Security in northern Iraq aids economic opportunities

29 May 2007

U.S. Army story by Maj. Juanita Chang

5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

IRBIL — International businessmen representing more than a dozen companies continued traveling through northern Iraq in search of economic opportunities Friday.

In northern Iraq economic promises have boosted confidence in the population, international businessmen and investment potential.

The group traveled the stable northern region of Iraq and met with local business leaders, members of chambers of commerce and key government officials as some arranged for return trips to begin projects.

“I was very impressed with the enthusiasm, zeal and passion of the Kurdish people and their government,” said Subhas Sircar, regional vice president of Marine Middle East, Mediterranean and South Asia Insurance Company Ltd.

A lot of work needs to be done in a short amount of time, but we look forward to supporting them in their endeavors and being partners in their progress, Sircar added.

Irbil is the capital of the Kurdish region, Iraq’s fourth largest city and was seen by investors as a secure and economic hotspot with a 400-store mall, world-class hotels, amusement parks and a zoo.

“Projects such as this are our response to the destructive activities of terrorists,” said Nechervan Barzani, prime minister of the Kurdish Regional Government. “Whatever they do, the terrorists cannot stop our progress.”

Along with the economic boom in the area, an international airport with high level security measures lands flights daily with direct routes to popular hubs such as Vienna, Stockholm, Amman, Dubai and Amsterdam.

According to the businessmen, a huge potential for investment dwells in Iraq’s northern region. Some apartments in the area were selling at $130,000 per apartment.

The business executives also stopped in Dahuk and Salaymaniyah, Iraq, to be greeted by provincial governors and given a tour of their respective cities in hopes of luring investors to the area.

The Iraqis in this northern region have come together and worked as a unified group to achieve these common goals. Leaders of business and industry praised the KRG for setting the conditions for future prosperity.

Photo: A view from the tenth floor of the new Naz City Apartments in Irbil, located near the new state-of-the-art convention center and Irbil International Airport. A group of international investors traveled the stable northern region of Iraq and continued to meet with local business leaders, members of chambers of commerce and key government officials as some arranged for return trips to begin projects Friday. U.S. Army photo by Maj. Juanita Chang, 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.

Iran holds 4 Iranian - Americans for Spying / Blames George Soros

News out of Iran --

Iran's judiciary says three Iranian-Americans detained in Iran have been "formally charged" with endangering national security and espionage.

A judiciary spokesman Ali Reza Jamshidi said the Intelligence Ministry filed the charges against Haleh Esfandiari, Kian Tajbakhsh and journalist Parnaz Azima. He did not announce any trial date for any of the three.

Esfandiari is the director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a Washington-based foundation. She has been held in a Tehran's Evin prison since May 8, after being prevented from leaving the country.

Tajbakhsh, who is an urban planning consultant affiliated with the New York City-based Open Society Institute, has been imprisoned in Tehran since May 11. He has also worked for the Open Society Institute of US billionaire George Soros which is accused by Iran of seeking a "Velvet Revolution" in Iran similar to the ousting of communism in eastern Europe.

Journalist Azima, who worked for the U.S. funded Radio Farda, was detained but released and barred from leaving the country.

All three have dual U.S.- Iranian citizenship.

U.S. media and the New York-based Human Rights Watch have reported that a fourth U.S.-Iranian, Ali Shakeri, has been detained in Iran in recent weeks.

Jamshidi today insisted Shakeri was "not detained," but he gave no further details about him. U.S. officials also think

Tehran may be holding former FBI official Robert Levinson, who went missing early in March while on a visit to the Iranian island of Kish. Iran has denied this.

From Iran Focus & Global Security.Org

Tribute on Vietnam Wall & 25th Anniversary

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is the on;ly war memorial dedicated to the soldiers and not the war in which they fought. The "Wall" is a solemn and an awe inspiring sight.

From Conservative Voice --

About 2,000 veterans, former and current military personnel, families and other spectators marked the 25th anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial here today during the annual Memorial Day Observance.

For a quarter of a century, family members, friends and cohorts have solemnly filed past the memorial commonly known as "The Wall," seeking their loved ones among the 58,000 names of the fallen etched on the black granite panels.

"I think this is place where people feel very comfortable and they really become a part of the memorial by getting closer to it," said Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, More.....

Punks vandalize Veterans graves on Memorial Day

How's this for being a loser?

From Fox News --

The vandals who desecrated the graves of U.S. veterans over the Memorial Day weekend were professionals, says a Vietnam vet who kept night watch at the cemetery in Washington State.

"We thought at first it was just a prank-type deal at first. We were very upset about it and so forth, but now we know that this is a real deal," said David Resch, a past commander of American Legion Post 93 in Eastsound, Wash. "This is a Nazi act, not just somebody going out there and desecrating things for the fun of it." More...

American Muslims

By Bob Gorrell
Town Hall

Ollie North - "Never Forget"

God, I just love Ollie!

From Town Hall --

HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii -- Back in the early 1950s, when I was a kid, we called it "Decoration Day." Early in the morning of May 30, the Boy Scouts placed little American flags on the graves of those who had served in wars past. Veterans -- among them our mailman, who fought in World War I -- came door to door, selling red poppies. There was a parade down Main Street, led by a color guard and the high school band. At the town baseball field, speeches were made, prayers were said and we were all reminded of the sacrifices made by those who had gone into harm's way on our behalf. It was a solemn, sacred affair, for which I admit to no small amount of nostalgia.

In the aftermath of Vietnam -- the war we wanted to forget -- much of that changed. In 1971, Congress passed the National Holiday Act, turning Memorial Day into just one more three-day weekend. After that, the spirit of the day dissipated and the holiday became little more than an opportunity for half-price sales at the local mall. More....

Hateful Homo's

While they continually whine about acceptence and being victims of hateful speech and/or actions, the hateful Homo's, like the democrats and liberals, feel they can speak with immunity.

These hate spewing Homo's continually try to make any Christian beliefs or speech, turned into hate speech against homosexuals. They use the schools and liberal educators to indoctrinate their deviant beliefs into our children and routinely attack anybody with opposing views.

Here is a commentary by Janet Folger --

Just who are the haters?

It reminds me about what happened after the murder of Mary Stachowicz. Ever hear of her? Didn't think so. Mary Stachowicz, a 51-year-old wife and mother of four, was described by friends as soft-spoken, "concerned about the good of her parish, always seeking things for the poor as well as spiritual welfare for people." Mary Stachowicz also believed what the Bible and the Catholic Church taught about homosexuality. She verbalized her belief, and for that crime, she was murdered.

Mary was murdered by 19-year-old homosexual Nicholas Gutierrez in Chicago for the crime of disagreeing with his lifestyle. According to police reports, Stachowicz asked Gutierrez, who lived in an apartment above her, "Why do you [have sex with] boys instead of girls?" That was when he "punched, kicked, stabbed and strangled" her before stuffing her body into a crawl space under the floor of his apartment, where it remained for two days until he confessed to police.

Chicago media reported these events, choosing headlines devoid of words like "gay" or "homosexual." While I and pro-family leaders repeatedly went on national television to repudiate the death of Matthew Shepard, there was no such condemnation of Stachowicz's horrific murder from the homosexual community.

Perhaps more telling was what they did say:

• "I really don't feel sorry for her. She paid a very steep price for being an arrogant religious fascist. Too bad for her."

• "Iris," in a posting on the ACLU Online Forum --
  "Quite frankly, if anyone in this case was being 'persecuted' it was Mr. Gutierrez. ... Maybe this will give pause to other people who similarly try to 'help' homosexuals."

• "Silence Dogood," on ACLU Online Forum --
  "Maybe [Stachowicz's murder] will strike fear in the hearts of a few fundamentalists. ... Where do I send a check for his (Gutierrez's) defense fund?"

• James Wagner's boyfriend, Barry's posted response --
  "The b---h had it coming to her. I'm glad he killed her. ... I'm glad he killed her. The b---h deserved to die."

Instead of condemning this horrific murder, homosexuals danced on her grave, also. More....

Yep, No Homosexual Agenda!

Drunk Mom threatens lawsuit over doctor advice of "Don't Get Drunk"

A drunk lush in Denver is upset with an emergency room doctor who was tending to her. This inebriated idiot, after falling and being knocked unconscious, is upset that the doctor told her she should not get drunk and hurt herself.

Of course the drunk mother and her attorney are thinking about a lawsuit......

From World Net Daily --

A woman's formal complaint – filed with the city of Denver – alleges she was hurt and humiliated by instructions from an emergency room doctor that she should not get drunk and hurt herself.

The complaint stemmed from an incident that developed when a 34-year-old mother of two, Karin Howe of Littleton, was riding in a rickshaw in Denver's trendy Lower Downtown district, and stood up and fell back onto a sidewalk, where she hit her head and was knocked out, according to a report by CBS Channel 4 television.

She had been partying with friends, and appeared to have been drinking just before the accident. Documents obtained by the television station showed her blood alcohol level measured 0.216 percent after the accident, and that Howe was uncooperative with emergency response personnel and was tied down. More.....

I guess being drunk, falling out of a rickshaw and getting knocked out is not as humiliating as a doctor telling you don't get drunk.

Great example for her kids!

Terror Leader caught 'Boinking' near Arafat's grave

Hee, hee, hee!

Caught boning a woman, who was not his wife, only a couple hundred yards from Arafat's grave, which many muslims consider a sacred site. Oh boy, this guy is going to be in trouble!

I guess this terrorist leader doesn't buy the virgin's in heaven story.

From World Net Daily --

Khaled Shawish, an officer in Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Force 17 presidential guards, was captured by undercover Israeli police forces......

Shawish..... doubles as the Ramallah chief of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group.....

Several years ago Shawish sustained an injury during a gun battle with the Israel Defense Forces and has since been confined to a wheelchair, although he is still able to drive.

According to Israeli security officials and Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades sources in Ramallah, Shawish was arrested after the Israeli police stormed his jeep, which was parked in a lot outside the Muqata, about 200 feet from Arafat's grave. The sources said at the time of his arrest, Shawish was having intercourse in the back seat of his jeep with a Palestinian woman, whose identity is being withheld by WND. The woman was not his wife.

The Brigades, founded by Arafat, largely considers the late PLO leader's resting place to be a sacred site. More......

Rumor has it, Shawish will be contacting Bill Clinton for advice.

Iran moving away from U.S. Dollar

Citing the dropping value of the dollar, Iran is trying to distance itself from using the U.S. Dollar.

Iran already has plans on increasing their role in the region by becoming a major player in Natural Gas. With their oil reserves and gas as tools, they will do anything they can to further destabilize the U. S. Dollar and be a pain in the a**!


From Fars News Agency --

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Iran, embroiled in a row with Washington over its nuclear program, has increased the amount of its oil export earnings in currencies other than US dollars to about 70%, an Iranian official said.

The figure is up from 60% cited in March for Iran's non-dollar oil export income and reflects the No. 2 OPEC producer's policy of reducing exposure to the greenback.

"About 70% of our oil export income is now in currencies other than the US dollar," Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, international affairs director of the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), told Reuters.

"If the dollar gets weaker, we will increase that percentage," said Ghanimifard, who in March had cited a figure of 60% for Iran's oil export income in other currencies.

Iranian officials have said they are seeking to limit dollar-denominated trade. The central bank governor has said Iran was seeking to "distance" itself from dollars and held just 20% of its foreign reserves in the US currency.

"We are following our government's monetary policy not to depend on the weak US dollar," Ghanimifard said, speaking on the sidelines of a conference in Tehran organized by Iran's Ravand Institute for Economic and International Studies. More....

Time for Little George to GO!

There have been quite a few posts about a few republicans supporting sanctuary cities, most upsetting to me is Little George Voinovich.

Lake & Ashtabula counties recently had hundreds of illegal aliens hiding in a church. We have other areas in Ohio besieged with illegals and Voinovich wants to create more of a burden on this area. Cleveland is already the poorest city in the United States, we don't need anymore burdens or anchors on society.

The little guy over at Right Angle Blog, the vigilant RINO watchdog that he is, points out our own little George cast the vote to kill an amendment that would close a gaping national security loop hole.

The amendment proposed by Senator Norm Coleman, would allow -- local law enforcement officials are able to communicate with federal law enforcement agencies regarding suspected immigration violations. Currently, a number of cities throughout the nation are using a loophole to get around Sec. 642 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996 by instituting ordinances forbidding local law enforcement to even ask the question as to whether a person is in the U.S. lawfully, thereby evading their legal responsibility to report their suspicions to the federal government.

On a larger scale, Weapons of Mass Discussion points out the orange picker, Sen. Martinez, is more disappointing --

Let me apply a little more emphasis: The head of the Republican National Committee thinks it is a good idea for cities to have the power to say "Eff You" to the federal government and law enforcement personnel trying to enforce our immigration laws.

Sen. Martinez should step down as head of the RNC immediately. He clearly is not in touch with the American people or the party he "leads."

Maybe Martinez might be hoping Voinovich could find a few of his relatives a job in Ohio. What's a few more stiffs from Ohio being out out of work by illegal aliens.

National Security? No big deal -- Nobody would ever attack the United States!

Hopefully this will be Little George's last term. You can be sure I won't go to another one his $100 hot dog fund raisers and I sure as hell will never vote for him again!

Cleveland Hts Police Officer Executed

Being the son of a retired police officer, this story really puts a hard lump in my throat.

This officer was not killed, he was executed in cold blood!

From the PD --

Cleveland Heights -- Police Chief Martin Lentz said Timothy Halton Jr., 27, shot officer Jason West, who died at Huron Hospital a little after midnight this morning.

Halton had been convicted in December 2004, of assault. He was sentenced to probation and ordered to take antipsychotic medication.....

West, who was recently promoted to investigator, was shot in the head and legs.

This is what Lentz says happened at about 10 p.m. Friday: Officers were called to Altamont Avenue to quell a loud party that erupted into a fight over a woman. Three police cars responded.

West arrived first and blocked a vehicle that was trying to leave. Halton was in a black car parked nearby.West got out of his car and was immediately shot by Halton. Halton got out of his vehicle and walked toward West, firing more shots. listen to the 911 call here

West's family, from Avon, were with him when he died. He never regained consciousness.

People, next time you see a policeman, or their family - do yourself a favor, Thank them!

Thank them for sacrificing a normal lifestyle that you enjoy and they cannot. Thank them for the routine inconveniences they go through by being the family of a police officer.

Delayed birthday parties, opening of Christmas gifts, etc.... Everything single they do is dictated by being the proud family of a police officer.

Look their children in the eye, when this child is old enough, they will realize what the spouse already knows; on a daily basis when their police officer parent leaves for work, it may be the last time they ever see them alive.

I could go on and on with these examples..... It is a sacrifice most people and families would NEVER make.

But even with all this, being the family of a police officer, is something I would NOT trade for all the riches in the world!

Iran sentences two to death by being thrown off cliff

I am sort of torn on this post. One one hand I find it hard to accept Iran would do anything good, then on the other hand considering the crimes committed, I agree with the sentences handed out......

From Iran Focus --

Tehran, Iran, May 25 – An Islamic court in Iran sentenced two men to death by being thrown of a cliff, the official state daily “Iran” reported on Thursday.

The sentences were issued in the central Iranian province of Fars.

The two men were identified only by their first names Tayyeb and Yazdan. They were accused of rape.

Iran’s Islamic penal system regularly practices centuries-old sentences for petty crimes, such as amputation of limbs, eye gouging, stoning to death, and throwing prisoners off a cliff in a sac.

Well, there sure would be no argument of not being able to find a vein!

Officials Confirm Body Found in Baghdad is Missing U.S. Soldier

My condolences go out to this Soldiers family & friends.

From The Conservative Voice --

A body found in Iraq May 23 is that of one of three U.S. soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division, 31st Infantry Regiment believed to have been abducted during a May 12 ambush, Defense Department officials confirmed late yesterday.

Iraqi police found the body of Army Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack Jr., 20, a native of Torrance, Calif., in the Euphrates River south of Baghdad and turned it over to American officials for identification. A massive search continues for Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Mass., and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich., the other missing soldiers.

Unlike the pukes at Progress Ohio, Ohio 15th, Pho's, and the rest of the liberal trash blogs, I feel this is all the more reason to lay waste to any and every area in Iraq, where ANY resistance is met.

Can't wait to read all the suggestive posts from these sites how our soldiers torture and abuse Iraqi's and captured enemy combatants.

Maybe one those mushheads can explain the moral equivalency of U.S. Soldiers using dog leashes on these animals compared to our soldiers being dumped in a river for fish bait!

Use of 'Dog Crap' ruled Free Speech

It appears there must be an exodus of people from San Francisco moving to the northeastern Colorado area. A jury of dunderheads in Weld County found a retired University of Northern Colorado professor innocent on charges of, criminal use of a noxious substance.

The retired 64 year old professor, Kathy Ensz, left a pile of dog crap at the congressional office of U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, in what she claimed was protected political speech. The brain dead jury bought it.

From the Greely Tribune --

Ensz said she felt vindicated by the verdict...... "This was a ghastly waste of time. It was a political vendetta on the part of the Weld County District Attorney, Ken Buck."

....."It was a total waste of money, the taxpayers' money." "It was only a political message," she said.

Her defense attorney, Trish Bangert, said the case chilled her client's right to free speech."I do think Ms. Ensz's civil rights were violated," she said.

Buck took issue with the free speech definition.

"A lot of people end up eating their words," he said. "I wonder if she would be willing to eat the speech in this case." More....

Is this another case of Selective Free Speech or not? I say selective.

This CRAP is protected speech, but two Philadelphia grandmothers were jailed for "Hate Speech" because they were preaching the Bible.

Sooooo, I can leave dog crap on my democrat neighbor's door step and that is OK, but if I talk about the Bible, I can get arrested for a Hate Crime -

Makes a whole lot of liberal sense to me!

France Protests UN over Iranian Nuke Program

Well this has not happened in a long time! France, finally getting a set of balls, is taking sides with the United States over the useless U.N., on the Iranian Nuke Program.

If they keep acting like this, I will have to change my tag line.

From Iran Focus --

France will add its voice to protests by the United States over UN nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei's comments that Iran should be allowed to keep some uranium enrichment, officials said Wednesday.

"Our permanent representative in Vienna will join the American initiative," said a foreign ministry spokesman. "We share, along with several other partners, the substance of the concerns expressed by our American partners."

The United States is seeking to protest directly to ElBaradei for saying in recent newspaper interviews that Iran should be allowed to keep some uranium enrichment, diplomats said in Vienna, the headquarters of International Atomic Energy Agency.

"France continues to support the process undertaken by the (UN) Security Council, including insisting on suspension (of uranium enrichment) and, if there is no suspension, sanctions," said France's foreign ministry spokesman. More.....

Cuyahoga County worker charged in welfare thefts

Here is an updated story on my original post about money that was missing from Department of Employment Services.

It appears an employee has been stealing the money for 13 years. It is pretty hard to swallow that an employee can steal like this for 13 years without being caught, but then again, this IS Cuyahoga County.

From the PD --

A Cuyahoga County grand jury indicted Juanita Jackson Myrick on charges accusing her of stealing $877,258 from the Department of Employment and Family Services over 13 years.

Myrick, 41, has worked for the department for 17 years. In 1994, she began stealing money from CFS by writing checks to her sister from cases that were no longer receiving assistance, according to Prosecutor Bill Mason's office.

The checks would be sent to a post office box and Myrick deposited them into a bank account that was in her and her sister's names, according to the charges.

The thefts were discovered in April by the fraud investigation unit of the department. Myrick, who made about $48,000 last year as a supervisor in the department, was suspended after the thefts were discovered.

Atlanta Democrat under investigation; blames wife for mistakes

Is this the Democrat version of reform?

From Fox News -

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. David Scott has used his campaign account to pay more than $500,000 to four family members and his family's business, according to an investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Click here to read the newspaper article.
Click here to read the Federal Election Commission and IRS reports for Rep. Scott's campaign.

The Atlanta Democrat, who graduated from the prestigious Wharton School of Business, also had had more than 40 tax liens — some dating to the 1980s and 1990s — placed against his home and business, the Atlanta-based Dayn-Mark Advertising. But none of that means Scott broke any campaign laws, and he says he's paying of the tax debts, some of which he says are the results of mistakes his wife, Alfredia.

.....the first story about them appeared Thursday on The Politico Web site. Scott called the story a partisan attempt by opponents to undermine him.

His business and family members have received between $52,000 and $344,000 every two-year election period. Such transfers are allowed by the Federal Election Commission as long as family members are employed and the business is providing a service it typically provides at a fair market price. More....

------------------------------

I have a hard time believing this was an honest mistake by his wife! Even if she did make a mistake, what kind of man throws his wife under a bus like this?

Spineless Weasel!

Australia supports U. S. against Iran

It is pretty sad when another country is willing to state the obvious, yet the democrats, in ignoring the facts, refuse to accept Iranian involvement in Iraq.

From Iran Focus

London, May 24 – Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer accused Iran on Wednesday of providing “lethal equipment” to Shiite militias in neighbouring Iraq.

“It's been of course a matter of great concern to us that Iran has – and there's no secret about this – they have provided lethal equipment to some of the Shia and militia groups and I believe they are continuing to do that”, Downer said at a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in California.

“And in the end, encouraging that sort of behaviour, encouraging insurgent activities, I've explained to the Iranians is not going to be in their long-term best interest”, he said.

Rice told reporters that Iran was “supporting groups that are violent and are causing deaths of innocents”.

Touching on the standoff over Tehran’s sensitive nuclear projects, Downer said that if Iran developed nuclear weapons, the consequences for the whole Middle East would be “horrific”. “So we join with the international community in trying to discourage Iran from continuing down the path that it's following”, he added.

More reports of Torture in Iraq

Thought you were going to find something posted here about our troops allegedly torturing Iraqi's -- NOPE! Figured the title would get all the dems and lib's to click post looking for more garbage to spew about our soldiers.

Here is something I doubt we will ever see in the MSM - Al-Qaeda and Iraqi insurgents, noT U.S. soldiers, are systematically torturing their victims.

From World Net Daily --

The Pentagon has released graphic images that reportedly were obtained by U.S. military personnel in a raid on an Iraqi safe house, showing prescribed methods of torture for victims, including dragging a victim behind a vehicle and amputating limbs with a meat cleaver.

The images [warning, they are graphic] have appeared on the Smoking Gun website and others, and participants in a chat forum at Jihad Watch simply noted that the treatments depicted, from using a blowtorch on human skin to extracting an eye with a sharp tool, make it clear the U.S. use of any coercive methods on inmates isn't even in the same league.

"The pictures … are worth … 100,000 words in knowing the creatures behind the events," wrote Lame Cherry. "This … is what real torture looks like and not what the MSM was trying to portray in people standing in a cell naked being humiliated as 'torture.'" More....

------------------------------------

In defending 9/11 mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Rosie O'Donnell previously offered this view on U.S treatment of enemy combatants at Gitmo & Abu Ghraib....

....... terrorists are people too," and asserted the U.S. "robs them of their humanity." "They've been treating them like animals … they have hoods over their heads, they torture them on a daily basis," she said.

I guess since Al-Qaeda puts victims in a "Safe House", instead of a jail, their torture techniques are acceptable by the democrats, liberals, MSM and most of all Pumpkin Head Rosie O'Donnell.

Cuy Co. Port Authority ignores vital property reports

I have to ask... Is it proper to use the words "competent" and "Cleveland" in the same sentence?

From the PD

A member of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority board says he didn't read two key reports before voting at a hastily called special meeting in late 2005 to declare the port's intent to take properties on the Flats east bank for a $230 million project.

Lawyers for land owners who are targets of the "taking" -- known as eminent domain -- say developer John Carney's admission in court Tuesday shows that he and other board members failed to "carefully" consider the key reports and the impact of eminent domain.

While Carney testified he had not reviewed the reports, he said he had confidence that port staff had fully vetted the community development plan and a voluminous blight study of 23 structures and nine vacant lots, north of the Main Avenue bridge.

Both reports were done by the city. Carney and the port board adopted them on Nov. 1, 2005, as part of a plan to use eminent domain to take about a dozen parcels if developer Scott Wolstein was unable to buy them.

"We relied on the city," Carney testified. "They are competent and they had done it before."

Carney's testimony came in the third week of the eminent domain case before Judge John E. Corrigan. The port is suing in Probate Court to take the land Wolstein needs to redevelop 18 acres along the riverfront, with new streets and utilities, 300 dwellings, a marina, park and promenade.

A Special Place in Hell for School Critics?

I wonder if it will be nice? I am going to get me a nice cooler and lots of beer. Don't worry, I will won't wear my Speedo's.

From World Net Daily --

Parents who fail to toe the line set by the combination of government schools and union educators deserve a "special place in hell," according to a Colorado state lawmaker.

The statement was made in a legislative strategy e-mail from Rep. Mike Merrifield, D-Colorado Springs, to Sen. Sue Windels, D-Arvada, and was uncovered during a recent open records investigation by the FaceTheState, a political blog.

The e-mail was written during an exchange in which Merrifield and Windels were looking for procedures through which they could gut the state's Charter School Institute, which allows parents to set up schools that compete with public schools and are run by parents.

"There must be a special place in Hell for these Privatizers, Charerizers (sic), and Voucherizers! They deserve it," he wrote. More....

Harvard Ph.D. says Immigration cause of U.S. Global Warming

Yep, you read the title right! I can't believe it either! Finally an argument and a solution on Global Warming that makes sense.

From World Net Daily --

A new study by a renowned physicist ties the immigration-reform bill in Congress to global warming, warning that the consequent increase in U.S. population poses an even greater threat to the planet's survival.

Albert A. Bartlett, a Harvard Ph.D. and professor emeritus of physics at the University of Colorado, explains each person in the U.S. is responsible, directly or indirectly, for emission of 23.8 tons of greenhouse gases annually.

"So if we are serious about reduction of U.S. emission of greenhouse gases in the hope of slowing or stopping global warming, then it is imperative that the first thing we do is to stop the U.S. population growth," Bartlett declared.

Bartlett emphasized that since immigration – most of it legal – is estimated to account for about three quarters of the present annual increase in the U.S. population, it is essential "we do everything possible to halt U.S. population growth quickly."

Bartlett, a member of the board of advisers of a non-profit group called Population-Environment BALANCE, claims U.S. population growth "violates the laws of sustainability," More....

Cuyahoga County can't find State Welfare Money

It will be fun to see how this one turns out! I wonder if the "Mason Machine" will have another asst. prosecutor with ties to the judge work this case?

The good thing is that at least Cuyahoga County is consistent.... in screwing the residents!

From the PD --

The Cuyahoga County prosecutor is investigating how hundreds of thousands of dollars of state welfare money went missing.

The commissioners were briefed on the situation. Cuyahoga County Commissioner Tim Hagan said the county is uncertain how much money is missing, but he was told it could be $400,000 or more.

Ohio provides the monthly payments to people receiving public assistance - now known as temporary aid for needy families - but county employees sign people up for the programs.

The director of the county's Employment and Family Services Department, Joseph Gaunter, declined to comment on the investigation at the request of the prosecutor's office.

Employee Juanita Jackson Myrick was put on paid leave from the Employment and Family Services Department in late April. An entry made in the county court system listed Myrick and Denise McCory and indicated an investigation had begun. McCory is not a county employee.

Myrick, a supervisor in the department who made a little more than $48,000 last year, has worked for the county about 17 years. Neither she nor McCory could be reached for comment.

Taliban 'use Iranian missiles on UK troops'

Wanting to expand their goodwill towards their terrorists neighbors, Iran is now supplying the Taliban with weapons.

Until Iran is dealt with harshly, they will continue to be a pariah state.

From Iran Focus --

British troops in Afghanistan are being targeted by surface-to-air missiles supplied by Iran, a senior Army source said yesterday. Officers in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard are supplying hundreds of weapons, including the missiles, to Taliban insurgents, it is believed.


Most worrying is the news that SA7 Strella anti-aircraft missiles have been supplied to the Taliban. The weapons are a serious threat to helicopters supplying more than 6,000 troops.

It is not thought the Taliban are well trained in how to use the weapons most effectively. In southern Helmand yesterday they fired an anti-aircraft weapon at an American F18 fighter without hitting it.

Other weapons being smuggled in include plastic explosives, anti-tank mines, AK47s, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns.Arms have been discovered by American Special Forces teams working alongside the Afghan National Army.

"There is reporting that leads us to believe a number of agencies, that possibly include Iranian organisations, are significantly supporting the Taliban," a military intelligence source told The Daily Telegraph. More....

House to reprimand democrat bully Murtha

Mad that somebody would challenge an earmark in his district, the partisan hack Murtha has now turned to threatening fellow House members.

Tired of Murtha's partisanship and bullying techniques, the House will vote on reprimanding Murtha.....

From USA Today --

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans angled Tuesday to put Democrats in a no-win position: reprimand a senior colleague or be seen as blindly excusing legislative bullying for partisan reasons.

House leaders tentatively scheduled a late Tuesday vote on a Republican move to reprimand Rep. John Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat and close ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. The GOP accuses Murtha of making a blatant threat against a Republican who challenged a pet project that Murtha wanted.

Democratic leaders said they believed they had the votes to kill the motion, but conceded that some party members were unhappy about being pressed to defend a blustery colleague known for bare-knuckled politics.

Murtha has not disputed a Republican claim that he stormed across the House floor May 17 to confront Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich. Rogers had tried unsuccessfully to strike a $23 million Murtha earmark — or narrowly targeted spending item — for a drug intelligence center in Murtha's district.

In a House speech Monday, Rogers said Murtha threatened him by saying, "you will not get any earmarks now and forever." More....

Syria used to buy Russian Air Defense for Iran

Yearning for a time when they were a super power, Russia still does what it can to interfere throughout the free world. Russia will be supplying air defense systems to Iran, using Syria as the middle man to broker the deal.

Bush needs to tell Putin, to back off and stop his meddling. With Iranian arms being found in Iraq on a regular basis, we can be sure these defense systems will end up in the hands of terrorists or Iraqi insurgents to use against Americans.

Persian Journal writes.....

Syria has agreed to supply Iran with at least 10 out of 50 air defence systems that Damascus is in the process of buying from Russia, Jane's Defence Weekly reported in this week's edition.

Jane's quoted a source close to the deal as saying that while most of the Pantsyr-S1E systems were earmarked for Syrian Air Defence Command, "the end user for 10 of the systems is Tehran". It said Iran would take delivery of them in late 2008. To reward Syria for its middleman role, mullahs would part-finance Syria's Pantsyrs as well as paying for its own. Rest of the story....

Boy, Syria must have really listened to Ninny Pelosi!

Girlieman of the Week

Being Italian and Sicilian, I find it sad this "Chooch" would find this offensive as it was being done in fun!

Someone should give this guy a beating!

Reposted from Pigazette --

Girlieman of the Week

Date Awarded: May 18, 2007

Girlieman: James Gambino
Antics: Being a whining, hypersensitive asshat

It all started back in 1919, when two fresh off the boat denizens of Campobasso, Italy, Michael and Emira Colacci, arrived in Louisville (Colorado) to build their own tribute to the American Dream. The adventure in capitalism is called the Blue Parrot restaurant, an eatery where coal miners like Michael could chow down with ‘fellow paisanos’. To enhance that heady Italian aura, one popular item became known - unofficially, at first - as the Wopburger.

Over the 88 years that the Blue Parrot has been serving tasty eats, the Wopburger went from ‘unofficial’ to an item listed on the menu. Everyone took it in stride and nobody found it demeaning or insensitive until an anal, whining piece of human crap named James Gambino arrived in town. In record time, this rat bastard was kicking up a fuss with the Blue Parrot’s current owner Joan Riggins (nee Colacci), granddaughter of Michael and Emira. He demanded that Joan drop 'wopburger' like a bad habit.

When Joan issued the equivalent of ‘bite me’, this whiner took this wound on his Italian heritage to the professional whiners at the D.C.-based National Italian American Foundation. Those caterwauling cretins fired off an letter to Joan:

‘...NIAF Chairman Dr. A. Kenneth Ciongoli wrote he was "alarmed to learn" of the you-know-what burger being on the menu. "Perhaps you are not aware that this is a pejorative term that insults the Italian American community," he added...’ (News)

Once again, Joan refused to budge. Unwilling to let this ‘offensive’ name stand, James "Whining Italian Piece of Shit" Gambino went after one of the Blue Parrot’s biggest customers, the local school district that accounts for at least 4% of the sales for a goodie called "Blue Parrot Sauce". That whine hit pay dirt when his caterwauling reached the ears of Bolder City School District’s director of food services, Linda Stoll. Ms. Stoll applied the relevant pressure on Joan and it worked. I regret to report that the name is being expunged from the Blue Parrot’s menu and will be replaced by ‘Italian Burger’.

For sticking his damn nose where it doesn’t belong...for being a caterwauling cretin who deserves to have his butt kicked...for being a festering boil on humanity’s butt, James "Reeking Pile of Crap" Gambino is PIG’s Girlieman of the Week.

Murdoch being sued for killing Anti-Clinton stories

More proof the liberal MSM is biased and unfair in their reporting.....

World Net Daily reports --

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch ordered his U.S. editors to kill any negative stories about President Clinton and his wife Hillary, according to claims in a lawsuit.

Murdoch, whose News Corp. of America owns the Fox News Channel and the New York Post, is being sued by former Post gossip writer Jared Paul Stern, who contends he was fired illegally, reports the UK's Press Gazette.

The Post dismissed Stern last year after he allegedly demanded $100,000 and a $10,000 monthly stipend from California businessman Ron Burkle to keep negative stories about him out of the paper.

Charges about how Murdoch controls his newspapers come in an affidavit by another fired Post staffer, Ian Spiegelman, who disputes Murdoch's claim of non-interference in daily operations.

Spiegelman contends Murdoch ordered New York Post editors to kill any negative stories about the Clintons.

He also claims Murdoch made decisions to avoid angering the communist regime in China. Murdoch allegedly ordered the Post to kill a story about a Chinese diplomat's visits to a New York strip club because he didn't want to jeopardize his company's broadcasting in China. More....

No agenda?

Hugo Chavez to Finance Danny Glover Movies

Hollywood mush head, Danny Glover, & Anti-U.S. Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, will soon be working together....

From Fox News --

Venezuela's Congress says it has approved financing for two films by actor Danny Glover, a close supporter of President Hugo Chavez.

The lawmaking body, which is closely allied with Chavez, said in a statement on its Web site Thursday that it approved $20 million for two Glover productions.

They include "The General in His Labyrinth," which deals with the life of South American liberator Simon Bolivar. It is based on a novel by Colombian Nobel Prize-winning writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez and will be directed by Venezuela-born director Alberto Arvelo.

The other is "Toussaint," which the statement said Glover plans to direct documenting the life of Haitian revolution leader Toussaint Louverture.

Government officials and Glover's representatives were not immediately available for comment.

The statement said that the funds will come from proceeds Venezuela obtained from a recent bond sale with Argentina. More.....

Maybe the leading lady (who may be a man) could be American traitor Cindy Sheehan.

Professor tells students - Have sex, do drugs!

Here is more proof the liberal educators are hell bent on destroying our country!

From World Net Daily --

A guest speaker at an assembly at Boulder High School in Colorado has told students as young as 14 to go have sex and use drugs, prompting school officials to say they will investigate.

The instructions came from Joel Becker, an associate clinical professor of psychology at the University of California at Los Angeles.

"I am going to encourage you to have sex and encourage you to use drugs appropriately," Becker said during his appearance at the school as part of a recent panel sponsored by the University of Colorado's Conference on World Affairs. More....

And people wonder why I wish CA would just fall into the ocean....

Deadly Fish Disease Invades Lake Erie

The following is terrible news for Lake Erie.....

With the potential to cause great damage to the fragile ecosystem of Lake Erie, researchers have found a deadly virus, viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS), that can decimate our Walleye, Perch & Steelhead populations to name a few.

Already experiencing dwindling numbers in Lake Erie fish populations, this disease is just one of the many foreign species that invade our waterways. Here is a link from the Great Lakes Panel on Exotics and Great Lakes Sport Fishing Council on the negative effect of invasive foreign species in Lake Erie.

D'Arcy Egan of the Plain Dealer recently commented that Walleye need a banner hatch this year to keep the population from sliding from rehabilitation mode to crisis mode. Perch limits were decreased from 40 down to 30 for a daily bag limit.

The VHS disease is also known to infect Rainbow Trout/Steelhead or fish of the Salmonid genus. This is very troubling!!! Every spring & fall, the tributaries of Lake Erie from the Vermillion River east to Conneaut Creek are packed with migrating Steelhead. The Steelhead fishing in this area is known as one of the Top 10 locations in the United States.

From the PD --

Fairport Harbor - As a 47-foot research vessel trawled a couple of miles off shore, Kevin Kayle and other state wildlife officers stood at a work table in the open cabin, tossing live fish into bins, pausing occasionally to examine a bloody, bloated yellow or white perch.

At another station, a graduate student used a meter to test the lake's acidity to see what role, if any, water quality plays in the spread of viral hemorrhagic septicemia, or VHS, a virus that is deadly to fish but harmless to humans who eat infected fish.

The purpose of Tuesday's off-shore research was to learn more about the virus, which is spreading through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway, fatally attacking yellow perch, walleye and 35 other species of fish. A similar project was under way in Sandusky.

"We have concerns of it getting into inland lakes," said Kayle, fisheries biologist supervisor with the state's wildlife division, standing on the deck as the boat motored out of the harbor. "Also we have concerns if it got into hatcheries."

On the same day, in Indianapolis, the Great Lakes Commission passed a resolution urging Congress to restrict the discharge of ballast water by oceangoing vessels in the Great Lakes. Ballast discharges are considered the primary source of invasive species like zebra mussels and the VHS disease.

The virus showed up in Lake Erie last spring, killing thousands of perch and freshwater drum, or sheepshead, and fouling beaches. More....

Let's hope Congress listens!

Cuy. Co. Judge Revokes Probation - Football Standout Cries On Way To Jail

Looks like former All-American running back, Raymond Williams, from Benedictine High School will be going to jail on probation violation after all.

A recent post here remarked how Cuyahoga County Judge , Shirley Strickland Saffold, continually allowed Williams to break terms of his probation without any ramifications. Yeterday that changed.....

Williams in Saffold's court yesterday, where his probation was revoked by the judge and his sentence of three years was imposed.

It seemed Raymond Williams wanted to be more like Ricky Williams, a former NFL player who was banned for smoking weed!

From the PD --

Williams went to prison for three years this afternoon, hours after testing positive for marijuana use. The positive drug screen was the 21-year-old's first since his 2004 probation for involuntary manslaughter.

Williams swore the test was rigged or wrong, swore he hadn't used any illegal drugs. "I am willing to do any and everything to prove I'm not using marijuana," Williams implored of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold.

But the judge classified him a probation violator and imposed the minimum sentence for involuntary manslaughter, a sentence Saffold suspended after Williams pleaded guilty. Then Williams broke down in loud, heaving sobs in a holding cell alongside the judge's courtroom.

"It's really sad," Saffold said afterward. More....

No.... It's really stupid!

Tax Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants

It looks like Bush is going off the deep end on this immigration crap. I have been mostly silent about this, but this latest proposal is way to far!

From World Net Daily --

Whether the new bipartisan Senate immigration bill amounts to little more than amnesty for the 15 to 20 million illegal aliens residing in the U.S., as critics charge, the measure does offer one kind of amnesty – tax amnesty.

According to the Boston Globe, the Bush administration insisted on the removal of a provision in the initial version of the bill, proposed by Kennedy (D-Mass.), requiring payment of back taxes and any related fines to the Internal Revenue Service as part of the road to citizenship.

While the issue of tax liability was raised during the announcement of the immigration reform proposal on Thursday, the response of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff left some ambiguity.

Referencing illegals who hoped to attain legal status under the Senate bill, Chertoff said, "You've got to pay your taxes."

An inquiry yesterday to the White House by the Globe clarified that Chertoff was only referring to future taxes, not unpaid past taxes.

"It is important that the reformed immigration system is workable and cost efficient," spokesman Scott Stanzel said. "Determining the past tax liability would have been very difficult and costly and extremely time consuming." More....

Difficult & costly to figure out past tax liability? Please, the IRS has no problem figuring out every penny citizens owe!

As for the immigration plan, it should be easy. If you are not here legally, you must leave or be deported. Funny thing is that all these illegals slam the U.S., but want to come live here.

Pesky Beetle (Not Kookcinich) spreading through Ohio

In a bit of not so good news...

A pesty little bug is continuing its' destruction of Ohio's trees. The bug is not Dennis Kookcinich!

The Emerald Ash Borer, is continuing to slowly spread through the forests of Ohio. Already in 27 counties, the destructive beetle has now been verified to be in Franklin & Allen County.

From Ohio News Now --

State agriculture officials says a destructive beetle has been found in Franklin and Allen counties.

The state has issued a quarantine for the two counties to try to contain the emerald ash borer -- which has killed millions of ash trees in the Midwest.

The quarantine restricts moving infested trees and firewood.

The bug was found yesterday in Worthington and also in an infested tree at Ohio State University's Lima campus in Allen County.

27 Ohio counties have been affected by the insect. Officials believe the beetle was accidentally imported to Detroit from China in 2002.

Click here to learn more about invasive species and the Emerald Ash Borer.

Al-Qaeda's looking to diversify

It looks like Al-Qaida is wanting to diversify.

From World Net Daily --

Al-Qaida is aggressively recruiting black Americans for suicide operations against the homeland, say FBI analysts who have reviewed recent videotaped messages from the terror group's leaders.

A speech released May 5 by Osama bin Laden's deputy confirms earlier fears that African-Americans are the No. 1 recruiting target for the next generation of attacks. Al-Qaida has been trying to lower its Arab profile to reduce the odds that its terror cells will be subjected to security scrutiny.

"Federal and local law enforcement authorities should be aware that al-Qaida terrorists may not appear Arab," warns a recent Homeland Security intelligence report obtained by WND. "Non-Arab al-Qaida operatives could find it easier to avoid unwanted scrutiny since they may not fit typical profiles."

In the latest message, al-Qaida No. 2 Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri clearly seeks to sow political and racial discontent among African-Americans. He makes frequent references to what he calls the "martyr" Malcolm X, and says "I want blacks in America to know that we are waging jihad to lift oppression from all mankind." More....

U.S. will send weapons to Fatah

Now this makes a whole ton of sense! NOT!!!

From World Net Daily --

JERUSALEM – The United States last week sent diplomatic messages to the Palestinians that if aid were requested, America would bolster Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah organization in clashes against Hamas, including providing Fatah with U.S. weapons, according to senior Israeli and Palestinian diplomatic sources.

The sources said Maj. Gen. Keith Dayton, the U.S. security coordinator for the Gaza Strip and West Bank, passed messages to Abbas that America would aid Fatah with assault rifles and ammunition if the assistance is needed. The sources also said Dayton urged Israel to provide assistance to bolster Abbas' security forces in Gaza, particularly Force 17, Abbas' security detail which also serve as de facto police officers.

U.S. policy largely considers Fatah "moderate," while the State Department labels Hamas a terror group.

The reported U.S. willingness to send weapons to Fatah comes after WND reported Hamas last week obtained a shipment of American rifles sent in recent months. More....

This from a previous post I had about Hamas & Fatah --

Abu Oubaida, a spokesman for Hamas so-called "military wing," told WND his terror group will obtain any weapons transferred to Fatah militias or purchased by Fatah using the incoming U.S. aid.

"I am sure that like in the past, this $86 million from America will find its way to the Hamas resistance via the honorable persons in the Fatah security organizations, including in Force 17.

I thought we were fighting a War on Terror, not arming the terrorists!

Mr. Peanut forgets his International Blunders

Former peanut farmer & jew-hater, Jimmy Carter, probably our worst President ever, again attacks President Bush. Carter also takes shots at British prime minister Tony Blair.

With peanut shells spewing from his mouth & drinking "Billy Beer", Carter bashes Bush on the Iraq War, international relations, Mid-East policy, global warming, our value system his party is eroding and religion.

Carter who was out promoting his collection of weekly Bible lessons, had this to say to the Associated Press --

"I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history," Carter told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in a story that appeared in the newspaper's Saturday editions.

"The overt reversal of America's basic values as expressed by previous administrations, including those of George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the most disturbing to me." More.....

Carter needs to be screened for Alzheimer's disease! For him to criticize H. W., Reagan and Nixon on international relations, shows the peanut of a brain he had, has been shelled!

I guess the delusional Carter thinks his handling of the hostages in Iran and his help in North Korea was good work

Higher Education Sees Rise in Dishonesty

While the liberal educators of higher education push forward with their indoctrination plans, it seems they have left honesty out of their teachings.

This should come as no surprise as honesty and integrity have NEVER quite been their cup of tea.

From Ohio News Now --

• Nine MBA students at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business faced expulsion, and 25 others lesser punishments, for their roles in an exam-cheating scandal - the most high-profile of several this year.

• Nine students were dismissed and another 37 given lesser punishments for cheating on an exam at Indiana University's dental school. At the U.S. Air Force Academy, 18 were expelled and 13 placed on probation. And Ohio University continued to deal with the fallout of a report that found "rampant and flagrant" plagiarism by graduate students in its mechanical engineering department.

• Marilee Jones, a popular and admired dean of admissions at MIT, resigned after admitting she had fabricated her resume when she first applied to work at MIT in the 1970s and never corrected the record. Jones was a prominent campaigner to help students reduce their anxiety about impressing and applying to top colleges, and the revelations stunned the admissions community.

• An investigation by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo called into question whether students really get honest advice from college officials who are supposed to help them navigate the maze of financial aid. Cuomo's investigation and The New America Foundation, a think-tank, have exposed conflicts of interest among a handful of financial aid officers and loan companies.

• Several officials at prominent schools have been suspended while their stock ownership in loan companies is investigated. On Monday, the University of Texas fired its financial aid director, Lawrence Burt.

Cheating is a case in point. While a number of colleges have instilled honor codes in recent years, overall there is little instruction about cheating or systematic attempt to combat it. It is very difficult to measure, but clearly widespread, with one study reporting as many as 70 percent of undergraduates admit at least one instance of cheating.

Tim Dodd, executive director of the Center for Academic Integrity, at Duke University added...

"I think the ... more frightening figure is the fact that 20 (percent) to 25 percent admit to five or more (instances of cheating)"......

"The fact that we have a quarter of more of our students admitting they've engaged in serial cheating does not inspire a lot of confidence about the credibility of their degrees." More....

For more on the liberal agenda being indoctrinated on our country by the liberals and democrats in higher education, check out these posts from, Darth Dilbert, at Return of the Conservatives.

Darth Dilbert is our "Defender of the Conservative Universe" who continually fights to keep us from the Black Hole of liberalism -