From the pages of The King Abdullah Gazette:
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Scratch my back with a hacksaw! It's Yamila Diaz! (Part Five)
Stray Naomi Watts Photo of the Day.
From the pages of The King Abdullah Gazette: 
She is not one of my favorites, but I could not resist this one. The British call them braces...
Get out your checkbooks, kiddies and help some patriots help the Marines of Charlie Company!
VFW FIRE DESTROYS PACKAGES MEANT FOR TROOPS:
Over the past few months, the Glastonbury, Connecticut VFW and Curves for Women sorted, packed, and shipped donated items for the Marines of Charlie Company on the front lines in Fallujah, Iraq. This past Sunday the a fire destroyed all of the cases of goodies and enclosed letters to the troops that were ready to be shipped to Iraq.
Click here to read more, and let's all help replace the items by calling (860) 633-9618, or sending donations to:
Veterans of Foreign Wars
133 Addison Rd
Glastonbury, CT 06033
(Thanks to Laura Ingraham for the heads up.)
Scratch my back with a hacksaw! It's Yamila Diaz! (Part Four)
From the pages of The King Abdullah Gazette:
Surgeon General's Warning: The following photo is insanely hot!
Transcripts of NORAD's 09/11/01 recordings
Vanity Fair brings us the story of the military's response to the goat rapists attack. Here's a surprise: Like most of us, they were caught off guard.
9/11 Live: The NORAD Tapes
By Michael Bronner
How did the U.S. Air Force respond on 9/11? Could it have shot down United 93, as conspiracy theorists claim? Obtaining 30 hours of never-before-released tapes from the control room of NORAD's Northeast headquarters, the author reconstructs the chaotic military history of that day—and the Pentagon's apparent attempt to cover it up.
VF.com exclusive: Hear excerpts from the September 11 NORAD tapes. Click PLAY after each transcript to listen
NEADS is a desolate place, the sole orphan left behind after the dismantling of what was once one of the country's busiest bomber bases—Griffiss Air Force Base, in Rome, New York, which was otherwise mothballed in the mid-90s. NEADS's mission remained in place and continues today: its officers, air-traffic controllers, and air-surveillance and communications technicians—mostly American, with a handful of Canadian troops—are responsible for protecting a half-million-square-mile chunk of American airspace stretching from the East Coast to Tennessee, up through the Dakotas to the Canadian border, including Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., and Chicago.
It was into this airspace that violence descended on 9/11, and from the NEADS operations floor that what turned out to be the sum total of America's military response during those critical 100-some minutes of the attack—scrambling four armed fighter jets and one unarmed training plane—emanated.
The story of what happened in that room, and when, has never been fully told, but is arguably more important in terms of understanding America's military capabilities that day than anything happening simultaneously on Air Force One or in the Pentagon, the White House, or NORAD's impregnable headquarters, deep within Cheyenne Mountain, in Colorado. It's a story that was intentionally obscured, some members of the 9/11 commission believe, by military higher-ups and members of the Bush administration who spoke to the press, and later the commission itself, in order to downplay the extent of the confusion and miscommunication flying through the ranks of the government.
The truth, however, is all on tape.
Through the heat of the attack the wheels of what were, perhaps, some of the more modern pieces of equipment in the room—four Dictaphone multi-channel reel-to-reel tape recorders mounted on a rack in a corner of the operations floor—spun impassively, recording every radio channel, with time stamps.
The recordings are fascinating and chilling. A mix of staccato bursts of military code; urgent, overlapping voices; the tense crackle of radio traffic from fighter pilots in the air; commanders' orders piercing through a mounting din; and candid moments of emotion as the breadth of the attacks becomes clearer.
For the NEADS crew, 9/11 was not a story of four hijacked airplanes, but one of a heated chase after more than a dozen potential hijackings—some real, some phantom—that emerged from the turbulence of misinformation that spiked in the first 100 minutes of the attack and continued well into the afternoon and evening. At one point, in the span of a single mad minute, one hears Nasypany struggling to parse reports of four separate hijackings at once. What emerges from the barrage of what Nasypany dubs "bad poop" flying at his troops from all directions is a picture of remarkable composure. Snap decisions more often than not turn out to be the right ones as commanders kick-start the dormant military machine. It is the fog and friction of war live—the authentic military history of 9/11.
"The real story is actually better than the one we told," a NORAD general admitted to 9/11-commission staffers when confronted with evidence from the tapes that contradicted his original testimony. And so it seems.
Subpoenaed by the commission during its investigation, the recordings have never been played publicly beyond a handful of sound bites presented during the commission's hearings. Last September, as part of my research for the film United 93, on which I was an associate producer, I requested copies from the Pentagon. I was played snippets, but told my chances of hearing the full recordings were nonexistent. So it was a surprise, to say the least, when a military public-affairs officer e-mailed me, a full seven months later, saying she'd been cleared, finally, to provide them.
"The signing of the Declaration of Independence took less coordination," she wrote.
I would ultimately get three CDs with huge digital "wav file" recordings of the various channels in each section of the operations floor, 30-some hours of material in full, covering six and a half hours of real time. The first disc, which arrived by mail, was decorated with blue sky and fluffy white clouds and was labeled, in the playful Apple Chancery font, "Northeast Air Defense Sector—DAT Audio Files—11 Sep 2001."
"This is not an exercise"
8:14 a.m., as an Egyptian and four Saudis commandeered the cockpit on American 11, the plane that would hit the north tower of the World Trade Center, only a handful of troops were on the NEADS "ops" floor. That's the facility's war room: a dimly lit den arrayed with long rows of radarscopes and communications equipment facing a series of 15-foot screens lining the front wall. The rest of the crew, about 30 Americans and five or six Canadians, were checking e-mails or milling around the hall. A briefing on the morning's training exercise was wrapping up in the Battle Cab, the glassed-in command area overlooking the ops floor.
On the Dictaphone decks, an automated voice on each channel ticked off, in Greenwich Mean Time, the last few moments of life in pre-9/11 America: "12 hours, 26 minutes, 20 seconds"—just before 8:30 a.m. eastern daylight time.
The first human voices captured on tape that morning are those of the "ID techs"—Senior Airman Stacia Rountree, 23 at the time, Tech Sergeant Shelley Watson, 40, and their boss, Master Sergeant Maureen "Mo" Dooley, 40. They are stationed in the back right corner of the ops floor at a console with several phones and a radarscope. Their job in a crisis is to facilitate communications between NEADS, the civilian F.A.A., and other military commands, gathering whatever information they can and sending it up the chain. Dooley—her personality at once motherly and aggressive—generally stands behind the other two, who are seated.
The tapes catch them discussing strategy of an entirely domestic order:
08:37:08
O.K., a couch, an ottoman, a love seat, and what else … ? Was it on sale … ? Holy smokes! What color is it?
In the background, however, you can make out the sound of Jeremy Powell, then 31, a burly, amiable technical sergeant, fielding the phone call that will be the military's first notification that something is wrong. On the line is Boston Center, the civilian air-traffic-control facility that handles that region's high-flying airliners.
08:37:52
BOSTON CENTER: Hi. Boston Center T.M.U. [Traffic Management Unit], we have a problem here. We have a hijacked aircraft headed towards New York, and we need you guys to, we need someone to scramble some F-16s or something up there, help us out.
POWELL: Is this real-world or exercise?
BOSTON CENTER: No, this is not an exercise, not a test.
PLAY STOP
Piero Harris, Requiescat in pace.
Rest forever in the arms of the Lord, paisan.
Piero (Pete) Harris, a first team All-America safety at Penn State in 1978, died Wednesday in West Palm Beach, Fla. He was 49.
A product of Mount Holly, N.J., Harris was one of three brothers to play football for Penn State under coach Joe Paterno. One of nine children, an older brother, Franco (1969-71) and a younger brother, Giuseppe (1979-81) also were starters for the Nittany Lions.
"Pete was somebody that everyone liked," Paterno said. "His teammates really liked being around him. Pete was a gifted athlete. The Harris family is such a great family. It's such a shame -- a tragedy."
Harris led the nation with 10 interceptions in 1978 to earn first team All-America honors from United Press International. His 10 interceptions tied Neal Smith (1969) for the Penn State season record, a mark that still stands. Harris recorded 15 interceptions during his career (1976-78, '80), a total that is tied for second (with Darren Perry) in the school record books. Only Smith, with 19, had more career interceptions.
A three-year letterwinner, Harris helped the Nittany Lions earn a 34-4 combined record in 1977, '78, and '80. Penn State won two Fiesta Bowls and played Alabama in the Sugar Bowl for the national championship during his career.
Harris recorded 28 tackles (21 solo), and recovered two fumbles in addition to his nation's best 10 interceptions in 1978, helping Penn State to an 11-0 regular season and the No. 1 ranking entering the Sugar Bowl clash with Alabama.
In 1980, Harris made 27 tackles, grabbed three more interceptions and recovered two fumbles, helping the Nittany Lions to a 10-2 mark, with a win over Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.
Harris played football, basketball and baseball at Rancocas Valley High School.
Harris majored in food service and housing administration at Penn State and was an executive chef at PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
He is survived by his mother, Gina Harris, four brothers and four sisters, nieces and nephews.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Burlington County Chapter of the American Heart Association, 600 South White Horse Pike, Audubon, N.J. 08106. (Thanks to the Centre Daily Times for this obituary.)
I, for one, would like to apologize to Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey.
Very few phrases are more lurid than "six year old murder victim" except for "parent murders child". That is the way it was played and that is what I suspected. Shame on me and shame on the headline whores.
Of course, "six year old beauty queen" is pretty damn lurid too. Remember the videos of the tarted-up JonBenet at those pageants? The Ramseys may have thought it was innocent fun, but they only saw their little girl playing at being a big girl.
Mr. Karr, however, seems to be just the type of pervert who finds that stupidity attractive. Sadly, we live in a world where such desire is rarely discouraged and often encouraged. If Mr. Karr ignored his conscience and acted on sick fantasies, he alone is guilty of JonBenet's murder, but our corrupt and decadent society (that's you and me, kiddies) are not innocent.
This is a SEX IS DEATH story, but I don't have the stomach for it.
AP: JonBenet Ramsey murder suspect: 'I'm sorry'
"I was with her when she died," John Mark Karr told reporters.
A former American school teacher said publicly Thursday he was with JonBenet Ramsey when she was killed and called the 6-year-old's death "an accident," a stunning admission that should help answer 10 years of questions in the unsolved murder case.
John Mark Karr, 41, will be taken within the week to Colorado, where he will face charges of first degree murder, kidnapping and child sexual assault, Ann Hurst of the Department of Homeland Security told a news conference in Bangkok.
"I was with JonBenet when she died," John Mark Karr told reporters afterward, visibly nervous and stuttering as he spoke. "Her death was an accident."
Asked if he was innocent of the crime, Karr said: "No."
Karr confessed to the killing after his arrest Wednesday at his downtown Bangkok apartment by Thai and American authorities, said Lt. Gen. Suwat Tumrongsiskul, head of Thailand's immigration police.
He said Karr insisted his crime was not first-degree murder but that she died during a kidnapping attempt that went awry.
"He said it was second-degree murder. He said it was unintentional. He said he was in love with the child, she was a pageant queen," Suwat said.
Karr declined to say what his connection was to the Ramsey family.
Dressed in a turquoise polo shirt and khaki trousers, he appeared ashen with an expressionless look on his face.
An attorney for the Ramsey family said Wednesday that Karr once lived near the family in Conyers, Ga.
JonBenet was found beaten and strangled in the basement of the family's home in Boulder, Colo., on Dec. 26, 1996.
Wednesday's arrest was a surprise development in one of America's most lurid murder cases, which had left a cloud of suspicion over her family after years went by with no arrests. Some feared the case would never be solved.
Striking video images of the blonde-haired girl in child beauty pageants helped propel the case into one of the highest-profile mysteries in the United States.
A law enforcement source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AP that Karr had been communicating periodically with somebody in Boulder who had been following the case and cooperating with law enforcement officials.
A University of Colorado spokesman, Barrie Hartman, said journalism professor Michael Tracey communicated with Karr over several months and contacted police. The university spokesman said he didn't know what prompted Tracey to become suspicious of Karr.
Tracey produced a documentary in 2004 called "Who Killed JonBenet?" A woman who answered the phone at a number under his name said he didn't live there anymore; his office phone mailbox was full.
The Ramseys learned that police were investigating Karr at least a month before the June death of JonBenet's mother, Patsy Ramsey, of ovarian cancer, the family said.
May God have mercy on her soul.
In a statement Wednesday, father John Ramsey said that if his wife had lived to see Karr's arrest, she "would no doubt have been as pleased as I am with today's development almost 10 years after our daughter's murder."
Suwat quoted Karr as saying he tried to kidnap JonBenet for a $118,000 ransom but that his plan went awry and he strangled her. Patsy Ramsey reported finding a ransom note in the house demanding $118,000 for her daughter.
Investigators said at one point that JonBenet's parents were under an "umbrella of suspicion" in the slaying, and some news accounts cast suspicion on JonBenet's older brother, Burke. But the Ramseys insisted an intruder killed their daughter, and no one was ever charged.
Over the years, some experts suggested that investigators had botched the case so thoroughly that it might never be solved. The Ramseys moved back to Atlanta after their daughter's slaying.
"It's been a very long 10 years, and I'm just sorry Patsy isn't here for me to hug her neck," said Lin Wood, the family's longtime attorney.
"John and Patsy lived their lives knowing they were innocent, trying to raise a son despite the furor around them," Wood told MSNBC.
Suwat said U.S. authorities informed Thai police on Aug. 11 that an arrest warrant had been issued for Karr on charges of premeditated murder. The warrant was sent to Thai police on Wednesday.
"Through investigation we were able to determine where his residence was and the Thais arrested him," Hurst said. "He did not resist. He did express surprise."
Hurst said Karr has been "very cooperative" with authorities and that he's shown a "variety of emotions."
Suwat said Karr arrived in Bangkok on June 6 from Malaysia to look for a teaching job. It was not clear whether he had gotten a job, the police officer said.
Karr's visa has been revoked as an "undesirable person" given the accusations against him, and U.S. authorities were expected to take him to the United States in the next few days, Suwat said.
Hurst, with the department's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Bangkok, said that Karr had left the United States several years ago and had not returned.
The immigration and customs office had assisted the Boulder County District Attorney's Office and the Royal Thai Police in the investigation.
The suspect, who has been in Thailand five times over the past two years, was being detained by immigration police pending arrival of U.S. officials, Suwat said.
Probably not coincidentally, Thailand is the child-sex capital of the world.
When asked how he could travel for so many years in Asia, and whether he was independently wealthy, Hurst responded, "We're asking the same questions."
Police said Karr had been living in a dormitory-style hotel called The Blooms in a neighborhood of massage parlors and travel agents that cater to expatriate residents and sex tourists. The nine-story hotel offers rooms for as short as three-hour rentals.
Yep.
The district attorney in Boulder, Mary Lacy, said the arrest followed several months of work.
She said Karr, who had traveled extensively across the world, may also be connected to a prior case in Santa Rosa County, Calif. She did not provide further details.
Sonoma County Chief Deputy District Attorney Joan Risse confirmed the child pornography charges and arrest warrant against a John Mark Karr, though she cautioned that she didn't know if he was the same person held Bangkok. State records show Karr lost his teaching credential in 2002.
May God have mercy on his soul.
Saint of the Day an daily Mass readings.
Today is the Feast of St. Myron, priest and martyr. Pray for us, all you angels and saints.
Today's reading is Ezechiel 12:1-12.
Today's Responsorial Psalm is Psalms 78:56-57, 58-59, 61-62.
Today's Gospel reading is Matthew 18:21; 19:1.
Everyday links:
The Blessed Virgin Mary
The Rosary
Our Mother of Perpetual Help
Prayers from EWTN
National Coalition of Clergy and Laity (dedicated to action for a genuine Catholic Restoration)
The Catholic Calendar Page for Today
Just in case you are wondering what exactly Catholics believe, here is
The Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen.
Memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that any one who fled to thy protection, implored thy help or sought thy intercession,was left unaided.Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins my Mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful; O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy clemency hear and answer me. Amen.
St. Joseph, her most chaste spouse, pray for us.
Anima Christi
Soul of Christ, sanctify me; Body of Christ, save me; Blood of Christ, inebriate me; Water from Christ's side, wash me; Passion of Christ, strengthen me; O good Jesus, hear me; Within Thy wounds hide me; Suffer me not to be separated from Thee; From the malicious enemy defend me; In the hour of my death call me; And bid me come unto Thee; That I may praise Thee with Thy saints and with Thy angels Forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer to St. Anthony, Martyr of Desire
Dear St. Anthony, you became a Franciscan with the hope of shedding your blood for Christ. In God's plan for you, your thirst for martyrdom was never to be satisfied. St. Anthony, Martyr of Desire, pray that I may become less afraid to stand up and be counted as a follower of the Lord Jesus. Intercede also for my other intentions. (Name them.)
Prayer To Saint Michael The Archangel
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil; may God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the divine power, thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
Prayer to End Abortion
Lord God, I thank You today for the gift of my life, and for the lives of all my brothers and sisters. I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion, yet I rejoice that you have conquered death by the resurrection of Your Son. I am ready to do my part to end abortion. Today I commit myself never to be silent, never to be passive, and never to be forgetful of the unborn. I commit myself to be active in the pro-life movement, and never stop defending life until all my brothers and sisters are protected and our nation once again becomes a nation with liberty and justice, not just for some, but for all. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer For Vocations
Send forth your Spirit, Lord, into the hearts of your faithful people, that we may be conscious of our vocation to holiness and sevice to others. Grant that many of us may dedicate ourselves to You through the priesthood and the religious life.We pray especially for the needs of our own parish and diocese. Grant that we may always have sufficient good and holy priests, and dedicated Sisters to serve our commumities.We pray, too, for religious orders; that generous men may join them to become zealous missionaries in preaching the Gospel in word and action, especially to the poor and abandoned.We make this prayer through Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Redeemer. Amen.
Prayer Before The Crucifix
Behold, O kind and gentle Jesus, I kneel before Thee and pray that Thou would impress upon my heart the virtues of faith, hope, and charity, with true repentance for my sins and a firm purpose of amendment. At the same time, with sorrow I meditate on Thy five precious wounds, having in mind the words which David spoke in prophecy: "They have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones."
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Justice for JonBenet?
WGAL: Report: Arrest Made In JonBenet Ramsey Case
DENVER -- A Denver television station reported Wednesday that an arrest has been made in the unsolved 1996 slaying of JonBenet Ramsey.
Authorities in Boulder, Colo., informed JonBenet Ramsey's father, John Ramsey, that an arrest is expected outside of the United States, according to KMGH-TV in Denver.
In a telephone statement delivered from his Denver office to KMGH-TV, the Ramsey family's attorney, Hal Haddon, confirmed the arrest.
"The diligent investigation of Jon Benet Ramsey's murder by Boulder D.A. Lacey and detectives working with her has been extraordinary," Haddon told the station. "It is hoped this arrest will bring some closure to the Ramsey family after a 10-year ordeal. We respect the legal process and will have no further comment until the legal process is concluded."
Ramsey was found dead in the basement of her parents' Boulder home on Dec. 26, 1996. Her death has remained unsolved for almost 10 years.
No other details in the case were immediately available.
Pew polls the world: mohammedism versus the West.
If you find polls interesting...
The Great Divide: How Westerners and Muslims View Each Other
Europe's Muslims More Moderate
Released: 06.22.06
I. Muslims and the West - How Each Sees The Other
II. The Rift Between Muslims and the West: Causes and Consequences
III. Islam, Modernity and Terrorism
Voices from Countries
Methodological Appendix
Country Profiles
Questionnaire
Introduction and Summary
After a year marked by riots over cartoon portrayals of Muhammad, a major terrorist attack in London, and continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, most Muslims and Westerners are convinced that relations between them are generally bad these days. Many in the West see Muslims as fanatical, violent, and as lacking tolerance. Meanwhile, Muslims in the Middle East and Asia generally see Westerners as selfish, immoral and greedy - as well as violent and fanatical.
A rare point of agreement between Westerners and Muslims is that both believe that Muslim nations should be more economically prosperous than they are today. But they gauge the problem quite differently. Muslim publics have an aggrieved view of the West - they are much more likely than Americans or Western Europeans to blame Western policies for their own lack of prosperity. For their part, Western publics instead point to government corruption, lack of education and Islamic fundamentalism as the biggest obstacles to Muslim prosperity.
Nothing highlights the divide between Muslims and the West more clearly than their responses to the uproar this past winter over cartoon depictions of Muhammad. Most people in Jordan, Egypt, Indonesia and Turkey blame the controversy on Western nations' disrespect for the Islamic religion. In contrast, majorities of Americans and Western Europeans who have heard of the controversy say Muslims' intolerance to different points of view is more to blame.
The chasm between Muslims and the West is also seen in judgments about how the other civilization treats women. Western publics, by lopsided margins, do not think of Muslims as "respectful of women." But half or more in four of the five Muslim publics surveyed say the same thing about people in the West.
Yet despite the deep attitudinal divide between Western and Muslim publics, the latest Pew Global Attitudes survey also finds that the views of each toward the other are far from uniformly negative. For example, even in the wake of the tumultuous events of the past year, solid majorities in France, Great Britain and the U.S. retain overall favorable opinions of Muslims. However, positive opinions of Muslims have declined sharply in Spain over the past year (from 46% to 29%), and more modestly in Great Britain (from 72% to 63%).
For the most part, Muslim publics feel more embittered toward the West and its people than vice versa. Muslim opinions about the West and its people have worsened over the past year and by overwhelming margins, Muslims blame Westerners for the strained relationship between the two sides. But there are some positive indicators as well, including the fact that in most Muslim countries surveyed there has been a decline in support for terrorism.
The survey by the Pew Global Attitudes Project was conducted in 13 countries, including the United States, from March 31-May 14, 2006. It includes special oversamples of Muslim minorities living in Great Britain, France, Germany and Spain. In many ways, the views of Europe's Muslims represent a middle ground between the way Western publics and Muslims in the Middle East and Asia view each other.
While Europe's Muslim minorities are about as likely as Muslims elsewhere to see relations between Westerners and Muslims as generally bad, they more often associate positive attributes to Westerners - including tolerance, generosity, and respect for women. And in a number of respects Muslims in Europe are less inclined to see a clash of civilizations than are some of the general publics surveyed in Europe. Notably, they are less likely than non-Muslims in Europe to believe that there is a conflict between modernity and being a devout Muslim.
(Thanks to Laura Ingraham for the heads up.)
What if sensible people woke up one day and discovered Israel no longer had the will to fight?
Welcome to the Suicide of the West. (Lone Middle Eastern Outpost style.)
Wise Israelis (and good Jews everywhere) are beginning to realize it may be too late to save the civilization we share.
From Israelinsider:
Terror Threat for 8/22: Back to the Future
Micah D. Halpern
The Iranian President tells us that something of great import will happen on the 22nd of August. If it wasn't the mid-air explosion of jets, what will it be?
Take Away My Mascara? This Means War!
Arlene Peck
Pretty soon I'm going to have to travel to the airport naked in order to comply with the restrictions Islam has forced upon us.
Amateur Hour Continues
Yuval Zaliouk
The antics of this bunch of amateurs now running the Israeli government would be laughable, if the situation were not so tragic and fraught with danger.
A very public crash landing
Jonathan Ariel
Lt. General Halutz's fighter jet is going down fast, and he will no doubt try to take others with him.
The ceasefire resolution doesn't require anyone to disarm Hezbollah
Ted Belman
The UN resolution doesn't contain any obligation to disarm Hezbollah. What are 30,000 soldiers for? Window dressing to sell the resolution.
Olmert's Surrender
Bruce S. Ticker
"Acceptance of this resolution is a sign of defeat, indicating that Israel will cease using force before our kidnapped soldiers are released."
Let my cousin not have died in a lost war
Doron Kescher
Every one of the 22,000 smiling young faces on the front cover of Israel's newspapers since 1948 has been an unimaginable tragedy for them, and for the ones they leave behind.
The Worst Government in the History of Israel
Naomi Ragen
Resign, Mr. Olmert. Resign in shame for your incompetence and inability to carry out a single one of the objectives you announced at the war's start.
The worst Israeli Prime Minister
Yuval Zaliouk
August 12, 2006 - If you take account of it, devoid of politics, Ehud Olmert has caused more damage and destruction to Israel than any of her enemies.
The Pride and Confidence are Gone
Howard Galganov
August 12, 2006 - Israel's once invincible image has been dragged down into the realm of the very ordinary. The little country that could, would, did, can't any more.
Learning from our Mistakes
Boris Shusteff
August 11, 2006 - Chess players know that one can learn much more from one's lost games than from the games won. But only if you thoroughly analyze the games.
The Call to Abandon Haifa: An Echo of History
Shelomo Alfassa
August 11, 2006 - The Jews are fighting for their survival, and they have the might and right to do so. Instead of making idiotic statements, Nasrallah should watch his back.
The Flying Crap Shoot
Howard Karger, PhD
August 11, 2006 - It's questionable whether El Al's time- and labor-intensive security system, while effective, could be efficiently implemented on a widespread basis.
Thinking beyond a cease-fire declaration
Dr. Aaron Lerner
August 11, 2006 - Regardless of when a cease-fire takes effect, Israeli policy makers should consider the serious policy questions and challenges a cease-fire will present.
Ceasefire Now!
Reuven Koret
August 10, 2006 - Israel should immediately lay down its arms and flee back to the border. It need not even wait for the UN to pass a resolution. Face it: we lost.
Terror by any other name
Arnold Roth
August 10, 2006 - A British policeman said that this is about "mass murder on an unimaginable scale". The sad truth is that terror is always about the unimaginable.
Khaibar: a missile's name signals Iran's genocidal intentions
Micah D. Halpern
August 8, 2006 - Why has Hezbollah chosen to name a missile Khaibar? Because Khaibar is not merely a name. It delivers a message: Death to the Jews.
Nasrallah's Offer, Israel's Answer
Moshe Feiglin
August 8, 2006 - On the thirtieth day of the war, Nasrallah called a press conference. He made Olmert and the people of Israel an offer they could not refuse. Or could they?
The lesson of Dresden
Jonathan Ariel
August 8, 2006 - Dresden symbolizes what had to be done to assure victory over Nazi Germany. Islamist fundamentalism is today's Nazism: will Beirut be today's Dresden?
A "Robust International Force" is a Crock
Ted Belman
August 7, 2006 - A strong independent, international fighting force in Lebanon will never happen, and drafters of the resolution know it.
Who's the Fool?
David Wilder
August 6, 2006 - The village fool was standing in the town square, making an idiot of himself. Almost all the villagers stood around, watching, laughing, enjoying the show.
Israel's Greatest Blunder Ever
Yuval Zaliouk
August 5, 2006 - Allowing any UN force on Israel's border will only work against Israel. Rockets will continue to fly and Israel will be prevented from marching in.
So much for the "Rule of Law"
Ze'ev Orenstein
August 5, 2006 - Tough talk only applies when it comes to throwing Jews out of their homes and the destruction of Jewish communities throughout the Land of Israel.
No ceasefire is better than a bad ceasefire
Ted Belman
August 5, 2006 - The prosecution of his war by Olmert's left-leaning government has been a disaster, based on its overwhelming desire to avoid another occupation.
Those Poor, Innocent Lebanese
Irwin N. Graulich
August 4, 2006 - You sleep with dogs, you wake up with fleas. You sleep with missiles, you wake up dead.
Olmert must choose between lives of human shields and Israelis
Dr. Aaron Lerner
August 3, 2006 - Israel's decision to give priority to lives of enemy human shields is not dictated by international law, which doesn't require states to self-destruct.
What is Going Wrong?
Moshe Feiglin
August 3, 2006Nasrallah may well have more surprises. The Jewish settlements in the mountains of Judea and Samaria might well be the best refuge for millions of Israelis.
The media war against Israel
Tom Gross
August 3, 2006 - Large sections of the international media are not only misreporting the current conflict in Lebanon. They are also actively fanning the flames.
A Different Sort of Morality
Moshe Kempinski
August 2, 2006 - Snapshot: While an IDF soldier pushes a child behind him to protect the child, a Hizbullah fighter pushes a child in front of him to protect himself.
Harry Reid, the GPS of US Senators, incoherently mumbles something about directions.
From U.S. Newswire:
Reid: We Need a New Direction to Protect Americans
To: National Desk
Contact: Jim Manley or Jon Steinberg, 202-224-2939, both of the Office of Harry Reid
WASHINGTON, Aug. 15
As President Bush continues his weeklong media campaign to convince Americans that they are safer today than before September 11th, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid released the following statement:
"Today the president once again tried to convince Americans that he's taken all the steps necessary to keep them safe. Unfortunately, the facts of the last five years aren't that convincing. Five years after 9/11, the President still has not taken the necessary steps to prevent terrorists from taking explosives onto airplanes. Five years after 9/11, al Qaeda has morphed into a global franchise operation, terror attacks have increased sharply across the world and the President has shut down the program designed to catch Osama bin Laden.
"Tom Kean and Lee Hamilton, the chairman and vice chairman of the 9/11 Commission, said this week that that the Iraq war has depleted our resources and distracted the Bush Administration from making homeland security a priority. These failures demonstrate that the lessons of 9/11 are being ignored by the White House and the Do Nothing Republican Congress. We must change course in Iraq, and implement the bipartisan 9/11 Commission recommendations so that we are doing all we can to protect Americans at home and abroad.
Wouldn't you just love to crank out flapdoodle like that for a living?
The war this time.
Here's a big surprise...
AP: Lebanon avoids issue of Hezbollah's arms
The Lebanese Cabinet agreed Wednesday to deploy the Lebanese army south of the Litani River starting the next day, a key demand of the cease-fire that halted 34 days of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. But it left unclear the issue of disarming the Islamic militant group.
Roto-Reuters: Hamas, Fatah to renew unity gov't negotiations
Roto-Reuters: White House denies bin Laden hunt downgraded
AP: More Britons call for use of racial profiling
George W. Bush proves he is indeed his father's son.
USA Today: Rice: Not U.N.'s job to disarm Hezbollah
The 15,000-member U.N. force being created for southern Lebanon will keep the peace and enforce an international arms embargo, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday, but it won't be charged with disarming Hezbollah guerrillas.
Transcript of Condoleezza Rice interview
Steelers Update.
From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
Steelers, Cowher break off contract talks
Steelers president Art Rooney II confirmed Tuesday that the team is no longer negotiating with coach Bill Cowher on a contract extension.
Sore winner
Notebook: Porter showing signs of recovery
Deep ball to Holmes thrills fans
Steelers: Inside the ropes
Cowher: Steelers' practice is improved
Steelers expect to improve, even after winning Super Bowl
Enough practice for some is too much for others
Thank goodness Bill Clinton is still protecting us!
Did you know it has been 1,799 days since terrorists last struck us here at home?
Thanks, Goober. We aren't worthy of a ruler like you.
A happy story from the world of sports.
God bless Dikembe Mutombo.
Fox Sports: Mutombo to help open hospital in Congo
Dikembe Mutombo will fulfill a lifelong dream soon, opening a hospital in the Congo named for his late mother.
The Houston Rockets center, who donated $15 million to the project, will open the doors to the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital and Research Center on Sept. 2. The 300-bed hospital will provide health care to people in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Mutombo was born.
"We were very close," Mutombo said Monday in a telephone interview. "To do something of this caliber in the name of your beloved mom, it will mean a lot not just to me but to the people of Congo."
Amen to that, Brother.
He created the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation in 1997, the year his 64-year-old mother died. She was unable to get to the hospital because streets were closed due to civil unrest. His father, Samuel, was turned back from the hospital, just 10 minutes away.
How dare we whine about how "claustrophobic" our MRIs are? And the cost of Viagra...*
"My mom played a big role, giving us all the tools to make us great human beings," Mutombo said of his nine siblings. "She did what moms are supposed to do - raise a child with a good understanding of life."
The $29 million hospital and research center will include a pediatric wing, surgery suites and a women's center.
The health care crisis continues in the Congo, where one of five children dies before age 5. Malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, measles and cholera have reached epidemic proportions and continue to infect millions of adults and children. The average life expectancy is 42 years for men and 47 for women.
"Malaria is taking more lives than any other disease, especially children under age 5," he said.
Mutombo had a life-threatening bout of malaria after returning from the Congo in 1999. He had a "huge headache" and passed out after an early season game. His temperature rose to 104 degrees while at a suburban Boston hospital, but after 12 hours the doctors couldn't determine what was wrong until a Kenyan intern entered his room.
"Brother, are you from Africa?" she asked. "Which spot?"
When she heard Congo, she asked if he'd been home lately. He'd been back the previous month.
"She saved my life," Mutombo said. "We got the malaria results 40 minutes later. We waited two hours for the malaria medicine from the CDC (in Atlanta). I wish I knew her name to thank her."
Mutombo came to the U.S. in 1987 on an academic scholarship to attend Georgetown. As a premed major, he expected to return to the Congo as a doctor.
In his second year, Georgetown basketball coach John Thompson invited the 7-foot-2 Mutombo to try out for the team. He grew up loving soccer, but eventually came around to basketball under Thompson's guidance.
"He took me by his wing," Mutombo said. "He made me who I became today, he's like a father figure to me. I don't call him 'Coach,' I call him 'Pop.' He gave me all the tools to succeed - maturity and education."
Georgetown was ranked No. 1 and reached the final eight twice in his three years of play. He was Big East defensive player of the year, averaging 15.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 4.71 blocks his senior year.
College basketball altered his plans to become a doctor, and he graduated instead with degrees in linguistics and diplomacy. He speaks English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and five African dialects.
Mutombo has averaged 10.6 points and 10.8 rebounds in his 15-year career.
Now he's satisfied to assist on the medical front. His goal is to get 100,000 people to contribute $10 a month on his Web site to support the hospital and research.
"I'm still a doctor, serving the people," Mutombo said.
* I don't know how much a month's worth of Hugh Hefner's Reputation costs (I have Italian genes.) but I'm sure it is less than the $10.00 a month Mr. Mutombo needs to support the hospital.
Visit the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation and give up a couple of Starbucks pansy drinks a month in order to reduce the 10% infant mortality rate in Congo.
Cigarettes are bad for you, kiddies.
While I can't condone the violence, I understand Mr. Bradford's point of view...
WPVI: Cigarette Butt Sparks Argument; 3 Hospitalized
DECATUR, Ala. - A cigarette butt casually tossed to the ground sparked a daylong argument between four neighbors that escalated into a fight that sent at least three of them to the hospital and got them all arrested.
Police said a guest visiting Bobby Joe Ray, 42, tossed a cigarette butt toward the edge of Ray's yard on Aug. 4. The butt landed near a fence belonging to Ray's neighbor, Michael Alan Bradford, 24. Bradford got angry and started shouting about it.
Several residents of the neighborhood said Ray and Bradford argued about the butt all day, police said, and eventually Ray's sister, Shirley Lynn Ray White, 32, who lives across the street, tangled with Bradford's wife, Heather Mills Bradford, 27, and the men soon joined in.
At least three went to the hospital for treatment of injuries, and all four were arrested and released on bond the same day. "It's sad that people were injured over a cigarette butt," Lt. Chris Mathews, spokesman for the Decatur Police Department, said last week.
Shirley Lynn Ray White is charged with third-degree assault. Bobby Joe Ray and Heather Mills Bradford are charged with harassment. Michael Alan Bradford is charged with harassment and third-degree assault.
Mystery Sept. 11 Marine Rescuer Comes Foward After 'World Trade Center' Movie
For years, authorities wondered about the identity of a U.S. Marine who appeared at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, helped find a pair of police officers buried in the rubble, then vanished.
Even the producers of the new film chronicling the rescue, "World Trade Center," couldn't locate the mystery serviceman, who had given his name only as Sgt. Thomas.
The puzzle was finally solved when one Jason Thomas, of Columbus, Ohio, saw a TV commercial for the new movie a few weeks ago as he relaxed on his couch.
His eyes widened as he saw two Marines with flashlights, hunting for survivors atop the smoldering ruins.
"That's us. That's me!" thought Thomas, who lived in Long Island during the attacks and now works as an officer in Ohio's Supreme Court.
Thomas, 32, hesitantly re-emerged last week to recount the role he played in the rescue of Port Authority police officers Will Jimeno and Sgt. John McLoughlin, who were entombed beneath 20 feet of debris when the twin towers collapsed.
Back in New York to speak of his experience and visit family, Thomas provided the AP with photographs of himself at ground zero. As further proof of his identity, the movie's producer, Michael Shamberg, said Thomas and Jimeno have spoken by phone and shared details only the two of them would know.
Thomas, who had been out of the Marine Corps about a year, was dropping his daughter off at his mother's Long Island home when she told him planes had struck the towers.
He retrieved his Marine uniform from his truck, sped to Manhattan and had just parked his car when one of the towers collapsed. Thomas ran toward the center of the ash cloud.
"Someone needed help. It didn't matter who," he said. "I didn't even have a plan. But I have all this training as a Marine, and all I could think was, 'My city is in need.'"
Yeah, that's what US Marines do...
Thomas bumped into another ex-Marine, Staff Sgt. David Karnes, and the pair decided to search for survivors.
Carrying little more than flashlights and an infantryman's shovel, they climbed the mountain of debris, skirting dangerous crevasses and shards of red-hot metal, calling out "Is anyone down there? United States Marines!"
It was dark before they heard a response. The two crawled into a deep pit to find McLoughlin and Jimeno, injured but alive.
Jimeno would spend 13 hours in the pit before he was pulled free. Thomas stayed long enough to see him come up, but left due to exhaustion before McLoughlin, who remained pinned for another nine hours, was retrieved.
Thomas said he returned to ground zero every day for another 2 1/2 weeks to pitch in, then walked away and tried to forget.
"I didn't want to relive what took place that day," he said.
Shamberg said he apologized to Thomas for an inaccuracy in the film: Thomas is black, but the actor cast to portray him, William Mapother, is white. Filmmakers realized the mistake only after production had begun, Shamberg said.
Wow. I didn't know Oliver Stone was a racist.
Thomas laughed and gently chided the filmmakers, then politely declined to discuss it further. "I don't want to shed any negativity on what they were trying to show," he said.
As for his story, Thomas said he is gradually becoming more comfortable telling it.
"It's been like therapy," he said. (Thanks to Fox News for the heads up.)
Those pesky astronomers cut loose in the wacky Czech Republic.
What do you get when 2,500 astronomers descend like locusts upon the unsuspecting city of Prague for days of drunken figurin' and stargazing?
Three new planets!
AP: Proposal would add planets to solar system
PRAGUE - The universe really is expanding — astronomers are proposing to rewrite the textbooks to say that our solar system has 12 planets rather than the nine memorized by generations of schoolchildren.
Much-maligned Pluto would remain a planet — and its largest moon plus two other heavenly bodies would join Earth's neighborhood — under a draft resolution to be formally presented Wednesday to the International Astronomical Union, the arbiter of what is and isn't a planet.
Whew!
"Yes, Virginia, Pluto is a planet," quipped Richard Binzel, a professor of planetary science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray!
The proposal could change, however: Binzel and the other nearly 2,500 astronomers from 75 nations meeting in Prague to hammer out a universal definition of a planet will hold two brainstorming sessions before they vote on the resolution next week. But the draft comes from the IAU's executive committee, which only submits recommendations likely to get two-thirds approval from the group.
Uh-oh.
Besides reaffirming the status of puny Pluto — whose detractors insist it shouldn't be a planet at all — the new lineup would include 2003 UB313, the farthest-known object in the solar system and nicknamed Xena; Pluto's largest moon, Charon; and the asteroid Ceres, which was a planet in the 1800s before it got demoted.
Darn anti-Plutites!
The panel also proposed a new category of planets called "plutons," referring to Pluto-like objects that reside in the Kuiper Belt, a mysterious, disc-shaped zone beyond Neptune containing thousands of comets and planetary objects. Pluto itself and two of the potential newcomers — Charon and 2003 UB313 — would be plutons.
Astronomers also were being asked to get rid of the term "minor planets," which long has been used to collectively describe asteroids, comets and other non-planetary objects. Instead, those would become collectively known as "small solar system bodies."
If the resolution is approved, the 12 planets in our solar system listed in order of their proximity to the sun would be Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Charon, and the provisionally named 2003 UB313. Its discoverer, Michael Brown of the California Institute of Technology, nicknamed it Xena after the warrior princess of TV fame, but it likely would be rechristened something else later, the panel said.
I guess we should be glad he didn't name it after his favorite Dungeons & Dragons character.
The galactic shift would force publishers to update encyclopedias and school textbooks, and elementary school teachers to rejigger the planet mobiles hanging from classroom ceilings. Far outside the realm of science, astrologers accustomed to making predictions based on the classic nine might have to tweak their formulas.
Even if the list of planets is officially lengthened when astronomers vote on Aug. 24, it's not likely to stay that way for long: The IAU has a "watchlist" of at least a dozen other potential candidates that could become planets once more is known about their sizes and orbits.
"The solar system is a middle-aged star, and like all middle-aged things, its waistline is expanding," said Jack Horkheimer, director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium in the United States and host of Public Broadcasting's Stargazer television show.
Opponents of Pluto, which was named a planet in 1930, still might spoil for a fight. Earth's moon is larger; so is 2003 UB313 (Xena), about 70 miles wider.
But the IAU said Pluto meets its proposed new definition of a planet: any round object larger than 800 kilometers (nearly 500 miles) in diameter that orbits the sun and has a mass roughly one-12,000th that of Earth.
Moons and asteroids will make the grade if they meet those basic tests.
Roundness is key, experts said, because it indicates an object has enough self-gravity to pull itself into a spherical shape. Yet Earth's moon wouldn't qualify because the two bodies' common center of gravity lies below the surface of the Earth.
"People were probably wondering: If they take away Pluto, is Rhode Island next?" Binzel quipped. "There are as many opinions about Pluto as there are astronomers. But Pluto has gravity on its side. By the physics of our proposed definition, Pluto makes it by a long shot."
Ha! Astronomer humor!
IAU President Ronald D. Ekers said the draft definition, two years in the making, was an attempt to reach a cosmic consensus and end decades of quarreling. "We don't want an American version, a European version and a Japanese version" of what constitutes a planet, he said.
Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium at New York's American Museum of Natural History — miscast as a "Pluto-hater," he contends, merely because Pluto was excluded from a solar system exhibit — said the new guidelines would clear up the fuzzier aspects of the Milky Way.
"For the first time since ancient Greece, we have an unambiguous definition," he said. "Now, when an object is debated as a possible planet, the answer can be swift and clear."
Food For The Poor
Food For The Poor, Inc.
Food For The Poor (FFP) ministers to spiritually renew impoverished people throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Established in 1982 as a 501(c)(3)corporation, our goals are to improve the health, economic, social and spiritual conditions of the men, women and children we serve.
Food For The Poor raises funds and provides direct relief assistance to the poor, usually by purchasing specifically requested materials and distributing them through the churches and charity organizations already operating in areas of need. In this way, the organization serves the poor with dignity and ensures the most appropriate use of donors' funds.
Since its founding in 1982, Food For The Poor (FFP), a Christian international aid organization, distributed more than $2.3 billion in food, medical, educational, building and small business supplies to 16 countries in the Caribbean and Central America. The organization maintains an average administrative overhead of 4 percent -- ensuring the poor receive 96 percent of all donations.
Food For The Poor follows the principle that education and self-help must fortify charity work so recipients learn to break the cycle of poverty. FFP supports programs to teach recipients how to raise livestock, develop small businesses and provides agricultural assistance to independent farmers.
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Saint of the Day and daily Mass readings.
Today is the Feast of St. Stephen the Great, king and patron of Hungary. Pray for us, all you angels and saints.
Today's reading for the Feast of St. Stephen the Great is Deuteronomy 6:3-9.
Today's Responorial Psalm is Psalms 112:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9.
Today's Gospel reading is Matthew 25:14-30.
Everyday links:
The Blessed Virgin Mary
The Rosary
Our Mother of Perpetual Help
Prayers from EWTN
National Coalition of Clergy and Laity (dedicated to action for a genuine Catholic Restoration)
The Catholic Calendar Page for Today
Just in case you are wondering what exactly Catholics believe, here is
The Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen.
Memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that any one who fled to thy protection, implored thy help or sought thy intercession,was left unaided.Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins my Mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful; O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy clemency hear and answer me. Amen.
St. Joseph, her most chaste spouse, pray for us.
Anima Christi
Soul of Christ, sanctify me; Body of Christ, save me; Blood of Christ, inebriate me; Water from Christ's side, wash me; Passion of Christ, strengthen me; O good Jesus, hear me; Within Thy wounds hide me; Suffer me not to be separated from Thee; From the malicious enemy defend me; In the hour of my death call me; And bid me come unto Thee; That I may praise Thee with Thy saints and with Thy angels Forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer to St. Anthony, Martyr of Desire
Dear St. Anthony, you became a Franciscan with the hope of shedding your blood for Christ. In God's plan for you, your thirst for martyrdom was never to be satisfied. St. Anthony, Martyr of Desire, pray that I may become less afraid to stand up and be counted as a follower of the Lord Jesus. Intercede also for my other intentions. (Name them.)
Prayer To Saint Michael The Archangel
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil; may God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the divine power, thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
Prayer to End Abortion
Lord God, I thank You today for the gift of my life, and for the lives of all my brothers and sisters. I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion, yet I rejoice that you have conquered death by the resurrection of Your Son. I am ready to do my part to end abortion. Today I commit myself never to be silent, never to be passive, and never to be forgetful of the unborn. I commit myself to be active in the pro-life movement, and never stop defending life until all my brothers and sisters are protected and our nation once again becomes a nation with liberty and justice, not just for some, but for all. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer For Vocations
Send forth your Spirit, Lord, into the hearts of your faithful people, that we may be conscious of our vocation to holiness and sevice to others. Grant that many of us may dedicate ourselves to You through the priesthood and the religious life.We pray especially for the needs of our own parish and diocese. Grant that we may always have sufficient good and holy priests, and dedicated Sisters to serve our commumities.We pray, too, for religious orders; that generous men may join them to become zealous missionaries in preaching the Gospel in word and action, especially to the poor and abandoned.We make this prayer through Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Redeemer. Amen.
Prayer Before The Crucifix
Behold, O kind and gentle Jesus, I kneel before Thee and pray that Thou would impress upon my heart the virtues of faith, hope, and charity, with true repentance for my sins and a firm purpose of amendment. At the same time, with sorrow I meditate on Thy five precious wounds, having in mind the words which David spoke in prophecy: "They have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones."
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
An Iranian-American success story is threatened by BIG BEVERAGE.
Little Guy versus Big Beverage? Little Guy gets screwed every time, right?
It better not happen this time! This is BEER we're talking about, people!
Pocono Record: Specialty beer distributor takes on world's largest brewer
EMMAUS — For beer aficionados, it just doesn't get any better than Shangy's.
With more than 3,000 domestic and imported brands in stock, the beer retailer and wholesaler claims the largest selection of beer in the United States, and customers flock to its 35,000-square-foot store near Allentown.
Now the family-run company is fighting the world's largest brewer, InBev, in a legal battle that second-generation owner Nima Hadian says could have a wider impact on the specialty beer market in Pennsylvania.
"It's about the little guys, it's about consolidation" in the beer industry, said Hadian, 35, Shangy's ebullient general manager and a beer nut who has worked in the family business since he was 12.
Started in 1980 by Hadian's parents — Iranian immigrants who are still heavily involved in the business — Shangy's has become a well-known destination for beer enthusiasts. Shangy, which means "happy" in the Farsi language, is Hadian's father's nickname.
Shangy's employees can talk comfortably about the most obscure Trappist beer from Belgium, or recommend the latest hot domestic microbrew. Its highly committed customers include a woman who recently drove from North Carolina, spent more than $1,300 on 11 cases, and took scores of digital photos of the merchandise to show her husband back home.
Although Shangy's does sell Bud, Miller and other mass-market beers to the public, its wholesale division focuses exclusively on specialty beers, distributing hundreds of brands to restaurants, hotels, taverns and other beer retailers in eastern Pennsylvania.
The company's dispute with InBev has its roots in a 1998 legal settlement between Shangy's and Labatt USA that affirmed that Shangy's was the exclusive wholesale distributor of Labatt products in 17 Pennsylvania counties. Labatt became an InBev subsidiary in 2004.
Among the Labatt brands is Hoegaarden, a Belgian beer whose popularity Shangy's has nurtured over the past decade by persuading scores of bars and restaurants to put it on tap. Shangy's says it now is the leading wholesaler of Hoegaarden in the United States, moving 1,500 to 2,000 kegs a month, and Hoegaarden has become Shangy's most important wholesale brand.
In a lawsuit filed earlier this month in federal court in Philadelphia, Shangy's contends that InBev has violated the 1998 agreement by using another local wholesaler to distribute Stella Artois, an InBev brand.
Shangy's argues that it should have been the sole distributor of Stella.
What worries Hadian more than the loss of Stella is that InBev will eventually try to cut out Shangy's entirely, using just one wholesale distributor for all of its mass-market and specialty brands — including Hoegaarden. Losing the Hoegaarden account would be a "gigantic" blow to Shangy's, Hadian said.
"It would be like taking Bud away from a Bud wholesaler," he said.
Brenda Williams, a spokeswoman for Norwalk, Conn.-based InBev USA, said the company does not comment on pending litigation. Shangy's attorney, Theodore Zeller, said the store is seeking monetary damages from InBev, brewer of Labatt, Beck's, Bass, Lowenbrau and many other beers. Shangy's also wants a court order compelling InBev to abide by the terms of the 1998 agreement.
Shangy's is not alone in its plight. Breweries around the nation are trying to simplify and consolidate their distribution networks as they seek ways to cut costs, according to Harry Schuhmacher, editor and publisher of Beer Business Daily.
Hadian, who takes glee in ridiculing the mass-market beers, warns that consolidation will ultimately reduce the number of specialty brews on the market. Why? Because wholesalers will inevitably concentrate on selling mass-market, high-volume brands and neglect the craft brews, reducing their chances of survival, he says.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
"Forget Shangy's bottom line. The ultimate loser is the consumer," Hadian said.
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About Me
- TheChurchMilitant
- First of all, the word is SEX, not GENDER. If you are ever tempted to use the word GENDER, don't. The word is SEX! SEX! SEX! SEX! For example: "My sex is male." is correct. "My gender is male." means nothing. Look it up. What kind of sick neo-Puritan nonsense is this? Idiot left-fascists, get your blood-soaked paws off the English language. Hence I am choosing "male" under protest.