Right from the get-go let me make myself clear. I am not homophobic. I wish gays and lesbians well. Over the years I’ve had friends that were gay and I’ve worked closely with gays. My gay friends and colleagues have been smart, decent and productive persons. I believe that gays should not be discriminated against in the workplace. I believe in gay rights except when it comes to gay marriage. I agree with those who believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman.
Now that I’ve got that out of the way let me get to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton’s shameless political play for the gay vote in next year’s presidential election.
On Tuesday, the Obama administration threatened to cut off foreign aid to countries that discriminate against homosexuals. Speaking in Geneva on International Human Rights Day, Clinton said: "Gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights. It is a violation of human rights when people are beaten or killed because of their sexual orientation, or because they do not conform to cultural norms about how men and women should look or behave. It is a violation of human rights when governments declare it illegal to be gay, or allow those who harm gay people to go unpunished."
The Associated Press reports that President Obama has instructed officials across government to "ensure that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of lesbian, gay, and transgender persons," a clear threat to cut off foreign aid to countries that discriminate against homosexuals.
I guess Barack has given up on reaching out to the Muslim world because his advocacy of gay rights goes counter to the Quran which contains passages that declare homosexuality a damnable sin and appear to justify the killing of gay men and lesbians. Saudi Arabia and most other Muslim countries have laws that punish homosexuality.
Obama and Clinton’s foreign policy declaration on gay rights has infuriated the leaders of African countries. With the notable exception of South Africa, almost all the other countries on the African continent have laws banning homosexuality and provide for stiff punishment to people caught violating those laws.
I agree with Gov. Rick Perry who responded to Clinton’s speech by releasing this public statement: “Promoting special rights for gays in foreign countries is not in America’s interests and not worth a dime of taxpayers’ money.”
Why did Obama and Clinton come out with their gay rights foreign policy? They claim it was done to mark International Human Rights Day. If you believe that, I’ve got a good deal for you on some beachfront property in Phoenix. This is why they really did it: How do you spell r-e-e-l-e-c-t-i-o-n c-a-m-p-a-i-g-n?
The gay community has been pissed off at Obama because he declined to support a national gay marriage act. Since gays make up around 15 percent of our population and since they are a very potent voting bloc, the Obama administration’s foreign policy declaration on gay rights is nothing more than a shameless ploy to regain the support of the gay community that Obama may have lost.
And to show you exactly how phony Obama and Clinton are, just think about this. The worst violators of gay rights are the oil rich Muslim countries that don’t need our aid to begin with. Furthermore, the African countries that do need it don’t serve our interests to anywhere near the same extent as do the oil sheikdoms.
When it gets down to push and shove, do you think that the U.S. would really withhold our aid from a gay discriminating country, even for one New York minute, if that country serves our vital interests? Not a fat chance!
While it may have pleased the gay community, the Obama administration’s only real accomplishment with its threat to withhold foreign aid to countries that discriminate against homosexuals, was to piss off a bunch of governments by a phony and shameless ploy to garner gay votes in next year’s presidential election.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
KILLER OF MEXICAN COPS IS U.S. SOLDIER
Perhaps he just went down to Juarez for some R&R.
JUAREZ COP KILLER MAY BE A U.S. ARMY SOLDIER
Borderland Beat
December 9, 2011
The media In Ciudad Juarez and the state of Chihuahua are reporting that one of three "sicarios" arrested Wednesday after the armed robbery of a gasoline station in this border city is an active duty U.S. Army soldier.
According to authorities after their arrest the three men confessed to taking part in the murders of four Juarez police officers this year.
The men have been identified as Jesús Rubio González, age 24; Gilberto Manuel Estupiñán Aguirre, age 20; and César Benito Betancourt Griego, age 26.
Authorities claim that Gilberto Manuel Estupiñán identified himself as a soldier in the U.S. Army during his arrest and that his status was confirmed by police personnel.
The three men were in a blue Honda Accord at the time of their arrest and were in possession of a 9mm handgun and ammunition and a spare magazine for an AK-47 assault type weapon, in addition to a small amount of drugs and a bottle of Buchanon's whiskey.
The three men are alleged to have taken part in the murder of Juarez municipal police officers Joaquín Avendaño Pineda, Vidal Zatarain Valdez and Gabriel Avitia on the afternoon of September 7, 2011. The officers were intercepted by gunmen in two pickups while returning home at the end of their shift.
The three men are also alleged to have murdered municipal police officer Cordero Mireles, who was attacked and killed a day later on September 8, 2011.
At the time authorities had reported that evidence indicated the same group of gunmen were involved in both attacks.
JUAREZ COP KILLER MAY BE A U.S. ARMY SOLDIER
Borderland Beat
December 9, 2011
The media In Ciudad Juarez and the state of Chihuahua are reporting that one of three "sicarios" arrested Wednesday after the armed robbery of a gasoline station in this border city is an active duty U.S. Army soldier.
According to authorities after their arrest the three men confessed to taking part in the murders of four Juarez police officers this year.
The men have been identified as Jesús Rubio González, age 24; Gilberto Manuel Estupiñán Aguirre, age 20; and César Benito Betancourt Griego, age 26.
Authorities claim that Gilberto Manuel Estupiñán identified himself as a soldier in the U.S. Army during his arrest and that his status was confirmed by police personnel.
The three men were in a blue Honda Accord at the time of their arrest and were in possession of a 9mm handgun and ammunition and a spare magazine for an AK-47 assault type weapon, in addition to a small amount of drugs and a bottle of Buchanon's whiskey.
The three men are alleged to have taken part in the murder of Juarez municipal police officers Joaquín Avendaño Pineda, Vidal Zatarain Valdez and Gabriel Avitia on the afternoon of September 7, 2011. The officers were intercepted by gunmen in two pickups while returning home at the end of their shift.
The three men are also alleged to have murdered municipal police officer Cordero Mireles, who was attacked and killed a day later on September 8, 2011.
At the time authorities had reported that evidence indicated the same group of gunmen were involved in both attacks.
NOW GIVE THIS BOY A .22 RIFLE
What a great son!
Although this occurred last month, it’s still worth posting on this blog.
TEN-YEAR-OLD USES BB GUN TO SUCCESSFULLY DEFEND MOTHER FROM ATTACKER
Cops say the boy hit his mom’s attacker with a board and then shot him in the face
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
December 9, 2011
A ten-year old boy in Bellingham, Washington, used a pump-action BB gun to defend his mother as a man was attempting to strangle her in her own bedroom.
The attacker, who was a boarder in the home, came home drunk and upset, kicked in the woman’s bedroom door and attempted to strangle her. The ten-year old whacked him with a piece of lumber, then shot him four times in the face with his BB rifle. This gave the woman a chance to disengage and beat feet. The woman and her son fled next door and called the cops.
The 45-year old attacker was treated at a hospital and is currently cooling his heels in the slammer, facing assault charges.
Although this occurred last month, it’s still worth posting on this blog.
TEN-YEAR-OLD USES BB GUN TO SUCCESSFULLY DEFEND MOTHER FROM ATTACKER
Cops say the boy hit his mom’s attacker with a board and then shot him in the face
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
December 9, 2011
A ten-year old boy in Bellingham, Washington, used a pump-action BB gun to defend his mother as a man was attempting to strangle her in her own bedroom.
The attacker, who was a boarder in the home, came home drunk and upset, kicked in the woman’s bedroom door and attempted to strangle her. The ten-year old whacked him with a piece of lumber, then shot him four times in the face with his BB rifle. This gave the woman a chance to disengage and beat feet. The woman and her son fled next door and called the cops.
The 45-year old attacker was treated at a hospital and is currently cooling his heels in the slammer, facing assault charges.
HAKA?
If cops are going to have to be trained in cultural diversity and customs to accommodate every racial, ethnic, national, religious and life-style group in their community, cops in some places will have no time left to train for regular police work.
PROBE SOUGHT FOR POLICE PEPPER-SPRAYING HAKA
ACLU: Police report ‘anything but objective’
By Jennifer Dobner
Associated Press
December 8, 2011
SALT LAKE CITY — The first time the police in the small Utah state town of Roosevelt saw a haka, they thought a riot was happening.
So they used pepper spray and batons on the spectators performing New Zealand's native Maori challenge following a high school game of American football, including a dozen people from a single family, one aged 4.
An investigation by the police of Roosevelt, 230 kilometers (140 miles) east of Salt Lake City, cleared their own officers of wrongdoing in the October incident and said their actions were appropriate because they feared a riot was imminent.
But the Utah branch of the American Civil Liberties Union said the police report was "anything but objective" in a letter sent this week to Duchesne County Attorney Stephen Foote.
The ACLU was concerned that the decision to pepper spray during a cultural ritual may have violated the spectators' constitutional rights, interim director Joseph Cohn wrote. He also noted that the police failed to consider a video of the haka or statements from 15 witnesses who said they did not feel threatened by the performance.
A haka, which usually lasts less than a minute, has been performed by New Zealand rugby teams as a pre-match challenge for more than 120 years around the world. The challenge has also been adopted by its national teams in rugby league, basketball and even ice hockey, and was further popularized by flash mobs during the recent Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
The haka has spread to at least a dozen American football teams at U.S. high schools, especially those with large numbers of Polynesians.
On Oct. 20, one Polynesian family drove 200 kilometers to Roosevelt to watch a relative play his final game for Union High School. Union lost to finish the season winless. To cheer up the team, a group of Polynesian men and boys performed a haka.
Officer Luke Stradinger, who deployed pepper spray, apologized in the police report for causing "discomfort" to innocent bystanders, but said he wasn't familiar with the haka and was concerned because the group was blocking the only exit from the field for the teams.
"I have never seen such an event, or even heard of such a thing," Stradinger said.
Officer Wade Butterfield, who used a baton to disperse the group, said he became worried during the game because some of the people were yelling obscenities at the referees and acting in an unsportsmanlike manner.
"I have seen a riot firsthand and know how dangerous they can be in an instant," Butterfield said. "No more force was used than was necessary to defuse the situation."
Roosevelt police said officers will be given additional training in cultural diversity and customs.
PROBE SOUGHT FOR POLICE PEPPER-SPRAYING HAKA
ACLU: Police report ‘anything but objective’
By Jennifer Dobner
Associated Press
December 8, 2011
SALT LAKE CITY — The first time the police in the small Utah state town of Roosevelt saw a haka, they thought a riot was happening.
So they used pepper spray and batons on the spectators performing New Zealand's native Maori challenge following a high school game of American football, including a dozen people from a single family, one aged 4.
An investigation by the police of Roosevelt, 230 kilometers (140 miles) east of Salt Lake City, cleared their own officers of wrongdoing in the October incident and said their actions were appropriate because they feared a riot was imminent.
But the Utah branch of the American Civil Liberties Union said the police report was "anything but objective" in a letter sent this week to Duchesne County Attorney Stephen Foote.
The ACLU was concerned that the decision to pepper spray during a cultural ritual may have violated the spectators' constitutional rights, interim director Joseph Cohn wrote. He also noted that the police failed to consider a video of the haka or statements from 15 witnesses who said they did not feel threatened by the performance.
A haka, which usually lasts less than a minute, has been performed by New Zealand rugby teams as a pre-match challenge for more than 120 years around the world. The challenge has also been adopted by its national teams in rugby league, basketball and even ice hockey, and was further popularized by flash mobs during the recent Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
The haka has spread to at least a dozen American football teams at U.S. high schools, especially those with large numbers of Polynesians.
On Oct. 20, one Polynesian family drove 200 kilometers to Roosevelt to watch a relative play his final game for Union High School. Union lost to finish the season winless. To cheer up the team, a group of Polynesian men and boys performed a haka.
Officer Luke Stradinger, who deployed pepper spray, apologized in the police report for causing "discomfort" to innocent bystanders, but said he wasn't familiar with the haka and was concerned because the group was blocking the only exit from the field for the teams.
"I have never seen such an event, or even heard of such a thing," Stradinger said.
Officer Wade Butterfield, who used a baton to disperse the group, said he became worried during the game because some of the people were yelling obscenities at the referees and acting in an unsportsmanlike manner.
"I have seen a riot firsthand and know how dangerous they can be in an instant," Butterfield said. "No more force was used than was necessary to defuse the situation."
Roosevelt police said officers will be given additional training in cultural diversity and customs.
HOLY WATER, BAPTISM AND CIRCUMCISION
A Catholic Priest, a Baptist Preacher and a Rabbi all served as Chaplains to the students of a university. They would get together two or three times a week for coffee and to talk shop.
One day, someone made the comment that preaching to people isn't really all that hard, a real challenge would be to preach to a bear.
One thing led to another, and they decided to do an experiment. They would all go out into the woods, find a bear, preach to it, and attempt to convert it to their religion.
Seven days later, they all came together to discuss their experiences.
Father Flannery, who had his arm in a sling, was on crutches, and had various bandages on his body and limbs, went first.
'Well,' he said, 'I went into the woods to find me a bear. And when I found him, I began to read to him from the Catechism.
Well, that bear wanted nothing to do with me and began to slap me around. So I quickly grabbed my holy water, sprinkled him and, Holy Mary Mother of God, he became as gentle as a lamb. The Bishop is coming out next week to give him first communion and confirmation.'
Reverend Billy Bob spoke next. He was in a wheelchair, had one arm and both legs in casts, and had an IV drip.
In his best fire-and-brimstone oratory, he exclaimed, 'WELL, brothers, you KNOW that we Baptists don't sprinkle! I went out and I FOUND me a bear. And then I began to read to my bear from God's HOLY WORD! But that bear wanted nothing to do with me.
So I took HOLD of him and we began to wrestle. We wrestled down one hill, UP another and DOWN another until we came to a creek. So I quickly DUNKED him
and BAPTIZED his hairy soul. And just like you said, he became as gentle as a lamb. We spent the rest of the day praising Jesus..Hallelujah!
The Priest and the Reverend both looked down at the Rabbi, who was lying in a hospital bed. He was in a body cast and traction with IVs and monitors running in and out of him. He was in really bad shape.
The Rabbi looked up and said: "Looking back on it, .... circumcision may not have been the best way to start."
One day, someone made the comment that preaching to people isn't really all that hard, a real challenge would be to preach to a bear.
One thing led to another, and they decided to do an experiment. They would all go out into the woods, find a bear, preach to it, and attempt to convert it to their religion.
Seven days later, they all came together to discuss their experiences.
Father Flannery, who had his arm in a sling, was on crutches, and had various bandages on his body and limbs, went first.
'Well,' he said, 'I went into the woods to find me a bear. And when I found him, I began to read to him from the Catechism.
Well, that bear wanted nothing to do with me and began to slap me around. So I quickly grabbed my holy water, sprinkled him and, Holy Mary Mother of God, he became as gentle as a lamb. The Bishop is coming out next week to give him first communion and confirmation.'
Reverend Billy Bob spoke next. He was in a wheelchair, had one arm and both legs in casts, and had an IV drip.
In his best fire-and-brimstone oratory, he exclaimed, 'WELL, brothers, you KNOW that we Baptists don't sprinkle! I went out and I FOUND me a bear. And then I began to read to my bear from God's HOLY WORD! But that bear wanted nothing to do with me.
So I took HOLD of him and we began to wrestle. We wrestled down one hill, UP another and DOWN another until we came to a creek. So I quickly DUNKED him
and BAPTIZED his hairy soul. And just like you said, he became as gentle as a lamb. We spent the rest of the day praising Jesus..Hallelujah!
The Priest and the Reverend both looked down at the Rabbi, who was lying in a hospital bed. He was in a body cast and traction with IVs and monitors running in and out of him. He was in really bad shape.
The Rabbi looked up and said: "Looking back on it, .... circumcision may not have been the best way to start."
Friday, December 09, 2011
JUSTICE DENIED TO SLAIN COP AND HIS FAMILY
After three decades of appeals, Philadelphia’s district attorney gave up and decided to drop the death penalty against cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther. A federal appeals court had ruled that this sorry piece of shit deserved a new sentencing hearing because of potentially misleading death-penalty instructions the jury received at his 1982 trial. The Supreme Court refused to intervene in that ruling.
Abu-Jamal, born Wesley Cook, was convicted in the killing of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. He shot Faulkner after witnessing the officer stop a car his brother was driving.
Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams said, "There's never been any doubt in my mind that Mumia Abu-Jamal shot and killed Officer Faulkner. I believe that the appropriate sentence was handed down by a jury of his peers in 1982."
Williams said he made his decision because some of the witnesses had died and others would not have been available to testify. And he wanted to avoid another round of endless appeals. "While Abu-Jamal will no longer be facing the death penalty, he will remain behind bars for the rest of his life, and that is where he belongs."
Abu-Jamal had a worldwide movement – ‘Free Mumia’ – working on his behalf along with the usual death penalty opponents and Hollywood luminaries.
Responding to the DA’s decision, the officer's widow, Maureen Faulkner, said, "My family and I have endured a three-decade ordeal at the hands of Mumia Abu-Jamal, his attorneys and his supporters, who in many cases never even took the time to educate themselves about the case before lending their names, giving their support and advocating for his freedom. All of this has taken an unimaginable physical, emotional and financial toll on each of us."
I am outraged at the turn of events, even though I do understand the DA’s decision. It is a travesty of justice that this case has been appealed over and over again for 30 years due to the outcry by a bunch of bleeding hearts that, as Maureen Faulkner said, never even took the time to educate themselves about the case. Justice has been denied to Officer Daniel Faulkner and his family.
Abu-Jamal, born Wesley Cook, was convicted in the killing of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. He shot Faulkner after witnessing the officer stop a car his brother was driving.
Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams said, "There's never been any doubt in my mind that Mumia Abu-Jamal shot and killed Officer Faulkner. I believe that the appropriate sentence was handed down by a jury of his peers in 1982."
Williams said he made his decision because some of the witnesses had died and others would not have been available to testify. And he wanted to avoid another round of endless appeals. "While Abu-Jamal will no longer be facing the death penalty, he will remain behind bars for the rest of his life, and that is where he belongs."
Abu-Jamal had a worldwide movement – ‘Free Mumia’ – working on his behalf along with the usual death penalty opponents and Hollywood luminaries.
Responding to the DA’s decision, the officer's widow, Maureen Faulkner, said, "My family and I have endured a three-decade ordeal at the hands of Mumia Abu-Jamal, his attorneys and his supporters, who in many cases never even took the time to educate themselves about the case before lending their names, giving their support and advocating for his freedom. All of this has taken an unimaginable physical, emotional and financial toll on each of us."
I am outraged at the turn of events, even though I do understand the DA’s decision. It is a travesty of justice that this case has been appealed over and over again for 30 years due to the outcry by a bunch of bleeding hearts that, as Maureen Faulkner said, never even took the time to educate themselves about the case. Justice has been denied to Officer Daniel Faulkner and his family.
POT GROWING BIG BUSINESS IN THE GOLDEN STATE, EMERGES FROM NATIONAL FORESTS
Fresno County Sheriff's deputies and federal agents found as many as 50,000 marijuana plants, worth an estimated $400 million, growing in a sophisticated operation protected by a six foot barbed wire fence. About 50 workers were taken into custody. The farm was located less than a mile from an elementary school. (The Sanger Herald)
CALIFORNIA POT GROWERS SHIFTING CROP TO PRIVATE FARMLANDS
by Michael Doyle
McClatchy
December 7, 2011
WASHINGTON — California's commercial pot growers are moving plots from national forests to Central Valley farmland, Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims told senators Wednesday.
Citing a "conspicuous shift" in drug cultivation tactics, Mims added that growers also are increasingly using the "guise" of medical marijuana in an effort to protect their work that, arrest records show, frequently relies on illegal immigrants.
"Rather than growing marijuana in the relative secrecy and anonymity afforded by remote public lands, many moved illicit operations onto private agricultural lands," Mims advised the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, which held a hearing Wednesday on marijuana cultivation on public lands.
Fresno County has seen a drop in marijuana plots on public lands. In 2009, for instance, law enforcement investigators identified 81 marijuana-growing sites on public lands in Fresno County. In 2010, the number fell to 19. This year, only eight have been found.
While Mims called these reductions "appreciable measures of success," she warned of the flip side, which includes growing operations on Valley farmland. Last year, she told senators, 36 multi-acre cultivation sites were found on conventional farmland in Fresno County.
This year, one Fresno County farmland site devoted to marijuana was said by officials to span 57 acres.
"(The) Central Valley in particular has become a hot spot for marijuana cultivation because of the conditions there, including abundant sunlight, irrigation and fertilizer," declared Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chair of the narcotics control caucus.
More often than not, illegal immigrants supply the marijuana labor force, officials said.
In July, for instance, the Forest Service and other agencies arrested 159 individuals as part of what officials called Operation Full Court Press. The operation included sweeps through Mendocino, Glenn, Colusa, Lake, Trinity and Tehama counties in Northern California.
Roughly 95 percent of those arrested were illegal immigrants, the U.S. Forest Service's law enforcement director, David Ferrell, told senators. More broadly, Ferrell reported that illegal immigrants were caught tending 1,437 of the 2,334 marijuana sites seized on Forest Service land in California between 2005 and 2010.
"These are Mexican nationals who are running these operations," Feinstein said. "They are armed and dangerous, and we ought to go after them."
During the summer's Operation Full Court Press, in addition to 632,058 marijuana plants, officers reported seizing 38 weapons, including some assault rifles. A similar multi-agency operation last year, called Trident, resulted in 33 weapons and 432,271 marijuana plants being seized in Fresno, Tulare and Madera counties.
All told, Obama administration drug czar R. Gil Kerlikowske testified, 7.4 million marijuana plants were eradicated in California last year, primarily from outdoor growing sites.
"Our public lands have been taken away from us, and that's wrong," said Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, Calif.
Feinstein joined Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, in pressing the case that California's allowance for medical marijuana has given Mexican-run drug trafficking gangs cover for their illegal operations.
"The professed medical premise for cultivating this marijuana is predominantly a ruse," Mims agreed. "Marijuana grown in these quantities is largely intended for distribution and sales, often to out-of-state destinations."
CALIFORNIA POT GROWERS SHIFTING CROP TO PRIVATE FARMLANDS
by Michael Doyle
McClatchy
December 7, 2011
WASHINGTON — California's commercial pot growers are moving plots from national forests to Central Valley farmland, Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims told senators Wednesday.
Citing a "conspicuous shift" in drug cultivation tactics, Mims added that growers also are increasingly using the "guise" of medical marijuana in an effort to protect their work that, arrest records show, frequently relies on illegal immigrants.
"Rather than growing marijuana in the relative secrecy and anonymity afforded by remote public lands, many moved illicit operations onto private agricultural lands," Mims advised the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, which held a hearing Wednesday on marijuana cultivation on public lands.
Fresno County has seen a drop in marijuana plots on public lands. In 2009, for instance, law enforcement investigators identified 81 marijuana-growing sites on public lands in Fresno County. In 2010, the number fell to 19. This year, only eight have been found.
While Mims called these reductions "appreciable measures of success," she warned of the flip side, which includes growing operations on Valley farmland. Last year, she told senators, 36 multi-acre cultivation sites were found on conventional farmland in Fresno County.
This year, one Fresno County farmland site devoted to marijuana was said by officials to span 57 acres.
"(The) Central Valley in particular has become a hot spot for marijuana cultivation because of the conditions there, including abundant sunlight, irrigation and fertilizer," declared Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, chair of the narcotics control caucus.
More often than not, illegal immigrants supply the marijuana labor force, officials said.
In July, for instance, the Forest Service and other agencies arrested 159 individuals as part of what officials called Operation Full Court Press. The operation included sweeps through Mendocino, Glenn, Colusa, Lake, Trinity and Tehama counties in Northern California.
Roughly 95 percent of those arrested were illegal immigrants, the U.S. Forest Service's law enforcement director, David Ferrell, told senators. More broadly, Ferrell reported that illegal immigrants were caught tending 1,437 of the 2,334 marijuana sites seized on Forest Service land in California between 2005 and 2010.
"These are Mexican nationals who are running these operations," Feinstein said. "They are armed and dangerous, and we ought to go after them."
During the summer's Operation Full Court Press, in addition to 632,058 marijuana plants, officers reported seizing 38 weapons, including some assault rifles. A similar multi-agency operation last year, called Trident, resulted in 33 weapons and 432,271 marijuana plants being seized in Fresno, Tulare and Madera counties.
All told, Obama administration drug czar R. Gil Kerlikowske testified, 7.4 million marijuana plants were eradicated in California last year, primarily from outdoor growing sites.
"Our public lands have been taken away from us, and that's wrong," said Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, Calif.
Feinstein joined Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, in pressing the case that California's allowance for medical marijuana has given Mexican-run drug trafficking gangs cover for their illegal operations.
"The professed medical premise for cultivating this marijuana is predominantly a ruse," Mims agreed. "Marijuana grown in these quantities is largely intended for distribution and sales, often to out-of-state destinations."
LEAF BLOWERS OUT-POLLUTE FORD RAPTOR BY A COUNTRY MILE
The environmentalists won’t like this, but these tests cast real doubt on ‘how much good the government's increasingly strict fuel-economy standards will do to reduce emissions.’
YOU CAN'T JUDGE A BOOK (OR A TRUCK) BY ITS COVER
By Jerry Reynolds
The Car Pro Weekly
December 8, 2011
The Ford Raptor big-engine pickup, which environmental advocates love to hate for its poor fuel economy(13 mpg in combined city/highway driving) and its aggressive, shameless statement as a go-buggy, pollutes less than a common leaf blower, according to tests by Edmunds.com.
The Raptor also did better on some emissions tests than the Fiat 500 minicar, Edmunds.com says.
Edmunds has questioned how much good the government's increasingly strict fuel-economy standards will do to reduce emissions. Here's Edmunds.com's summary of the pollution report pitting two different leafblowers against the Raptor and the Fiat:
The tests found that a Ryobi four-stroke leaf blower kicked out almost seven times more oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and 13.5 times more carbon monoxide (CO) than the Raptor, which InsideLine.com once called "the ultimate Michigan mudslinger." An Echo two-stroke leaf blower performed even worse, generating 23 times CO and nearly300 times more non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC) than the Raptor.
"The hydrocarbon emissions from a half-hour of yard work with the two-stroke leaf blower are about the same as a 3,900-mile drive from Texas to Alaska in a Raptor," said Jason Kavanagh, engineering editor at Edmunds.com. "As ridiculous as it may sound, it is more 'green' to ditch your yard equipment and find a way to blow leaves using a Raptor."
The InsideLine.com test also found that the Raptor, which was chosen to represent the extreme heavy-duty end of the light-vehicle spectrum, actually reduced the amount of hydrocarbons in the air in the test lab. The ambient air measured prior to the test contained 2.821 parts per million (ppm) of total hydrocarbons, and the amount of total hydrocarbons coming out the Raptor's tailpipe measured 2.639 ppm.
InsideLine also tested a subcompact 2012 Fiat 500 for comparison and found that the Fiat actually emitted more hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen but dispatched less carbon monoxide than the Raptor. But like the Raptor, the 500 tested much cleaner than the leaf blowers.
YOU CAN'T JUDGE A BOOK (OR A TRUCK) BY ITS COVER
By Jerry Reynolds
The Car Pro Weekly
December 8, 2011
The Ford Raptor big-engine pickup, which environmental advocates love to hate for its poor fuel economy(13 mpg in combined city/highway driving) and its aggressive, shameless statement as a go-buggy, pollutes less than a common leaf blower, according to tests by Edmunds.com.
The Raptor also did better on some emissions tests than the Fiat 500 minicar, Edmunds.com says.
Edmunds has questioned how much good the government's increasingly strict fuel-economy standards will do to reduce emissions. Here's Edmunds.com's summary of the pollution report pitting two different leafblowers against the Raptor and the Fiat:
The tests found that a Ryobi four-stroke leaf blower kicked out almost seven times more oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and 13.5 times more carbon monoxide (CO) than the Raptor, which InsideLine.com once called "the ultimate Michigan mudslinger." An Echo two-stroke leaf blower performed even worse, generating 23 times CO and nearly300 times more non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC) than the Raptor.
"The hydrocarbon emissions from a half-hour of yard work with the two-stroke leaf blower are about the same as a 3,900-mile drive from Texas to Alaska in a Raptor," said Jason Kavanagh, engineering editor at Edmunds.com. "As ridiculous as it may sound, it is more 'green' to ditch your yard equipment and find a way to blow leaves using a Raptor."
The InsideLine.com test also found that the Raptor, which was chosen to represent the extreme heavy-duty end of the light-vehicle spectrum, actually reduced the amount of hydrocarbons in the air in the test lab. The ambient air measured prior to the test contained 2.821 parts per million (ppm) of total hydrocarbons, and the amount of total hydrocarbons coming out the Raptor's tailpipe measured 2.639 ppm.
InsideLine also tested a subcompact 2012 Fiat 500 for comparison and found that the Fiat actually emitted more hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen but dispatched less carbon monoxide than the Raptor. But like the Raptor, the 500 tested much cleaner than the leaf blowers.
Thursday, December 08, 2011
DAUGHTER OBJECTS TO HER MURDERING FATHER GETTING ONLY TWO MEALS A DAY ON WEEKENDS
I wonder if the petition signers and the people at change.org would be willing to have their taxes raised in order to provide inmates with three instead of two meals a day on weekends? My bet is they would not.
THREE MEALS A DAY FOR TEXAS PRISONERS: THE PETITION CAMPAIGN
By Richard Connelly
Houston Press Hair Balls
December 6, 2011
The daughter of a Texas inmate is getting thousands of people to sign a petition demanding the state resume feeding its prisoners three times a day seven days a week.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice announced this fall that budget constraints were forcing them to feed prisoners at some units only twice a day on the weekends, a move that raised eyebrows around the country.
Destiny Bowser has collected more than 4,000 signatures in a month on a petition entitled "Give Texas Prisoners Three Meals a Day" on the change.org Web site.
"If you cut the budget, the last thing you should cut is food," she tells Hair Balls. "TDCJ is responsible for the health and well-being of its inmates."
Bowser says her father is a TDCJ inmate who has a health condition that forces him to take medicine that causes him to lose weight. (Blake Bowser is serving time for a 1999 Travis County murder.)
"In just a few days, thousands of people have joined my campaign on Change.org, and many more are sure to join in," Bowser said in a release. "As a civilized society, we have an obligation to set an example and protect the human rights of all individuals, even prisoners."
She hopes to put pressure on Texas legislators and also on the American Correctional Association. She's asking the ACA to remove its accreditation of TDCJ.
"What Destiny Bowser has accomplished in just a few days is remarkable," said Change.org's Jon Perri in the release. "With no budget and armed with only a laptop, Ms. Bowser has managed to recruit thousands of supporters from across the country and the endorsement of the Texas Prisoner Family Association. Change.org is about empowering anyone, anywhere to demand action on the issues that matter to them, and it has been incredible to watch Destiny's campaign take off."
THREE MEALS A DAY FOR TEXAS PRISONERS: THE PETITION CAMPAIGN
By Richard Connelly
Houston Press Hair Balls
December 6, 2011
The daughter of a Texas inmate is getting thousands of people to sign a petition demanding the state resume feeding its prisoners three times a day seven days a week.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice announced this fall that budget constraints were forcing them to feed prisoners at some units only twice a day on the weekends, a move that raised eyebrows around the country.
Destiny Bowser has collected more than 4,000 signatures in a month on a petition entitled "Give Texas Prisoners Three Meals a Day" on the change.org Web site.
"If you cut the budget, the last thing you should cut is food," she tells Hair Balls. "TDCJ is responsible for the health and well-being of its inmates."
Bowser says her father is a TDCJ inmate who has a health condition that forces him to take medicine that causes him to lose weight. (Blake Bowser is serving time for a 1999 Travis County murder.)
"In just a few days, thousands of people have joined my campaign on Change.org, and many more are sure to join in," Bowser said in a release. "As a civilized society, we have an obligation to set an example and protect the human rights of all individuals, even prisoners."
She hopes to put pressure on Texas legislators and also on the American Correctional Association. She's asking the ACA to remove its accreditation of TDCJ.
"What Destiny Bowser has accomplished in just a few days is remarkable," said Change.org's Jon Perri in the release. "With no budget and armed with only a laptop, Ms. Bowser has managed to recruit thousands of supporters from across the country and the endorsement of the Texas Prisoner Family Association. Change.org is about empowering anyone, anywhere to demand action on the issues that matter to them, and it has been incredible to watch Destiny's campaign take off."
WHO NEEDS EXPENSIVE CRUISE MISSILES WHEN OLD-TIME CANNONBALLS WORK JUST AS WELL?
Instead of arming our drones with multimillion dollar missiles, why not just arm them with cheap old-time cannonballs?
TV STUNT GOES AWRY, SENDS CANNONBALL ROCKETING THROUGH HOMES
CBS Los Angeles
December 6, 2011
DUBLIN, CALIF. — A cast iron cannonball rocketed through two homes and landed inside a minivan Tuesday when a “Mythbusters” TV experiment went wrong.
Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage are hosts of the scientific experimentation show, which airs on The Discovery Channel. The pair was reportedly trying to figure out how fast a cannonball would travel, when it misfired and shot hundreds of feet in the air.
“This cannonball was supposed to go through several barrels of water and through a cinder block, and then ultimately into the side of the hill,” said J.D. Nelson of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department.
Instead the cannonball flew over the foothills surrounding Camp Parks Military Firing Reservation, before spiraling back toward Dublin like a cruise missile.
It flew straight though the front door of a home on Cassata Place, and bounced around like a pinball, flying up to the second floor before blasting through a back bedroom wall.
The wayward cannonball then blasted across a busy road and through a second home some 50 yards away, demolishing roof tiles.
The homeowner’s mother was frightened.
“”It was a very loud boom; she thought a tree fell, maybe a meteor,” said Ming Jiang. “It wasn’t clear that it was a cannonball landing on the roof.”
The out of control cannonball finally came to a stop inside Jasper Gill’s minivan.
“It hit the dash, through the passenger window,” said Gill, who had gotten out of the vehicle just 10 minutes before the ball struck. “I’m lucky I’m alive.”
Incredibly, no one was injured in the mishap.
Officials said Mythbusters had been using the firing reservation for the last eight years for similar experiments, but none had gone awry.
TV STUNT GOES AWRY, SENDS CANNONBALL ROCKETING THROUGH HOMES
CBS Los Angeles
December 6, 2011
DUBLIN, CALIF. — A cast iron cannonball rocketed through two homes and landed inside a minivan Tuesday when a “Mythbusters” TV experiment went wrong.
Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage are hosts of the scientific experimentation show, which airs on The Discovery Channel. The pair was reportedly trying to figure out how fast a cannonball would travel, when it misfired and shot hundreds of feet in the air.
“This cannonball was supposed to go through several barrels of water and through a cinder block, and then ultimately into the side of the hill,” said J.D. Nelson of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department.
Instead the cannonball flew over the foothills surrounding Camp Parks Military Firing Reservation, before spiraling back toward Dublin like a cruise missile.
It flew straight though the front door of a home on Cassata Place, and bounced around like a pinball, flying up to the second floor before blasting through a back bedroom wall.
The wayward cannonball then blasted across a busy road and through a second home some 50 yards away, demolishing roof tiles.
The homeowner’s mother was frightened.
“”It was a very loud boom; she thought a tree fell, maybe a meteor,” said Ming Jiang. “It wasn’t clear that it was a cannonball landing on the roof.”
The out of control cannonball finally came to a stop inside Jasper Gill’s minivan.
“It hit the dash, through the passenger window,” said Gill, who had gotten out of the vehicle just 10 minutes before the ball struck. “I’m lucky I’m alive.”
Incredibly, no one was injured in the mishap.
Officials said Mythbusters had been using the firing reservation for the last eight years for similar experiments, but none had gone awry.
WILL LAB TEST TESTIMONY BECOME TOO CUMBERSOME AND EXPENSIVE?
This pending Supreme Court decision may change the way laboratory evidence is presented in court trials. It could even result in DNA evidence no longer being used.
CAN LAB TESTS STAND IN COURT, SHORT OF EXPERT TESTIMONY?
By Joan Biskupic
Jewish World Review
December 7, 2011
The Supreme Court on Tuesday tackled the consequences of its recent decisions that broadly interpret a defendant's right to confront witnesses against him, including when DNA and other lab reports are used at trial.
Justice Stephen Breyer expressed concerns that a "sea change in normal criminal law practices" may be underway that could require "up to 10 technicians" from a multistep DNA analysis to testify if a report is cited.
Breyer said requiring multiple technicians to appear at trial could cause prosecutors to forgo reliable lab evidence and use less reliable eyewitness testimony.
Other justices, notably Antonin Scalia, who has led the trend expanding confrontation rights, suggested that a need for as many as 10 technicians was unlikely. Scalia has continued to insist that reports from blood or semen evidence should not be offered, even indirectly, without key people who prepared them being available for cross-examination.
Scalia said a prosecutor could bring in just one technician "if he thinks the jury will be sufficiently persuaded."
Tuesday's appeal by an Illinois rape convict is part of a recent series of cases testing the reach of a defendant's right to be "confronted by the witnesses against him." A narrow majority has expanded that Sixth Amendment right in cases involving a range of witness testimony, including the introduction of forensic reports. By a 5-4 vote in a 2009 Massachusetts case, the court said defendants have the right to cross-examine the person who prepares such blood, ballistic and other laboratory reports used at trial.
The new dispute, closely watched by prosecutors and defense lawyers nationwide, tests situations in which a report is not introduced at trial but is used as the basis for testimony by another expert witness. A ruling would refine the rules for when analysts must be available for trial.
Ohio and 41 other states have entered the case on the side of Illinois, arguing that scientific witnesses should be able to offer independent analyses of forensic evidence without the need to bring in the people who generated the underlying data. Defense groups such as the California Public Defenders Association counter that if those who prepared the underlying reports are not called, a defendant will not be able to probe their qualifications or record.
No consensus from the justices seemed clear Tuesday.
At the heart of the Illinois case is a DNA analysis prepared by the Maryland-based Cellmark Diagnostics. The Cellmark report was not introduced at the trial of defendant Sandy Williams but was incorporated into conclusions offered by an Illinois forensic analyst who testified that the DNA from Williams' blood sample matched semen obtained from a swab of the rape victim analyzed by Cellmark.
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the Cellmark report did not touch on the Constitution's confrontation right because it was used only "to show the underlying facts and data" that the Illinois analyst employed before giving her expert opinion.
Appealing that ruling Tuesday, Williams' lawyer, Brian Carroll, told the justices that Cellmark analysts should have appeared at trial so that Williams could effectively challenge witnesses against him.
Justice Samuel Alito, who like Breyer has dissented from the recent line of cases on confrontation rights, questioned why any Cellmark witnesses would have been needed: "Hasn't it long been accepted that experts may testify to the facts that form the basis for their opinions," he asked, adding that such experts are "mentioning facts that form the basis of the opinion but not testifying to the truth of those."
Along those lines, lawyers for the state of Illinois have insisted that the forensic analyst's testimony consisted of her independent judgment, rather than a parroting of the Cellmark analysis.
State's Attorney Anita Alvarez told the justices Tuesday that the forensic analyst "gave her own independent expert opinion based on her skills, her knowledge, her expertise."
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who has been in the court majority expanding confrontation rights, was skeptical. "I don't understand how (the) testimony can be independent of test results supplied" by Cellmark, she said. "It is entirely dependent on them."
Scalia added that it's crucial for the judge or jury to know how a lab is run and whether it has "incompetent people there."
"The last case we had involving this kind of issue," he said, "the reason they didn't bring in the lab technician to testify, was that he had been fired in the interim for some reason, which we didn't know. But it was pretty clear why he would not have been a very good witness."
In the Williams case, Scalia added, "We don't know how good the individuals who did the test were. And that's why it's up to the state to bring forward testimony saying what the lab did. And the only testimony they brought forward was the testimony of this witness who was not there."
Justice Anthony Kennedy has dissented as the majority has required additional witnesses, yet he voiced concerns Tuesday about the Illinois situation. He said in a related case last term, "At least you had an expert say how the laboratory works. Here, you don't even have that."
A ruling in the case of Williams v. Illinois is likely by the end of June when the justices recess for the summer.
CAN LAB TESTS STAND IN COURT, SHORT OF EXPERT TESTIMONY?
By Joan Biskupic
Jewish World Review
December 7, 2011
The Supreme Court on Tuesday tackled the consequences of its recent decisions that broadly interpret a defendant's right to confront witnesses against him, including when DNA and other lab reports are used at trial.
Justice Stephen Breyer expressed concerns that a "sea change in normal criminal law practices" may be underway that could require "up to 10 technicians" from a multistep DNA analysis to testify if a report is cited.
Breyer said requiring multiple technicians to appear at trial could cause prosecutors to forgo reliable lab evidence and use less reliable eyewitness testimony.
Other justices, notably Antonin Scalia, who has led the trend expanding confrontation rights, suggested that a need for as many as 10 technicians was unlikely. Scalia has continued to insist that reports from blood or semen evidence should not be offered, even indirectly, without key people who prepared them being available for cross-examination.
Scalia said a prosecutor could bring in just one technician "if he thinks the jury will be sufficiently persuaded."
Tuesday's appeal by an Illinois rape convict is part of a recent series of cases testing the reach of a defendant's right to be "confronted by the witnesses against him." A narrow majority has expanded that Sixth Amendment right in cases involving a range of witness testimony, including the introduction of forensic reports. By a 5-4 vote in a 2009 Massachusetts case, the court said defendants have the right to cross-examine the person who prepares such blood, ballistic and other laboratory reports used at trial.
The new dispute, closely watched by prosecutors and defense lawyers nationwide, tests situations in which a report is not introduced at trial but is used as the basis for testimony by another expert witness. A ruling would refine the rules for when analysts must be available for trial.
Ohio and 41 other states have entered the case on the side of Illinois, arguing that scientific witnesses should be able to offer independent analyses of forensic evidence without the need to bring in the people who generated the underlying data. Defense groups such as the California Public Defenders Association counter that if those who prepared the underlying reports are not called, a defendant will not be able to probe their qualifications or record.
No consensus from the justices seemed clear Tuesday.
At the heart of the Illinois case is a DNA analysis prepared by the Maryland-based Cellmark Diagnostics. The Cellmark report was not introduced at the trial of defendant Sandy Williams but was incorporated into conclusions offered by an Illinois forensic analyst who testified that the DNA from Williams' blood sample matched semen obtained from a swab of the rape victim analyzed by Cellmark.
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the Cellmark report did not touch on the Constitution's confrontation right because it was used only "to show the underlying facts and data" that the Illinois analyst employed before giving her expert opinion.
Appealing that ruling Tuesday, Williams' lawyer, Brian Carroll, told the justices that Cellmark analysts should have appeared at trial so that Williams could effectively challenge witnesses against him.
Justice Samuel Alito, who like Breyer has dissented from the recent line of cases on confrontation rights, questioned why any Cellmark witnesses would have been needed: "Hasn't it long been accepted that experts may testify to the facts that form the basis for their opinions," he asked, adding that such experts are "mentioning facts that form the basis of the opinion but not testifying to the truth of those."
Along those lines, lawyers for the state of Illinois have insisted that the forensic analyst's testimony consisted of her independent judgment, rather than a parroting of the Cellmark analysis.
State's Attorney Anita Alvarez told the justices Tuesday that the forensic analyst "gave her own independent expert opinion based on her skills, her knowledge, her expertise."
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who has been in the court majority expanding confrontation rights, was skeptical. "I don't understand how (the) testimony can be independent of test results supplied" by Cellmark, she said. "It is entirely dependent on them."
Scalia added that it's crucial for the judge or jury to know how a lab is run and whether it has "incompetent people there."
"The last case we had involving this kind of issue," he said, "the reason they didn't bring in the lab technician to testify, was that he had been fired in the interim for some reason, which we didn't know. But it was pretty clear why he would not have been a very good witness."
In the Williams case, Scalia added, "We don't know how good the individuals who did the test were. And that's why it's up to the state to bring forward testimony saying what the lab did. And the only testimony they brought forward was the testimony of this witness who was not there."
Justice Anthony Kennedy has dissented as the majority has required additional witnesses, yet he voiced concerns Tuesday about the Illinois situation. He said in a related case last term, "At least you had an expert say how the laboratory works. Here, you don't even have that."
A ruling in the case of Williams v. Illinois is likely by the end of June when the justices recess for the summer.
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
WWII NAZI FUGITIVES TEAMED UP WITH THE VATICAN
Why am I not surprised?
POST-WORLD WAR II SECRET NAZI, VATICAN ARMY
By Paul Bedard
Jewish World Review
December 6, 2011
A secret plot by ex-Nazis, the Vatican, Spain, and even some in the United States to form a post-World War II military force to challenge Communist Russia's feared expansion into West Germany is going on the auction block this week.
According to the documents uncovered by Alexander Historical Auctions, there was such concern about Soviet expansion into West Germany and eventually all of Europe after the war that the plan drawn up by an ex-Nazi SS officer almost went into effect.
Probably the most explosive element of the package is a letter from a priest and co-conspirator of former Nazi Lt. Col. Otto Skorzeny, a Hitler favorite, to the Vatican official who would become Pope Paul VI. In that 1952 letter marked with a church stamp, Pope Paul VI, then deputy of foreign affairs for the Vatican, is praised for helping fund Nazi refugees living in Spain.
The blockbuster documents are the first ever to surface that lay out postwar plans by ex-Nazis, members of Franco's Spain, and the Church to build a rogue army that would be stationed in Africa.
Alexander President Bill Panagopulos said that the plot began in September 1950, after Skorzeny fled a German prison. That year, he ended up in Spain, and historical documents show that he became one of the masterminds of ODESSA, a secret organization formed to find safe havens around the world for top Nazis.
In his catalog for the December 8-9 auction, Panagopulos writes: "Skorzeny entered Spain under an alias to begin a collaboration with Spain's top military leaders, ex-SS generals and officers, and even the highest levels of the Vatican to plan the formation of a secret army of ex-Nazis and Spanish military in Spain or North Africa, prepared at any time to counter a Russian attack from East Germany. This grouping of documents, directly from Skorzeny's estate, documents his efforts to form such an 'army in exile,' perhaps with even more sinister intent. Its contents have remained hidden for over sixty years, totally unknown to journalists and historians alike."
The documents show that U.S. officials were aware of the plot and also worried about Moscow advancing into West Germany, but also feared that it could revive Nazism.
The secret army was never formed and Panagopulos suggests that Skorzeny's motives might have included elements of ODESSA.
"On the face of it, it appears that Skorzeny's motives were altruistic. Germany was indeed defenseless in 1950, having no army of her own and only a token occupation force with which to face any attack," he says.
"The church's involvement can easily be explained: There was no place in communism for organized religion, a fact the Catholic Church made clear through its non-involvement in politics during the world war," adds Panagopulos.
But, he adds, Skorzeny's discussion in the letters, reports, and notes up for auction of freeing political prisoners "strongly suggests another motivation," namely protecting some of Hitler's most ruthless military men with him in Spain.
"It is no secret at all that Spain became a well-known 'resting place' for ex-Nazis on the run while en route to South America and the Middle East. As a matter of fact, it is believed that a wide swath of coastline owned by Skorzeny near Majorca was used to smuggle his comrades in and out of Spain. This archive, carefully researched, may help put together the pieces of the history of the postwar Nazi escape routes and 'rat lines,'" says Panagopulos.
POST-WORLD WAR II SECRET NAZI, VATICAN ARMY
By Paul Bedard
Jewish World Review
December 6, 2011
A secret plot by ex-Nazis, the Vatican, Spain, and even some in the United States to form a post-World War II military force to challenge Communist Russia's feared expansion into West Germany is going on the auction block this week.
According to the documents uncovered by Alexander Historical Auctions, there was such concern about Soviet expansion into West Germany and eventually all of Europe after the war that the plan drawn up by an ex-Nazi SS officer almost went into effect.
Probably the most explosive element of the package is a letter from a priest and co-conspirator of former Nazi Lt. Col. Otto Skorzeny, a Hitler favorite, to the Vatican official who would become Pope Paul VI. In that 1952 letter marked with a church stamp, Pope Paul VI, then deputy of foreign affairs for the Vatican, is praised for helping fund Nazi refugees living in Spain.
The blockbuster documents are the first ever to surface that lay out postwar plans by ex-Nazis, members of Franco's Spain, and the Church to build a rogue army that would be stationed in Africa.
Alexander President Bill Panagopulos said that the plot began in September 1950, after Skorzeny fled a German prison. That year, he ended up in Spain, and historical documents show that he became one of the masterminds of ODESSA, a secret organization formed to find safe havens around the world for top Nazis.
In his catalog for the December 8-9 auction, Panagopulos writes: "Skorzeny entered Spain under an alias to begin a collaboration with Spain's top military leaders, ex-SS generals and officers, and even the highest levels of the Vatican to plan the formation of a secret army of ex-Nazis and Spanish military in Spain or North Africa, prepared at any time to counter a Russian attack from East Germany. This grouping of documents, directly from Skorzeny's estate, documents his efforts to form such an 'army in exile,' perhaps with even more sinister intent. Its contents have remained hidden for over sixty years, totally unknown to journalists and historians alike."
The documents show that U.S. officials were aware of the plot and also worried about Moscow advancing into West Germany, but also feared that it could revive Nazism.
The secret army was never formed and Panagopulos suggests that Skorzeny's motives might have included elements of ODESSA.
"On the face of it, it appears that Skorzeny's motives were altruistic. Germany was indeed defenseless in 1950, having no army of her own and only a token occupation force with which to face any attack," he says.
"The church's involvement can easily be explained: There was no place in communism for organized religion, a fact the Catholic Church made clear through its non-involvement in politics during the world war," adds Panagopulos.
But, he adds, Skorzeny's discussion in the letters, reports, and notes up for auction of freeing political prisoners "strongly suggests another motivation," namely protecting some of Hitler's most ruthless military men with him in Spain.
"It is no secret at all that Spain became a well-known 'resting place' for ex-Nazis on the run while en route to South America and the Middle East. As a matter of fact, it is believed that a wide swath of coastline owned by Skorzeny near Majorca was used to smuggle his comrades in and out of Spain. This archive, carefully researched, may help put together the pieces of the history of the postwar Nazi escape routes and 'rat lines,'" says Panagopulos.
REACTION TO ISLAMIC CLERIC'S SERMON ON HOMOSEXUALS AND GAY MARRIAGE
By Adolf der Schweinehund
The Schalotte
December 6, 2011
According to Monday’s issue of Vanguard, one of Nigeria’s leading newspapers, prominent Islamic cleric Malam Abdulkadir Apaokagi preached a sermon Sunday on the position of Islam on gay men and lesbians in which he condemned same-sex marriage and called for the killing of homosexuals and the desecration of their corpses.
Malam Abdulkadir Apaokagi said gays were worse than murderers, and deserve stiffer penalty than those accused of killing fellow human beings. “Homosexuality and lesbianism are just too dirty in the sight of Allah, those who engage in them deserve more than capital punishment. When they are killed, their corpse should also be mistreated.”
This reporter sought out and interviewed several well-known politicians and other newsmakers to get their reaction to Malam Abdulkadir Apaokagi’s sermon.
Rick Perry said he was surprised because, “I thought they only wanted to kill all the Jews. The governor added, “Hmm, I think I’ll have my friends at Mossad [Israel’s CIA] grab ole Malam-what’s-his-face and bring that piece of filth over here so we can show him justice Texas style. I’m sure we can squeeze him into Polunsky [the prison where death row inmates are held] to await his maker. And since he’s all for mistreating corpses, we can wrap his body in bacon.”
Congressman Barney Frank strongly condemned the cleric’s sermon and said, “I guess I better not ever visit Nigeria.” When reminded that the cleric said this was the position of Islam, Frank said, “Oh, then I just better not visit any Muslim country and I better stay out of Detroit too.”
Pastor Steve Anderson from the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Arizona says that “Sodomy is the abominable sin in all faiths and by urging his congregants to kill the queers, that Muslim preacher is just carrying out the will of the Lord, Hallelujah!”
Rocky Suhayda, head of the American Nazi Party, said, “Our party is in complete agreement with this great Nigerian. Our only request is that he also call for the killing of all Jews. Oh, by the way … if you get in touch with him, would you ask him to preach for the Nigerians and all other Africans to stay out of this white Christian country of ours!”
Herman Cain thought the sermon was despicable. As for gay marriages, Cain said, “My marriage hasn’t been very gay the last few days, what with Ginger [White] telling everyone that I shacked up with her. The way Gloria [his wife] reacted … well … our marriage is anything but gay right now.”
Sarah Palin condemned the sermon and asked, “Did I hear you mention that Nigeria is a country? No kidding … and here I’ve always thought that Nigerian was the term for an African-American scam artist. Oh, and by the way, where is Nigeria?”
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, “Diplomatically speaking, I am sure that President Obama will reach out to Malam Abdulkadir Apaokagi and suggest that it would be nice if he were to tone down some of his more controversial statements.”
Ron Paul said, “As a Libertarian I believe that we should not be sticking our noses into the affairs of others. And, of course, as a physician I am strongly opposed to the mistreatment of corpses.”
Mitt Romney said that right now he condemns the sermon. As for gay marriages, Romney said, “When I was governor of Massachusetts, I was in favor of gay marriages. Now that I am seeking the presidential nomination of the Republican Party, I am opposed to gay marriages.”
The Schalotte
December 6, 2011
According to Monday’s issue of Vanguard, one of Nigeria’s leading newspapers, prominent Islamic cleric Malam Abdulkadir Apaokagi preached a sermon Sunday on the position of Islam on gay men and lesbians in which he condemned same-sex marriage and called for the killing of homosexuals and the desecration of their corpses.
Malam Abdulkadir Apaokagi said gays were worse than murderers, and deserve stiffer penalty than those accused of killing fellow human beings. “Homosexuality and lesbianism are just too dirty in the sight of Allah, those who engage in them deserve more than capital punishment. When they are killed, their corpse should also be mistreated.”
This reporter sought out and interviewed several well-known politicians and other newsmakers to get their reaction to Malam Abdulkadir Apaokagi’s sermon.
Rick Perry said he was surprised because, “I thought they only wanted to kill all the Jews. The governor added, “Hmm, I think I’ll have my friends at Mossad [Israel’s CIA] grab ole Malam-what’s-his-face and bring that piece of filth over here so we can show him justice Texas style. I’m sure we can squeeze him into Polunsky [the prison where death row inmates are held] to await his maker. And since he’s all for mistreating corpses, we can wrap his body in bacon.”
Congressman Barney Frank strongly condemned the cleric’s sermon and said, “I guess I better not ever visit Nigeria.” When reminded that the cleric said this was the position of Islam, Frank said, “Oh, then I just better not visit any Muslim country and I better stay out of Detroit too.”
Pastor Steve Anderson from the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Arizona says that “Sodomy is the abominable sin in all faiths and by urging his congregants to kill the queers, that Muslim preacher is just carrying out the will of the Lord, Hallelujah!”
Rocky Suhayda, head of the American Nazi Party, said, “Our party is in complete agreement with this great Nigerian. Our only request is that he also call for the killing of all Jews. Oh, by the way … if you get in touch with him, would you ask him to preach for the Nigerians and all other Africans to stay out of this white Christian country of ours!”
Herman Cain thought the sermon was despicable. As for gay marriages, Cain said, “My marriage hasn’t been very gay the last few days, what with Ginger [White] telling everyone that I shacked up with her. The way Gloria [his wife] reacted … well … our marriage is anything but gay right now.”
Sarah Palin condemned the sermon and asked, “Did I hear you mention that Nigeria is a country? No kidding … and here I’ve always thought that Nigerian was the term for an African-American scam artist. Oh, and by the way, where is Nigeria?”
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, “Diplomatically speaking, I am sure that President Obama will reach out to Malam Abdulkadir Apaokagi and suggest that it would be nice if he were to tone down some of his more controversial statements.”
Ron Paul said, “As a Libertarian I believe that we should not be sticking our noses into the affairs of others. And, of course, as a physician I am strongly opposed to the mistreatment of corpses.”
Mitt Romney said that right now he condemns the sermon. As for gay marriages, Romney said, “When I was governor of Massachusetts, I was in favor of gay marriages. Now that I am seeking the presidential nomination of the Republican Party, I am opposed to gay marriages.”
GOD WAS NOT HER CO-PILOT
She won’t get my vote for Christian of the Year.
AIDA HILLEN: LOBBED CHRISTIAN PAMPHLET AT KD SHE RAN OVER, THEN DROVE AWAY (ALLEGEDLY)
By John Nova Lomax
Houston Press Hair Balls
December 6, 2011
What would Jesus do if he hit a youth with His car, asked the kid if he was okay and got "no" for an answer?
If you answered, "Toss him a book about Himself, peel out and haul ass like the Dukes of Hazzard," you are cut from the same religious cloth police say Aida Hillen comes from.
According to court documents, the victim, a Milby High School student, told police he was crossing Broadway near the school on October 14 at around 5:15 p.m. when he was struck by the 58-year-old Hillen's 1996 Honda Accord.
As he struggled to his feet, Hillen, of League City, is alleged to have stopped and asked if he was okay. According to the complaint, when the victim said "No," Hillen tossed him a religious pamphlet and attempted to flee, much like her operatic namesake, albeit in her case toward the swamps of Galveston County and not the Egyptian desert.
Another Milby student tried to wave her down, the complaint states, but Hillen only waved "Bye" and kept on driving.
Fortunately this heroic witness was able to scrawl Hillen's license plate number on his arm and waited with the injured victim for police and paramedics to arrive.
The victim was treated by firemen at the scene and released, but suffered chest pains several days later and visited an emergency room, where he was diagnosed with a bruised rib cage and handed a bill for $730.50.
Meanwhile, using the license plate number, cops tracked down Hillen. The victim later picked her picture out of a photo array. Hillen admits to driving her car down Broadway that day but denies hitting anyone. A felony warrant for her arrest -- for accident causing injury -- has been issued.
A month after the incident, but before police issued the warrant, she posted a sermonette, "To Christian Buddy Warriors," on the "I Love Jesus My Savior" Facebook page.
The gist of her testimony? That worry is the enemy of faith.
__"Worry is the Opposite of Faith! You must understand, we all endure challenges. We all face mountains in our lives. Knowing this, it is very important that we live our lives knowing God can and He will. Thought to Ponder: When was the last time your worrying helped you?"
Um, maybe when our conscience bothered us and we admitted some wrong and asked for forgiveness. Perhaps Hillen would do well to set aside her Good Book for however long it takes her to read Crime and Punishment.
And perhaps instead of absolving herself, Aida Hillen should study up on how faith also involves action and an (alleged) sin of this magnitude requires the sort of redemption you can't bestow on yourself.
Police don't think she can redeem herself. The cops want to find her so they can arrest her.
AIDA HILLEN: LOBBED CHRISTIAN PAMPHLET AT KD SHE RAN OVER, THEN DROVE AWAY (ALLEGEDLY)
By John Nova Lomax
Houston Press Hair Balls
December 6, 2011
What would Jesus do if he hit a youth with His car, asked the kid if he was okay and got "no" for an answer?
If you answered, "Toss him a book about Himself, peel out and haul ass like the Dukes of Hazzard," you are cut from the same religious cloth police say Aida Hillen comes from.
According to court documents, the victim, a Milby High School student, told police he was crossing Broadway near the school on October 14 at around 5:15 p.m. when he was struck by the 58-year-old Hillen's 1996 Honda Accord.
As he struggled to his feet, Hillen, of League City, is alleged to have stopped and asked if he was okay. According to the complaint, when the victim said "No," Hillen tossed him a religious pamphlet and attempted to flee, much like her operatic namesake, albeit in her case toward the swamps of Galveston County and not the Egyptian desert.
Another Milby student tried to wave her down, the complaint states, but Hillen only waved "Bye" and kept on driving.
Fortunately this heroic witness was able to scrawl Hillen's license plate number on his arm and waited with the injured victim for police and paramedics to arrive.
The victim was treated by firemen at the scene and released, but suffered chest pains several days later and visited an emergency room, where he was diagnosed with a bruised rib cage and handed a bill for $730.50.
Meanwhile, using the license plate number, cops tracked down Hillen. The victim later picked her picture out of a photo array. Hillen admits to driving her car down Broadway that day but denies hitting anyone. A felony warrant for her arrest -- for accident causing injury -- has been issued.
A month after the incident, but before police issued the warrant, she posted a sermonette, "To Christian Buddy Warriors," on the "I Love Jesus My Savior" Facebook page.
The gist of her testimony? That worry is the enemy of faith.
__"Worry is the Opposite of Faith! You must understand, we all endure challenges. We all face mountains in our lives. Knowing this, it is very important that we live our lives knowing God can and He will. Thought to Ponder: When was the last time your worrying helped you?"
Um, maybe when our conscience bothered us and we admitted some wrong and asked for forgiveness. Perhaps Hillen would do well to set aside her Good Book for however long it takes her to read Crime and Punishment.
And perhaps instead of absolving herself, Aida Hillen should study up on how faith also involves action and an (alleged) sin of this magnitude requires the sort of redemption you can't bestow on yourself.
Police don't think she can redeem herself. The cops want to find her so they can arrest her.
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE EXPLAINED
COSTELLO: I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America.
ABBOTT: Good Subject. Terrible times. It's 9%
COSTELLO: That many people are out of work?
ABBOTT: No, that's 17%
COSTELLO: You just said 9%.
ABBOTT: 9% Unemployed.
COSTELLO: Right 9% out of work.
ABBOTT: No, that's 17%.
COSTELLO: Okay, so it's 17% unemployed.
ABBOTT: No, that's 9%...
COSTELLO: WAIT A MINUTE. Is it 9% or 17%?
ABBOTT: 9% are unemployed. 17% are out of work.
COSTELLO: IF you are out of work you are unemployed?
ABBOTT: No, you can't count the "Out of Work" as the unemployed. You have to look for work to be unemployed.
COSTELLO: BUT THEY ARE OUT OF WORK!!!
ABBOTT: No, you miss my point.
COSTELLO: What point?
ABBOTT: Someone who doesn't look for work, can't be counted with those who look for work. It wouldn't be fair.
COSTELLO: To who?
ABBOTT: The unemployed.
COSTELLO: But they are ALL out of work.
ABBOTT: No, the unemployed are actively looking for work... Those who are out of work stopped looking. They gave up. And, if you give up, you are no longer in the ranks of the unemployed.
COSTELLO: So if you're off the unemployment rolls, that would count as less unemployment?
ABBOTT: Unemployment would go down. Absolutely!
COSTELLO: The unemployment rate just goes down because you don't look for work?
ABBOTT: Absolutely it goes down. That's how you get to 9%. Otherwise it would be 17%. You don't want to read about 17% unemployment do ya?
COSTELLO: That would be frightening.
ABBOTT: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: Wait, I got a question for you. That means they're two ways to bring down the unemployment number?
ABBOTT: Two ways is correct.
COSTELLO: Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?
ABBOTT: Correct.
COSTELLO: And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?
ABBOTT: Bingo.
COSTELLO: So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two is to just stop looking for work.
ABBOTT: Now you're thinking like an economist.
COSTELLO: I don't even know what the hell I just said!
ABBOTT: Good Subject. Terrible times. It's 9%
COSTELLO: That many people are out of work?
ABBOTT: No, that's 17%
COSTELLO: You just said 9%.
ABBOTT: 9% Unemployed.
COSTELLO: Right 9% out of work.
ABBOTT: No, that's 17%.
COSTELLO: Okay, so it's 17% unemployed.
ABBOTT: No, that's 9%...
COSTELLO: WAIT A MINUTE. Is it 9% or 17%?
ABBOTT: 9% are unemployed. 17% are out of work.
COSTELLO: IF you are out of work you are unemployed?
ABBOTT: No, you can't count the "Out of Work" as the unemployed. You have to look for work to be unemployed.
COSTELLO: BUT THEY ARE OUT OF WORK!!!
ABBOTT: No, you miss my point.
COSTELLO: What point?
ABBOTT: Someone who doesn't look for work, can't be counted with those who look for work. It wouldn't be fair.
COSTELLO: To who?
ABBOTT: The unemployed.
COSTELLO: But they are ALL out of work.
ABBOTT: No, the unemployed are actively looking for work... Those who are out of work stopped looking. They gave up. And, if you give up, you are no longer in the ranks of the unemployed.
COSTELLO: So if you're off the unemployment rolls, that would count as less unemployment?
ABBOTT: Unemployment would go down. Absolutely!
COSTELLO: The unemployment rate just goes down because you don't look for work?
ABBOTT: Absolutely it goes down. That's how you get to 9%. Otherwise it would be 17%. You don't want to read about 17% unemployment do ya?
COSTELLO: That would be frightening.
ABBOTT: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: Wait, I got a question for you. That means they're two ways to bring down the unemployment number?
ABBOTT: Two ways is correct.
COSTELLO: Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?
ABBOTT: Correct.
COSTELLO: And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?
ABBOTT: Bingo.
COSTELLO: So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two is to just stop looking for work.
ABBOTT: Now you're thinking like an economist.
COSTELLO: I don't even know what the hell I just said!
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
THE POSITION OF ISLAM ON GAY MEN AND LESBIANS
While I am a strong advocate for the death penalty, the call by this Islamic cleric for the killing of gay men and lesbians, and the desecration of their corpses, is absolutely outrageous. Thanks to Dorina Lisson for the heads-up on this appalling report.
CLERIC ADVOCATES DEATH PENALTY FOR SAME SEX MARRIAGE
“Homosexuality and lesbianism are just too dirty in the sight of Allah, those who engage in them deserve more than capital punishment. When they are killed, their corpses should also be mistreated.”
Vanguard
December 5, 2011
Malam Abdulkadir Apaokagi, an Abuja-based Islamic scholar, on Sunday in Abuja, called for death penalty for same sex marriage in Nigeria.
Apaokagi in a sermon at the weekly prayer session of Nasrul –lahi-L-Fatih Society of Nigeria (NASFAT), said gays in Nigeria were perverts who did not deserve to co-exist with right thinking and decent people.
He said gays were worse than murderers, and deserve stiffer penalty than those accused of killing fellow human beings.
“Homosexuality and lesbianism are just too dirty in the sight of Allah, those who engage in them deserve more than capital punishment. When they are killed, their corpses should also be mistreated.”
Apaokagi, who is the deputy chief Imam at the Abuja branch of NASFAT, said in his lecture entitled: “The position of Islam on gay marriage” that gay people were mentally unstable and could bring severe instability to the society in which they lived.
“None of them can pass a psychiatric test, because they are not normal,” he said.
The scholar’s sermon came against the background of a recent law passed by the Senate banning same-sex marriage and public display of affection by gays in Nigeria.
The bill, “Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) bill 2011” also prescribed 14 years jail sentence for convicted gays in Nigeria.
Quoting from the Quran, Apaokagi hailed the Senate for passing the law, saying that Allah decreed marriages only between members of the opposite sex.
“Any society that tolerates gay marriage would come to destruction the way God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for sodomy.
“They are criminals, Allah Himself describes them so, and it is great that the Senate has criminalised what they are trying to do.”
He urged the House of Representatives to take a cue from the Senate, and pass its own version of the bill without delay so that President Goodluck Jonathan could sign a harmonised version into law.
Apaokagi also urged Nigerians to ignore criticisms from the West, and come together as one to fight practices that might bring destruction to the country.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Vanguard is one of the leading newspapers in Nigeria.
CLERIC ADVOCATES DEATH PENALTY FOR SAME SEX MARRIAGE
“Homosexuality and lesbianism are just too dirty in the sight of Allah, those who engage in them deserve more than capital punishment. When they are killed, their corpses should also be mistreated.”
Vanguard
December 5, 2011
Malam Abdulkadir Apaokagi, an Abuja-based Islamic scholar, on Sunday in Abuja, called for death penalty for same sex marriage in Nigeria.
Apaokagi in a sermon at the weekly prayer session of Nasrul –lahi-L-Fatih Society of Nigeria (NASFAT), said gays in Nigeria were perverts who did not deserve to co-exist with right thinking and decent people.
He said gays were worse than murderers, and deserve stiffer penalty than those accused of killing fellow human beings.
“Homosexuality and lesbianism are just too dirty in the sight of Allah, those who engage in them deserve more than capital punishment. When they are killed, their corpses should also be mistreated.”
Apaokagi, who is the deputy chief Imam at the Abuja branch of NASFAT, said in his lecture entitled: “The position of Islam on gay marriage” that gay people were mentally unstable and could bring severe instability to the society in which they lived.
“None of them can pass a psychiatric test, because they are not normal,” he said.
The scholar’s sermon came against the background of a recent law passed by the Senate banning same-sex marriage and public display of affection by gays in Nigeria.
The bill, “Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) bill 2011” also prescribed 14 years jail sentence for convicted gays in Nigeria.
Quoting from the Quran, Apaokagi hailed the Senate for passing the law, saying that Allah decreed marriages only between members of the opposite sex.
“Any society that tolerates gay marriage would come to destruction the way God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for sodomy.
“They are criminals, Allah Himself describes them so, and it is great that the Senate has criminalised what they are trying to do.”
He urged the House of Representatives to take a cue from the Senate, and pass its own version of the bill without delay so that President Goodluck Jonathan could sign a harmonised version into law.
Apaokagi also urged Nigerians to ignore criticisms from the West, and come together as one to fight practices that might bring destruction to the country.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Vanguard is one of the leading newspapers in Nigeria.
IT WAS ALMOST A REALLY BAD OOPS
The failure of this Japanese film crew to notify the authorities that they were going to shoot a robbery scene almost led to a deadly confrontation.
COPS DISARM ‘ROBBER’ DURING FILM CREW SHOOT
A passer-by called 911 and reported a masked gunman inside a liquor store
Contra Costa Times
December 3, 2011
SAN FRANCISCO — A film crew shooting a robbery scene without a permit at a liquor store in San Francisco's Cole Valley neighborhood Wednesday almost caused a different kind of shooting by police who thought the robbery was real, a police captain said.
The incident was reported at 10:48 a.m. Wednesday at Alpha Market, located at 960 Cole St., said police Capt. Denis O'Leary from the department's Park Station.
A passer-by called 911 and reported a masked gunman inside the store, O'Leary said.
Officers responded and found the man behind the store counter. He was pointing a gun at the ceiling of the store when the officers overpowered and disarmed him, O'Leary said.
At that point, the officers discovered the gun was a replica and that a crew was filming the scene from across the street. The Japan-based crew had gotten the store's permission to film but had not applied for a permit to shoot the scene from the San Francisco Film Commission, according to O'Leary.
Police confiscated the replica gun but did not arrest the man, a 41-year-old city resident.
"The guy's lucky he didn't get shot," he said.
Officers also reported the incident to the Film Commission, O'Leary said.
COPS DISARM ‘ROBBER’ DURING FILM CREW SHOOT
A passer-by called 911 and reported a masked gunman inside a liquor store
Contra Costa Times
December 3, 2011
SAN FRANCISCO — A film crew shooting a robbery scene without a permit at a liquor store in San Francisco's Cole Valley neighborhood Wednesday almost caused a different kind of shooting by police who thought the robbery was real, a police captain said.
The incident was reported at 10:48 a.m. Wednesday at Alpha Market, located at 960 Cole St., said police Capt. Denis O'Leary from the department's Park Station.
A passer-by called 911 and reported a masked gunman inside the store, O'Leary said.
Officers responded and found the man behind the store counter. He was pointing a gun at the ceiling of the store when the officers overpowered and disarmed him, O'Leary said.
At that point, the officers discovered the gun was a replica and that a crew was filming the scene from across the street. The Japan-based crew had gotten the store's permission to film but had not applied for a permit to shoot the scene from the San Francisco Film Commission, according to O'Leary.
Police confiscated the replica gun but did not arrest the man, a 41-year-old city resident.
"The guy's lucky he didn't get shot," he said.
Officers also reported the incident to the Film Commission, O'Leary said.
CATASTROPHE AMONG THE 1%
This had to bring joy to the 99% of the Occupy Wall Street rabble.
THE $4 MILLION HIGHWAY CRASH INVOLVING 8 FERRARIS, 3 MERCEDES, A LAMBORGHINI, A SKYLINE AND A HUMBLE TOYOTA PRIUS (WHICH WAS IN THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME)
Mail Online
December 5, 2011
Thirteen high-end sports car owners - and one driver of a Toyota Prius - were probably close to tears last night after a $4 million motorway pile-up.
A single miscalculation from a Ferrari driver leading a convoy of sports car connoisseurs left a trail of twisted Italian and German metal trailing across this motorway in Japan.
Ten people were rushed to hospital after the smash on the Chugoku Expressway in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, yesterday afternoon, but none of their injuries were said to be serious.
But the damage to their wallets may be far more grievous. Among the wrecked vehicles were eight Ferraris, three Mercedes, a Lamborghini, and a Skyline, as well as a Prius hybrid that was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Police said the accident occurred on an uphill curve when the 60-year-old driver of the Ferrari leading the pack lost control while trying to overtake another vehicle.
The trailing cars then proceeded to crash one by one, with the ensuing carnage closing down the express way for six hours while emergency services cleared up the mess.
The cars involved in the epic smash included at least two Ferrari F430s, two Ferrari 360 Modenas, two Ferrari F355s and a Lamborghini Diablo.
There was also a Nissan Skyline GT-R - the only current Japanese supercar - and two Mercedes Benz [a third Benz headed in the opposite direction was hit by flying parts], while the cheapest involved in the crash was the Toyota Prius hybrid.
Sports Nippon estimates the value of the vehicles to be 300million yen ($4 million).
THE $4 MILLION HIGHWAY CRASH INVOLVING 8 FERRARIS, 3 MERCEDES, A LAMBORGHINI, A SKYLINE AND A HUMBLE TOYOTA PRIUS (WHICH WAS IN THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME)
Mail Online
December 5, 2011
Thirteen high-end sports car owners - and one driver of a Toyota Prius - were probably close to tears last night after a $4 million motorway pile-up.
A single miscalculation from a Ferrari driver leading a convoy of sports car connoisseurs left a trail of twisted Italian and German metal trailing across this motorway in Japan.
Ten people were rushed to hospital after the smash on the Chugoku Expressway in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, yesterday afternoon, but none of their injuries were said to be serious.
But the damage to their wallets may be far more grievous. Among the wrecked vehicles were eight Ferraris, three Mercedes, a Lamborghini, and a Skyline, as well as a Prius hybrid that was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Police said the accident occurred on an uphill curve when the 60-year-old driver of the Ferrari leading the pack lost control while trying to overtake another vehicle.
The trailing cars then proceeded to crash one by one, with the ensuing carnage closing down the express way for six hours while emergency services cleared up the mess.
The cars involved in the epic smash included at least two Ferrari F430s, two Ferrari 360 Modenas, two Ferrari F355s and a Lamborghini Diablo.
There was also a Nissan Skyline GT-R - the only current Japanese supercar - and two Mercedes Benz [a third Benz headed in the opposite direction was hit by flying parts], while the cheapest involved in the crash was the Toyota Prius hybrid.
Sports Nippon estimates the value of the vehicles to be 300million yen ($4 million).
WHILE OBAMA BOASTS - OR SHOULD THAT READ 'LIES' - OF HIS FRIENDSHIP FOR THE JEWISH STATE, HIS SURROGATES BLAST ISRAEL
What is really sad is that America’s liberal Jews continue to support Obama, and the wealthy among them will continue making their contributions to the president’s campaign coffers.
AN ADMINISTRATION READY TO BLAME ISRAEL FOR EVERYTHING … INCLUDING ANTI-SEMITISM
By Jonathan Tobin
Jewish World Review
December 5, 2011
The ground is fast sinking beneath the feet of President Obama's Jewish defenders. While the president is trying to raise money from Jewish donors by patting himself on the back as Israel's greatest friend in the White House, the Secretary of Defense has now made it clear that he sees the Jewish state as responsible for the isolation it faces. Equally as egregious is the fact that Howard Gutman, Obama's ambassador to Belgium, told an audience this week he thinks Israel's policy toward the Palestinians is responsible for the creation of a new kind of anti-Semitism that he believes is understandable on some level.
Panetta's speech on Friday at the Brooking Institution in Washington and Gutman's comments to a conference held by the European Jewish Union were obviously not coordinated, but they combine to give us a clear view of the distorted mindset of administration officials. This is an administration that sees Israel as a source of trouble, not an ally. Combined with the sorry history of three years of Obama's picking fights with Jerusalem, the positions of both Panetta and Gutman give the lie to the notion this is an administration friends of Israel can trust.
That the secretary of defense would choose to blast Israel in this manner just as Obama is starting to crank up his re-election campaign speaks to the cognitive dissonance many Jewish Democrats are experiencing. For Panetta to claim Israel is responsible for its own isolation just as Obama boasted of his friendship for the Jewish state shows either a lack of coordination between the Pentagon and the White House or a desire on the president's part to signal the Arab world he is prepared to put the screws to the Israelis as soon as the election is concluded.
As for Panetta's assertions, while sandwiched between some of the usual boilerplate rhetoric about supporting the alliance, they made it clear that Washington views the hardening of anti-Israel positions on the part of Turkey, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority as Israel's fault. Even more, he made it plain that the administration's belief is this rising tide of anti-Israel hate can only be dealt with by a new round of concessions on Israel's part to the Palestinians.
Israel's peace treaty with Egypt is now endangered by the victory of Islamists. Their former ally Turkey is now aligning itself with Hamas terrorists. The Palestinian Authority is about to conclude a unity pact with Hamas that will end its experiment with good government and expand the reach of the Gaza-based terrorists. These events are not the fault of Israel, but are the result of the embrace of Islamism and extremism by a Muslim world that seems to be sinking into the abyss of extremism.
But the administration looks at this and says it is the fault of the Israelis who have spent the last 18 years trying to make peace, to no avail. Rather than drawing conclusions from the Palestinians' rejection of peace and the bloodthirsty hatred for Jews at the heart of the siege of the Jewish state, Panetta believes the time is ripe for Israel to weaken its defenses and hand over more territory that may become another safe haven for terrorists, as Gaza has proved to be.
The secretary's remarks were a not-so-subtle hint that pressuring Israel is still Obama's priority. That key officials of this administration could hold onto a belief in a peace process even the so-called moderates of the Palestinian Authority have rejected speaks volumes not so much about their naivete as it does the grip of ideology on their thinking.
As for Gutman's remarks, they speak not so much to policy as to the thinking behind it. Contrary to his poorly reasoned formulation, hatred for Israel and Zionism is just a modern variant of traditional Jew-hatred, and not a different belief system that can be rationalized. Anyone who would deny Israel the same right to existence and self-defense they would grant any other country is a bigot. Palestinian suffering is real, but the hatred for the Jews and Israel in the Arab and Islamic world has little to do with policy and everything to do with prejudice.
That an American diplomat would stoop so low as to rationalize that hatred is a disgrace. While the White House sought to distance itself from Gutman's remarks, his views give those of us who have wondered about the source of the animus for Israel in this administration new insights about the advice Obama has been getting.
Taken together, these two speeches paint a portrait of a government that is at its heart hostile to the Jewish state. Only a blind partisan would think such an administration could be trusted to deal fairly with Israel once the constraints of Obama's re-election efforts are removed.
AN ADMINISTRATION READY TO BLAME ISRAEL FOR EVERYTHING … INCLUDING ANTI-SEMITISM
By Jonathan Tobin
Jewish World Review
December 5, 2011
The ground is fast sinking beneath the feet of President Obama's Jewish defenders. While the president is trying to raise money from Jewish donors by patting himself on the back as Israel's greatest friend in the White House, the Secretary of Defense has now made it clear that he sees the Jewish state as responsible for the isolation it faces. Equally as egregious is the fact that Howard Gutman, Obama's ambassador to Belgium, told an audience this week he thinks Israel's policy toward the Palestinians is responsible for the creation of a new kind of anti-Semitism that he believes is understandable on some level.
Panetta's speech on Friday at the Brooking Institution in Washington and Gutman's comments to a conference held by the European Jewish Union were obviously not coordinated, but they combine to give us a clear view of the distorted mindset of administration officials. This is an administration that sees Israel as a source of trouble, not an ally. Combined with the sorry history of three years of Obama's picking fights with Jerusalem, the positions of both Panetta and Gutman give the lie to the notion this is an administration friends of Israel can trust.
That the secretary of defense would choose to blast Israel in this manner just as Obama is starting to crank up his re-election campaign speaks to the cognitive dissonance many Jewish Democrats are experiencing. For Panetta to claim Israel is responsible for its own isolation just as Obama boasted of his friendship for the Jewish state shows either a lack of coordination between the Pentagon and the White House or a desire on the president's part to signal the Arab world he is prepared to put the screws to the Israelis as soon as the election is concluded.
As for Panetta's assertions, while sandwiched between some of the usual boilerplate rhetoric about supporting the alliance, they made it clear that Washington views the hardening of anti-Israel positions on the part of Turkey, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority as Israel's fault. Even more, he made it plain that the administration's belief is this rising tide of anti-Israel hate can only be dealt with by a new round of concessions on Israel's part to the Palestinians.
Israel's peace treaty with Egypt is now endangered by the victory of Islamists. Their former ally Turkey is now aligning itself with Hamas terrorists. The Palestinian Authority is about to conclude a unity pact with Hamas that will end its experiment with good government and expand the reach of the Gaza-based terrorists. These events are not the fault of Israel, but are the result of the embrace of Islamism and extremism by a Muslim world that seems to be sinking into the abyss of extremism.
But the administration looks at this and says it is the fault of the Israelis who have spent the last 18 years trying to make peace, to no avail. Rather than drawing conclusions from the Palestinians' rejection of peace and the bloodthirsty hatred for Jews at the heart of the siege of the Jewish state, Panetta believes the time is ripe for Israel to weaken its defenses and hand over more territory that may become another safe haven for terrorists, as Gaza has proved to be.
The secretary's remarks were a not-so-subtle hint that pressuring Israel is still Obama's priority. That key officials of this administration could hold onto a belief in a peace process even the so-called moderates of the Palestinian Authority have rejected speaks volumes not so much about their naivete as it does the grip of ideology on their thinking.
As for Gutman's remarks, they speak not so much to policy as to the thinking behind it. Contrary to his poorly reasoned formulation, hatred for Israel and Zionism is just a modern variant of traditional Jew-hatred, and not a different belief system that can be rationalized. Anyone who would deny Israel the same right to existence and self-defense they would grant any other country is a bigot. Palestinian suffering is real, but the hatred for the Jews and Israel in the Arab and Islamic world has little to do with policy and everything to do with prejudice.
That an American diplomat would stoop so low as to rationalize that hatred is a disgrace. While the White House sought to distance itself from Gutman's remarks, his views give those of us who have wondered about the source of the animus for Israel in this administration new insights about the advice Obama has been getting.
Taken together, these two speeches paint a portrait of a government that is at its heart hostile to the Jewish state. Only a blind partisan would think such an administration could be trusted to deal fairly with Israel once the constraints of Obama's re-election efforts are removed.
Monday, December 05, 2011
WILL RON PAUL REELECT OBAMA?
I have written several times in my belief that unless the economy takes another bad downturn in 2012, President Obama will be reelected to a second term.
There just isn’t a good Republican candidate to take on the president. If Mitt ‘All Sides’ Romney is the Republican candidate, he will get clobbered for the political expediency changes of his positions on global warming, abortion, immigration and gay rights, and I’m sure the media and the Obama campaign will find additional contradictory positions he has taken. And Obama will also blame the Republicans for the Congressional gridlock that is infuriating the American people.
On Sunday’s ABC This Week, a panel discussion ensued on Ron Paul’s campaign and the possibility that if he doesn’t win the Republican primary, he will run as an independent in 2012. The four panelists agreed that Paul’s supporters are passionately dedicated to his election.
George Will thinks there is a good chance that Ron Paul will run as a third party candidate and noted that he “has the infrastructure in place to reelect Obama.”
I agree with George Will. If Paul does run as a third party candidate, he will almost certainly guarantee the reelection of Obama to a second term, the state of the economy notwithstanding.
There just isn’t a good Republican candidate to take on the president. If Mitt ‘All Sides’ Romney is the Republican candidate, he will get clobbered for the political expediency changes of his positions on global warming, abortion, immigration and gay rights, and I’m sure the media and the Obama campaign will find additional contradictory positions he has taken. And Obama will also blame the Republicans for the Congressional gridlock that is infuriating the American people.
On Sunday’s ABC This Week, a panel discussion ensued on Ron Paul’s campaign and the possibility that if he doesn’t win the Republican primary, he will run as an independent in 2012. The four panelists agreed that Paul’s supporters are passionately dedicated to his election.
George Will thinks there is a good chance that Ron Paul will run as a third party candidate and noted that he “has the infrastructure in place to reelect Obama.”
I agree with George Will. If Paul does run as a third party candidate, he will almost certainly guarantee the reelection of Obama to a second term, the state of the economy notwithstanding.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)