Feb 7, 2009
Chinese New Year fan vendor in Beijing
A vendor sells hand-made fans at the Longtan Temple fair during the Chinese New Year celebration in Beijing, China.
AP photo via Time Magazine
Governing from inexperience
Rather than an explanation, conservative lawmakers were given a cryptic, I won as his “reason”.
Was that prompted by inexperience or arrogance?
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Inexperience showed in 1961 when 44-year-old President John F. Kennedy carried out the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba.
A similar plan had been discussed, though never carried out, when Dwight Eisenhower was President.
Eisenhower was a professional military tactician. John Kennedy was not, yet he carried out his invasion anyway.
As we all know the invasion was a miserable failure and severely embarrassed the Kennedy Administration.
Speaking about how John Kennedy handled the Bay of Pigs, General Eisenhower said, “A 2nd Lt. without combat experience could have done better.”
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Symbolically speaking, how many “Bay of Pigs” will we see during the Obama Presidency?
Was that prompted by inexperience or arrogance?
Inexperience showed in 1961 when 44-year-old President John F. Kennedy carried out the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba.
A similar plan had been discussed, though never carried out, when Dwight Eisenhower was President.
Eisenhower was a professional military tactician. John Kennedy was not, yet he carried out his invasion anyway.
As we all know the invasion was a miserable failure and severely embarrassed the Kennedy Administration.
Speaking about how John Kennedy handled the Bay of Pigs, General Eisenhower said, “A 2nd Lt. without combat experience could have done better.”
Symbolically speaking, how many “Bay of Pigs” will we see during the Obama Presidency?
Self-propelled rickshaw
Time Magazine photo
New York City griddle riddle solved
A mysterious, maple syrup-like odor has been drifting over New York City periodically since October 2005.
The sweet odor has been linked to New Jersey fragrance and food additive processing plants.
The smell has attracted media attention and hundreds of complaints from city residents.
The mystery was solved after city agencies matched complaints by their geographic location against information about winds and atmospheric conditions.
Link
The sweet odor has been linked to New Jersey fragrance and food additive processing plants.The smell has attracted media attention and hundreds of complaints from city residents.
The mystery was solved after city agencies matched complaints by their geographic location against information about winds and atmospheric conditions.
Link
Fake parking tickets lead to malicious Web site
CNET reports on a diabolical, yet novel way to spread malicious code to unsuspecting computer users who drive hybrid cars.
In a scary online-offline Internet scam, hybrid cars in North Dakota have been tagged with fake parking citations that include a Web address hosting malicious software that drops a Trojan onto the computer.
More information here.
Feb 6, 2009
Phelps suspended by USA Swimming, dumped by Kellogg's
Olympic great Michael Phelps has been suspended from competition for three months by USA Swimming as a result of a photo showing Phelps using a marijuana pipe.
USA Swimming also cut off its financial support to Phelps for the same three-month period.
In addition, Phelps has been dumped by sponsor Kellogg's.
The company put Phelps's picture on boxes of its Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes.
Kellogg's said its contract with Phelps expires at the end of the month.
Link
USA Swimming also cut off its financial support to Phelps for the same three-month period.
In addition, Phelps has been dumped by sponsor Kellogg's.
The company put Phelps's picture on boxes of its Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes.
Kellogg's said its contract with Phelps expires at the end of the month.
Link
Raccoons roam White House grounds
Masked intruders have invaded the White House grounds.
The the National Park Service has been in hot pursuit of a pack of raccoons spotted roaming the manicured grounds near the White House, a spokesman said.
Maybe the new Obama White House dog should big enough to keep the critters at bay.
Late night comedians will be saying the coons were just after a bailout.
And there is bound to be at least one comedian using a racist comment about coons at the White House.
Link
Here comes another one just like the other ones!
Just when everyone thought the parade of tax cheats appointed by Obama was over, here comes another one as if right on cue!
Rep. Hilda Solis (pictured) seemed to be on the fast track to be Labor secretary … until it was revealed that her husband, Sam Sayyad, was in trouble with the Internal Revenue Service.
Congresswoman Solis’ financial disclosures listed her husband Sam Sayyad's business, Sam's Foreign and Domestic Auto Center, as one of the couple's main assets, worth between $50,000 and $100,000.
Her husband's liens for unpaid taxes have sidelined the nomination for now.
Solis' husband has now repaid $6,400 to settle the tax liens - but only after the nomination of Hilda Solis was announced.
The tax liens went back 16 years and were on the business that Solis listed as one of their main assets.
Link
Rep. Hilda Solis (pictured) seemed to be on the fast track to be Labor secretary … until it was revealed that her husband, Sam Sayyad, was in trouble with the Internal Revenue Service.
Congresswoman Solis’ financial disclosures listed her husband Sam Sayyad's business, Sam's Foreign and Domestic Auto Center, as one of the couple's main assets, worth between $50,000 and $100,000. Her husband's liens for unpaid taxes have sidelined the nomination for now.
Solis' husband has now repaid $6,400 to settle the tax liens - but only after the nomination of Hilda Solis was announced.
The tax liens went back 16 years and were on the business that Solis listed as one of their main assets.
Link
Feb 5, 2009
Ariz sheriff to segregate illegals in tent city
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has announced plans to house illegal alien inmates in a tent city separate from other prisoners.
Sheriff Arpaio, the self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff in America," said he plans to personally accompany about 200 inmates, along with members of the media, from an area jail to a separate tent city.
Sheriff Arpaio, the self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff in America," said he plans to personally accompany about 200 inmates, along with members of the media, from an area jail to a separate tent city.
"This is a population of criminals more adept perhaps at escape," Arpaio said in a news release. "But this is a fence they won't want to scale because they risk receiving quite a shock, literally," he said, referring to the electric fence that surrounds the area.
Arpaio said housing the illegal immigrants separately would save money, although he did not explain how other than to say it's cheaper to house inmates in tents than at traditional jails.
Segregating the illegals is drawing criticism.
Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox said she thinks Arpaio could potentially be violating the immigrants' rights by keeping them separated, and that she'd like to talk to the Justice Department and have staff there issue an opinion.
English only law defeated in Nashville
Voters in Nashville rejected a proposal last month that would have made the country music capital the largest U.S. city to make English the official language of local government.
Wording of the proposal was, in part, “No person shall have a right to government services in any other language.”
Nashville is a city where the immigrant population has increased dramatically.
The proposal was rejected by 57% of voters, but proponents of the measure say it would save the city thousands of dollars in translation costs.
Link
Wording of the proposal was, in part, “No person shall have a right to government services in any other language.”
Nashville is a city where the immigrant population has increased dramatically.
The proposal was rejected by 57% of voters, but proponents of the measure say it would save the city thousands of dollars in translation costs.
Link
Obama spokesman defends the indefensible
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs (pictured) told reporters, "The bar that we set is the highest that any administration in the country has ever set."
Did he really say that?
Gibbs is defending the indefensible as shown below:
Did he really say that? Gibbs is defending the indefensible as shown below:
Bill Richardson, Obama’s first choice for Secretary of Commerce, had to be scrubbed as a candidate because of ‘pay to play’ corruption in his recent background.
Timothy Geitner, who was confirmed as Secretary of the Treasury, was found to be a tax cheat (it was more than just a careless oversight because his tax software told him the tax return had an error but he filed it anyway). As Treasury Secretary, Geitner will be in charge of the Internal Revenue Service, which means he will be the fox guarding the hen house.
Eric Holder, Obama’s choice for Attorney General, is clouded by his complicity in the very controversial pardon or Marc Rich.
William Lynn is Obama’s choice for deputy Defense secretary. This appointment would present a conflict of interest because Lynn was a senior executive for defense contractor Raytheon.
And then there is the case of Tom Daschle, Obama’s choice for the position as head of Health and Human Services Department. Daschle was to be the architect of Socialized Medicine for the administration. Former South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle’s tax cheating amounted to over $100,000.
Within hours of when the Daschle appointment was ‘dashed,’ Nancy Killefer announced that she too had not paid $1,000 of taxes and would no longer be taking up her position as government chief performance officer - a new role responsible for increasing government accountability.
Instead of "The bar that we set is the highest that any administration in the country has ever set," it appears more like setting the groundwork for what could be the most corrupt administration the country has ever seen.
Link here and here.
Mall and store ads may be watching you back
Stop and watch an advertisement on a closed-circuit TV screen in a mall or big-box store and there is a growing chance the ad is watching you, too.
Small cameras can now be embedded in the screen or hidden around it, tracking who looks at the screen and for how long.
The makers of the tracking systems say the software can determine the viewer's gender, approximate age range and, in some cases, ethnicity — and can change the ads accordingly.
That could mean razor ads for men, cosmetics ads for women and video-game ads for teens.
Experiment by standing if front of one of these closed-circuit TV ads and see if the ad changes to something more suited to your gender and age.
Link
Daschle: didn’t have stomach for the fight
In spite of Tom Daschle’s hundred thousand plus dollar tax mishap, Senate leaders and the White House -- especially Obama -- were firm in their support.
Many Democrats grumbled about the position they'd been put in because of Daschle’s non-payment of taxes.
They mostly supported the former Senate leader for two reasons: Obama was determined to push Daschle’s appointment through and they didn’t want to embarrass their president if the appointment failed.
Mr. Daschle disappointed Obama but saved the Democratic Party from another stain by withdrawing, much to the relief of some Democrats.
Even Senate Republicans believed Daschle would be confirmed after getting roughed up a bit.
So why did Daschle bow out?
Many Democrats grumbled about the position they'd been put in because of Daschle’s non-payment of taxes.
They mostly supported the former Senate leader for two reasons: Obama was determined to push Daschle’s appointment through and they didn’t want to embarrass their president if the appointment failed.Mr. Daschle disappointed Obama but saved the Democratic Party from another stain by withdrawing, much to the relief of some Democrats.
Even Senate Republicans believed Daschle would be confirmed after getting roughed up a bit.
So why did Daschle bow out?
A source close to Daschle says "he didn't have the stomach for the fight."
Already depressed by the recent discovery that his younger brother is stricken with brain cancer, Daschle wasn't prepared for another week of Senate hazing and damaging headlines.
The double-barreled combination of a blistering New York Times editorial and a front-page story raising questions about President Obama's commitment to ethics reform in Washington convinced Daschle he had to go.
Feb 4, 2009
Playing through
Australian golfer Peter Lonard waits to play a shot as a kangaroo leaps by during second day of the 2008 Australian PGA Championships.
Friday. December 5, 2008
Czech president attacks Gore’s global warming
Czech President Václav Klaus (pictured) took aim at climate change campaigner Al Gore on Saturday at the World Economic forum in Davos, Switzerland.
It was a frontal attack on the science of global warming by president Klaus.
It was a frontal attack on the science of global warming by president Klaus."I don't think that there is any global warming," said the 67-year-old liberal, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union. "I don't see the statistical data for that."
Referring to the former US vice president, who attended Davos this year, he added: "I'm very sorry that some people like Al Gore are not ready to listen to the competing theories. I do listen to them.
"Environmentalism and the global warming alarmism is challenging our freedom. Al Gore is an important person in this movement."
The Czech President is probably aware that Al Gore will NOT debate global warming as well as NOT listen to competing theories.
Link
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