There Goes The Neighbourhood

Mexico - you have no idea how many bodies are actually buried.  Hundreds.  The numbers are staggering.  When added together, they will make the number of murders in the US in a  year seem rather dim. 20 bodies found in northern Mexico mass grave AP Olivia Torres November 29, 2010 CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico – The Mexican army discovered several clandestine graves holding at least 20 bodies near a ranch in the northern border state of Chihuahua, authorities said Monday. Soldiers found the bodies of 19 men and one woman buried in 12 graves over the weekend in the town of Puerto Palomas, across from Columbus, New Mexico, and informed police so they could oversee excavations, Chihuahua state prosecutor Jorge Gonzalez said. Gonzalez said that the bodies had been buried between four and eight months and that it had not yet been determined how they were killed because they were badly decomposed. Earlier this month, the bodies of 18 men who were kidnapped in Acapulco where they ha...

Julian Assange is teasing Barack Obama over drip, drip WikiLeaks releases     I agree, although not sure if Assange is doing so on purpose.  The drip drip is crippling.  Obama is supposed to be dealing with ... other issues, but will have to contend with embarassing statements from his own government concerning ... our 'allies' (and others).                                         obama

¶ Bargaining to empty the Guantánamo Bay prison: When American diplomats pressed other countries to resettle detainees, they became reluctant players in a State Department version of “Let’s Make a Deal.” Slovenia was told to take a prisoner if it wanted to meet with President Obama, while the island nation of Kiribati was offered incentives worth millions of dollars to take in Chinese Muslim detainees, cables from diplomats recounted. The Americans, meanwhile, suggested that accepting more prisoners would be “a low-cost way for Belgium to attain prominence in Europe.” New York Times, 11/28/10 It is all about politics, nothing about security - and certainly, does not consider what our 'allies' thought - this administration pushed through what Obama wanted, which was not in the best interest of the US - but in his political best interest.  We close Guantanamo and we don't care what happens after that - or the consequences.    The actions of this administration are as r...

One question might be - if Congress is considering an act authorizing action on internet infringement, I have to wonder, by what authority are they seizing these sites (I am sure there must be authority or they would not do it). Homeland Security seizes domain names The Hill By Sara Jerome - 11/26/10 04:25 PM ET The investigative arm of the Homeland Security Department appears to be shutting down websites that facilitate copyright infringement. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has seized dozens of domain names over the past few days, according to TorrentFreak. ICE appears to be targeting sites that help Internet users download copyrighted music, as well as sites that sell bootleg goods, such as fake designer handbags. The sites are replaced with a note from the government: "This domain named has been seized by ICE, Homeland Security Investigations." For instance, 2009jersey.com, 51607.com, and amoyhy.com have each been seized. One of the site owners told TorrentFreak...

25 November 2010 BBC Rio de Janeiro shaken by fresh gang violence Police and gang members have clashed in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro for a fourth day, despite further raids by security forces. At least 15 people were reported killed on Wednesday as police sought to quell the wave of gang violence. Heavily armed men continued to stop cars and buses, rob passengers and set vehicles alight, police said. Officials say drug traffickers are fighting back against police operations aimed at pacifying city slums. "There are groups of criminals who have been installed here for 20, 30 years, and they might not want to give up," said Rio state public safety director Jose Beltrame. "But we're not giving up either. If they keep this up, we will redouble our efforts. Anyone who gets in our path will be run over." Military police said 15 suspected gang members had died in shootouts with officers on Wednesday. Since the weekend, more than 20 people have died in clashe...

Rahm Emmanuel wanting to be mayor of Chicago - But Mr. Emanuel’s campaign, which quickly called a conference call with reporters on Wednesday afternoon, says Mr. Emanuel’s intent was always to return to his home on the North Side of Chicago, and that his intent is what should ultimately define his legal status when these complaints reach elections officials and the courts.                       the left

The color coded warning system, and the new claim as to why it needs to be done away with ... This is good to keep because it can be juxtaposed against what they do create ... Perhaps they should do a warning color system for us - what we can expect at the airport:  Green - regular check, pat, and adios.  Yellow - stand like a cross, wand waved about, patted down.  Red:  armed guards, scanner, x-ray, backscatter, and groping. "The goal is to replace a system that communicates nothing with a system that communicates precise, actionable information based on the latest intelligence to law enforcement, the private sector and the American public," said a senior Homeland Security official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because deliberations are continuing.                 terror

Daft?  He is much more than daft. Children safer in Afghan cities than NYC-NATO envoy 22 Nov 2010 15:42:28 GMT Source: Reuters By Jonathon Burch KABUL, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Children are probably safer growing up in Afghanistan's major cities, including the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar, than in London, New York, or Glasgow, NATO's top civilian envoy to Afghanistan has said. Mark Sedwill's comments were made during an interview to be aired on Monday on Children's BBC Newsround, a popular British daily current affairs programme aimed at children. Children living in the Afghan capital Kabul had told the show's presenter they felt unsafe on the streets because of the risk of bombs. But Sedwill dismissed their fears. "Here and in Kabul and the other big cities, actually, there are very few of those bombs," he said. "The children are probably safer here than they would be in London, New York or Glasgow or many other cities," he said. "It's a ve...

Finally, a man who is living in the 21st century.  He should be praised and given accolades for increasing the age, from 9 to 15.  What a champ, what a man, what a ......... Girls should marry aged 16-18: Iran's Ahmadinejad Reuters November 21, 2010 TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the best age for girls to get married was between 16 and 18, Iranian newspapers reported on Sunday. Analysts say such announcements could be part of the government's efforts to gain support among young voters. Iran's parliament in 2004 raised the legally acceptable age of marriage for girls to 15 from nine. "The best age for marriage is between 16 to 18 for girls and 19 to 21 for boys," the Mardomsalari newspaper quoted Ahmadinejad as saying. Ahmadinejad's popularity has been harmed since the disputed 2009 presidential vote, which the opposition says was rigged to secure his re-election. The authorities deny this. The vote and its aftermath created a rif...

A man with an ego larger than nearly the political party he claims allegiance to, having sat through Bush, with all the attacks and personal comments he made about the man and his policies - comments that ranged from political to personal attacks.  Charlie Rangel accused Bush and members of his administration of serious violations of ethical standards and illegal acts ... and all the while, this man, was consumed by no feeling of remorse, for Rangel operated above the rules mere presidents must adhere to, he operates on a level well beyond mortal beings. Rangel needs to resign and go find himself an attorney after he sells off his Dominican property.  Then ready himself for other legal action. 'Charming' betrayal of trust November 19, 2010 Charles Hurt New York Post WASHINGTON -- The sad, wrenching spectacle we saw yesterday of a grand old man, crumpled in an armchair, his face broken, weeping into his hands, was just another dramatic display of Charlie Rangel's unstoppable...

"I'm wildly excited that I can walk through a machine instead of getting my dose of love pats," Sen. McCaskill said. on the TSA and their procedures.       airports

Compensation For Ex-Guantanamo Prisoners  November 16, 2010 Sky News Carole Erskine and Miranda Richardson, Sky News Online Compensation which could total millions of pounds is to be paid out to around a dozen former detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Sky sources say. The controversial move comes after the Government agreed to settle a series of High Court actions brought by a group of the ex-prisoners. Some of those thought to be receiving money have accused British security and intelligence officials of colluding in their torture and abuse while they were held abroad. There are also claims the Government knew they were being illegally transferred there but failed to stop it. Among those said to be receiving settlements are Binyam Mohamed, Bishar Al Rawi, Jamil El Banna, Richard Belmar, Omar Deghayes, Moazzam Begg and Martin Mubanga. Most are British citizens or British residents, but some are said to be asylum seekers. Justice Secretary Ken Clarke will make answer an urgent question on...

NOVEMBER 15, 2010 California Court Upholds In-State Tuition for Some Illegal Immigrants Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO—The California Supreme Court ruled Monday that some illegal immigrants are entitled to the same tuition breaks offered to in-state high school students to attend public colleges and universities. While the ruling applies only to California, the case was closely watched nationally because nine other states including New York and Texas have similar laws. Republican congressmen Lamar S. Smith of Texas and Steve King of Iowa filed a so-called friends of the court brief urging that illegal immigrants be denied the reduced rate. The lawsuit considered by the court was part of a broader legal assault led by the immigration legal scholar Kris Kobach, who has filed numerous cases across the country seeking to restrict the rights of illegal immigrants. He represented a group of U.S. students who filed the lawsuit seeking to invalidated the California law. Mr. Kobach didn't r...

We are neither respected, liked, admired ... we lose everything, and our economy is miserable.  Now Obama is off to Europe, to finish off whatever relationships we did have ... they want nothing to do with him.  Merkle - doesn't trust him.  Sarkozy - loathes him.  Cameron - can't stand the man.  I am sure Obama will find someone to welcome him like a celebrity after being scolded by the G20 Summit in Asia.   Hillary is waiting in the wings ... like a hawk. Embarrassment in Seoul The world won't follow slow-growth, weak-dollar America. NOVEMBER 13, 2010 WSJ Has there ever been a major economic summit where a U.S. President and his Treasury Secretary were as thoroughly rebuffed as they were at this week's G-20 meeting in Seoul? We can't think of one. President Obama failed to achieve any of his main goals while getting pounded by other world leaders for failing U.S. policies and lagging growth. The root of this embarrassment is political and intellectual...

'I stopped World War Three by refusing US orders to destroy Russian forces,' claims James Blunt By Andrea Magrath 15th November 2010 The Daily Mail Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1329822/James-Blunt-stopped-World-War-3-refusing-destroy-Russian-forces.html#ixzz15P7AlbCc James Blunt's refusal to obey orders during the Balkans war prevented the start of World War Three, the singer has claimed. The 36-year-old chart-topping singer made the stunning claims in an interview with John Pienaar on Radio 5 Live's Pienaar's Politics. Blunt, a former cavalry officer in the British Army, was leading a NATO column under order to seize the Pristina airfield in Kosovo in 1999. Facing a 200-strong Russian advance, the then- 25-year-old was given orders to 'destroy' the Russian troops by the Supreme Allied Commander of the NATO Forces in Europe. 'I was given a direct command to overpower the 200 or so Russians who were there,' the You're Be...

One of those things that will not happen ... and Obama knows this very well, as do most reasonable people. BUT ... everyone can pretend, and they seem to do very well at pretending - Gnomes, fairies, leprechauns .... they are all real. Obama 'pleased' with Sudan action By MATT NEGRIN 11/15/10 5:14 PM Updated: 11/15/10 5:30 PM White House press secretary Robert Gibbs released this statement as southern Sudanese prepare to vote in an independence referendum: "The President is extremely pleased that voter registration has begun in Southern Sudan in preparation for the January 9th, 2011 referendum on self-determination. Voter registration is a critical milestone in that process, and we hope that it will continue unabated. We call on Northern and Southern leaders to finish the work started with the voter registration process to ensure the referendum is peaceful and occurs on time, and that the will of the people of South Sudan are respected regardless of the outcome. Both parti...

While not to be morbid about death or drowning - imagine 13 or 14, maybe even 20 people, all on a cruise ship and as a consequence of their intransigence on a number of issues, they watch as their ship hits a floating island, ruptures the hull and sinks, leaving the 13-20 people floating and bobbing about on the sea.  Each person connected to the others by a lifeline, each buoyed by a life preserver thrown to them by people on the passing island as it floated away.  Then imagine watching as the first person loses consciousness, while the others fight to take his life preserver off the limp body, watching as the body, half conscious and half lost to a possibility of being saved, sinks beneath the waves, engulfed by the darkness and quickly swallowed up by the abyss below.  Watching as the first person pulled under, slowly begins pulling the next person under, while the remaining bobbing bodies argue about life preservers and how best to use them in the sea. They cannot cut...

Greece, Ireland, Spain, Portugal ... As more sink, the ship will capsize and many other euro states will also sink - Italy will go, as will Sweden ... Ireland's young flee abroad as economic meltdown looms Many young people are seeking to emigrate rather than face a life of hardship as the republic lurches towards financial collapse David Sharrock in Dublin The Observer Sunday 14 November 2010 Student Niamh Buffini works hard and plays hard. As Ireland's No 1 taekwondo martial arts practitioner – she is rated 12th in the world – her ambitions include winning Olympic gold for Ireland. But by the end of this month her future will have been decided by forces not just beyond her control but seemingly those of her government also. Ireland is on the cusp of insolvency. Some economists argue that it already is. Buffini will soon learn if her fees at the Institute of Technology in Tallaght, south Dublin, have climbed beyond her means. Her father is a self-employed builder, which has re...

This guys story is well worth the time.  Can I not fly - I really really want to go somewhere during Christmas break and in summer, but will make do, here.  They win - I won't fly.  The airlines will lose money, they will ask the federal government for bailout, the government will be hard pressed to explain why they paid for machines that resulted in the airlines losing money they had to give them to keep them from failing.  All because of intransigent fools who are placed in charge of agencies they are wholly unqualified to head. While we are at it, abolish the TSA.  Incompetents, many of whom arrived here from a small country far away or a big country just as far away, some are illegals, and others just not the brightest bunch - abolish the TSA, save us all money and do away with this insane screening process.  Use a method that is very nearly full-proof - and it isn't an x-ray machine. The Story   <-- link and the body (minus the videos is b...

One way or another, for one reason or one method over another - the result is the same. Iraqi Christians put to the sword Worship in Iraq is now more dangerous than under Saddam's dictatorship as Islamists bomb churches in a campaign of ethnic cleansing. Adrian Blomfield The Telegraph 12 Nov 2010 Unless told what to look for, the casual visitor to the once glamorous Baghdad thoroughfare that hugs the east bank of the Tigris would almost certainly pass them by. The Stars of David carved into the stonework of the low-slung buildings that line the alleyways of Abu Nuwas Street are little more than a curiosity these days – a memento of a civilisation lost to the pages of history. Judaism has a connection to Iraq that no other faith can match. The patriarch Abraham may well have been born there; the prophet Jonah reluctantly returned to foretell the destruction of Nineveh. Centuries later, the Bible tells us that the exiled Jewish people sat down by Babylon's rivers and wept for the...

"Darfur, Zimbabwe, Burma, North Korea, anywhere that the concept of human rights doesn't exist, it's always the Chinese at backstop. And always for reasons that you could write down in three words: blood for oil." I may find Christopher Hitchens wrong on some pretty big issues, but on the biggest issues facing mankind (while we are alive at least) - he is right.               the left

I will end up on a no fly list for the following.  Sad I even make a joke like that.  30 years ago such a thought would have been very difficult to conceive of, let alone think ... Dear Big Sister / Brother: These scanners WILL NOT prevent an attack.  These scanners ARE NOT making us safer.  Anyone who believes they are is an idiot and a fool.  What they will catch are petty little people who are incredibly bigger fools than those twits who think the scanners will save us from anything. Al Qaida are not stupid.  They are actually very bright.  The shoe and underwear guy are their throw-away test cases, as were the UPS bombs.  They are testing the walls, prodding for weakness, and testing what will and will not be discovered.  And the funny part - DHS, CIA - they know the body scanners will not stop the next wave of successful attacks.  Yet they allow this joke to continue because it looks like we are doing something.   Mr. Obam...