text:
School Mistakes Huge Burrito for a Weapon
CLOVIS, N.M. - A call about a possible weapon at a middle school prompted police to put armed officers on rooftops, close nearby streets and lock down the school. All over a giant burrito.
Someone called authorities Thursday after seeing a boy carrying something long and wrapped into Marshall Junior High.
The drama ended two hours later when the suspicious item was identified as a 30-inch burrito filled with steak, guacamole, lettuce, salsa and jalapenos and wrapped inside tin foil and a white T-shirt.
The school authorities were absolutely correct to exert caution. Under certain circumstances a huge burrito can be used as a lethal weapon......however, it's usually after being eaten and an hour or two later.
Something to keep in mind though: "When burritos are outlawed, only outlaws will have burritos"
No shame here
A North Korean Nuclear Egg Laid
If there's one thing we have learned about Democrats, it's that there is seemingly no limit to degree of chutzpa they are capable of exhibiting.
"They couldn't do that when George Bush became president, and now they can," - Senator (D-NY) Hillary Clinton speaking to the New York Times about N. Korean nuclear weapons capabilities.
For Clinton to say this threat is one hatched under the Bush Administration conveniently ignores when the egg was laid.
In October, 1998 this column chronicled revelations about North Korea having embarked on a nuclear arms program - a program made possible by a deal the Clinton administration struck with North Korea to provide technology for a nuclear reactors on the promise that the technology would not be used for nuclear weapons production..
The deal represented a reversal of nine previous U.S. administration's policy towards North Korea. The Clinton administration committed to $6 billion dollars of foreign aid to North Korea, earmarking it as primarily for the construction of nuclear reactors. This deal made a hostile and belligerent nation the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid in Asia . Rest here
You are the day watchman at a bank and you plant a bomb on a timer to go off at midnight. When it explodes, you turn around and blame the night watchman because it went off on his shift. If this women wasn't so scary she would be profoundly amusing.
Another Mass Grave Discovered in Iraq
Investigators have uncovered a mass grave in southern Iraq containing as many as 1,500 bodies, most of them thought to be Kurds forcibly removed from their homes in the late 1980s.
Most of the victims were women and children who were apparently lined up in front of the pits and shot with AK-47 assault rifles, according to a U.S. investigator.
Around 110 bodies have been excavated from the site so far, nearly two thirds of them children and teenagers.
And the world is not better off without Sadaam as Lurch maintains?
Did Volcker Cut Annan Some Slack?
Despite Paul Volcker's dictatorial declarations and obstructionism, Congress may yet hear from one or both UN Oil for Food investigators who recently resigned.
The Senate may force the testimony of a senior investigator who resigned from the independent committee probing the U.N. oil-for-food scandal because he considered an interim report too soft on secretary General Kofi Annan a senator said Friday.
Paul Volcker, has been calling senators and congressmen, urging them not subpoena the investigator, Robert Parton. Volcker has emphasized the confidentiality agreement in Parton's contract and the U.N.-appointed committee's diplomatic immunity, said Mike Holtzman, a spokesman for the Volcker committee.
But Sen. Norm Coleman R-Minn., who chairs the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and has repeatedly called for Annan to resign, released a statement saying that he has ordered his staff to issue subpoenas as soon as possible to Parton and Miranda Duncan, a second investigator who also quit.
Why Paul Volcker would be "easy"in Annan is at the very least curious. Upon scanning the report, one cannot help but get the sense that it has been moderated.
Fat At 40? Dimentia May Follow
The most convincing research so far suggests that being fat in your 40s might raise your risk of developing dementia later in life.
In a study that followed more than 10,000 Californians for almost 30 years, researchers found that the fatter people were, the greater their risk for Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia. The results were published online Friday by the British Medical Journal.
Hmmm, let's see now, Rosie O'Donnell well on her way, Jerrold Nadler and Teddy Kennedy, succumb intermittently, Michael Moore, been there for years....yep sounds about right.
Osama's Death "Greatly Exaggerated"
There have been intermittent rumlors floating around for the last couple of days concerning the death Of Osama bin Laden. Most of us were highly skeptical, and it appears rightly so.
An Islamist website has inadvertently triggered rumours that Osama bin Laden is dead.The article about the al Qaeda leader carried a headline suggesting the Saudi fugitive had died.It prompted flutters on the financial markets and triggered rumours on internet sites of bin Laden's demise.
However, closer reading of the article revealed that the author was simply suggesting the 9/11 architect could die at any time and Muslims should be prepared for his death.
Yasser al-Siri, an Egyptian dissident who ran the Islamic Observation Centre in Britain and who is considered close to al Qaeda, told the Al Sharq al Awsat newspaper that bin Laden is alive.
Diplomats in Pakistan also said it was unlikely the world's most wanted man would have died without them hearing.
Oh well, even close to death works for me.
Al Franken..furter Returns to MN.
He's loonie enough, he's creepy enough, but doggone it will the moonbats be enough to elect him Senator?
But Franken is tiring of merely being a provocateur. Although in just a year his show captured 53 stations nationwide, including eight of the top 10 markets, the most recognizable face of Air America Radio is becoming restless, and ready for a new challenge.
Al Franken wants to be a senator.
The answer is no way. Contrary to the picture the Salon article is painting, Err America is in the ratings toilet. One can surmise that if Fanken's political aspirations elevate to the level of his broadcasting career, he will be on the losing end of the most lopsided Senate election in American history.
Another Sgrena Lie?
I have an unconfirmed story that CBS is reporting an American satellite recorded video that shows the car carrying Giulliana travelling at over 60 mph! If this proves to be true her entire story falls apart.
Update: It's confirmed, Pentagon sources maintain that the distance the car travelled (91 meters)and the time it took (3 sec.) means the vehicle WAS travelling at a speed greater than 60mph.
So, as we suspected Giuliana Sgrena is a communist agenda driven hyper pacifist lying POS.
Update II: It appears from the animation video that the approaching Sgrena car WAS warned with flashing lights and warning fire.
AP Bemoans 3.1% Growth
Reading this AP article, you would think that we are at the precipice of economic disaster. Well, being it's a Republican administration we all know it doesn't take much to send them into a fit of vapors.
Stung by high energy prices, consumers and businesses cut back on other spending in the first quarter, causing the economy to log its slowest growth in two years.
Well, the ever astute folks at Polipundit know better:
..... to put things into perspective, what, pray tell, was real GDP growth in the first quarter of 1997, when the media used to swoon about the economy nearly every single day? Yep, you guessed it, the very same 3.1 percent. In fact, in between January 1, 1996 and December 31, 1997, and despite the brewing tech/telecom mania, there were three separate quarters in which real GDP growth (annualized) came in at or below last quarter's 3.1 percent expansion. (See here.)
There you are, same news, opposite take. Hypocracy.... or maybe their opinions are just evolving.
Iraq Forms New Govt.
Despite the naysayers, doomspewers and other assorted Chicken Little pontificators, Iraq has achieved another milestone in the journey toward a functioning democracy.
Iraq formed its first democratically elected government in more than 50 years on Thursday, ending three months of political stalemate that has crippled efforts to tackle violence.
The 275-seat parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of the cabinet proposed by Jaafari, ending a power vacuum that had dissipated the optimism created by the Jan. 30 elections.
Most of the posts went to majority Shi'ite Muslims, who have gained power after decades of Sunni-led rule under Saddam. Kurds and Sunni Arabs were also strongly represented.
Note in this Reuters article how in the second paragraph the author attempts to talk down this accomplishment by stating that 5 ministries yet need to be chosen. It never ceases to amaze me how during a Republican administration the MSM will take every opportunity to try and turn a silk purse into a sows ear.
PETA Sucks Hind Teat
The 2 year battle between PETA and the California Milk Producers has concluded and PETA got sheared.
The radical organization last week failed in its two-year attempt to have the popular "Happy Cows" ads taken off the tube.
he award-winning campaign is sponsored by a state agency, the California Milk Producers Advisory Board, which credits the ads for record-level sales of California cheese and boasts two billion pounds of production last year. But PETA contended that the ads' tag line, "Great cheese comes from happy cows. Happy cows come from California, was, well, bull.
I'm no agricultural expert, but while PETA charges that most California cows are treated terribly, the ones I see are just like their counterparts in the commercials. On regular drives from the Monterey Peninsula to Southern California and back along Highway 101, I observe mile after mile of lush pastureland inhabited by cows that look much happier lazing in a field than I am navigating through traffic.
Silly, frivolous lawsuit over 2 years probably costing the taxpayer 100s of 1000s of dollars. Another glaring example of why we need to adopt the British system and have the loser of this type of judicial circus pay the court costs.
I am too relevant!!! I am!!!
More Gore Grandiosity
At a Move-On speech yesterday , in what has become a trademark, Al Gore grossly over inflates his own contributions while at the same time completely misrepresenting the opposition. A man who is irrelevant to all but a few in his own party, he speaks as though America is listening....they are not.
Al Gore saved this country once already from attacks on the judiciary, and he'll do it again. That's what he told a fervent MoveOn crowd yesterday afternoon at a Capitol Hill hotel ballroom.
Joining the fray over the "nuclear option," Gore took advantage of his first major appearance since the 2004 election to settle old scores, condemn alleged threats on the judiciary, and contest Republican plans to end filibusters of judicial nominations. And in so doing, the restyled Southern sage accused religious conservatives of "American heresy."
Though Gore repeated familiar arguments against the "nuclear option," he substantially raised the stakes in claiming the essence of America is threatened by the religious "zealots" who are supposedly behind the plan
They Could've had a Coors
The guys been a US Senator 3 months and he already talking crazy ala Boxer, Kerry, Kennedy.
Do these people actually believe this sort of vitriolic nonsense is helping their cause?
In a letter to Focus Chairman Dr. James Dobson, Salazar, a lifelong Catholic, accused Focus of "hijacking" Christianity." The senator also condemned Dobson for agreeing to appear this Sunday in a national simulcast called "Justice Sunday," with Focus on the Family board member Albert Mohler, Jr., whom Salazar labeled as anti-Catholic.
And in the latest incoherent rant he refers to "Focus on the Family" as "The antichrist of the world". Click on "War of Words video"
Update: Salazar Backs Down. Maybe these Dimwits should think before they rant, would save a lot of apologies.
Whoever thought this up has been smoking their socks
Los Angeles = Mexico
Michelle Malkin reported yesterday on the above billboard put up by KRCA-TV, The LA Times has picked up on it in addition to local news.
This illustrates the prevailing mentality of many in the Hispanic community and should provide everyone with a wakeup call.
You can't threaten to Shoot the President????
Err America Go Too Far?
Drudge reports that Secret Service officials are reviewing a skit which aired on the network Monday evening -- a skit featuring an apparent gunshot warning to the president...
Can't do that dimwits, freedom of speech does NOT include threatening POTUS.
Political Expediency Personified
Hypocrites one and all......
Senator Leahy (past Judiciary Chairman and current Ranking Member): "If we want to vote against somebody, vote against them. I respect that. State your reasons. I respect that. But don't hold up a qualified judicial nominee. . . . I have stated over and over again on this floor that I would . . . object and fight against any filibuster on a judge, whether it is somebody I opposed or supported; that I felt the Senate should do its duty." (Congressional Record, June 18, 1998.)
Senator Biden (past Judiciary Chairman): "But I also respectfully suggest that everyone who is nominated ought to have a shot, to have a hearing and to have a shot to be heard on the floor and have a vote on the floor. . . . It is totally appropriate for Republicans to reject every single nominee if they want to. That is within their right. But it is not, I will respectfully request, Madam President, appropriate not to have hearings on them, not to bring them to the floor and not to allow a vote . . . ." (Congressional Record, March 19, 1997.)
Senator Kennedy (past Judiciary Chairman): "The Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court said: 'The Senate is surely under no obligation to confirm any particular nominee, but after the necessary time for inquiry it should vote him up or vote him down.' Which is exactly what I would like." (Congressional Record, March 7, 2000.)
Senator Feinstein (Judiciary Committee member): "A nominee is entitled to a vote. Vote them up; vote them down." (Congressional Record, September 16, 1999.)
Bolton Accuser Plagiarist
LGF has the latest poop on Bolton accuser Melody Townsel and it doesn't smell very good.
The movement to smear and discredit John Bolton is melting down. Bolton accuser Melody Townsel, former leader of Mothers Opposing Bush, is about to get outed as a plagiarizer, and she's whining about it to the people who understand her best—the lunatics at Daily Kos:
When I was in college, 22 years ago, I plagiarized some columns while working for my college newspaper, and I was removed from staff. Months later, while working for another college newspaper, I wrote a review for a local play that tracked closely in format to another writer's review — and, although it was not plagiarized, it made my editors, who had become aware of my recent past, very uncomfortable, and we mutually agreed that I would no longer submit stories to them.
And Powerline has this on accuser Fredrick Vreeland
These Bolton accusers are sure a reputable bunch.
More bad guys captured
Nice roundup of insurgent terrorist dirtbags.
Several unknown territories have committed bloody massacre in al-Sha'ala district led for martyring no less than 35 martyrs and injured 28 with various wounds. The national security forces had arrested 29 terrorists among them one Sudanese through numerous well-arranged raids to terrorists dens in several Iraqi cities. Notably, a terrorist group had failed from tress passing penetrating into Iraqi territories via Syrian borders despite the security cover prepared for it by the Syrian guarding post opposite to mountain post. An official source in al-Najaf province announced that around 140 missiles prepared for launching had been found. Local and world media have circulated with great attention the item of bombing the trapped car at 7:30 of Sunday-Monday night in al-Sha'ala city, near Ahal al-Beit Mosque amid a compound for selling ice creams and foods a matter that led to the killing of several innocents and wounding the others, while other people were busy in evacuating wounded and killed persons of the first bombing a matter that rose the number martyrs to 35, half of them from children and wounding 28.
These guys are NOT getting away with this crap anymore.
Nurse Ratchet Italiano
Guiliana Sgrena "Outraged"
Our favorite agenda driven communist loudmouth is spewing her delusional rhetoric again.
A report leaked by an American army official in Washington last night was said to have cleared US troops of any culpability for his death. The official said the soldiers had followed their rules of engagement and should not therefore face charges of dereliction of duty.
In a front page editorial in her left-wing daily Il Manifesto, Sgrena called on Silvio Berlusconi, the Prime Minister, to respond what she called a "slap in the face for the Italian Government".
"Obviously, our two testimonies given to the American commission were useless. Or will I be charged with perjury?" questioned the journalist. [one can only hope]
"The greatest disappointment would be if our authorities were to accept this insult without reacting."
The "greatest insult" is that this "journalist" has a forum from which to spit her venom.
Jawa has this.
New strategy details security handover in Iraq
This article from Janes Defence Weekly gives a pretty good indication of the military's planned exit timetabe in Iraq. Read the whole article, quite enlightening.
A long-awaited strategic guidance document was issued to US military commanders in Iraq earlier this month, outlining specific milestones in the handover of the security mission to Iraqi security forces.
The strategy states that the Iraqi Army, along with security forces from the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, are to assume the internal defence mission in Iraq by December this year.
Issued by the Commanding General Multi-National Force - Iraq US Army General George Casey, the strategic guidance presents an ambitious plan for recruiting, training and equipping Iraqi Army units to assume the internal defence mission that for the past two years has fallen on primarily US and UK units. It contains a three-phase timetable for training and preparing the Iraqi Army to assume the main effort in counter-insurgency operations.
A House of Ill Content
The Democrats had an inter- party hissy fit over divisions in their ranks on the bankruptcy bill. Ranter-in-Chief none other than Nancy (smile when you say that) Pelosi.
A major rift has developed within the House Democratic Caucus, as moderates and liberals wage a war over influence and questions mount over the leadership's direction for the minority party.
Tensions flared at the gathering over recent defections by moderate Democrats on key votes, most particularly the recent bankruptcy bill, in which 73 Members including House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (Md.) sided with the GOP. The meeting left Hoyer defending the moderates' votes and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) siding with progressives and criticizing centrists.
"People are frustrated we had a divided leadership on this bill and they were very outspoken on the opposite sides. Maybe that's what helped this meeting turn into what it turned into," said a senior Democratic staffer. "It's possible this was the final straw for many."
You gotta love it. Kinda like in high school when your two worst enemy's got into a knock down drag out fist fight. The only thing you were rooting for was carnage.
It's Our Fault....Again
The blame America first crowd has inducted a brand new member and she's also from Hollywood......go figure.
A city councilman today demanded a public apology from actress Maggie Gyllenhaal for remarks she made suggesting the U.S. bears some responsibility for the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on the World Trade Center.
I think what's good about the movie is that it deals with 9/11 in such a subtle, open way that I think it allows it to be more complicated than just, 'Oh, look at these poor New Yorkers and how hard it was for them,'" Gyllenhaal said in red carpet comments Friday to cable channel NY1.
"Because I think America has done reprehensible things and is responsible in some way and so I think the delicacy with which it's dealt allows that to sort of creep in," she said.
Her and Churchill are singing out of the same songbook; They can tour a Marxist version of "Beauty and the Beast" maybe call it Batty and the Crapweasel.
Update: In the biggest "no-suprise" of the day....Gyllenhaal refuses apology about 9/11 comment, more here
Talk About Arrogance
We have known for years how willing the press is to assume the roll of the Almighty. They rarely miss an opportunity to do just that as this article illustrates.
The moment might have been majestic, but the process was illegitimate. Not one woman played a role in the decision. For 2,000 years, women have been excluded from the priesthood and all other major leadership positions in the church.
I am a lifelong Catholic, and for most of that life I have wondered: How can an institution that professes to be the "one true faith" and world arbiter of morality promote a wholly immoral stance that oppresses half of its membership because of their sex?
The argument is simple, but silly. Jesus Christ chose 12 male apostles to lead his church 2,000 years ago. For two millennia, church leaders have used this rationale to deny women the right to become priests, deliver the sacraments of communion and confession, or serve as deacons. For decades, church activists in the United States and Europe have demanded reforms that would end the oppression. They have been ignored.
The hubris, the insolence, the chutzpa, call it what you will, for this women to presume to dictate what 2000 year old tenants the Catholic church should retain and which it should discard is, at minimum, outrageously bold.
Ms. Washington states she is a "lifelong Catholic". Why would someone adhere to a faith for a lifetime that has a fundamental disagreement with personal beliefs. One might surmise she is a Catholic in Name Only (CINO).
A suggestion for Ms. Washington: Find yourself a relgion that matches up with your own morally relativistic belief system and allow the Catholic Church to remain true to it's doctrine. It may not get you into heaven but, at least, you might feel a bit more warm and fuzzy in this life
Game of Chicken Finale'
This is the week. The two "resubmitted" judicial nominees should hit the floor this week from committee. Now lets see who blinks.
Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell of Kentucky told CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday that the Republican Party now has the votes in the U.S. Senate to stop any planned Democratic filibuster of the president's judicial nominees.
There's no doubt in my mind, and I'm a pretty good counter of votes ... that we have the votes we need," McConnell said on the Sunday morning news program.
Harry Reid exhibits some of his trademark hypocracy on the subject here
Update I: The Dems have blinked, now if we can just keep Frist and some of the more wobbly elements of the Republican leadership from snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
Iraqi Police Arrest Reuters Cameraman
Another terrorist collaborator/facillitator masqerading as the press? Developing......
Iraqi police have detained a Reuters Television cameraman, Nabil Hussein for more than 24 hours in the northern city of Mosul, according to the latest Reuters report. Police hasn't explained the reason for his detention yet.
Update: more here
Pope Benedict XVI Installed.
Mom, grandma escape jail in plot to kill girl
What a terrific example of why Canada is right up there with France in Judicial idiocy.
OTTAWA - Mr. Justice Jean-Jude Chabot called it a terrible crime of pride - to plot to kill one's little girl so the other parent can't have her.
But the Superior Court judge spared a mother and grandmother prison time yesterday, giving them both conditional sentences for conspiring to murder their five-year-old child.
The two defendants, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the girl, had taken her from their home to a hotel in Drummondville, northeast of Montreal, last July, armed with enough pills to kill her, and an exacto knife to slit their own wrists.
"The court would like to stress the extreme gravity of wanting to kill a child," Judge Chabot said, acquiescing to the joint sentence recommendation of the Crown and the defence of two years minus a day to be served in the community, followed by three years probation.
Hmmm, 2 years community service for conspiracy to commit murder.
New Churchill Allegation
Bolton is a vicious bully, Ward Curchill is just assertive.
A previously unreported accusation of intimidation by University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill surfaced during a committee's initial review of his work, but, like other threat complaints, it was not addressed by administrators.
The newest complaint to surface involves former staff member Mary Curran, who wrote a note to Regent Tom Lucero detailing her 1993 experience. She said that she asked Churchill to shut his office door while smoking and that she shut the door when Churchill wouldn't. She wrote that Churchill "proceeded to chase me all the way up to the second floor screaming obscenities at me."
U.S. Detains Six in Iraq Copter Shooting
Anyone notice how many more and how much faster these terrorist thugs are being rounded up lately? Can you say Iraqi informants?
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military said Saturday it had detained six men suspected of shooting down a Russian-made helicopter carrying 11 civilians — including six Americans — north of Baghdad.
An Iraqi civilian helped U.S. soldiers locate the suspects, who were apprehended at two houses Saturday afternoon, the military said in a statement.
Can't run and can't hide anymore because they have no friends.
Update I: More here
Iraqi Security Forces Top 155,000; Positive Trends Continue
The transfer of security responsibilty has been proceeding under the radar. You will surprised how soon our troop strength will be reduced to under 100,000.
WASHINGTON, April 22, 2005 – There are more than 155,000 "trained and equipped" members of the Iraqi security forces, and trends are clearly positive, a senior defense official said during a Pentagon background briefing today.
What's more, U.S. troop strength in Iraq went under 140,000 this week with the completion of the rotation of forces in and out of the country, he said.
Iraqi forces are doing well, this official said. Between 1,500 and 3,000 more soldiers and police are joining the country's forces weekly. "Certainly the capabilities vary from unit to unit, but the trend is clearly positive in development of the forces," he said.
Or....you can believe the left and conclude it's all a big lie.
Fernando Botero Tackles US Abuses in New Work
I am not even going to comment on this lest I launch into an uncontrollable rant.
Columbian Painter Fernando Botero has become one of the first artists to use the horrors of Abu Ghraib as inspiration for his work. In a series of 50 oil paintings and sketches, which is to be exhibited in Rome on June 16, Botero graphically depicts the prisoner abuses at the Iraqi prison.
Beatings, torture and humiliation are not exactly a pleasant subject matter. But painter Fernando Botero sees them as vitally important. Generally known for chubby versions of Old Masters, the 73-year-old artist was so shocked by the prisoner abuse scandals that he started work on a series of pictures to depict the humiliations which Iraqi prisoners suffered at the hands of American soldiers. "I, like everyone else, was shocked by the barbarity, especially because the United States is supposed to be this model of compassion," he recently told the Associated Press.
The European left at their hypocritical best. Have at this one folks, my blood pressure is already 20 points too high.
"What Me Worry"
Kerry Arrives in Hurtsville
John Kerry is finally emerging from La La land and getting a taste of reality.
A fuming John Kerry had "daggers in his eyes" after a fellow Democrat promoted Hillary Rodham Clinton for president — suggesting the 2004 loser is green with envy at a potential rival.
The flap was touched off two weeks ago when Clinton spoke at a Minneapolis Democratic dinner and Sen. Mark Dayton (D-Minn.) told the cheering crowd that he was introducing "the next great president of the United States."
Two days later, Kerry came over to Dayton on the Senate floor "with daggers in his eyes and said, 'What are you doing endorsing my 2008 presidential opponent?' . . . He was very serious," Dayton told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Did Lurch honestly believe that his Dim "buddies" were goin to stick by him for another run, most weren't even that thrilled with him the first time. The Democrat party is famous for eating their losers and a loser that was not all that popular in the first place is definately toast. It's scary to think that a person this naive and delusional came within an eyelash of being President of the United States.
Additional: And since we are on the subject of grand delusions, this.....
Heinz Squeezes Blame From Pope:
Were it not for the man now known as Pope Benedict XVI, Teresa Heinz might already have installed new drapes and carpeting in the White House.
Or so she seems to believe.
Based on remarks Heinz made recently at a Seattle money-raiser, the Pittsburgh ketchup heiress -- a practicing Catholic -- appears to have little fondness for the new pontiff.
You can almost understand why. He did, if you buy her argument, indirectly help keep her husband, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., from becoming president last year.
Captain Ed informs us that the first 2 of 10 previously filibustered judicial nominees have made it out of comittee.
The GOP finally addressed the issue of judicial nominations yesterday by getting two of President Bush's nominees out of commitee and onto the Senate schedule for full confirmation. Democrats, who filibustered both Priscilla Owen and Janice Rogers Brown in the last session of Congress, plan on doing so again -- and will force the Republicans to change the filibuster rule after more than three months of dawdling.
Now let's see who the spineless jelly fish really are.
Would you buy a used car from this women?
Hanoi Jane Back With Tom "Pocky" Hayden
After an attempted "charm offensive" to sell her book, Jane Fonda is back up to her old tricks, and with an old friend we might add.
Their lives were once tightly interwoven, but it was clear last night just how far their paths have diverged. That is, after they crossed again for a few brief moments.
Surrounded by security guards, Hollywood royalty and double Oscar-winner Jane Fonda spoke to hundreds of jubilant fans who turned up at Indigo Manulife to hear her speak and have copies of her memoir, My Life So Far, signed.
She appeared briefly before the raucous throng with one of her former husbands, U.S. political activist Tom Hayden, who had escorted her and listened briefly as she answered questions before dashing off to his own event, a panel discussion on U.S. war resisters in a darkened university lecture room.
During their marriage, from 1973 to 1990, Fonda and Hayden, now 67 and 65, were the "it couple," straddling the lines of political activism and movie stardom.
But now, more than three decades after their infamous trip to Hanoi, when Fonda posed for photos atop an anti-aircraft cannon, they seem to have returned to their roots. Fonda has stepped back into the Hollywood limelight as author and co-star of the upcoming Monster-in-Law, a romantic comedy starring Jennifer Lopez, while Hayden continues to break ground as a political trailblazer.
But snippets of Fonda's earlier political days were evident yesterday when she emerged before the crowd and urged them to head over to the University of Toronto's Innis Town Hall where Hayden was scheduled to speak in 30 minutes. "So, you know, screw the signatures," said Fonda, calling on Canada to offer refuge to war resisters who refuse to fight in Iraq.
"I'd go, but I've got to be here."
Yea, might interfere with her book tour. She comes out with a diingenuous half hearted "apology" to out Nam vets to improve her image and then turns around and disses are men answering the call in Iraq by encouraging and applauding deserters. What a POS.
Wendy's Finger Finder "Fingered"
Many of us suspected that something was amiss when that women found the human finger in her Wendy's Chili. Appears the police thought so as well.
SAN FRANCISCO — The woman who claimed she found a well-manicured finger in her bowl of Wendy's (search) chili last month was arrested at her home Thursday night, police said.
Police in San Jose, Calif. — the site of the Wendy's in question — announced the arrest of Anna Ayala in Las Vegas (search). Police spokesman Enrique Garcia (search) said authorities would not give any details until a news conference Friday.
This sort of public fleecing definately boils my turnips. If it turns out to be a fraud (likely), I hope they levy serious jail time.
Should have had his bullets in his pocket
Cop Misfires on Crapper
So many potential metaphors, so little time.....
SAN ANTONIO - This is one story they'll be telling around the San Antonio Police Department for a long time. An off-duty officer was at a San Antonio auto auction house yesterday when nature called, a police spokesman said.
Officer Craig Clancy strolled to the appropriate facility and was lowering his trousers when his pistol fell from his waistband. When Clancy fumbled for the falling firearm, it went off, twice.
One of the bullets nicked a bit of floor tile into the leg of a man who was washing his hands nearby. That man was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Police internal affairs is investigating. (I wonder in this case if by internal affairs they mean...oh never mind)
Hillary Moneyman Secretly Taped
This from Newsmax:
A relative of an "extremely well-known" Democrat is set to testify in the upcoming trial of Hillary Clinton's former finance chairman David Rosen.
This "well-known" Democrat secretly tape recorded Rosen in a bid to get incriminating evidence about an August 2000 Hollywood fundraiser for Hillary Clinton and her Senate campaign.
Court documents obtained by the New York Sun say that while the informant's identity is being kept secret, "The CW [confidential witness] is related to an extremely prominent and well-known political figure. It can be expected that the fact that CW was working in an undercover capacity for the FBI will become the subject of intense media attention."
You know they will try and use these small fish to catch the ultimate big fish. Buckle up, this could get real interesting.
Update: Sen. Ted Kennedy's brother-in-law is the mystery witness who raised $100,000 for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Update II: - Aaron Tonken. Hollywood con man sentenced to to 63 months in prison last summer for his scheme to defraud donors and underwriters in connection with his promotion and production of charitable events. In a tell-all book, "King of Cons," Tonken recounted organizing the August 2000 fund-raiser and asserted that both Rosen and Sen. Clinton knew about his illegal financing schemes. Here's my 2003 profile of Tonken. Michelle Malkin has a LOT more.
Not so Close After All
Indicative of the prevailing sentiment held by the vast majority of Catholic hierarchy.
Pope Benedict XVI was elected by an overwhelming majority of his fellow cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, possibly rallying an impressive 100 out of 115 votes, Italy's La Repubblica has reported.
But citing Vatican sources, La Repubblica said the German-born Pope won the support of far more cardinals than the strict two-thirds majority needed to be elected.
"It was easy to elect him," the newspaper quoted Mexican Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan as saying.
Hmmm, seems to me I remember reading in either an AP or Reuters article that the choice was extremely difficult. I believe the term "tortured decision" was used.
Employment Continues to Improve
More good news the left will undoubtedly choose to ignore.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans claiming initial jobless benefits plunged 36,000 last week, the largest drop in more than three years, the Labor Department said on Thursday, pegging the drop partly on difficulties calculating seasonal adjustments.
New claims for state unemployment insurance benefits fell to 296,000, the lowest level since early February and the largest one-week drop since 73,000 in early December 2001, the department said.
The closely watched four-week moving average, viewed by economists as a more reliable gauge of labor trends because it irons out fluctuations in the volatile weekly data, fell to 330,250 last week from 338,750 in the week ended April 9.
Liberals will say this is all do to the unemployed committing suicide.
What do These People Expect?
Alrighty then, you stage an inappropriate play and then your suprised that inappropriate behavior results. Sometimes the naivete of these people is incomprehensible. Desensitize one to vulgarity and for that person it becomes difficult to distinguish that which is vulgar anymore. Approve of vulgarity under the guise of art and you are complicit in it's promotion.
Two Winona Senior High School students, Carrie Rethlefsen and Emily Nixon, have found themselves in hot water with school officials. Why? Because after Carrie attended a performance of the play "The Vagina Monologues" last month, they wore buttons to school that read: "I [heart] My Vagina."
"We can't really find out what is inappropriate about it," Rethlefsen said of the button she wears to raise awareness about women's issues. "I don't think banning things like that is appropriate."
How long before a guy comes walking into class with a " I [heart] her vagina." The short sighted myopic imbecility of the school administration in their choice to present this play to high schoolers defies rationale. Well, they have a problem now, one of their own creation. I wish them a lot of luck dealing with it.
The Real Melody Townsel
Rich Lowrey at NRO has a terrific posting concerning the 10 year old allegation against John Bolton by levied by Melody Townsel. I have always suspected her to be a liar, appears she is one first class beeotch as well.
THE BOLTON "SCANDAL" [Rich Lowry] The head of the firm, IBTCI, that was involved in the Moscow incident, when Bolton allegedly chased and threw things at Melody Townsel, has written a letter to the foreign relations committee about the controversy. We've posted the whole thing (it's roughly written), so you can judge for yourself.
Here is a key passage: To the best of my knowledge, Ms. Townsel had limited contact with Mr. Bolton, who at the time she claims was hostile to her, was working on another project for IBTCI in Moscow (Healthy Russia 2000). Ms. Townsel's recollection of what transpired, ten years later, is impossible to square with the fact Mr. Bolton was not engaged by our firm to have any contact with her on any issue related to her activities in Kyrgyzstan. In fact, later Mr. Bolton became our legal counsel to represent our interests before the U.S. Government in response to Ms. Townsel's efforts to try to grab our contract. Her claims against Mr. Bolton make no sense but are consistent with her belligerent attitudes towards others.
The rest of the story is here
Wife of Roy Hallums Interviewed
The must read of the day is the multi-part interview of Roy Hallums wife at The Jawa Report.
American Roy Hallums was abducted from his temporary Baghdad home onNovember 1st, 2004. He was in Iraq as a civilian contractor working onrebuilding efforts. His mission had everything to do with helping theIraqi people rebuild their country after decades of war,mismanagement, and terror under the Saddam Hussein regime.
If you only visit one additional blog today, make it this one.
The Catholic Church steps backwards
This article by the Boston Globe is just one of hundreds you'll read bemoaning the" archaic" selection of Cardinal Ratzinger as the new Pope. Look for additional adjectives such as antiquated, repressive, obsolescent, intolerant, ultra conservative and retro when describing the choice.
WITH THE election of Joseph Ratzinger to be Pope Benedict XVI, the Catholic Church is not joining the 21st century anytime soon. After all the speculation that it was time for a pope from a developing country and after the debate of whether the conclave of cardinals would pick someone who would build bridges toward the church's outcasts and second-class citizens, the church fled to yesteryear, hoping to avoid facing today.
The cardinals made a choice so cautious as to verge on the callous. If Ratzinger's past words guide his rule, his papacy has the potential to irritate and inflame religious and cultural tensions around the world.
Ratzinger was the late Pope John Paul II's enforcer of stark views on many issues that, for all the church's proclamations of love, fuel disdain. In 2003, Ratzinger issued a proclamation condemning government recognition of same-sex unions saying that instead it was the government's responsibility to ''avoid exposing young people to erroneous ideas about sexuality and marriage." Calling civil unions the ''legalization of evil," Ratzinger said politicians who vote for them are ''gravely immoral."
It's really comical to watch secularists try and write about people of faith and religion in general. They really have a fundamental misunderstanding of religious doctrine, it's origens and it's design and purpose in our lives.
As I stated in an earlier posting, "Divine law" on which a churches tenants are based is NOT a living and breathing thing to be modified with the wims of a fickle population. A church does not liberalize it's doctrines because society in general is liberalizing, on the contrary, that is the time a church should assert it's influence to bring an ever decadent populace back into the fold.
It's not about mans law, mans desires or mans view; It's about Gods law, Gods desires andGods view. Divine law is constant, ever vigilant and inviolate. If the church cannot reconcile a given behavior with Gods command, then the behavior must change. Any rationalization to do other wise is to break the communion between God and church and is therefor abhorrent.
The hardest thing for a secularist to understand is the difference between Gods law and mans law. Most believe that Gods law is secondary to mans law or at the very most equal and therefor must change as society changes. It is incomprehensible for these people to fathom a "law" that could be so rigid and inflexible, so nonresponsive to change. They just don't get it and as long as the secularist's cling to this mindset, you may as well be talking to someone fromVenus.
Bolton Vote Delayed 2 Weeks
Three Republicans jumped the fence and allowed the Democrats to prevail. Chafee, Hagel and Voinovich went wobbly and capitulated to Biden, Boxer etc. to delay the committee recomendation of Bolton's nomination to go to the Senate floor.
The frantic mudraking by the left has had an effect and caused the weakest links in the chain to break ranks.
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee delayed a vote on the nomination of John Bolton as U.N. ambassador after a Republican senator said he was not prepared to vote for him on Tuesday and cast the nomination in doubt.
"I've heard enough today that I don't feel comfortable about voting for Mr. Bolton," Ohio Sen. George Voinovich said, stunning fellow Republicans who were set to push the contentious nomination through the committee on a party-line vote.
Pope Has Been Chosen
Breaking.....details when available
Update: Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger Pope Benedict XVI.
Papal fundamentalism"
Since then, Ratzinger has pursued doctrine that can endure, independent of cultural or social trends. He argues that only with a completely separate values system can the Church offer individual freedom. His critics call this "papal fundamentalism", but Ratzinger is unflappable in his personal theology.
Personally charming, quick-witted and fluent in four languages, the Cardinal is a convincing orator. Jesuit Father Thomas Reese calls him "a delightful dialogue partner", but adds that most of the Cardinal's fellow clergy would be too worried about the prospect of excommunication to enjoy talking to him.
When Ratzinger served the Second Vatican Council for three years from 1962, he supported reform. His own background, however, perhaps sheds light on his need for a Church that stands firm against the currents of change and political shifts.
Not Exactly What We Have Been Hearing
And now for something completely different, this from Powerline
This is a Haider Ajina two-fer. He also sent us these poll results that appeared today in the Iraqi newspaper Almidhar. The results are based on a survey of 778 Baghdad residents:
Do you support the pull out of foreign troops?
At once = 12.56%
According to a future timetable= 81.80%
Do not know = 5.64%
Has the security situation improved since the start of the new government?
Yes = 55%
No = 35%
No change = 10%
Guess the MSM is getting their information from the other Iraq....You know, the one in a parallel universe.
Minuteman Project expanding to 4 states
Despite concerted efforts by the left, the press and assorted other nutburgers, the Minuteman Project has been a glowing success.
The Minuteman Project in Arizona announced yesterday it will expand its operations, putting pressure on employers of illegals and setting up civilian border watches in four states.
Project spokesman Grey Deacon told WorldNetDaily the operation has been flooded with calls and e-mails from thousands of citizens across the country volunteering to serve.
Report: Al-Jazeera Reporters Banned From Iran
Often the first step in any major crack down is to boot the press. The mullahs may be setting the stage for a a new round of brutality and repression.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran suspended the nationwide operations of Arab TV broadcaster Al-Jazeera on April 18, accusing it of inflaming violent protests by the Arab minority in its southwest, state-run TV reported.
Al-Jazeera, which is popular among Iran's Arab-speaking minority, is believed to have been the first news outlet to broadcast news of the unrest in Khuzistan province along the border with Iraq. Several people were reported to have been killed. The station's commentators discussed the clashes on talk shows as well.
ACLU: LIGHTING UP ON THE BORDER?
ssffffptt, wow dude, I think they just nabbed two more, bummer man.......Yea bummmmmmer, hey, don't bogart that.
Malkins got the straight uh, err, dope.
Getting lots of e-mail from readers and fellow bloggers about these photos of ACLU "legal observers" (scroll down)--assigned to monitor potential illegal activities of the Minuteman Project--apparently breaking the law themselves and smoking pot on the job.
I've contacted the ACLU of Arizona for comment. Also am tracking down the person who took the photos. I've been informed that the Cochise County Sheriff's Office has the pictures and has received a complaint, but is unlikely to take action.
Look at the photos, bit of crack there as well.
Minister: Italy's Berlusconi to Resign
Not good news. Berlusconi has been an ardent supporter and a strong ally to the Bush Administration.
ROME - Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi will resign and form a new government to strengthen his struggling conservative coalition, the foreign minister said Monday.
Berlusconi had been under pressure to resign since the coalition suffered a crushing defeat in a regional vote earlier this month. Last week, a small centrist party headed by Deputy Premier Marco Follini pulled its ministers out of the Cabinet and demanded that Berlusconi form a fresh government with a new platform.
Berlusconi has been weakened but this is by no means insurmountable for him.
Remember....it's not a lie if you believe it
Huge Voter Turnout in Cuba
How's this for voter participation!
Sunday evening, the Cuban leader said that preliminary voting information would be available in the coming hours. He noted that as of 3pm, 92.09 percent of the 8.3 million registered voters had gone to the polls; a figure he said was similar to previous elections.
In other news, France sends troops to help in Iraq and Iran turns over to the EU all information relating to their nuclear program.
btw, is this what P Diddy meant by "vote or die"?
Shiite Hostage Crisis in Madaen a Canard
Rumors, edgy politicians and a paranoid press all combined to manufacture a crisis that was indeed, nonexistant. The original story decried the taking of 100 Shiite hostages by Sunni terrorist's. Politicians condemned the act as the press hyperventilated over the continuing instability in Iraq. A great story, only thing, it wasn't true.
Three Iraqi Army battalions had surrounded the town of Madaen, just south of the capital, where Sunni kidnappers were said to be threatening to kill hundreds of Shiite hostages unless all Shiites left the town. As the national assembly met, Iraq's top political figures warned of a grave sectarian crisis. Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric issued a plea for restraint. Even the outgoing prime minister released a statement decrying the "savage, filthy, and dirty atrocities" in Madaen.
But as the army battalions arrived in Madaen, they saw streets full of people calmly sipping tea in cafés and going about their business. There were no armed Sunni mobs, no cowering Shiite victims. After hours of careful searches, the soldiers assisted by air surveillance found no evidence of any kidnappings or refugees at all.
I'll offer odds of 10 : 1 that the original spark of this story were fanned into a fire by the press and the politicians not having great deal of experience with a free press bought into it.
Another High Level Terrorst Dirtbag Nabbed
BAGHDAD - Iraq security forces have captured a senior insurgent leader related to Izzat Ibrahim, one of the most sought-after men in the country, the government said on Sunday.
Hashim Hussein Radhan al-Jabouri, a nephew of Ibrahim's, was captured north of Baghdad on March 7, the government said in a statement. He is believed to have commanded a militant cell in the Zaab river region of northeastern Iraq.
Jabouri, a former officer in Saddam Hussein's intelligence services, received funding from Ibrahim to set up his network and carry out insurgent operations, according to the statement.
The anti-Couric
SOURCES: COULTER TO BE ON COVER OF TIME MAG
Drudge has it here.
Ann Coulter epitomizes the way politics is now discussed on the airwaves, where opinions must come violently fast and cause as much friction as possible, TIME's John Cloud claims in this week's cover story.
Guess what state this goofball is from
Gay bishop backs Planned Parenthood
Any clear thinking person would most certainly consider the career choice of Gene Robinson way beyond idiotic. A practicing gay, pro-abortion " religious leader" to guide us heathens to the kindom of the Lord. This man not only privately believes that which we know to be contrary to biblical teachings, he flaunts those beliefs for all to see. The very definition of an oxymoron.
Planned Parenthood should target "people of faith" to promote abortion rights and comprehensive sex education, the Episcopal Church's first openly homosexual bishop told a gathering in the District yesterday.
"Our defense against religious people has to be a religious defense. ... We must use people of faith to counter the faith-based arguments against us," he said.
If this wasn't actually happening in front of my very eyes, I would have to believe the whole thing was just parody. Something concocted by the geniuses over at Scrappleface or the Onion. But it's not parody it's real, incredibly irrational, but real. Either I woke up in the Twighlight Zone or the Episcopalean leadership have lost their collective minds.
Border patrols inspire imitation
Tue April 6th posting: These people are succeeding. The organization and professionalism of all involved is even beginning to win over the skeptics. Prediction: this is only going to grow in size and scope.
NACO, Ariz. -- The Minuteman Project border vigil, which has nearly shut down a 20-mile corridor of the U.S.-Mexico border to illegal aliens, has spawned the creation of similar civilian patrols from California to Texas.
One of the new patrols, known as the "Yuma Patriots," was scheduled to begin operations today along the U.S.-Mexico border south of Yuma, Ariz., to curb rising numbers of illegal aliens flooding into southwestern Arizona.
Dont'cha just hate it when I'm right.
Please let them blame others....
Annan Unmitigated Gall
If there were ever any doubts in your mind as to the arrogance, self denial and just plain chutzpa of the Kofi Annan and the United nations, this should dispel them.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who earlier angered the United States and Britain by calling the Iraq war 'illegal,' has upset both nations again -- this time accusing them of allowing Saddam Hussein to enrich himself selling oil outside the U.N.-run oil-for-food program.
Mr. Annan set off the latest dispute on Thursday by asserting that Saddam made more money smuggling oil to Jordan and Turkey -- under the noses of the United States and Britain -- than he skimmed from the 1996-2003 U.N.-run oil-for-food program.
A bloated and self serving bureaucracy, the UN is little more than a multinational conglomeration of diplomacy clerks who suck up money and spin their collective wheels. An organization full of grandiose delusions of self importance that is only truly effective at one thing, self perpetuation. The ultimate source of rhetorical essay and inconsequential action, the UN is a multibillion dollar testament to lofty ideals without substance. Very much like communism in that it works perfectly in theory but becomes totally dysfuntional in practice.
Coulter's right, all Democrats DO throw like girls.
Bush Fakes Sore Shoulder From First Pitch
Can anyone tell me how the nimrod who wrote this article could possibly know if Bush did or did not have a sore shoulder.
President Bush feigned a sore shoulder on Friday after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at the Washington Nationals' baseball game here, a matchup with the Arizona Diamondbacks that marked the national pastime's return to the nation's capital after 34 years.
For the benefit of reporters and photographers standing on the South Lawn, Bush playfully swung his right arm around and grimaced to indicate stiffness as he walked to Marine One on his way to a Social Security event in Ohio.
Granted, this story is less than trivial, but that's not the point. The doofus from AP presuming to report his rank speculation as fact, is. Just another perfect illustration of a presumptuous, self important MSM "journalist" reporting their opinion as an indisputable truth.
Iraqi forces arrest 30 armed agents from Iran
More murdering terrorist insurgent SOBs out of commission.
Baghdad, Apr. 10 - More than 30 armed agents dispatched from Iran were arrested in the eastern Iraqi province of Diyala, according to sources close to the Iranian opposition People's Mojahedin.
Sources said that the 30 agents were mercenaries of the elite Qods (Jerusalem) Force branch of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Those who have been arrested had a hand in the assassination of the former Governor of Baghdad. Some of them have already confessed to a number of assassinations in Baghdad during their interrogations", the source added.
Wanna bet we left the interrogations up to the Iraqi's.
And then this: Member of Zarqawi group arrested in Karbala
BAGHDAD, April 14 (KUNA) -- A member of the Abu Musaab Al-Zarqawi group was apprehended by Iraqi security forces in the southern city of Karbala, police chief in the holy city Abbas Al-Husseini said.
Frist Getting Ready to Make His Move?
It's beginning to look as though Bill Frist may have the cajones after all. This from the Washington Post:
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is all but certain to press for a rule change that would ban filibusters of judicial nominations in the next few weeks, despite misgivings by some of his fellow Republicans and a possible Democratic backlash that could paralyze the chamber, close associates said yesterday.
Frist feels he has no acceptable options to seeking the rule change unless there is a last-minute compromise, which neither party considers plausible, according to senators and aides close to the situation. "I think it's going to happen," Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) said this week, although he would prefer that Frist wait to allow more legislation to pass before the Senate explodes in partisan recriminations. Aides privy to senior Republicans' thinking concur with Thune.
Drudge has this.
If he has the votes, it's time to act. The best thing that could happen to the Republican Party is for the Democrats to attempt a legislative shutdown, a Jim Jones style political mass suicide.
It's OK boys, you can still dance
Oregon Supreme Court Nullifies Gay Marriages
Just on the wire, I'll post the story when up.
Update: SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- The Oregon Supreme Court on Thursday nullified nearly 3,000 marriage licenses issued to same-sex couples by Multnomah County a year ago.
The court said while the county can question the constitutionality of laws governing marriage, they are a matter of statewide concern so the county had no authority to issue licenses to gay couples.
I don't know about you all, but for me, this is a surprise.
Soldiers Cleared of Wrongdoing in Sgrena Shooting
Per Jawa, the soldiers involved in Giuliana Sgrena shooting at the Iraqi checkpoint have been cleared of any inappropriate proceedure. NYT, LA Times, WaPo, Big 3.....nope, just you, me and the crickets.
It's just one of those things that happens when you mix amateurs with professionals. The amateurs get hurt.
Sgrena, meanwhile, disputes the military's account and says she has little confidence the investigation will reveal the truth.
Personally I have "little confidence" that Giuliana Sgrena is capable of telling the truth.
The Politics of Prevarication
There was a very telling exchange between Sen. Jeff Sessions and Sen. Chuck Schumer on PBS, 2/15/05. One of them lied, care to guess which one?
Sen Jeff Sessions: I need to respond to that. First of all, judges that came up under President Clinton I objected to, but when a cloture motion was filed, every single time I voted for cloture to give them an up and down vote because I never believed they should be filibustered. Sen Schumer, on the other hand, when President Clintonwas there and said it made a mockery of the constitution not to allow judges to have an up or down vote.
Sen Chuck Schumer: I didn't say that.
Sen Jeff Sessions: Yes, you did, I've got a quote.
Sen. Chuck Schumer: No.
Hmmmm, can't both be right, now can they
March 07, 2000 Senate nominations of Richard A Paez and Marsha L Berz
Sen Schumer: I also plead with my colleagues to move on judges with alacrity-vote them up or down. But this delay makes a mockery of the constitution makes a mockery of the fact that we are working, and makes a mockery of the lives of very sincere people who have put themselves forward to be judges and then they hang out there in limbo...
Appears we have our answer.
Giuliana Sgrena Gets a Pass
I don't know why I am dissapointed with the 60 minutes interview of Sgrena. By now I should know what to expect from the MSM and not be a bit surprised when they behave accordingly.
I suppose I was hoping for a classic hard hitting, no holds barred assault on the numerous inconsistencies in her story. Something akin to the blindsided attack on a company CEO suspected of bilking clients out of millions or maybe the verbal blitzkrieg of a hapless meat manager accused of post dating packages of T-bones.
Unfortunately what we got was "You tell your side of the story" type questions, and we'll tell the military's side of the story. Ever notice when they tell somebody elses side of the story, it's never all that convincing? That is a classic way the liberal media can be biased and yet have it come in under the radar. Both sides are presented, so at least superficially it appears fair, however, the side who has the opportunity to tell their own version of events inherently has the advantage. It's a canard used frequently but perfected by NPR.
They could have hit her hard on several fronts. "Why did you say 400 bullets were fired at your car, but looking at these pictures, there are only a few bullet holes visible and the windshield is in tact."Your statement after capture certainly appeared rehearsed, was it." "How about your ideology, you are a communist, aren't you? etc etc etc" This could have been a great interview, full of fireworks, it turned out less than mediocre.
If you didn't watch it, good for you, you didn't waste 30 minutes. If you did watch it like me, maybe next time we'll finally learn our lesson and not waste the time. I keep expecting the MSM will one day wake up and do it right, that they will surprise me. They never do.
Giuliani Sgrena On 60 Minutes Tonight
If you can't stomach watching 60 minutes, no worries. I will so you so you won't have to. I'll have a full report posted by AM Thursday.
Military Action Against Iran?
In a recent poll from ADL the majority of Americans would rather fight than let Iran achieve nuclear capability.
New York, NY, April 13, 2005 … A majority of the American people support military action by the United States and Israel to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons as a last resort, according the Anti-Defamation League's 2005 American Attitudes Toward Israel and the Middle East, a public opinion survey of 1,600 American adults conducted March 18-25 by the Marttila Communications Group.
When asked, "Do you think America should take military action to stop Iran from developing or trying to develop a nuclear weapons program," 53% said yes; 37% said no. When asked whether Israel should take military action to stop the Iranian nuclear program, 51% said yes, 34% said no.
Not that I disagree, but I do find these poll results a bit surprising.
Kenny....
Butters: "I See Dead People"
Cartman passes on to the great Ho buffet in the sky and Butters is haunted. See a vid clip here and here.
After hearing the news
Hillary Won't Like This
In a devastating blow to her chances to win Florida in her likely 2008 presidential run:
MIAMI — A federal appeals court in Atlanta on Tuesday upheld Florida's 160-year-old law enforcing a lifetime ban on voting rights (search) for convicted felons.
Ex-felons sued in 2000 to get their voting rights restored when their sentences are finished, instead of having to apply through a complex system for civil rights restoration. Many never apply or don't complete the process.
Looks like, at least for the time being, the Hildebeast will have to troll for votes elsewhere.
Lutherans propose ordination of homosexuals
The Lutheran hierarchy after seeing the meteoric rise in Episcopal membership do to naming a gay bishop, has opted to hop on the bandwagon. If that were accurate I might understand this move, but alas the opposite is true, membership has actually been hurt by this move. So lets get this straight, compromise your historical doctrine , participate rather than discourage a practice referred to in the bible "an abomination before God" and potentially alienate a significant percentage of your congregation for what would likely be a net loss in membership. An untenable position that is beyond rationalization.
Washington DC, Apr. 12, 2005 (CNA) - The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America may become the first U.S.-based Lutheran denomination to approve the ordination of active homosexuals as clergy and lay ministers, reported the Christian Post.
Any question why this story is being offered up by the Catholic News Agency? They know this is a loser for the Lutherans on several levels, and Lutheran losses spell Catholic gains.
Output from southern oil fields hits 1.1 million a day
Why is it we have to go to the foreign press for this type of news? If one of the majors does have a report, it's section G page 12.
Production from the southern oil fields has recently reached 1.1 million barrels a day, according to Jabbar Ali, head of the Southern Oil Company.
The rate is close to what the company produced before the war and is one of the latest success stories of an industry torn by wars and sabotage.
Insurgents have recently directed their attacks on oil pipelines and installations but they have failed in efforts to harm the fields in Basra, currently the most prolific in the country.
Guiliani vs Hildebeast
In the latest Marist Poll, guess what....
Giuliani beats her 49% to 47% for the US Senate. 51% of New Yorkers want Guiliani to run for president compared to 44% for the Hildebeast. More people don't want Hillary to run for president than do.
50 for Nuclear Option
NRO is reporting that Bill Frist has the required 50 votes to eliminate the filibuster as an option when it pertains to judicial nominees. OK Bill, you got the votes, now, do you have the cajones to use them?
Hat tip Ankle Biting Pundits
Al Sharpton in Trouble...Again
Slippery Al is under scrutiny again for alleged campaign contribution hanky-panky.
The FBI, as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into the Rev. Al Sharpton, secretly videotaped him pocketing campaign donations from two shady fund-raisers in a New York City hotel room and then asking for more, it was reported yesterday.
The Post confirmed the FBI investigation of Sharpton. The two dubious donors whom Sharpton met with in the hotel on May 9, 2003 — Democratic fund-raisers La-Van Hawkins and the late Ronald White — suggested that nearly $90,000 was missing from the official campaign report Sharpton filed with the FEC.
Anyone care to guess how long it will take before some high profile MSM dimwit classifies this renewed investigation as "racially motivated".
Update: Well, what do you know about that, the dimwit I was referring to turned out to be Al himself. NY Post headline: AL SMELLS RACISM.
I Heard it Right
John Kerry was in the process of grilling John Bolton yesterday when I could have sworn he outed a CIA agent (Mr Smith) calling him by his real name Fulton Armstrong.
Kerry: "That's the biggest side step I've seen." In other words, I couldn't crack you. I could be wrong but I think Kerry just divulged the CIA officer's name, Fulton Armstrong which was up untill 10 seconds ago, classified.
Turns out I was right, Neal Boortz says this:
Remember all of the outrage and liberal indignation awhile ago when former ambassador Joseph Wilson's wife Valerie Plame was outed as a CIA agent? Evidently it was an unnamed Bush administration official that supplied the name....and the results of that investigation have yet to be made public. Well, it's happened again. Guess who publicly outed a CIA agent this time?
Massachusetts Senator John Kerry. That's right...The Poodle's faux pas came yesterday as he was slamming U.N. Ambassador-nominee John Bolton at his confirmation hearings. Here's how it went down. For the majority of the hearings, Bolton and the Senators on the committee had been referring to a former employee of Bolton's anonymously, calling him "Mr. Smith." Kerry was questioning Bolton about whether or not his actions toward this person were legitimate, or were politically motivated.Oops...Fulton Armstrong was the anonymous "Mr. Smith," which is how Bolton referred to him in his reply to Kerry.
Time to Inform the Secret Service?
In his opening remarks Joe Biden said "while I was attending the presidents funeral"....... He then stated he meant the popes funeral and that he had made a Freudian slip.
Now it's been several years since I slept thru college psych 101, but that typically means one is saying consciously what the subconscious mind is thinking.
Did he mean to say he has a subconscious desire to attend George Bush's funeral? Would he be willing to use extraordinary means to see that desire realized?
Update:Kerry: Trickery Kept Voters From Polls
This weekend I posted the following snippet:
BOSTON - Many voters in last year's presidential election were denied access to the polls through trickery and intimidation, former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry told a voters' group Sunday. "Last year too many people were denied their right to vote, too many who tried to vote were intimidated," the Massachusetts senator said at an event sponsored by the state League of Women Voters.
Leaflets are handed out saying Democrats vote on Wednesday, Republicans vote on Tuesday. People are told in telephone calls that if you've ever had a parking ticket, you're not allowed to vote," he said.
Well, where do you think he got his information?
Kerry also cited examples Sunday of how people were duped into not voting. "Leaflets are handed out saying Democrats vote on Wednesday, Republicans vote on Tuesday. People are told in telephone calls that if you've ever had a parking ticket, you're not allowed to vote," he said.
Where did Kerry come up with that idea about leaflets saying "Democrats on Wednesday"?
Probably from this story, which appeared a week before the election: With the knowledge that the minority vote will be crucial in the upcoming presidential election, Republican Party officials are urging blacks, Hispanics, and other minorities to make their presence felt at the polls on Wednesday, Nov. 3. . . . "You can't walk through a black neighborhood here in Miami without seeing our 'Don't Forget Big Wednesday!' message up on a billboard, tacked to a phone booth, or taped to a bus shelter," Monreal added. "The Republican Party has spared no expense in this endeavor.
" Before Kerry embarrasses himself further, someone ought to take him aside and explain to him that the Onion is a satirical publication--as is ScrappleFace.com, which came up with the idea first."
Courtesy of James Taranto
Bolton Hearings Begin Today
I will be reporting periodically today on what will like produce a fair amount of juvenile behavior from the left including much ranting and numerous outragious quotes.
9:02 Biden: "neccessary war in Afghanistan and an optional war in Iraq". An optional war you voted to authorize Senator.
9:08 Babs "the bag lady"Boxer wearing a salmon suit, I think I'll throw up now.
9:30 Biden: Blah, blah blah blah droning on and on and on.
10:20 Allen: "We would never tolerate a program being run like Oil for Food in our own government so we should not tolerate or approve when the UN runs it like that." great line.
10:40 Kerry limps in and immediately accuses Bolton of lying about Cuba and potential WMD.
10:46 Kerry: Serious questions about Boltons committment to the United Nations. In it's present state, for once JK is correct.
10:50 Kerry: overall vitriolic but didn't lay a glove on him.
11:00 Coleman:"UN equating Zionism with racism and isn't it legitimate to look with disdain at such."
Bolton: "Was one of the biggest mistakes the UN ever made."
Coleman: "It is legitimate to criticize an organization that has certain countries on the Human Rights Commission."
11:10: Feingold insinuating the administartion has done nothing to improve situation in Darfur.
Bolton: Security council has been somewhat less then cooperative in that effort.
11:20 Bag Lady: "You have nothing but disdain for the United Nations." (playing tape of Bolton's comments) can't understand the tape, it illustrated absolutely nothing???
Boxer: Doing her best to cast Boltons comments as meaning the UN is worthless and should be dismantled. Bolton actually said the UN is over-inflated, bureaucratic and dysfunctional. (he's 100% correct)
Boxers feigned outrage is soooo superficial and transparent.
Osama Obama: "We were able to succeed during the Cuban missile crisis because of the stature of Adlai Stevenson." Oh yea, you bet.
Osama Obama, deer in headlights look, moderate questions, couple of Boltons answers were clearly over his head.
BREAK.....
Back.... 1:10 Biden: begins filibustering again.
Biden: Attempting to hammer Bolton on the removal of "certain" intelligence analysts. Biden spoke for his entire time without letting Bolton adress his rant.
Chaffee: gives Bolton a minute to answer.
Bolton: Wants everything possible in front of the public inferring that the more that is known the more his actions will be understood. To Biden: "I never had anyone fired or disciplined, I only stated that I had lost trust in their analysis."...period.
1:50 Dodd: Minutia concerning the analysts, beating a dead horse."You became red faced and shook your finger at him"yadda yadda silliness.
Dodd: Mr Cohen said you wanted him removed.
Bolton: "I have never had anyone removed because I disagreed with his intelligence." he hee
2:10 Allen: The Democrats are off on a tangent (more like the elephants are stampeding and the Dims are stomping pi$$ ants.)
Allen: Do you think any of (this minutia the Dims are obscessing about, my language) will have any effect on you ability at the UN.
Bolton: NO (Duh....)
2:20 Kerry: For the second time today Kerry calls Bolton a liar. Then says "You are smarter than that" in Kerry's classic patronizing form"No wonder 52% of Americans couldn't stomach him.
Bolton: Told Kerry, just because he says it doesn't make it so....DING!
2:35 Coleman: Cool, articulate, helping Bolton clarify his points....well done.
2:50 Bag lady thinks Bolton needs to apologize to Westland....puhleeeaze, what chutzpa, what arrogance, what a drama queen.
3:40 Biden absolutely beating the Westerman Smith/Armstrong analyst dead horse. They have nothing, but are milking this like a cash cow. It is utterly futile and totally inane.
Biden just spent a half hour asking the same questions he asked earlier in a slightly different way. A complete waste of time, effort and resources.
Biden also undermined his own premise. He asserts that Bolton had Smith "moved" demoted whatever you want to call it because he (Smith) disagreed with Boltons language in a speech to the Heritage foundation. Biden also contends that all in the INR concerned agreed with Smith. Well if that were the case, then why would Bolton be so irate with Smith when the entire INR felt as he (Smith) did. It further strengthens Boltons argument that the reason he was upset with Smith was due to disintegrity in proceedure NOT substance.
4:15 Dodd, baiting Bolton, attempting to get him to try and disprove a negative. Classic Dim crapweasel trick. Bolton aint buying it.
Bolton is exhibiting a tremendous amount of composure, he is calm collected and in control. The Democrats are vicious, snide, arrogant and accusatory, it's not playing well.
4:30 Osama Obama, the absolute best illustrator of the totally obvious of any person I have ever seen bar none.
4:45 Osama Obama: Osama Obama, great looks, terrific voice, smooth demeanor and mentally outclassed by all in the room including the pages.
Adjourn......
Have you been at it again John Boy?
Scores of Terrorist Insurgents Captured
Now this was a professional operation, 65 terrorists nabbed with only a minor injury to an Iraqi soldier.
U.S. troops on Monday launched their biggest Baghdad raid in recent weeks, raiding a central neighborhood and rounding up dozens of suspected rebels, the U.S. military said.
Also 500 members of Iraq's police and army joined hundreds of U.S. forces, sweeping through buildings in the Rashid neighborhood, detaining 65 rebels, Lt. Col. Clifford Kent of the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division said.
Kerry: Trickery Kept Voters From Polls
Either Kerry has been visiting the Democatic Underground a bit too often or he's joined his wife nipping at the raisen Gin. His recent statements show a self-delusional, superficial and puny man embittered by an election where he was beaten fair and square. Rather than acknowledge this as a fact, he would choose to believe the twisted and neurotic rhetoric of the moonbat left. What an ego, so over developed that the mere possibility of being legitimately beaten is unthinkable.
If he truly believes this, he's self deluded, if not, he's a liar. Either way, he most definately isn't fit to hold the office of United States Senator let alone POTUS.
Iraqi Security Forces Top 155,000; Positive Trends...
Output from southern oil fields hits 1.1 million a...
Congress May Launch Sandy Berger Probe
Six Connecticut priests face possible removal over...


text:
Tag: dan loomis bass
A String-Driven Treat and a Park Slope Gig by Irrepressible, Fearlessly Eclectic Violinist Tom Swafford
Violinist Tom Swafford's String Power were one of the most lavishly entertaining, surrealistically psychedelic bands to emerge in New York in this decade. Blending classical focus, swirling mass improvisation, latin and Middle Eastern grooves and jazz flair, they played both originals as well as playful new arrangements of songs from across the years and around the world. With a semi-rotating cast of characters, this large ensemble usually included all of the brilliant Trio Tritticali – violinist Helen Yee, violist Leann Darling and cellist Loren Dempster – another of this city's most energetically original string bands of recent years. Swafford put out one fantastic album, streaming at Bandcamp, with the full band in 2015 and has kept going full steam since with his own material, notably his Songs from the Inn, inspired by his time playing in Yellowstone State Park.
Over the last couple of years, String Power have been more or less dormant, although Swafford has a characteristically eclectic show of his own coming up on Feb 2 at 7 PM the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, where he's a faculty member. To start the show, he'll be playing Ravel's Sonata for Violin and Piano with pianist Emile Blondel. After that, he'll be leading a trio with guitarist/banjoist Benjamin "Baby Copperhead" Lee and bassist Zach Swanson for a set of oldtime country blues and then some bluesy originals of his own. Cover is $15/$10 stud/srs.
The String Power album has a formidable lineup of adventurous New York classical and indie classical talent. On violins, alongside Swafford and Yee, there's a slightly shifting cast of Mark Chung, Patti Kilroy, Frederika Krier, Suzanne Davenport and Tonya Benham; Darling and Joanna Mattrey play viola; Dempster and Brian Sanders play cello, with Dan Loomis on bass. The album opens with Tango Izquierda, Swafford's shout-out to the Democrats regaining control of Congress in the 2006 midterm elections. Maybe we'll get lucky again, right? This elegantly lilting number rises and falls with intricate counterpoint and a handful of frenetic Mik Kaminski-ish cadenzas.
The group reinvents new wave band the Stranglers' synth-pop Dave Brubeck ripoff Golden Brown – an ode to the joys of heroin – with a stately neo-baroque arrangement. The Velvets' Venus in Furs is every bit as menacing, maybe more so than the original, with a big tip of the hat to John Cale, and a Swafford solo that's just this side of savage.
Swafford's version of Wildwood Flower draws more on its origins in 19th century shape-note singing than the song's eventual transformation into a bluegrass standard, with a folksy bounce fueled by spiky massed pizzicato. Darling's arrangement of the Mohammed Abdel Wahab classic Azizah opens with her plaintive taqsim (improvisation) over a drone, pounces along with all sorts of delicious microtones up to a whiplash coda and an outro that's way too funny to give away.
Likewise, the otherwise cloying theme from the gently satirical 70s soap opera parody Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman gets a trick ending. Charles Mingus' anti-segregation jazz epic Fables of Faubus gets a fullscale nine-minute workout, heavy on the composer's relentless sarcasm. In the age of Trump, this really hits the spot with its phony martial heroics and sardonially swiping swells, Chung, Krier, Swafford and finally Loomis getting a chance to chew the scenery.
The album winds up with Swafford's own Violin Concerto. The triptych opens with Brutal Fanfare, a stark, dynamically rising and falling string metal stomp spiced with twisted Asian motive – it makes a good segue out of Mingus. The second part, High Lonesome explores the often fearsome blues roots of bluegrass, with some wickedly spiraling Swafford violin. The conclusion, simply titled Ballad, is the most atmospheric passage here: it sounds like an Anna Thorvaldsdottir vista raised an octave or two.
Looking Back at Some Wild String Madness at Barbes
Violist/composer Leanne Darling is the rare stellar classical musician who can school you with her improvisations. In the early part of this decade, she made a mark as part of the ambitious, dazzlingly eclectic Trio Tritticali. As she proved in that group, she's as at home with latin and Middle Eastern music, string metal and funk as she is with the classics she was trained to play. She has a flair for quirky, sometimes hilarious arrangements of pop and rock hits. Much as she can be very entertaining, she can also be very poignant: it wouldn't be overhype to put her on the same page with Jessica Pavone and Ljova Zhurbin.
The last time she was onstage and this blog was in the house, it was last year at Barbes and she was playing with wild chamber ensemble Tom Swafford's String Power. And it was 4/20. But as much as there was a lot of improvisation going on, it wasn't a 4/20 kind of show: everybody was pretty much on the same page. Considering how much time has passed since then, it's hard to remember who was onstage other than the violinist/bandleader, Darling, and bassist Dan Loomis. Her old Trio Tritticali cello bandmate Loren Dempster, maybe? Patti Kilroy on violin, if memory serves right, with a handful of other string players? Regardless, the performance represented everybody well.
They opened with a striking, emphatically swaying baroque number – Pachelbel, maybe? – with a series of tightly wound solos and cadenzas from throughout the group. Swafford's arrangement of the Velvets classic Venus in Furs was closer to Vivaldi than Lou Reed, full of neat counterpoint and polyrhythms that took on a menacing swirl as the individual group members diverged from the center, Swafford taking a shivery, slithery solo that would have made John Cale smile.
The first of Darling's arrangements, Boogie Wonderland, was the funnest part of the evening. It's surprising that only a few punk bands have covered it. Darling's chart turned it into a constantly shifting exchange of voices. Later in the set she and the group had fun with another one of her charts, turning a schlocky dance-pop hit by Muse into something approaching Radiohead. And Bohemian Rhapsody was as over-the-top hilarious as it possibly could have been, as ridiculously fun as the Main Squeeze Orchesta's accordion version. That kind of insanity aside, the high point of the evening was Darling's arrangement of the Mohammed Abdel Wahab Egyptian classic Azizah.
If memory serves right – a dubious proposition at this point – they might have done a Mingus tune, a twisted mashup of psychedelia and bluegrass, and something that sounded like My Brightest Diamond without lyrics but wasn't. Much as this is Swafford's project, Darling played an important part in it, and her own groups are just as much fun. If you're wondering why this blog would wait this long to cover the show, it's because Darling had a Williamsburg gig scheduled for this week that apparently got cancelled: watch this space for upcoming performances.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Craig Baldwin is a filmmaker and curator whose interests lie in archival retrieval and recombinatory forms of cinema and performance. He is the recipient of several grants, including those from the Rockefeller Foundation, Alpert Award, Creative Capital, Phelan, AFI, FAF, and California Arts Council. Over the last two decades, his productions have been shown and awarded at numerous international festivals, museums, and institutes of contemporary art, often in conjunction with panels, juries, and workshops on collage and cultural activism. His own weekly screening project, Other Cinema, has continued to premiere experimental, essay, and documentary works for over 30 years, and has expanded into DVD publishing and a semi-annual critical journal, OtherZine.


Our friends at Magazines Canada have published their annual state-of-the-magazine compendium of statistics, trends and other research from the Canadian consumer magazine industry. Available in English and French (pdf; 120 pages).
Magazine advertisements, in brief, work better than ads in all other media (there are about 50 pages of stats and research to back this up).
Visit Magazines Canada to download the fact books.
I'm a freelance writer and currently in the process of re-working my business plan.
I'm wondering whether anyone knows where I can find information on how digital magazine publishing has influenced the freelance writing market? I'm especially interested in knowing whether digital (solely) publications have the same pay scale for articles, as print magazines? To date, I haven't found any stats on this, for either Canada or the United States.
Laurie, we don't keep this kind of information, but you may try a freelance writers' organization such as Professional Writers Association of Canada or Canadian Writers Group, who may be able to direct you toward the information you seek.


The question: as oil and gas exploration and production moves into deeper and more hazardous environments, what role do suppliers play in ensuring these areas can be exploited efficiently, safely and cost effectively?
The answer: Integration. Making sure that the way we work is evolving in parallel to technology matching the efforts and resources required to make our offshore oil & gas customers successful. Greater localization and partnerships coupled with a greater focus on regional roles and responsibilities are just a few of the practices that are changing the way the industry works. In GE, we are taking a one-stop shop approach to provide an integrated solution to customers.
Take the power system as an example: the three main pillars (power generation, power compression and power distribution) are currently dealt with by different contractors, each providing their own expertise to a single piece of the jigsaw puzzle. The intertwined nature of this work gives rise to a hugely expensive and complex process of coordination, which in turn creates financial risk should project delays be encountered. With the rising ambitions of new oil and gas exploration sites, it seems that the stakes are only set to get higher.
Looking at some of the long-term projects on the horizon within the context of an integrated approach, we see that integrated components will drive the initial capital cost down while system optimization safeguards availability and uptime of the operation, helping shipyards and owners to save both time and money. Simply put, dealing with one single source of supplier facilitates the procedure, the process and potentially leads to simpler and faster system integration, therefore a quicker delivery with lower risk.
In an industry where downtime can cost over a million dollars a day, a reliable and efficient power solution coupled with an integrated approach has the potential to save companies tremendous amount of money. That is exactly why at GE we have solved this problem for our customers by taking an integrated approach – the latest launch of GE Marine is the best proof to show our strong commitment to this approach.
The rules of the game are already beginning to change. Yesterday's solutions aren't going to answer tomorrow's challenges. Today, contractors increasingly approach suppliers as strategic partners invested in their success, not only bringing critical components to a project but also key project management skills. It's becoming crystal clear that the companies with the brightest prospects will be those capable of offering a one-stop shop for both.
Dave started his career with GEC Turbine generators Ltd as an apprentice engineer in 1974 then progressed through various roles within GE that include project and sales management, Sales Manager for Motors and Oil & Gas Leader. He was general manager for drives at ALSTOM Power Conversion and in 2011 moved to the Marine vertical at GE Power Conversion, where he is currently the Global Market Leader for Offshore Production. In September 2014, Dave completed 40 years of service.


text:
Published On : Thu, Nov 12th, 2020
Featured | By Nagpur Today Nagpur News
Should I Bet on the Mumbai Indians to Win the IPL20
If there ever exists a team in cricket that adequately matches the ability of Alex Ferguson's Manchester United to make historic comebacks at crucial junctures, it's the Mumbai Indians. Out of the 12 seasons that have been played in the coveted IPL so far, Mumbai Indians have won 4 out of them, undeniably making them the most successful team in the history of IPL. Graced with some brilliant players such as Rohit Sharma, De Kock, Yuvraj Singh, Pollard, Malinga, and Bumrah, I can almost be assured of power-packed performances from them in the upcoming 13th season of the IPL.
Reasons to Bet on Mumbai Indians
As of now, you must have understood that MI is the most prominent team to win the IPL20. Although there are many reasons for anyone to bet on the MI, the three most remarkable reasons I find to bet on the Mumbai Indians to win the IPL20 are as follow:
1. They Win a Lot:
Under the captaincy of Rohit, the MI has high potential to keep the momentum running till the end of the season. While they are habitual of perhaps relatively slow starts, they tend to pick up their pace in the middle of the tournament and their subsequent rise is a brilliant spectacle to witness. Out of the 187 matches played by MI over the last 12 years, they have won 107 games, taking the team seven victories ahead of CSK, which follows closely behind at 100 victories. While the win % ratio of the Mumbai Indians, at 57.22%, stands at 2nd place in the league, they lead the tally in the number of games won. You can quite quickly ascertain their knack of winning games on the trot by analyzing their impressive numbers. In addition to this, Hitman Rohit Sharma is the 2nd Highest run-scorer in IPL of all times, having scored an impressive 4898 runs over the last 12 IPL seasons.
2. The MI has 4 Finals since 2013:
The Mumbai Indians may not have begun their IPL journey with early tournament victories or instant accolades. However, they have pulled themselves out of the initial disappointment of the first few seasons and have subsequently gone on to become the most successful team of the IPL, winning 4 out of the five finals played by them. With an overall win ratio of 57.22% and a final win ratio of 80%, coupled with some splendid players, MI has a strong chance of winning the next edition as well. While 2 out of the said four finals have gone down to the wire, with CSK being MI's victim on both occasions, it does not signify that the performances given by the players weren't solid, or that the team can't dominate. MI is primarily habitual of dominating the latter part of the tournament and taking the opposition by utter surprise.
3. The Unity and the Performance of the Players:
One of the biggest strengths is MI's rich arsenal of players who have this inherent ability to stick together and playing as a unit. Armed with a comprehensive batting unit consisting of Rohit Sharma, SK Yadav, De Kock, Hardik Pandya, Pollard, and Ben Cutting. Rohit is in a rich vein of form having scored runs in the India and Bangladesh 2019 series.
Add to this a strong bowling attack such as Bumrah, Malinga, Milne, and McClenaghan, along with a rich coaching unit; the squad is a perfect mixture of youth and experience.
If this unit sticks together, this squad has a very strong chance of coming out on top in the coming IPL season again. Additionally, it is an added impetus that players such as Yuvraj and Malinga, who were once accused of having entirely lost their touch, have recently displayed their old prowess.
MI to Win the IPL?
While it is impossible to predict a clear winner in a tournament as power-packed as the IPL, I can trust the balance of probabilities to favor MI yet again. After all, a team that has reached 5 out of 12 finals played can never be ruled out as potential champions. Even if they have a rocky start, they have shown us on various occasions that they are more than just capable of making a grand comeback.
Why Most People Prefer Watching Movies Online? – Here Are Some Benefits
Are card games taking over the gaming industry? Junglee Rummy says yes!
What is the Difference Between One Line and Multiple Lines Slots?


text:
F yeah! Architect designs second York Street subway exit
By Lauren Gill Posted on June 23, 2016
Delson or Sherman Architects
Call it an exit strategy.
A Dumbo architect has drawn up plans for a long-sought-after second egress to the York Street F station in the hopes of easing the insufferable rush-hour crowding at the lone doorway of the packed train terminal.
"On a daily basis the station is overly congested and feels dangerous," said Jeff Sherman, a Prospect Heights resident who uses the station to get to and from his job at Delson or Sherman Architects on Jay Street. "It seems like a new entrance is inevitable, it's going to happen."
York Street station currently has only one way in and one way out — up a ramp, then a staircase, then through a single opening in a ventilation tower on Jay Street — which locals say is already too congested and would be a disaster in an emergency evacuation situation.
And it is only getting more dangerous — ridership swelled from 6,000 riders a day in 2009 to 9,300 last year, as the neighborhood's population has boomed with an influx of offices and residential developers.
Sherman's proposal is to construct a new staircase and elevator from the plaza at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge off Jay Street, near the end of High Street.
The location is a "no brainer," he said, because it is empty and boring right now, and it is right near the far end of the platform — which runs underneath Jay Street — so no costly extensions to the train podium would be required.
"It's quite spacious and thoroughly under-used," Sherman said of the plaza. "Most people don't even know it's there, and putting something in like an entrance might activate a forgotten bit of public space."
His proposal also calls for renovations to the lone current entrance, including adding three more turnstiles to the current trio, relocating the information booth to create more room, and adding lighting to the station's tired exterior that would fade in and out "to the rhythm of calm respiration" like so:
F-antastic: The plan shows how straphangers would get to and from the F train.
Sherman says he dug up the original plans for the station from the 1930s, and used them to guide his proposal.
In fact, the city intended to create two entrances when it first designed the station as part of the Independent Subway System Sixth Avenue Line, with the second entrance under the Manhattan Bridge. But, as he was wont to do, urban planner Robert Moses foiled things by shoving the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in the way.
Sherman says he has sent his plans to real-estate tycoons and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in the hopes of finding backers to make it happen.
So far, he has received words of encouragement from developers but only automated responses to e-mails from the transit authority, he said.
The state-run transit body has said in the past that it wants the city to force developers to pay for station upgrades when their new buildings add a significant numbers of new riders.
The most obvious candidate for York Street would be Jared Kushner — the son-in-law and right-hand man of Donald Trump — who is in the process of redeveloping a massive five-building office complex called Dumbo Heights nearby, and is reportedly set to buy a massive empty lot next door to the station where he could build a thousand units of new housing.
Kushner Companies, however, declined to comment on Sherman's plan.
The transportation authority did not return a request for comment.
Blueprints: The second egress would be located near the edge of the existing platform at the end of High Street.
Reach reporter Lauren Gill at lgill@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260–2511. Follow her on Twitter @laurenk_gill
Subway creep flashes and spits at MTA conductor in Brooklyn
MTA set to award $368 million contract to modernize G line signals
Teen shot in leg at Brooklyn subway station: NYPD
Southern Brooklyn F train service suspended most weekends through 2023, starting Friday