-NEW: Each says the other is capable of winning the presidency
-NEW: Obama again is asked to explain his "bitter" comments
-Candidates debate each other for first time in nearly two months
-Pennsylvania debate comes just six days before that state's crucial primary
Neither Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton nor Sen. Barack Obama would commit Wednesday when asked in a debate if they would take the other as their running mate should they win the nomination.
Both candidates responded to the first question of the debate with smiles, prompting laughter from the audience. After a moment, Obama said he was happy to respond.
"I think it's premature at this point for us to talk about who vice presidential candidates will be, because we're still trying to determine who the nominee will be." he said.
Clinton echoed those comments. "I'm going to do everything I possibly can to make sure that one of us takes the oath of office next January," she said. "I think that has to be the overriding goal, whatever we have to do."
Each candidate said they thought the other was capable of winning the presidency.
Initially Clinton did not respond to the question directly but then agreed that Obama could win the presidency.
"Yes, yes, yes," she said. "Now, I think that I can do a better job. Obviously, I believe I would be the best president, or I would not still be here standing on this stage. And I believe I'm the better and stronger candidate against Senator McCain, to go toe-to-toe with him on national security and on how we turn the economy around."
Obama replied in kind to the same question: "Absolutely, and I've said so before. But I, too, think that I'm the better candidate."
Clinton and Obama faced off at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, just six days before the Pennsylvania primary. There was much at stake for both.
This was the 21st Democratic debate, and although that seems like a lot, much has happened since their last debate, in Ohio in late February.
While Obama was riding an 11-contest winning streak back then, Clinton won comeback kid honors when she took three of the four primaries held March 4. But Obama still leads Clinton in states won, pledged delegates to the Democratic convention and the overall popular vote in the primaries and caucuses held so far this campaign season.
Clinton needed to change the momentum in the battle for the Democratic nomination, and the best way to do that is to win big in Pennsylvania. But a new CNN Poll of Polls puts Clinton's lead at just 5 points over Obama in Pennsylvania, down from a double-digit lead two weeks ago.
The debate was "probably her last opportunity to change the momentum in the campaign," CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider said.
Clinton might be helped by Obama himself.
By the second question of the debate, the senator from Illinois found himself explaining, yet again, just what he meant when he told campaign donors at a San Francisco-area event 10 days ago that small-town Pennsylvania residents are "bitter" over their economic circumstances and "cling" to their guns and religion. He acknowledged that it is not the first time he has mangled a statement.
Obama went on to say that people who feel that they are not being heard will rely on what they know, such as religion and traditions.
"The problem that we have in our politics, which is fairly typical, is that you take one person's statement, if it's not properly phrased, and you just beat it to death," he said. "And that's what Senator Clinton's been doing over the last four days. And I understand that. That's politics. And I expect to have to go through this process."
In a response Clinton said that "my comments were about your remarks. And I think that's important, because it wasn't just me responding to them, it was people who heard them, people who felt as though they were aimed at their values, their quality of life, the decisions that they have made."
The reporting of the initial comment Friday sparked a controversy that put Obama on the defensive as both Clinton and presumptive GOP nominee, Sen. John McCain, tried to portray Obama as elitist and out of touch with average Americans.
"Obama's been on the defensive over these 'bitter' comments, and this is Clinton's opportunity to exploit that," Schneider said. "So far, we haven't seen any shifts in the polls in her direction, and tonight's debate is her last chance to exploit the situation.
"Obama's objective in this debate is to say 'let's move on' and that Clinton's trying to distract us from the real issues."
But both candidates would use the debate to reach out to voters outside Pennsylvania, CNN Political Editor Mark Preston said.
"While Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will be making appeals to Pennsylvania voters tonight, they will also be hoping to build support with some very important audiences who won't be casting ballots next week," he said before the debate. "Clinton and Obama will also be trying to reach voters in Indiana and North Carolina, which hold primaries two weeks after Pennsylvania's April 22 contest."
And there's another more narrow electorate that both candidates hope to reach in Wednesday night's debate.
"The two Democrats will also be making indirect appeals to the undecided superdelegates, who will cast the deciding votes for the next Democratic nominee," Preston said.
"Clinton must score a knockout blow in tonight's debate as she attempts to prove she is more qualified to assume the role of commander in chief on day one. For his part, Obama must avoid making any mistakes and finally put to rest the controversy over his remarks about bitter Pennsylvanians who cling to their guns and religion."
The superdelegates are crucial to determining the Democratic presidential nomination. The primary calendar ends June 3, and neither Obama nor Clinton is expected to reach the 2,025 delegates needed to clinch the nomination by then. So the decision is likely to come down to the 800 or so superdelegates, who are Democratic governors, members of Congress and party leaders.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Clinton, Obama face off in Pennsylvania
How to Fight a Speeding Ticket
Mel Leiding, an attorney from Anaheim, California and author of a 53-page guide titled "How to Fight Your Traffic Ticket and Win," says he would rather be mugged than get a traffic ticket. Why? Getting mugged is faster, cheaper and has no long-term repercussions, such as increased insurance premiums, loss of a license or being forced to attend traffic school. According to HowStuffWorks.com, millions of traffic tickets are issued annually in the United States with many tickets costing $100 or higher. It's a billion dollar business. If you pay the ticket by mail, you're admitting guilt and will pay the maximum fine. In addition, the ticket will be part of your DMV record for three years. Here are the only two legitimate ways you might be able to wiggle out of it. The key word is "might." Good luck!
1. Ask for a warning.
When you're pulled over by a police officer for speeding, remain in your car. Never get out. When the officer comes to your car window, look contrite. Be very polite. Do apologize -- profusely. And ask very nicely for a warning instead of a ticket. Never answer such questions as: "Do you know why I stopped you?" or "Do you know how fast you were going?" Say "I'm not sure," instead of saying something that admits your guilt.
2. No matter what the facts are, plead "not guilty" and ask for a court date.
Never pay the ticket by mail since that is the same as admitting guilt. Remember, this is the United States where you are innocent until proven guilty. Even if you think the evidence is solidly against you -- after all, there is that radar gun the cop was using -- don't give up. There are many ways the police can make mistakes that will result in your ticket being dismissed. Leiding says that as many as half of the traffic tickets issued in this country are dismissed because the police officer who wrote the ticket doesn't come to court. Those odds notwithstanding, when you do go to court, be prepared to fight the ticket. Consider hiring an attorney, which could be cheaper than the increased insurance premiums you'll have to pay if you're found guilty.
How to avoid getting a speeding ticket in the first place:
-Know the speed limit. While you want to keep up with traffic around you, try to not exceed the speed limit by more than nine mph.
-Don't drive in the left lane. Use it only for passing. More tickets are given to drivers who are in the left lane than other lanes.
-Realize that police officers with radar guns position themselves so you can't see them until it's too late, such as in parking lots or around a bend in the road.
-If you see a police officer giving someone else a ticket or driving on the opposite side of the highway, don't assume you're safe. The police could still be tracking you.
-Don't call attention to yourself. Keep the bumper stickers and vehicle modifications to a minimum. Make sure your car isn't loud.
-And what about speed cameras, the hottest new tool to catch speeders? Forget it. You're stuck with that bill. The only good news is that it's not reported to your insurance company or your DMV record.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Fake Million Dollar Bill Lands Man In Jail
The Aiken County Sheriff's Office arrested an Augusta man who tried to open a bank account with a counterfeit $1,000,000 bill.
Alexander D. Smith is charged with disorderly conduct and forgery.
Investigators say Smith gave the counterfeit bill to a teller at Regions Bank in Clearwater, South Carolina. The employee refused to accept the bill and called the sheriff's office.
Officers say Smith also purchased several cartons of cigarettes with a stolen check over the weekend.
The largest denomination of currency ever printed is the $100,000 bill. The bill was printed back in the 1930s.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Was Mumtaz really buried at Taj Mahal?
Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built the 17th century Taj Mahal in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal who died delivering their 14th child in Burhanpur, a town in Maharashtra.
The queen's body was buried in Burhanpur itself but was believed to have been recovered for transportation to Agra where it was reburied in a grave in the Taj Mahal complex for at least 12 years to be again shifted to her final resting place in the basement of the monument.
As there is no detailed description or reference to any kind of treatment given to the body to keep it in recognisable shape for more than 12 years, two conjectures are now being offered.One, the body remained buried in Burhanpur, only some symbolic relics were brought to Agra in a lead coffin. Two, the body decomposed and virtually vanished, leaving behind some bones and perhaps the bare skelton.
"Obviously the coffin was not opened, otherwise we would have had some account of what remained inside it," says R. Nath, a Mughal historian. "In any case, how does it matter what state the body was in."
Afzal Khan, a historian of Aligarh Muslim University, says, "It is possible that the body might have been thoroughly decomposed, given the long duration for which it was kept outside and the time taken to transport it from the south to Agra. Since there are no accounts of how the whole process was carried out, one can only guess what could have happened to the body of Mumtaz."
A senior guide, 75-year-old SK Tripathi, says the body is believed to have been placed in a lead and copper coffin, which was air tight and sealed. It was kept at the Taj Mahal premises for a little over 12 years and was shifted as soon as more than half the edifice was constructed. The real graves of the two are in the basement, totally sealed.
"No one has gone there to see what state they are in now," he adds.
Archaeological Survey of India officials in Agra say they have no idea when was the last time someone had a close look at the basement and the foundation of the Taj Mahal, let alone the original graves of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal.
"We have no records of any such inspection," says one official.
The one little passage near the stair case leading to the main marble edifice was sealed more than a decade ago with a brick wall, which means there is now no way one can enter the sealed chambers below the Taj.
RC Sharma, a historian, says the body of Mumtaz Mahal was buried in Burhanpur. "What came to Agra must have been just bones in a coffin which was again reburied in the Taj complex."
From historical records available this was a unique feat. "Mumtaz was buried thrice at three different places," says Amit Mukherjea, who heads the history department of St John's College in Agra.
Most people do not know that the foundation of the Taj was actually laid in Burhanpur but because of the problems and costs involved in the transportation of marble from Rajasthan, Agra became the final choice.
"It was in Ahu Khana in Burhanpur on the bank of the Tapti river that her body was buried to be later transferred to Agra," according to KK Mohammed of ASI.
But the question relating to the technique of embalming and preservation remains unanswered.
Afsar Ahmed, a media researcher deeply interested in Mughal history, told IANS, You might find it difficult to believe but there's a possibility that the body of Mumtaz Mahal is still preserved in the Taj Mahal in the same condition as she was when she passed away. Mumtaz Mahal was buried six months after she passed away in June 1631. She was, however, buried in Jan 1632."
The question that arises now is: how was her body preserved? Ahmed quotes a report prepared by Armanul Haq, the curator in the Museum of History and Medicine in the Jamia Hamdard University, who claims that Mumtaz Mahal's body was preserved according to Unani techniques.
The process was used because cutting a body after death is prohibited in Islam. That is why when Mumtaz Mahal passed away in 1631 in Burhanpur, her body was kept in a tin box filled with such herbs as would stop the decay of flesh.
"The airtight tin box was filled with herbs like the ash of Babul tree (acacia), Mehendi (henna), Kapoor crystals (camphor), sandalwood ash, and then again camphor applied in layers upon layers. These herbs would have created a vacuum inside the box and prevented the decay of the body. A point to be noted here is that none of these herbs were put inside Mumtaz Mahal's body," says Ahmed.
If her body is still preserved and in fine shape, shall we call it the success of the Indian technique of mummification?
Camels in beauty contest
IT'S the only beauty contest in the world where the curvature of the ears, the size of nose relative to face and fullness of hump are all-important.
It's the camel beauty contest held in the United Arab Emirates, and more than 15,000 of the animals have vied for prizes including Range Rovers, Toyota pick-ups and over $10 million in cash.
Full story at The Times Online
Parrot teaches mates to swear
BARNEY the parrot is proving to be the most foul-mouthed bird in the world after it was revealed he is now teaching other birds to swear.
The yellow and blue Macaw has forged a notorious reputation for turning the air blue after his outbursts at the Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary in Nuneaton, England.
Two years ago Barney had to be given a private pen at the wildlife sanctuary, after swearing repeatedly at distinguished visitors including a mayor, a vicar and two police officers.
Now his owner Jeff Grewcock says he has taught other parrots to swear, The Sun reports.
Mr Grewcock said: "They just sit there swearing at each other now. It sounds like a builders' yard, with all the abuse flying about."
It is believed a previous owner taught Barney his bad habit.
Barney had redeemed himself last year when it was revealed he was helping to teach an autistic boy to speak.
Sadly though it looks like Barney has gone back to his old ways.
A 27 Hour Long Kiss Made Her Owner of a chevrolet car
A WOMAN in China won a car after kissing it for 27 hours and 40 minutes to beat 120 other competitors in a bizarre contest.
Beijing Real estate saleswoman Zhang Chunying was allowed two 10-minute breaks and had to stand on one leg after 24 hours were up in the contest run by a shopping mall in the Chinese capital. With six contestants left after a full 24 hours, one contestant collapsed from dehydration after 25 hours of kissing the Chevrolet Lova, the South China Morning Post reports.Four other contestants dropped out over the next two hours, unable to remain kissing and standing on one leg long enough to win.
Although Zhang was learning dance which helped in mainting her body flexibility and increased her stamina but even she did not come out unscathed."I can't walk now," Zhang was quoted as saying by the newspaper."My legs are numb, and my waist is aching, but I'm happy I GOT the car."The contest is one of a number of bizarre stunts and promotions organised to promote the luxury shopping centres that have sprung up around booming Beijing in recent years.
Man offers his face as tattoo advertising space
JASON Niebling wants to be a "human advertising billboard" and work for whichever company is permanently tattooed on his head.
And the 37-year-old from Ipswich doesn't care if people think he's an idiot just as long as the crazy scheme pays off and he can better provide for his wife Amy and children Tre, Tanika, Candis and Finette.
Mr Niebling already has the left side of his face and his bald head covered in non-advertising tattoos, but the right half is up for sale to the highest bidder.
He is set to become the first person in Australia to ink a permanent tattoo advertisement on their body.
"My ultimate goal is that instead of getting up every morning and having to work for the man, I want to work for whoever's on my head," the labourer said.
"I thought, 'things are getting a bit rough and rent's going up. What better way to connect my love of art and support my family as well?'.
"As long as I look after them I don't care what anybody says about me."
Mr Niebling has spent a total of 24 hours in the chair having his body tattooed and he's loved every minute of it, despite the pain.
"It's like when you jump out of a plane, the rush you get, that's what happens when the needle hits my skin," said Mr Niebling, who will also feature in a documentary called Show Us Ya Tatts funded by anthropologist Dr Mair Underwood.
Tattoo advertising has been around since 2003 when American Jim Nelson sold the space on the back of his head to a web hosting service for $US7000 ($7550).
Two years later Andrew Fischer, from Omaha, Nebraska, gained worldwide notoriety for auctioning his forehead space on eBay for temporary tattoo advertising, with the final bid coming in at $US37,375 ($40,316) for 30 days of display.
"I want to be a human advertising billboard," said Mr Niebling, who aims to have his first tattoo advertisement inked on live television.
"If someone comes up with enough money, they can have the entire right side of my face, which would be the ultimate advertising space."
Mr Niebling has ruled out any offensive tattoos and plans to donate 10 per cent of his fees to charity.
So how much will he charge?
"If it's a little one it'll be nice and cheap but if they want to take half my head up, it'll be a larger price," he said.
"I take the chance they're not going to go broke next year and they take the chance I'm not going to go on the road and get hit by a car."
He's waiting for an answer from a Mexican restaurant in Brisbane that was looking at buying a $10,000 ad space on his head.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Gays get to lie straight
HOMOSEXUALS have been designated an area in a Copenhagen cemetery for those who want to be buried among people who shared their sexual orientation.
"We founded an association called Regnbuen (Rainbow) and our goal is that gays and lesbians can be buried next to each other," Ivan Larsen said.
The association has rented spots that can hold up to a total of 45 urns at Assistens cemetery. Each space costs $565.
The cemetery already hosts figures as diverse as the Danish fairytale author Hans Christian Andersen and the philosopher Soeren Kierkegaard.
The area the group has booked is separated from the rest of the cemetery by a large triangle of pebbles on the ground, with a huge rock on one of the angles.
"The triangle is our old symbol, but it is also a sign of suffering," Mr Larsen said.
The rainbow flag, a universal symbol for homosexuals representing diversity, would be placed on the rock, he added.
"We don't want to isolate ourselves but we also feel a need to be together. We see this as a family grave, one that will be taken care of by our family," said Mr Larsen.
Killer bees in police sting
ABOUT 100 police officers in Mexico were forced to bolt from an open-air firing range when they were attacked - and stung - by swarming killer bees.
Some 70 officers were stung and wounded, including three seriously, during the attack in Chiapas state near the Guatemalan border on Monday. "From the first shot (on the firing range), there was a loud buzzing noise and tonnes of bees began to appear, attacking everyone in sight,'' said civil guard official Miguel Serrano. The barrage took place in the town of Tapachula, where the Africanised bees' aggressive reaction forced the police to seek refuge in their own training headquarters, with many suffering stings all over their bodies. Among the more severely wounded were three female police officers who required emergency treatment at the scene, while the remaining victims were sent to a hospital in Tapachula, Mr Serrano said. Officials said the three female officers were in stable condition while the others were out of danger.
Bush to Cut Army Tours to 12 Months
President Bush plans to announce today that he will cut Army combat tours in Iraq from 15 months to 12 months, returning rotations to where they were before last year's troop buildup in an effort to alleviate the tremendous stress on the military, administration officials said.
This Story
Bush to Cut Army Tours to 12 Months
Washington Sketch: From the GOP, the General Gets Unfriendly Fire
ANALYSIS: Next President Will Discover If U.S. Footprint Stabilizes Iraq
Wednesday, April 10 at noon ET: Debating the Petraeus-Crocker Hearings
Wednesday, April 10 at 1 p.m. ET: Washington Sketch
Generally Speaking
U.S. Wants Iraq to Pay More of Refugees' Costs
CAPITOL HILL HEARINGS: Petraeus and Crocker Testimony Off the Radar of Most in Baghdad
Congress Hears Iraq War Update
McCain Questions Petraeus
Petraeus Wants More Time
Transcript: Rep. Skelton Delivers Opening Remarks at House Hearing on Iraq
PODCAST: Tuesday's Petraeus and Crocker Highlights
Petraeus's Remarks During the House Committee on Armed Services Hearings on Iraq
Crocker's Remarks During the House Committee on Armed Services Hearings on Iraq
View All Items in This Story
View Only Top Items in This Story
The move is in response to intense pressure from service commanders who have expressed anxiety about the toll of long deployments on their soldiers and, more broadly, about the U.S. military's ability to confront unanticipated threats. Bush will announce the decision during a national speech in which aides said he will also embrace Army Gen. David H. Petraeus's plan to indefinitely suspend a drawdown of forces.
The twin decisions may set the course for U.S. policy in Iraq through the fall and perhaps for the rest of Bush's presidency. Frustrated by their inability to force Bush to shift direction since they took over Capitol Hill more than a year ago, congressional Democrats began coalescing behind a strategy of trying to force the Iraqis to shoulder more of the costs of the war and reconstruction. Key Republicans signaled support for the approach.
The political maneuvering came as Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker completed two days of lengthy congressional hearings in search of continued support for the war effort. Their conclusion that Iraq has begun making significant but fragile progress on both security and political fronts changed few minds and left lawmakers in both parties impatient for a clear path to resolution.
The bottom line seems to be that after pulling out the extra forces Bush sent last year, the United States will keep about 140,000 troops in Iraq at least through the November presidential election. In the short term, the debate in Washington instead will focus more intently on trade-offs at home, including the strain on the armed forces and the Treasury.
The elimination of 15-month tours will restore deployments to an equal balance of one year in the war zone followed by one year at home. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates extended the tours almost exactly a year ago to provide enough forces for Bush's "surge" of 20,000 additional combat troops and 8,000 support troops. But Army leaders have complained about the strain.
Gen. Richard A. Cody, the Army's outgoing vice chief of staff, told the House Armed Services Committee yesterday that the Army is "out of balance" and that the current demand for forces in Iraq and Afghanistan "exceeds the sustainable supply." He added that "soldiers, families, support systems and equipment are stretched and stressed by the demands of lengthy and repeated deployments, with insufficient recovery time."
Petraeus said he favors scaling back the combat tours. "I have certainly given my support to 12-month deployments," he said. "Operationally, we would welcome that, both because of the strain and the stress, and really just a general recognition of the value in that, and hopeful that this reduction can allow that over time."
But Bush's decision will affect only those troops sent to Iraq as of Aug. 1 or later, meaning that those already there still have to complete their 15-month tours. Bobby Muller, president of Veterans for America, an advocacy group, said that nearly half of the Army's active-duty frontline units are currently deployed for 15 months, and that Bush's decision leaves them out.
"In short, this is a hollow announcement; it has no immediate effect," Muller said. "It is nothing more than political posturing at the expense of our troops. Our soldiers are unraveling and they need their commander in chief to provide immediate relief."
House Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) applauded Bush's move. "But it only resets us to where we were last winter," he added. "This pace will still wear our troops out." Ilan Goldenberg, a scholar at the National Security Network, said on a conference call organized by antiwar activists that Bush cannot portray the move as a sign of progress. "The military is so strained, the president really didn't have a choice," he said.
Democrats moved to press Bush on another front, linking the sagging U.S. economy to escalating war costs. On a day when oil hit $112 a barrel for the first time, lawmakers said that energy-rich Iraq should be footing more of its own bills. "We've put about $45 billion into Iraq's reconstruction . . . and they have not spent their own resources," said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.). "They have got to have some skin in the game."
Athens School 'Attack' Proven To Be False, Girl To Be Charged
There are major new developments today in the case of a supposed beating of a student from Athens Middle School.
Charges are being filed against 13 year old Melanie Bowers by Athens ISD through the Henderson County District Attorney's office for filing a false report, said AISD officials today.
Bowers claimed earlier this week that she was beaten and threatened - with killing and rape, no less - by a group of students at Athens ISD last Friday, for creating a protest sign saying, "If you love our nation, stop illegal immigration."
After Melanie's accusations, administrators reviewed school survellience videotape of the incident - which, instead of showing students beating or attacking her, showed Bowers scratching herself on her arms, face, and neck, and walking through the halls of the school calmly long after she claimed the incident happened.
After Melanie's parents were presented with that information and the video, the school confronted Melanie, and she admitted that she made the story up.
The poster was indeed taken from Melanie, but she reported the incident to a teacher and was sent back to class. 3 students involved in taking Melanie's project were in 'in school suspension' for today only.
Bowers' parents have apologized to school administrators for their daughter, and Bowers' father, Gary Bower Jr., is agreeing with the charges against her. "I have reviewed the recording and agree with the charges that will need to be filed," he has said today.
Melanie's mother, Shera Bowers, released a statement which reads, "I see my daughter was not assaulted, and put the marks on her body. No gang violence as witnessed. She filed a false report."
KLTV 7 News will have video of the tape from Athens ISD tonight on KLTV 7 News at 5:00, 6:00, and 10:00 pm.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Newman Penalized for Cheating
Antiwar lawmakers look to November
Lacking the votes to bring U.S. troops home, Democrats hope a new president and more seats for their party in Congress will mean a change in Iraq policy.
WASHINGTON -- The antiwar rhetoric from congressional Democrats remained as sharp as ever Tuesday as Army Gen. David H. Petraeus came to Capitol Hill to testify about progress in Iraq.
But underscoring the partisan deadlock over the war, even some staunch critics acknowledged that the drive for legislation to withdraw U.S. troops was in effect over.
Democrats who have struggled since becoming the majority last year to force a pullout now point to the fall election as the only hope for changing U.S. policy in Iraq.
"It is clear that we do not have the votes," said Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), who was among the first Senate Democrats to push for a binding troop withdrawal timeline. "The American people are going to speak in November."
Kerry and other Democrats have repeatedly failed over the last year to persuade more than a few Republicans, who can block legislation in the Senate with a filibuster, to break with President Bush and force him to bring troops home.
Not every antiwar lawmaker has accepted the futility of insisting on a congressionally mandated withdrawal.
"We should not be waiting around," said Sen. Russell D. Feingold (D-Wis.), one of the leading advocates of a pullout. "We must redeploy our troops to break the paralysis that now grips U.S. strategy in the region."
In the House, leaders of the influential Out of Iraq Caucus, who last year helped push congressional Democrats to back a timeline for withdrawing troops, are, like Feingold, also threatening to oppose any additional funding for the war.
The House is scheduled to consider Bush's next war funding request in May.
But with many lawmakers looking to focus on legislation to provide additional aid to Americans hard-hit by the faltering economy, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) has thus far refused to endorse a new legislative fight over money for military operations in Iraq.
And last week, Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and 12 other senior Democrats did not even mention a mandatory troop withdrawal in a two-page letter they sent to Bush calling for a new strategy in Iraq.
Instead, the Democratic leaders urged the president to intensify efforts to encourage reconciliation among Iraq's political leaders and to focus on broader initiatives to deal with instability in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Middle East.
The diminished focus on a forced pullout offers a marked contrast to the defiance that Democrats brought to their drive last spring to pass a war funding bill that would require Bush to start bringing troops home.
But it reflects a year of failures to enact any meaningful limits on the president's prosecution of the war.
Nearly every time Democrats tried to push legislation mandating a withdrawal, GOP leaders successfully rallied their caucus to block it.
The last Democratic move to limit funding for the war, in December, which came as violence was waning in Iraq and some voters were turning their attention elsewhere, attracted fewer votes in the Senate than a similar attempt seven months earlier.
Republican lawmakers -- led by Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the party's presumptive presidential nominee -- remain almost unanimously opposed to any attempt to force a change of strategy in Iraq.
Tuesday, Democratic senators continued to sharply criticize the war while Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, appeared before the Senate armed services and foreign relations panels.
"Has the war in Iraq made America safer?" Reid asked on the Senate floor. "There is no question that it has not. The surge may have provided a temporary window for the Iraqi government to make progress, but it is becoming increasingly clear every day that the Iraqi government has squandered that opportunity. Even now, with the war in its sixth year, President Bush has failed to articulate an exit strategy."
Reid also indicated Tuesday that Senate Democrats would continue to hold votes on war-related bills.
But with little expectation that any meaningful legislation can overcome a Republican filibuster in the Senate, many Democratic lawmakers are looking to achieve other objectives by continuing to talk about Iraq.
Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, one of the architects of last year's Democratic antiwar initiative, said this week that further congressional debate may have more effect overseas than it would in Washington.
"It's important to have these debates . . . to send the strongest possible message to the Iraqis," Reed said.
By increasingly focusing on the cost of the war at a time when American voters are worried about their personal finances, Democrats also are trying to weaken Republicans going into the November election, when they hope to increase their majorities in the House and Senate.
Few believe they will be able to influence the current president, however.
"The commander in chief has incredible authority," said Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, one of the freshman Democrats swept into Congress in 2006 amid promises to challenge the war.
"It's going to take the election for the policy to change," Tester said. "It's going to take a different president."
Can the US Government see what website we visit?
Imagine you're shopping at a mall. You browse different stores, make a few purchases and move on. Then, you notice that a man you don't know seems to be following you. You even catch a glimpse of him taking notes on what you're looking at and buying. The entire time you've been shopping, you've been spied on!
Many people fear that a similar thing is happening on the Web. They're worried that someone, usually the government, is recording and analyzing their Web browsing activity. They argue that these acts are an invasion of privacy. Are they right to be worried? Can the government keep track of all the Web sites everyone visits, and would it be able to act on that information?
It's easy to understand why some people are worried. The United States Patriot Act expands the government's ability to perform searches and install wiretaps. It doesn't seem like a big stretch to add tracking people's Internet activity to the list. These people fear that they'll be spied on whether they've done anything to justify it or not.
In some ways, fear about the government's ability to keep tabs on Web activities has reached the level of a conspiracy theory. In the most extreme version of the theory, the government is tracking not only Web site activity, but also is building a database of potential suspects for crimes ranging from corporate sabotage to terrorism. Other theories don't go that far, but still suggest the government is treating everyone like a suspect -- even if people aren't doing anything illegal or questionable.
Conflicts between Shah Rukh and Aamir Khan
These Bollywood Baadshahs haven’t done any films together and nothing much have they ever took part together in public gatherings. Recently, things were revealed that though friendly in nature, both of them posses some sort of internal conflict between themselves.
The reason is that for the film Rang De Basanthi, Shah Rukh Khan was offered to play the role of his Aamir’s friend. But negligent to small roles, Shah Rukh refused to take up the offer and later Madhvan picked up the same role.
Recently released Om Shanthi Om had Shah Rukh Khan in lead roles and you know that main limelight of the film was 31 stars dancing together with King Khan for the song. However, as Director Farah Khan approached Aamir to trip his light toes with Shah Rukh for a song. But, this time Aamir Khan refused to shake his legs with him.
Well, if we think that these actors aren’t friends and will not actor? But they are joining hands together for the film Dhoom 3, one of the greatest expected blockbusters of this year.
Shah Rukh Khan turns Spider Man
After acquiring six-pack abs, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has another gift for his fans, this time, the young ones. SRK is now planning to do an Indian version of the Spider Man as a gift to his son Aryan who is a big fan. According to reports the director chosen to put together what is arguably the most expensive movie ever made in Bollywood is Anubhav Sinha. The superstar is said to be very excited about the project.
Bollywood ka Baadshah Shah Rukh Khan has his fans throughout the far-flung corners of the globe. His very appealing performance as a stylish icon has been upgrading the bar graph of his career. After entertaining the youngsters and elder groups with all his films, he is now set ready for a film completely aimed at delighting the children.
Yup! King Khan will now get geared up with Indian version of Spider Man for Yash Chopras Production. At present, Shah Rukh Khan is busy shooting for Adhitya Chopra’s Rab Ne Bana De Jodi and after this, he will be joining hands with Karan Johar for the film ‘Khan- My Name is Khan’. So, by this yearend, he will be kick-starting with the fantasy movie of Spider Man.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Every Click You Make
The online behavior of a small but growing number of computer users in the United States is monitored by their Internet service providers, who have access to every click and keystroke that comes down the line.
The companies harvest the stream of data for clues to a person's interests, making money from advertisers who use the information to target their online pitches.
The practice represents a significant expansion in the ability to track a household's Web use because it taps into Internet connections, and critics liken it to a phone company listening in on conversations. But the companies involved say customers' privacy is protected because no personally identifying details are released.
The extent of the practice is difficult to gauge because some service providers involved have declined to discuss their practices. Many Web surfers, moreover, probably have little idea they are being monitored.
But at least 100,000 U.S. customers are tracked this way and service providers having been testing it for as many as 10 percent of U.S. customers, according to tech companies involved in the data collection.
Although common tracking systems, known as cookies, have counted a consumer's visits to a network of sites, the new monitoring, known as "deep-packet inspection," enables a far wider view -- every Web page visited, every e-mail sent and every search entered. Every bit of data is divided into packets -- like electronic envelopes -- that the system can access and analyze for content.
"You don't want the phone company tapping your phone calls, and in the same way you don't want your ISP tapping your Web traffic," said Ari Schwartz of the Center for Democracy and Technology, an advocacy group. "There's a fear here that a user's ISP is going to betray them and turn their information over to a third party."
In fact, newly proposed Federal Trade Commission guidelines for behavioral advertising have been outpaced by the technology and do not address the practice directly. Privacy advocates are preparing to present to Congress their concerns that the practice is done without consumer consent and that too little is known about whether such systems would adequately protect personal information.
Meanwhile, many online publishers say the next big growth in advertising will emerge from efforts to offer ads based not on the content of a Web page, but on knowing who is looking at it. That, of course, means gathering more information about consumers.
Advocates of deep-packet inspection see it as a boon for all involved. Advertisers can better target their pitches. Consumers will see more relevant ads. Service providers who hand over consumer data can share in advertising revenues. And Web sites can make more money from online advertising, a $20 billion industry that is growing rapidly.
With the service provider involved in collecting consumer data, "there is access to a broader spectrum of the Web traffic -- it's significantly more valuable," said Derek Maxson, chief technology officer of Front Porch, a company that collects such data from millions of users in Asia and is working with a number of U.S. service providers.
Consider, say, the Boston Celtics Web site. Based on its content, it posts ads for products a Celtics fan might be interested in: Adidas, a Boston hotel and so on.
With information about users from deep-packet inspection, however, advertisers might learn that the person looking at the Celtics Web site is also a potential car customer because he recently visited the Ford site and searched in Google for "best minivans." That means car companies might be interested in sending an ad to that user at the Celtics site, too.
For all its promise, however, the service providers exploring and testing such services have largely kept quiet -- "for fear of customer revolt," according to one executive involved.
It is only through the companies that design the data collection systems -- companies such as NebuAd, Phorm and Front Porch -- that it is possible to gauge the technology's spread. Front Porch collects detailed Web-use data from more than 100,000 U.S. customers through their service providers, Maxson said. NebuAd has agreements with providers covering 10 percent of U.S. broadband customers, chief executive Bob Dykes said.
In England, Phorm is expected in the coming weeks to launch its monitoring service with BT, Britain's largest Internet broadband provider.
NebuAd and Front Porch declined to name the U.S. service providers they are working with, saying it's up to the providers to announce how they deal with consumer data.
Some service providers, such as Embarq and Wide Open West, or WOW, have altered their customer-service agreements to permit the monitoring.
Embarq describes the monitoring as a "preference advertising service." Wide Open West tells customers it is working with a third-party advertising network and names NebuAd as its partner.
Officials at WOW and Embarq declined to talk about any monitoring that has been done.
Each company allows users to opt out of the monitoring, though that permission is buried in customer service documents. The opt-out systems work by planning a "cookie," or a small file left on a user's computer. Each uses a cookie created by NebuAd.
Officials at another service provider, Knology, said it was working with NebuAd and is conducting a test of deep-packet inspection on "several hundred" customers in a service area it declined to identify.
"I don't view it as violating any privacy data at all," said Anthony Palermo, vice present of marketing at Knology. "My understanding is that all these companies go through great pains to hash out information that is specific to the consumer."
One central issue, of course, is how well the companies protect consumer data.
NebuAd promises to protect users' privacy in a couple of ways.
First, every user in the NebuAd system is identified by a number that the company assigns rather than an Internet address, which in theory could be traced to a person. The number NebuAd assigns cannot be tracked to a specific address. That way, if the company's data is stolen or leaked, no one could identify customers or the Web sites they've visited, Dykes said.
Nor does NebuAd record a user's visits to pornography or gaming sites or a user's interests in sensitive subjects -- such as bankruptcy or a medical condition like AIDS. The company said it processes but does not look into packets of information that include e-mail or pictures.
What it does do is categorize users into dozens of targeted consumer types, such as a potential car buyer or someone interested in digital cameras.
Dykes noted that by a couple of measures, their system may protect privacy more than such well-known companies as Google. Google stores a user's Internet address along with the searches made from that address. And while Google's mail system processes e-mail and serves ads based on keywords it finds in their text, NebuAd handles e-mail packets but does not look to them for advertising leads.
Such privacy measures aside, however, consumer advocates questioned whether monitored users are properly informed about the practice.
Knology customers, for example, cull the company's 27-page customer service agreement or its terms and condition for service to find a vague reference to its tracking system.
"They're buried in agreements -- who reads them?," said David Hallerman, a senior analyst at eMarketer. "The industry is setting itself up by not being totally transparent . . . The perception is you're being tracked and targeted."
Monday, March 31, 2008
Woman, 70, Fends Off Dog After It Attacks Her Pet
A 70-year-old woman is recovering from a dog bite and getting rabies vaccinations after she fought off a vicious dog that attacked and killed her miniature schnauzer. Margaret Johnston was walking her dog Schultz with her 2-year-old grandson and two neighbor girls on Wednesday when the unfamiliar dog came from behind and bit her dog's neck. Johnston started punching the doggy attacker and wrestled it down a hill. The dog bit Johnston's leg before it ran off. After the attack, Johnston took her injured dog to the vet, where it died from a broken neck. If the biting dog is caught, its owner could face charges for killing another pet and violating the city's leash law.
WAITING IN LINE TO DIE-Disney Land
opening in 1955, hundreds of millions of people from all walks of life have
flocked to this American Mecca and been swept up in the fantasy world
envisioned by Walt Disney. From the park entrance on "Main Street USA",
recreating turn of the century small town America at 5/8 scale, to the top of
the faux Matterhorn, complete with imitation bobsled runs, Disneyland evokes
images and fantasies of life in happier, more pleasant, and more exciting
worlds.
But, beneath this glittering facade lurks something malevolent, something
lethal. In the Magic Kingdom, life is not all pixie dust and happy, fairly
tale endings. Behind the mouse's perpetually forced grin, there is more than
a trace of the death head's grimace. For not all of the millions of "guests"
(never visitors, patrons or suckers) entering the park in search of fantasy
and pleasure survive to see the Electric Parade. They will leave the park in
body bags, struck down by fantasy "attractions" run amok.
Reactionary pundits and other defenders of the All-American Way of Life,
Orange County style, will immediately spring to the defense of the pride of
Anaheim with the old transportation argument. "Why, you're more likely to die
on the way to the park than inside." And right they are, _especially_ in the
case of Disneyland. History does not record the number of young
Disneyland-bound families wiped out in fiery holocausts on the Santa Ana
freeway. But other modes of transport do demonstrate the dangers. In 1968
alone, the Disneyland/LAX helicopter service suffered two of the worst
civilian chopper crashes in U.S. history. In May, a helicopter carrying 23
people lucky enough to leave the park alive disintegrated in mid-air and
crashed near Paramount. There were no survivors. Less than three months
later, a Disneyland-bound chopper crashed on a Compton playground, killing
all 21 would-be "guests" and crew on board. Even the stroll from the parking
lot to the park entrance is not without its risks. In 1987, after a Mormon
party at the park, a gang fight in one of the lots erupted in gunfire,
leaving one youth dead and a bystander injured.
But this is beside the point when it comes to discussing the hazards awaiting
the unwary inside Disneyland. You're just as likely to die en route to such
traditional mid-American amusements as tractor pulls or Bon Jovi concerts.
Once inside, you're safe. But, to place yourself at the mercy of Disneyland
is to risk mangling, mutilation, and even death.
From 1955 through 1963, Disneyland's safety record was flawless. Not all of
their "guests" may have left happy, but they did leave alive. Tragically,
this perfect record ended in May of 1964, instituting the era of carnage that
continues even today.
The killer attraction: the Matterhorn. The event: a party for 10,000 Long
Beach Elks and their guests. Its tragic first victim: 15 year old Mark Maples
of Long Beach. The day had been difficult for Mark. Earlier, during an
otherwise sedate ride on the Skyway, he argued with a girl over going steady.
His friends had to restrain him from flinging himself to the ground 50 feet
below. But no one can stay depressed in Disneyland for very long. By 11:30
that evening, he was in better spirits, engaging in "horseplay" while waiting
in line for the Matterhorn with his friends.
Things went smoothly for the first third of the ride. Then, near the summit,
Mark felt a sudden, inexplicable need to stand up. It's not clear whether he
merely wanted to stretch his legs or was confusing the simulated bobsled ride
with such more traditional Angeleno sports as surfing or skiing. His friends
merely heard a thump, some noise, and Mark was gone; no screams or triumphant
shouts of "Kawabunga!" According to Disneyland officials, he was "catapulted
from the speeding car". He landed on the track a few feet down, with a skull
fracture and various internal injuries. He never regained consciousness, and
died four days later. The Matterhorn had claimed its first victim.
---
The Matterhorn earned its underground sobriquet of "widowmaker" in January,
1984. This time, its victim was no innocent, hi-jinking teenager, but a
respectable 48 year old matron. Dollie Young of Fremont had been enjoying an
impromptu Disneyland visit with old friends from Arizona. The survivors later
recalled that "It started out like one of those magical, happy days" so
frequently depicted in Disney promotional materials. And the day had gone
well, until they dared the deadly slopes of the Matterhorn.
Dollie was riding alone in the rear car of the sled, so no one saw quite what
happened. Disney workers swear they had buckled her in. However, two thirds
of the way down the slopes, her so called "safety" belt was definitely
unbuckled. She fell to the track, and, as she bounced along track while
struggling to regain her feet, a second speeding sled smashed into her. The
"bullet" sled dragged her for a car-length before stopping with her corpse
pinned beneath its wheels. She was pronounced dead at the scene from massive
head and chest injuries. The Matterhorn was closed for the rest of the day
due to "technical difficulties", and the bullet sled riders evacuated via a
hidden elevator. The nearby motorboat cruise and monorail ride were also shut
down, presumably to spare Fantasyland guests the sight of a real-life police
investigation.
---
Equally hazardous to park visitors is the PeopleMover. Hurtling through the
sterile corporate future of Tomorrowland at a speed of two miles per hour, it
is plainly a menace to the life and limb of every guest. Less than two months
after its opening, it mutilated and killed its first victim. In August of
1967, Rick Yuma, a 15-year old boy from Hawthorne, innocently attempted to
change cars as the PeopleMover passed through a tunnel. Unfortunately, he
slipped and, as the papers reported, was "found wedged between two cars with
his head and the upper part of his body crushed". And "wedged" was the word
for it; Disney "Imagineers" negligently hadn't foreseen this possibility and
made allowances for it in their design. Workers had to dismantle the train in
order to extricate the boy's mangled remains.
The PeopleMover killed a second time under even more tragic circumstances:
During a Grad Night party. On that sad June night in 1980, the park was
filled close to capacity with 18,000 young people celebrating their high
school graduation. The crowd included 260 graduates of San Diego High. Only
259 would survive to receive their diplomas. In the early morning hours,
their classmate Geraldo Gonzales attempted to change cars as the PeopleMover
tore through the "Superspeed" tunnel. He stumbled and fell. As he lay
sprawled across the tracks, a second speeding PeopleMover train struck,
crushing him beneath its cruel hard rubber wheels and dragging him along the
tracks. He was pronounced dead at the scene from extensive internal injuries,
yet another young man cut down in the prime of life.
---
Rides aren't the only attractions at Disneyland; nor are they the only
killers. Consider Tom Sawyer Island. Located in the middle of the Rivers of
America and accessible solely by raft, this is the only attraction in the
park Walt designed personally. Although it and the surrounding river are as
fake and manmade as Sleeping Beauty's castle, it appears to be an innocent,
rustic oasis of nature in a sea of synthetic "imagineering", as well as an
inviting refuge from the omnipresent lines. Precisely for these reasons, it
beckons innocent park guests to their deaths, much like the Sirens of
classical mythology.
The island's sinister spell claimed its first victim in June, 1973. Bodgen De
Laurot, an 18-year old Brooklyn man, and his younger brother, decided to
watch the nightly fireworks display from the island. Unfortunately, the rafts
to and from the island stop running at dusk. After the fireworks, the
brothers found themselves stranded a la "Swiss Family Robinson". But, rather
than building a tree house, they did what any true red-blooded American young
man would do - they swam for it. History does not record if the river was too
swift, the water too cold, or the distance too great. What is known is that
neither brother made it.
The younger boy was the lucky one - a boat ride operator hauled him from
those treacherous waters around 10 PM. Bodgen was nowhere to be found. A
search followed, possibly the biggest land, sea and air search in park
history. Frontierland and the Rivers of America were scoured by police,
firemen, and park employees using searchlights, helicopters and boats. Not
until dawn did they find Bodgen's drowned body among the rocks and rapids
near the lethal isle.
In June of 1983, the island lured a second young man to his death in yet
another grad night tragedy. That evening, Phil Straughan of Albuquerque had a
double cause for celebration: his graduation and his 18th birthday. In an
innocent display of youthful high spirits, he and a friend "borrowed" an
inflatable rubber maintenance boat for an impromptu nighttime cruise on the
river. Near the deadly island, they struck a rock. Phil was flung into the
river. As a football player, he had the strength to struggle valiantly. But
he was no match for the power of the Rivers of America as four feet of cold,
cruel water closed over his head. Rescuers recovered his drowned body an hour
later. In all apparent sincerity, a Disney spokesperson said, "It's a really,
really sad thing on what's supposed to be one of the happiest days of his
life."
---
The entire park exerts a similar, irresistible lure. For 35 years, management
has hyped Disneyland as the American Mecca, making every American feel that
they _must_ make the pilgrimage at least once in their lives. The only catch
is that the park charges stiff admission price for entry onto these hallowed
grounds - over $25 as of late 1990. Not everyone can afford it. One can only
feel sympathy for these frustrated pilgrims, and understand their desperate
efforts to sneak in.
One of these poor souls never made it, and died trying. Guy Cleveland, a
19-year old Northridge man, undoubtedly driven to his fate by the
irresistible media hype, futilely attempted to enter the park along the
monorail track. With a monomaniacal intent usually confined to religious
fanatics, he climbed a 16-foot fence, disregarded the security guard's
shouted warnings, and evidently ignored the sound of the rapidly approaching
train. As he clambered along the canopy underneath the track, the train
struck. It dragged him 30 or 40 feet before it could stop. The newspapers
could only describe his body as "badly mangled".
---
Park guests aren't the only ones seduced to their deaths by the park's
attractions. Consider the late, lamented "America Sings". It was seemingly
designed strictly as a hazard to employees. Converted from the old General
Electric Carousel of Progress, it featured six theaters revolving around a
four part fixed stage of Disney audioanimatronic animal figures performing
well-loved American songs. Even before its official 1974 opening, there was
something sinister about this android musical spectacular. The tragedy to
come was foreshadowed at the press preview party, when one of the
attraction's designers fell into a pit and sustained slight injuries.
Disneyland ignored this omen, and opened "America Sings" to the public at the
end of June. This decision would cost them the life of an innocent young
hostess, the first Disneyland employee killed in the line of duty.
Deborah Stone had just graduated from nearby Santa Ana High. In many ways,
she epitomized the crisp, clean all-American image encouraged among park
employees. She edited her high school year book, belonged to the honor
society and capped her high school career by winning the principal's award
for "outstanding service to her school and community". Undoubtedly, she
breezed through her coursework at the Disneyland University.
Yes, she had nothing but a bright future full of promise to look forward to
on that tragic July night. There were no witnesses to her agonizing end, no
spectacular fall or dramatic search. Around 11 PM, fellow employees noticed
her missing from her post greeting guests. After a brief search, they found
her crushed remains. As the theaters rotated about the fixed inner stage, she
had been caught between a stationary wall and a moving wall. The attraction
smashed her like a steamroller running over one of Disney's beloved characters
in a hilarious act of animated mayhem. Except this was no cartoon, and there
would be no animated sleight of hand to "uncrush" her. America Sings was
closed for three days until a system of warning lights could be installed.
But for one young hostess, it was a little too late.
---
By far the grimmest and most widely-criticized event in Disneyland's
blood-spattered history was the park's first homicide in 1981. The victim was
Mel Yorba, an 18-year old Riverside man. On that fateful March night, he was
attending a private party at the park thrown by a local defense contractor,
accompanied by a friend and their dates. His family recalled that the young
people were simply out "to have a good time".
The "good time" ended around 10 PM that evening in the deadly confines of
Tomorrowland. Near the Skyway, James O'Driscoll, a 28-year old man from San
Diego, accused Yorba of touching his girlfriend. There was a scuffle; blows
were exchanged. O'Driscoll pulled a knife. Then, either O'Driscoll brutally
stabbed Yorba, or Yorba stumbled while lunging forward, impaling himself on
the blade. The jury believed the former. Eventually, this scuffle would cost
the killer 8 years to life for 2nd degree murder.
No one criticized Disneyland security's handing of the killing. With
efficiency rivalled only by certain Third-World dictatorships and some
(former) Eastern Bloc police states, they swung into action. O'Driscoll's
girlfriend was quickly apprehended as she tried to slip out of the park.
Divers found the alleged murder weapon, an 8 1/2 inch knife, in a Disneyland
waterway, variously reported as the Sleeping Beauty Castle moat or the
submarine lagoon. O'Driscoll only managed to evade the kingdom-wide manhunt
for little more than an hour before he was found hiding in the bushes in
Adventureland.
Meanwhile, as Yorba lay bleeding to death on the grounds of Tomorrowland, the
Disneyland nurse made a fateful decision. Instead of calling the paramedics,
she elected to have him driven to the hospital in a park van. By the time the
van, lacking flashing emergency lights, made its leisurely way to the
hospital (which, unlike other nearby hospitals, did not have a trauma
center), Yorba was to all intents dead from a knife wound piercing his heart,
liver and diaphragm.
For once, Disneyland was roundly chastised in the media. Two Disneyland
workers claimed "the rule at the park is don't call the paramedics".
Presumably, flashing red lights and uniformed rescue personnel tearing up
Main Street would mar the park's atmosphere. Not that the emergency crews
wanted to disturb the guests; the Orange County Director of Emergency Medical
Services was quoted as saying he would not be "adverse" to dressing up
paramedics in mouse suits if necessary.
In wake of this criticism, Disneyland hired an ambulance and changed its
emergency procedures somewhat. Not that this helped at the trial. Contrary to
what their employees thought, the park produced a written policy in effect at
the time of the stabbing requiring that paramedics be called in
life-threatening situations. Nonetheless, the jury found Disney neglegent to
the tune of $600,000, making Yorba (or at least his family) one of the few of
the park's many victims to win compensation for their injuries.
---
Of course, these are just the fatal incidents. The offical pristine park
history also fails to mention other serious mishaps that fortunately (or
perhaps unfortunately) didn't end in death. There was the innocent 4-year old
boy who plunged 30 feet to the ground from the deadly People Mover and
fractured his skull. In 1983, a young man was thrown from the Space Mountain
rollercoaster and left as a paraplegic. And the blood continues to be spilt
to this day. Just last year, an 8-year old girl riding a Fantasyland tram was
hit and seriously injured by a stray bullet.
Yes, beneath the sunshine and smiles, and behind the fun and fantasy lurk
true danger and real death. Some members of the crowds queued up in the
hours-long lines aren't just media-tranquilized consumers patiently waiting
for a 90-second dose of ersatz, "safe" thrills. Rather, they are sheep being
led to the slaughter by a startling array of anthropomorphic rodents, pigs
and puppets playing the part of the Judas goat. Those treasured E-tickets are
but one-way passes to the morgue. As one victim's relative put it, "You don't
think of people dying Disneyland". But people do.
White House Raises Hopes for Missile Defense Breakthrough WIth Russia
KIEV, Ukraine — The White House raised hopes Monday of achieving a breakthrough agreement to resolve bitter differences with Moscow over missile defenses in Europe when President Bush meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin this weekend.
Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, said no deal was in hand yet but the two leaders could nail it down when they meet Sunday in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. "We may. We're hopeful," he said. It will be the last meeting between the two men before Putin steps away from the Russian presidency.
Hadley briefed reporters on Air Force One as Bush flew to Ukraine to begin a weeklong trip in Eastern Europe, anchored by a NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania. Arriving in Kiev late at night, Bush was presented with a traditional greeting of bread and salt. His wife, Laura, was given a bouquet of flowers.
The Western military alliance has been strained by the refusal of Germany and other allies to send more combat troops to Afghanistan, prompting accusations from Washington that they are shirking their duty. France announced last week it would send more forces, probably a battalion of elite paratroopers. That has reduced some of the pressure and allowed Bush and other leaders to step back from a NATO clash. Britain and Poland also are expected to do more.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in Denmark ahead of the NATO summit, set measured expectations.
"I would be surprised if we saw commitments in Bucharest at a level that would fully meet all the requirements" for combat troops and military and police trainers, Gates said. "But we'll just keep working at it."
The United States wants not only more troops, but also fewer restrictions from some governments on how their troops can be used.
"We've all been saying that we all need to do more," Hadley said. "We've also been saying this is going to be a long effort and we're going to have to be committed to a long-term effort in Afghanistan. I think that's true. We need to step it up. I think you'll find that countries are stepping up. That's a good next step. But there are going to be more steps down the road."
The U.S. proposal for a missile defense shield in Eastern Europe has been a major source of friction between Washington and Moscow.
For months, Putin has ratcheted up his anti-American rhetoric, demanding that the United States abandon the plan, which would be based in Poland and the Czech Republic, two former Soviet satellites. Putin has complained it would upset the balance of power and was aimed at weakening Russia, charges the United States has repeatedly denied.
In recent days, there have been signs of progress toward resolving the dispute. Bush sent Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Moscow with concessions to ease Russia's concerns. Bush also sent a personal letter to Putin. A Russian delegation spent several days in Washington last week working on the problem.
The United States has offered to let Russia monitor the system and share in the information that is collected. Bush also has offered not to activate the system until there is a verifiable threat from Iran or some other adversary.
"I think we're moving in a direction where ... Russia and the United States could have missile defense as an area of strategic cooperation," Hadley said.
Bush, in an interview last week, insisted the missile shield was not aimed at Russia. "After all, it doesn't take many missiles to overwhelm the kind of system we're talking about," Bush said. "And Russia has got plenty of missiles if they want to overwhelm." Bush said the shield was intended to protect from missiles launched from the Middle East, where the United States regards Iran as a primary threat.
Before traveling to Romania, Bush stopped in Ukraine to praise its democratic reforms and encourage its drive to join NATO. Ukraine wants to be put on the path toward eventual membership and hopes NATO will provide a membership action plan that outlines what it needs to do to join. Georgia also wants a membership action plan, which is a precursor to the granting of full membership.
Russia is adamantly opposed to either Romania or Georgia getting on the NATO track. With nine former Soviet bloc countries already in NATO, Russia fiercely opposes the eastward expansion of an alliance it denounces as a Cold War relic.
Germany and France have spoken out against putting Ukraine on the list just yet, fearing upsetting already strained ties with Russia, a major supplier of energy to Europe.
NATO is expected to formally invite Croatia and Albania to join the alliance. Macedonia also is on the list but could be blocked by Greece. Greece has insisted it will veto Macedonia if it does not change its name. Greece feels the name, which is the same as a neighboring province of northern Greece, implies a territorial claim.
Navy SEAL killed in Iraq to get Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor will be awarded to Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor. His family will receive the medal during a White House ceremony April 8.
Monsoor is the fifth person to receive the honor since the beginning of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
"Petty Officer Monsoor distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism on Sept. 29, 2006," press secretary Dana Perino told reporters during a briefing aboard Air Force One as President Bush headed to Europe for a NATO summit.
Monsoor was part of a sniper security team in Ramadi with three other SEALs and eight Iraqi soldiers, according to a Navy account. An insurgent fighter threw the grenade, which struck Monsoor in the chest before falling in front of him.
Monsoor then threw himself on the grenade, according to a SEAL who spoke to The Associated Press in 2006 on condition of anonymity because his work requires his identity to remain secret.
'We owe him'
"He never took his eye off the grenade, his only movement was down toward it," said a 28-year-old lieutenant, who suffered shrapnel wounds to both legs that day. "He undoubtedly saved mine and the other SEALs' lives, and we owe him."
Two SEALs next to Monsoor were injured; another who was 10 feet to 15 feet from the blast was unhurt. Monsoor, from Garden Grove, Calif., was 25 at the time.
Monsoor, a platoon machine gunner, had received the Silver Star, the third-highest award for combat valor, for his actions pulling a wounded SEAL to safety during a May 9, 2006, firefight in Ramadi.
He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star for his sacrifice in Ramadi.
Sixteen SEALs have been killed in Afghanistan. Eleven of them died in June 2005 when a helicopter was shot down near the Pakistan border while ferrying reinforcements for troops pursuing al-Qaida militants.
There are about 2,300 of the elite fighters, based in Coronado and Little Creek, Va.
The Navy is trying to boost the number by 500 — a challenge considering more than 75 percent of candidates drop out of training, notorious for "Hell Week," five days of continual drills by the ocean broken by only four hours sleep total.
Monsoor made it through training on his second attempt.
Army lets soldiers take ‘I do’ to Iraq war zone
BAGHDAD - When American soldiers get off duty in Iraq, the men usually return to their quarters, the women to theirs. But Staff Sgt. Marvin Frazier gets to go back to a small trailer with two pushed-together single beds that he shares with his wife.In a historic but little-noticed change in policy, the Army is allowing scores of husband-and-wife soldiers to live and sleep together in the war zone — a move aimed at preserving marriages, boosting morale and perhaps bolstering re-enlistment rates at a time when the military is struggling to fill its ranks five years into the fighting.
“It makes a lot of things easier,” said Frazier, 33, a helicopter maintenance supervisor in the 3rd Infantry Division. “It really adds a lot of stress, being separated. Now you can sit face-to-face and try to work out things and comfort each other.”
Long-standing Army rules barred soldiers of the opposite sex from sharing sleeping quarters in war zones. Even married troops lived only in all-male or all-female quarters and had no private living space.
But in May 2006, Army commanders in Iraq, with little fanfare, decided that it is in the military’s interest to promote wedded bliss. In other words: What God has joined together, let no manual put asunder.
“It’s better for the soldiers, which means overall it’s better for the Army,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Mark Thornton of the 3rd Infantry.
Military analysts said this is the first war in which the Army even gave the idea any serious consideration — a reflection not only of the large number of couples sent to war this time, but also of the way the fighting has dragged on and strained marriages with repeated 12- and 15-month tours of duty.
Army has 10,000-plus couples
While some couples were also sent into the 1991 Gulf War, the fighting was over before their living arrangements became an issue, said Lory Manning, a retired Navy captain who studies how military policies affect women for the nonprofit Women’s Research and Education Institute.
More than 10,000 couples are in the Army. Exactly how many are serving in the war zone, and how many of those are living together, are not clear. The Army said it does not keep track.
But Frazier and his wife, Staff Sgt. Keisha Frazier, are among about 40 married Army couples living together on “Couples Row” at Camp Striker, which is on the oustkirts of Baghdad and is one of more than 150 U.S. military camps in Iraq. Similarly, a Couples Row opened in October at nearby Camp Victory, though it has trailers for only seven of the many couples who have requested them.
Husbands and wives are still prohibited from public displays of affection, under the same strict regulations that govern unmarried men a
nd women in uniform. Holding hands and kissing, whether on duty or in the chow hall, are against the rules.“It’s rough on marriages when, over the course of years, you don’t see each other,” Manning said. “It would make sense, certainly from a morale perspective and for the Army, to try to preserve marriages.”
Maya Alleruzzo / AP
U.S. Army Sgt. Jacqueline McCloud and her husband, Sgt. Jason McCloud, kiss Thursday in the doorway of the small cargo container they share at Forward Operating Base Marez in Mosul.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The only downside of married soldiers sharing sleeping quarters, she said, would be an increased risk of pregnancies.
Whether the policy applies to troops in Afghanistan is unclear. Pentagon officials said that decision is up to individual commanders, but they did not return repeated calls for comment.
John Pike, director of the military think tank Globalsecurity.org., said: “I think they are looking under the sofa cushions for anything they can do to improve retention. They spend a lot of money getting these people trained up.”
After spending the first five months of their 15-month deployment on separate bases in tents with up to 15 other soldiers, all of the same sex, the Fraziers prize the small degree of privacy and intimacy they gained after moving in together in October.