Whatever the outcome for Park, his trial — expected to last about three weeks — looks likely to provide an unprecedented view into the workings of U.N. backroom politics. Not least, this comes as a timely warning to beware whatever might be going on today in any back channels the U.N. might have opened with nuclear-happy, sanctions-threatened, oil-rich Iran.
some of the private players who got caught up in the epic scandal that was Oil-for-Food have by now had to tangle with prosecutors, or at least have been required to face inquiries conducted in broad daylight. Also under federal indictment are a number of Saddam’s former business partners, who face trial in the Southern District of New York this November. In Australia, the Cole Commission has been delving in public hearings into misconduct under Oil-for-Food.
"We intend to pursue legislation in the Senate granting the Executive Branch the authority to ensure that terrorists can be tried by competent military commissions. Working together, Congress and the administration can draft a fair, suitable, and constitutionally permissible tribunal statute."
Skate Time 209 offers residents a new wooden roller skating rink and a fancy skateboard park. In its hunt for customers, the business has "tot" skates and "tween" (ages 6-13) skates. There are family nights and adult disco parties.
And there are "Christian skate times" on Sunday afternoons, Skate Time's ad in the April 19 Ulster County Press said. That ad is evidence of a human rights violation, according to the state Division of Human Rights.
"This is crazy," said the Rev. Lou Sheldon, director of the Traditional Values Coalition in Washington. "These people are exercising basic constitutional rights on private property to the exclusion of no one and the state government is treating them like dangerous criminals. "¦ This is political correctness run amok."
Len and Terry Bernardo own and run Skate Time 209 on Route 209. ...The couple has hooked up with the American Center for Law and Justice, a Washington firm which has argued conservative causes before the U.S. Supreme Court.
And we weighed that assertion against the fact that there is an intense and ongoing public debate about whether surveillance programs like these pose a serious threat to civil liberties.
But we also have an obligation to cover the government, with its tremendous power, and to offer information about its activities so citizens can make their own decisions. That's the role of the press in our democracy.
The founders of the nation actually gave us that role, and instructed us to follow it, no matter the cost or how much we are criticized. Thomas Jefferson said, "Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government
Drinking lots of coffee cut women's risk of developing diabetes in an 11-year study, researchers report. But it was the antioxidants, not caffeine, in the brew that probably did the trick.
Adjusting for those risk factors, the researchers found that women who drank more than six cups a day of any type of coffee were 22 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes, the kind that occurs in adult life, compared to those who avoided coffee
The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee urged the Bush administration on Sunday to seek criminal charges against newspapers that reported on a secret financial-monitoring program used to trace terrorists.
Rep. Peter King cited The New York Times in particular for publishing a story last week that the Treasury Department was working with the CIA to examine messages within a massive international database of money-transfer records.
granted a temporary restraining order halting plans to shutter Paron High School pending a full hearing in a lawsuit that seeks to keep the small rural school open.
Tyler is getting quite comfortable around me. I see him every morning now. There is one thing I didn't think of when I started to feed him. Just like the cats and the dogs I have to pick up his poop. He does it close to his feeding spot so I have to clear it out. {Sigh!}That is a long, long grueling day for elementary and kindergarten students
Testimony was given by superintendents that distance learning can be used for courses that will provide interactive learning where students can see the teacher and other students in other schools and even get college credit. Superintendent Smalley at Alpena said some of his students obtained 30 hours of college credit at his small school by time of graduation through distance learning.
The Paron attorney pointed out that there is zero discipline problems at Paron, there are no students requiring college remediation, there are no drop-out problems, and the students are scoring above state average on tests. Several parents testified about their involvement with their children at school activities on a daily basis. They all related that they would not be able to be involved with their children's activities if they moved to Bryant because of time and the transportation financial burden
Superintendent Abernathy admitted that they had enough money to keep the school open for now. Bryant school district received $838,000 from the State in "consolidation incentive funding" as well as fund balances and other property from the Paron School District for a total benefit to the Bryant School District of more than $1,000,000.
The Republican-controlled Senate rejected one resolution, proposed by former presidential candidate Senator John Kerry, calling for combat troops to be withdrawn from Iraq by July 1 next year, by a vote of 13 to 86.
The second bill, calling for troops to begin moving out of Iraq this year but without setting a hard timetable for final withdrawal, was dismissed 60 votes to 39.
We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many months of struggle and suffer. You ask, what is our policy? I say it is to wage war by land, sea, and air. War with all our might and with all the strength God has given us, and to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpasssed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory. Victory at all costs - Victory in spite of all terrors - Victory, however long and hard the road many be, for without victory there is no survival. May 13, 1940
[Mayor] Coody took the lead in trying to shape the debate over the sales tax, trying to play down the problems associated with the sewer project and instead play up the transportation projects that could be financed by increasing taxes to the level they were in 2001.
Although Coody took some blame for the fact that the sewer project is about $ 63 million over budget and three years behind schedule, he did not offer a detailed explanation of where the project broke down.
By June 2007, [Governor] Huckabee said it is estimated the state will have more than $ 600 million in surplus funds.
Witnessing the impact of global warming in your life?
ABC News wants to hear from you. We're currently producing a report on the increasing changes in our physical environment, and are looking for interesting examples of people coping with the differences in their daily lives. Has your life been directly affected by global warming?
We want to hear and see your stories. Have you noticed changes in your own backyard or hometown? The differences can be large or small — altered blooming schedules, unusual animals that have arrived in your community, higher water levels encroaching on your property.
The bodies of two U.S. soldiers reported captured last week have been recovered, and an Iraqi defense ministry official said Tuesday the men were "killed in a barbaric way." The U.S. military said the remains were believed to be those of Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore.
The bodies of the two captured U.S. soldiers were found in Iraq - bearing signs of "barbaric torture."
How quaint.
Our torture policy brought the chances of our captured troops being tortured in turn from "likely" to "guaranteed". Mark H
If my brother, friend, or wife is tortured by the US for information I won't show a lot of compassion for the American soldiers. This is basic human psychology. Dauphin.
It would appear that the Dixie Chicks have no desire for an American audience. You would think that they'd learn to keep their mouths shut if they want to entice the Country Music fans. "A lot of pandering started going on, and you'd see soldiers and the American flag in every video. It became a sickening display of ultra-patriotism."Ok, the Dixie Chicks don't understand patriotism. It even appears that they hate patriotism. How dare people honor and love their country! The Dixie Chicks have a problem. Patriotism is one of the core values in Country Music. Insulting Bush is one thing, but insulting Country Music is another.
"The entire country may disagree with me, but I don't understand the necessity for patriotism," Maines resumes, through gritted teeth. "Why do you have to be a patriot? About what? This land is our land? Why? You can like where you live and like your life, but as for loving the whole country… I don't see why people care about patriotism."
I've had errands to run in Fayetteville, so I was able to stop in at Cephus' fundraiser at Applebees. It was very nice, just sitting around and chatting. Cephus is a charming young man. I really love that name, Cephus.
None of the Mexicans hoping to reach the United States could pay the $3,000 the smugglers demanded to hide them in a car and drive them across the border, a trip that just weeks ago cost $2,000.
The sharp increase in smugglers' fees is due to the arrival of National Guard troops at the border and plans by Washington for even greater border security, all of which will make the sometimes deadly trip into the United States even more difficult and dangerous.
The higher fees have persuaded some to cancel plans to sneak into the United States, while others have decided to go it alone.
Mexican and U.S. authorities are already seeing a drop in illegal migration, although it isn't clear if that will last.
For the Democratic candidate who has the idea of making Wal-Mart the issue, ding! No Sale!!
results from a recent RT Strategies poll indicate such a campaign strategy would be counterproductive. By a 3-to-1 margin, 62% disapprove and only 21% approve of "Democratic candidates making Wal-Mart an issue in November's elections," in the RT Strategies poll conducted June 1-5 with a representative sample of 1,209 adults nationwide. !
By staying out of the stores themselves, anti- Wal-Mart Democrats might have missed the fact that:
· 84% of Americans shopped at Wal-Mart in the past year, probably because 81% say it is a good place to shop, according to a December 2005 Pew Research Center poll; · It is not uncommon for thousands to apply when a few hundred new jobs open up at a Wal-Mart, provoking comparisons that Wal-Mart's hiring team can be more selective than Harvard undergraduate admissions or the high-IQ organization MENSA in choosing which candidates to hire. · For the average family of a Wal-Mart employee, the company represents opportunity: The vast majority of Wal-Mart store managers rose to that post from hourly jobs on the floor. · For the average family of shoppers, the savings at Wal-Mart are over $2,000 per year.
But in recent months, as the company has become a target for Democratic activists, she has largely steered clear of any mention of Wal-Mart. And late last year, Clinton's re-election campaign returned a $5,000 contribution from Wal-Mart, citing "serious differences with current company practices."
Thomas Riehle's recent article failed to properly disclose a business relationship between his polling firm, RT Strategies, and the pro-Wal-Mart group, Working Families for Wal-Mart. The data cited in Riehle's article on Wal-Mart is derived from questions Working Families for Wal-Mart paid to have added to RT Strategies' monthly omnibus poll
A doctor and a consumer group have sued KFC in an effort to stop the chicken chain from cooking with high-fat partially hydrogenated oil. Dr. Arthur Hoyte, a retired physician from Rockville, Md., and the Center for Science in the Public Interest, want a judge to order Kentucky Fried Chicken to use other types of cooking oils or make sure customers know about trans fat content immediately before they make a purchase
Hoyte said he is suing to force KFC to change its cooking practices "for my son and others' kids, so they may have a healthier, happier, trans-fat-free future."
Election officials attributed the problem, revealed in an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette examination of the new statewide list, to people who registered to vote upon moving to a new county while their old registration remained active.
Since the system became operational and began using data from those agencies, the counties have removed the names of 3, 835 dead voters and 1, 299 convicted felons who have not completed their sentences and remain ineligible to cast ballots, according to the secretary of state’s office.
The accounts given are actually consistent - on the broader story - with reports from Iraqi civilians (houses were entered, non-combatants were killed). But the Devil's in the details, as they say, and in this case (as with most such cases) that's where divergence occurs
Rayed Mohammed Abdullah Ali, who lived in Phoenix with Hani Hanjour, who piloted American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon, went to New Zealand and was...taking flight training.
The minister referred the Weekend Herald to excerpts from the US Government's 9-11 Commission Report on the attacks regarding "Rayed Abdullah". The report says Abdullah lived and trained in Phoenix with Hani Hanjour, the Saudi Arabian believed to have piloted Flight 77 into the Pentagon. Abdullah was a leader at the Islamic Cultural Centre in Phoenix where, the FBI says, he "reportedly gave extremist speeches at the mosque".
He has been expelled from the country and is back in Saudi Arabia, which of course, as everyone knows, is our Friend and Ally and will not allow him to get into any mischief.
Thursday night was a beautiful night for a concert. Ultrasude was absolutely great! Casey enjoyed all the people. He play quite a bit with the children sitting behind us.
I have never been happier to see some one dead. I feel like dancing and singing in the streets with the Iraqis. I hope his death enables the Iraqis to step up the reconciliation between its fractured ethnic and sectarian groups.
Washington's tolerance of what he called "too much unchecked U.N.-bashing and stereotyping."
He lamented that the good works of the U.N. are largely lost because "much of the public discourse that reaches the U.S heartland has been largely abandoned to its loudest detractors such as Rush Limbaugh and Fox News."
Hey Mr. Mallock Brown! It's called the "Freedom of Speech". The United States has a Constitution that protects our right to criticize our government and to speak and publish the truth. I know those of you in the U.N. keep forgetting about things like that.
I'd like to hear about those "good works" the U.N. does, but its hard when you keep tripping over:
1. The U.N. child sex scandals
2. The oil-for-food scandal in Iraq
3. The cronyism of Annan, his son and aides
4. The ridiculous practice of naming tyrannical dictators to the Human Rights Committee
5. The anti-Semitism of U.N. resolutions
6. That stupid wealth redistribution scheme called Kyoto
7. The willful disregard of American laws by "U.N. Ambassadors" and their staff
I agree with John Bolton:
Bolton said Malloch Brown's "condescending, patronizing tone about the American people" was the worst part about the speech.
In the study, Arkansas is one of 33 states to get a D or an F, earning a numerical score that ranks the Natural State 36 th out of 48 states
"Rather than asking students to look at the birth of Christ or the fall of the Soviet Union, for example, students are encouraged to evaluate major turning points in history," the study said about the standards. "Rather than mentioning the struggle for a balance of power in the wake of the Napoleonic wars, students are encouraged to "probe the interdependencies of nations." This approach does nothing to ensure that students learn world history," the study said
Demonstrate awareness of interdependencies of nations and cultural pluralism within your community and an attitude relating to the importance of helping students become responsible citizens in the community of nations and in their multicultural environment.
Canada had hoped that being perceived as a friend to Islam, they'd be left alone and not face a terrorist attack. Well, Canada has learned that trying to ignore or placate evil doesn't immune you from it. Canada is a fine example of how trying to be "nice" and making sure one doesn't do or say anything to offend Islam just isn't going to work. 
I've been extremely busy this week, so blogging has been light. Sunday, NARTI celebrated National Cancer Survivors' Day. They had a one-mile walk, a luncheon, guest speaker, and drawings.
It was great to see so many who have survived cancer. It struck me that most were in great health. Cancer wasn't debilitating to any of these people. We were having fun and enjoying life.
This is Don Pryor, the World's Worst Waiter. He provided the entertainment during lunch and was the "guest speaker". He was really funny! I had a nice time in spite of not winning any prizes. I did get a great T-shirt!
