Thursday - January 15, 2009
Life On Mars?
The stodgy Official NASA press release:
WASHINGTON—NASA will hold a science update at 2 p.m. EST, Thursday, Jan. 15, to discuss analysis of the Martian atmosphere that raises the possibility of life or geologic activity. The briefing will take place in the James E. Webb Memorial Auditorium at NASA Headquarters, 300 E St., S.W., Washington, and carried live on NASA Television.
The briefing participants are:
- Michael Meyer, Mars program lead scientist, NASA Headquarters in Washington
- Michael Mumma, senior planetary scientist and director, Goddard Center for Astrobiology, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
- Geronimo Villanueva, planetary scientist and astrobiologist, Goddard Space Flight Center
- Sushil Atreya, professor of atmospheric and space science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
- Lisa Pratt, professor of geological sciences, Indiana University in Bloomington.Reporters may ask questions from participating NASA locations. They also may listen or ask questions by phone. To reserve a phone line, contact J.D. Harrington at 202-358-5241.
For information about NASA TV, streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit:
The same news from the rather more excitable UK SUN:
ALIEN microbes living just below the Martian soil are responsible for a haze of methane around the Red Planet, Nasa scientists believe.
The gas, belched in vast quantities in our world by cows, was detected by orbiting spacecraft and from Earth using giant telescopes. Nasa are today expected to confirm its presence during a briefing at their Washington HQ. And the find is seen as exciting new evidence that Martian microbes are still alive today. Some scientists reckon methane is also produced by volcanic processes. But there are NO known active volcanoes on Mars. Furthermore, Nasa has found the gas in the same regions as clouds of water vapour, the vital “drink” needed to support life. Experts speculate that the methane is being emitted as a waste product by organisms called methanogens living in water beneath underground ice. And they would have to be alive today because the methane would otherwise have been lost from the Martian atmosphere.
John Murray — a member of the Mars Express European space probe team — believes the mini-Martians may be in a form of suspended animation and could even be REVIVED. He has found overwhelming evidence of a vast frozen ocean beneath the dust near the Martian equator where simple life could have thrived as microbes.
Very interesting.
UPDATE: Like the actual scientists that they are, NASA’s team gave us the big I DON’T KNOW. And they had several good theories. But the facts are that they have found lots of methane on Mars, and it shows up only in 3 discrete areas of the planet, and it appears seasonally. Summer, IIRC.
Now, whether this means that there is an underground monster with bad digestion who lets a big one rip every X months, or whether this is indicative of a simple life form living at the subsurface water/ice boundary which goes on a seasonal feeding frenzy. or whether it means that a bit of extra heat seeps down under the surface and allows a bit of ice to melt, which in turn allows pockets of ancient methane trapped in the rocks to escape, they can’t say. But it does look like they have observed this seasonal methane outgassing several times, although they dodged that question at the end of the interview when asked directly. Still in all, pretty amazing, seeing as they got all this evidence through a telescope and a gas spectrometer. Landers on Mars have already located water ice. For a bit more on the methane surprise, go here. I don’t really understand why NASA made this announcement today. Politics? Obama? Because the methane awareness is at least 5 years old now, and the water ice news is not new either.
In other NASA news, ANITA is still up there. ANITA is an enormous superpressure balloon. The acronym stands for ANtarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna. Built of high strength poly, it is an eliptica shape (ie a pumpkin) that keeps constant volume regardless of internal gas pressure. Carrying a rather huge payload, ANITA has been hovering over Antarctica for 26 days now at an altitude of about 23 miles. The balloon itself is enormous, with an internal volume of 7 million cubic feet. It is the size of the Rose Bowl football stadium. It is expected to stay up, at the very edge of space, for at least 100 days. Cool!
This project is really just (pardon the pun) a trial balloon. NASA wants to build an even bigger one, more than 22 million cubic feet in volume, that can lift over a ton to the same altitude, and keep it there. For a long long time. Skyhook much? Have to hang the space elevator from something during construction, right? Imagine a ring of a hundred of those, tethered to a central platform. Think of the fuel savings, launching your shuttles and rockets from 20 miles up to start. A sky gantry. Awesome.
Posted by Drew458
on 01/15/2009 at 01:00 PM
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Permalink • Will Smith ‘to play’ Barack Obama as US President in Hollywood movie.
Hollywood film star Will Smith has staked his claim to play Barack Obama in a movie about his rise to become US President and America’s first black leader.
By Tim Walker, Mandrake
Last Updated: 3:28PM GMT 15 Jan 2009
Smith has staked his claim to play the role, even before Barack Obama has been inaugurated as president.
Speaking at the premiere of his new film Seven Pounds at the Empire, Leicester Square, in London, Smith laughed about reports that the US President-elect had indicated that he would like the actor to play him if his life story were ever to be made into a movie.
“If I am ordered by my commander in chief to star in a film about him, I will do my duty as an American,” he said, beaming.
Smith, best known for the Men in Black films and Independence Day, says however that he had no desire to move into the White House for real.
“If we were in the White House I don’t know if that would exactly be a good thing. The Obamas are much more prepared to be in the White House than the Smiths.
“It’s a whole lot more fun to be a movie star. That’s a difficult job being President with a whole lot of lives on the line with every decision you make. In my job I just bring joy. I don’t bring bad news. I think I’ll stay in my position for quite some time.” Smith said the “world had changed forever” with the election of Barack Obama.
He said he would be an “eyewitness to history” when he attends the impending inauguration of US President-elect Barack Obama.
Seven Pounds charts Smith’s character Ben Thomas’s attempts at redemption following a horrific accident. It also stars Rosario Dawson.
The actor added that he also has plans to do a Bollywood film with Danny Boyle following the success of Slumdog Millionaire.
He said: “I talked to Danny Boyle just a couple of weeks ago. When we find something it will be fantastic. I’m trying to expand as an actor and as an artist to bring stories to the screen that add to people’s lives that work in service to humanity.”
Posted by peiper
on 01/15/2009 at 10:54 AM
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Permalink • taxpayer monies to protect gypsies from hearing abuse from motorists.
I had something else of a horrid nature to post first today, and then ran across this. The usual lunatic loony tune kind of thing that had this person post a comment on the Mail’s comment page. “Daftland” How appropriate. Hard to understand how grownup and educated people can be so ?? I’m looking for something beyond stupid.
Hey ... why the heck should I worry? As I keep on saying, the Brit taxpayer is a wealthy individual with tons of cash to throw away.
If they aren’t, someone needs to inform the folks who spend their money of that fact. Cause I don’t know too many Brits who feel very wealthy. The town and city councils that spend taxpayer money must believe they are at the rate they come up with new things to spend on. Ho-hum.
Hey .. talk about the enemy within.
Another one from Daftland,keep them coming they are hilarious the next one sillier than the ones before
- Rose Howard, Bucks, 15/1/2009
Council wants £500,000 to erect sound barrier to stop gypsies hearing abuse from motorists
By Andrew Levy
Last updated at 2:34 PM on 15th January 2009A council is planning to spend up to £500,000 building a noise barrier beside a dual carriageway after a group of travellers complained about the sound of passing vehicles and abuse from motorists.
Around 50 people who have moved onto the camp beside the A14 near Milton in Cambridgeshire say their lives are being made a misery by the constant rumble of traffic.
(uh huh. And just who decided to set up camp and live on that site? )
They also claim they are being victimised by passing lorry drivers who are beeping their horns, flashing their lights and shouting obscenities.The barriers could be installed when the dual carriageway is improved during a major project beginning next year.
But Tory-run South Cambridgeshire District Council insist the travellers shouldn’t have to wait that long in such an ‘uncomfortable place to live’.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance yesterday branded the plans ‘a farce’.
Spokesman Mark Wallace said: ‘Given that the residents of this site are self-declared travellers, it is amazing that they do not simply move on somewhere else if they don’t like the fact they are living next to a dual carriageway.
‘There is very little reason why taxpayers should bear a massive bill because of the surroundings people have chosen for themselves.
‘If you choose to buy a house next to a dual carriageway then you know what to expect. It should be no different in this case.’
The camp, known as Blackwell, was opened as a transit site for travellers in the 1970s but became an official council-run facility in 1993 and home to a settled community.
The A14 is situated on a grassy embankment above the site.
The council has already secured a £15,000 grant to widen and improve the entrance to the camp but is applying to the Government for more money to build the barrier.
Nick Wright, the councillor responsible for planning, said: ‘It’s such a noisy place to live. When you go down there it’s almost a job just to have a conversation.
‘Their homes obviously don’t have any double glazing or sound proofing. The travellers hear everything as truckers hurl abuse from their windows and blow their horns.
‘They can’t always distinguish what is being shouted but they know it’s negative.
‘I just hope this publicity does not encourage the lorry drivers who do not blow their horns to start hooting them as they pass.’
Sebastian Kindersley, the leader of the Lib Dem opposition, admitted if the noise barrier was installed this year it would only be a temporary measure until the start of the A14 redevelopments.
And he hinted the council would dip into its own reserves if it failed to win a grant for the project.
‘If the Highways Agency says our demands are impossible we will tell them to get knotted,’ he said.
‘The travellers live between a motorway and a rubbish dump - it must be pretty desperate and something should be done urgently. They are entitled to their privacy.’
The National Romani Rights Association(CORR) blamed the council for choosing a poor site in the first place.
Chairman Basil Burton said: ‘As far as I’m concerned it’s disgusting that the local authorities have placed a gypsy site next to a busy motorway in the first place. But this barrier should be better than nothing.’
Three years ago it emerged South Cambridgeshire District Council had spent close to £1million on attempts to evict travellers from Smithy Fen in Cottenham, one of the country’s biggest and most notorious illegal camps.
Homeowners in the area have complained of soaring crime, threats and anti-social behaviour.
DANCE GYPSY,SING GYPSY, GO AWAY GYPSY
Posted by peiper
on 01/15/2009 at 10:18 AM
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Permalink • Wednesday - January 14, 2009
Gag Me
What IS it with “professional” authors and journalists? What happens to their braincells when they have to write about guns? Do they suffer some kind of apoplexy? Is the subject just so naughty to them that their reasoning shuts off, and they have to go have a quiet lie-down for a while afterwords? It’s stunning just how poorly these “professionals” understand the subject. And it never gets better. Ever.
Case in point. Here is a link to a Fox News article. Vomit Inducingly titled “World’s Deadliest Conventional Weapons”, and of course the US has all of them. And number 5 on the list is the ultra eviil 50 BMG sniper rifle!!!111!! Airplanes beware!! Favorite gun of terrorists, gang bangers, and sexual predator grade school teachers!!
The .50-caliber sniper rifle: Confederate soldiers first mounted scopes on high-powered rifles during the Civil War, but the first specially designed sniper rifles for both police and military use came about in the 1970s. The barrels are precisely machined and specially mounted to minimize recoil.
Many Western sniper rifles use NATO standard 7.62-mm cartridges, but models using massive .50-caliber bullets are so powerful they can take out enemy ordnance by sheer force of impact.
One .50-caliber model, the McMillan TAC-50, set the record for longest kill in 2002 when a Canadian corporal shot a Taliban insurgent from a mile and a half away in Afghanistan.
“The advantage is range,” says Wright. “You can fire 2,000 meters plus, more than a mile, and hit a target accurately. ... If it hits it’s probably going to kill.”
Who wants to throw the first stone? Ok, fine, I will.
There were no “high powered rifles” in the Civil War, since even the oldest definition of “high powered rifle” describes a weapon that shoots a bullet faster than one can be shot from a conventional black powder muzzle loading rifle. Which is pretty much all they had, since smokeless powder wouldn’t be invented for another two decades.
Should we mention how there have been snipers ever since there even were rifles? Against muskets and arrows, the guy with the rifle is a prize asset. I’d guess snipers go back to about 1500. Maybe the military didn’t have a “specially designed rifle” for sniping before the 70s because they didn’t need one. Put a telescope on a Star gauged ‘03A3 and it works just fine. So would a nice Model 70 with a match barrel. And cops? How on earth did they survive before they had SWAT teams (hut! hut! hut!) and their ominous black trucks? Maybe if they had to shoot something at a long distance they just took the old .30-30 out of the trunk and did what they had to do, without special funding and uniforms? Maybe?
Do regular rifles use imprecise machining? No. If your barrel’s bore is off by more than about 0.001” the bullet will either get stuck, causing an explosion, or be wildly inaccurate, causing a miss.
Hey, how about special ways of mounting the barrel to reduce recoil? Um, you mean like a recoil operated M2 machine gun (1917-1919) or a Browning A5 shotgun (1898)? Or the recoil operated M1941 Johnson? No, that’s nothing new either. Muzzle brakes? They’ve been around at least 70 years now.
Bullets taking out a target by sheer force of impact? Um, that’s what they do. That’s their job.
And so on. And so on. Always. It’s pretty sickening. Book authors are even worse, although nobody gets the gun facts wrong worse than movie and TV directors.
Gotta go finish reading my gumshoe detective story. The private dick is in a shootout, and he’s down to his last clip for his 14mm double barreled automatic revolver. Hope he makes it through!
Posted by Drew458
on 01/14/2009 at 10:26 PM
Filed Under: • Guns and Gun Control • Media-Bias •
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Permalink • DYFS to the rescue!
I posted on this idiot last month. Local neo-nazi who named his kid Adolf Hitler. Well, the state came and took the boy, and his sister Aryan Nation, and his other sister Heinricha Himmler. No real details yet, but the case hits family court down in Flemington tomorrow. (first the Lindbergh baby case, now this. Flemington can’t catch a break) But from the outside it looks like the state just might be compounding one wrong with another one. We’ll have to wait and see.
Young ‘Adolf Hitler’ and Two Sisters Removed From Home
A 3-year-old boy named Adolf Hitler and his two Nazi-named younger sisters were removed from their New Jersey home last week and placed in state custody, police said.
Adolf Hitler Campbell and his sisters, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell, were taken from their Holland Township, N.J., home on Friday by the state’s Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS), Sgt. John Harris of the Holland Township Police Department told FOXNews.com.
Their father, Heath Campbell, is expected in court Thursday in Flemington, N.J., in connection with the case.
Kate Bernyk, a spokeswoman for the DYFS, said confidentiality laws barred her from commenting on the case or even confirming that the Campbell children were involved.
“I’ve dealt with the family for years and as far as the children are concerned, I have never had any reports of any abuse with the children,” Harris said. “As far as I know, he’s always been very good with the children.”
New Jersey officials said Wednesday that it is not just a matter of names.
”DYFS would never remove a child simply based on that child’s name,” Bernyk said.
Posted by Drew458
on 01/14/2009 at 10:10 PM
Filed Under: • Typical White People: Stupid, Evil, Willfully Blind •
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Permalink • She’s a better man than I am
RE: Ann Coulter discussing her new book, and defending her theories. On The View.
Horry Clap. Un. Fleakin. Believable.
I dare you to watch the whole video, with the sound on. I dare you. It’s below the fold. Watch it all, and don’t scream, yell, swear, get mad, smash anything, hit Pause and walk away ... nothing. Just stick to the facts and keep your cool. Go on, go for it.
If I were her, I could not have done it. The temptation to clock some of these birds would have been irresistible. Especially Whoopie Cushion and the two braying dingbats to her right. Surly old Baba Wawa I could have handled. Hell, it was difficult for me to even hit the Play button, because I knew what was going to happen. And it did. And Hasslebeck - is that her name, the sole “Conservative” on that Panel o’ Wisdom? - sat there like a voiceless pouty lump the whole time. She may be cute as a button, but she wasn’t hardly any help here at all. Thanks for nothing Lizzie.
Daniel in the lion’s den, jawboning with a bunch of jackasses. And it didn’t phase her a bit. I’m amazed, really, I am. I couldn’t have done it. There would have been blood. My heroine!
Posted by Drew458
on 01/14/2009 at 09:44 PM
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Permalink • British Troops take out bomb factory in Afghaniland
A Taliban bomb-making factory has been shut down following an airborne assault by British commandos.
Troops seized more than 130 detonators capable of setting off the types of lethal bomb that have killed dozens of coalition soldiers in the last year.
Commanders have hailed the raid as a major success in thwarting the Taliban’s increasingly sophisticated bombing campaign. In the last month 10 British soldiers and seven Canadians have been killed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in southern Afghanistan. In a joint operation with Canadian and Afghan forces, troops from 42 Commando Royal Marines swept onto an insurgent stronghold in a helicopter assault.
In the early hours of the morning under cover of darkness, commandos from Kilo Company carried out the attack on the isolated Taliban base to the north of Kandahar City. The Marines swept through compounds and farm buildings as the Royal Canadian Regiment pushed in on foot and in armoured vehicles. Eight suspected bomb-makers were taken prisoner and a Canadian soldier, Tpr Brian Good, 42, of the Royal Canadian Regiment, was killed by a booby-trap bomb in the attack. No Taliban are thought to have died.
But a search of more than 50 compounds and buildings led to seizure of a “huge haul” of lethal weapons and materials used to make IEDs. The troops found bags of shrapnel, from ball-bearings to nut and bolts – all used to maim and kill in “cunningly hidden” underground caches and tunnel, Royal Marine sources said. Six large tubs of explosives were also discovered along with 38 pressure plates used to detonate hidden mines. They also found 3,000 rounds of ammunition, AK47s, anti-personnel mines and 22 rocket-propelled grenades during the raid in the Khakrez and Shah Wali Khot districts that ended last Friday (Jan 9).
The insurgents were also found hiding 20kg of opium with an estimated street value in Britain of £130,000. It is further proof that the Taliban, who are meant to be strict Muslims, are using the drug trade in Afghanistan to finance their attacks. The Americans estimate that the insurgents make $500 million (£330 million) a year from the trade which much of the cash passing to both Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders based in Pakistan.
Posted by Drew458
on 01/14/2009 at 06:18 PM
Filed Under: • Miscellaneous • War On Terror • War-Stories •
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Permalink • Well, DUH
Concerning the “horrendous” casualty figures you hear on the news coming out of Gaza:
Israeli officials point out that virtually every public official in the Gaza strip, including hospital administrators, is, in effect, a Hamas appointee. It is, after all, a totalitarian regime that has crushed any remnant of a free press and thrown dissenters off the roofs of buildings. Israel thus “seriously questions Hamas’s figures,” but at this point — obviously — it has no way of doing the kind of intense forensic investigation needed to issue its own more precise estimate.
In other words, the numbers are just as faked as their “fauxtography”. And they’ve done this before too, too many times to mention, even without the help of Green Helmet Guy. Go read the rest over at NRO. Don’t expect this point to show up on any TV interview on any channel ever. But it has to. It HAS to. Because every word, every picture, every video that comes from Hamas or out of Gaza or any other islamofascist area is a fake. Until irrefutably proven otherwise.
Posted by Drew458
on 01/14/2009 at 03:58 PM
Filed Under: • Media-Bias • Stoopid-People • War On Terror •
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Permalink • ACORN can’t spell
You remember ACORN right? Obama backers, fraudulent voter registrations, public funding? Well, they have another agenda too. Your firearms.
ACORN’s latest: “STOP THE BULLET”
The grassroots community organization, ACORN, is fighting for a new law it says will save lives. “Stop the Bullet” is a campaign that would make it harder for felons to buy ammunition from stores.When you buy a gun, gun shops have to run a background check first to make sure you’re not a convicted felon. Although it is also illegal for convicted felons to buy bullets, a background check is not required. As it stands now, gun shops aren’t required to ask any questions before selling bullets, as long as the buyer is 18 and can present identification.
Community organizer for the local NC ACORN group, The Rev. Melvin Whitley, says it’s too easy for criminals to buy ammo, and he plans to close that loophole. ACORN’S initiative would expand the law to include ammunition, and may even include a requirement for bullet permits.
“The problem with the law is that it allows criminals to have access to bullets. And it’s the bullets that’s killing us,” according to Whitley.
But gun shop owners disagree. They feel it’s just another way organizations are trying to take away their Second Amendment rights.
“We have to make it clear we are not talking about gun control, we’re talking about bullets,” said Durham City Council Member Howard Clement III.
Stupid stupid ACORN. They believe a “loophole” exists because no cop is standing behind the counter to PROVE that felons aren’t breaking the law. It’s against the law to speed too. And to sell mattresses without those little tags on them. Let’s put a cop in every bedding department in the country! Let’s put a cop right next to every driver on the highway! Damnation, it’s obvious that the mere presence of laws doesn’t do anything to actually prevent a crime from taking place! We have to do more than that! Enforcement doesn’t work either, because that’s after the fact. We need to close those loopholes in people’s minds! We need to stop them before they commit a crime. Why don’t we reeducate the entire population? Why don’t we teach them all how to think properly? We could send them all off to camps for that. Why, there can’t be more than 25 million or so folks we couldn’t get through to. That’s the real loophole that needs closing!
Posted by Drew458
on 01/14/2009 at 03:28 PM
Filed Under: • Crime • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Guns and Gun Control •
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Permalink • I never knew they worked that way at all
Sorry Steamy, no “teeth” here
There are speakers, all kinds of speakers, that you can buy for your stereo. There are headphones too, from itty bitty to huge, at every price and quality point you can imagine. There are little ear-bud things you can get. Some are even waterproof. Somewhere there are bone conduction speakers that send the music right through your skull or jawbone. This is all great. You can get waterproof cases for your iPod, MP3 players, CD players, and miniature radios. This is great too.
But I have never seen a waterproof, portable, soft tissue transducer set up before. Very soft tissue. Damn, those Hollywood starlets get all the best new toys to play with. Maybe she’s trying out to be a pair of underwater musical earmuffs for her boyfriend?
PS - Whitney, you’ve got nothing to apologize for. AT ALL !!!
Posted by Drew458
on 01/14/2009 at 02:24 PM
Filed Under: • Eye-Candy • Hollywood • Humor •
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Permalink • AMERICA WILL WIN BACK FRIENDS ($$$$$$$ ?) SAYS MRS. CLINTON. we can hardly wait.
Hey, are we really interested in “winning back friend?” What friends? Oh right. I was forgetting about the fair weather thing.
OK, so I guess the USA under Clinton/Obama will suck up and pledge a greener world. Follow europe and al bore? That is NOT a comfortable thought to be going to bed with damn it.
Almost forgot. In an article from the Telegraph today, they write that Shillery has listed Europe’s “leaders” and the UK trails Fwance and Chermany.
Obama however does not share the traditional American empathy for Britain.
Ah-oh. Does this mean that all those fair minded political romantics who were swoooooong over The One and having cataclysmic hots for Obama, will soon be disappointed and endure hurt feelings? We can hope so.
By Alex Spillius in Washington
Wednesday January 14 2009
Hillary Clinton promised yesterday that America would win back friends across the world, as she set out a vision of foreign policy under the presidency of Barack Obama
Although she refrained from naming the outgoing President George W Bush, Mrs Clinton sent a strong signal to the world that as secretary of state, she would strengthen US diplomacy and “build a world with more partners”. She said she and Mr Obama believed in foreign policy that married “principles and pragmatism, not rigid ideology”.
“American leadership has been wanting but it is still wanted,” Mrs Clinton told her confirmation hearing before the Senate foreign relations committee. “We must use what has been called ‘smart power,’ the full range of tools at our disposal,” she continued, advocating a mix of diplomatic, economic, military, political legal and cultural strategies.
Judging by the gushing welcome she received from the Senate panel, the former first lady will sail through. However, Republican senators raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest between US foreign policy and Bill Clinton’s global charity, which receives donations from numerous foreign governments and businessmen.
Richard Lugar, the committee’s senior Republican, said: “The work of the Clinton foundation is a unique complication that will have to be managed with great care and transparency.” He suggested that the foundation should forego all foreign donations while she was secretary of state.
She repeatedly referred to the common approach and ideas she and Mr Obama share.
Both were committed to a “fresh approach” to Iran which would involve a greater willingness to talk and may include the opening of a US diplomatic office for the first time since 1979. She said issues such as climate change, the liberty of women and human trafficking would be more prominent on her watch. The New York senator ruled out negotiations with Hamas until the militant Palestinian group that controls Gaza “renounces violence, recognises Israel and agrees to abide by past agreements”.
Promising the new administration will take a “very aggressive effort” against North Korea’s alleged role in atomic weapons, she praised the “merit” of the six-party talks which include the US.
- Alex Spillius in Washington
Posted by peiper
on 01/14/2009 at 02:10 PM
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Permalink • Conflicting Stories
Russian ship foils pirates
Posted: 01:28 PM ETLONDON (CNN) — A Russian naval ship rescued a Dutch container vessel under attack by suspected Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, the head of the International Maritime Bureau said Wednesday.
Two or three pirate speedboats were chasing the Dutch ship, with the goal of boarding it, when the Russians intervened Tuesday, said Capt. Pottengal Mukundan, director of the International Maritime Bureau in London. He said the pirates fired two rocket-propelled grenades at the Dutch ship, but no injuries were reported.
The Russians chased one of the speedboats but the pirates got away, Mukundan said.
Russian navy thwarts pirate attack on Dutch ship
6 hours ago
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A Russian warship helped foil a pirate attack on a Dutch container ship in the dangerous Gulf of Aden, a maritime watchdog and the Russian navy said Wednesday.
Six pirates fired rocket-propelled grenades Tuesday at the ship, which took evasive maneuvers while calling for help, said Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting center in Malaysia.
The pirates chased the vessel for about 30 minutes in the waters off Somalia but aborted their attempt to board after a Russian warship and helicopter arrived, Choong said.
Russian navy spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo said a Ka-27 helicopter was sent from the Admiral Vinogradov warship on patrol off the Horn of Africa and fired at three suspected pirate speedboats that were trying to attack the Dutch ship.
He said three pirates were wounded.
Dygalo said one of the speedboats was halted near Yemeni waters and Russian teams from the Admiral Vinogradov boarded the other two, finding ropes with grappling hooks and gas canisters but no fishing equipment.
Russian navy foils attack on Maersk boxship
David Osler - Wednesday 14 January 2009
NAVAL intervention has foiled an attempted Somali pirate attack on Nedlloyd Barentsz, a containership operated by Maersk Line.None of the 25 Dutch, Indonesian and Ukrainian seafarers onboard were harmed during the failed hijack.
The assailants’ intentions were frustrated after a helicopter sent from Russian frigate Admiral Vinogradov opened fire on pirate skiffs, wounding three men in the process. The injured pirates were subsequently captured and handed over to the Yemeni authorities.
According to the International Maritime Bureau, which confirmed media reports of the incident, a second naval vessel of undisclosed identity also gave assistance.
Nedlloyd Barentsz was said to be en route from Salalah in Oman to Saudi Arabia when the incident took place on Tuesday.
British ship escapes pirates with help from Russian warship: IMB
8 hours ago
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — A British ship came under fire in a pirate attack in the Gulf of Aden, but managed to escape after a Russian warship came to the rescue, a maritime watchdog said Wednesday.
The British-owned and Dutch-managed container vessel was chased for half an hour by the pirates, but managed to fend them off by increasing speed and making evasive manoeuvres.
“The container ship was attacked by at least one pirate boat with six pirates on board who fired two rocket-propelled grenades,” said Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) piracy reporting centre.
The British ship radioed for help, and two warships from Russia and India responded. The Russian vessel reached the area first, and sent a helicopter to scare away the attackers, he said.
Russia warship saves vessel in Somali waters
Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:29:50 GMT
On Tuesday, a Russian warship deterred a pirate attack on a Danish vessel in Somali waters.
A Danish vessel has managed to escape an attack of Somali pirates with the help of a Russian battleship in the world’s hotbed for piracy. On Tuesday, the warship received distress signals from the Danish-owned and Dutch-managed container vessel Nedlloyd Barentsz which was being chased by a bandit speedboat.Having come to the rescue, the warship was “able to follow the pirate boat which set course for the Yemen coast. When they entered Yemen waters the Russians had to stop following them,” AFP quoted an official with the ship’s owner A.P. Moeller Maerskan, Finn Brodersen, as saying.
So, what gives? CNN says the pirates got away clean. AP says they were shot up and captured. Lloyd’s, the shipping insurer, says they were shot up and captured. The fwench can figure out that the ship is British owned, but can’t figure out her name. And while they know that the Russians got some help from those trigger happy Indians, they don’t know anything about what happened to the pirates, even though they run a picture with the story of some pirates surrendering to a warship. Even the Iranians can figure out the name of the ship, but they think the pirates got away, I guess by claiming sanctuary in some holy islamic water. That works every time you know.
Unto me please give one break. You know as well as I do that this entire event is on at least 3 videos. One from the Russian destroyer (or battleship), one from the Indian ship, and one from the Dutch/British/unidentified container ship. And the pirates probably had their own camera, with an ocean going wifi link straight to YouTube. Somebody isn’t telling the whole story.
Um, you don’t think CNN is developing a pro-pirate media bias do you? It does rather look like they are filtering the news to make this a low-impact story.
Posted by Drew458
on 01/14/2009 at 01:52 PM
Filed Under: • Pirates, aarrgh! •
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Permalink • Orwellian ‘equality’ agenda is not just sinister - it’s unhinged. Of course. It’s called Socialism.
TO EACH ACCORDING TO HIS NEEDS.
FROM?
THEM WHO HAS IT. WHO ELSE?
GREAT BRITAIN ON THE VERGE OF ANOTHER SURGE IN SEEKING ANSWERS IN THE FAILED PAST.
Today’s White Paper on social mobility should concern anyone who cares about justice and liberty, for it is not about social mobility at all.
It is in fact a blueprint for imposing ‘equality’ through every single arm of government.
By, Melanie Phillips
Daily MailAlready, every public authority in Britain is legally bound to ensure that policies do not unfairly discriminate on grounds of race, gender, disability or sexuality – a requirement which has actually brought about much injustice. Now they will be similarly bound to bridge the gap between rich and poor.
And how are they going to do this? Inescapably, by taking away from the better off what they have achieved on the basis that this is unjustified ‘privilege’, and giving it to the poor on the basis that they are unable to achieve by themselves.
And this from a government which has itself spent the last decade destroying the life chances of millions of poor people by undermining the nuclear family, bringing the education system to its knees and trapping more and more people in welfare dependency.
Gordon Brown and Harriet HarmanDouble act: Instead of actually helping those who have been unable to make it, Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman will instead punish those who have
Instead of genuinely helping those who have been unable to make it, they will instead punish those who have. And they call that ‘fairness’!
Social mobility is actually the antithesis of equality, because if people are able to progress higher up the social and income ladder it follows that others will be left behind.
Social mobility inevitably rests upon a meritocracy in which people are rewarded for what they have achieved. This is the only fair system. Imposing ‘equality’ - which is really a kind of ‘identicality’, a belief that everyone must end up in exactly the same place - is monumentally unfair.
It amounts to institutionalised discrimination based on the highly subjective and ideological prejudices of those in power to decide just who deserves to be privileged and who to be discriminated against.
Accordingly, any moves to apply it are inevitably deeply coercive and in the end unattainable - as was proved so appallingly under Soviet communism. For the British government to introduce this Orwellian agenda is not just sinister - it is positively unhinged.
The person said to be behind this is that middle-class paragon, the Equalities Minister Harriet Harman, who is said to have convinced her Cabinet colleagues of the need to enshrine the class war in law.
Comrades go here for the rest of story about glorious Comrade Equality Minister:
> >> COMRADES
Posted by peiper
on 01/14/2009 at 01:37 PM
Filed Under: • Commies • UK •
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Permalink • Robbery trial collapses after judge finds victim ‘too believable’ .
I have had a very busy 24 hours and couldn’t even boot yesterday. Seems kind of strange having my life back.
I did however manage to read three newspapers yesterday and two today.
I think I should quite reading them. They only send my blood pressure up. Seems like people have managed to reach new highs (or should that be lows?)
in the stupid sweepstakes.
What have I misunderstood here? Must be something that got by me.
The judge is afraid the jury will believe the victim rather then the evidence despite the fact that she was able to ID the bad guy.
So, the FACT that she could ID the robber was NOT fact enough. ?? I have a problem understanding that. The guy was in her car.
It’s really all too much for a simple mind to grasp.
Robbery trial collapses after judge finds victim ‘too believable’
A man accused of robbing a driving instructor has been found not guilty after a judge found that his alleged victim was ‘too believable’ in her evidence.
By Richard Savill
Last Updated: 9:23PM GMT 13 Jan 2009Denise Dawson, 36, was given a £250 award by Judge Jamie Tabor QC, for her courage, and was praised by him for being “honest, utterly decent and brave”.
However, the judge said her identification of Liam Perks, 20, the man accused of robbing her as she gave a driving lesson, was not enough for the case to proceed.
The judge feared she might sway the jury in a case where the evidence fell short, and he directed that Perks, of Henbury, Bristol, should be found not guilty. He had earlier stopped the trial at Bristol Crown Court.
Judge Tabor said: “Denise Dawson was a particularly impressive witness because she showed courage, clarity of thought and was undoubtedly honest.
”The jury may lend more weight to her evidence than her facts allow. You cannot be sure she got it right ... had this been the Archbishop of Canterbury’s son, would I have allowed (the trial) to go on? The answer is no.”
After the case collapsed, Mrs Dawson said: “The judge was absolutely wonderful. He was fantastic, but I am not happy with the system. I feel Liam Perks got a better deal out of it than I did.”
She added: “I feel very upset. How much more evidence can I get? I cannot sit there with a camera.
”I positively identified someone from a video ID parade and was prepared to risk everything by going to court but it is still not enough.”
Mrs Dawson, who has two teenage children, was attacked as she took a driving lesson in Southmead, Bristol in December 2007.
Her student Jodie Dickinson, 26, was practicing hill starts when a gang surrounded her car.
The gang smashed her rear window with a brick, reached in and grabbed her Hewlett Packard laptop before running off.
Mrs Dawson, who still runs her driving school, chased him and asked for her computer back but he clutched it in his arms and walked away.
She then returned to her car after she spotted one of the youths rifling through her glove box. She was punched twice, and later identified Perks as one of the robbers, the court heard.
But when police later interviewed Perks he said: “I know I ain’t been involved in no robbery.”
Judge Tabor ruled that Mrs Dawson’s evidence alone was not sufficient for the case to proceed.
At the conclusion of the case the jury was told that Perks had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle for his involvement in a gang which stole and sold on motorcycles and prestige cars.
He will be sentenced for that offence on a date to be fixed.
Posted by peiper
on 01/14/2009 at 12:20 PM
Filed Under: • Crime • Daily Life • UK •
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