'No' votes harmful to euro, good news for U.S. dollar - insider.washingtontimes.com
Interesting theory - what do you think?
The U.S. dollar is getting a boost from the slide in the euro caused by voters' resounding rejection of a European constitution in France and the Netherlands.
The respite from the dollar's three-year tailspin offers a bit of hope for travelers who are looking to hold down the shocking cost of a European vacation since the dollar lost nearly half its value against the euro at the end of last year.
'Americans will eat out more in Paris, buy more Burberry coats in London and more diamonds in Amsterdam,' said Bob Whitley, president of the U.S. Tour Operators Association.
Planned Parenthood Is Told to Show Children's FilesCHICAGO, May 31 - Planned Parenthood of Indiana has to show state investigators the medical records of some of its youngest patients, a judge ruled on Tuesday. The judge rejected the organization's contention that disclosing such records could have a chilling effect on patients across the state.
Since March, Attorney General Steve Carter has been seeking the records of more than 80 patients younger than 14, saying his Medicaid fraud unit is trying to determine whether children have been neglected because molesting incidents were not reported to the authorities as required. Under Indiana law, anyone under 14 who is sexually active is considered a victim of sexual abuse, and health providers are required to report such cases to the state authorities.
Just a few questions:
- Arguments I hear for not requiring parental notification is parental abuse and by REPORTING this abuse these animals can get what they so richly deserve under the law; so why wouldn't they want to?
- Are they attempting to prove a point?
- What would Planned Parenthoot say about a conservative religious organization that defied a current law to make a point?
CNN.com - At least 14 dead in Afghan blast
Really, I am not kidding... Everyone seems to be more outraged about the Koran then by Muslims killing Muslim or the loss of human life. I wonder if we will hear about the desecrated Korans caused by the bombing of this mosque.
(CNN) -- An explosion inside a mosque in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar has killed at least 14 people and wounded about 40 others.
The death toll from Wednesday's blast is expected to rise, said Nic Downie, head of the Afghanistan NGO security office.
CNN.com - Shooting suspect holed up in Wal-MartOf course, I am being facetious -- but, one never knows what those organization that hate Wal-Mart will do with a story like this:)
SIMI VALLEY, California (AP) -- A suspect in a shooting that killed two people over the holiday weekend was chased into a Wal-Mart store Tuesday morning after wounding a sheriff's deputy, authorities said.
The store was evacuated, and about 40 to 50 officers surrounded it, sheriff's Sgt. Patti Salas said.
In all, two people were killed and two wounded in the crime spree northwest of Los Angeles, and at least one vehicle was carjacked, authorities said. One of those shot was a onetime business partner of the suspect.
Captives told to claim torture-insider.washingtontimes.comSure it makes sense -- it is well known the United States media and liberals will believe a negative story about it's own from al Qaeda before the US Military on any given day.
An al Qaeda handbook preaches to operatives to level charges of torture once captured, a training regime that administration officials say explains some of the charges of abuse at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.
Buffalo News - New Social Security card proposedI really do not see the problems here - maybe cost, which is not addressed in the concerns?
WASHINGTON - Congress is moving to replace the paper Social Security cards issued to 280 million Americans with plastic, harder-to-counterfeit versions to try to curtail identity theft and the use of Social Security cards and numbers by some undocumented immigrants to obtain jobs.
Critics fear the cards could become de facto national IDs and eventually play the role that identity papers have played over history in repressive societies. Some worry that the proposal could mean trouble for immigrant workers and even criminal fines for employers.
If the Illegal Immigration Enforcement and Social Security Protection Act of 2005 became law, every person seeking a job in the United States - citizen and undocumented immigrant alike - would have to present the card to his or her prospective employer.
I have decided to pick on a couple of concerns:
- Critics fear the cards could become de facto national IDs
- Like it has not already become such a thing -- really, for all us honest citizens can you go to the doctor, dentist, etc. and not be asked you for your SSN? Heaven forbid you are a military member, anyone that has every served in the last 30 years has the SSN memorized, why, because it is the only number they knows us by. Come on the SSN is already a National ID not matter what was promised when SS started or the delusions the critics are spewing.- Some worry that the proposal could mean trouble for immigrant workers and even criminal fines for employers
-- well shucks, you mean that all employed might actually have to be legal, oh no God forbid such a thing - what a lame excuse.
FOXNews.com - Oliver Stone Arrested on Drug, DUI Charges
Well Mr. Conspiracy Theory himself was arrested - was he stoned - how long has he been stoned - this could explain a lot of his theories and comments.
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone was arrested for investigation of drug possession and driving while intoxicated, police said Saturday.
Stone, 58, was arrested Friday night at a police checkpoint on Sunset Boulevard after showing signs of alcohol intoxication, police Sgt. John Edmundson said.
A search of his Mercedes turned up drugs, Edmundson said. He did not specify what kind.
World Peace Herald - King Fahd of Saudi Arabia reported deadWhat do you think - could this be true? If yes, what could it mean to the region short term and long term? Currently no reports in any US media...
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Reliable sources in the Saudi capital Riyadh said Friday King Fahd is dead, reports the Saudi Institute.
King Fahd of Saudi Arabia has been dead since late Wednesday, according to several well-placed sources in the capital Riyadh who spoke to the Saudi Institute, a pro-democracy think tank in Washington, on condition of anonymity.
The government also canceled all military leave, "a sure sign that something is happening," said the Saudi Institute.
CNN.com - Japanese hostage killed by captors
Another hostage has been murdered -- executed! This man was Japanese and I am sure the liberal message boards and forums will have American citizens claiming it is Bush's, the Military's, or both’s fault... This is amazing; all heck is breaking loose over the treatment of a book and no concern for murder. The media refuses to call these less then human individuals - terrorist, electing to refer to them as captors, insurgents, or kidnappers -- what is the deal. Besides electing to be more concerned about a book (the Koran) than this man, where is the concern about the hundreds of Muslims killed by the terrorist in the last month -- strange that a book holds more value then human life.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The Iraqi government has confirmed that Japanese hostage Akihiko Saito has been killed by his captors.
Saito, who worked in Iraq for a British security company, was among five foreign workers ambushed by insurgents in the Anbar province west of Baghdad in early May.
The other four were confirmed dead.
An Islamic Web site previously used to publish insurgent announcements posted a video showing Saito before and after his his death.
KR Washington Bureau - Work on nominees could return Lott to ranks of GOP leadershipAll I will say for now - if the man is openly saying one thing while doing something else -- it is politics as usual and I have a problem with it and the problem I have has nothing to do with the where he stands or doesn't stand on the "particular issue"... Sounds like he may have some delusions of grandeur.
WASHINGTON - For months, Sen. Trent Lott pulled a list of names from his pocket and told anyone who listened that he had the votes to trigger the 'nuclear option' - the change in the Senate's rules that would ease the way for President Bush's judicial nominees.
At the same time, the Mississippi Republican worked quietly to avert it.
Lott wasn't among the 14 senators who signed the pact on Monday that forestalled a Senate showdown. Publicly, he was dismissive.
'Whenever that coalition needs to be picked apart,' he said, 'we'll pick it apart.'
But senators involved in the talks say Lott was instrumental in pushing the Senate to the brink of a historic clash - and in pulling it back. It was a remarkable role for the former Senate leader whose career was nearly ruined by an ill-advised tribute to the late Sen. Strom Thurmond two-and-a-half years ago that made him sound nostalgic for the days of segregation.
2 WWII soldiers still in hiding?- washingtontimes.com
If this story proves to be accurate this is real dedication or real fear - not sure which... It is an interesting story I am going to try and follow it.
GENERAL SANTOS, Philippines -- Sixty years after the guns of World War II went silent, reports that two Japanese Imperial Army soldiers had been found in the mountains of the southern Philippines sent Japan's diplomats on a frantic mission yesterday to try to contact them.
The two men, in their 80s, reportedly have lived on the restive southern island of Mindanao since they were separated from their division, staying on for fear they would face court-martial if they returned to Japan.
Group shuns Filipino mother of slain soldier - MSNBC.com
I am not satisfied at all with the response from the "American Gold Star Mother, Inc." -- this is a travesty, in my opinion... At the very lest we should be able to make her an honorary citizen if she does not want to be a actual naturalized citizen -- but her son giving his life should be enough, would you agree?
Her 27-year-old son, Army Staff Sgt. Anthony Lagman, was killed last year in Afghanistan when his unit came under fire during a mission to drive out remnants of Taliban and al-Qaida forces.
But the largest organization of these women, the American Gold Star Mothers Inc., has rejected Lagman, a Filipino, for membership because - though a permanent resident and a taxpayer - she is not a U.S. citizen.
"There's nothing we can do because that's what our organization says: You have to be an American citizen," national President Ann Herd said Thursday. "We can't go changing the rules every time the wind blows."
That explanation isn't satisfying the war veterans who sponsored Lagman's application, some other members of the mothers' group or several members of Congress.
CNN.com - Police grab suspect after 56 hours atop crane
Finally he gives up... I watched this case with interest because I could not help to think how his actions will help or hurt his defense. Logically you might say it will hurt, but then again there is always the old insanity plea.
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Police on Saturday arrested a suspect in a Florida slaying who had spent 56 hours atop a crane high above an Atlanta construction site.
Carl Edward Roland, 41, was taken into custody after more than two days of negotiators' round-the-clock efforts to convince him to come down, said Atlanta Police Operations Chief Alan Dreher.
Roland ascended the crane via its elevator about 4 p.m. ET Wednesday, walking out on its horizontal arm.
CNN.com - 'Green Acres' star Eddie Albert dies
I remember watching Eddie Albert and his 'dingy' city wife when I was a kid - remember Arnold the pig... I Hope he reset in peace - goodbye.
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Eddie Albert, the actor best known as the constantly befuddled city slicker-turned-farmer in television's 'Green Acres,' has died. He was 99.
Albert died of pneumonia Thursday at his home in the Pacific Palisades area, in the presence of caregivers including his son Edward, who was holding his hand at the time.
'He died so beautifully and so gracefully that literally this morning I don't feel grief, I don't feel loss,' Edward Albert told The Associated Press.
"Sith" Fans Maimed in Lightsaber Mishap - Yahoo! News
Well while taking some time off from blogging I took in "Revenge of the Sith" - Star Wars Episode III... Good movie and by far the best of the second trilogy - but these guys took it to far - it would be comical if not for the tragedy.
Two British Star Wars fans sustained critical injuries after constructing their own lightsabers from fluorescent light tubes filled with liquid fuel.
According to British media reports, a 20-year-old man and his 17-year-old female friend were filming a mock duel in homage to Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith, the latest chapter of George Lucas' record-breaking franchise.
The duo were reportedly emulating one of Sith's key battles, a lightsaber clash between Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi and Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker.
The two Brits suffered severe burns when their homemade sabers exploded. The two had been videotaping their clash. They have been hospitalized at Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire since the accident Sunday.
Sorry of the lack of post this week! I decided to take a break and since I had some personal things to take care -- what better time. I will get back to regular posting...
N.Korea says will respond to US moves on nuke talksWell the on again off again talks with North Korea is back on -- I guess for awhile anyway... Expect to hear later this week that they are off again and it is all the US's fault -- of course the media will support this claim, as usual. Look through this blog and you will see the times they are on they are off and they are on again -- you will also find my outline of how this political game has gone on for half a century.
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Sunday it would respond to an overture by the United States which seeks to reopen six-country talks aimed at persuading Pyonyang to scrap its declared nuclear arsenal.
The country confirmed it had spoken with the United States on May 13 at the United Nations and would respond at 'an appropriate time.' It was not clear whether its response would include a decision on returning to the talks.
A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said the government stuck to its hope any nuclear talks would be 'successful,' according to its official news agency.
CNN.com - Florida girl found buried alive in landfillThank God she was found alive.
Police found an 8-year-old Florida girl buried alive with minor injuries in an abandoned landfill Sunday morning, hours after she was reported abducted, according to officials in Lake Worth.
Google Introduces Internet Portal Feature
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) -- Google Inc. on Thursday introduced a new option that will enable visitors to display more information on the online search engine leader's bare-bones home page, a departure that pushes the company a step closer to operating an Internet portal in the mold of rivals Yahoo and MSN.com.
CNN.com - Bush threatens veto on stem cell research bill
What will the criticism be - President Bush is doing what he said or Christopher Reeve would be walking if not for Bush.
(CNN) -- President Bush on Friday threatened to veto a bill expanding public funding for embryonic stem cell research that could make it to his desk by early next week.
'I made [it] very clear to the Congress that the use of federal money, taxpayers' money, to promote science which destroys life in order to save life, I'm against that,' Bush told reporters. 'Therefore if the bill does that, I will veto it.'
