CNN.com - 'Green Acres' star Eddie Albert dies
I remember watching Eddie Albert and his 'dingy' city wife when I was a kid - remember Arnold the pig... I Hope he reset in peace - goodbye.
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Eddie Albert, the actor best known as the constantly befuddled city slicker-turned-farmer in television's 'Green Acres,' has died. He was 99.
Albert died of pneumonia Thursday at his home in the Pacific Palisades area, in the presence of caregivers including his son Edward, who was holding his hand at the time.
'He died so beautifully and so gracefully that literally this morning I don't feel grief, I don't feel loss,' Edward Albert told The Associated Press.
"Sith" Fans Maimed in Lightsaber Mishap - Yahoo! News
Well while taking some time off from blogging I took in "Revenge of the Sith" - Star Wars Episode III... Good movie and by far the best of the second trilogy - but these guys took it to far - it would be comical if not for the tragedy.
Two British Star Wars fans sustained critical injuries after constructing their own lightsabers from fluorescent light tubes filled with liquid fuel.
According to British media reports, a 20-year-old man and his 17-year-old female friend were filming a mock duel in homage to Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith, the latest chapter of George Lucas' record-breaking franchise.
The duo were reportedly emulating one of Sith's key battles, a lightsaber clash between Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi and Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker.
The two Brits suffered severe burns when their homemade sabers exploded. The two had been videotaping their clash. They have been hospitalized at Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire since the accident Sunday.
Sorry of the lack of post this week! I decided to take a break and since I had some personal things to take care -- what better time. I will get back to regular posting...
N.Korea says will respond to US moves on nuke talksWell the on again off again talks with North Korea is back on -- I guess for awhile anyway... Expect to hear later this week that they are off again and it is all the US's fault -- of course the media will support this claim, as usual. Look through this blog and you will see the times they are on they are off and they are on again -- you will also find my outline of how this political game has gone on for half a century.
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Sunday it would respond to an overture by the United States which seeks to reopen six-country talks aimed at persuading Pyonyang to scrap its declared nuclear arsenal.
The country confirmed it had spoken with the United States on May 13 at the United Nations and would respond at 'an appropriate time.' It was not clear whether its response would include a decision on returning to the talks.
A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said the government stuck to its hope any nuclear talks would be 'successful,' according to its official news agency.
CNN.com - Florida girl found buried alive in landfillThank God she was found alive.
Police found an 8-year-old Florida girl buried alive with minor injuries in an abandoned landfill Sunday morning, hours after she was reported abducted, according to officials in Lake Worth.
Google Introduces Internet Portal Feature
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) -- Google Inc. on Thursday introduced a new option that will enable visitors to display more information on the online search engine leader's bare-bones home page, a departure that pushes the company a step closer to operating an Internet portal in the mold of rivals Yahoo and MSN.com.
CNN.com - Bush threatens veto on stem cell research bill
What will the criticism be - President Bush is doing what he said or Christopher Reeve would be walking if not for Bush.
(CNN) -- President Bush on Friday threatened to veto a bill expanding public funding for embryonic stem cell research that could make it to his desk by early next week.
'I made [it] very clear to the Congress that the use of federal money, taxpayers' money, to promote science which destroys life in order to save life, I'm against that,' Bush told reporters. 'Therefore if the bill does that, I will veto it.'
Newsweek retracts story on Koran under pressure
Let see - they reported falsely, apologized, blamed the military/Pentagon, now retracting that report... Maybe someday they will just admit they made a mistake - they failed - and take their lumps. Notice the olive branch stretch out to the military - I like the fact the Pentagon is not sitting back and taking the allegation lightly instead standing up for themselves and the military.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Newsweek magazine on Monday retracted a report that U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo Bay had desecrated the Koran after the story triggered protests in Afghanistan that killed 16 people and the White House criticized it.
'Based on what we know now, we are retracting our original story that an internal military investigation had uncovered Koran abuse at Guantanamo Bay,' Newsweek Editor Mark Whitaker said in a statement, a day after apologizing for the report.
The retraction came as the White House, the Pentagon and the State Department all heavily criticized the report and said it had damaged the U.S. image abroad. White House spokesman Scott McClellan had said it was 'puzzling' that Newsweek had not retracted the story a day after apologizing for it.
'A retraction is a good first step,' McClellan said after Newsweek issued its statement. 'This allegation was unsubstantiated and it was contrary to everything that we value and all that our military works to uphold. We encourage Newsweek to now work diligently to help undo what damage can be undone.'
Newsweek says erred in Koran desecration report
Would you consider this irresponsible - a lie that resulted in people dieing - can we hope that this will be an eye opener to reporters to use caution in their "gotcha reporting".
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Newsweek magazine on Sunday said it erred in a May 9 report that said U.S. interrogators desecrated the Koran at Guantanamo Bay, and apologized to the victims of deadly Muslim protests sparked by the article.
'We regret that we got any part of our story wrong, and extend our sympathies to victims of the violence and to the U.S. soldiers caught in its midst,' Editor Mark Whitaker wrote in the magazine's latest issue, due to appear on U.S. newsstands on Monday.
Democrat to break ranks, unveil retirement bill
This is interesting and refreshing -- agree or don't agree with the plan a democrat is acknowledging we do need a change in Social Security.
WASHINGTON, May 14 (Reuters) - A Florida Democratic congressman plans to unveil next week a proposal to bolster Social Security finances, in a break with his party's rejection of a White House push to revamp the retirement system.
The proposal by Florida U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler would raise taxes on those making more than $90,000 a year, with a goal of relieving expected financial strains on Social Security as the baby-boom generation retires, a spokeswoman said. Wexler is to unveil the plan on Monday at a luncheon in his district.
The move amounts to a break with Democratic strategy. The party has remained mostly unified in its refusal to take up U.S. President George W. Bush's offer to negotiate on changes to Social Security. Democrats want Bush to first abandon his drive to establish private retirement accounts within the Social Security program, and the party's leadership has shown no signs of wavering.
BBC NEWS Asia-Pacific N Korea to open talks with SouthWell the game continues! You can see the United States is not the only ones North Korea likes playing it's on again and off again game with. However, I can assure you when the "off again" is given to South Korea, North Korea will again blame the United States.
The North proposed the resumption, it said, 'to put relations between the two Koreas on a normal track'.
Seoul accepted on Saturday, saying it wanted to discuss North Korea's nuclear programme, as well as relations between the two countries.
War in Iraq looks like last stand for al QaedaI have always thought that Iraq was a move, the correct one, to fight terrorist there and not here - out in the open if you were... I know they are not "out in the open" but they are much more visible there then they would be here and this effort of theirs in Iraq has them disorganized and limits their ability to plan another 9/11 -- again good move in my mind and it appears in the mind others smarter then I. I know opponents will never accept this or concede it is accurate but it does not change the validity of the theory.
The war in Iraq is increasingly looking more like a showdown with Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda followers than a battle primarily against Saddam Hussein loyalists.
The shift is making the fight a focal point of the U.S. global war against Islamic terrorists and one that might dictate whether the U.S. wins or loses, said a senior official and an outside expert.
'If they fail in Iraq, Osama and his whole crew are finished,' said retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Tom McInerney, a military author and analyst.
The changing dynamic was highlighted this week when the U.S. military launched a major offensive in western Iraq, primarily against foreign jihadists who crossed the border with Syria to join the al Qaeda network in Iraq led by Abu Musab Zarqawi. In a troubling sign, U.S. officers said Zarqawi's terrorists seemed well-trained and well-equipped.
BBC NEWS Americas US police identify chilli fingerWell this accuser seems to be cooked better then her friend's finger was.
A finger allegedly found in a bowl of chilli at a Wendy's restaurant has been identified, US police have said.
It belonged to a family friend of Anna Ayala, the woman who said she discovered the finger as she ate in a restaurant in San Jose, California.
Police say the finger had been lost in an industrial accident in December.
Ms Ayala, 39, was arrested last month on larceny charges. Her claim cost Wendy's millions of dollars in lost sales.
Mystery solved
Military punishes key Abu Ghraib scandal figureI sure this will not silence those that live to criticize, but this and the General being demoted (
read it here) does show that "high ranking officers" have "dirt on them" and are being disciplined.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The military has reprimanded and fined Army Col. Thomas Pappas, a key figure in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, but will not bring criminal charges against him, a U.S. Army official said on Wednesday.
Pappas, the former top military intelligence officer at Abu Ghraib, became the second senior officer to be disciplined in the scandal over the physical abuse and sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners at the jail on the outskirts of Baghdad.
Following an administrative disciplinary proceeding in Germany on Monday, Pappas was given a letter of reprimand by Maj. Gen. Bennie Williams and was docked $8,000 for committing dereliction of duty at Abu Ghraib in late 2003 and early 2004, said the Army official, who asked not to be named.
U.S. Senate accuses Galloway, Pasqua over Iraq oil
Who would have guess a Frenchman would have benefited? Me, and I will bet there are many more just like this guy.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate committee said on Thursday that British parliamentarian George Galloway and former French Interior Minister Charles Pasqua benefited from the U.N. oil-for-food program for Iraq.
A report by the non-partisan committee said Galloway had been given 'allocations' for 20 million barrels of oil while Pasqua got 11 million barrels, with the personal approval of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
Woman, 70, survives nine-story fallA little good news out of Florida after all the bad news recently -- I don't think I would be in good shape at all, man she must be tough.
A 70-year-old woman survived a nine-story fall from a condominium tower Wednesday when she landed on a canopy, officials said.
Gloria Jummati was cleaning her balcony at Coral Ridge Towers when she fell and landed on a first-floor canopy, according to the Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue.
Jummati was alert and talking when rescuers arrived.
Wanted: Responsible Demagoguery - New York Times
Honesty from the Maureen Dowd's slot - of course, Matt Miller is feeling in for her.
So farsighted Democrats who want to (1) win back power and (2) use that power to fix big problems should quit carping about Bush's evil 'cuts' and punish him instead with what I call Responsible Demagoguery: harsh politics that leaves sound policy intact.
Why do I say this? Start with this poorly understood fact: Under today's system of "wage indexed" benefits, every new cohort of retirees is guaranteed a higher level of real benefits than the previous generation. Workers retiring in 2025, for example, are scheduled to receive payments 20 percent higher in real terms than today's retirees. Today's teenagers are slated to get a 60 percent increase. When Democrats cry about "cuts," they mean trims from these higher levels.
A Democrat might ask: Why would we ever change this way of calculating benefits, other than from some Scroogelike desire to slow the rise in future benefits? Well, we probably wouldn't think about it if we weren't on the cusp of the biggest financial crunch in American history. But we are. And with the baby boomers' retirement looming, Democrats need to think beyond Social Security alone to think intelligently about achieving progressive goals.
Indeed, if you care about social justice and economic growth, the big policy question for the next generation is this: How do we square the needs of seniors with the needs of the rest of America, at levels of taxation that don't strangle the economy?
Appeals Court Tosses Out Suit Against Cheney
Well liberals pretty much have to accept this ruling since they swore by the courts in Florida only a month ago - or will they?
WASHINGTON -- A U.S. appeals court threw out a lawsuit against Vice President Dick Cheney today and ruled that he was free to meet in secret with energy industry lobbyists while drawing up President Bush's energy policy.
The president and vice president have no duty to tell the public when they seek advice from outsiders, the appeals court said.
"In making decisions on personnel and policy, and in formulating legislative proposals, the president must be free to seek confidential information from many sources, both inside the government and outside," said Judge Ray Randolph in an opinion for the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Therefore, the Sierra Club and Judicial Watch had no legal right to demand to know who met with Cheney's energy policy task force in 2001, the court said.
The ruling all but ends a four-year-old legal battle over Cheney's task force, one that drew in the Supreme Court and Justice Antonin Scalia.
