Spice Corner

Kabul objects to Pakistan: "KABUL, Feb 22: Afghanistan formally complained to Pakistan for naming its ballistic missiles and other weapons after historic Afghan heroes, a minister said here on Wednesday.

Afghan Information Minister Makhdom Raheen said that Kabul had recently sent a letter through its foreign ministry to Pakistan over the use of names of Afghan nation?s heroes, including Mohammed Ghauri, a 12th-century conqueror who ruled what is now Afghanistan and invaded areas in what is now India and Pakistan several times.

A series of Pakistan?s ballistic missiles is named after Ghauri, including a 1,500-kilometre-range nuclear-capable weapon.

We asked them (Pakistan) not to use the names of great elders of Afghanistan on weapons of mass destruction or other war equipment,? Mr Raheen said. ?These great elders played a major part in building national solidarity and in transferring science and knowledge from the homeland across southwest Asia.?

Pakistan?s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam refused to comment or say whether it had received such a letter. Afghanistan is also complaining about Pakistan?s use of the name of Ahmad Shah Abdali, an 18th century king who founded the powerful Durrani dynasty, on a weapon that Raheen did not identify. Abdali laid the foundations
for the Pashtun tribal rule in Afghanistan.

Mr Raheen said Pakistan was welcome to use the names but only for peaceful things like memorials, monuments, conference rooms and historical places. ? AP"

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 9:27 AM | links to this post

More Objections to Port Takeover by Arab Entity - New York Times: "'I'm aware of the conditions, and they relate entirely to how the company carries out its procedures, but it doesn't go to who they hire, or how they hire people,' said the chairman, Representative Peter T. King, Republican of New York. Mr. King said senior administration officials had shared details of the sale with him.
'They're better than nothing, but to me they don't address the underlying conditions, which is, how are they going to guard against things like infiltration by Al Qaeda or someone else? How are they going to guard against corruption?' Mr. King said in an
interview with The Associated Press."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 1:47 PM | links to this post

Muslim Crowds Decry Cartoons, Violent Retort: "Mindful of a recent London rally where a small group of radicals held placards that urged beheadings and death for those who insulted Islam, police officers were stationed at subway stations looking for people who might disrupt the rally. Organizers said they were pleased that moderates -- at least for a day -- had grabbed the headlines from radicals. The Islam Channel, which also supported the Trafalgar rally, broadcast the event to hundreds of thousands of Muslims around the world, organizers said."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 10:51 AM | links to this post

Search engines Here be dragons: "Users could retrieve content that Beijing banned by clicking to call up a cached copy of the web page, stored by Google. Soon, however, Google itself was being sporadically blocked"
Google said it had voluntarily agreed to censor politically sensitive websites in China when it launches an internet service in the country. The approach is similar to that of other internet companies operating in China.

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 12:26 PM | links to this post

Hamas Sweeps Palestinian Elections, Complicating Peace Efforts in Mideast: "The radical Islamic movement Hamas won a large majority in the new Palestinian parliament, according to official election results announced Thursday, trouncing the governing Fatah party in a contest that could dramatically reshape the Palestinians' relations with Israel and the rest of the world."

Probably like economic/business cycles there are political cycles as well. In economics we say that Business cycles have international flavor due to externalities or spillover effects. So if there are political cycles as well then the theory of spillovers may be true in that context. Hamas's win may bring more support for extreme right wing politics in Israel and Sharon's party may loose support. I am not a political analyst but just wondering if I can apply the economic theory of cycles to international politics as well.

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 12:05 PM | links to this post

Interpol issues notices seeking arrest of former Pakistani Prime Minister: "Interpol has issued international notices, at Pakistan's request, seeking the arrest of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and her husband on corruption charges, officials said Thursday. Speaking by phone from France, Interpol spokeswoman Rachael Billington confirmed that 'red notices' had been issued for Bhutto and her husband Asif Ali Zardari, but that it was up to member countries to decide what, if any, action to take. "

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 7:27 AM |

The News International said the attack would be unjustified even if it had killed Zawahiri: "Apart from the element of Pakistan’s sovereignty, this country is the United States' partner in the 'war on terror.' To state the obvious, the alliance ought also to involve sharing of intelligence. If the US forces had received information that al-Zawahiri was holed up in one of the three houses destroyed in Damadola village and had passed it on to its allies, Pakistani forces would probably have done an equally good job of it, if not better."

• Pakistan's Push in Border Areas Is Said to Falter - New York Times
• Message to Musharraf-By Jim Hoagland-Washington Post

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 4:12 PM | links to this post

For Muslim Policeman, London's a Tough Beat: "When Scotland Yard community police officer Saeed Hajjaj detained a young man on theft charges recently, the man told him angrily: 'You are a Muslim. You should not be working for the police.'

'You are a Muslim,' Hajjaj said he replied. 'You shouldn't be committing a crime.'

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 9:10 AM | links to this post

California Parents File Suit Over Origins of Life course: "Last month, a Federal District Court in Pennsylvania ruled that it was unconstitutional to teach intelligent design in a public school science class because it promoted a particular religious belief.
After the ruling, people on both sides of the debate suggested that it might be constitutionally permissible to examine intelligent design in a philosophy, comparative religion or social studies class.
But the parents, represented by lawyers with Americans United for Separation of Church and State, contend that the teacher is advocating intelligent design and 'young earth creationism' and is not examining those ideas in a neutral way alongside evolution."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 8:07 AM | links to this post

It's a Scandal -- and This T-Shirt Proves It: "Send your entry -- and rationale --via e-mail to intheloop@washpost.com or mail to In the Loop, The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071. Deadline is midnight Jan. 18. Top 10 winners get a still-rare, highly coveted In the Loop T-shirt. (Shown here for those who doubted their existence.) Entries on background are welcome, but everyone must include telephone numbers to be eligible."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 11:24 AM | links to this post

Entrepreneur's RFID chip implant to open doors, start car -Wikinews: "A technology entrepreneur in northeastern Washington asked a doctor to implant an RFID chip into his hand in order to experiment with the technology. Amal Graafstra, who runs a technology company in Bellingham, WA, asked a doctor to place the chip under the skin of his left hand, and posted pictures of the procedure to the photo-sharing site, Flickr. Graafstra plans to use the chip for keyless entry to his car, home, or as a login for computer systems."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 4:09 AM | links to this post

Egypt film tackles thorny issues of sex, hypocrisy - Boston.com: "A young man on the back of a
Cairo bus kisses and gropes the woman next to him as he peels off her Islamic headscarf. The scene from an independent film about sex and double standards in Egypt shows little nudity but provokes gasps of surprise from an audience in this largely conservative country. Director Ahmed Khaled's 14-minute film, the Fifth Pound, follows the weekly bus journey of a young man and woman who dodge the suspicious glances of other passengers and exploit the unused back seats to indulge in physical intimacy."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 3:57 AM |

The infamous coca-cola photograph: "This is the infamous coca cola photograph taken by an Indian Photographer. Coke later sued photographer for this photograph as it conveys its product in bad taste. The perception from this photo is, it might difficult to get drinking water in India, but coca-cola is always available."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 1:13 AM | links to this post

Letterman 1 - O'Reilly 0: "'I have the feeling that 60% of what you say is crap...' and with that Dave Letterman captured the essence of what is Bill O'Reilly. Earlier in the segment Bill O'Reilly said, 'The Soldiers and Marines are noble they are not terrorists and when people call them that like Cindy Sheehan; called the insurgents freedom fighters we don't like that. ' This quotation is a perfect example of O'Reilly's sophistry. Notice where he pauses, not after that, but rather after Cindy Sheehan, implying not only that does she view the insurgents as freedom fighters but that she views the troops as terrorists. It is exactly the same technique Bush used in linking Iraq and 9/11. It wasn't simply an awkward sentence but a device O'Reilly uses frequently to smear others. You don't debate with someone who has no respect for the facts, for someone who quotes out of context. You point out as Dave did that it is crap. You don't argue the fine points you can never win that sort of argument with a LIAR. When someone flings shit like O'Reilly does, you don't need to identify it point by point you can smell it."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 12:15 AM | links to this post

Terror-Tot: "HOUSTON -"They said, 'We need ID for your son.' I said, 'You're joking,' " said Houston resident Sijollie Allen, a 39-year-old payroll accountant. "The man said, 'No I'm very serious. It clearly stipulates I need ID for him.'
TSA regional spokeswoman Carrie Harmon said the agency tells airlines not to deny boarding to children under 12 or select them for extra security checks even if their names match ones on the list. "We do not require ID for children because there are no children on the list," Harmon said. "If it's a child, ticket agents have the authority to immediately de-select them."
"Is this a joke?" Allen recalled telling Continental Airlines agents Dec. 21 at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport. "You can tell he's not a terrorist."

1. My father passed away in 2004 and I had to see off my mother from NY who was visiting me at that time. We bought oneway "First Class" tickets from Kansas to fly to NY from where she had to catch a flight abroad. We paid almost $600 for each ticket (a total of $1200) through United Airline. However flights were delayed in Chicago due to heavy Snowfall and they started rerouting passengers on alternate flights. Twelve hrs had passed and everyone had been rerouted except us. By that time my mothers flight had already gone from NY (what happened there was a different story). When I asked them the United airline agent said you are not on priority. When I asked how priority is determined they said from the price you pay and the flyer miles. I said what the hell I am traveling first class and I have paid $600 approx for each ticket isn't that enough price. He said our first class cabins are full at the moment. At that moment my mother was crying so I told the agent look at the lady --her husband has passed away and she needs to go home from NY. Can't you even give us a seat in economy, I don't care about money, I can pay more. As I recall it know he said I may give her a seat but you may not get a seat as the flight is full. I said I don't care... my mom needs to travel I am just seeing her off form NY. So please give here a seat. The agent told me to wait---then called me after 10 minutes and reluctantly said we are giving seat to both of you in the economy class. You are lucky that you are going to board. As we were about to board the agent on the boarding gate checked the tickets and said why are you traveling in economy--- you have first class tickets and she changed the boarding pass. See how they lied and told us that the first class is full. It was a perfect case of discrimination. Later I discovered that our tickets were marked "SSS" which means special security screening. They were putting this on everyone's ticket who was traveling one way becuase the threat level was raised to orange exactly that day (I remember watching news at airport) and my travel agent could not get me a return ticket, my mother was offcourse not coming back. And I was .... Are you kidding does this old woman who cannot even stand for more than five minutes and has a curved posture while walking due to back pain is a security threat? Even TSA tells them to use common sense but airlines do have bunch of stupid people on staff. The NY was different story PIA was not willing to reroute my mother so the travel agent has to board her on Air India flight to UK and from there she got onto PIA.
2. My youngest son was less than year old traveling with my wife to Pakistan in May 2003. His First and middle name resembeled to a Middle Eastern Politician (Unfortunately! because of surnames my son ended up with that name that we did not realize). At the airport, the lady at the entrance to the departure lounge looked at the ticket and suddenly became Alert and asked out loud who is "Hamad ___," Who is he, Where is he. She should have looked at the ticket it clearly said "Infant" (that my wife was carrying). My wife pointed out to her that this is the one sleeping on my shoulder (like an angel). When the TSA personal saw the infant she became calm and said---Oh!. By the way! that Middle Eastern Politician had already died by that time. Stupid Jerks....!!! I am not going to change my son's name TSA should better take classes of general knowledge and international relations. The story did not end there as they were about to baoard they almost stripped my kids to dipers for security search and the kids were crying so badly but no one bothered. The ages of the kids at that times were Elder: 1 year 9 month and Younger: 6 months. I saw an East European family in real screening trouble. Although they were non-Muslims but they had one suit case full of joggers and shoes. The agents checked each and every pair of shoe throughly before letting them go. By the time they cleared they had only fifteen minutes left to board. I recall that those days the threat level was high as well. When ever the threat level is high in US the brown skin people and Europeans are in real mess at airports.

• When I traveled back from NY to KS after seeing my mother off to Pakistan again a purchased a oneway ticket because I traveled on "Airtran" (they sell oneway). By that time the alert level was reduced and so they did not mark my ticket SSS.
• I traveled couple of times after that with my family and luckily things were normal in US so the security screening was nothing more than routine.
• One of my friend who was American citizen and had a Danish wife faced lot of problem as people would stare at him whenever he called his sons name--which happened to be Osama... He named his son long time ago even when no one knew Osama at all. Finally, a year ago, in order to avoid stereo types here he migrated to his wife's country.

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 1:29 PM | links to this post

TimesSelect: "Need Medicaid? Show Your PassportBy BOB HERBERT Buried in the federal budget bill is a nasty little provision that will make it difficult for many U.S. citizens to get the health care they are entitled to under Medicaid."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 12:55 PM |

Billboard shows world leaders in menage a trois - Peculiar Postings - MSNBC.com: "VIENNA, Austria - Her Majesty would not have been amused.
Neither would President Bush or his French counterpart, Jacques Chirac, over a Vienna-wide art project depicting them naked and engaged in a sexual act with British Queen Elizabeth II."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 1:14 PM | links to this post

"In the Shiite holy city of Najaf, nominally nonsectarian police used the loudspeakers in their cars to rally support for the Shiite religious parties. Far to the north, in Tall Afar, a policeman at one polling place displayed pictures of top Shiite politicians and religious figures on his uniform until the police chief, Fawaz Mahmood Issa, ordered him to remove them. 'Do you work for a sect or for Iraq?' Issa asked."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 11:04 AM | links to this post

President Bush Holds Media Availability With Senator McCain: "Senator McCain has been a leader to make sure that the United States of America upholds the values of America as we fight and win this war on terror."
Nearly five months ago, President Bush issued a formal threat to veto legislation barring torture, and for the past five months he has been trying to find a way to avoid doing just that. The price: giving Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) the upper hand.
Once again the awkward, freighted Bush-McCain relationship with all its history of rivalry and resentment took center stage in American politics yesterday, as the second-place finisher in the 2000 Republican presidential primaries forced the first-place finisher to swallow something he once opposed.

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 10:59 AM | links to this post

To Halt Abuses, U.S. Will Inspect Jails Run by Iraq - New York Times: "American military officers will inspect hundreds of detention centers and embed with Iraqi police commando units and other Interior Ministry forces to try to halt widespread abuses uncovered by raids on two Iraqi-run detention centers in Baghdad in the last month, the American ambassador pledged Tuesday."

This cartoon is a copyright of Nicholson of "The Australian" newspaper: http://www.nicholsoncartoons.com.au/ used with permission

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 5:47 PM | links to this post

ABC News: Bush: Iraq Invasion My Responsibility: "'Saddam was a threat and the American people and the world is better off because he is no longer in power,' Bush declared, as he has before. "

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 5:40 PM | links to this post

Human Events Book Service: How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must) by Ann Coulter: "Janet Jackson's Super Bowl exhibitionism: 'Even CBS executives were enraged by MTV's halftime show, saying they could have gotten the identical show from National Geographic for a fraction of the price.'

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 10:09 AM | links to this post

In wartime, this lawyer has got Bush's back: "'That was pretty wild,' acknowledged John Yoo, the author of a new book, 'The Powers of War and Peace.' 'That was the most out-of-control thing that ever happened to me.' "

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 10:08 AM | links to this post

Kissing Cousins: "In 1926, a Soviet scientist named Ilya Ivanov decided the most compelling way to test Darwin's theory by trying to breed a humanzee: a human-chimpanzee hybrid."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 9:57 AM | links to this post

Saudi justice for this Indian is blinding: "A Shariah court in Saudi Arabia has ruled that one eye
of a 30-year-old Indian salesman, from Kerala, be gouged out and donated to a Saudi national.
The ruling came after Puthan Veettil Naushad, who worked as an assistant in a shop attached to a petrol station near Dammam, allegedly hit Naif Muthef, a local resident, during an altercation two years ago. Saudi police said that in the scuffle, Naif lost his right eye. "

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 2:13 PM | links to this post

Rice-to Admit German's Abduction Was an Error: "After meeting with Rice, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said U.S. admitted a German was 'erroneously taken.' Rice aides said she admitted no error."

Nobody's perfect,says Rice

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 1:02 PM | links to this post

Witness Stories Riveting, Vague - Los Angeles Times: "Five Iraqis describe horrors at the hands of Hussein's forces. But their accounts do little to link misdeeds to the eight men on trial."

In Courtroom, Hussein Acts Out Old Role With Flourish
By Doug StruckWashington Post Foreign ServiceWednesday, December 7, 2005; Page A01
BAGHDAD, Dec. 6 -- According to Saddam Hussein, the would-be assassins who ambushed his car near an Iraqi village in 1982 were working for Iran, his trial for destroying that village afterward is just an excuse for Americans to stay in Iraq, and the Iraqi judge and prosecutors are underlings preoccupied with unimportant matters.
"Do you think Saddam Hussein has no work? I have no time," the former dictator scoffed during the fourth day of his trial Tuesday, implying that the killing of more than 140 villagers, and the torture and imprisonment of hundreds more, was a trivial matter and that he had larger issues to worry about.

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 12:43 PM | links to this post

Fla. Professor Is Acquitted in Case Seen as Patriot Act Test: "A federal jury acquitted former Florida professor Sami al-Arian yesterday of conspiring to aid a Palestinian group in killing Israelis through suicide bombings, dealing the U.S. government a setback in its efforts to use secretly gathered intelligence in criminal cases against terrorism suspects. The trial was a crucial test of government power under the USA Patriot Act, which lowered barriers that had prevented intelligence agencies from sharing secretly monitored communications with prosecutors."

Not Guilty Verdicts in Florida Terror Trial Are Setback for U.S. - New York Times: "The former
professor, Sami al-Arian, a fiery advocate for Palestinian causes who became a lightning rod for criticism nationwide over his vocal anti-Israeli stances, was found not guilty on eight criminal counts related to terrorist support, perjury and immigration violations."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 12:18 PM | links to this post

1. The Unbearable Wrongness by Laurence H. Tribe
2. Worst President
3. Worst President Ever

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 11:23 AM | links to this post

Love hurts? So does a wounded marriage - Yahoo! News: "There is even more proof that an unhappy marriage is bad for your health, researchers reported on Monday."

The stress that comes from discord appears to slow the initial production of a blood protein that is key to healing wounds, the report from Ohio State University said.

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 10:11 AM | links to this post

CIA ruse on missing cleric misled Italians - washingtonpost.com Highlights : "'The kidnapping of Abu Omar was not only a serious crime against Italian sovereignty and human
rights, but it also seriously damaged counterterrorism efforts in Italy and Europe,' said Armando Spataro, the lead prosecutor in Milan."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 9:25 AM | links to this post

Buzz off! "Mosquito" aims to drive away teens - Peculiar Postings - MSNBC.com: "A Welsh inventor claims to have found the perfect solution to rowdy youngsters' noise.
Howard Stapleton says his device, the "Mosquito," emits an uncomfortable high-pitched ultrasonic sound that can be heard by children and teenagers but almost no one over 30."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 9:56 AM | links to this post

Journalistic Bomb: "Every once in awhile, someone reports a story that just seems way out there. And you wonder: Could this possibly be true ? Or is it plain old media sensationalism?"

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 9:35 AM | links to this post

Bush: Iraq conflict 'will take time and patience' - Conflict in Iraq - MSNBC.com President Bush, facing growing doubts about his war strategy, said Wednesday that Iraqi troops are increasingly
taking the lead in battle but that “this will take time and patience.” He refused to set a timetable for withdrawing U.S. forces.

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 11:50 AM | links to this post

Televangelists on Unusual Side in Indecency Debate - Los Angeles Times: "Consumer groups are
pushing to let people choose their channels rather than pay for ones they don't watch. One Federal Communications Commission study showed people on average regularly watch only 17 of the more than 100 cable channels they typically receive."

But what started largely as a consumer issue has now morphed into a larger controversy involving whether cable operators should be required to continue exposing subscribers to niche channels, including religious ones, that people might not order on their own."We don't just want to preach to the choir; we want to reach the unchurched," said Paul Crouch Jr. of Trinity Broadcast Network in Santa Ana. "The bottom line is that we want to be everywhere on cable."The controversy is expected to come to a head today when media executives, televangelists, government regulators and consumer activists gather for Open Forum on Decency, held by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). Lawmakers and advocacy groups have seized on the a la carte system as a way to give cable TV subscribers more flexibility to drop channels with adult fare, citing such programs as the plastic surgery drama "Nip/Tuck" on FX that regularly features sex and gore."A la carte is a solution that will immediately address the issue of indecency on cable," said Tim Winters, executive director of the Los Angeles-based Parents Television Council.

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 1:57 PM | links to this post

Relying on Computer, U.S. Seeks to Prove Iran's Nuclear Aims - New York Times: "I can fabricate
that data,' a senior European diplomat said of the documents. 'It looks beautiful, but is open to doubt.' Robert G. Joseph, the under secretary of state for arms control and international security, who led the July briefing, declined to discuss any classified material from the session but acknowledged the existence of the warhead intelligence. He called it one of many indicators
'that together lead to the conclusion Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons capability.'"
The Americans flashed on a screen and spread over a conference table selections from more than a thousand pages of Iranian computer simulations and accounts of experiments, saying they showed a long effort to design a nuclear warhead, according to a half-dozen European and
American participants in the meeting.
The documents, the Americans acknowledged from the start, do not prove that Iran has an atomic bomb. They presented them as the strongest evidence yet that, despite Iran's insistence that its nuclear program is peaceful, the country is trying to develop a compact warhead to fit atop its Shahab missile, which can reach Israel and other countries in the Middle East.
Nonetheless, doubts about the intelligence persist among some foreign analysts. In part, that is because American officials, citing the need to protect their source, have largely refused to
provide details of the origins of the laptop computer beyond saying that they obtained it in mid-2004 from a longtime contact in Iran. Moreover, this chapter in the confrontation with Iran is infused with the memory of the faulty intelligence on Iraq's unconventional arms. In this atmosphere, though few countries are willing to believe Iran's denials about nuclear arms, few are willing to accept the United States' weapons intelligence without question.
"I can fabricate that data," a senior European diplomat said of the documents. "It looks beautiful, but is open to doubt." Robert G. Joseph, the
under secretary of state for arms control and international security, who led the July briefing, declined to discuss any classified material from the session but acknowledged the existence of the warhead intelligence. He called it one of many indicators "that together lead to the conclusion Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons capability."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 1:59 PM | links to this post

When a Family Matter Turns Into a Business - Los Angeles Times:

"Jones' conservator is part of ayoung, growing and largely unregulated trade in California. Conservatorship began as a way to help families protect enfeebled relatives from predators and
self-neglect. As a final recourse, courts take basic freedoms from grown men and women and give conservators sweeping power over their property, their money and the smallest details of their lives.But lawmakers and judges did not foresee that professionals would turn what had been a family matter into a business. In the hands of this new breed of entrepreneur, a system meant to safeguard the elderly and infirm often fails them.The Times examined the work of California's
professional conservators, reviewing more than 2,400 cases, including every one they handled in Southern California between 1997 and 2003.

Among the findings:

" Seniors lose their independence with stunning swiftness. More than 500 were entrusted to for-profit conservators without their consent at hearings that lasted minutes.

Retired candy company owner Donald Van Ness, 85, did not know what had happened to him until he tried to pay for lunch at a San Diego-area restaurant and was told his credit card had been canceled." Some conservators misuse their near-parental power over fragile adults, ignoring their needs and isolating them from loved ones.

One withheld the allowance that a disabled man relied on for food, leaving him to survive on handouts from a church. Another abruptly moved a 95-year-old woman to a care home and for a month refused to tell her daughter where she was." In the most egregious cases, conservators
plunder seniors' estates.

One took 88-year-oldThelma Larabee's savings to pay his taxes and invest in a friend's restaurant. Helen Smith's conservator secretly sold Smith's house at a discount — to herself. The conservator's daughter later resold it for triple the price."

More commonly, conservators run up their fees in ways large and small, eating into seniors' assets. A conservator charged a Los Angeles woman $170 in fees to have an employee bring
her $49.93 worth of groceries. Palm Springs widow Mary Edelman kept paying from beyond the grave: Her conservators charged her estate $1,700 for attending her burial."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 1:21 PM | links to this post

Bizarre Trip of a Lifetime - Los Angeles Times: "All five Americans bowed.

Walker felt uncomfortable, he said, paying even perfunctory homage to the man who created the police state and cult of personality that are widely blamed - outside North Korea, at least - for the country's poverty, hunger and international isolation."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 12:17 PM | links to this post

Kansas education board downplays evolution - Science - MSNBC.com: "TOPEKA, Kan. - Risking the kind of nationwide ridicule it faced six years ago, the Kansas Board of Education approved new public-school science standards Tuesday that cast doubt on the theory of evolution."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 9:55 AM | links to this post

Vegas mayor: Do graffiti, lose your thumb - Peculiar Postings -
MSNBC.com: "In the old days in France, they had beheadings of people who commit heinous crimes," 'Mayor Oscar Goodman said Wednesday on the TV show "Nevada Newsmakers."
Goodman said the city has a beautiful highway landscaping project and "these punks come along and deface it."
“I’m saying maybe you put them on TV and cut off a thumb,” the mayor said. “That may be the right thing to do.”
Goodman also suggested whippings should be brought back for children who get into trouble.

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 3:39 PM | links to this post

MSNBC - A remote control that controls humans: "ATSUGI, Japan - We wield remote controls to turn things on and off, make them advance, make them halt. Ground-bound pilots use remotes
to fly drone airplanes, soldiers to maneuver battlefield robots. But manipulating humans?
Prepare to be remotely controlled."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 1:12 PM | links to this post

Everyone tried to wash their hands in flowing Ganga (make the hey while sun shines). The increase in gas prices and never ending Iraq story, the CIA leak, everything is echoing the same thing.
Massive Fraud in Iraq Oil Program - Los Angeles Times: " The United Nations' oil-for-food program was so badly managed and supervised that more than half of the 4,500 companies doing business with Iraq paid illegal surcharges and kickbacks to Saddam Hussein, an independent investigation into the program will announce today.

The inquiry, led by former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, will detail how the U.N. and its member governments failed to stop the former dictator's exploitation of the $64-billion program, and will expose the participation of prominent international companies, as well as fly-by-night operations, a spokesman for Volcker's committee said Wednesday."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 10:08 AM | links to this post

"The CIA had an opening for an assassin. After all of the backgroundchecks, interviews, and testing was done there were three finalists,two men and a woman. For the final test, the CIA agents took one of the men to a large metaldoor and handed him a gun. 'We must know that you will follow your instructions, no matter what the circumstances. Inside this room, youwill find your wife sitting in a chair. Kill her!!!'

The man said, 'You can't be serious. I could never shoot my wife.'

The agent said, 'Then you're not the right man for this job.

'The second man was given the same instructions. He took the gun andwent into the room. All was quiet for about five minutes. Then the mancame out with tears in his eyes.

'I tried, but I can't kill my wife.'

The agent said, 'You don't have what it takes.

Take your wife andgo home.

'Finally, it was the woman's turn. She was given the same instructions tokill her husband. She
took the gun and went into the room. Shots wereheard, one shot after another.
They heard screaming, crashing, bangingon the walls. After a few minutes, all
was quiet. The door opened slowlyand there stood the woman.She wiped the sweat
from her brrows and said

'This gun is loaded with blanks. I had to beat that SOB to death with the chair"

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 4:51 PM | links to this post

Afghanland.com Afghanistan Timeline since 1919: "1954-10 Prime Minister Daud sent his brother Prince Naim to United States to Appeal to Secretary of State John Foster Dulles for military assistance.
1954-12 US secretary of State Dulles rejected the request for aid stating Afghanistan is of no Interest to United States."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 6:27 PM | links to this post

Iraq War Hasn't Made United States Safer, Author Says: "The war in Iraq was billed as a war of necessity, an effort to make the nation safer. Even after the justification for war evaporated, many of the president's supporters argued that it accomplished its purpose -- the United States had not been attacked again after 9/11.

The terrorist attacks in London shattered some of that argument. While the United States wasn't attacked, its closest ally, Great Britain, was. And it was attacked in a way that struck home to many Americans, a fact evidenced by the jump in poll numbers of people who say they believe America will be attacked by terrorists in the near future."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 4:09 PM | links to this post

What Bush Doesn't Know
By BOB HERBERT Published: July 25, 2005

What Bush Doesn't Know - New York Times: "I remember the arrogance that accompanied the 'shock and awe' bombing campaign that kicked off the war in Iraq more than two years ago. The war was supposed to be quick and easy, a cakewalk.
The enemy, we were told, would fold like a dinner napkin. And then, in the neoconservative fantasies of some of the crazier folks in the Bush crowd, the military would gear up for an invasion of Iran."

I've always urged politicians to be careful what they wish for. The president got the war he wanted so badly. But he never understood an essential fact that Georges Clemenceau learned nearly a century ago - that "it is easier to make war than to make peace."

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 3:37 PM | links to this post

Toyota, Moving Northward - New York Times: There has been fierce competition among states hoping to attract a new Toyota assembly plant. Several Southern states reportedly offered financial incentives worth hundreds of millions of dollars. But last month Toyota decided to put the new plant, which will produce RAV4 mini-S.U.V.'s, in Ontario. Explaining why it passed up financial incentives to choose a U.S. location, the company cited the quality of Ontario's work force.

"Toyota so sensitive to labor quality issues? Maybe we should discount remarks from the president of the Toronto-based Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, who claimed that the educational level in the Southern United States was so low that trainers for Japanese plants in Alabama had to use "pictorials" to teach some illiterate workers how to use high-tech
equipment. "

// posted by Spice Connoisseur  @ 3:09 PM | links to this post