Nouvelles en Langue Anglaise

Rappel du premier message :

U.S. clamps down on banking transactions; terror group finds new funding

By Robert Windrem and Garrett Haake
NBC News
updated 7:56 a.m. ET Nov. 14, 2008
Seven years after the Sept. 11 attacks, U.S. intelligence officials believe they've won many small victories against al-Qaida's ability to finance its operations, but they remain unable to put a concrete dollar figure on their impact.

That's because they have no reliable estimate of al-Qaida's overall budget, according to current and former U.S. counterterrorism officials, which means the only measures of the organization's economic health are sporadic, anecdotal and fragmentary.

"When you see a cell complaining that it hasn't received its monthly or biannual stipend and it's unable to pay the salaries of the people in the cell, unable to make the support payments to the families of terrorists living or dead, that's a tremendous indicator we have pressured the financial channel," said Adam Szubin, the director of the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and the man in charge of tracking terrorist finance.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27644191

Les Republicains n'auraient pas que des critiques systématiques stériles...

THE GOP Can Stop ObamaCare
The public is in no mood for drastic changes in current coverage.
By KARL ROVE

It's extremely unlikely that Republicans will be able to pass their own health-care plan in this Congress. But in politics you can't beat something with nothing, so it is critical that the GOP offers an alternative to President Barack Obama's government-run monstrosity.

Americans will listen more closely to Republicans if they make empirical and specific arguments against Mr. Obama's attempted government takeover of the nation's health system. But they must also offer proposals that families, small-businesspeople and health-care providers will applaud.

Fortunately, Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Richard Burr of North Carolina, and Reps. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Devin Nunes of California have devised a plan that will likely appeal to anyone interested in making health insurance more affordable and portable.

Their proposal -- called the Patients' Choice Act -- is to leave in place the tax deduction companies receive for providing employees with health insurance and to create a "Medi-Choice" tax rebate that will give individuals $2,200 and families $5,700 to spend on health insurance.

The rebate will make health insurance more affordable, especially for young people. It also will make health insurance portable, which will free people from being locked into jobs they hate because they are afraid of losing their health insurance.

The Coburn-Ryan plan also helps the hard-to-insure and chronically ill because it shares their risk across all insurance companies, providing lower premiums than they might find now. It would help those in Medicaid because they receive private insurance rather than being forced into a one-size-fits-all government program in which doctors are increasingly refusing to participate.

The House GOP also formed a Health Care Solutions Group that unveiled proposals yesterday. The group wanted to make health care more affordable, expand availability, and promote healthier life choices. It did this by proposing two-dozen ways to improve existing law to make it easier and more cost-effective to buy health insurance.

One proposal is to give families who purchase their own insurance a tax benefit similar to the one companies get for providing health benefits. Another proposal is to pass medical liability reforms that will reduce costly junk lawsuits. Still another would allow small businesses to team up to buy insurance at a group discount. The group also wants to allow families to save money tax-free for a wide range of health expenses and permit children to stay on their parents' policies until age 25.

Under the group's proposals, Medicaid beneficiaries would get the flexibility to choose private coverage, rather than being locked into a government-run program. The group is also calling for stepping up efforts to detect and punish Medicare and Medicaid fraud, which costs an estimated $60 billion a year.

Individual Republicans are also stepping forward with health-reform ideas, such as creating a national health-insurance market that would allow Americans to buy insurance across state lines. Sens. Jon Kyl (R., Ariz.) and Lamar Alexander (R., Tenn.) have offered other ideas, including expanding community health centers.

This is the first time congressional Republicans as a group have been comfortable talking about health care. It may be the product of necessity, but it is also necessary to get a robust debate on health-care reform.

Republican efforts will be helped by a recent Congressional Budget Office report that found that Sen. Ted Kennedy's health-care reform would cost at least $1 trillion over the next 10 years and still leave 36 million Americans uninsured (it may be slightly more once all the details are released). Estimates for the health-care bill that the Senate Finance Committee is drafting with help from the White House are coming in around $1.6 trillion over 10 years.

As the debate now shifts from broad generalities to the specifics of how health-care reform would work and how the government will pay for it, the GOP has an opportunity to stop the nationalization of the health-care industry. The more scrutiny it gets, the less appealing Obama-Care will become. And the more Democrats have to talk about creating a new value-added tax or junk food taxes to pay for it, the more Americans will recoil.

Republican credibility on health care depends on whether the party offers positive alternatives that build on the strengths of American medicine. As long as the choice was between reform and the status quo, the public was likely to go with the reformers. But if the debate is whether to go with costly, unnecessary reforms or with common-sense changes, then Republicans have a chance to appeal to fiscally conservative independents and Democrats and win this one. It is still possible to stop ObamaCare in its tracks. If Republicans can do that, they will win public confidence on an issue that will dominate politics for decades.

vous ne trouverez pas... Comme quoi, NP a raison, FOX News, tout-de-meme, ne fait que lui en faire voirE.

Critics Attack ABC News for Refusing to Air Opposing Ads During Obama's Health Care Special

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele accused ABC News and anchor Charles Gibson of making President Obama's case for "nationalized" health care "without any opportunity for opposing views to be aired, as a new study shows ABC offers widely favorable coverage of the president's plan.



FOXNews.com

Thursday, June 18, 2009


Opponents of President Obama's proposed health care reform are blasting ABC News for refusing to air opposing ads during a prime time special next Wednesday, just as a new study finds ABC News coverage of the president's health care plan is favorable by a ratio of 3 to 1.

The prime time special -- called "Questions for the President: Prescription for America" -- will be a nationally televised event during which Obama will answer questions presented by audience members selected by ABC News. The network has refused to accept advocacy ads during the hourlong show.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele accused ABC News and anchor Charles Gibson of making Obama's case for "nationalized" health care "without any opportunity for opposing views to be aired.

In a fundraising e-mail aimed at raising nearly $100,000 to buy air time for a counterprogram, Steele said the RNC's request to add its views to the debate during the special was "flatly rejected" by ABC News.

"What are the Democrats and their media allies afraid of? The truth?" he asked in a fundraising letter to supporters. "That is outrageous! And we will not take it!"

But ABC News spokesman Jeffrey Schneider told FOXNews.com that it has been a "longstanding" policy not to accept "advocacy" ads.

Schneider explained that the policy was established decades ago and only local ABC affiliates air issue ads.

"Local stations have different standards," he said, adding that ABC News refused to air Obama's infomercial the week before the presidential election in November because it did not meet the station's standards.

Since the president's inauguration in January, ABC's "World News" and "Good Morning America" have aired stories that feature Obama or supporters of his health care plan 55 times compared to 18 appearances by critics of his plan, according to a Business & Media Institute (BMI) analysis released Wednesday.

Schneider said during Wednesday's broadcast a roomful of people will present a broad range of opinions on health care and be able to ask the president questions. Viewers will also be able to submit questions via ABCNews.com.

"We're going to be producing a fair and open and honest debate about health care, which is vitally important to the country" he said. "The point of the debate is to hear from all sides."

Rick Scott, chairman of Conservatives for Patients Rights, is pushing ABC News to reconsider its ban on issue ads.

"It is unfortunate -- and unusual -- that ABC is refusing to accept paid advertising that would present an alternative viewpoint for the White House health care program," he said in a statement, noting estimates that potential legislation costs at least $1 trillion of taxpayer money.

"The American people deserve a healthy, robust debate on this issue and ABC's decision -- as of now -- to exclude even paid advertisements that present an alternative view does a disservice to the public."

Some conservative bloggers are calling for people to boycott advertisers on ABC.
"All Americans who are opposed to a major media arm becoming a visible branch of the presidential political machine" should use the marketplace to voice their objection, one blogger wrote.

VIVE Le Bi-Partisme, VIVE Le Debat et VIVE La Transparence!

Continental Airlines Pilot Dies on Flight From Brussels to Newark

Thursday, June 18, 2009



FNC

A map of the route taken by Continental Flight 61, whose captain died during the trip from Brussels to Newark.

The captain of a Continental Airlines flight en route from Brussels to Newark died during the trip, but the flight landed safely with two co-pilots at the controls.

The pilot died of natural causes Thursday aboard Continental Flight 61, and two co-pilots took over flying the Boeing 777, said FAA spokesman Les Dorr.

The plane with 247 passengers aboard landed on time at Newark Liberty International Airport shortly before noon EDT Thursday. It left Brussels at 9:45 a.m.

Passengers weren't told

...

En d'autres termes...

en fait la photo de NP se passe d'explications...

White House dismisses POTUS 43

By CAROL E. LEE | 06/18/09 3:52 PM
The White House responded Thursday to former President George W. Bush’s remarks about the current administration's national security policies, including Bush's criticism of the planned closing of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.

The message: "We won."

"We had that debate," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters in his daily briefing. "We kept score last November. And we won.”

The quip is a throwback to Obama’s response to congressional Republicans who criticized his stimulus plan during a closed meeting in January.

Then, the president told them: "I won."

A Nouveau: Vive le Bi-Partisme, Vive le Debat, Vive l'Echange, Vive the CHANGEment, hein...

Wall Street Journal - JUNE 19, 2009

Public Warry of Deficit, Economic Intervention
By LAURA MECKLER

WASHINGTON -- After a fairly smooth opening, President Barack Obama faces new concerns among the American public about the budget deficit and government intervention in the economy as he works to enact ambitious health and energy legislation, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds.

These rising doubts threaten to overshadow the president's personal popularity and his agenda, in what may be a new phase of the Obama presidency.

"The public is really moving from evaluating him as a charismatic and charming leader to his specific handling of the challenges facing the country," says Peter D. Hart, a Democratic pollster who conducts the survey with Republican Bill McInturff. Going forward, he says, Mr. Obama and his allies "are going to have to navigate in pretty choppy waters."

There's good news for the administration, too, including tentative support for Mr. Obama's health-care plan and approval of his nominee for the Supreme Court. The public seems more optimistic about the country's economic future than it did a few weeks earlier, and Americans are still more likely to blame the last administration for the deficit.

But the poll suggests Mr. Obama faces challenges on multiple fronts, including growing concerns about government spending and the bailout of auto companies. A majority of people also disapprove of his decision to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Nearly seven in 10 survey respondents said they had concerns about federal interventions into the economy, including Mr. Obama's decision to take an ownership stake in General Motors Corp., limits on executive compensation and the prospect of more government involvement in health care. The negative feeling toward the GM rescue was reflected elsewhere in the survey as well.

...

==============

New York Times/CBS


Doubts Obama has 'clear plan'

By ANDY BARR | 06/18/09 10:29 AM
A majority of respondents in the latest New York Times/CBS News poll showed concern over growing budget deficits.


Fifty-two percent agreed that the federal government "should not spend money to stimulate the economy and should focus instead on reducing the deficit."

An additional 60 percent said the Obama administration does not have a clear plan for reducing budget deficits.

Despite concerns, Obama got high marks for his overall handling of the economy. Fifty-seven percent of those polled approved of the presidents handling of the economy while 63 percent approved of the president's job performance overall.

Obama faces other problems with voters however, as only 44 percent approve of the president's handling of healthcare and 41 percent approve of how he has worked to help the plagued auto industry.

Israeli Jews See Obama as Pro-Palestinian

Only 6 percent of Jewish Israelis view Obama as pro-Israel, while half see him as pro-Palestinian.

FOXNews.com
Friday, June 19, 2009

JERUSALEM -- A new poll shows only 6 percent of Israeli Jews see President Barack Obama's administration as pro-Israel, while 50 percent see it as pro-Palestinian.
That is a dramatic change from the previous U.S. administration of George W. Bush, which 88 percent termed "pro-Israel" and just 2 percent labeled pro-Palestinian.

Many Israelis reject Obama's call for a total settlement freeze and have come to see him as overly sympathetic to Palestinian claims.

The poll, taken after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said for the first time he supported a demilitarized Palestinian state, found 36 percent of respondents viewed Obama as neutral.

Netanyahu's advisers and aides offered varying explanations for Israelis' negative view of Obama, ranging from blaming the media for focusing on the perception of strained relations between Washington and Jerusalem to the belief that Obama faulted Israel for the lack of peace in the Middle East.

Last week, Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported that the prime minister believes Obama wants to create a confrontation with Israel to help him improve relations with the Arab world, aides said.

In Cairo, Obama called for a "new beginning" between the United States and Muslim countries. In the speech, he called the long-standing U.S.-Israel alliance "unbreakable" but stepped up pressure on Israel's leadership to follow U.S. terms for a roadmap to peace.

A previous poll taken merely one month ago, found only 14 percent saw the Obama administration as pro-Palestinian while 31 percent viewed it pro-Israeli. The large shift in perspective points to a strong reaction from the Israeli public after the American president's speech to the Muslim world.
Middle East envoy George Mitchell said in Israel that the U.S. commitment to Israeli security is "unshakable" and that policy gaps "are not disagreements among adversaries" but between "close allies and friends."

The poll of 500 Jewish Israelis was conducted by Smith Research and published Friday in The Jerusalem Post. The margin of error was 4.5 percent.

Full Results

et on nous racontait il y a quelques jours que le poster de NP portant keffieh etait un coup des extremistes!

If You're Not With Us...Obama Fights Battle with Gay Community

Despite signing a memorandum Wednesday night expanding certain benefits to cover the same-sex partners of federal employees, the president is in the midst of losing the confidence of gay rights advocates who feel the memorandum is weak and pandering. .


By Kelly Chernenkoff

FOXNews.com
Thursday, June 18, 2009


Try as he might, President Obama may not be able to retain the benefit of the doubt with the gay community much longer.


Despite signing a memorandum Wednesday night expanding certain benefits to cover the same-sex partners of federal employees, the president is in the midst of losing the confidence of gay rights advocates who feel the memorandum is weak and pandering. .

Obama touted his memorandum as an "historic step," saying, "Many of our government's hard-working and dedicated and patriotic public servants have long been denied basic rights that their colleagues enjoy for one simple reason: the people that they love are of the same sex."
But the president acknowledged it was just the first step.

The memorandum extends long-term care insurance, for conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, to same-sex partners of federal employees and affords employees the right to "use their sick leave to take care of domestic partners and non-biological, non-adopted children."

It also provides some protections for partners of foreign service employees serving abroad and protects against discrimination in the workplace based on non-work-related factors.

But activists are bluntly exposing a giant hole in these benefits -- the memorandum does not cover the federal health insurance, retirement or survivor benefits that heterosexual couples receive.
...



========

et puis... If you're not with us... if you're not with us... (ca me rappelle bien quelque chose, mais quoi... hein... quoi?)

Qu'est-ce-qu'il doit sourire, 43!

AP/IRIB
Iran Supreme Leader Khamenei says there was 'definitive victory' and no rigging in disputed presidential elections, blames 'enemies' as crowd chants "Death to America"

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's supreme leader said Friday that the country's disputed presidential vote had not been rigged, sternly warning protesters of a crackdown if they continue massive demonstrations demanding a new election.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sided with hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and offered no concessions to the opposition. He effectively closed any chance for a new vote by calling the June 12 election an "absolute victory."

The speech created a stark choice for candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi and his supporters: Drop their demands for a new vote or take to the streets again in blatant defiance of the man endowed with virtually limitless powers under Iran's constitution.

Khamenei accused foreign media and Western countries of trying to create a political rift and stir up chaos in Iran.

At several points during Khamenei's speech, the assembled crowd broke out into loud, seemingly-orchestrated chanting. Television cameras panned across the sea of supporters as they passionately shouted "death to America," "death to Israel" and "death to the U.K."

"Some of our enemies in different parts of the world intended to depict this absolute victory, this definitive victory, as a doubtful victory," he said. "It is your victory. They cannot manipulate it."

...

C'est Chavez qui va etre content.

Je lisais ce matin que Kim Jong-Il n'etait plus tres frais. Aurait-il decide de partir avec un "bang"?

Ennntouka, Pres. Bush etait parvenu a calmer les ardeurs de pepe...

U.S. Military Set to Intercept North Korean Ship Suspected of Proliferating Missiles, Nukes

The USS John McCain, a navy destroyer, will intercept the ship Kang Nam as soon as it leaves the vicinity off the coast of China, according to a senior U.S. defense official.



FOXNews.com

Friday, June 19, 2009


The U.S. military is planning to intercept a flagged North Korean ship suspected of proliferating weapons material in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution passed last Friday, FOX News has learned.

The USS John McCain, a navy destroyer, will intercept the ship Kang Nam as soon as it leaves the vicinity off the coast of China, according to a senior U.S. defense official. The order to inderdict has not been given yet, but the ship is getting into position.

The ship left a port in North Korea Wednesday and appears to be heading toward Singapore, according to a senior U.S. military source. The vessel, which the military has been tracking since its departure, could be carrying weaponry, missile parts or nuclear materials, a violation of U.N. Resolution 1874, which put sanctions in place against Pyongyang.

The USS McCain was involved in an incident with a Chinese sub last Friday - near Subic Bay off the Philippines.

The Chinese sub was shadowing the destroyer when it hit the underwater sonar array that the USS McCain was towing behind it.

That same navy destroyer that was being shadowed by the Chinese is now positioning itself for a possible interdiction of the North Korean vessel.

This is the first suspected "proliferator" that the U.S. and its allies have tracked from North Korea since the United Nations authorized the world's navies to enforce compliance with a variety of U.N. sanctions aimed at punishing North Korea for its recent nuclear test.

The ship is currently along the coast of China and being monitored around-the-clock by air.
The apparent violation raises the question of how the United States and its allies will respond, particularly since the U.N. resolution does not have a lot of teeth to it.

The resolution would not allow the United States to board the ship forcibly. Rather, U.S. military would have to request permission to board -- a request North Korea is unlikely to grant.
North Korea has said that any attempt to board its ships would be viewed as an act of war and promised "100- or 1,000-fold" retaliation if provoked.

The U.S. military may also request that the host country not provide fuel to the ship when it enters its port.

The Kang Nam is known to be a ship that has been involved in proliferation activities in the past -- it is "a repeat offender," according to one military source. The ship was detained in October 2006 by authorities in Hong Kong after the North Koreans tested their first nuclear device and the U.N. imposed a subsequent round of sanctions.

The latest tension follows a Japanese news report that North Korea may fire a long-range ballistic missile toward Hawaii in early July.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday the military is "watching" that situation "very closely," and would have "some concerns" if North Korea launched a missile in the direction of Hawaii. But he expressed confidence in U.S. ability to handle such a launch.

Gates said he's directed the deployment of the Theater High Altitude Area Defense, a mobile missile defense system used for knocking down long- and medium-range missiles.

"The ground-based interceptors are clearly in a position to take action. So, without telegraphing what we will do, I would just say ... I think we are in a good position, should it become necessary, to protect the American territory."

A ben ca c'est extra! la moitie des hotes de Guantanamo choisis pour prendre leur retraire a Palau, refusent d'y aller! Je me demande quel est le probleme, vu que NP a promis que les detenus ne seraient pas remis a des pays utilisant la torture.

Some Guantanamo Detainees Resisting Move to Palau

Saturday, June 20, 2009

The Obama administration's drive to close the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has hit a new snag: At least some of the 13 detainees accepted for resettlement by the island nation of Palau don't want to go there.

Meanwhile, protests have erupted in Bermuda over its recent resettlement of four Uighur detainees, with the country's leader facing a no-confidence vote by his parliament. Dissent in the British island territory, which sits in the Atlantic Ocean east of North Carolina, came after Bermuda's acceptance of the men strained relations with London, which complained that the island's home-rule government failed to advise it about the decision.

Palau, a tiny South Pacific country, seemed to offer a potential solution to a problem that has vexed the Bush and Obama administrations since the Defense Department began clearing 22 Uighurs from China for release, after deciding they were erroneously deemed enemy combatants in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

After meeting with the Palauans and consulting their attorneys, the Uighurs showed little enthusiasm for transfer to the island, an administration official said.

A State Department spokesman couldn't be reached for comment. Calls to the Palau Embassy in Washington weren't returned. A spokesman for the Justice Department, which is leading a task force President Barack Obama has directed to review the Guantanamo detentions, declined to comment on the delays, saying "It would be premature to talk about any concrete proposals or requests at this time, as discussions are still ongoing."

...

Peut-etre que Lawrence pourrait faire une petite place pour 1 ou 2 a Marbella?

1) ca soulagerait ces pauvres INNOCENTS et

2) ca enleverait une drole epine du pied a NP qu'il a tant soutenu pendant la campagne electorale americaine!



Allez un petit effort...

Sylvette a écrit:

A ben ca c'est extra! la moitie des hotes de Guantanamo choisis pour prendre leur retraire a Palau, refusent d'y aller! Je me demande quel est le probleme, vu que NP a promis que les detenus ne seraient pas remis a des pays utilisant la torture.

Je l'ai toujours pensé, il doit y avoir une sacré marge entre jeux de bizutage et torture...

Citation :

Peut-etre que Lawrence pourrait faire une petite place pour 1 ou 2 a Marbella?

1) ca soulagerait ces pauvres INNOCENTS et

2) ca enleverait une drole epine du pied a NP qu'il a tant soutenu pendant la campagne electorale americaine!

Allez un petit effort...

(Pour les invités de Lawrence... après le 6 octobre seulement, si vous voulez bien, je tiens à y passer quelques jours paisibles... )

Ah dans ce cas, Biloulou ; je suis persuadee que **NP** ne verrait aucune objection a les garder encore un peu.

Ce n'est pas une nouvelle, c'est une blague envoyee par une amie residant a Orillia, au nord de Toronto (qui n'est d'ailleurs pas nouvelle mais bon..) j'ai pense que ca changerait un peu des nouvelles politiques, quoi que...

SUBJECT: DEQ File No.97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec. 20; Lycoming County

Dear Mr. DeVries:
It has come to the attention of the Department of Environmental Quality that there has been recent unauthorized activity on the above referenced parcel of property. You have been certified as the legal landowner and/or contractor who did the following unauthorized activity:

Construction and maintenance of two wood debris dams across the outlet stream of Spring Pond.

A permit must be issued prior to the start of this type of activity. A review of the Department's files shows that no permits have been issued. Therefore, the Department has determined that this activity is in violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Pennsylvania Compiled Laws, annotated.

The Department has been informed that one or both of the dams partially failed during a recent rain event, causing debris and flooding at downstream locations. We find that dams of this nature are inherently hazardous and cannot be permitted. The Department therefore orders you to cease and desist all activities at this location, and to restore the stream to a free-flow condition by removing all wood and brush forming the dams from the stream channel. All restoration work shall be completed no later than January 31, 2009.

Please notify this office when the restoration has been completed so that a follow-up site inspection may be scheduled by our staff. Failure to comply with this request or any further unauthorized activity on the site may result in this case being referred for elevated enforcement action. We anticipate and would appreciate your full cooperation in this matter. Please feel free to contact me at this office if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

David L. Price
District Representative and Water Management Division.

Here is the actual response sent back by Mr. DeVries:

Re: DEQ File No. 97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec. 20; Lycoming County

Dear Mr. Price,

Your certified letter dated 12/17/07 has been handed to me to respond to. I am the legal landowner but not the Contractor at 2088 Dagget Lane , Trout Run, Pennsylvania .

A couple of beavers are in the (State unauthorized) process of constructing and maintaining two wood 'debris' dams across the outlet stream of my Spring Pond. While I did not pay for, authorize, nor supervise their dam project, I think they would be highly offended that you call their skil lful use of natures building materials 'debris.'

I would like to challenge your department to attempt to emulate their dam project any time and/or any place you choose. I believe I can safely state there is no way you could ever match their dam skills, their dam resourcefulness, their dam ingenuity, their dam persistence, their dam determination and/or their dam work ethic.

These are the beavers/contractors you are seeking. As to your request, I do not think the beavers are aware that they must first fill out a dam permit prior to the start of this type of dam activity.

My first dam question to you is:

(1) Are you trying to discriminate against my Spring Pond Beavers, or

(2) do you require all beavers throughout this State to conform to said dam request?

If you are not discriminating against these particular beavers, through the Freedom of Information Act, I request completed copies of all those other applicable beaver dam permits that have been issued.

(Perhaps we will see if there really is a dam violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Pennsylvania Compiled Laws, annotated.)

I have several concerns. My first concern is, aren't the beavers entitled to legal representation? The Spring Pond Beavers are financially destitute and are unable to pay for said representation -- so the State will have to provide them with a dam lawyer. The Department's dam concern that either one or both of the dams failed during a recent rain event, causing flooding, is proof that this is a natural occurrence, which the Department is required to protect. In other words, we should leave the Spring Pond Beavers alone rather than harassing them and calling them dam names.

If you want the stream 'restored' to a dam free-flow condition please contact the beavers -- but if you are going to arrest them, they obviously did not pay any attention to your dam letter, they being unable to read English.

In my humble opinion, the Spring Pond Beavers have a right to build their unauthorized dams as long as the sky is blue, the grass is green and water flows downstream. They have more dam rights than I do to live and enjoy Spring Pond. If the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection lives up to its name, it should protect the natural resources (Beavers) and the environment (Beavers' Dams).

So, as far as the beavers and I are concerned, this dam case can be referred for more elevated enforcement action right now. Why wait until 1/31/2009? The Spring Pond Beavers may be under the dam ice then and there will be no way for you or your dam staff to contact/harass them.

In conclusion, I would like to bring to your attention to a real environmental quality, health, problem in the area. It is the bears! Bears are actually defecating in our woods. I definitely believe you should be persecuting the defecating bears and leave the beavers alone. If you are going to investigate the beaver dam, watch your step! The bears are not careful where they dump!

Being unable to comply with your dam request, and being unable to contact you on your dam answering machine, I am sending this response to your dam office.

THANK YOU,

RYAN DEVRIES
& THE DAM BEAVERS

Tout à fait excellent !
Et mine de rien il y a là dedans foule de leçons pour les fanatiques de l'"environnement"...

(Qu'ils ne comprendront certainement jamais, mais bon...)

oui..

... c'etait avant qu'il ait tue la moutttthhhhe

N'est-ce pas pour le moins surprenant qu'on reproche aux hommes Rebublicains, leur appartenance a des clubs auxquels les femmes ne peuvent etre membres et inversement aux Democrates n'etre membres de clubs auxquels seuls les femmes ont acces? Car enfin, pourquoi les memes reproches ne sont-ils pas faits aux Afro-americains qui appartiennent a des clubs (ou des caucus...) d'ou toutes les autres races sont exclues. (ca me fait d'ailleurs toujours sourire, imaginez une seule seconde qu'il existe un White Caucus comme il existe un Black Caucus...)

Ceci dit... tout-de-meme, tout-de-meme, je trouve que Sonia Sotomayor en quittant ce club a cede a la pression, ce n'est pas un bon signe.


JUNE 20, 2009

Court Nominee Sotomayor Quits Women-Only Group

By JESS BRAVIN
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor on Friday resigned her membership in an all-women organization, hoping to head off criticism that she belonged to a discriminatory organization before her confirmation hearings begin next month.

The group, the Belizean Grove, calls itself "a constellation of influential women" formed in response to the all-male Bohemian Club, whose annual revels at its expansive Northern California estate are attended by powerful and influential men.

The Belizean Grove apparently doesn't own its own property, but schedules periodic events in the U.S., Belize and other locations in Central America, according to its Web site.

"I believe the Belizean Grove does not practice invidious discrimination and my membership did not violate the Judicial Code of Ethics, but I do not want questions about this to distract anyone from my qualifications and record," Judge Sotomayor wrote in a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, and ranking Republican, Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama.

"The Belizean Grove is proud and privileged to have had Sonia Sotomayor as a member," Susan S. Stautberg, the group's founder, said in a statement. "We're all sorry that she is not able to continue."

A Senate Republican aide said Republicans didn't plan to object to Judge Sotomayor's membership in the group, but did hope to contrast their position with Democrats, who in past years have criticized Republican judicial nominees for membership in all-male clubs.

With Democrats holding a commanding majority in the Senate, Judge Sotomayor is widely expected to be confirmed later this summer.

Nevertheless, Republicans have hoped to blemish President Barack Obama's choice to succeed Justice David Souter, who plans to step down when the Supreme Court completes its annual term at month's end. They have questioned her suggestion, in a 2001 lecture, that a "wise Latina woman" such as herself might make better judgments "than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

Judge Sotomayor has been a federal trial and appellate judge in New York since 1991.

..... that's interesting! (mais finalement pas si surprenant...)
The Los Angeles Times Poll

Support for gay marriage varies widely among racial and ethnic groups

Latinos in Los Angeles split on issue, while other groups express a more definite opinion.
By Cathleen Decker
10:25 PM PDT, June 19, 2009
In the state's continuing political battles over gay marriage, both sides are targeting Latino voters, and a new Los Angeles Times poll illustrates why.

Overall, the poll showed a majority of voters in Los Angeles support the right of same-sex couples to legally marry, with 56% in favor and 37% opposed. That finding closely tracked results of November's election, when Proposition 8, which limited marriage to a man and a woman, won statewide but lost in Los Angeles.

...

Date....................................Approval....Strongly........Strongly......Approve........Disapprove
............................................Index......Approve.......Disapprove

06/20/2009	+1	34%	33%	54%	46%
06/19/2009	+1	34%	33%	54%	45%
06/18/2009	+2	35%	33%	55%	45%
06/17/2009	+5	37%	32%	56%	43%
06/16/2009	+4	36%	32%	56%	43%
06/15/2009	+3	35%	32%	55%	44%
06/14/2009	+2	34%	32%	54%	45%
06/13/2009	+3	35%	32%	54%	46%
06/12/2009	+4	36%	32%	54%	45%

======
01/21/2009.................................28........44%..............16%.............65%..............30%

Ben vrai, c'est sur qu'avec ca, les barbus vont trembler!

Je vais me laisser pousser la barbe et je vous donnerai mon avis dans quelques semaines, ça vous va ?

D'accord! De toutes facons, a la vitesse ou vont les choses, il serait peut-etre bon de commencer a se mettre au diapason.

... avec des tremolos si possible, hein!