Sunday, April 30, 2006
Friday, April 28, 2006
Actual Comments made in the year 1955:
"I'll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it's going to be impossible to buy a week's groceries for $20."
"Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won't be long before $2000 will only buy a used one."
"If cigarettes keep going up in price, I'm going to quit. A quarter a pack is ridiculous."
"Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging a dime just to mail a letter?"
"If they raise the minimum wage to $1, nobody.... will be able to hire outside help at the store."
"When I first started driving, who would have! thought gas would someday cost 29 cents a gallon. Guess we'd be better off leaving the car in the garage."
"Kids today are impossible. Those duck tail hair cuts make it impossible to stay groomed. Next thing you know, boys will be wearing their hair as long as the girls.
"I'm afraid to send my kids to the movies any more. Ever since they let Clark Gable get by with saying 'damn' in 'Gone With The Wind,' it seems every new movie has either "hell" or "damn" in it.
"I read the other day where some scientist thinks it's possible to put a man on the moon by the end of the century They even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it down in Texas."
"Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000 a year just to play ball? It wouldn't surprise me if someday they'll be making more than the president."
"I never thought I'd see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric. They are even making electric typew! riters now."
"It's too bad things are so tough nowadays. I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet." "It won't be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone to watch their kids so they can both work."
"Marriage doesn't mean a thing any more; those Hollywood stars seem to be getting divorced at the drop of a hat."
"I'm just afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign business."
"Thank goodness I won't live to see the day when the Government takes half our income in taxes. I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to congress."
"The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather, but I seriously doubt they will ever catch on."
"There is no sense going to Lincoln or Omaha anymore for a weekend. It costs nearly $15 a night to stay in a hotel."
"No one can afford to be sick any more; $35 a day in the hospital is too rich for my blood."
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Do you still like roller coasters?
With a record-breaking height of 420-feet and record-breaking speed of 120 mph, Top Thrill Dragster delivers on its promise of thrilling riders this summer at Cedar Point
Last picture says it all.....Jana
Last picture says it all.....Jana
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Monday, April 24, 2006
Friday, April 21, 2006
Expanding mega-bases raises concerns
Here is what we are building in Iraq. There never was an exit strategy. Bush/Cheney have no intention of leaving.
You won't see or hear about this on the evening news...
Expanding mega-bases raises concerns
Military hubs suggest long-term plans
Mar. 22, 2006. 04:51 AM
CHARLES J. HANLEY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
This report is based on interviews with U.S. military engineers and others before and during the writer's two weeks as an embedded reporter at major U.S. bases in Iraq.
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq—The concrete goes on forever, vanishing into the noonday glare, 56,000 cubic metres of it, a slab a kilometre and a half long that's now the home of up to 120 U.S. helicopters — a "heli-park" as good as any back in the United States.
At another giant base, Al-Asad in Iraq's western desert, the 17,000 troops and workers come and go in a kind of bustling American town, with a Burger King, Pizza Hut and a car dealership, stop signs, traffic regulations and young bikers clogging the roads.
At a third hub down south, Tallil, they're planning a new mess hall, one that will seat 6,000 hungry airmen and soldiers for chow.
Are the Americans in Iraq to stay? Air force mechanic.... Josh Remy is sure of it as he looks around Balad.
"I think we'll be here forever," the 19-year-old airman from Wilkes-Barre, Pa., told a visitor to his base.
The Iraqi people suspect the same. Strong majorities tell pollsters they'd like to see a timetable for U.S. troops to leave, but believe Washington plans to keep military bases in their country.
And U.S. President George W. Bush was asked at a Washington news conference yesterday, "will there come a day when U.S. troops are no longer in Iraq?"
Bush answered: "That, of course, is an objective. And that will be decided by future (U.S.) presidents and future governments of Iraq."
The question of America's future in Iraq looms larger as the U.S. military enters the fourth year of its war here, waged first to oust Saddam Hussein, and now to crush an Iraqi insurgency.
Ibrahim al-Jaafari, interim prime minister, has said he opposes permanent foreign bases. A wide range of U.S. opinion is against them as well. Such bases would be a "stupid" provocation, says Gen. Anthony Zinni, former U.S. Mideast commander and a critic of the original U.S. invasion.
But events, in explosive situations like Iraq's, can turn "no" into "maybe" and even "yes."
The Shiite Muslims, ascendant in Baghdad, might decide they need long-term U.S. protection against insurgent Sunni Muslims. Washington might take the political risks to gain a strategic edge — in its confrontation with Iran, for example.
The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, and other U.S. officials disavow any desire for permanent bases. But long-term access, as at other U.S. bases abroad, is different from "permanent," and the official U.S. position is carefully worded.
Lt.-Cmdr. Joe Carpenter, a Pentagon spokesman on international security, said it would be "inappropriate" to discuss future basing until a new Iraqi government is in place, expected in the coming weeks.
Less formally, U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, asked about "permanent duty stations" by a marine during an Iraq visit in December, allowed that it was "an interesting question." He said it would have to be raised by the incoming Baghdad government, if "they have an interest in our assisting them for some period over time."
In Washington, Iraq scholar Phebe Marr finds the language intriguing. "If they aren't planning for bases, they ought to say so," she said. "I would expect to hear `No bases.'"
Right now what is heard is the pouring of concrete.
In 2005-06, Washington has authorized or proposed almost $1 billion (U.S.) for U.S. military construction in Iraq, as American forces consolidate at Balad, known as Anaconda, and a handful of other installations.
They have already pulled out of 34 of the 110 bases they were holding last March, said Maj. Lee English of the U.S. command's Base Working Group, planning the consolidation.
"The coalition forces are moving outside the cities while continuing to provide security support to the Iraqi security forces," English said.
The move away from cities, perhaps eventually accompanied by U.S. force reductions, will lower the profile of U.S. troops, frequent targets of roadside bombs on city streets. Officers at Al-Asad Air Base, 15 kilometres from the nearest town, say it hasn't been hit by insurgent mortar or rocket fire since October.
Al-Asad will become even more isolated. The proposed 2006 supplemental budget for Iraq operations would provide $7.4 million to extend the no-man's-land and build new security fencing around the base, which at 49 square kilometres is so large that many assigned there take the Yellow or Blue bus routes to get around the base, or buy bicycles at a PX jammed with customers.
The latest budget also allots $39 million for new airfield lighting, air traffic control systems and upgrades allowing Al-Asad to plug into the Iraqi electricity grid — a typical sign of a long-term base.
At Tallil, besides the new $14 million dining facility, Ali Air Base is to get, for $22 million, a double perimeter security fence with high-tech gate controls, guard towers and a moat — in military parlance, a "vehicle entrapment ditch with berm."
Here at Balad, the former Iraqi air force academy 60 kilometres north of Baghdad, the two 3,600-metre runways have become the logistics hub for all U.S. military operations in Iraq, and major upgrades began last year.
Army engineers say 31,000 truckloads of sand and gravel fed nine concrete-mixing plants on Balad, as contractors laid a $16 million ramp to park the air force's huge C-5 cargo planes; an $18 million ramp for workhorse C-130 transports; and the vast, $28 million main helicopter ramp, the length of 13 football fields, filled with attack, transport and reconnaissance helicopters.
Turkish builders are pouring tonnes more concrete for a fourth ramp beside the runways, for medical-evacuation and other aircraft on alert. And $25 million was approved for other "pavement projects," from a special road for munitions trucks to a compound for special forces.
The chief air force engineer here, Lt.-Col. Scott Hoover, is also overseeing two crucial projects to add to Balad's longevity: equipping the two runways with new permanent lighting, and replacing a weak one-kilometre-long section of one runway.
Once that's fixed, "we're good for as long as we need to run it," Hoover said. Ten years? he was asked. "I'd say so."
Away from the flight lines, among traffic jams and freshly planted palms, life improves on 36-square-kilometre Balad for its estimated 25,000 personnel, including several thousand American and other civilians.
They've inherited an Olympic-sized pool and a chandeliered cinema from the Iraqis. They can order their favourite Baskin-Robbins flavour at ice cream counters in five dining halls, and cut-rate Fords, Chevys or Harley-Davidsons, for delivery at home, at a PX-run "dealership."
On one recent evening, not far from a big 24-hour gym, airmen hustled up and down two full-length basketball courts as F-16 fighters thundered home overhead.
"Balad's a fantastic base," Brig.-Gen. Frank Gorenc, the air force's tactical commander in Iraq, said in an interview at his headquarters here.
Could it host a long-term U.S. presence?
"Eventually it could," said Gorenc, commander of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing. "But there's no commitment to any of the bases we operate, until somebody tells me that."
In the counter-insurgency fight, Balad's central location enables strike aircraft to reach targets in minutes. And in the broader context of reinforcing the U.S. presence in the oil-rich Mideast, Iraq bases are preferable to aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf, said a longtime defence analyst.
"Carriers don't have the punch," said Gordon Adams of Washington's George Washington University. "There's a huge advantage to land-based infrastructure. At the level of strategy it makes total sense to have Iraq bases."
A U.S. congressional study cited another, less discussed use for possible Iraq bases: to install anti-ballistic defences in case Iran fires missiles.
Army and air force engineers, with little notice, have worked to give U.S. commanders solid installations in Iraq, and to give policymakers options.
From the start, in 2003, the first army engineers rolling into Balad took the long view, laying out a 10-year plan envisioning a move from tents to today's living quarters in air-conditioned trailers, to concrete-and-brick barracks by 2008.
No one's confirming such next steps, but a Balad "master plan," details undisclosed, is nearing completion, a possible model for Al-Asad, Tallil and a fourth major base, al-Qayyarah in Iraq's north.
Legal Notice: Copyright Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Distribution, transmission or republication of any material from www.thestar.com is strictly prohibited without the prior written permission of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. For information please contact us using our webmaster form. www.thestar.com online since 1996.
You won't see or hear about this on the evening news...
Expanding mega-bases raises concerns
Military hubs suggest long-term plans
Mar. 22, 2006. 04:51 AM
CHARLES J. HANLEY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
This report is based on interviews with U.S. military engineers and others before and during the writer's two weeks as an embedded reporter at major U.S. bases in Iraq.
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq—The concrete goes on forever, vanishing into the noonday glare, 56,000 cubic metres of it, a slab a kilometre and a half long that's now the home of up to 120 U.S. helicopters — a "heli-park" as good as any back in the United States.
At another giant base, Al-Asad in Iraq's western desert, the 17,000 troops and workers come and go in a kind of bustling American town, with a Burger King, Pizza Hut and a car dealership, stop signs, traffic regulations and young bikers clogging the roads.
At a third hub down south, Tallil, they're planning a new mess hall, one that will seat 6,000 hungry airmen and soldiers for chow.
Are the Americans in Iraq to stay? Air force mechanic.... Josh Remy is sure of it as he looks around Balad.
"I think we'll be here forever," the 19-year-old airman from Wilkes-Barre, Pa., told a visitor to his base.
The Iraqi people suspect the same. Strong majorities tell pollsters they'd like to see a timetable for U.S. troops to leave, but believe Washington plans to keep military bases in their country.
And U.S. President George W. Bush was asked at a Washington news conference yesterday, "will there come a day when U.S. troops are no longer in Iraq?"
Bush answered: "That, of course, is an objective. And that will be decided by future (U.S.) presidents and future governments of Iraq."
The question of America's future in Iraq looms larger as the U.S. military enters the fourth year of its war here, waged first to oust Saddam Hussein, and now to crush an Iraqi insurgency.
Ibrahim al-Jaafari, interim prime minister, has said he opposes permanent foreign bases. A wide range of U.S. opinion is against them as well. Such bases would be a "stupid" provocation, says Gen. Anthony Zinni, former U.S. Mideast commander and a critic of the original U.S. invasion.
But events, in explosive situations like Iraq's, can turn "no" into "maybe" and even "yes."
The Shiite Muslims, ascendant in Baghdad, might decide they need long-term U.S. protection against insurgent Sunni Muslims. Washington might take the political risks to gain a strategic edge — in its confrontation with Iran, for example.
The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, and other U.S. officials disavow any desire for permanent bases. But long-term access, as at other U.S. bases abroad, is different from "permanent," and the official U.S. position is carefully worded.
Lt.-Cmdr. Joe Carpenter, a Pentagon spokesman on international security, said it would be "inappropriate" to discuss future basing until a new Iraqi government is in place, expected in the coming weeks.
Less formally, U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, asked about "permanent duty stations" by a marine during an Iraq visit in December, allowed that it was "an interesting question." He said it would have to be raised by the incoming Baghdad government, if "they have an interest in our assisting them for some period over time."
In Washington, Iraq scholar Phebe Marr finds the language intriguing. "If they aren't planning for bases, they ought to say so," she said. "I would expect to hear `No bases.'"
Right now what is heard is the pouring of concrete.
In 2005-06, Washington has authorized or proposed almost $1 billion (U.S.) for U.S. military construction in Iraq, as American forces consolidate at Balad, known as Anaconda, and a handful of other installations.
They have already pulled out of 34 of the 110 bases they were holding last March, said Maj. Lee English of the U.S. command's Base Working Group, planning the consolidation.
"The coalition forces are moving outside the cities while continuing to provide security support to the Iraqi security forces," English said.
The move away from cities, perhaps eventually accompanied by U.S. force reductions, will lower the profile of U.S. troops, frequent targets of roadside bombs on city streets. Officers at Al-Asad Air Base, 15 kilometres from the nearest town, say it hasn't been hit by insurgent mortar or rocket fire since October.
Al-Asad will become even more isolated. The proposed 2006 supplemental budget for Iraq operations would provide $7.4 million to extend the no-man's-land and build new security fencing around the base, which at 49 square kilometres is so large that many assigned there take the Yellow or Blue bus routes to get around the base, or buy bicycles at a PX jammed with customers.
The latest budget also allots $39 million for new airfield lighting, air traffic control systems and upgrades allowing Al-Asad to plug into the Iraqi electricity grid — a typical sign of a long-term base.
At Tallil, besides the new $14 million dining facility, Ali Air Base is to get, for $22 million, a double perimeter security fence with high-tech gate controls, guard towers and a moat — in military parlance, a "vehicle entrapment ditch with berm."
Here at Balad, the former Iraqi air force academy 60 kilometres north of Baghdad, the two 3,600-metre runways have become the logistics hub for all U.S. military operations in Iraq, and major upgrades began last year.
Army engineers say 31,000 truckloads of sand and gravel fed nine concrete-mixing plants on Balad, as contractors laid a $16 million ramp to park the air force's huge C-5 cargo planes; an $18 million ramp for workhorse C-130 transports; and the vast, $28 million main helicopter ramp, the length of 13 football fields, filled with attack, transport and reconnaissance helicopters.
Turkish builders are pouring tonnes more concrete for a fourth ramp beside the runways, for medical-evacuation and other aircraft on alert. And $25 million was approved for other "pavement projects," from a special road for munitions trucks to a compound for special forces.
The chief air force engineer here, Lt.-Col. Scott Hoover, is also overseeing two crucial projects to add to Balad's longevity: equipping the two runways with new permanent lighting, and replacing a weak one-kilometre-long section of one runway.
Once that's fixed, "we're good for as long as we need to run it," Hoover said. Ten years? he was asked. "I'd say so."
Away from the flight lines, among traffic jams and freshly planted palms, life improves on 36-square-kilometre Balad for its estimated 25,000 personnel, including several thousand American and other civilians.
They've inherited an Olympic-sized pool and a chandeliered cinema from the Iraqis. They can order their favourite Baskin-Robbins flavour at ice cream counters in five dining halls, and cut-rate Fords, Chevys or Harley-Davidsons, for delivery at home, at a PX-run "dealership."
On one recent evening, not far from a big 24-hour gym, airmen hustled up and down two full-length basketball courts as F-16 fighters thundered home overhead.
"Balad's a fantastic base," Brig.-Gen. Frank Gorenc, the air force's tactical commander in Iraq, said in an interview at his headquarters here.
Could it host a long-term U.S. presence?
"Eventually it could," said Gorenc, commander of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing. "But there's no commitment to any of the bases we operate, until somebody tells me that."
In the counter-insurgency fight, Balad's central location enables strike aircraft to reach targets in minutes. And in the broader context of reinforcing the U.S. presence in the oil-rich Mideast, Iraq bases are preferable to aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf, said a longtime defence analyst.
"Carriers don't have the punch," said Gordon Adams of Washington's George Washington University. "There's a huge advantage to land-based infrastructure. At the level of strategy it makes total sense to have Iraq bases."
A U.S. congressional study cited another, less discussed use for possible Iraq bases: to install anti-ballistic defences in case Iran fires missiles.
Army and air force engineers, with little notice, have worked to give U.S. commanders solid installations in Iraq, and to give policymakers options.
From the start, in 2003, the first army engineers rolling into Balad took the long view, laying out a 10-year plan envisioning a move from tents to today's living quarters in air-conditioned trailers, to concrete-and-brick barracks by 2008.
No one's confirming such next steps, but a Balad "master plan," details undisclosed, is nearing completion, a possible model for Al-Asad, Tallil and a fourth major base, al-Qayyarah in Iraq's north.
Legal Notice: Copyright Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Distribution, transmission or republication of any material from www.thestar.com is strictly prohibited without the prior written permission of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. For information please contact us using our webmaster form. www.thestar.com online since 1996.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Anti-war grandmothers in US court
The interesting thing -- I didn't see any stories on this in US papers today -- huh?
Cindy Sheehan was among
the grandmothers' supporters
BBC News
20 April, 2006
A group of women who call themselves the "Granny Peace Brigade" have gone on trial in New York for their protest against the Iraq war. The women, aged between 50 and 91, were charged with disorderly conduct after demonstrating outside a military recruitment centre.
Their supporters outside the courthouse included leading anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, whose son died in Iraq.
The 18 women, many of whom are grandmothers, have pleaded not guilty. "Coming to this damn court is nothing compared to what is happening to people in Iraq," said Marie Runyon, aged 91 and the oldest member of the group.
'Larger purpose'
None of the women has grandchildren serving in the US military. But Joe Wile, co-founder of the group, said that was beside the point. "We're here for a larger purpose," said the 74-year-old. "We feel extremely heartbroken for all the young kids, American and Iraqi, who are dying in this war."
The women were arrested on October 17 last year after they protested outside a US military recruitment centre in Times Square, New York. They had wanted to enlist, but found the door locked and sat down in front of the building. Prosecutors say this prevented people from entering or leaving the centre and obstructed pedestrian traffic. They also say the women refused to disperse as ordered. The women have been charged on two counts of disorderly conduct.
'Patriotic protest'
Noted civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel is defending the women in court. "We should be praising these grandmothers, not prosecuting them," Mr Siegel said. He told the court that the women had not broken any laws and that their protest was "respectful, orderly, justified and patriotic".
Ms Sheehan, who was supporting the woman outside the Manhattan Criminal Court, is famous for setting up camp outside President Bush's Texas ranch to demand a meeting with him. "When lovely women like these grannies are punished for trying to save lives, our country is in a mess," she said
the grandmothers' supporters
BBC News
20 April, 2006
A group of women who call themselves the "Granny Peace Brigade" have gone on trial in New York for their protest against the Iraq war. The women, aged between 50 and 91, were charged with disorderly conduct after demonstrating outside a military recruitment centre.
Their supporters outside the courthouse included leading anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, whose son died in Iraq.
The 18 women, many of whom are grandmothers, have pleaded not guilty. "Coming to this damn court is nothing compared to what is happening to people in Iraq," said Marie Runyon, aged 91 and the oldest member of the group.
'Larger purpose'
None of the women has grandchildren serving in the US military. But Joe Wile, co-founder of the group, said that was beside the point. "We're here for a larger purpose," said the 74-year-old. "We feel extremely heartbroken for all the young kids, American and Iraqi, who are dying in this war."
The women were arrested on October 17 last year after they protested outside a US military recruitment centre in Times Square, New York. They had wanted to enlist, but found the door locked and sat down in front of the building. Prosecutors say this prevented people from entering or leaving the centre and obstructed pedestrian traffic. They also say the women refused to disperse as ordered. The women have been charged on two counts of disorderly conduct.
'Patriotic protest'
Noted civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel is defending the women in court. "We should be praising these grandmothers, not prosecuting them," Mr Siegel said. He told the court that the women had not broken any laws and that their protest was "respectful, orderly, justified and patriotic".
Ms Sheehan, who was supporting the woman outside the Manhattan Criminal Court, is famous for setting up camp outside President Bush's Texas ranch to demand a meeting with him. "When lovely women like these grannies are punished for trying to save lives, our country is in a mess," she said
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Vergas woman winner of syrup festival
The Forum
Published Friday, April 14, 2006
Victory was sweet for Jane Christiansen.
The Vergas resident won a free night’s stay at the Loghouse & Homestead on Spirit Lake for coming the closest to guessing when the first bucket of sap would be filled in this year’s Vergas Maple Syrup Fest, which was held April 1.
Christiansen guessed the first bucket in this year’s harvest would be filled sometime between noon and 6 p.m. on April 5.
The actual time was 2:25 p.m. on that day.
Second prize in the contest, a gallon of pure maple syrup from Jake’s Syrups & Natural Products in Vergas, was won by Leighton Wallace of Vergas.
Wallace guessed the bucket would fill between 6 a.m. and noon on April 5.
Western Minnesota’s maple syrup season can arrive as early as late February or as late as the last week in April.
Published Friday, April 14, 2006
Victory was sweet for Jane Christiansen.
The Vergas resident won a free night’s stay at the Loghouse & Homestead on Spirit Lake for coming the closest to guessing when the first bucket of sap would be filled in this year’s Vergas Maple Syrup Fest, which was held April 1.
Christiansen guessed the first bucket in this year’s harvest would be filled sometime between noon and 6 p.m. on April 5.
The actual time was 2:25 p.m. on that day.
Second prize in the contest, a gallon of pure maple syrup from Jake’s Syrups & Natural Products in Vergas, was won by Leighton Wallace of Vergas.
Wallace guessed the bucket would fill between 6 a.m. and noon on April 5.
Western Minnesota’s maple syrup season can arrive as early as late February or as late as the last week in April.
Monday, April 17, 2006
Urban Legend?
Snopes.com
Claim: College student who by dialing #77 on her cell phone evades a rapist pretending to be a police officer.
Status: Multiple — see below.
* Co-ed named Lauren evades rapist who had been masquerading as a police officer:
Undetermined.
* Rapists and murderers have been known to pass themselves off as police officers:
True.
* Dialing #77 on your cell phone will connect you with the highway patrol:
True in some states, False in others.
Whether this particular tale is true or not, women driving alone have been sexually assaulted by rapists pretending to be patrolmen (and in certain rare cases by actual police officers), so the advice it gives about not pulling over in deserted areas when signaled to do so by unmarked police vehicles is well worth heeding. Throw on your flashers, slow down, and keep driving until you get to a well-lit area where there are others about. Though you might subsequently be charged for failing to heed a police officer's commands, you will avoid the potential for harm. Call 911 and tell them what's happening, asking them to relay to the officer in pursuit your intent to continue traveling until a populated area has been reached. (Although in some U.S. states, #77 on a cell phone will immediately connect you to that state's highway patrol, that code is not universal. Some states use #77, but others use *55, *47, or *HP, and some don't have any special code at all. Rather than frantically try to figure out which one will work in the area you're in, get around the problem by going straight to
911.)
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Best, worst places to live?
Apr 10, 7:43 AM (ET)
LONDON (Reuters) - Zurich is the city with the highest quality of life in 2006, while Baghdad, for the third year running, has the lowest, a survey published Monday shows.
Geneva and Vancouver made the top three in the list compiled by human resource company Mercer while Bangui in the Central African Republic and Brazzaville, the capital of Congo Republic, joined Baghdad in the bottom three.
The top three cities in the list are all unchanged from last year.
Chicago is one of the biggest climbers in the rankings since 2005, rising to 41st from 52nd due to reduced crime rates, while Cairo is one of the biggest fallers, sliding nine places to 131st out of 215 cities.
"(This was) due to political turmoil and terrorist attacks in the city and surrounding area," Mercer said.
Mercer bases its annual survey on 39 quality-of-life factors, from political stability to schools, bars, restaurants and the environment.
The full list is available at Mercer
LONDON (Reuters) - Zurich is the city with the highest quality of life in 2006, while Baghdad, for the third year running, has the lowest, a survey published Monday shows.
Geneva and Vancouver made the top three in the list compiled by human resource company Mercer while Bangui in the Central African Republic and Brazzaville, the capital of Congo Republic, joined Baghdad in the bottom three.
The top three cities in the list are all unchanged from last year.
Chicago is one of the biggest climbers in the rankings since 2005, rising to 41st from 52nd due to reduced crime rates, while Cairo is one of the biggest fallers, sliding nine places to 131st out of 215 cities.
"(This was) due to political turmoil and terrorist attacks in the city and surrounding area," Mercer said.
Mercer bases its annual survey on 39 quality-of-life factors, from political stability to schools, bars, restaurants and the environment.
The full list is available at Mercer
And you thought your phone bill was high...
Man Gets $218 Trillion Phone Bill
Apr 10, 7:16 AM (ET)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - A Malaysian man said he nearly fainted when he recieved a $218 trillion phone bill and was ordered to pay up within 10 days or face prosecution, a newspaper reported Monday.
Yahaya Wahab said he disconnected his late father's phone line in January after he died and settled the 84 ringgit ($23) bill, the New Straits Times reported.
But Telekom Malaysia later sent him.... a 806,400,000,000,000.01 ringgit ($218 trillion) bill for recent telephone calls along with orders to settle within 10 days or face legal proceedings, the newspaper reported.
It wasn't clear whether the bill was a mistake, or if Yahaya's father's phone line was used illegally after after his death.
"If the company wants to seek legal action as mentioned in the letter, I'm ready to face it," the paper quoted Yahaya as saying. "In fact, I can't wait to face it," he said.
Yahaya, from northern Kedah state, received a notice from the company's debt-collection agency in early April, the paper said. Yahaya said he nearly fainted when he saw the new bill.
Government-linked Telekom Malaysia Bhd. is the country's largest telecommunications company.
A company official, who declined to be identified as she was not authorized to speak to the media, said Telekom Malaysia was aware of Yahaya's case and would address it. She did not provide further details.
Apr 10, 7:16 AM (ET)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - A Malaysian man said he nearly fainted when he recieved a $218 trillion phone bill and was ordered to pay up within 10 days or face prosecution, a newspaper reported Monday.
Yahaya Wahab said he disconnected his late father's phone line in January after he died and settled the 84 ringgit ($23) bill, the New Straits Times reported.
But Telekom Malaysia later sent him.... a 806,400,000,000,000.01 ringgit ($218 trillion) bill for recent telephone calls along with orders to settle within 10 days or face legal proceedings, the newspaper reported.
It wasn't clear whether the bill was a mistake, or if Yahaya's father's phone line was used illegally after after his death.
"If the company wants to seek legal action as mentioned in the letter, I'm ready to face it," the paper quoted Yahaya as saying. "In fact, I can't wait to face it," he said.
Yahaya, from northern Kedah state, received a notice from the company's debt-collection agency in early April, the paper said. Yahaya said he nearly fainted when he saw the new bill.
Government-linked Telekom Malaysia Bhd. is the country's largest telecommunications company.
A company official, who declined to be identified as she was not authorized to speak to the media, said Telekom Malaysia was aware of Yahaya's case and would address it. She did not provide further details.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Churches to mark Darwin's birthday
February 12, 1809 to April 19, 1882
Nearly 450 Christian churches around the country plan to celebrate the 197th birthday of Charles Darwin on Sunday with programs and sermons intended to emphasize that his theory of biological evolution is compatible with faith and that Christians have no need to choose between religion and science.
Full Story
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
You May Be A Floridian If....
(Don -- I especially like number 24)
1. You have more than 20 C and D batteries in your kitchen drawer.
2. The freezer in your garage is full of homemade ice.
3. You flinch when you are introduced to a person named Wilma, Frances or Ivan.
4. You find yourself dropping words like "Millibar" and "Convection" into everyday conversation.
5. Your pantry contains more than... 10 cans of Spaghetti O's.
6. Making coffee on your propane grill does not seem like an odd thing to do.
7. You are thinking of repainting your house to match the plywood covering your windows.
8. When describing your house to a prospective buyer, you say it has three bedrooms, two baths and one safe place.
9. You are on a first-name basis with the cashier at Home Depot.
10. You are delighted to pay $3 for a gallon of unleaded.
11. The road leading to your house has been declared a No-Wake Zone.
12. You decide that your patio furniture looks better on the bottom of the pool.
13. You have the number for FEMA on your speed dialer.
14. You own more than three large coolers.
15. You can wish that other people get hit by a hurricane and not feel the least bit guilty about it.
16. Three months ago you couldn't hang a shower curtain; today you can assemble a portable generator by candlelight.
17. You catch a 5-pound catfish... in your driveway.
18. You can recite from memory whole portions of your homeowner's insurance policy.
19. At parties, women are attracted to the guy with the biggest chainsaw.
20. You have had tuna fish more than 5 days in a row.
21. There is a roll of tar paper in your garage.
22. You can rattle off the names of three or more meteorologists who work at The Weather Channel.
22. Someone comes to your door to tell you they found your roof.
23. Ice is a valid topic of conversation.
24. Relocating to North Dakota does not seem like such a crazy idea.
Courtesy of Dave's Daily
1. You have more than 20 C and D batteries in your kitchen drawer.
2. The freezer in your garage is full of homemade ice.
3. You flinch when you are introduced to a person named Wilma, Frances or Ivan.
4. You find yourself dropping words like "Millibar" and "Convection" into everyday conversation.
5. Your pantry contains more than... 10 cans of Spaghetti O's.
6. Making coffee on your propane grill does not seem like an odd thing to do.
7. You are thinking of repainting your house to match the plywood covering your windows.
8. When describing your house to a prospective buyer, you say it has three bedrooms, two baths and one safe place.
9. You are on a first-name basis with the cashier at Home Depot.
10. You are delighted to pay $3 for a gallon of unleaded.
11. The road leading to your house has been declared a No-Wake Zone.
12. You decide that your patio furniture looks better on the bottom of the pool.
13. You have the number for FEMA on your speed dialer.
14. You own more than three large coolers.
15. You can wish that other people get hit by a hurricane and not feel the least bit guilty about it.
16. Three months ago you couldn't hang a shower curtain; today you can assemble a portable generator by candlelight.
17. You catch a 5-pound catfish... in your driveway.
18. You can recite from memory whole portions of your homeowner's insurance policy.
19. At parties, women are attracted to the guy with the biggest chainsaw.
20. You have had tuna fish more than 5 days in a row.
21. There is a roll of tar paper in your garage.
22. You can rattle off the names of three or more meteorologists who work at The Weather Channel.
22. Someone comes to your door to tell you they found your roof.
23. Ice is a valid topic of conversation.
24. Relocating to North Dakota does not seem like such a crazy idea.
Courtesy of Dave's Daily
Monday, April 03, 2006
Interesting But Useless Facts
1. Hitler and Napoleon both had only one testicle.
2. In America you will see an average of 500 advertisements a day.
3. It's illegal in Newcastle, WY to have sex in a butcher shop's meat freezer.
4. In ancient Rome, when a man testified in court he would... swear on his testicles.
5. Jaguars are frightened by dogs.
6. Holland has the densest population per square mile of any nation in the world.
7. In Alaska it is illegal to whisper in someone's ear while they are moose hunting.
8. It takes about 48 hours for your body to completely digest the food from one meal.
9. It's against the law in Willowdale, Oregon, for a husband to curse during sex.
10. Honey is the only food that doesn't spoil.
11. Human tapeworms can grow up to 22.9m.
12. It's been estimated that one out of every two hundred women is born with an extra nipple.
13. In Atlanta, GA, it is illegal to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole or street lamp.
14. Horses are forbidden to eat fire hydrants in Marshalltown, Iowa.
15. It takes 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown.
16. In Britain, failed suicides were hanged in the 19th century.
17. If a child burps during a church service in Omaha, Nebraska his or her parents may be arrested.
18. It takes a lobster approximately seven years to grow to be one pound.
19. In a lifetime the average US resident eats more than 50 tons of food and drinks more than 13,000 gallons of liquid.
20. In California, animals are banned from mating publicly within 1,500 feet of a tavern, school, or place of worship.
21. Hamsters blink one eye at a time.
22. If a person has two thirds of their liver removed through trauma or surgery, it will grow back to the original size in four weeks time.
23. Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.
24. In Arkansas it is illegal to buy or sell blue lightbulbs.
25. If Barbie were life-size her measurements would be 39-23-33. She would stand seven feet two inches tall and have a neck twice the length of a normal humans neck.
26. Hondas and Toyotas are the most frequently stolen passenger cars because they have parts that can be readily exchanged between model years without a problem.
27. In 1386, a pig was executed by public hanging for the murder of a child.
28. Humans are the only animals that use a smile as an emotional response.
29. When a small amount of liquor were placed on a scorpion, it would instantly go mad and sting itself to death.
30. Homosexuality remained on the American Psychiatric Association's list of mental illnesses until 1973
From: Dave's Daily
2. In America you will see an average of 500 advertisements a day.
3. It's illegal in Newcastle, WY to have sex in a butcher shop's meat freezer.
4. In ancient Rome, when a man testified in court he would... swear on his testicles.
5. Jaguars are frightened by dogs.
6. Holland has the densest population per square mile of any nation in the world.
7. In Alaska it is illegal to whisper in someone's ear while they are moose hunting.
8. It takes about 48 hours for your body to completely digest the food from one meal.
9. It's against the law in Willowdale, Oregon, for a husband to curse during sex.
10. Honey is the only food that doesn't spoil.
11. Human tapeworms can grow up to 22.9m.
12. It's been estimated that one out of every two hundred women is born with an extra nipple.
13. In Atlanta, GA, it is illegal to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole or street lamp.
14. Horses are forbidden to eat fire hydrants in Marshalltown, Iowa.
15. It takes 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown.
16. In Britain, failed suicides were hanged in the 19th century.
17. If a child burps during a church service in Omaha, Nebraska his or her parents may be arrested.
18. It takes a lobster approximately seven years to grow to be one pound.
19. In a lifetime the average US resident eats more than 50 tons of food and drinks more than 13,000 gallons of liquid.
20. In California, animals are banned from mating publicly within 1,500 feet of a tavern, school, or place of worship.
21. Hamsters blink one eye at a time.
22. If a person has two thirds of their liver removed through trauma or surgery, it will grow back to the original size in four weeks time.
23. Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.
24. In Arkansas it is illegal to buy or sell blue lightbulbs.
25. If Barbie were life-size her measurements would be 39-23-33. She would stand seven feet two inches tall and have a neck twice the length of a normal humans neck.
26. Hondas and Toyotas are the most frequently stolen passenger cars because they have parts that can be readily exchanged between model years without a problem.
27. In 1386, a pig was executed by public hanging for the murder of a child.
28. Humans are the only animals that use a smile as an emotional response.
29. When a small amount of liquor were placed on a scorpion, it would instantly go mad and sting itself to death.
30. Homosexuality remained on the American Psychiatric Association's list of mental illnesses until 1973
From: Dave's Daily
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