A very interesting Blog posting and video is found over at the Daily Newscaster.
(H/T to Freedom’s Pheonix)
Category: News
The United States Army loses track of Nerve Gas
Sweet Jesus on a crouton, no wonder Ronald Reagan said Government is the problem! Now this is one of them stories that makes you think that crazy people are running the asylum!
Is the Army missing some nerve gas?
Pentagon auditors concede that is a remote possibility because of discrepancies in records between how much chemical weapons agent was initially stored and how much of it was later destroyed at Utah’s Deseret Chemical Depot and other bases nationwide.
But officials believe all the nerve agent in question was destroyed, according to a partially censored U.S. Army Audit Agency report obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. Auditors list in it several reasons that could have caused apparent-but-unreal variances in those records.
But auditors concluded, “The (Army Chemical Materials) Agency didn’t have complete assurance that amounts recorded in the system were accurate, which increased its chances for heightened levels of program scrutiny by federal, state and international organizations that have a vested interest in the elimination of chemical weapons.”
Such words can cause shivers among Utahns who remember such things as the death of thousands of sheep in Skull Valley in 1968 that were blamed on nerve gas tests that went awry at nearby Dugway Proving Ground, and Skull Valley residents who have blamed mysterious illnesses on exposure to tiny amounts of nerve agent from such tests.
Oy. This is one time, when I can honestly say that I quite happy not to be living in Utah! 😮 I mean, seriously; how the heck hard is it to keep track of Nerve Gas?
First Nukes being flown over residential neighborhoods and being shipped to China by mistake. Good grief.
(H/T to Freedom Fighter Radio, Via Freedom’s Phoenix)
Fire strikes Beijing Hotel Complex
Holy Moses…. This is wild…:
Via the New York Times:
A fierce fire engulfed one of the Chinese capital’s most architecturally celebrated modern buildings on Monday, the last day of festivities for the lunar new year when the city was ablaze with fireworks. By late evening the blaze was still raging and the cause remained unknown, but it seemed clear that the 34-story structure, not yet completed, had been rendered unusable. The building, a luxury hotel and cultural complex designed by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, is part of China Central Television’s new headquarters, an angular two-legged behemoth built to coincide with the Beijing Olympics last year.
Firefighters, their ladders only reaching up a dozen or so floors, could do little to contain the blaze, a spectacular wall of flames eerily reflected in the glass skin of the adjacent CCTV tower.
The CCTV complex was a hugely expensive trophy of the pre-Olympics building boom, the result of many billions of dollars that the ruling Communist Party had devoted to making Beijing a city of the future. The main CCTV tower appeared untouched by the fire.
The 241-room Mandarin Oriental hotel, which had been due to open this summer, was unoccupied at the time, hotel executives said.
According to Chinese television, the fire began at 8:27 p.m., although witnesses said they spotted flames as early as 7:45 p.m. Within 20 minutes, they said, the fire had spread from the lower floors to the building’s crown. Black smoke drifted across the night sky, obliterating a full moon.
The authorities blocked off a thoroughfare known as the Third Ring Road, which runs adjacent to the complex. Subway cars running underneath the site were briefly halted, stranding thousands of passengers. Frantic police officers tried to shoo away huge crowds as sirens wailed and fireworks lit up the skyline. People watching noted that the timing of the fire — coming at the end of the spring festival — was inauspicious.
While errant fireworks were suspected as a possible cause, fires of such magnitude are nonetheless highly unusual in Beijing.
Videos:
Of course, the Alex Jones crowd is trying to compare it to WTC-7. Proving that you cannot fix stupid. What happened at WTC-7 was that airlines destroyed the Twin Towers and the falling debris from the towers damaged key structural members and the resulting uncontrolled fires led to the collapse hours after the rest of the complex. Anyone who says otherwise is insulting the dead. Which is something Alex Jones is good at. 🙄
Why can’t people just accept the damned truth and be glad they even got it. Damned morons. 😡
Bambi Bumps his widdle head
For the Record, it wasn’t a head bump… It was more of him realizing where he was, and ducking. It was nothing like what Bush did, when he whacked his noggin on air force one.
Here’s the Video:
(H/T HotAir Headlines)
16 illegal aliens sue Arizona rancher
Now this is totally messed up!:
An Arizona man who has waged a 10-year campaign to stop a flood of illegal immigrants from crossing his property is being sued by 16 Mexican nationals who accuse him of conspiring to violate their civil rights when he stopped them at gunpoint on his ranch on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Roger Barnett, 64, began rounding up illegal immigrants in 1998 and turning them over to the U.S. Border Patrol, he said, after they destroyed his property, killed his calves and broke into his home.
His Cross Rail Ranch near Douglas, Ariz., is known by federal and county law enforcement authorities as “the avenue of choice” for immigrants seeking to enter the United States illegally.
Trial continues Monday in the federal lawsuit, which seeks $32 million in actual and punitive damages for civil rights violations, the infliction of emotional distress and other crimes. Also named are Mr. Barnett’s wife, Barbara, his brother, Donald, and Larry Dever, sheriff in Cochise County, Ariz., where the Barnetts live. The civil trial is expected to continue until Friday.
The lawsuit is based on a March 7, 2004, incident in a dry wash on the 22,000-acre ranch, when he approached a group of illegal immigrants while carrying a gun and accompanied by a large dog.
Attorneys for the immigrants – five women and 11 men who were trying to cross illegally into the United States – have accused Mr. Barnett of holding the group captive at gunpoint, threatening to turn his dog loose on them and saying he would shoot anyone who tried to escape.
The immigrants are represented at trial by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), which also charged that Sheriff Dever did nothing to prevent Mr. Barnett from holding their clients at “gunpoint, yelling obscenities at them and kicking one of the women.”
In the lawsuit, MALDEF said Mr. Barnett approached the group as the immigrants moved through his property, and that he was carrying a pistol and threatening them in English and Spanish. At one point, it said, Mr. Barnett’s dog barked at several of the women and he yelled at them in Spanish, “My dog is hungry and he’s hungry for buttocks.”
Let me get this straight…… A man defends his land against unwanted intruders and he’s being sued?!?!?! Something is wrong with America. I would have just shot them all. Told the law that they charged me or tried to attack and I was simply defending myself. It would have been my word against theirs. But this guy shows a little aggression and brandishes a gun and he gets sued? Oy.
Of course, these are Obama’s people and thanks to the stupid idiot Republican Party who ran an idiot moderate, and a dumb assed harpy bitch. We are going to see a bunch more of this. Welcome to Liberal America people! Because it is only going to get worse from here! 🙄
Others: Townhall.com, Debbie Schlussel and Infidel Bloggers Alliance
Australian Fires Devastate
I have not blogged about this, because it really didn’t not hit close to home. However, I was over reading in the comments section at Rachel Lucas’s Blog.
It seems that Australian Conservative Blogger Tim Blair has really been covering this story big time:
Here are his postings:
FIRE LATEST
STATE RALLIES
BRIAN NAYLOR
FIRE WITHOUT END
STATE ABLAZE
It my understanding that some of the blazes were intentionally set.
Google News has much more on the fires.
The Australian Red Cross is taking donations.
Funny News: Ann Coulter is being Probed
This is a bit interesting….:
Ann Coulter is being probed. Following our Jan. 11 column, Connecticut’s Elections Enforcement Commission is making a “thorough investigation” of whether the conservative pundit broke the law by voting in the Nutmeg State while living in New York City, according to a commission spokeswoman.
Officials are responding to a formal complaint filed by Coulterwatch.com blogger Dan Borchers. “For over 10 years, Ann Coulter has gotten away with illegal, immoral and unethical behavior, ranging from plagiarism to defamation, perjury to voter fraud,” claims the conservative Borchers. Coulter declined to comment, but in the past has branded Borchers a stalker. He says the FBI has determined he poses no threat.
Meanwhile, private eye Joe Culligan, whose WebofDeception.com brought Coulter’s Connecticut voting record to light, has been poking into Rahm Emanuel’s living arrangements.
Ann Coulter, being um, Probed?!?! Ha! Wishful thinking on her part, I’m sure. 😛 😉 😀 😆
I’d rather oink a goat! 😮
The only woman in the world that is so totally unfuckable. (Did I just say that?)
Patriot News: New Continental Congress to Meet in Philadelphia
I think this is important to know:
Early this year, selected delegates representing the People of each of the fifty states will convene in Philadelphia to debate our constitutional crisis and establish practicable strategies the People can take, en masse, to peacefully reclaim Liberty and restore Constitutional Order.
These historical proceedings will be known as the “Continental Congress 2009.”
Taking a page from the history of America’s Founders, the Delegates will convene in Philadelphia across from Independence Hall for a period of several weeks to begin the virtuous tasks of organizing to resist tyranny and imposing, once again, the yoke of Law upon our servant federal government.
A series of promotional meetings is currently being held across the country to advance public interest in the initiative and to expose potential donors to this most important cause in the defense of Liberty and the Constitution.
via NWV News — New Continental Congress to Meet in Philadelphia.
As patriots and protectors of the constitution it is important to stand against this sort of attack on our Constitution.
Radical Eco-Activist gets 22 Years for 1999 Arson at MSU
Justice Served or Overzealous Justice? You Decide.
A radical activist who helped set a $1 million fire to protest research on genetically modified crops was sentenced Thursday to nearly 22 years in prison _ even more than the prosecution recommended.
Marie Mason decided to “elevate her grievances beyond the norms of civilized society” through fire and destruction, U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney said. The case _ which was prosecuted as domestic terrorism _ was “about an abandonment of the marketplace of ideas,” he added.
The explosion and fire caused more than $1 million in damage to Michigan State University’s Agriculture Hall on New Year’s Eve 1999.
In her plea agreement, she also admitted causing another $3 million in damage through other acts from 1999 to 2003, including destroying homes under construction in the Detroit area and Indiana and setting fire to two boats owned by a man who formerly raised minks.
The 47-year-old Mason, of Cincinnati, had acted on behalf of the radical group Earth Liberation Front, or ELF, which has been implicated in a spate of similar crimes, mostly in the West.
She had pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy and arson after reaching a deal with prosecutors. The prosecution had been aided by Frank Ambrose, her former husband, who cooperated with the FBI.
The investigation was cold until spring 2007, when a man looking for scrap cardboard found gas masks, an M-80 explosive, maps and anti-government writings in a suburban Detroit trash bin.
They belonged to Ambrose, who apparently was trying to shed remnants of his past. The FBI searched his home, and he became an informant, blowing the whistle on himself and Mason and going undercover to record 178 conversations with other activists.
At MSU, Mason and Ambrose targeted a campus office that held records on research related to moth-resistant potatoes for poor parts of Africa. Computers, file cabinets and desks were doused with a flammable liquid. Vapors contributed to an explosion, and the fire got out of control.
The explosion burned Mason’s hair and prevented her from finishing the message, “No GMO,” on a wall, a reference to genetically modified organisms.
The Libertarian in me says; A lady gets 22 years for setting fire to a Eco-Lab, but a President and his cabinet deceive the American people into a war that had nothing to do with September 11’th and he is sitting in Texas. Something is wrong with America. For the record, nobody was killed as a result of this fire, 4000+ of our finest young people are dead. The fire cost what? 1 Million?? How much is the Iraq war costing us; 1 Trillion? Does anyone else see the oddball nature of this? Of course, the Fascist Neo-Con’s just love this conviction. That’s because they just love tossing around that word, “Terrorism.” That’s because it serves their masters well.
Thankfully, Mason’s lawyer is appealing this judgment, and I believe it is warranted, I believe this crime is wrong, but 22 years is extremely excessive.
Update: Jazz Shaw who writes at the Moderate Voice, kind of agrees with me.
Colorado McCain Staffer picked up on Child Molestor Charges, Liberal Blogs fawn over story
Here’s the new Meme for the Liberal Blogsphere for the weekend or this day at least.
Via the Colorado Liberal Independent:
Police arrested the former manager of Sen. John McCain’s Pueblo presidential campaign office Wednesday on charges he sexually assaulted a 5-year-old boy left in his care so the boy’s mother could attend a rally for McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, The Denver Post’s Howard Pankratz reported Thursday afternoon.
It’s the second arrest on charges of sexual assault on a child by a person in position of trust in a week for Jeffrey Claude Bartleson, 52, who has faced similar allegations at least five times since 1982 without being convicted of a crime, according to the Pueblo Chieftain’s Nick Bonham.
Two detectives have been assigned full-time to the investigation and are looking into allegations Bartleson lured victims through church groups, his work as a sponsor at a hospital drug rehab unit, and during involvement in political work.
I just have to ask, do you think that if President Barack Hussein Obama’s Campaign Manager had been picked up for oinking some kid, that the media would be all over it, like this?
I somehow very highly doubt it. 🙄
…besides that, why wasn’t this kids Mother watching her son more closely?
Police State?: Minnesota Cop rams van with Father and three kids in it
..and the wild part? The Minnesota police defend the officers actions.
Watch it:
Japan could serve as a lesson to the United States
Barack Obama could learn a lesson from Japan. There’s a very good article in the New York Times today, on the mistakes made by the country of Japan in the 1990’s to fix their failing economy:
The Hamada Marine Bridge soars majestically over this small fishing harbor, so much larger than the squid boats anchored below that it seems out of place.
And it is not just the bridge. Two decades of generous public works spending have showered this city of 61,000 mostly graying residents with a highway, a two-lane bypass, a university, a prison, a children’s art museum, the Sun Village Hamada sports center, a bright red welcome center, a ski resort and an aquarium featuring three ring-blowing Beluga whales.
Nor is this remote port in western Japan unusual. Japan’s rural areas have been paved over and filled in with roads, dams and other big infrastructure projects, the legacy of trillions of dollars spent to lift the economy from a severe downturn caused by the bursting of a real estate bubble in the late 1980s. During those nearly two decades, Japan accumulated the largest public debt in the developed world — totaling 180 percent of its $5.5 trillion economy — while failing to generate a convincing recovery.
Now, as the Obama administration embarks on a similar path, proposing to spend more than $820 billion to stimulate the sagging American economy, many economists are taking a fresh look at Japan’s troubled experience. While Japan is not exactly comparable to the United States — especially as a late developer with a history of heavy state investment in infrastructure — economists say it can still offer important lessons about the pitfalls, and chances for success, of a stimulus package in an advanced economy.
The Lesson to be learned here is:
“It is not enough just to hire workers to dig holes and then fill them in again,” said Toshihiro Ihori, an economics professor at the University of Tokyo. “One lesson from Japan is that public works get the best results when they create something useful for the future.
But the real lesson to be learned here is the follow and pay special close attention to what is said here:
In the end, say economists, it was not public works but an expensive cleanup of the debt-ridden banking system, combined with growing exports to China and the United States, that brought a close to Japan’s Lost Decade. This has led many to conclude that spending did little more than sink Japan deeply into debt, leaving an enormous tax burden for future generations.
Gee, is that not what Ron Paul said ALL ALONG, while he was running for President of the United States? For Ron Paul’s troubles and hard work he was slandered, maligned and marginalized by the Neo-Conservatives who hated him and the Liberal Democrats who were sacred to death of him.
I highly suggest that you read the rest of this article. The United States could learn much from this lesson that Japan had to learn. We could very well end up causing more harm than good to our economy.
Others: Glenn Thrush’s Blogs, Hot Air, A Blog For All, Cafe Hayek, Weekly Standard and QandO
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has pancreatic cancer
This is truly sad. 🙁
Via the AP:
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had surgery Thursday after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the court said.
Ginsburg, 75, had the surgery at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. She will remain in the hospital for seven to 10 days, said her surgeon, Dr. Murray Brennan, according to a release issued by the court.
The court announcement said the cancer is apparently in the early stages.
In 1999, Ginsburg had surgery for colon cancer and had chemotherapy and radiation treatment. The only woman on the court, she has been a justice since 1993.
The pancreatic cancer was discovered during a routine, annual exam late last month at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.
A CAT scan revealed a tumor measuring about 1 centimeter across the center of the pancreas, the court said.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly cancers: Nearly 38,000 cases a year are diagnosed and overall, fewer than 5 percent survive five years.
You know, politics in one thing, but real life is another. My best wishes and prayers are with the Ginsburg family and with Justice Ginsberg as well.
In the spirit of keeping things civil on this sad subject, I am shutting off comments on this posting. I just don’t need the problems with some idiot leaving an asshat comment.
God Bless the Lady. 🙁
Panasonic to eliminate 15,000 Jobs
Another victim of the worldwide economic collapse:
Panasonic on Wednesday said that it was shedding 15,000 jobs, the second significant layoff in Japan’s electronics industry in less than a week, and the latest example of how Japanese companies, exporters in particular, are scrambling to cut costs as demand evaporates.
Panasonic, along with Mitsubishi Motors and Mazda, also joined the rapidly lengthening list of companies to sharply revise their full-year outlooks Wednesday, with Panasonic now projecting a net loss of 380 billion yen or $4.2 billion for the year ending March 31, rather than the 30 billion yen profit it forecast on Nov. 27. Mitsubishi expects a net loss of 60 billion yen and Mazda 13 billion.
The speed of the demand downturn in recent months has taken manufacturers and economists by surprise, and forced many companies to sharply lower profit warnings made only months or even weeks ago.
I hate to sound like I am repeating myself. But this is more damage done by the Clinton Administration and the inaction of the Republican Majority of 2003. The easing of the housing loan regulations is what created all this, thus creating a economic bubble. Which has now burst. Of course, throwing money at it, will not fix it. Now, we have the tech sector taking the hit, because of the downturn in the economy. Expect more of this to come as time goes on.
Ouch: US Loses two major supply lines to Afghanistan
This is not good, at all:
The U.S.-led campaign against the Taliban suffered two logistical blows Tuesday as the president of Kyrgyzstan announced that he’d shut a U.S. airbase in his country and insurgents in Pakistan blew up a bridge, disrupting the main U.S. supply route into Afghanistan.
The developments were the latest reminders of the vulnerability of the long and complex transportation system on which the 60,000 U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan depend for fuel, ammunition, construction materials and a great deal more.
The announcement by Kyrgyzstan President Kurmanbek Bakiyev that he will close the Manas Air Base also gave President Barack Obama a first taste of the challenge he faces from Russia, which is trying to restore its clout in countries that were part of the former Soviet Union.
Bakiyev made his announcement in Moscow, not in his own capital, shortly after the Russian government reportedly agreed to lend Kyrgyzstan $2 billion, write off $180 million in debt and add another $150 million in aid. The timing and place of the announcement indicated the Kremlin’s involvement.
“It’s a direct challenge to the new American administration. Russia is going out of its way to close an American base,” said Pavel Felgenhauer, a Moscow-based military analyst.
via McClatchy Washington Bureau — U.S. supply routes to Afghanistan suffer two huge blows.
I tend to agree with Ed Morrissey who writes:
The problem was never in Krygyzstan. Biden predicted that world leaders would challenge Obama and his inexperience within the first few months of the adminstration, but they’ve already started to line up in the first few days. Iran launched a satellite on an ICBM to show they could go ballistic once they have nuclear weapons. North Korea reportedly has set up another ICBM for a test to threaten Seoul. Now Russia has flipped an ally in the war on terror — and all of this in the first 14 days of Obama’s presidency.
Indeed, I believe this is simply Russia trying to test Obama, to see how he will react. Also, Russia is having problems with it’s people. They are bit angry about the problems with the economy. As I so blogged about yesterday. It could very well be that Putin is attempting to save face with the citizens of Russia by trying to show a little aggression towards Obama and by proxy; America.
Breaking Local News – G.M. to offer buyout packages to all union employees.
This is interesting…:
General Motors Corp. will offer buyouts to all of its hourly employees, a spokesman confirmed Tuesday, as the troubled automaker continues to slash costs.
GM spokesman Tony Sapienza said the buyouts will mainly target GM’s 22,000 retirement-eligible hourly employees, though any union employee can take the offer.
News of the buyouts first broke on Monday. A union official told The Associated Press then that GM would offer $20,000 in cash and a $25,000 car voucher for workers who retire early and those who simply leave the company. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because workers were not yet notified of the packages.
via GM To Offer Buyouts To All Hourly Employees — WDIV Detroit.
Just another sign of the times. For the record, G.M. has done this in the past, when times were bad. Hopefully some of the guys that have been with the company and are about ready to retire will take this buy out. Hopefully, this will help the problem and G.M. will become viable.
Should we give incentive bonuses to Wall Street Watchdogs?
I have fixed feelings about this, and I will explain why a little further down.
An Article in the New York Times Dealbook Column asks a question whether Wall Street Regulators or Watchdogs should get performance bonuses.
Maybe someone deserves a bonus.
Like someone who sniffs out the next Bernie Madoff. Or jousts with tomorrow’s gonzo bankers. Or defuses the Next Big Crisis in whatever Next Big Thing is dreamed up by Wall Street.
Someone, in short, who regulates.
It is clear that the nation’s financial regulators were no match for Wall Street last time. The financiers were always one step ahead. But maybe that isn’t surprising. The financiers, after all, have a big incentive to outsmart the financial police. It is called a bonus. Wall Street lures a lot of bright minds with money. How can federal agencies compete? They can’t.
So, of course, The Government of Singapore’s head honcho says we ought to incentivize watchdog process.
Tony Tan Keng Yam, deputy chairman and executive director of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, suggested that one reason American regulators fell down on the job was that they were paid too little.
“You must have as good people working in the government in the regulatory authorities as those that are working in the private sector,” Mr. Tan said. “You do need, particularly in these very difficult times, capable people in central banks, in government, in the Treasury who can effectively supervise.”
Mr. Tan knows about this firsthand. He is a former regulator himself, and Singapore has a different view about compensation.
“We pay our politicians and our government servants very well,” he said. “We lock remuneration to the market.”
While Singapore’s watchdogs aren’t paid enough to afford private planes, some in top positions make seven-figure salaries.
At first blush, this would seem to be a great idea; however, if you think about it closely, this would not be such a good idea. Because of the following:
Some at Davos thought the bonus idea could work. But anxiety over that approach was palpable. “They already treat us like criminals,” one hedge fund manager said.
A few said giving bonuses to regulators would be like giving bonuses to the police for issuing speeding tickets. Maybe the regulators, like Wall Streeters, would start thinking about the money, rather than what is right. But maybe that’s exactly what Wall Street needs to slow down.
I must say, that I highly disagree with this idea. Why? While I believe that moderate regulation is a good idea on Wall Street; I believe that incentivizing the Wall Street watchdog process will result in a overzealous regulatory process, that will be solely based upon monitory compensation. This would be absolutely disastrous to the free market process in America. As well all know we already law enforcement that borderlines upon a police state. Doing this to Wall Street would cause a fear mentality amongst the financial sector and discourage investment.
We need regulation, not a financial police state.
Blogroll Amnesty Day
Joe over at The Moderate Voice points out that today is Blogroll Amnesty Day.
I always scour my RSS feeds in search of good stories to post to my Blog and sometimes, I do link to something from a smaller Blog.
Sometimes I also link to those who are of a different political idology. Although, I refuse to link to hard left Blogs. I just will not do it. Because I cannot link to hate; it’s just that simple.
I always post links to blogs who are blogging on the same subject as me. It’s my way of giving back, because I know at one point that I was a nobody too.
Groundhog Bites Man?
Some days it does not pay to get out of bed. As Mayor Bloomberg found out.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg paid a visit to an apparently-disgruntled constituent nicknamed ‘Staten Island Chuck’ on Groundhog’s Day — and got bit for his trouble.
Staten Island’s famous groundhog, Charles G. Hogg, inexplicably bit Mayor Bloomberg during his annual holiday ceremony on Monday, drawing blood from the billionaire.
Said Bloomberg spokesman Stu Loeser: “It nicked his hand.”
Bloomberg wrapped the cut with a napkin until he could check with his doctor.
He was told there was no risk of rabies. The 2-year-old animal was born and raised in captivity and has had no interaction with other animals.
I bet that had to smart. Ouch!
Others: Political Machine and Don Surber
Communism on the rise in Russia
Looks like the fall out of the economy is finally hitting Russia.
Russia was rocked today by some of its strongest protests yet as thousands rallied across the vast country to attack the Kremlin’s response to the global economic crisis.
The marches, complete with Soviet-style red flags and banners, pose a challenge to a government which has faced little threat from the fragmented opposition and politically apathetic population during the boom years fuelled by oil.
Pro-government thugs beat up some of the protesters.
About 2,500 people marched across the far eastern port of Vladivostok to denounce the Cabinet’s decision to increase car import tariffs, shouting slogans urging Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to resign. Many there make their living by importing cars.
Meanwhile in Moscow arrests were made as about 1,000 diehard Communists rallied in a central square hemmed in by heavy police cordons.
Communist Party chief Gennady Zyuganov told them the Kremlin must throw out Western capitalism and impose sweeping nationalisation.
via Violent clashes in Russia as angry protesters call for Putin to resign over economy | Mail Online.
This is what happens when you inflate the supply of money, it causes things like this. I think before it is over, you will see a return to the cold war in America. I hope this not to be the case, but I believe the outlook is bleak.
(Via Freedom’s Phoenix)
More on Kentucky Ice Storm-Gate
It seems that the Jammie Wearing Fool has Blogged on what I reported Yesterday.
Mr. Jammie writes:
Can you imagine the media reaction if this were George W. Bush? Heck, we’re still hearing about Hurricane Katrina nearly four years later.
Yes, I could. That’s because it happened while there was a Republican in office and the Democrats used that as a rallying cry for change. Oh, and because there were black people in involved too. But Because these are White Southerners and possibly even Conservatives, nobody in the liberal media cares.
Mr. Jammie also says:
Is Obama even aware what’s going on in Kentucky? I know he’s very busy between trashing Wall Street and Rush Limbaugh, but could he at least acknowledge these poor folks and get them some help?
I am sure that Obama is aware, whether cares or not, is another story. You have to remember those are the “Bitter and Clingy” one’s that did not vote for him. Kind of like the blacks in New Orleans who did not vote for Bush. It is simple case of, “Do I want to help these people? After all, they did not vote for me anyhow!” Perhaps it is a bit of a revenge towards the southern white community for what happened in New Orleans. Perhaps “President” Obama is saying to himself, “Let them damned honkeys suffer, after all MY people suffered more in New Orleans and even more so 300 years ago!”
So, I suppose this is revenge for what our forefathers did many years ago.
Update: Michelle Malkin finally gets around to blogging about it
Others: Associated Press, The Sundries Shack, Political Machine, Ed Driscoll.com, RedState, The Jawa Report and The Other McCain
Terrible Ice Storm Rocks Kentucky, FEMA takes Five Days to respond, AP does not have the stones to critize Obama
Talk about the shoe being on the other foot! 🙄
The Story:
Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has called up all of his Army National Guard troop and some Air National Guard units to get the state back on its feet following a crippling ice storm.
The addition of 3,000 soldiers and airmen makes 4,600 Guardsmen pressed into service. It’s the largest call-up in state history.
More than 400,000 people remain without power in Kentucky five days after the storm hit. Many others still lack electricity in other states from the Midwest into Appalachia.
The storm is suspected in at least 42 deaths across several states. Authorities say it could be weeks before some areas get power back.
The reason I say the above about the AP, is because if you look over on Tim Blair’s Blog, you see the following quotes from the AP:
Dozens of deaths have been reported and many people are pleading for a faster response to the power outages. Some in rural Kentucky ran short of food and bottled water, and resorted to dipping buckets in a creek …
Local officials grew angrier at what they said was a lack of help from the state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
[…]
Emergency Management Director Randell Smith … said roads are littered with fallen trees and people shivering in bone-chilling cold are in need.
“We’ve got people out in some areas we haven’t even visited yet,” Smith said. “We don’t even know that they’re alive.”
Smith said FEMA was still a no-show days after the storm
But if you go back to the original AP article, the parts quoted above are gone! Just like magic. Could it be that the editors at the AP, are scared of “The One” and fear that criticizing his response to this disaster in Kentucky might put at risk their ability to report from the White House?
Further more, five days?!?!?!?! Does anyone remember the outrage expressed by the Liberal media, after the disaster in New Orleans during Katrina? I have yet to hear any sort of outrage about this from CNN, I have yet to hear Anderson Vanderbilt Cooper yelling at Government officals on his show.
But the “magic one” did give a phone call, so it’s all good!:
Kentucky’s governor is praising the Obama administration’s prompt reaction to the fierce wintry weather that slammed his state.
“They really hit the ground running,” said Steve Beshear, interviewed by CNN. “They’re working very hard to get all the equipment and supplies here that we need.”
Crews have been working to restore power and water service to hundreds of thousands of people. Beshear said that while he realizes “nothing moves fast enough,” he said the federal assistance “has been a great help to us so far.”
Beshear, a Democrat, explained that when the first wave of bad weather came through on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, officials realized that they needed additional help.
“I called the White House directly at that time. I had my other folks talking to FEMA, but I went straight to the top because we needed fast help,” he said.
He said he spoke to the director of intergovernment relations and said she walked Kentucky’s paperwork through. He said President Obama called him and told him he was announcing an emergency declaration for the state.
“I can’t tell you how appreciative we were,” the governor said. “He not only expressed his concern, but he obviously had the Kentuckians in his thoughts and prayers, and he communicated that to us.”
Oh, He called, big whoopee do! Why isn’t he down there? Why isn’t he doing more? Oh wait, that’s because he’s a Democrat and they can do no wrong. My Bad.
Does anyone remember this picture, that left about lost thier mind over?
I remember how the liberal media crucified Bush over this. But Obama just makes a Phone call and he gets off, scott free!
Can you say Bias?
I knew you could!
Update: Michelle Malkin finally gets around to Blogging about it.
Others: Right Wing Nut House and Tim Blair
Michael Steele elected Republican National Committee Chairman
First the video of remarks by Steele:
Via The Politico:
Former Maryland Lt. Gov Michael Steele triumphed over four opponents in the race for Republican National Committee chairman Friday, giving the party its first black chairman as well as a forceful communicator at a time of political weakness.
“This is awesome,” Steele told RNC members in a victory speech. “It is with a great deal of humility and a sense of service that I accept and appreciate and thank all of you for the opportunity to serve.”
Steele emerged victorious from a lengthy, six-ballot voting process. Running against him were incumbent RNC Chair Mike Duncan, South Carolina Republican Party Chair Katon Dawson, Michigan Republican Party Chair Saul Anuzis, and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell.
I will say it. I am glad to see that the Republican Party has elected an African-American. This will render the days of post-race racialism null and void.
…and for that, I am very glad. 😀
Maybe now some of the more Conservative Democrats, which have avoided the Republican Party because of it being perceived as a “White Man’s Party”, will come on over to the party of sanity.
One can only hope.
Memeornadum is now providing Coverage
Trackposted to The Virtuous Republic, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Wingless – Alastair Crooke on Gaza & Hamas – living in the twilight zone!, Wingless – Sura 5:32 – When Killing isn’t Murder, Cao’s Blog, Leaning Straight Up, Democrat=Socialist, Conservative Cat, Nuke’s, third world county, Allie is Wired, Woman Honor Thyself, Wingless – What Lead to Cast Lead, The World According to Carl, Wingless – Cuba: Beautiful Country, People…Not so Beautiful System…, Rosemary’s News and Ideas, The Pink Flamingo, Wingless, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
News from a Fundamental Baptist Perspective
I am reprinting this here, because I happen to agree with almost all of this man’s positions. Enjoy, -Pat
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FRIDAY CHURCH NEWS NOTES
January 30, 2009, Volume 10, Issue 5
The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this obviously does not imply an endorsement. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.