Email doing the rounds
Number 10 - Life is sexually transmitted.
Number 9 - Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
Number 8 - Men have two emotions: Hungry and Horny. If you see him without an erection, make him a sandwich!
Number 7 - Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach a person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks.
Number 6 - Some people are like a Slinky..... not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs.
Number 5 - Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.
Number 4 - All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.
Number 3 - Why does a slight tax increase cost you two hundred bucks and a substantial tax cut saves you thirty cents?
Number 2 - In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.
AND THE NUMBER 1 THOUGHT FOR 2005:
We know exactly where one cow with mad-cow-disease is located among the millions and millions of cows in America but we haven't got a clue as to where thousands of illegal immigrants and terrorists are located.
Maybe we should put the Department of Agriculture in charge of immigration.
TAMPA - One of two former Carolina Panthers cheerleaders arrested in a Channelside nightclub bathroom said Thursday she was crying over an ex-boyfriend - not having sex with her teammate - when a fracas erupted over the women sharing a stall.
Angela Keathley, 26, of Charlotte, N.C., released the statement through Tampa attorney Joe Episcopo. "She just wanted to make clear there was no sex," he said.
At least two women alleged in a Tampa police report they heard moaning in a Banana Joe's bathroom stall about 2 a.m. Sunday and thought Keathley and Victoria Renee Thomas, 20, of Pittsboro, N.C., were having sex. Another woman thought Thomas was drunk and ill. . . .
When the women emerged, Thomas punched Melissa Holden, a woman waiting to use the bathroom, police said. Thomas identified herself to police using another cheerleader's driver's license, for which she faces a felony charge, in addition to misdemeanor battery. Police are still investigating how she obtained the license. . . .
Keathley and Thomas lost their slots on the cheerleading squad, known as the TopCats, after posting bail.
Meanwhile, to capitalize on its sudden notoriety, Banana Joe's is offering no cover charge on Fridays and Saturdays to patrons who dress like cheerleaders. Actual cheerleaders who are 21 or older can drink free, said Bridgette Collier, director of operations.
Posted by: Mike ||
11/11/2005 19:16 ||
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After years of fierce lobbying and months of secrecy, Beijing unveiled five mascots for the 2008 Olympics on Friday, opening a marketing blitz that is expected to reap record profits.
In an elaborate, nationally televised gala at a Beijing sports arena to mark the 1,000-day countdown until the Games, senior Chinese leaders introduced the mascots â cartoon renditions of a panda, fish, Tibetan antelope, swallow and the Olympic flame, each one the color of one of the Olympic rings. Hmmm, Tibetan antelope -- I'm amazed that there's no Taiwan endangered species in the pack.
"The five friendlies are an incredible little family carefully chosen by Beijing 2008 to represent all of China to carry a message of friendship to the children of the world,"
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said in a statement that was read at the ceremony.
"China is so lucky to have so many beautiful animals to represent the Olympic spirit," Rogge said.
The animals were introduced as Bei Bei, Jing Jing, Huan Huan, Ying Ying and Ni Ni â which, put together, translates to "Beijing welcomes you!"
#1
The only thing China has that I find remotely cute or endearing are the pandas. Considering how vain and remarkably petty and shrill the Chi-Comms are when anything occurs which does not fit their carefully manicured self image BS, I hope they take a financial bath.
A drunken party of elks surrounded an old people's home in Sweden and had to be driven away by armed police, Sweden's media reported yesterday.
Where's the Taliban and their RPG's when you need them?
The elks attacked the home in the town of Ãstra Göinge, near Malmö, after devouring large numbers of fermented apples, the paper Dagens Nyheter said. Police with dogs had failed to scare them off, and the animals only ran away after hunters with guns arrived on the scene.
"It's not unusual for elks to get drunk," forester Fredrik Jönsson told the newspaper. "They don't recognise the difference between fermented and not fermented and stuff themselves down to the last apple."
Elks are kinda stupid that way.
Mr Jönsson did not know how many apples the elks had eaten.
Judging from the size of an elk, I'd say more than three or four.
There have been previous problems with elks: a female elk recently attacked three joggers in Norway. Last year another elk in Sweden stole a bicycle from a garden, which it regularly visited to eat the roses. An elderly couple had used the bike to fence off their garden; the elk disappeared with the bike hanging round its neck. The bike was later found bent and damaged beyond repair.
"Dagnabbit guys, put down those fermented apples and help me get this £?¢§â¢Â¶ thing off my neck!"
Once widespread across Europe, elks now live in Canada, Scandinavia, the Baltics, Poland and the Czech Republic. Earlier this week, however, an elk was spotted for the first time in recent memory in Bavaria, after apparently wandering across the Czech-German border.
"Youse guys got any fermented apples?"
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/11/2005 00:17 ||
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#1
ROFL!!! Hysterical stuff. The bicycle bit is over the top, lol. Drunken elk, whew! My face hurts from laughing. Thx, Doc! 8D
A newfound ancient sea creature looks to be part crocodile, part T. rex, and 100 percent terrifying. The 13-foot long beast, Dakosaurus andiniensis, had a massive 18-inch-long jaw with interlocking 4-inch teeth. It is a long-lost relative of the crocodile, yet it had fins.
You can't fool me, Jackal, that thing is Mothra, not Godzilla.
The sheer strangness of the Dakosaurus andiniensis, found in South America and announced today, led its discoverers to call it "Godzilla "after the huge, amphibious, dinosaur-like movie icon. "This species was very unusual, because other marine crocodiles that were around at the same time had very delicate features â long, skinny snouts and needle-like teeth for catching small fish and mollusks," said Ohio State University researcher Diego Pol, who determined the crocodile lineage. "But this croc was just the opposite," he added. "It had a short snout, and large teeth with serrated edges. It was definitely a predator of large sea creatures."
The fossils were found in Patagonia, in an area that was once a deep tropical bay attached to the Pacific Ocean, by paleontologists Zulma Gasparini and Luis Spalletti of the National University of La Plata in Argentina. The finding is detailed in the Nov. 11 issue of the journal Science. Immediately afterwards, Tokyo real estate tumbled fell 30%.
There were many types of crocodiles around 135 million years ago, when Dakosaurus andiniensis roamed the sea. None were as big, however. And none had such a short, stout snout or so few teeth. "This is the most remarkable change in the size and shape of the teeth and snout in the history of marine crocs," Pol said.
Based on the size of its teeth, the beast dubbed Godzilla probably fed on humans other sea-going reptiles and big prey rather than fish, the researchers said.
For the woman who wants to stay both warm and environmentally conscious this winter -- and isn't bothered by extra bulk under her shirt -- a lingerie maker unveiled a thick bra that can be heated in a microwave.
Triumph International modeled the bra in Japan which has launched a "Warm Biz" campaign urging people to bundle up to save on heating. The bra pads are filled with an eco-friendly, reusable gel that can be heated up in a microwave or with hot water. For good measure, a pendant of a hot pepper dangles from the front.
But the bra isn't for those favoring understated attire. A long strap flows down from the back, which is meant to be wrapped around like a boa to keep one's neck warm. "We hope this will not only help prevent global warming but also provide a little fashion chic to the office," Triumph's Japan branch said in a statement.
But for the time being, the bra, which comes with matching shorts, won't be in stores, with the lingerie maker instead using the technology to develop other warm clothing.
It would be a nightmare to see ethnic groups from the North Caucasus and Central Asia fight the Chinese over the domination areas in Central Siberia. In actuality, the above scenario is not a piece of fiction, it is a bitter reality of the last few years.
Statistics gathered by the Russian State Committee for Statistics and a dozen of private sociological organizations highlight the latest developments. As regards the ingenious population in the southern and central parts of Russia, the situation is quite critical. Unofficial data say there are 3-4 migrants from the North Caucasus and Central Asia for every ten locals in Stavropol and Krasnodar regions. The number of strangers will equal that of the ingenious population in another 5 years. It is hard to imagine a peaceful way of solving this problem.
AIDS. Tuberculosis. Alcoholism. Hepatitis. Abortion as a means of primary birth control. The Russian part of the Russian population is imploding. Someone has to fill the void.
Migrants keep coming to Russia despite the lack of farming lands and business opportunities. They do not arrive in large numbers as before, though. Migrants from the North Caucasus and Central Asia have been heading for Siberia in the last 3-4 years.
National diasporas began to mushroom in the old Siberian towns and cities. According to the police, 84 238 foreign nationals have been registered in Ekaterinburg in the last 9 months. There is a colony of 300 thousand migrants officially registered in the city of Orenburg. Novosibirsk has 200 thousand migrants.
China with its billions of people is waiting in the wings south of Siberian borders. China is taking its time. The Chinese are apparently waiting for the right time to lay claims to the territories. The right time would mean no Russians left in Siberia, only strangers from Central Asia and Caucasus.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/11/2005 00:27 ||
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#1
That bit about China is what my sweetie has said a few times over the past year. Those billion plus people have to go somewhere. The only thing keeping them out (so far) is the Russian Army, but if they get even less manpower than they do now, Siberia and all of its resources are going to Beijing.
#2
Maybe Db, but China is going to start ageing very quickly and may not have the desire to colonize. I'd put my money on Siberia being empty until China drops the 1 kid policy. (or have they?)
#4
DB: That bit about China is what my sweetie has said a few times over the past year. Those billion plus people have to go somewhere.
Actually, they don't. If China had 50b people instead of 1.2b people, it would have Hong Kong's population density. And if it had 80b people, it would have New York City's population density.
The Chinese government says the spread of the deadly H5N1 bird flu in one of its provinces is not under control and has warned of a potential disaster there. There have been three fresh outbreaks of the avian virus in the north-eastern province of Liaoning in 24 hours, and a new suspected human infection...
...There have been six outbreaks in the past month in China and the government has responded with mass culls of poultry. The most recent outbreaks, which killed about 1100 chickens, prompted the authorities to cull 670,000 poultry in the areas affected, and place 116 people in quarantine.
The outbreaks are being blamed on migratory birds, but the head of the UNâs Food and Agriculture Organization in Beijing said it was possible that they were due to village-to-village spread of the virus.
A Chinese agriculture minister has warned that the country faces a âdisasterâ due to the use of sub-standard â and counterfeit â poultry vaccines. These can mask symptoms of the virus, making control difficult, or even introduce the virus.
Tests on four people suspected to have contracted bird flu are still being carried out, one in Liaoning and three in Hunan province. But the Chinese state news agency Xinhua reports that 121 people from the area in Liaoning who had suspicious symptoms have now been declared not to have the disease by the local health ministry.
The highly pathogenic H5N1 virus has killed at least 62 people in Asia and more than 150 million birds since 2003. In its current form, the virus has killed 50% of people known to have contracted the virus...
An Auckland adventurer wants overweight people to have liposuction so he can turn their fat into biofuel to power his boat around the globe.
Peter Bethune's biofuel-powered attempt at the round-the-world powerboat speed record will run on his own fat, and he hopes, many more well-endowed contributors.
The Dominion Post reports the lean Auckland adventurer has had about four syringes of fat removed by liposuction from his own "love handles", but needs others to donate their fat for his cause.
If Mr Bethune, 39, gets enough fat he will have it refined and converted to fuel for his 24m trimaran.
The Dominion Post reports that as part of a publicity gimmick to promote his adventure, he asked a couple of fat friends whether they would be willing to donate their spare kilos, and they told him he must do it first.
But the surgeon who donated his services could only extract 100 millilitres of fat from Mr Bethune's 70kg-frame, compared to an average haul of 3kg, which would produce three litres of refined biofuel.
The $2.6 million Earthrace craft will begin circumnavigating the globe in March and aims to cut the 75-day record - it is expected to use 70,000 litres of biofuels.
Posted by: God Save The World AKA Oztralian ||
11/11/2005 00:00 ||
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HMNZ BLUBBER BOAT
Posted by: Red Dog ||
11/11/2005 5:22 Comments ||
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CLICHY-SOUS-BOIS, Paris - Night after night of rioting across France in which children as young as 10 have hurled firebombs and torched cars has prompted many people to ask: Where were the parents?
The rampaging in the impoverished, mainly immigrant neighborhoods underscores not only tensions in French society but also troubles in the homes where many of the rioters have grown up.
Many parents are struggling to make ends meet, leaving them little time for their children. They often can hardly communicate with their sons and daughters: Many parents are not French citizens and never learn to speak French, while their children don't learn the language of their ancestors.
Some parents even blame the recent riots on a French law that prohibits them from hitting their kids, which they say renders them powerless to assert control. natch. if only you could hit your kids, they'd all be doctors instead of thugs.
The government wants parents to be more responsible. But aid groups wonder if parents even know what their children are up to.
Fatna, an Algerian immigrant who agreed to speak on condition her last name not be used, insists on the innocence of her 21-year-old son, who was sentenced to two months in jail for a role in the riots. ah, yes. "I don't know where he was, but he couldn't have done it"
Most of the people interviewed would only allow their first names to be used, and even then only reluctantly. They appeared worried about drawing the attention of their neighbors.
"Life is very difficult here," Fatna said in Arabic. She, like her husband, is illiterate and doesn't speak French despite having lived here for more than 25 years. er, maybe that's WHY life is difficult there?
Fatna said her son, Khaled, was at home when the first riots broke out in their home town, Clichy-Sous-Bois, on Oct. 27. But at 10 p.m. the next day he went to the local teahouse as he did every night during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. "I wuz drinkin' tea, ya lousy coppers! And by "tea", I mean gasoline, in bottles with a rag sticking out of the top. And by "drinking", I mean heaving it through a car window"
She didn't think much of it when he failed to return home, because it wasn't unusual. Sometimes, she said, he stayed with his sister. of course! there's no other conceivable conclusion!
Instead, Khalad had been arrested with other youths for participating in the riots. She pleaded with the magistrate that her son was innocent. "They said that's what all parents say," said Fatna. Still, she is convinced her son was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Khaled, who dropped out of school after failing his high school exams, is unemployed. He worked for eight months and then stopped, but his mother said she didn't know what kind of job he had. sheesh. this is the culture France has spawn.
"I don't read, I don't write," she said. "I don't know anything. a generation of neglect, coupled with the muslim mindset'll do that to ya.
"They don't give work to the young. The young are not treated well by the police," said Fatna, who has never worked outside the home.
Parents complain their children don't listen to them, often lie and sometimes threaten to report the parents to police for abusing them if they can't have their way. so it must be the state's fault
Many children express frustration at having to comply with values they don't share.
"France is a democratic country. It gives rights to women and children,"complained said Abderrahman Bouhout, director of the Bilal Mosque in Clichy-Sous-Bois. "Now parents cannot do anything if they hit their 12-year-old, police will come to their door. There's a hot line the kids can call to report parental abuse." how unislamic!!!
Children have "too much freedom," complained Abdelhalim Salah, 68, arguing that government policy has undermined parents.
Sabrine, a 41-year-old mother of four who came from Tunisia 20 years ago, said police shouldn't blame parents for failing to stop the violence.
"We cannot bring up our kids the way we want, to teach them Islam," said Sabrine, adding that France encourages children to choose how they want to practice religion. afraid they won't choose islam? mebbe these kids aren't all that stupid after all.
"They say religion is not obligatory or that parents are not allowed to make their children wear the hijab (veil) or to pray," she said. "They want to give our children the same freedoms they give to the French." Freedom!!?!?!!!! dis-GUST-ing!!! this calls for an intifada!!!
Some youths admit they don't take grown-ups seriously.
"The 'elders' of the projects have tried to calm us down, but we don't care," said 20-year-old Karim, rolling a hashish joint.
According to Sonia Imloul, who works with troubled teens in Seine-Saint-Denis, the Paris-area town hit hardest by the unrest, an estimated 40 percent of families in the suburbs are dysfunctional, causing a high rate of school dropouts, drug use, petty crime and aggressive behavior.
"What are 12-year-olds doing in the streets at midnight? Parents have no control over them," Imloul said.
Parallels may be drawn between the immigrant children of France and Palestinian youth revolting against Israeli occupation. Those parents, too, feel their control over their children is receding. I seee! the cure is simply good parenting. but wait...aren't palis allowed to hit their kids?
But here, parents also complain that schools are a breeding ground for crime. They say educational standards are poor because inexperienced teachers usually are assigned to schools in poor areas.
With no close supervision from parents or school many youths end up in the streets.
What's striking, said Marie-Noelle Botte, who works with children and mothers in Clichy-Sous-Bois, is that the youths jailed for the riots show no remorse. "Generally, they don't feel guilty," she said, "For them, it's like stealing sweets from a shop."
Unemployed parents are not a good role model, Botte said.
Asked why she had not learned French after 27 years in France, Fatna shrugged. "I don't go out, I'm home all the time. I don't meet anyone."
"This is one of the most interesting experiments in crime we've ever seen," Scharf said. "Without effective courts, corrections or rehabilitation, we have reduced the crime rate by 100 percent."
Hurricane Katrina, Scharf continued, "was one of the greatest crime-control tools ever deployed against a high-crime city"
"We've solved our crime problem in a brutally Darwinian way."
Posted by: john ||
11/11/2005 17:38 ||
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On July 6 I chose to go to jail to defend my right as a journalist to protect a confidential source, the same right that enables lawyers to grant confidentiality to their clients, clergy to their parishioners, and physicians and psychotherapists to their patients. Though 49 states have extended this privilege to journalists as well, for without such protection a free press cannot exist, there is no comparable federal law. I chose to go to jail not only to honor my pledge of confidentiality, but also to dramatize the need for such a federal law.
I'll save you from having to read the rest of it - "I'm a First Amendment martyr; we need a law to protect us noble, virtuous truth-telling journalists, yadda yadda yadda..." She's also published four e-mails between herself and the NYT editors and MoDo.
Posted by: Osama bin Laden ||
11/11/2005 15:46 ||
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- House Republican leaders abruptly called off a vote Thursday on a bill that would trim $50 billion in spending after moderate Republicans resisted cuts to a range of social programs, including Medicaid, student loans and food stamps.
Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss___ the Who
Could also have titled this post "Moderate Republicans Block Spending Cuts"
#3
Since Darth Vader is already taken by Darth Bolton, I think Rove needs to have his own graphic, the picture of the Emperor, in his hood from Return of the Jedi. After all, according to the LLL, Rove pulls ALL the strings.
#5
Lol, Wh - I'll bet Karl doesn't have to share his key with the sound effects guy. :)
The Evil Emperor as a symbol for Rove would be great - and Photoshop in an innocent baby face under the hood. Keep the congitive dissonance flowing for the freaks, lol.
The increase in the number of people without health insurance has occurred largely because of illegal immigration, a study found. Researchers at the RAND Corp., a nonpartisan think tank, analyzed data received from about 2,400 people in Los Angeles County in 2000 and 2001, and applied that information to the nation's illegal undocumented population at large.
The number of uninsured adults in the United States grew by about 8.7 million between 1980 and 2000. If the trend for Los Angeles County held true for the rest of the country, about a third of that growth can be attributable to illegal immigrants.
The study shows that any meaningful impact on reducing the number of uninsured has to take into account the issue of illegal immigration, he said.
"There are pros and cons of providing insurance to the illegals undocumented that should be debated openly," he said. "Illegal Undocumented immigrants make up too much of the issue to be ignored or hidden by polite silence."
The study also indicates that, since the number of illegal immigrants is growing rapidly, "we can expect that the uninsured population is going to grow rapidly as well," said another study co-author, Neeraj Sood.
The researchers said about one in five illegal immigrant adults have some health insurance coverage through their work, but virtually none of them purchase it on their own. Also, they rarely make use of public insurance through programs such as Medicaid. No, they just use emergency rooms for free.
Supporters of Liberian presidential candidate George Weah have clashed with United Nations peacekeepers after official results showed him losing.
At least one person was injured when UN forces fired tear gas and wielded batons as hundreds of people protested in Monrovia at alleged election fraud. With 97% of ballots counted, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has a lead of 18% over Mr Weah, official results show.
Mr Weah has called on his supporters to react peacefully to news of his defeat. If Ms Johnson-Sirleaf's victory is confirmed, the "Iron Lady" would be the first woman to be elected president of Liberia - or anywhere in Africa.
In another development, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution calling for peacekeepers in Liberia to detain former President Charles Taylor if he returns to the country. Mr Taylor, now living in Nigeria, is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by a UN-backed court in Sierra Leone.
As foreign observers declared the vote "peaceful and transparent", the 15,000-strong UN mission deployed extra troops on the streets in case of any trouble.
PARTIAL RESULTS
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf: 59.4%
George Weah: 40.6%
From 97% of polling stations
Source: NEC
Mr Weah has said Ms Johnson-Sirleaf' should not claim victory while his complaint to the Supreme Court is being investigated.
UN peacekeepers in riot gear used tear gas and batons to disperse the crowd near the US embassy. They acted after some Mr Weah's supporters broke through a line of Liberian riot police trying to hold them back from the embassy, Reuters news agency reports.
The clash happened despite Mr Weah's earlier appeal to supporters "not, in the name of peace, to go on the streets".
"There is no need to cry because we have not lost the election," Mr Weah told them at the headquarters of his Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) party before they marched to the National Elections Commission.
"The streets of Monrovia do not belong to violent people. Leave the streets of Monrovia. People are frightened. They want no more war."
The Weah camp, which is supported by most of the 100,000 ex-combatants from Liberia's 14-year civil war, has alleged has alleged ballot tampering, intimidation and harassment during Tuesday's vote.
On Friday, the CDC filed a "writ of prohibition with the Supreme Court of to intervene and stop the counting process", party spokesman Steve Quoah told reporters. The BBC's Mark Doyle in Monrovia says the aim is to get the vote counting stopped so Ms Johnson-Sirleaf cannot be officially declared president.
Ms Johnson-Sirleaf rejected claims of vote-rigging as absurd and said she was not too worried by the protests.
"Once they have got this out of their system and realise I will be a leader for all Liberians, they will settle down and we will work together for the good of our country," Mrs Johnson-Sirleaf told the BBC's World television.
She said she hoped Mr Weah would join her new government after "getting over his disappointment".
The head of the EU observer mission, Max van den Berg, has said the vote was "well administered in a peaceful, transparent and orderly manner". Observers from the Economic Community of West African States also deemed the vote fair.
The election was held after the civil war ended two years ago.
EFLFederal authorities have accused thirteen Mesa, Arizona motel owners, described as ethnic Indians, of harboring illegal aliens brought by smugglers into the United States and will seek to seize their businesses as part of a nationwide investigation into a network of hotels and motels being used as "stash houses." U.S. Attorney Paul K. Charlton in Arizona, whose office will prosecute the case, said that his office would seek forfeiture of the properties.
Twelve of those named in the indictments have been arrested. Eight of those charged were identified as U.S. citizens, while five others were listed as citizens of Britain now in the United States on green cards. Those arrested were Bharatbhai Ranchhodbhai Bhakta, 52; Madhuben Bharatbhai Bhakta, 53; Ashok Ratanji Patel, 52; Amarkumar Patel, 23; Anand Bhika Bhakta, 34; Sunita Bhakta, 36; Babulal Mithalbhai Patel, 52; Gitaben Babulal Patel, 46; Pravinkumar Vanmalibhai Patel, 45; Sheilaben Pravinkumar Patel, 45; Bhupendra Dahyabhia Patel, 51; and Madhuben Patel, 50.
Law-enforcement authorities said the stash houses, also known as "safe houses" and "drop houses," are locations used temporarily to shelter illegal aliens after they cross into the United States and before they are transported for a fee to locations throughout the country. The property owners or managers are paid by the smugglers, or "coyotes," to harbor the illegals, who often are packed into houses, apartments, hotels and motel rooms -- some of which lack electricity, water and proper sanitary facilities.
According to the indictments, the motel owners rented rooms on numerous occasions to undercover U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents posing as alien smugglers, with some motel owners charging the undercover agents higher rates than they would charge their ordinary customers. The indictments said the owners coached the undercover agents on ways to conceal their smuggling activities, advising them to register under false names, rent multiple rooms, and park their vehicles in places that would avoid attracting attention.
ICE agents, assisted by officers from the Mesa Police Department, executed search warrants on the businesses and arrested 12 of the motel owners. Another owner, Roshankumar Bharatbhai Bhakta, 20, has been declared a fugitive and is being sought. Each of those arrested was charged with one count of conspiring to harbor illegal aliens, an offense that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
ICE spokesman Dean Boyd said targeting the monetary assets of those involved in human smuggling is a key facet of ICE's strategy to combat dangerous criminal activity. In 2004, he said, ICE seized more than $7 million nationwide from organizations involved in human smuggling and human trafficking. This year, he said, that amount more than tripled to nearly $27 million. Spend it on the border fence.
Earlier this year, ICE agents arrested and later deported 39 illegal aliens who were taken into custody after being discovered at a Las Cruces, N.M., motel. The 30 men, five women and four children were located inside four rooms at the motel. The aliens each had paid their smuggler between $1,800 and $2,100 to be brought into the United States.
#4
There is/was an immigration loophole that allowed foreigners who bought motels to immigrate to the US. Out west, you often see South Asians running incredibly run down motels, some not much more than mobile homes strapped together.
Posted by: ed ||
11/11/2005 21:37 Comments ||
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Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson warned residents of a rural Pennsylvania town Thursday that disaster may strike there because they "voted God out of your city" by ousting school board members who favored teaching intelligent design.
"Y'know that big earthquake that hit Muzaffarabad? God sent that because I asked Him to. Now I've asked Him to kill you all."
All eight Dover, Pa., school board members up for re-election were defeated Tuesday after trying to introduce "intelligent design" - the belief that the universe is so complex that it must have been created by a higher power - as an alternative to the theory of evolution.
That tells me the good citizens of Dover want a school board, not a shura council. Too bad they can't vote the Rev. Pat out of office.
"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God. You just rejected him from your city," Robertson said on the Christian Broadcasting Network's "700 Club."
And Rev. Pat, if you suddenly devolve into a monkey, or some sort of primitive reptile, or a trilobite, don't come complaining to the citizens of Dover.
Eight families had sued the district, claiming the policy violates the constitutional separation of church and state.
Which I'd say it does...
The federal trial concluded days before Tuesday's election, but no ruling has been issued.
H.L. Menken is probably regretting he's dead, thereby being unable to cover the trial. It's probably just as well, since he's already used the term "homo boobicus" and he'd have to come up with a better zinger.
Later Thursday, Robertson issued a statement saying he was simply trying to point out that "our spiritual actions have consequences."
Just ask Zarqawi.
"God is tolerant and loving, but we can't keep sticking our finger in his eye forever," Robertson said. "If they have future problems in Dover, I recommend they call on Charles Darwin. Maybe he can help them."
If I was writing in the American Mercury covering Pat Robertson, the best I'd be able to come up with would be "arrogrant prick." That's why Menken was a better writer than I am.
Robertson made headlines this summer when he called on his daily show for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. In October 2003, he suggested that the State Department be blown up with a nuclear device. He has also said that feminism encourages women to "kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians."
Pat's brand of Olde Tyme Religion™, on the other hand, is good for the soul. Once you've turned your brain off, that's all that's left.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/11/2005 09:08 ||
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"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God. You just rejected him from your city," Robertson said on the Christian Broadcasting Network's "700 Club."
...and my God is a VINDICTIVE God!
Posted by: Pat Robertson ||
11/11/2005 9:37 Comments ||
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#3
Its also wrong to discount a theory just because it somehow ties back to a belief in a higher power. I don't think science has proven God doesn't exist.
#4
But what of the folks who "voted God TO KEEP IN your city"? Can Pat put a word in with God to make a highly selective disaster like wiping out only the first born sons of Egypt recall voters of Dover?
Posted by: ed ||
11/11/2005 10:04 Comments ||
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#5
Later Thursday, Robertson issued a statement saying he was simply trying to point out that "our spiritual actions have consequences." people should send him money.
Heck, I personally believe cows think in Spanish. And they worry an awful lot. Prove me wrong.
Don't get me wrong. Religion is great. Fine. Fantastic, even. (Well, except when it tells you to hate everyone else and blow 'em up.) But religion ain't science.
#7
Pat Robertson gives a bad name to those who think tha beleif in a higher power has no conflict with the process of evolution. He's just as bad as the nitwit Professor who didn't want anyone admitted to the Natural Sciences dept of a college that wasn't an athiest. A plague on both of them...
#8
A scientific theory is not a fact or truth. It can be likened to a religious belief. Evolution is a theory that has yet to be proven.
Science education should offer as many sides of a question as possible. Global warming comes to mind. I am not as eloquent as others. I refer you to an article by Fred Reed, http://www.fredoneverything.net/FOE_Frame_Column.htm article #292 "Yet More Evolution" for a more middle of the road stance.
Besides, it's not science's job to prove gods don't exist, just how things work. If you want other people to act as though your particular god does exist, YOU have to prove he/she/it has some smack.
No scientist worth his salt would ever consider scientific "theory" (whether it's evolution or quantum physics) to be "truth." Science describes physical phenomenon and the relationships amongst them. Science is not based on belief.
There is something called the "scientific method" that poses hypotheses and tests these hypotheses in the natural, observable world.
As new hypotheses emerge, they too are tested and the results of these tests add to or modify the underlying theory, making it more robust or sometimes more troublesome.
Such was the effect of Einstein on the field of physics a century ago. He upset the conventional wisdom of the day with his new way of thinking about physics. Over time, his views were tested and helped to reshape the entire discipline.
But belief in some "intelligent agent" cannot be tested. Belief in a creator cannot be tested. Belief in a designer cannot be tested.
That would be like Einstein saying "light moves because some intelligent force causes it to"
Such thinking gets critical scientific discourse absolutely nowhere.
I know you WANT to reconcile your beliefs with the scientific community. But good science doesn't care what the scientist WANTS. It only cares about observable phenomenon.
And belief, as strong as it is, is not observable.
By the way, the very fact that the world is nervous about bird flu is one very clear example of evolution in action. The strain of virus doesn't travel from human to human....yet. But because of natural selection, it is very likely to mutate into one that does.
#13
And the whole ID flurry misses the point entirely. If the only possible meaning to an event is the physical description of how it happened, then evolution (a description of a process) is adequate to describe human origin and nature. So the ID folks attack evolution, rather than attacking the hidden assumption that purpose==process.
Kids should learn a little elementary philosophy. I've tried to do this with my own kids: explain that just because you know all the steps in a procedure that doesn't mean you don't know what it means. Pick up a rifle, point it at man, pull trigger. Are you an assassin, a man defending his home against attack, a soldier, or a member of a firing squad? The meaning of the action differs a bit.
I know that philosophers disagree about this point, but we never bother to tell our school kids that there is a question about purpose and meaning--we just let them absorb the unexamined notion that a physical description is all you need.
I wouldn't put this intro in a biology class--it should come a little earlier.
As for this story: I wish Robertson would become a Trappist. (vow of silence)
Posted by: James ||
11/11/2005 14:16 Comments ||
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#14
I'm pretty sure Pat Robertson doesn't speak for God.
I only with he (Robertson) would realize it himself.
#16
he speaks as much for me (as a christian) as Jesse or Al or Louis speak for all blacks.....
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/11/2005 18:48 Comments ||
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#17
#5 2b wrote: Later Thursday, Robertson issued a statement saying he was simply trying to point out that "our spiritual actions have consequences." people should send him money.
Naveed Saeed, a former Punjab police inspector, better known as the pioneer of extra judicial killings was gunned down by rivals in Sattukatla police precincts along with three of his friends. Naveed killed around 100 people including proclaimed offenders and militants and was also suspected of killing people for money during the time when Shahbaz Sharif was the Punjab chief minister. The Pakistan Peopleâs Party (PPP) claimed that Naveed tried to kill Asif Ali Zardari when he was in the custody of Karachi police. After he was removed from service, he went to England.
After returning from the UK, Naveed got into the real estate business - dealing specially in disputed properties - with his friend Waheed Butt, a resident of Faisal Town. Waheed was involved in a property dispute with the âShanooâ group. Sources claimed that Waheed had a partnership with Naveed Saeed and Babar Khan in real estate business and around three years ago Naveed Saeed and Butt breached the partnership with Babar Khan.
Naveed, Waheed and their friends Maqsood (alias Pathanay Khan) and Naseer Khan went to the Shanoo Estate Agency on Raiwind Road. Naveed called police officials after exchanging harsh words with Shaukat Thekedar. Police officials took Shaukat to Rana Estate Agency, where some members of the Shanoo group called Naveed, resulting in another heated exchange. When Naveed and his friends were leaving the agency, Shah Baba alias Shanoo, Babar Chaudhry, Khawaja Farooq and Anjum shot them. Naveed, Waheed, Maqsood and Naseer Khan were shot in their faces. Naveed and Waheed died instantly. Maqsood and Naseer Khan were rushed to Jinnah Hospital where both of them died. The bodies were sent for an autopsy.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/11/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Whatever you do, don't make fun of the names. I wonder what the Coroner will enter as the cause of death?
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
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Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A drunken party of elks surrounded an old people's home in Sweden and had to be driven away by armed police, Sweden's media reported yesterday.
A newfound ancient sea creature looks to be part crocodile, part T. rex, and 100 percent terrifying. The 13-foot long beast, Dakosaurus andiniensis, had a massive 18-inch-long jaw with interlocking 4-inch teeth. It is a long-lost relative of the crocodile, yet it had fins.
Religious broadcaster 
Naveed Saeed, a former Punjab police inspector, better known as the pioneer of extra judicial killings was gunned down by rivals in Sattukatla police precincts along with three of his friends. Naveed killed around 100 people including proclaimed offenders and militants and was also suspected of killing people for money during the time when Shahbaz Sharif was the Punjab chief minister. The Pakistan Peopleâs Party (PPP) claimed that Naveed tried to kill 
