A Chinese paramilitary soldier stands during a welcoming ceremony for visiting Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing last May.
Jun 17, 2009
Seeing red
A Chinese paramilitary soldier stands during a welcoming ceremony for visiting Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing last May.
Iran unable to shut down Internet
In an attempt to stop stories and images of the riots following a disputed election, Iran has tried to follow the lead of North Korea, China and Cuba to control the Internet as the article at the link below reports:
Iran clamped down Tuesday on independent media in an attempt to control images of election protests, but pictures and videos leaked out anyway — showing how difficult it is to shut off the flow of information in the Internet age.
Restrictions imposed by the Iranian government made social-networking sites such as Twitter and Flickr more prominent and were used to send photos to the outside world of the “robust election debate” that Obama admired.
U.S. State Department even asked Twitter to put off a scheduled maintenance shutdown.
Some foreign journalists were forced to leave Iran because the government wouldn't extend the visas they received to cover Friday's election, in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the landslide winner.
CNN turned in part to the social-networking sites, broadcasting images posted on Facebook and Twitter, and explaining on-air that it was using "creativity" to cover a big event under government restrictions.
More of the story here.
New York takes road rage title from Miami
A recent study shows that New York has overtaken Miami as the U.S. city with the angriest and most aggressive drivers.
Miami was the winner for the last four years but the latest study gave New Yorkers the prize for angriest, most aggressive drivers who tailgate, speed, honk their horns, overreact and lose their tempers.
We wonder how scientific this study was.
Did they go to Miami and count the dents in cars licensed in Miami and then go to New York and do the same for a comparison?
Link
Like raw fish? You may get a 9-ft tapeworm
A Chicago man joins the ranks of those who’ve been infested from eating raw fish in recent years.
One summer day in August 2006, Anthony Franz went to a Chicago area hospital carrying a 9-foot worm.
He did not find it in his garden.Franz is one of the few, but growing number of tapeworm victims in cities across the world who are discovering (or rediscovering) that some of the most popular fish can host parasites.
With more people eating sushi and undercooked fish diets around the world so too has the incidence of worms increased.
The variety of tapeworm that infested Mr. Franz was caused from uncooked seafood, particularly salmon.
Mr. Franz was not available for comment and is suing an Illinois seafood restaurant for $100,000.
More of the story here.
ABC turns programming over to Obama
How to force national healthcare on the backs of Americans in three easy steps.
1. Invite ABC News do a national healthcare infomercial in the White House.
2. Invite questions from call-in viewers - screened by ABC of course.
3. Do not allow equal time for any opposing point of view.
Media watchdogs doubted the show would be balanced.
Media credibility and fairness are at issue with some renaming ABC the "All Barack Channel."
With this ABC infomercial, to be filmed from the White House with no opposing viewpoint allowed, ABC has finally “come out of the closet” proving to America that the network is in bed with the Democrat’s and especially with Barack Obama.
Relations between ABC News and Mr. Obama could not be more intimate as ABC has now dropped any pretense of objectivity in their programming and reporting.
How long before ABC will be renamed Pravda?
Link
Jun 16, 2009
Denver Broncos adjust to life without Jay Cutler
The Denver Broncos, trying to adjust to life without Jay Cutler, has named Kyle Orton as the starting quarterback.
Orton was chosen as the starter over Chris Simms, son of former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms.
Kyle Orton, is the undistinguished quarterback that came to the Broncos from the Chicago Bears in that blockbuster deal that sent Jay Cutler to the Bears.
(click on picture to enlarge)
Denver cartoonist Drew Litton expresses the sentiments of many Bronco fans in the cartoon shown above.
Sadly, the “good news - bad news” story could be used the other way around as well based on the fact that Chris Simms hasn't played since Week 3 of the 2006 season due to complications from a ruptured spleen while playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Chris Simms came to Kyle Orton’s defense noting that he was underrated in college and underrated with the Chicago Bears.
Orton will probably be underrated with the Broncos as well.
Link
Orton was chosen as the starter over Chris Simms, son of former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms.
Kyle Orton, is the undistinguished quarterback that came to the Broncos from the Chicago Bears in that blockbuster deal that sent Jay Cutler to the Bears.
Denver cartoonist Drew Litton expresses the sentiments of many Bronco fans in the cartoon shown above.
Sadly, the “good news - bad news” story could be used the other way around as well based on the fact that Chris Simms hasn't played since Week 3 of the 2006 season due to complications from a ruptured spleen while playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Chris Simms came to Kyle Orton’s defense noting that he was underrated in college and underrated with the Chicago Bears.
Orton will probably be underrated with the Broncos as well.
Link
Hit by the pitch
Rickie weeks of the Milwaukee Brewers may need to look up the phone number of his dentist after being hit in the face by Cincinnati Reds pitcher Edinson Volquez during a baseball game last April.
AP photo via MSNBC
Blade runner in training
He has been called the fastest man on no legs. But Oscar 'Blade Runner' Pistorius got a run for his money when five-year-old Ellie Challis challenged him to a race on their bionic feet.
The British youngster, from Little Clacton, Essex, lost her hands and lower legs after contracting meningitis at 16 months.
Judge von Brunn in no condition for court
James von Brunn (pictured), the 88-year-old who shot and killed a guard at the Holocaust Memorial Museum, is expected to recover from his wounds.
Mr. von Brunn has been charged with murder, however, a federal judge has ruled that von Brunn is in no condition to appear in court at this time.
Mr. von Brunn has been charged with murder, however, a federal judge has ruled that von Brunn is in no condition to appear in court at this time.Von Brunn's son has come out publicly against him, saying the shooting was unforgivable and he wished his father had died instead.
Erik von Brunn told ABC's Good Morning America that he and his father didn't like each other. The interview followed ABC's release Sunday of comments by the son that his father had long burdened their family with his white supremacist views.
“I loved my father. But what he did was unforgivable,” Erik von Brunn, 32, said.
No-win situation in Iran will haunt Obama
A Yahoo News report says the Obama administration is facing a dilemma over how to respond to Iran's disputed election.
Strong criticism could backfire but a muted response leaves an impression of weakness.
So far senior U.S. officials have given a guarded response to the disputed vote.
Several analysts said on Monday the White House was in a no-win situation but the best option was to stand back rather than inject U.S. views into the Iranian political debate.
The U.S. ability to do harm in Iranian politics is much greater than doing good.
Obama showed his inexperience, or maybe lack of judgement, when he said he was excited by Iran's robust election debate. 
The photo above is from Andrew Sullivan’s blog The Daily Dish.
Was Obama naïve enough to think there would be a fair and uncontested election in Iran? Maybe there wasn’t a chapter about that in his Community Organizing handbook.
The “robust election debate” that Obama admired has killed and injured debaters.
Link
Jun 15, 2009
Pointing the way for Rachel Alexandra
Jockey Calvin Borel appears to be pointing the way for his horse Rachel Alexandra near the finish line just ahead of Mine That Bird at the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore last month.
Harry Reid wants healthcare like the US Postal Service
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) compared his proposed healthcare reform to the relationship between the US Postal Service and private delivery companies.
Apparently, this was supposed to be a positive analogy:
“The Postal Service may not be perfect, but the public option is there, and the private companies, FedEx, UPS, know they cannot rip you off or [be] slacking on their service,” said Reid.
Okay, the first part is correct: the Postal Service isn’t perfect. But why does he think that FedEx or UPS would rip us off if it didn’t exist? If FedEx decided to jack up prices or cut back on its service, consumers would just go to UPS or DHL. New companies would open if they thought they could undercut the current ones or serve customers better.
As we all know, if the government lifted its legal monopoly on paper mail, private companies would rush in to do a better job! The mail would be faster, and cheaper.
Government stewardship usually means: no innovation. The Postal Service now offers overnight delivery (sometimes), but for years they said it wasn’t possible. Only when FedEx arrived did the impossible become possible.
Do we really want a healthcare system that’s run like the U.S. Post Office? Everyone waiting in line for service that is provided basically the same way it was a decade ago? If I get to choose, I’d prefer my healthcare to be provided by FedEx.
Some rural Michigan roads go back to gravel
An Associated Press article in the Chicago Tribune is titled: Rural Mich. counties turn failing roads to gravel.
As Michigan’s crumbling economy, so go some once-paved rural roads now being turned back into gravel.
About a quarter of the state's county road agencies largely left out of the federal stimulus package, which focuses on highways and other major thoroughfares, say they can't afford some costly repaving projects and have crushed up deteriorating roads.
Montcalm County alone estimates it saved nearly $900,000 by converting almost 10 miles of pothole-plagued pavement into gravel this spring.
As one official said, we were throwing good money into bad roads - it had to stop.”
Another said the new gravel road was “smoother than it was before, but wondered how they will maintain it - especially in the winter."
Many politicians doubt motorists would support higher taxes to fund road projects during tough economic times. But without new money, small agencies are left with few choices.
"We don't want to go backward, and I view this as going backward," said Tim Hammill, managing director of the Dickinson County Road Commission in Michigan's Upper Peninsula where 2.5 miles of paved road was converted to gravel last year. "It's depressing."
More of the story here.
U.S. family Christmas photo turns up in Czech advertisement
It's an international mystery: how did a Missouri family's Christmas card photo end up in the Czech Republic, splashed across a huge storefront advertisement?
Danielle Smith said Wednesday that the photo taken of her family last year got sent to family and friends, and was posted on her blog and a few social networking sites. The photo showed her and her husband Jeff holding their two young children.
One of Smith's college friends was driving through Prague when he spotted their life-size faces in the window of a store specializing in European food.
The friend snapped a few pictures and sent them to the Smith family back in Missouri with a note saying it was it's a life-size picture in a grocery store window in Prague!
Mario Bertuccio, who owns the Grazie store in Prague, said the photo was computer generated from a picture found on the Internet.
Bertuccio said he would be happy to write an e-mail with an apology. He also said he would send the Smiths a bottle of good wine if they lived in his eastern European country.
Link
Danielle Smith said Wednesday that the photo taken of her family last year got sent to family and friends, and was posted on her blog and a few social networking sites. The photo showed her and her husband Jeff holding their two young children.
One of Smith's college friends was driving through Prague when he spotted their life-size faces in the window of a store specializing in European food.
The friend snapped a few pictures and sent them to the Smith family back in Missouri with a note saying it was it's a life-size picture in a grocery store window in Prague!
Mario Bertuccio, who owns the Grazie store in Prague, said the photo was computer generated from a picture found on the Internet.
Bertuccio said he would be happy to write an e-mail with an apology. He also said he would send the Smiths a bottle of good wine if they lived in his eastern European country.
Link
Does the new GM need a different name?
A report at the link below wonders if the new GM should start with a new name.
ValuJet was reborn as AirTran. Philip Morris rechristened itself Altria. Blackwater became Xe.
Would a name change work for beleaguered General Motors?It would mean casting aside a brand that stood for almost a century as a symbol of American industrial might, but some marketing experts say it might be just the thing to help the once-mighty automaker make a fresh start.
A University of Chicago marketing professor thinks the brand isn’t in good shape so they have little to lose by changing to a different name.
With GM tarnished by its bankruptcy and its reputation for building cars no one wants, wiseacres have had no trouble coming up with new names.
There’s Groveling Motors, after GM’s appetite for federal bailouts. And General Moneypit. And, perhaps most popular, Government Motors, after the taxpayers’ major ownership stake.
Jun 14, 2009
Hiker falls to his death from Yosemite’s Half Dome
Yosemite National Park officials say a male hiker has fallen to his death while climbing Half Dome.
Park Ranger Scott Gediman says the man fell Saturday afternoon, and that officials believe he was using the cable handrails that help hikers make it up and down the landmark.
Park Ranger Gediman said conditions on Half Dome's granite face were slippery because of rain and hail.(click on picture to enlarge)
Several climbers can be seen negotiating the last leg of the Half Dome climb can be seen on the left of the photo above.
Thirty other Half Dome climbers were being escorted down by rangers for their safety Saturday evening.
Kicking back in the sun
Getting some rays in front of beach huts in Blyth, northeast England.
Newsweek editor says Obama is God
On Hardball, Newsweek editor Evan Thomas (pictured) said, “I mean in a way Obama’s standing above the country, above – above the world, he’s sort of God!
Contrast that with Evan Thomas on the TV talk show Inside Washington, responding to a question on whether the media was unfair to Bush. Thomas said, “Well, our job is to bash the president, that's what we do."
Trash Bush and slobber over Obama calling him a God!
If Newsweek continues these unapologetic liberal promoting practices, The National Enquirer will be a more serious - and accurate - newsmagazine than Newsweek!
Link
Contrast that with Evan Thomas on the TV talk show Inside Washington, responding to a question on whether the media was unfair to Bush. Thomas said, “Well, our job is to bash the president, that's what we do."Trash Bush and slobber over Obama calling him a God!
If Newsweek continues these unapologetic liberal promoting practices, The National Enquirer will be a more serious - and accurate - newsmagazine than Newsweek!
Link
John Hinderaker talks about MSNBC
Speaking of irresponsible media...
Attorney John Hinderaker recently had this to say about MSNBC on Power Line:
Attorney John Hinderaker recently had this to say about MSNBC on Power Line:
MSNBC occupies a curious niche in the media landscape.
It is the first network that has ample financial resources but at the same time, production values are on a par with the average home movie and intellectual standards below those of the typical ninth grader.
It would be interesting to know who comprises their audience.
Don’t hold back John, tell us what you really thing about MSNBC.
Denver Broncos consider selling ads on practice jerseys
The Denver Broncos football team is considering selling advertising space on their practice jerseys.
The NFL says there will be no jersey advertisements on game day. The ads would only be on jerseys worn on the practice field.
We wonder how much that will help. The practices are often closed to the public. Prior to critical games the practices are even closed to the media.
Maybe the Broncos feel they need every dollar they can get because of future ticket sale loss because they let star quarterback Jay Cutler slip through their fingers.
Link
The NFL says there will be no jersey advertisements on game day. The ads would only be on jerseys worn on the practice field.
We wonder how much that will help. The practices are often closed to the public. Prior to critical games the practices are even closed to the media.
Maybe the Broncos feel they need every dollar they can get because of future ticket sale loss because they let star quarterback Jay Cutler slip through their fingers.
Link
Loser in Iran election arrested - that didn’t take long!
The Israeli news reported (at the first link below) that the defeated Ahmadinejad rival has been arrested in Iran.
Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi was reportedly arrested Saturday following the reformist's defeat at the polls by hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Supporters of Mousavi, the main challenger to Ahmadinejad, have responded to the election with the most serious unrest in Tehran in a decade and claim that the result was the work of a dictatorship.
Will Jimmy Carter go to Iran and certify the election of Ahmadinejad like he did the election of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela?
Meanwhile, in the United States, Barack Obama was "excited" by Iran's robust election debate as reported by Reuters news (at the second link below).
"We are excited to see what appears to be a robust debate taking place in Iran," Obama told reporters when asked about the Iranian election during an event at the White House.
Jun 13, 2009
Jumping for joy: Bush skydives on 85th birthday
Former President George H.W. Bush marked his 85th birthday on Friday the same way he did his 75th and 80th birthdays: He leaped from a plane and zoomed downward at more than 100 mph in freefall before parachuting safely to a spot near his oceanfront home in Kennebunkport, Maine.
Bush made the tandem jump from 10,500 feet with Sgt. 1st Class Mike Elliott of the Army's Golden Knights, who guided them to a gentle landing on the lawn of St. Ann's Church.
He said he enjoyed it so much that he planned to do it again when he turns 90.
George W. and Barbara Bush wave to him after the jump.
With Barbara Bush after the jump.
When he was president, Bush was an avid jogger, speed golfer, fisherman and tennis player.
He said he has slowed down since then, but he doesn't intend to stop moving.
And all that from a man who won’t eat his broccoli.
He told reporters that he jumped Friday for two reasons: to experience the exhilaration of free falling and to show that seniors can remain active and do fun things.
Link
Bush made the tandem jump from 10,500 feet with Sgt. 1st Class Mike Elliott of the Army's Golden Knights, who guided them to a gentle landing on the lawn of St. Ann's Church.
He said he enjoyed it so much that he planned to do it again when he turns 90.
George W. and Barbara Bush wave to him after the jump.
With Barbara Bush after the jump.
When he was president, Bush was an avid jogger, speed golfer, fisherman and tennis player.
He said he has slowed down since then, but he doesn't intend to stop moving.
And all that from a man who won’t eat his broccoli.
He told reporters that he jumped Friday for two reasons: to experience the exhilaration of free falling and to show that seniors can remain active and do fun things.
Link
Iran election: landslide win for Ahmadinejad
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (shown below) has been declared the winner in a disputed election.
The government said on Saturday that Ahmadinejad won Friday's presidential election with 62.63 percent of the vote and Mir Hossein Moussavi received 33.75 percent of the vote.
Before the ballot counting was over, Moussavi supporters urged the counting to stop because of "blatant violations" and lashed out at what he indicated was an unfair process.
At least Ahmadinejad didn’t use dead people voting and ACORN fraud to win.
Well, he didn’t use ACORN anyway. In a country like Iran you don’t need ACORN to win.
More here.
The government said on Saturday that Ahmadinejad won Friday's presidential election with 62.63 percent of the vote and Mir Hossein Moussavi received 33.75 percent of the vote.
Before the ballot counting was over, Moussavi supporters urged the counting to stop because of "blatant violations" and lashed out at what he indicated was an unfair process.
At least Ahmadinejad didn’t use dead people voting and ACORN fraud to win.
Well, he didn’t use ACORN anyway. In a country like Iran you don’t need ACORN to win.
More here.
Jun 12, 2009
John Daly: color on the golf course
Pro golfer John Daly shows how to be conspicuous on the golf course.
Blaming Bush doesn’t work anymore
David Axelrod (pictured) senior advisor to Barack Obama, said:
Nobody’s trying to duck responsibility or make excuses.
At the same time Mr. Obama said:
The financial crisis this administration inherited is still creating painful challenges for businesses and families alike.
Blaming a predecessor is not new. Reagan blamed Carter for the poor economy and raging inflation he inherited.
Clinton blamed the first President Bush and the younger President Bush blamed Clinton.
However, former Bush aides argue that Mr. Obama has done it more extensively and routinely than other presidents have, although this is denied by the Obama team.
An article in the New York Times (see link below) reports that at a certain point, a new president assumes ownership of the problems and finds himself answering for his own actions.
Challenges stacking up overseas may increasingly be seen as Mr. Obama’s soon enough too, say advisers, critics and some outside experts.
By sending an extra 21,000 American troops to Afghanistan and replacing the commander there, Mr. Obama has now made that war his, as many analysts in Washington see it.
Also, the forceful (some say anti-Semitic) position toward Israel adopted by Mr. Obama over settlement expansion makes the Palestinian conflict his own problem.
“Whatever problems he inherited walking in the door, they’re his responsibility now,” Mr. Axelrod said. “Nobody’s trying to duck responsibility or make excuses for them.
David Axelrod is Mr. Obama’s senior advisor.
He gets it.
Yet Barack Obama continues to “blame Bush.”
Link
Its official swine flu pandemic has begun
Swine flu is now formally a pandemic, a declaration by U.N. health officials that will speed vaccine production and spur government spending to combat the first global flu epidemic in 41 years.
Thursday's announcement by the World Health Organization doesn't mean the virus is any more lethal — only that its spread is considered unstoppable.
Since it was first detected in late April in Mexico and the United States, swine flu has reached 74 countries, infecting nearly 29,000 people. Most who catch the bug have only mild symptoms and don't need medical treatment.
More of the story here.
Thursday's announcement by the World Health Organization doesn't mean the virus is any more lethal — only that its spread is considered unstoppable.
Since it was first detected in late April in Mexico and the United States, swine flu has reached 74 countries, infecting nearly 29,000 people. Most who catch the bug have only mild symptoms and don't need medical treatment.
More of the story here.
Holocaust museum shooter had shocking beliefs
The man who murdered a guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum shocked acquaintances with his hateful views.
Shown here is a more recent photo of von Brunn than accompanies most stories of the museum shooting.
Shown here is a more recent photo of von Brunn than accompanies most stories of the museum shooting.The anger of James Wenneker von Brunn was too big for the quiet civility of the small town on Maryland's Eastern Shore where he made his home for much of the past three decades.
The venom that seethed within him spilled over time and again, shocking the people of Easton who bore witness.
They were shocked once more at news of Wednesday's fatal shooting at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, but not at word that the alleged gunman was the 88-year-old white supremacist who once lived in their midst.
One acquaintance said, "Was he capable of this? Yes! Our intuition that he was creepy, that he might go postal, all came back to us when we heard the news."
Mr. von Brunn was a former Navy officer who commanded a PT boat in the Pacific in the last weeks of World War II.
A 1943 graduate of Washington University in his home town of St. Louis, he bounced from one address to another on the Eastern Shore.
He worked in the mortgage and real estate businesses, peddled his paintings of Western landscapes and shared with all who would listen his hatred for blacks and Jews.
More of the story here.
Jun 11, 2009
Want to get up to 600 miles per gallon?
The Twike is a zero emissions vehicle made in Germany.
It is a hybrid, but maybe not what you’d think. It’s a “human-electric” hybrid.
This puddle jumper is not for the faint of heart, not if you want to get 600 miles per gallon anyway.
Near as we can tell, this vehicle is guaranteed to take the fun out of your driving.
It is a hybrid, but maybe not what you’d think. It’s a “human-electric” hybrid.
This puddle jumper is not for the faint of heart, not if you want to get 600 miles per gallon anyway.
Near as we can tell, this vehicle is guaranteed to take the fun out of your driving.
Pedaling extends the range of the vehicle but does not substantially add to the vehicle's top speed.
The vehicle cannot be driven solely by using pedal power. Regenerative antilock braking captures energy from deceleration to recharge computer-controlled batteries.
I wasn’t going to make light of this pedal/electric wonder until I saw the price tag. How many eco-geeks will they find that just happen to have more than $30,000 in their jeans?
We are not sure how Twike is pronounced. Possibly it is meant to sound like “baby talk” for trike.
More here.
Showing off for the ranch hands
Canadian rider Jeff Fehr jumps in front of a cowboy settlement at the historic Bar U Ranch in Calgary, Canada.
China earthquake
Tens of thousands visited the quake devastated town of Beichuan, in southwestern China's Sichuan province.
State leaders laid flowers and survivors burned paper money for departed spirits as a mournful China marked the first anniversary of a devastating earthquake that left nearly 90,000 people dead or missing and 5 million homeless.
Anything goes in Miami Beach - except Mr. Clucky
Mr. Clucky is a rooster that delights tourists and locals alike by riding on his master's handlebars in Miami Beach, Florida.
However, the talented but noisy rooster is being evicted by Miami Beach.
However, the talented but noisy rooster is being evicted by Miami Beach.
In the live-and-let-live annals of Miami Beach, the city has embraced a disparate cast of characters: the cross-dressing former cabbie who jives to '60s hits for change; the woman who walks her iguanas in a pram built for two; and the middle-aged man who makes custom paintings with his toes, to name a few.
But you have to draw the line somewhere, and so the city has decreed that Mr. Clucky -- the bike-riding rooster known for weaving his way through the laid-back crowds at Lincoln Road Mall -- must go.
Fiat Chrysler deal shifting to high gear
After being propped up by $15.5 billion in U.S. Treasury loans between January and May, Chrysler entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April.
The tiny Fiat 500 (shown above with Jim Press, president and vice-chairman of Chrysler) is one of the first cars Chrysler hopes to build in North America through its new alliance with Fiat.
An article at the second link below wonders if Americans can learn to love Fiat.
In Italy, the joke is that Fiat stands for “fix it again Tony.”
How excited will Americans be about buying a tiny Fiat, with a Chrysler name-plate, built in a factory whose principle owner is the United Auto Workers union when It was the UAW’s unrealistic demands, along with GM, Ford and Chrysler’s cave-in to those demands, that got the U.S. automakers in trouble in the first place.
I have been loyal to American automakers - until now. We just replaced a Chrysler built van that served us well for the several years. After more than 200,000 miles it was replaced recently by a Toyota van. We are just not inclined to buy a UAWmobile.
More of the Chrysler/Fiat story here and here.
The deal with the Italian automaker will give Fiat 20 per cent of the new company in return for a transfer of technology, with the stake expanding to 35 per cent if targets are met.
The United Auto Workers union is to hold 55 per cent of the group, the US government 8 per cent and the Canadian government 2 per cent.
The tiny Fiat 500 (shown above with Jim Press, president and vice-chairman of Chrysler) is one of the first cars Chrysler hopes to build in North America through its new alliance with Fiat.
An article at the second link below wonders if Americans can learn to love Fiat.
In Italy, the joke is that Fiat stands for “fix it again Tony.”
How excited will Americans be about buying a tiny Fiat, with a Chrysler name-plate, built in a factory whose principle owner is the United Auto Workers union when It was the UAW’s unrealistic demands, along with GM, Ford and Chrysler’s cave-in to those demands, that got the U.S. automakers in trouble in the first place.
I have been loyal to American automakers - until now. We just replaced a Chrysler built van that served us well for the several years. After more than 200,000 miles it was replaced recently by a Toyota van. We are just not inclined to buy a UAWmobile.
More of the Chrysler/Fiat story here and here.
Jun 10, 2009
Museum shooter von Brunn's ex-wife says his racism 'ate him alive'
Holocaust Museum shooter’s ex-wife speaks about James von Brunn.
The ex-wife of the racist who stormed the U.S. Holocaust Museum described him as an abusive alcoholic whose hatred against Jews and blacks “ate him alive like a cancer. It's all he would talk about.”
The woman, who asked that her name not be used, said when she learned von Brunn allegedly acted on his anti-Semitic impulses, she thought about something he used to say when they were married.
"He used to make the statement that he was going out with his boots on," she said.
"I took it to mean that he wasn't just about to lay down and die of old age. That he was going to go out and try to take some people with him."
She married von Brunn in the mid-1960s and they divorced 10 years later. She said he sipped red wine all day and frequently lashed out with verbal assaults.
von Brunn's age is in dispute. Some media are reporting that he is in his 60s, while The Associated Press says he is 89 years old.
Link
Guard dies in shooting at Holocaust Museum
James Von Brunn, an elderly white surpremist opened fire at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., injuring himself and one guard.
According to reports the guard has died the gunman is in critical condition.
According to reports the guard has died the gunman is in critical condition.
”There were no threats" against the museum, said D.C. police chief Cathy Lanier. "The second he stepped into the building he began firing." Lanier said he was shooting a rifle.
The 89-year-old von Brunn (shown here in a much earlier photo) was released from the federal penitentiary in Ray Brook, N.Y. on Sept. 15, 1989, after serving 5-1/2 years.
He was convicted in 1983 of attempted kidnapping, burglary and assault with a deadly weapon in a 1981 incident at the Federal Reserve.
Von Brunn, a Holocaust denier, maintains a racist, anti-Semitic website and wrote a book titled Kill the Best Gentile.
Who says man can’t fly?
This interesting photo shows a man jumping into a public swimming pool in Duesseldorf, Germany as an airplane in the background prepares to land.
UK report First Lady of flamboyance
The London Daily Mail printed a photo of Michelle Obama saying: Her taste for restrained elegance has earned her the title of First Lady of Fashion.
At least she didn’t wear a tank top.
Link
At least she didn’t wear a tank top.
Link
The new Pelosimobile from Congressional Motors
For those special odd-numbered week ends when we will be allowed to drive ...
Jun 9, 2009
Retiring army goat
William Windsor, mascot of England's 1st Battalion, appears at his retirement parade after seven years of UK Army service. The Battalion, known as The Royal Welsh, has had a goat in its ranks for more than 200 years.
Socialists lick wounds as conservatives win across Europe
Note: a correction was made to his posting
Many reporters called the elections a defeat for the “center left.”
One quick observation:
The losers were not center left. They were no more center left than Barack Obama. They were all politically far left!
An AP article at the link below reports:
Conservatives raced toward victory in some of Europe's largest economies Sunday as initial results and exit polls showed voters punishing left-leaning parties in European parliament elections in France, Germany and elsewhere.
Franz Muentefering (pictured) chairman of Germany’s Social Democrats reacts to results of the elections in Germany and across Europe. 
The Social Democrats along with Britain’s Labor Party and Frances Socialists are said to have suffered setbacks of “historic proportions.”
Some right-leaning parties said the results vindicated their reluctance to spend more on company bailouts and fiscal stimulus amid the global economic crisis.
Reporters given 12 years hard labor in North Korea
Laura Ling and Euna Lee (pictured), reporters for Al Gore’s Current TV, were arrested in March.
They were sentenced after a closed-door trial for what the state-run North Korean news agency KCNA called the "grave crime they committed against the Korean nation and their illegal border crossing."
The United States has no diplomatic relations with North Korea, and Sweden represents U.S. interests there. The Swedish ambassador told the U.S. State Department that no observers were allowed in the courtroom for the trial, and the ambassador was allowed to see them only three times.
Several senior administration officials said the idea of sending either Gore or New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to Pyongyang on a mission to get the journalists released has been floated to the North Koreans.
No answer has come so far, but the expectation has been that once the trial ended, the North would accept a visit by either Gore or Richardson to secure the journalists' release, the officials said.
North Korea will probably release the reporters but not before the US pays a huge ransom.
Link
Peering into North Korea
A girl looks through a binocular telescope at a village in the North Korea city of Kaepoong from the Panmunjom demilitarized zone.
Biden: new rail tunnel being built for cars
About that new tunnel that NJ Transit has been wanting for years. It’s the one that the Federal Transit Administration made a huge commitment to on Monday.
“Look, this is designed, this totally new tunnel, is designed to provide for automobile traffic,” Biden said. “It’s something, as you know, up your way, that’s been in the works and people have been clamoring for a long time.”
For cars? Really?
For the record, the tunnel is for trains, and its completion would allow for more NJ Transit trains during peak hours and “one-seat” rides into Midtown Manhattan on lines serving Bergen and Passaic counties.
Biden's office did not immediately respond to a request to clarify his comments.
How many gaffe’s does that make since becoming our “comic relief” vice president?
Wonder if he can spell potato?
Link
Jun 8, 2009
Burger King warming Whopper
Have it your way.
A major Burger King franchise owner puts up controversial signs at its Burger King restaurants.
The franchisee is a Memphis-based company called the Mirabile Investment Corporation (MIC) that owns more than 40 Burger Kings across Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi, has described Burger King as acting "kinda like cockroaches" over the controversy.
Burger King has asked MIC to remove the signs. However, MIC's marketing president, John McNelis has said that by the time Burger King lawyers work out how to make that stick we'd be in the year 2020.
Does Al Gore eat at any of the MIC Burger King restaurants? No? I didn’t think so.
Link
A major Burger King franchise owner puts up controversial signs at its Burger King restaurants.
The franchisee is a Memphis-based company called the Mirabile Investment Corporation (MIC) that owns more than 40 Burger Kings across Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi, has described Burger King as acting "kinda like cockroaches" over the controversy.
Burger King has asked MIC to remove the signs. However, MIC's marketing president, John McNelis has said that by the time Burger King lawyers work out how to make that stick we'd be in the year 2020.
Does Al Gore eat at any of the MIC Burger King restaurants? No? I didn’t think so.
Link
Job seekers getting the wrinkles out
A clinic in Virginia gave free Botox wrinkle injections to unemployed women looking for work.
Ladies with “wrinkles and a résumé" stood in line Friday at the Reveal clinic near the Pentagon to accept the unusual offer of free Botox injections.
The ladies hope improving their appearance will help, at least psychologically, in future job interviews.
The cost of a single treatment can vary from $300 to $500, according to Reveal. Results typically last four to six months.
One of the job seekers said, “You're more likely to be perceived in a better light if you look good.”
This is especially important in a climate of age discrimination.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says it received 24,582 complaints of age discrimination in the 12-month period ending in September. That's a 29 percent increase from the previous year.
Link
Ladies with “wrinkles and a résumé" stood in line Friday at the Reveal clinic near the Pentagon to accept the unusual offer of free Botox injections.
The ladies hope improving their appearance will help, at least psychologically, in future job interviews.
The cost of a single treatment can vary from $300 to $500, according to Reveal. Results typically last four to six months.
One of the job seekers said, “You're more likely to be perceived in a better light if you look good.”
This is especially important in a climate of age discrimination.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says it received 24,582 complaints of age discrimination in the 12-month period ending in September. That's a 29 percent increase from the previous year.
Link
Guinness Record longest running TV ad
A delightful commercial showing a little old lady throwing a tire through a tire store window is the longest running TV commercial according to Guinness World Records.
Joining the ranks of Charmin's Mr. Whipple, Wendy's affable founder Dave Thomas and the Lonely Maytag Repairman, is the little old lady from the Discount Tire ad.
Not only is the Discount Tire ad a winner - it’s funny and it’s also short - only 10 seconds long!
(click on picture to see video)
Joining the ranks of Charmin's Mr. Whipple, Wendy's affable founder Dave Thomas and the Lonely Maytag Repairman, is the little old lady from the Discount Tire ad.
Not only is the Discount Tire ad a winner - it’s funny and it’s also short - only 10 seconds long!
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