It is splits for Wills and Kate.

Prince William and his girlfriend Kate Middleton have ended their four-year relationship, dashing hopes of a royal wedding to rival that of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

The Sun newspaper reported Saturday that the couple had reached an "amicable agreement" to separate. Sources confirmed the split to the Press Association news agency.

William's Clarence House office refused to comment, saying it did not discuss the prince's private life, but royal sources did not deny the report, tacitly acknowledging it was true.

The newspaper said the split was caused by the huge pressures on the young couple and by William's career in the army. The second in line to the throne graduated from Sandhurst military academy in December and is undergoing further training at an army base in rural England.

News of the break-up took many royal-watchers by surprise. It was widely thought the couple would soon announce their engagement; one bookmaker was so certain of a royal wedding it had stopped taking bets on it.

Prince William has a military commitment, and his former girlfriend seems not to have been willing to share him with those duties.

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Too little, too late.

The Durham County district attorney apologized Thursday to the three former Duke University lacrosse players he had charged with sexually assaulting a stripper.

“To the extent that I made judgments that ultimately proved to be incorrect, I apologize to the three students that were wrongly accused,” the district attorney, Michael B. Nifong, wrote in a three-paragraph statement a day after the state attorney general, Roy A. Cooper, dismissed all the charges and called him a “rogue” prosecutor.

“I also understand that when someone has been wrongly accused, the harm caused by the accusations might not be immediately undone merely by dismissing them,” Mr. Nifong wrote. “It is my sincere desire that the actions of Attorney General Cooper will serve to remedy any remaining injury that has resulted from these cases.”

The apology was rebuffed by lawyers for the former students, whose families are seeking Mr. NifongÂ’s ouster and considering suing him for damages. The North Carolina State Bar has formally accused Mr. Nifong of numerous ethical violations.

“I still haven’t heard him admit he did anything wrong,” said James P. Cooney III, a lawyer for Reade W. Seligmann, one of the three. “I think the most concrete way he could apologize to everybody is to resign his office.”

No admission of wrong-doing, combined with an attempt to take credit for the dismissal of all charges by pointing out that he turned the case over to the NC attorney general -- but only after he was brought up on ethics charges. Add to that his efforts to intimidate the cabbie who helped clear one of the players and you see nothing but a corrupt prosecutor who would not know the truth if it walked up and bit him on the ass.

Mike Nifong needs to be in jail -- and so does Crystal Gail Mangum, the lying sack of crap whose false claims set off this entire tragedy. And both need to be sued into oblivion by the falsely accused and irresponsibly charged players.

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It’s one of those funny things about Mother Nature – she and her predators don’t give a bunny’s behind about whether a species is protected by environmental regulations or not.

Most of a group of 20 endangered rabbits that were reintroduced to the wild with great fanfare last month have been killed by predators, state officials said.

Only four of the rabbits released on March 13 remained at the Sagebrush Flat Wildlife Area as of Tuesday, said David Hays, pygmy rabbit coordinator for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Hays said two males were removed earlier this month and will be returned at the end of April. The other 14 rabbits are believed to have fallen victim to predators, mainly coyotes, but also hawks and owls, Hays said.

The rabbits, small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, eat sagebrush and are the only rabbits in the United States that dig their own burrows.

The Sagebrush Flat Wildlife Area, about 10 miles north of Ephrata, is considered the last native home of the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit. The rabbit was listed as a state endangered species in 1993 and federally protected in 2003.

Wouldn’t this be an example of the law of “survival of the fittest” at work?

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Charges in the Duke case have now been dropped due to a "tragic rush to accuse" – and the attack has been determined to have never happened.

Prosecutors dropped all charges Wednesday against the three Duke lacrosse players accused of sexually assaulting a stripper at a party, saying the athletes were innocent victims of a "tragic rush to accuse" by an overreaching district attorney.

"There were many points in the case where caution would have served justice better than bravado," North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said in a blistering assessment of Durham County District Mike Nifong's handling of the case.

Cooper, who took over the case after Nifong was charged with ethics violations that could get him disbarred, said his own investigation concluded not only that the evidence against the young men was insufficient, but that no attack took place.

If this determination does not give rise to some sort of civil rights action against Nifong and civil damages for the actual victims in this case, Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans, then justice will not have been done.

And we need criminal charges brought against the false accuser – and that includes an end to the media practice of not naming this liar whose criminal actions have forever harmed these three INNOCENT young men and their teammates.

CRYSTAL GAIL MANGUM
LIAR

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Finally, and much too late, action is being taken against Texas Youth Commission employees who sexually preyed upon their charges.

A West Texas grand jury on Tuesday indicted two former administrators of a Texas Youth Commission lockup on multiple sex abuse charges, ending two years of inactivity in a case that has sparked an overhaul of the state's juvenile correctional system.

"It's about time," said Marc Slattery, a volunteer math teacher who first alerted a Texas Ranger to sex abuse complaints at the school.

The suspects, Ray Brookins and John Paul Hernandez, both 41, were indicted on charges of sexually abusing six youths, ages 16-19, who were incarcerated at the West Texas State School in Pyote in 2004 and 2005.

Brookins, the facility's former assistant superintendent, was arrested at his home in Austin and was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail. Hernandez, the facility's former principal, was arrested at his parents' home in Fort Stockton; his bail was set at $600,000.

My question -- why did it take so long, and why were these reports covered up for so long? Who will be held responsible for those delays?

If you read the article, you will see the scandal goes deeper still.

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If there is any justice in North Carolina, that will happen today.

The three defendants in the Duke lacrosse sexual assault case and their families arrived in the area late Tuesday in expectation of an announcement from the state attorney general clearing them of all charges, one of the defense lawyers said.

“I am very comfortable what will happen when the attorney general makes the announcement,” said Joseph B. Cheshire, a lawyer for David F. Evans, one of three former Duke University students accused of sexual offense and kidnapping in a March 2006 lacrosse team party.

Another defense lawyer, James P. Cooney III, said the families were arriving so they would not have to travel at the last minute for an announcement. The lawyers declined to say if they had received assurances from the attorney generalÂ’s office.

The attorney general, Roy A. Cooper, and his spokeswoman could not be reached Tuesday night. Earlier, the spokeswoman, Noelle Talley, said it was possible the office would hold a news conference today culminating its three-month investigation.

Mr. Cheshire said the defendants and their families were all arriving and planned to hold a news conference of their own within an hour of the attorney generalÂ’s announcement.

On the other hand, the announcement -- if one is coming -- could be later this week.

The three men indicted in the Duke lacrosse sexual assault case could learn this week whether state prosecutors plan to bring them to trial or drop the charges, a person close to the case said Tuesday.

The attorney general's office, which has said for several weeks it was close to completing its investigation since taking the case from the district attorney, has wrapped up additional interviews, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on a condition of anonymity because a formal announcement has not been made.

A spokeswoman for the state attorney general's office said Tuesday no announcement in the case was scheduled. No motions or court papers were filed in the case on Tuesday.

Real justice won't happen, however, until the false accuser is charged, tried, and convicted for her lies, and the corrupt DA is disbarred and jailed for his violations of the civil rights of these young men -- yeah, that's right, wealthy white guys have civil rights too, folks.

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Do we really need a scientific formula for the perfect bacon sandwich?

Should it be slithery or scrunchy, glutinous or grilled? The answer, British scientists say, may be divined by a formula: N = C + {fb(cm) · fb(tc)} + fb(Ts) + fc · ta.

That is the scientific answer to the question: what makes the perfect bacon sandwich?

And, no, it is not April 1.

Researchers at Leeds University spent more than 1,000 hours testing 700 variants on the traditional bacon sandwich, which many Britons refer to as a bacon butty (eschewing the term sandwich, said to have been coined to honor the fourth Earl of SandwichÂ’s habit of eating meat between slices of bread around 1762).

For Britons, butties come in a variety of guises — chip butties (French fries between slices of bread), crisp butties (ditto with potato chips) or even sugar butties, which are self-explanatory. None are viewed as especially healthful.

Bacon and sugar?????

And the results?

The research combined four types of cooking, using grills, pans and ovens, three kinds of oil and four types of bacon — smoked, unsmoked, streaky and thick cut — to establish the preferences of 50 tasters in such matters as the butty’s tactile and aural crunchiness. The study also considered a broad range of condiments (like ketchup and brown sauce) and spreads.

It concluded that the best bacon butties were made with crisply grilled, not-too-fat bacon between thick slices of white bread.

Eureka!

“We often think that it’s the taste and smell of bacon that consumers find most attractive,” Dr. Clayton said in a news release. “But our research proves that texture and sound is just, if not more, important.”

Crispy bacon, thick bread? Sounds like breakfast to me!

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Talk about false consciousness -- some people really think they are better human beings because of how their meat is killed.

Burger King, of all places, has taken the biggest initiative to pull savagery off the menu. After several years of consulting animal welfare groups, the chain last month announced significant changes in the way it buys meat.

Starting now, 2 percent of Burger King's eggs will come from cage-free birds; that proportion will rise to 5 percent by the end of this year. The chain also will buy 10 percent of its pork from suppliers who refuse to keep their animals in crates; that percentage will rise to 20 by 2008.

Burger King also has told suppliers it will prioritize buying chickens that have been killed humanely, with a "controlled atmosphere" technique that is already in use in Europe.

The effect of these measures together, animal welfare groups say, is enormous. First, Burger King's actions will increase awareness about the way meat is routinely produced. If more Americans knew about these methods, the factory farms that sell more than 95 percent of U.S. meat surely would be pressured into changing.

* * *

Most promising of all, Burger King has announced it will continue its ongoing discussions with animal welfare experts. The Humane Society and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals both worked closely with the chain to develop the policy changes.

In keeping that conversation going, Burger King shows that ethics can coincide with good business. Few consumers, after all, need or want animals tortured in the service of lunch.

I'm sorry, but if your conscience is that prickly concerning your food, how can you justify eating meat? After all, it is still being killed. And if you are still willing to kill to obtain your food, is it really cruelty free? Either become a vegetarian or quit your bitchin' about it.

Personally, I want my meal to have been water-boarded, dressed in women's underwear and terrorized by dogs before it is dispatched with a single bullet to the back of the head. I'll take two Abu Ghraib burgers to go, please.

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We all saw how accurate this prediction was last year?

A top researcher predicted a "very active" 2007 Atlantic hurricane season Tuesday, with at least nine hurricanes and a good chance one will hit the U.S. coast. The forecast by William Gray predicts 17 named storms this year, five of them major hurricanes. The probability of a major storm making landfall on the U.S. coast this year is 74 percent, compared with the average of 52 percent over the past century, he said.

The forecast, issued two months before the hurricane season starts, is virtually identical to the one Gray issued before the 2006 season, which turned out far quieter than he and others had feared.

"Our forecast skill does improve as we get closer to the start of the season," said Phil Klotzbach, a member of Gray's team at Colorado State University. "Stay tuned."

Last May, Gray's team forecast 17 named storms in 2006, including nine hurricanes, five of them major ones, and an 81 percent chance that at least one major hurricane would hit the U.S. Scientists with the National Hurricane Center and two other National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration agencies issued similar predictions.

Instead, there were 10 named storms in 2006 and five hurricanes, two of them major ones, in what was considered a "near normal" season. None of those hurricanes hit the U.S. Atlantic coast — only the 11th time that has occurred since 1945.

I'd argue this constitutes a wild @$$ guess -- and will treat it as such.

Sort of like global warming.

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The US is investigating counterfeiting by the North Korean government – an activity that dates back to at least the mid 1990s. how do we know? Because the UN has been in possession of some of the faux cash since 1995 – but conveniently failed to tell the United States government.

As federal investigators examine how the leading U.N. agency in North Korea illegally kept 35 counterfeit American $100 bills in its possession for 12 years, documents indicate that more officials were aware of the existence of the fake currency — and earlier — than the agency has reported.

Spokesmen for the United Nations Development Program have said top officials at the agency's New York headquarters learned in February that their safe in Pyongyang contained the counterfeit bills and immediately reported it to American authorities. But several documents shown recently to The New York Sun indicate that higher-ups knew much earlier that the safe held counterfeit money.

The documents are part of a worldwide reporting system that allows the agency to keep track of the contents of its office safes.

Where did the cash come from?

The safe contents record shown to the Sun includes such items as a "petty cash box," its keys, a zip drive containing finance-software data backup, an official U.N. stamp, identity cards, a log for checks, and a long list of checkbooks in euros, dollars, and North Korean won. One line in the record itemizes $3,500 in " Counterfeit US Dollar Bank Notes (given by FTB)."

A UNDP spokesman, David Morrison, declined to provide the Sun with the agency's rules governing the tracking of safe contents and how regional offices report on them, citing the ongoing probe.

Mr. Morrison explained the presence of the counterfeit currency in the safe by saying an unidentified Egyptian consultant did some work for the UNDP in North Korea and as payment was given a check equal to $3,500 in North Korean won. The Egyptian consultant then cashed the check at the Foreign Trade Bank in Pyongyang, received American bills, and left the country.

Once abroad, the Egyptian consultant tried to deposit the bills, but was told they were suspect. He then returned the bills to the UNDP office in Pyongyang, where they were kept since 1995 in a safe, unnoticed, until February, the spokesman said.

Unnoticed – except for being recorded on all those inventory forms.

US prosecutors are seeking to interview at least 13 UN officials – who are resisting those interviews based upon questions of diplomatic immunity and legal representation.

Indictments must be sought – against officials of Communist North Korea, as well as against those UN officials who knew about this counterfeiting ring and covered it up for over a decade. And I agree with the assessment of Captain Ed Morrissey.

If federal prosecutors can return an indictment and confirm this activity, the UN will face a much tougher time in the US than it did in the Oil-for-Food Programme scandal. In that case, they turned a blind eye and enabled Saddam Hussein to enrich himself through a vast kickback scheme. If the UN helped hide North Korea's counterfeiting ring, that is a direct insult to our sovereignty, as well as our hospitality.

It would be an insult that we cannot afford to let pass. If the UN does not immediately fire everyone involved in this scandal and revoke their immunity, then we must cut off all funds for the UN and create a timetable for withdrawal from this thoroughly corrupt organization. We have no need of a debating society whose members transform refugee camps into seraglios, who stuff the pockets of dictators with money meant for those they oppress, and who actively assist other nations in undermining our currency. If the UN fails to cooperate, it's time to push Turtle Bay into the water and bid adieu to the last of the Cold War anachronisms.

Actually, I’d take matters a bit further – given that the evidence is clear that UN officials were more interested in protecting the NorK dictatorship than the primary financial supporter of the UN and the host of its headquarters, it is appropriate to take at least some of those actions, if not all of them. It is time for the UN to join the League of Nations on the garbage heap of history, a fate which this corrupt organization deserves even more than its impotent predecessor.

H/T Stix Blog

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Talk about suits with no merit – this qualifies.

The South Carolina Supreme Court has tossed out a lawsuit filed by barbecue magnate Maurice Bessinger accusing several grocery store chains of unfair trade by not selling his sauce on their shelves.

Nine chains with over 3,000 stores between them removed BessingerÂ’s mustard-based barbecue sauce in 2000 after he raised the Confederate flag over his restaurants in protest of the General AssemblyÂ’s decision to take the Confederate flag off the top of the Statehouse dome.

News stories at the time also pointed out Bessinger distributed literature at his restaurants with titles like “The South Was Right” and “Myths of American Slavery.”

Bessinger sued Bi-Lo, Food Lion, Harris Teeter, Kroger, Publix, Wal-Mart, SamÂ’s Club, Winn-Dixie and Piggly Wiggly stores, asking for $50 million. He said they violated his right to free speech under the stateÂ’s Unfair Trade Practices Act by removing his barbecue sauce.

The state Supreme Court recently upheld rulings by two lower courts that BessingerÂ’s case did not have enough merit to be heard by a jury.

Bessinger attorney Glen Winston LaForce Sr. said the ruling ends BessingerÂ’s legal fight.

“Mr. Bessinger is still proudly flying the Confederate flag. He stood for his principles, and I’m proud of him for that,” LaForce said.

I’m sorry, but there is no merit to the lawsuit from a constitutional standpoint – after all, no state action is involved in the actions of the stores. And I don’t see how the decision of the stores can run afoul of a state statute – after all, these stores have every right not to associate themselves with the speech of Mr. Bessinger. Indeed, I’d argue that any statute that required them to do so would constitute a violation of THEIR rights under the First Amendment.

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I was pleased to see the governor appoint someone to review workings of the scandal-plagued TYC -- but I believe that the first action of TYC czar Jay Kimbrough likely exceeds his mandate by deciding whether a sentence imposed by a court was appropriate rather than whether the the perp in question had completed the terms of her sentence. Kimbrough needs to be held in contempt of court, and the perp ordered back into custody.

Shaquanda Cotton, a 15-year-old black teenager who spent more than a year in the state's distressed juvenile prison system for shoving a teacher's aide in a case that raised questions of racial bias, was ordered released Friday.

She became the first juvenile inmate ordered freed by Jay Kimbrough, whom Gov. Rick Perry tapped Thursday to lead the troubled Texas Youth Commission out of an abuse and mismanagement scandal. Kimbrough told lawmakers Friday that the order had been given.

"He made a determination that she served her time and it was time to let that child out," said Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas.

Cotton could have been kept in a cell until her 21st birthday. But a public outcry about the case helped secure her release.

I'm sorry, but this is not about whether or not this perp has served her time -- it is about caving in to political pressure tinged with false accusations of racism. If that were not the case, Kimbrough's first decision would not have been about a situation receiving national attention for something other than the TYC scandal. And by determinging the appropriateness of the sentence rather than whether its terms had been fulfilled, Kimbrough has usurped the prerogatives of the judicial branch.

And at the same time, made it clear that here in Texas it is open season on school employees.

During the remaining time that the Texas legislature is in session, we need legislation imposing mandatory incarceration for students who assault school employees.

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Doug Sohn decided to stand up to the silly geese on the Chicago City Council who passed an ordinance banning foie gras.

The city issued its first foie gras fine to a hot dog seller of all people, accusing "Hot Doug's" of violating a Chicago ban by lacing its specialty dogs with the duck liver delicacy.

Doug Sohn, who runs Hot Doug's "The Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium," agreed to pay $250 Thursday for the first-time offense.

Sohn had been openly serving foie gras-laced hot dogs since the ordinance took effect in August. He says he knew about the rule — when he got a warning letter from the city, he had it framed and placed on his counter.

He could have faced up to a $500 dollar fine under the ordinance, Health Department spokesman Tim Hadac said.

Animal rights activists oppose serving foie gras, saying it is inhumane the way geese and ducks are force-fed through a pipe to plump up their livers. They have been pressing other cities, states and chefs for similar bans. Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck announced earlier this month that his restaurants would stop serving foie gras.

The Chicago City Council had approved the ordinance despite Mayor Richard M. Daley's objections. He called it the "silliest" ordinance they had ever passed.

I find it interesting that we keep being told by liberals that we cannot impose morality through statute -- but here we banning a safe product because of the moral objections of a handful of liberal alderman to the method of production of the product. After all, there is no public health or safety rationale for the ban on foie gras. I guess what they mean is that we cannot impose morality they object to by statute.

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Even though the evidence shows the Brits were in Iraqi waters, the Iranians are making false counterclaims regarding their location.

Iran leveled new accusations against Britain on Thursday in the crisis over 15 captured British sailors and marines, and withdrew a promise to free the only woman in the group, insisting that Britain admit fault before any captives were released.

Iran also released what it said was a second letter from a captured British sailor — the woman, Leading Seaman Faye Turney— urging Britain to withdraw its forces from Iraq.

For its part, Britain flatly refused any talk of negotiations and called the release of the letter “cruel and callous,” and said it would seek the United Nations Security Council’s support in pressing Iran to release the captives.

With the latest developments the confrontation, now in its seventh day, seemed to have reached a point where neither side had left the other much room for a face-saving compromise. Deepening the sense of crisis, a senior Iranian official hinted that the captured troops might be put on trial for unspecified offenses.

Iran has not said where the sailors and marines are being held.

The dispute turns on rival claims about the whereabouts of the Britons when they were seized last Friday in disputed waters. Iran says they were more than 500 yards inside its territorial waters, but on Wednesday Britain produced satellite navigation coordinates to support its contention that the sailors were 1.7 nautical miles, or 3,400 yards, inside Iraqi waters, on a patrol approved by the United Nations and the Iraqi government.

If these kidnap victims are not released by the end of the weekend, there needs to be a complete blockade of Iranian ports -- and the bombing of Iran's one oil refinery.

After all, if they wish to behave like savages, let's work to send them back to the Stone Age.

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It's hard work, if you can get it.

Durex has launched its first UK recruitment drive for thousands of condom testers.

The condom maker wants a panel of 5,000 people who are single, married, or in couples to report their experiences of using its condoms and lubricants.

Men and women of all ages, ethnic groups or sexual orientation have been asked to apply on its website.

Durex was inundated with 14,000 applicants on the first day it started a similar scheme in France.

UK panellists will be expected to report online on how enjoyable the condoms and lubricants were to use and whether their sex lives have improved.

"The idea is to create a massive panel of testers who can try Durex condoms, have sex and then give us feedback about their experiences - in strictest confidence, of course," a Durex spokeswoman said.

"It isn't some crazy kind of '60s love-in," she added.

Durex sales in the six months until September 2006 increased by 7% compared to the same period in the previous year, driven by a surge in sales of personal devices and lubricants.

Unfortunately, there are no directions for how to apply for this job.

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Probably, which is a good thing, considering that the TYC is the juvenile jail program for the state of Texas. Do we really want felons guarding troubled kids?

Jay Kimbrough, given new power Wednesday as conservator of the Texas Youth Commission, vowed to clean house at the embattled agency, beginning with the likely firings of perhaps dozens of convicted felons working there.

He said he also will ask a number of high-level agency executives and state school superintendents to reapply for their jobs.

Strike me that a lot of those high-level employees need to be let go in the housecleaning that is needed -- they didn't dhow even basic concern for sexual abuse of kids, or the punishment of those who resisted advances by TXC employees.

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Well, I guess it isn't just outsiders who WalMart uses its resources to go after -- they spare no expense when investigating rules violations, too.

The investigator flew to Guatemala in April 2002 with a delicate mission: trail a Wal-Mart manager around the country to prove he was sleeping with a lower-level employee, a violation of company policy.

The apparent smoking gun? “Moans and sighs” heard as the investigator, a Wal-Mart employee, pressed his ear against a hotel room door inside a Holiday Inn, according to legal documents. Soon after, the company fired the manager for what it said was improper fraternization with a subordinate.

Wal-Mart, renowned to outsiders for its elbows-out business tactics, is known internally for its bare-knuckled no-expense-spared investigations of employees who break its ironclad ethics rules.

Over the last five years, Wal-Mart has assembled a team of former officials from the C.I.A., F.B.I. and Justice Department whose elaborate, at times globetrotting, investigations have led to the ouster of a high-profile board member who used company funds to buy hunting equipment, two senior advertising executives who took expensive gifts from a potential supplier and a computer technician who taped a reporterÂ’s telephone calls.

The investigators — whose résumés evoke Langley, Va., more than Bentonville, Ark. — serve as a rapid-response team that aggressively polices the nation’s largest private employer, enforcing Wal-Mart’s modest by-the-books culture among its army of 1.8 million employees.

WalMart is already famous for its strong-arm tactics for dealing with customers and others who litigate against it -- one older lady of my acquaintance was injured when a damaged changing station fell open as she passed it, striking her on the head and sending her tot he hospital. WalMart offered her a settlement for less than the amount of her medical bills, despite the fact that the evidence pointed to their own shoddy maintenance -- telling the injured 75-year-old that if she didn't accept it the company would "keep this thing in court until after you die, and we know that you need money to pay your medical bills now."

Nobody plays the game harder than WalMart.

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It strikes me that there may be a more productive way of showing your desire to help children than taking a bunch of them hostage.

A day-care center owner hijacked a busload of his students and teachers and drove them to Manila's city hall Wednesday to demand better housing and education for the children.

Jun Ducat and at least one other hostage-taker scribbled in large letters on a sheet of paper, taped to the bus' windshield, that they were holding 32 children and two teachers and were armed with two grenades, an assault rifle and a pistol, officer Mark Andal said.

One child with a fever was released after four hours, and then was driven away in an ambulance.

They said they were demanding improved housing and education for 145 children in a day-care center in Manila's poor Tondo district where the incident, televised live around the world, appeared to have begun. The driver was released soon afterward.

"I love these kids; that's why I am here," Ducat, identified by police and parents as the day-care center owner, told DZMM radio by cell phone. "We have a field trip. I invited the children for a field trip.

"You can be assured that I cannot hurt the children. In case I need to shed blood, I will not be the first to fire. I am telling the policemen, have pity on these children."

If he really loved these kids, would he be holding them with guns and grenades?

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Prayers for a good and decent man.

White House press secretary Tony Snow, who has become the face of the Bush presidency over the last year, has cancer again.

Snow's deputy, Dana M. Perino, broke into tears at an off-camera briefing this morning as she announced that the cancer has spread to his liver. Doctors discovered it when they operated on Snow on Monday to remove a small growth that had developed in his lower abdomen.

Snow, 51, who underwent surgery and months of chemotherapy for colon cancer two years ago, plans once again to "go after it as aggressively" as he can, Perino said, but it was unclear when or whether he would be able to return to work.

"Of course, we're pulling for Tony," Perino said. "We certainly gain strength from his optimism. We know he's going to beat it again."

I'm curious what the reaction will be over on DU, Kos, and HuffPo to this news. Do we even need to look to know?

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Not a place where one expects to find dishonesty and corruption.

Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence M. Small, the banker who took over the world's largest museum complex seven years ago, has resigned under pressure following revelations regarding his housing allowance and office and travel expenditures.

Museum officials announced Small's departure yesterday and named Cristián Samper, a biologist who heads the National Museum of Natural History, as acting secretary.

In recent weeks questions about Small's leadership and his personal expenditures had created a crisis at the Smithsonian. Small, 65, had been sharply criticized by members of Congress and his pay and expense accounts have been subjected to scrutiny by the Smithsonian inspector general. Last week, two separate committees were appointed by the regents to look into management operations at the Smithsonian, which includes 18 museums and research facilities as well as the National Zoo.

It is all rather sordid -- and seems based upon the attempt by a businessman to operate a museum/not-for-profit entity like the business he had left.

Posted by: Greg at 03:16 AM | Comments (26) | Add Comment
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Sounds to me like some folks need serious jail time.

W. L. Carter knew there was something fishy going on when he went to his lawyersÂ’ office a few years ago to pick up his settlement check for the heart damage he had sustained from taking the diet drug combination fen-phen.

The check was, for starters, much smaller than he had expected. And his own lawyers threatened to retaliate against him if he ever told anyone, including his family, how much he had been paid. “You will be fined $100,000, you will go to jail and you will be sued,” Mr. Carter recalled them saying.

Mr. Carter was right to have been suspicious. The lawyers defrauded their clients, a state judge has ruled in a civil case, when they settled fen-phen lawsuits on behalf of 440 of them for $200 million but kept the bulk of the money for themselves. Legal experts said the fraud might be one of the biggest and most brazen in legal history.

This week, several clients testified before a federal grand jury that has begun to investigate potential criminal wrongdoing arising from the settlement.

“It enrages me,” said Sonja Pickett, a retail manager, who testified Thursday before the grand jury. “They robbed us.”

I won't trash trial lawyers or class-action suits, because I recognize that lawyers are necessary and class action suits are sometimes the best way to deal with an injustice. However, too often they become a vehicle to enrich lawyers -- and the secrecy/confidentiality agreements that go with the settlements often close off justice. Indeed, ANY court order that closes the results of the justice system to the eyes of the public needs to be strongly questioned by the American people as a violation of the principle that the workings of the courts are to be public.

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Not only that, there will be a review of sentences to determine if any more victims of abuse have been held longer for their resistance to victimization by TYC personnel.

The superintendent of the Texas Youth Commission's intake facility in Marlin was arrested today, charged with falsely telling a Texas Ranger there were no sex abuse accusations at the unit.

Jerome Parsee is charged with making a false statement to a peace officer, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $2,000 fine and 180 days in jail.

Also today, officials announced a panel of community activists, prosecutors and juvenile prison officials will review the records of nearly all youth inmates to make sure their sentences haven't been extended unfairly.

Advocates for TYC inmates and their families have complained that sentences are often extended for capricious reasons or in retaliation for filing grievances.

TYC special master Jay Kimbrough said the panel will review the documentation on each inmate's sentencing extension and discuss whether the decision was just and appropriate.

The panel will make a suggestion to a retired judge, who will decide whether the inmate should be immediately released.

"I have no confidence in the integrity of that entire system,'' Kimbrough said.

TYC incarcerates about 4,700 offenders ages 10 to 21 who are considered the most dangerous, incorrigible or chronic. Kimbrough said about nine in 10 of those offenders have had their sentences extended.

We need lot's more charges, going both directions in the chain of command -- including the Governor's staff.

UPDATE: Looks like this is only the tip of the iceberg.

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It’s Knut, the baby polar bear, making his public debut.

You know, the one the animal rights folks want to kill.

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ItÂ’s Knut, the baby polar bear, making his public debut.

You know, the one the animal rights folks want to kill.

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I wonder how Al Gore accounts for this.

Some people think that our planet is suffering from a fever. Now scientists are telling us that Mars is experiencing its own planetary warming: Martian warming. It seems scientists have noticed recently that quite a few planets in our solar system seem to be heating up a bit, including Pluto.

NASA says the Martian South Pole’s “ice cap” has been shrinking for three summers in a row. Maybe Mars got its fever from earth. If so, I guess Jupiter’s caught the same cold, because it’s warming up too, like Pluto.

This has led some people, not necessarily scientists, to wonder if Mars and Jupiter, non signatories to the Kyoto Treaty, are actually inhabited by alien SUV-driving industrialists who run their air-conditioning at 60 degrees and refuse to recycle.

Silly, I know, but I wonder what all those planets, dwarf planets and moons in our SOLAR system have in common. Hmmmm. SOLAR system. Hmmmm. Solar? I wonder. Nah, I guess we shouldn’t even be talking about this. The science is absolutely decided. There’s a consensus.
Ask Galileo.

Now such increases are inexplicable if one presumes that terrestrial global warming is caused by the actions of homo sapiens sapiens. On the other hand, if a natural, Solar System-wide phenomenon is at play here then there is more than sufficient reason to accept that the climactic changes on our planet are governed by the same effect at work on the other planets.

Now does this mean that we should not conserve energy, cut harmful emissions, and generally pollute less? Hardly – because each and every one of those goals is laudable in and of itself, absent any reference to the man-made global warming fraud perpetrated by advocates of Big Global Government Nanny-Staters like Al Gore. But the fact is that the adoption of such eco-friendly practices then becomes a matter of personal free choice rather than government diktat -- much to the chagrin of those who promote a convenient falsehood to stifle individual liberty while calling it an inconvenient truth.

Posted by: Greg at 10:19 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I wonder how Al Gore accounts for this.

Some people think that our planet is suffering from a fever. Now scientists are telling us that Mars is experiencing its own planetary warming: Martian warming. It seems scientists have noticed recently that quite a few planets in our solar system seem to be heating up a bit, including Pluto.

NASA says the Martian South Pole’s “ice cap” has been shrinking for three summers in a row. Maybe Mars got its fever from earth. If so, I guess Jupiter’s caught the same cold, because it’s warming up too, like Pluto.

This has led some people, not necessarily scientists, to wonder if Mars and Jupiter, non signatories to the Kyoto Treaty, are actually inhabited by alien SUV-driving industrialists who run their air-conditioning at 60 degrees and refuse to recycle.

Silly, I know, but I wonder what all those planets, dwarf planets and moons in our SOLAR system have in common. Hmmmm. SOLAR system. Hmmmm. Solar? I wonder. Nah, I guess we shouldnÂ’t even be talking about this. The science is absolutely decided. ThereÂ’s a consensus.
Ask Galileo.

Now such increases are inexplicable if one presumes that terrestrial global warming is caused by the actions of homo sapiens sapiens. On the other hand, if a natural, Solar System-wide phenomenon is at play here then there is more than sufficient reason to accept that the climactic changes on our planet are governed by the same effect at work on the other planets.

Now does this mean that we should not conserve energy, cut harmful emissions, and generally pollute less? Hardly – because each and every one of those goals is laudable in and of itself, absent any reference to the man-made global warming fraud perpetrated by advocates of Big Global Government Nanny-Staters like Al Gore. But the fact is that the adoption of such eco-friendly practices then becomes a matter of personal free choice rather than government diktat -- much to the chagrin of those who promote a convenient falsehood to stifle individual liberty while calling it an inconvenient truth.

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Here's a case that needs investigating. You don't let violent rapists off with lesser charges, a lighter sentence, and freedom from registering as a sex offender.

Especially when the perp has a position of trust in the community.

The Fairfax County prosecutor who agreed last week to reduce charges against a minister accused of raping and beating a woman, paving the way for a 16-month sentence and no requirement to register as a sex offender, did not tell her bosses or the victim that she had done so.

The sentence handed to the Rev. Eugene A. Marriott Jr., a pastor at Ebenezer AME Church in Fort Washington, was surprisingly light compared with those of other sexual assault cases heard in Fairfax, many veteran lawyers said. But the deal offered to Marriott by Assistant Fairfax Commonwealth's Attorney Toni S. Fay is what has the courthouse buzzing.

Commonwealth's Attorney Robert F. Horan Jr. said he "had no idea" that the charges had been reduced four months after Marriott's conviction and that the victim "absolutely" should have been consulted: "That's Rule One. You just don't go and change a plea that the victim had agreed to." He said he had spoken to Fay but declined to say why she reduced the charges or failed to tell either the victim or the detective. Fay did not respond to phone messages seeking comment.

At the sentencing, Fay said: "I wish Mr. Marriott well. I hope that his wife takes him back. I am very glad to see his church and his community are still supporting him."

Horan said he was stunned. "The function of a criminal prosecutor is to point out how bad the crime is," Horan said. "It's not a social partnership with the defense."

I'm stunned.

Posted by: Greg at 10:01 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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I'm sorry -- it is a question that had to be asked. Why would aides to the governor allow accusations of child abuse to be investigated by the alleged abusers -- especially when one of the complaints came from the second-highest ranking Republican in the US House of Representatives? It seems incomprehensible, unless the policy was approved at the highest levels.

Gov. Rick Perry's staff knew as early as June 2005 that two administrators at a Texas Youth Commission facility were not being prosecuted on allegations of sexually abusing youths in their custody, according to records obtained Tuesday by the Houston Chronicle.

Perry's aides have said that TYC notified them of the initial investigation in February 2005, and that they thought the case was being pursued by prosecutors until they were told otherwise in October 2006 by an aide to state Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston.

Also, other records show Perry's office routinely sent written complaints from parents about their children's treatment in TYC facilities to the agency for self-investigation. A complaint of sexual abuse involving students was forwarded to Perry in 2001 by then-U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Denton.

I'm particularly shocked at this "business as usual" response from Rick Perry's official spokesperson.

Royer said the governor's office had to rely on TYC to respond to the complaints.

"When constituents write to tell us their insurance company is overcharging them, we refer them to the Texas Department of Insurance," Royer said. "We do not have the staff to investigate complaints about other agencies."

Royer said as far as the governor's office knew, the complaints were handled appropriately.

Excuse me, but if you put complaints of sexual abuse of kids in the same category as complaints of insurance over-charging, I think there is a serious question regarding your judgment. And even if their isn't, your analogy fails -- what the aides did in this question is more the equivalent of turning the complaint of overcharging over to the insurance company to investigate, not the Insurance Commission.

And I guess that as a teacher, I'm particularly troubled by one little point here -- if I find out about alleged sexual abuse and do not report it to CPS or law enforcement for investigation, I can lose my teaching credentials for life and possibly face criminal charges. It looks like the governor's staff and employees of TYC are held to a much lower standard than I am.

Posted by: Greg at 12:37 AM | Comments (33) | Add Comment
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The recent passage of the Employee Free Choice Act was heralded as a victor for workers (if one considers eliminating their right to a secret-ballot vote on union representation to be a victory for free choice. Well, here's what unionists do if a worker exercises a free choice they don't like.

Labor problems at The Toledo Blade in Ohio hit a new level with a replacement worker relating that his car was intentionally torched last night while he was on the job about 10:30 behind the Toledo Newsprint Trucking Company. "It's going a little further than they need to go," Pete Thayer told a local TV station.

You see, what has happened here is that the paper has decided that it doesn't want to pay what the union demands, and so it has offered a wage it sees as reasonable and allowed workers the free choice to accept it or not -- something that Pete Thayer did. In response, a union thug vandalized and torched his car.

And if you want some evidence that acts of violence and intimidation are acceptable to union thugs, you simply need to take a look at the response of the spokesthug for one of the unions.

Larry Vellequette, a spokesman for the Toledo Council of Newspaper Unions, denied that any of his members played a role in the incident. "I'm pretty sure it wasn't us," he told E&P. "I know that we have been seven months without a single incident and why they would start now makes no sense." He added that, "the real crime here is the Blade lockout."

"Pretty sure" that the act of violence and intimidation against a worker making a free choice wasn't the union's work -- that speaks volumes. he can't deny that such acts are part of the unionist's bag of dirty tricks -- or that such acts are not from time to time sanctioned by the union. Indeed, he doesn't even see this as particularly being a criminal act -- he views the unwillingness of the Toledo Blade to knuckle under to union demands and Thayer's willingness to take a job at the wage offered by an employer as being the "real crime". Talk about your inverted value system!

Its time for us to implement an amendment to the Employee Free Choice Act to go along with the recent removal of the right to a secret ballot on union recognition. Employers should have every circulate "non-union"cards among their employees, and when a majority of workers have signed them, derecognition of the union should be automatic -- just like recognition is when a majority signs union cards. After all, what's good for the goose is good for the gander, isn't it?

H/T GM's Corner

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Better dead than bottle-fed!

Tiny, fluffy and adorable, Knut the baby polar bear became an animal superstar after he was abandoned by his mother.

He rapidly became the symbol of Berlin Zoo, whose staff bottle-fed him and handed out cuddles in between.

At three months old, however, the playful 19lb bundle of fur is at the centre of an impassioned debate over whether he should live or die.

Animal rights activists argue that he should be given a lethal injection rather than brought up suffering the humiliation of being treated as a domestic pet.

"The zoo must kill the bear," said spokesman Frank Albrecht. "Feeding by hand is not species-appropriate but a gross violation of animal protection laws."

When Knut was born in December, his mother ignored him and his brother, who died. Zoo officials intervened, choosing to raise the cub themselves.

But Albrecht and other activists fret that it is inappropriate for a predator, known for its fierceness and ability to fend for itself in the wild, to be snuggled, bottle-fed and made into a commodity by zookeepers.

After all, we wouldn't want one more breeding member of an endangered species to be allowed to live, would we?

Posted by: Greg at 02:17 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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And very possibly before the US returns to the Moon in 2020.

China's surging space program could launch explorers on the moon before Americans make a lunar return, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin told a congressional oversight panel Thursday.

Griffin offered the assessment at a budget hearing before the House Science and Technology Committee. The panel offered bipartisan support for an increase in spending on NASA's Orion moonship, which is falling behind schedule, as well as on unmanned science projects and aeronautical research.

Earlier this month, funding woes pushed the first flight of NASA's Orion back to March 2015, a six-month slide. That prompted a round of questions from Rep Ken Calvert, R-Calif., on whether the United States might lose its lead in space to China.

"How good is their space program? ... Do you think they have an opportunity to get to the moon before we do?" Calvert asked.

Griffin, who toured some of China's space installations last year and met with leading scientists and engineers, told the panel that China, with its strong economy, is capable of a come-from-behind lunar landing.

"I cannot speculate and won't speculate on what China's intensions are. I just don't know that," said Griffin. "As a matter of technical capability and political will, if the Chinese choose to do so, they can mount a lunar mission within a reasonable number of years, say a decade."

It's sad, really, that we will allow almost a half-century to pass between visits to the moon. I was six when the Eagle landed, and was and nine when Apollo 17 left the Moon. I will be 57 -- at least -- when the United States lands men on the Moon again. Frankly, I'll welcome Chinese success -- even while I lament the loss of focus of NASA during my lifetime.

Posted by: Greg at 06:08 PM | Comments (33) | Add Comment
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Well, maybe not.

It turns out there are no such things as unicorns — and even if there were, they wouldn't drive trucks.

On Tuesday, a Billings prosecutor had told a district judge that Phillip C. Holliday Jr., 42, claimed a unicorn was driving when his truck crashed into a light pole earlier this month.

But on Wednesday, the chief prosecutor said it was all a misunderstanding. Apparently, Holliday told police an unnamed woman was driving when his truck hit the pole — not a unicorn.

"Mr. Holliday has other serious problems, but this is not one of them," County Attorney Dennis Paxinos said of the unicorn alibi.

The mixup occurred when a deputy prosecutor misunderstood an e-mail from a colleague who used the phrase "unicorn defense," thinking it was an actual statement from Holliday, Paxinos said. "Unicorn defense" is a slang term used by prosecutors when a defendant blames some mythical person for a crime, he said.

"It's kind of a code (between prosecutors) and the code was misinterpreted," Paxinos said.

Paxinos apologized "to the public, the court and to Mr. Holliday" for the confusion and said he has chastised the prosecutors involved.

Holliday has pleaded not guilty to felony charges of criminal endangerment and drunken driving. He is being represented by a public defender. Kristina Copenhaver-Landon, director of the public defender's office in Billings, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Still, if this guy was drunk, I'm sure that his story had no more basis in reality than the one about the unicorn.

Posted by: Greg at 07:03 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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It must suck to be "environmentally friendly" while doing more damage to the planet than the biggest, baddest SUV.

The Toyota Prius has become the flagship car for those in our society so environmentally conscious that they are willing to spend a premium to show the world how much they care. Unfortunately for them, their ultimate ‘green car’ is the source of some of the worst pollution in North America; it takes more combined energy per Prius to produce than a Hummer.

Before we delve into the seedy underworld of hybrids, you must first understand how a hybrid works. For this, we will use the most popular hybrid on the market, the Toyota Prius.

The Prius is powered by not one, but two engines: a standard 76 horsepower, 1.5-liter gas engine found in most cars today and a battery- powered engine that deals out 67 horsepower and a whooping 295ft/lbs of torque, below 2000 revolutions per minute. Essentially, the Toyota Synergy Drive system, as it is so called, propels the car from a dead stop to up to 30mph. This is where the largest percent of gas is consumed. As any physics major can tell you, it takes more energy to get an object moving than to keep it moving. The battery is recharged through the braking system, as well as when the gasoline engine takes over anywhere north of 30mph. It seems like a great energy efficient and environmentally sound car, right?

You would be right if you went by the old government EPA estimates, which netted the Prius an incredible 60 miles per gallon in the city and 51 miles per gallon on the highway. Unfortunately for Toyota, the government realized how unrealistic their EPA tests were, which consisted of highway speeds limited to 55mph and acceleration of only 3.3 mph per second. The new tests which affect all 2008 models give a much more realistic rating with highway speeds of 80mph and acceleration of 8mph per second. This has dropped the PriusÂ’s EPA down by 25 percent to an average of 45mpg. This now puts the Toyota within spitting distance of cars like the Chevy Aveo, which costs less then half what the Prius costs.

Fine, but where does the comparison with the Hummer come in?

Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a Hummer that is on the road for three times longer than a Prius. As already noted, the Prius is partly driven by a battery which contains nickel. The nickel is mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. This plant has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the ‘dead zone’ around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the plant is devoid of any life for miles.

The plant is the source of all the nickel found in a PriusÂ’ battery and Toyota purchases 1,000 tons annually. Dubbed the Superstack, the plague-factory has spread sulfur dioxide across northern Ontario, becoming every environmentalistÂ’s nightmare.

“The acid rain around Sudbury was so bad it destroyed all the plants and the soil slid down off the hillside,” said Canadian Greenpeace energy-coordinator David Martin during an interview with Mail, a British-based newspaper.

All of this would be bad enough in and of itself; however, the journey to make a hybrid doesn’t end there. The nickel produced by this disastrous plant is shipped via massive container ship to the largest nickel refinery in Europe. From there, the nickel hops over to China to produce ‘nickel foam.’ From there, it goes to Japan. Finally, the completed batteries are shipped to the United States, finalizing the around-the-world trip required to produce a single Prius battery. Are these not sounding less and less like environmentally sound cars and more like a farce?

Oops! It turns out that the Prius consumes 50% more energy to make and operate than the Hummer.

Will those states (like California) that give special benefits to Prius owners now repeal them?

Posted by: Greg at 06:15 AM | Comments (35) | Add Comment
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1 You must be a horrendous educator if this reflects the quality of your academic research. Shameful. You are a liberal moron! Liberal with you idea of knowledge.Remember that post from a few months ago about a Hummer being greener than a Prius? Well, the outfit that compared those two iconic vehicles, CNW Research, has gotten its study picked up in England (where the comparison is between a Jeep Cherokee and a Prius) and Toyota is responding by calling the study "Recycled Rubbish?".

I was skeptical of the Hummer = green claim at the time, and people certainly got to talking in the comments about the post. Now Toyota steps in and says CNW is wrong on a lot of fronts, from simple factual errors to larger methodical mistakes. It's important to remember that Toyota isn't an objective bystander in the debate, but I've got to their claims make sense to me.

You can read Toyota's entire argument after the jump.
Recycled Rubbish?

CNW Marketing Research Inc. – Study on Hybrid Efficiency
A number of UK publications have recently re-presented the results of an old study by a North American marketing research agency, CNW Research Inc. This study makes some surprising and uncorroborated claims about the total environmental impact of vehicles over the complete lifecycle (i.e. production – use – recycling).

The media have picked up on one particularly eye catching claim, namely that the Jeep Cherokee is cleaner than a Toyota Prius hybrid saloon. This result runs contrary to all other research in the area.

The "results" of the CNW study

As with any model, it is critical that the methodology is valid, the assumptions are sound, and the data accurate. The CNW study makes several assumptions which undermine the conclusions arrived at. Without a scientific peer review, it is impossible to comment on any of these factors.

What is clear, however, is that the conclusions appear to be very different from the results of several other rigorous, scientifically-reviewed studies of the lifecycle impact of vehicles (e.g. Argonne National Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology).


Example 1: These studies conclude that the majority (80-85%) of the total lifetime energy use of a vehicle comes from the driving stage, with the remainder coming from the remaining stages of a vehicle life, whereas the CNW study shows these percentages to be reversed.
Example 2: Two Toyota models mentioned in the report, the Scion xA and xB sold only in the USA, are engineered with the same processes, built on the same assembly line, transported and shipped together, distributed through the same dealer network, have the same engines and transmissions, are about the same weight (within 50 lbs.), and have very similar fuel consumption ratings (one just over 35 mpg combined, the other just below 35), yet the CNW study shows the lifetime energy use of these vehicles to be very different (53 per cent).
Example 3: The CNW study states that hybrids require more lifetime energy than even large SUVs. Toyota's internal analysis does conclude that there is more energy required in the materials production stage for a hybrid, but that this is overwhelmingly made up for in the driving stage (the 80-85% stage), causing the hybrid to have a significantly lower lifetime energy use. There are also basic factual errors in the report, for example CNW claim that the hybrid batteries are not recycled.

In truth Toyota and sister brand Lexus have a comprehensive battery recycling programme in place and has been recycling Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries since the RAV4 Electric Vehicle was introduced in 1998. Every part of the battery, from the precious metals to the plastic, plates, steel case, and the wiring, is recycled. To ensure that batteries come back to Toyota, each battery has a phone number on it to call for recycling information.

Toyota and other environmentally conscious car makers have been using life cycle assessment for many years to evaluate various advanced vehicle technologies. Toyota, along with many others, believes that the best way to judge the environmental impact of a vehicle is to do a full evaluation of all the inputs and outputs in every stage of its life. The lifetime energy use is just one of the many things to look at.

The environment and the role of the car in CO2 emissions are rightly a very important subject for debate. Toyota welcomes such debate. However, the debate is not helped by sensationalistic reporting of an uncorroborated and unrepresentative piece of marketing research carried out in North America.

Posted by: drsurd at Tue Mar 20 06:46:12 2007 (Yp5wO)

2 Yeah, but truthiness is good enough for right-winger anti-environmentalists.

Posted by: Dan at Tue Mar 20 12:22:05 2007 (IU21y)

3 Dan -- I'm not an "anti-environmentalist". I am, however, anti-bad-science, which is why I oppose the current man-made global warming hoax. After all, as a student of history, I am aware of the cyclical climate changes over the last millenium or two that have seen the ebb and flow of glaciation -- such that Greenland was actually green rather than ice-covered when it was discovered by the Vikings.

As for the Toyota press release above, I have to ask a simple question -- since when do you accept the word of big Business with a financial stake in a controversy over independent scientific and academic researchers?

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Tue Mar 20 14:38:12 2007 (p6tyD)

4 That's funny - "since when do you accept the word of big Business with a financial stake in a controversy over independent scientific and academic researchers", from a guy who's posting paid advertisements. I think the logical points made by Toyota do a good job of undermining the bogus reasoning of the CNW report.

Posted by: Dan at Tue Mar 20 23:38:04 2007 (IU21y)

5 I disagree -- especially given all the other claims about the Prius made by Toyota that have not stood up to real-world experience.

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Wed Mar 21 00:05:44 2007 (sB+jR)

6 Do you really disagree, or is that a paid disagreement?

Posted by: Dan at Wed Mar 21 15:09:13 2007 (IU21y)

7 Bite me, Dan!

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Wed Mar 21 15:16:57 2007 (RCp7o)

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One would have thought that this move by the company viewed as the source of all evil by the Left would be greeted with cheers and hosannas by the Democrats and their allies. It hasn't been -- because they are concerned about the possibility that they might not be able to tap into the source of all evil's money.

They needn't worry. The move will not significantly impact the American workforce, nor will it change the company's incorporation in America.

Ever since Erle P. Halliburton established the New Method Oil Well Cementing Co. in Oklahoma in 1919, his name has been associated with American corporate know-how in the oilfield services business.

But over the weekend, the company now known as Halliburton announced that its chief executive, Dave Lesar, would move to a new corporate headquarters in Dubai to focus on business in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia.

The announcement sparked warnings from members of Congress, who suspected that the company once run by Vice President Cheney was trying to trim its tax bill and remove itself from the limelight here, where it has come under fire about the way it obtained and executed government contracts, especially those connected to troubled reconstruction projects in Iraq.

"The CEO of Halliburton has decided to leave this country to move his offices to Dubai because he says it is 'a great business center.' That is a bizarre announcement," said Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.), who is a member of the Senate Commerce Committee.

Dorgan, who said he would seek hearings on the move, added: "I want to know, is Halliburton trying to run away from bad publicity on their contracts? Are they trying to run away from the obligation to pay U.S. taxes? Or are they trying to set up a corporate presence in Dubai so that they can avoid the restrictions that currently exist on doing business with prohibited countries like Iran?"

Interesting, isn't it, that Dorgan wants hearings on a legal business decision by a company? If Halliburton did choose to leave the US, incorporate abroad, and thereby exempt itself from all taxes, that would be legal. So would doing so for purposes of being permitted into markets closed to American companies. For that matter, so would moving to another country where the business is welcome, not reviled by one party for political gain. But Dorgan doesn't seem to care about the legalities of the situation -- he simply wants to conduct an Inquisition, a witch-hunt in an effort to embarrass the administration due to Vice President Cheney's former ties to the company.

Indeed, the best case to be made for a decision by Halliburton to move all operations and legal incorporation abroad would be the very hearings proposed by Senator Dorgan -- because such a move would enable the company to thumb its nose at political light-weights like Dorgan, seeking to make a reputation through a Fitzerald-style inquiriy.

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Posted by: Greg at 03:02 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I guess there is something to be said for putting your top people where the focus of your business is, but it still comes as a surprise.

Halliburton, the big energy services company, said on Sunday that it would open a corporate headquarters in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai and move its chairman and chief executive, David J. Lesar, there.

The company will maintain its existing corporate office here as well as its legal incorporation in the United States, meaning that it will still be subject to domestic laws and regulations.

Although the announcement of the new Dubai arrangement took many by surprise, Halliburton said that the move was part of a strategy announced in mid-2006 to concentrate its efforts in the Middle East and surrounding areas, where state-owned oil companies represent a growing source of business.

Still, most of its major operations will remain in Houston, so it is unlikely that this will make a long-term difference in how the company operates or on the local job market here in Houston.

Posted by: Greg at 12:48 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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How can that be, given these two stories?

First there is this.

The US trade deficit narrowed 3.8 percent in January to 59.1 billion dollars thanks to record-breaking export growth, the Commerce Department said Friday.

It was a bigger drop than expected on Wall Street, where analysts saw a deficit of 60.0 billion dollars, and marked the steepest change in the trade figure since October.

Then there is this.

The unemployment rate dipped to 4.5 percent and workers got fatter paychecks in February, even as bad winter weather sent a bit of a chill through U.S. job growth.

The latest employment picture, released by the Labor Department on Friday, suggested employers are holding up well and opportunities continue for jobseekers as the economy deals with a sluggish spell, a housing slump and troubles in the automotive industry.

Economic growth. Lower trade deficits. Increased employment and robust job creation. Give me more of this “bad economy.”

Posted by: Greg at 09:51 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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This story is rather funny in a sick way.

Houston police are investigating a fatal shooting in a southeast Houston apartment complex late Wednesday.

One man died in a car parked in a complex on the 5600 block of Selinsky, while a second man was found wounded nearby, said Capt. M.W. Martin of the Houston Police Department. A third man might have fled the scene carrying a gun, police said.

The story would be unremarkable were it not for this.

Police found marijuana at the scene and believe the shooting might have been drug-related. However, authorities are unsure exactly how much marijuana there was because bystanders had taken most of it by the time investigators arrived at the scene, leaving traces of the drug scattered across the parking lot, police said.

Well, its not like the dead guy was going to smoke it, so why let it go to waste -- right guys?

Posted by: Greg at 11:14 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Cases like this are why the death penalty needs to be available in more than just murder cases. This mutt clearly needs to be put down for the good of society.

Police say a man repeatedly stabbed his teenage wife, then gave the knife to his toddler son and told him: "Now you stab Mommy."

Fermin Rodriguez, 21, attacked his 17-year-old wife Sunday night, after accusing her of cheating on him, police said. He slashed and stabbed her multiple times, then handed the knife to his 2-year-old son and told him to stab her, police said.
Police would not say whether the boy did as his father said.

Rodriguez was charged with first-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, first-degree unlawful restraint and threatening. He was being held on $350,000 bond.

His wife, Keyschla Rodriguez, was taken to a hospital for treatment of stab wounds to her chest, face, arms and legs. Her condition was unavailable Tuesday morning.

Now let’s see here. This mutt was having sex with an underage girl. He go her knocked-up at 14 or 15. Then he tried o murder her – and tried to get their toddler to help with the deed. He just needs killing.

Posted by: Greg at 05:05 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Cases like this are why the death penalty needs to be available in more than just murder cases. This mutt clearly needs to be put down for the good of society.

Police say a man repeatedly stabbed his teenage wife, then gave the knife to his toddler son and told him: "Now you stab Mommy."

Fermin Rodriguez, 21, attacked his 17-year-old wife Sunday night, after accusing her of cheating on him, police said. He slashed and stabbed her multiple times, then handed the knife to his 2-year-old son and told him to stab her, police said.
Police would not say whether the boy did as his father said.

Rodriguez was charged with first-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, first-degree unlawful restraint and threatening. He was being held on $350,000 bond.

His wife, Keyschla Rodriguez, was taken to a hospital for treatment of stab wounds to her chest, face, arms and legs. Her condition was unavailable Tuesday morning.

Now let’s see here. This mutt was having sex with an underage girl. He go her knocked-up at 14 or 15. Then he tried o murder her – and tried to get their toddler to help with the deed. He just needs killing.

Posted by: Greg at 05:05 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Gee, I certainly hope so – they seem like a very happy young couple, very much in love. And given the unpleasantness that Prince William and his brother have endured over the years, it seems to me that fate should deal the future king at least one ace, given hat he has a joker for a dad.

Prince William and Kate Middleton will get married, MPs have been told.

A House of Commons select committee has heard that William, 24, had spoken openly about his plans.

Respected royal photographer Arthur Edwards - who has been honoured with the MBE by the Queen - told the MPs: "She's in love with Prince William. I'm sure one day they'll get married.

"I have talked to him about that and he's made it clear... he wants to get married."

Clarence House today refused to comment on his plans to marry, saying: "Prince William has no plans to get engaged."

The couple met at St Andrews University in September 2001 when they both studied History of Art.

Marriage for love – when it happens, as it did in the case of Prince William’s grandparents, it is a beautiful thing that provides a solid place upon which one can stand. It is my prayer that these two young people have found just such a source of strength.

Posted by: Greg at 04:46 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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