own protection.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
How many pipe bombs might it take to end American democracy?
The Defense Authorization Act of 2006, passed on Sept. 30, empowers President George W. Bush to impose martial law in the event of a terrorist “incident,” if he or other federal officials perceive a shortfall of “public order,” or even in response to antiwar protests that get unruly as a result of government provocations.
http://amconmag.com/2007/2007_04_23/article4.html
http://amconmag.com/2007/2007_04_23/article4.html
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Quack
George W Bush's presidency is effectively over on the home front two years before he is due to quit the White House, according to former aides and allies.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/08/wuspols08.xml
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/08/wuspols08.xml
Friday, March 23, 2007
Elizabeth Edwards Remains Open, Upbeat
Not once did the shadow of fear cross her face. Elizabeth Edwards stood before the nation, a graceful fighter steeled for personal tragedy again. The cancer is back and in her bones, a lung and possibly elsewhere. The news seemed worse than bad. Yet Edwards conveyed no hint of being hobbled by an incurable cancer. Self-pity was nowhere on the scene.
"Is this a hardship for us? Yes, it's yet another hurdle," she said. "But I've seen people who are in real desperate shape who don't, first of all, have the wonderful support that I have and have no place to turn."
"Is this a hardship for us? Yes, it's yet another hurdle," she said. "But I've seen people who are in real desperate shape who don't, first of all, have the wonderful support that I have and have no place to turn."
Thursday, March 22, 2007
"If Barbara Lynn Terry wants to get married Friday morning, she'll have to swear to a judge she's a man. And so will her doctor. Marriage in Question
Otherwise, Wisconsin's same-sex marriage prohibition will keep Terry - who was born a man, lived as a woman for decades and has undergone treatment for sexual-reassignment surgery - from marrying Nicole Winstanley, despite the marriage license application the couple completed March 5.
Courthouse records indicate just how complicated their situation is: Terry, 58, who claims to have identified as a woman since childhood, was convicted of raping a woman in 1970; was denied a request to transfer to a woman's prison while serving the sentence; and legally petitioned for a name change from Ronald Francis Terry in 1980. And Winstanley, 22, claims Australian residency and had lived in Milwaukee County less than 30 days before signing the application.
But the question before the court is, simply, whether Terry is still man enough to marry a woman.
Otherwise, Wisconsin's same-sex marriage prohibition will keep Terry - who was born a man, lived as a woman for decades and has undergone treatment for sexual-reassignment surgery - from marrying Nicole Winstanley, despite the marriage license application the couple completed March 5.
Courthouse records indicate just how complicated their situation is: Terry, 58, who claims to have identified as a woman since childhood, was convicted of raping a woman in 1970; was denied a request to transfer to a woman's prison while serving the sentence; and legally petitioned for a name change from Ronald Francis Terry in 1980. And Winstanley, 22, claims Australian residency and had lived in Milwaukee County less than 30 days before signing the application.
But the question before the court is, simply, whether Terry is still man enough to marry a woman.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Watergate All Over Again??
Josh Marshall reports there is an 18-day gap -- first spotted by a commenter on the blog Talking Points Memo -- in the over 3,000 emails released by the Department of Justice pertaining to the attorney firing scandal.
The gap covers the days between November 15 and December 4, 2006. So far, only one email has been found dated within that 18 day period among those released in Monday night's document dump. The lone email, from November 29, 2006, was one forwarded by Justice official Michael Elston to a fellow staffer asking for an attached review document to be printed.
The gap, specifically because of its length, is an eerie reminder of the infamous eighteen-and-a-half minute gap in the Nixon tapes. As one blogger writes, "The Bush Administration is working overtime to make this attorney scandal look more and more like Watergate by the day."
The gap covers the days between November 15 and December 4, 2006. So far, only one email has been found dated within that 18 day period among those released in Monday night's document dump. The lone email, from November 29, 2006, was one forwarded by Justice official Michael Elston to a fellow staffer asking for an attached review document to be printed.
The gap, specifically because of its length, is an eerie reminder of the infamous eighteen-and-a-half minute gap in the Nixon tapes. As one blogger writes, "The Bush Administration is working overtime to make this attorney scandal look more and more like Watergate by the day."
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Let's Make A Date For Saturday Night!
Hi everyone!
I have just been talking to RevDarko and he has told me that he has a blog radio show on Saturday nights starting at 6pm.
Why don't we all listen and call in with our views on his topics and then, after his show is over, we can come back here and keep the discussion going.
I'll remind us all Friday!
Here's the link to Rev's show so you can get a preview.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/hostpage.aspx?host_id=2417
Let's all help make him a success!! And....have fun in the process!
Good Luck RevDarko!!
I have just been talking to RevDarko and he has told me that he has a blog radio show on Saturday nights starting at 6pm.
Why don't we all listen and call in with our views on his topics and then, after his show is over, we can come back here and keep the discussion going.
I'll remind us all Friday!
Here's the link to Rev's show so you can get a preview.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/hostpage.aspx?host_id=2417
Let's all help make him a success!! And....have fun in the process!
Good Luck RevDarko!!
Monday, March 19, 2007
52% of Americans Crack A Smile
HOUSTON (Wireless Flash) -- A lot more Americans have posed nude than you might think -- and that's the naked truth!
According to a survey by the Adam & Eve sex toy company, 52 percent have stripped down to their birthday suit for a still camera and 38 percent has posed in the buff for digital photos.
In addition, 37 percent have been naked in front of a video camera while 19 percent have been a nude model for a drawing or a painting.
Finally, 21 percent say they have posed nude but won't specify the situation or occasion in which they dropped their drawers.
According to a survey by the Adam & Eve sex toy company, 52 percent have stripped down to their birthday suit for a still camera and 38 percent has posed in the buff for digital photos.
In addition, 37 percent have been naked in front of a video camera while 19 percent have been a nude model for a drawing or a painting.
Finally, 21 percent say they have posed nude but won't specify the situation or occasion in which they dropped their drawers.
Judge Cuts Off Castration Dungeon
WAYNESVILLE, N.C. - Three men accused of operating what police described as a sadomasochistic "dungeon" that included castrations have been sentenced to jail time. Richard Peter "Master Rick" Sciara, his partner of 20 years Michael Mendez, and the man they called their slave, Danny Carroll Reeves, pleaded guilty to felony castration and maiming. Superior Court Judge Dennis Winner said it was difficult to call the dungeon's willing patients "victims," but he said six castrations performed there were certainly a crime.
"I think this is a type of perversion that cannot be tolerated by society," Winner said during a sentencing hearing Thursday.
In plea bargains, Sciara, 62, was sentenced to a year in prison, though he has served all but two weeks of that time. Reeves, 50, was sentenced to eight months in prison, and Mendez, 61, received four months. Reeves and Mendez have already served their sentences and will enter four and two months of house arrest, respectively, and three years of supervised probation.
In exchange for the pleas, the state dropped charges of misdemeanor practicing medicine without a license and conspiracy.
Prosecutors said the men ran a sadomasochistic "dungeon" fashioned from an enclosed carport in 2004 and 2005 at a house in a quiet neighborhood near Waynesville in western North Carolina. Six men, some from as far away as South America, came to the home for castration, while others went seeking other types of body-modification surgery, prosecutors said.
Sciara had worked as a physician's assistant at the Colmery-O'Neil VA Medical Center in Topeka, Kan., from February 1976 to June 1999.
"I think this is a type of perversion that cannot be tolerated by society," Winner said during a sentencing hearing Thursday.
In plea bargains, Sciara, 62, was sentenced to a year in prison, though he has served all but two weeks of that time. Reeves, 50, was sentenced to eight months in prison, and Mendez, 61, received four months. Reeves and Mendez have already served their sentences and will enter four and two months of house arrest, respectively, and three years of supervised probation.
In exchange for the pleas, the state dropped charges of misdemeanor practicing medicine without a license and conspiracy.
Prosecutors said the men ran a sadomasochistic "dungeon" fashioned from an enclosed carport in 2004 and 2005 at a house in a quiet neighborhood near Waynesville in western North Carolina. Six men, some from as far away as South America, came to the home for castration, while others went seeking other types of body-modification surgery, prosecutors said.
Sciara had worked as a physician's assistant at the Colmery-O'Neil VA Medical Center in Topeka, Kan., from February 1976 to June 1999.
Bush Aides To Get Subpoenas
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman said Sunday he intends to subpoena White House officials involved in ousting federal prosecutors and is dismissing anything short of their testimony in public.
The Bush White House was expected to announce early this week whether it will let political strategist Karl Rove, former White House counsel Harriet Miers and other officials testify or will seek to assert executive privilege in preventing their appearance.
The chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., last week delayed a vote on the subpoenas until Thursday as the president's counsel, Fred Fielding, sought to negotiate terms. But on Sunday, Leahy said he had not met Fielding nor was he particularly open to any compromises, such as a private briefing by the administration officials.
"I want testimony under oath. I am sick and tired of getting half-truths on this," Leahy said. "I do not believe in this, we'll have a private briefing for you where we'll tell you everything, and they don't."
Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, the top Republican on the committee, said he had a long talk with Fielding on Friday and was reserving judgment. Specter said he would like to see Rove and Miers' open testimony because there were numerous precedents for it.
"I want to see exactly what the White House response is," Specter said. "Maybe the White House will come back and say, 'We'll permit them to be interviewed and we'll give them all the records.'"
At issue is the firing of eight U.S. attorneys, dismissals that Democrats say were politically motivated. Such prosecutors serve at the pleasure of the president.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales initially had asserted the firings were performance-related and denied the White House played a role.
The Bush White House was expected to announce early this week whether it will let political strategist Karl Rove, former White House counsel Harriet Miers and other officials testify or will seek to assert executive privilege in preventing their appearance.
The chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., last week delayed a vote on the subpoenas until Thursday as the president's counsel, Fred Fielding, sought to negotiate terms. But on Sunday, Leahy said he had not met Fielding nor was he particularly open to any compromises, such as a private briefing by the administration officials.
"I want testimony under oath. I am sick and tired of getting half-truths on this," Leahy said. "I do not believe in this, we'll have a private briefing for you where we'll tell you everything, and they don't."
Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, the top Republican on the committee, said he had a long talk with Fielding on Friday and was reserving judgment. Specter said he would like to see Rove and Miers' open testimony because there were numerous precedents for it.
"I want to see exactly what the White House response is," Specter said. "Maybe the White House will come back and say, 'We'll permit them to be interviewed and we'll give them all the records.'"
At issue is the firing of eight U.S. attorneys, dismissals that Democrats say were politically motivated. Such prosecutors serve at the pleasure of the president.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales initially had asserted the firings were performance-related and denied the White House played a role.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Thousands of Christians hold anti-war service in D.C.
Thousands of Christians prayed for peace at an anti-war service Friday night at the Washington National Cathedral, kicking off a weekend of protests around the country to mark the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq.
Afterward, participants marched with battery-operated faux candles through snow and wind toward the White House, where police began arresting protesters shortly before midnight. Protest guidelines require demonstrators to continue moving while on the White House sidewalk.
"We gave them three warnings, and they broke the guidelines," said Lt. Scott Fear. "There's an area on the White House sidewalk where you have to keep moving."
222 people arrested; Bush away for weekend
About 100 people crossed the street from Lafayette Park -- where thousands of protesters were gathered -- to demonstrate on the White House sidewalk late Friday. Police began cuffing them and putting them on buses to be taken for processing.
Fear said 222 people had been arrested by Saturday morning. The first 100 were charged with disobeying a lawful order, and the others with crossing a police line. All of them were fined $100.
The windows of the executive mansion were dark, as the president was away for the weekend at Camp David in Maryland.
A change of heart over time toward Iraq war
John Pattison, 29, said he and his wife flew in from Portland, Oregon, to attend his first anti-war rally. He said his opposition to the war had developed over time.
"Quite literally on the night that shock and awe commenced, my friend and I toasted the military might of the United States," Pattison said. "We were quite proud and thought we were doing the right thing."
He said the way the war had progressed and U.S. foreign policy since then had forced him to question his beliefs.
"A lot of the rhetoric that we hear coming from Christians has been dominated by the religious right and has been strong advocacy for the war," Pattison said. "That's just not the way I read my Gospel."
'The war, from a Christian point of view, is morally wrong'
The ecumenical coalition that organized the event, Christian Peace Witness for Iraq, distributed 3,200 tickets for the service in the cathedral, with two smaller churches hosting overflow crowds. The cathedral appeared to be packed, although sleet and snow prevented some from attending.
"This war, from a Christian point of view, is morally wrong -- and was from the beginning," the Rev. Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners/Call to Renewal, one of the event's sponsors, said toward the end of the service to cheers and applause. "This war is ... an offense against God."
In his speech, the Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, senior pastor at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church, lashed out at Congress for being "too morally inept to intervene" to stop the war, but even more harshly against President Bush.
'Mr. Bush, we need a surge in truth-telling'
"Mr. Bush, my Christian brother, we do need a surge in troops. We need a surge in the nonviolent army of the Lord," he said. "We need a surge in conscience and a surge in activism and a surge in truth-telling."
Celeste Zappala of Philadelphia recounted how she learned of the death of her son, Sgt. Sherwood Baker, who served in the National Guard. When a uniformed man came to her door asking if she was Baker's mother, she said yes.
"'Yes,' and then I fell to the ground and somewhere outside of myself I heard someone screaming and screaming," she said.
The Friday night events mark the beginning of what is planned as a weekend of protests ahead of Tuesday's anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion, which began on March 20, 2003.
On Saturday morning, a coalition of protest groups has a permit for up to 30,000 people to march from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial across the Potomac River to the Pentagon. Smaller demonstrations are planned in cities across the country.
Afterward, participants marched with battery-operated faux candles through snow and wind toward the White House, where police began arresting protesters shortly before midnight. Protest guidelines require demonstrators to continue moving while on the White House sidewalk.
"We gave them three warnings, and they broke the guidelines," said Lt. Scott Fear. "There's an area on the White House sidewalk where you have to keep moving."
222 people arrested; Bush away for weekend
About 100 people crossed the street from Lafayette Park -- where thousands of protesters were gathered -- to demonstrate on the White House sidewalk late Friday. Police began cuffing them and putting them on buses to be taken for processing.
Fear said 222 people had been arrested by Saturday morning. The first 100 were charged with disobeying a lawful order, and the others with crossing a police line. All of them were fined $100.
The windows of the executive mansion were dark, as the president was away for the weekend at Camp David in Maryland.
A change of heart over time toward Iraq war
John Pattison, 29, said he and his wife flew in from Portland, Oregon, to attend his first anti-war rally. He said his opposition to the war had developed over time.
"Quite literally on the night that shock and awe commenced, my friend and I toasted the military might of the United States," Pattison said. "We were quite proud and thought we were doing the right thing."
He said the way the war had progressed and U.S. foreign policy since then had forced him to question his beliefs.
"A lot of the rhetoric that we hear coming from Christians has been dominated by the religious right and has been strong advocacy for the war," Pattison said. "That's just not the way I read my Gospel."
'The war, from a Christian point of view, is morally wrong'
The ecumenical coalition that organized the event, Christian Peace Witness for Iraq, distributed 3,200 tickets for the service in the cathedral, with two smaller churches hosting overflow crowds. The cathedral appeared to be packed, although sleet and snow prevented some from attending.
"This war, from a Christian point of view, is morally wrong -- and was from the beginning," the Rev. Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners/Call to Renewal, one of the event's sponsors, said toward the end of the service to cheers and applause. "This war is ... an offense against God."
In his speech, the Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, senior pastor at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church, lashed out at Congress for being "too morally inept to intervene" to stop the war, but even more harshly against President Bush.
'Mr. Bush, we need a surge in truth-telling'
"Mr. Bush, my Christian brother, we do need a surge in troops. We need a surge in the nonviolent army of the Lord," he said. "We need a surge in conscience and a surge in activism and a surge in truth-telling."
Celeste Zappala of Philadelphia recounted how she learned of the death of her son, Sgt. Sherwood Baker, who served in the National Guard. When a uniformed man came to her door asking if she was Baker's mother, she said yes.
"'Yes,' and then I fell to the ground and somewhere outside of myself I heard someone screaming and screaming," she said.
The Friday night events mark the beginning of what is planned as a weekend of protests ahead of Tuesday's anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion, which began on March 20, 2003.
On Saturday morning, a coalition of protest groups has a permit for up to 30,000 people to march from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial across the Potomac River to the Pentagon. Smaller demonstrations are planned in cities across the country.
Gas-laden bombs sicken hundreds in Iraq
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Three suicide bombers driving trucks rigged with tanks of toxic chlorine gas struck targets in heavily Sunni Anbar province including the office of a Sunni tribal leader opposed to al-Qaida. The attacks killed at least two people and sickened 350 Iraqi civilians and six U.S. troops, the U.S. military said Saturday.
This...Is Your Brains On Drugs
Oil Change
45 year-old Amy Brasher was arrested in San Antonio, Texas,
after a mechanic reported to police that 18 packages of
marijuana were packed in the engine compartment of the car
which she had brought to the mechanic for an oil change.
According to police, Brasher later said that she didn't
realize that the mechanic would have to raise the hood to
change the oil.
45 year-old Amy Brasher was arrested in San Antonio, Texas,
after a mechanic reported to police that 18 packages of
marijuana were packed in the engine compartment of the car
which she had brought to the mechanic for an oil change.
According to police, Brasher later said that she didn't
realize that the mechanic would have to raise the hood to
change the oil.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Rove Behind Firings
Is the House of Bush finally crumbling?
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Newly_released_emails_implicate_Rove_in_0315.html
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Newly_released_emails_implicate_Rove_in_0315.html
Drunk Dials Police Instead Of Tow Truck
"A drunk driver was arrested in Germany after he accidentally rang the police instead of a breakdown service when he had a flat tyre.
Before he realised who he was speaking to, the 31-year-old let it slip that he had no licence and was driving under the influence.
The civil servant, who lost his licence eight years ago, had a blow out in the western town of Monheim while driving a car borrowed from a friend.
He had a blood alcohol level that was seven times the legal limit, and when he tried to call the German equivalent of the AA he became confused and dialled the emergency number for the police.
The drunken man phoned and said: "My car is broken and I need you to come and fix it. You better be quick because I'm really pretty drunk and I don't have a licence so it wouldn't be good if the cops drove past."
A Monheim police spokesman said: "He wanted us to come quickly, so we did."
Before he realised who he was speaking to, the 31-year-old let it slip that he had no licence and was driving under the influence.
The civil servant, who lost his licence eight years ago, had a blow out in the western town of Monheim while driving a car borrowed from a friend.
He had a blood alcohol level that was seven times the legal limit, and when he tried to call the German equivalent of the AA he became confused and dialled the emergency number for the police.
The drunken man phoned and said: "My car is broken and I need you to come and fix it. You better be quick because I'm really pretty drunk and I don't have a licence so it wouldn't be good if the cops drove past."
A Monheim police spokesman said: "He wanted us to come quickly, so we did."
More Men Report Sexual Harrassment At Work
Newly released data from the EEOC showed that 15.4 percent of the 12,025 charges of sexual harassment in fiscal year 2006 were filed by men, as opposed to 11.6 percent a decade ago.
Although the data released does not indicate whether the harassers were male, typically that is the case, experts say.
"There are positive changes taking place in the workplace that are allowing and encouraging men to report these claims," said Danny Baker, of the Washington-based Gender Public Advocacy Coalition. "This is also related to an increasing dialogue about what we call male-on-male sexual harassment."
He added that contrary to expectation, the people filing the claims as well as the harassers are usually heterosexual males.
"It's mostly about gender stereotypes ..., about policing codes of gender in the workplace," Baker said.
An employee, for example, could be harassed by a male co-worker and called effeminate or a sissy, not because of that person's sexual orientation but in reference to established codes of masculinity, Baker said.
Sexual harassment occurs when one is subjected to "unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature," according to the EEOC.
Baker and other experts warned that the fact that more complaints are being filed by men may mean that victims are more willing to report discrimination, rather than an increase in actual instances of sexual harassment.
The EEOC also reported that 75,768 discrimination charges against private sector employers were filed last year, the first increase since 2002. The majority of those charges were based on race (27,238) and retaliation (22,555).
Other charges were based on age (16,548), disability (15,575), national origin (8,327) and religion (2,541). Individuals may base their charges on multiple types of discrimination.
"These figures tell us that discrimination remains a persistent problem in the 21st century workplace," EEOC chair Naomi Earp said in a statement. "The Commission continues to work closely with our stakeholders to implement new strategies to stop discrimination before it starts.
"We are striking a vital balance between outreach and education on one hand, and enforcement and litigation on the other."
Although the data released does not indicate whether the harassers were male, typically that is the case, experts say.
"There are positive changes taking place in the workplace that are allowing and encouraging men to report these claims," said Danny Baker, of the Washington-based Gender Public Advocacy Coalition. "This is also related to an increasing dialogue about what we call male-on-male sexual harassment."
He added that contrary to expectation, the people filing the claims as well as the harassers are usually heterosexual males.
"It's mostly about gender stereotypes ..., about policing codes of gender in the workplace," Baker said.
An employee, for example, could be harassed by a male co-worker and called effeminate or a sissy, not because of that person's sexual orientation but in reference to established codes of masculinity, Baker said.
Sexual harassment occurs when one is subjected to "unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature," according to the EEOC.
Baker and other experts warned that the fact that more complaints are being filed by men may mean that victims are more willing to report discrimination, rather than an increase in actual instances of sexual harassment.
The EEOC also reported that 75,768 discrimination charges against private sector employers were filed last year, the first increase since 2002. The majority of those charges were based on race (27,238) and retaliation (22,555).
Other charges were based on age (16,548), disability (15,575), national origin (8,327) and religion (2,541). Individuals may base their charges on multiple types of discrimination.
"These figures tell us that discrimination remains a persistent problem in the 21st century workplace," EEOC chair Naomi Earp said in a statement. "The Commission continues to work closely with our stakeholders to implement new strategies to stop discrimination before it starts.
"We are striking a vital balance between outreach and education on one hand, and enforcement and litigation on the other."
Pentegon Report Now Admits Violence IS Civil War
"Some elements of the situation in Iraq are properly descriptive of a 'civil war,' including the hardening of ethnosectarian identities and mobilization, the changing character of the violence and population displacements," says a 42-page assessment of the Iraq war issued Wednesday by the Pentagon, according to the Associated Press.
"A similar assessment released by the U.S. intelligence community last month came to roughly the same conclusion," writes the AP.
Full Report Here:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/14/america/NA-GEN-US-Iraq-Civil-War.php
"A similar assessment released by the U.S. intelligence community last month came to roughly the same conclusion," writes the AP.
Full Report Here:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/14/america/NA-GEN-US-Iraq-Civil-War.php
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Hump Day Hysterics
I saw a woman slam on her brakes, get out of her vehicle and start screaming at another motorist.
Unbelievable, considering it was the screaming nutcase's fault for not yeilding.
Unbelievable, considering it was the screaming nutcase's fault for not yeilding.
Bill Will Stop The Rewriting Of History
"A bill sponsored by the chair of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), seeks to stop the "rewriting of history" by restoring full access to presidential records, RAW STORY has learned.
"There are those who would like to rewrite history for their own purposes," Waxman warned in a floor speech, available at the Speaker of the House's blog, The Gavel.
Waxman was speaking out in favor of the Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007, a bill he co-sponsored to cancel a 2001 executive order by President George W. Bush that "gave current and former presidents and vice presidents broad authority to withhold presidential records or delay their release indefinitely," according to a fact sheet at Waxman's website.
"It would allow the records, the raw information to be available, and let those who want to interpret those events do so as they see fit," Waxman said of the bill.
In a recent hearing conducted by Waxman's committee, Thomas Blanton of the group National Security Archive slammed President Bush's executive order as obstructing the availability of documents from previous administrations.
"We had a fair, reasonable, workable, sensible, clear, orderly process producing millions of records before this executive order, and we haven't had it since," he said."
"There are those who would like to rewrite history for their own purposes," Waxman warned in a floor speech, available at the Speaker of the House's blog, The Gavel.
Waxman was speaking out in favor of the Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007, a bill he co-sponsored to cancel a 2001 executive order by President George W. Bush that "gave current and former presidents and vice presidents broad authority to withhold presidential records or delay their release indefinitely," according to a fact sheet at Waxman's website.
"It would allow the records, the raw information to be available, and let those who want to interpret those events do so as they see fit," Waxman said of the bill.
In a recent hearing conducted by Waxman's committee, Thomas Blanton of the group National Security Archive slammed President Bush's executive order as obstructing the availability of documents from previous administrations.
"We had a fair, reasonable, workable, sensible, clear, orderly process producing millions of records before this executive order, and we haven't had it since," he said."
Drudge Report Taking The Uncredible, Stating It Fact
Internet news site The Drudge Report is passing off Iraq casualty figures from a questionable media outlet as fact, a journalist blogger asserts.
"Any legitimate news that U.S. troop deaths are sharply down, in a way that is statistically significant, would be welcomed with open arms by all," says Will Bunch, a senior Philadelphia Daily News writer, at his blog Attytood.
"Matt Drudge is running what purports to be just such a story on the top left of his incredibly influentual Web site right now as I write this," Bunch continues. "The headline reads: 'Baghdad security crackdown seriously curbs killings of US soldiers...'"
He invites readers to check the source of Drudge's link. "The article is not from a credible, independent media outlet," he continues, "but from the Kuwait News Agency (or KUNA). Kuwait is still America's biggest ally in the Gulf (for obvious reasons) and so the source of the story is a huge tell here."
The KUNA article credits the launch of new Baghdad security measures as the reason for a 60 percent decline in "the rate of killings of US troops in Iraq."
Bunch takes issue with a disclaimer in the piece that states, "The statistics excluded US troops killed in other governorates such as Al-Anbar, Diyala, and Salahiddin," which, he counters with data of his own, misrepresents the story.
He accuses Drudge of "spreading a Big Lie," even as the Senate debates troop withdrawal from Iraq.
Bunch writes, "No doubt, the gist of that headline is bounding around the airwaves of talk radio and in the electrons of cyberspace as we speak.
"And it is also influencing the judgment of America's news directors," he continues. "Mark Halperin, the political director of ABC News, and John Harris, who had the same job at the Washington Post and now runs The Politico, wrote a book chapter recently entitled 'How Matt Drudge Rules Our World.'"
"If Matt Drudge really rules their world," Bunch concludes, "it's time for a revolution."
"Any legitimate news that U.S. troop deaths are sharply down, in a way that is statistically significant, would be welcomed with open arms by all," says Will Bunch, a senior Philadelphia Daily News writer, at his blog Attytood.
"Matt Drudge is running what purports to be just such a story on the top left of his incredibly influentual Web site right now as I write this," Bunch continues. "The headline reads: 'Baghdad security crackdown seriously curbs killings of US soldiers...'"
He invites readers to check the source of Drudge's link. "The article is not from a credible, independent media outlet," he continues, "but from the Kuwait News Agency (or KUNA). Kuwait is still America's biggest ally in the Gulf (for obvious reasons) and so the source of the story is a huge tell here."
The KUNA article credits the launch of new Baghdad security measures as the reason for a 60 percent decline in "the rate of killings of US troops in Iraq."
Bunch takes issue with a disclaimer in the piece that states, "The statistics excluded US troops killed in other governorates such as Al-Anbar, Diyala, and Salahiddin," which, he counters with data of his own, misrepresents the story.
He accuses Drudge of "spreading a Big Lie," even as the Senate debates troop withdrawal from Iraq.
Bunch writes, "No doubt, the gist of that headline is bounding around the airwaves of talk radio and in the electrons of cyberspace as we speak.
"And it is also influencing the judgment of America's news directors," he continues. "Mark Halperin, the political director of ABC News, and John Harris, who had the same job at the Washington Post and now runs The Politico, wrote a book chapter recently entitled 'How Matt Drudge Rules Our World.'"
"If Matt Drudge really rules their world," Bunch concludes, "it's time for a revolution."
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Butt, Butt, Butt....It's My Destiny
Naked buttocks can predict future, claims a blind German psychic. He says he can read people's futures by feeling their naked buttocks.
Clairvoyant Ulf Buck, 39, claims that people's buttocks have lines like those on the palm of the hand, which can be read to reveal much about their character and destiny.
"The bottom is much more intense -- it has a much stronger power of expression than the hand in my experience," Buck told Reuters. "It goes on developing throughout your life."
By running his fingers along a number of lines on the surface of a client's naked buttocks, he says he can tell them about their future monetary success, family life, health and happiness.
He says lines representing success, career and artistic ability extend inwards from the outer extremities of the buttocks, while a further five lines radiate outwards.
Buck, who lives in the northern village of Meldorf, northwest of Hamburg, says all types come to him to have their bottoms read.
He sees his blindness as a great asset, not least because it means customers do not risk having their identities revealed, Reuters reports.
"All sorts come, from cleaning ladies and secretaries to prominent members of the community. For them, my being blind is an advantage because I can do it without recognizing them again in the future." Buck has been blind since the age of three.
"An apple-shaped, muscular bottom indicates someone who is charismatic, dynamic, very confident and often creative. A person who enjoys life," he said. "A pear-shaped bottom suggests someone very steadfast, patient and down-to-earth."
He is quick to shoot down any suggestion that his buttock groping might be motivated by anything other than a genuine desire to probe people's futures.
Clairvoyant Ulf Buck, 39, claims that people's buttocks have lines like those on the palm of the hand, which can be read to reveal much about their character and destiny.
"The bottom is much more intense -- it has a much stronger power of expression than the hand in my experience," Buck told Reuters. "It goes on developing throughout your life."
By running his fingers along a number of lines on the surface of a client's naked buttocks, he says he can tell them about their future monetary success, family life, health and happiness.
He says lines representing success, career and artistic ability extend inwards from the outer extremities of the buttocks, while a further five lines radiate outwards.
Buck, who lives in the northern village of Meldorf, northwest of Hamburg, says all types come to him to have their bottoms read.
He sees his blindness as a great asset, not least because it means customers do not risk having their identities revealed, Reuters reports.
"All sorts come, from cleaning ladies and secretaries to prominent members of the community. For them, my being blind is an advantage because I can do it without recognizing them again in the future." Buck has been blind since the age of three.
"An apple-shaped, muscular bottom indicates someone who is charismatic, dynamic, very confident and often creative. A person who enjoys life," he said. "A pear-shaped bottom suggests someone very steadfast, patient and down-to-earth."
He is quick to shoot down any suggestion that his buttock groping might be motivated by anything other than a genuine desire to probe people's futures.
Mills To "Dance"
"NEW YORK (AP) -- Heather Mills says her decision to compete on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" is no publicity stunt. Mills, who is divorcing former Beatle Paul McCartney, says she is appearing on the show for charity, not to gain public sympathy.
"I've been chased and hounded for 10 months and told I'm a publicity-seeker, yet I've never gone out and done anything," the activist and former model says in an interview that was to air Tuesday on the syndicated TV show "Access Hollywood."
Mills, who lost her leg below the knee in a 1993 motorcycle accident, is the first contestant with an artificial limb to compete on the dance show.
"As much as everyone would love it to go flying, I'm sure it's not going to come off," Mills says. "It can, once it gets hot, start to slide and come off, so I've pulled a sleeve over the top, which doesn't look as cosmetically good."
She adds: "I've got a secondary spare leg just in case I overdo it on the foot and it breaks or something."
McCartney, 64, and Mills, 38, separated last May after four years of marriage and began divorce proceedings in July. They have a 3-year-old daughter, Beatrice.
Mills says she plans to donate her appearance fee to Viva! - an organization that campaigns on behalf of animals killed for food"
"I've been chased and hounded for 10 months and told I'm a publicity-seeker, yet I've never gone out and done anything," the activist and former model says in an interview that was to air Tuesday on the syndicated TV show "Access Hollywood."
Mills, who lost her leg below the knee in a 1993 motorcycle accident, is the first contestant with an artificial limb to compete on the dance show.
"As much as everyone would love it to go flying, I'm sure it's not going to come off," Mills says. "It can, once it gets hot, start to slide and come off, so I've pulled a sleeve over the top, which doesn't look as cosmetically good."
She adds: "I've got a secondary spare leg just in case I overdo it on the foot and it breaks or something."
McCartney, 64, and Mills, 38, separated last May after four years of marriage and began divorce proceedings in July. They have a 3-year-old daughter, Beatrice.
Mills says she plans to donate her appearance fee to Viva! - an organization that campaigns on behalf of animals killed for food"
Kitchen Rules
As you may have noticed, I deleted the Mooman thread. I did so for a very good reason.
I want Kitchen to be a safe haven. Safe from all the psycho's, hatefulness, hypocrites and liars that we have all experienced on other sites.
I want to know that the people we are talking to are honest, decent and sincere, otherwise, why try and have a serious discussion with them.
If it's flame wars you want, you're at the wrong place. If you want to insult posters from Drudge or PWZ, you are at the wrong place. I'm not saying that I don't expect teasing, and unhurtful flames, but I don't want insults to be the basis of this blog.
If I wanted to deal with all that drama, I'd be posting on those sites. I don't want that. I hope none of you do either and that is why you all have joined.
I want Kitchen to be a safe haven. Safe from all the psycho's, hatefulness, hypocrites and liars that we have all experienced on other sites.
I want to know that the people we are talking to are honest, decent and sincere, otherwise, why try and have a serious discussion with them.
If it's flame wars you want, you're at the wrong place. If you want to insult posters from Drudge or PWZ, you are at the wrong place. I'm not saying that I don't expect teasing, and unhurtful flames, but I don't want insults to be the basis of this blog.
If I wanted to deal with all that drama, I'd be posting on those sites. I don't want that. I hope none of you do either and that is why you all have joined.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Friday Night Gripe
Have a bad week? Something really piss you off?? Just want to complain???
Get it off your chest.
Get it off your chest.
Muffin Mix Mailer Gets Parole
DOVER, N.H. - A Strafford woman who sent a note and powder to police along with her parking ticket fine was sentenced Wednesday to 100 hours of community service.
A jury last year convicted April Bedell, 36, of creating a false public alarm — a felony — over the note, which said she hoped police got the flu, and the powder that spilled onto a Rochester parking enforcement officer.
The powder turned out to be muffin mix, which Bedell said accidentally got into the envelope while paying bills in her kitchen. She said the note wasn't a threat, just a stupid thing to write after sneezing on the ticket and $15 check.
A Strafford County Superior Court judge also sentenced Bedell to two years of probation, a $1,000 fine and a tour of the local jail.
A jury last year convicted April Bedell, 36, of creating a false public alarm — a felony — over the note, which said she hoped police got the flu, and the powder that spilled onto a Rochester parking enforcement officer.
The powder turned out to be muffin mix, which Bedell said accidentally got into the envelope while paying bills in her kitchen. She said the note wasn't a threat, just a stupid thing to write after sneezing on the ticket and $15 check.
A Strafford County Superior Court judge also sentenced Bedell to two years of probation, a $1,000 fine and a tour of the local jail.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Vanity Plates
Today as I was waiting for the stop light to change, I noticed the license plate on the car in front of me. I laughed when I figured out that "NBTNWVS" meant In Between Wives. And it got me thinking what I would have on a personalize plate, if I had one.
What would yours say?
What would yours say?
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