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ontd_political Photo(s) of the Day: Dec 25, 2009.
( 8. )
It's Christmas, and it was hard to pick just one. ^_^
- Music:k-os - The Avenue | Powered by Last.fm
20,000 exotic animals seized in Texas raid
Official: Pets were ‘not fed properly, overcrowded and attacking each other’
- AP Press, December 16, 2009
ARLINGTON, Texas - Starving snakes, dead rodents and hundreds of reptiles packed in shipping crates were discovered Tuesday when animal welfare groups in Texas raided an exotic animal delivery company, officials said.
Dozens of people with the city of Arlington, SPCA of Texas and the Humane Society of North Texas took inventory of the animals — estimated at 20,000 — and removed them from U.S. Global Exotics. The Arlington-based company, which advertises that it delivers exotic animals worldwide, did not respond to a phone message seeking comment, and its Web site was taken down Tuesday afternoon.
"Sometimes animals die, but the amount of animals dead far exceeded what you would normally see at any company like this," said Jay Sabatucci, manager of animal services with the city of Arlington. "Animals were not fed, not fed properly, overcrowded and attacking each other. Some were in an environment not proper for them, such as snakes in a 72-degree room with a lamp over them, which is not enough heat and could cause them to die."
The company's warehouse held mostly reptiles and rodents and also spiders, sloths and hedgehogs, but it was unclear how many were dead, said Maura Davies, a spokeswoman with the SPCA of Texas. Veterinarians were on hand to treat the most severely malnourished animals, she said.
Hundreds of rodents were crammed in small containers covered with wire, and many had killed and eaten each other, Davies said. Other animals were kept in feeding troughs, and there were numerous stacked shipping containers still holding turtles and other reptiles that had been sent to the company, Davies said. About 200 iguanas were in one small room, she said.
A hearing will be held within 10 days to determine if the animals will be returned to the company or stay in the care of the animal welfare groups, Sabatucci said. The city is considering filing criminal charges against the owner, he said.
The city was tipped off recently by federal officials who had executed a warrant for another violation and reported concerns about the animals' conditions, Sabatucci said.
A little late posting this, but I just found out from The Hedgehog Welfare Society, a non-profit animal rescue society who are working with the authorities to place the 800 hedgehogs that were found in the raid. At the moment, they're looking for either people willing to foster, or donations to help transport the abused animals to new homes. The SPCA of Texas is also looking to place animals and donations to care for the abused animals.
"How many observe Christ's birthday! How few, his precepts! O! 'tis easier to keep LOLidays than commandments." --Benjamin FrankLOLn
Please exploit these resources:MOAR Picture Sources:
- DAYLIFE (ALL)
- NEWSDAY (ALL)
- ZIMBIO (GOP/Democrats)
- CHICAGO TRIBUNE (ALL)
- The White House Flicker photostream
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wonderpup - Music:Cheryl Cole - Fight For This Love | Powered by Last.fm
LAPD to hand out 10,000 pairs of shoes
The counterfeits were confiscated by police. They will go to missions and homeless shelters for distribution starting Monday.
By Andrew Blankstein
December 25, 2009
In the season of giving, authorities have come up with a way to help the homeless through items they have confiscated: Hand out about 10,000 pairs of counterfeit athletic shoes.
The shoes, which include knockoff Nike and Adidas sneakers minus the labels, were seized for trademark infringement by the Los Angeles Police Department's anti-piracy unit.
The LAPD, working in conjunction with the Los Angeles city attorney's office, plans to distribute sneakers Monday to 1,800 residents at the Union Rescue Mission downtown. Several winter homeless shelters in Culver City, Glendale, downtown and West Los Angeles will also receive shoes.
"It's a very timely Christmas present," said Andy Bales, chief executive of the rescue mission. "Shoes and socks are one of the biggest concerns for people who are experiencing homelessness."
The gift was made possible by a new law, SB 324, that allows authorities to donate counterfeit goods to groups that help the homeless, provided they get approval from the owner of the trademark, said Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for the city attorney's office.
The Union Rescue Mission, which served a traditional steak dinner on Christmas Eve, is scheduled to receive a total of 5,000 pairs of shoes. The other 5,000 pairs will be delivered next month to a shelter partnership and distributed over the course of the year, Mateljan said.
Officials estimate more than $2 billion worth of counterfeit goods are sold every year in Los Angeles. Before the passage of SB 324, the law required that confiscated counterfeit goods be destroyed.
Source:
Good job by whoever came up with SB 324. It's always nice to see something that would otherwise go to waste be put to good use to help someone.
The counterfeits were confiscated by police. They will go to missions and homeless shelters for distribution starting Monday.
By Andrew Blankstein
December 25, 2009
In the season of giving, authorities have come up with a way to help the homeless through items they have confiscated: Hand out about 10,000 pairs of counterfeit athletic shoes.
The shoes, which include knockoff Nike and Adidas sneakers minus the labels, were seized for trademark infringement by the Los Angeles Police Department's anti-piracy unit.
The LAPD, working in conjunction with the Los Angeles city attorney's office, plans to distribute sneakers Monday to 1,800 residents at the Union Rescue Mission downtown. Several winter homeless shelters in Culver City, Glendale, downtown and West Los Angeles will also receive shoes.
"It's a very timely Christmas present," said Andy Bales, chief executive of the rescue mission. "Shoes and socks are one of the biggest concerns for people who are experiencing homelessness."
The gift was made possible by a new law, SB 324, that allows authorities to donate counterfeit goods to groups that help the homeless, provided they get approval from the owner of the trademark, said Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for the city attorney's office.
The Union Rescue Mission, which served a traditional steak dinner on Christmas Eve, is scheduled to receive a total of 5,000 pairs of shoes. The other 5,000 pairs will be delivered next month to a shelter partnership and distributed over the course of the year, Mateljan said.
Officials estimate more than $2 billion worth of counterfeit goods are sold every year in Los Angeles. Before the passage of SB 324, the law required that confiscated counterfeit goods be destroyed.
Source:
Good job by whoever came up with SB 324. It's always nice to see something that would otherwise go to waste be put to good use to help someone.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has vowed to defeat organised crime in the country by 2013.
"The mafia is a pathological phenomenon that we want to defeat once and for all by the end of this term in office," Mr Berlusconi told Italy's national radio.
( Read more... )
Source
"The mafia is a pathological phenomenon that we want to defeat once and for all by the end of this term in office," Mr Berlusconi told Italy's national radio.
( Read more... )
Source
Will Obama Block Sen. McConnell’s Attempt To Dismantle Legal Services For The Poor?
The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is a federally funded provider of legal services to the poor. By law, no more than six members of the LSC’s 11-member board can be controlled by the same party, so the president traditionally nominates six members of his choosing, and the party-out-of-power’s Senate leader selects the other five.
In 1981, President Reagan tried to dismantle LSC by nominating the head of a right-wing legal organization called the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) to chair LSC’s board, although this nomination was eventually withdrawn due to outrage over Reagan’s decision to nominate an attorney to the LSC board who fundamentally disagreed with LSC’s mission. Now, however, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) wants to refight this battle by selecting another PLF attorney named Sharon Browne:
Browne’s appointment to the LSC board, however, is not etched in stone. Although presidents have historically deferred to the other party’s nominees to this board, nothing requires them to do so. If President Obama wants to prevent Mitch McConnell from succeeding where Ronald Reagan failed, he has the power to withdraw Browne’s nomination.
The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is a federally funded provider of legal services to the poor. By law, no more than six members of the LSC’s 11-member board can be controlled by the same party, so the president traditionally nominates six members of his choosing, and the party-out-of-power’s Senate leader selects the other five.
In 1981, President Reagan tried to dismantle LSC by nominating the head of a right-wing legal organization called the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) to chair LSC’s board, although this nomination was eventually withdrawn due to outrage over Reagan’s decision to nominate an attorney to the LSC board who fundamentally disagreed with LSC’s mission. Now, however, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) wants to refight this battle by selecting another PLF attorney named Sharon Browne:
A member of the right-wing Federalist Society, Browne has worked on behalf of a panoply of conservative legal causes while at the industry-funded PLF, including opposing race-based school district assignment policies, and supporting Prop 209, a California ballot initiative to end most affirmative action programs in the state.In 1998 and 2003, PLF infamously participated in two Supreme Court decisions known as the “IOLTA cases,” in which a coalition of right-wing organizations tried to have a primary means of funding legal services for the poor declared unconstitutional(the justices ultimately rejected their claim, but in a 5-4 decision with Justice O’Connor casting the key vote). Although Browne does not appear to have worked on this case, her resume is riddled with assaults on laws intended to fight racism — including a key role in the recent Parents Involved case where Chief Justice Roberts wrote an opinion claiming that it is unconstitutional for school boards to desegregate public schools.
A look back at history makes clear that PLF, which describes itself as a promoter of free enterprise, private property rights, and limiting the role of government, is ideologically opposed to the mission of the LSC, a non-profit created as part of President Johnson’s Great Society initiative to provide free or low-cost legal services to the poor, and which was chaired in the late 1970s by Hillary Clinton, then an Arkansas lawyer.
Browne’s appointment to the LSC board, however, is not etched in stone. Although presidents have historically deferred to the other party’s nominees to this board, nothing requires them to do so. If President Obama wants to prevent Mitch McConnell from succeeding where Ronald Reagan failed, he has the power to withdraw Browne’s nomination.
Scientists May Have Found Venomous Raptor Dinosaur
A group of University of Kansas researchers working with Chinese colleagues have discovered a venomous, birdlike raptor that thrived some 128 million years ago in China. This is the first report of venom in the lineage that leads to modern birds.
"This thing is a venomous bird for all intents and purposes," said Larry Martin, KU professor and curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Institute. "It was a real shock to us and we made a special trip to China to work on this."
The KU-China team's findings will be published in the early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of Dec. 21.
"We think it's going to make a big splash," said Martin.
The article's authors are Enpu Gong, geology department at Northeastern University in Shenyang, China, and researchers Martin, David Burnham and Amanda Falk at the KU Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Institute.
The dromaeosaur or raptor, Sinornithosaurus (Chinese-bird-lizard), is a close relative to Velociraptor. It lived in prehistoric forests of northeastern China that were filled with a diverse assemblage of animals including other primitive birds and dinosaurs.
"This is an animal about the size of a turkey," said Martin. "It's a specialized predator of small dinosaurs and birds. It was almost certainly feathered. It's a very close relative of the four-winged glider called Microraptor."
The venom most likely sent the victim into rapid shock, shrinking the odds of retaliation, escape or piracy from other predators while the raptor manipulated its prey.
"You wouldn't have seen it coming," said Burnham. "It would have swooped down behind you from a low-hanging tree branch and attacked from the back. It wanted to get its jaws around you. Once the teeth were embedded in your skin the venom could seep into the wound. The prey would rapidly go into shock, but it would still be living, and it might have seen itself being slowly devoured by this raptor."
( Read more... )
Source. A more skeptical, longer, and somewhat more technical article here. I kind of agree with this one more.
Sweet dreams, ontd_p! :D
A group of University of Kansas researchers working with Chinese colleagues have discovered a venomous, birdlike raptor that thrived some 128 million years ago in China. This is the first report of venom in the lineage that leads to modern birds.
"This thing is a venomous bird for all intents and purposes," said Larry Martin, KU professor and curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Institute. "It was a real shock to us and we made a special trip to China to work on this."
The KU-China team's findings will be published in the early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of Dec. 21.
"We think it's going to make a big splash," said Martin.
The article's authors are Enpu Gong, geology department at Northeastern University in Shenyang, China, and researchers Martin, David Burnham and Amanda Falk at the KU Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Institute.
The dromaeosaur or raptor, Sinornithosaurus (Chinese-bird-lizard), is a close relative to Velociraptor. It lived in prehistoric forests of northeastern China that were filled with a diverse assemblage of animals including other primitive birds and dinosaurs.
"This is an animal about the size of a turkey," said Martin. "It's a specialized predator of small dinosaurs and birds. It was almost certainly feathered. It's a very close relative of the four-winged glider called Microraptor."
The venom most likely sent the victim into rapid shock, shrinking the odds of retaliation, escape or piracy from other predators while the raptor manipulated its prey.
"You wouldn't have seen it coming," said Burnham. "It would have swooped down behind you from a low-hanging tree branch and attacked from the back. It wanted to get its jaws around you. Once the teeth were embedded in your skin the venom could seep into the wound. The prey would rapidly go into shock, but it would still be living, and it might have seen itself being slowly devoured by this raptor."
( Read more... )
Source. A more skeptical, longer, and somewhat more technical article here. I kind of agree with this one more.
Sweet dreams, ontd_p! :D
- Mood:
cheerful
VATICAN CITY: A woman assailed Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday, yanking him to the floor as he entered St Peter’s Basilica to celebrate Christmas Eve mass.
Video footage showed the woman, wearing a red sweatshirt, leaping over a security barricade and rushing at the 82-year-old pope as he began leading the traditional procession to the vast basilica’s altar bearing a gold cross.
As a security guard tried to overpower her, the woman succeeded in grabbing Benedict’s vestments near the neck and yanking him down.(cont...at source a)
source a source b Angle! She's stealthy as hell!lol
- Mood: amused
On the day before Christmas, one C-SPAN viewer took their unhappiness with the Senate's newly passed health care legislation to a new, personal, level: taking down her Christmas tree.
Bunny from Kansas called in to C-SPAN to express her disappointment. "I'm so disappointed," she said. "I have taken my Christmas tree down, I've taken my Christmas wreath off my house, I've taken all the lights down. This is supposed to be a nation under God, and it isn't."
Bunny then took it one step further by wishing that "every light in the nation go out, especially in the White House." Her reasons for such extreme measures were vague but included "genocide on the seniors."
LISTEN TO THE CALL
Source
Bunny from Kansas called in to C-SPAN to express her disappointment. "I'm so disappointed," she said. "I have taken my Christmas tree down, I've taken my Christmas wreath off my house, I've taken all the lights down. This is supposed to be a nation under God, and it isn't."
Bunny then took it one step further by wishing that "every light in the nation go out, especially in the White House." Her reasons for such extreme measures were vague but included "genocide on the seniors."
LISTEN TO THE CALL
Source
Arianna Huffington's annual gift list:
A recent CNN poll found that during this economically troubled holiday season 68 percent of Americans are buying gifts that their friends and family need, compared to 27 percent who are buying gifts they think they would enjoy.
As for me, as part of my annual tradition of getting gifts for my favorite -- and not so favorite -- public figures, I'm going for the middle ground, choosing gifts they need... and that I think you might enjoy.
Here's this year's list:
Joe Lieberman, Ben Nelson, Mitch McConnell and the other congressional obstructionists: a DVD of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, so they can see the proper use of a filibuster -- to fight corruption, not promote it.
Health insurance and drug company lobbyists: Nothing -- they're getting enough from the Senate and the White House this Christmas.
( Moar gifts )
Source
Though I gotta say OUCH on the Gaga one since I <3 her lol.
So, ONTD_P, lets hear your gift lists for some of our favorite public personas~
My first: For Sarah Palin - Grammar Slammer Deluxe
A recent CNN poll found that during this economically troubled holiday season 68 percent of Americans are buying gifts that their friends and family need, compared to 27 percent who are buying gifts they think they would enjoy.
As for me, as part of my annual tradition of getting gifts for my favorite -- and not so favorite -- public figures, I'm going for the middle ground, choosing gifts they need... and that I think you might enjoy.
Here's this year's list:
Joe Lieberman, Ben Nelson, Mitch McConnell and the other congressional obstructionists: a DVD of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, so they can see the proper use of a filibuster -- to fight corruption, not promote it.
Health insurance and drug company lobbyists: Nothing -- they're getting enough from the Senate and the White House this Christmas.
( Moar gifts )
Source
Though I gotta say OUCH on the Gaga one since I <3 her lol.
So, ONTD_P, lets hear your gift lists for some of our favorite public personas~
My first: For Sarah Palin - Grammar Slammer Deluxe
The controversial community organizing group Acorn has not broken any laws in the last five years, according to a Congrssional Research Service report released Tuesday evening.
The report, requested by Representative John Conyers, Democrat of Michigan, said that federal agencies, mainly the Departments of Justice and Housing and Urban Development, have awarded money to the group 48 times since 2005. But, in none of those instances did Acorn violate the terms of their funding, the report said.
Since the 2008 elections, the group, which works primarily to expand voter registration and affordable housing, has become a key Republican target. A series of scandals brought to light by conservative activists led to multiple Congressional hearings and repeated attempts to deny it taxpayer funding.
Acorn has been the subject of scores of investigations—a total of 46 inquiries by federal, state, and local agencies, including the FBI and the Treasury Department, and five by Congress as of October 2009, according to the report.
The report found no evidence that voters attempting to cast ballots at the polls had been improperly registered by Acorn, a chief Republican accusation.
The report also said that a sting-style effort to publicize the group’s allegedly illegal activities, may have broken state laws. Two conservative activists set off a firestorm in September when they posed as a pimp and a prostitute seeking financial advice and secretly videotaped Acorn employees offering advice on how the couple could hide their illicit activities and avoid paying taxes.
Also on Tuesday, a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, rejected the administration’s request to reconsider its ruling that a House resolution barring the group from receiving federal funding was unconstitutional. Earlier this month a judge ruled that the law constituted a “bill of attainder,” legislation intended to punish specific people or groups.
In November the Justice Department also concluded that the Obama administration can legally pay the group.
(Source. I found the link via LGF, which also informs me that the audio on the tapes of the "sting operation" against ACORN was edited.)
The report, requested by Representative John Conyers, Democrat of Michigan, said that federal agencies, mainly the Departments of Justice and Housing and Urban Development, have awarded money to the group 48 times since 2005. But, in none of those instances did Acorn violate the terms of their funding, the report said.
Since the 2008 elections, the group, which works primarily to expand voter registration and affordable housing, has become a key Republican target. A series of scandals brought to light by conservative activists led to multiple Congressional hearings and repeated attempts to deny it taxpayer funding.
Acorn has been the subject of scores of investigations—a total of 46 inquiries by federal, state, and local agencies, including the FBI and the Treasury Department, and five by Congress as of October 2009, according to the report.
The report found no evidence that voters attempting to cast ballots at the polls had been improperly registered by Acorn, a chief Republican accusation.
The report also said that a sting-style effort to publicize the group’s allegedly illegal activities, may have broken state laws. Two conservative activists set off a firestorm in September when they posed as a pimp and a prostitute seeking financial advice and secretly videotaped Acorn employees offering advice on how the couple could hide their illicit activities and avoid paying taxes.
Also on Tuesday, a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, rejected the administration’s request to reconsider its ruling that a House resolution barring the group from receiving federal funding was unconstitutional. Earlier this month a judge ruled that the law constituted a “bill of attainder,” legislation intended to punish specific people or groups.
In November the Justice Department also concluded that the Obama administration can legally pay the group.
(Source. I found the link via LGF, which also informs me that the audio on the tapes of the "sting operation" against ACORN was edited.)
I need your help recognizing the best posts of 2009! Even if you are a new member, you can help decide which posts deserve these honors! On Monday members will be able to vote. Results will be posted on New Year's Eve.
One nomination per comment please!
Each nomination comment should look like this:
Title of post/short description of post
Direct link to post
If you see an excellent nomination, second it by replying to the original nomination comment. A nomination needs at least 5 seconds to make it to the voting round.
If you have trouble finding posts, use the tags or go on Google and type in "ONTD_POLITICAL + [TITLE/SUBJECT/KEY WORD(S) OF THE ENTRY YOU'RE LOOKING FOR]."
If you have any questions, PM me or leave a comment on this post, and I will respond in a timely fashion!
ETA: We've had lots of issues with tags this year. If you can't find the post you want to nominate, comment with as much description as possible, and I'll do my best to try and find the post. If I'm successful, I'll add it to the list, and mention whoever originally recommended the post.
Dean: ‘If the Republicans hate it, there must be some good in it’
By David Edwards and Muriel Kane
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 -- 12:51 pm
As health care reform legislation grinds its way through Congress, the list of those opposing it has ballooned, and a week ago former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean was among them.
Now, however, Dean says he has defected from the "Kill the Bill" caucus, laughingly telling MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on Tuesday that "to see the Republicans up there carrying on the way they are, I basically concluded that maybe we should just pass this thing. ... If the Republicans hate it, there must be some good in it."
A week ago, Dean was not so light-hearted. "This is essentially the collapse of health care reform in the United States Senate," he told Vermont Public Radio after both the public option and the Medicare buy-in had been stripped from the legislation. "Honestly the best thing to do right now is kill the Senate bill, go back to the House, start the reconciliation process, where you only need 51 votes."
Dean took a lot of fire for those statements. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) called Dean's remarks "nonsense" and "irresponsible." White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs jabbed that ""I don't think any rational person would say killing the bill makes a whole lot of sense at this point."
Now Dean appears to be looking for reasons to backpedal. "The bill was improved," he explained to Maddow, citing a few minor changes made to the Senate version over the last week. "It also is going to a conference committee with a body that did vote for a public option." He acknowledged, however, that the improvements he might hope to see come out of the conference committee "may or may not happen.
"If this bill passes, does it actually provide an appropriate foundation for a public option to be introduced as a separate matter?" Maddow asked.
"Actually, it does," Dean replied. "Once you've got the exchanges set up ... you could modify this at a later date."
This video is from MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show, broadcast Dec. 22, 2009.
The Raw Story
original article thanks to
capthekontd_political Photo of the Day: Dec 24, 2009.
A soldier looks out of the frozen window of a bus before a commemoration at the Hero's Cemetery in Bucharest, Romania, Monday, Dec. 21, 2009. This week Romanians commemorate 20 years since communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu fled Bucharest during a popular uprising on Dec. 22, 1989, after ruling Romania for 25 years. Ceausescu was executed together with his wife Elena on Dec. 25, 1989. More than a thousand people are reported to have lost their lives during the Romanian revolution.( bigger )
Photographer | Vadim Ghirda (AP Photo)
- Music:Vince Guaraldi Trio - My Little Drum | Powered by Last.fm
Ugandan official on gays: ‘Killing them might not be helpful’; life imprisonment would be better.
Reuters reports that Uganda may “soften” its Anti-Homosexuality Bill, a draconian attempt to severely punish gay men and women by making some homosexual acts punishable by life imprisonment or even the death penalty. However, Ethics and Integrity Minister Nsaba Buturo is now saying that officials may drop the death penalty in order to impose a “life sentence” on gay men and women, during which time they could work to cure them of their sexual preferences:
Reuters reports that Uganda may “soften” its Anti-Homosexuality Bill, a draconian attempt to severely punish gay men and women by making some homosexual acts punishable by life imprisonment or even the death penalty. However, Ethics and Integrity Minister Nsaba Buturo is now saying that officials may drop the death penalty in order to impose a “life sentence” on gay men and women, during which time they could work to cure them of their sexual preferences:
Ethics and Integrity Minister Nsaba Buturo told Reuters that the revised law would now probably limit the maximum penalty for offenders to life in prison rather than execution.In recent weeks, Uganda has been facing intense criticism from Western government officials and religious leaders. Most recently, five GOP lawmakers wrote a letter to Ugandan President Yoweri Musaveni urging him to block the legislation, although they added that they still believe “marriage is an institution between one man and one woman.”
“There have been a lot of discussions in government…regarding the proposed law, but we now think a life sentence could be better because it gives room for offenders to be rehabilitated,” he said in an interview.
“Killing them might not be helpful.”
Alleged gunman told Va. hostages his son had died in Afghanistan
WYTHEVILLE, Va. - A man accused of taking three people hostage in a Virginia post office told them he was angry at the federal government because his son had died in Afghanistan and his beloved truck was about to repossessed, one of the hostages said Thursday.
( Suspected hostage-taker Warren )
So it ended peacefully but I liked the part about how he said the fed had taken away his right to bear arms. By which I mean I don't like it at all --there are too many lies in the air, and too many gummint-hatin' crazies with guns.
Source
EDIT: Perschmanda in comments below:
( Suspect a liar with history of sex offenses and attempted murder? )
WYTHEVILLE, Va. - A man accused of taking three people hostage in a Virginia post office told them he was angry at the federal government because his son had died in Afghanistan and his beloved truck was about to repossessed, one of the hostages said Thursday.
( Suspected hostage-taker Warren )
So it ended peacefully but I liked the part about how he said the fed had taken away his right to bear arms. By which I mean I don't like it at all --there are too many lies in the air, and too many gummint-hatin' crazies with guns.
Source
EDIT: Per
schmanda in comments below:( Suspect a liar with history of sex offenses and attempted murder? )
Bill would lower volume of loud TV commercials
Washington (CNN) -- It's after dinner. You're tired. You ease yourself into a comfortable place to watch your favorite TV show. Suddenly you're jolted from your couch potato demeanor by a commercial break.
It's an ad for insurance or rum or a credit card -- and it's blaring, invading your calm and boosting your blood pressure.
Marketers want the loud commercials to grab viewers' attention.
A Democratic representative from California, however -- and her fellow politicians in the House -- find them more annoying than effective.
In her crusade to eliminate the nuisance, Rep. Anna Eshoo wrote the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act, or CALM, which mandates that TV commercials be no louder than the programs in which they appear.
Representatives unanimously passed the bill last month and sent it to the Senate for consideration.
The brief measure directs the Federal Communications Commission to develop regulations preventing ads from being "excessively noisy or strident" or "having modulation levels substantially higher than the accompanying program." The bill also addresses "average maximum loudness."
The volume of television commercials is a common complaint among viewers. One man told CNN, "Every time you put on the TV and try and watch a show, the next thing you get are these really loud commercials."
A woman added, "I usually mute the television."
"This is a dumb bill but I love it. I really do," said media analyst Mark Hughes. He said that for irritated Americans it strikes a nerve, even though it's not a huge political issue.
"It's important to people. And it's important in my household that I don't wake up the kids when they're sleeping, and I don't tick off my wife when she tells me to turn it down" because of a commercial's high volume.
Eshoo said she's been swamped with mail, e-mail and phone calls from people who have thanked her for the bill.
Political strategist John Ashford said there is some attraction to an issue that is manageable, as opposed to the complex issues Congress often struggles with.
"Having worked on Capitol Hill and now working in public relations, I know that when Congress can't solve big problems like Iraq and Afghanistan and 10 percent unemployment and how to implement this health care bill they are trying to pass, they turn to small problems like blasting television commercials."
Under the measure, advertisers and production houses would have one year to adopt technology that modulates and sets sound levels -- and apply it to TV commercials.
The FCC will do its part, a source there said.
CNN's Louise Schiavone contributed to this report.
THANK GOD, I HATE THAT SHIT!
Sauce
Washington (CNN) -- It's after dinner. You're tired. You ease yourself into a comfortable place to watch your favorite TV show. Suddenly you're jolted from your couch potato demeanor by a commercial break.
It's an ad for insurance or rum or a credit card -- and it's blaring, invading your calm and boosting your blood pressure.
Marketers want the loud commercials to grab viewers' attention.
A Democratic representative from California, however -- and her fellow politicians in the House -- find them more annoying than effective.
In her crusade to eliminate the nuisance, Rep. Anna Eshoo wrote the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act, or CALM, which mandates that TV commercials be no louder than the programs in which they appear.
Representatives unanimously passed the bill last month and sent it to the Senate for consideration.
The brief measure directs the Federal Communications Commission to develop regulations preventing ads from being "excessively noisy or strident" or "having modulation levels substantially higher than the accompanying program." The bill also addresses "average maximum loudness."
The volume of television commercials is a common complaint among viewers. One man told CNN, "Every time you put on the TV and try and watch a show, the next thing you get are these really loud commercials."
A woman added, "I usually mute the television."
"This is a dumb bill but I love it. I really do," said media analyst Mark Hughes. He said that for irritated Americans it strikes a nerve, even though it's not a huge political issue.
"It's important to people. And it's important in my household that I don't wake up the kids when they're sleeping, and I don't tick off my wife when she tells me to turn it down" because of a commercial's high volume.
Eshoo said she's been swamped with mail, e-mail and phone calls from people who have thanked her for the bill.
Political strategist John Ashford said there is some attraction to an issue that is manageable, as opposed to the complex issues Congress often struggles with.
"Having worked on Capitol Hill and now working in public relations, I know that when Congress can't solve big problems like Iraq and Afghanistan and 10 percent unemployment and how to implement this health care bill they are trying to pass, they turn to small problems like blasting television commercials."
Under the measure, advertisers and production houses would have one year to adopt technology that modulates and sets sound levels -- and apply it to TV commercials.
The FCC will do its part, a source there said.
CNN's Louise Schiavone contributed to this report.
THANK GOD, I HATE THAT SHIT!
Sauce
- Location:home
- Mood: calm
- Music:Bundle of Joy
Japanese authorities and the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd have accused each other of endangering the safety of crews during escalating high sea skirmishes.
The Japanese government-sponsored Institute of Cetacean Research said in a statement on Wednesday that a Sea Shepherd vessel had come dangerously close to a Japanese craft and tried to blind its crew with lasers.
The Ady Gil, which has joined Sea Shepherd ship the Steve Irwin as part of the annual anti-whaling campaign in Antarctic waters, had also "fired ball-like projectiles with a projectile-launching device" during an attack lasting three-and-a-half hours, the centre said.
Sea Shepherd accused the Japanese of using crowd-control sound technology known as a Long Range Acoustic Devices, or LRADs, as well as water cannon, against the Ady Gil crew.
The activists said they responded with lasers to get the Japanese to back off to a safe distance.
The Japanese accuse both Sea Shepherd ships of trailing ropes in failed bids to entangle the whaler's rudder and propellor.
They also accused the Steve Irwin crew of hurling bottles of butyric acid - a rancid liquid that occurs in spoiled butter - during a two-hour conflict on Tuesday.
Steve Irwin captain Paul Watson said the "acid attack" was stink bombs the crew threw at the Japanese in a bid to "annoy them".
Capt Watson said earlier on Wednesday that his crew had been unable to shake off the Japanese security vessel Shonan Maru No 2, which has been chasing and harassing his ship to keep it off the trail of the Japanese whaling fleet.
He said the Ady Gil was called in to create a diversion and allow his crew to pursue the whalers.
The Ady Gil, a 24-metre trimaran "stealth boat" painted with radar deflective paint, had circled the Shonan Maru in a bid to slow it down, he said.
"At first it looked good, and the Steve Irwin was able to put 12 miles between the Shonan Maru No 2 and itself," Capt Watson said.
"But despite being harassed by the Ady Gil for two hours, the Japanese slowly worked their way back to a six-mile distance.
"To accomplish this they had to increase their speed to over 20 knots, a speed at which, unfortunately, the Steve Irwin cannot outrun."
He said the Ady Gil was carrying five crew members - four New Zealanders and one Dutch citizen.
Australian Greens leader Bob Brown has called on the federal government to send surveillance planes or boats to record the dispute.
"This is a whaling war with Kevin Rudd missing from action," Senator Brown said.
"Japan has two naval vessels involved. Rudd should at least send surveillance planes or vessels."
Senator Brown says he is revolted that Japan's fleet was allowed to refuel in Australia en route to killing whales.
source
LASERS?!
The Japanese government-sponsored Institute of Cetacean Research said in a statement on Wednesday that a Sea Shepherd vessel had come dangerously close to a Japanese craft and tried to blind its crew with lasers.
The Ady Gil, which has joined Sea Shepherd ship the Steve Irwin as part of the annual anti-whaling campaign in Antarctic waters, had also "fired ball-like projectiles with a projectile-launching device" during an attack lasting three-and-a-half hours, the centre said.
Sea Shepherd accused the Japanese of using crowd-control sound technology known as a Long Range Acoustic Devices, or LRADs, as well as water cannon, against the Ady Gil crew.
The activists said they responded with lasers to get the Japanese to back off to a safe distance.
The Japanese accuse both Sea Shepherd ships of trailing ropes in failed bids to entangle the whaler's rudder and propellor.
They also accused the Steve Irwin crew of hurling bottles of butyric acid - a rancid liquid that occurs in spoiled butter - during a two-hour conflict on Tuesday.
Steve Irwin captain Paul Watson said the "acid attack" was stink bombs the crew threw at the Japanese in a bid to "annoy them".
Capt Watson said earlier on Wednesday that his crew had been unable to shake off the Japanese security vessel Shonan Maru No 2, which has been chasing and harassing his ship to keep it off the trail of the Japanese whaling fleet.
He said the Ady Gil was called in to create a diversion and allow his crew to pursue the whalers.
The Ady Gil, a 24-metre trimaran "stealth boat" painted with radar deflective paint, had circled the Shonan Maru in a bid to slow it down, he said.
"At first it looked good, and the Steve Irwin was able to put 12 miles between the Shonan Maru No 2 and itself," Capt Watson said.
"But despite being harassed by the Ady Gil for two hours, the Japanese slowly worked their way back to a six-mile distance.
"To accomplish this they had to increase their speed to over 20 knots, a speed at which, unfortunately, the Steve Irwin cannot outrun."
He said the Ady Gil was carrying five crew members - four New Zealanders and one Dutch citizen.
Australian Greens leader Bob Brown has called on the federal government to send surveillance planes or boats to record the dispute.
"This is a whaling war with Kevin Rudd missing from action," Senator Brown said.
"Japan has two naval vessels involved. Rudd should at least send surveillance planes or vessels."
Senator Brown says he is revolted that Japan's fleet was allowed to refuel in Australia en route to killing whales.
source
LASERS?!
The Archbishop of York has condemned an anti-homosexuality bill going through parliament in Uganda. Dr John Sentamu, who was born in the African country, said the laws being debated were "victimising". Under the plans gays and lesbians would be jailed for life if convicted of having sex, and gay people who had sex with a minor would be put to death.
Dr Sentamu told the BBC the Anglican communion was committed to recognising that gay people were valued by God.
Aid threat
Under the bill, proposed by MP David Bahati, people who fail to report homosexuality face up to three years in jail.
Under its terms 'serial offenders' would face the death penalty.
Dr Sentamu told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I'm opposed to the death sentence. I'm also not happy when you describe people in the kind of language you find in this private member's bill."
He added it seemed not only victimising but also "a diminishment of the individuals concerned".
He also pointed out that the current law in Uganda already had provision to jail gay people for engaging in homosexual acts.
The new bill wants the 14-year limit raised to life imprisonment.
Dr Sentamu said: "Sometimes people have not understood that at the moment the law in Uganda, without this bill, does exactly the same thing."
Sweden has threatened to withdraw aid if the bill is approved and Africa minister Baroness Kinnock has raised concerns with her Ugandan counterpart.
Mr Bahati, from the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), said: "Here, we don't recognise homosexuality as a right. We are after the sin, not the sinners. We love them - and we want them to repent and come back.
"It's not an inborn orientation, it's a behaviour learnt - and it can be unlearnt."
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/84296
It's like one step forward two steps back for this country.
Dr Sentamu told the BBC the Anglican communion was committed to recognising that gay people were valued by God.
Aid threat
Under the bill, proposed by MP David Bahati, people who fail to report homosexuality face up to three years in jail.
Under its terms 'serial offenders' would face the death penalty.
Dr Sentamu told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I'm opposed to the death sentence. I'm also not happy when you describe people in the kind of language you find in this private member's bill."
He added it seemed not only victimising but also "a diminishment of the individuals concerned".
He also pointed out that the current law in Uganda already had provision to jail gay people for engaging in homosexual acts.
The new bill wants the 14-year limit raised to life imprisonment.
Dr Sentamu said: "Sometimes people have not understood that at the moment the law in Uganda, without this bill, does exactly the same thing."
Sweden has threatened to withdraw aid if the bill is approved and Africa minister Baroness Kinnock has raised concerns with her Ugandan counterpart.
Mr Bahati, from the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), said: "Here, we don't recognise homosexuality as a right. We are after the sin, not the sinners. We love them - and we want them to repent and come back.
"It's not an inborn orientation, it's a behaviour learnt - and it can be unlearnt."
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/84296
It's like one step forward two steps back for this country.
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Page Summary
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- ontd_political :: ejectandescape : Sea Shepherd and Japanese clash further [+13]
- ontd_political :: demonsandsongs : Archbishop of York condemns Ugandan anti-gay bill [+3]