Friday - April 04, 2008

Happy Birthday Mr. Pedophile

God dammit, to think that I used to live in that city. Can you say “Lib er al” boys and girls? I knew that you could.

BINGHAMTON—The Muslims of the Americas group intends to celebrate the prophet Muhammad’s birthday in downtown Binghamton.

The community traditionally observed Milad-un-Nabi (celebration of the Holy Prophet) with a parade, singing and other activities at its privately owned property in Hancock, where 35 to 40 Muslim families live.

This year, though, the group wants to expand the celebration to include a parade and other activities from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday in downtown Binghamton.

“We’re trying to do an interfaith thing, we’re reaching out to the community to do a program based on unity,” said Maryam A. Rahim, event coordinator. “We haven’t been very well known ... We want everyone to come out and celebrate, maybe ask questions.”

The first-ever celebration of Muhammad’s birthday in Binghamton will include a parade starting at 11 a.m. on Court Street from Chenango to Front streets and then back to Chenango Street. One lane of downtown’s main street will be closed during the parade, said city spokesman Andrew Block, who also said the group secured the appropriate permits to hold the celebration.

After the parade, activities are scheduled in front of the old Broome County Court-house. The list of guest speakers includes the Rev. Douglas Taylor of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Binghamton and Diane O’Heron, a professor at Broome Community College.

Rahim said within the Muslim community, some adherents disagree with a formal celebration of Muhammad’s birthday, claiming it is excess and not in keeping with the prophet’s modest lifestyle.

Others consider the observance of Milad-un-Nabi to be just as important as Eid-ul-Fitr, which is the celebration after the fasting month of Ramadan, and Eid-ul-Adha, or the pilgrimage to Mecca, she said.

Muslims of the Americas was formed in the 1980s when several families migrated from ghetto properties in New York City to Hancock to make a new start on their own property in a clean, rural environment, Rahim said. The community includes a mosque and a private school.

Yes, I’ve posted on that place before. It goes by the name Islamaberg and is just a few miles outside of town. Right along the Delaware River. Google it up, or go here, read, and be afraid. The locals feel that it’s a training camp for Jamaat ul Fuqra, a Pakistani terrorist group. Nothing has been proven, so maybe it’s all just rumor.

Well, I hope they have a good time at the parade tomorrow morning. Too bad I can’t be there, because I’d be selling American flags and balloons like the one pictured here at a loss to all the folks in the crowd. But knowing Binghamton NY as well as I do, if it doesn’t rain it will probably snow. Or at least be cold and miserable.

I have no idea how the locals will react to this little parade in their midst. While Binghamton tries to think of itself as a sophisticated little city, it really is quite “upstate” at heart. Which means something like redneck, hillbilly, NASCAR & WWE fans, etc. You know, regular Americans. But then again it is NY, which has almost totally gone over to the Dems. So who knows what will happen. Oh, and while the parade route is only about 5 blocks long, it will cause the State Street extension of rt 434 to be closed, which will totally screw up traffic coming into the city from the South Side. Thanks Mo.

Posted by Drew458     on 04/04/2008 at 08:47 PM   
Filed Under: • RoPMA •  
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Arrgh, Pirates!!

PARIS - Pirates seized control of a French luxury yacht carrying 30 crew members Friday off the coast of Somalia, the French government and the ship’s owner said.  Attackers stormed the 288-foot “Le Ponant” as it returned without passengers from the Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean, toward the Mediterranean Sea, said officials with French maritime transport company CMA-CGM.  The corporate officials said they were in close contact with the French Foreign Ministry, which said in a statement that the boat and its crew had been attacked by pirates.  The ship was in the high seas in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia in the Indian Ocean, the ministry said. At least some of the crew members are French, it said.  According to the company’s Web site, the three-mast boat features four decks, two restaurants, and indoor and outdoor luxury lounges. It can hold up to 64 passengers.

Pirates seized more than two dozen ships off the Somali coast last year.

The U.S. Navy has led international patrols to try to combat piracy in the region. Last year, the guided missile destroyer USS Porter opened fire to destroy pirate skiffs tied to a Japanese tanker.  Wracked by more than a decade of violence and anarchy, Somalia does not have its own navy, and a transitional government formed in 2004 with U.N. help has struggled to assert control.  The International Maritime Bureau, which tracks piracy, said in its annual report earlier this year that global pirate attacks rose 10 percent in 2007, marking the first increase in three years.

I expect the US and French Navies to effect rescue ASAP. Probably by sometime tomorrow at the latest. Unfortunately, modern ships don’t come with yardarms to hang the bastards from, though I hope the sailors can improvise something. Don’t even take the scum back to land. Sometimes the old ways are the best, and piracy is one of the original capital offenses.

Posted by Drew458     on 04/04/2008 at 01:41 PM   
Filed Under: • Crime • International •  
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Equal Opportunity Gun Ownership

Oleg Volk is an artist and activist.  His photos on self-protection are deep and striking.  So when a site called “Social Images” published a number of his posters in an attempt to demonize the “gun culture”, the grassroots have come to call a spade a spade.

Wander over and politely toss in your $.02.

Equal Opportunity Gun Ownership

Some of the first comments come from the left:

dorotha
January 7, 2008 6:35 AM

These are bizarre and terrifying, but I’m not sure how widely spread they are. I’m not sure it is right to attribute them to the “pro-gun lobby.” I’m not sure what the “pro-gun lobby” is in this case. The website these images come from seems to be the project of one individual. Are these images used by the NRA?

I just want to clarify where these come from. It seems relevant. They totally freak me out, don’t get me wrong, but I need a little more information before I make any judgements about the site they come from. Incidentally, they seem to come from this website originally. Not the t-shirt website.

Gwen
January 10, 2008 10:48 PM

The idea that the only way we think we can make a safer, better society is for everyone to carry a gun is incredibly sad. It’s also individualistic--the answer to racism, rape, and gay bashing is to carry a gun, not have any form of social organizing.

And I doubt that if women started shooting men who attempt to rape them that would be seen as “empowering” in our culture--particularly since most women are raped by people they know. We’re already suspicious of women who say they were raped by someone they were on a date with; what happens when women start shooting them? I’m doubtful this will be accepted as a positive change. Remember the reaction to Lorena Bobbitt? She didn’t exactly meet with social approval--and she didn’t kill him.

I grew up in rural Oklahoma, surrounded by guns. And I know what it’s like to have one family member using guns as a way to control another. I don’t think that my mom or us kids would have been “empowered"--or safer--if only she’d been willing to use a gun too.

Interrobang
March 12, 2008 10:14 PM

The Holocaust ones are particularly offensive. When the agents of the totalitarian state come for you, they always come in groups. What are you going to do, pull your gun and have three of them shoot you before you can shoot one of them? Either way, you’re just as dead.

A friend of mine was trans-bashed in Baltimore by a gang of six guys. A gun wouldn’t have helped him, and in fact might have gotten him shot with his own gun—you can really only point a handgun at one person at a time.

The solution to reducing crime isn’t more guns, it’s a better-functioning society.

Of course, Oleg got to answer the detractors

Oleg Volk
January 10, 2008 4:46 PM

As the author of the images, I am curious what makes them terrifying to you. The aim of my effort is to empower others.

What was their collective response?  [cue crickets]

(Drew decided this needed a couple of Volk’s pics so he stuck them in.)

Posted by Drew458     on 04/04/2008 at 12:50 PM   
Filed Under: • Art-Photography • Self-Defense •  
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The nicest part of the NJ government is the DMV

It’s true! A certain previous governor revamped the whole organization, even renaming it the New Jersey Motor Vehicles Commission. The attitude is gone. Totally. The people are helpful and friendly. Go figure.

I can get in and out of my local office in Flemington in a matter of minutes. Change the registration, get one of our spiffy new “counterfeit proof” driver’s licenses, new plates, whatever. Half an hour tops, and they’ve got snack machines, soda machines, and an accessible clean bathroom. Plus lots of chairs to sit in, TV to watch, and I don’t even have to bring my own pen.

The state inspection station is across the street and a few blocks down. They open early most days. If I go at an off-peak time I can get through the whole process in 20 minutes. While I wait in a fume free climate controlled waiting area that allows me to watch my car getting worked on. If I go at the busy time they usually have two inspection lines running but will open a third line if there’s a backup. The inspections are paid for with tax money, and the inspections are run by an outside vendor. Granted, they get paid a good buck to do the work, but they actually work, and do try to make the process as painless as possible.

Hey, don’t take my word for it. Go read The Trusted Advisor, who has also been through it and was happy with the results. Of course, Trusted also writes about Customer Service Hell when dealing with the cable company. And that’s the cable company that has just bought up my cable company. Oh joy.

Posted by Drew458     on 04/04/2008 at 11:39 AM   
Filed Under: • Government •  
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Poison Toothpaste story gets PC filtering

Recently, Detroit-based Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided a warehouse full of smuggled counterfeit merchandise in suburban Detroit’s Oakland County. The merchandise is sold at cut-rate prices to operators of dollar stores throughout the Detroit area who then pass on the phony stuff on their customers, mostly poorer people looking for a bargain in a tough Michigan economy.

But the merchandise is not only phony, it’s poisonous. That includes toxic toothpaste containing “Diethelen Glycol [which] can cause paralysis of your facial muscles and cause brain swelling and can make your kidney’s fail.”

This is pretty bad. The counterfeit toothpaste to look out for is made to look just like Colgate, but you have to read the carton closely to spot the fake. If you see “South Africa” anywhere, it’s a phony. Colgate does not import toothpaste from South Africa.

But once again we have a story within a story. Debbie is reporting on the reporter, Bob Ellis, a guy she went to school with. He did a good investigative piece (watch the video) which lead to the ICE raid, but he left out certain basic details.

the most important things in reporting were “The Five Ws"--Who, What, Where, When, and Why. So, why is Ellis’ operation now omitting the first “W"--the “Who"--a basic tenet of objective journalism?

Well, apparently because--in the mainstream media, especially Detroit’s media--two other letters, P and C, too frequently trump that W.

I’m not going to tell you who was behind the counterfeiting ring, you’ll have to go and read her article. And to see how she ties it in with several other counterfeiting busts. But it won’t surprise you much. I’ve been hearing similar stories for several years now, where certain small business owners are making a lot of cash selling phony merchandise, or selling cigarettes illegally ... and the allegation that the profits somehow appear to be making their way overseas to a certain sandy area southeast of the Mediterranean.

Many many years ago, Lenin said “The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them.” It looks like somebody has learned that lesson really well.

Posted by Drew458     on 04/04/2008 at 10:45 AM   
Filed Under: • Crime • RoPMA •  
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   Thursday - April 03, 2008

Told ya so last time

Iran assembling centrifuge cascades

I’m going to have to make a new post category to cover these Well D’uh! situations.

VIENNA, Austria - Iran has assembled hundreds of advanced machines reflecting a possible intention to speed up uranium enrichment, diplomats have told The Associated Press.

One diplomat said more than 300 of the centrifuges have been linked up in two separate units in Iran’s underground enrichment plant and a third was being assembled. He said the machines apparently are more advanced than the thousands already running underground, suggesting they could be the sophisticated IR-2 centrifuge that Tehran recently acknowledged testing.

But a senior diplomat said that while the new work appeared to include advanced centrifuges, they were not IR-2s. He added that it was unclear whether the machines were above or below ground.

The location is significant, since the aboveground site at Natanz is for experimental work and the underground facility is the working enrichment plant.

A third diplomat — who like the other two closely follows Iran’s nuclear program — confirmed that Iran had started linking up advanced centrifuges in a configuration used for enrichment. But he said all remained above ground and none of the machines were running.

Their reports underlined Iran’s determination to push ahead with its enrichment program despite U.N. Security Council sanctions. One of the diplomats said officials in Tehran would likely detail the new centrifuge work on April 8, which Iran has designated National Nuclear Technology Day.

The workhorse of Iran’s enrichment program is the P-1 centrifuge which is run in cascades of 164 machines. But Iranian officials confirmed in February that they had started using the IR-2 centrifuge that can churn out enriched uranium at more than double the rate.

Yeah, and if they can build 10 of the IR-2s they can build 10,000. All it takes is a little more time.

Here we go again. Let’s drag out the nay-sayers and the apologists, the “chicken hawk” accusers, and all the other MSM talking heads who will try their damnedest to push our ostrich heads back under the sand. Nothing to see here people, move along. Let’s just all repeat the mantra that “Iran gave up it’s nuclear weapons research program in 2003”, even though recent weapons seizures in Iraq have shown that the Iranians are quite good at shaped charge munitions (EFPs are a type of shaped charge), which are the kind used to initiate nukes. In other words, they gave up the program because they knew enough to be able to light them off. But we must ignore that inconvenient truth.

UPDATE Second verse, same as the first!

Last time the mad mullahs got attention focused on their nuke program, it was mostly a subterfuge to move the focus off of Hezbollah and Hamas. It worked last time, and probably the time before that, so let’s do it again ... the West falls for it every time

War Is Talk Of Syria And Israel

By BENNY AVNI
Staff Reporter of the Sun
April 3, 2008
Reports that Syria has stepped up its military presence near Israel’s northern border have sparked increasing speculation on both sides that war may be imminent. Although some Israeli politicians are advocating negotiations with President al-Assad of Syria, the Israeli army deputy chief of staff said yesterday that retaliation against any nation that launches a war against Israel, the “strongest country in the region,” would be “painful.”

On the face of it, Syria may have enough of a pretext to launch a military offensive this spring.

According to several recent press reports, Syria and Iran have transferred chemical- and biological-tipped warheads to Hezbollah, which some claim possesses more missiles now than it did before the 2006 Lebanon war.

Oh, and the palis are fat with cash right now too. Wonder what they’ll spend it on? Food? Hardly. Thank you George Bush. And there’s no fence along the Egyptian border anymore. Oops.

Posted by Drew458     on 04/03/2008 at 07:18 PM   
Filed Under: • No Shit, Sherlock •  
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Obama may not be getting too many of the veteran votes

This could be part of the reason why

by Andrew Malcolm
Jane Fonda, the actress and ardent anti-Vietnam war advocate who visited North Vietnam during those hostilities, has endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president.
There were no formal ceremonies for the endorsement. In fact, the Obama campaign may just be learning about the actress’s approval now as word spreads like lit gunpowder via the Internet.  Fonda was eating out last night and exited the restaurant, ignoring as celebrities often do the assembled press contingent.  But a video camera was rolling as she approached the street and someone, perhaps just trying to get her to turn around for a picture, shouted out at her back, “Who are you going to vote for?”
There was a moment of silence. Then, the actress did turn around toward the cameras, paused and with a smile said simply, “Obama!” Then she got into a car and drove away.

(Photo of Jane Fonda in Vietnam war protest days by Nihon Denpa News / Associated Press)

Golly, could the Chicago Tribune, or at least it’s blog The Swamp, or the article’s author, Andrew Malcolm be ... Conservatives? Egad!! I just love it when the opening line of the post identifies old Hanoi Jane as a traitor.

Does her endorsement mean much of anything? Probably not. Obama had the old hippy vote already I think. Even 65 year old stoners can remember a two word campaign. Hope. Change. Wow man. These may be the only two words they can remember at this point. But for the 10 million or more veterans out there, this just might send them away. Because treason has no statute of limitations, and those who served understand about honor and fidelity. So they avoid Jane, and have nothing to do with whatever she supports.

Posted by Drew458     on 04/03/2008 at 04:40 PM   
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Common Sense Wins in Pennsylvania

HARRISBURG - The House yesterday rejected a measure aimed at curbing illegal handgun trafficking, the first substantive gun restriction considered by the full chamber in more than a decade.  By a vote of 128-75 the House defeated an amendment - attached to a separate gun crime bill - that would have made it mandatory to report lost and stolen handguns.

Gun-control proponents hailed the vote itself as a historic achievement for opening floor debate on gun violence and forcing lawmakers to take a formal position on controversial legislation.

The defeat came despite impassioned pleas from Philadelphia- and Pittsburgh-area lawmakers who argued that the legislation was critically needed to control the flow of illegal weapons and protect the innocent caught in the crossfire.

Here comes the spin and the appeal to emotion:

“This is a defining moment in this state . . . and to the families of the 400 people gunned down in Philadelphia last year,” said Rep. Curtis Thomas (D., Phila.). “The urgency of now requires that we respond to people across Pennsylvania that have said we need to do something now.”

Uh huh. And just how many of those 400 were innocent victims and not gang members? And just how many were shot with unreported stolen guns? And please, “the urgency of now”? Is that like “the audacity of hope” only more pressing?

But the final vote reflected the dominant pro-gun ideology in a state where divisions over gun control run largely along geographic rather than party lines.

Yeah, city folks vs. country folks. I have heard PA described as a state with a big city at each end and Alabama in the middle. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, as is the rumor that the west end of all bridges connecting NJ to PA have a sign on them that says “America starts here”. Fake but accurate.

There is a huge difference between reporting firearms as stolen within X amount of time after the crime occurs, and reporting them stolen within X amount of time after awareness of the theft occurs. The first way makes it a criminal offense to be on vacation and not at home to count your guns every day, the second way allows gun owners to be good citizens. I’ve been hearing a lot about straw purchases lately, along with the “mock straw” idea this bill’s amendment sought to address. Is this actually happening, or is it just hot air? If it is going on, what do you think should be done to stop the “oh, I bought a boxful of guns and they were stolen right out of my car! Too bad the burglars left me this bag of money by accident.” means to arm gangs?

Posted by Drew458     on 04/03/2008 at 01:51 PM   
Filed Under: • Guns and Gun Control •  
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Currying favor

A little update on The Great Homemade Thai Food Experiment

Nothing beats cooking from scratch. That’s what I’m learning here. I made a large batch of Masaman curry the other day, using the premier brand of imported curry paste. It turned out mediocre. After eating my way through that for 3 days, I made a small batch of green curry, using the Taste of Thailand curry paste. The recipe called for 1 Tbs of paste. I used the entire pouch, roughly 8 times as much. The result was just barely rich enough to be in the same boat as the curry I get in my favorite Thai restaurant. You live, you learn.

Some things I’ve learned

• Not all coconut milk is the same. Look for the words “first pressing” on the label, or compare brands and take the one with the highest fat content. Second or third pressing brands have almost none of the thick fat, called coconut cream, and this is where the flavor lives. Yeah, it’s all transfat and therefore evil, but so what? It tastes better.


• You need to “wake up” the curry paste by frying it in a spoonful of oil for a couple minutes. Then you add the coconut milk. But be smart, and put the coconut milk in an unheated pan and add the hot paste to it (like adding acid to the water in chemistry class). Adding the milk to the hot pan you fry the curry in causes it to instantly curdle, which makes your sauce ugly.


• If you can read the label you don’t want it: most non-imported Thai food products are really watered down. You want the good stuff, so you’ll have to go to an Asian grocery to find it, and it will be labeled mostly in Foreign.


• Fresh fresh fresh! The best Thai curry pastes are made right on the spot. The canned stuff gets weak with age. If you can find the fresh peppers save some seeds and grow your own for next time.


• Slice the meat thinly and let it marinade overnight in the curry sauce. Coconut milk is a good tenderizer, and the flavors seep into the meat. So things taste better.


• Instant Rice is an abomination. Rice has to be the easiest stuff on Earth to cook. Take X amount of water, add a few shakes of salt and a small splash of oil. Boil it. Add x/2 amount of rice. Stir it around for about 2 minutes until the starch foam goes away. Take pot off heat, cover, let sit. Come back in 30 minutes and the rice is perfect, every time.


• Find a proper Thai cookbook and make your own curry. Go back to the Asian grocery store and buy bags of chilis and all the other strange ingredients. Make a small amount and adjust it to taste. Then make a big batch and freeze it. It will last forever, and not fade out like the canned products.


• Asian grocery stores are the place to buy spices. Especially in bulk. You don’t get a fancy glass bottle, but you get a super low price.

I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered either of these curries yet, but I’m getting better. Maybe I’ll try something Indian next.

UPDATE !!

Posted by Drew458     on 04/03/2008 at 11:47 AM   
Filed Under: • Miscellaneous •  
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gang of alleged British Muslim fanatics with simultaneous suicide bombing plans.

‘Airline terror plotters wanted heavy casualties’

By Richard Edwards, Gordon Rayner and Duncan Gardham
Last Updated: 4:46pm BST 03/04/2008

A gang of alleged British Muslim fanatics plotted to cause “carnage on an almost unprecedented scale” with simultaneous suicide bombings on up to 18 transatlantic airliners, a court has heard.

Bombs made from hydrogen peroxide liquid explosives, and disguised as soft drinks including Lucozade and Oasis, were to be taken on board and detonated mid-flight, causing thousands of deaths “in the name of Islam”, it is alleged.

If the alleged plan had been carried out, it could have led to the worst terrorist atrocity since the attacks on the US on September 11, 2001.

It was as a result of the alleged plot being uncovered 18 months ago that authorities tightened security at airports in the UK, banning people carrying liquids on to planes.

The long awaited trial started today amid high security at Woolwich Crown Court in south-east London.

Jurors were told that the accused were only interested in one way flights from Heathrow airport and possible target cities included New York, Washington, Chicago, Denver, Miami and San Francisco, as well as Montreal and Toronto in Canada.

The seven flights were: 1415 United Airlines Flight 931 to San Francisco; 1500 Air Canada Flight 849 to Toronto; 1515 Air Canada Flight 865 to Montreal; 1540 United Airlines Flight 959 to Chicago; 1620 United Airlines Flight 925 to Washington; 1635 American Airlines Flight 139 to New York and 1650 American Airlines Flight 91 to Chicago.

They aimed to inflict “heavy casualties” on an “unwitting civilian population”, jurors were told.
The result would have had a “violent and deadly, global impact”, the court heard.

Peter Wright QC, prosecuting, in his opening speech, said that the men had planned to smuggle liquid explosives - disguised in drinks bottles - aboard selected flights in the summer of 2006.

The men and others were prepared to board the aircraft carrying their “deadly cargo” and detonate it in flight, he said.

“They are men with the cold-eyed certainty of the fanatic, prepared to board an aircraft with the ingredients to construct and detonate a device to bring about the loss not only of their own life but all those around them.”

Mr Wright claimed the alleged plot was foiled when police arrested two men in east London in August, 2006.

“The disaster they contemplated was not long off,” he said.

The court was told that intelligence suggested the alleged plotters may have recruited as many as 18 suicide bombers, who would have set off on flights from several Heathrow terminals at once.

Mr Wright said that police recovered a computer memory stick belonging to one suspect which contained detailed information about flights and airport security.

He told jurors that the plotters were not interested in return flights to the UK.

“The memory stick contained details in respect of flight timetables, baggage information, security advice in respect of restricted items and other information about Heathrow airport.”

The jury was shown files on the memory stick giving details of flights from Heathrow to cities in North America.

The information included the airline, terminal at Heathrow, departure times, arrival times, flight numbers, aircraft type and number of stops, the court heard.

The jury heard that information on the memory stick focused only on one-way flights leaving Heathrow between August 2006 and August 2007.

Mr Wright said: “When one examined what was found on this particular memory stick certain features became apparent.

“It seems those interested in the fruits of this research appeared merely interested in a one-way flight.

“They did not appear to show any similar interest in flying back to the UK on a return flight.”

He claimed the computer memory stick suggested the alleged conspirators targeted seven flights flown by American Airlines, United Airlines and Air Canada, all of which would have been simultaneously blown up after leaving Heathrow’s Terminal 3.

They allegedly intended to attack seven aircraft taking off in a 2hr 35min period between 14.15 and 16.50.

Eight men deny two charges linked to the alleged plot in 2006.

The first charge alleges that the men conspired to murder between January 1 and August 11, 2006.

The second charge alleges that the men conspired to commit an act of violence likely to endanger the safety of an aircraft between the same dates.

http://tinyurl.com/38rm9q

Posted by Drew458     on 04/03/2008 at 11:16 AM   
Filed Under: • RoPMA • Terrorists •  
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Firefox 3 Beta 5 is available for download

Those hard working code monkeys at Mozilla have been testing and tweaking, and the latest version of the Firefox browser is available for download. This is still a Beta edition, which means it has some bugs, but only one of them is a “Sev 1” fatal error in a Windows environment. And that one only happens in a rare circumstantial combination. The other bugs are just minor annoyances, and are few in number. So, you can be impatient and get it now, or you can wait another month perhaps until the final release version comes out.

This version of Firefox is said to be much faster, more secure, and more stable than earlier versions. You can find it here.

Posted by Drew458     on 04/03/2008 at 10:59 AM   
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Dengue Fever outbreak in Brazil

Dengue fever outbreak in Brazil, tens of thousands infected. This mosquito-borne virus is spreading across the state of Rio De Janiero, and the numbers have been climbing for the last few weeks. Early reports said 30,000 infected, then 47,000, now 67,000. Death tolls are small but climbing; latest reports say 67 dead. Owing to a lack of available doctors, Brazil has called out the Army to help treat the sick.

There is no cure for this hemorrhagic fever, though most people infected with it get better in a couple weeks. Treatment includes ensaids (pain relievers and fever reducers, ie aspirin) and IV drip to replace fluids lost.

US National Institute of Health describes the disease as

Dengue fever is an infectious disease carried by mosquitoes and caused by any of four related dengue viruses. This disease used to be called “break-bone” fever because it sometimes causes severe joint and muscle pain that feels like bones are breaking, hence the name. Health experts have known about dengue fever for more than 200 years.

Symptoms of typical uncomplicated (classic) dengue usually start with fever within 4 to 7 days after you have been bitten by an infected mosquito and include

* High fever, up to 105ºF
* Severe headache
* Retro-orbital (behind the eye) pain
* Severe joint and muscle pain
* Nausea and vomiting
* Rash

The rash may appear over most of your body 3 to 4 days after the fever begins, and then subsides after 1 to 2 days. You may get a second rash a few days later.

Symptoms of dengue hemorrhagic fever include all of the symptoms of classic dengue plus

* Marked damage to blood and lymph vessels
* Bleeding from the nose, gums, or under the skin, causing purplish bruises

This form of dengue disease can cause death.

Symptoms of dengue shock syndrome--the most severe form of dengue disease--include all of the symptoms of classic dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever, plus

* Fluids leaking outside of blood vessels
* Massive bleeding
* Shock (very low blood pressure)

This form of the disease usually occurs in children (sometimes adults) experiencing their second dengue infection. It is sometimes fatal, especially in children and young adults.

CNN carries a short AP story that Brazil is considering appealing to Cuba for doctors, after the state of Rio got 154 doctors from other parts of the country. They need more.

I think this may be a case for a good spray of DDT, and damn the theoretical environmental reprocussions. This may actually already be taking place:

More than 57,000 people have been infected in a dengue fever outbreak in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state, with 67 fatalities recorded so far, regional health authorities say.

The tourist city of Rio was worst hit by mosquito-borne epidemic, with 44 of the deaths and 36,600 of the infections occurring there.  Another 58 deaths are being investigated to see if they were caused by dengue fever, whose symptoms are high temperatures and muscle aches.  In extreme cases, haemorrhage and death can follow. Children are especially at risk and no vaccine is yet commercially available.

Rio Governor Sergio Cabral says he may appeal to Cuba for doctors to help treat patients, many of whom have been sent to tent hospitals set-up by the army to cope with the large number of people affected.

Around 1,200 military personnel have joined health service staff in fumigating areas that may contain mosquito colonies. (AFP story)

As is to be expected, some people there are blaming the government, while others blame the poor people. Favelas, or shantytowns, are the unplanned, homemade jury rigged ghettos that surround most urban areas in Brazil. Living conditions there are utterly abhorent, with little or no running water, no sanitation, rampant crime, extreme fire risk, etc.

“I think that the state and municipal governments here were irresponsible in the way they handled this, because they didn’t do anything until the problem was already out of control,” said Isabel Belo, 35, whose ill 11-year-old daughter was hooked up to an IV bag. “Now, everyone is just trying to pass the blame around to someone else.”

According to dengue experts, the outbreak can be largely attributed to the rise of hundreds of unplanned, densely populated shantytowns in Rio.

Wellington Sun, chief of the dengue branch for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the demographic shifts that turned Latin America from mostly rural to predominantly urban in recent decades have given the dengue-carrying mosquito a perfect environment in which to thrive. The mosquito needs only a tiny amount of standing water to breed—even a piece of crumpled plastic garbage is enough, Sun said. Eliminating breeding pools is very difficult in areas where trash collection is infrequent and water and sewer services are lax.

“The mosquito—Aedes aegypti-- has found a very favorable environment in cities where there has been fast growth without the corresponding infrastructure,” said Jarbas Barbosa, a Brazilian doctor who is the head of health surveillance and disease management for the Pan-American Health Organization. “In a lot of neighborhoods in Rio, for example, they store water on their houses because they don’t have 24-hour, seven-days-a-week water service.”

Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva takes a unity approach and says the whole country has to pull together to fight the disease

“It’s the responsibility of the president, the governor, the mayor and each resident of this country,” Lula said. “If we don’t clean up the water in our home, our street, our city, our state, we will all be victims of irresponsibility.”

Dengue fever is not limited to the tropics. There are cases in the US every year, though few, and most are people who have just come back from other countries. But this story is a grim reminder to check your property for standing water and other skeeter breeder areas.

Posted by Drew458     on 04/03/2008 at 10:14 AM   
Filed Under: • Health-Medicine •  
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Post Redacted - Islam, The ultimate excuse

Alerted by a justifiably peeved comment from reader TheRealTruth, the post on the murderous imam has been severely edited and rewritten. Going back to the articles that were the source of the post, it is instantly obvious that the Islam-Watch article has been updated. The header now reads

Editor Note:

The question / answer session is a satirical and fictional account based on Quranic verses and statements of Muslims who unfortunately take some hateful teachings of the Quran literally. Some readers have been mistaking it as a genuine conversation. Also according to East London Mosque Abdul Makin was never employed by them although he and his fellow convicted perverters of justice did lie about being at the Mosque at the time listening to one of Abdul’s speeches there. Islam does in fact have the teaching of the killing of non-Muslims and taking their women as war booty to be enjoyed. In the following video at 2:28 the Muslim protester makes this teaching clear: Lets invade Denmark and ‘take their women as war booty’...at 2:47 another Muslim calls out ‘take lessons of the jews of khaibar” whose fate is mentioned below.

This text was not there the other day, I’m certain of it. Come on, how could I miss that paragraph, it’s right at the top? Nor was I the only one taken in; FoxNews ran the story, and they focused entirely on the interview. Yes, it was published by Fox April 1, but your tinfoil hat would have to be 3 sizes too small if you’d believe they would willingly publish a story inimical to islam just as an April Fools gag. Furthermore, the article at Islam-Watch was not posted on April 1, but on March 22, 10 days prior. Dozens and dozens of other blogs ran it too, and not one saw this Editor Note? That’s because it wasn’t there at the time.

So I’ve been taken in by “Fake But Accurate”. Well, color me embarassed. It was just too easy to believe that interview because it is so strongly based on several Koranic principles we’ve been reading about for years. Guess I should cross Islam-Watch off my list of sources.

I oppose islam and everything about it, but I will not knowingly publish fantasy as facts. In some way, perhaps I should have known better. After all, I’m the one who is always telling you to read The Haj, and claiming that book as a beginning point for understanding the middle eastern mindset. And what does The Haj tell us, in the very first paragraphs?

I have no wish to get called on the carpet, yet again, as to when and where the Editor Note was in the article. I read an awful lot of news articles trying to find things to post about, so it is possible that this Note originally appeared at the bottom of the page and I missed it. But what I think happened is that Islam-Watch saw the hit counter explode on this article, read what was being written, then added the caveat. Probably at the bottom. When the hits continued to pour in they moved it to the top. It makes sense. So Peiper and I were right that it wasn’t there when we read the thing, and TheRealTruth was right that it was there when he/she read the article.

In the interests of full disclosure, TheRealTruth is our newest member, having just signed on today, and having commented only on this topic. TheRealTruth put no other information in his/her user account other than the user name. This does not mean that TheRealTruth is a troll. Far from it; BMEWS allows you to be as anonymous as you feel the need to be and we respect that. So, if we now have a member with a yen for fact checking, hurrah. I welcome some outside verification and look forward to further comments from TheRealTruth.

Posted by Drew458     on 04/03/2008 at 08:27 AM   
Filed Under: • RoPMA •  
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NO COMMENT NECESSARY ON THIS ONE,

from me that is.
I love political toons, even when I don’t like em.  Well you know, when they go after our side.  But I always admire the talent it takes to come up with stuff day after day after day.
But I post this so folks in USA can see how things look to some here.

Oh… the smaller print reads, The final problem, A Conan Doyle.

Posted by Drew458     on 04/03/2008 at 05:59 AM   
Filed Under: • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Politics •  
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