As Iraqis prepare to vote for a new Parliament, this disturbing development has taken place near the border with Iran.

Less than two days before nationwide elections, Iraqi border police seized a tanker truck on Tuesday that had just crossed from Iran filled with thousands of forged ballots, an official at Iraq's Interior Ministry said.

The tanker was seized by agents with the U.S.-trained border protection force at the Iraqi town of Badra, after crossing at Munthirya on the Iraqi border, the official said. According to the Iraqi official, the border police found several thousand partially completed ballots inside.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the Iranian truck driver told the police under interrogation that at least three other trucks filled with ballots had crossed from Iran at different spots along the border.

The official, who did not attend the interrogation, said he did not know where the driver was headed, or what he intended to do with the ballots.

So not only are teh Iranians talking about destroying Israel, they are also seeking to undermine the government of Iraq at this crucial early stage. It becomes increasigly clear that the current regime is a danger to regional stability and must be contained.

UPDATE: Iraqi authorities deny the story. Confederate Yankee argues the original story is wrong. Captain Ed explains why the denial is quite plausible. Michelle Malkin questions the original report, too.

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One British couple is paying a high price for initiation into the Mile-High Club.

THEY were jetting off for a holiday in Kingston, Jamaica, and the drinks flowed freely during the ten-hour flight.

Intoxicated, the couple, who were seated in business class, decided to submit their membership for the 'mile-high club' in one of the toilets.

But the British Airways flight staff became suspicious after hearing cries of passion from the loo, and the randy couple was ordered to stop and return to their seats

Randy quickly turned into angry.

Stunned passengers watched in horror as the couple fought with flight staff.
A passenger told The Sun: 'They were asked politely to return to their seats but went ballistic. They were shouting vile abuse and spitting at staff.'

Another said: 'The captain tried to calm them down but they were just as abusive to him.'

And despite being restrained with plastic handcuffs, the pilot decided he had no choice but to divert the 777 jet to Bermuda.

The couple, who were booked on a two-week holiday, were held by police in Bermuda and put on a flight back to Gatwick yesterday.

Now the duo, from Luton, Beds, have been arrested and face being charged with air rage. They may also have to bear the 20,000 ($58,950) cost of diverting the plane.

You know, I canÂ’t imagine any sexual experience worth $60,000.

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Looks like the spaceport will be located in New Mexico.

Virgin Galactic, the British company created by entrepreneur Richard Branson to send tourists into space, and New Mexico announced an agreement Tuesday for the state to build a $225 million spaceport. Virgin Galactic also revealed that up to 38,000 people from 126 countries have paid a deposit for a seat on one of its manned commercial flights, including a core group of 100 "founders" who have paid the initial $200,000 cost of a flight upfront. Virgin Galactic is planning to begin flights in late 2008 or early 2009.

New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Rick Homans said construction of the spaceport, to be built largely underground in the south of the state near the White Sands Missile Range, could begin in early 2007, depending on approval from environmental and aviation authorities.

Virgin will have a 20-year lease on the facility, with annual payments of $1 million for the first five years and rising to cover the cost of the project by the end of the lease.

"Experts predict that thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars of private investment will be created in the next 20 years as the private sector develops new commercial markets in the space industry in New Mexico," Homans said in London. "Virgin is the beginning and many other space companies will follow."

Virgin Galactic said it had chosen New Mexico as the site for its headquarters because of its steady climate, free airspace, low population density and high altitude. All those factors can significantly reduce the cost of the space flight program.

Already, there are 100 people ready to front them money as a down payment on spaceflight. Officials with Virgin Galactic indicate they expect others to follow.

Stephen Attenborough, the Virgin Galactic executive in charge of marketing the space flights, said the 100 founder members were committed to "stepping up to the plate" and boarding a flight early in the operations.
"Many of the others will need to wait until the price comes down and will want to wait for proven reliability and safety," he said.

Got that right – I can’t see being able to afford the current price on a teacher’s salary. And as far as waiting for “proven reliability and safety”, I think the technical term is “prudence.”

But I wish Branson and his colleagues well in getting this venture off the ground (pun not intended). It is how space flight ought to be.

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Tookie Williams, the murdering scum who founded the Crips, was executed this morning for four 1979 murders. A coward to the end, he refused to address the families of his victims and failed to admit his guilt or express remorse. Indeed, he fought the execution like a fearful child, filing false and frivilous appeals and clemency requests for decades, right up to the very end.

SAN QUENTIN, Calif., Dec. 13 -- Stanley "Tookie" Williams, a gang leader-turned-peace advocate whose cause drew worldwide attention, was executed in San Quentin's death chamber Tuesday morning after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger denied his last-ditch plea for clemency and the Supreme Court refused to block the execution.

Having exhausted his appeals, Williams, 51, who co-founded the notorious Crips gang, was killed via injection at 12:35 p.m. Pacific time (3:35 EST) for four murders committed during two separate robberies in Southern California in 1979.

Lest we forget why this act of justice was carried out, let me remind you.

On Feb. 27, 1979, he and three cohorts smoked cigarettes laced with PCP and, armed with a 12-gauge shotgun and a .22-caliber handgun, set out on a late-night search for a place to rob, according to court documents.

They wound up at the 7-Eleven where Owens, a father of two and Army veteran, was working the overnight shift. Owens was shot twice in the back.

Less than two weeks later, Williams broke down the door at the Brookhaven Motel and killed the motelÂ’s owners, Taiwanese immigrants Yen-I Yang, his wife, Tsai-Shai Chen Yang, and their daughter, Yu Chin Yang Lin, who was visiting.

The two robberies netted $220.

Tookie saw life as cheap -- worth less than $55 a head.

The same is true of his celebrity supporters, several of whom were unable to name even one of the victims of their pathetic "hero".

Reader Doug from Upland e-mails that the crusading Rev. Jackson did not know the names of Williams' victims when asked by KFI-AM radio talk show hosts John and Ken.

[Update: Reader Denise R. writes, "I was listening to [KFI host] John Zi[e]gler, he actually asked Jesse Jackson the names of the victims on a couple of occasions and his microphone was taken from him by Judge Mathis (the TV judge) and broken. He also was pushed by Jackson supporters, after that happened he was forced away from Jackson by Sheriff's Deputies.]

On MSNBC this evening, host Tucker Carlson told his "friend" Al Sharpton that he would spare him embarassment by not asking him the names of the victims.

Why would he do that? Guess he didn't want to ruin the freak show vibe.

The execution left this world a cleaner, better place.

MORE AT: Michelle Malkin, Captains Quarters, The Anchoress, Baldilocks, Oblogatory Anecdotes, Ordinary Everyday Christian, Mad Canuck, Independent Sources, FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog, Y-2-DRAY 4-EVER!, Impacted Wisdom Truth, Detour, The Pink Flamingo Bar Grill, Small Town Veteran, The Noonz Wire, Digger's Realm, Stuck On Stupid

Posted by: Greg at 11:32 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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My students raised the issue of Tookie Williams during one of my classes today. Several expressed the view that he should spend the rest of his life in prison. I agree – with the proviso that the rest of his life ends on December 12 at 12:01 AM.

Looks like the California courts have determined that a delay of two-and-a-half decades is sufficient.

The state's high court ruled 6-0 against staying the execution, saying Williams' last-minute appeal lacked merit and was untimely. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Brault had implored the justices early Sunday to dismiss his petition, writing that it "is without merit and is manifestly designed for delay."
The justices earlier denied a defense request to reopen the case over allegations that shoddy forensics linked a weapon used in three of the 1979 murders to a shotgun registered to Williams.

I also agreed with the kids that strapping him to a table and doing a lethal injection is wrong – but the courts won’t allow him to be buried next to an anthill and doused with honey.

After all, let’s remember what he did. He killed four people who were complying with his directions during another felony. Regardless of his “reformed life”, there is a price to be paid by this criminal wh has never taken responsibility for his crimes. The bill will be stamped “PAID” in the early morning hours in California.

UPDATE: Looks like even the judges of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals are turning down this stone cold killer in his bid to receive the mercy he failed to show his victims. Hopefully Williams will be stone cold 12 hours from now.

UPDATE 2: The Terminator refuses to stop TookieÂ’s termination.

"Clemency cases are always difficult and this one is no exception," Schwarzenegger said in a prepared statement.

"After studying the evidence, searching the history, listening to the arguments and wrestling with the profound consequences, I could find no justification for granting clemency. The facts do not justify overturning the jury's verdict or the decisions of the courts in this case."

Hasta la vista, baby.

UPDATE 3: Law enforcement personnel are on alert, ready for violence when Tookie meets his maker.

The possible execution Tuesday of Crips gang co-founder Stanley "Tookie" Williams, convicted of murdering four people, has North County law enforcement agencies alert for retaliation.

Issue lot's of ammo and meet any violence with maximum force. Send Tookie with a dishonor guard of his fellow thugs.

UPDATE 4: Supreme Court rejects Tookie stay -- the execution remains on.

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Liberty points out the price of protesting against the government in Red China.

During the demonstration Tuesday in Dongzhou, a village in southern Guangdong province, thousands of people gathered to protest the amount of money offered by the government as compensation for land to be used to construct a wind power plant.

Police started firing into the crowd and killed several people, mostly men, villagers reached by telephone said Friday. The death toll ranged from two to 10, they said, and many remained missing.

For some reason the world is silent. I guess that being a repressive communist dictatorship means never having to say you're sorry.

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The Washington Times has decided to start printing some of the positive things that are going on in Iraq -- things that regularly get ignored or under-reported in this country.

If Washington seems increasingly pessimistic about Iraq these days, Iraqis themselves aren't. In fact, 47 percent of Iraqis surveyed by the International Republican Institute in October said that the country is headed in the right direction (37 percent said it wasn't). That's a higher percentage than last year, when 42 percent of Iraqis thought so (45 percent did not) -- despite the problematic ongoing security problems. Here are some of the underreported reasons why.

• Education. Primary-school enrollment has jumped 20 percent over the Saddam years, according to the Brookings Institution's Iraq Index. In a country where 22 percent of adults never attended school, according to the International Monetary Fund, this is a momentous change. It's also a change going almost entirely unreported by U.S. news organizations. A Lexis-Nexis search for the terms "Iraq" and "school" or "schools" in the last month in the New York Times, The Washington Post, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle turns up 331 articles. None is about schools in Iraq. The terms "Iraq" and "Ministry of Education" show up only four times in the last year. Only one story covered the Iraqi education ministry.

• Gross Domestic Product. Iraq's GDP rebounded by an estimated 50 percent in 2004, according to the IMF, mostly due to increased oil revenues. About one-third of Iraqis are unemployed -- an alarming rate -- but this is sigificantly better than two years ago, when half or more of Iraqis were unemployed. A Lexis-Nexis search shows that the terms "Iraq" and "GDP" or "Gross Domestic Product" appeared together in the above papers in just 10 articles in the last month. Only two actually discussed Iraq's GDP.

None of which readers of major American newspapers would know unless they consult other sources.

Bravo for pointing out that the many of the biggest failures of the war in Iraq have very little to do with the policy of the Bush Administration or its implementation by the heroes in Iraq -- they are the repeated failures of the American media to fully and accurately report what is going on in that country and that the current policy is, essentially, a success.

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This sounds intriguing. Not only will Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff be anchoring the news for the network, but they are changing how news is delivered.

Westin also announced that beginning Jan. 3, the 6:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. PT) and 9:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. PT) feeds would all be anchored live each night by Vargas and Woodruff. In addition to the anchored portions, reporter packages will be updated with the latest news for each feed. The change means that for the first time viewers in major markets like Los Angeles and San Francisco will always see a live evening newscast.

Also beginning Jan. 3, "World News Tonight" will produce a live daily Webcast anchored by Vargas and Woodruff. The Webcast will include a brief update of the day's top stories with a preview of that evening's "World News Tonight" broadcast and will air live on ABC News Now, ABCNEWS.com and will be distributed wirelessly. This marks the first time an evening newscast has produced a unique program for the Internet audience.

"World News Tonight" will also significantly increase its presence on ABCNEWS.com with distinct content programmed specifically for the Internet audience. The redesigned World News Tonight section at wnt.abcnews.com will provide:

In a first, "World News Tonight" correspondents and anchors' reporting will be available throughout the day, even before the broadcast.

Interactive presentations, additional video and in-depth information relating to stories aired or airing on "World News Tonight," in the "Broadcast Plus" portion of the site.

Extended-play versions of select high-impact anchor packages and special reports.

Unaired portions of interviews with newsmakers and ABC News contributors.

Round-the-clock updates on the latest news.

The Blue Sheet — the broadcast's daily blog, with contributions from Vargas, Woodruff and WNT producers and writers, stimulating conversation, provoking thought, and demystifying the process of putting the broadcast together.

"Now 'World News Tonight' will always be on," said Jon Banner, executive producer of "World News Tonight." "We are revolutionizing the way the evening news is delivered — the broadcast will no longer be confined to the evening, no longer limited to television and now will be live to the West Coast."

Welcome to the neighborhood, folks.

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At least that was my thought when I first read this headline.

Arkansas Man Scales White House Fence

And may it never be his residence again.

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I guess I have a little bit different take on the current flap over the military planting pro-American news stories in Iraqi papers. Some want this to be seen as proof that the war is going badly, and that “good news” must be bought.

Richard Edelman, CEO of the Edelman public relations firm, rips the practice as "utterly unacceptable behavior" and told the Poynter Institute that it is "a perversion of our business, an intentional blurring of a clear demarcation between paid and earned media."

Here's a journalism lesson: If they're buying fake news, the real news must be really bad.

Others want to call it undermining journalistic ethics.

But I see it as a simple use of propaganda to help bring victory. If it were possible to slip some truthful coverage about the war into German newspapers in 1943, would it have been unethical to do so? Or would it have been one more means of undermining the enemy? Heck, what are Voice of America and Radio Marti?

Every bit of good news that brings support to the new Iraqi government also serves to undermine the terrorists. Every word is a bullet, every story a bomb, directed right at al-Zarqawi and his minions. Getting the good news out is key to winning the war. We should not refuse to use the truth as a weapon.

UPDATE: Captain Ed offers a different -- and much more extensive -- take on the story and how the military should have proceeded in this case. I don't necessarily agree with him, but he does have a good point.

This still comes back to building credibility with the Iraqi people. The free press in Iraq is a vitally important part of building the democratic structures necessary to make Iraq into a strong and free ally in the Middle East -- an example of how Arabs can lead themselves, without the traditional strong-man rule of dictator or emir. While exploiting newspapers to surreptitiously get out our point of view might seem like a smart tactical move to counter al-Qaeda propaganda, it's probably a huge mistake strategically in the long run. We're already teaching the Iraqis that their press is nothing more than paid mouthpieces for hidden Powers That Be, feeding into the common Arab predilection for grand conspiracies.

UPDATE 2: More interseting views from Dafydd at Big Lizards.

In other words, the huge "scandal" is that Coalition forces commissioned American soldiers to write "factual" accounts (nobody disputes that they were factual) of military engagements and rebuilding efforts, to counter the malicious lying by the terrorists and the American and international MSM. These accounts were handed to a third party in order to protect the Iraqi newspapers from reprisals by Zarqawi. The stories written by the soldiers were run as ads and paid commentary, which is a normal way to get your message out in Iraq; and they were supposed to have been identified as having been written by American soldiers.

But somehow, attribution didn't always get attached. Who could be responsible for that? Was it deliberate "propaganda," as the Associated Press has taken to calling it?

In fact, the Times even admitted that typically, the stories were identified as adverts, and were sometimes run in special fonts, typographies, and colors. But evidently, not every Iraqi stringer working for the Lincoln Group identified the purchaser as the Coalition when he sold the stories.

In other words, the LA Times even admits that the US military did nothing wrong.

Posted by: Greg at 12:56 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I guess I have a little bit different take on the current flap over the military planting pro-American news stories in Iraqi papers. Some want this to be seen as proof that the war is going badly, and that “good news” must be bought.

Richard Edelman, CEO of the Edelman public relations firm, rips the practice as "utterly unacceptable behavior" and told the Poynter Institute that it is "a perversion of our business, an intentional blurring of a clear demarcation between paid and earned media."

Here's a journalism lesson: If they're buying fake news, the real news must be really bad.

Others want to call it undermining journalistic ethics.

But I see it as a simple use of propaganda to help bring victory. If it were possible to slip some truthful coverage about the war into German newspapers in 1943, would it have been unethical to do so? Or would it have been one more means of undermining the enemy? Heck, what are Voice of America and Radio Marti?

Every bit of good news that brings support to the new Iraqi government also serves to undermine the terrorists. Every word is a bullet, every story a bomb, directed right at al-Zarqawi and his minions. Getting the good news out is key to winning the war. We should not refuse to use the truth as a weapon.

UPDATE: Captain Ed offers a different -- and much more extensive -- take on the story and how the military should have proceeded in this case. I don't necessarily agree with him, but he does have a good point.

This still comes back to building credibility with the Iraqi people. The free press in Iraq is a vitally important part of building the democratic structures necessary to make Iraq into a strong and free ally in the Middle East -- an example of how Arabs can lead themselves, without the traditional strong-man rule of dictator or emir. While exploiting newspapers to surreptitiously get out our point of view might seem like a smart tactical move to counter al-Qaeda propaganda, it's probably a huge mistake strategically in the long run. We're already teaching the Iraqis that their press is nothing more than paid mouthpieces for hidden Powers That Be, feeding into the common Arab predilection for grand conspiracies.

UPDATE 2: More interseting views from Dafydd at Big Lizards.

In other words, the huge "scandal" is that Coalition forces commissioned American soldiers to write "factual" accounts (nobody disputes that they were factual) of military engagements and rebuilding efforts, to counter the malicious lying by the terrorists and the American and international MSM. These accounts were handed to a third party in order to protect the Iraqi newspapers from reprisals by Zarqawi. The stories written by the soldiers were run as ads and paid commentary, which is a normal way to get your message out in Iraq; and they were supposed to have been identified as having been written by American soldiers.

But somehow, attribution didn't always get attached. Who could be responsible for that? Was it deliberate "propaganda," as the Associated Press has taken to calling it?

In fact, the Times even admitted that typically, the stories were identified as adverts, and were sometimes run in special fonts, typographies, and colors. But evidently, not every Iraqi stringer working for the Lincoln Group identified the purchaser as the Coalition when he sold the stories.

In other words, the LA Times even admits that the US military did nothing wrong.

Posted by: Greg at 12:56 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Jonah Goldberg of National Review.

“Eat Yuletide, You Atheistic Bastard!”

Now there’s a winner for you – be sure to read the column.

Posted by: Greg at 12:48 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Jonah Goldberg of National Review.

“Eat Yuletide, You Atheistic Bastard!”

Now there’s a winner for you – be sure to read the column.

Posted by: Greg at 12:48 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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This just goes to show that poll results are only as good as the questions asked.

Some 56 percent of U.S. consumers think Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is bad for America, according to a Zogby International poll released on Thursday by one of the retailer's most vocal critics.

The national poll -- commissioned by WakeUpWalMart.com, a union-funded group that has been pressuring Wal-Mart to raise employee wages and benefits -- surveyed 1,012 randomly chosen adults on their attitudes toward the world biggest retailer.

Respondents were asked to choose which of two statements more closely fit their personal opinions.

The majority, or 56 percent, picked: "I believe that Wal-Mart is bad for America. It may provide low prices, but these prices come with a high moral and economic cost for consumers." Thirty-nine percent agreed that "Wal-Mart is good for America. It provides low prices and saves consumers money every day."

The problem is, in my opinion, that the poll unreasonably restricts the choices available to those polled. Where is the middle ground choice? You know, something like "Wal-Mart is both good and bad for America. It provides low prices for consumers and good entry-level jobs, but it also negatively impacts some local businesses and communities." I'd bet that such a choice would have attracted a majority of those polled -- folks like me who see that Wal-Mart, like any other corporation, is primarily about the bottom-line and will adopt policies and practices based primarily upon profit-margins.

Even more troubling is this question -- which proves that those who conducted the poll were incompetent.

Thirty-three percent strongly agreed that Wal-Mart was a retail monopoly that threatened the future health of the U.S. economy, but 35 percent did not agree at all.

Uh -- Wal-Mart is not a monopoly, and no poll results can make it one. Other businesses can and do make a go of it in the retail industry, though Wal-Mart is the bibbest of the bunch. As such, the only thing that is proved by the results is that 33% of the polled group (and, I would presume, Americans as a whole) are ignorant boobs when it comes to economics.

Love Wal-Mart or hate Wal-Mart -- that is your choice. But be honest in your attempts to bersuade others of your beliefs, and don't use junk polling data to tryy to bolster your point.

(DISCLAIMER: As I wrote this point, I realized that the only items I am wearing that are not Wal-Mart/Sam's Club purchases are my wedding ring and my cross.)

Posted by: Greg at 04:10 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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How on earth do you mess this up?

Here's the headline on an article in today's Houston Chrnicle.

A first look at Roberts in action on abortion

He appears to favor the power of the state in a case involving parental consent

Every link to the article also talked about "parental consent".

The opening sentence of the story tells a different story.

New Chief Justice John Roberts appeared to side with New Hampshire as the U.S. Supreme Court debated Wednesday whether to salvage the state's law requiring girls to notify a parent before getting an abortion.

In other words, the first sentence of the article directly contadicts the headline.

Is it incompetence, or is it bias?

Posted by: Greg at 11:29 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Kenneth Lee Boyd killed his estranged wife and father-in-law in 1988 is scheduled to be the next condemned murder executed in the United States on Friday -- the 1000th since the resumption of the capital punishment in 1977.

In a recent interview, he made the following statement -- one with which I fully agree.

"I feel like I should be in prison for the rest of my life."

As a death penalty supporter, I have to agree.

And the rest of your life ends at 2:00 a.m. on Friday, December 2, 2005 -- bringing justice for those you murdered 17 years ago.

UPDATE: He got what he deserved this morning, December 2, 2005.

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Why are time and money being spent to study this issue? What is the redeeming social value of research on geriatric prostitutes?

Prostitutes as old as 70 continue to work in rural Australia, pushed out of the cities due to strong competition from younger and more attractive sex workers, the author of a study says.

* * *
The research, by John Scott of the University of New England, examined prostitution in rural areas of New South Wales state. He found the sex industry has flourished in rural towns, with many prostitutes making regular visits.
"I've likened some of them to travelling musicians, in that some of them might be based in metropolitan centres and they go out and travel -- they tour the bush," Scott told Reuters.

[Insert Your Joke Here]

He said a sex worker might pass through a country town every couple of months, but would advertise in advance and book up appointments. He said sex workers in rural areas tended to be older, and provide more companionship than city sex workers.

"In a business that is based on looks and age a lot of the time, it became increasingly hard for workers as they progressed in age," Scott said.

Hookers who are old enough to qualify for Social Security? Yeah, it might be increasingly hard for them, but I think it would make customers increasingly soft. Maybe there is a reason all they want is cuddling and conversation

Posted by: Greg at 10:27 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Why are time and money being spent to study this issue? What is the redeeming social value of research on geriatric prostitutes?

Prostitutes as old as 70 continue to work in rural Australia, pushed out of the cities due to strong competition from younger and more attractive sex workers, the author of a study says.

* * *
The research, by John Scott of the University of New England, examined prostitution in rural areas of New South Wales state. He found the sex industry has flourished in rural towns, with many prostitutes making regular visits.
"I've likened some of them to travelling musicians, in that some of them might be based in metropolitan centres and they go out and travel -- they tour the bush," Scott told Reuters.

[Insert Your Joke Here]

He said a sex worker might pass through a country town every couple of months, but would advertise in advance and book up appointments. He said sex workers in rural areas tended to be older, and provide more companionship than city sex workers.

"In a business that is based on looks and age a lot of the time, it became increasingly hard for workers as they progressed in age," Scott said.

Hookers who are old enough to qualify for Social Security? Yeah, it might be increasingly hard for them, but I think it would make customers increasingly soft. Maybe there is a reason all they want is cuddling and conversation

Posted by: Greg at 10:27 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Are all men potential molesters of kids? Apparently so, according to Qantas and Air New Zealand.

Two airlines "down under" are under fire after acknowledging their policy of not allowing an unaccompanied child passenger to sit next to a man.

The policy emerged when a New Zealand man said he was asked by airline staff to move because an unaccompanied minor had been assigned the seat next to him.

Mark Worsley was told to swap seats with a woman sitting nearby, who then moved into the seat next to the boy, about eight years old, for the 80-minute flight.

"I was pretty shocked -- I think most people would be," the 37-year-old shipping manager and father of two said Tuesday.

"I complied straight away and moved seats. But as I sat on the plane during the flight I got more and more angry about it."

Part of the problem, Worsley said, was that the plane was full. When the flight attendant arranged the seat swap, "certainly there was enough disruption that people in the immediate vicinity would have heard what was going on. I felt totally embarrassed."

He had later confronted the airline staff, who confirmed the company policy.

Now given what we know about child abuse, especially from certain recent cases, it can come from either sex. To demand a man move simply because of his gender is absurd. Not only that, it is intolerable.

Unfortunately, some don’t see it that way – and they are in charge of enforcing laws against sex discrimination.

The airlines did win support from one quarter. Children's Commissioner Cindy Kiro, a government appointee, commended Qantas and Air New Zealand for their efforts to keep child passengers safe.

Kiro said she doubted the policy was meant as a slur against men.

It may not have been meant as a slur against men, but it certainly was a slur against men. This ding-dong needs to be pursued out of office by a mob lobbing rotten vegetables.

Oh, yeah -- and the authorities down-under need to correct thsi offense against the dignity of men.

Posted by: Greg at 01:31 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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One of my high school clasmates is married to a neo-natal specialist who fights (with great success) to save children born prematurely, as early as the fifth and sixth months of pregnancy. A few blocks down the street is the office of one of the most aggressive abortionists in the United States, where a so-called healer takes the lives of babies into to the eighth month of pregnancy. I've long been struck by the conflict between their work.

Accoding to a report in Great Britain, at leaset 50 babies a year are born alive following abortion.

A GOVERNMENT agency is launching an inquiry into doctorsÂ’ reports that up to 50 babies a year are born alive after botched National Health Service abortions.

The investigation, by the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH), comes amid growing unease among clinicians over a legal ambiguity that could see them being charged with infanticide.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, which regulates methods of abortion, has also mounted its own investigation.

Its guidelines say that babies aborted after more than 21 weeks and six days of gestation should have their hearts stopped by an injection of potassium chloride before being delivered. In practice, few doctors are willing or able to perform the delicate procedure.

For the abortion of younger foetuses, labour is induced by drugs in the expectation that the infant will not survive the birth process. Guidelines say that doctors should ensure that the drugs they use prevent such babies being alive at birth.

In practice, according to Stuart Campbell, former professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at St GeorgeÂ’s hospital, London, a number do survive.

“They can be born breathing and crying at 19 weeks’ gestation,” he said. “I am not anti-abortion, but as far as I am concerned this is sub-standard medicine.”

The number of terminations carried out in the 18th week of pregnancy or later has risen from 5,166 in 1994 to 7,432 last year. Prenatal diagnosis for conditions such as DownÂ’s syndrome is increasing and foetuses with the condition are routinely aborted, even though many might be capable of leading fulfilling lives. In the past decade, doctorsÂ’ skill in saving the lives of premature babies has improved radically: at least 70%-80% of babies in their 23rd or 24th week of gestation now survive long-term.

Abortion on demand is allowed in Britain up to 24 weeks — more than halfway through a normal pregnancy and the highest legal limit for such terminations in Europe. France and Germany permit “social” abortions only up to the 10th and 12th weeks respectively.

Doctors are increasingly uneasy about aborting babies who could be born alive. “If viability is the basis on which they set the 24-week limit for abortion, then the simplest answer is to change the law and reduce the upper limit to 18 weeks,” said Campbell, who last year published a book showing images of foetuses’ facial expressions and “walking” movements taken with a form of 3-D ultrasound.

The Department of Health was alerted three months ago to the issue of babies surviving failed terminations. In August clinicians in Manchester published an analysis of 31 such babies born in northwest England between 1996 and 2001.

“If a baby is born alive following a failed abortion and then dies (because of lack of care), you could potentially be charged with murder,” said Shantala Vadeyar, a consultant obstetrician at South Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust, who led the study.

Ultimately, it comes down to a question of human life. Why does any society countenance the killing of viable children? And if the most vulnerable among us are declared without worth and subject to extermination while still in the womb, what rights do they have if they manage to escape their intended fates and take a first breath? Does the fact that these children are now unquestionably alive imbue them with full human rights?

Or is a woman seeking an abortion entitled to a dead baby?
In short, when are we, as a society, going to recognize the critical disconnect between our medical abilty to save babies born at increasingly early stages of pregnancy and the legal willingness to take the lives of such infants?

Posted by: Greg at 11:26 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I've never been a fan of "blue laws", which restrict business activities on certain days with an ostensibly religious significance.

Originally implemented to force folks to keep the Christian Sabbath, they interfere with the legitimate rights of those of other faiths (and no faith at all) to engage in commerce as they see fit -- and provides no equivalent protection for those whose Sabbath and other holy days fall outside of those of the Christian religion.

More to the point, they needlessly restrict the economic activities of Americans on their non-work days. After all, who is harmed if I purchase a car on Sunday?

Massachusetts has done away with most of its blue laws -- but among the exceptions is the one requiring that stores close on Christmas, New Years Day, and Thanksgiving.

One grocer, Whole Foods (which specializes in natural and organic foods), planned to open its 14 Massachusetts stores for Thanksgiving. A compettitor, Shaws Supermarkets, with over 200 Massachusetts stores, complained to the state and have brought the jackboot of the state authority down upon Whole Foods to force the closure of their much smaller competitor, which had sought and received permits from local authorities to open on the holiday.

What was the basis of thier complaint?

"We believe that allowing Whole Foods to open on Thanksgiving Day will create an unlevel playing field for all other retail grocers," Shaw's legal department wrote to Reilly on Nov. 4. "Besides disadvantaging competitors, a Whole Foods opening would harm consumers, due to lack of choice in the marketplace for consumers to shop and compare prices for the best deal."

I have two reactions.

1) What would have kept you from seeking a similar exemption?

2) Do you really believe that it is a greater harm to consumers to have a single choice on Thanksgiving than for them to have zero choices?

Not, of course, that Massachusetts consumers will be without recourse on Thanksgiving. Gas stations and convenience stores will be open under an exemption written into the blue law. I wonder if Shaws in Massachusetts has done like Krogers has here in Texas and Albertsons has done in other parts of the country -- opened up convenience stores and gas stations on their lots, which would allow them to sell all those Thanksgiving needs without competition from Whole Foods. And, of course, whatever convenience store or gas station they go to will have a smaller selection of goods at much higher prices than they would have paid at Whole Foods -- certainly a wonderful benefit of this state "protection" of the consumer. Not to mention that the available selections will not include the preferred organic and natural food selections of Whole Foods shoppers.

The state is offering a different justification for its actions.

A letter to Whole Foods from Reilly's fair labor and business practices division said, "Generally, the performance of work on legal holidays is prohibited unless permitted by a statutory exemption." The letter noted Reilly has the power to bring criminal charges against anyone who violates the state's blue laws.

Nick Messuri, chief of Reilly's business and labor protection bureau, said the blue laws sound archaic, but they protect workers from pressure to give up their holidays.

Whole Foods responds that no worker would have been forced to work on the holiday, and that they would have received double-time for the holiday shift -- a bargain I certainly would be glad to make (and generally did when I worked for an hourly wage).

But everyone here is protected by state regulation. Consumers are protected from being able to buy the items they need at the store they want. Workers are protected from choosing to make twice their hourly wage while still having plenty of time to mark the holiday. And Shaws is protected from their tiny, specialized competitor earning a little bit of good will from the public.

Thank God for the jackboot power of government protecting us from the invisible hand of capitalism!

LINKING TO OPEN TRACKBACK: Stop The ACLU

Posted by: Greg at 05:45 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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I pass the construction site for the new Bayport terminal on my way home from work every day It is a couple of miles from my house.

Yesterday, I saw a bunch of squad cars and some television trucks at what is nothing more than an industrial construction site.

Seems they made a surprise discovery.

Authorities on Monday were combing through an area near the new Bayport terminal after a work crew discovered a human skull.

Pasadena police and officials with the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office, including an anthropologist, were called to the site in the 12800 block of Port Road about 9:45 a.m.

After searching the area for other clues, police also found a leg bone and a shirt, Pasadena police spokesman Vance Mitchell said.

"We are not sure if it is a man or a woman," Mitchell said of the skull found in a field near where a crew was surveying.

Additional testing will determine if the skull and the leg bone were from the same person.

Mitchell said it appears the skull had been in the field for some time because there was no flesh on it.

This may slow down the construction for a bit.

I'll let you know if it is anything really exciting.

Posted by: Greg at 12:02 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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It has only been about a week since Sony was caught installing system damaging software on computers without disclosing the nature of the program. Now it appears that they have left the door open to hackers, too.

A computer security firm said on Thursday it had discovered the first virus that uses music publisher Sony BMG's controversial CD copy-protection software to hide on PCs and wreak havoc.

Under a subject line containing the words "Photo approval," a hacker has mass-mailed the so-called Stinx-E trojan virus to British email addresses, said British anti-virus firm Sophos.

When recipients click on an attachment, they install malware, which may tear down a computer's firewall and give hackers access to a PC. The malware hides by using Sony BMG software that is also hidden -- the software would have been installed on a computer when consumers played Sony's copy-protected music CDs.

"This leaves Sony in a real tangle. It was already getting bad press about its copy-protection software, and this new hack exploit will make it even worse," said Sophos's Graham Cluley.

Later on Thursday, security software firm Symantec Corp. also discovered the first trojans to abuse the security flaw in Sony BMG's copy-protection software. A trojan is a program that appears desirable but actually contains something harmful.

Time for the law to take on this abusive business practice – and for civil courts to award serious damages.

And fortunately, the first civil suit has already been filed.

Sony BMG is facing three lawsuits over its controversial anti-piracy software.

Revealed in late October by Windows expert Mark Russinovich, the software copy protection system hides using virus-like techniques.

One class-action lawsuit has already been filed in California and another is expected in New York.

Digital rights group, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), is also gathering information from users to see if a case can be brought.

Combined with the investigations by several governments, Sony may be in for a serious financial hit from which it may never recover.

Posted by: Greg at 12:05 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Jack Kelly of Irish Pennants points out this "minor" error by CNN's Carol Lin.

Hard to say because it's been 11 days since two African- American teenagers were killed, electrocuted during a police chase, which prompted all of this.

Uh -- they weren't American, Carol.

Posted by: Greg at 11:46 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I could have told you this, and saved you the cost of the study.

Stanford University researchers have determined humor is processed differently in the brains of men and women, and women get more enjoyment from it.

In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, psychiatrist Dr. Allan Reiss, who led the study, explained magnetic resonance imaging was used to detect blood rushing into active areas of the brain. The heads of each of the 20 volunteers were carefully restrained so as not to jiggle and blur the image if the person laughed, the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News reported.

The study found that when looking at funny cartoons, women activated the language parts of their brains more than men did. Their reward centers also lit up more intensely, possibly because they didn`t expect the cartoons to be as funny as the men did, and so felt more intense pleasure when they got the punch line.

Reiss said if women react more intensely to funny things, 'could that also imply that they process negative stimuli, stressful stimuli, in a different way? It`s definitely worth following up.'

Ask any guy who has been married for more than two or three weeks if men and women view humor (or anything else) differently. We learn that one the hard way, as jokes fall flat and the wives attempt to get us to watch reruns of Britcoms on PBS.

But then again, why should we be surprised that academic scientists spend wads of cash studying the obvious?

Posted by: Greg at 01:40 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I could have told you this, and saved you the cost of the study.

Stanford University researchers have determined humor is processed differently in the brains of men and women, and women get more enjoyment from it.

In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, psychiatrist Dr. Allan Reiss, who led the study, explained magnetic resonance imaging was used to detect blood rushing into active areas of the brain. The heads of each of the 20 volunteers were carefully restrained so as not to jiggle and blur the image if the person laughed, the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News reported.

The study found that when looking at funny cartoons, women activated the language parts of their brains more than men did. Their reward centers also lit up more intensely, possibly because they didn`t expect the cartoons to be as funny as the men did, and so felt more intense pleasure when they got the punch line.

Reiss said if women react more intensely to funny things, 'could that also imply that they process negative stimuli, stressful stimuli, in a different way? It`s definitely worth following up.'

Ask any guy who has been married for more than two or three weeks if men and women view humor (or anything else) differently. We learn that one the hard way, as jokes fall flat and the wives attempt to get us to watch reruns of Britcoms on PBS.

But then again, why should we be surprised that academic scientists spend wads of cash studying the obvious?

Posted by: Greg at 01:40 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Ian Robinson of the Calgary Sun offers this tip to all those gangbangers who think that its "cool" to hold their guns sideways while shooting, lust like they do in the movies.

NOTE TO MORONS: The front and back sights of a weapon are on the top of the barrel so that you can use them to hit the target. You hold the thing sideways, and you don't know what you're going to hit. Plus the spent cartridge ejects from the weapon and flies backwards. You hold it properly, it goes over your right shoulder. Do it the way they do it in the movies, and it catches you in the centre of your forehead.

Can you say ouch, moron?

I'd encourage you to read the whole article, which delves into such issues as gun ownership, regulation of shooting ranges, and the social acceptability of owning a gun in the People's Republic of Kanuckistan. It makes for a great laugh -- and for some serious thought.

Posted by: Greg at 11:28 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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I started reading Dear Abby as a kid, and have long continued to do so for entertainemnt value.

This letter, though, is much more important.

It praises those men and women who work to save the lives of those wounded in the service of our country -- and is from a person who knows.

Dear Abby:

Q: I was a soldier serving in Iraq. Last April, I was in a vehicular accident while part of a military convoy and was medevaced to the nearest medical treatment facility.

I didn't mind sharing the trauma room with the Marine who had arrived there before me. He had been shot three times in the face. While I was in the room with this brave Marine, the trauma crew fought valiantly to save his life. He flat-lined seven times in just the short period after I got there. Finally, the doctor told them it was over, and they covered him up. I never knew his name. I lay on my litter while they started to work on my arm, which had been pinned under the truck during my accident and crushed, crying silently for the life that had been lost.

I'm writing this to you, Abby, to let that Marine's parents and friends know how hard the doctors and crew fought to save his life. Besides the medical crew, I'm the only one who knows. He wasn't just a face or a name on a memorial to them. He was a life, and many people tried hard to keep him alive. If he had been my child, I would want to know.

ANOTHER SOLIDER, Clarksville, Tenn.

Dear Soldier:

A: Thank you for your letter and for taking the time to share the last moments of life of that Marine. I'm sure your feelings are shared by all of the parents who have lost sons and daughters in this war, as well as the parents of those whose lives are on the line every day they serve on active duty.

I, too, thank you for sharing this, and for your efforts on behalf of freedom.

Posted by: Greg at 03:07 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Here is a case of an HMO simply abusing the process to the complete disregard of the health of the patient.

Little Jack Zembsch suffers from a very rare form of dwarfism that will likely kill him without treatment available only one place in the country.

But the doctor isn't in network.

So the family HMO, Health Net, has taken a series of steps that amount to a directive to let Jack die.

"You just keep thinking that you are going to wake up and it is all resolved,'' he says. "It is so clearly the right path for Jack. I keep thinking I am going to get the letter from some guy saying, 'Sorry, he fell through the cracks. We will get this done.' ''

That isn't going to happen. It didn't happen when the Zembschs' primary-care physician, Dr. Jane Hunter at Alta Bates Medical Center in Berkeley, wrote a note to Health Net saying "it is imperative'' that Jack see Mackenzie.

It didn't happen when Health Net sent Jack to the highly regarded UCSF medical center to be treated by Dr. Mohammad Diab, a surgeon who is in charge of pediatric orthopedics. Diab told the family he essentially had no experience with the surgery Jack needs and wrote to Health Net that Jack should see Mackenzie immediately.

"The door is closing, if not closed,'' Diab wrote.

It doesn't get any plainer than that. Jack needs an operation. He will die without it.

"I thought it was a no-brainer at that point,'' says Arnold Levinson, a San Francisco health care insurance attorney.

Apparently not. In all there were four appeals. Some were filed twice. In every case, Health Net took the entire 30 days allowed by law to respond, then came up with another rejection or roadblock. Finally, on Oct. 12, Health Net ruled that Jack should go back to Diab.

So everyone, including the doctor that Health Net wants treating Jack, are on the same page -- only Dr. Mackenzie has the expertise to treat Jack. But Health Net does not care. Better one child should die for the good of the shareholders. than the bottom line be impacted negatively.

But a lawsuit is coming -- Monday.

As the spouse of a chronically ill patient, I hope that Health Net gets crushed.

Posted by: Greg at 12:52 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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