February 28, 2006
I mean, there I was -- with former President George H.W. Bush, and country musinc superstar George Strait, hanging out together in the same room.
With over 65,000 of our closest friends.
Uh... did I mention that the room was Reliant Stadium, and we were there for Rodeo Houston?
The musically-inclined George put on a great concert than lasted nearly 90 minutes after the battles between grown men and farm animals. The father of our current president was honored for his work with Hurricane Katrina, and dropped the hat to start the calf scramble.
And a good time was had by all, for the cause of raising scholarship money for deserving children.
One night of Rodeo amd Livestock Show down, nineteen to go.
And my darling bride and I will be at a number of them.
* * *
This is, of course, my usual Wednesday linkfest post.
You know how it works -- you link to this post and send a trackback, and your post will display here. So link away -- I won't set a maximum number of items you can link with here, but I would hope that you would consider exercising prudent judgement on the matter. No porn, please, and no advertising -- just interesting stuff.
OTHER OPEN TRACKBACKS: Adam's Blog, Outside The Beltway, Conservative Cat, Stuck On Stupid, TMH's Bacon Bits
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An investigation concluded that a Des Moines woman faked her own death to avoid paying traffic tickets.Polk County investigators said Kimberly Du, 36, faked her own obituary and forged a letter telling a Polk County judge she was dead.
Du is spending time in the Polk County Jail in connection with a forgery charge.
Court documents show that Du tried to avoid paying several tickets by sending a letter to the courthouse.The letter is allegedly signed by Du's mother and said Du died on Dec. 5, according to court documents.
Investigators said the information submitted include a phony obituary made to look like a page from The Des Moines Register's Web site that said Du died in car accident, and her mother's signature was forged.
Du's mother said she didn't write or sign the letter. It's a case that leaves a legal expert scratching his head.
"The state still has to convince a jury of 12, but faking your own death is not a good idea," said Bob Rigg, of the Drake Law Clinic.
The case began to unravel when investigators said Du was stopped for another traffic ticket in January, which was a month after the obituary was dated.
The probe began at the county courthouse.
"If she did it, she now faces a felony instead of a misdemeanor. It's a $500 fine instead of a five-year prison term," Rigg said.
Du now faces more trouble than before.
The Polk County Attorney's Office could not comment about the case except to say it has never seen anyone try it before.
Let’s be honest – there really is not a good way to explain this situation away. Being caught driving while deceased is sort of a dead giveaway that you are trying up to something.
But I think it is clear that her actions are clear that she is not in contact with reality – but then what do you expect of someone named DU.
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Octavia Butler has died in a tragic, senseless accident, at the age of 58.
Octavia E. Butler, considered the first black woman to gain national prominence as a science fiction writer, died after falling and striking her head on the cobbled walkway outside her home, a close friend said. She was 58.Butler was found outside her home in the north Seattle suburb of Lake Forest Park after the accident Friday, and died the same day. She had suffered from high blood pressure and heart trouble and could only take a few steps without stopping for breath, said Leslie Howle, who knew Butler for two decades and works at the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle.
Butler's work wasn't preoccupied with robots and ray guns, Howle said, but used the genre's artistic freedom to explore race, poverty, politics, religion and human nature.
"She stands alone for what she did," Howle said. "She was such a beacon and a light in that way."
Fellow Seattle-based science fiction authors Greg Bear and Vonda McIntyre said they were stunned by the news and called it a tremendous loss, and science-fiction Internet sites quickly filled with posts dedicated to her.
"We've lost the most intelligent and capable voice in the genre," one fan wrote. "Octavia was the SciFi I picked up when I realized that there could be more to SciFi/fantasy than simple escapism."
She was, and remains, the only science fiction writer to receive a genius grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
I was not a devotee of Ms. Butler’s work, but I held her in high esteem. She is one of those authors who my students introduced me to during my years teaching English. There was something in her style, and her personal story, that spoke to my students, especially my black girls who found a role model in Ms. Butler. And I believe it is that, most of all, that leaves me with a sense of loss – she inspired my children to read, and to think.
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The 8-0 decision ends a case that the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had kept alive despite a 2003 ruling by the high court that lifted a nationwide injunction on anti-abortion groups led by Joseph Scheidler and others.Anti-abortion groups brought the appeal after the appellate court sought to determine whether the injunction could be supported by charges that protesters had made threats of violence.
In Tuesday's ruling, Justice Stephen Breyer said Congress did not intend to create "a freestanding physical violence offense" in the federal extortion law known as the Hobbs Act.
Instead, Breyer wrote, Congress chose to address violence outside abortion clinics in 1994 by passing the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which set parameters for such protests.
One major problem with the position of the anti-speech anti-life groups was that they sought to conflate all pro-life activists into one gigantic criminal conspiracy. The acts of unrelated groups and individuals were said to be a part of a pattern, and leaders of various groups were alleged to be responsible for the actions of individuals who were members, even if they did not direct them to engage in the conduct.
When I talked to Joe Scheidler about this many years ago, he noted that one part of the so-called conspiracy was the fact that he had written a book on how to hassle abortion facilities – the anti-lifers claimed that he was therefore a party to the so-called misconduct of any individual who attempted to implement the peaceful, non-violent tactics he included in the book. Under that theory, Dr. Martin Luther King could have been jailed any time there was a sit-in anywhere in the country during the civil rights movement.
Now any of you baby-killing anti-lifers out there who think this is a bad decision, consider who the allies of the pro-lifers were.
Social activists and the AFL-CIO had sided with abortion demonstrators in arguing that lawsuits and injunctions based on the federal extortion law could be used to thwart their efforts to change public policy or agitate for better wages and working conditions.
In other words, even the so-called “progressive” movement recognized that your suit sought to undermine legitimate speech and assembly.
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Fred Hampton -- slain state chairman of the Black Panthers party that urged followers to "off the pigs" -- would join the parade of Chicagoans afforded honorary street designations, under an ordinance advanced Monday that outraged the police union.Hampton and fellow Panther leader Mark Clark were gunned down by Chicago Police officers working under Cook County State's Attorney Edward V. Hanrahan in an infamous December 1969 raid at Hampton's apartment that ultimately cost Hanrahan his job.
But it was the violence that Hampton and the Panthers advocated against police officers that stuck in the craw of Fraternal Order of Police President Mark Donahue.
Donahue was incredulous when informed that the City Council's Transportation Committee had voted without debate to rename Monroe Street -- from Western to Oakley -- as "Chairman Fred Hampton Way." The ordinance was sponsored by Ald. Madeline Haithcock (2nd).
Reaction from one police union official was quite blunt and to the point.
"You've got to be kidding me. I can't believe they would do that," Donahue said in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C.
"It's a dark day when we honor someone who would advocate killing policemen and who took great advantage of the communities he claimed to have been serving. We have real, everyday heroes within the department who would be better honored than someone of the stature of Fred Hampton."
But it sounds like it is too late to do anything, given that the measure has passed the City Council. Instead, I would like to add some other historical figures to the mix, individuals of the same sort of sterling character and high accomplishments as Fred Hampton.
Tim McVeigh Way.
Nathan Bedford Forrest Parkway.
Mohammad Atta Boulevard.
Any other suggestions?
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BEAUMONT - John Caffery called it an act of cowardice by U.S. newspapers for not publishing controversial Muslim-based cartoons, so the local resident decided to take matters into his own hands.On the corner of Daisy and Norwood drives, Caffery erected a large sign Sunday afternoon with one of the cartoons. It also carries a message about the subsequent rioting throughout the world caused by the publishing of the cartoons in a Danish newspaper.
Caffery couldn't understand why American newspapers opted to omit the cartoons but write about the rioting. He said newspapers were not giving the public all of the information they needed to understand.
So he decided to be a source of information, he said, because it's a matter of free speech. At the very least, he can let his local community know the rioting, violence and denouncement of the United States is over a cartoon.
"It's cowardly for (a) newspaper giving in to the pressure from the Muslims for these so-called offending cartoons," Caffery said. "Most of the cartoons are pretty silly. The one out there on the sign is probably one of the least offending cartoons."
The sign is four feet by eight feet, according to Caffery's estimation, and was made as "large as it feasibly" could be made, he said. A cartoon of Muhammad's head shaped like a lit bomb is depicted to the left and a statement on the right reads "For This Cartoon In Danish and Nowegian [sic] Newspapers Muslems [sic] Worldwide Have Rioted, and Killed and Now Offer $11 Million Reward to Kill The Cartoonist."
At the beginning of the statement, an arrow points to the cartoon.
Caffery, 67, lists his e-mail address and phone number. He said he encourages people to call or write him to receive information about the cartoons.
"It's not that I'm anti-Islam," he said. "It's that I'm anti-anybody who says you have to do as they insist or they're going to kill you."
Well, they are up on the site, and so is my little addition to the fray.
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You might think that a museum wouldn't have to tell visitors not to stick chewing gum on the art. But you would be wrong -- as the Detroit Institute of Arts just found out.At the DIA on Friday, a mischievous 12-year-old boy visiting the museum with a school group took a piece of barely chewed Wrigley's Extra Polar Ice out of his mouth and stuck it on Helen Frankenthaler's 1963 abstract painting "The Bay," damaging one of the most important modern paintings in the museum's collection and a landmark picture in the artist's output.
Though the picture, acquired by the DIA in 1965 and worth an estimated $1.5 million, is expected to make a full recovery, the episode reinforces just how vulnerable priceless works of art remain when displayed publicly -- and what can happen when common sense takes a backseat to impulsive delinquency.
This kid may not be seeing his allowance for some time.
And as far as the work of art, it looks more like it ought to be $15 rather than $1.5 million.
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HereÂ’s my favorite snippet.
Please ask yourself a question that wasn't listed above and provide an answer.Question: What makes your thoughts and opinions more correct or valuable than mine or someone else's?
Answer: Thoughts and opinions only have the value a reader assigns to it. On matters of fact, I try to establish credibility by doing research the reader may not have time to conduct on his own, and in matters of opinion, I try to offer a reasonable level of support for my position. Whether you are a Pulitzer-winning journalist or a Weblog Award nominee, your value comes from your credibility and your ability to substantiate what you say, and your ability to admit and correct mistakes.
So, Hal Straus, when is it my turn?
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February 27, 2006
ABU DHABI — Close on the heels of the cartoon controversy raging across the Muslim world, it is the turn of an upscale American school in Abu Dhabi to ruffle Muslim sentiments by teaching lessons that allegedly ''smell of racism.''Over 100 copies of the social studies text book, 'World Cultures' taught to the sixth grade children were confiscated by the Ministry of Education yesterday, for allegedly presenting Islam and the Muslim countries including Gulf states in a negative light while glorifying Israel on the other hand, Khaleej Times has learnt.
And what shocking propaganda appears in this hate-filled book?
It has been accused that chapter 25 of the book running from page 599 to 614 contains a deluge of derogatory remarks against Islam and the Muslim world, for example, dubbing Middle East as one of the most dangerously explosive areas in the world and the Muslim conquest of India as the most bloodiest in the world history, to mention a few.The sub chapters clubbed under the title 'North Africa and the Middle East' also elaborate on the religion and life-style of Israel with pictures. "Israel is one of a few democracies in North Africa and the Middle East today. Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Morocco are all kingdoms; the country of Syria has sponsored terrorism by giving aid to radicals in the Palestine Liberation Organisation, known as the PLO," read excerpts from page 610 of the book, copies of which Khaleej Times possess.
I don't see a single falsehood in the "objectionable" chapter -- though the comment about Syria is a bit heavy-handed (though 100% accurate).
The comments on the nature of education are enough to send a chill down the spine of this social studies teacher.
OPEN TRACKBACKS: Adam's Blog, Outside The Beltway, Conservative Cat, Stuck On Stupid, TMH's Bacon Bits
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This Leonard Pitts column is an exception – and shows just how important family is to the man. You see, his 10-year-old grandson, Eric, was hit by an SUV last week.
And a miracle happened.
So Tuesday afternoon, the phone rings. I pick it up and hear my daughter's voice. Her tone seems normal and I breathe easy. I figure she's going to hit me up for money, tell me we're out of milk. Then I hear her say, "Eric got hit by a car."And suddenly, I am hurtling. Out of the office. To the parking lot. Down the highway. Eric is my grandson. He is 10.
I hate Eric.
This occurs to me as I am driving. I hate Eric and all my children and my wife and everyone else I love for how much I love them and for how love inevitably brings pain. They get hurt, they get sick, but it might as well be me for all the fear that stabs my heart. To love somebody is to make yourself hostage to the fortunes of others. It is to give a hundred people veto power over your happiness. Sometimes I think the smartest way to live is without affiliation — no family, no friends, no children, no spouse, no pet, no nobody who can hurt you.
You might say it's a pathetic man who goes through life neither loving nor loved. Most days I would agree. But there are days it doesn't sound like a bad deal. Days like this.
So here's what happened: Eric was trying to cross the street. Going to a friend's house to play video games. He looked both ways — twice, just like we taught him. When he was halfway across, he saw a car, an SUV, coming around the bend. Instead of continuing safely across, he tried to make it back to the curb.
The car hit him. He smacked the hood hard enough to leave a dent. A shoe flew one way, a video game another. My wife saw it happen. She ran to him. He was writhing in the street, crying. He kept saying, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
I am sitting beside his gurney in the emergency room as these words are written. The doctor has been in. His diagnosis: two lumps on the head and two skinned knees.
Let's repeat that to make sure you got it. The boy gets hit. By an SUV. He bounces off the hood. And he winds up with lumps and skinned knees. I am reminded of the refrain from a gospel song I've always loved. It says, "There must be a G-d somewhere."
There must be. And obviously, He was in a forgiving mood this day.
Eric is more voluble than usual. He says Spider-Man would have dodged the car. He says that like Wolverine, his "healing factor" kept him from serious injury. He says he is glad to be alive.
I keep thinking how all the uncertainty of life can be summed up in the ringing of a telephone. But it comes with the territory, doesn't it? Uncertainty, I mean. You just never know. Life is a dance on the highwire above mortality. It unfolds in the shadow of tragedies past and tragedies yet to come. There's nothing you can do about it except use the time in between to laugh, sing, hug, read comic books with your grandkid as often as you can.
And try to forget that you are a wisp in a wind. I hate that, too, but what are you going to do?
Eric is still chattering away, all nervous energy. He complains that I forgot to pay his allowance. He wants to go to Ruby Tuesday for dinner. And he says, he keeps saying, that he is glad to be alive.
I know just how he feels.
Thank you for sharing, sir. And my God keep you and you family safe and sound – especially this incredible young man whose incredible good fortune you shared with us.
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This Leonard Pitts column is an exception – and shows just how important family is to the man. You see, his 10-year-old grandson, Eric, was hit by an SUV last week.
And a miracle happened.
So Tuesday afternoon, the phone rings. I pick it up and hear my daughter's voice. Her tone seems normal and I breathe easy. I figure she's going to hit me up for money, tell me we're out of milk. Then I hear her say, "Eric got hit by a car."And suddenly, I am hurtling. Out of the office. To the parking lot. Down the highway. Eric is my grandson. He is 10.
I hate Eric.
This occurs to me as I am driving. I hate Eric and all my children and my wife and everyone else I love for how much I love them and for how love inevitably brings pain. They get hurt, they get sick, but it might as well be me for all the fear that stabs my heart. To love somebody is to make yourself hostage to the fortunes of others. It is to give a hundred people veto power over your happiness. Sometimes I think the smartest way to live is without affiliation — no family, no friends, no children, no spouse, no pet, no nobody who can hurt you.
You might say it's a pathetic man who goes through life neither loving nor loved. Most days I would agree. But there are days it doesn't sound like a bad deal. Days like this.
So here's what happened: Eric was trying to cross the street. Going to a friend's house to play video games. He looked both ways — twice, just like we taught him. When he was halfway across, he saw a car, an SUV, coming around the bend. Instead of continuing safely across, he tried to make it back to the curb.
The car hit him. He smacked the hood hard enough to leave a dent. A shoe flew one way, a video game another. My wife saw it happen. She ran to him. He was writhing in the street, crying. He kept saying, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
I am sitting beside his gurney in the emergency room as these words are written. The doctor has been in. His diagnosis: two lumps on the head and two skinned knees.
Let's repeat that to make sure you got it. The boy gets hit. By an SUV. He bounces off the hood. And he winds up with lumps and skinned knees. I am reminded of the refrain from a gospel song I've always loved. It says, "There must be a G-d somewhere."
There must be. And obviously, He was in a forgiving mood this day.
Eric is more voluble than usual. He says Spider-Man would have dodged the car. He says that like Wolverine, his "healing factor" kept him from serious injury. He says he is glad to be alive.
I keep thinking how all the uncertainty of life can be summed up in the ringing of a telephone. But it comes with the territory, doesn't it? Uncertainty, I mean. You just never know. Life is a dance on the highwire above mortality. It unfolds in the shadow of tragedies past and tragedies yet to come. There's nothing you can do about it except use the time in between to laugh, sing, hug, read comic books with your grandkid as often as you can.
And try to forget that you are a wisp in a wind. I hate that, too, but what are you going to do?
Eric is still chattering away, all nervous energy. He complains that I forgot to pay his allowance. He wants to go to Ruby Tuesday for dinner. And he says, he keeps saying, that he is glad to be alive.
I know just how he feels.
Thank you for sharing, sir. And my God keep you and you family safe and sound – especially this incredible young man whose incredible good fortune you shared with us.
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Storm the White HouseMulti-Day Event, Beginning March 15, come when you can and stay as long as you can - we are taking over the White House until they leave. Torture, Occupation, Genocide - Must End Now.
Wednesday, March 15th 2006 12:00 AM
Washington, DC USA
TAKE THE WHITE HOUSE BY STORM - Stop Genocide, Torture and Occupation
U.N. SOS - We need your help to end the reign of international criminals.
It is our duty and the duty of the United Nations to rescue the people of the world from the U.S. dictators. Murder for occupation and theft of land is illegal. Murder of journalists is criminal. Remove the traitors who have stolen the U.S. budget and used it to commit international crimes against humanity.If we were being bombed and our journalists were being murdered here in the U.S. by a foreign country's military, we would hope that the people of that country would stop what they are doing and go to their president's office and demand that it was stopped. If we were the ones burying thousands and thousands of our family members and watching the destruction of the homes, schools, churches and offices that we had worked for decades to build, we would hope that someone, somewhere would care enough to do something for us. We must stop the criminals in our government NOW. There is no meeting with Congress that is going to change what they are doing. We must put the power of the people into action and stay there until they leave!
Inviting everyone to the White House for a protest rally to show that we do not accept the criminal government, illegal wars and the permanent occupation planned for Iraq and Afghanistan. For Nat Turner, For Martin and Coretta, For all the Torture and Assassination in Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti and many others - We will not allow the Slave Holders that Still Prevail in this Country to Rule us any longer. Imprisonment and torture based on race, religion, resources or region is no different than the slavery we sought to abolish years ago. The Administration is Criminal and if they will not step down, we must storm in, show them how many of us do not accept a criminal government. How can we stand by and watch them kill our brothers, sisters, journalists and friends for their dollars?
...Location:
White House, Washington DC Starting March 15th, come for as long as you can and bring signs that say U.N. SOS and "Leave Now" or whatever you would like to say. Ride Share and Room Share Plans can be made here: http://www.citysites.com/travel/tiki-view_tracker.php?trackerId=3
1600 Pennsylvania Ave Washington DC 20500Contact:
Darrow Boggiano
admin@politicalcooperative.org
415.409.2611Sponsored By:
We are requesting participation from all members of the United Nations, PFAW, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Code Pink, police, soldiers, ACLU, CIA, NSA and International Courts of Justice/World Court. http://www.PoliticalCooperative.Org
I decided to look at the “Political Cooperative” website that Mr. Boggiano is associated with, and found more of the same – equally incoherent – over there.
Dear Senator Boxer,
I would like to schedule a visit to the White House for approximately one million citizens on March 17th, 2006 at 12 noon.
Please confirm. You can view details on our group at http://www.PoliticalCooperative.Org
Sincerely,
Darrow Boggiano Founder/Organizer CitySites.com PoliticalCooperative.Org
Gotta admire the guy for dreaming big – a million people showing up to overthrow the government.
In true Texas HoldÂ’em fashion, letÂ’s call and raise Mr. Boggiano. Can we get 1,000,000 Americans to exercise their First and Second Amendment rights as a counter-protest against this muttÂ’s threatened coup?
More at Michelle Malkin, Jawa Report, Captain's Quarters, Pirate's Cove, Right Wing Nut House, All Things Beautiful, Junk Yard Blog, Political Pit Bull, Super Fun Power Hour, Strata-Sphere, North Canton Airline and Storm Door Company, Theodore's World, The Anchoress, Dread Pundit Bluto, Bodie Specter, Junkyard Blog
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87872155-LROR
.O. Box 607
Security forces in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh have killed five suspected militants believed to be linked to an attack on an oil plant.Security sources say a siege took place at a villa in a Riyadh suburb in which shots were fired and grenades thrown.
The Saudi interior ministry said one other suspect had been arrested elsewhere in the capital.
An Islamic website has claimed al-Qaeda was behind the foiled attack on Friday on an oil processing plant in Abqaiq.
Interior ministry spokesman Maj Gen Mansour al-Turki said two simultaneous raids had taken place on Monday morning, leading to the deaths of five suspects in a shoot-out and the arrest of a sixth.
That sure brightens up my day.
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February 26, 2006
When the controversial Indian-born British author Salman Rushdie was awarded the European Union Literary Award in 1996, of all places, Denmark Muslims were immensely infuriated by this added insult.The very idea of giving Rushdie a literary prize after his book Satanic Verses was like offering Hitler the Nobel Peace Prize after Auschwitz. And the very inability of Western intellectuals and leaders to understand this simple fact lies at the heart of the threatened "clash of civilisations".
Writing and publishing a book that offends Muslims, then, must be the equivalent of the industrialized mass slaughter of millions. Failure to "properly" defer to Islam is the eqivalent of the gas chambers and crematoria of the twentieth century's worst attempt at genocide.
Is this guy serious?
And given that he presumably is serious, does that starting-point allow us to take anything else he has to say seriously? And if this represents the view of moderate, educated, Westernized Islam, is that form of the faith ultimately any more compatible with Western civilization than the fundamentalist Islamofascism of Osama bin Laden?
Hat Tip -- Jawa Report, Dread Pundit Bluto, Vince Aut Morire
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Archaeologists discovered a pharaonic sun temple with large statues believed to be of King Ramses II under an outdoor marketplace in Cairo, Egypt's antiquities chief said Sunday.The partially uncovered site is the largest sun temple ever found in the capital's Aim Shams and Matariya districts, where the ancient city of Heliopolis _ the center of pharaonic sun worship _ was located, Zahi Hawass told The Associated Press.
Among the artifacts was a pink granite statue weighing 4 to 5 tons whose features "resemble those of Ramses II," said Hawass, head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.Also found was a 5-foot-high statue of a seated figure with hieroglyphics that include three cartouches with the name of Ramses II, and a 3-ton head of royal statue, the council said in a statement.
The green pavement stones of the temple's floor were also uncovered.
An Egyptian team working in cooperation with the German Archaeological Mission in Egypt discovered the site under the Souq al-Khamis, a popular market in eastern Cairo, Hawass said.
"The market has to be removed" as archeologists excavate the entire site, Hawass said. "Other significant discoveries might be waiting to be excavated now, and compensation will be paid to the shop owners."
"We are planning to make the whole area as a tourists and archaeological site, maybe after two years," he said.
King Ramses II, who ruled Egypt for 66 years from 1270 to 1213 B.C., had erected monuments up and down the Nile with records of his achievements, as well as building temples _ including Abu Simbel, erected near what is now Egypt's southern border.
Numerous temples to Egypt's sun gods _ particularly the chief god Ra _ were built in ancient Heliopolis. But little remains of what was once the ancient Egyptians' most sacred cities, since much of the stone used in the temples was later plundered.
The area is now covered with residential neighborhoods, close to a modern district called Heliopolis, in Egypt's packed capital.
Remember -- history is all around you, lying beneath your feet in the ground you walk upon. Some places, though, just have a lot more of it, and it is much more interesting.
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Does a course that explicitly advocates for a particular point of view on issues belong in a high school ?
My initial reaction is negative, but I wonder if allowing such a course as an elective is a bad thing.
For months, 17-year-old Andrew Saraf had been troubled by stories he was hearing about a Peace Studies course offered at his Bethesda high school. He wasn't enrolled in the class but had several friends and classmates who were.Last Saturday, he decided to act. He sat down at his computer and typed out his thoughts on why the course -- offered for almost two decades as an elective to seniors at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School -- should be banned from the school.
"I know I'm not the first to bring this up but why has there been no concerted effort to remove Peace Studies from among the B-CC courses?" he wrote in his post to the school's group e-mail list. "The 'class' is headed by an individual with a political agenda, who wants to teach students the 'right' way of thinking by giving them facts that are skewed in one direction."
He hit send.
Within a few hours, the normally staid e-mail list BCCnet -- a site for announcements, job postings and other housekeeping details in the life of a school -- was ablaze with chatter. By the time Principal Sean Bulson checked his BlackBerry on Sunday evening, there were more than 150 postings from parents and students -- some ardently in support, some ardently against the course.
Sounds interesting -- but what of the charges the kid makes about the class?
Since its launch at the school in 1988, Peace Studies has provoked lively debate, but the attempt to have the course removed from the curriculum is a first, Bulson said. The challenge by two students comes as universities and even some high schools across the country are under close scrutiny by a growing number of critics who believe that the U.S. education system is being hijacked by liberal activists.At Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Peace Studies is taught by Colman McCarthy, a former Washington Post reporter and founder and president of the Center for Teaching Peace. Though the course is taught at seven other Montgomery County high schools, some say B-CC's is perhaps the most personal and ideological of the offerings because McCarthy makes no effort to disguise his opposition to war, violence and animal testing.
So the course is, to use a phrase, biased and unbalanced, sort of like McCarthy himself during his days in journalism. I don't necessarily have a problem with a teacher being open about points of view and beliefs, but doing so brings with it a responsibility to present the other side as well. And that is what concerns me about this class. It sounds like advocacy.
What sort of things go on in the class?
The course is also offered at Montgomery Blair, James Hubert Blake, Albert Einstein, Walter Johnson, Northwest, Northwood and Rockville high schools, but the Peace Studies course at Bethesda-Chevy Chase is unique for a number of reasons. Although a staff teacher takes roll and issues grades, it is McCarthy as a volunteer, unpaid guest lecturer who does the bulk of the teaching. He does not work from lesson plans, although he does use a school system-approved textbook -- a collection of essays on peace that he edited.For McCarthy, it seems Peace Studies is not just a cause; it is a crusade.
"Unless we teach them peace, someone else will teach them violence," he said.
Students might spend one class period listening to a guest speaker who opposes the death penalty and another, if they choose, standing along East West Highway protesting the war.
But that, students said, is part of the course's appeal.
"We're all mature enough to take it all in with a hint of skepticism," said Megan Andrews, 17. "We respect Mr. McCarthy's views, but we don't absorb them like sponges."
When they walk through the door of their fourth-floor classroom, students said, they never know what they might find. Once McCarthy brought in a live turkey to illustrate a point about animal rights. Everything went well until the turkey escaped and urinated in the hallway.
And Friday, when students opened the door, they saw Mahatma Gandhi -- or, rather, Bernard Meyer, a peace activist from Olympia, Wash., dressed as Gandhi. Meyer spent most of the class time taking questions from students about "life" as Gandhi. McCarthy, too, jumped in, quizzing Gandhi about his views on arranged marriage. At the end of the period, he jumped from his chair.
"Let's take a photo of us with Gandhi," he said, gathering the students.
I'll be honest -- i'd like to do some of this stuff in my classroom. In particular, I'd love to do the Gandhi thing with my kids, because I think it might really spark some of them to do some thinking and to reconsider the gang influence in their lives. I also think that such activities spark good learning due to their hands-on nature.
But taking the kids out for a protest or a rally? That disturbs me. Would I be permitted to take kids out of school to hold up pro-life signs? What about taking kids to stand across the street with signs supporting the war?
And does McCarthy present opposing views on capital punishment or the war? It does not sound like he does. Is such an approach intellectually honest, especially with high school kids?
I'm also curious -- does this school have an ROTC program? Does it allow military recruiters through the front door? Or is the ideology of the Peace Studies class a reflection of a wider anti-military sentiment, even though there is a large military presence in Bethesda?
Without such answers, I'm conflicted on the issue of keeping the class, although I am sceptical of it
I'm curious -- what do others think about this?
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U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Antonin Scalia fondly remembers carrying a rifle around New York City as a boy and says outdoorsmen should attack the idea that guns are only used for crimes.An avid outdoorsmen who's hunted with Vice President Dick Cheney, Scalia spoke Saturday at the National Wild Turkey Federation's annual convention.
"The attitude of people associating guns with nothing but crime, that is what has to be changed," Scalia told the audience of about 2,000.
"I grew up at a time when people were not afraid of people with firearms," said Scalia, noting that as a youth in New York City he was part of a rifle team at the military school he attended.
"I used to travel on the subway from Queens to Manhattan with a rifle," he said. "Could you imagine doing that today in New York City?"
Scalia was criticized in 2004 for hunting ducks with Cheney while the Supreme Court was considering a case involving Cheney's energy task force. This month, a lawyer hunting with Cheney in Texas was wounded when he stepped in the way as Cheney fired at a bird.
The nonprofit turkey federation is dedicated to conserving wild turkeys and preserving hunting traditions.
Shoot one for me, Nino!
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An Arab maritime company at the center of a political imbroglio over port security asked the Bush administration Sunday to conduct a 45-day review of the national security implications of its plans to take control of significant operations at six U.S. ports.The announcement by Dubai Ports World, brokered by the White House and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), appears to satisfy the demands of many members of Congress, who had threatened to force a security review if the administration would not conduct one. The administration had approved DP World's $6.85 billion purchase of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co., or P&O, earlier this month without conducting a national security review, after a broad, interagency panel that looked at the transaction concluded the takeover of port operations in the United States would not impact the nation's safety.
* * *
"We recognize that there are concerns regarding DP World's acquisition of P&O's U.S. terminal operations. Despite having already obtained approval by the federal government, we continue to take voluntary steps to assure people that the security of the U.S. will not be harmed as a result of this acquisition," said Ted Bilkey, DP World's chief operating officer.
Personally, I am persuaded that the deal is in the best interests of the United States, and that the security concerns voiced by opponents are not grounded in reality. The claimed degradation of national security does not make sense, given that the day-to-day operations will remain in the hands of the same folks who currently work for P&O and the security responsibilities will remain with the US government.
The deal will allow the purchase to proceed, but will keep the US operations independent.
Under the terms of the deal announced by DP World, the company would proceed with its acquisition. That deal is to be completed Thursday.But DP World said it would "guarantee" the independence of operations at the ports of New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami and New Orleans by establishing North American operations as a "completely separate" business unit. Management of the North American operations would be left in the hands of P&O's chief executive officer in London, who is British. The chief security officer of the North American unit will remain a U.S. citizen, unless the Coast Guard approves a change.
The rest of the current management of P&O in the United States would also remain in place, and DP World pledged not to interfere with operations, policies, procedures or security that were in place when P&O ran the U.S. terminals.
The statement concluded that all these pledges would remain in place until May 1 or the completion of the CFIUS review.
"We are confident the further review by CFIUS will confirm that DP World's acquisition of P&O's U.S. operations does not pose any threat to American's safety and security. We hope that voluntarily agreeing to further scrutiny demonstrates our commitment to our long-standing relationship with the United States," Bilkey said.
Perhaps some similar management structure can remain in place following the review. After all, I suspect there are more negotiations to come.
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What if a Muslim made a satirical comment about the Holocaust?
Uh, anti-Semitism is rampant in the Muslim world, and anti-Semitic material runs in the state-run media of most Arab countries. I've yet to see Jews rioting in the streets.
Or made a joke at the expense of Jesus Christ?
I'm not sure about jokes, but Islam itself is one giant blasphemy against Jesus Christ, labeling him as a prophet inferior to Mohammad (pubh*) rather than the Son of God. I'm offended, but have never reacted violently, and i am unaware of anyone who has.
There's a chance a Jew or a Christian would be deeply offended. That, according to Najeeb Rehman, is exactly how Muslims across the globe felt when caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad were first published in a Danish newspaper last September and then reappeared in other Western media, mostly in Europe.
Fine. You are offended. So what? Get over it, just like the Christians and Jews do in the examples above. Don't act like uncivilized sub-humans.
“I believe in freedom of expression, but that right has limits,” said Rehman, a spokesman for the Islamic Center of the Finger Lakes in Big Flats. “That right ends where someone else's right begins.”
And what is the putative right that you and your fellow Islamocensors claim here? After all, there is nothing in the cartoons that limits your freedom of speech or your free exercise of religion. Do you really believe there is a right not to be offended, or a right to force others to conform to the dictates of your religion?
Muslims have decried the images - one of which shows a prophet with a turban shaped like a bomb with a lit fuse - as blasphemous because Islam prohibits images of Muhammad and other prophets.The images have sparked worldwide protests, some of which have been deadly, throughout the Muslim world. While there have been few demonstrations in the United States, it doesn't mean Muslims here feel any different about the cartoons.
“It may be free expression, but you can't go into a crowd and scream ‘fire,'” said Yama Osmanzai of Horseheads. “You have to have judgment.”
Fine, you believe the images to be blasphemous. So what of it? Like I said, I consider portions of the Koran to be blasphemous -- indeed, I see the entire faith as a melange of the heretical forms of Christianity that were still extant on the fringes of the Christian world in the 6th century. Does that mean that that I have a right to have to have Islam suppressed on the basis of my offense at its false and blasphemous teachings?
And Yama, before you take the "fire in a crowded theater" analogy too far, please understand that the term refers to false utterances that are likely to cause an immediate mindless panic which endangers lives -- not truthful depictions of religious figures whose followers might get upset. After all, later case law upholds the right of folks to utter obscenities and racial slurs in public places -- even if people are offended -- and to display hateful signs and symbols (such as swastikas) in the midst of communities that reject them and wish to exclude them. Thus the actual status of free speech in this country is such that I and a group of like-minded individuals would be legally within our rights to stand outside your mosque on Friday, eating bacon sandwiches and displaying the Danish cartoons and carrying signs condemning Mohammad (pubh*) as pedophile for raping the 9-year-old Ayisha.
Osmanzai said the ban on images depicting Muhammad was handed down by the prophet himself so followers of Islam would not worship him.“We follow his teachings very closely. Islam has certain lines you can't cross,” Osmanzai said. “We don't say anything bad about the prophets, not just Muhammad, but others such as Moses and Jesus.”
And since I'm not a follower of Islam, I don't give a rat's ass wht your religion says about images of your false prophet. Don't worry -- I certainly won't be worshipping them. But since I am not a Muslim, I'm allowed to cross whatever Muslim religious lines I want. And by the way -- you just blasphemed against Christ our Lord by calling Jesus a prophet. Can I place a bounty on your severed head now, like certain Muslim leaders have upon the heads of the cartoonists?
Rehman said the Danish government's refusal to meet with local Islamic leaders there and the cartoonist's unwillingness to apologize for the images is a major reason “why this has gotten out of hand.”“(Muslims) wanted a retraction,” Rehman said. “To come out with a cartoon this degrading is insensitive to the community.”
And Muslims were rightly told to go pound sand. After all, the Danish government had nothing to apologize for or retract. What got out of hand was a bunch of folks who still think that they live in sixth-century Arabia decided to act in a barbaric fashion.
At the same time, many local Muslims have condemned the violence of some of the protests over the cartoon controversy.“It's sad,” said Mushtaq A. Sheikh, another spokesman for the Islamic Center. “Peaceful demonstrations should take place, but some of this has gone way overboard.”
Sheikh, however, noted that if some sort of apology were offered after the images appeared, “the matter might have gone away.”
At last, someone with a modicum of sense, someone who is not out-and-out justifying the violence, even though he still excuses it with a comment about an apology.
But why should anyone apologize if they have done nothing wrong? Did you want them to lie to you? Are you that childish?
But if that is all you want, here goes -- "I'm sorry that you are so arrogant as to think there is anything wrong with non-Muslims not following Islamic law, and that you believ that you have the right to impose your religion upon the rest of the world. I'm also sorry that your co-religionists cannot conduct themselves in a manner that even remotely approaches the bounds of civilized behavior. Lastly, I'm sorry that the concept of jihad, as practiced over the last 14 centuries (and especially over the last few decades), has resulted in the rest of the world rightly seeing Islam as the religion of terrorism, even if most Muslims do not engage in violence."
Does that make everything better now?
Osmanzai said the violent protests creates a negative image for Islam because “Muslims are a very peaceful people.”“We want things to happen in a peaceful manner,” he said. “It's only a small number of people who are reacting violently, but the media is not doing us justice by the images they portray.”
But, Osmanzai said the reactions are indicative of how Muslims felt after seeing the images.
See my apology above.
“I don't agree with the violence, but we all feel the same outrage,” he said. “Many people's frustrations have reached a boiling point.“Some religions teach that if someone strikes you in the cheek, you turn the other one toward him,” Osmanzai said. “But our religion allows us to be outspoken. We will defend Islam.”
Fine. Be outspoken in defending Islam.
Tell us you are offended.
Tell us why.
Ask us to refrain from offending you.
But don't demand that we conform to your point of view -- and certainly don't threaten us with death if we refuse.
And most importantly, learn a little impulse control, because there are a great many of us who refuse to curb our tongue just because you don't like our words or pictures. After all, just as you have the right to practice your faith, we also have the identical right to practice ours -- or none at all.
And if that means that I feel called (hypothetically only) to say that Mohammad (pubh*) was visited by Beelzebub and not the Angel Gabriel, that Allah is Satan (not the God of the Jews and the Christians) and that the Koran is therefore the word of the Devil himself, then you had better suck it up and deal with it. That is my right, just as it is your right to falsely call Jesus a prophet and not the Son of God and Saviour of the World.
Local Muslim Naeem Parvez noted that most of the violent protests have taken place in the eastern part of the Islamic world, where there are more people with little or no education and where violent demonstrations are a part of everyday life. In Western nations, particularly throughout Europe, the protests have been more peaceful.“The out-of-control anger is unfortunate. No one should be starting fires or destroying another person's property,” he said. “They should express their anger in a positive way.”
Unfortunately, this guy is only half right. Yes, his analysis of the situation in countries with a majority Muslim population is accurate -- but the only reason that violence did not break out in the West was the fact that there was a heavy police presence in the streets to prevent such violence. Look at the signs from London if you do not believe that.
Rehman hopes the controversy will encourage people to be more sensitive of the community around them.“There has to be some restraint,” he said. “We don't joke about sensitive issues.”
Hopefully this incident will teach the Muslims restraint, and make them more sensitive to the rights of Christians and Jews and others around the world -- including in their own countries, where non-Muslims face persecution and discrimination on a daily basis with the full approval of the government.
Maybe this incident will cause the Muslim world to finally catch up with the rest of the world in terms of respect for fundamental human rights. And I'm not joking about that sensitive issue, for those rights are God-given, and their denial is blasphemy.
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Authorities have arrested 10 people, including four security guards, over last week's bombing of a revered Shi'ite shrine, Iraq's national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, told US televison on Sunday."We have arrested 10 people - four from the guards of the Golden Tomb shrine," he told CNN television's Late Edition programme.
The other six suspects, al-Rubaie said "were in the city of Samarra, (and had) just moved in and rented a place ... So we are investigating them", he said.
"These leads are very, very good in our investigations," al-Rubaie said, adding that additional details about the probe would be made public "in the very near future".
The destruction Wednesday of the shrine's famed golden dome - one of Shi'ite Islam's holiest shrines in the town of Samarra - has become a flashpoint, sparking the worst sectarian violence in years and triggering reprisals against Iraq's Sunnis and their holy sites.
Iraqi officials said at least 120 people have been killed in the unrest.
So it looks like an inside job. Will the answers satisfy anyone at this point?
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In response, you are subject to a threat like this.
“We are going to be in front of their houses, and the schools of their kids and go to their work. If they are going to do this to us, we are going to respond in the same way, to let people know their neighbors are haters and snitches, that they are anti-criminal. They are going to hear from us.”
Such a threat ought to provoke outrage, and a strong governmental response to crack down on those who are supporting the enforcement of laws against those who break them.
But not in this case in Maryland.
Casa de Maryland, a taxpayer funded group that assists illegal immigrants, has made a public threat to the children of the grassroots Minuteman Civil Defense Corps that have made headlines since last fall monitoring day labor centers in the Washington DC area.An article published yesterday by the Sean Sands of Maryland Community Newspapers Online quoted Casa de Maryland’s Executive Director Gustavo Torres saying “We are going to picket their houses, and the schools of their kids and go to their work. If they are going to do this to us, we are going to respond in the same way, to let people know their neighbors are extremists, that they are anti-immigrant. They are going to hear from us.”
The Minutemen have been photographing contractors picking up illegal aliens for work at the Wheaton day laborer center in Maryland spurring conflict with the illegal immigrant supporters.
Casa de Maryland, according to their own website, was “designed to address the multiple conditions of poverty and disenfranchisement that control the lives of many Latino immigrants and refugees“ and “achieves its goals through programs in areas such as leadership, organizing, women's empowerment, tenant support, employment, legal services, health, education, social services, and immigration assistance.”
Casa de Maryland offers an email and phone number where someone can coordinate potential employers with “experts in construction, carpentry, landscaping, babysitting, housekeeping, painting tiling, moving, odd jobs and more.” Casa de Maryland claims to have placed approximately 5,760 men and women in different daily, temporary and permanent job settings in 2004.
Not only is this group open about breaking the law, but in Maryland, those who make threats against the children of those engaged in legal political activity are subsidized by the government -- because the laws they are breaking are those against immigration crimes and the criminals they are assisting are border-jumpers. Not only that, but they proudly trumpet their efforts to help illegal aliens find work with the assistance of local government, business, and labor groups.
How much government help do they get each year? Take a look.
From Casa de MarylandÂ’s 2004-2005 annual statement the Minuteman Civil Defense Press Corps found 51% of the groups $2.7 million came directly from grants issued on behalf of Montgomery County.
That's right -- over half of this group's money comes from the government. They are openly conspiring to break the laws of the united States, and tye are receiving government money to do it! I'd suggest that you contact Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan and the Montgomery County Council to voice your displeasure over the county's use of taxpayer money to fund the breaking of immigration laws, violations of the civil rights and liberties of the Minutemen by grant recipients, and the stalking of innocent children. In addition, you might consider contacting those that violate federal law by participating in the job's program -- Clark Construction, Allentuck Landscaping Company and the AFL-CIO (how do members feel about their dues funding cheap illegal labor over American workers). And for all the good it will do, contact Gustavo Torres and tell him that he needs to reconsider engaging in pedophile-like child-stalking to intimidate American patriots whose only offense is supporting the laws of the United States.
The founder of the Minutemen puts it well.
In response to the threats, Minuteman Civil Defense Corps President Chris Simcox said, “Threatening children like this is outrageous. Casa de Maryland’s funding should be pulled and its contracts cancelled. It is beyond belief that taxpayer dollars are funding this thuggish behavior."
And lest you think it is all hot air, we've already seen the first assault on a Minuteman monitoring CASA de Maryland's illegal immigrant jobs program.
Hat Tip -- Jo's Cafe
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February 25, 2006
What these fools overlooked is that such criminals have very little respect for the law, and would gladly engage in fraud to obtain the legal documents that make continuing their law-breaking easier.
Tennessee has ended its policy of issuing "certificates for driving" to illegal immigrants, citing federal investigations that uncovered applicants using fraudulent documents — and even bribing state workers — to obtain driving privileges, officials said Friday.The state began giving immigrants the certificates in July 2004, with the hope of balancing homeland security and traffic concerns. The cards give holders the legal right to drive but, unlike driver's licenses, they are not to be used for identification purposes. For instance, they cannot be used to board an airplane.
The Tennessee model was criticized early on from diverse quarters. Anti-immigration forces worried that it gave legitimacy to illegal immigrants. Immigration rights groups feared that police and others would be confused, and therefore inconsistent, in dealing with the cardholders.
Officials in the capital of Nashville grew concerned in recent months as federal investigations uncovered instances of fraud by illegal immigrants. Bob Corney, a spokesman for Tennessee's Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen, said the governor's office was informed that immigrants were coming from other states to get the IDs, using forged residency documents.
Last month, a former worker at a driver's license office was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for issuing more than 40 certificates to unqualified immigrants, taking a $400 bribe for each fraudulent card.
So as you can see, trying to make life easier for criminals results in more crime. The proper solution to the problem of border-jumping immigration criminals is tough enforcement, including arrest, imprisonment, and deportation with a lifetime bar on reentry.
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February 24, 2006
The Minnesota Commerce Department on Thursday announced plans to fine a gas station chain $140,000 for repeatedly selling gas below the state's legal minimum price.The fine against Midwest Oil of Minnesota is twice as large as any imposed on a company since 2001, when the state established a formula based on wholesale prices, fees and taxes to determine a daily floor for gas prices.
The price law was intended to prevent large oil companies from driving smaller competitors out of business, but some critics argue it fails to protect consumers.
According to the Commerce Department, the Midwest-owned stations in Anoka, Oakdale and Albert Lea sold gas below the minimum price on 293 days in 2005.
Kevin Murphy, deputy commissioner of the department, called the violations "willful, continuing, and egregious and warrant a substantial penalty."
This measure costs consumers money every time they buy gas – and that money goes for private profit so that uncompetitive businesses can remain afloat. Such laws are un-American, and must be repealed.
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Clinton pleases NZ woman
Certainly not what the article is about.
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Almost 400 years after he died, a final act has been added to the story of William Shakespeare.Scientists now believe that the Bard died not of binge drinking, but cancer.
Ancient tittle-tattle in Stratford-upon-Avon had suggested that he fell into a fever after a heavy night on the town with old friend and fellow writer Ben Jonson.
But forensic tests normally used to convict criminals have discovered that he had a life-threatening tumour over his left eye.
The breakthrough came after researchers studied four images supposedly of Shakespeare, including his death mask, and a bust displayed at London's Garrick Club.
Each shows a growth on the left eyelid, which increases in size in the later pictures.
Doctors who have studied the images say that this is evidence of a slowly-growing cancerous tumour which could have caused Shakespeare's death in April, 1616, aged 52.
The death mask shows that it had grown so large that it was hanging over his eye.
The discovery came after an investigation by a German literature expert into whether the four images are actually of Shakespeare.
Amazing, isn’t it, how we can now learn all sorts of things about the lives of those who lived in centuries past?
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Almost 400 years after he died, a final act has been added to the story of William Shakespeare.Scientists now believe that the Bard died not of binge drinking, but cancer.
Ancient tittle-tattle in Stratford-upon-Avon had suggested that he fell into a fever after a heavy night on the town with old friend and fellow writer Ben Jonson.
But forensic tests normally used to convict criminals have discovered that he had a life-threatening tumour over his left eye.
The breakthrough came after researchers studied four images supposedly of Shakespeare, including his death mask, and a bust displayed at London's Garrick Club.
Each shows a growth on the left eyelid, which increases in size in the later pictures.
Doctors who have studied the images say that this is evidence of a slowly-growing cancerous tumour which could have caused Shakespeare's death in April, 1616, aged 52.
The death mask shows that it had grown so large that it was hanging over his eye.
The discovery came after an investigation by a German literature expert into whether the four images are actually of Shakespeare.
Amazing, isnÂ’t it, how we can now learn all sorts of things about the lives of those who lived in centuries past?
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Kennewick Man was laid to rest alongside a river more than 9,000 years ago, buried by other people, a leading forensic scientist said Thursday.
The skeleton, one of the oldest and most complete ever found in North America, has been under close analysis since courts sided with researchers in a legal battle with Indian tribes in the Northwest who wanted the remains found near the Columbia River reburied without study.Douglas Owsley, an anthropologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, discussed his findings in remarks prepared for delivery Thursday evening at a meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences in Seattle.
"We know very little about this time period," Owsley said in a telephone interview. "This is a rare opportunity to try and reconstruct the life story of this man. ... This is his opportunity to tell us what life was like during that time."Researchers have disagreed over whether Kennewick Man was buried by other people or swept up in a flood and encased in sediment.
Owsley concluded the man was deliberately buried, between two and three feet deep, his body placed in the grave, head slightly higher than feet, hands placed at his sides.
The location was riverside, with the body parallel to the river and head pointing upstream.
Using an industrial CT scanner, Owsley was able to study the skeleton in fine sections and also get a better look at a spear or dart point imbedded in Kennewick Man's hip.
The point has previously been described as a Cascade point, typical of the region, but Owsley said that is not the case. Cascade points tend to have two pointed ends and are sometimes serrated, he said, while the point in Kennewick Man has a pointed end and a stem.
The spear or dart entered the man from the front, moving downward at a 77-degree angle, Owsley said. Previous analysis had indicated it might have hit from the back, he noted.
The point was not the cause of death, he said, saying, "This is a healed injury."
"There was no clear indication in the skeleton of cause of death," Owsley said. Kennewick Man had undergone "a lot of injuries, this guy was tough as nails."There are three types of fractures in the bones, Owsley said, ones the man suffered in his lifetime and which had healed; fractures that occurred after burial from aging of the bones and the ground settling, and breaks that occurred when the skeleton was unearthed.
A team of 20 forensic scientists has been studying the skeleton, he said, and have concluded that the skull doesn't match those of Indian tribes living in the area.
"We know very little about this time period. Who the people were that were the earliest people that came to America," Owsley said. "We are finding out they were coming thousands of years earlier than we had thought," arriving not just over the Bering Strait but by boats and other means.
"This is a very rare discovery. You could count on your fingers the number of relatively complete skeletons from this time period," Owsley said.
Following discovery of the bones in 1996, the Umatilla, Yakama, Nez Perce and Colville tribes urged that the skeleton be reburied without scientific study. They argued that the bones were covered under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
Scientists sued for a chance to study the remains and a federal court ruled there was no link between the skeleton and the tribes.
The law cited above is a well-meaning but fatally-flawed attempt to show respect to tribal cultures and beliefs – but as this case shows, the presumptions in the law stand in the way of good science and good history. Human remains that date back to prehistoric periods are part of the heritage of all humanity, and should be studied to help us understand the development of human civilization and culture. To allow particular ethnic groups to veto research in the field is a travesty. The Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act therefore needs to be significantly modified – if not repealed completely – in the interest of allowing the advancement of human knowledge.
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Kennewick Man was laid to rest alongside a river more than 9,000 years ago, buried by other people, a leading forensic scientist said Thursday.
The skeleton, one of the oldest and most complete ever found in North America, has been under close analysis since courts sided with researchers in a legal battle with Indian tribes in the Northwest who wanted the remains found near the Columbia River reburied without study.Douglas Owsley, an anthropologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, discussed his findings in remarks prepared for delivery Thursday evening at a meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences in Seattle.
"We know very little about this time period," Owsley said in a telephone interview. "This is a rare opportunity to try and reconstruct the life story of this man. ... This is his opportunity to tell us what life was like during that time."Researchers have disagreed over whether Kennewick Man was buried by other people or swept up in a flood and encased in sediment.
Owsley concluded the man was deliberately buried, between two and three feet deep, his body placed in the grave, head slightly higher than feet, hands placed at his sides.
The location was riverside, with the body parallel to the river and head pointing upstream.
Using an industrial CT scanner, Owsley was able to study the skeleton in fine sections and also get a better look at a spear or dart point imbedded in Kennewick Man's hip.
The point has previously been described as a Cascade point, typical of the region, but Owsley said that is not the case. Cascade points tend to have two pointed ends and are sometimes serrated, he said, while the point in Kennewick Man has a pointed end and a stem.
The spear or dart entered the man from the front, moving downward at a 77-degree angle, Owsley said. Previous analysis had indicated it might have hit from the back, he noted.
The point was not the cause of death, he said, saying, "This is a healed injury."
"There was no clear indication in the skeleton of cause of death," Owsley said. Kennewick Man had undergone "a lot of injuries, this guy was tough as nails."There are three types of fractures in the bones, Owsley said, ones the man suffered in his lifetime and which had healed; fractures that occurred after burial from aging of the bones and the ground settling, and breaks that occurred when the skeleton was unearthed.
A team of 20 forensic scientists has been studying the skeleton, he said, and have concluded that the skull doesn't match those of Indian tribes living in the area.
"We know very little about this time period. Who the people were that were the earliest people that came to America," Owsley said. "We are finding out they were coming thousands of years earlier than we had thought," arriving not just over the Bering Strait but by boats and other means.
"This is a very rare discovery. You could count on your fingers the number of relatively complete skeletons from this time period," Owsley said.
Following discovery of the bones in 1996, the Umatilla, Yakama, Nez Perce and Colville tribes urged that the skeleton be reburied without scientific study. They argued that the bones were covered under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
Scientists sued for a chance to study the remains and a federal court ruled there was no link between the skeleton and the tribes.
The law cited above is a well-meaning but fatally-flawed attempt to show respect to tribal cultures and beliefs – but as this case shows, the presumptions in the law stand in the way of good science and good history. Human remains that date back to prehistoric periods are part of the heritage of all humanity, and should be studied to help us understand the development of human civilization and culture. To allow particular ethnic groups to veto research in the field is a travesty. The Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act therefore needs to be significantly modified – if not repealed completely – in the interest of allowing the advancement of human knowledge.
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Al Qaeda in Iraq's leader in northern Baghdad was killed in a raid Friday, the U.S. military said.The military identified Abu Asma, also known as Abu Anas and Akram Mahmud al-Mushhadani, as an explosives expert with close ties to important car bomb manufacturers in Baghdad.
He died in a northern Baghdad raid conducted by coalition forces with the help of Iraqi police, a military statement said.
"Intelligence reports indicated Abu Asma was in possession of and expected to use suicide vests against the Iraqi people and security forces," the statement said. "He was directly responsible for many deaths and injuries of coalition and Iraqi security forces."
No virgins for Abu Asma, who now knows that he served Satan not God. His new place of residence is significantly warmer than summer in Iraq.
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February 23, 2006
Maybe some music would help. Could we get an appropriate chorus?
The Birthday Dirge.
Grunt and pound your fist on the table at each (grunt).Happy birthday. (grunt)
Happy birthday. (grunt)Gloom and doom and dark despair
people dying everywhere
on your birthday. (grunt)
Happy birthday. (grunt)When you reach the age you are
your demise cannot be far
from your birthday. (grunt)
Happy birthday. (grunt)May the cities in your wake
burn like candles on your cake
on your birthday. (grunt)
Happy birthday. (grunt)Perform strange sexual acts
with goats, camels, sheep, and yaks
on your birthday. (grunt)
Happy birthday. (grunt)
Yeah, that sure helped with the depression.
* * *
Maybe a few juicy links to help bring up my Ecosystem rating would help -- Playful Primate would be nice, dont you think? Your participation in this linkfest could help.
You know how it works -- you link to this post and send a trackback, and your post will display here. So link away -- I won't set a maximum number of items you can link with here, but I would hope that you would consider exercising prudent judgement on the matter. No porn, please, and no advertising -- just interesting stuff.
So get with the program, folks -- link away before the Grim Reaper comes a-knockin'!!
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A conservative group recently started an advertising campaign in Minnesota showing veterans and families of slain troops expressing their support for the Iraq war, only to have the head of the state Democratic Party condemn the ads as "un-American, untruthful and a lie." He furthermore demands that Minnesota television stations pull the ads "and send a message that we will not tolerate this kind of 'swiftboating' anymore." At least one station so far has complied with the request, which is reason enough for outrage.But there's been precious little of that. Aside from a handful of bloggers covering the issue and an appearance of one of the veterans on Fox News' "Hannity and Colmes," the media has ignored the issue completely, essentially proving one of the ad campaign's main points. The current media meme, at least as it concerns the homefront, is that most returning veterans have turned against the war and those still in field are demoralized and jaded. Meanwhile, parents of slain troops like Cindy Sheehan continue to rack up air time and column inches. The ad campaign seeks to correct this blatant misrepresentation.
Which is exactly why Democrats are trying to stop it with accusations that the ads are somehow "untruthful." The claim is absurd on its face, but their list of so-called lies is so slim that a brief analysis is warranted. The veterans in the first ad say that "our enemy in Iraq is al Qaeda -- the same terrorists who killed three thousand Americans on 9/11." To liberal ears, this is apparently the equivalent of claiming Iraq was behind September 11. But that's not what the veterans said. In any case, last we checked Abu Musab Zarqawi, who has publicly sworn loyalty to Osama bin Laden, is the leader of "Al Qaeda in Iraq."
Democrats have also taken issue with the ad's statement that U.S. troops "overwhelmingly" support the mission -- a fact clearly upheld by record-setting retention rates in the military branches. The retention rate in the Army, for instance, is the highest it's been in five years, especially in combat units currently serving in Iraq. And that about covers the "lies."
The more disturbing issue here is that Democrats are trying to silence a contrary point of view, and are doing so by calling soldiers and military families "un-American." Whenever Republicans attempt to counter antiwar sentiment, be it from the Cindy Sheehans or Paul Hacketts, Democrats shed crocodile tears over the "crushing of dissent." But this is what crushing dissenters actually looks like -- a smear campaign designed explicitly to keep the public from hearing the other side.
Fortunately, readers can see the ads for themselves at www.midwestheroes.com and decide what's so "un-American" about soldiers and families supporting the war.
What are the Democrats crying foul about? Besides the truthful assertion that American troops fight in Iraq are fighting al-Qaeda terrorists, there is the horrific scandal (if you are a liberal) that one of the Gold Star parents is the – GASP! – step-mother of a dead soldier and not his biological mother.
Powerline owns this issue and this story completely, so I am linking to their many excellent posts.
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A conservative group recently started an advertising campaign in Minnesota showing veterans and families of slain troops expressing their support for the Iraq war, only to have the head of the state Democratic Party condemn the ads as "un-American, untruthful and a lie." He furthermore demands that Minnesota television stations pull the ads "and send a message that we will not tolerate this kind of 'swiftboating' anymore." At least one station so far has complied with the request, which is reason enough for outrage.But there's been precious little of that. Aside from a handful of bloggers covering the issue and an appearance of one of the veterans on Fox News' "Hannity and Colmes," the media has ignored the issue completely, essentially proving one of the ad campaign's main points. The current media meme, at least as it concerns the homefront, is that most returning veterans have turned against the war and those still in field are demoralized and jaded. Meanwhile, parents of slain troops like Cindy Sheehan continue to rack up air time and column inches. The ad campaign seeks to correct this blatant misrepresentation.
Which is exactly why Democrats are trying to stop it with accusations that the ads are somehow "untruthful." The claim is absurd on its face, but their list of so-called lies is so slim that a brief analysis is warranted. The veterans in the first ad say that "our enemy in Iraq is al Qaeda -- the same terrorists who killed three thousand Americans on 9/11." To liberal ears, this is apparently the equivalent of claiming Iraq was behind September 11. But that's not what the veterans said. In any case, last we checked Abu Musab Zarqawi, who has publicly sworn loyalty to Osama bin Laden, is the leader of "Al Qaeda in Iraq."
Democrats have also taken issue with the ad's statement that U.S. troops "overwhelmingly" support the mission -- a fact clearly upheld by record-setting retention rates in the military branches. The retention rate in the Army, for instance, is the highest it's been in five years, especially in combat units currently serving in Iraq. And that about covers the "lies."
The more disturbing issue here is that Democrats are trying to silence a contrary point of view, and are doing so by calling soldiers and military families "un-American." Whenever Republicans attempt to counter antiwar sentiment, be it from the Cindy Sheehans or Paul Hacketts, Democrats shed crocodile tears over the "crushing of dissent." But this is what crushing dissenters actually looks like -- a smear campaign designed explicitly to keep the public from hearing the other side.
Fortunately, readers can see the ads for themselves at www.midwestheroes.com and decide what's so "un-American" about soldiers and families supporting the war.
What are the Democrats crying foul about? Besides the truthful assertion that American troops fight in Iraq are fighting al-Qaeda terrorists, there is the horrific scandal (if you are a liberal) that one of the Gold Star parents is the – GASP! – step-mother of a dead soldier and not his biological mother.
Powerline owns this issue and this story completely, so I am linking to their many excellent posts.
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There are only about 1,500 Christians living among an estimated 1.2 million Palestinian Muslims in the Gaza Strip.The Palestinian Bible society has been in operation there since 1999.
Eleven local Palestinians staff the center, which includes a Christian bookstore that sells Bibles. Scriptures are displayed on large billboards, and at the front of the store is a sign that says: "God's Word is Life for All." Above the shop are computer rooms, multi-purpose halls and a library that is open to the entire community.
The trouble started three weeks ago, the source said, when a pipe bomb exploded around 11:00 one night outside the Bible Society, which is located in Gaza's city center. There were no injuries.
Two weeks later, an unknown group left threatening pamphlets at the front door of the Bible Society warning that the building would be blown up if the premises were not vacated by February 28.
The pamphlets threatened the landlord for dealing with "infidels."
According to the request of Palestinian Authority security officials, when the situation worsened several days ago, forcing the Bible Society staff locked the doors while they continued working inside.
But then came a threatening phone call, warning them that locking the doors wasn't enough - that they should take the threat seriously or risk harm to themselves and their children.
"We are waiting for a miracle," said the Palestinian Bible Society information officer. "The Bible Society is committed to the continuation of its ministry and service to the Palestinian people, and God will see us through this crisis."
Islam talks a good game about respecting the rights of Christians in majority Muslim areas. Seems to me that this is an excellent time for them to put up or shut up. And if the new Hamas-led government of the PA cannot protect this tiny group, then there is no reason for anyone to take it seriously.
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There are only about 1,500 Christians living among an estimated 1.2 million Palestinian Muslims in the Gaza Strip.The Palestinian Bible society has been in operation there since 1999.
Eleven local Palestinians staff the center, which includes a Christian bookstore that sells Bibles. Scriptures are displayed on large billboards, and at the front of the store is a sign that says: "God's Word is Life for All." Above the shop are computer rooms, multi-purpose halls and a library that is open to the entire community.
The trouble started three weeks ago, the source said, when a pipe bomb exploded around 11:00 one night outside the Bible Society, which is located in Gaza's city center. There were no injuries.
Two weeks later, an unknown group left threatening pamphlets at the front door of the Bible Society warning that the building would be blown up if the premises were not vacated by February 28.
The pamphlets threatened the landlord for dealing with "infidels."
According to the request of Palestinian Authority security officials, when the situation worsened several days ago, forcing the Bible Society staff locked the doors while they continued working inside.
But then came a threatening phone call, warning them that locking the doors wasn't enough - that they should take the threat seriously or risk harm to themselves and their children.
"We are waiting for a miracle," said the Palestinian Bible Society information officer. "The Bible Society is committed to the continuation of its ministry and service to the Palestinian people, and God will see us through this crisis."
Islam talks a good game about respecting the rights of Christians in majority Muslim areas. Seems to me that this is an excellent time for them to put up or shut up. And if the new Hamas-led government of the PA cannot protect this tiny group, then there is no reason for anyone to take it seriously.
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FOUNTAIN CITY, Wis. (AP) - A man says his attempts to sign up for an e-mail account with Yahoo failed when he used his name, which includes the letters a-l-l-a-h - as in Allah, the Arabic word for God.Ed Callahan said he started trying to establish the e-mail account after his mother, with the same last name, couldn't get one.
As he tried using various words, he determined that e-mail addresses with other religious words seemed OK, but not if they included the spelling of Allah.
"The war on terror is becoming a war on Muslims," Callahan said.Yahoo Inc. said Wednesday it has changed policy to allow usage of the word. In a written statement, the company defended the previous policy as an attempt to protect users from hateful speech.
"A small number of people registered for IDs using specific terms with the sole purpose of promoting hate and then used those IDs to post content that was harmful or threatening to others, thus violating Yahoo's terms of service," the statement said.
After the policy change, Callahan said he promptly registered a new e-mail account, which includes his last name.
Callahan, who is clearly a liberal with his head up his as, doesn’t see that the restriction was not a persecution of Muslims, but a granting of special consideration to the Religion of Barbarism, who PC-types have decreed must never be offended. After all, as his own research showed that no other religious group received such protection or consideration. After all, he would have had no problem at all if his name was “Godwinâ€.
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FOUNTAIN CITY, Wis. (AP) - A man says his attempts to sign up for an e-mail account with Yahoo failed when he used his name, which includes the letters a-l-l-a-h - as in Allah, the Arabic word for God.Ed Callahan said he started trying to establish the e-mail account after his mother, with the same last name, couldn't get one.
As he tried using various words, he determined that e-mail addresses with other religious words seemed OK, but not if they included the spelling of Allah.
"The war on terror is becoming a war on Muslims," Callahan said.Yahoo Inc. said Wednesday it has changed policy to allow usage of the word. In a written statement, the company defended the previous policy as an attempt to protect users from hateful speech.
"A small number of people registered for IDs using specific terms with the sole purpose of promoting hate and then used those IDs to post content that was harmful or threatening to others, thus violating Yahoo's terms of service," the statement said.
After the policy change, Callahan said he promptly registered a new e-mail account, which includes his last name.
Callahan, who is clearly a liberal with his head up his as, doesn’t see that the restriction was not a persecution of Muslims, but a granting of special consideration to the Religion of Barbarism, who PC-types have decreed must never be offended. After all, as his own research showed that no other religious group received such protection or consideration. After all, he would have had no problem at all if his name was “Godwin”.
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Talking of “turning over†American ports to a foreign company that apparently is controlled by a foreign (Middle Eastern) government raises the specter of terrorists flowing through the ports of New York, Baltimore and Miami. But with the Department of Homeland Security, the Bureau of Customs and the Department of Immigration and Naturalization still firmly in U.S. control, it’s far from clear how that sale threatens U.S. security or enables terrorists to gain access to the U.S.What we have here is a small dose of real concern and a huge amount of grandstanding by legislators, Republican and Democratic alike.
Democrats smell an opportunity to appear tougher than the President on national defense and homeland security, enhancing their generally weaker credentials on fighting the war against terror.
Republican legislators realize that they cannot allow Democrats to seize the one issue that the GOP has had an advantage on since September 11, 2001. And GOP members of the House and Senate even get an issue on which they can “stand up to†Bush, a hard-to-pass-up opportunity since the President’s job ratings remain weak.
The more I read about this arrangement, the less concern I have with the decision to let the deal proceed. Many American ports are under foreign control. Only one American company (a Halliburton subsidiary) is in the port operations business on a scale that they could take on the job. The employees doing the work will not change, and the security work will still be done by the government. And as was pointed out by a guest on Bill Bennett’s show this morning, the real security issues come at the ports where these shipments originate, where they security is not as tight.
Do I think that this deal should – and will – go through? Yes, probably. But do I still think it needs to be held up for a short interval for additional consideration? One again, I have to say “Yes, probably,†if only to provide reassurance to the American people
.
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Talking of “turning over” American ports to a foreign company that apparently is controlled by a foreign (Middle Eastern) government raises the specter of terrorists flowing through the ports of New York, Baltimore and Miami. But with the Department of Homeland Security, the Bureau of Customs and the Department of Immigration and Naturalization still firmly in U.S. control, it’s far from clear how that sale threatens U.S. security or enables terrorists to gain access to the U.S.What we have here is a small dose of real concern and a huge amount of grandstanding by legislators, Republican and Democratic alike.
Democrats smell an opportunity to appear tougher than the President on national defense and homeland security, enhancing their generally weaker credentials on fighting the war against terror.
Republican legislators realize that they cannot allow Democrats to seize the one issue that the GOP has had an advantage on since September 11, 2001. And GOP members of the House and Senate even get an issue on which they can “stand up to” Bush, a hard-to-pass-up opportunity since the President’s job ratings remain weak.
The more I read about this arrangement, the less concern I have with the decision to let the deal proceed. Many American ports are under foreign control. Only one American company (a Halliburton subsidiary) is in the port operations business on a scale that they could take on the job. The employees doing the work will not change, and the security work will still be done by the government. And as was pointed out by a guest on Bill BennettÂ’s show this morning, the real security issues come at the ports where these shipments originate, where they security is not as tight.
Do I think that this deal should – and will – go through? Yes, probably. But do I still think it needs to be held up for a short interval for additional consideration? One again, I have to say “Yes, probably,” if only to provide reassurance to the American people
.
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The FBI has joined the investigation into a multi-vehicle crash on the Stevenson Expressway after police found a $2 million check, credit cards and other "financial instruments" in the car of one of two people killed, authorities said today.The items were discovered in the car of a 45-year-old man involved in the crash, which occurred about 11:20 a.m. Wednesday on the outbound Stevenson (Interstate Highway 55) near Stickney, Illinois State Police said.
The man, identified as Lafi Nofal, was flown by helicopter to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where he died from his injuries hours after the accident, the Cook County medical examiner's office said.
A 76-year-old woman, Dorothy Walsh, who was riding in a separate car, was also killed, according to the medical examiner.
Members of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force were working with Illinois State Police to "determine the authenticity and origin" of the financial items, the FBI Chicago office said in a statement this morning.
There is no indication that terrorism is involved, according to the statement.
LetÂ’s see. Millions in negotiable financial instruments in the car, and a name which appears to be Middle Eastern. Are you folks sure that there is no connection to terrorism?
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