Young student from India

It was the first day of school in America and a new Indian student named Chandrasekhar Subramanian entered the fourth grade.

The teacher said, "Let's begin by reviewing some American History. Who said 'Give me Liberty, or give me Death'?"

She saw a sea of blank faces, except for Chandrasekhar, who had his hand up: 'Patrick Henry, 1775' he said.

'Very good!'

Who said 'Government of the People, by the People, for the People, shall not perish from the Earth?'

Again, no response except from Chandrasekhar. 'Abraham Lincoln, 1863' said Chandrasekhar.

The teacher snapped at the class, 'Class, you should be ashamed. Chandrasekhar, who is new to our country, knows more about its history than you do.'

She heard a loud whisper: 'F*ck the Indians,'

'Who said that?' she demanded. Chandrasekhar put his hand up.

'General Custer, 1862.'

At that point, a student in the back said, 'I'm gonna puke.'

The teacher glares around and asks 'All right! Now, who said that?'

Again, Chandrasekhar says, 'George Bush to the Japanese Prime Minister, 1991.'

Now furious, another student yells, 'Oh yeah? Suck this!'

Chandrasekhar jumps out of his chair waving his hand and shouts to the teacher , 'Bill Clinton, to Monica Lewinsky, 1997!'

Now with almost mob hysteria someone said 'You little shit. If you say anything else, I'll kill you.'

Chandrasekhar frantically yells at the top of his voice, 'Michael Jackson to the child witnesses testifying against him, 2004.'

The teacher fainted.

And as the class gathered around the teacher on the floor, someone said, 'Oh shit, we're screwed!'

And Chandrasekhar said quietly, "I think it was the American people, November 4, 2008."

(Found on the Net)

South African Companies Unlock Sub-Saharan Africa

Versed in the highs and lows of emerging-market development, SABMiller, Standard Bank, and others are expanding across the continent and beyond

A building In Uganda brightly plugs MTN, a South African cellular provider Vanessa Vick/Redux

by Jack Ewing
BusinessWeek
Emerging Market Report December 4, 2008, 5:00PM EST

Name a global economic woe, and chances are Charles Needham is dealing with it. Market turmoil has knocked 80% off the shares of South Africa's Metorex, the mining company he runs. The plunge in global commodities is slamming prices for the copper, cobalt, and other minerals Metorex unearths across Africa. The credit crisis makes it harder to raise money. And fighting has again broken out in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Metorex has a mine and several projects in development.

Such problems might send many executives to the window ledge. Yet Needham appears unruffled as he sits down at a conference table in the company's modest offices in a Johannesburg suburb. The combat in northeast Congo, he notes, is far from Metorex's mine. Commodity prices are still high, in historical terms. And Needham is confident he can raise enough capital, drawing on relationships with South African banks. "These are the kinds of things you deal with, doing business in Africa," he says.

That kind of resolve is typical of South African companies. All told, South Africans have plowed more than $8.5 billion into the Sub-Saharan region, the U.N. estimates, making the country the biggest investor there. Ever since South African Breweries pioneered the African beer market—and then went on to become the global titan known as SABMiller—South African companies have led the way on risky turf. Johannesburg cellular provider MTN was one of a handful of companies to defy conventional wisdom and prove that Africa could be a huge market for mobile phones. South African retailers such as Massmart, Shoprite, and packaged-food maker Tiger Brands are bringing Western-style shopping to Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda, and other far-flung locales. And Standard Bank has opened branches in 16 African countries that in many cases lacked even basic financial services. "South African companies are more open than ever to the opportunities in Africa," says Sonal Pandit, portfolio manager for African equities at JPMorgan Funds (JPM).

Now the South Africans are taking their emerging-market expertise well beyond Africa's coastline. MTN has moved into Afghanistan and Iran. Standard Bank in 2007 bought control of BankBoston Argentina. And Anglo American, now based in London but with South African roots, has become the world's fourth-biggest mining company, with operations from Chile to Australia.

The knowhow South Africans have gained on the continent is making their companies attractive to foreigners with ambitions in the region. In March, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China bought a 20% stake in Standard Bank. Britain's Vodafone (VOD) in November took control of Vodacom, a pan-African cellular carrier based near Johannesburg. "Africa is the next China," says Malcolm Perrie, who oversees sub-Saharan Africa for U.S. auto parts maker Federal-Mogul, which aims to double its sub-Saharan sales within five years.

South Africans carry a detailed understanding of the quirks of the local market. Perrie, for instance, grew up in Zimbabwe and South Africa and knows that goods are often unloaded from trucks by hand because retailers can't afford forklifts. So Federal-Mogul ships its Champion-brand spark plugs and other parts in boxes one person can carry. Knowing Nigerians feel insulted when bank tellers sit behind bulletproof glass, Standard instead stations armed guards at its bank entrances in crime-plagued Lagos, which doesn't bother customers. And in Uganda, where many people have little access to mass media, MTN advertises its phone service by painting roadside buildings yellow and blue, the company's colors. Such common-sense solutions may seem obvious, yet South Africans have been faster than others to recognize the opportunities—and more willing to take a risk. French-speaking Democratic Republic of the Congo, for instance, might well have been a logical market for a French carrier, but South Africa's Vodacom jumped in early and is now the leader.

With so many roads in Africa leading to Johannesburg, it would be bad news for the whole continent if South Africa fell victim to global financial turmoil. There's no shortage of reasons to worry. Growth in South Africa, which accounts for a third of sub-Saharan Africa's gross domestic product, likely will slow to 3% in 2009 after averaging 5% in recent years. Mining, an important domestic industry, has been hit by the plunge in commodity prices. The rand has been sliding, creating additional price risks in a country with 13% inflation. And the African National Congress, which has dominated the country's politics since the end of whites-only rule in 1994, has split into rival factions.

Yet foreign economists seem to fret more than South Africans. They don't teach sangfroid in business school, but you may learn it growing up in South Africa, a sometimes jarring mélange of well-manicured wealth and chaotic poverty. The suburbs of Johannesburg look like Beverly Hills or Pasadena, except that the security guards are more heavily armed and the posh houses crouch behind concrete walls topped with electric fence. At a mall called Nelson Mandela Square, shoppers pass a bronze statue of the anti-apartheid leader on their way to the Crabtree & Evelyn outlet.

Despite freeways packed with BMWs and Toyotas (TM), Johannesburg provides constant reminders that it is very much an African city. More than 70% of South Africa's 48 million people live on $2 or less a day, and a quarter haven't even completed primary school, the World Bank estimates. Wizened women with unwashed children on their backs beg at intersections. Men stand by highways with signs around their necks advertising their skills, looking for day work. At a McDonald's (MCD), customers munch on Quarter Pounders at outdoor tables, taking little notice of the rats that scurry around the chain's parking lot.

Understanding the twin aspects of South Africa's sophisticated economy and emerging market complexities surely gives its companies an advantage around the continent. "South Africans do well when they go elsewhere because they're not afraid," says software entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth, a South African based in London.

Neighboring Mozambique is a good place to see how South African companies are remaking business in the region. The capital, Maputo, remains a city where most people live in houses with mud-brick walls and rusty metal roofs, and sidewalks are crammed with vendors selling everything from fresh papaya to bootleg DVDs of High School Musical 3. At a shiny mall next to an abandoned bullfighting arena, a motorized Santa Claus stands at the entrance to South Africa's Shoprite on a warm afternoon, greeting customers stocking up on rice, cornmeal, and fake Christmas trees. Downtown, Durban-based home furnishings retailer Mr Price sells brightly colored bedding, crockery, and furniture.

And on a bumpy road that hugs the coastline, there's a shining South African-owned big box store called Game. Aside from a few local touches—palm trees in the parking lot, signs in Portuguese, and a whole aisle devoted to ceiling fans—the store looks like a discounter in Ohio or Oregon. A mix of expatriates and wealthier locals fill their carts with Frosted Flakes (K), Hannah Montana bedsheets, and Sony (SNE) TVs.

But creating this oasis of consumerism hasn't been easy. Construction was delayed for months while officials held out for bribes. The store's spunky manager, Ana Paula Florentino, refused to pay. "If you give them your finger, they want your hand, and if you give them your hand, they want your arm," says Florentino, who as a child fled the former Portuguese colony on the eve of a brutal civil war that lasted from 1975 until 1992, making Mozambique one of the poorest countries on the planet. Rather than depending on the local phone network, she transmits sales and inventory data to headquarters via satellite. It's challenging to manage personnel in a country where many have never held regular jobs. Workers must learn such basics as the importance of laundering their company-issue red-and-white striped shirts—and skipping the traditional two-hour midday siesta.

The role model for many South African companies is SABMiller. The brewer was active in neighboring countries for decades, then began expanding aggressively after the end of apartheid, when the U.N. lifted economic sanctions. Betting that its experience in such places as Angola and Zimbabwe suited it for other emerging markets, SAB acquired beermakers in Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

The brewer, now based in London, proved South Africans could compete internationally. "SAB has been an inspiration," says Peter Wharton-Hood, chief operating officer of Standard Bank. He and his colleagues are trying to do for banking what SAB did for beer, though they admit they were slow to appreciate the opportunities on their doorstep. "We didn't take Africa as seriously as now," Wharton-Hood says. "There was significant pessimism about the prospects for the continent."

That's an important point. News reports about Africa tend to be dominated by war in the Congo, pirates in Somalia, or chaos in Zimbabwe. In fact, Angola, Mozambique, Uganda, and other countries have grown markedly more peaceful recently, even if government institutions still leave a lot to be desired. "In the last 10 years we have seen a dramatic increase in political stability and a reduction of conflict," says Clive Tasker, CEO of Standard Bank's Africa operations.

The opportunities aren't lost on outsiders. Standard faces competition from the likes of London-based Barclays (BCS), which took over Johannesburg's Absa bank in 2005. Companies from other emerging markets are bringing to Africa their own experience in dealing with difficult environments. In telecommunications, MTN and Vodacom often bump up against Zain, from Kuwait. Brazil-based builder Odebrecht and oil company Petrobras (PBR) have been expanding in Angola, exploiting the fact that both nations speak Portuguese. And a Chinese outfit is building Congolese roads and other infrastructure in exchange for access to mineral deposits. From within Africa, Nigerian institutions such as United Bank for Africa are proving to be worthy competitors outside their domestic market.

Executives in Johannesburg, however, see the growing competition as just another hazard of doing business in the region. "South African businesspeople have managed enormous risk over the last 20 years," says Michael Spicer, a former executive vice-president at Anglo American who is now CEO of Business Leadership South Africa, an industry group. "They are incredibly flexible."

Business Exchange: Read, save, and add content on BW's new Web 2.0 topic network

Doing Business in Africa

The continent is famed for its unstable politics, shoddy infrastructure, and underdeveloped markets. But Africa offers plenty of opportunities for companies able to grapple with such challenges. That's the premise of a new book called Africa Rising: How 900 Million African Consumers Can Offer More Than You Think by Vijay Mahajan, a business professor at the University of Texas at Austin, who also co-authored the well-received The 86% Solution.

To view a video of Mahajan discussing his new work, go to http://bx.businessweek.com/african-business/reference/

Ewing is BusinessWeek's European regional editor.

Petula Clark - Downtown

The eHarmony Shakedown

by Michelle Malkin
Friday, 21 November, 2008 -- Townhall.com

Congratulations, tolerance mau-mauers: Your shakedown of a Christian-targeted dating website worked. Homosexuals will no longer be denied the inalienable "right" to hook up with same-sex partners on eHarmony. What a landmark triumph for social progress, eh?

New Jersey plaintiff Eric McKinley can now crown himself the new Rosa Parks -- heroically breaking down inhumane barriers to Internet matchmaking by forcing a law-abiding private company to provide services it was never created to provide. "Men seeking men" has now been enshrined with "I have a dream" as a civil rights rallying cry of the 21st century. Bully for you, Mr. McKinley. You bully.

Neil Warren, eHarmony's founder, is a gentle, grandfatherly businessman who launched his popular dating site to support heterosexual marriage. A "Focus on the Family" author with a divinity degree, Warren encourages healthy, lasting unions between men and women of all faiths, mixed faiths or no faith at all.

Don't like what eHarmony sells? Go somewhere else. There are thousands upon thousands of dating sites on the Internet that cater to gays, lesbians, Jews, Muslims, Trekkies, runners, you name it.

No matter. In the name of tolerance, McKinley refused to tolerate eHarmony's right to operate a lawful business that didn't give him what he wanted. He filed a discrimination complaint against eHarmony with the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights in 2005.

To be clear: eHarmony never, ever refused to do business with anyone. The company broke no laws. Their great "sin" was not providing a politically correct service that a publicity-seeking gay plaintiff demanded they provide. For three years, the company battled McKinley's legal shakedown artists -- and staved off other opportunists as well. The dating site had been previously sued by a lesbian looking to force the company to match her up with another woman, and by a married man who ridiculously sought to force the company to find him prospects for an adulterous relationship.

This case is akin to a meat-eater suing a vegetarian restaurant for not offering him a rib-eye, or a female patient suing a vasectomy doctor for not providing her hysterectomy services. But rather than defend the persecuted business, the New Jersey attorney general intervened on behalf of the gay plaintiff and wrangled an agreement out of eHarmony to change its entire business model.

The company agreed not only to offer same-sex dating services on a new site, but also to offer six-month subscriptions for free to 10,000 gay users, pay McKinley $5,000 and fork over $50,000 to New Jersey's Civil Rights division "to cover investigation-related administrative costs." Oh, and that's not all. Yield, yield to the grievance-mongers:

Additional terms of the settlement include:

-- eHarmony, Inc. will post photos of same-sex couples in the "Diversity" section of its website as successful relationships are created using the company's same-sex matching service. In addition, eHarmony, Inc. will include photos of same-sex couples, as well as individual same-sex users, in advertising materials used to promote its same-sex matching services;

-- eHarmony, Inc. will revise anti-discrimination statements placed on company websites, in company handbooks and other company publications to make plain that it does not discriminate on the basis of "sexual orientation";

-- the company has committed to advertising and public relations/ marketing dedicated to its same-sex matching service, and will retain a media consultant experienced in promoting the "fair, accurate and inclusive" representation of gay and lesbian people in the media to determine the most effective way of reaching the gay and lesbian communities.

I have enormous sympathy for eHarmony, whose attorney explained that they gave in to the unfair settlement because "litigation outcomes can be unpredictable." The recent mob response to the passage of Proposition 8, the traditional marriage measure in California, must have also weighed on eHarmony management's minds. But capitulation will only yield a worse, entirely predictable outcome: more shakedowns of private businesses that hold views deemed unacceptable by the Equality-at-All-Costs Brigade.

Perhaps heterosexual men and women should start filing lawsuits against gay dating websites and undermine their businesses. Coerced tolerance and diversity-by-fiat cut both ways.

Priest loses custody of triplets fathered by donating sperm - accused of abusing those children

By Carolyn Peirce
Examiner Staff Writer 10/30/08

A Catholic priest found to have sexually abused two of his 6-year-old triplets lost custody this week to the woman who gave birth to the children using his donated sperm and another woman’s eggs.

The state’s second-highest court held Monday that Fernando Cristancho, 52, of Bel Air, is unfit to parent the triplets, two boys and a girl, and granted custody to Dalia Fernandez, 57, the woman who gave birth to them using in vitro fertilization.

The decision affirmed the ruling of Harford Circuit Judge Emory Plitt Jr., who said Fernandez deserved the children because she was a de facto parent acting as their mother even though she was unrelated.

Plitt’s decision had been called into question when the state’s highest court ruled against the de facto parent doctrine in another case during Cristancho’s appeal, saying only extreme circumstances overrule a parent’s right to custody.

“One of the constitutionally protected rights is for a parent to have say with regard to [the custody of] their children and to overcome that, you have to show some sort of unfitness by the parent,” said J. Richard Moore III, Fernandez’s trial attorney who is now a master in Harford. Masters make recommendations in family and juvenile cases that are sent to judges who make the final decision.

Moore said the intermediate appellate court upheld Plitt’s ruling because the sexual abuse was proof enough that Cristancho was unfit, even if the de facto parent doctrine was tossed.

“Plitt took into account that the court might rule in that fashion,” Moore said. “So, he also found that Cristancho was unfit ... and basically made the opinion bulletproof.”

Cristancho’s’ attorney Laura Bearsch said the appeal was based on discrepancies in what the boys reported and a Department of Social Services investigation that was “really, really full of errors.”

Bearsch said the boys were never interviewed alone, and authorities were “picking and choosing” what to believe. Cristancho never was criminally charged with sex abuse, she said.

According to Monday’s opinion, Cristancho asked his Platonic friend Fernandez to travel with him to Colombia in 2001 and undergo the in vitro process, because he had taken a vow of celibacy.

Church officials learned of the children’s birth in November and fired Cristancho from his position as assistant priest at St. Ignatius Church in Forest Hill. His relationship with Fernandez soon dwindled.

According to the opinion, one of the boys disclosed the sexual abuse in 2005, but the family’s doctor told Fernandez that police wouldn’t believe the boy because of his age.

When the boy told the same story in 2006 to a baby sitter, police were notified along with the Archdiocese of Baltimore and the Department of Social Services.

Cristancho also was accused in 1997 of sexual misconduct with a young woman who wasn’t a minor, for which he was fired from the Parish Council at Good Shepherd Church in Alexandria, Va., according to the opinion.

cpeirce@baltimoreexaminer.com

Boeing Talks With Striking Machinists Break Down

SEATTLE — (AP)  Boeing Co. and the leader of its striking machinists union say talks aimed at resolving a five-week walkout have broken down.

Boeing chief negotiator Doug Kight said the company was disappointed as talks broke off late Monday afternoon. The walkout is in its 38th day.

The president of the Machinists Union, Tom Buffenbarger, said by phone that the talks broke down over "the future" but declined to provide specifics.

Talks between the two parties resumed Sunday for the first time since 27,000 machinists went on strike Sept. 6 over issues that include job security, pay, retirement benefits and health care. The union also has concerns about provisions on outsourcing and subcontracting.

Boeing's Kight says the company wants its commercial jet production workers back at work but can't "sacrifice our ability to continuously improve productivity and our long-term competitiveness."

Gov. Sarah Palin Biography Video

The Cindy McCain Story

Newt Gingrich Slams Reporter Ron Allen About Sarah Palin

MSNBC reporter Ron Allen asks Newt Gingrich:

"But to be fair, her resume is not something we're familiar seeing with presidential candidates."

Gingrich blows him away with a hot rebuttal.

Where To Go On Holiday In South Africa...

South Africa lies at the southernmost tip of Africa, between the
Indian and Atlantic oceans with 3500 kilometers (about 2200 miles) of
shoreline providing unlimited opportunities to explore and with a
diverse mix of cultures that includes British, Dutch, German, French,
Indian, Portuguese and Muslim. The two confirmed languages are English
and Afrikaans (a mix of Dutch and German), with 11 ethnic languages
spoken. This will maybe give you some understanding of why South
Africa's people are called the rainbow nation...

Powered by ScribeFire.

PREVIEW: Google Android OS

HTC Dream...!!!

Google Android OS demo.

Dear Mr. Obama

An Iraq Veteran has a personal message for Barack Obama.

Remarks by Gov. Sarah Palin

The Speech!!!

Producing American Energy and Opening ANWR

Congressman Don Young of Alaska, urges the opening of ANWR and the development of American Energy Sources. His bill, HR 6107, the American Energy Independence and Price Reduction Act, would open ANWR and use the approximately $200 billion in federal revenue generated to develop Alternative Energy sources. How much longer can we afford to wait...?

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is a National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Alaska. It consists of 19,049,236 acres (7,708,952 ha) in the Alaska North Slope region.

Convention Night

Debra

Democrats Praising McCain

A little bit on Governor Palin...

McCain * Palin

Yeah, that's the ticket!!!

Why can't they fix the Flash/Firefox bug?

by Rafe Needleman

Latest: Adobe's John Dowdell has a thoughtful critique of this post that also expands on the nature of the bug.

An annoying and long-lived bug is preventing some users from viewing Web videos. There's a workaround, but for many, the cure is as bad as the disease.

The bug is that Flash videos don't play for certain Firefox 3 users on Windows XP or Vista, when using the current Flash player version 9. On YouTube, CNET TV, and other sites, embedded videos will start, but they halt after two seconds. Both Mozilla and Adobe have been aware of the issue since late May, but as yet no solution has been found. For some people suffering from this bug, it's intermittent. For others, it's a consistent block to viewing online videos.

One workaround solution is to install the Flash 10 player, which is still in beta. Unfortunately, many Flash video sites don't recognize that Flash 10 is a valid and current player. CNN, for example, thinks Flash 10 beta is older than Flash 8, asks users to upgrade to Flash 9, and thus won't play at all.

Since the bug is serious and has been known for some time, I called both Mozilla and Adobe to see what's going on. I spoke first with Mike Beltzner, Mozilla's "phenomenologist," aka head of user experience. He pointed me to the record in Bugzilla where they're tracking the issue and gave me some of the issues they think are responsible for this one. In a nutshell, Mozilla thinks there's a miscommunication between plug-in and browser but doesn't know which product is the culprit.

He also took a minute to trumpet Mozilla's open-source philosophy. Since Firefox's code is open, Adobe can look at it to try to determine what is going on. But Mozilla's team can't look into Flash. Beltzner didn't blame Adobe for the bug itself, but he did say that Adobe's traditional closed software architecture is slowing down their investigation. "We hit a wall when it's a closed-source solution," he said.

An Adobe spokesperson, who asked not to be named, said Adobe is looking into the issue but isn't yet sure if the problem is isolated to Firefox 3 and Flash 9, or if there is a third culprit--another plug-in, perhaps--that is throwing things off for the Flash player.

Finger pointing is common in software troubleshooting, and I give both Mozilla and Adobe credit for only generally waving, not pointing, their fingers at each other. Unfortunately, neither team seems to have developers who can reproduce this issue, which just keeps the ping-pong game going.

What I find most interesting is the way the differing philosophies of Mozilla and Adobe are slowing down resolution of this issue. If both companies were open then any developer--at Mozilla, Adobe, or elsewhere--could get into things and start experimenting to find a fix. If both companies had closed philosophies then their engineers could swear each other to the secrecy, swap source code, and together fix the issue. But right now I get the sense that the two very different companies simply are not meshing well. And because of that, I can't play my videos.

Flash 9 works just fine in Internet Explorer.

See also: Two quick fixes for Firefox 3.

Die Stem van Suid Afrika, The Call of South Africa

Performed by the choir and symphony orchestra of South African Radio, SABC.

The first verse of Die Stem is sung in Afrikaans, followed by the first verse of The Call of South Africa, sung in English. The words have been added to allow people to learn the anthems.

Die Stem was learned by all growing up in South Africa before 1994. It will always be memorable and it will take its place in history. It was continually sung during school assemblies giving South Africans a strong national identity.

English kids in South Africa at the time had their own preferences, Afrikaans version or the English one.

The New South Africa National Anthem

Since 1997, The South African national anthem has been a hybrid song combining new English lyrics with extracts of the hymn "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" and the former anthem "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika/The Call of South Africa". It is the only neo-modal national anthem in the world, by virtue of being the only one that does not finish in the home key. The lyrics employ the five most populous of South Africa's eleven official languages - Xhosa (first stanza, first two lines), Zulu (first stanza, last two lines), Sesotho (second stanza), Afrikaans (third stanza) and English (final stanza).

Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika was composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a Methodist school teacher. It was originally sung as a church hymn but later became an act of political defiance against the apartheid government. Die Stem van Suid-Afrika is a poem written by C.J. Langenhoven in 1918 and was set to music by the Reverend Marthinus Lourens de Villiers in 1921. Die Stem was the co-national anthem with God Save the King/Queen from 1936 to 1957, when it became the sole national anthem until 1995. The South African government under Nelson Mandela adopted both songs as national anthems from 1995 until they were merged in 1997 to form the current anthem.

Old Sugar Mill, Maui, Hawaii, USA

Nice tour of an old Sugar Mill on Maui.

Juanita du Plessis - Ons koning kom

Music video contains footage of the Mighty Men conference and Loftus for Jesus.

President Reagan's Humour

What can I say, except that I really do miss him!

Juanita du Plessis - Mengelmoeskardoes

What the heck... I like her, so here's another!

E*TRADE Mobile Baby 2008

Hey girl, can I hit you back?!!!

Juanita du Plessis - Vlieg Hoog

Juanita's music is a big inspiration for many people! This surely is one of the biggest gospel songs ever written in South Africa! She's totally HOT too!!!

Juanita du Plessis - Patayo

Man she's hot!!! Get her Music CD's and Video's at Kalahari.net.

Freedom Never Cries

Freedom is not free...

Hot Fuzz - Cinema Trailer

You've gotta see it!!! What a terrifically hilarious action film. An incredibly funny, witty, intelligent British comedy that manages to bring you to tears with laughter and also offers extremely well directed and executed action scenes! Truly excellent.

Nicholas Angel is the finest cop London has to offer, with an arrest record 400% higher than any other officer on the force. He's so good, he makes everyone else look bad. As a result, Angel's superiors send him to a place where his talents won't be quite so embarrassing - the sleepy and seemingly crime-free village of Sandford.

Once there, he is partnered with the well-meaning but overeager police officer Danny Butterman. The son of amiable Police Chief Frank Butterman, Danny is a huge action movie fan and believes his new big-city partner might just be a real-life "bad boy," and his chance to experience the life of gunfights and car chases he so longs for.

Angel is quick to dismiss this as childish fantasy and Danny's puppy-like enthusiasm only adds to Angel's growing frustration. However, as a series of grisly accidents rocks the village, Angel is convinced that Sandford is not what it seems and as the intrigue deepens, Danny's dreams of explosive, high-octane, car-chasing, gunfighting, all-out action seem more and more like a reality. It's time for these small-town cops to break out some big-city justice.

Check it out on DVD, or look for it On-Demand.

Google Android OS for mobile telephones

Your mobile will operate like this very soon!!! The Android demo/presentation by Steve Horowitz, Engineering Director, Google.

Strategy for Victory in Iraq

Strategy for Victory in Iraq
The Importance of Succeeding

John McCain believes it is strategically and morally essential for the United States to support the Government of Iraq to become capable of governing itself and safeguarding its people. He strongly disagrees with those who advocate withdrawing American troops before that has occurred.

It would be a grave mistake to leave before Al Qaeda in Iraq is defeated and before a competent, trained, and capable Iraqi security force is in place and operating effectively. We must help the Government of Iraq battle those who provoke sectarian tensions and promote a civil war that could destabilize the Middle East. Iraq must not become a failed state, a haven for terrorists, or a pawn of Iran. These likely consequences of America's failure in Iraq almost certainly would either require us to return or draw us into a wider and far costlier war.

The best way to secure long-term peace and security is to establish a stable, prosperous, and democratic state in Iraq that poses no threat to its neighbors and contributes to the defeat of terrorists. When Iraqi forces can safeguard their own country, American troops can return home.

Support the Successful Counterinsurgency Strategy

John McCain has been a leading advocate of the “surge” and the counterinsurgency strategy carried out by General David Petraeus. At the end of 2006, four years of a badly conceived military strategy that concentrated American troops on large bases brought us near to the point of no return. Sectarian violence in Iraq was spiraling out of control. Al Qaeda in Iraq was on the offensive. Entire provinces were under extremists’ control and were deemed all but lost. At that critical moment, John McCain supported sending reinforcements to Iraq to implement a classic counterinsurgency strategy of securing the population.

That strategy has paid off. From June 2007 through March 2008, sectarian and ethnic violence in Iraq was reduced by 90 percent. Civilian deaths and deaths of coalition forces fell by 70 percent. This has opened the way for a return to something that approaches normal political and economic life for the average Iraqi. Political reconciliation is occurring across Iraq at the local and provincial grassroots level. Sunni and Shi'a chased from their homes by terrorist and sectarian violence are returning. The "Sons of Iraq" and Awakening movements, where former Sunni insurgents have now joined in the fight against Al Qaeda, continue to grow.

Those gains would be lost if we were to follow the policy advocated by Senator Barack Obama to withdraw most of our troops and leave behind only a small “strike force” to battle terrorists. That is, in essence, the same strategy of withdrawing from Iraq’s streets that failed in 2006. John McCain advocates continuing the successful counterinsurgency strategy that began in 2007.

Push for Political Reconciliation and Good Government

Thanks to the success of the surge, Iraq's political order is evolving in positive and hopeful ways. Four out of the six laws cited as benchmarks by the U.S. have been passed by the Iraqi legislature. A law on amnesty and a law rolling back some of the harsher restrictions against former employees of the Iraqi government have made it possible for Iraqis to move toward genuine reconciliation. The legislature has devolved greater power to local and provincial authorities, where much of the real work of rebuilding Iraq is taking place.

More progress is necessary. The government must improve its ability to serve all Iraqis. A key test for the Iraqi government will be finding jobs in the security services and the civilian sector for the “Sons of Iraq” who have risked so much to battle terrorists.

Iraq will conduct two landmark elections in the near future – one for provincial governments in late 2008 and the other for the national government in 2009. John McCain believes we should welcome a larger United Nations role in supporting the elections. The key condition for successful elections is for American troops to continue to work with brave Iraqis to allow the voting to take place in relative freedom and security. Iraqis need to know that the U.S. will not abandon them, but will continue to press their politicians to show the necessary leadership to help develop their country.

Get Iraq's Economy Back on its Feet

John McCain believes that economic progress is essential to sustaining security gains in Iraq. Markets that were once silent and deserted have come back to life in many areas, but high unemployment rates continue to fuel criminal and insurgent violence. To move young men away from the attractions of well-funded extremists, we need a vibrant, growing Iraqi economy. The Iraqi government can jump-start this process by using a portion of its budget surplus to employ Iraqis in infrastructure projects and in restoring basic services.

The international community should bolster proven microfinance programs to spur local-level entrepreneurship throughout the country. Iraq's Arab neighbors, in particular, should promote regional stability by directly investing the fruits of their oil exports in Iraq. As these efforts begin to take hold in Iraq, the private sector, as always, will create the jobs and propel the growth that will end reliance on outside aid. Iraq’s government needs support to better deliver basic services—clean water, garbage collection, abundant electricity, and, above all, a basic level of security—that create a climate where the Iraqi economy creation can flourish.

Call for International Pressure on Syria and Iran

Syria and Iran have aided and abetted the violence in Iraq for too long. Syria has refused to crack down on Iraqi insurgents and foreign terrorists operating within its territory. Iran has been providing the most extreme and violent Shia militias with training, weapons, and technology that kill American and Iraqi troops. American military spokesmen have also said there is evidence that Iran has provided aid to Sunni insurgents.

The answer is not unconditional dialogues with these two dictatorships from a position of weakness. The answer is for the international community to apply real pressure to Syria and Iran to change their behavior. The United States must also bolster its regional military posture to make clear to Iran our determination to protect our forces and deter Iranian intervention.

Level with the American People

John McCain believes it is essential to be honest with the American people about the opportunities and risks that lie ahead. The American people deserve the truth from their leaders. They deserve a candid assessment of the progress made in the last year, of the serious difficulties that remain, and of the grave consequences of a reckless and irresponsible withdrawal.

Many Americans have given their lives so that America does not suffer the worst consequences of failure in Iraq. Doing the right thing in the heat of a political campaign is not always easy. But it is necessary.

John McCain on the Road Ahead

“I do not want to keep our troops in Iraq a minute longer than necessary to secure our interests there. Our goal is an Iraq that can stand on its own as a democratic ally and a responsible force for peace in its neighborhood. Our goal is an Iraq that no longer needs American troops. And I believe we can achieve that goal, perhaps sooner than many imagine. But I do not believe that anyone should make promises as a candidate for President that they cannot keep if elected. To promise a withdrawal of our forces from Iraq, regardless of the calamitous consequences to the Iraqi people, our most vital interests, and the future of the Middle East, is the height of irresponsibility. It is a failure of leadership. “

“I know the pain war causes. I understand the frustration caused by our mistakes in this war. And I regret sincerely the additional sacrifices imposed on the brave Americans who defend us. But I also know the toll a lost war takes on an army and on our country's security. By giving General Petraeus and the men and women he has the honor to command the time and support necessary to succeed in Iraq we have before us a hard road. But it is the right road. It is necessary and just. Those who disregard the unmistakable progress we have made in the last year and the terrible consequences that would ensue were we to abandon our responsibilities in Iraq have chosen another road. It may appear to be the easier course of action, but it is a much more reckless one, and it does them no credit even if it gives them an advantage in the next election.” –John McCain

Nadine - Koe-Ma-Doe

Nog Afrikaanse Musiek from Nadine of SA. Nice blondes!!!

Reagan Tribute from John McCain

John McCain discusses the importance Ronald Reagan played in his life and why he became a foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution and has maintained his conservative principles ever since.

Juanita du Plessis - Bly By My

Nog Afrikaanse Musiek.

The Man Who Never Was

The Man Who Never Was is a 1954 book by Ewen Montagu and a 1956 World War II war film based on the book. It is about Operation 'Mincemeat', a 1943 British Intelligence plan to deceive the Axis powers into thinking Operation 'Husky', the Allied invasion of Sicily, would take place elsewhere.

The film was directed by Ronald Neame and starred Clifton Webb as Lt. Cmdr. Ewen Montagu, Gloria Grahame as Lucy Sherwood, Robert Flemyng as Lt. George Acres, Josephine Griffin as Pam, Stephen Boyd as Patrick O'Reilly, Laurence Naismith as Adml. Cross, Geoffrey Keen as Gen. Nye, André Morell as Sir Bernard Spilsbury, Michael Hordern as Gen. Coburn and William Squire as submarine commander Bill Jewell.

Operation 'Mincemeat' involved the acquisition of a human cadaver, dressing it as a 'Major William Martin, R.M.' and putting it into the sea near Huelva, Spain. Attached to the corpse was a brief-case containing fake letters suggesting that the Allied attack would be against Sardinia and Greece. When the body was found, pro-German Spaniards passed the papers to the German Intelligence Service who passed them on to their High Command. The ruse was so successful that the Germans still believed that Sardinia and Greece were the intended objectives, weeks after the landings in Sicily had begun.

The real name of the person/body remained secret, but in 1997 it was claimed that he was a homeless Welsh alcoholic named Glyndwr Michael, who had committed suicide by eating rat poison. The report was believed to be inaccurate because the family that provided the body did so under one condition, that his identity never be revealed. However, Thomas John Michael, Glyndwr Michael's father, died before 1943, so there is speculation that the denial of "The Man Who Never Was" being Glyndwr Michael is itself a ruse.

The body was buried as "William Martin" in a cemetery in Huelva, Spain. The legend "Glyndwr Michael Served As Major William Martin, R.M." appears on the famous tombstone.

Juanita du Plessis - Jou Skaduwee

Namibian/SA Afrikaner singer. Hot Blonde!!!

Flintstones Bedrock Twitch

Good Stuff!!!

Springboks - South Africa National Anthem

First game for the new Rugby world champions. 24 November, 2007 - Wales vs SA

Lorrie Morgan - Out of Your Shoes

Lorrie is one of my favourite country singers!

Juanita du Plessis - A tribute

A video/slide presentation tribute to the beautiful and talented Afrikaner singer Juanita du Plessis.

US Friend Returns to Power in Italy

ROME (AP) - Media billionaire Silvio Berlusconi won a decisive victory Monday in Italy's parliamentary election, setting the colorful conservative and staunch U.S. ally on course to his third stint as premier.

The victory in voting Sunday and Monday by parties supporting the 71-year-old Berlusconi avenged his loss two years ago to a center-left coalition.

"I'm moved. I feel a great responsibility," he said in a phone call to RAI public television while monitoring election results at his villa outside Milan. Italian news agencies said he had a private dinner with key aides.

Berlusconi capitalized on discontent over Italy's stagnating economy and the unpopularity of Romano Prodi's government.

"I think it was a vote against the performance of the Prodi government in the last two years," said Franco Pavoncello, a political science professor at Rome's John Cabot University. "Berlusconi won because he has a strong coalition and because people feel that on the other side, the government is going to take them nowhere."

This was Berlusconi's fifth consecutive national election campaign since 1994, when he stepped into politics from his media empire, currently estimated to be worth $9.4 billion. He has fended off challenges to his leadership by conservative allies, withstood accusations of conflict of interest and survived criminal trials linked to his business dealings.

During his last time as premier, Berlusconi served a record-setting five years until his 2006 defeat. He made notable international gaffes as well as unpopular decisions at home, such as sending 3,000 soldiers to Iraq despite widespread opposition among Italians.

The Iraq contingent was withdrawn after his 2006 ballot loss, and he has ruled out sending any more troops there. But his friendship with the United States is not in doubt.

Berlusconi once said he agreed with the United States regardless of Washington's position. He calls President Bush a friend, and his return to power is likely to make relations with Washington warmer, no matter who becomes the next American president.

The outgoing government had colder relations with Washington. Prodi never went to the White House, although he did talk with Bush in Rome and at international summits.

Berlusconi has also affirmed himself as one of Israel's closest friends in Europe.

On Monday, he said he would make his first foreign trip as the new premier by visiting Israel to mark the Jewish state's 60th anniversary. He said it would be a show of support for "the only real democracy in the Middle East."

Berlusconi's party and its allies won strong victories in both houses of parliament despite a strong final sprint by his main rival, Walter Veltroni, who ran a campaign that could have come out of Barack Obama's playbook, with calls to "Vote for change" and supporters armed with "We can!" banners.

In the 315-member Senate, Berlusconi was projected to control 167 seats to Veltroni's 137. In the lower house, his conservative bloc led with 46 percent of the votes to 39 percent.

A movement led by comedian-turned-moralizer Beppe Grillo tried to get Italians to boycott the vote. But turnout in the politically polarized nation reached 80 percent, nearly as much as the 84 percent in the last national ballot in 2006, according to data from the Interior Ministry.

Berlusconi got a big boost from the strong showing by the Northern League, a key ally that won about 6 percent of the vote, according to projections. The party has strong regional identification and people in Italy's wealthy north also were angered by Prodi's tax increases and the downgrading of Milan's Malpensa airport from its role as a hub.

A laundry list of problems await Berlusconi, from cleaning piles of trash off the streets of Naples, which he indicated is his top priority, to improving an economy that has underperformed fellow EU nations for years.

The International Monetary Fund predicts the Italian economy, the world's seven largest, will grow 0.3 percent this year, compared with a 1.4 percent average for the whole group of 15 EU nations that use the euro currency.

Economists say Italy needs to make structural reforms, such as streamlining government decision-making and cutting costs.

There is also criticism of the election law, which is widely blamed for political instability by giving disproportionate power to small parties - a problem that brought down Romano Prodi's government and forced elections three years ahead of schedule.

In his postelection comments, Berlusconi said he was open to working with the opposition, and pledged to fight tax evasion, reform the justice system and reduce government debt.
---
Associated Press writer Ariel David contributed to this report.

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

LikeTelevision Embed Movies and TV Shows

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. This film by Robert Enrico is adapted from the story written by Ambrose Bierce. The short film does an excellent job of telling this great tale, about a man accused of trying to sabotage a bridge during the American civil war. As the story begins, the man is about to be executed - by hanging from Owl Creek Bridge. We enter the man's mind, as he imagines that the rope breaks - and he narrowly escapes the onslaught of bullets from the Union soldiers. Then he runs through an arched forest canopy - trying to return to his wife and child, who are waiting for him at his home. Most of the story takes place, during that brief few seconds, as he falls from his gallows - to the moment when his neck snaps. An incredible journey of mind.... look out, there's a sign post up ahead! Yep, this short film was also an episode of The Twilight Zone, with Rod Serling. It was the only episode that was not produced by the great writing team that made the show. As a episode 142 of The Twilight Zone, it aired 28 February, 1964.

This film has won many awards, including - A First Prize Winner at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival and in 1964 - an Oscar for Best Short Subject, Live Action Subjects. Roger Jaquet stars as the convicted man who imagines his escape. This is a very powerful short film(28 min), and well worth your time!

Bandidas - Cinema Trailer

Salma or Penelope? Oh... Which one to choose!

John Adams - Trailer (HBO)

Fantastic Cinema!!!

Space Shuttle Lands in Cape Town

The American Space Shuttle makes an unexpected landing in Cape Town.

John McCain - Journey To Freedom

March is a memorable time for the Americans who were released from captivity in North Vietnam during the month back in 1973. The pathway to freedom began in February, as the war in Vietnam was concluding for America.

John McCain, one of those American heroes, returned to freedom on March 15th, 1973, released from Hanoi that day along with other very happy American Prisoners of War. His journey home was the continuation of a remarkable story with chapters yet to be written. Having survived life-threatening and disabling injuries, along with the brutality of the POW experience, John had steadfastly resisted communist efforts to exploit him and his fellow POWs. John's homecoming began a new phase of his life. His courageous service and his political career are well known today, and now he is the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party to be the next President of the United States.

We are but representatives of over eighty former POWs who shared those heady days of freedom and those years of captivity and suffering with John McCain. Collectively, we are proudly doing all we can to help our dear friend, John McCain, become our next commander in chief. We are campaigning with him, helping him raise money, speaking on his behalf and, in constant conversations, promoting his candidacy among our friends and family all over the country. We are doing so because we believe in John McCain.

Our convictions about John's character were born in the crucible of adversity. We have witnessed his courage, integrity, character and intellect. We know and respect his sense of honor and his tenacity in the face of grave danger and prolonged hardship. These qualities, combined with his life experiences, make John ready for the enormous challenges facing the leader of our country. No one -- no one -- is more qualified to be president, to lead our country, to protect our nation and our children and grandchildren. We know him. We know his strengths, his love of country and his commitment to serve it. He has been severely tested, and we have witnessed him under pressure. We trust his judgment and his ability to lead our country in these difficult times.

We are joined in that trust by over 130 retired Flag and General officers who are members of Senator McCain's Military Advisory Council. They know and have worked with John McCain over the past three decades dealing with major national security challenges. They know leadership and they know danger and challenges. They know experience. They know quality. And they chose John McCain for president.

Please join us in this effort by clicking here to watch a video to remember this memorable day in John McCain's life.

We must elect a leader who is ready on day one for these difficult and dangerous times. We need a leader who will insist that we win in the struggle against radical Islam. John is committed to let our troops win! We need a leader who will take on the big problems that most politicians seek to avoid. Leaders take on the tough issues. John McCain is that sort of leader. He knows the American spirit -- he has lived it like no other candidate. He knows we can do better and that America's best days are ahead.

Sincerely,

Commander Everett Alvarez, USN (Ret.)
POW for 8 1/2 years

Colonel Bud Day, USAF (Ret.)
Medal of Honor
POW Over 5 Years

Rear Admiral Robert Shumaker, USN (Ret.)
POW for 8 years

Colonel Leo Thorsness, USAF (Ret.)
Medal of Honor
POW for 6 years

Commander Paul Galanti, USN (Ret.)
POW for over 6 1/2 Years

Captain Mike Cronin, USN (Ret.)
POW for over 6 years

Major General John Borling, USAF (Ret.)
POW for over 6 1/2 years

Captain Richard Stratton, USN (Ret.)
POW for over 6 years

Lt Colonel Orson Swindle, USMC (Ret.)
POW for over 6 years.

Weather Channel Founder: Sue Al Gore for Fraud

Friday , March 14, 2008

The founder of the Weather Channel wants to sue Al Gore for fraud, hoping a legal debate will settle the global-warming debate once and for all.

John Coleman, who founded the cable network in 1982, suggests suing for fraud proponents of global warming, including Al Gore, and companies that sell carbon credits.

"Is he committing financial fraud? That is the question," Coleman said.

"Since we can't get a debate, I thought perhaps if we had a legal challenge and went into a court of law, where it was our scientists and their scientists, and all the legal proceedings with the discovery and all their documents from both sides and scientific testimony from both sides, we could finally get a good solid debate on the issue," Coleman said. "I'm confident that the advocates of 'no significant effect from carbon dioxide' would win the case."

Coleman says his side of the global-warming debate is being buried in mainstream media circles.

"As you look at the atmosphere over the last 25 years, there's been perhaps a degree of warming, perhaps probably a whole lot less than that, and the last year has been so cold that that's been erased," he said.

"I think if we continue the cooling trend a couple of more years, the general public will at last begin to realize that they've been scammed on this global-warming thing."

• Click here to visit FOXNews.com's Natural Science Center.

Coleman spoke to FOXNews.com after his appearance last week at the 2008 International Conference on Climate Change in New York, where he called global warming a scam and lambasted the cable network he helped create.

"You want to tune to the Weather Channel and have them tell you how to live your life?" Coleman said. "Come on."

He laments the network's decision to focus on traffic and lifestyle reports over the weather.

"It's very clear that they don't realize that weather is the most significant impact in every human being's daily life, and good, solid, up-to-the-minute weather information and meaningful forecasts presented in such a way that people find them understandable and enjoyable can have a significant impact," he said.

"The more you cloud that up with other baloney, the weaker the product," he said.

Coleman has long been a skeptic of global warming, and carbon dioxide is the linchpin to his argument.

"Does carbon dioxide cause a warming of the atmosphere? The proponents of global warming pin their whole piece on that," he said.

The compound carbon dioxide makes up only 38 out of every 100,000 particles in the atmosphere, he said.

"That's about twice as what there were in the atmosphere in the time we started burning fossil fuels, so it's gone up, but it's still a tiny compound," Coleman said. "So how can that tiny trace compound have such a significant effect on temperature?

"My position is it can't," he continued. "It doesn't, and the whole case for global warming is based on a fallacy."

• Click here for John Coleman's briefs on global warming.

Copyright 2008 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved.

E-Trade: Bobo the Clown

When you make a little extra coin - spend it on whatever you like!!!

E-Trade: Barfing Baby

This has got to be the neatest commercial!

Official Gmail Blog: 2 hidden ways to get more from your Gmail address

Official Gmail Blog: 2 hidden ways to get more from your Gmail address


I recently discovered some little-known ways to use your Gmail address that can give you greater control over your inbox and save you some time and headache. When you choose a Gmail address, you actually get more than just "yourusername@gmail.com." Here are two different ways you can modify your Gmail address and still get your mail:

* Append a plus ("+") sign and any combination of words or numbers after your email address. For example, if your name was hikingfan@gmail.com, you could send mail to hikingfan+friends@gmail.com or hikingfan+mailinglists@gmail.com.
* Insert one or several dots (".") anywhere in your email address. Gmail doesn't recognize periods as characters in addresses -- we just ignore them. For example, you could tell people your address was hikingfan@gmail.com, hiking.fan@gmail.com or hi.kin.g.fan@gmail.com. (We understand that there has been some confusion about this in the past, but to settle it once and for all, you can indeed receive mail at all the variations with dots.)

For me, the real value in being able to manipulate your email address is that it makes it really easy to filter on those variants. For example you could use hikingfan+bank@gmail.com when you sign up for online banking and then set up a filter to automatically star, archive or label emails addressed to hikingfan+bank. You can also use this when you register for a service and think they might share your information. For example, I added "+donation" when I gave money to a political organization once, and now when I see emails from other groups to that address, I know how they got it. Solution: filtered to auto-delete.

Staying to Help in Iraq

We have finally reached a point where humanitarian assistance, from us and others, can have an impact.

By Angelina Jolie
Thursday, February 28, 2008; 1:15 PM
The Washington Post

The request is familiar to American ears: "Bring them home."

But in Iraq, where I've just met with American and Iraqi leaders, the phrase carries a different meaning. It does not refer to the departure of U.S. troops, but to the return of the millions of innocent Iraqis who have been driven out of their homes and, in many cases, out of the country.

In the six months since my previous visit to Iraq with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, this humanitarian crisis has not improved. However, during the last week, the United States, UNHCR and the Iraqi government have begun to work together in new and important ways.

We still don't know exactly how many Iraqis have fled their homes, where they've all gone, or how they're managing to survive. Here is what we do know: More than 2 million people are refugees inside their own country -- without homes, jobs and, to a terrible degree, without medicine, food or clean water. Ethnic cleansing and other acts of unspeakable violence have driven them into a vast and very dangerous no-man's land. Many of the survivors huddle in mosques, in abandoned buildings with no electricity, in tents or in one-room huts made of straw and mud. Fifty-eight percent of these internally displaced people are younger than 12 years old.

An additional 2.5 million Iraqis have sought refuge outside Iraq, mainly in Syria and Jordan. But those host countries have reached their limits. Overwhelmed by the refugees they already have, these countries have essentially closed their borders until the international community provides support.

I'm not a security expert, but it doesn't take one to see that Syria and Jordan are carrying an unsustainable burden. They have been excellent hosts, but we can't expect them to care for millions of poor Iraqis indefinitely and without assistance from the U.S. or others. One-sixth of Jordan's population today is Iraqi refugees. The large burden is already causing tension internally.

The Iraqi families I've met on my trips to the region are proud and resilient. They don't want anything from us other than the chance to return to their homes -- or, where those homes have been bombed to the ground or occupied by squatters, to build new ones and get back to their lives. One thing is certain: It will be quite a while before Iraq is ready to absorb more than 4 million refugees and displaced people. But it is not too early to start working on solutions. And last week, there were signs of progress.

In Baghdad, I spoke with Army Gen. David Petraeus about UNHCR's need for security information and protection for its staff as they re-enter Iraq, and I am pleased that he has offered that support. General Petraeus also told me he would support new efforts to address the humanitarian crisis "to the maximum extent possible" -- which leaves me hopeful that more progress can be made.

UNHCR is certainly committed to that. Last week while in Iraq, High Commissioner António Guterres pledged to increase UNHCR's presence there and to work closely with the Iraqi government, both in assessing the conditions required for return and in providing humanitarian relief.

During my trip I also met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who has announced the creation of a new committee to oversee issues related to internally displaced people, and a pledge of $40 million to support the effort.

My visit left me even more deeply convinced that we not only have a moral obligation to help displaced Iraqi families, but also a serious, long-term, national security interest in ending this crisis.

Today's humanitarian crisis in Iraq -- and the potential consequences for our national security -- are great. Can the United States afford to gamble that 4 million or more poor and displaced people, in the heart of Middle East, won't explode in violent desperation, sending the whole region into further disorder?

What we cannot afford, in my view, is to squander the progress that has been made. In fact, we should step up our financial and material assistance. UNHCR has appealed for $261 million this year to provide for refugees and internally displaced persons. That is not a small amount of money -- but it is less than the U.S. spends each day to fight the war in Iraq. I would like to call on each of the presidential candidates and congressional leaders to announce a comprehensive refugee plan with a specific timeline and budget as part of their Iraq strategy.

As for the question of whether the surge is working, I can only state what I witnessed: U.N. staff and those of non-governmental organizations seem to feel they have the right set of circumstances to attempt to scale up their programs. And when I asked the troops if they wanted to go home as soon as possible, they said that they miss home but feel invested in Iraq. They have lost many friends and want to be a part of the humanitarian progress they now feel is possible.

It seems to me that now is the moment to address the humanitarian side of this situation. Without the right support, we could miss an opportunity to do some of the good we always stated we intended to do.

Angelina Jolie, an actor, is a UNHCR goodwill ambassador.

Attacks in Baghdad fall 80 percent

Sat, 16 Feb 2008

By Aws Qusay

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Attacks by insurgents and rival sectarian militias have fallen up to 80 percent in Baghdad and concrete blast walls that divide the capital could soon be removed, a senior Iraqi military official said on Saturday.

Lieutenant-General Abboud Qanbar said the success of a year-long clampdown named "Operation Imposing Law" had reined in the savage violence between majority Shi'ites and minority Sunni Arabs dominant under Saddam Hussein.

"In a time when you could hear nothing but explosions, gunfire and the screams of mothers and fathers and sons, and see bodies that were burned and dismembered, the people of Baghdad were awaiting Operation Imposing Law," Qanbar told reporters.

Qanbar pointed to the number of dead bodies turning up on the capital's streets as an indicator of success.

In the six weeks to the end of 2006, an average of 43 bodies were found dumped in the city each day as fierce sectarian fighting threatened to turn into full-scale civil war.

That figure fell to four a day in 2008, in the period up to February 12, said Qanbar, who heads the Baghdad security operation.

"Various enemy activities" had fallen by between 75 and 80 percent since the security plan was implemented, he said.

To demonstrate how life had improved, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki toured parts of the city on Saturday, visiting Iraqi forces and checkpoints.

"He wanted ... to send a message to the terrorists that security in Baghdad is prevailing now," one official said.

Central to the success has been the erection of 12-foot (3.5-meter) high concrete walls that snake across the city.

The walls were designed to stop car bombings blamed on al Qaeda that turned markets and open areas into killing fields.

Qanbar said he hoped the walls could be taken down "in the coming months" and predicted the improved situation in Baghdad would translate to greater security elsewhere.

The U.S. military says attacks have fallen across Iraq by 60 percent since June on the back of security clampdowns and the deployment of 30,000 extra American troops.

FRAGILE RELATIONSHIP

Vital to the fall in violence was also a decision by Sunni Arab tribal leaders to turn against Sunni Islamist al Qaeda in late 2006 and form neighborhood security units, which man checkpoints and provide tips on militant hideouts.

However, their relationship with Iraqi authorities remains tense. The Shi'ite-led government is wary of the units, called "concerned local citizens" (CLCs) by the U.S. military and whose ranks includes former Sunni Arab insurgents.

"Everyone should know, that the official security forces represent the country. And it is the one side that has the right to bear arms and impose security," Qanbar said.

In a sign of the tensions, one CLC group said it was suspending its activities after three members were killed in an incident near the town of Jurf al-Sukr, south of Baghdad.

The unit blamed American soldiers for Friday's deaths. The U.S. military said attack helicopters had responded with rockets after security forces came under small-arms fire. It said the incident was under investigation but gave no further details.

The CLCs number some 80,000 mainly Sunni Arabs. Qanbar said Baghdad was working on compensating victims of mistakes by the Iraqi army and multi-national forces in Iraq.

While Iraqi and U.S. officials laud the security gains, humanitarian groups say it is still too early to encourage around 2 million refugees who fled Iraq to return home.

"The plight of Iraqi refugees will end with national reconciliation," the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, told reporters during a visit to Baghdad.

(Additional reporting by Michael Holden, Mohammed Abbas and Ahmed Rasheed, Writing by Mohammed Abbas: Editing by Robert Woodward)

© Reuters 2007. All rights reserved.

Juanita du Plessis - Boerejol

The title in English simply means: "no less than, one big South African party"!

The Wall Street Journal on Obamanomics

by Stephen Moore of The Wall Street Journal

Moore: "[Obama is] talking about a series of tax rate increases. So he would increase the capital gains and the dividends tax and the income tax. And one thing that is going to be problematic I think for some people is he also wants to get rid of what's called the cap on the payroll tax." (The Wall Street Journal Website, www.wsj.com, Accessed 2/13/08)

Moore: "Whereas the Republicans want to increase private investment, he's talking about increasing government spending and he's calling that investment too, so it would be a multi-billion dollar increase in the size of government." (The Wall Street Journal Website, www.wsj.com, Accessed 2/13/08)

Moore: "[Obama] doesn't believe that raising tax rates is going to hurt the economy and if he becomes President ... tax rates will go up almost across the board." (The Wall Street Journal Website, www.wsj.com, Accessed 2/13/08)

Republican For A Reason

The Republican National Committee's newest web video, reminding us all why we are Republican - and proud Americans.

WANTED: Boots and Shovel

I believe strongly that 98.3% of the democrat presidential candidates are shovelling manure at us once again!

Cheney Daughter Backs Romney

MIAMI (AP) - Liz Cheney, one of Vice President Dick Cheney's daughters, has signed onto Mitt Romney's presidential campaign as a senior foreign policy adviser. Cheney most recently worked in the State Department handling Middle East affairs.

While her father and President Bush have both vowed to remain neutral as their fellow Republicans battle it out for the GOP nomination, the endorsement is likely to be well received among conservatives who comprise a critical primary voting bloc in both Florida, which votes Tuesday, and the 20-odd states voting Feb. 5.

Romney has also enjoyed the support of aides with ties to the Bush family, including top assistants to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former President George H.W. Bush.

Liz Cheney, 41, is the elder of Dick and Lynne Cheney's two daughters.

Liz Cheney, the mother of five children, said in a statement: "Throughout his campaign, (Romney) has distinguished himself as a leader who can guide our country with a clear vision for overcoming the threats we face today. ... I look forward to working with Governor Romney because he is the leader our country needs."

Romney said Liz Cheney brings the campaign "years of experience helping to formulate America's foreign policy and to advance democracy and reform in the Middle East."

Liz Cheney previously supported former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, who dropped out of the race last week.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.

America's Marines