Southern States Could Gain House Seats

Is that scary or what?

Good news of the night…..Hillary #3. Dogs didn’t give a care one way or another……..

AMF……

From Reuters:

Maybe Disneyland is better than Disneyworld in Orlando. I can’t stand Mickeyworld.

Ever see these in the grocery store? They drive me crazy. I don’t know if the stores in my area have narrow aisles or what……but you can’t get by these things. They are a pain in the ass. I got news. The grocery store isn’t a fucking amusement park, ok? Your kids don’t need to be entertained by riding around in an ovesized cart while you’re shopping. If they can’t handle sitting in a regular cart and behaving…….leave them at home. And to the owners of the stores…..you don’t need to kill yourself trying to lure in shoppers with kids. Everybody has to eat, ok? They’re going to shop whether you have these obnoxious carts or you don’t.

Ok, just had to get that out.

Don’t forget the time change folks! Thanks to my loving little creatures, I got up at 4 this morning. They don’t do time changes!

By James V. Grimaldi
Washington Post

Deteriorating Smithsonian facilities have damaged historic airplanes, threatened collections and resulted in the leakage of tens of millions of gallons of water at National Zoo enclosures, while cuts in security staff have exposed artifacts in the institution’s 18 museums to vandalism and theft, the Government Accountability Office reported yesterday.

A backlog of construction and maintenance projects at the Smithsonian has ballooned to $2.5 billion, the GAO said, in part because Smithsonian officials insist that most facility repairs and upgrades be paid for through federal appropriations and not private money. The government provides 70 percent of the Smithsonian’s money — $715 million last year.

Those facility problems have forced a museum director to occasionally shut down galleries and left some staff at an art gallery scrambling each day to find new drips, while underground leaks at the National Zoo’s sea lion and seal pools have caused 110,000 gallons of water a day to flow into storm drains. That’s more than 40 million gallons of water a year at an annual cost of $297,000. Repairs this year have reduced the leakage from what had been 140,000 gallons of water a day, the GAO said, and efforts to plug the remaining leaks are underway, a Smithsonian spokeswoman said.

“There is no question that the $2.5 billion facilities requirement is one of the most important challenges the Smithsonian faces,” acting Secretary Cristi¿n Samper wrote in his response, which was attached to the report. “We must not lose sight, however, of the need to continue advancements and improvements in our programs as well, an area in which our donors have been extraordinarily generous.”

read more HERE

By Andrew Stern
Reuters

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. unions, taking lessons and tactics learned from the effort to arrest organized labor’s long decline, say next year’s presidential election will be crucial to their resurgence.

“You have more ground-level, grass-roots excitement about this election — this is our election,” said Greg Denier of the Change to Win coalition, which is composed of seven unions representing 6 million workers.

Denier said union polls showed most Americans wanted their government to redress the balance toward workers hurt by spiraling health-care costs and the outsourcing of work by “abusive” corporations.

Despite the overall decline in union membership, some American unions led by the fast-growing Service Employees International Union have expanded by targeting entire industries, instead of individual employers, and by focusing on sectors where the jobs cannot move, such as janitors, health-care workers and retail workers.

Similarly, unions have tapped into technology that will help them get their members to the polls and identifies receptive voters by learning what magazines they subscribe to and other data.

The Associated Press

YANGON, Myanmar - Security forces fired automatic weapons into thousands of pro-democracy protesters for a second day Thursday, and the military government said nine people were killed and 11 wounded.

Tens of thousands defied the ruling military junta’s crackdown with a 10th straight day of demonstrations in Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon. Security forces also raided several monasteries overnight, beating monks and arresting more than 100, according to a monk at one monastery.

The protests are the stiffest challenge to the generals in two decades, a crisis that began Aug. 19 with protests over a fuel price hike, then expanded dramatically when monks started leading the marches. The crackdown has drawn increasing international pressure on the isolated regime.

Thousands of protesters ran through the streets of Yangon on Thursday after warning shots were fired into the crowds. Bloody sandals were left lying in the road.

“Give us freedom, give us freedom!” some shouted at the soldiers.

Ye Htut, a government spokesman, said riot police clashed with anti-government protesters in Yangon on Thursday, killing nine people and injuring 11. Thirty-one government troops were also injured, he said.

read more HERE

By DOUG MELLGREN
The Associated Press

This is wonderful news. The evil military dictators in their country may be able to ban journalists, but they’ll never get all the cellphones and computers out of the country. God Bless those who care about their freedom. Anybody here in America “hear” that last sentence?

OSLO, Norway - Cell phones and the Internet are playing a crucial role in telling the world about Myanmar’s pro-democracy protests, with video footage sometimes transmitted one frame at a time. Reporters Without Borders said Wednesday the junta has cut some cell phone service.

On the other side of the world in Oslo, a shoestring radio and television network called the Democratic Voice of Burma has been at the forefront of receiving and broadcasting such cyber dispatches by satellite TV and shortwave radio.

Chief editor Aye Chan Naing said the station, founded in 1992 by exiled Myanmar students, is able to pass on nearly real-time images and information about anti-government protests - unlike in 1988, when a similar uprising was shut down in a bloodbath that left more than 3,000 dead.

On Wednesday, the military opened fire after a month of mostly peaceful demonstrations by tens of thousands led by Buddhist monks, and the government confirmed at least one demonstrator killed and three wounded. Activists reported the death toll was five.

read more HERE

I was looking through some old files, records, and CDs today. I came upon this song and listened to it, marveling at how relevant it is today, September 26, 2007. Almost 40 years have passed since this song was first released about 1970. - JS

“America…Communicate with Me” - Ray Stevens

(or d/l audio-MP3 file HERE)

from The Associated Press

YANGON, Myanmar - The government said its security forces opened fire Wednesday on demonstrators who failed to disperse, killing one person, and witnesses said police beat and dragged away dozens of Buddhist monks in the most violent crackdown in a month of protests in

While dissident groups reported as many as five dead, including monks, the military junta’s announcement on state radio and television was the first acknowledgment that force has been used to suppress the protests and the first admission that blood had been shed.

The United States and the European Union condemned the attacks and called on the military rulers to open a dialogue with pro-democracy leaders, according to a joint statement on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

The U.N. Security Council will hold closed consultations on Myanmar later Wednesday, said U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe.

About 300 monks and activists were arrested, dissidents said, although that number could not be independently confirmed.

read more HERE

The Associated Press
and The Chicago Sun Times

CHICAGO (AP) - His parents say he can go by his middle name when he’s old enough to decide.

Cubs spokeswoman Katelyn Thrall said the name may be a first. The team has no record of other children named Wrigley, although there have been some children names Zambrano and Ryne after Cubs stars Carlos Zambrano and Ryne Sandberg.

from AFP

YANGON (AFP) - More than 100,000 people flooded the streets of Myanmar’s biggest city Monday, joining Buddhist monks in the strongest show of dissent against the ruling generals in nearly two decades.

The enormous show of strength drew a swift threat from the military government to “take action” against the monks, even as world leaders urged the junta to show restraint in dealing with the protests.

Two major marches snaked their way through the nation’s commercial capital led by robed monks chanting prayers of peace and compassion, witnesses said.

Some of the people marched through the rain under a banner reading: “This is a peaceful mass movement.” Others had tears in their eyes.

The protests lasted nearly five hours, ending with prayers at pagodas before the crowds returned to their homes.

Political dissidents based in Thailand said major protests also took place in Myanmar’s second city of Mandalay, the western oil town of Sittwe, and the religious centre of Pakokku, but the reports were difficult to confirm.

In the first official reaction to a week of escalating protests led by the monks, state media reported that the religion minister, Brigadier General Thura Myint Maung, had issued a warning to senior clergy.

“If the monks go against the rules and regulations in the authority of the Buddhist teachings, we will take action under the existing law,” state television quoted the minister as saying.

read more HERE

Shags and I are busy packing and getting ready for a move. One word about that…..UGH! I’ll keep up with my “Meanwhile Back in Iraq” posts, and Jim, Buck and Bat will be posting as they’re able. I’ll do my best to try and keep up…….. but moving is a bitch!! A few weeks and all should be back to normal. Normal?

Before I go, somebody tell me what’s the big deal with Ahmadinejad speaking in the U.S.? What is everyone sooooooooo afraid of? If the guys a nutcase, then the more he speaks, the more people will realize he’s a nutcase. If he’s not a nutcase…..than what’s the problem? What has he done to us that would warrant us censoring him? Just asking…….. off to pack dishes. Oh joy!!!