Mood:  bright

French conservatives win parliamentary majority

PARIS -- The conservative party of French President Nicolas Sarkozy has won a clear parliamentary majority in elections. That's seen as crucial to his vision for opening up the French economy.

Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement will face little resistance to the rash of measures he plans to introduce within weeks to make France's sluggish economy more competitive and less protective.

But today's legislative runoff suggests that voters in France also wanted to send the hard-driving, U-S-friendly president a message that his powers are not absolute.

Sarkozy's party and its allies won 346 of the 577 seats in the National Assembly, which was fewer than the 359 seats the U-M-P used to have. Led by the Socialists, the opposition left took a better-than-expected 226 seats -- a considerable improvement over their 149 in the last parliament.

KGAN.com ~ CBS 2 News - Assoc Press ** French conservatives win parliamentary majority

Posted by yaahoo_ at 2:46 AM EDT

Updated: Tuesday, 19 June 2007 2:20 AM EDT

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Mood:  chatty

House rejects security fence at the border

By Mike Sunnucks

The U.S. House of Representatives shot down a proposal Friday by U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz, that would have built an 854-mile, double layered security fences along the Mexican border.

Franks noted that only 13 miles of a Mexican border fence approved last year have been built and that the fencing is needed to improve border security.

"With over 4,000 people crossing our southern border illegally every day, our border remains one of our country's most critical national security vulnerabilities. In order to carry out an act of terrorism, a militant Islamist simply needs a porous border and a dangerous weapon," said Franks in a statement.

Franks represents Glendale, Peoria, Sun City and Kingman.

The fence plan failed by 272 to 149 votes. Most Democrats (including Arizona congressional members Harry Mitchell, Gabrielle Giffords , Ed Pastor and Raul Grijalva) voted against the border fence plan.

Most Republicans (including Franks and fellow Arizona Reps. Rick Renzi and John Shadegg) voted for the comprehensive fence plan.

Mesa GOP Congressman Jeff Flake crossed party lines and vote against the border fence bill.

The House did approve an overall homeland and border security appropriations bill Friday. Mitchell said he backed that bill because it allocates federal money to hire more Border Patrol Agents and resources to deport violent illegal immigrant criminals.

"Deporting those illegal immigrants who have committed violent crimes is absolutely imperative to keeping our communities safe," Mitchell said in a statement. Mitchell represents Tempe and Scottsdale.

The state's four Democratic representatives and Renzi voted for the final bill. Flake, Franks and Shadegg opposed.

The votes could be a precursor to a big political fight over immigration reforms, a guest worker program and how to deal with the 12 million illegal immigrants already in the U.S.

Business Journal of Phoenix ~ Mike Sunnucks ** House rejects security fence at the border

...Proof positive that the demented-crats aren't going to address border security at all in any real way, despite what they and their shills have been saying on TV lately.

Well, now the embattled Republicans in congress who are still holding their ground against the shamnesty bill can point this out as proof that they were right all along.

Related: This Blog *** Rare Tactic May Allow Immigration Votes

Posted by yaahoo_ at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Tuesday, 19 June 2007 2:13 AM EDT

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Mood:  don't ask

China slave scandal, 1000 kids in brick jail

Up to a thousand children were sold into a brutal life of slave work in a labour "prison" in China, police have revealed as the shocking racket was exposed today.

The victims endured maiming and brutality in primitive brick kilns, Chinese media have reported amid an expanding scandal about official neglect.

The owners ran the prison-like kilns with fierce dogs and thugs who beat the children at will, state television said. One accidentally killed a child with a shovel and buried the body at night, it said.

An army of 35,000 police in central China had so far rescued 217 people, including 29 children, the official China Daily reported today.

But state television said many more may be trapped, making bricks for little or no pay in brutal conditions in Shanxi and Henan provinces.

As many as 120 suspects had been detained.

"Now our conservative estimate is that at least 1,000 minors from Henan have been trapped and cheated into back-breaking work in these Shanxi brick kilns," a reporter from Henan said on the current affairs program Oriental Horizon.

The program showed workers who had been recently rescued – ragged, emaciated and mute and some bearing injuries.

But even amid the high-profile rescue effort, criticism is rising of official indifference to the poor farming families.

Local media reports and websites have cited what they say is a petition from fathers of boys kidnapped from Henan.

They complained that Shanxi police were unwilling to help Henan authorities to find and rescue the children.

"We are too weak and our children face constant threats to their life. We can only beg the government," said a copy of the document.

The China Youth Daily noted that local officials had apologised for failing to rescue the workers.

"But we have even more reason to ask why was it only after the case was widely reported by the media and shocked the central leadership that the local government then thought to apologise to these poor rural workers," it said.

"What were they doing before?"

AU Daily Telegraph ~ Reuters ** 1000 slave kids in brick jail
Related: China rocked by slave scandal...
Xinhua News Agency ** Police rescue further 220 slave workers in N China
Xinhua News Agency ** China police rescue 248 people from slavery in brick kilns
Xinhua News Agency ** Central China police rescue 217 from slavery in brick kilns
Fox News.com ** Infanticide, Abortion Responsible for 60 Million Girls Missing in Asia
This Blog *** Two thirds of Chinese cities' water, air polluted
Washington Times ** China Supplying Arms to Insurgencies

Posted by yaahoo_ at 5:43 AM EDT

Updated: Saturday, 16 June 2007 5:45 AM EDT

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Mood:  crushed out

Jessica Alba wants no-strings sex

Stunning actress Jessica Alba says she is up for a one-night stand - as long as the man leaves the next morning.

The curvy 23-year-old, who was recently romantically linked to Hollywood hunk Mark Wahlberg, likes the idea of getting intimate with lots of different people because she loves experimenting in sex.

She told Cosmopolitan magazine: "I just wanted to see what it was like to be with different people. I don't think a girl's a slut if she enjoys sex.

"I could have a one-night stand, and I'm the kind of girl who looks over in the morning and is like, 'Do you really have to be here?' I don't need to cuddle and do all that stuff because I know what it is and I don't try to make it more.

"I feel like a lot of women try to make it into more, so they don't feel so bad about just wanting to have sex. I don't really have a problem with just wanting sex. Never have.

"Even when I was a virgin and wanted to marry the first guy who I slept with, I never passed any judgments about that. But now I'm done with dating around."

The Sun ~ UK ** Alba wants no-strings sex

*Sigh* Alright then, I guess I'll take one for the team... 

Posted by yaahoo_ at 2:47 AM EDT

Updated: Friday, 15 June 2007 2:51 AM EDT

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Mood:  d'oh

Supreme Court rules unions can't spend dues for political purposes without consent

Supreme Court Rules on Union Dues, Deals Setback to Labor Unions

There was a big Supreme Court ruling yesterday, folks, and it was unanimous, by the way. Not good for Big Labor. "In a unanimous ruling on Thursday, the US Supreme Court said labor unions may not spend union dues for political purposes without first getting consent from the people who paid those dues. The ruling stems from a case in Washington State, where even teachers who were not active members of the Washington Education Association were required to pay dues to cover the costs of collective bargaining. Some of the money was spent on political causes that some teachers did not support.

The Washington Education Association said the case involved only a small number of union workers who decided not to be active members. But a conservative legal group hailed Thursday's court ruling. 'The WEA decision is a great moment for America's workers,' said Pacific Legal Foundation Attorney Timothy Sandefur. 'It's sad enough that American workers -- most of whom are not union supporters -- are often forced to hand over their earnings to unions against their will, but the Washington Education Association went even further and used the money to support political causes that the workers did not believe in,' he said." Unanimous!  Even Ruth "Buzzi" Ginsburg voted for this! Unbelievable!

Cybercast News Service ~ Susan Jones ** Supreme Court Deals Setback to Labor Unions

Posted by yaahoo_ at 2:20 AM EDT

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Mood:  silly

Libtards pulled DNC blog post,

Eliminated comments section,

Because of pro-Fred Thompson Dems

[Excerpt]

Libtards and censorship

Free speech not alive and well within the Democrat Party. The Democrat National Committee had to close the comment section on their blog. They had a post regarding Fred Thompson. "In an attempt to bash Thompson, the DNC posted The Fred Thompson 'Dummies Guide to Diplomacy.'" Some of the comments came in, and the Democrats are a little afraid of Thompson. They're worried he's reawakening the old Reagan Democrats, and there were some Democrats posting that they liked Thompson, and they disagreed with the post.

So they pulled the post and they eliminated any comments because they didn't want any pro-Thompson comments on their website. They put a piece out trying to make fun of him and ridicule him, and some Democrats post, "Hey, we like this guy. This guy is intriguing." Reagan Democrats is what they're afraid of. So, naturally, being the Castro-Putin-Chavez kindred spirits they are, they shut down the debate on the DNC website, something just like what the Broward County commission tried to do with emergency hurricane news, right-wing hurricane reports. 

From the story: Broward Country Backs Down, WIOD will carry hurricane info and El Rushbo.
Rush Limbaugh.com ** Broward Country Backs Down

Posted by yaahoo_ at 7:59 PM EDT

Updated: Thursday, 14 June 2007 8:18 PM EDT

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Mood:  chatty

Pelosi wants to allow lawmakers' adult children to tag along on taxpayer-funded travel, for free!

DoD braces for a fight with Pelosi

Pentagon officials are bracing for a fight with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) over her desire to allow lawmakers’ adult children to tag along on taxpayer-funded travel for free.

Pelosi wants them to be able to fill the role of lawmakers’ spouses when the latter are unable to make a trip because of health issues or work commitments.

“It has been longstanding policy that, in the absence of a congressional spouse, the adult child of a member of Congress may accompany the member on official U.S. government travel abroad for protocol reasons and without reimbursing the U.S. Treasury,” Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami said. “Speaker Pelosi believes that a modern policy must reflect the professional responsibilities or health realities that might prevent a spouse from participating, and instead permit an adult child to fulfill the protocol needs of the official trip.”

Pentagon officials say the policy is that the Treasury must be reimbursed at commercial rates for children who accompany members on such trips, often called codels.

Pelosi’s office inquired about such travel on June 1, according to a Department of Defense memo obtained by The Hill. In a June 8 memo, the head of legislative affairs for the Pentagon, Robert L. Wilkie, told Defense Secretary Robert Gates that he sees Pelosi’s question as a first step toward challenging the policy.

“We were told that the Speaker would expect that members’ children (of married and unmarried [members of Congress]) would not have to reimburse the Treasury,” Wilkie wrote. “We expect future challenges from the House leadership on this policy.”

Pentagon aides did not respond to requests for comment.

But taxpayer watchdog groups and ethics advocates said they were surprised Pelosi would seek more perks for members.

“One of the things she was praised for when she came in was her sweeping reforms on gifts and travel,” said Craig Holman of Public Citizen. “It is very disheartening if she is, in fact, backsliding on this.”

Public Citizen filed a complaint with the IRS last year, saying that family members who receive free travel by accompanying lawmakers should pay taxes on the travel’s value. The complaint focused on privately sponsored travel, but Holman said it should apply to taxpayer-funded travel as well.

“I don’t see any difference,” Holman said.

In its first week with a Democratic majority this year, the House passed what Pelosi called “the toughest congressional ethics reform in history.” It forbade gifts and travel from lobbyists and banned travel on corporate jets. It did not address publicly funded travel such as codels.

Lawmakers’ children currently can travel gratis if they get a waiver, termed an “invitation,” from the secretary of defense, according to Dan Stanley, a former assistant secretary for legislative affairs at the Pentagon. He said it was rare for a lawmaker to travel with his or her children.

“Children have always flown as an exception to policy,” Stanley said. “I’m unaware of any substantial policy that would allow children to take the representational role of a spouse.”

The president’s family, such as President Bush’s twin daughters, can travel without reimbursement. They cannot fly commercially for security reasons.

But most executive-branch officials either do not bring family members on military aircraft or reimburse, Stanley said. Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld would fly with his wife back to Taos, N.M., he said, but was scrupulous about reimbursing.

The Hill ~ Mike Soraghan ** DoD braces for a fight with Pelosi

Posted by yaahoo_ at 7:26 PM EDT

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Mood:  spacey

Mom (Honduras national) accused

of prostituting her 2 daughters

Police say she passed out cards that offered the teen girls for sex

A 16-year-old girl endured being sold into prostitution by her mother but finally went to Houston police after seeing her younger sister also forced to perform sex acts, investigators said Wednesday.

The teenager had complied with her mother -- who even distributed business cards offering her daughters for sex -- but feared that her 14-year-old sister would be hurt, officers said.

Nelsi Yolanda Latuda and her boyfriend, Pedro Espinoza-Escama, both of the 5500 block of Antoine, are charged with two counts each of compelling prostitution of a minor. They were ordered held in lieu of bail totaling $20,000 each.

Latuda, 35, is the girls' mother, but they are not related to Espinoza-Escama, who is 21, Harris County Assistant District Attorney Justin Wood said.

Houston police declined to comment about the investigation or identify the suspects but confirmed that a couple were arrested Sunday on unrelated charges and later questioned about the allegations regarding Latuda's daughters.

"They were interrogated, and they confessed to forcing the juveniles into prostitution," spokesman Victor Senties said.

Wood said the prostitution scheme went on for months and that Latuda and her boyfriend printed and passed out business cards near their northwest Houston home, offering the girls for sex.

The pair arranged meetings and delivered the girls, Wood said.

"I have never dealt with a case where biological children were being prostituted out by their own mother," he said.

Police said Latuda and her daughters are from Honduras and have lived in Houston for about two years. The girls are staying with relatives, Wood said.

Officials with Harris County Children's Protective Services would not confirm whether they are investigating the case.

On Wednesday evening, no one answered the door at the apartment complex where the family lives. Neighbors said they often saw the girls playing outside the apartment but didn't know them or their mother.

Children of the Night, a California-based advocacy group for abused teenagers, estimates that 300,000 juveniles are working as prostitutes in the United States. The ages typically range from 11 to 17, the group reports.

Espinoza-Escama is scheduled to appear in court today. Latuda is due for a court hearing Friday.

Latuda pleaded guilty in 2006 to possession of less than 1 gram of a controlled substance and was sentenced to 10 days in jail.

dale.lezon@chron.com , mike.glenn@chron.com
Houston Chronicle ~ Dale Lezon, Mike Glenn **
Mom accused of prostituting her 2 daughters

No mention in the story as to whether or not this so-called, scumbag "mother" is an illegal immigrant, so goes the lamestream media.

No matter, they need to lock their asses up for this. There's no excuse for what they did.

Posted by yaahoo_ at 4:43 PM EDT

Updated: Thursday, 14 June 2007 4:57 PM EDT

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Mood:  smelly

Teachers insult kid with rude awards...

Boy's Family Upset At Unflattering Awards

Parents Demand Apology From Teachers, Reprimand

INDIANAPOLIS -- Sixth-grader Matt Porter didn't enjoy getting "Most Likely Not To Have Children" and "Sir Clowns-a-Lot" awards from two teachers at his school.

His parents aren't pleased, either.

Matt said he received the awards in front of classmates during a ceremony at the Decatur Intermediate Learning Center at the end of the recently finished school year. His mother and his stepfather have asked the Decatur Township school system to reprimand the teachers, and they want an apology.

"Words cut deeper than any knife could. They hurt," said his stepfather, Joseph Sims. "When you hurt a child like that, you not only hurt him mentally, but it does hurt physically because you withdraw within yourself. That is what Matthew has done."

The certificates were signed by the teachers who distributed them. Matt recalled what the ceremony was like.

"I was standing in the middle of (the two teachers), and they (were) reading them off," he said. "Everyone was laughing."

Matt felt humiliated.

"They (were) putting us down and everything," he said. "That is not what their job is for, to put kids down. They are supposed to teach us."

Amy Sims, Matt's mother, said she met with a school official over the matter but was not satisfied with the response.

"She just told me that the teachers would call and apologize to him, and we've not heard anything at all," Amy Sims said.

Gary Pellico, spokesman for the school system, declined to say whether the teachers have been disciplined. He said system officials regret the incident.

"We don't feel like it was an appropriate awards ceremony at all," Pellico said. "It wasn't part of the school's award ceremony, and it will not happen again."

Amy Sims said her son needs counseling because of the awards. The school has offered it, but an agreement on who will provide it has not been reached, Thomas reported.

Survey: Punish Teachers?
NBC 10.com ~ Philadelphia ** Boy's Family Upset At Unflattering Awards

Posted by yaahoo_ at 4:07 PM EDT

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Mood:  celebratory

Al-Qaeda military emir of Mosul killed in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Coalition Forces killed a senior terrorist leader during an operation Tuesday morning targeting the al-Qaeda in Iraq network in Mosul.

Kamal Jalil Bakr ‘Uthman, also known as Sa’id Hamza, was known to be the al-Qaeda in IraqMosul. Intelligence reports indicate he planned, coordinated and facilitated suicide bombings in the Mosul area.  Additionally, he facilitated the movement of more than 100 foreign fighters through safe houses in the area, and orchestrated attacks against Iraqi and Coalition Forces.

Coalition Forces targeted ‘Uthman Tuesday as part of their operations to disrupt the al-Qaeda in Iraq Mosul.  As they entered his residence, ‘Uthman rushed into another room and reached under a mattress.  Coalition Forces, reacting appropriately to the hostile threat, engaged ‘Uthman, killing him.  The ground force later found a suicide vest under the mattress.

Coalition Forces had detained ‘Uthman during an operation in August 2006.  He was released from the Iraqi judicial system in April 2007, and intelligence reports indicate he was planning a six-vehicle suicide bomb attack to avenge his detention.

“We have taken another very dangerous terrorist off the streets of Iraq, and we will continue to deplete the senior leadership of al-Qaeda in Iraq,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson.

Multi-National Force - Baghdad, Iraq ~ Combined Press Information Center **
Al-Qaeda military emir of Mosul killed

Posted by yaahoo_ at 3:35 AM EDT

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