Friday, March 21, 2008
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"We established however some, although not all its [self-government] important principles . The constitutions of most of our States assert, that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves, in all cases to which they think themselves competent, (as in electing their functionaries executive and legislative, and deciding by a jury of themselves, in all judiciary cases in which any fact is involved,) or they may act by representatives, freely and equally chosen; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed."
-- Thomas Jefferson (letter to John Cartwright, 1824)
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Face of Defense: Airman Drives 120 Convoys in Afghanistan
“I have learned so much about a lot of things, especially my job and the Afghan people,” she said. “I had the mentality they were all al Qaeda and Taliban until I talked to them. After spending time with the Afghans, I learned they don’t like the Taliban, either. Everything has gotten better since my arrival in March 2007. … Even the roads have improved.”
This is Velez’s third deployment.
READ MORE
Gen. Petraeus Defines Victory in Iraq
As the fifth anniversary of the U.S. led invasion of Iraq is marked this week, Gen. David Petraeus, the top military commander in Iraq, says that progress is "tenuous" and 'reversible'. In a discussion on the future of the country with Alex Chadwick, he defines victory as
"an Iraq that is at peace with itself, at peace with its neighbors, that has a government that is representative of — and responsive to — its citizenry and is a contributing member of the global community."READ MORE
El Paso Hosts Texas-Sized Homecoming Parade for Returned Cavalry Troops
The 1st Cavalry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team may be a relative newcomer here, but more than 3,000 of the unit’s soldiers got a Texas-sized hometown heroes’ welcome yesterday as the city hosted a homecoming parade to honor them for their service in Iraq.
School groups hoisted posters expressing thanks. Workers stood outside their office buildings, waving to the troops and calling out thanks as they marched by.
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The Left's Escalating War on Military Recruiters
For the past several years, I've chronicled the left's escalating war on military recruiters -- and the apathetic, weak-kneed response to it. The anti-recruiter thugs on college campuses and in liberal enclaves have thrived thanks to a combination of public indifference, law enforcement
fecklessness and left-wing ideological apologism.
The Times Square bombing was not an isolated incident, but an all-too-predictable result of reckless tolerance for dangerous "peace" peddlers skating on the edge of sedition. Lone nuts? Here is a brief history of the anti-military recruitment movement's mounting acts of
vandalism and violence. I'll list, you decide...
[19 paragraphs of specific incidents since 2003...]
There will be no end in sight until lawmakers, law enforcement, the media and the public open their eyes to the hate, connect the dots, and stop coddling the increasingly crazed and emboldened anti-military militants before more bombs go off -- and innocents get harmed -- in the name of "peace."
READ MORE
Islamic threats shut art exhibit
Berlin - An exhibition by Danish artists in Berlin has been closed due to threats received over a photo deemed to be offensive to Muslims, organisers said. The exhibition, which opened in central Berlin on February 22, has been closed to ensure the safety of staff and visitors (Snip) One of the 21 photos is of the Kaaba - the cube-shaped building inside the Grande Mosque in Mecca - with the inscription describing the stone as ''stupid''.
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Iran source of Afghan weapons: MacKay
Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan – Defence Minister Peter MacKay says weapons are flowing from Iran into the hands of Afghan insurgents. He says improvised explosive devices from Iran have been a particular concern for Canadians. Most of Canada's 73 combat deaths have been the result of IEDs. He says it's been difficult for Canada to address the issue though he has made his concerns known to the Iranian government.
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Switzerland to sign huge Iran gas deal
Swiss energy giant EGL is set to sign a 25-year deal in Teheran on Monday to buy 5.5 billion cubic meters of Iranian natural gas per year, starting in 2011, for a reported €18 billion. The contract will be the second largest European gas deal, although EGL spokesman Bogdan Preda told The Jerusalem Post, "We are not releasing the value of the deal."
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China Blacks Out Tibet News
Since riots broke out in Tibet last week, authorities have imposed martial law and tried to control the flow of information into and out of the region. The government has banned journalists and tourists from entering Tibet. And officials have imposed strict controls over the Internet in an effort to spin what happened in Tibet and neighboring provinces to conform with Beijing's version of events. That's resulted in some typical blackouts.
[typical blackouts. We'll be hearing for the UN's Human Rights Council any day now...]
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UN Moving to Derail Fraud Investigations
The UN bureaucracy has once again acted to insulate itself from punishment for engaging in fraud that has cost the UN (and America, since America by far is the largest contributor to the United Nations) hundreds of millions of dollars. .
[snip]
The General Assembly is preparing to put an early end to an in-house panel that has exposed more than $600 million in tainted United Nations contracts and is currently investigating an additional $1 billion in suspect agreements.
The effort to scuttle the panel is not a budget matter so much as a political one, and it represents the continuing suspicion developing countries have about international intervention in their affairs.
[snip]
In its effort to curtail the task force’s work, Singapore succeeded in winning over the powerful Group of 77, an assemblage representing the developing world that has grown over the years to 130 nations. [each of which get as influential a vote in the general assembly as any nation, regardless of size or contribution to the UN's budget - and as a block of 130, they're nigh unstoppable.]
The investigations will obviously cease,” Mr. Appleton said Thursday, noting that the United Nations currently had no other unit “to address these matters.”
[The organization is UNsalvageable]
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New Peer-Reviewed Study Finds ‘Warming is naturally caused and shows no human influence’
Climate scientists at the University of Rochester, the University of Alabama, and the University of Virginia report that observed patterns of temperature changes (‘fingerprints’) over the last thirty years are not in accord with what greenhouse models predict and can better be explained by natural factors, such as solar variability. Therefore, climate change is ‘unstoppable’ and cannot be affected or modified by controlling the emission of greenhouse gases, such as CO2, as is proposed in current legislation.
The report is published in the December 2007 issue of the International Journal of Climatology of the Royal Meteorological Society [DOI: 10.1002/joc.1651]. The authors are Prof. David H. Douglass (Univ. of Rochester), Prof. John R. Christy (Univ. of Alabama), Benjamin D. Pearson (graduate student), and Prof. S. Fred Singer (Univ. of Virginia).
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Scientists Send Letter to UN: Headed in entirely wrong direction
If a former vice president with absolutely no formal scientific training in climatology or meteorology makes a statement about the world coming to an end due to rising temperatures, media will fawn over him like teenyboppers in the presence of Elvis Presley.
Yet, if more than 100 scientists from around the world send a letter to the Secretary General of the United Nations urging him and his organization to stop wasting time, resources, and money fighting a futile climate change battle, crickets will be heard in newsrooms around the country.
Yet, such was the case when scientists from around the planet signed their names to the following letter sent to Ban Ki-moon Thursday...
[the subject line of which reads: "Re: UN climate conference taking the World in entirely the wrong direction" - read it > http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/reprint/open_letter_to_un.html, or if you're skeptical re: skepticism, start with the list of signatories - it's impressive > http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=164004.]
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Stop Blair: ambition to lead Europe hits fierce opposition
A "Stop Blair" website run by pro-Europeans has launched a petition against against a Blair ['EU'] presidency; senior officials in Brussels are privately dismissive about the new post going to a Briton; and senior diplomats in European capitals also doubt that Blair is the right person for the post being created under Europe's new reform treaty.
The Lisbon treaty now being ratified by EU member states creates a new post of president of the European council, representing and chairing summits of the leaders of the 27 member countries from the beginning of next year for a maximum five-year term. The president's role and powers are yet to be properly defined. EU ambassadors are expected to meet next month to try to come up with a job description.
[will Europeans get to vote on 'their' President or will that too (like ratification of the 'treaty' itself) be entrusted to politocrats? {SD: you know?}]
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WELFARE REFORM IN INDIANA
[government in action]
Like many other states, Indiana's social services have been bureaucratic and fragmented. As a result, they are not convenient for the state's welfare recipients and are costly to operate. Under the state's system:
- Clients must apply for each social service in person at a state office during business hours, and each visit requires an average wait of two to three hours.
- In almost three out of four cases (72 percent), eligibility is not determined during the initial interview -- requiring additional verification and often additional office visits.
- Almost every action in the eligibility process requires a different form and/or notice, and each of the state's 94 counties has had its own set of procedures.
- Thirty-five percent of eligibility determinations for Medicaid long-term care in 2003 contained errors, costing taxpayers an estimated $10 million to $50 million per year -- and the federal government up to $100 million annually.
- Twenty-six percent of TANF benefit determinations contained errors.
- Twelve percent of food stamp benefit determinations were in error -- and Indiana ranks 48th among the states in recouping food stamp overpayments.
READ MORE
AP's 'Workers Giving Up' Claim Goes from 'Perhaps' to 'Fact'
[Friday:]
The Labor Department's report, released Friday, also showed that the nation's unemployment rate dipped to 4.8 percent as hundreds of thousands of people — perhaps discouraged by their prospects — left the civilian labor force. The jobless rate was 4.9 percent in January.
[Saturday:]
The Labor Department's report also indicated that the nation's unemployment rate fell to 4.8 percent as hundreds of thousands of people gave up looking for jobs. The jobless rate was 4.9 percent in January.
There is no evidence that "hundreds of thousands of people gave up looking for jobs" in February. And the AP writers overlooked the fact that early members of the Baby Boom that began on January 1, 1946 are turning 62 this year, and are thus eligible for early-retirement benefits in Social Security's Old Age program.
But it would appear that the AP and its reporters aren't about to let the truth get in the way of a good, yet made-up, story -- especially if it enhances Democratic candidates' opportunities to demagogue the economy.
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Sit-down protests trigger Beijing bathroom renovation
Chinese Olympic organisers are rushing to renovate bathrooms at flagship Olympic venues after complaints about a lack of western-style sit-down toilets, an official said Wednesday. (Snip) Some 500,000 overseas visitors are expected in Beijing during the August 8-24 Games but the only toilets available for the public and the media at many top venues like the National Aquatic Centre, known as the Water Cube, are squat toilets that are widespread in China but unfamiliar to westerners.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080319/lf_afp/lifestyleoly2008chntoiletsoffbeat
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